(eBook PDF) Number Theory and Geometry: An

Introduction to Arithmetic Geometry pdf download

https://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-number-theory-and-
geometry-an-introduction-to-arithmetic-geometry/

Download more ebook from https://ebooksecure.com

We believe these products will be a great fit for you. Click
the link to download now, or visit ebooksecure.com
to discover even more!

(eBook PDF) Geometry 1st Edition

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-geometry-1st-edition/

(eBook PDF) Foundations of Geometry 2nd Edition

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-foundations-of-
geometry-2nd-edition/

(eBook PDF) Roads to Geometry 3rd Edition by Edward C.

Wallace

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-roads-to-geometry-3rd-
edition-by-edward-c-wallace/

(eBook PDF) Algebra and Trigonometry with Analytic

Geometry 13th Edition

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-algebra-and-
trigonometry-with-analytic-geometry-13th-edition/
(Original PDF) Axiomatic Geometry by John M. Lee

http://ebooksecure.com/product/original-pdf-axiomatic-geometry-
by-john-m-lee/

(eBook PDF) The Geometry of Higher-Dimensional

Polytopes

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-the-geometry-of-higher-
dimensional-polytopes/

Geometry for Naval Architects 1st edition - eBook PDF

https://ebooksecure.com/download/geometry-for-naval-architects-
ebook-pdf/

(eBook PDF) Elementary Number Theory 2nd Edition

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-elementary-number-
theory-2nd-edition/

(eBook PDF) Geometry 1st Edition by Elayn Martin-Gay

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-geometry-1st-edition-by-
elayn-martin-gay/
 Pure and Applied
Sally
The UNDERGRADUATE TEXTS 35
SERIES

Number Theory
and Geometry
An Introduction to
Arithmetic Geometry

Álvaro Lozano-Robledo
 CONTENTS

Preface xiii

Chapter 1. Introduction 1
1.1. Roots of Polynomials 2
1.2. Lines 5
1.3. Quadratic Equations and Conic Sections 7
1.4. Cubic Equations and Elliptic Curves 11
1.5. Curves of Higher Degree 14
1.6. Diophantine Equations 16
1.7. Hilbert’s Tenth Problem 21
1.8. Exercises 23

Part 1. Integers, Polynomials, Lines, and Congruences

Chapter 2. The Integers 29

2.1. The Axioms of Z 29
2.2. Consequences of the Axioms 31
2.3. The Principle of Mathematical Induction 33
2.4. The Division Theorem 38
2.5. The Greatest Common Divisor 41
2.6. Euclid’s Algorithm to Calculate a GCD 42
2.7. Bezout’s Identity 43
2.8. Integral and Rational Roots of Polynomials 47
2.9. Integral and Rational Points in a Line 48
2.10. The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic 51
2.11. Exercises 55
vii
viii Contents

Chapter 3. The Prime Numbers 61

3.1. The Sieve of Eratosthenes 62
3.2. The Infinitude of the Primes 63
3.3. Theorems on the Distribution of Primes 67
3.4. Famous Conjectures about Prime Numbers 72
3.5. Exercises 79

Chapter 4. Congruences 83
4.1. The Definition of Congruence 84
4.2. Basic Properties of Congruences 86
4.3. Cancellation Properties of Congruences 89
4.4. Linear Congruences 90
4.5. Systems of Linear Congruences 94
4.6. Applications 102
4.7. Exercises 113

Chapter 5. Groups, Rings, and Fields 119

5.1. Z/mZ 119
5.2. Groups 124
5.3. Rings 130
5.4. Fields 138
5.5. Rings of Polynomials 140
5.6. Exercises 149

Chapter 6. Finite Fields 155

6.1. An Example 155
6.2. Polynomial Congruences 156
6.3. Irreducible Polynomials 159
n
6.4. Fields with p Elements 160
2
6.5. Fields with p Elements 161
6.6. Fields with s Elements 163
6.7. Exercises 164

Chapter 7. The Theorems of Wilson, Fermat, and Euler 167

7.1. Wilson’s Theorem 167
7.2. Fermat’s (Little) Theorem 170
7.3. Euler’s Theorem 176
7.4. Euler’s Phi Function 181
7.5. Applications 184
7.6. Exercises 188
Contents ix

Chapter 8. Primitive Roots 193

8.1. Multiplicative Order 195
8.2. Primitive Roots 200
8.3. Universal Exponents 203
8.4. Existence of Primitive Roots Modulo p 205
8.5. Primitive Roots Modulo pk 210
8.6. Indices 214
8.7. Existence of Primitive Roots Modulo m 220
8.8. The Structure of (Z/pk Z)× 222
8.9. Applications 224
8.10. Exercises 230

Part 2. Quadratic Congruences and Quadratic Equations

Chapter 9. An Introduction to Quadratic Equations 237
9.1. Product of Two Lines 238
9.2. A Classification: Parabolas, Ellipses, and Hyperbolas 248
9.3. Rational Parametrizations of Conics 255
9.4. Integral Points on Quadratic Equations 260
9.5. Exercises 268
Chapter 10. Quadratic Congruences 271
10.1. The Quadratic Formula 272
10.2. Quadratic Residues 275
10.3. The Legendre Symbol 279
10.4. The Law of Quadratic Reciprocity 284
10.5. The Jacobi Symbol 290
10.6. Cipolla’s Algorithm 296
10.7. Applications 298
10.8. Exercises 305
Chapter 11. The Hasse–Minkowski Theorem 309
11.1. Quadratic Forms 309
11.2. The Hasse–Minkowski Theorem 313
11.3. An Example of Hasse–Minkowski 318
11.4. Polynomial Congruences for Prime Powers 324
11.5. The p-Adic Numbers 328
11.6. Hensel’s Lemma 331
11.7. Exercises 333
x Contents

Chapter 12. Circles, Ellipses, and the Sum of Two Squares Problem 337
12.1. Rational and Integral Points on a Circle 337
12.2. Pythagorean Triples 343
12.3. Fermat’s Last Theorem for n = 4 347
12.4. Ellipses 348
12.5. Quadratic Fields and Norms 350
12.6. Integral Points on Ellipses 353
2 2
12.7. Primes of the Form X + BY 353
12.8. Exercises 356

Chapter 13. Continued Fractions 361

13.1. Finite Continued Fractions 363
13.2. Infinite Continued Fractions 370
13.3. Approximations of Irrational Numbers 386
13.4. Exercises 389

Chapter 14. Hyperbolas and Pell’s Equation 393

14.1. Square Hyperbolas 393
14.2. Pell’s Equation x − By = 1
2 2
395
14.3. Generalized Pell’s Equations x − By = N
2 2
401
14.4. Exercises 409

Part 3. Cubic Equations and Elliptic Curves

Chapter 15. An Introduction to Cubic Equations 413

15.1. The Projective Line and Projective Space 415
15.2. Singular Cubic Curves 422
15.3. Weierstrass Equations 425
15.4. Exercises 433

Chapter 16. Elliptic Curves 437

16.1. Definition 438
16.2. Integral Points 441
16.3. The Group Structure on E(Q) 441
16.4. The Torsion Subgroup 447
16.5. Elliptic Curves over Finite Fields 449
16.6. The Rank and the Free Part of E(Q) 455
16.7. Descent and the Weak Mordell–Weil Theorem 459
16.8. Homogeneous Spaces 467
16.9. Application: The Elliptic Curve Diffie–Hellman Key Exchange 471
16.10. Exercises 473
Contents xi

Bibliography 479
Index 483
 PREFACE

Why are numbers beautiful? It’s like asking why is

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony beautiful. If you don’t
see why, someone can’t tell you. I know numbers
are beautiful. If they aren’t beautiful, nothing is.

Paul Erdős

Geometry and the theory of numbers are as old as some of the oldest historical
records of humanity. Since Euclid’s Elements and Diophantus’s Arithmetica, many
excellent geometry and number theory texts have been written, including timeless
classics such as [HW38]. As we shall lay out in more detail in Chapter 1, the
approach of this book is slightly different from more traditional sources, in that
the emphasis is in the interactions of number theory with geometry. The field of
arithmetic geometry, which appears in the subtitle of this book, is indeed the study
of the intersection of number theory (arithmetic) and algebraic geometry. The au-
thor’s reason for this more geometric point of view is the following. Some of the
traditional number theory textbooks may seem (to the student) a list of topics, each
of which may be of important historical value but that do not readily appear to
form a coherent set of topics, well integrated with each other (e.g., prime numbers,
congruences, perfect numbers, quadratic reciprocity, and continued fractions). Of
course, number theorists understand that these topics are deeply interconnected,
and one way to highlight the interwoven nature of number theory is through ge-
ometry. In this text, the goal is to use geometry as the motivation to prove the
main theorems in the book. For example, the fundamental theorem of arithmetic
(the fact that every integer n ≥ 2 has a unique factorization as a product of prime
numbers) is a consequence of the tools we develop in order to find all the integral
points on a line in the plane (i.e., the points (x0 , y0 ) on a line L : ax + by = c with
integer coordinates x0 and y0 ). Similarly, Gauss’s law of quadratic reciprocity and
the theory of continued fractions naturally arise when we attempt to determine the
integral points on a curve in the plane given by a quadratic polynomial equation.
xiii
xiv Preface

In Chapter 1 we give a brief overview of the types of diophantine equations

(i.e., systems of equations given by polynomials) that are the objects of study. The
rest of the book is structured in three acts that correspond to linear, quadratic,
and cubic curves, respectively.
(I) In Part 1 we introduce the basic tools of number theory. In particular, we
discuss the integers and prime numbers and develop the theory of (linear) con-
gruences. We also introduce some basic concepts of abstract algebra (groups,
rings, fields) using congruence classes as a motivating example. These tools
are applied to determine rational solutions of polynomials in one variable and
the integral and rational points on lines in the plane.
(II) In Part 2 we study quadratic equations in one and two variables. We de-
velop the theory of quadratic congruences, we describe the theorem of Hasse
and Minkoswki (without a proof), and we also introduce continued fractions.
The material is then used to find the integral and rational points on conics:
parabolas, ellipses, and hyperbolas.
(III) Part 3 is a brief introduction to the theory of cubic curves. After discussing
the projective line and projective space and learning how to work with singular
cubic curves, we concentrate on non-singular cubics, and we give a summary
of the theory of elliptic curves (projective non-singular cubic curves with at
least one rational point).
A number of chapters end with applications of the theory to other topics and,
in particular, we highlight the cryptographic applications in Sections 4.6.4, 7.5.3,
8.9.1, 10.7.2, and 16.9.
The book contains much more material than can be covered in a one-semester
undergraduate course. For a first course in number theory or arithmetic geometry,
we recommend covering Chapters 1 through 10 (Chapter 6 on finite fields is op-
tional). For a second course in arithmetic (or diophantine) geometry, the instructor
can cover Chapters 9 through 16 (Chapter 11 on the Hasse–Minkowski theorem is
optional). The text assumes that the student has had a sequence of courses in
calculus, up to multivariable calculus (a familiarity with matrices is assumed in
some exercises). It is recommended that the student has seen an introduction to
proofs before reading this book. However, the first few chapters have the secondary
goal of providing practice in proof-writing, and they include a review of proofs by
induction, in particular.
The material in this text ends where [Loz11] begins. There are, of course,
many other undergraduate sources on number theory that are highly recommended:
[AC95], [Bur10], [Chi95], [Con1], [Gou97], [HW38], [HPS14], [Ros10],
[ST92], [Sil12], [Ste08], [Was08], and [Wei17], among many others. At the grad-
uate level, the volumes [DF03], [IR98], [Lor96], [Mil06], [Ser73], and [Sil86] are
excellent introductions to various aspects of algebra, number theory, and arithmetic
geometry.

I started writing my own notes when I taught elementary number theory courses
at Cornell University (in the fall of 2006 and 2007) and at the University of Con-
necticut (in the fall of 2008 and 2011 and the spring of 2014). This book grew out
Preface xv

of these notes and the lectures of a special topics course (on diophantine geometry)
that I taught at UConn in the fall of 2012. I would like to thank Keith Conrad for
many suggestions and corrections. Also, I would like to thank the UConn under-
graduate students in my class “MATH 3240Q: Introduction to Number Theory” for
carefully reading my notes and providing useful feedback and criticism. In particu-
lar, I would like to thank Lia Bonacci, Heather Clinton, Jeremy Driscoll, Randolph
Forsyth, Carly Gaccione, Taylor Garboski, Tom Jones, Gregory Knight, David
Khondkaryan, Pravesh Mallik, Nicole Raymond, Heather Risley, Antonio Rossini,
and Rachel Tangard for their comments, and special thanks go to Michael Lau and
Byron Sitaras for their many and very detailed comments. Finally, I would like to
thank Jason Dorfman (CSAIL/MIT), the Wikimedia Commons, and the Archives
of the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach for their permission to use
the images from their collections that appear in this book.
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

As long as algebra and geometry have been

separated, their progress have been slow and their
uses limited; but when these two sciences have been
united, they have lent each mutual forces, and have
marched together towards perfection.

Joseph-Louis Lagrange, 1795

The main goal of this book is to study N, Z, and Q, i.e., the natural numbers,
the integers, and the rational numbers:

N = {1, 2, 3, . . .},
Z = {. . . , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .},
m 
Q= : m, n ∈ Z, n = 0 .
n
In the next chapter, we will be much more careful defining these sets using axioms,
but, for now, we appeal to our intuition of the properties that these numbers satisfy.
One can study these sets of numbers from their intrinsic properties, and much can
be gained from such an endeavor, but in this book we study these sets from the
point of view of their interaction with geometric objects (graphs of polynomials,
lines in the plane, conics, elliptic curves, etc.).
Our generic approach will be as follows: we will define a geometric object G
and then we will try to find all the points in the geometric object with coordinates
in N, Z, or Q, which we will denote by G(N), G(Z), and G(Q), respectively. As
we attempt to find the natural, integral, or rational points, we will develop the
theory that is usually called “elementary number theory”. Our approach will use
the problem of finding arithmetic points on a geometric object as the motivation
for the definitions and techniques of elementary number theory. Let us begin with
our first example.
1
2 1. Introduction

1.1. Roots of Polynomials

We begin this section with a discussion about polynomials and, in particular, which
polynomials have roots in a given number system. Roots of polynomials will be
treated in more detail in Part 1, and in particular in Section 2.8. We will also
discuss polynomials (as a ring) in Section 5.5.
A polynomial p(x) is an expression of the form
p(x) = an xn + an−1 xn−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0 ,
where n ≥ 0 is a non-negative integer and a0 , a1 , . . . , an are constants (in Z or Q
or R, for example). By a polynomial equation, we mean an equation that can be
expressed in the form p(x) = 0, for some polynomial p(x). A root of the polynomial
equation p(x) = 0 is a number α such that p(α) = 0.
For humans, it is natural to work with the natural numbers N = {1, 2, 3, . . .}
as we often need to count things in our daily routine. However, as soon as we try
to solve the simplest linear polynomial equations using only natural numbers, we
run into problems. An equation of the form
(1.1) 3+x=5
has a (unique!) solution in N, namely x = 2. But the similar equation
(1.2) 5+x=3
has no solutions in N, since 5 + x > 5 > 3, for any x ∈ N. Indeed, if a and b are
natural numbers, then an equation a + x = b has a solution in N if and only if a < b.
Thus, in order to solve (1.2), we need to augment N to include all numbers of the
form −n, where n ∈ N. Notice that we also need to include 0 to be able to solve an
equation of the form 5 + x = 5. Thus, we define Z = {. . . , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .}
and every equation of the form
(1.3) a + x = b,
where a, b ∈ Z, has a (unique!) solution x = b − a in Z. The integers, however, are
not enough to solve an equation of the form
(1.4) 5x = 3
as there is no integer n such that 5n = 3 (indeed, the number 3 is prime and its only
positive divisors are 1 and 3). More generally, an equation of the form ax + b = 0,
with a, b ∈ Z and a = 0, has solutions in Z if and only if a is a divisor of b. In
order to be able to solve all equations of the form ax + b = 0, we need to augment
Z to be a number system such that every non-zero number has a multiplicative
inverse. And so, we define Q = { m n : m, n ∈ Z, n = 0}. Now every linear equation
a ∈ Q.
ax + b = c, with a, b, c ∈ Q and a = 0, has a unique solution x = c−b
How about quadratic polynomials? Do they all have roots in Q? Of course not.
√ instance, the polynomial x − 2 = 0 does not have any rational
2
For √ roots because
2 is not a rational number. (In order to rigorously prove that 2 ∈ Q we will
first need to prove the fundamental theorem of arithmetic! See Theorems √ 2.10.2
and 2.10.6 and Section 2.10.1.)
√ We usually represent numbers such as 2 by their
decimal expansion, i.e., 2 = 1.41421356237309 . . . . The decimal expansion of a
1.1. Roots of Polynomials 3

rational number has a period, i.e., the expansion eventually repeats a given pattern
of finitely many digits (why?). For example,
13
= 0.76470588235294117647058823529411 . . . 7647058823529411 . . . .
17
Conversely, any decimal expansion that√ has a period represents a rational number
(see Section √
8.9.2). The expansion of 2 has no period, as we have already men-
tioned that 2 ∈ Q. In order to be able to solve quadratic equations (and other
higher-degree polynomial equations), one can augment Q to include all decimal ex-
pansions and not only those that are periodic. This leads to an informal definition
of the real numbers:
R = {set of all decimal expansions},
with the usual identification of decimals with “trailing nines”; e.g., the expan-
sion 0.9999 . . ., with infinitely many nines, is equal to the decimal expansion 1 =
1.0000 . . . (see Exercise 1.8.1).
Unfortunately, not all quadratic polynomial equations ax2 + bx + c = 0, with
a, b, c ∈ R and a = 0, have a solution in R. In fact, ax2 + bx + c = 0, with
a, b, c ∈ R and a = 0, has a solution in R if and only if b2 − 4ac ≥ 0. Similarly, there
are higher-degree polynomials with no roots in R. For instance, the polynomial
equation x4 + x3 + x2 + x + 1 = 0 has no real roots.
In order to ameliorate the “shortcomings” of R, we would like to augment R
so that, at least, all quadratic polynomials have a root. In order to accomplish
this, it is sufficient to add a square root of −1 to R, which we shall denote by i, an
imaginary number such that i2 = −1. Indeed, a polynomial p(x) = ax2 +bx+c = 0,
with a, b, c ∈ R and a = 0, with b2 − 4ac ≥ 0 has real roots
√
−b ± b2 − 4ac
x= ,
2a
and if b2 − 4ac < 0, then p(x) = 0 has roots

−b ± i |b2 − 4ac|
x= .
2a
Therefore, if we define the complex numbers as
C = {a + bi : a, b ∈ R, i2 = −1},
then all linear and quadratic polynomials with coefficients in C have roots in√C (the
reader needs to verify that every complex number α ∈ C has a square root α also
in C; see Exercise 1.8.6). Perhaps one of the most surprising and beautiful theorems
in algebra is that, in fact, every non-constant polynomial (of arbitrary degree ≥ 1)
with coefficients in C has a root in C. This is known as the fundamental theorem
of algebra.
Theorem 1.1.1 (Fundamental theorem of algebra). Let p(x) be a polynomial of
degree ≥ 1 with coefficients in C. Then, there is α ∈ C such that p(α) = 0.

For example, let p(x) = x4 + x3 + x2 + x + 1. As we mentioned above, p(x)

is a polynomial that has no real roots. The number α = cos( 2π 2π
5 ) + i sin( 5 ) is a
4 1. Introduction

complex root of p(x). Indeed, by Euler’s formula

eix = cos x + i · sin x,
we have that α = e2πi/5 . Moreover,
x5 − 1
x4 + x3 + x2 + x + 1 = ,
x−1
and α5 − 1 = (e2πi/5 )5 − 1 = e2πi − 1 = 1 − 1 = 0. Thus, p(α) = 0 as well.
Complex numbers are fascinating in their own right, and there is a whole area
of mathematics dedicated to the study of C and complex-valued functions, namely
the area known as complex analysis. Here, however, we are (mostly) interested in,
and shall concentrate on, the study of N, Z, and Q. Let us try to find out when a
polynomial with integer coefficients has a rational root.
Example 1.1.2. Let p(x) = 3x3 − 44x2 − 257x + 190 be a polynomial. We would
like to find the natural (N), integral (Z), or rational (Q) roots of p(x); i.e., we want
to find those natural, integral, or rational numbers x that satisfy p(x) = 0. Suppose
that the natural number n ∈ N is a root of p(x). Then,
p(n) = 3n3 − 44n2 − 257n + 190 = 0,
and we may rewrite this expression as n(3n2 − 44n − 257) = −190. Since n is a
natural number, the number 3n2 − 44n − 257 is an integer (not necessarily in N)
and we may conclude that n would necessarily be a divisor of −190. The list of
natural divisors of −190 is L = {1, 2, 5, 10, 19, 38, 95, 190}. Thus, we can try to see
whether any of these numbers n ∈ L is a root of p(x) by calculating p(n). After
carrying this out, we find that the only natural number that is a root of p(x) is
n = 19.
Are there any integral roots of p(x) that are not natural numbers? If n ∈ Z
and p(n) = 0, the expression n(3n2 − 44n − 257) = −190 is still valid, and we
may also conclude that n must be a divisor of −190. The integer divisors of −190
are those in the list L = {±1, ±2, ±5, ±10, ±19, ±38, ±95, ±190}. Since we have
already checked that the only natural root is 19, we only need to check whether any
of the negative divisors is a root. In this manner, we find that n = 19 and n = −5
are the only integral roots of p(x).
Finally, we wish to find out whether p(x) has any rational roots. Since we know
that 19 and −5 are roots, we deduce that f (x) = (x + 5)(x − 19) is a factor of p(x)
as polynomials (here we are using the so-called root theorem, Corollary 5.5.15). We
may divide p(x) by f (x) to find a third linear factor, and therefore the value of the
third root of p(x). Instead, we shall approach this using a divisibility method that
works more generally. Suppose m n ∈ Q is a reduced fraction (i.e., m and n share no
common divisors) and it is a root of p(x). Then,
m  m 3  m 2 m
p =3 − 44 − 257 + 190 = 0.
n n n n
3
If we multiply this expression by n , we obtain
3m3 − 44m2 n − 257mn2 + 190n3 = 0.
This expression can be rewritten as m(3m2 − 44mn − 257n2 ) = −190n3 . This is
an equality of integer numbers and we may deduce that m is a divisor of −190n3 .
1.2. Lines 5

Since m and n share no common divisors, it follows that m is a divisor of −190; i.e.,
m ∈ L with L as defined above. The same displayed expression can be rewritten
as 3m3 = n(44m2 + 257mn − 190n2 ) and, once again, we may deduce a divisibility
property. In this case, we deduce that n is a divisor of 3m3 . Since m and n share no
common divisors, we conclude that n is an integer divisor of 3 and so n ∈ {±1, ±3}.
Therefore, if m/n ∈ Q is a rational root of p(x), we have shown that m ∈ L and
n ∈ {±1, ±3}. Now it is a matter of checking whether any of these rational numbers
are actually roots, and we find that m 2
n = 3 is indeed the third root we were looking
for. Hence, the roots of p(x) are 19 ∈ N, −5 ∈ Z, and 23 ∈ Q.

The previous example motivates some of our first definitions and theorems in
the book (in Part 1). In the course of finding the roots of a polynomial, we have
relied heavily upon the theory of divisibility of natural and integer numbers (and
we alluded to divisibility of polynomials too). It is likely that the reader is perfectly
comfortable with many of the steps in the example, but one needs to carefully prove
some of them. For instance, at some point we used the following fact:
• If m, n, a, b are integers such that ma = nb and m and n share no common
factors (i.e., gcd(m, n) = 1), then m is a divisor of b and n is a divisor of a.
Although this fact may be intuitively true, we need a proof! In order to provide
a proof, we will need to establish first a number of basic facts about divisibility (see
Corollary 2.7.6). But, for now, let us see how our next two examples motivate the
study of the greatest common divisor of two integers.

1.2. Lines
In this section we discuss examples of the most basic 1-dimensional object: a line
in the plane. We will come back to studying points on a line in detail in Section
2.9.
Example 1.2.1. Let L : 5x + 17y = 1 be a line in the plane. See Figure 1.1. There
are infinitely many rational points in this line, and they can be found by solving
for one of the variables. For example, we may write
1 − 5x
y= ,
17
 
and it follows that Q = x0 , 1−5x17
0
is a point in L with rational coordinates, for
each rational number x0 . In fact, every rational point Q in L is of this form.
For instance, the points (0, 1/17) and (1, −4/17) are in L. Are there any points
(x0 , y0 ) ∈ L with integer coefficients, with x0 , y0 ∈ Z? A quick search for points
(using trial and error) reveals at least one point: (7, −2).
Are there more? Yes, in fact, there are infinitely many integral points of the
form Pk = (7 + 17k, −2 − 5k) where k ∈ Z. Let us check that these points belong
to L:
5(7 + 17k) + 17(−2 − 5k) = 35 + 5 · 17k − 34 − 5 · 17k = 35 − 34 = 1.
Interestingly, the points {Pk : k ∈ Z} are all the integral points on L, but this is
not so easy to prove (try!). This will be shown in Theorem 2.9.4.
6 1. Introduction

−2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

−1

L : 5x + 17y = 1 (7, -2)

−2

Figure 1.1. The line 5x + 17y = 1 passes through infinitely many integral points.

Example 1.2.2. Let L be the line in the plane with equation 5x + 15y = 1 (see
Figure 1.2).

2

L : 5x + 15y = 1
1

−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3

−1

−2

Figure 1.2. The line 5x + 15y = 1 does not pass through any integral point.

As in our previous example, there are infinitely many rational points on L


15 ) for any x0 ∈ Q. Are there any integral points on L ? It turns
given by (x0 , 1−5x0

out that there are none. Suppose m and n are integers with 5m + 15n = 1. Then,
5(m + 3n) = 1 and we have reached a contradiction because this equation implies
that 1 has a non-trivial factorization into integers (other than 1 = 1·1 = (−1)(−1)).
Another way to see this is that, in the integers, 5 is not a divisor of 1 (however, the
number 5 is a divisor of 1 in the rational numbers: 1 = 5 · 15 ).

Examples 1.2.1 and 1.2.2 show two lines L and L that behave very differently
when we look for integral points on them. Why is their behavior so different?
The reason, as we shall see, is that gcd(5, 17) = 1 while gcd(5, 15) = 5. Using an
argument similar to that in Example 1.2.2, one can show that a line L : ax+by = c,
with gcd(a, b) = d and d not a divisor of c, will have no integral points. Indeed,
if m, n ∈ Z satisfy am + bn = c, then d would be a divisor of c and that is a
1.3. Quadratic Equations and Conic Sections 7

contradiction to one of our assumptions. However, if gcd(a, b) = 1, why should

there be integral points on L ? For example, consider L : 1234x + 5007y = 1. Are
there integral points on L ? The greatest common divisor of 1234 and 5007 is 1
and, as we shall see, this implies the existence of integral points and, moreover, we
will describe an efficient algorithm to find these points (see Sections 2.6 and 2.7).
Here is one such point P = (−1481, 365):
1234(−1481) + 365(5007) = −1827554 + 1827555 = 1.
All other integral points are of the form (−1481+5007k, 365−1234k) for any k ∈ Z.

1.3. Quadratic Equations and Conic Sections

In this section we discuss several examples of rational and integral points on qua-
dratic equations in two variables, i.e., equations of the form
ax2 + bxy + cy 2 + dx + ey + f = 0,
where a, b, c, d, e, f are integers and a, b, or c is non-zero. When the graph of a
quadratic equation is smooth (non-singular; see Section 15.1.5), we call them conic
sections (because they arise as sections of cones; see Figure 9.5). We will discuss
quadratic equations and conic sections at length in Part 2.

Figure 1.3. Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780 – c. 850) was a
Persian mathematician, astronomer, and geographer. His treaty on algebra
contained the first systematic treatment of linear and quadratic equations, in-
cluding the first demonstration of the “completing the square” method. Image
source: Wikimedia Commons.

In our next example, we find rational points on a conic section (a hyperbola,

in this case).
Example 1.3.1. Let C : x2 − 7y 2 = 1 be a hyperbola in the plane. Can we find all
the rational points on C? Yes, and we will do so using a little bit of geometry. First,
notice that there are two (integral) points which are easily found, namely (±1, 0).
If we trace a line L that goes through P = (1, 0), it will intersect the hyperbola
8 1. Introduction

at exactly two points: the point P and a second point Q (since C is given by a
quadratic equation, the intersection with a line is formed by either no points or two
points). Let us find the second point of intersection, Q, in terms of the slope of L.
The equation of L is given by
L : y − 0 = m(x − 1),
where m is the slope of L.

1 x2 − 7y 2 = 1

(-4/3, 1/3)
x + 7y = 1 (1, 0)

−2 −1 0 1 2

−1

Figure 1.4. The hyperbola x2 − 7y 2 = 1 passes through infinitely many

rational points and also through infinitely many integral points.

Notice that L passes through P = (1, 0), as desired. Now we may find the
intersection of L and C by solving the system:

x2 − 7y 2 = 1,
y = m(x − 1).
Plugging the equation of L into the equation for C, we obtain
1 = x2 − 7(m(x − 1))2 = (1 − 7m2 )x2 + 14m2 x − 7m2 ,
or, equivalently, (1−7m2 )x2 +14m2 x−(1+7m2 ) = 0. Now we can use the quadratic
formula to solve for x:

−14m2 ± 142 m4 − 4(1 − 7m2 )(−(1 + 7m2 ))
x=
2(1 − 7m2 )

−14m2 ± 142 m4 + 4(1 − 72 m4 )
=
2(1 − 7m2 )
√
−14m ± 4
2
−14m2 ± 2
= =
2(1 − 7m2 ) 2(1 − 7m2 )
−7m2 ± 1 1 or
= = 7m2 +1
1 − 7m2 7m2 −1 .
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 It was in this abode of despair that he first met Mary Milliner, who
was ever afterwards associated with him. She was already old in
crime, though not in years, and was his initiator into the first
practical rogueries he knew. But he was a criminal by instinct, and
needed only introductions to the world of crime. Once shown the
methods in vogue, he not only became a master in their use, but
speedily improved upon them, to the wonderment and admiration of
all the cross-coves in London.
Released at length from durance, he and Mary Milliner set up a
vile establishment in Lewkenor's Lane, and later took a low public-
house, a resort of the padding-culls of the City—the sign of the
"Cock," in Cock Alley, Cripplegate.
Wild had also made acquaintance, while in the Wood Street
Compter, of a deep-dyed scoundrel, a certain Charles Hitchen, an ex-
City marshal, who had lost his post through irregular practices, and
had become an associate with and director of thieves, and an expert
blackmailer. Hitchen was his early instructor in the curious art of
acting as intermediary between the thieves and those persons who
had been robbed of goods, or had had their pockets picked of
watches and other valuable jewellery; but Wild was a genius in his
own way, with a talent for organisation never equalled in his line,
before or since, except perhaps by Moll Cutpurse, who flourished a
century earlier. Moll, however, was ever staunch to her friends and
accomplices, but Wild was always ready to sell his intimates and to
send them to the cart, if it were made worth his while. So their
careers run parallel for only a little distance and then widely
separate.
Wild in a very little time broke with Hitchen. He left his instructor
far behind, and did business on so Napoleonic a scale that he
speedily aroused the furious jealousy of his sometime associate,
who, unable to contain himself at the thought of Wild, once his
pupil, taking nearly all his profitable business away, published a
singular pamphlet, intended to expose the trade. This was styled
"The Regulator; or, a Discovery of Thieves, Thief-takers, and Locks":
"locks" being receivers of stolen property. It had not the desired
effect of spoiling his rival's trade; and Jonathan continued to thrive
amazingly. As a broker and go-between in nearly all the felonies of
his time committed in and immediately around London, he speedily
came to the front, and he was exceptional in that he most adroitly
and astonishingly doubled the parts of Receiver-General of stolen
property and self-styled "Thief-catcher-General of Great Britain and
Ireland."
It might at the first blush, and indeed even after long
consideration, seem impossible to pose with success at one and the
same time as the friend and the enemy of all who get their living on
the cross, but Jonathan Wild achieved the apparently impossible and
flourished exceedingly on the amazing paradox.
The first steps in this mesh of scoundrelism that Wild drew are not
sufficiently detailed, and Fielding's "History of the Late Mr. Jonathan
Wild the Great" is rather an effort in whimsical, satirical imagination
than in sheer biography. The considerable number of chap-book
"Lives" of this arch-villain are also absolutely untrustworthy. But it is
abundantly evident that he was a man of imagination and a master
at organising, for we find him the brain-centre of all the robberies
committed at that time in and around London, himself the secret,
supreme director of them all, and at the same time the apparently
"honest broker" who, for a consideration (quite after the old manner
of Moll Cutpurse), would undertake to restore missing property. This
self-appointed "Thief-taker" had numerous contingents, to each of
which was allotted its special work. One attended churches, another
visited the theatres, yet another detachment devoted their best
energies to the art of shop-lifting, and another still took situations as
domestic servants, and in that capacity made away with their
employers' plate and jewellery. It all seems like the fantastic
imagining of a novelist, but it is sufficiently real, and the theory of
mutual benefits accruing to Wild and his gang by this unnatural
alliance is quite sound. He received the stolen property and held it to
ransom, dividing (more or less unfairly) the amounts received with
his thieves, who could not, without running great risks, sell it. All
concerned benefited: the plundered citizens repurchased their
valuables cheaply, Wild took an excellent commission, and the
thieves, pickpockets, and highwaymen made a good living without
much risk. The reverse of this charming picture of distributed
benefits was the alarming increase of robberies and the decrease of
arrests and convictions; and another serious outcome of Wild's
organisation was that he absolutely commanded the lives of those
who worked with him. None with impunity offended the great man,
who was merciless in his revenge, swearing away the lives of those
who dared cross him. Among the numerous satirical old prints
relating to Jonathan Wild there is a gruesome picture of devils
lighting him with flaring torches on the red way to Hell, together
with a trophy of twenty-five hanging persons, men and women, all
duly named, whom he brought to the gallows as a result of
differences of opinion in the business matters between them, or
merely for the reason that they had outlasted their use and had
become inefficient thieves, and it would pay him better to secure
their conviction. And it is to be observed that in all this while he was
well known to be a director of robberies and receiver of stolen
goods. It was scandalously notorious that, while he advertised
himself in the newspapers as "Thief-catcher-General of Great Britain
and Ireland," he was colleague of those he professed to catch. And,
as the law then stood, he could not be brought to book. Everything
was possible to the cunning and daring of Jonathan Wild, who could
not merely bring a man to trial, but could snatch him from the very
jaws of death by making the prosecutor so drunk that he was not
present to give evidence at the trial; whereupon the accused was
discharged.
In fifteen years' activities of this kind, Wild amassed enormous
sums. He established himself in a fine house in the Old Bailey,
conveniently opposite Newgate, and there lived in fine style with his
Molly, the widow of a criminal who had been hanged at Tyburn. A
footman followed him in livery; he dined in state: "His table was very
splendid, he seldom dining under five Dishes, the Reversions
whereof were generally charitably bestow'd on the Commonside
felons." Jewellery and valuables not ransomed were shipped by him
to Holland, in a sloop he regularly maintained for the purpose,
bringing contraband goods on the return voyage.
There is this undoubted tribute to Jonathan Wild's greatness, that
Parliament was at last moved to pass an Act especially designed to
cope with his villainies, and to lay him by the heels. This was the Act
of 1718, "For the farther preventing Robberies, Burglaries, and other
Felonies, and for the more effectual transportation of Felons." A
portion of this measure constituted it a felony for any one to solicit
or to accept a reward on the pretence of restoring stolen property to
the owners, unless they prosecuted the thieves.
But this clause was evaded without much difficulty by the astute
Wild. He merely reconstituted his business, and made it an Enquiry
Office, where no money was accepted. Clients still came in numbers
to him, seeking their lost property, for it was certain, all the while,
that he had really a guilty knowledge of at least three-quarters of
the robberies committed in London. This revised procedure was for
the owners who called upon him to be informed that he had made
enquiries, and that he had heard the articles might be recovered if a
reward was despatched to a place named. The owners would then
generally, acting on his advice, send out, by the hands of a ticket-
porter (ticket-porters were the "commissionaires" of that period) the
reward agreed upon. The porter was instructed to wait at a street-
corner until a person delivered a package into his hands, whereupon
he was to hand over the reward. The celerity attending these
transactions was remarkable.
In other instances Wild would advise his clients to advertise their
loss and to offer a reward payable to any person who should deliver
the lost property to Mr. Jonathan Wild, or at his office; and no
questions asked. Perhaps the most marvellous thing in these
negotiations was the assumed disinterestedness of Mr. Jonathan
Wild himself, who, although the most notorious evil-doer in London,
posed delightfully as the instrument of good, restoring the lost
valuables of utter strangers entirely without fee or reward, from the
Christian love he bore the human race. Fielding truly styled him "the
Great Man."
Wild's impudence increased with his success, and he is found
petitioning the Corporation for the freedom of the City to be
conferred upon him, in recognition of his great services in bringing
criminals to justice. It does not appear that the City responded.
Wild's career first became seriously threatened early in 1724,
when, greatly alarmed for his own safety, he is found imploring the
Earl of Dartmouth to shield him from what he styles the
"persecution" of the magistrates, who, he declares, had procured
thieves and other bad characters to swear false evidence against
him. The scandal of Wild's continued existence had at last become
too gross for even that age. But his time was not yet come, and he
continued as before; mindful perhaps of the old adage, "threatened
men live long." He nearly ended, however, by a more summary
process than any known to the law; and entirely through his own
bloodthirsty treatment of "Blueskin," one of his own associates.
Joseph Blake, better known in all the stories of the highwaymen
as "Blueskin," who was hanged at Tyburn on November 11th, 1724,
was an expert highwayman, thief, and pickpocket—or, to speak in
the professional terms then in use among these fraternities, a
"bridle-cull," a "boman," and a "diver." He had long been a busy
servant of Jonathan, and frequently worked in company with Jack
Sheppard, but he would perhaps be little known in these later times
were it not for his having come very near sending the Great Man out
of the world, and thus cheating the gallows, already growing ripe for
him.
"Blueskin," rebelling, it may be presumed, against Wild on some
question of money, was promptly arrested by that astute Director-
General of Thieves, in his character of thief-taker, and committed to
Newgate on a charge of house-breaking. It was almost invariably
fatal to quarrel, or even to have a mere difference of opinion, with
that powerful and revengeful man. Wild was in court at the Old
Bailey, to give evidence, when "Blueskin" beckoned him over to the
dock. Inclining his ear to gather what the prisoner was pretending to
whisper, Wild instantly found himself seized in "Blueskin's" frenzied
grasp, and the court with horror saw his throat cut from ear to ear.
The deed was done with a penknife, and the wound was severe and
dangerous, but Wild eventually recovered, much to the surprise of
those who saw the ferocity of the attack, and greatly to the sorrow
of the criminal classes of London, who knew right well that they
were suffered to live only as long as they were useful and profitable
to Wild, and careful to exercise a due subservience to him.
 JONATHAN WILD IN THE CONDEMNED CELL.
From an old Print.

Indeed, it was at first thought that Wild must certainly die, and
Swift at that moment wrote the famous Blueskin's Ballad, of which
here are two verses:
 Then, hopeless of life,
He drew his penknife,
And made a sad widow of Jonathan's wife.
But forty pounds paid her, her grief shall appease,
And ev'ry man round me may rob, if he please.

Some rob in the customs, some cheat in the 'xcise,

But he who robs both is esteemèd most wise.
Churchwardens, who always have dreaded the halter,
As yet only venture to steal from the altar.
But now to get gold
They may be more bold
And rob on the highway, since honest Wild's cold;
For Blueskin's sharp penknife has set you at ease,
And ev'ry man round me may rob, if he please.

Swift, however, was in too great a hurry: Jonathan Wild did not
die then, and the thieves were not yet released from his iniquitous
bondage. His wife was not then made a "sad widow," although she
was soon to become one; and thus earned the remarkable
distinction of having been twice a "hempen widow."
In January of the following year, 1725, the captain of Wild's sloop,
a man named Roger Johnson, who had been arrested on a charge of
contraband trading with Holland, sent hurriedly to him. Wild, never
at a moment's loss, assembled a mob, and provoked a riot, by which
the prisoner was rescued.
Himself arrested at his own house in the Old Bailey, on February
15th, 1725, on a charge of being concerned in the theft of fifty yards
of lace from the shop of Catherine Stetham, in Holborn, on January
22nd, he was, after considerable delay, put upon his trial at the Old
Bailey on May 15th. The lace stolen was valued at £50.
He was further charged with feloniously receiving of Catherine
Stetham "ten guineas on account, and under colour of helping the
said Catherine Stetham to the said lace again; and that he did not
then, nor at any time since, discover or apprehend, or cause to be
apprehended and brought to Justice, the persons that committed the
said felony."
The evidence adduced at the trial is first-hand information of
Wild's method in organising a robbery. Henry Kelly, one of the chief
witnesses against him, told how he went on that day to see a Mrs.
Johnson who then lived at the prisoner's house. He found her at
home, and with her the great Jonathan and his Molly, and they
drank a quartern of gin together. By-and-by, in came a certain
woman named Peg Murphy with a pair of brocaded clogs, which she
presented to Mrs. Wild. After two or three more quarterns of gin had
passed round, Murphy and Henry Kelly rose to leave.
"Which way are you going?" asked Wild.
"To my lodging in 'Seven Dials,'" replied Kelly.
"I suppose," remarked Wild, "you go along Holborn?"
Both Kelly and Murphy answered that they did.
"Why, then," he said, "I'll tell you what: there's an old blind bitch
that keeps a shop within twenty yards of Holborn Bridge and sells
fine Flanders lace, and her daughter is as blind as herself. Now, if
you'll take the trouble of calling upon her, you may speak with a box
of lace. I'll go along with you, and show you the door."
The Judge at this moment intervened with the question, "What do
you understand by 'speaking with a box of lace'?"
Even in our own day judges are commonly found enquiring the
meaning of phrases whose significance is common knowledge which
one might reasonably suppose to be shared even on the Olympian
heights of the King's Bench and other exalted divisions of the High
Court. Every one in Jonathan Wild's day understood perfectly well
that to "speak with" a thing was to steal it, and this was duly
expounded to his lordship.
 Then Kelly went on to explain how Wild, himself, and Murphy went
along Holborn Hill until they came within sight of the lace-shop,
which Wild pointed out to them.
"You go," he said, "and I'll wait here and bring you off, in case of
any disturbance."

To all the Thieves, Whores, Pick-pockets, Family Fellons &c. in Great Brittain &
Ireland, Gentlemen & Ladies You are hereby desir'd to accompany yr worthy friend
ye Pious Mr. I——W—d from his Seat at Whittingtons Colledge to ye Tripple Tree,
where he's to make his last Exit on, and his Corps to be Carry'd from thence to be
decently Interr'd amongst his Ancestors.
Pray bring this Ticket with you
SATIRICAL INVITATION-CARD TO EXECUTION OF JONATHAN WILD.
Murphy and Kelly accordingly entered, in the character of
purchasers, and turned over several kinds of lace, pretending to be
very difficult to please. This piece was too broad, that too narrow,
and t'other not fine enough. At last the old woman went upstairs to
fetch a finer piece, when Kelly took a tin box of lace and gave it to
Murphy, who hid it under her cloak. Then the old woman came down
with another box and showed them several more pieces, but the
confederates made as if they could not agree about the price, and so
left the shop and joined Wild, where they had parted from him. They
told him they had "spoke"; whereupon they all returned to his house
and opened the box, in which they found eleven pieces of lace.
"Would they have ready money?" asked Wild, "or would they wait
until the advertisement for the stolen lace came out?"
Funds were very low at the time with Murphy and Kelly, and they
asked for ready money, Wild then giving them about four guineas.
"I can't afford to give any more," he said, "for she's a hard-
mouthed old bitch, and I shall never get above ten guineas out of
her."
Kelly took the lion's share of the money—three guineas—and
Murphy had the remainder.
Wild was acquitted on the first charge, of being concerned in the
actual theft, but for feloniously receiving the ten guineas the trial
was continued.
Catherine Stetham the elder said that on January 22nd she had a
box of lace, valued at £50, stolen out of her shop. She went, that
same night, to the prisoner's house to enquire after it; but, not
finding him at home, she advertised the stolen goods, offering a
reward of fifteen guineas, and no questions to be asked. There was
no reply to her advertisement, and she went again to the prisoner's
house, and saw him there. He asked her to give a description of the
persons she suspected, which she did, as nearly as she could, and
he promised to make enquiries, and suggested she should call again
in three days.
She did so, when he said he had heard something of her lace, and
expected to hear more in a little time. Even as they were talking a
man came in and said that, by what he had learned, he believed a
man named Kelly, who had already stood his trial for passing gilded
shillings, had been concerned in stealing the lace.
She then went away, and returned on the day the prisoner was
apprehended. She had told him that, although she had advertised a
reward of only fifteen guineas for the lace, she would be prepared to
give twenty, or even five-and-twenty, rather than lose it.
"Don't be in such a hurry, good woman," he rejoined; "perhaps I
may help ye to it for less, and if I can, I will. The persons that have
got your lace are gone out of town; I shall set them quarrelling
about it, and then I shall get it the cheaper."
On March 10th he sent her word that if she would go to him at
Newgate, with ten guineas in her pocket, he would he able to help
her to her lace. She went. He asked her to call a porter, but she told
him she did not know where to find one, so he sent out and
obtained a ticket-porter. The porter was given ten guineas, to call
upon the person who was said to have the lace, and he returned in a
little while with a box which was said to contain all the lace, with the
exception of one piece.
"Now, Mr. Wild," said she, "what must I give you for your trouble?"
"Not a farthing, madam," said he. "I don't do these things for
worldly interest, but for the benefit of poor people who have met
with misfortunes. As for the piece of lace that is missing, I would not
have ye be uneasy, for I hope to get it for you ere long; nay, and I
don't know but in a little time I may not only help ye to your ten
guineas again, but to the thief too. And if I can, much good may it
do you; and as you are a widow and a good Christian, I desire
nothing of ye but your prayers; and for them I shall be thankful. I
have a great many enemies, and God knows what may be the
consequences of this imprisonment."
The consequences were the most serious known to the law. Wild
was sentenced to death. No sentence in that court had ever been so
popular. When asked if he had anything to say why this judgment
should not be passed upon him, he handed a paper to the Judge,
setting forth the numbers of criminals he had been instrumental in
bringing to Justice, and in a very feeble voice said: "My lord, I hope
I may, even in the sad condition in which I stand, pretend to some
little merit, in respect of the services I have done my country, in
delivering it from some of the greatest pests with which it was ever
troubled. My lord, I have brought many a bold and daring malefactor
to just punishment, even at the hazard of my own life, my body
being covered with scars received in these undertakings. I presume,
my lord, to say I have some merit, because, at the time these things
were done, they were esteemed meritorious by the Government;
and therefore I beg, my lord, some compassion may be shown, upon
the score of these services. I submit myself wholly to His Majesty's
mercy, and humbly beg a favourable report of my case."
But the law had too long been waiting for him, and his enormities
were too great, for any mercy to be hoped for; and he was left to
die. He did not afford an edifying spectacle in that condemned hold
to which he had consigned so many, reflecting that, as "his Time
was but short in this World," it was necessary to improve it to the
best advantage "in Eating, Drinking, Swearing, Cursing, and talking
to his Visitants." His old crony, the Reverend Thomas Pureney, the
Ordinary, he flouted; and, for the little spiritual consolation he at the
last moment required, he called in an outsider. But this did not
prevent Pureney from concocting a lying account and offering it for
sale after his execution. Therein we read, as though in Wild's own
words:
 "Finding that there was no room for mercy (and how could I
expect Mercy, who never show'd any?), as soon as I came into the
condemned Hole, I began to think of making a preparation for my
Soul; and the better to bring my stubborn Heart to Repentance, I
thought it more proper to have the advice and the Council and
Directions of a Man of Learning, a Man of sound Judgment in
Divinity, and therefore Application being made to the reverend Mr.
Nicholson, he very Christian-like gave me his Assistance: And I hope
that my Repentance has been such as will be accepted in Heaven,
into which Place, I trust in God, my Soul will quickly be received. To
part with my Wife, my dear Molly, is so great an Affliction to me,
that it touches me to the Quick, and is like Daggers entering into my
Heart. As she is innocent, and I am the Guilty Man, let her not suffer
in her Charracter and Reputation for my Crimes: Consider that she is
a Woman, and how ungenerous it would be to reflect upon one
whose weakness will not permit her to defend herself so well as her
Innocence will carry her.
"And now, good People, you see to what a shameful End my
Wickedness has brought me; take warning therefore by my Example,
and let my unhappy Fate deterr you from following wicked Courses,
and cause such of you to forsake your Crimes, who are now fallen
into them. Remember that though Justice has leaden feet, yet she
has Iron hands, and sooner or later will overtake the unwary
Criminal. I am now upon the point of departing out of this World;
joyn with me, therefore, in Prayer while I have life, and pray to God
to receive my poor Soul into his blessed Arms, and to make us all
happy with our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen."
All the foregoing was the sheer invention of the egregious
Pureney, and Wild really went unrepentant to his end at Tyburn, May
24th, 1725. He sought, by taking laudanum, to cheat the gallows of
its due, but failed in the attempt. The day of his execution was one
of great rejoicings in London, and huge crowds lined the way, pelting
Wild, as he rode in the cart, with stones and dirt.
JONATHAN WILD ON THE WAY TO EXECUTION.
 NICHOLAS HORNER
Nicholas Horner was a younger son of the vicar of Honiton, in
Devonshire, and was born in 1687. He was wild and unmanageable
almost from infancy, and showed little promise of remaining in the
humble post of attorney's clerk, in which his father placed him, in
London, when he was seventeen or eighteen years of age. He
remained, however, with the attorney for three years, learning more
in the way of drinking and dicing at the "Devil" and the "Apollo"
taverns in the Strand, than of law in Clement's Inn. He then ran
away, and remarked when he exchanged his quill-pen, his
parchments, and his stool in the lawyer's office, for the pistols, the
crape mask, and the mettlesome horse of the highwayman, that he
was only exchanging one branch of the profession to which he had
been articled for another and a higher—becoming a "highway
lawyer," a "conveyancer" and a "collector." Unfortunately for him, he
began to practise in this new branch before he had properly made
himself acquainted with the rudiments of its procedure, and was in
consequence taken in an interview with his first client, and lodged in
Winchester gaol, where he remained for three months before his
trial came on. In the meanwhile, the friends of his family, seeing
how scandalous a thing it would be if a clergyman's son were
convicted of highway robbery, and sentenced to die by the rope of
the hangman, strongly endeavoured to persuade the gentleman
whom he had robbed to fail in identifying him. But their efforts were
fruitless, for he was determined to prosecute, and the trial in due
course was held, and the prisoner found guilty and formally
sentenced to death.
 His friends were more successful in the petitions they forwarded to
the Queen, herself an excellent Churchwoman, and disposed to
stretch a point that its ministers might be saved from unmerited
reproach. Horner was pardoned on condition that his friends
undertook that he should be sent out of the kingdom within three
months, and that they should undertake to keep him in exile for
seven years. It was an excellent offer, and they accepted, shipping
him to India, where he remained for the stipulated time, passing
through many adventures which, although detailed by Smith, are not
concerned with the highway portion of his career, and are not even
remotely credible.
Returning to his native shores, he found both his father and
mother dead, and received from the executors of his father's will the
amount of £500, all his father had to leave him. That sum did not
last him long. What are described as "the pleasures of town" soon
brought him again to his last guinea; and he, of course, once more
took to the road.
"Well overtaken, friend," he said to a farmer he came up with on
the road. "Methinks you look melancholy; pray what ails you, sir? If
you are under any afflictions and crosses in the world, perhaps I
may help to relieve them."
"Ah! my dear sir," replied the farmer, "were I to say I had any
losses, I should lie, for I have been a thriving man all my life, and
want for nothing; but indeed I have crosses enough, for I have a d—
d scolding wife at home, who, though I am the best of husbands to
her, and daily do my best to make her and my children happy, is
always raving and scolding about the house like a madwoman. I am
daily almost nagged out of my life. If there be such a thing as
perpetual motion, as some scientific men say, I'm sure it is in my
wife's tongue, for it never lies still, from morning to night. Scolding is
so habitual to her that she even scolds in her sleep. If any man
could tell me how to remedy it, I have a hundred pounds in gold and
silver about me which I would give him with all my heart, for so
great a benefit which I should receive by the taming of this
confounded shrew."
Horner, listening to this most pleasant tune of a hundred pounds,
said: "Sir, I'll just tell the ingredients with which nature first formed a
scold, and thus, the cause of the distemper being known, it will be
easier to effect a cure. You must understand, then, that nature, in
making a scold, first took of the tongues and galls of bulls, bears,
wolves, magpies, parrots, cuckoos, and nightingales, of each a like
number; the tongues and tails of vipers, adders, snails, and lizards,
six each; aurum fulminans, aqua fortis, and gunpowder, of each a
pound; the clappers of seventeen bells, and the pestles of thirty
apothecaries' mortars, which becoming all mixed, she calcined them
in Mount Stromboli and dissolved the ashes in water, distilled just
under London Bridge at three-quarters flow-tide, and filtered
through the leaves of Calepin's dictionary, to render the operation
more verbal; after which she distilled it again through a speaking-
trumpet, and closed up the remaining spirits in the mouth of a
cannon. Then she opened the graves of all recently-deceased
pettifoggers, mountebanks, barbers, coffeemen, newsmongers, and
fishwives at Billingsgate, and with the skin of their tongues made a
bladder, covered over with drumheads and filled with storms,
tempests, whirlwinds, thunder and lightning. Lastly, to irradiate the
whole elixir, and make it more churlish, she cut a vein under the
tongue of the dog-star, drawing thence a pound of the most choleric
blood; and from which sublimating the spirits, she mixed them with
the foam of a mad dog; and then, putting all together in the before-
mentioned bladder, stitched it up with the nerves of Socrates' wife."
"A damned compound, indeed." said the farmer; "and surely it
must be impossible for any man to tame a shrew at this rate."
"Not at all," replied Horner, "for when she first begins to be in her
fits, you shall perceive it by the bending of her brows; then apply to
her a plaster of good words: after that, give her a wheedling potion;
and if that will not do, take a bull's tail, and, applying the same with
a strong arm from shoulder to flank, it shall infallibly complete the
cure."
The farmer was very well pleased with this prescription, and,
giving Horner many thanks and treating him liberally at the next inn,
they continued to ride on together. At last, coming to a convenient
place, Horner said, "Please pay me now, sir, for my advice."
"I thought the entertainment I provided for you just now at the
inn was all the satisfaction you required," retorted the surprised
farmer.
"No, sir," said Horner, "you promised a hundred pounds if any one
would find you a remedy for your scolding wife; and a bargain is a
bargain all the world over, in the market or on the road": so
presenting his pistol at the farmer's head, "d—n me, sir," he
continued, "presently deliver your bag, or you are a dead man!"
The farmer delivered the bag, which, if it did not contain quite a
hundred pounds, formed an excellent recompense for the time
Horner had spent in exercising his fantastic imagination upon him.
Shortly after this exploit, Horner met a gentleman on Hounslow
Heath, saluting him with the customary demand to hand over his
dibs.
The traveller gave him six guineas, all he had, saying: "Sir, you
love money better than I do, to thus venture your neck for it"; to
which Horner rejoined, "I follow the way of the world, sir, which now
prefers money before friends, or honesty; yea, some before the
salvation of their souls; for it is the love of money that makes the
unjust judge take a bribe, the corrupt lawyer to plead an evil cause:
the physician to kill a man without fear of hanging, and the surgeon
to prolong a cure. 'Tis this that makes the tradesman tell a lie in
selling his wares; the butcher to blow his veal; the tailor to covet so
much cabbage; the miller to cheat in his corn-grinding; the baker to
give short weight, and to wear a wooden cravat for it; the
shoemaker to stretch his leather, as he does his conscience: and the
gentlemen of the pad—such as myself—to wear a Tyburn tippet, or
old Storey's cap on some country gallows. So good-day to you, sir,
and thank you, and never despise money in a naughty world."
Horner now experienced a sad blow to his self-esteem, in an
adventure in which he was made to play a ridiculous part, and to be
the butt afterwards of his acquaintances. A lady of considerable
position and wealth was travelling from Colchester to London by
stage-coach, and happened to be the only passenger for a
considerable distance. At Braintree the coachman very politely
warned her that, if she had anything of value about her, she had
better conceal it, for there were several gay sparks about the
neighbouring heath, whom he thought to be highwaymen. Thanking
him, the lady placed her gold watch, a purse full of guineas and
some valuable lace under the seat; and then disarranged her hair,
like poor Ophelia, to act the part of a lunatic.
Presently, Horner rode up to the coach, presented a pistol, and
demanded her money. Instantly she opened the coach-door, leapt
out, and taking the highwayman by the leg, cried in a very piteous
voice, "Oh, dear cousin Tom, I am glad to see you. I hope you'll now
rescue me from this rogue of a coachman, for he's carrying me, by
my rogue of a husband's orders, to Bedlam, for a mad woman."
"D—n me," replied Horner, "I'm none of your cousin. I don't know
you, but you must be mad, and Bedlam is the best place for you."
"Oh! cousin Tom," said she, clinging to him, "but I will go with
you, not to Bedlam."
"Do you know this mad creature?" asked the now distracted
highwayman of the coachman.
"Yes," he replied, entering into the spirit of the thing; "I know the
lady very well. I am now going, by her husband's orders, to London,
to put her in a madhouse, but not into Bedlam, as she supposes."