The introduction of the Arabian or In dian notation into Rurope,about the tenth century, made a material alteration in the state of arithmetic ; and this, indeed, was one of the greatest improvements which this science had rkceived sinc6 the first discovery of it. This method of notation, now universally used, was probably de rived originally from the Indians by the Arabians, and not, as some have supposed, from the Greeks ; and it was brought from the Arabians into Spain by the Moors or Saracens, in the tenth century. Gerbert, who was afterwards Pope, un der the name of Silvester H. and who died in the year 1003, brought this nota tion from the Moors of Spain into France, long before the time of his death, or, as some think, about the year 960 ; and it was known among us in Britain, as Dr. Wallis has shewn, in the beginning of the eleventh century, if not somewhat sooner. As literature and science advanced in Europe, the knowledge of numbers was also extended, and the writers in this art were very much multiplied. The next considerable improvement in this branch of science, after the introduction of the numeral figures of the Arabians or In dians, was that of decimal parts, for which we are indebted to Regiomonta nus ; who, about the year 1464, in his book of " Triangular Canons," set aside the sexagesimal subdivisions, and divided the radius into 60,000,000 parts; but af terwards he altogether waved the ancient division into 60, and divided the radius into 10,000,000 parts ; so that if the radius be denoted by 1, the sines will be ex pressed by so many places of decimal fractions as the cyphers following 1. This
seems to have been the first introduction of decimal parts. To Dr. Wallis we are principally indebted for our knowledge of circulating decimals, and also for the arithmetic of infinites. The last, and per haps, with regard to its extensive applica tion and use, the greatest improvement which the art of computation ever re ceived, was that of logarithms, which we owe to Baron Neper or Napier, and Mr. Henry Briggs. See LoaAnrms.