Puzzles Old and New (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from Puzzles Old and New The Natural History of the Puzzle has yet to be written. It is a plant of very ancient growth, as (witness the riddle of the Sphinx, solved by (edipus, and the enigma wherewith Samson confounded his Philistine adversaries. Homer is said by Plutarch to have died of chagrin at being unable to guess a riddle; and folklore abounds in instances Where the Winning of a princess, or the issue of some perilous adventure, is made to depend upon success in solving some puzzle, verbal or otherwise. In more modern times grave mathematicians, like Cardan and Euler, have not disdained to employ their leisure in the fabrication of posers for the puzzlement of their less erudite compeers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.