Benjamin Robins: Anonymous pamphlets and reports of 1739--1742, shortly summarized (Q1315747)

Benjamin Robins (1707-51) was a mathematician and military engineer, noted for his invention of the ballistic pendulum. But the author's article does not address that or any other scientific work of Robins. Rather, the article surveys several political writings, whose ties to Robins are uncertain. These anonymous pamphlets and committee reports were attributed to Robins by James Wilson in 1761, but the author ``has to acknowledge that he has encountered no written record of Robins having been involved''. Indeed, the author unconsciously argues against Robins' authorship of one of the reports: ``Usually, the quality of the writings of Robins is unreservedly praised by his friends and readers; yet on this occasion, such is clearly far from being the case. There is [sic] an excessive repetition of certain words and phrases and frequent deficiencies in punctuation.'' (As can be seen by the above quotation, the author's own writing style is not beyond reproach.) In short, the political papers surveyed are of dubious relevance to the history of science.