The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
John Wallis, Dr. (1616 - 1703)
Clergyman (Bishop of Winchester), mathematician, cryptographer and fellow of the Royal Society. Dictionary of National Biography entry: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28572?docPos=11 Other biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wallis Authority - early modernRelevant locations: Title (royalty or holy order) Winchester, Hampshire
Workplace or place of business Oxford University, Oxford
Relationships: John Wallis was a friend of John Evelyn (1620-1706)
John Wallis was a member of Royal Society (-)
Linked print sources: as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - A letter from Dr. John Wallis, to one of the secretaries of the Royal Society (Dr. Robert Plot, the publisher of these transactions) concerning an antient mantle-tree in Northampton-shire; on which the date of it (for the year of our Lord 1133) is expressed by the numeral figures, which shews the great antiquity of those figures here in England.
as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - Two Extracts of the Journall of the Phil. Soc. of Oxford; one containing a Paper, communicated March 31, 1685, by the Reverend Dr Wallis, President of that Soc. concerning the strength of Memory when applied with due attention: the other, dated Dec. 15th, 1685, describing a large Stone Voided by way of Urine.
as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - V. Part of letter of Dr. Jo. Wallis F. R. S. to the publisher, concerning the use of the numeral figures in England, in the year 1090.
References in Documents:
CornberyChancelorVice-ChancellorFellChrist-ChurchBarlow
I went to visite BoyleWallisChr: WrenTowerTube or Discus of the Sunn for the passing of ☿ that day before the Sunn; but the Latitude was so greate, that nothing appeared: So we went to see
the rarities in the LibraryMedailsTheaterCanterburyActs in for the future, 'til now being in Chr:
WrenAltar at All-SoulesTerpentine]) in FullerWaddamPhysi[c]k GardenLocust TreesCatalogus Horti Botanici Oxoniensis of
that year; it contains nothing that can be identified as a
locust-tree. In Sylva Evelyn mentions the
lotus (ed. 1664, p. 58); longer notice in later editions) but
not the locust (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol.
3, p. 386, n. 5)PlatanaCatalogus of 1658. The plane is
sometimes said to have been introduced by Bacon; it was
evidently still very rare; Evelyn was given a specimen by Sir
George Croke to whom he attributes its successful introduction:
see successive notices in Sylva, 1664, p.
58. (Diary, ed. de Beer, vol. 3, p. 386,
n. 6)Bobart
Architecture. A Geometrick
FLAT FLOOR.
Given by the
neated (a) by Dr. Geometry at
Who was pleas'd to give me the following
Account, as an
Abstract of that he hath formerly published hereof.
(a)
a) See his
Book
tu, Cap. 6.
Prop. 10.
Fig. 243
Two Extracts of the Journall of the
of
Oxford
one containing a Paper, communicat
ed
ed
by the
Reverend DrWallis
President
of thatSoc.
concerning the strength of
Memory when applied with due attention: the
other, dated
Memory when applied with due attention: the
other, dated
Dec. 15
th, 1685
describing a large
Stone
Voided by way of Urine.
Part of a Letter from
Mr. Halley
at
ster
giving an Ac
count of an Animal resembling a Whelp voi
dedper Anum,
count of an Animal resembling a Whelp voi
ded
by a Male Greyhound, and
of a
Altar found there, &c.
Wallis
about a Year since of a Greyhound Dog, that
voided an Animal, resembling a Whelp per anum, as
strange and incredible as it may seem, is yet here
sted
fastly believed; and the Creature was kept for some
time in Spirit of Wine, having lived for some short time
after it came into the World: and it was seen alive by
Roberts
say it exactly resembled a Greyhound-Whelp, and had
on its side a large spot, in the same place as the Dog it
proceeded from, had such another; and that with it
was voided a whitish mucuous Matter, so that the
Peo
ple here will not permit me to question the truth
there
of. Roberts
what Credit this uncouth Story Merits. But this is
certain, That it cost the Dog his Life, to gratifie the
Curiosity of some Gentlemen here, who Dissected him,
but were disappointed of their Expectations. For my
own part, as I am determined nihil temere credere; so on
the other hand, as I dare not pretend to limit the
Pow
ers of Nature, I suspend my Opinion, laying
on
ly before you what credible Witnesses do assert.
I this Morning got a sight of an Altar-piece, dug up
here about three Years since, and took the
Inscrip
tion thereof which is pretty entire, but roughly
cut in the Stone of the place, which is soft and
exposed to the Air: It has the following Inscription.
PRO.
SAL.DOMIN
.... IM N N INVI
CTISSIMORVM
AVGG. GENIOLOCI
FLAVIVS LONG——
I supposeVS
there
not being room
forINVS
TRIB. MIL. LEGXX.
LONGINUS FLA
VIVS DOMO
SAMOSATA
V . S.
By the Title of
rors, it appears, that this Inscription was of the Bas
Empire, not before Theodorus, it being Pagan. The
ty two Inches high, Sixteen in breadth, and Nine thick;
On the one end is Engraven, not very curiously, the
Resemblance of a Genius, holding a
the other is a Flower-pot somewhat better performed,
but a little endamaged by the softness of the Stone.
The backside opposite to the Inscription, is adorned with
a pretty sort of
space. On the top in a pretty deep Cavity, is a full
Face of a Man, almost such as they Paint the Sun or
Full Moon withal, with a Cap upon his Head, of which
as yet I cannot comprehend the Design; I submit it to
the Disquisition of the Society; and if it be thought
requisite, I will more particularly inspect and describe
this Stone, which is in the Custody of one Prescot
has several curiosities by him, which I am promised
to peruse.
The Stone of this place, which is soft, reddish, grit,
and very friable, with shining Particles intermixt, is
very apt to decay with the Weather, so that all Old
Buildings are very much defaced thereby, and the Walls
which are Built thereof, are so frequently out of Repair,
that they have Officers on purpose, whom they call
Murengers, who do gradually refit them, where they
are most worn out; in some places the Stone is in a
manner moulded away like Sammel Bricks in a Wall,
leaving the Mortar standing. In these Stones, and the
Quarries from whence they came
sought for Shells, or other Animal Substances, such as
are often found in other palces, but hitherto have found
no such things: But the Stone is generally intersperst
with Pebbles and small Flints, which, as the stone de
cays, do discover themsevles within it, as if they had
been lodged in the Sand, whereof the Stone consists be
fore its Induration.
Lister
of the Texture and Figure of an old Roman Shield of
the Parma Kind, that I had then newly procured; I have
since got another Curiosity relating to their Plasticks,
'tis part of the
Pieces for the Conveniency of Baking) of an old Roman
Coffin, that was lately dug up in their Burying-Place out
of
Urns mentioned in the November Transactions
of the Red Clay but not so fine as the Urns, having a
greater Quantity of course Sand wrought in with the
Clay; as to the Form (which is entire as it was at first
moulded) 'tis Fourteen Inches and an half long, and
about Eleven broad at the narrower End, and nigh
Twelve and an half at the broader; this was the lowest
part, for the Feet and the rest were proportionably
broader till it came to the Shoulders; 'tis an Inch thick
besides the Ledges, which are One broad and Two thick,
and extend from the bottom of either side to within
Three Inches of the top, where 'tis wholly flat, and
somewhat thinner for the next to lye upon it, which se
veral Parts were thus joyn'd together by some Pin, I
presume, for at the end of each Tile is a Hole that wou'd
receive a common Slate-Pin, these Edges are wrought a
little hollow, to receive the Sides, I suppose, and at the
Feet are Two contrary Notches to fasten the End-piece,
this Bottom I should conclude to have consisted strictly
of Eight such Parts, from a like Character 8 imprest up
on the Clay by the Sandapilarius's Finger before its Ba
king, but that I somewhat doubt whether Numeral Figures be of that Antiquity in these European Parts, tho' I
see no reason to conclude that because the Romans used
the Numeral Letters upon their more durable Monu
ments, that they were utterly Strangers to these Figures,
which (notwithstanding the common Opinion of their
Novelty here) the learned Wallis
least, as the Times of An. Dom
their Use here in An. 1133Philosoph. Transact.
Numb. 154.
dug up in Giles
blew Clay I have seen Roman
Shuttle, about Three Inches and an half long, but not
one broad in the very middle, the hollow for the Licium
being but one fourth of an Inch in the broadest Place,
shews that it was either for Silk or very fine Linnen, per
haps their Asbestinum or Incombustible Winding-Sheets Roman Pottle from
than the
that I might observe the difference betwixt their Congius
(of which I take this to be strictly the half) and our
Gallon, and this comes the nighest Graves
tation, containing Three Pints and an half the Winchester
Measure.
Clay, I have by me Part
of the Bottom, which (for the Convenien
cy of baking, I presume) was divided into several
such Parts; this
is entire as first molded by the Romans, is 14
½ Inches long, and al
most 11 broad at the narrower End, and nigh 12 ½ at
the broader:
This was the lowest Part for the Feet, the rest were proportionably
broader
to the Shoulder; it is an Inch thick besides the Ledges, which
are two in Thickness, and
one in Breadth, and extend from the nar
rower End to within three Inches of the broader,
where it is flat from
Edge to Edge, and somewhat thinner for the next to ly upon it.
Which several Parts seem to have been joined together by a Pin; for
at the End of each
Tile is a Hole that would receive a common Slate-Pin,
the Ledges are wrought a
little Hollow, to receive the Sides, I presume;
and at the Feet are two contrary Notches
to fasten the End-piece.
This Bottom I should conclude to have consisted strictly
of eight such
Parts, from a like Character 8 impress'd upon the Clay by the Sandapilarius's Finger, before its baking, but that I doubt numeral
Figures can
not plead that Antiquity in these European Parts;
though it appears by
a Letter of Wallis England, An.
at Burgdunum.
a specimen of
rWal
lis's