- In Mathematicks he was greater
- Than Tycho Brahe, or Ezra Pater:
- For he by Geometrick scale
- Could take the size of Pots of Ale;
- Resolve by Signes and Tangents straight,
- If Bread or Butter wanted weight;
- And wisely tell what hour o'th day
- The Clock does strike, by Algebra.
Samuel Butler (1612-1680)
