Posted by John Collins (194.164.38.169) on June 08, 2003 at 23:27:18:
In Reply to: Re: Question for John posted by David on June 08, 2003 at 15:17:15:
Apologies David,I misunderstood your point. Yes I think that JB's actions sustain the belief that he was genuine. His over-riding concern was that the secret of his wheel's construction was kept safe. His previous actions certainly uphold that belief. If he had been imprisoned his home would have been rifled and the MT found and the way his wheel was made, in the possession of others. His potential fortune would be lost to him. I think that he destroyed the papers because it was too dangerous to keep such information on hand. He had been burgled before and lost some books and he would be highly sensitive to history repeating itself.
JC
: You think it makes him sound genuine? What sounds funny to me is why would you burn and destroy evidence that supports your story?
: : : NB. 1st May, 1733. Due to the arrest, I burned and buried all papers that prove the possibility. However, I have left all demonstrations and experiments, since it would be difficult for anybody to see or learn anything about a perpetual motion from them or to decide whether there was any truth in them because no illustration by itself contains a description of the motion...