When I began to publish information about Johann Bessler, I stuck strictly to the facts as I knew them then, so I included Bessler’s own comments about his life and feelings and emotions. I also described the reactions of other people, not just their reactions to his claims, but as well, their impressions of Bessler the man. These were important details to include, but to me, the most important facts were those relating to his wheels; the descriptions of them and the tests they were required to undergo; were the tests exhaustive, sufficient and carried out as well as possible given the times they lived in?
I believe they were as good as could be expected, given that Bessler did not wish to divulge the design concept. He also had the benefit of Gottfried Leibniz's advice on the kind of tests he should arrange. The tests do, in my opinion, provide the strongest evidence that Bessler’s claims to have discovered the secret of a machine which showed continuous rotation enabled by gravity. They were absolutely genuine.
It does seem to me that some people on the forum are only now studying the mind of the man, rather than his works, to find fault with everything about him. They suggest thst he was a showman, a conman, he told lies etc. Those things are true but do not negate the other evidence. We have no conception of how people survived in those days, there were no state handouts, no where to go for help and a man had to live on his wits just to find food and accommodation. Once he had successfully completed the first part of his burning mission in life; to find the solution to perpetual motion; Bessler set about finding a way to publicise it. His previous actions however morally dubious, do not necessarily mean that everything about him was unprincipled - he did what he had to do to survive.
So when discussions are taking place about the mind of the Bessler please make allowances for the times he lived in, his limited education and Leibniz’s opinion of him. Leibniz was one of the cleverest and most accomplished men of the time and he called Bessler his friend and asked for people to make allowances for his manners as he had not been brought up to accomodate the correct etiquette of those far off days.
History is full of accomplished scientists, inventors, authors and painters, whose works are widely admired, but most of whom had the usual human weaknesses. Many showed personality disorders such as paranoia, dramatic, overly emotional or unpredictable thinking or behavior and manipulative, exploitative interactions with others. But they were still admired for their accomplishments and Johann Bessler too, will be admires for his determination to find the solution to Perpetual Motion, once his machine has been proven.
JC
