| Description | ' As you seem desirous of seeing the magic Circle I mention'd to you, I have revis'd the one I made many Years since, and with some Improvements, send it to you.
I have made it as distinct as I could, by using Inks of different Colours for the several Sets of interwoven Circles; and yet the whole makes so perplext an Appearance, that I doubted whether the Eye could in all Cases easily trace the Circle of Numbers one would examine, thro' all the Maze of Circles intersected by it. I have therefore, in the middle Circle, mark'd the Centers of the Green, Red, Yellow, and Blue Sets; so that when you would cast up the Numbers in any Circle of either of those Colours, if you fix one Foot of the Compasses in the Center of the same Colour, and extend the other to any Numbers in that Circle, it will pass round over all the rest successfully.
This magic Circle has more Properties than are mention'd in the Description of it, some of them curious & even surprising; but I could not mark them all without occasioning more Confusion in the Figure, nor easily describe them without too much Writing. When I have next the Pleasure of seeing you, I will point them out.
I am, Dear Sir,
Your most obedient
humble Servant
B Franklin
PS You have my union Square of 8, and the great perfect one of 16: - I enclose one of 6, & one of 4, which I assure you I found more difficult to make, (particularly that of 6) tho' nothing near so good. '
'A Magical Circle of Circles' is shown on the next page, with explanation |