Gauss A Biographical Study
Procreare iucundum, sed parturire molestum. (Gauss, sec. Eisenstein) The plan of this book was first conceived eight years ago. The manuscript developed slowly through several versions until it attained its present form in 1979. It would be inappropriate
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Carl Friedrich Gauss
w.
K. Buhler
Gauss
A Biographical Study With 10 Illustrations
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York
AMS Subject Classification (1980): 01A55, 01A70
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Biihler, Walter Kaufmann-, 1944Gauss: a biographical study Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Gauss, Karl Friedrich, 1777 - 1855. 2. Mathematicians-Germany-Biography. 510'.92'4 [B] 80-29515 QA29.G3B83
Frontispiece: Gauss in 1803, after a portrait by J.C.A. Schwartz
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form without written permission from Springer-Verlag.
© 1981 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1981 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN-13: 978-3-642-49209-9 DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-49207-5
e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-49207-5
Preface Procreare iucundum, sed parturire molestum. (Gauss, sec. Eisenstein)
The plan of this book was first conceived eight years ago. The manuscript developed slowly through several versions until it attained its present form in 1979. It would be inappropriate to list the names of all the friends and advisors with whom I discussed my various drafts but I should like to mention the name of Mr. Gary Cornell who, besides discussing with me numerous details of the manuscript, revised it stylistically. There is much interest among mathematicians to know more about Gauss's life, and the generous help I received has certainly more to do with this than with any individual, positive or negative, aspect of my manuscript. Any mistakes, errors of judgement, or other inadequacies are, of course, the author's responsibility. The most incisive and, in a way, easiest decisions I had to make were those of personal taste in the choice and treatment of topics. Much had to be omitted or could only be discussed in a cursory way. Nicolaus von Fuss, a man not unknown to the student of Gauss's life, begins his "Lobrede auf Herro Euler" (Euler, Opera I) with a wonderful description of the biographer's task: To describe the life of a great man who distinguishes his century by a considerable degree of enlightenment is to eulogize the human mind. *
This biography is an attempt to follow Fuss's program, even though I do not know whether Gauss would have subscribed to his enlightened statement. He would not, I hope, have objected to it in connection with the lives of the very great ones, Archimedes and Newton. The book contains many quotations, even lengthy passages, from Gauss's writings. Originally, I intended to quote in the original languages but was
*Fuss continues with an extensive list of requirements which a oiographer should satisfy. I cannot disagree with him; nor can I claim to know as much as Fuss demands.
vi
PREFACE
persuaded to translate these passages into English. Stylistically this is no gain, because Gauss's German is clear and very energetic--kraftvoll, as one might say in German. The originals of nearly all the quotations can be found in the "Notes" section at the end of the book. Finally, I
