MILTON'S ASTEONOMY 
 
^£A\/E:N or the empyreian 
 
 
 SCHEME OF PARADISE LOST 
 
 *» 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 THE ABTEONOMY OF 'PAEADISE LOST' 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS N. OECHAKD, M.D. 
 
 FELLOW OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 
 
 These are thy glorious works, Parent of good, 
 Almighty ! thine this universal frame, 
 Thus wondrous fair : Thyself how wondrous then ! 
 Unspeakable. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO, 
 
 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON 
 
 NEW YORK, BOMBAY AND CALCUTTA 
 
 1913 
 
 All righ'^s reserved 
 
073 
 
 • • '• . • 
 
TO 
 
 THE MEMORY 
 
 OF MY DAUGHTER 
 
 MILLICENT 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Many able and cultured writers in expatiating on 
 the poetic genius of Milton have favoured us with 
 elegant dissertations appreciative of the charm and 
 sublimity of his harmonious verse. But, in discours- 
 ing on Milton's astronomy, the Author has ventured 
 to contribute a volume, to some extent based upon 
 an earlier work devoted to the same subject, which, 
 whilst containing a new interpretation of certain 
 passages in the ' Paradise Lost," and upholding views 
 differing from those expressed by the ablest com- 
 mentators, may yet, he hopes, be interesting and 
 instructive to the general reader. Perhaps the 
 choicest passages in Milton's poems are associated 
 with astronomical allusion, and it is chiefly to the 
 exposition and illustration of these that this volume 
 is devoted. 
 
 The Author is indebted to many writers for 
 information and reference, and especially to Mr. C. G. 
 Osgood, of Yale University; Mr. A. W. Verity, 
 M.A. ; Professor Walter Raleigh ; Mr. E. W. 
 
viii PREFACE 
 
 Maunder; and Sir Egbert Ball. Also to the 
 works of the late Miss A. M. Clerke ; Professors 
 Masson, Young, and Grant ; Mr. K. A. Proctor ; 
 Mr. J. K. Hind ; Prebendary Webb ; Eev. A. B. 
 Whatton ; Sir David Brewster ; and Sirs W. and 
 J. Herschel. Most of the illustrations have been 
 supplied by the Publishers. Messrs. Macmillan 
 and W. Hunt & Co. have kindly permitted the 
 reproduction of some of their drawings. 
 
 Thomas N. Orchard. 
 
 Pendleton, 
 
 Manchester, 
 
 September, 1913. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. A Brief Historical Sketch of Astronomy . . 1 
 
 II. Milton's Cosmology 52 
 
 III. Milton's Astronomical Knowledge .... 97 
 
 IV. Milton and Galileo 128 
 
 V. The Seasons . .147 
 
 VI. Sun, Moon, and Stars 164 
 
 VII. Milton's References to Familiar Celestial Objects 231 
 
 VIII. Milton's Descriptive Astronomy .... 265 
 
 INDEX . . . . , . . . . .281 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PLATES 
 
 
 Scheme of * Paradise Lost ' 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 Venus ok the Sun's Disc . 
 
 To face page 46 
 
 A Typical Sun-spot .... 
 
 169 
 
 A Portion of the Moon's Surface 
 
 192 
 
 Great Cluster in Hercules 
 
 221 
 
 Great Nebula in Orion 
 
 222 
 
 IN TEXT 
 
 FIG. 
 
 1. Milton's Division of Universal Space . 
 
 2. The Ptolemaic System of the Universe 
 
 3. A Sun-spot Magnified 
 
 4. The Corona during the Eclipse of May 1883 
 
 5. A Binary Star System — 70 Ophiuchi . 
 
 6. The Orbits of the Components of y Virginis 
 
 7. A Portion of the Milky Way 
 
 PAGE 
 
 64 
 66 
 168 
 172 
 210 
 211 
 261 
 
Errata. 
 
 Page 11, line 20, for ' associated with administration of the diocese' 
 read ' associated with the administration of the diocese.' 
 
 Page 31, line 26, for 'mean distance of the planets' read 'mean 
 distances of the planets.' 
 
 Page 55, poetical quotation, line 3, for ' without dimensions ' read 
 * without dimension.' 
 
 Page 67, Une 14, for * elliptic ' read ' ecliptic' 
 
 Page 112, line 3, for ' In sex thou seest ' read ' In six thou seest.' 
 
 Page 214, line 27, for * systems ' read ' system.' 
 
 Page 226, line 24, for ' brighter once midst the host ' read ' brighter 
 once amidst the host.' 
 
 Page 236, line 24, for * citations ' read ' citation.' 
 Page 243, for 
 
 * Earth how Uke to Heaven, if not preferred 
 More justly seat worthier of gods, as built 
 With second thoughts,' 
 read 
 
 ' Earth, how Hke to Heaven, if not preferred 
 More justly, seat worthier of Gods, as built 
 With second thoughts,' 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A BEIEF HISTOKICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 AsTEONOMY is the oldest and sublimest of the sciences. 
 The dazzhng splendour of the great Orb of Day ; 
 the subdued radiance of the silvery Moon with her 
 ever-recurring phases ; the lustre and glow of the 
 swift-speeding planets ; the number and brilliancy 
 of the stars — all moving in harmonious unison and 
 in orderly array — excite in the mind of a contempla- 
 tive observer, thoughts of the deepest wonder and 
 admiration. 
 
 When primitive man first directed his attention 
 to the study of celestial phenomena, or at what 
 period in the history of the human race certain ob- 
 servations and discoveries were made, is unknown, 
 for no records exist that tell of the dawn of astronomy, 
 no ray of light reveals the origin of the science, which 
 is lost in the mists of prehistoric ages. It is, however, 
 well known that the early inhabitants of the Earth 
 regarded the heavenly bodies with veneration and 
 awe, erected temples in their honour, and worshipped 
 them as deities. 
 
2 ^ MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 The grouping of the stars into constellations, 
 having fanciful names derived from fable or ancient 
 mythology, occurred at a very remote period. Who 
 the people were that first mapped out these configura- 
 tions on the celestial sphere is unknown, but they 
 were true astronomers. The slender evidence which 
 we possess on this point leads us to conclude that the 
 Summero-Akkadians, a pastoral race that inhabited 
 Babylonia prior to the Semitic invasion, were the 
 first to delineate the older constellations. Traces 
 of this ancient people exist, indicating an antiquity 
 which dates back 4000 years before the Christian 
 era ; it is, therefore, probable that these configurations 
 have been known to observers of the heavens for a 
 period of at least 6000 years. By some, it has 
 been conjectured that the necessities of early navi- 
 gation gave rise to the naming of the constellations, 
 and that it is to the sailor, and not to the shepherd 
 and peasant, we owe the quaint imagery traced on 
 the celestial sphere. 
 
 From very early times up to a comparatively 
 recent period, astronomy was associated with astro- 
 logy — 8i science that originated from a desire on 
 the part of mankind to penetrate the future, and 
 which was based upon the supposed influence of the 
 heavenly bodies over human and terrestrial affairs. 
 It was easy for primitive and untutored races, igno- 
 rant of physical laws, to imagine that the overruhng 
 power which governs and directs the course of 
 sublunary events resides in the heavens, and that 
 its decrees might be understood by watching the 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 3 
 
 motions of the celestial orbs under its control. It 
 was therefore believed that by observing the con- 
 figurations, or relative positions of the planets at 
 the instant of the birth of an individual, his 
 horoscope or destiny could be foretold, and that the 
 occurrence of events of national importance could 
 likewise be similarly predicted. But, after the laws 
 which govern the motions of the heavenly bodies 
 became better known, and especially when the 
 discovery of the great law. of gravitation revealed 
 the true order of the universe, astrology ceased to be 
 a belief ; though, for long after, it retained its power 
 over the imagination, and was often alluded to in 
 the writings of poets and of other authors. 
 
 Several of the ancient peoples of the Earth 
 aspire to the distinction of having been the earHest 
 astronomers, and although all of them can bring 
 weighty evidence in support of their pretensions, 
 yet no conclusive decision can be arrived at with 
 regard to the matter in question. 
 
 In China, astronomy has been cultivated from time 
 immemorial, and much attention was bestowed 
 upon it by the State on account of the importance 
 attached to the occurrence of eclipses of the Sun. 
 Chinese annals of astronomy claim an antiquity of 
 2857 years B.C., but they record little more than 
 the appearances of comets, and the occurrence of 
 solar eclipses. Chinese astronomers determined with 
 great precision the obliquity of the ecliptic, and the 
 position of the winter solstice in the heavens. They 
 divided the year into 365J days, and were famihar 
 
 B 2 
 
4 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 with the motions of the planets. For many centuries 
 the Chinese confined their attention to observational 
 work, which led to a few discoveries, but they made 
 Httle or no progress in theoretical knowledge. 
 
 In India, astronomy is beheved by some to 
 have been cultivated from the remotest ages ; an 
 astronomical system of a very advanced character 
 having been discovered among the Hindus. They 
 possessed Tables of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, 
 and calculated eclipses. It is also asserted that 
 they ascertained the mean annual motion of Jupiter 
 and of Saturn as early as 3062 years B.C. The high 
 antiquity claimed for the Tirvalore Tables (3102 B.C.) 
 is denied by certain persons who have investigated 
 them. Some say that the epoch of the Tables 
 corresponds with the time when Pythagoras visited 
 India, whilst others assert that the system was 
 introduced by the Arabs in the ninth century of our 
 era. Notwithstanding much discussion, the matter 
 is still involved in doubt and uncertainty. 
 
 The Egyptians studied astronomy from a very 
 early period, but have handed down little in- 
 formation that is of any value. They observed 
 echpses of the Sun, but have not recorded them, and, 
 on the authority of Deodorus, they predicted the 
 appearances of comets. They were famihar with 
 the Zodiac, and on the ceiling of a portico in the 
 temple of Denderah a drawing of one can be seen 
 where the crab is replaced by a scarab. Some of 
 the pyramids are constructed so as to face the car- 
 dinal points with great exactness, and in the designing 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 5 
 
 of the Great Pyramid much astronomical knowledge 
 is displayed. The theory ascribed to the Egyptians 
 that the planets Mercury and Venus revolve round 
 the Sun, is not mentioned by Ptolemy, who visited 
 Egypt. It is believed that the Egyptians were the 
 earliest instructors of the Greeks in astronomy. 
 
 It is now generally admitted that correct 
 astronomical observations were first made on the 
 plains of Chaldea. In Babylonia — a country which 
 can boast of an antiquity rivalling that of ancient 
 Egypt — there have been discovered the earhest 
 trustworthy records of astronomy that we possess. 
 These consist of a catalogue of eclipses of the Sun 
 recorded on tablets of baked clay, the earliest of 
 which dates from 2234 years B.C. The Chaldeans 
 were true astronomers. They delineated the Zodiac ; 
 invented the gnomon and clepsydra, made use of 
 several kinds of dials, and divided the day into 
 twenty-four hours. Chaldean astronomers made 
 accurate observations of the rising and setting of 
 the heavenly bodies ; they predicted the return of 
 comets, and, it is said, were cognisant of the true 
 theory of the universe. 
 
 To the Greeks belongs the credit of having first 
 studied astronomy in a regular and systematic 
 manner. Thales (640 b.c.) was one of the earliest 
 of Greek astronomers, and may be regarded as 
 the founder of the science among that people. He 
 was born at Miletus, and afterwards repaired to 
 Egypt for the purpose of study. On his return to 
 Greece, he founded the Ionic school, and taught the 
 
6 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 sphericity of the Earth, the obhquity of the echptic, 
 and the true causes of ecHpses of the Sun and Moon. 
 He also directed the attention of mariners to the 
 superiority of the Lesser Bear as a guide in the 
 navigation of vessels, they having previously steered 
 their course by the Great Bear. Thales beheved 
 that the Earth occupied the centre of the universe. 
 He also predicted the occurrence of a great solar 
 eclipse. 
 
 Thales had as his successors Anaximander, 
 Anaximenes, and Anaxagoras, who taught the 
 doctrines of the Ionic school. 
 
 The next astronomer and philosopher of renown 
 that we read of is Pythagoras (590 B.C.), who was 
 born' at Samos. He studied under Thales, and 
 afterwards visited Egypt and India in order that 
 he might make himself conversant with the scientific 
 theories upheld by those nations. On his return to 
 Europe, he founded his school at Crotona, in Magna 
 Grsecia, and taught in a more extended form the 
 doctrines of the Ionic school. In his speculations 
 regarding the structure of the universe, he propounded 
 the theory — though the reasons by which he sus- 
 tained it were fanciful — that the Sun is the centre 
 of our system, and that the Earth and planets revolve 
 round him. This theory — ^the accuracy of which 
 has since been confirmed — received but scant atten- 
 tion from his successors, and it sank into oblivion 
 until revived by Copernicus in the sixteenth century. 
 Pythagoras discovered that the morning and evening 
 stars are one and the same planet. 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 7 
 
 Among the famous astronomers who hved about 
 this period we find recorded the names of Meton, 
 who introduced the Metonic cycle into Greece, and 
 erected the first sun-dial at Athens ; Eudoxus, who 
 persuaded the Greeks to adopt the year of 365J days ; 
 and Nicetas, who taught that this Earth completes 
 a daily revolution on her axis. 
 
 The Alexandrian school, which flourished for 
 three centuries prior to the Christian era, produced 
 men of eminence, whose discoveries and observations, 
 when arranged and classified, enabled astronomy 
 to be regarded as a true theoretical science. The 
 positions of the fixed stars and the paths of the 
 planets were determined with greater accuracy, and 
 irregularities in the motions of the Sun and of the 
 Moon were investigated with greater precision. 
 Attempts were made to ascertain the distance of the 
 Earth from the Sun, and also the dimensions of the 
 terrestrial sphere. The obhquity of the ecliptic was 
 accurately determined, and an arc of the meridian 
 was measured between Syene and Alexandria. The 
 names of Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, Aristyllus, 
 Timocharis, and Autolycus are famiharly known in 
 association with the advancement of the astronomy 
 of this period. 
 
 We now arrive at the name of Hipparchus 
 of Bithynia (140 B.C.), the most illustrious astronomer 
 of antiquity, who did much to raise astronomy 
 to the position of a true science, and who has left 
 behind him ample evidence of his genius as a 
 mathematician, an observer, and a theorist. He 
 
8 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 discovered the Precession of the Equinoxes, and 
 determined the mean motion of the Sun and of 
 the Moon, and their irregularities of motion, with 
 greater precision than any of his predecessors. He 
 invented the sciences of plane and spherical trigo- 
 nometry, and was the first to make use of right 
 ascensions and dechnations. We are indebted to 
 this indefatigable astronomer for the earliest star 
 catalogue, in which he included 1081 stars. 
 
 For more than two centuries after the death 
 of Hipparchus we hear of no astronomer of note. 
 The next known to fame is Claudius Ptolemy 
 (a.d. 130), who resided at Alexandria. He was 
 skilled as a mathematician and geographer, and also 
 excelled as a musician. He discovered an irregularity 
 of the lunar motion, called the evection ; and was 
 the first to observe the effect of the refraction of 
 light in causing the apparent displacement of a 
 heavenly body. Ptolemy devoted much of his 
 time to perfecting and extending the theories of 
 Hipparchus, and compiled a great treatise called 
 the ' Almagest,' which contains nearly all the 
 knowledge we possess of ancient astronomy. His 
 name is, however, most widely known in association 
 with what is called the Ptolemaic theory. This 
 system, which originated long before his time, but 
 of which he was one of the ablest expounders, was 
 an attempt to establish on a scientific basis the 
 conclusions and results arrived at by early astronomers 
 who studied and observed the motions of the heavenly 
 bodies. Ptolemy regarded the Earth as the 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OE ASTRONOMY 9 
 
 immovable centre of the universe, round which 
 the Sun, Moon, and entire heavens completed a 
 revolution in twenty-four hours. After the death 
 of Ptolemy, no worthy successor was found to fill 
 his place ; the study of astronomy began to dechne 
 among the Greeks, and after a time it ceased to be 
 cultivated by that people. 
 
 The Arabs next took up the study of astronomy, 
 which they prosecuted most assiduously for a period 
 of four centuries. Their labours were, however, 
 confined mainly to observational work, in which they 
 excelled. Unlike their predecessors (the Greeks), 
 they paid but little attention to speculative theories, 
 which were unattractive to their minds. 
 
 The seat of astronomical learning was now trans- 
 ferred from Alexandria to Bagdad, where the Caliphs, 
 good Harun-al-Kaschid and his successor Al-Mamun, 
 gave much encouragement to the study of the science. 
 Al-Batani (a.d. 880), was the most distinguished 
 of Arab astronomers. He corrected the Greek 
 observations, discovered the motion of the solar 
 apogee, and was the first to make use of sines and 
 chords. Ibn-Yunis (a.d. 1000) and Abul Wefu 
 were astronomers who earned a high reputation on 
 account of the number and accuracy of their obser- 
 vations. In northern Persia, a descendant of the 
 renowned warrior, Genghis Khan, erected an obser- 
 vatory, where new planetary tables were constructed 
 by Nasir Eddin, whilst Omar Khayyam, the as- 
 tronomer-poet of Persia, suggested a reformation of 
 the Calendar which, if adopted, would have insured 
 
10 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 greater accuracy than can be attained by the 
 Gregorian style now in use. In 1433 Ulugh Beg, 
 grandson of the furious Tamerlane, erected an 
 observatory at Samarcand, where he made many 
 observations, and constructed a star catalogue which 
 surpassed in accuracy any that existed prior to his 
 time. The Arabs may be regarded as having been 
 the custodians of astronomy until the time of its 
 revival in another quarter of the globe. 
 
 Astronomy was introduced into Western Europe in 
 the thirteenth century, and its career from that period 
 until now has been one of triumphant progress. In 
 1230 a translation of Ptolemy's ' Almagest ' from Arabic 
 into Latin was accomplished by order of the German 
 Emperor, Frederick II, and in 1252 Alphonso X, 
 King of Castile, ordered the computation of a new 
 set of astronomical tables, which were afterwards 
 known as the ' Alphonsine Tables.' Purbach and 
 Regiomontanus, two German astronomers of renown, 
 and Waltherus, a man of distinguished reputation, 
 made many important observations in the fifteenth 
 century. 
 
 Pre-eminent among astronomers of the sixteenth 
 century stands the illustrious Copernicus. Nicolas 
 Copernicus was born February 19, 1473, at Thorn, 
 a small town situated on the Vistula, which formed 
 the boundary between the kingdoms of Prussia and 
 Poland. His father was a Polish subject, and his 
 mother of German extraction. Having lost his 
 parents early in life, he was educated under the 
 supervision of his uncle Lucas, Bishop of the Prussian 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 11 
 
 diocese of Ermeland. Copernicus attended a school 
 at Thorn, and, in 1491, entered the University of 
 Cracow, where he devoted four years to the study 
 of science and mathematics. On leaving Cracow, he 
 attached himself to the University of Bologna as 
 a student of common law, and attended a course of 
 lectures on astronomy by Novarra. In the ensuing 
 year he was appointed canon of Frauenburg, the 
 cathedral city of the diocese of Ermeland. In 1500 
 he was at Rome, where he lectured on mathematics 
 and astronomy. He next spent a few years at 
 •Padua, where he studied medicine and obtained a 
 degree. In 1505 Copernicus returned to his native 
 country, and was appointed medical attendant to 
 his uncle, the Bishop of Ermeland, with whom he 
 resided in the stately castle of Heilsberg, distant 
 forty-six miles from Frauenburg. During his resi- 
 dence at Heilsberg he pursued his astronomical 
 studies, and undertook besides many arduous duties 
 associated with administration of the diocese. On 
 the death of the Bishop, which occurred in 1512, 
 Copernicus took up his residence at Frauenburg, 
 where he occupied his time in pondering over his new 
 astronomy, and in undertaking various duties of a 
 pubhc character, which he fulfilled with credit and 
 distinction. In 1532 he was appointed administrator- 
 general of the diocese. Though canon of Frauenburg, 
 Copernicus never became a priest. 
 
 After many years of profound meditation and 
 thought, Copernicus, in a treatise entitled ' De Revo- 
 lutionibus Orbium Celestium," propounded a new 
 
12 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 theory, or, more correctly speaking, revived the 
 ancient Pythagorean notion of the universe. This 
 great work, which he dedicated to Pope Paul III, was 
 completed in 1530, but he could not be prevailed 
 upon to have it published until 1543, the year in 
 which he died. In 1542 Copernicus had an apoplectic 
 seizure, which was followed by paralysis and a 
 gradual decay of his vital and mental powers. When 
 in this prostrate condition the earliest copy of his 
 book, which was printed at Nuremberg, arrived at 
 Frauenberg on May 24, 1543, in time to be touched 
 by the hands of the dying man, who, in a few hours 
 after, expired. The house in which Copernicus lived 
 is still in existence, and in the walls of his chamber 
 are visible the perforations which he made for the 
 purpose of observing the stars cross the meridian. 
 
 To Copernicus is due the merit and distinction 
 of having exploded the ancient Ptolemaic theory of 
 the universe. This he accomphshed by proving that 
 the Sun, and not the Earth, is the centre of our 
 system. He accounted for the alternation of day 
 and night by the rotation of the Earth on her axis, 
 and for the vicissitudes of the seasons by her revolu- 
 tion round the Sun. Copernicus perceived that the 
 complications and entanglements introduced from 
 time to time into the Ptolemaic system in order to 
 explain certain irregularities of motion among the 
 celestial orbs were strangely at variance with the 
 simple and orderly manner in which other natural 
 phenomena presented themselves to his observation. 
 By perceiving that Mars, when in opposition, was not 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 13 
 
 much inferior in lustre to Jupiter, and when in con- 
 junction resembled a star of the second magnitude, 
 he concluded that the Earth could not be the central 
 point round which the planet circled. Having 
 discovered in some ancient manuscripts a theory- 
 ascribed to the Egyptians, that Mercury and Venus 
 revolved round the Sun whilst they accompanied 
 the orb in his revolution round the Earth, Copernicus 
 was able by this speculation to explain the alternate 
 appearance of these planets on each side of the Sun. 
 The varied aspects of the superior planets when 
 observed in different parts of their orbits also led 
 him to conclude that the Earth was not the central 
 body round which they accomplished their revolutions. 
 As a combined result of his observation and reasoning, 
 Copernicus propounded the theory that the Sun is 
 the centre of our system, and that the Earth and 
 planets revolve in orbits around him. This, which 
 is called the Copernican System, is now regarded as, 
 and has been proved to be, the true theory of the 
 Solar System. 
 
 Tycho Bkahe was a celebrated Danish astronomer 
 who earned a high reputation on account of the 
 number and accuracy of his astronomical calculations 
 and observations. The various astronomical tables 
 that were in use in his time contained many in- 
 accuracies, and it became essential that they should 
 be reconstructed upon a more correct basis. Tycho 
 possessed the requisite skill for this kind of work. 
 He was born December 14, 1546, at Knudstorp, near 
 Helsingborg. His father. Otto Brahe, traced his 
 
14 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 descent from a Swedish family of noble birth. At 
 the age of thirteen Tycho was sent to the University 
 of Copenhagen, where it was intended that he should 
 prepare himself for the study of the law. But after 
 he had been in residence about a year and a half, 
 an event occurred which decided his future career. 
 The prediction of a great solar eclipse that was to 
 take place on August 21, 1560, caused much public 
 excitement in Denmark, for in those days such 
 phenomena were associated with the occurrence of 
 events of national importance. Tycho anticipated 
 the eclipse with great eagerness, and during its 
 progress watched with intense interest all the phases 
 of the phenomenon, which appeared exactly as they 
 were predicted. So impressed was he with what he 
 beheld, that he resolved to pursue the study of a 
 science by which it was believed the course of future 
 events could be foretold. Having completed his 
 course of study at Copenhagen, Tycho was sent to 
 Leipzig to learn jurisprudence, but astronomy became 
 his favourite pursuit and absorbed all his thoughts. 
 He spent his pocket-money in the purchase of astro- 
 nomical books, which he read in secret, and, after 
 his tutor had retired to rest, he occupied his time 
 night after night in watching the stars and making 
 himself familiar with their courses. He followed 
 the planets in their direct and retrograde motions, 
 and with the aid of a small globe and pair of com- 
 passes was able, by means of his own calculations, 
 to detect serious discrepancies in the Alphonsine 
 and Prutenic Tables. In order to increase his 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 15 
 
 proficiency in calculating astronomical tables, Tycho 
 studied arithmetic and geometry, and learned mathe- 
 matics without the aid of a master. 
 
 Having remained at Leipzig for three years, 
 Tycho Brahe returned to his native country in con- 
 sequence of the death of an uncle, who bequeathed 
 him a considerable estate. In Denmark he continued 
 the pursuit of his astronomical studies, and incurred 
 the displeasure of his friends, who regarded astronomy 
 as useless and unprofitable. Not caring to remain 
 among his relations, he spent the next few years in 
 visiting the most interesting cities of Germany, and 
 in his travels made the acquaintance of several men 
 distinguished for their learning and love of astronomy. 
 
 In 1571 Tycho Brahe returned to Denmark, 
 where his fame as an astronomer had preceded him. 
 He received a hearty welcome from his relatives 
 and friends, and his uncle, Steno Bille, who was 
 much interested in his nephew's scientific pursuits, 
 assigned him a portion of his house, which was fitted 
 up as an observatory. On the night of November 11, 
 1572, when returning from his laboratory — ^for Tycho 
 studied alchemy as well as astronomy — ^he beheld 
 to his astonishment what appeared to be a new and 
 briUiant star in the constellation Cassiopeia, situated 
 overhead. Distrusting his senses, he directed the 
 attention of his companions to this wonderful object, 
 and they all declared that never before had they 
 observed such a star. On the following night he 
 measured its distance from the nearest stars in the 
 constellation, and ascertained that it was a fixed 
 
16 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 star and beyond our system. This remarkable 
 object remained visible for sixteen months, and when 
 at its brightest rivalled Sirius. At first it was of a 
 brilliant white colour, but as it diminished in size 
 it became yellow. It next changed to red, resembhng 
 Aldebaran, afterwards it appeared like Saturn, and 
 as it decreased in size it diminished in lustre until it 
 became invisible. In 1573 Tycho published a work 
 which contained his observations on the new star. 
 
 His fame as an astronomer was now so great 
 that he was received with distinction wherever he 
 went, and on the occasion of a visit to Hesse- 
 Cassel he spent a pleasant week with William, 
 Landgrave of Hesse, who was himself a skilled 
 astronomer. 
 
 Frederick II, King of Denmark, having recognised 
 Tycho Brahe's great merits as an astronomer, ex- 
 pressed a wish that he should return to his native 
 land, and as an inducement offered him a life interest 
 in the island of Huen, situated in the Sound, on which 
 he undertook to erect a magnificent observatory. 
 The King also promised to confer upon him an annual 
 pension of 2000 dollars, and in addition to this, held 
 out a prospect of the bestowal of future favours. 
 Tycho, who loved his country, accepted this generous 
 offer with gratitude, and rejoiced that an opportunity 
 had presented itself which would enable him to pursue 
 his favourite study in quietness and peace, feeling 
 assured that any success which might attend his 
 future labours would redound to the credit of his 
 native land. Whilst the observatory was in course 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 17 
 
 of erection, Tycho Brahe occupied his time in making 
 a collection of instruments and scientific appliances 
 of the most splendid description with which to equip 
 the new edifice. This handsome structure, upon 
 which the King of Denmark expended a sum of 
 £20,000, stood on an elevated plateau near the centre 
 of the island of Huen, and was called ' Uranienburg ' 
 (The Citadel of the Heavens). Here Tycho resided 
 in a kind of regal state for a period of twenty-one 
 years, during which time he pursued his astronomical 
 labours with untiring energy and zeal, and made 
 vast additions to astronomical science. Every phe- 
 nomenon that appeared in the heavens he ex- 
 amined with the greatest care, and year after year 
 carried on a regular series of observations, in order 
 that he might determine with greater accuracy the 
 positions of the fixed stars, and improve the Tables 
 of the Sun, Moon and Planets. During his long 
 residence at Huen Tycho received visits from many 
 distinguished persons, who were attracted to his 
 island home by his fame, and by the magnificence of 
 his observatory. 
 
 The island of Huen is distant three miles from 
 the coast of Sweden, six from that of Zealand, and 
 fourteen from Copenhagen. It has a circumference 
 of six miles, and its surface consists mainly of an 
 elevated table-land, in the centre of which Tycho 
 erected his observatory ; the site being now indicated 
 by two pits and a few mounds of earth — all that 
 remains of Uranienburg. 
 
 All went well with Tycho Brahe during the 
 
18 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 lifetime of his noble patron, but in the year 1588 
 Frederick II died and was succeeded by his son, a 
 youth eleven years of age. The Danish nobles had 
 long been jealous of Tycho's fame and reputation, and 
 on the death of the King an opportunity was afforded 
 them of intriguing with the object of accomplishing 
 his downfall. It was alleged by his opponents that 
 his astrological practices and chemical experiments 
 were not only useless but injurious ; and his enemies 
 at the Court prevailed upon the young sovereign — 
 urging as their excuse the impoverished state of the 
 treasury — ^to withhold the pension conferred upon 
 him by the late King. Tycho was no longer able 
 to maintain his establishment at Huen and, fearing 
 that he might be deprived of the island itself, deemed 
 it advisable to rent a house in Copenhagen, to which 
 he removed his smaller instruments. During his 
 residence in the capital he was subjected to annoyance 
 and persecution. An order was issued, in the King's 
 name, forbidding him to carry on his chemical 
 experiments, and he, besides, endured the indignity 
 of a personal assault. Smarting under such cruel 
 treatment, Tycho Brahe resolved to quit his ungrate- 
 ful country and seek a home in some foreign land 
 where he would be able to pursue his studies un- 
 molested. He accordingly removed from the island 
 of Huen all his instruments and appliances that were 
 of a portable nature and placed them on board a 
 vessel, and having embarked with his family and 
 other members of his household, this interesting 
 craft, ' freighted with the glory of Denmark,' set sail 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OP ASTRONOMY 19 
 
 from Copenhagen about the end of 1597, and having 
 crossed the Baltic in safety arrived at Rostock. Here 
 Tycho was met by a few old friends who were waiting 
 to receive him. 
 
 Tycho Brahe was now uncertain as to where he 
 should find a home, when the Austrian Emperor 
 Rudolph, having heard of his misfortunes, invited 
 him to take up his abode in his dominions, and pro- 
 mised that he should be treated in a manner worthy 
 of his reputation and fame. Tycho gladly accepted 
 the Emperor's generous invitation, and in the spring 
 of 1599 arrived at Prague, where he found a hand- 
 some residence prepared for his reception. He was 
 most cordially received by the Emperor and treated 
 with the greatest kindness. An annual pension of 
 three thousand crowns was settled upon him for life, 
 and he had his choice of several residences belonging 
 to his Majesty, in which he might reside and carry 
 on his scientific pursuits. From among them he 
 selected the Castle of Benach, in Bohemia, which was 
 situated on an elevated plateau, and commanded 
 a wide view of the horizon. After a short residence 
 at Benach, Tycho discovered that his ignorance of 
 the language, and unfamiharity with the customs 
 of the people among whom he lived, caused him much 
 inconvenience. He therefore resolved to ask per- 
 mission from the Em^peror to remove to Prague. 
 His request was readily granted, and a suitable 
 residence was provided for him in the city. Tycho 
 was now joined by his family, who arrived from 
 Wandesberg ; and his large instruments having been 
 
 c 2 
 
20 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 sent from Huen, he was soon comfortably settled 
 in his new abode. 
 
 Although Tycho Brahe continued to prosecute 
 his astronomical studies with his usual fervour and 
 assiduity, yet he could not forget that he dwelt 
 among a strange people, nor did the remembrance 
 of the cruel treatment he received at the hands of his 
 countrymen subdue the affection he cherished for 
 his native land. Pondering over the past, he became 
 despondent ; gloomy thoughts possessed his mind, 
 and a morbid imagination caused him to brood 
 over fancied wrongs — sjmaptoms which presaged the 
 approach of some serious malady. On the evening 
 of October 13, when visiting at the house of a friend, 
 he was seized with a painful illness to which he suc- 
 cumbed in less than a fortnight. He died at Prague 
 on October 24, 1601, aged fifty-four years. 
 
 Tycho Brahe stands out as the most prominent 
 and romantic figure in the whole history of astronomy. 
 His uprightness and independence of character, his 
 ardent attachments, his strong hatreds, and his 
 love of splendour, are characteristics which dis- 
 tinguish him from all other men of his age. This 
 remarkable man was an astronomer, astrologer, and 
 alchemist, but in his later years he renounced his 
 belief in astrology. As a practical astronomer Tycho 
 Brahe has not been excelled by any observer of the 
 heavens in ancient or in modern times. He dis- 
 covered the Moon's annual equation, a yearly effect 
 produced by the Sun's disturbing force as the Earth 
 approaches or recedes from him in her orbit ; he 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 21 
 
 also detected another inequality of the lunar motion 
 called the variation. He determined with greater 
 precision astronomical refractions from an altitude 
 of 45 degrees downward to the horizon ; and con- 
 structed a catalogue of 777 stars. The magnificence 
 of his observatory at Huen, upon the equipment and 
 embellishment of which it is said he expended a 
 ton of gold ; the splendour and variety of his instru- 
 ments, and his ingenious invention of new appliances 
 would alone have made him famous ; but Tycho 
 Brahe's chief distinction as an astronomer rests upon 
 the multitude and accuracy of his observations. They 
 served as a basis in the computation of the Eudolphine 
 Tables, and were of invaluable assistance to Kepler 
 in his investigation of the laws which govern the 
 motions of the planets. 
 
 Tycho Brahe rejected the Copernican hypothesis, 
 but devised a system of his own which he called the 
 ' Tychonic." By this arrangement the Earth re- 
 mained stationary, whilst the planets revolved round 
 the Sun, who in his turn completed a diurnal revolu- 
 tion round the Earth. This scheme entailed the 
 physical absurdity of causing the entire system to 
 revolve round one of the smaller planets. It barely 
 survived its contriver. 
 
 Galileo Galilei, the famous Italian astronomer 
 and philosopher, and the contemporary of Kepler 
 and of Milton, was born at Pisa, February 14, 1564. 
 His father, who traced his descent from an ancient 
 Florentine family, was desirous that his son should 
 adopt the profession of medicine, and with this 
 
22 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 intention entered him as a student at the University 
 of Pisa. But Gahleo soon discovered that the 
 study of mathematics and mechanical science 
 possessed greater attractions, and following the 
 bent of his inchnations, he resolved to devote his 
 energies to acquiring proficiency in those subjects. 
 In 1583 Galileo had his attention arrested by the 
 oscillation of a brass lamp that hung from the ceihng 
 of the cathedral at Pisa. He was impressed with 
 the regularity of its motion as it swung backward 
 and forward, and conceived the idea that this move- 
 ment might be of much value in the correct measure- 
 ment of time, a principle which he afterwards adopted 
 in the construction of an astronomical clock. Having 
 become proficient in mathematics, Galileo, whilst 
 engaged in studying the writings of Archimedes, 
 wrote an essay on the 'Hydrostatic Balance,' and 
 composed a treatise on ' The Centre of Gravity in 
 Solid Bodies.' The reputation which he earned by 
 these contributions to science procured for him the 
 appointment of Lecturer on Mathematics in the 
 University of Pisa. Galileo next directed his attention 
 to the works of Aristotle, and made no attempt to 
 conceal the disfavour with which he regarded many 
 of the doctrines taught by the Greek philosopher. 
 One of these, which maintained that the heavier 
 of two bodies descends to the Earth with the greater 
 rapidity, he proved to be incorrect, and demonstrated 
 by experiment from the top of the tower at Pisa 
 that, except for the unequal resistance of the air, 
 all bodies fall to the ground with the same velocity. 
 
BKIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 23 
 
 As the chief expounder of the new philosophy, 
 Gahleo had to encounter the prejudices of the followers 
 of Aristotle, whose antagonism became intensified 
 by the bitterness and sarcasm which he imparted into 
 his controversies ; indeed, the attitude assumed 
 by his enemies, who were both numerous and influ- 
 ential, became so menacing that, in 1591, he deemed 
 it prudent to resign the Chair of Mathematics at 
 Pisa. In the following year he was appointed 
 Professor of Mathematics in the University of Padua, 
 where his fame attracted crowds of pupils from all 
 parts of Europe. 
 
 In 1613 Galileo published a work in which he 
 declared his adherence to the Copernican hypothesis, 
 and openly avowed his disbelief in the astronomical 
 facts recorded in the Scriptures. He maintained 
 that the Sacred Writings were not meant to impart 
 scientific information, and that it was impossible 
 for men to ignore phenomena witnessed with their 
 eyes, or disregard conclusions arrived at by the 
 exercise of their reasoning powers. The champions 
 of orthodoxy having become alarmed, an appeal was 
 made to the ecclesiastical authorities to assist in 
 suppressing this recent astronomical heresy and 
 other obnoxious doctrines, the authorship of which 
 was ascribed to Galileo. In 1615 Galileo was sum- 
 moned before the Inquisition to reply to the accusa- 
 tion of heresy. ' He was charged with maintaining 
 the motion of the Earth and the stability of the 
 Sun— with teaching this doctrine to his pupils — 
 with corresponding on the subject with several 
 
24 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 German mathematicians — and with having pubhshed 
 it and attempted to reconcile it to Scripture in his 
 letters to Mark Velser in 1672/ These charges 
 having been formally investigated, it was decided 
 that Cardinal Bellarmine should communicate with 
 Galileo, and inform him that unless he renounced 
 the obnoxious doctrines and promised ' neither to 
 teach, defend, or publish them in future, he should 
 be committed to prison/ On the day following 
 the receipt of this injunction, Galileo appeared 
 before the Cardinal and pledged himself that he 
 would adhere to the pronouncement of the Inquisition. 
 Having, as they imagined, silenced Galileo, the 
 Inquisition resolved to condemn the entire Coper- 
 nican system as heretical, and in order to effectually 
 accomplish this, they inhibited Kepler's ' Epitome 
 of the Copernican System,' and Copernicus' own 
 work, ' De Revolutionibus Orbium Celestium/ 
 
 On the accession of Cardinal Barberini to the pon- 
 tifical throne in 1623 under the title of Urban VIII, 
 Galileo visited Rome in order to congratulate his 
 old friend on his elevation to the papal chair. He 
 was received by his Holiness with marked atten- 
 tion and favour, was granted several prolonged 
 audiences, and returned home laden with valuable 
 gifts. Notwithstanding Pope Urban's great kindness, 
 and the leniency of the Inquisition, Galileo, having 
 ignored his pledge, pubhshed in 1632 a book in 
 dialogue form, in which three persons were supposed 
 to express their scientific opinions. The first upheld 
 the Copernican hypothesis and the more advanced 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 25 
 
 philosopliical views ; the second person adopted 
 a neutral attitude, suggested doubts, and made 
 remarks of an amusing character ; whilst the third 
 individual, called ' Simplicio,^ beheved in Ptolemy 
 and Aristotle, and based his arguments upon the 
 philosophy of the ancients. As soon as this work 
 became publicly known, the enemies of Galileo 
 persuaded the Pope that the third person held up 
 to ridicule was intended as a representation of himself 
 — an individual regardless of scientific truth, and 
 ardently attached to the opinions associated with 
 the writings of antiquity. Immediately after the 
 pubhcation of the ' Dialogue," Gahleo was summoned 
 before the Inquisition, and, notwithstanding his feeble 
 health and advanced age, was, after a long and 
 tedious trial, condemned to abjure by oath on his 
 knees his scientific beliefs. 
 
 The ceremony of Galileo's abjuration was one of exciting 
 interest and of awful formality. Clothed in the sackcloth of a 
 repentant criminal, the venerable sage fell upon his knees before 
 the assembled cardinals, and laying his hand upon the Holy 
 Evangelists, he invoked the Divine aid in abjuring and detesting, 
 and vowing never again to teach the doctrines of the Earth's 
 motion and of- the Sun's stability. He pledged himself that he 
 would nevermore, either in words or in writing, propagate such 
 heresies, and swore that he would fulfil and observe the penances 
 which had been inflicted upon him. At the conclusion of this 
 ceremony, in which he recited his abjuration word for word, 
 and then signed it, he was conveyed, in conformity with his 
 sentence, to the prison of the Inquisition.^ 
 
 After having been detained in custody for a few 
 days, Galileo was released, and went to reside at 
 
 ^ Brewster's Martyrs of Science. 
 
26 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Siena, where he stayed for six months. Permission 
 was afterwards given him to return to his villa at 
 Arcetri, and although regarded as a prisoner of the 
 Inquisition, he was allowed to pursue his studies 
 unmolested during the remainder of his days. Galileo 
 died at Arcetri on January 8, 1642, in the seventy- 
 eighth year of his age. 
 
 The sarcasm and bitterness which Galileo imparted 
 into his controversies were more the cause of his 
 misfortunes than his advanced opinions, and although 
 his breach of faith with the Inquisition cannot be 
 justified, yet it is impossible not to sympathise deeply 
 with the aged philosopher, who, in this painful episode 
 of his life, was compelled to go through the form of 
 making a retractation of his scientific beliefs in 
 circumstances of a most humihating nature. 
 
 Although not the inventor, Gahleo was the first 
 to construct a telescope and apply it to astronomical 
 research. On directing his instrument to the heavens, 
 he made a number of remarkable and most interesting 
 discoveries, which were a source of wonder and delight 
 to him. The celestial orbs, when observed through 
 the ' optic tube," presented a variety of detail hitherto 
 undreamt of, and endless vistas of research were 
 opened out by the visual aid which the telescope 
 was capable of rendering. 
 
 Besides his contributions to astronomy, Galileo 
 made many important discoveries in mechanical and 
 physical science. He investigated the law of falling 
 bodies in their accelerated motion towards the Earth, 
 determined the parabolic law of projectiles, and 
 
 i 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 27 
 
 demonstrated that matter, even when invisible, 
 possessed the property of weight. 
 
 We now reach the name of Kepler, one of the very 
 greatest of astronomers, and a man of remarkable 
 genius, who discovered the true form of the paths 
 pursued by the Earth and planets in their journey 
 round the Sun. It was upheld by Copernicus and by 
 his successors that those orbs, in accomplishing their 
 revolutions, describe circular paths, but Kepler, after 
 many years of close observation and study, announced 
 that the planetary orbits were not circular but of an 
 oval or elliptical form. In his investigation of the 
 laws that govern the motions of the planets, he 
 formulated the famous theorems known as ' Kepler's 
 Laws,' which will endure for all time as a proof of his 
 sagacity and surpassing genius. Prior to the dis- 
 covery of those laws, the Sun, although acknowledged 
 to be the centre of the system, did not appear to 
 occupy a central position as regards the motions of 
 the planets, but Kepler, by demonstrating that the 
 planes of the orbits of all the planets and the lines 
 connecting their apsides passed through the Sun, 
 was enabled to assign the orb his true position in 
 relation to those bodies. 
 
 John Kepler, was born at Weil, in the duchy of 
 Wiirtemburg, December 21, 1571. In his youth he 
 suffered much from ill-health, in consequence of which 
 his education was sadly neglected. In 1586 he was sent 
 to a monastic school at Maulbronn, and afterwards 
 entered the University of Tiibingen, where he distin- 
 guished himself and took a degree. Kepler devoted 
 
28 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 his time to tlie study of science and mathematics, and 
 became a convert to the doctrines taught by his tutor, 
 Maestlin, who upheld the Copernican hypothesis. 
 
 In 1594 Kepler, on the recommendation of his 
 masters, was appointed Professor of Astronomy at 
 the University of Gratz, a post which he was well 
 qualified to hold. He now directed his mental 
 energies to the investigation of three important 
 topics, viz. * the number, the size, and the motion 
 of the orbits of the planets.' He first endeavoured 
 to ascertain if the sizes of the planetary orbits, or the 
 difference of their sizes, bore any regular proportion 
 to each other. In this he was unsuccessful. He 
 then attempted to find out if the distances of the 
 planets exhibited any regular ratio, but in this he 
 was also disappointed. He next tried ' if those 
 distances varied as the cosines of the quadrant, and 
 if their motion varied as the Sun's, the sign of 90 
 representing the motion at the Sun, and the sign of 
 0° that of the fixed stars,' but failure still followed 
 his investigations. 
 
 Kepler spent many years in these fruitless specu- 
 lations before he was rewarded with the success in 
 quest of which he laboured so long. 
 
 Having learned that Tycho Brahe had been able 
 to determine the eccentricity of the orbits of the 
 planets with greater precision than they had hitherto 
 been known, Kepler, in order to avail himself of these 
 observations, resolved to pay him a visit. He arrived 
 at Prague in January 1600, and was cordially 
 received by Tycho, who invited him to his residence 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 29 
 
 at Benach, where he stayed with him for several 
 months. On the termination of his visit, Kepler 
 returned to Gratz, but soon after resigned his pro- 
 fessorship — the income derived from which was very 
 small — and relying on a promise made by Tycho 
 that he would use his influence with the Austrian 
 Emperor to procure him a post in his observatory, 
 he again journeyed to Prague, and arrived there in 
 1601. Kepler was presented by Tycho to the 
 Emperor, who conferred upon him the title of Imperial 
 Mathematician, and arranged that he should assist 
 Tycho Brahe with his astronomical calculations. 
 This appointment was of inestimable value to Kepler, 
 for it gave him access to the multitude of observations 
 made by Tycho, which were indispensable in the 
 investigation of the subject of his choice, viz. the 
 laws which govern the motions of the planets, and 
 the form and size of the planetary orbits. 
 
 The two astronomers now resolved to compute 
 a new set of astronomical tables, and in acknowledg- 
 ment of the Emperor's great kindness, they decided 
 to call them the ' Rudolphine Tables.' This project 
 flattered the vanity of their imperial master, who pro- 
 mised to defray the cost of their publication. But 
 in consequence of the departure of Longomontanus, 
 Tycho 's chief assistant, who obtained an appoint- 
 ment in Denmark, and the death of Tycho Brahe, 
 which occurred in 1601, this important undertaking 
 was suspended for a time. 
 
 Kepler succeeded Tycho Brahe as Chief Mathe- 
 matician to the Emperor — a position of honour and 
 
30 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 distinction to which was attached a handsome salary, 
 but in consequence of expensive wars that drained 
 the Imperial Treasury, Kepler's pay was always in 
 arrear. This involved him in serious pecuniary 
 embarrassment. He describes himself as ' perpetu- 
 ally begging his bread from the Emperor,' and was 
 at times reduced to such straits as to be under the 
 necessity of ' casting nativities ' in order to obtain 
 money to meet his most pressing requirements. 
 
 Notwithstanding these financial troubles, Kepler 
 pursued his astronomical researches with much 
 earnestness, and in 1609 pubhshed his great work 
 entitled, ' The New Astronomy ; or. Commen- 
 taries on the Motions of Mars.' The discoveries 
 recorded in this volume form the basis of physical 
 astronomy. 
 
 During his researches on the motions of Mars, 
 Kepler discovered that the planet at times travelled 
 with an accelerated speed, and that at other times 
 its pace was diminished. At one time it would be in 
 advance of the place where he calculated it should 
 be found, and at another time behind it. This 
 caused him considerable perplexity, and feeling con- 
 vinced that the form of the planet's orbit was not 
 that of a circle, he endeavoured to ascertain if any 
 other closed curve existed by which those inequalities 
 of motion could be explained. After many years of 
 careful observation and profound study, Kepler 
 discovered that the true form of the planet's 
 orbit was that of an ellipse, and that the Sun occupied 
 one of its foci. By examining the inequahties of 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 31 
 
 motion of the other planets, he ascertained that 
 they all moved in elliptic orbits. This discovery is 
 known as ' Kepler's First Law/ 
 
 Having discovered the true form of the planetary 
 orbits, Kepler next endeavoured to ascertain the 
 cause which regulates the unequal motion that a 
 planet exhibits when describing its ellipse. He 
 observed that when a planet approached the Sun 
 its motion was accelerated, and as it receded from 
 the orb its pace became slower. This he explained 
 by proving that an imaginary line, or radius-vector, 
 extending from the centre of the Sun to the centre of 
 a planet, ' describes equal areas in equal times.' In 
 accomplishing a definite area, a planet when approach- 
 ing the Sun, or in perihelion, traverses a larger arc 
 than when at the opposite extremity of its path or 
 in aphelion, where a smaller arc suffices. But as 
 the planet describes ' equal areas in equal times,' it 
 necessarily follows that its velocity is proportionately 
 increased or diminished as it approaches or recedes 
 from the Sun. This discovery is known as ' Kepler's 
 Second Law.' 
 
 By the application of his First and Second Laws, 
 Kepler was enabled to formulate a Third Law. He 
 found that there exists a remarkable relationship 
 between the mean distance of the planets, and the 
 times in which they complete their revolutions round 
 the Sun ; and discovered that ' the squares of the 
 periodic times of the planets are to each other as the 
 cubes of their mean distances from the Sun.' The 
 periodic time of a planet having been ascertained, 
 
32 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 the square of the mean distance and the mean distance 
 itself can be readily obtained. This discovery is 
 known as ' Kepler's Third Law/ 
 
 These remarkable discoveries are usually defined 
 as follows : — 
 
 I. The orbit described by every planet is an 
 ellipse, of which the centre of the Sun occupies one 
 of the foci. 
 
 II. Every planet moves round the Sun in a plane 
 orbit, and the radius-vector or imaginary line joining 
 the centre of the planet and the centre of the Sun 
 describes equal areas in equal times. 
 
 III. The squares of the periodic times of any two 
 planets are proportional to the cubes of their mean 
 distances from the Sun. 
 
 Kepler's dehght on the discovery of his Third 
 Law was unbounded. He writes : 
 
 Nothing holds me. I will indulge in my sacred fury ; I will 
 triumph over mankind by the honest confession that I have 
 stolen the golden vases of the Egyptians to build up a tabernacle 
 for my God far away from the confines of Egypt. If you forgive 
 me, I rejoice ! if you are angry, I can bear it. The die is cast ; 
 the book is written, to be read either now or by posterity — I care 
 not which. It may well wait a century for a reader, as God 
 has waited six thousand years for an observer. 
 
 These laws have elevated modern astronomy to 
 the position of a true physical science ; they formed 
 the groundwork upon which Newton based his 
 splendid achievements, and have earned for their 
 discoverer the proud title of ' Legislator of the 
 Heavens.' 
 
 ^ Chambers's Handbook of AstronomT/. 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 33 
 
 After having resided at Prague for eleven years, 
 during which time he was sorely tried by poverty 
 and domestic affliction, Kepler removed to Linz, 
 having been appointed to the Chair of Mathematics 
 in that town. 
 
 His next great undertaking was the completion of 
 the Rudolphine Tables. They were commenced by 
 Tycho Brahe and completed by Kepler, who made 
 his calculations from Tycho's observations, and 
 based them upon his own great discovery of the 
 ellipticity of the orbits of the planets. The Eudol- 
 phine Tables were published at Ulm in 1627. Kepler 
 made a special journey to Prague in order to present 
 them to the Emperor ; and the Grand Duke of 
 Tuscany afterwards sent him a handsome gift as an 
 acknowledgment of his appreciation of the completion 
 of this great work. 
 
 On the invitation of the Duke of Friedland, who 
 made him most liberal offers, Kepler, in 1629, took up 
 his abode at Sagan in Silesia. But in this remote 
 place he experienced the greatest difficulty in ob- 
 taining payment of the life-pension conferred on 
 him by the late Emperor Eudolph, and there was a 
 large accumulation of arrears. In a final endeavour 
 to recover the sum due to him, Kepler travelled to 
 Eatisbon and appealed to the Imperial Assembly, 
 but without success. The fatigue which he endured 
 on the journey, combined with vexation and dis- 
 appointment, brought on a violent fever that was 
 followed by a cerebral affection which terminated 
 fatally. He died on November 15, 1630, in the 
 
34 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 sixtieth year of his age, and was interred in St. Peter's 
 Churchyard at Katisbon. 
 
 Kepler was a man of indomitable energy and 
 perseverance, and spared neither time nor trouble 
 in the accomplishment of any object which he took 
 in hand. In thinking over the form of the orbits of 
 the planets, he writes : ' I brooded with the whole 
 energy of my mind on the subject, asking why they 
 are not other than they are, the number, the size, 
 and the motion of the orbits." But many fanciful 
 ideas passed through Kepler's imaginative brain 
 before he made the sublime discoveries that have 
 immortalised his name. He predicted transits of 
 Mercury and of Venus, made important discoveries 
 in optics, and was the inventor of the astronomical 
 telescope. 
 
 We now arrive at a period in the history of 
 astronomy when, if we take a retrospective view, 
 we shall find that the labours of Copernicus, of 
 Tycho Brahe, of Galileo, and of Kepler have elevated 
 the science to a position of exalted and commanding 
 eminence. We are indebted to those great men for 
 our knowledge of the true theory of the universe ; 
 for the multitude of astronomical observations which 
 formed the basis of the Rudolphine Tables ; for the 
 earliest application of the telescope to astronomical 
 research ; and for the true form and size of the 
 planetary orbits. These lofty achievements exhibit 
 to our gaze the solar system having the Sun at its 
 centre with his attendant family of planets and their 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 35 
 
 satellites revolving in majestic orbits around him, 
 and presenting an impressive spectacle of order, 
 harmony, and design. 
 
 Among astronomers of less conspicuous eminence 
 who lived in the seventeenth century, we find recorded 
 the name of Christian Huygens, who was born at the 
 Hague in 1629. He studied at Ley den and Breda, 
 and became highly distinguished as a geometrician 
 and scientist. Huygens made important investiga- 
 tions relative to the figure of the Earth, and wrote 
 a learned treatise on the cause of gravity. He 
 also first propounded the undulatory theory of Light ; 
 and discovered Polarisation. 
 
 One of his most useful scientific achievements 
 was the construction of a clock that should keep 
 accurate time. Although the pendulum movement 
 was first adopted by Galileo, he was unable to arrange 
 the mechanism of his clock so that its motion should 
 be continuous. After a short time the oscillation 
 of the pendulum ceased, and a fresh impulse was 
 required to again set it in motion ; consequently 
 Galileo's clock was of little or no use. Huygens 
 overcame the difficulty by so arranging the mechanism 
 of his clock that the balance, instead of being 
 horizontal, was directed perpendicularly, and pro- 
 longed downward to form a pendulum, the oscillation 
 of which regulated the downward motion of the 
 weight. This invention was highly applauded; it 
 proved to be of much service everywhere, and was 
 of great value to astronomers. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Huygens next directed his attention to the 
 construction of telescopes, and displayed much 
 skill in the grinding and polishing of lenses. When 
 engaged in observing the planet Saturn with a 
 telescope constructed by himself, and which possessed 
 greater magnifying power than any other instrument 
 in existence, he made a remarkable discovery which 
 he announced in the form of a Latin cryptogram. 
 This, when deciphered, read as follows : — ' Annulo 
 cingitur, tenuis piano, nusquam cohaerente ad 
 eclipticam inclinatio.' ' The planet is surrounded* 
 by a slender flat ring, everywhere distinct from 
 its surface, and inclined to the ecliptic' Huygens 
 perceived the shadow of the ring thrown on the 
 planet, and was able to explain in a satisfactory 
 manner all the phenomena associated with its 
 variable appearance. The true form of the ring is 
 circular, but by us it is seen foreshortened ; conse- 
 quently, when the Earth is above or below its plane, 
 it appears of an elliptical shape. When the position 
 of the planet is such that the plane of the ring passes 
 through the Sun, the edge of the ring only is illumined, 
 and then it becomes invisible for a short period. In 
 the same manner, when the plane of the ring passes 
 through the Earth, the illumined edge of the ring is 
 not of sufficient magnitude to appear visible, but as 
 the enlightened side of the plane becomes more 
 inclined towards the Earth, the ring again comes 
 into view. When the plane of the ring passes between 
 the Earth and the Sun, the unillumined side of the 
 ring is turned towards the Earth, and during the 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 37 
 
 time it remains in this position it is invisible. 
 Huygens discovered the Great Nebula in Orion, and 
 Saturn's sixth satelHte (Titan). 
 
 ( JoHANN Hevelius, a celebrated Prussian as- 
 tronomer, was born at Dantzig in 1611. He was a 
 man of wealth, and erected an observatory at his 
 residence, where, for a period of forty years, he 
 diligently carried on a series of astronomical obser- 
 vations. He constructed a chart of the stars, and 
 in order to complete the work, delineated nine new 
 constellations in spaces on the celestial vault which 
 had hitherto been unnamed. These constellations 
 are called Camelopardus, Canes Venatici, Coma 
 Berenices, Lacerta, Leo Minor, Lynx Monoceros, 
 Sextans, and Vulpecula. He also executed a chart 
 of the Moon's surface, wrote a description of the 
 lunar markings, and discovered the libration of the 
 Moon in longitude. 
 
 On May 30, 1611, Hevelius observed a transit 
 of Mercury, and pubHshed a description of the 
 phenomenon. In his work he included a treatise 
 by a young Enghsh astronomer named Horrox on 
 the first recorded transit of Venus. Hevelius received 
 Horrox's manuscript from Huygens, and in acknow- 
 ledging it he writes : 
 
 How greatly does my Mercury exult in the joyous prospect that 
 he may shortly fold within his arms Horrox's long-looked-for 
 and beloved Venus ! He renders you unfeigned thanks that by 
 your permission, this much desired union is about to be celebrated, 
 and that the writer is able, with your concurrence, to introduce 
 them both together to the pubHc. 
 
 Hevelius made numerous researches on comets, 
 
38 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 and suggested that the form of their paths might 
 be a parabola. 
 
 The Cassini family affords an instance of the 
 hereditary descent of talent transmitted from father 
 to son through several generations. 
 
 Giovanni Domenico Cassini was born at 
 Perinaldo, near Nice, in 1625. He was a man of high 
 scientific attainments, and in 1671 became Director 
 of the Paris Observatory. He devoted a long hfe 
 to trying and difficult observations, which in his 
 later years deprived him of his eyesight. Cassini 
 proved beyond doubt that Jupiter rotates on his 
 axis, and assigned with considerable accuracy his 
 period of rotation. He published tables of the 
 planet's satellites, and determined their motions by 
 observation of their eclipses. He also ascertained 
 the rotation periods of Venus and of Mars ; and 
 observed an occultation of Jupiter by the Moon. 
 Cassini discovered the dual nature of Saturn's ring, 
 having perceived that instead of one there are two 
 rings, separated by a dark interval. He also 
 discovered four of the planet's satellites. Cassini 
 made a near approach to the Solar parallax by 
 means of researches on the parallax of Mars. 
 He discovered the belts of Jupiter, was the first to 
 recognise the zodiacal hght, and established the 
 coincidence of the nodes of the lunar equator and 
 orbit. 
 
 Jaques Cassini, son of Giovanni, was born at 
 Paris in 1677. He followed in his father's footsteps, 
 and wrote several important treatises on astronomical 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 39 
 
 subjects. He investigated the period of rotation 
 of the planet Venus, and upheld the results arrived 
 at by his father, which were afterwards confirmed 
 by Schroeter. Cassini made some valuable researches 
 on the proper motion of the stars, and demonstrated 
 that their change of position was real, and not due 
 to a displacement of the ecliptic. He attempted to 
 ascertain the apparent diameter of Sirus, and made 
 observations on the visibility of the stars. Other 
 members of this distinguished family have left behind 
 them enduring evidence of meritorious and pains- 
 taking work, which was of much value in advancing 
 the science of astronomy. 
 
 Olaus Roemer, an eminent Danish astronomer, 
 was born at Copenhagen in 1644. He studied 
 mathematics and astronomy under Erasmus Barto- 
 linus, and afterwards, on the invitation of Picard, a 
 French astronomer, who recognised the young man's 
 abilities, took up his residence in Paris, where he 
 continued to prosecute his astronomical studies. 
 In 1675 Roemer, in a paper communicated to the 
 French Academy of Sciences, announced his discovery 
 of the progressive transmission of light. It was 
 generally beheved that light travelled instantaneously, 
 but Roemer was able to prove the inaccuracy of 
 this conclusion, and demonstrated that hght travels 
 in space with a measurable velocity. By diligently 
 observing the eclipses of Jupiter's satelhtes, Roemer 
 perceived that sometimes they occurred before, and 
 sometimes after, their predicted times. This irregu- 
 larity, he discovered, depended upon the position 
 
40 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 of the Earth with regard to Jupiter. When the 
 Earth, in traversing her orbit, moved round to the 
 opposite side of the Sun, thereby bringing Jupiter 
 into conjunction — ^his most distant point from the 
 Earth — ^an echpse occurred sixteen minutes twenty- 
 six seconds later than it did when Jupiter was in 
 opposition or nearest to our globe. After a long 
 series of careful observations, Roemer concluded that 
 this discrepancy was due to the fact that hght travels 
 with a measurable velocity, and that in traversing 
 the additional distance — the diameter of the Earth's 
 orbit — an interval of upwards of sixteen minutes 
 elapsed — ^the time required by light to cross this 
 portion of space. This important discovery enabled 
 the velocity of hght to be ascertained, which, according 
 to recent estimates, is about 186,000 miles a second. 
 In 1681 Roemer returned to Denmark and was 
 appointed Professor of Mathematics in the University 
 of Copenhagen. He was also entrusted with the 
 care of the City Observatory— a duty which his skill 
 as an astronomer eminently qualified him to under- 
 take. The transit instrument — a mechanism of much 
 importance to astronomers — ^was invented by Roemer. 
 It consists of a telescope fixed to a horizontal axis and 
 adjusted so as to revolve in the plane of the meridian. 
 The meridian circle, and altitude, and azimuth circles, 
 also owe their existence to the inventive skill of 
 this distinguished astronomer. Roemer resided for 
 many years at the observatory, and continued his 
 astronomical labours until his death, which occurred 
 in 1710. He meritoriously attempted to determine 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 41 
 
 the parallax of the fixed stars, and it is said that 
 the astronomical calculations and observations which 
 he left behind him equalled in number those made 
 by Tycho Brahe, nearly all of which perished in a 
 great conflagration that destroyed the observatory 
 and a large portion of the city of Copenhagen. 
 Among other astronomers of note who lived in the 
 seventeenth century we find recorded the names 
 of Descartes and Gassendi, whose mathematical 
 researches in their application to astronomy were 
 of much value ; Fabricius, Torricelli, and Maraldi, 
 who, by their investigations and observations, added 
 many facts to the general knowledge of the science ; 
 and Bayer, to whom belongs the distinction of having 
 constructed the first star atlas. 
 
 In England the study of astronomy had not 
 received the public recognition bestowed upon it 
 on the Continent, but it had its votaries, and chief 
 among them was a young clergyman of the name 
 of Horrox. 
 
 Jeremiah Horrox was born at Toxteth, near 
 Liverpool, in 1619. Little is known of his family. 
 His parents, it is said, occupied a humble position in 
 life, but as they were able to give their son a classical 
 education which qualified him for one of the learned 
 professions, it is probable they were not so obscure 
 as they have been represented. 
 
 Horrox received his early education at Toxteth. 
 He afterwards proceeded to Cambridge, and was 
 entered as a student of Emmanuel College on May 18, 
 1632. Having remained at the university for three 
 
42 MILTON^S ASTRONOMY 
 
 years, he returned to his native county and was 
 appointed curate of Hoole, a desolate, low-lying tract 
 of country, distant about eight miles from Preston. 
 Yet it was here, on November 24, 1639, that he made 
 his famous observation of the first recorded transit 
 of Venus, a phenomenon with which his name will 
 be for ever associated. 
 
 Horrox commenced the study of astronomy when 
 at Cambridge. His love of the sublime, and the 
 captivating influence exerted on his mind by con- 
 templation of the celestial orbs, induced him to 
 adopt astronomy as a pursuit congenial to his tastes, 
 and capable of exercising his highest mental powers. 
 He therefore applied himself with much earnestness 
 to the study of mathematics, but had to rely entirely 
 upon his own exertions, for at that time no branch 
 of physical or mathematical science was taught at 
 Cambridge. 
 
 In 1636 Horrox made the acquaintance of Wilham 
 Crabtree, a devoted astronomer who lived at Higher 
 Broughton, a suburb of Manchester. There soon 
 existed a close friendship between the two men, and 
 frequent communications passed between them re- 
 garding the science which they both loved so well. 
 Horrox devoted a considerable portion of his spare 
 time to calculating ephemerides based upon the 
 Lansberg Tables, but he discovered that they were 
 inaccurate and unreliable. Crabtree, who was an 
 unbeliever in Lansberg, urged him to discard the 
 Flemish astronomer's works and apply his talents 
 to the study of Tycho Brahe and of Kepler. Acting 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OE ASTRONOMY 43 
 
 on the advice of his friend, the youthful astronomer 
 soon reahsed the value of Kepler's writings, and was 
 charmed with the accuracy of observation and 
 inductive reasoning displayed in the elucidation of 
 those general laws the discovery of which constituted 
 a new era in the history of astronomy. The Rudol- 
 phine Tables were regarded by Horrox as being much 
 superior to those of Lansberg, but it occurred to him 
 that they might be improved by changing some of 
 the numbers and yet retaining the hypotheses. To 
 this task he applied himself with much earnestness 
 and assiduity, and after close application and 
 laborious study, accomplished the arduous under- 
 taking of bringing the Tables to a high state of 
 perfection. 
 
 In his investigation of the Lunar Theory, Horrox 
 outstripped all his predecessors ; and it is distinctly 
 affirmed by Sir Isaac Newton that he was the first 
 to discover the true form of the Moon's orbit, which 
 is that of an ellipse with the centre in the lower focus. 
 He was also able to explain the causes of the various 
 inequalities of the Moon's motion which render the 
 exact computation of her elements so difficult. The 
 annual equation, an effect produced by the increase 
 and decrease of the Sun's disturbing force as the 
 Earth approaches or recedes from him in her orbit, 
 had its value first assigned by Horrox. This he 
 calculated to be 11' 16", which is within 4" of 
 what it has since been proved to be by the 
 most recent observations. The evection, a discovery 
 made by Ptolemy, whereby the Moon's mean longitude 
 
U MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 is increased or diminished, was explained by Horrox 
 as depending upon the libratory motion of the 
 apsides and the change which takes place in the 
 eccentricity of the lunar orbit. These discoveries 
 were made by Horrox before he reached the age of 
 twenty years, and if his reputation had rested upon 
 them alone, his name would have been honourably 
 associated with those of men who have attained to 
 the highest distinction in astronomy. 
 
 In a communication dated July 25, 1638, Horrox 
 ascribes the motion of the Lunar apsides as due to 
 the disturbing force of the Sun. This very remarkable 
 expression, indicating the existence of a perturbative 
 influence exercised by the bodies of the solar system 
 upon each other, had never before been mentioned 
 by any philosopher or astronomer, and the cir- 
 cumstance of its being perfectly true in this particular 
 instance, enhances the merit of Horrox's sagacious 
 surmise. His beautiful explanation of the inequality 
 in the Moon's longitude was the last attempt made 
 in the investigation of planetary motion prior to 
 Newton's discovery of the principle of gravitation, 
 and there can be Httle doubt but that the great 
 philosopher in his exposition of the general principles 
 of perturbation, as detailed by him in the first book 
 of the ' Principia,' derived material assistance from 
 Horrox's investigations. Indeed, had it not been 
 for his untimely death, Horrox might have fore- 
 stalled Newton in his discovery of the law of universal 
 gravitation. 
 
 Horrox's detection of the long inequality in the 
 
 I 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 45 
 
 mean motion of Jupiter and of Saturn is another 
 achievement which adds lustre to his name. 
 
 By a careful study of the Lansberg and Kudol- 
 phine Tables, Horrox concluded that a transit of 
 Venus would occur on November 24, 1639. Kepler 
 predicted transits of the planet in 1631 and 1761, 
 but for some unaccountable reason he overlooked 
 the transit of 1639. The transit of 1631 was invisible 
 in Europe. Having assured himself of the accuracy 
 of his calculation, Horrox wrote to Crabtree informing 
 him of the expected event. In his letter he says : 
 
 My reason for now writing is to advise you of a remarkable 
 conjunction of the Sun and Venus on the 24th of November, 
 when there will be a transit. As such a thing has not happened 
 for many years past, and will not occur again in this century, I 
 earnestly entreat you to watch attentively with your telescope, 
 in order to observe it as well as you can. Notice particularly 
 the diameter of Venus, which is stated by Kepler to be 7' and 
 by Lansberg to be IV, but which I beheve to be scarcely greater 
 than 1'. 
 
 Having made careful preparations for observing 
 the transit with his telescope, Horrox writes as follows : 
 
 Although the corrected computation of Venus' motions 
 which I had before prepared, and on the accuracy of which I 
 implicitly relied, forbade me to expect anything before three 
 o'clock in the afternoon of the 24th, yet, since according to the 
 calculation of most astronomers the conjunction should take 
 place sooner — by some even on the 23rd — I was unwiUing to 
 depend entirely on my own opinion, which was not sufficiently 
 confirmed lest by too much self-confidence I might endanger 
 the observation. Anxiously intent, therefore, on the under- 
 taking, through the greater part of the 23rd and on the whole of 
 the 24th I omitted no available opportunity of observing her 
 ingress. I watched carefully on the 24th from sunrise to nine 
 o'clock, and from a little before ten until noon, and at one in the 
 
46 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 afternoon, being called away in the intervals by business 3 of 
 the highest importance, which for these ornamental pursuits 
 I could not with propriety neglect. But during all this time I 
 saw nothing in the Sun except a small and common spot, con- 
 sisting, as it were, of three points at a distance from the centre 
 towards the left which I noticed on the preceding and following 
 days. This evidently had nothing to do with Venus. About 
 fifteen minutes past three in the afternoon when I was again at 
 liberty to continue my labours, an opening in the clouds which 
 rendered the Sun distinctly visible seemed as if Divine Providence 
 encouraged my aspirations, when — Oh — most gratifying spectacle ! 
 the object of so many earnest wishes, I perceived a new spot of 
 unusual magnitude, and of a perfectly round form that had just 
 wholly entered upon the left limb of the Sun, so that the margins 
 of the Sun and the spot coincided with each other, forming the 
 angle of contact. Not doubting that this was really the shadow 
 of the planet, I immediately applied myself sedulously to 
 observe it. 
 
 Horrox ascertained that the diameter of Venus 
 subtends an angle not much greater than one minute 
 of arc. He reduced the horizontal solar parallax 
 from fifty-seven seconds, as stated by Kepler, to 
 fourteen seconds, a calculation within one and a half 
 seconds of the value assigned to it by Halley sixty 
 years after ; he also reduced the Sun's semi-diameter. 
 
 Crabtree made preparations for observing the 
 transit similar to those adopted by Horrox ; but 
 the day was unfavourable — dark clouds covered the 
 face of the sky and concealed the Sun. Crabtree, 
 in despair, abandoned all hope of witnessing the 
 conjunction, when, just before sunset, there occurred 
 a break in the clouds, and the orb shone brilliantly 
 for a short interval. At once seizing his opportunity, 
 
 '•^ The transit occurred on a Sunday, and Horrox alludes to his 
 clerical duties. 
 
ON THE SUNS DISC. 
 
 5> 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 47 
 
 Crabtree, to his intense delight, beheld the planet 
 fully entered on the Sun's disc, but instead of pro- 
 ceeding to take observations, he was so overcome with 
 emotion at the sight of the phenomenon, and con- 
 tinued to gaze upon it with such rapt attention, that 
 he only regained his self-possession when the clouds 
 again hid from his view the setting sun.* Crabtree's 
 observation of the transit was, however, not a fruit- 
 less one. He drew from memory a diagram showing 
 the exact position of Venus on the Sun's disc which 
 corresponded in every respect with Horrox's observa- 
 tion ; he also estimated the diameter of the planet 
 to be 2^0 that of the Sun. This, when computed, gives 
 r 3'', Horrox having reckoned it V 2'\ 
 
 This transit of Venus is remarkable as having 
 been the first ever beheld with mortal eyes, and 
 the only observers were two young men unknown 
 to fame who resided in the north of England. We are 
 indebted to the genius of Horrox for its prediction, 
 the transit having occurred on the day, and almost at 
 the very hour, when he calculated it should take place. 
 
 Having thought it desirable to write a description 
 of the transit, Horrox prepared an elegant Latin 
 treatise, entitled ' Venus in Sole Visa ' — ^Venus seen 
 in the Sun. 
 
 In the meantime Horrox returned to Toxteth, 
 and arranged to fulfil a long-promised visit to Crabtree. 
 He anticipated with joy the prospect of meeting 
 
 ^ A fresco by the late Mr. Ford Madox Brown, depicting Crabtree 
 observing the transit of Venus, adorns the interior of the Manchester 
 Town Hall. 
 
48 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 his friend, and of discussing with him matters of 
 much interest to both. But alas ! this visit was 
 frustrated in a manner wholly unexpected, for we 
 read that Horrox was seized with a sudden and 
 severe illness, the nature of which is unknown, and 
 that he died on the day prior to that of his intended 
 arrival at Broughton. He expired on January 3, 
 1641, in the twenty-second year of his age. 
 
 Horrox's death was a great grief to Crab tree, 
 and in one of his letters he alludes to it as an 'irre- 
 parable loss.' Crabtree did not long survive his 
 friend : he died on August 1, 1644, aged thirty- four 
 years. 
 
 Only a few of the papers written by Horrox have 
 been preserved, and those were found in Crabtree's 
 house after his death. All the others were irre- 
 coverably lost. One portion of his works, which 
 for greater security was concealed in his father's 
 house, perished at the hands of soldiers in quest of 
 plunder. His brother Jonas carried some of his 
 writings into Ireland, where he died, and nothing 
 is known of their fate. Another portion, which 
 had been deposited in a bookseller's shop in London, 
 was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. It will thus 
 be seen how narrowly Horrox's name escaped oblivion, 
 and how the record of all his meritorious achieve- 
 ments might have perished — ^unknown and unheard 
 of by posterity. The remaining fragments of his 
 works were collected and edited by Dr. Wallis 
 Savihan, Professor of Astronomy in the University 
 of Oxford. They were pubhshed in London in 1672 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OE ASTRONOMY 49 
 
 under the title of ' Jeremiae Horrocii Of era Posthuma.' 
 His treatise on the transit of Venus fell into the 
 hands of Hevelius and, as has been already mentioned, 
 was published by him along with a dissertation of 
 his own on the transit of Mercury. 
 
 By the early death of Horrox, fair science lost a 
 most devoted worshipper, and astronomy one of her 
 brightest ornaments. It would seem strange that one 
 so young should be so learned — so learned and yet so 
 wise. Delambre says that had Horrox lived he would 
 have proved himself the worthy successor of Kepler ; 
 and Herschel, in his praise, calls him the pride and 
 the boast of British astronomy. No monument 
 was erected in memory of Horrox until close on two 
 centuries after his death, but his name, though long 
 forgotten except by astronomers, is now engraved 
 on marble in Westminster Abbey. 
 
 William Gtascoigne, 1612-1644, was born at 
 Roth well, in the county of York. He was of an 
 inventive turn of mind and applied his skill to 
 improving the methods of telescopic observation. 
 The exact measurement of small angles was one of the 
 difficulties with which astronomers had for long to 
 contend. Tycho Brahe was so misled by the ap- 
 parent diameters of the Sun and Moon that he 
 concluded a total eclipse of the Sun was impossible. 
 Gascoigne overcame this difficulty by his invention 
 of the micrometer. This appliance, when placed 
 in the focus of a lens, gives very accurate 
 measurements of the diameters of the Sun, 
 Moon, and Planets. Crabtree, in a letter to 
 
60 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Horrox, expresses his appreciation of the micro- 
 meter. He writes: 
 
 The first thing Mr. Gascoigne showed me was a large telescope 
 amplified and adorned with new inventions of his own whereby he 
 can take the diameters of the Sun or Moon or any small angle 
 in the heavens or upon the Earth most exactly through the glass 
 to a second ; could I procure it with travel, or purchase it with 
 gold, I would not be without a telescope for observing small 
 angles in the heavens. 
 
 Sherburn affirms that Gascoigne was the first to 
 construct a telescope having two convex lenses ; 
 and Townley states that he composed a treatise on 
 optics which was ready for publication, but that 
 after his death the manuscript could not be found. 
 
 Having embraced the Eoyalist cause, William 
 Gascoigne joined the forces of Charles I, and fell in 
 the battle of Marston Moor on July 2, 1644. The 
 deplorable death of this young and remarkably clever 
 man was a severe blow to the science of astronomy 
 in England. 
 
 The invention of logarithms by Napier ; the obser- 
 vations of Thomas Harriot, an eminent mathema- 
 tician ; the investigations of Norwood and of Gilbert ; 
 the mechanical genius of Hooke, and the patient 
 researches of Flamsteed — the first Astronomer- 
 Royal — ^were of much value in perfecting many 
 details associated with the astronomy of this 
 period. 
 
 These pages contain a brief outline history of r 
 astronomy from the earhest times down to the death 
 of Milton, which occurred in 1674. In the life-time^ 
 of the poet, astronomy made rapid progress ; many 
 
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ASTRONOMY 51 
 
 brilliant discoveries were announced, and important 
 controversies were finally settled. With those Milton 
 was fully conversant, and the frequency with 
 which he alludes to them in his poems bears ample 
 testimony to his being well abreast of all the science 
 and philosophy of his age. 
 
 
 E 2 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Milton's cosmology 
 
 In studying Milton's great epic, much pleasure will 
 be missed if the student has not a clear comprehension 
 of the poet's sublime conception of space and of the 
 Universe ; also of the relative positions of the four 
 regions which embraced universal space, viz. Heaven 
 or the Empyrean, Chaos, Hell, and the Mundane 
 Universe, these having formed the theatre in which 
 the momentous events recorded in the poem are 
 described as having occurred. 
 
 Milton derived his cosmology partly from the 
 Mosaic record of the creation and partly from the 
 classical mythology of ancient authors, especially 
 Hesiod — for his spirit had drunk deeply and sym- 
 pathetically of the writings of this early Greek 
 poet. The myths and traditions which circulated 
 among the Hellenic people, descriptive of their gods 
 and demi-gods, and of the origin of the Universe, 
 were first enumerated and arranged in regular 
 sequence by Hesiod. In his ' Theogony ' we find the 
 earliest attempt to systematise the genealogy of the 
 gods, and to describe the cosmogony or creation of 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 53 
 
 the Universe. The poet represents Chaos as primeval 
 — ' the foundation of all ' — and Gaia (Earth) as 
 first-born ; from Earth sprung Coelus (Heaven) ; 
 Earth and Heaven being the progenitors of the line 
 of the Olympian gods. Tartarus comes next into 
 existence, whilst Chaos is answerable for the genesis 
 of Erebus and of Night — ^Light and Day being the 
 offspring of the latter. Earth in her turn brings 
 forth the mountains and the sea. The later Orphic 
 theogonies and cosmogonies, although more mythical 
 and containing speculative ideas of greater refinement 
 which tended to invest the powers of Nature with the 
 attributes of Deity, were founded upon the theogony 
 first described by Hesiod. To the ancient Greek, 
 Heaven, the abode of the gods, was in the sky above, 
 which rested upon the surface of the flat Earth. 
 Underneath the Earth were Erebus and Tartarus, 
 dark cavernous regions inhabited by the souls of the 
 departed, into the latter of which the rebellious 
 Titans were hurled by Zeus (Jupiter), after their 
 overthrow. Around and below there raged the 
 disorder of primeval Chaos. ' But Milton's Heaven 
 was above the sky, and beyond the stars — beyond 
 the Milky Way, and from its floor the poet suspended 
 the Universe as a lamp in the great temple of space. 
 Underneath the pendent World ^ he spread out 
 Chaos, and instead of having confined the outcast 
 angels in a prison-house below the Earth, he rele- 
 gated them to a profound abyss in the uttermost 
 
 ^ The ' World ' signifies the Universe. Milton frequently makes 
 use of the word in this sense. 
 
54 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 depths of Chaos — ^an infernal world where the re- 
 beUious were doomed to endure the punishment 
 consequent upon their disobedience and fall. 
 
 In order to understand the cosmological scheme 
 which Milton adopted for the requirements of his 
 poem, it will be necessary to imagine uncircumscribed 
 infinitude as consisting of two hemispheres, an upper 
 and a lower. The upper hemisphere, called Heaven 
 or the Empyrean, embraced a vast and boundless 
 region of immeasurable extent — the lofty habitation 
 of the Deity : a place radiant with the effulgence 
 of His glory, and filled by His immediate and visible 
 presence. Throughout this blissful region of light, 
 and participating in its joys, dwells a multitude of 
 beings called ' Angels,' or ' Sons of God,' who were 
 created by Him. They behold the Divine Presence, 
 hear the Divine voice, fulfil God's high behests, and 
 execute the mandates of His sovereign will. Adoring, 
 they draw near to His throne in worship, and with 
 angelic harmonies praise and extol their Creator. 
 
 In his description of the celestial regions, Milton 
 is careful to make use of terrestrial analogies, else 
 he would be unable to describe what otherwise 
 would be inconceivable. The poet portrays Heaven 
 as a plain — 
 
 Extended wide 
 In circuit undetermined square or round. 
 
 ii. 1047-48. 
 
 diversified with hills and valleys, rocks, waters, woods 
 and caves. Its gates are of gold, embeUished with 
 sparkling gems ; its walls of crystal, adorned with 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 55 
 
 battlements of living sapphire, and towers of opal ; 
 through its midst there flows the River of Bhss, and 
 in its centre, surrounded by golden lamps, stands *bhe 
 Mount of God where dwells the Most High throned 
 in brightness insufferable. Throughout its blissful 
 regions the angehc throng, dispersed in bands and 
 files, quaff immortality and joy by living waters, 
 and fresh fountains shaded by trees of hfe. The 
 Empyreal splendour of morn, and the subdued hues 
 of evening, are pleasing vicissitudes of Heaven's 
 eternal day, for night comes not there except as 
 twilight upon Earth. 
 
 The lower hemisphere, called by Milton the 
 ' vast immeasurable abyss,' ' the wasteful and hoary 
 deep,' ' the vast and boundless deep,' is the realm or 
 region of Chaos — a dark unfathomable abyss per- 
 vaded by the elements of matter that with incessant 
 turmoil and confusion war with each other for 
 supremacy. Night, as consort of Chaos, reigns over 
 this lifeless, soulless realm of darkness, and anarchy, 
 from out the crude contents of which it was believed 
 the Universe was formed. Milton describes Chaos 
 as : 
 
 A dark 
 Illimitable ocean, without bound, 
 
 Without dimensions ; where length, breadth, and highth, 
 And time and place are lost ; where eldest Night 
 And Chaos, ancestors of Nature, hold 
 Eternal anarchy, amidst the noise 
 Of endless wars, and by confusion stand, 
 For, Hot, Cold, Moist and Dry, four champions fierce, 
 Strive here for mastery, and to battle bring 
 Their embryon atoms ; they around the flag 
 
56 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Of each his faction, in their several clans, 
 Light-armed, or heavy, sharp, smooth, swift or slow, 
 ^warm populous, unnumbered as the sands 
 Of Barca or Gyrene's torrid soil. 
 Levied to side with warring winds, and poise 
 Their lighter wings. To whom these most adhere 
 He rules a moment ; Chaos umpire sits. 
 And by decision more embroils the fray 
 By which he reigns ; next him, high arbiter. 
 Chance governs all. — ii. 891-910. 
 
 Milton, with much skill and originality, introduces 
 in this passage the ancient and mythological beliefs 
 associated with Chaos and its occupants. In de- 
 scribing this region as being without dimensions, 
 without length, breadth and height, and where time 
 and place are lost, he excites in the mind of the 
 reader a sense of vague incomprehensibility, whilst 
 the presence of the four elements known to the 
 Ancients, viz. Earth, Water, Air, Fire, not as they 
 exist individually, ' but in their pregnant causes 
 mixed confusedly,' adds to the perplexity already 
 created in trying to imagine the existence of anything 
 tangible in association with this region — 
 
 Of neither sea, nor shore, nor air, nor fire. 
 
 ii. 912. 
 
 Milton in his representation of Chaos follows in 
 the wake of classical tradition, and is perhaps in- 
 debted to Ovid {Met. i. 5-23) more than to any other 
 author for his knowledge of this region. The ancient 
 poet defines Chaos as a seething welter of unorganised 
 matter, but Milton, whose delineation of Chaos is 
 more definite and elaborate than that of any of his 
 predecessors, hkens the tumult of the elements to 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 57 
 
 that of the heat-tormented constituents of a molten*' 
 planet — 
 
 Outrageous as a sea, dark, wasteful, wild, 
 Up from the bottom turned by furious winds 
 And surging waves, as mountains to assault 
 Heaven's highth, and with the centre mix the pole. 
 
 vii. 212-15. 
 
 Hesiod makes the earhest allusion to Chaos, but 
 it can scarcely be said that he regarded Chaos as 
 a divinity, and after his time this region became 
 associated with philosophic discussion rather than 
 with mythological fable. Classical authority in sup- 
 port of the existence of Chaos as a distinct divinity 
 is very slender, but Milton personifies Chaos as 
 reigning over this region of Anarchy, with Night as 
 co-ruler — 
 
 When straight behold the throne 
 Of Chaos, and his dark pavilion spread 
 Wide on the wasteful Deep ! With him enthroned 
 Sat sable-vested Night, eldest of things, 
 The consort of his reign ; and by them stood 
 Orcus and Ades, and the dreaded name 
 Of Demogorgon ; Eumour next and Chance, 
 And Tumult and Confusion all embroiled. 
 And Discord with a thousand various mouths. 
 
 ii. 959-67. 
 
 Milton sometimes describes Chaos as signifying 
 both ruler and realm : 
 
 ' Silence ye troubled waves, and, thou Deep, peace ! ' 
 
 Said then the omnific Word : ' your discord end ! ' 
 
 Nor stayed ; but on the wings of Cherubim 
 
 Uplifted, in paternal glory rode 
 
 Far into Chaos and the World unborn ; 
 
 For Chaos heard his voice. — vii. 216-21. 
 
58 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Again : 
 
 Disparted Chaos overbuilt exclaimed, 
 
 And with rebounding surge the bars assailed, 
 
 That scorned his indignation.^-x. 416-18. 
 
 Milton alludes to Chaos in the hands of the 
 Creator as — 
 
 His dark materials to create more worlds. 
 
 '^ ii. 916. 
 
 Nor did it escape his philosophical observation 
 that cosmic changes might, with the lapse of ages, 
 reduce systems of worlds to their original chaotic 
 condition. This he surmises when he refers to 
 Chaos as — 
 
 The womb of Nature and perhaps her grave. 
 
 ii. 911. 
 
 The speculative and possibly correct opinion 
 entertained by many persons that there exists but 
 one kind of matter in the Universe, and that all 
 substances are differentiated portions of it, would 
 appear to have suggested itself to the poet's mind 
 when he says : 
 
 One first matter all 
 Endued with various forms, various degrees 
 Of substance, and in things that live, of Hfe ; 
 But more refined, more spirituous, and pure, 
 As nearer to Him placed, or nearer tending, 
 Each in their several active spheres assigned, 
 Till body up to spirit work, in bounds 
 Proportioned to each kind. — v. 472-79. 
 
 Milton portrays an ascending scale in the order 
 of nature both as regards the animate and inanimate, 
 and suggests the possibility of the existence of beings 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 59 
 
 with bodies formed of matter so rare and ethereal 
 as to be capable of blending with the spiritual. In 
 one of his prose works he expresses the opinion that 
 ' matter is imperishable and eternal, because it is 
 not only from God, but out of God who is eternal/ 
 In a less enlightened age Milton would have been 
 called a ' pantheistic materialist,^ but the wonderful 
 discoveries made in recent years regarding the nature 
 and properties of matter — discoveries which have 
 deepened rather than lessened the mystery associated 
 with its existence — render any conception of its 
 limitation impossible ; and he would indeed be a 
 bold individual who dared venture to say where the 
 material ended and the spiritual began. We are 
 surrounded by matter of such extreme tenuity that 
 it is only by the perception of phenomena induced 
 by its motion that we are conscious of its existence. 
 Subtle forces, emanations, and vibrations other than 
 those of light, heat, and electricity indicate the pres- 
 ence of matter, the nature of which is entirely beyond 
 our ken. It is interesting to observe how much 
 Milton's philosophy harmonises with modern scientific 
 research. The evolution or gradual ascent from 
 lower to higher forms of life is a doctrine which is 
 now almost universally upheld, and to the truthful- 
 ness of which the sciences of biology and geology 
 bear ample testimony. The poet entertains the idea 
 that this progressive refinement of form may go on, 
 and suggests that eventually the — 
 
 Time may come when men 
 
 With Angels may participate. — v. 493-494. 
 
60 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 These happy anticipations were, however, not 
 based upon nor sustained by any scientific knowledge, 
 for in Milton's time the sciences associated with the 
 evolution of life were unknown. The poet, in the 
 exercise of his free imagination, appears to have had an 
 intuitive perception of what has since been revealed 
 by science, described in his own peculiar manner, 
 and rendered attractive by his poetic fancy. Chaos 
 plays an important part in the elaboration of Milton's 
 cosmology, and in the ' Paradise Lost ' there are 
 numerous happy allusions to this primordial con- 
 dition of matter which formed the basis of all created 
 things : 
 
 Sing, heavenly Muse, that on the secret top 
 Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire 
 That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed 
 In the beginning how the Heavens and Earth 
 Rose out of chaos. — i. 6-10. 
 
 As yet this world was not, and Chaos wild 
 
 Reigned where these Heavens now roll, where Earth 
 
 Upon her centre poised. — v. 577-79. [now rests 
 
 The ancient conception of a Chaos out of which 
 the Universe was formed, is more in harmony with 
 the conclusions of modern science than might at first 
 be imagined. How this idea of a Chaos originated, 
 no one can tell ! It accounts for a beginning and 
 agrees with the Mosaic narrative which describes the 
 Earth as ' without form and void,' and that darkness 
 covered the face of the Deep. The belief in the 
 evolution of the cosmos out of a chaos is one which 
 has gained the adherence of the majority of scientific 
 thinkers. It is now generally admitted that the 
 solar system in the earliest stage of its existence 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 61 
 
 consisted of a vast rotating mass of chaotic nebulous 
 matter which occupied a region in space of far greater 
 dimensions than is embraced by the orbit of the 
 planet Neptune, and that by its condensation and 
 contraction, subject to certain dynamical laws, the 
 Sun and planets were evolved. 
 
 The two regions, viz. Heaven or the Empyrean 
 and Chaos, embraced universal space ; nor did any 
 modification of either take place until after the 
 occurrence of a revolt in Heaven, when one of the 
 highest, if not the highest archangel, known after- 
 wards as Lucifer or Satan, rebelled, and drew after 
 him a third of the angelic host. Then ensued a fierce 
 contest for the empire of Great Heaven. The arch- 
 angel Michael, who led the loyal armies of Heaven, 
 gave battle to the rebel Powers. For two days the 
 conflict raged with dubious success, but on the third 
 day it was terminated by the intervention of Divine 
 Might. Satan, with his rebel host, was expelled from 
 Empyrean and driven into the Deep : 
 
 Him the Almighty Power 
 Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky 
 With hideous ruin and combustion, down 
 To bottomless perdition ; there to dwell 
 In adamantine chains and penal fire. — i. 44-8. 
 
 In describing the rout of the overthrown angels, 
 the poet says : 
 
 Nine days they fell ; confounded Chaos roared, 
 And felt ten-fold confusion in their fall 
 Through his wild Anarchy ; so huge a rout 
 Encumbered him with ruin. Hell at last. 
 Yawning, received them whole, and on them closed. 
 
 vi. 871-75. 
 
62 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 There is now an interruption to the uniformly 
 chaotic condition of the lower hemisphere. In order to 
 localise Hell, Milton partitioned off a portion of Chaos 
 situated in the lowest Deep, and there constructed 
 his Infernal World — a vast region which consisted 
 of fiery mountains, torrid plains, and a sulphurous 
 lake played over by lurid flames, into which four 
 infernal rivers disgorged their baleful streams : 
 frozen continents, glaciers, and ice-bound Alps beat 
 with perpetual storms of whirlwind and dire hail 
 intensified by contrast the terrors of this place of 
 torment : 
 
 A universe of death, which God by curse 
 Created evil, for evil only good. — ii. 622-23. 
 
 --^ The ancient classical and mythological conception 
 of Hell proved itself a greater attraction to Milton's 
 imagination than the beliefs associated with this 
 region that were in vogue at a later period of the 
 world's history. All the Early Fathers believed 
 Hell to be in the centre of the Earth, but St. Thomas 
 declares that no person without a special revelation 
 can say exactly where it is. Dante locates Hell within 
 the Earth, and describes it as a funnel or inverted 
 cone descending in nine diminishing whorls through 
 the hemisphere until its central point is reached. 
 Milton's description of Hell and of its occupants as 
 narrated in Books I and II of the ' Paradise Lost ' 
 transcends the efforts of all other writers in their 
 portrayal of the Infernal World. 
 
 Three regions now occupy the map of Universal 
 Infinitude, viz. Heaven, Chaos, and Hell, but a 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 63 
 
 fourth is required for the completion of Milton's 
 cosmological scheme. 
 
 Soon after the expulsion of the rebel angels, 
 the time long spoken of in Heaven had arrived 
 when the Divine Power should be manifested in 
 the creation of a New Universe and a new race 
 of beings. This great work the Father deputed 
 to the Messiah. He, '.girt with omnipotence,' and 
 accompanied by hosts of angels, passed through 
 Heaven's gates in bright procession, and rode far 
 into Chaos, which at His command ceased its uproar. 
 Then having stayed His chariot wheels, and taken 
 in His hand His golden compasses, one foot He centred, 
 the other turned round through the vast quiescent 
 Deep, and thus decreed the limits of the Universe. 
 p At His bidding the Earth's formless mass rose out of 
 j Chaos, and over the circumscribed immensity the 
 ' elementary atoms of matter rolled into whorls and 
 vortices that condensed into suns and systems of 
 worlds — a countless multitude of shining orbs. Thus 
 were the Heavens and the Earth created ! 
 
 The creation of the Heavens and of the Earth com- 
 pletes the regional delineation of Milton's cosmological 
 scheme. The four regions, viz. Heaven, Chaos, 
 Hell, and the Mundane Universe embrace universal 
 space, and are each included within the compass of 
 the narrative descriptive of the far-reaching events 
 and incidents recorded in the poem. Indeed, the 
 ' Paradise Lost ' may be regarded as a cosmological 
 ; /^ epic which treats not only of the Universe of Man, but 
 also of that primeval or aboriginal Universe in which 
 
64 
 
 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 space is lost in infinitude, and where time is measured 
 by eternity. 
 
 Heaven and Hell are beyond the purview of 
 science ; but the cosmos, or visible Universe, in which 
 is embraced not only our infinitesimal Earth, but also 
 the entire starry heavens — all the orbs, clusters, 
 systems and galaxies of stars visible to the naked eye 
 
 Fig. 1. — Milton's Division of Universal Space — Masson. 
 
 and revealed by the telescope — ^Milton hung pendent 
 from the floor of the Empyrean. In order to explain 
 its mechanism and the arrangement of the orbs which 
 enter into its formation, it will be necessary to 
 describe the astronomical system which the poet 
 adopted for his ' Paradise Lost ' — a system entirely 
 different from that which is now regarded as the 
 true theory of the Universe, and which, from the 
 earliest times down to the beginning of the seventeenth 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 65 
 
 century was almost universally upheld by those who 
 studied the motions of the celestial orbs. This 
 system was known as the Ptolemaic System, having 
 been so called after its chief expounder, Claudius 
 Ptolemy. ^ _ ^fa^^l^^^ 
 
 According to the Ptolemaic theory the Earth was 
 regarded as the immovable centre of the Universe. 
 Surrounding it were certain spheres or zones of 
 transpicuous space arranged in concentric circles, the 
 larger spheres enclosing the smaller, and within them 
 was situated the cosmos or Universe usually des- 
 cribed as the Heavens and the Earth. To each of the 
 inner seven spheres was attached a heavenly body 
 that was carried round the Earth by the revolution 
 of the crystalline. 
 
 1st sphere : that of the Moon. 
 
 2nd sphere : that of the planet Mercury. 
 
 3rd sphere : that of the planet Venus. 
 
 4th sphere : that of the Sun ; regarded as a planet. 
 
 5th sphere : that of the planet Mars. 
 
 6th sphere : that of the planet Jupiter. 
 
 7th sphere : that of the planet Saturn. 
 
 8th sphere : that of the fixed stars. 
 The eighth sphere was called the Firmament 
 because it was supposed to impart steadiness to the 
 inner spheres. This sphere was also believed to 
 accomplish a diurnal revolution round the Earth, 
 carrying in it all the fixed stars, and with it the 
 i seven other spheres ; and by its motion bringing 
 about the alternation of day and night. The interior 
 spheres had besides, separate and slower motions of 
 
66 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 their own which accounted for the astronomical 
 phenomena associated with the orbs attached to 
 each ; those of the Moon giving rise to months ; of 
 the Sun to the year ; and of the planets to their 
 
 Fig. 2. — The Ptolemaic System of the Universe. 
 
 different phases. In Ptolemy's time the Universe 
 did, not extend beyond the eighth sphere, which 
 formed its boundary. But as observations of the 
 heavens increased in accuracy, certain irregularities 
 of motion were perceived to occur among the celestial 
 orbs which could not be explained by the revolution 
 of eight spheres alone. In order to account for 
 these, astronomers in the Middle Ages added two 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 67 
 
 other spheres to the system — a ' ninth ' external to 
 that of the fixed stars called the ' Crystalline Sphere/ 
 which produced the slow motion known as the 
 Precession of the Equinoxes ; and a ' tenth ' sphere 
 or ' Primum Mobile ' that accomplished a revolution 
 round the Earth from east to west in twenty-four 
 hours, causing the change of day and night by 
 carrying with it all the other spheres. Ptolemaic 
 astronomers were, however, unable to hazard an 
 opinion as to how this was effected, and having been 
 aware that the axis of motion of the Primum Mobile 
 was that of the equator, its extremities being the 
 poles of the heavens, whilst that of the Ninth Sphere 
 was the axis of the elliptic, some explanation ought 
 to have been forthcoming. This complete system 
 of ten revolving spheres was called the Alphonsine 
 System out of compliment to Alphonso X, King of 
 Castile, a monarch who took a deep interest in the 
 science of astronomy. Beyond the Tenth Sphere or 
 ' Primum Mobile ' there was beheved to exist a bound- 
 less uncircumscribed region of immeasurable extent 
 — the motionless Empyrean or Heaven of Heavens, 
 the incorruptible abode of the Deity, a place of 
 eternal mysteries which the mind of Man was unable 
 to fathom, and of which he could form no possible 
 conception. 
 
 Such were the behefs upon which this ancient 
 theory of the Universe was founded, that for upwards 
 of two thousand years held undisputed sway over 
 the minds of men, and during that period exercised 
 a predominating influence upon the imagination, 
 
 E 2 
 
68 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 thouglits, and ideas of all those who devoted them- 
 selves to literature, science, and art. Of the truth- 
 fulness of this assertion ample evidence may be found 
 in the literature of our own and of other countries 
 in which many expressions and phrases abound, 
 descriptive of the astronomical beliefs associated 
 with this picturesque and circumscribed conception 
 of the cosmos. In the writings of the poets, from 
 Chaucer down to Shakespeare, numerous ideas and 
 sentiments, moulded in conformity with the doctrines 
 of this ancient theory, find frequent expression in 
 happy allusion to the * music of the spheres.' The 
 behefs associated with the Ptolemaic system were 
 gratifying to the pride and vanity of Man, who could 
 regard with complacency the paramount importance 
 of the globe which he inhabited, and of which he was 
 the absolute ruler, poised in the centre of the Uni- 
 verse, and enclosed by ten revolving spheres that 
 carried in their circuit all other celestial orbs — Sun, 
 Moon and stars, which would appear to have been 
 created for his delectation, and for the purpose of 
 ministering to his requirements. But, when the 
 I Copernican theory became better understood, and 
 I the discovery of the law of universal gravitation 
 -j^ revealed the true mechanism of the heavens, this 
 venerable system of the Universe, based upon a pile 
 of unreasonable and false hypotheses, after an exist- 
 ence of over twenty centuries, sank into obHvion 
 and was heard of no more. 
 
 The ancients, in order to enhance the attractive- 
 ness of this system, associated harmonious sound 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 69 
 
 with the revolution of the spheres, hence the ex- 
 pression ' music of the spheres/ Cicero, in his ' Scipio 
 Somnium ' ^ describes how this harmony is produced. 
 Scipio, in his dream, says to Africanus : 
 
 'From whence proceed these sounds so strong and yet so 
 sweet that fill my ears ? ' ' The melody,' replied he, ' which you 
 hear, and which, though composed in unequal time is nevertheless 
 divided into regular harmony, is effected by the impulse and 
 motion of the spheres themselves, which, by a happy temper of 
 sharp and grave notes, produce various harmonic effects. Now it 
 is impossible that such prodigious movements should pass in 
 silence, and Nature teaches that the sounds which the spheres 
 at one extremity utter must be sharp, and that those at the 
 other extremity must be grave ; on which account the highest 
 revolution of the star-studded heaven, whose motion is more 
 rapid, is carried on with a sharp and quick sound, whereas this of 
 the Moon, which is situated the lowest and at the other extremity 
 moves with the gravest sound. Now, this sound, which is effected 
 by the rapid rotation of the whole system of Nature, is so powerful 
 that human beings cannot comprehend it, just as you cannot 
 look directly upon the Sun because your sight and sense are 
 overcome by his beams.' 
 
 The harmony consisted of eight unisonious melo- 
 dies, a single note emanating from each sphere; the 
 combined notes giving rise to a diapason so ' loud, 
 various and sweet ' as not to be perceptible to human 
 ears. Pythagoras, in his philosophy, attached much 
 importance to the concord of numbers, and upheld 
 the belief in the ' music of the spheres.' 
 
 The rhythmical and harmonious motion of the 
 spheres was one of the poetic delights in which 
 Milton's imagination luxuriated ; it exerted an 
 
 ^ Milton makes two allusions to Scipio — Paradise Lost, IX. 105, 
 Paradise Regained, III. 34. 
 
Jc^ 
 
 70 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 enclianting influence upon his mind, and was one 
 of his dearest and most captivating fancies. The 
 happiest flights of his genius are associated with this 
 mystical, yet unheard music, to the tune of which 
 the Universe rolls its stately motions : 
 
 Ring out, ye crystal spheres ! 
 
 Once bless our human ears, 
 If ye have power to touch our senses so ; 
 
 And let your silver chime 
 
 Move in melodious time, 
 And let the bass of Heaven's deep organ blow ; 
 
 And with your nine-fold harmony 
 
 Make up full consort to the angelic symphony. 
 
 For if such holy song 
 
 Enwrap our fancy long, 
 Time will run back and fetch the Age of Gold ; 
 
 And speckled Vanity 
 
 Will sicken soon and die, 
 And leprous Sin will melt from earthly mould ; 
 
 And Hell itself will pass away, 
 
 And leave her dolorous mansions to the peering day. 
 
 -7 ^^^^ H. 125-40. 
 
 In the Echo Song in ' Comus," this music of the 
 
 spheres is also introduced : 
 
 Sweet Queen of Parley. Daughter of the Sphere ! 
 So may'st thou be translated to the skies. 
 And give resounding grace to all Heaven's harmonies. 
 
 C. 241-43. 
 
 In ' Arcades,' Milton links this poetic notion with 
 
 the myth in Plato's ' Republic ' (Book X. chapter xiv.), 
 
 where the Sirens are described as seated on the 
 
 revolving spheres singing in melodious concord : 
 
 But else, in deep of night, when drowsiness 
 Hath locked up mortal sense, then listen I 
 To the celestial Siren's harmony, 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 71 
 
 That sit upon the nine 3 infolded spheres, 
 
 And sing to those that hold the vital shears, 
 
 And turn the adamantine spindle round, 
 
 On which the fate of gods and men is wound, 
 
 Such sweet compulsion doth in music lie, 
 
 To lull the daughters of Necessity, 
 
 And keep unsteady Nature to her law. 
 
 And the low world in measured motion draw 
 
 After the heavenly tune, which none can hear 
 
 Of human mould with gross unpurged ear. — A. 61-73. 
 
 This passage is founded upon Plato's description 
 of the journey of Er after death, who, on the expira- 
 tion of four days' travel, beheld a pillar of light like 
 a rainbow but far brighter, which united the circle 
 of the heavens. To each end of this bow of light was 
 attached the distaff of Necessity or Fate, having a 
 shaft of adamant, and a wheel with eight vast circles 
 or spheres which fitted one within the other. On 
 each circle a Muse or Siren was seated, singing in 
 one note, the combined notes giving rise to one loud 
 melody. Round about at equal intervals seated on 
 thrones were the three daughters of Necessity — (the 
 Fates) — Clotho, the spinner of life's thread ; Lachesis, 
 the assigner of destiny ; and Atropos, the inexorable 
 one, whose duty is to cut the thread of life, irrespec- 
 tive of age, sex, or circumstances. These accompany 
 with their voices the harmony of the Sirens ; Clotho 
 singing of the present, Lachesis of the past, and 
 Atropos of the future. The spindle on which the 
 threads of human and even divine lives are wound 
 rests on the knees of Necessity, and is turned by the 
 
 '^ In Plato's time the Ptolemaic system was represented by eight 
 spheres. Milton adds the ninth of the Alphonsine — a number similar 
 to that which Dante adopted for his poem. 
 
72 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 three Fates who are lulled by the music of the Sirens 
 — ^music so sweet and rapturous as to be unheard by 
 mortal ears. 
 
 In his Latin Academic Prolusion, ' De Sphaerum 
 Concentu/ Milton alludes to the harmony of the 
 spheres, but this universal roll of music, which to 
 the poet's imagination pervaded all nature, is perhaps 
 most felicitously introduced in the short poem 
 entitled ' At a Solemn Music ' : 
 
 Blest pair of Sirens, pledges of Heaven's joy, 
 
 Sphere-born harmonious sisters, Voice and Verse, 
 
 Wed your divine sounds, and mixed power employ. 
 
 Dead things with inbreathed sense able to pierce. 
 
 And to our high raised phantasy present 
 
 That undisturbed song of pure concent. 
 
 Aye sung before the sapphire coloured throne 
 
 To Him that sits thereon, 
 
 With saintly shout and solemn jubilee ; 
 
 Where the bright Seraphin in burning row 
 
 Their loud uplifted angel trumpets blow. 
 
 And the Cherubic host in thousand quires 
 
 Touch their immortal harps of golden wires, 
 
 With those just Spirits that wear victorious palms, 
 
 Hymns devout and holy psalms 
 
 Singing everlastingly : 
 
 That we on Earth, with undiscording voice, 
 
 May rightly answer that melodious noise ; 
 
 As once we did, till disproportioned sin 
 
 Jarred against nature's chime, and with harsh din 
 
 Broke the fair music that all creatures made 
 
 To their great Lord, whose love their motion swayed, 
 
 In perfect diapason, whilst they stood 
 
 In first obedience and their state of good. 
 
 0, may we soon again renew that song. 
 
 And keep in tune with Heaven, till God ere long 
 
 To His celestial consort us unite, 
 
 To live with Him, and sing in endless morn of light. 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 73 
 
 Ancient philosophers, in dealing with the distri- 
 bution of matter in the Universe, assigned the 
 central position to Earth as being the densest and 
 most stable of the elements ; next in order came 
 Water, which was supported by Earth ; above Water 
 was Air, and beyond Air was Fire. Eemoter still 
 was the Ether, which occupied space for an indefinite 
 distance. In describing the Ptolemaic system, it was 
 stated that the heavenly bodies were carried round 
 the Earth by the revolution of the spheres, each of 
 the first seven spheres having within it one celestial 
 orb, whilst the eighth sphere contained all the fixed 
 stars. The ninth sphere was void of stars, but by 
 its motion gave rise to the Precession of the 
 Equinoxes. The tenth sphere was also destitute of 
 stars, but in its diurnal revolution carried with it all 
 the other spheres. It must not be imagined that the 
 spheres consisted of any material substance ; they 
 were immense spherical shells or zones of transpicuous 
 space, arranged one within the other, that circled 
 round the motionless Earth with different velocities, 
 the more distant spheres possessing the most rapid 
 motion. In conformity with this conception of the 
 cosmos, the dimensions of the Universe were distinctly 
 circumscribed ; it was within the power of man's 
 mental capacity to grasp its proportions, and picture 
 to himself its geometrical arrangement. 
 
 In his choice of the Ptolemaic as the system 
 best adapted for the poetical requirements of the 
 ' Paradise Lost,' Milton was evidently attracted by 
 its picturesqueness, by its symmetrical configuration. 
 
74 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 and by its well-defined limitation. All the authors 
 whose works he perused and studied in his younger 
 days, expressed their ideas in conformity with this 
 system ; his favourite poet, Dante, knew of no other, 
 and his own poetic imaginings, as indicated in his 
 early works, were also in harmony with the doctrines 
 of this ancient creed, a long acquaintance with which 
 had without doubt influenced his mind in its favour. 
 But the Ptolemaic system did not alone suffice to 
 provide Milton with all the requirements which he 
 considered essential for the production of his great 
 epic ; and, strange though it may seem, the poet 
 probably having in view the necessity of securing 
 a firm basis upon which to rear the superstructure 
 of his poem, enclosed the revolving spheres and 
 their contents within a hard material shell, which 
 with the exception of an aperture at its zenith denied 
 all access to the glorious creation within. Milton 
 vouchsafes to us no description of the formation 
 of this opaque outer covering, which enclosed the 
 Universe, nor does he make any apology to his 
 readers for the addition of this strange and improbable 
 adjunct to the cosmos. Nevertheless, he assumes 
 its existence, and we shall find that it served several 
 useful purposes in the elaboration of his sublime 
 poem. 
 
 In order to comprehend the cosmological vision 
 which presented itself to the poet's mind, it will be 
 necessary to accompany Satan on the adventurous 
 journey which he undertook with the object of 
 discovering the newly created Universe, and the 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 75 
 
 abode of Man. Standing on the brink of Hell, lie 
 plunges into the abyss of Chaos, and through the 
 warring elements of matter pursues his long and 
 arduous journey upward enveloped in darkness and 
 gloom : 
 
 But now at last the sacred influence 
 
 Of light appears, and from the wall of Heaven 
 
 Shoots far into the bosom of dim night 
 
 A glimmering dawn. Here Nature first begins 
 
 Her farthest verge, and Chaos to retire. 
 
 As from her outmost works, a broken foe. 
 
 With tumult less and with less hostile din ; 
 
 That Satan with less toil, and now with ease. 
 
 Wafts on the calmer wave by dubious light, 
 
 And like a weather-beaten vessel, holds 
 
 Gladly the port, though shrouds and tackle torn ; 
 
 Or in the emptier waste, resembling air. 
 
 Weighs his spread wings, at leisure to behold 
 
 Far off the Empyreal Heaven, extended wide 
 
 In circuit, undetermined square or round, 
 
 With opal towers and battlements adorned 
 
 Of living sapphire, once his native seat ; 
 
 And fast by hanging in a golden chain, 
 
 This pendent World in bigness as a star 
 
 Of smallest magnitude close by the Moon. 
 
 ii. 1034-53. 
 
 Having emerged from the darkness of Chaos into 
 a region of dim light, the ruined archangel beholds 
 * far off ' his former celestial abode shining in its 
 pristine splendour, and directly underneath ' hnked 
 in a golden chain ' the New or Mundane Universe, 
 in quest of which he journeyed hither. Its magni- 
 tude when compared withnhe Empyrean above is 
 as the smallest star when seen by the edge of the 
 full orbed Moon. Milton does not attempt to define 
 
76 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 the figure * of the Empyrean, nor its dimensions, but 
 it is difficult to perceive how, when first seen by 
 Satan, its battlements and towers should have been 
 visible when the great globe of the Universe, which 
 hung underneath, should have appeared so small. 
 The aspect of the pendent sphere in its relation to 
 the Heaven above, although beautiful and relevant 
 to poetic description, is not capable of ocular 
 demonstration, for no stars of small magnitude are 
 visible to the naked eye when in proximity to the 
 Moon when full ; indeed, with the exception of the 
 planets and stars of the first magnitude, all other 
 celestial objects which occupy the region of the sky 
 in which the full Moon is shining are lost in the 
 effulgence of the lunar rays. 
 
 It is of importance that Satan's position in space, 
 relative to the objects which he beheld when pur- 
 suing his hazardous journey, should be correctly 
 understood. Milton locates Hell as being situated 
 directly underneath the Universe, but ' Hell stretched 
 far and wide,' and in his ascent from thence Satan's 
 upward flight was probably not in a direct line with 
 the great globe, for, when he emerged from the 
 darkness of Chaos, he beheld ' far distant ' the 
 Empyreal Heaven, and underneath, the pendent 
 sphere which presented the appearance of a minute 
 star. Viewed from below and from such a distance, 
 the Universe, in consequence of the absence of any 
 perspective, could not have been perceived visibly 
 
 "* In book X. 381, Milton describes Heaven as of quadrate form, and 
 the Universe as orbicular. 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 77 
 
 detached from the Empyrean above — its contiguity- 
 would render it indistinguishable from the over- 
 hanging Heaven. Therefore, in order to obtain a 
 view such as the poet describes, Satan must have 
 made his ascent to the left, and reached an altitude 
 sufficient to bring the Universe into outline so that 
 it should be seen hanging entirely clear of the Heaven 
 above. This is apparent, for when approaching 
 the end of his journey through Chaos his position 
 is described as : 
 
 Coasting the wall of Heaven on this side night 
 In the dim air sublime, and ready now 
 To stoop with wearied wings and willing feet 
 On the bare outside of this World, that seemed 
 Firm land embosomed without firmament. 
 
 iii. 71-5. 
 
 Eventually, Satan reaches the Universe, and 
 alights on the surface of the enclosing spherical shell 
 ' or first convex ' at a point not far from the zenith. 
 In describing its aspect and surroundings, the poet 
 
 says : 
 
 Meanwhile, upon the firm opacous globe 
 
 Of this round World, whose first convex divides 
 
 The luminous inferior orbs, enclosed 
 
 From Chaos, and the inroads of Darkness old, 
 
 Satan aUghted walks. A globe far off 
 
 It seemed ; now seems a boundless continent, 
 
 Dark, waste, and wild, under the frown of Night 
 
 Starless, exposed, and ever threatening storms 
 
 Of Chaos blustering round, inclement sky; 
 
 Save on that side which from the wall of Heaven, 
 
 Though distant far, some small reflection gains 
 
 Of gUmmering air less vexed with tempest loud. 
 
 iii. 418-29. 
 
78 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 This description of Satan's environment after 
 having landed upon the surface of the sphere may 
 well occasion surprise, for it reveals a condition of 
 things different from what might have been expected. 
 What seemed * far off ' a globe, is now a boundless 
 continent, dark, waste, wild, and beat by perpetual 
 storms of Chaos. The only portion of the great 
 sphere that derived any light from the adjacent 
 Empyrean was the side directed towards the wall 
 of Heaven, which though ' distant far ' afforded it 
 some faint illumination. This aspect of the pendent 
 Universe is incompatible with the description of 
 its appearance as seen from a distance. Situated 
 directly underneath the Empyrean, one would 
 imagine that at least its upper hemisphere would 
 have been radiant with Hght derived from the Heaven 
 above. If it were not so illuminated, it would have 
 been invisible . from a distance ; neither could it 
 have presented the appearance of a globe as Satan 
 approached it, for only its illuminated side was 
 visible to his gaze ; consequently its reflection 
 would have created the visual impression, not of a 
 circular disc but of a crescent having its convex 
 edge directed towards the wall of Heaven. 
 
 Satan had wandered long on the surface of the 
 enclosing spherical shell, when a gleam of light 
 attracted his attention. Thither in haste he directs 
 his steps, and — 
 
 far distant he descries, 
 Ascending by degrees magnificent 
 Up to the Wall of Heaven, a structure high ; 
 At top whereof, but far more rich, appeared 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 79 
 
 The work as of a kingly palace gate,. 
 
 With frontispiece of diamond and gold 
 
 EmbelHshed : thick with sparkling orient gems 
 
 The portal shone, inimitable on Earth 
 
 By model, or by shading pencil drawn. 
 
 The stairs were such as whereon Jacob saw 
 
 Angels ascending, and decending, bands 
 
 Of guardians bright, when he from Esau fled 
 
 To Padan-Aram, in the field of Luz 
 
 Dreaming by night under the open sky. 
 
 And waking cried, This is the gate of Heaven. 
 
 Each stair mysteriously was meant, nor stood 
 
 There always, but drawn up to Heaven sometimes 
 
 Viewless ; and underneath a bright sea flowed 
 
 Of jasper, or of liquid pearl. — iii. 501-19. 
 
 In this passage Milton describes how communi- 
 cation was maintained between Heaven and the 
 new Universe. A mysterious ladder or stair, such as 
 Jacob saw in his dream, with steps of gold ascending 
 high, reached from the margin of the opening at 
 the zenith of the sphere up to Heaven-gate. This 
 structure was not always present : it was sometimes 
 drawn up to Heaven and invisible, and at other 
 times let down. Underneath the stairs there flowed 
 a sea of jasper or of liquid pearl, which, when viewed 
 through the aperture at the summit of the enclosing 
 shell, was visible as a wide expanse of waters. In 
 order to reconcile his system with the Mosaic cos- 
 mology, Milton identifies this sea with ' the waters 
 above the firmament' (Gen. i. 6-10). Different in- 
 terpretations have been hazarded in explanation of 
 this passage, but it was generally upheld that the 
 waters diffused over the Universe at the time of the 
 creation were gathered together into two great 
 
80 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 aggregations — one under the firmament, the other 
 above the firmament. The waters under the firma- 
 ment flowed over the surface of the Earth, and the 
 waters above the firmament occupied the region of 
 the Ninth Sphere which, in deference to the wishes 
 of theologians, was <?alled the Crystalline Sphere. 
 
 Milton appears to favour this distribution of 
 the aqueous element, for in the argument prefixed 
 to Book III we find that the poet, in alluding to the 
 stairs, mentions the ^ waters above the firmament 
 that flow about it.' Milton describes the newly 
 created Universe as 
 
 another Heaven 
 From Heaven-gate not far, founded in view 
 On the clear hyaline, the glassy sea. — vii. 617-19. 
 
 and again : 
 
 for as Earth, so he the World 
 Built on circumfluous waters calm, in wide 
 Crystalline ocean. — vii. 269-71. 
 
 The Jasper Sea ^ must be regarded as an arc or 
 segment of Ninth Sphere ; its waters having been 
 visible as they flowed round the wide opening at the 
 pole of the Universe. In describing the region of 
 the Crystalline Sphere as a receptacle for the waters 
 above the firmament, Milton adheres to the Biblical 
 narrative of the Creation, but mars his cosmology, 
 whilst at the same time he mparts charm and variety 
 to his system by the addition of the bright-polar 
 sea that flowed at the zenith of the sphere. 
 
 ^ See Frontispiece. 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 81 
 
 In continuation with the aperture in the * first 
 convex ' or enclosing shell, a wide passage led down 
 through the turning spheres, and terminated directly 
 over the bhssful seat of Paradise : 
 
 A passage down to the Earth, a passage wide ; 
 Wider by far than that of aftei^imes 
 Over Mount Sion, and, though that were large, 
 Over the Promised Land to God as dear. 
 
 iii. 528-31. 
 
 By means of the golden stairs and this wide passage, 
 a highway was formed between Heaven and the 
 terrestrial Paradise. A beam or shaft of light, 
 streaming down from. Heaven-gate, illumined the 
 golden ladder and the jasper sea, and passing through 
 the aperture mingled with the light of the Universe 
 within. The all-pervading darkness was dispelled 
 over this region, nor did it encroach beyond the 
 margin of the spacious opening : 
 
 So wide the opening seemed, where bounds were set 
 To darkness, such as bound the ocean wave. 
 
 iii. 538-39. 
 
 Angels on their visits to the Happy Garden de- 
 scended, and in returning ascended by the passage 
 and stairs towards which Satan wended his way. 
 At the time when the Fiend approached the light 
 the stairs were let down, and, standing on their 
 lower steps, he paused for a moment to gaze upon 
 the glorious sight that lay beneath him : 
 
 Such wonder seized, though after Heaven seen. 
 The Spirit mahgn, but much more envy seized, 
 At sight of all this World beheld so fair. 
 Bound he surveys (and well might where he stood, 
 
82 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 -—So high above the circling canopy ' 
 
 Of Night's extended shade) from eastern point 
 'Of Libra to the fleecy star that bears 
 Andromeda far off Atlantic seas 
 
 — Beyond the horizon ; ) then from pole to pole 
 He views in breadth ; and, without longer pause, 
 Down right into the World's first region throws 
 His flight precipitant, and winds with ease 
 
 — Through the pure marble air his oblique way 
 Amongst innumerable stars, that shone 
 Stars distant, but nigh-hand seemed other worlds. 
 Or other worlds they seemed, or happy isles, 
 Like those Hesperian Gardens famed of old, 
 Fortunate fields, and groves, and flowery vales, 
 Thrice happy isles ; but who dwelt happy there 
 He stayed not to inquire. Above them all 
 The golden Sun, in splendour likest Heaven, 
 Allured his eye. — iii. 552-73., 
 
 Situated above the region of dim shadow and 
 accompanying night, Satan, in his wide survey, 
 beholds the entire starry Universe in all its dimen- 
 sions — ^all its concourses of glittering stars and 
 shining orbs that circled round our yet invisible 
 Earth lay open to his wondering gaze. He beholds 
 it from east to west, or, ' from eastern point of Libra 
 to the fleecy star (' Alpha Arietis ') that bears Andro- 
 meda/ The constellations Libra and Aries being 
 situated at opposite extremities of the celestial 
 equator, Milton, with astronomical accuracy, defines 
 the utmost limit of Satan's field of vision. Then 
 from pole to pole or from north to south he takes 
 a hurried glance, and without further pause pre- 
 cipitates himself through the wide opening down into 
 the World's first region — ^the Ninth and Tenth Spheres. 
 Having passed through those spheres, Satan must 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 83 
 
 have been unaware that the direct . continuance of 
 his journey downward would have landed him at 
 the place in quest of which he wandered, or, Milton 
 for poetical reasons decided that he should arrive 
 at his destination by a more devious route, for, 
 when he reached the region of the fixed stars he 
 altered his perpendicular course and steered his 
 way obliquely among those orbs. Although all the 
 stars were relegated to the Eighth Sphere, they did 
 not all occupy the same plane, but were distributed 
 over the sphere in beds or layers at receding dis- 
 tances, so that some stars were more remote than 
 others. The ancient and popular belief that the 
 stars are other worlds inhabited by beings who live 
 under happier conditions than are experienced on 
 this Earth, finds dehghtful expression in Milton's 
 description of Satan's progress among those lumin- 
 aries. Surpassing in splendour all other visible 
 objects, the golden Sun — a beautiful appellation 
 which is sometimes applicable to the orb — attracts 
 his attention : 
 
 Thither his course he bends, 
 Through the calm firmament (but up or down, 
 By centre or eccentric, hard to tell, 
 Or longitude), where the great luminary, 
 Aloof the vulgar constellations thick. 
 That from his lordly eye keep distance due. 
 Dispenses Hght from far. They, as they move 
 Their starry dance in numbers that compute 
 Days, months, and years, towards his all-cheering lamp 
 Turn swift their various motions, or are turned 
 By his magnetic 6 beam, that gently warms 
 
 •^ An allusion to Kepler's theory of planetary motion, 
 
 G 2 
 
84 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 The Universe, and to eacli inward part 
 
 With gentle penetration, though unseen, 
 
 Shoots invisible virtue even to the Deep ; 
 
 So wondrously was set his station bright. — iii. 573-87. 
 
 Satan on his voyage of discovery would seem to 
 have become bewildered when traversing the sidereal 
 regions, for, after having passed innumerable stars, 
 he winged his flight in the direction of the Sun, but 
 was unable to determine if his course were up or 
 down, whether towards or from the centre of the 
 Universe, or in longitude eastward or westward. 
 Milton's inappreciative remark regarding the con- 
 stellations indicates how little was known in his 
 time of the component orbs that enter into the forma- 
 tion of these aggregations of stars. The supremacy 
 accorded the Sun over all the other orbs of the 
 firmament is quite in keeping with the Ptolemaic 
 conception of the cosmos, for although regarded as 
 a planet that occupied the Fourth Sphere, the orb 
 not only dispensed hght to our globe and to the 
 other planets, but his rays shot through the beds of 
 stars which they helped to illumine and penetrated 
 even to the Deep. 
 
 In alluding to the starry dance in which the 
 celestial orbs take part, the poet says that in moving 
 towards his [the Sun's] all-cheering lamp they ' turn 
 swift their various motions or are turned by his 
 magnetic beam.' This remark applies not to the 
 stars which were ' fixed ' but to the planets, and it 
 would appear that Milton has here departed, perhaps 
 inadvertently, from the geocentric to the hehocentric 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 85 
 
 arrangement of the orbs that enter into the formation 
 of the solar system, thereby making the Sun instead 
 of the Earth the central body round which the planets 
 revolved — a system different from the one he adopted 
 for the requirements of his poem. Although Kepler 
 discovered the ellipticity of the planetary orbits, 
 he was unable to explain the motive force that 
 guides and retains the planets in their paths. He 
 imagined they were whirled round the Sun by the 
 action of magnetic rays which emanated from the 
 orb, and that between him and those bodies a 
 mutually attractive influence was exerted resembling 
 that manifested by dissimilar poles of magnets. It 
 is apparent that Milton was conversant with Kepler's 
 theory of planetary motion. 
 
 Having landed in the Sun, Satan, disguised as a 
 cherub, beguiles the archangel Uriel, Kegent of 
 the Sun, who directs him to Earth, the abode of 
 Man: 
 
 Look downward on that globe, whose hither side 
 With Hght from hence though but reflected shines : 
 That place is Earth, the seat of Man : that light 
 His day . . . 
 That spot to which I point is Paradise, 
 Adam's abode ; those lofty shades his bower. 
 
 iii. 722-34. 
 
 The Fiend, having obtained the information he 
 desired, renews his flight downward from the ecliptic 
 to Earth, and alights on the summit of Niphates, a 
 mountain of Armenia not far distant from the region 
 in . which was situated Paradise. Satan's arrival 
 
86 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 on Earth proclaims the accomphshment of his 
 adventurous journey. 
 
 Having described the means of communication 
 between Heaven and the terrestrial Paradise, it will 
 now be necessary, in order to embrace all the details 
 of Milton's physical system, to make known how 
 communication was established between Hell and 
 the New Universe. 
 
 Following in the wake of Satan, Sin and Death, 
 having flown from Hell-gate into the wild waste 
 anarchy of Chaos, commenced to construct a bridge 
 or causeway across the Deep, and in an incredibly 
 short period of time completed a structure of pro- 
 digious length that spanned the vast Abyss. Its 
 distant end they fastened securely to the surface of 
 the spherical shell at the spot where Satan first 
 alighted, and in proximity to the margin of the wide 
 opening at the zenith of the sphere. 
 
 The construction of this wonderful viaduct is 
 described by Milton with marked originality and 
 vigour : 
 
 Then both, from out Hell-gates, into the waste 
 
 Wide anarchy of Chaos, damp and dark 
 
 Flew diverse, and with power (their power was great) 
 
 Hovering upon the waters, what they met 
 
 Solid or slimy, as in a raging sea 
 
 Tossed up and down, together crowded drove. 
 
 From each side shoaling, towards the mouth of Hell : 
 
 As when two Polar winds, blowing adverse 
 
 Upon the Cronian Sea, together drive 
 
 Mountains of ice, that stop the imagined way 
 
 Beyond Petsora eastward, to the rich 
 
 Cathaian coast. The aggregated soil 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 87 
 
 Death with his mace petrific, cold and dry, 
 
 As with a trident smote, and fixed as firm 
 
 As Delos, floating once ; the rest his look 
 
 Bound with Gorgonian rigour not to move. 
 
 And with asphaltic slime ; broad as the gate. 
 
 Deep as the roots of Hell the gathered beach 
 
 They fastened, and the mole immense wrought on 
 
 Over the foaming Deep high-arched, a bridge 
 
 Of length prodigious, joining to the wall 
 
 Immovable of this now fenceless World, 
 
 Forfeit to Death — from hence a passage broad. 
 
 Smooth, easy, inoffensive, down to Hell. 
 
 So, if great things to small may be compared, 
 
 Xerxes, the liberty of Greece to yoke. 
 
 From Susa, his Memnonian palace high, 
 
 Came to the sea, and over Hellespont 
 
 Bridging his way, Europe with Asia joined, 
 
 And scourged with many a stroke the indignant waves. 
 
 Now had they brought the work by wondrous art 
 
 Pontifical — a ridge of pendent rock, 
 
 Over the vexed Abyss, following the track 
 
 Of Satan, to the self-same place where he 
 
 First lighted from his wing, and landed safe 
 
 From out of Chaos, to the outside bare 
 
 Of this round World. With pins of adamant 
 
 And chains they made all fast, too fast they made 
 
 And durable.— x. 282-320. 
 
 The massive bridge or causeway formed a high- 
 way that enabled the Powers of Hell to reach the 
 confines of their former blissful abode, and to distri- 
 bute themselves over the Universe by occupying 
 the different spheres, and inhabiting the regions of 
 the air round our central Earth. 
 
 With the construction of the mighty viaduct, 
 Milton's cosmological scheme may be regarded as 
 complete. There now exists a permanent way that 
 leads from the nether world up to the regions of Hght 
 
88 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 — one of the three ways alluded to in the following 
 citation : 
 
 . . . and now in little space 
 The confines met of Empyrean Heaven 
 And of this World, and on the left hand Hell 
 With long reach interposed ; three several ways, 
 In sight, to each of these three places led. 
 
 X. 320-24. 
 
 The three 7 ways that met by the orifice in the 
 spherical shell were : (1) the Golden Ladder, whose 
 lower end rested near its margin ; (2) the passage 
 through the spheres down^o Earth, which may be 
 regarded as a prolongation of the aperture ; (3) the 
 Causeway from Hell, the terminal extremity of which 
 was fastened to the surface of the convex shell in 
 proximity to the wide opening. By means of those 
 three ways, angels good and bad were enabled to 
 visit the Mundane Universe, and the abode of Man. 
 
 Milton's cosmology may in some respects be 
 regarded as his own. In order to meet the require- 
 ments of his poem he has amplified and adorned it 
 with accessories derived from medieval and Biblical 
 lore, supplemented by individual creations — ^the out- 
 come of his own imaginative genius. In its greatness 
 and comprehensiveness the poet's scheme stands 
 unrivalled. The all-containing and uncontained 
 Empyrean filled with the glory of visible Deity ; 
 the pendent Universe hung drop-like from its floor — 
 an illumined globe floating in the great ocean of 
 space ; the Infernal World with its burning lake and 
 
 " See Frontispiece. 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 89 
 
 lurid flames sunk in the uttermost depths of Chaos, 
 present to the reader's imagination a cosmological 
 vision magnificent in its proportions and transcendent 
 in its vastness. 
 
 Although the regions embraced in Milton's cosmo- 
 logical scheme possess a distinct configuration, yet 
 it is by no means easy to comprehend the poet's 
 conception of the spatial distances that intervene 
 between. He says the prison of Hell is — 
 
 As far removed from God and light of Heaven 
 As from the centre thrice to the utmost pole. 
 
 i. 74-5. 
 
 Milton means here, not the terrestrial pole, but 
 the pole of the Universe. Consequently, the distance 
 from Heaven-gate to Hell-gate is three semi-diameters 
 of the great sphere ; and therefore the pendent World 
 occupies two-thirds of the space between Heaven 
 and Hell. If we apply a literal interpretation to the 
 lines just quoted it is difficult to conceive how the 
 ' World ' should have appeared so small — ' in likeness 
 of a star ' — ^to Satan when it occupied so large a 
 portion of the space in which he winged his flight. 
 The frequency with which Milton introduces in his 
 poems the mystical numbers ' three,' ' seven,' and 
 '^nine,' lends weight to the surmise that the poet, 
 instead of being exact, only intended to convey the 
 impression of a vast and indefinite distance. 
 
 Milton describes the pendent Universe as ' fast 
 by,' hanging in a golden chain from the floor of the 
 Empyrean. The length of the chain is not stated, but 
 as at certain times a golden ladder spanned the 
 
90 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 interval, the space between the overhanging Heaven 
 and the apex of the great globe must have been of 
 very Hmited extent, and yet the poet mentions the 
 wall of Heaven as being ' distant far,' so distant that 
 it but faintly illumined the side of the sphere turned 
 towards it. The poet is not quite consistent in what 
 he says, and his description of the outside surface 
 of the pendent globe does not harmonise with its 
 surroundings nor with the notions usually associated 
 with the Tenth Sphere. 
 
 In the elaboration of his physical system, Milton 
 introduces three structures, viz. the Spherical Shell, 
 the Causeway from Hell, and the Golden Ladder. 
 They have already been described, but it is desirable 
 that some further reference should be made to each. 
 
 The most striking of these is the hard material 
 shell having an aperture at its apex, within which 
 Milton enclosed the Universe. The poet does not 
 favour us with a description of the formation of this 
 structure such as he has given of the viaduct across the 
 wide waste of Chaos, but, nevertheless, he appears 
 to have regarded this opaque and impervious shell 
 as a necessary adjunct to the physical configuration 
 of the fabric of his poem. Cosmical conceptions, 
 and the presence of^ transpicuous spheres of space 
 were not alone sufficient for his purpose ; in addition 
 to those he required some concrete basis, some 
 physical embodiment, in the attainment of which 
 he enclosed the Universe within a hard material 
 shell. 
 
 The uses of this structure may be enumerated 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 91 
 
 as follows : (1) It served as a protection to the Uni- 
 verse against the storms of Chaos ; (2) it supported 
 the golden ladder when let down from Heaven; 
 
 (3) it afforded a firm foundation upon which rested 
 the terminal extremity of the Causeway from Hell ; 
 
 (4) it provided Milton with a locality for his Paradise 
 of Fools. These several uses testify to the importance 
 of this ' first convex ' in fulfilling the requirements 
 regarded as essential by Milton in the elaboration of 
 his poem. 
 
 Milton's ablest commentators have identified 
 this ' first convex ' with the Tenth Sphere or ' Primum 
 Mobile/ The late Professor Masson in his ' Life of 
 Milton ' writes : 
 
 It was not unpleasant to think of oneself as living on a ball fixed 
 at the very centre of ten successive heavens or spheres of space 
 wheeling variously round this ball ; most with their single lights, 
 but one radiant with innumerable lights and strongly shelled in 
 by the Primum Mobile. 
 
 The same author, in his notes iii. 444-97 of the 
 ' Paradise Lost/ says : ' Satan is on the outside of 
 the Tenth Sphere or Primum Mobile, which is of firm 
 opacous substance, though the Inferior Orbs which 
 it encloses are invisible, or of transparent azure.' 
 He adds : 
 
 Although the outmost sphere is a firm opacous shell, there is one 
 opening at least — a break or round hole at that topmost point 
 of the shell where it is in near contact with, and, as it were, hangs 
 from the Eternal or Empyrean Heaven. This point, of course, 
 is exactly at the upper pole of the Starry Universe, where its 
 axis ends in the Empyrean — for, as the shell is rotating, only 
 at the pole could an opening be constant at the same place. 
 
92 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Milton in none of his poems identifies the Primum 
 Mobile with anything material. In describing this 
 sphere he makes no distinction between it and the 
 other spheres ; and in his long scientific discussion 
 (viii.^ 15-178) with Raphael on the mechanism of the 
 Heavens, it is apparent that he regarded the Tenth 
 Sphere in the same light as he did all the other 
 spheres, viz. a rapidly revolving zone of transpicuous 
 space. The poet describes the Primum Mobile as 
 the ' first high-moving sphere," ' that swift nocturnal 
 — f and diurnal rhomb," ' the wheel of day and night." 
 To the spheres he imparted speed ' almost spiritual ' 
 — ' speed, to describe whose swiftness number fails," 
 but the most rapid of them all was the Primum 
 Mobile. 
 
 When Satan landed upon the ' first convex " he 
 found himself on terra firma — a boundless continent, 
 dark, waste and wild — ^the surface of the spherical 
 shell that enclosed the Universe, at the apex of which 
 there existed a wide circular opening. The presence 
 of this material structure seems so strange and 
 unnatural that one is justified in concluding that 
 in no circumstances can it be identified with the 
 Primum Mobile, but must be regarded as one of the 
 creations of Milton"s imagination. In support of 
 this assertion we find in the remarkable digression 
 (iii. 440-97) in which Milton describes the upward 
 flight from Earth of the concourse of eccentric and 
 vain individuals who long after the Fall attempted 
 to reach Heaven by their own efforts, the most pointed 
 allusion to the Ptolemaic system contained in his 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 93 
 
 poem, but in expressing himself he associates nothing 
 material with the Primum Mobile : 
 
 They pass the Planets Seven, and pass the Fixed, 
 And that CrystalHne Sphere whose balance weighs 
 The trepidation talked, and that First Moved. 
 
 iii. 481-83. 
 
 They pass the first seven spheres, then the Eighth 
 Sphere or that of the fixed stars ; then the Ninth or 
 Crystalline Sphere, to which was attributed a libratory 
 or trembling motion in order to account for certain 
 apparent irregularities of motion among the stars ; 
 and finally they pass the Tenth Sphere or ' Primum 
 Mobile." This outermost sphere having been passed, 
 the orifice in the spherical shell is reached and above 
 is seen Heaven-gate. The pilgrims, when about to 
 climb the golden ladder that led to Heaven's wicket, 
 are caught by violent cross-winds— gusts of Chaos — 
 and blown with all their grotesque and trumpery 
 belongings ten thousand leagues awry ' over the 
 back-side of the World,' or on to the surface of the 
 enclosing shell, a limbo large and wide designated by 
 Milton the Paradise of Fools. 
 
 Had Milton associated any rotatory motion with 
 this spherical shell he would not have fastened to 
 its surface the terminal extremity of the bridge from 
 Hell— 
 
 Of length prodigious, joining to the wall 
 Immovable of this now fenceless World. 
 
 X. 302-303. 
 
 A stable and secure foundation which should be 
 motionless was essential for such a purpose. Neither 
 
94 - MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 would the poet have made use of this structure to 
 support the lower extremity of the Golden Ladder 
 had it not been stationary. A revolving sphere, 
 even of material consistence, would have been useless 
 for the purposes mentioned. No hollow sphere or 
 concave structure could maintain its configuration if 
 subjected to a fractional part of the speed required 
 of the Primum Mobile ; it would be completely 
 pulverised and its substance reduced to cosmic 
 dust. 
 
 The existence of the spherical shell must be 
 regarded as a concrete reality, but it formed no 
 part of the Primum Mobile, and, notwithstanding 
 its numerous and varied uses, it can only be 
 regarded as an unnatural and incongruous addi- 
 tion to the system upon which Milton reared the 
 fabric of his poem. 
 
 The Bridge or Causeway that connected the nether 
 world with the New Universe is purely a Miltonic 
 conception, and, like the spherical shell, was regarded 
 by the poet as a necessary adjunct to the physical 
 arrangement of his system. But it does not appear 
 very obvious why such a massive and ponderous 
 viaduct should have been required for the passage to 
 and fro of spiritual beings who in their movements 
 cannot be likened to pedestrians. Some aery fila- 
 mented structure would have borne the nimble 
 tread of those angelic beings, or, as incorporeal 
 creatures, they might have been able to transport 
 themselves across the intervening abyss without 
 any adventitious aid. But the storms of Chaos had 
 
MILTON'S COSMOLOGY 95 
 
 to be combated, hence the necessity for a structure 
 that should be capable of withstanding the strain 
 and stress of the surging elements. The mighty 
 Causeway fulfilled the visionary purpose for which 
 1 it was intended, but as a fabric designed to meet the 
 / requirements of the poem it may well be regarded 
 as grotesque. 
 
 The mysterious Stair or Ladder that scaled the 
 interval between Heaven-gate and the pole of the 
 Universe is less open to criticism than the other 
 structures to which allusion has been made. Selecting 
 the vision of Jacob's ladder as his source of inspira- 
 tion, the poet's description of this celestial means of 
 access harmonises with conceptions based upon the 
 existence of a thing tangible and material, and which 
 might yet be regarded as symbolical of the splendour 
 of the Empyrean. The mystic Ladder with its steps 
 of gold, which, by celestial touch, could be lowered 
 and raised at will, formed a fit approach to the kingly 
 palace gate that guarded the entrance to the Eternal 
 Mansions. 
 
 If we regard Milton's cosmological scheme in its 
 >^ntirety, we are impressed with its vastness, with its 
 . majestic proportions, and with the sublimity of the 
 poet's conception of the regions embraced within the 
 sphere of universal infinitude. In the composition 
 of his great epic he doubtless reahsed the difficulty 
 of his undertaking, for he had to rely upon his creative 
 imagination in giving physical embodiment to things 
 situated beyond the reach of science and too vague 
 to come within the range of human comprehension. 
 
96 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 He had to materialise abstract conceptions, and 
 impart firmness and stability where nothing tangible 
 existed. If in the attainment of these, Milton has 
 introduced in his poem ' the impossible, the un- 
 natural, and the grotesque,' and by so doing made 
 himself amenable to adverse criticism, it must be 
 remembered that in the exercise of his free imagina- 
 tion he had a right to indulge in any phantasmagorial 
 visions that his poetic fancy might suggest. 
 
 i 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Milton's astronomical knowledge 
 
 Any studious reader of Milton's ' Paradise Lost ' 
 cannot fail to perceive how largely astronomy enters 
 into the narrative of the poem, and with what fre- 
 quency astronomical allusion embelHshes its pages. 
 That the sublimest of poets should have found in 
 the loftiest of sciences fit subject-matter for the 
 elaboration and adornment of his great epic is only 
 what might have been expected ; and, should we 
 not be altogether justified in calling Milton an 
 ' astronomer-poet,' yet it will be of interest to 
 ascertain the extent of his astronomical knowledge, 
 and its application in the portrayal of his chosen 
 theme. 
 
 Milton (1608-1674) lived in a transitional period 
 as regards astronomical theories. The age, too, in 
 which he wrote formed an epoch in the history of 
 astronomy, coinciding as it did with the conflict that 
 was being waged between the upholders of the old 
 Ptolemaic or geocentric, and the new Copernican 
 or heliocentric systems of the Universe. Copernicus 
 promulgated his theory in 1543, but it was marred 
 
98 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 by numerous imperfections and inaccuracies that 
 retarded its acceptance by many who would other- 
 wise have been inchned to adopt it. Consequently, 
 it made but slow progress ; nor was it until near the 
 middle of the seventeenth century that it seriously 
 threatened the supremacy of the older system. 
 
 Tycho Brahe, the eccentric Dane whose powers 
 of observation greatly excelled his reasoning capacity, 
 repudiated the Copernican hypothesis, but his co- 
 adjutor Kepler ardently supported it, and by his 
 discovery of the laws of planetary motion dealt 
 the Ptolemaic system a blow that made it totter 
 to its fall. Galileo, and other distinguished scien- 
 tists who resided on the Continent, also supported 
 the Copernican theory, and the more advanced 
 astronomical views. 
 
 In England few men of eminence had at this period 
 embraced the new astronomical doctrines, and up 
 to and beyond the middle of the seventeenth century 
 the majority of those who represented the intellect 
 and learning of the country professed their adherence 
 to the old Ptolemaic behefs. Among Milton's con- 
 temporaries, Hobbes was the only person of literary 
 distinction who upheld the more recent views. 
 Bacon persistently rejected them, as did also many 
 other men of learning who lived at that time. In 
 contrast with this general neglect of the Copernican 
 hypothesis, we learn that Horrox, the young Lanca- 
 shire astronomer, gave it his hearty support, and 
 in a treatise which he wrote in defence of Kepler's 
 astronomy, enthusiastically upheld the new doctrines 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 99 
 
 The genius of Newton had not yet shed its lustre 
 abroad, for his great scientific career was only begin- 
 ning, and his philosophic communications had not 
 yet been communicated to the world. With the 
 progress of scientific discovery the new doctrines 
 slowly but surely supplanted the older beliefs, for 
 the overthrow of a system so ancient and so venerable 
 as the Ptolemaic required a lengthened period of 
 time for its accomplishment. 
 
 From his youth up to his thirtieth year, Milton 
 may be regarded as having been a consistent 
 Ptolemaist. We have no evidence that he paid any 
 attention to the Copernican hypothesis, or bestowed 
 upon it any serious thought, or that it exercised 
 any influence upon his mind in modifying his belief 
 in the older theory. In ' Arcades,' ' Comus,' 
 ' Lycidas,' and other minor poems, which were 
 composed prior to and during the ' Horton period ' 
 of his life, we find no traces of Copernicanism, no 
 evidence which would lead us to imagine that he 
 doubted the accuracy and correctness of the Ptolemaic 
 system with its attractive arrangement of crystalline 
 spheres revolving round the stationary Earth ; his 
 mind rested secure in this belief, the outcome of the 
 collective wisdom of astronomers and philosophers 
 who lived and flourished centuries before. But as 
 Milton grew older we have reason to believe his 
 Ptolemaism became greatly modified, and that in 
 his later years he renounced it entirely in favour of 
 Copernicanism. 
 
 After the death of his mother, which occurred 
 
100 , - MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 in U637, Milton visited the Continent and made 
 a tour of the cities of Italy. When on his travels 
 he met and conversed with men of eminence who 
 upheld scientific doctrines in advance of those with 
 which he was familiar. Among them was the famous 
 Galileo, whom he visited during his stay at Florence. 
 It is unknown what subjects were discussed in this 
 memorable interview between the aged astronomer 
 and the young English poet, but we can well believe 
 that Milton came away impressed with the reason- 
 ableness of the Copernican beliefs. On his re- 
 turn to England in 1639 Milton, having taken up 
 his pen in defence of the Commonwealth, bade a 
 long farewell to poetry, and, except for an occasional 
 sonnet, his muse remained silent for wellnigh a 
 quarter of a century. 
 
 It was during this period, when Milton had laid 
 aside his ' singing-robes,' that the conflict between the 
 upholders of the systems of Ptolemy and of Coper- 
 nicus had reached a critical stage. Many of the 
 errors and complications associated with the Coper- 
 nican system on its promulgation were being gradu- 
 ally eliminated, or successfully elucidated. Uniform 
 circular motion was found to be non-essential; 
 cycles and epicycles were abolished, and other cumber- 
 some entanglements which marred the harmonious 
 plan upon which the system was founded were 
 discarded. Slowly but surely the new doctrines 
 overcame the prejudices of those who were opposed 
 to them, and with the advancement of the science 
 of astronomy much new information was obtained 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 101 
 
 wliich tended to confirm the accuracy of the Coper- 
 nican theory. 
 
 The exploration of the celestial regions with the 
 recently invented telescope — ^first undertaken by 
 Galileo, who made many wonderful discoveries, 
 and afterwards vigorously prosecuted by his successors 
 with increased optical power — disclosed the vast and 
 apparently illimitable extent of the sidereal heavens. 
 However far the instrument was capable of pene- 
 trating space, an unbroken expanse of stars and 
 starry archipelagos met the gazer's eye; nor did 
 they diminish in number with receding distances, 
 and when the visual limit was reached, there still 
 remained the conviction that beyond there were 
 other star-depths, unknown and unfathomable. 
 Within the solar system many discoveries were 
 made with the telescope, which testified to the correct- 
 ness of the Copernican hypothesis. By means of the 
 instrument it was ascertained that the Sun rotates 
 on his axis, and that the planets Venus, Mars, and 
 Jupiter possess a similar motion — convincing evi- 
 dence that the other planets, including the Earth, 
 also rotate on their axes. Transits of Mercury and of 
 Venus were observed as those planets passed across 
 the Sun's disc ; these, with the phases displayed 
 by Venus when pursuing her path, afforded con- 
 clusive evidence of the heliocentric arrangement of 
 our system. Improved methods of research enabled 
 astronomers to determine with greater exactness 
 the magnitudes and dimensions of the celestial orbs, 
 and also the extent of the distances which intervene 
 
102 MiWbN'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 between them — distances far greater than were 
 imagined It then became apparent that the Earth 
 is but one of a retinue of worlds which derive their 
 Hght and heat from the Sun, and that our globe 
 with her single satellite is surpassed in mass and 
 importance by some of her sister planets. 
 
 Milton, like his poet-predecessor Dante, possessed 
 an intimate acquaintance with all the science and 
 philosophy of his age. His elegant scholarship, 
 vast erudition, and comprehensive knowledge were 
 only excelled by his genius, which was universal. 
 When in 1658 he commenced to write his immortal 
 epic, the conflict which had so long been waged 
 between the supporters of the rival astronomical 
 systems of Ptolemy and of Copernicus had reached 
 a crisis which terminated with the overthrow of 
 the more ancient one. The application of Kepler's 
 Laws to the motions of the planets, together with 
 the many and important discoveries made with 
 the telescope, afforded conclusive evidence that 
 the new and nobler conception of the cosmos must 
 prevail. Consequently, among the well-informed, the 
 Copernican System was accepted as the true theory 
 of the Universe, although the Ptolemaic still retained 
 its hold on the popular mind. In this important 
 controversy, Milton was in advance of many of 
 \his contemporaries, and perceived the far-reaching 
 effect which the new beliefs would have upon the 
 science of the future. Standing between the old 
 and the new on the verge of modern achievement, 
 and possessing a thorough knowledge of both theories. 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 103 
 
 Milton, in the exercise of his free imagination, saw 
 with prophetic vision beyond the known limits of 
 the Universe, things that were long hidden from 
 other men, and although for poetical reasons he 
 chose the older and more picturesque system for 
 his great epic, yet he perceived and appreciated 
 the beauty of the Copernican and knew that it must 
 ultimately prevail. 
 
 The importance which Milton attached to this 
 great astronomical controversy becomes apparent 
 on referring to the ' Paradise Lost ' (Book viii. 
 15-178). Here we find recorded a long philosophic 
 discussion between Adam and the archangel Eaphael 
 in which the respective merits of both systems are 
 fully discussed. It would appear strange to us 
 that Adam — the first of men — should have possessed 
 the requisite scientific knowledge that enabled him 
 to comprehend all that the Angel had to tell, or that 
 he should have been capable of suggesting, as if by 
 intuition, a theory of terrestrial motion that his 
 descendants in ages long after were unable to verify. 
 This display of scientific wisdom on the part of our 
 great progenitor is not in harmony with the pre- 
 conceived notions usually associated with the happy 
 pair who dwelt in the Garden of Eden. To their 
 upward gaze the orbs of Heaven appeared to be in 
 ceaseless motion ; the solid Earth upon which they 
 stood was alone immovable and at rest. Day after 
 day they observed the Sun pursue his steadfast course 
 with unerring regularity ; his rising in the east 
 accompanied by the rosy hues of morn ; his meridian 
 
104 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 splendour ; and his sinking in the west mid the 
 refulgent glories of departing day. With the advent 
 of night they beheld the Moon — ^now increasing, now 
 waning — describe her irregular path athwart the sky, 
 also to disappear in the west, whilst like the hosts 
 of an army marshalled in loose array the constella- 
 tions with stately motion traversed their nocturnal 
 arcs circling the pole of the heavens. 
 
 In attributing to Adam such wisdom and intelli- 
 gence, Milton introduces the improbable in his poem, 
 but in so doing he had an object in view, for it enabled 
 him to unburden his mind, and to express with 
 freedom his views respecting matters in dispute. 
 If, in this scientific discussion, we shall learn that 
 Milton ridicules the older theory or favours the 
 Copernican hypothesis, we may then assume that 
 his adoption of the Ptolemaic system for the require- 
 ments of his poem need be regarded with no greater 
 seriousness than his creation of the spherical shell 
 that enclosed the Universe, or the viaduct that 
 spanned the abyss of Chaos. • j 
 
 This interesting colloquy is commenced by Adam, 
 who addresses his Angel-guest as follows : 
 
 When I behold this goodly frame, this World 
 
 Of Heaven and Earth consisting, and compute 
 
 Their magnitudes — this Earth a spot, a grain. 
 
 An atom, with the firmament compared 
 
 And all her numbered stars, that seem to roll 
 
 Spaces incomprehensible (for such 
 
 Their distance argues, and their swift return 
 
 Diurnal) merely to officiate light 
 
 Round this opacous Earth, this punctual spot. 
 
 One day and night, in all their vast survey 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 105 
 
 Useless besides — reasoning I oft admire 
 
 How Nature, wise and frugal, could commit 
 
 Such disproportions, with superfluous hand 
 
 So many nobler bodies to create. 
 
 Greater so manifold, to this one use, 
 
 For aught appears, and on their Orbs impose 
 
 Such restless revolution day by day 
 
 Repeated, while the sedentary Earth, 
 
 That better might with far less compass move, 
 
 Served by more noble than herself, attains 
 
 Her end without least motion, and receives. 
 
 As tribute, such a sumless journey brought 
 
 Of incorporeal speed, her warmth and light : 
 
 Speed, to describe whose swiftness number fails. 
 
 viii. 15-38. 
 
 It is patent that Adam possessed the eye of an 
 astronomer and the mind of a philosopher, so clearly 
 and tersely does he express himself in discussing the 
 phenomena of the Heavens. In support of his 
 argument he emphasises two points : (1) The minute- 
 ness of the Earth, which he describes as a spot, a 
 grain, an atom, when compared with the surrounding 
 universe and the orbs that enter into its formation ; 
 (2) The inconceivable velocity with which it was 
 necessary for those orbs to travel in order to accom- 
 phsh a diurnal revolution round the stationary 
 globe. He expresses his surprise that Nature, ' wise 
 and frugal ' should have created so many nobler 
 bodies ' greater so manifest ' who fulfilled their only 
 apparent function by circling unceasingly round the 
 Earth — ' this punctual spot.' Adam does not pro- 
 pound any other hypothesis ; apparently he is unaware 
 of the difference between planets and stars, nor has 
 he any notion of the heliocentric arrangement of the 
 
106 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 orbs which form the solar system. What appears 
 preposterous to him is the Ptolemaic behef that the 
 entire Heavens should accomplish a diurnal revolution 
 round the Earth, when by imparting motion to the 
 Earth herself similar phenomena could be brought 
 about without the necessity of imposing such restless 
 revolution upon the other celestial orbs. 
 
 The Angel, having listened to Adam's argument, 
 expresses approval of his desire to acquire know- 
 ledge, but answers him dubiously, and at the same 
 time subjects the Ptolemaic system to severe and 
 adverse criticism : 
 
 To ask or search I blame thee not ; for Heaven 
 Is as the Book of God before thee set, 
 Wherein to read his wondrous works, and learn 
 His seasons, hours, or days, or months, or years. 
 This to attain, whether Heaven move or Earth 
 Imports not, if thou reckon right ; the rest 
 From Man or Angel the great Architect 
 Did wisely to conceal, and not divulge 
 His secrets, to be scanned by them who ought 
 Kather admire. Or if they Hst to try 
 Conjecture, he his fabric of the Heavens 
 Hath left to their disputes, perhaps to move 
 His laughter at their quaint opinions wide 
 Hereafter, when they come to model Heaven, 
 And calculate the stars ; how they will wield 
 The mighty frame ; how build, unbuild, contrive 
 To save appearances ; how gird the sphere 
 With centric and eccentric scribbled o'er. 
 Cycle and epicycle, orb in orb. — viii. 66-84. 
 
 Raphael remarks to Adam that it is a matter 
 of no great significance whether Heaven move or 
 Earth, so long as he is capable of perceiving and 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 107 
 
 appreciating the power and wisdom of the Creator 
 as displayed in His works. He extols the sapience 
 of the great Architect who wisely did conceal from 
 man or angel his secret of the Heavens ; and they 
 who try conjecture are left to their own disputes and 
 quaint opinions — perhaps to move His laughter — 
 ' when they come to model Heaven and calculate 
 the stars/ The Angel then holds up to ridicule the 
 devices which Ptolemaic astronomers were compelled 
 to adopt in order to ' save appearances/ or, in other 
 words, explain certain irregularities of motion among 
 the celestial orbs. Ancient astronomers upheld the 
 belief that all the heavenly bodies moved in circles, 
 this form of motion having been regarded by them 
 as the most perfect and therefore best adapted for 
 celestial movement. Even Copernicus, in propounding 
 his new theory of the Universe, retained the notion 
 of uniformly circular motion. But it was known 
 from remote antiquity that the simple circular motion 
 round the Earth of eight or even ten spheres with 
 their contents — no matter how much their speed 
 might vary relatively to each other — ^would not 
 account for all the observed phenomena associated 
 with motion in the Heavens. For example, the Sun 
 when describing a certain segment of his orbit was 
 observed to travel with greater speed than when 
 he traversed the corresponding opposite portion. 
 The planets too were perceived to move irregularly. 
 Instead of appearing to maintain a progressive 
 motion in the order of the signs, which they in- 
 variably do, they were observed at times to become 
 
108 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 stationary for a short interval, and at other periods 
 to affect a retrograde movement on the sphere. 
 
 In order to account for these irregularities of 
 motion among the celestial orbs, astronomers had 
 recourse to two devices, viz. that of the Eccentric^ 
 and that of the Epicycle. It was assumed that all 
 the spheres need not be concentric, i.e. need not 
 have the Earth as their exact centre, but that the 
 central point round which some of them revolved 
 might be eccentric, or situated a short distance from 
 the Earth. Consequently, the distance of the re- 
 volving body from the Earth would vary according 
 to its position in its orbit ; when near the Earth its 
 velocity would appear greater than when more 
 remotely situated. By this arrangement the accellera- 
 tion and retardation of the Sun's motion when 
 occupying opposite extremities of his orbit was 
 ingeniously explained. Again, the alternate pro- 
 gressive and retrograde motion of the planets was 
 accounted for by assuming that a planet was not 
 fixed in the circumference of its revolving sphere or 
 cycle, but moved in an epicycle or small circle that 
 revolved round a fixed point in the larger circle. 
 This epicycle in its revolution carried with it the 
 planet, which when beyond the circumference of its 
 cycle would have a progressive, and when within it 
 a retrograde, motion. 
 
 By means of these two devices, Ptolemaic astro- 
 nomers were able to account in a fairly satisfactory 
 manner for all the phenomena associated with solar 
 and planetary motion. But more accurate observa- 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 109 
 
 tions brought to light discrepancies that could only 
 be explained by multiplying the number of the 
 spheres and by pihng epicycle on cycle, thus creating 
 a most complicated entanglement and hastening the 
 downfall of a system that is now remembered as a 
 belief of bygone ages. 
 
 It may here be observed with what conciseness and 
 brevity Milton enumerates the expedients which 
 Ptolemaists had recourse to in bolstering up their 
 system. They ' gird the sphere with centric and 
 eccentric scribbled o'er ' — a rather contemptuous 
 way of alluding to the intricacy created by some 
 spheres being centric and others eccentric. ' Cycle 
 and epicycle ' ; wheel within wheel ; and ' orb in 
 orb ' — ^the multiphcation of spheres — other devices 
 adopted in the attainment of the same object. 
 Ptolemy set some five dozen spheres in motion, 
 and in motion they remained until shattered by 
 Copiernicus. (iiv^fpi^O 
 
 After his scathing criticism of the mechanism of 
 the Ptolemaic system, Eaphael continues his reply to 
 Adam's inquiry respecting motion in the Heavens, 
 but expresses himself ambiguously : 
 
 Already by thy reasoning this I guess, 
 
 Who art to lead thy offspring, and supposest 
 
 That bodies bright and greater should not serve 
 
 The less not bright, nor Heaven such journeys run, 
 
 Earth sitting still, when she alone receives 
 
 The benefit. Consider, first, that great 
 
 Or bright infers not excellence : the Earth, 
 
 Though, in comparison of Heaven, so small, 
 
 Nor glistering, may of solid good contain 
 
 More plenty than the Sun that barren shines, 
 
110 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Whose virtue on itself works no effect, 
 
 But in the fruitful Earth ; there first received, 
 
 His beams, unactive else, their vigour find. 
 
 Yet not to Earth are those bright luminaries 
 
 Officious, but to thee, Earth's habitant. 
 
 And for the Heaven's wide circuit, let it speak 
 
 The Maker's high magnificence, who built 
 
 So spacious, and his line stretched out so far. 
 
 That Man may know he dwells not in his own — 
 
 An edifice too large for him to fill, 
 
 Lodged in a small partition, and the rest 
 
 Ordained for uses to his Lord best known. 
 
 The swiftness of those circles attribute. 
 
 Though numberless, to his omnipotence. 
 
 That to corporeal substances could add 
 
 Speed almost spiritual. Me thou think' st not slow, 
 
 Who since the morning-hour set out from Heaven 
 
 Where God resides, and ere mid-day arrived 
 
 In Eden, distance inexpressible 
 
 By numbers that have name. But this I urge. 
 
 Admitting motion in the Heavens, to show 
 
 InvaHd that which thee to doubt it moved ; 
 
 Not that I so affirm, though so it seem 
 
 To thee who hast thy dwelling here on Earth. 
 
 God, to remove his ways from human sense, 
 
 Placed Heaven from Earth so far, that earthly sight. 
 
 If it presume, might err in things too high. 
 
 And no advantage gain. — viii. 85-122. 
 
 Notwithstanding his adverse criticism of the 
 Ptolemaic system the angel Kaphael endeavours to 
 persuade Adam that his reasoning as regards celestial 
 motion may not be entirely convincing, and traverses 
 his argument by questioning the validity of his 
 surmise that bodies of greater size and brightness 
 should not serve those that are smaller and opaque, 
 or that Heaven should run such journeys while the 
 Earth remained at rest. He argues that great or 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 111 
 
 bright infers not excellence, and tliat the Earth, though 
 small when compared with Heaven, may contain more 
 solid good than the ' Sun that barren shines,^ whose 
 beams produce no beneficial effect except when directed 
 upon the fruitful Earth. He reminds Adam that 
 these bright luminaries minister not to Earth, but 
 to himself ' Earth's habitant ' ; and directs his atten- 
 tion to the magnificence and extent of the surround- 
 ing Universe, of which he occupies so small a portion. 
 The diurnal swiftness of the spheres Raphael attri- 
 butes to God's omnipotence that to material bodies 
 ' could add speed almost spiritual.' After alluding 
 to his rapid flight from Heaven — ' a distance inex- 
 pressible by numbers that have name ' — ^the Angel, 
 in order to escape from a dilemma, suggests to Adam 
 that God placed Heaven so far from Earth, that Man, 
 if he presumed, might err in trying to attain to things 
 too high, the knowledge of which would be of no 
 advantage to him. 
 
 Hitherto the discussion carried on by Adam and 
 Eaphael concerning celestial motion has been based 
 upon the merits of the Ptolemaic system, the funda- 
 mental principle of which embraced the belief in the 
 diurnal revolution of the entire Heavens round the 
 stationary Earth. But now the Angel unexpectedly 
 finds Adam food for reflection by propounding a 
 new theory of the Universe more in harmony with 
 the views recently expressed by our great sire : 
 
 What if the Sun 
 Be centre to the World ; and other stars, 
 By his attractive virtue and their own 
 Incited, dance about him various rounds ? 
 
112 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Their wandering course, now liigh, now low, then hid, 
 
 Progressive, retrograde, or standing still. 
 
 In sex thou seest ; and what if seventh to these 
 
 The planet Earth, so steadfast though she seem. 
 
 Insensibly three different motions move ? 
 
 Which else to several spheres thou must ascribe. 
 
 Moved contrary with thwart obliquities. 
 
 Or save the Sun his labour, and that swift 
 
 Nocturnal and diurnal rhomb supposed, 
 
 Invisible else above all stars, the wheel 
 
 Of day and night ; which needs not thy belief, 
 
 If Earth, industrious of herself, fetch day, 
 
 Travelling east, and with her part averse 
 
 From the Sun's beam meet night, her other part 
 
 Still luminous by his ray. What if that Hght, 
 
 Sent from her through the wide transpicuous air, 
 
 To the terrestrial Moon be as a star, 
 
 Enlightening her by day, as she by night 
 
 This Earth — reciprocal, if land be there. 
 
 Fields and inhabitants ? Her spots thou seest 
 
 As clouds, and clouds may rain, and rain produce 
 
 Fruits in her softened soil, for some to eat 
 
 Allotted there ; and other Suns, perhaps. 
 
 With their attendant Moons, thou wilt descry, 
 
 Communicating male and female light, 
 
 Which two great sexes animate the World, 
 
 Stored in each orb perhaps with some that live. 
 
 For such vast room in Nature unpossessed 
 
 By living soul, desert and desolate. 
 
 Only to shine, yet scarce to contribute 
 
 Each orb a glimpse of light, conveyed so far 
 
 Down to this habitable, which returns 
 
 Light back to them, is obvious to dispute. — viii. 122-58. 
 
 In suggesting a new theory of celestial motion, 
 Raphael hints to Adam that the Sun may be centre 
 to the * World/ In Milton's day astronomical 
 phraseology was indefinite and vague, and the 
 * World ' here signifies not our globe, but the entire 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 113 
 
 starry universe. It is possible that the poet may- 
 have regarded the Sun as the central orb of the uni- 
 verse, for in his time little was known of the stars, 
 and as part of the cosmos they were held to be of 
 small moment (iii. 576-78). 
 
 The Angel, in describing this heliocentric system, 
 otherwise known as the Copernican, alludes to the 
 positions and motions of certain ' stars ' when accom- 
 plishing their revolutions round the Sun. Some- 
 times they are high in the sky, sometimes low, and at 
 other times invisible. Their motion is usually pro- 
 gressive, but at certain points in their orbits they 
 appear stationary for a brief interval. At other 
 periods their onward motion is reversed, and they 
 seem to retrograde or travel backward on the ecliptic. 
 These are the planets ^ whose different aspects and 
 motions can be explained in conformity with the 
 Copernican hypothesis. 
 
 The Angel informs Adam that six planets ^ can 
 be seen, and suggests that the Earth may be a seventh, 
 
 ^ If viewed from the Sun, all the planets would be seen to describe 
 their true paths round the orb in the order to the signs of the zodiac ; 
 their motion would invariably be in the same direction, and any 
 increase or decrease in their speed as they approached perihelion 
 or aphehon would be real ; but when observed from the Earth, which 
 is itself in motion round the Sun, the effect created would at certain 
 times be quite different, and all the variations of motion which the 
 poet so concisely describes would, on close observation, become per- 
 ceptible. These can be explained as being due to the combined 
 motions of the Earth and planets which are together traveUing round 
 the Sun with different velocities, and in orbits of unequal dimensions. 
 
 ^ The planets were five in number, viz. Mercury, Venus, Mars, 
 Jupiter, and Saturn, but Milton, by including the Moon as a planet, 
 makes the number six. Correctly speaking, the Moon is the Earth's 
 satelUte and accompanies her primary on her annual journey round 
 the Sun. 
 
114 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 who, although apparently at rest, yet possesses three 
 different motions. These are (1) her diurnal rota- 
 tion on her axis ; (2) her annual journey round the 
 Sun; (3) a slow revolution of the terrestrial pole 
 round that of the ecliptic, which motion accounts for 
 the Precession of the Equinoxes. Unless these three 
 motions are accomplished by the Earth, they must 
 needs be ascribed to several spheres moving in 
 contrary directions and crossing each other obliquely. 
 If terrestrial, these niotions would save the ' Sun 
 his labour," i.e. his (mily journey round the Earth; 
 nor would it be necessary to believe in the existence of 
 that invisible wheel or ' rhomb,' the ' Primum Mobile ' 
 that carried with it the nine inner spheres round the 
 Earth in twenty-four hours. This sphere could 
 also be dispensed with if the Earth, by rotating 
 on her axis from west to east, should meet the Sun 
 and thus enjoy day in the hemisphere directed 
 towards him, her other, averted from his rays, being 
 enveloped in night. 
 
 With the adoption of the Copernican hypothesis 
 the spheres ceased to revolve ; the stars became 
 motionless, and were called ' the fixed ' in order that 
 they might be distinguished from other celestial 
 bodies whose movements could be more readily per- 
 ceived. The hitherto steadfast Earth joined in the 
 dance of her sister planets, and, although deprived 
 of her pre-eminence among other orbs, may yet be 
 regarded as the most important habitable world 
 that circles round the Sun. 
 
 After alluding to other phenomena, to which 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 115 
 
 reference will be made elsewhere, the angel Eaphael, 
 in bringing this elevated and philosophic discourse 
 to a conclusion, expresses himself in the following 
 beautifully poetical summary : 
 
 But whether thus these things, or whether not — 
 Whether the Sun, predominant in Heaven, 
 Rise on the Earth, or Earth rise on the Sun ; 
 He from the east his flaming road begin, 
 Or she from west her silent course advance 
 With inoffensive pace that spinning sleeps 
 On her soft axle, while she paces even, 
 And bears thee soft with the smooth air along — 
 Solicit not thy thoughts with matters hid ; 
 Leave them to God above ; him serve and fear. 
 
 viii. 159-67. 
 
 Notwithstanding the strictly neutral attitude 
 assumed by the angel Eaphael when touching upon 
 the salient features of the Ptolemaic and Copernican 
 systems, a careful perusal of the passages just quoted 
 will enable the reader to arrive at no uncertain 
 conclusion as to what was Milton's astronomical 
 creed. The poet's thorough knowledge of the details 
 of both systems enabled him to exercise a wise 
 discrimination in judging of their respective merits, 
 and to arrive at a sound conclusion as to which 
 theory was deserving of support. The views ex- 
 pressed by Adam regarding celestial motion, and his 
 well-reasoned and convincing arguments in com- 
 bating the behef that the entire Heavens should 
 accomphsh a diurnal revolution round the stationary 
 Earth, may be regarded as indicating Milton's own 
 convictions. The onslaught made by Eaphael on 
 the Ptolemaic system, and his merciless criticism of 
 
 I 2 
 
116 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 the devices which Ptolemaic astronomers had re- 
 course to in order to explain certain celestial pheno- 
 mena, also indicate that the poet was fully cognisant 
 of the false hypotheses upon which this venerable 
 system was founded. But Milton chose the Ptolemaic 
 system for the physical requirements of his ' Paradise 
 Lost/ and this choicQ on the part of the poet accounts 
 for the indecision which pervades the whole discussion. 
 It would seem as if Milton were anxious to express 
 his opinions respecting the merits of the controversy 
 that was being waged between the upholders of the 
 Ptolemaic and Copernican systems, but in such a way 
 as not to mar the symmetry of his poem. Milton 
 endeavoured to avoid the introduction in his * Para- 
 dise Lost ' of another system that would have made 
 the Ptolemaic appear incredible and absurd ; hence 
 Raphael's indecision when replying to Adam's inquiry 
 respecting celestial motion, and his allusion to the 
 Copernican system merely as a supposition. In the 
 concluding summary Milton takes up a position of 
 strict neutrality ; the exigencies of the poem necessi- 
 tated this attitude on his part, for he was desirous 
 of saying nothing that would adversely affect the 
 physical arrangement of the system upon which he 
 reared the fabric of his great epic. Finally, when 
 we come to weigh up the poet's utterances — ^his 
 unsparing criticism of the Ptolemaic system, and 
 his necessarily tentative approval of the Copernican, 
 one conclusion only can be arrived at, viz. that 
 Milton was no believer in a stationary Earth and 
 a revolving Universe. 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 117 
 
 After his return from the Continent in 1639, 
 Milton opened a small private academy in Alders- 
 gate, London. Included in the list of subjects which 
 he selected for the instruction of his youthful pupils 
 were mathematics and astronomy. The text-book 
 which he used in teaching astronomy was called 
 ' De KSphaera,' a small work written by Joannes 
 Sacrobosco (John Holy wood), an English mathe- 
 matician who lived and died at Paris in the thirteenth 
 century. The book is an epitome of a portion of 
 Ptolemy's ' Almagest,' and treats of the terrestrial 
 globe, of the celestial sphere, of circles great and 
 small, of the rising and setting of the stars, and of 
 the motions of the planets. As a manual of astro- 
 nomy it enjoyed great popularity in the Middle 
 Ages, and is reported to have passed through as 
 many as forty editions. It was entirely Ptolemaic 
 in its teaching. 
 
 Milton's knowledge of the configuration of the 
 celestial and terrestrial spheres, and of the great 
 circles traced thereon, may be attributed to his 
 familiarity with this book. In his description of 
 Satan's flight after his altercation with Gabriel in 
 Paradise, the poet mentions three of these circles : 
 
 The space of seven continued nights he rode 
 With darkness ; thrice the equinoctial hne 
 He circled ; four times crossed the ear of Night 
 From pole to pole, traversing each colure.-^^ 63-6. 
 
 Of the seven days occupied by Satan in his 
 peregrination round the Earth, three were spent in 
 circling the equinoctial or equator, travelhng with 
 
118 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 night from east to west and thus avoiding day ; 
 -four in moving from pole to pole or from north to 
 south and back. In accomplishing this part of his 
 journey, Satan is described as ' traversing each 
 colure/ The colures are two great circles that 
 intersect the poles, and the equinoctial and solstitial 
 points respectively. The circle that passes through 
 the vernal equinox is called the Equinoctial Colure, 
 and that passing through the summer solstice the 
 Solstitial Colure. Milton appears to have been 
 familiar with these circles. The term colure is now 
 obsolete. 
 
 The Meridian is the name given to another great 
 circle on the celestial sphere that passes through both 
 poles of the heavens, and also through the zenith 
 and nadir of any place on the Earth's surface. Con- 
 sequently, every locality on the globe has its own 
 meridian, and all places under the same meridian have 
 the same longitude. Celestial bodies attain their 
 greatest altitude on the sphere when they come upon 
 the meridian, and it is midday at any place on the 
 Earth's surface when the centre of the Sun is on the 
 meridian of that place. 
 
 Milton repeatedly alludes to the meridian. He 
 describes the Sun as occupying his ' meridian tower,' 
 and refers to his ' meridian heat.' Gabriel, in response 
 to Uriel's warning, informs him that since ' meridian 
 hour ' no creature had entered Paradise. 
 
 Milton's knowledge of the constellations was 
 both accurate and comprehensive. He probably 
 knew the names of all the northern constellations-— 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 119 
 
 twenty in number — and with several of those of the 
 southern hemisphere he was also famihar. With 
 many, their configuration, their relative position on 
 the sphere, and the objects of interest situated in each 
 of them were well known to him, for Milton was an 
 interested observer of the heavens, and fully 
 appreciated the nocturnal beauty of the starlit 
 sky. The poet was well acquainted with the twelve 
 zodiacal constellations, and in describing the apparent 
 upward and downward motion of the Sun in the 
 heavens he mentions the names of nine of them. 
 They are, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, 
 Libra, Scorpio, and Capricornus. In addition to 
 those, four other constellations are referred to in the 
 ' Paradise Lost,' viz. Andromeda, Centaurus, Ophi- 
 uchus, and Orion, making the total number thirteen. 
 Ursa Major, familiarly known as the Great Bear, is 
 the only other constellation to which Milton alludes 
 in his poems. It is one of the circumpolar con- 
 stellations that never sets, but circles continuously 
 round the pole. The poet says : 
 
 Or let my lamp, at midniglit hour, 
 Be seen in some high, lonely tower, 
 Where I may oft outwatch the Bear. — II P. 85-7. 
 
 Outwatching the Bear means sitting up after 
 midnight until the morning light renders the stars 
 invisible. 
 
 Andromeda, the chained lady, who was rescued 
 by the valiant Perseus from the sea-monster Cetus, 
 is described as being borne by Aries. In the nightly 
 procession of the constellations, Andromeda, in the 
 
120 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 autumn, occupies a position above Aries, and would 
 seem to be carried onward by the latter. Milton, in 
 the well-known lines (iii. 555-60), alludes to this 
 aspect of the constellation. 
 
 Centaurus is the constellation in which our Sun, 
 as a star, would be included. Alpha Centauri being 
 his nearest neighbour. It is situated in the southern 
 hemisphere. 
 
 Ophiuchus is a large constellation in the south- 
 eastern sky, in which Milton locates a comet that 
 extends its entire length — a distance of about forty 
 degrees. 
 
 Orion, the finest constellation in the heavens, must 
 have been a familiar object to the poet. It arrives 
 on the meridian in winter, and is conspicuous as 
 a brilliant assemblage of stars. The constellation 
 represents an armed warrior or hunter holding in his 
 right hand a massive club, and having on his left 
 arm a shield of lion's hide. A triple-gemmed belt 
 encircles his waist from which is suspended a glittering 
 sword tipped with a bright star. The two brilliants, 
 Betelgeux and Bellatrix, form the warrior's shoulders, 
 and the bright star Eigel marks the position of his 
 advanced foot. 
 
 The Orion stars appear above the horizon in 
 November ; in February the constellation in full 
 glory lies due south close to the meridian, and towards 
 the end of April disappears low down in the west. 
 
 In ancient times the rising and setting of Orion 
 was beheved to be accompanied by stormy weather. 
 In the following hues Milton ascribes the tempestuous 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 121 
 
 condition of the elements to the presence of the 
 constellation : 
 
 . . . when with fierce winds Orion armed 
 Hath vexed the Red-Sea coast, whose waves overthrew 
 Busiris and his Memphian chivalry. — i. 305-7. 
 
 With the zodiacal constellation Libra (the Balance), 
 Milton associates a lofty poetical conception which he 
 identifies with the Homeric notion of the golden 
 scales in which God first weighed the Earth and all 
 created things, and with them decides the issue of 
 all uncertain events. Satan, by means of this 
 celestial sign, is warned of his fate should he engage 
 in combat with Gabriel in Paradise : 
 
 The Eternal, to prevent such horrid fray, 
 
 Hung forth in Heaven his golden scales, yet seen 
 
 Betwixt Astraea 3 and the Scorpion sign, 
 
 Wherein all things created first he weighed. 
 
 The pendulous round Earth with balanced air 
 
 In counterpoise — now ponders all events. 
 
 Battles and realms. In these he put two weights. 
 
 The sequel each of parting and of fight : 
 
 The latter quick up flew, and kicked the beam. 
 
 iv. 996-1004. 
 
 The poet's acquaintance with the relative posi- 
 tions of the constellations enabled him to define any 
 particular region in space. For instance, Satan on 
 his return journey to Hell, is described as — 
 
 Betwixt the Centaur and the Scorpion steering 
 His zenith, while the Sun in Aries rose. — x. 328-29. 
 
 Centaurus and Scorpio are situated on the sphere 
 in proximity to Libra, whose position is directly 
 
 "^ The constellation Virgo. 
 
122 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 opposite to that of Aries, or at what may be called 
 the other extremity of the celestial equator. Satan, 
 in order to escape the observation of Uriel, Regent of 
 the Sun, kept as far distant as possible from the orb 
 by directing his flight between the two constellations 
 just mentioned. 
 
 Milton repeatedly alludes to the constellations, 
 and in so doing enhances the effect of the passages 
 in which they are introduced. In describing the 
 meeting of Michael and Satan on the battlefield, and 
 the commotion caused by their weapons prior to 
 engaging in fight, the poet says : 
 
 Now waved their fiery swords, and in the air 
 
 Made horrid circles ; two broad suns their shields 
 
 Blazed opposite, while Expectation stood 
 
 In horror ; from each hand with speed retired, 
 
 Where erst was thickest fight, the angelic throng. 
 
 And left large field, unsafe within the wind 
 
 Of such commotion : such as (to set forth 
 
 Great things by small) if. Nature's concord broke, 
 
 Among the constellations war were sprung, , ■ 
 
 Two planets, rushing from aspect malign 
 
 Of fiercest opposition, in mid sky 
 
 Should combat, and their jarring spheres confound. 
 
 vi. 304-15. 
 
 The return of the Creator to the Heaven of 
 Heavens after the completion of His six days' work 
 was accompanied by universal rejoicing in which the 
 constellations joined : 
 
 Up He rode. 
 Followed with acclamation and the sound 
 Symphonious of ten thousand harps, that tuned 
 AngeHc harmonies. The Earth, the Air 
 Resounded (thou remember'st, for thou heard' st) 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 123 
 
 The heavens and all the constellations rung, 
 The planets in their stations listening stood, 
 While the bright pomp ascended jubilant. — vii. 557-64. 
 
 The angel-quire at the birth of the infant Jesus 
 sung and harped — 
 
 Such music (as 'tis said) 
 
 Before was never made, 
 But when of old the Sons of Morning sung, 
 
 While the Creator great 
 
 His constellations set. 
 And the well-balanced world on hinges hung : 
 
 And cast the dark foundations deep. 
 
 And bid the weltering waves their oozy 
 channel keep.— H. 117-24. 
 
 Adam, on the occasion of his nuptials, says : 
 
 All Heaven, 
 And happy constellations, on that hour 
 Shed their selectest influence. — viii. 511-13. 
 
 Eclipses of the heavenly bodies, whether total or 
 partial, are occurrences which, on account of the 
 phenomena that accompany them, have always been 
 of more than ordinary interest to mankind. An 
 eclipse may be defined as an obscuration of a heavenly 
 body caused by the interposition of another, or by its 
 passage through the shadow of a larger body. An 
 eclipse of the Sun is caused by the passage of the 
 dark body of the Moon between the Earth and the 
 orb. It may be total or partial. An eclipse of the 
 Moon is caused by her passage through the Earth's 
 shadow, and may be total or partial according as 
 she is entirely or partially immersed in it. 
 
 When the Moon's apparent diameter exceeds that 
 of the Sun and their centres coincide, a total eclipse 
 
124 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 of the Sun occurs. If the Moon's diameter be less, 
 the echpse is termed ' annular/ because the only 
 visible portion of the Sun appears as a bright ring 
 or annulus round the dark body of the Moon. When 
 their centres do not nearly coincide, a portion only 
 of the Sun's disc is covered ; it is then that a 
 partial eclipse occurs. 
 
 Milton makes but one allusion to a solar eclipse ; 
 it is contained in the famous passage (i. 594-9), in 
 which he describes the Sun as hidden behind the 
 dark body of the Moon, and his light so diminished 
 as to give rise to ' disastrous twilight ' in nature. 
 
 The occurrence of a total eclipse of the Sun is a 
 most impressive and awe-inspiring spectacle. The 
 gradual effacement of the brilliant orb by the dark 
 body of the Moon ; the rapid onset of nocturnal 
 darkness ; the visibility of the stars overhead ; the 
 lurid aspect of the surrounding landscape ; and the 
 profound stillness in animated nature consequent 
 upon the interception of the Sun's light, excite emo- 
 tions that can be realised only by those who have 
 witnessed the phenomenon. 
 
 Milton makes use of the word ' eclipse ' when 
 referring to the obscuration of any celestial body 
 or other object when deprived of its light. He alludes 
 to the Moon as undergoing eclipse when affected by 
 the incantations and gruesome rites practised by the 
 night-hag Hecate, and by Lapland witches when 
 indulging in their repugnant calling (ii. 662-6). 
 
 The noxious presence of Sin and Death when 
 pursuing their way among the constellations is 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 125 
 
 indicated by their baneful effect upon the surrounding 
 orbs : 
 
 They with speed 
 Their course through thickest constellations held, 
 Spreading their bane ; the blasted stars looked wan, 
 And planets, planet-struck, real eclipse 
 Then suffered.— x. 410-14. 
 
 One of the adverse changes that occurred in 
 nature after the Fall was : 
 
 air suddenly eclipsed 
 After short blush of morn. — xi. 183-84. 
 
 Samson, in recounting his numerous woes, alludes 
 to his blindness as — 
 
 total eclipse 
 Without all hope of day !— S. A. 81-2. 
 
 Poets delight in marvels, omens, and portents, 
 and Milton in alluding to eclipses does not fail to 
 refer to the inauspicious forebodings associated with 
 their occurrence. The ill-fated ship that foundered 
 off the Welsh coast in 1637, and with which Edward 
 King — Milton's intimate friend — ^went down, is 
 referred to by the poet as^ — 
 
 that fatal and perfidious bark. 
 Built in the eclipse, and rigged with curses dark. 
 
 L. 100-1. 
 
 In remote ages, long before the dawn of astrono- 
 mical science, eclipses were regarded by mankind 
 with mingled feelings of terror and dismay. Differ- 
 ing from ordinary phenomena in nature, and ascribed 
 to supernatural agency as manifestations of offended 
 Deity, numerous instances are recorded of the 
 
126 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 profound impression made upon men's minds by the 
 occurrence of a total eclipse of the Sun. Herodotus 
 relates how, when a battle was in progress between 
 the Medes and the Lybians, a total solar eclipse 
 occurred which so impressed the combatants that 
 they at once ceased fighting and concluded peace. 
 Plutarch mentions a total eclipse of the Sun that 
 happened about midday. The darkness was so great 
 that it resembled night, and stars were everywhere 
 visible in the sky. The death of the Roman Emperor 
 Domitian was preceded by a portent which was none 
 other than a total solar eclipse. 
 
 Did Milton ever witness a total eclipse of the 
 Sun ? The reply must be in the negative. For 
 although a partial eclipse is of comparatively frequent 
 occurrence, a total solar eclipse locally visible is 
 exceedingly rare. The celebrated astronomer Halley, 
 when describing a total eclipse of the Sun visible in 
 London on May 3, 1715, remarked that no similar oc- 
 currence had been observed in the City since March 20, 
 1140. In 1652 an eclipse of the Sun occurred that 
 was total over a certain area of the British Isles. 
 Milton at that time resided in London, and was forty- 
 four years of age, but his eyesight, which had been 
 failing for some years previous, became so impaired in 
 the spring of 1652 that total blindness supervened. 
 
 The Ecliptic, the name given by astronomers to 
 the great circle which the Sun appears to describe 
 annually in the heavens, was famiharly known to 
 Milton, for the poet was well acquainted with the 
 twelve constellations which the orb traverses. The 
 
MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE 127 
 
 Obliquity of the Ecliptic, a term used to indicate the 
 inclination of the ecliptic to the equator, or, in other 
 words, the inclination of the Earth's equator to the 
 plane of her annual path, was also known to him, and 
 when describing the modifications that occurred in the 
 physical universe as a consequence of the first act 
 of transgression, he describes how the poles of the 
 Earth were turned askance twice ten degrees and 
 more from the Sun's axle. The causes upon which 
 depend the sequence of the seasons : the lengthening 
 and shortening of the day ; the vernal and autumnal 
 equinoxes ; and the summer and winter solstices, 
 were all embraced within the sphere of Milton's 
 knowledge of astronomy. 
 
 Resides having been familiar with the ' face of the 
 sky,' Milton was deeply versed in all the astronomical 
 controversies that were being waged in his time, the 
 merits of which he was fully capable of appreciating. 
 The discoveries made by Galileo with the telescope, 
 embracing as they did the spots on the Sun ; the 
 lunar mountains and plains ; the stellar constitution 
 of the Milky Way ; the crescent form of the planet 
 Venus, and the presence of Jupiter's four satelhtes — 
 to all of which Milton alludes in his poems — testify 
 to the poet's intimate acquaintance with the pro- 
 gressive advancement of the astronomy of his day. 
 All this varied wealth of astronomical allusion and 
 detail Milton linked in poetic sweetness with his 
 lofty muse ; accurately described, and admirably 
 expressed in the pages of his ' Paradise Lost.' 
 
CHAPTEE IV 
 
 MILTON AND GALILEO 
 
 Milton, after his departure from Cambridge, fre- 
 quently expressed a desire to visit the Continent, 
 where there were many places of interest that he had 
 often longed to see. Having obtained the consent 
 of his kind and indulgent father, he set out on his 
 travels in April 1638 accompanied by a single man- 
 servant, and arrived in Paris, where he stayed a few 
 days. During his residence in the French capital, 
 he was introduced by Lord Scudamore, the English 
 ambassador at the Court of Versailles, to Hugo Grotius, 
 one of the most distinguished scholars and philosophic 
 thinkers of his age. From Paris Milton journeyed to 
 Nice, where he first beheld the beauty of Itahan 
 scenery and the classic shores of the Mediterranean. 
 From Nice he sailed to Genoa and Leghorn, and after 
 a short sojourn at those places continued his journey 
 inland to Florence, one of the most interesting and 
 picturesque of Italian cities. Situated in the valley 
 of the Arno, and encircled by sloping hills whose sides 
 were studded with residences half hidden among the 
 foliage of gardens and vineyards, Florence, apart 
 
MILTON AND GALILEO 129 
 
 from its natural beauty, was at that time the centre 
 of Itahan culture and learning, and the abode of men 
 eminent in literature and science. Here Milton 
 resided for a period of four months, during which 
 time he enjoyed the friendship and hospitality of its 
 most noted citizens, many of whom delighted to 
 honour their English visitor. He was also warmly 
 welcomed by the members of the various literary 
 academies, who admired his conversation and com- 
 positions, their flattering encomiums having been 
 amply repaid by him in choice and elegant Latin 
 verse. 
 
 During his stay at Florence, Milton visited the 
 illustrious Galileo, who resided at Arcetri, a pleasantly 
 situated suburb that lay just outside the city walls. 
 * There it was,' he writes, ' I found and visited the 
 famous Galileo, grown old, a prisoner of the Inquisi- 
 tion for thinking in astronomy otherwise than the 
 Franciscan and Dominican licensers thought.' After 
 his abjuration and short imprisonment in 1632, 
 Galileo received permission from the Inquisition to 
 return to his home, but only on condition that he 
 should adhere to certain strict injunctions, which 
 entailed a severe curtailment of his liberty. 
 
 Milton does not favour us by mentioning any of the 
 topics that formed the subject of conversation between 
 himself and Gahleo, nor does he express any opinion 
 respecting the controversies which at that time 
 agitated both the religious and scientific worlds of 
 thought, and that ultimately culminated in a storm 
 of rancour and hatred which burst over the head of 
 
130 Milton's astronomy 
 
 the aged astronomer and brought him to his knees : 
 yet there can be little doubt but that they were 
 seriously discussed, and that Galileo had in his 
 visitor a sympathetic listener. The telescope, its 
 principle, its mechanism, and methods of observing, 
 were most likely explained to Milton, and we can 
 imagine that he was invited to inspect those in 
 Galileo's observatory and perhaps to test their 
 magnifying power on some object favourably situated 
 for observation. The interesting discoveries made 
 with the instrument without doubt formed a pleasant 
 subject of conversation, and Milton enjoyed the 
 privilege of listening to a detailed description of 
 those from the lips of the blind ^ astronomer. Indeed, 
 it is not improbable that after his visit to Gahleo 
 Milton may have appreciated the heliocentric arrange- 
 ment of our system, for the discoveries made by the 
 ' Tuscan Artist ' with his telescope afforded con- 
 clusive proof of the truthfulness of the Copernican 
 doctrines. 
 
 This memorable interview made a lasting im- 
 pression upon Milton's mind, and when in years 
 long after, the poet, feeble and blind, began to 
 write his ' Paradise Lost,' the remembrance of 
 Galileo and his telescope still remained vivid and 
 unimpaired. 
 
 Gahleo was the first astronomer who pointed a 
 telescope to the heavens ; and he, besides, deserves 
 the credit of having been the inventor of the instru- 
 ment which he employed. Although the magnifying 
 
 ^ Galileo, at the time of Milton's visit, was totally blind. 
 
MILTON AND GALILEO 131 
 
 power of certain lenses was known from a remote 
 period, it was not until 1608 that the earliest telescope 
 was constructed. The inventor was a Dutchman 
 named Hans Lippershey, who carried on the business 
 of a spectacle-maker in the town of Middelburg. His 
 discovery was purely accidental, and it is said that 
 the instrument, which was directed towards a weather- 
 cock on a church spire — of which it gave a large and 
 inverted image — ^was for some time exhibited in his 
 shop as a curiosity. The importance of the invention 
 was, however, soon realised, and in the following 
 year telescopes were sold in Paris. 
 
 In May 1609, when on a visit to a friend at Venice, 
 Galileo received intelligence of the invention of an 
 instrument by a Dutch optician that possessed the 
 property of causing distant objects to appear much 
 nearer to the observer. Confirmation of this report 
 was afterwards contained in letters which he received 
 from Paris, and this information, Galileo asserted, 
 was all that he had learned about the discovery. Im- 
 mediately after his return to Padua he applied his 
 abilities to contriving an instrument with properties 
 such as he had heard of, and in the following passage 
 describes the method of reasoning by which he arrived 
 at a successful result. He writes : 
 
 The contrivance consists either of one glass or of more — one 
 is not sufficient, since it must be either convex, concave, or plane. 
 The last does not produce any sensible alteration in objects ; 
 the concave diminishes them. It is true that the convex magni- 
 fies, but it renders them confused and indistinct ; consequently, 
 one glass is insufficient to produce the desired effect. Proceeding 
 to consider two glasses, and bearing in mind that the plane 
 
 K 2 
 
132 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 causes no change, I determined that the instrument could not 
 consist of the combination of a plane glass with either of the 
 other two. I therefore appHed myself to making experiments of 
 combinations of the other two kinds and thus obtained that of 
 which I was in search. 
 
 Galileo's telescope consisted of two lenses — one 
 plano-convex, the other plano-concave — the latter 
 being held to the eye. Those he fixed in a piece of 
 organ-pipe, which served the purpose of a tube — the 
 lenses being distant from each other by the difference of 
 their focal lengths. An opera-glass may be accurately 
 described as a double Galilean telescope. Galileo 
 must be regarded as having been the inventor of this 
 kind of telescope, which in one respect differed very 
 materially from the instrument constructed by the 
 Dutch optician, for, if what has been said about the 
 weather-cock on the church spire be true, then 
 Lippershey's telescope consisted of two convex lenses 
 distant from each other by the sum of their focal 
 lengths, and all objects observed with it appeared 
 inverted. Refracting astronomical telescopes are 
 constructed on this principle as they possess several 
 advantages over the Galilean instrument. 
 
 On the completion of his telescope, Galileo re- 
 turned with it to Venice, where he exhibited it to his 
 friends. The sensation created by this small instru- 
 ment, which magnified only three diameters, was very 
 extraordinary, and crowds of the principal citizens 
 flocked daily to Galileo's residence in order that they 
 might see the magical tube about which such wonder- 
 ful reports were being circulated. Galileo next applied 
 
MILTON AND GALILEO 133 
 
 his mechanical skill to making instruments of larger 
 size, and ' at length/ he writes, ' sparing neither 
 labour nor expense,' constructed a telescope so 
 excellent as to be capable of magnifying more 
 than thirty times. He now commenced an explora- 
 tion of the celestial regions, and on carefully examining 
 some of the heavenly bodies with his glass made many 
 wonderful discoveries that greatly enhanced his 
 reputation as an astronomer, and added fame and 
 lustre to his name. 
 
 The first celestial object to which Galileo directed 
 his telescope was the Moon, which, he remarked, 
 appeared so near as if it were distant only two 
 semi-diameters of the Earth. He was deeply interested 
 to find how closely her surface resembled that of our 
 globe ; and was able to detect on almost every part of 
 the lunar disc lofty mountain ranges, vast plains, deep 
 valleys, and elevated ridges and depressions similar 
 to those that exist on the Earth. The dark and 
 luminous portions of her surface, Galileo surmised, 
 indicated the existence of continents and seas that 
 reflected with unequal intensity the light of the Sun. 
 
 Galileo's opponents and the followers of Aristotle 
 received the announcement of these discoveries with 
 much displeasure. They maintained that the Moon 
 was perfectly spherical, and absolutely smooth— a 
 vast mirror, the darkened portions of which were the 
 reflection of our terrestrial mountains and forests — 
 and accused Gahleo of ' taking a delight in distorting 
 and ruining the fairest works of nature.' Galileo 
 appealed to the evidence of his observations, and to 
 
134 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 the unevenness of our globe. In his opinion the 
 Moon's irregular surface was a proof of Divine 
 wisdom ; and had it been absolutely smooth the orb 
 would have been ' but a vast and unblessed desert, 
 void of animals, of plants, of cities and men — senseless, 
 lifeless, soulless, and stripped of all those ornaments 
 which now render it so variable and so beautiful/ 
 Gahleo's arguments were, however, of little avail in 
 altering his opponents' preconceived notions of the 
 lunar disc. 
 
 Evidence of the deep and lasting impression made 
 upon Milton's mind by his visit to Galileo is apparent 
 in the ' Paradise Lost,' which contains repeated allu- 
 sions to the discoveries made by the Florentine 
 astronomer with his telescope. The first of these 
 applies to the Moon. In his description of the massive 
 shield carried by Satan, the poet says : 
 
 His ponderous shield, 
 Ethereal temper, massy, large, and roimd, 
 Behind him cast. The broad circumference 
 Hung on his shoulders like the Moon, whose orb 
 Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views 
 At evening, from the top of Fesole, 
 Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands, 
 Rivers or mountains, in her spotty globe. — i. 284-91. 
 
 The Tuscan artist is Galileo, who was a native of 
 the State of Tuscany, of which Florence is the capital. 
 In describing Galileo as observing the Moon from the 
 top of Fesole, a hill distant about three miles from 
 the city, or in Valdarno — the valley of the Arno — 
 Milton is recalling happy memories of his stay at 
 Florence, where he occupied his time in taking pleasant 
 
MILTON AND GALILEO 135 
 
 walks perhaps — sometimes by moonlight — into the 
 subm"bs and surrounding country. It was when on 
 one of these rambles that he ' found ' and ' visited ' 
 Galileo, who occupied a picturesque villa that stood 
 on the left bank of the Arno. 
 
 Galileo firmly believed in the habitability of the 
 Moon, and Milton appears to have entertained a 
 similar opinion with respect to the orb. The poet 
 surmises the existence of new lands, rivers, or moun- 
 tains, on the lunar surface — discoveries made by 
 Galileo. The term ' spotty globe ' is more applicable 
 to our satellite when viewed through the telescope 
 than when seen with the naked eye. Galileo's 
 attention was attracted by the freckled aspect of the 
 Moon — a visual effect created by the numerous extinct 
 volcanoes that abound on the surface of the orb. 
 
 Milton again mentions the Moon when referring 
 to Galileo and his telescope — 
 
 as when by night the glass 
 Of Galileo, less assured, observes 
 Imagined lands and regions in the Moon. 
 
 V. 261-63. 
 
 The archangel Raphael in his flight through space 
 views from afar the inequalities of the Earth's 
 surface, which resemble in appearance the imagined 
 lands and regions discovered by Galileo's glass on the 
 lunar disc. Milton had probably in remembrance 
 the indistinct and ill-defined aspect presented by 
 objects when observed from a great distance. 
 
 Although Milton regarded the Moon as a habitable 
 world, he does not assert that the orb is the abode of 
 
136 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 life, but considers it as highly probable. In locaHs- 
 ing the Limbo of Vanity the poet says : 
 
 Not in the neighbouring Moon as some have dreamed ; 
 Those argent-fields more likely habitants, 
 Translated Saints, or middle Spirits, hold. 
 Betwixt the angelical and human kind. — iii. 459-62. 
 
 Here we have an instance of the poet/s love of the 
 medieval and ancient when he refers to the Moon 
 as being most likely inhabited by serni-angelical 
 beings. 
 
 In the quaint philosophy propounded by Raphael 
 when conversing with Adam in Paradise, the angel 
 delivers himself thus : 
 
 For know, whatever was created, needs 
 To be sustained and fed ; of elements 
 The grosser feeds the purer : Earth the Sea ; 
 Earth and the Sea feed Air : the Air those Fires 
 Ethereal, and, as lowest, first the Moon ; 
 Whence in her visage round those spots, unpurged 
 Vapours not yet into her substance turned. 
 Nor doth the Moon no nourishment exhale 
 From her moist continent to higher orbs. 
 The Sun, that light imparts to all, receives 
 From all his alimental recompense 
 In humid exhalations, and at even 
 Sups with the ocean. — v. 415-26. 
 
 According to this strange physical system which 
 was upheld by the ancients, vapours or exhalations 
 emitted by the lower orbs were absorbed by the higher, 
 which they maintained and nourished. Pliny 
 imagined the spots on the Moon were humours or 
 vapours exhaled by the Earth, which, having reached 
 our satellite, were not yet absorbed into her substance. 
 
MILTON AND GALILEO 137 
 
 It is singular that Milton should have ascribed such 
 philosophy to an archangel, but science is unable to 
 affirm or deny the assumption that the Sun and stars 
 receive alimental nourishment. This speculative 
 theory has attracted many minds, and Milton, who 
 was deeply versed in ancient philosophy, exhibits his 
 partiality for classical tradition by introducing it 
 in his poem. It may be unphilosophical to say 
 that the Sun 'sups with the ocean,' but it is not 
 unpoetical. 
 
 In describing phenomena on the Moon similar 
 to what are experienced on Earth, Milton prefaces 
 his utterance with the remark : 
 
 if land be there, 
 Fields and inhabitants ? Her spots thou seest 
 As clouds, and clouds may rain, and rain produce 
 Fruits in her softened soil, for some to eat 
 Allotted there.— viii. 144-48. 
 
 The poet does not say that the darkened portions 
 of the lunar surface are clouds, but surmises the exist- 
 ence of aqueous vapour on the Moon, and consequently 
 the presence of animal and vegetable life. If the 
 lunar spots were obscurations caused by the presence 
 of clouds they would constantly vary in form and 
 size, and occasionally disappear. But the naked-eye 
 appearance of the Moon never varies, and of this 
 Milton must have been perfectly well aware. 
 
 Galileo regarded the Moon as a duplicate of her 
 primary — a world teeming with hfe. But Milton 
 exercises greater caution when referring to the orb. 
 Apparently he seems to favour the assumption that 
 
138 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 the lunar surface is capable of sustaining life, and 
 that there are inhabitants on the Moon — a conclusion 
 commonly upheld in his day. But his belief does 
 not reach beyond the possibility of such a condition 
 of things, and further he does not venture. The 
 poetic licence indulged in by Milton when dealing 
 with lunar affairs is not greater than what might be 
 reasonably claimed on his behalf. 
 
 The discovery of Jupiter's four moons — ^to which 
 Milton alludes indirectly — was one of Galileo's most 
 brilliant achievements with the telescope. On the 
 night of January 7, 1610, when engaged in observing 
 Jupiter with his glass, Galileo perceived three small 
 stars in proximity to the planet. They appeared 
 brighter than adjacent stars of the same magnitude, 
 and two were to the east and one to the west of the 
 orb. The three were in a straight line and parallel 
 to the ecliptic. Beheving they were fixed stars, Galileo 
 paid them no special attention. On the following 
 night, when observing with his telescope, he was 
 surprised to find all three stars to the west of Jupiter 
 and nearer to each other. This occasioned him 
 considerable surprise, and he was puzzled to know 
 how the planet could be east of the three stars when 
 on the preceding night he was to the west of two 
 of them. The only explanation he could give was 
 that Jupiter's motion was contrary to astronomical 
 calculations, and that he had got in advance of the 
 other stars. Galileo's next opportunity of observing 
 them was on the 10th, when two only of the stars 
 were visible and they both were to the east of the 
 
MILTON AND GALILEO 139 
 
 planet. As it was obviously impossible that Jupiter 
 could have travelled from west to east on January 8, 
 and from east to west on the 10th, Galileo concluded 
 that the observed phenomenon arose from the motion 
 of the stars. He now applied himself assiduously 
 to watching the stars on successive evenings and 
 discovered a fourth, and on perceiving how they 
 changed their positions relatively to each other, and 
 to Jupiter, he arrived at the conclusion that the 
 stars were four moons which revolved round 
 Jupiter in the same manner as the moon revolves 
 round the Earth. 
 
 The announcement of the discovery of Jupiter's 
 four satellites created a profound impression, and its 
 significance became at once apparent. The followers 
 of Ptolemy and of Aristotle received the information 
 with much displeasure and incredulity, and positively 
 refused to believe Galileo, whom they accused of 
 inventing fables. On the other hand, the upholders 
 of the Copernican system hailed the announcement 
 with satisfaction, as it declared that Jupiter with his 
 four moons constituted a system of greater magnitude 
 and importance than that of our Earth with her single 
 satellite, which therefore could not be regarded as 
 the centre of the Universe. 
 
 Kepler, on hearing of Galileo's discovery of the 
 four moons of Jupiter, sent him the following 
 characteristic letter : 
 
 I was sitting idle at home thinking of you most excellent 
 Galileo and your letters, when the news was brought me of the 
 discovery of four planets by the help of the double eye-glass . . . 
 
140 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 I am so far from disbelieving in the existence of the four cir- 
 cumjovial planets that I long for a telescope to anticipate you in 
 discovering two round Mars (as the proportion seems to me to 
 require), six or eight round Saturn, and perhaps one each 
 round Mercury and Venus. 
 
 Intelligence of Gralileo's discovery was received 
 by his opponents in a spirit entirely different from 
 that manifested by Kepler. The principal professor 
 of philosophy at Padua, when requested to look at 
 the Moon and planets through Galileo's glass, per- 
 sistently declined, and did his utmost to persuade 
 the Grand Duke of Tuscany that the Jovian satellites 
 could not possibly exist. 
 
 Evidence in support of the presence of Jupiter's 
 moons became so conclusive that Galileo's opponents 
 were compelled to renounce their disbelief in them, 
 whether real or pretended. The Grand Duke, pre- 
 ferring to trust his eyes rather than rely upon the 
 arguments of the professor at Padua, observed the 
 satellites on several occasions with Galileo, and as a 
 mark of appreciation of his discovery presented him 
 with a handsome gift. 
 
 Several of Galileo's opponents now declared that 
 his discovery was incomplete, and that Jupiter had 
 more than four satellites in attendance upon him. 
 Scheiner counted five, Rheita nine, and other ob- 
 servers increased the number to twelve. But it 
 was found to be quite as hazardous to exceed the 
 number stated by Galileo as it was to deny the 
 existence of any, for when Jupiter had traversed a 
 short distance of his path among the fixed stars, the 
 only bodies that accompanied him were his four 
 
MILTON AND GALILEO 141 
 
 original attendants, which continued to revolve round 
 him with unerring regularity in every part of his 
 orbit. 
 
 Jupiter, the giant planet of our system — the orb 
 has a mean diameter of 88,000 miles — must have been 
 a familiar object to Milton, for when nearest to the 
 Earth liis brilliancy rivals that of Venus. The poet's 
 cognisance that Galileo was the discoverer of the 
 planet's four moons must have also enhanced his 
 interest in the orb. 
 
 In the following lines there is a pointed allusion 
 to the Jovian satellites : 
 
 and other suns, perhaps, 
 With their attendant moons,3 thou wilt descry. 
 Communicating male and females light. — viii. 148-50. 
 
 Milton, in indicating the existence of other planets 
 makes use of the expression, ' other suns ' ; this need 
 occasion no surprise, for in the poet's time astrono- 
 mical phraseology was given a wide latitude. Galileo 
 describes his Jovian satellites as ' planets.' He 
 writes, ' and these new planets move round a very 
 great star in the same way as Venus and Mercury, and 
 peradventure the other known planets move round 
 the Sun.' Milton may have conceived the happy 
 idea that Jupiter, in his relation to the moons that 
 circle round him, exercises functions similar to those 
 which it is the Sun's prerogative to fulfil. Indeed, 
 the Jovian system may well be regarded as a 
 
 ^ Some of Milton's commentators credit Galileo with the discovery 
 of ' Jupiter and of Saturn's satellites,' but none of the latter' s moons 
 .w0il^ discovered in Galileo's lifetime. 
 
 •' Direct and reflected light. 
 
 k 
 
142 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 miniature solar system, for recent discoveries have 
 added four more gems to the diadem of Jupiter. 
 
 In the year 1610, Gahleo, on directing his telescope 
 to the Sun, discovered dark spots on the surface 
 of the orb. Similar spots sufficiently large to be 
 distinguished by the naked eye were observed from 
 time to time for centuries prior to the invention of 
 the telescope, but they attracted scant attention, and 
 no surmises were hazarded as to their nature and 
 origin. Glalileo was much puzzled in accounting for 
 the spots. He at first concluded that the Sun either 
 rotated on his axis, or that planets like Mercury and 
 Venus revolved in such close proximity to the orb 
 that in crossing his disc they appeared as dark spots. 
 After further observation he ascertained that the 
 spots were in actual contact with the Sun ; that they 
 were of irregular form ; that sometimes a spot divided 
 into three or four smaller spots, and that occasionally 
 several united to form a single spot. Galileo eventu- 
 ally arrived at the conclusion that the spots were 
 clouds which floated in the solar atmosphere, and that 
 they intercepted a portion of the Sun's light. He 
 observed that they all possessed a common proper 
 motion, and appeared to rotate with the orb ; and 
 judging by the time they occupied in crossing the 
 solar disc he inferred that the Sun rotates on his axis 
 in about twenty- eight days — a near approach to the 
 truth. 
 
 In describing Satan's environment after having 
 landed in the Sun, Milton again refers to Gahleo and 
 his telescope, for the poet was aware that the solar 
 
MILTON AND GALILEO 143 
 
 disc was one of the objects subjected to the scrutiny 
 of the instrument : 
 
 There lands the Fiend, a spot like which perhaps 
 
 Astronomer in the Sun's lucent orb 
 
 Through his glazed optic tube yet never saw. 
 
 iii. 588-90. 
 
 No astronomer with his glass ever beheld such 
 -imghtness-as Satan ^^erceiyed when in the midst of 
 the solar radiance. 
 
 The Milky Way, known also as the Galaxy, was 
 one of the celestial objects that attracted Galileo's 
 attention. On directing his telescope to this luminous 
 tract he discovered, to his inexpressible delight, that 
 it consisted of multitudes of stars so remote as to be 
 incapable of definition by the nak^d eye ; and that 
 its cloudy luminosity w^as an effect created by the 
 blended light of myriads of stars still more distant 
 which his telescope was unable to resolve. In his 
 Nuncius Sidereus Galileo gives an account of his 
 observations of the Galaxy, and expresses his satis- 
 faction with having been able to terminate an ancient 
 controversy by demonstrating to the senses the 
 stellar structure of the Milky Way. 
 
 Milton alludes but once to the Milky Way (vii. 
 574-81) and his subhme description of this 
 luminous zone is based upon Galileo's discovery of 
 its stellar constitution. 
 
 Galileo did not afford his opponents much time 
 to deny or controvert with argument his telescopic 
 discoveries before the announcement of a new one 
 diverted public attention from those already made 
 
144 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 known. He, however, exercised greater caution in 
 disclosing the results of his observations, as other 
 persons laid claim to having made the same dis- 
 coveries prior to the time that his were announced. 
 Galileo therefore adopted a method in common use 
 among astronomers in those days by means of which 
 they announced a discovery by transposing the letters 
 in a sentence so as to form an anagram. The ana- 
 gram that concealed Galileo's next discovery was 
 as follows : 
 
 Haec immatura a me jam frustra leguntur oy. 
 
 This when deciphered reads — 
 
 Cynthiae figuras aemulatur mater amorum. 
 (Venus rivals the appearances of the Moon.) 
 
 It was in this manner that Galileo announced 
 his discovery of the phases of Venus, the peerless 
 planet of our morning and evening skies, whose 
 slender crescent forms such a beautiful object in the 
 telescope, and who, as she traverses her orbit, exhibits 
 all the varied changes of form presented by the Moon 
 on her monthly journey round the Earth. These 
 recurring phases of Venus, from slender crescent to 
 full moon, afforded Galileo irresistible proof that the 
 planet was an opaque body which derived its hght 
 from the Sun when circling round the orb — convincing 
 evidence of the accuracy and truthfulness of the 
 Copernican hypothesis. 
 
 These varying aspects of Venus were not unknown 
 to Milton, nor has he failed to introduce in his poem 
 an allusion to this beautiful phenomenon. Having 
 
MILTON AND GALILEO 145 
 
 mentioned in their order the creation of the heavenly 
 bodies, and after the Sun became a radiant orb of 
 Hght, the poet adds : 
 
 Hither, as to their fountain, other stars 
 Repairing, in their golden urns draw light, 
 And hence the morning planet gilds her horns. 
 
 vii. 364-66. 
 
 In ' Paradise Eegained ' (iv. 40-2) the telescope 
 is mentioned by that name. 
 
 Perhaps no event in Milton's lifetime afforded him 
 greater pleasure than his visit to the Continent. In 
 several of his letters he expresses in ardent language 
 the intense and unalloyed delight which he experienced 
 when making a tour of the cities of Italy. Among 
 them, Florence and its environs engaged a large share 
 of his affections ; the hills of Fesole, and the stream 
 of the Arno were often visited by him during his 
 prolonged stay in the city, which ' he loved for its 
 language, its genius, and its taste.' With such happy 
 memories, it would seem only natural that Milton 
 should have introduced in his poems numerous 
 incidents commemorative of the joyous days when 
 he roamed over Italy. They are, however, few in 
 number, and except for an allusion to the innumerable 
 fallen leaves in Vallombrosa — the shady valley — 
 his thoughts appear to have reverted mainly to 
 Galileo and his telescope. Milton's repeated allusions 
 to the Florentine astronomer, whose career was so 
 full of dramatic interest, whilst adding charm and 
 variety to certain passages in his great epic, enabled 
 him also to introduce with increased attractiveness 
 
146 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 similes suggested by the telescopic appearance of 
 certain celestial objects. For instance, the passage 
 in which Satan's shield is compared to the full-orbed 
 moon is much enhanced by the accompanying 
 reference to the ' Tuscan artist ' and his telescope. 
 Likewise, when Kaphael in his flight through space 
 approached the Earth, he beheld from afar the in- 
 equalities of her surface, mountains, valleys, and 
 plains, such as Galileo imagined he saw through his 
 glass on the Moon. In describing the landing of 
 Satan in the Sun the poet introduces the ' glazed 
 optic tube ' through which Galileo scanned the orb. 
 Milton does not allude to Galileo's blindness, 
 which was total at the time of his visit to the aged 
 astronomer. He mentions the names of blind 
 Thamyras, of blind Mseonides (Homer), of Tiresias 
 and Phineus, blind prophets of ancient fame, and 
 pathetically alludes to his own affliction. But, notwith- 
 standing this omission on the part of our great English 
 poet, he fully appreciated the ardour and originality 
 of Galileo's genius, nor has he failed to include him 
 among the renowned few whose names are immortal- 
 ised in the pages of his ' Paradise Lost.' 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SEASONS 
 
 The great path of the Sun among the constellations 
 as seen from the Earth is called the Ecliptic. It is 
 divided into 360°, and again into twelve equal parts 
 of 30° called signs. The ecliptic intersects the celes- 
 tial equator at two points called the equinoxes, and is 
 inclined thereto at an angle of very nearly 23|°, 
 which is the measure of the inclination of the Earth's 
 axis to that of her orbit or the ecliptic, and is termed 
 by astronomers the obliquity of the ecliftic. Milton 
 alludes to the ecliptic when describing Satan's 
 precipitate journey from the Sun to Earth : 
 
 Down from the ecliptic, sped with hoped success, 
 Throws his steep flight in many an airy wheel. 
 Nor staid, till on Niphate's top he lights. 
 
 iii. 740-42. 
 
 Extending for 9° on each side of the ecliptic 
 is a zone or belt called the Zodiac, and within this 
 space the principal planets perform their annual 
 revolutions. It was at one time believed that the 
 paths of all the planets lay within the zodiac, but 
 on the discovery of the minor planets, Aries, Pallas, 
 
 L 2 
 
148 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 and Juno, it was ascertained that they travelled 
 beyond this zone. The zodiac is of great antiquity ; 
 it was known to the ancient Egyptians, Chaldeans, 
 and Hindus, and is mentioned in the earliest astrono- 
 mical records. The stars comprised within the 
 zodiac are divided into twelve groups or constella- 
 tions, which correspond with the twelve ' signs,' and 
 are each named after some animal or object which the 
 configuration is supposed to resemble. The twelve 
 zodiacal constellations are named as follows : 
 
 Aries, the Ram Libra, the Balance 
 
 Taurus, the Bull Scorpio, the Scorpion 
 
 Gemini, the Twins Sagittarius, the Archer 
 
 Cancer, the Crab Capricornus, the Goat 
 
 Leo, the Lion Aquarius, the Water-bearer 
 
 Virgo, the Virgin Pisces, the Fishes 
 
 In close association with the Earth's annual 
 journey round the Sun, are the Seasons, upon the 
 regular sequence of which mankind depend for the 
 various products of the soil essential for the mainten- 
 ance and enjoyment of life. The revolution of the 
 Earth in her orbit, and the inclination of her axis to 
 her annual path causing the plane of the equator to be 
 inclined 23|° to that of the ecliptic, are the reasons 
 which account for the succession of the seasons — 
 Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. In conse- 
 quence of the obliquity of the ecliptic, the Sun 
 appears to travel 23|° north and 23|° south of the 
 equator. When the orb attains his highest northern 
 altitude which is on June 21, we have the summer 
 solstice, and the longest days : when, by retracing his 
 
THE SEASONS 149 
 
 steps he declines 23 J° south of the equator, at which 
 point he arrives on December 21, we have the winter 
 solstice and the shortest days. Intermediate between 
 these two seasons are spring and autumn. When 
 the Sun on his journey northward from his lowest 
 point of declination reaches the equator on March 21, 
 we have the vernal equinox, and at this period of the 
 year the days and nights are of equal length all over 
 the world. Again when the orb on his downward 
 journey reaches the equator on September 21, the 
 autumnal equinox occurs. In summer the north 
 pole is inclined towards the Sun, consequently his 
 rays fall more direct and impart much more heat to 
 the northern hemisphere than in winter, when the 
 pole is turned away from the Sun. This difference in 
 the incidence of the solar rays upon the surface of the 
 globe, along with the increased length of the day, 
 mainly accounts for the high temperature of summer 
 as compared with that of winter. 
 
 Astronomically the seasons commence at the 
 periods of the equinoxes and solstices. Spring begins 
 on March 21, when the vernal equinox occurs ; 
 summer on June 21 at the summer solstice ; autunm 
 on September 21 when the autumnal equinox occurs ; 
 and winter on December 21 at the winter solstice. 
 These conventional divisions of the year do not apply 
 equally to all parts of the globe. In the arctic and 
 antarctic regions, spring and autumn are very brief, 
 summer is short, and the winter of long duration. 
 In the tropics, owing to the comparatively slight 
 difference in the obliquity of the solar rays, one season 
 
150 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 as regards warmth is not mucli different from the 
 other, but in the temperate regions of the Earth the 
 vicissitudes of the seasons are more perceptible, and 
 can be most readily recognised by the changes that 
 occur in the foliage of shrubs and trees. In spring 
 there is the budding ; in summer the blossoming ; 
 in autumn the fruit-bearing ; in winter the leafless 
 condition of deciduous trees, and the repose of 
 vegetable life. 
 
 In describing the loveliness of Paradise, Milton 
 introduces the legendary belief that before the Fall 
 there reigned on the Earth a perpetual Spring : 
 
 Thus was this place, 
 A happy rural seat of various view : 
 Groves whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balm ; 
 Others whose fruit, burnished with golden rind, 
 Hung amiable — Hesperian fables true, 
 If true here only — and of delicious taste. 
 Betwixt them lawns, or level downs, and flocks 
 Grazing the tender herb, were interposed, 
 Or palmy hillock ; or the flowery lap 
 Of some irriguous valley spread her store. 
 Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose. 
 Another side, umbrageous grots and caves 
 Of cool recess, o'er which the mantling vine 
 Lays forth her purple grape, and gently creeps 
 Luxuriant ; meanwhile murmuring waters fall 
 Down the slope hills dispersed, or in a lake. 
 That to the fringed bank with myrtle crowned 
 Her crystal mirror holds, unite their streams. 
 The birds their quire apply; airs, vernal airs, 
 Breathing the smell of field and grove, attune 
 The trembhng leaves, while universal Pan, 
 Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance, 
 Led on the eternal Spring. — iv. 246-68. 
 
 These scenes of tranquil bliss were, however, of 
 
THE SEASONS 151 
 
 transient duration, for after the commission of the 
 first act of transgression by our grandparents — 
 
 Nature from her seat, 
 Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe 
 That all was lost.— ix. 782-84. 
 
 As evidence of the Divine displeasure, the Creator 
 instructed His mighty angels to disturb the harmony 
 of the elements, and to bring about those adverse 
 physical changes in nature that supervened after the 
 Fall. Extremes of heat and cold, unpleasant to 
 endure, began to affect the Earth, and blustering 
 winds, and storms accompanied by the terrifying 
 roll of thunder raged on land and sea. The heavenly 
 bodies with inauspicious aspects contributed to the 
 general confusion. The pale Moon and the planets 
 were given power to combine with noxious effect, and 
 the fixed stars to shed their malignant influences : 
 
 The Sun 
 Had first his precept so to move, so shine, 
 As might affect the Earth with cold and heat 
 Scarce tolerable, and from the north to call 
 Decrepit winter, from the south to bring 
 Solstitial summer's heat. To the blanc Moon 
 Her office they prescribed ; to the other five 
 Their planetary motions and aspects. 
 In sextile, square, and trine, and opposite, 
 Of noxious efficacy, and when to join 
 In synod unbenign ; and taught the fixed 
 Their influence mahgnant when to shower ; 
 Which of them rising with the Sun, or falHng, 
 Should prove tempestuous. To the winds they set 
 Their corners, when with bluster to confound 
 Sea, air, and shore ; the thunder when to roll 
 With terror through the dark aerial hall. — x. 651-67. 
 
152 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Milton's familiarity with astrological terms and 
 phrases justifies us in concluding that he possessed 
 more than a superficial knowledge of this occult 
 scienqe. In the seventeenth century many persons 
 believed in astrology, and in the influence exerted 
 by the heavenly bodies over human and mundane 
 affairs. Professors of this art were, in those days, 
 actively engaged in ' casting nativities,' and in pre- 
 dicting terrestrial occurrences by making observa- 
 tions of the celestial orbs. Although now regarded 
 as a superstition, astrology possessed a fascination 
 for great and solitary minds, and men of high 
 attainments were firm believers in this mystical 
 science. 
 
 In accounting for these adverse physical changes 
 in nature, Milton makes use of his astronomical 
 knowledge by suggesting two hypotheses : (1) An 
 alteration in the inclination of the Earth's axis ; (2) 
 A deviation of the Sun's path from the equinoctial 
 road. Both are consistent with the Plotemaic 
 theory. 
 
 Some say lie bid his Angels turn askance 
 The poles of Earth twice ten degrees and more 
 From the Sun's axle ; they with labour pushed 
 Oblique the centric globe : some say the Sun 
 Was bid turn reins from the equinoctial road 
 Like distant breadth to Taurus with the seven 
 Atlantic Sisters, and the Spartan Twins, 
 Up to the Tropic Crab ; thence down amain 
 By Leo and the Virgin and the Scales, 
 As deep as Capricorn ; to bring in change 
 Of seasons to each clime ; else had the spring 
 Perpetual smiled on Earth with vernant flowers. 
 
 X. 668-79. 
 
THE SEASONS 153 
 
 Milton assumes that before the Fall, the axis of the 
 stationary Earth was directed at right angles to what 
 is now known as her annual path, and that the plane 
 of the ecliptic coincided with that of the equator. 
 Consequently, the Sun's path continued permanently 
 on the equator where his rays were vertical, and north 
 and south of this line each locality on the Earth 
 enjoyed one constant season, the distinctive qualities 
 of which depended upon its geographical position. 
 In what are called the temperate regions of the globe 
 there existed one perpetual season similar, both as 
 regards climate and length of day, to what is experi- 
 enced at the equinoxes when the Sun is for a short 
 period on the equator. There were then no extremes 
 of heat and cold, no winter, and no summer, no 
 lengthening and shortening of the day, so that an 
 entirely different order of things prevailed from 
 what is now experienced on Earth. But by the 
 displacement of the Earth's axis ' twice ten degrees 
 and more from the Sun's axle ' the plane of the 
 equator was inclined at an angle of 23J° to 
 that of the ecliptic — a modification of the physical 
 universe which the poet says was for the worse, and 
 which accounted for the undesirable and unpleasant 
 changes that occurred in nature after the first act 
 of transgression. The tilting of the Earth's axis is 
 described by Milton as having been accomphshed 
 by the might of angels, who, ' with labour pushed 
 obUque the centric globe.' 
 
 The second reason assigned by the poet, viz. the 
 deviation of the Sun's path from the equinoctial road 
 
154 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 to that which he now pursues, would also account for 
 the disagreeable changes referred to. Instead of 
 circling continuously round the Earth's equator, the 
 orb had his course so altered as to travel a distance 
 of 23i° north and 23J° south of this hne. Milton 
 describes the Sun's path with marked precision. The 
 orb on his northern journey from the equator passes 
 through Taurus with the seven ' Atlantic Sisters ' — 
 the Pleiades ; then through Gemini containing the 
 ' Spartan Twins ' — Castor and Pollux ; and enters 
 the sign Cancer — ^the ' Tropic Crab ' on June 21 when 
 he attains his highest northern altitude at the summer 
 solstice. Then having passed through Cancer in his 
 descent, he traverses Leo and Virgo, and on Septem- 
 ber 23 enters Libra (the Scales) when he is again on 
 the equator. Continuing his downward journey he 
 enters Capricornus on December 21, and thus reaches 
 his lowest point of declination at the winter solstice, 
 again to renew his ascent. It is this apparent upward 
 and downward motion of the Sun from the equator 
 that brings about the rise and fall of temperature, 
 and the difference in the length of the day pecuUar 
 to each season of the year. 
 
 The happy idea expressed by Milton that the 
 primitive Earth enjoyed a perpetual spring, although 
 pleasing to the imagination, and well adapted for 
 poetic description, is not sustained by any astronomical 
 testimony. Indeed, the position of the Earth having 
 her axis at right angles to her orbit is one which 
 may be regarded as being ill-adapted for the support 
 and maintenance of hfe upon her surface, just as her 
 
THE SEASONS 155 
 
 present position is the best that can be imagined for 
 lulfilhng this purpose. Astronomy teaches us to rely 
 with certainty upon the permanence and regular 
 sequence of the seasons. The position of the Earth's 
 axis as she speeds along in her orbit through the un- 
 j:esisting ether remains unchanged, and her rapid 
 rotation has the effect of increasing its stability. Yet, 
 the Earth accomplishes none of her motions with 
 rigid precision, and there is occurring a very slow 
 alteration in the inclination of her axis which if un- 
 checked will eventually produce a coincidence of the 
 equator and the ecliptic. Instead of a succession of 
 the seasons, the inhabitants of the Earth would enjoy 
 a perpetual spring ; and although the lapse of a great 
 epoch of time would be required to bring about such 
 a change, there would ultimately occur a condition 
 of things entirely different from what is now ex- 
 perienced. But, before the ecliptic can have 
 approached the equator to a degree sufficient to 
 produce any sensible alteration in the climate of the 
 Earth, its motion in that direction must cease, and 
 after becoming stationary for a time it will begin to 
 recede towards its former position. The seasons 
 must therefore succeed each other through all time, 
 reminding us of the promise of the Creator, that ' while 
 the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and 
 cold and heat, and summer and winter, shall not 
 cease.' 
 
 The beautiful seasons, which impart such charm 
 and variety to the rolling year, have in every age 
 commanded the admiration of poets and of all lovers 
 
156 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 of nature who delight in the pleasing vicissitudes 
 visible in Earth and sky that accompany each. 
 Spring, with her verdant fields and flowery meads. 
 Summer, decked in her pride of bloom and radiant 
 sunshine. Autumn, rich with her gathered wealth of 
 golden store ; and icy Winter, mantled in robe of 
 snowy white, have each had their charms and 
 attractive aspects portrayed by Milton in numbers 
 that testify to their power of exciting his poetic 
 fancy, and of stimulating the flow of his captivating 
 muse. 
 
 Milton associates joyousness and hilarity with 
 the Spring that — 
 
 to the heart inspires 
 Vernal delight and joy, able to drive 
 All sadness but despair. — iv. 154-56. 
 
 In ' L'Allegro ' he alludes to — 
 
 The froHc wind that breathes the spring.— L'A. 18. 
 
 and in ' Comus ' the Spirit in his epilogue says : 
 
 Along the crisped shades and bowers 
 
 Revels the spruce and jocund Spring ; 
 
 The Graces and the rosy bosomed Hours, 
 
 Thither all their bounties bring. 
 
 There eternal Summer dwells. 
 
 And west winds with musky wing 
 
 About the cedarn alleys fling 
 
 Nard and cassia's balmy smells.— C. 984-91. 
 
 The awakening of the insect world to life, a 
 consequence due to the increased warmth of the 
 Sun's rays, is happily described in the following 
 citation : 
 
THE SEASONS 157 
 
 As bees 
 In spring-time, when the Sun with Taurus rides, 
 Pour forth their populous youth about the hive 
 In clusters ; they among fresh dews and flowers 
 Fly to and fro, or on the smoothed plank, 
 The suburb of their straw-built citadel, 
 New rubbed with balm, expatiate, and confer 
 Their state affairs.— i. 768-75. 
 
 The Sun enters Taurus about April 20, and when 
 traversing this sign the vivifying effect of the solar 
 heat and light becomes apparent in the rapid growth 
 of foliage, in the appearance of insects, and in the 
 general renewal of life everywhere visible in nature. 
 
 Samson describes his anguish and mental torture 
 as such : 
 
 which no cooling herb 
 Or medicinal liquor can assuage. 
 Nor breath of vernal air from snowy Alp. 
 
 S. A. 626-28. 
 
 Manoah, on hearing of the death of Samson, 
 alludes to the vain hope he cherished of his son's 
 release as being — 
 
 Abortive as the first-born bloom of spring 
 Nipt with the lagging rear of winter's frost ! 
 
 S. A. 1576-77. 
 
 In a sonnet composed on reaching his twenty-third 
 birthday, Milton says of himself : 
 
 My hastening days fly on with full career, 
 
 But my late spring no bud or blossom sheweth. — S. 3-4. 
 
 The poet's delight in the ever-changing aspect of 
 Earth and Sky ; in the varied beauty of light and 
 shade, of sunshine and shower, is felicitously 
 expressed in the following passage : 
 
158 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 As when from mountain-tops the dusky clouds 
 Ascending, while the north wind sleeps, o'erspread 
 Heaven's cheerful face, the lowering element 
 Scowls o'er the darkened landskip snow or shower ; 
 If chance the radiant Sun with farewell sweet 
 Extend his evening beam, the fields revive, 
 The birds their notes renew, and bleating herds 
 Attest their joy, that hill and valley rings. — ii. 488-95. 
 
 Milton's appreciation of vernal delights ; of 
 ' meadows trim with daisies pied ' ; of low secluded 
 valleys decked with flowers of mingled hue ; of the 
 murmur of rippling brooks, and the whisper of soft 
 winds, finds charming expression in his lament over 
 the fate of Lycidas : 
 
 Return, Alpheus, the dread voice is past, 
 
 That shrunk thy streams ; return Sicilian Muse, 
 
 And call the vales, and bid them hither cast 
 
 Their bells, and flowerets of a thousand hues. 
 
 Ye valleys low, where the mild whispers use 
 
 Of shades, and wanton winds, and gushing brooks, 
 
 On whose fresh lap the swart star sparely looks, 
 
 Throw hither all your quaint enamelled eyes, 
 
 That on the green turf suck the honied showers, 
 
 And purple all the ground with vernal flowers. 
 
 Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies. 
 
 The tufted crow-toe, and pale jessamine, 
 
 The white pink, and the pansy freaked with jet 
 
 The glowing violet. 
 
 The musk rose, and the well-attired woodbine, 
 
 With cowslips wan that hang the pensive head, 
 
 And every flower that sad embroidery wears ; 
 
 Bid amaranthus all his beauty shed. 
 
 And daffodillies fill their cups with tears. 
 
 To strew the laureate hearse where Lycid lies. 
 
 L. 132-51. 
 
 We learn on the authority of his nephew, Edward 
 Phillips, that the flow of Milton's muse was influenced 
 
THE SEASONS 159 
 
 by the seasons, and that the period of the year in 
 which Nature dons her lovehest garb was not the time 
 when he was happiest in the composition of his 
 verse. Having been asked the reason why he left off 
 composing in the summer, Milton replied, that 'his 
 vein never happily flowed but from the autumnal 
 equinox to the vernal, and that whatever he attempted 
 [at other times] was never to his satisfaction though 
 he courted his fancy never so much/ 
 
 With Summer, Milton associates sunshine and 
 flowers ; solstitial heat with cool interposition of 
 umbrageous shade, and all the delights of morning, 
 noontide, and evening, that mark the phases of a 
 summer's day. 
 
 The urban dweller in quest of rural pleasures is 
 described as — 
 
 Forth issuing on a summer's morn to breathe 
 Among the pleasant villages and farms 
 Adjoined, from each thing met conceives dehght — 
 The smell of grain, or tedded grass, or kine, 
 Or dairy, each rural sight, each rural sound. 
 
 ix. 447-51. 
 
 The poet associates the nightingale's song with 
 summer : 
 
 Where the Attic bird 
 Trills her thick warbled notes the summer long. 
 
 P. R. iv. 246. 
 
 In the list of heathen deities enumerated by 
 Milton, he says : 
 
 Thammuz came next behind, 
 
 Whose annual wound in Lebanon allured 
 
 The Syrian damsels to lament his fate 
 
 In amorous ditties all a summer's day. — i. 446-49. 
 
160 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Of Beelzebub, when about to address the Stygian 
 Council, the poet remarks : 
 
 His look 
 Drew audience and attention still as night 
 Or summer's noontide air, while thus he spake. 
 
 ii. 307-9. 
 
 The revels, masques, and stately pageantries 
 that were in vogue at one time as a source of amuse- 
 ment, resembled — 
 
 Such sights as youthful poets dream 
 On summer eves by haunted stream. 
 
 L'A. 129-30. 
 
 In describing the genesis of insects, Milton com- 
 pares their gorgeous colours to the bloom of summer : 
 
 Those waved their limber fans 
 For wings, and smallest lineaments exact 
 In all the liveries decked of summer's pride. 
 
 vii. 476-78. 
 
 In endeavouring to comfort Samson, Chorus adds : 
 
 Nor do I name of men the common rout. 
 
 That, wandering loose about. 
 
 Grow up and perish as the summer fly. 
 
 S. A. 674-76. 
 
 In his pathetic allusion to his blindness, Milton 
 recalls delightful memories associated with the 
 seasons : 
 
 Thus with the year 
 Seasons return ; but not to me returns 
 Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn, 
 Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, 
 Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine , 
 
 iii. 40-4. 
 
 The gradual fading of summer hues to russet- 
 gold and brown ; the pleasing aspect of waving 
 
THE SEASONS 161 
 
 fields of ripened grain, and of trees richly laden with 
 fairest fruit, proclaim the presence of autumn ; and 
 that Earth having yielded her increase, will seek a 
 long repose ere she awakens again to renewed life. 
 
 In describing the repast which the angel Raphael 
 shared with Adam and Eve in Paradise, the poet 
 says : 
 
 Eaised of grassy turf 
 Their table was, and mossy seats had round, 
 And on her ample square from side to side 
 All autumn piled, though spring and autumn here 
 Danced hand-in-hand. — v. 391-95. 
 
 Milton compares the number of fallen angels that 
 lay on the burning lake to autumn leaves : 
 
 Angel forms, who lay entranced, 
 Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks 
 In Vallombrosa.— i. 301-3. 
 
 The frequency with which falling stars are seen 
 in the autumn, especially about the middle of August 
 when the Perseid meteors make their appearance, 
 did not escape Milton's observation. In proof of 
 this he alludes to Ariel's flight being ' swift as a 
 shooting star in autumn ' — and also to the angelic 
 prediction that Satan's fall from Heaven shall be — 
 
 like an autumnal star, 
 Or lightning.— P. R. iv. 619-20. 
 
 With the advent of winter we arrive at that 
 period of the year when the Sun, having reached his 
 lowest point of declination, sends us the minimum 
 quantity of hght and heat. In consequence of this 
 diminution of the solar efiluence, many important 
 
162 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 changes occur in both the animal and vegetable 
 kingdoms. The migration of birds ; the disappear- 
 ance of insect life ; the hibernation of certain animals ; 
 the naked condition of deciduous trees ; the ice- 
 bound rivers, and snow-clad mountains and plains, 
 testify to the dependence of every living thing upon 
 light and heat, of which the Sun is the prime source. 
 Milton commences his ' Hymn on the Nativity ' 
 with an allusion to winter, and compares the snowy 
 covering of the landscape to a mantle which conceals 
 the repulsiveness of impurity and sin : 
 
 It was the winter wild, 
 
 While the Heaven-born child 
 
 All meanly wrapt in the rude manger lies ; 
 
 Nature, in awe to Him, 
 
 Had doffed her gaudy trim, 
 
 With her great Master so to sympathise : 
 
 It was no season then for her 
 
 To wanton with the Sun, her lusty paramour. 
 
 II 
 
 Only with speeches fair 
 
 She woos the gentle air 
 
 To hide her guilty front with innocent snow, 
 
 And on her naked shame, 
 
 Pollute with sinful blame. 
 
 The saintly veil of maiden white to throw ; 
 
 Confounded that her Maker's eyes 
 
 Should look so near upon her foul deformities 
 
 The poet alludes to the warmth from burning 
 faggots as a protection — 
 
 Against a winter's day when winds blow keen. 
 
 P. R. i. 317. 
 
THE SEASONS 163 
 
 Milton introduces in the ' Passion/ the winter 
 solstice (December 21), when the days are shortest, 
 and the light soon fades : 
 
 But headlong joy is ever on the wing, 
 In wintry solstice like the shortened light 
 Soon swallowed up in dark and long outliving night. 
 
 P. 5-7. 
 
 Winter is often associated with death, and Milton, 
 in his poem ' On the Death of a Fair Infant," ex- 
 presses his thoughts in harmony with this sentiment : 
 
 fairest flower, no sooner blown but blasted, 
 Soft silken primrose fading timelessly. 
 Summer's chief honour, if thou hadst outlasted 
 Bleak Winter's force that made thy blossom dry ; 
 For he, being amorous on that lovely dye 
 That did thy cheek envermeil, thought to kiss, 
 But killed, alas ! and then bewailed his fatal bliss. 
 
 D. F. I. 1-7. 
 
 These numerous quotations enable us to perceive 
 with what dehght Milton hailed the beautiful seasons. 
 They also testify to the ardour of his poetic genius 
 that luxuriated in the ever-changing aspects of Nature 
 that from day to day met his observant gaze ; and 
 although overtaken by bhndness when he sat down 
 to compose his immortal epic, yet, those glad remem- 
 brances remained as fresh and green in his memory as 
 when in his youth he roamed among the pleasant 
 fields and winding lanes of Buckinghamshire. 
 
 M 2 
 
CHAPTEE VI 
 
 SUN, MOON, AND STAES 
 
 Perhaps no poet in ancient or in modern times has 
 invoked Urania ^ under happier auspices than Milton ; 
 no other poet has drunk so deeply of her inspiration, 
 or has with greater fehcity described the shining 
 orbs that people the realms over which the celestial 
 goddess wields her gentle sway. 
 
 The science which treats of the mechanism of the 
 heavens, and especially that branch known as ' obser- 
 vational astronomy,' proved itself an unfailing source 
 of pure delight to Milton's devoutly poetical mind. 
 For no poet has introduced into his writings with such 
 frequency, and with such pleasing effect, so many 
 passages descriptive of the beauty and grandeur of 
 the heavens ; no other poet by the creative efiort 
 of his genius has soared to such a height, nor has he 
 ever been excelled in his descriptions of the celestial 
 orbs, and of the beautiful phenomena associated 
 with their varied motions. 
 
 The charm and attractiveness of Milton's utter- 
 
 ^ In classical mythology, Urania was known as the goddess of 
 astronomy. 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 165 
 
 ances would perhaps be enhanced if a brief up-to-date 
 description were first given of the more important 
 celestial objects that commanded the admiration of 
 the poet, for many wonderful discoveries have been 
 made in astronomy since the days when Milton lived 
 three centuries ago. 
 
 The Orb which first claims our attention is 
 
 The Sun 
 
 The surpassing splendour of the Sun when com- 
 pared with that of any of the other orbs of the firma- 
 ment is not more im.pressive than is his stupendous 
 magnitude and the important functions which it is 
 his prerogative to fulfil. Situated at the centre of 
 our system, of which he may be regarded as both 
 ' eye and soul,' this glorious sphere not only retains 
 by his attractive power the Earth and planets in their 
 orbits, but is also the primary source of all the vital, 
 chemical, and mechanical forms of energy with which 
 we are famihar on Earth. With prodigal hberality 
 he dispenses his vast stores of hght and heat which 
 illumine and vivify the worlds that circle round him, 
 and upon the constant supply of which all animated 
 beings depend for their existence. Deprived of the 
 Hght and heat of the Sun, our globe would be en- 
 veloped in perpetual darkness, and all living things 
 would hopelessly perish. 
 
 The distance of the Sun from the Earth is about 
 93 million miles. The orb rotates on his axis in 
 25 days 8 hours ; the velocity of rotation at the 
 equator being 4407 an hour. The force of gravity 
 
166 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 at the solar surface is 27*6 greater than on the Earth. 
 A body weighing one pound at the Earth's equator 
 would, if transferred to the Sun, weigh twenty-nine 
 pounds. Consequently a human being of ten stone 
 weight would, at the Sun's surface, have to overcome 
 a resistance of about two tons before he could move. 
 
 The Sun's magnitude wholly bafEes our concep- 
 tions. The great luminary has a diameter of 867,000 
 miles, and its mass is 745 times greater than that 
 of all the planets combined. It exceeds the Earth 
 in weight 330,000 times, and in volume 1,300,000 
 times ; but its density is only one quarter that of 
 our globe, an indication that the Sun is mainly a 
 gaseous body. The dimensions of the orb are such 
 that if we imagine it to be a hollow sphere with the 
 Earth at its centre, there would be ample space within 
 for the Moon to perform her revolutions, and room 
 for a second satellite to revolve at a farther distance 
 of 190,000 miles from its primary. Uranus and his 
 four moons could be similarly accommodated, and 
 so also could Jupiter with his two inner Galilean 
 satellites. 
 
 The brilliance of sunlight is the intensest known. 
 It far excels that of calcium light, nor can the electric 
 arc be compared to the intrinsic radiance of this 
 ' inconceivable efEuence.' 
 
 Solar heat is seven or eight times more intense 
 than that of any furnace known to art, and is capable 
 of dissipating, or of converting into vapour, the most 
 refractory of terrestrial substances. The quantity 
 of light and heat emitted by the Sun is beyond 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 167 
 
 calculation, but only a very infinitesimal portion of 
 this radiant energy is intercepted by the Earth and 
 planets, the remainder being difiused throughout 
 space where it most probably subserves purposes 
 unknown to us. 
 
 In describing the physical structure of the Sun, 
 it is usual to begin with the fJiotosfliere — the dazzling 
 luminous envelope that indicates to the naked eye 
 the boundary of the solar disc. 
 
 The Photosphere, when viewed with a telescope 
 of low power, presents a smooth surface, but when 
 observed with an instrument of high magnifying 
 capacity its structure is seen to be complex. It is 
 composed of brilhant granules and dusky interstices 
 which represent areas of unequal brightness. The 
 granules are believed to be the vividly incandescent 
 summits of up-rushing masses of glowing vapour not 
 exceeding one hundred miles in diameter. They 
 comprise one-fifth of the Sun's surface and emit 
 three-fourths of the light. The comparatively dark 
 ' pores ' or dusky interstices are similar descending 
 currents which, having radiated their energy, are 
 returning to be reheated underneath the surface of 
 the photosphere. The photospheric clouds may be 
 compared to the masses of aqueous vapour that 
 float in the Earth's atmosphere, but on the Sun the 
 droplets are those of incandescent metals. The depth 
 of the photosphere is unknown, nor can it be ascer- 
 tained if any boundary line separates it from the 
 dark body of the Sun which it encloses like a luminous 
 shell. 
 
168 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Dark patches of irregular form and size are fre- 
 quently seen on the Sun's disc. They are called 
 * sun-spots/ and are believed to be rents or depressions 
 in the photosphere. A typical sun-spot consists of 
 a dark cavity called the ' umbra/ within which is a 
 still darker nucleus, and surrounding them is a 
 
 Fig. 3. — A Sun-spot magnified {Janssen.) 
 
 faintly luminous fringe of filaments radiating inwards 
 called the 'penumbra.' The penumbra is brightest 
 at its inner edge, where the filaments present a marked 
 contrast to the dark cavity of the umbra which they 
 surround and overhang. Occasionally lengthened 
 processes unite with those of the opposite side and 
 form bands, or ' bridges,' across the umbra. 
 
^l; 
 
 \ 
 
 n 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 169 
 
 One penumbra sometimes encloses several umbrae, 
 whilst the nuclei may be entirely absent. 
 
 Sun-spots usually occur in groups. Large isolated 
 spots are comparatively rare, but when present are 
 frequently followed by a train of smaller spots of 
 less perfect form. Prior to the appearance of a spot 
 an unusual disturbance of the solar surface over its 
 site is indicated by the presence of luminous ridges 
 of photospheric matter called ' faculae,' and of dark 
 pores, between which greyish patches appear that 
 seem to lie underneath a thin layer of the photosphere. 
 These, when dissipated, disclose the presence of a fully 
 formed spot. The duration of a sun-spot varies from 
 a few hours to several months ; long-lived spots 
 rotate with the Sun, disappearing and re-appearing 
 with each revolution of the orb until they cease to 
 exist. The life of a sun-spot is terminated by a 
 rush of luminous photospheric matter that over- 
 whelms the penumbra and fills up the umbra, causing 
 the spot to disappear. 
 
 Sun-spots vary greatly in size ; some have a 
 width of only a few hundred miles, whilst others 
 attain enormous dimensions. In some spots the 
 umbra alone has a diameter of 20,000 or 30,000 miles, 
 disclosing a chasm sufficiently large to engulf a globe 
 several times the size of the Earth. A group of 
 spots, including their penumbree; will occupy an area 
 of the Sun's surface embracing many millions of 
 square miles. 
 
 Although the changes that occur in sun-spots 
 and faculae appear slow when observed through 
 
170 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 the telescope, yet in reality they are not. Tre- 
 mendous storms and cyclones of intensely heated 
 gases, which may be compared to the flames arising 
 from a great furnace, sweep over different areas of the 
 Sun with a velocity of hundreds of miles an hour. Vast 
 ridges and crests of incandescent vapours are upheaved 
 by the action of internal heat, which exceeds in in- 
 tensity the temperature at which the most refractory 
 of terrestrial substances can be volatilised, and down- 
 rushes of the same photospheric matter take place 
 after having parted with some of its stores of thermal 
 energy. Sun-spots have been observed to grow 
 rapidly, and then disappear in a very short period : 
 a spot ha.« been seen to divide into two or more 
 portions, the fragments flying asunder with a 
 velocity of not less than one thousand miles an 
 hour. It is by these vast upheavals and convulsions 
 of the photosphere that the light and heat are main- 
 tained which illumine and vivify the worlds that 
 gravitate round the Sun. 
 
 During a total solar eclipse, when the Sun is 
 hidden for a few minutes behind the dark body of 
 the Moon, certain objects become visible which 
 indicate that the volume of the orb is not confined 
 within the circumference of the photosphere, but 
 extends far beyond it. Indeed, the Sun has been 
 appropriately described as ' the bright spherical 
 nucleus of a nebulous body,' and it is only at the 
 moment of totality that its nebular surroundings 
 come into view. These consist of flames, beams, 
 silvery streams, and luminous clouds of highly 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 171 
 
 attenuated matter that occupy a vast region of space 
 extending far beyond the Hmits of the photosphere. 
 
 The Cheomosphere constitutes the base of this 
 solar effluence. It completely surrounds the photo- 
 sphere to a depth of about four thousand miles, 
 and may be appropriately described as an ocean of 
 fire over which the tufted summits of scarlet flames 
 sway violently to and fro as if agitated by gusts of 
 fiery winds. The chromosphere, when seen in profile 
 at the edge of the Sun's disc, presents an irregular 
 serrated appearance — an effect created by towering 
 masses of flame inaptly termed * prominences/ which 
 are visible over its entire circumference, and give 
 rise to the impression of a vast conflagration. These 
 masses of flame, which consist chiefly of glowing 
 hydrogen, shoot upward with amazing velocity, and 
 attain an altitude of twenty, thirty, fifty, and some- 
 times one hundred thousand miles in the space of a 
 few hours. They are, however, of transient duration, 
 change rapidly in form and appearance, and die 
 down in a comparatively short time. These fiery 
 outbursts testify to the violence of the convulsions 
 that rend the solar atmosphere, where incandescent 
 metallic vapours and intensely heated gases repre- 
 sent the clouds and winds with which we are famihar 
 on Earth. 
 
 The Corona is a beautiful aureole of hght that 
 becomes visible when the Sun is hidden behind the 
 dark body of the Moon. It is a highly attenuated 
 expansion of the solar constituents, and reaches a 
 distance of several degrees beyond the Sun's visible 
 
172 
 
 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 surface. This radiant object consists of beams, 
 streaks, luminous filaments, and sheets of pearly light, 
 the whole forming an irregular stellate halo, having 
 the dark globe of the Moon in its centre. 
 
 Fig. 4. — The Corona during the Eclipse of May 1883. 
 
 The inner portion of the corona is fairly uniform 
 in appearance, and forms a ring three or four minutes 
 of arc in width. The outer part is much more irregu- 
 lar in shape and extends a much greater distance. 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 173 
 
 It varies at maximum and minimum sun-spot periods. 
 During the minimum period it is smaller and more 
 extended towards the poles ; at the maximum it is 
 most fully developed over the spot zones from which 
 great luminous bands emanate resembling wings or 
 shining aigrettes. The corona surrounds the Sun to 
 a distance of several hundred thousand miles. Its 
 chief constituents are hydrogen, helium, calcium, and 
 coronium, a substance of unknown chemical meaning 
 that emits a green ray. Finely divided shining par- 
 ticles of matter, and electrical discharges resembling 
 those of an aurora also assist in its illumination. 
 
 The investigation of the chemical constitution of 
 the Sun by means of the spectroscope has in recent 
 years made rapid progress. In a published list of 
 thirty-six solar elements are included, barium, 
 calcium, carbon, chromium cobalt, hydrogen, iron, 
 lead, magnesium, potassium, sodium, silver, zinc, 
 and numerous other terrestrial elements. The solar 
 element ' helium ' was unknown terrestrially until 
 March 1895, when Professor Sir W. Eamsay extracted 
 it by means of heat from the rare Norwegian mineral 
 ' cleveite.' The presence of oxygen, nitrogen, and 
 argon has not yet been declared, but negative results 
 obtained with the spectroscope afford no reasonable 
 evidence that they are non-existent in the Sun. 
 
 Of the central nucleus or body of the Sun which 
 constitutes nine-tenths of its mass, we possess 
 no definite knowledge, for we have no terrestrial 
 analogy to guide us in which way matter would 
 behave when subjected to such extremes of heat 
 
174 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 and pressure as prevail in the interior of the Sun. 
 Nevertheless, we should not greatly err in concluding 
 that the Sun is mainly a gaseous sphere which is 
 slowly contracting, and that a portion of the energy 
 expended in this process is being transmuted into 
 heat so extreme as to render the orb a great fountain 
 of light. 
 
 It is remarkable with what frequency Milton 
 alludes to the Sun. This is most apparent in the 
 * Paradise Lost," which contains numerous references 
 to the orb, all of which testify to the poet's accurate 
 conception of his unrivalled splendour, and of his 
 supreme importance in the system which he upholds 
 and governs. Milton never fails to refer to the 
 Sun as being the prime source of light and heat ; 
 and in depicting scenes of animation and joy within 
 the cosmos, he always introduces the orb's brilliant 
 radiance, upon the presence of which, the beauty 
 and attractiveness of all natural phenomena so 
 greatly depend. Occasionally the Sun is laid under 
 contribution in order to illustrate a simile, or to 
 enhance by comparison the reader's conception of 
 some great event or sublime spectacle. Milton's 
 partiality for light may in some degree be ascribed 
 to his affliction, for, doubtless, the most pleasing 
 sensation impressed upon the memory of the blind 
 poet was his vivid remembrance of the Sim's brilhance 
 and luminosity. 
 
 What Milton's sentiments were regarding light 
 may be best ascertained by referring to the noble 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 175 
 
 passage with which he begins Book iii. of the 
 ' Paradise Lost ' : 
 
 Hail, holy Light ; offspring of Heaven first born ! 
 
 Or of the Eternal co-eternal beam 
 
 May I express thee unblamed? since God is light, 
 
 And never but in unapproached light 
 
 Dwelt from eternity, dwelt then in Thee, 
 
 Bright effluence of bright essence increate ! 
 
 Or hear'st thou rather pure Ethereal stream, 
 
 Whose fountain who shall tell? Before the Sun, 
 
 Before the Heavens, thou wert, and at the voice 
 
 Of God, as with a mantle, didst invest 
 
 The rising World of waters dark and deep, 
 
 Won from the void and formless Infinite ! 
 
 Thee I revisit now with bolder wing. 
 
 Escaped the Stygian Pool, though long detained 
 
 In that obscure sojourn, while in my flight, 
 
 Through utter and through middle Darkness borne, 
 
 With other notes than to the Orphean lyre 
 
 I sung of Chaos and eternal Night ; 
 
 Taught by the Heavenly Muse to venture down 
 
 The dark descent, and up to reascend, 
 
 Though hard and rare. Thee I revisit safe, 
 
 And feel thy sovran vital lamp ; but thou 
 
 Revisit' st not these eyes, that roll in vain 
 
 To find thy piercing ray, and find no dawn ; 
 
 So thick a drop serene hath quenched their orbs. 
 
 Or dim suffusion veiled. Yet not the more 
 
 Cease I to wander where the Muses haunt 
 
 Clear spring, or shady grove, or sunny hill, 
 
 Smit with the love of sacred song ; but chief 
 
 Thee, Sion, and the flowery brooks beneath. 
 
 That wash thy hallowed feet, and warbling flow, 
 
 Nightly I visit : nor sometimes forget 
 
 Those other two equalled with me in fate, 
 
 So were I equalled with them in renown, 
 
 Blind Thamyris and blind Mseonides, 
 
 And Tiresias and Phineus, prophets old : 
 
 Then feed on thoughts, that voluntary move 
 
176 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Harmonious numbers ; as tlie wakeful bird 
 
 Sings darkling, and, in shadiest covert hid. 
 
 Tunes her nocturnal note. Thus with the year 
 
 Seasons return ; but not to me returns 
 
 Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn. 
 
 Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose. 
 
 Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine ; 
 
 But cloud instead and everduring dark 
 
 Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men 
 
 Cut off, and from the book of knowledge fair, 
 
 Presented with a universal blank 
 
 Of Nature's works, to me expunged and rased. 
 
 And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out. 
 
 So much the rather thou, celestial Light, 
 
 Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers 
 
 Irradiate ; there plant eyes, all mist from thence 
 
 Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell 
 
 Of things invisible to mortal sight. — iii. 1-55. 
 
 Samson^s lamentation over his blindness is 
 but an echo of the poet's own feelings : 
 
 dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon 
 Irrecoverably dark. — S. A. 80-L 
 
 In his narrative of the creation, Milton mentions 
 the Sun as having been the first of the celestial orbs 
 that God called into existence : 
 
 For, of celestial bodies, first the Sun 
 
 A mighty sphere he framed, unlightsome first. 
 
 Though of ethereal mould. — vii. 354-56. 
 
 The orb remained opaque and non-luminous 
 until God — 
 
 Of light by far the greater part he took. 
 Transplanted from her cloudy shrine, and placed 
 In the Sun's orb, made porous to receive 
 And drink the liquid light, firm to retain 
 Her gathered beams, great palace now of light. 
 
 vii. 359-63. 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 177 
 
 The Sun having become luminous, Milton describes 
 his setting out on his journey : 
 
 First in his east the glorious lamp was seen, 
 
 Regent of day, and all the horizon round 
 
 Invested with bright rays, jocund to run 
 
 His longitude through heaven's high road. — vii. 370-73. 
 
 According to the Mosaic cosmology, the first 
 creation was Light. 'And God said, Let there be 
 light : and there was light/ The celestial orbs He 
 created on the fourth day. Milton says that the 
 greater part of this light, which, like a radiant cloud, 
 was diffused over the newly created Universe, God 
 concentrated in the body of the Sun, which became 
 a great fountain of light, and as such illumined all 
 surrounding objects with his rays when pursuing 
 his great path in the heavens. The poet's utterances 
 as regards the Sun's primal origin and subsequent 
 luminosity are not based on any cosmological system, 
 nor supported by Scriptural testimony, but are 
 the outcome of a free use of his imagination, and 
 indulgence in poetical licence. 
 
 In the following citation we have an example 
 of the versatility of Milton's poetical genius, when 
 he essays to describe the physical structure and 
 immediate surroundings of the Sun. 
 
 Satan, when pursuing his way among the stars, is 
 attracted by the Sun's splendour ; thither he directs 
 his flight, and lands in the orb : 
 
 The place he found beyond expression bright. 
 Compared with aught on Earth, metal or stone — 
 Not all parts like, but all alike informed 
 
178 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 With radiant light, as glowing iron with fire. 
 If metal, part seemed gold, part silver clear ; 
 If stone, carbuncle most or chrysolite. 
 Ruby or topaz, to the twelve that shone 
 In Aaron's breast-plate, and a stone besides. 
 Imagined rather oft than elsewhere seen — 
 That stone, or like to that, which here below 
 Philosophers in vain so long have sought ; 
 In vain, though by their powerful art they bind 
 Volatile Hermes, and call up unbound 
 In various shapes old Proteus from the sea. 
 Drained through a limbec to his native form. 
 What wonder then if fields and regions here 
 Breathe forth elixir pure, and rivers run 
 Potable gold, when, with one virtuous touch 
 The arch-chemic Sun, so far from us remote 
 Produces, with terrestrial humour mixed, 
 Here in the dark so many previous things 
 Of colour glorious, and effect so rare ? 
 Here matter new to gaze the Devil met 
 Undazzled. Far and wide his eye commands ; 
 For sight no obstacle found here, nor shade 
 But all sunshine, as when his beams at noon 
 Culminate from the equator, as they now 
 Shot upward still direct, whence no way round 
 Shadow from body opaque can fall ; and the air, 
 Nowhere so clear, sharpened his visual ray 
 To objects distant far. — iii. 591-621. 
 
 This ornate and vivid description of the Sun, 
 although purely imaginative and embellished with 
 allusions illustrative of classical and mythological 
 fable, would seem to indicate that Milton had some 
 notion of the volatile conditions under which matter 
 exists in the orb. The poet upheld the belief in the 
 transmutation of matter from lower to higher con- 
 ditions — the grosser fed the purer — and the Sun 
 the highest orb, in return for his light, received 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 179 
 
 ' alimental recompense ' from all the lower orbs 
 (v. 415-26). Everywhere on the Sun all matter 
 glowed with heat and radiant light, but the poet 
 had no knowledge of the solar elements, nor of the 
 conditions under which they exist. The intense 
 luminosity of metallic vapours, and the brilliance 
 of incandescent gases were unknown to him ; conse- 
 quently in describing the solar contents he had 
 recourse to terrestrial substances well known for 
 their lustre and briUiancy ; but the existence of these 
 in the Sun he merely surmises, or suggests what 
 might be their resemblance. If metal, part seemed 
 gold, part silver ; if stone, the scintillation of precious 
 gems represented the solar efHuence. One stone in 
 particular is mentioned by Milton as being present 
 in the Sun, viz. the philosopher's stone. The 
 alchemist with his furnace, his crucibles, and alembics, 
 although capable of distilling and solidifying the 
 volatile metal mercury (Hermes) and of reducing 
 to their elementary conditions various chemical 
 compounds elusive as the sea-god Proteus, was 
 unable to produce this substance which was believed 
 to possess the power of transmuting all other metals 
 into gold. The poet adds, what wonder then, if 
 on the Sun are fields and regions that breathe forth 
 elixir pure — a fluid once supposed to have the power 
 of indefinitely prolonging life, and rivers of potable 
 gold — aurum fotahile, a liquid regarded by alchemists 
 as elixir vitae, and prepared by dissolving the royal 
 metal in aqua regia — ^when the arch-chemic Sun so 
 far removed can produce on Earth such marvellous 
 
 N 2 
 
180 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 effects and impart to terrestrial substances such 
 vitalising and life-sustaining properties. 
 
 In the midst of this new and intensely luminous 
 matter the Devil landed, and gazed upon undazzled ; 
 nor was any shadow present to obstruct his field of 
 vision, but all was sunshine as when the solar rays 
 at noon shoot vertically downward on the terrestrial 
 equator, so here they shot directly upward inter- 
 cepted by no visible shadow of any object that 
 might restrict one's view. In Milton's time chemistry 
 was unknown as a science, and oxygen, hydrogen, 
 and nitrogen had not been discovered. But the poet 
 possessed some knowledge of the refinement and 
 sublimation of matter when exposed to extreme 
 heat, a condition applicable to the solar elements 
 from which emanated intensely luminous rays, 
 rendering the orb a great source of light. Our 
 knowledge of the Sun, although much more definite 
 and comprehensive as regards details, does not 
 greatly exceed what has been so happily surmised 
 by the poet. 
 
 In describing Satan's progress among the stars, 
 
 Milton says : 
 
 Above them all 
 The golden Sun, in splendour likest Heaven, 
 Allured his eye. — iii. 571-73. 
 
 and after having landed on Mount Niphates, he is 
 represented as looking — 
 
 Sometimes towards Heaven and the full blazing Sun, 
 Which now sat high in his meridian tower. — iv. '9^ Oft. 
 
 Satan then addresses the Orb : 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 181 
 
 thou that, with surpassing glory crowned, 
 Look'st from thy sole dominion like the god 
 Of this new World ; at whose sight all the stars 
 Hide their diminished heads ; to thee I call, 
 But with no friendly voice, and add thy name, 
 
 Sun, to tell thee how I hate thy beams. 
 That bring to my remembrance from what state 
 
 1 fell, how glorious once above thy sphere. 
 Till pride and worse ambition threw me down, 
 Warring in Heaven against Heaven's matchless King ! 
 
 iv. 32-41. 
 
 In alluding to the faded splendour of the fallen 
 
 Archangel, Milton compares him to the Sun when 
 
 seen under conditions that temporarily deprive 
 
 him of his glory : 
 
 as when the Sun new-risen 
 Looks through the horizontal misty air 
 Shorn of his beams, or from behind the Moon, 
 In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds 
 On half the nations, and with fear of change 
 Perplexes monarchs. — i. 594-99. 
 
 These lines testify to the sublimity of Milton's 
 
 imagination, and to his skill in adapting the grandest 
 
 phenomena in Nature to the illustration of his subject. 
 
 Prior to participating in the contest in Heaven — 
 
 The Apostate in his sun-bright chariot sat, 
 Idol of majesty divine. — vi. 100-1. 
 
 and in the combat between Michael and Satan — ■ 
 
 two broad suns their shields 
 Blazed opposite. — vi. 305-6. 
 
 When describing objects of marked brilliancy, 
 Milton frequently compares them to the Sun, whose 
 dazzling radiance surpasses that of all other celestial 
 orbs. 
 
182 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Associated with the Sun's diurnal journey across 
 the heavens are the different periods of the day 
 — ^morning, noontide, and evening. To a mind so 
 susceptible of the beautiful as that of Milton's, these 
 pleasing vicissitudes in Nature were a perpetual 
 source of enjoyment and delight. The following 
 citations felicitously express his sentiments with 
 regard to Morning : 
 
 Thus passed the night so foul, till Morning fair 
 Came forth with pilgrim steps, in amice grey. 
 Who with her radiant finger stilled the roar 
 Of thunder, chased the clouds, and laid the winds. 
 
 P. R. iv. 426-29. 
 
 Meanwhile, 
 To re-salute the World with sacred light 
 Leucothea waked, and with fresh dews embalmed 
 The Earth.— xi. 133-36. 
 
 till morn 
 Waked by the circling Hours, with rosy hand 
 Unbarred the gates of light. — vi. 2-4. 
 
 Now Morn, her rosy steps in the eastern clime 
 Advancing, sowed the Earth with orient pearl. — v. 1-2. 
 
 With these aspects of Morning, Milton was not 
 unfamiliar, for he was an early riser, and must 
 have frequently witnessed the dispersal of Aurora's 
 fan — 
 
 Under the opening eyelids of the Morn. — L. 26. 
 
 The rising Sun, when he first casts his beams upon 
 the newly awakened Earth, is depicted as follows : 
 
 Soon as they forth were come to open sight 
 
 Of day-spring, and the Sun, who, scarce up-risen, 
 
 With wheels yet hovering o'er the ocean-brim. 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 183 
 
 Shot parallel to the Earth his dewy ray, 
 Discovering in wide landskip all the east 
 Of Paradise and Eden's happy plains. — v. 138-43. 
 
 Again : 
 
 As when a scout, 
 Through dark and desert ways with peril gone 
 All night, at last by break of cheerful dawn 
 Obtains the brow of some high-cHmbing hill, 
 Which to his eye discovers unaware 
 The goodly prospect of some foreign land 
 First seen, or some renowned metropolis 
 With glistering spires and pinnacles adorned. 
 Which now the rising Sun gilds with his beams. 
 
 iii. 543-51. 
 
 And now the Sun with more effectual beams 
 Had cheered the face of earth, a-nd dried the wet 
 From drooping plant, or dropping tree. — 
 
 P. R. iv. 432-34. 
 
 The heat of noon-day and the sultriness ex- 
 perienced when the Sun has crossed the meridian 
 are referred to by Milton when he describes Raphael's 
 visit to Adam's abode : 
 
 Him, through the spicy forest onward come, 
 Adam discerned, as in the door he sat 
 Of his cool bower, while now the mounted Sun 
 Shot down direct his fervid rays, to warm 
 Earth's inmost womb, more warmth than Adam needs. 
 
 v. 298-302. 
 
 Having advanced to meet his celestial visitor, 
 Adam invites him — 
 
 in yonder shady bower 
 To rest, and what the Garden choicest bears 
 To sit and taste, till this meridian heat 
 Be over, and the Sun more cool decline. — v. 367-70. 
 
 After having entertained his angel-guest, Adam 
 
184 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 expresses a desire to be informed of certain momentous 
 
 events that occm*red in Heaven, and in urging his 
 
 request, says : 
 
 And we have yet large day, for scarce tlie Sun 
 
 Hath finished half his journey, and scarce begins 
 
 His other half in the great zone of heaven. — v. 558-60. 
 
 The dechning day, and approach of evening, 
 have provided poets with a theme upon which they 
 have lavished their choicest expressions of admiration 
 and dehght. In his portrayal of these, Milton is 
 not behind his compeers, for he was an ardent lover 
 of Nature in all her aspects. The following passages 
 reflect the poet's sentiments when he describes 
 the setting Sun : 
 
 Meanwhile in utmost longitude, where Heaven 
 With Earth and Ocean meets, the setting Sun 
 Slowly descended, and with right aspect 
 Against the eastern gate of Paradise 
 Levelled his evening rays. — iv. 539-43. 
 
 Having descended to Earth on a sunbeam, in 
 order to warn Gabriel of the presence of Satan — 
 
 Uriel to his charge 
 Keturned on that bright beam, whose point now raised 
 Bore him slope downward to the Sun, now fallen 
 Beneath the Azores ; whether the Prime Orb, 
 Incredible how swift, had hither rolled 
 Diurnal, or this less volubil Earth, 
 By shorter flight to the east, had left him there, 
 Arraying with reflected purple and gold 
 The clouds that on his western throne attend. — iv. 589-97. 
 
 Here, Milton touches upon the two rival 
 astronomical theories known as the Ptolemaic and 
 Copernican. He hesitates to affirm whether it is 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 185 
 
 the departing Sun that accomplishes a diurnal 
 revolution round the Earth, or the Earth that, 
 by rotating on her axis from west to east, leaves 
 the stationary Sun behind. Although Milton adopted 
 the Ptolemaic system for the requirements of his 
 poem, he was yet well aware of the scientific 
 reasonableness of the Copernican hypothesis. 
 
 The coming on of evening in Paradise, and the 
 departure of Kaphael from thence, are felicitously 
 described by the poet. The Angel, in ending his 
 conversation with Adam, says : 
 
 But I can now no more ; the parting Sun 
 Beyond the Earth's green Cape and verdant Isles 
 Hesperian sets, my signal to depart. — viii. 630-32. 
 
 And again : 
 
 Now was the Sun in western cadence low 
 From noon, and gentle airs due at their hour 
 To fan the Earth now waked, and usher in 
 The evening cool. — x. 92-5. 
 
 And now on Earth the seventh 
 Evening arose in Eden — for the Sun 
 West set, and twilight from the east came on 
 Forerunning night. — vii. 581-84. 
 
 In ' Arcades ' the Genius of the Wood says : 
 
 When evening grey doth rise, I fetch my round 
 Over the mount, and all this hallowed ground. 
 And early, ere the odorous breath of Morn 
 Awakes the slumbering leaves or tasselled horn 
 Shakes the high thicket, haste I all about. 
 
 A. 54-8. 
 
 It is seldom that Milton introduces any humorous 
 allusion in his poems, but the following, which 
 
186 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 applies to the Sun, may be justly regarded as decidedly 
 
 humorous, or highly fantastic : 
 
 So when the Sun in bed, 
 
 Curtained with cloudy red, 
 
 Pillows his chin upon an orient wave, 
 
 The flocking shadows pale 
 
 Troop to the infernal jail.— H. 229-33. 
 
 The Sun is the most glorious object in Nature. 
 There are other suns in other skies, but they do not 
 encroach upon the ' sole dominion ' of the refulgent 
 orb, that in his proud isolation knows no peer and 
 fears no rival. It is interesting to read what a 
 great poet has to say of the Sun, and if we may 
 conclude from the numerous passages just cited, 
 it is apparent that the orb has received ample justice 
 at the hands of Milton, who has depicted his glories 
 in numbers that possess the prime charm of poetic 
 accuracy associated with sublimity of thought and 
 felicity of expression. Everywhere throughout his 
 poems, Milton accords the Sun that pre-eminence 
 among the orbs of the firmament which is his due ; 
 he extols his ' surpassing glory ' and delights in the 
 portrayal of scenes and objects whose attractiveness 
 and varied beauty are dependent upon the brilliant 
 radiance emitted by the peerless orb. 
 
 The Moon 
 
 The Moon is the Earth's satellite, and, with the 
 exception of the Sun, is the most useful of the celestial 
 orbs that minister to the requirements of Man. 
 Besides affording us light in the night, the Moon 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 187 
 
 is the principal cause of the ebb and flow of 
 the tides — si phenomenon of much importance to 
 navigators. 
 
 The mean distance of the Moon from the Earth 
 is about 240,000 miles. In form, the orb is almost 
 a perfect sphere, and is 2160 miles in diameter. 
 The density of the Moon is 3*57 that of water, or 
 0*63 that of the Earth, consequently the lunar 
 constituents are less dense than the terrestrial in 
 the proportion of about three to five. The area of 
 the lunar surface is about one-thirteenth that of 
 the Earth. Fifty globes, each as large as the Moon, 
 would be required to equal one the size of the Earth. 
 The Moon travels with a velocity of 2273 miles an 
 hour, and accomplishes a revolution round the Earth 
 in 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes. The orb in the 
 same period of time completes a rotation on her 
 axis ; owing to this synchrony of rotation and 
 revolution the same hemisphere is always directed 
 towards the Earth. The form of the Moon's orbit 
 is that of an ellipse with the Earth in the lower 
 focus. The orb changes her shape and position in 
 the sky with marked rapidity, and among primitive 
 and uncivilised races was the most useful, of the 
 heavenly bodies in the measurement of time. 
 
 The changes in form which the Moon presents 
 on her monthly journey round the Earth are called, 
 her phases. They are always interesting and very 
 beautiful. The orb is first seen in the west after 
 sunset as a delicate slender crescent of pale hght 
 having her convex edge directed towards the Sun. 
 
188 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Each day her angular distance from the Sun, and 
 the width of her crescent increase until at the 
 expiration of seven days, having then traversed a 
 fourth part of the circumference of her orbit, she 
 appears as a semicircle or half-moon, and is in 
 quadrature. Continuing her eastward progress a 
 further extent of her illumined surface becomes 
 visible, which is greater than half a circle ; the Moon 
 is then said to be gibbous. Still pursuing her path 
 round the Earth, the Moon at the end of the second 
 week, having travelled half the circumference of her 
 orbit, comes into opposition with the Sun. The 
 whole of her illumined hemisphere is now visible 
 as a circular disc of light, and the Moon is described 
 as being full. After full Moon, the orb in a reverse 
 manner passes through the same phases, and in her 
 last quarter again assumes the crescent form in the 
 morning heavens, growing less and less until lost in 
 the Sun's rays — afterwards to re-appear in a few 
 days, and on her monthly round to undergo the same 
 cycle of changes. The convex edge of the crescent 
 is always turned towards the Sun. 
 
 The Moon's changes of form from a slender crescent 
 to that of a circular disc of light are due conjointly 
 to her spherical figure, her motion round the Earth, 
 and also to the fact that the orb is a dark body 
 illumined by the Sun's rays. On account of her 
 globular shape, one half of the Moon's surface is 
 bathed in sunlight, and the other half is enveloped in 
 darkness, consequently we see more or less of her 
 illumined hemisphere as she changes her position 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 189 
 
 in the sky with regard to the Sun. When opposite 
 to the orb the Moon is visible as a globe, and when 
 in her first and last quarters she appears as a crescent. 
 Apart from her phases, the Moon can be observed 
 to successively occupy widely remote regions of 
 the sky, changing her position like a drifting cloud, 
 but with a much less rapid motion. Sometimes the 
 Moon is west, sometimes east of the Sun ; at other 
 times she is north, and again south of the orb. These 
 wanderings of our satellite over the face of the sky 
 are due to two motions : (1) a west to east motion 
 that is steady and continuous, and which carries 
 the Moon round the Earth in 29*53 days, being the 
 interval that elapses between two successive new 
 or full Moons, and is termed her synodical period ; 
 (2) a north and south motion consequent upon the 
 intersection at an angle of 5° 8' 40"", of the plane of 
 the ecliptic by that of the lunar orbit. The two 
 points of intersection are called the nodes and the 
 line connecting them the line of nodes. The changing 
 position of the ecliptic with respect to the horizon 
 has also to be considered. Observers of the heavens 
 will have doubtless perceived that the Moon when 
 of the same age appears much farther south at one 
 period of the year than at another. This is due to 
 the fact that the ecliptic in its relation to the horizon 
 is differently situated at a given time of night at 
 different seasons of the year. When the Sun is at 
 the winter solstice he sets low down in the south-west, 
 consequently the Moon — ^whose course never deviates 
 far from the Sun's path — ^when new is in the same 
 
190 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 part of the heavens, but when full, the orb rises far 
 in the north-east in the opposite region of the sky 
 and rides high in the heavens as may be seen at 
 midwinter. At midsummer the reverse occurs, the 
 new Moon appears high in the sky and the full Moon 
 travels low down towards the horizon. 
 
 In consequence of this beneficent arrangement, 
 we have the greatest quantity of light at night from 
 the full Moon in winter, when the orb travels high 
 and remains for a long time above the horizon. In 
 summer, when the Sun is long above the horizon, 
 we have least moonlight. In March the evenings 
 have least, and in September most moonlight. In 
 the polar regions, when the Sun is absent, and the 
 night constant, the Moon, during her second and third 
 quarters — embracing the season of full Moon — is 
 continuously above the horizon, thus compensating 
 in a small degree for the absence of the Sun ; while 
 in the summer, when the Sun remains above the 
 horizon, and the light of the Moon is not -required, 
 the orb is only above the horizon during her first and 
 last quarters when her light is least. But the inhabi- 
 tants of the other hemisphere from whom the sun- 
 light is withdrawn enjoy the greatest amount of her 
 light. 
 
 About the time of the autumnal equinox, the Moon, 
 when near her full, rises for several successive nights 
 about sunset. This occurrence gives rise to a number 
 of brilliant moonlight evenings which in the north 
 temperate zone happen at the time of harvest ; and 
 the phenomenon is called the harvest moon. Its 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 191 
 
 return is hailed with joy by the peasantry, and is 
 celebrated by a festival called the harvest home. The 
 same phenomenon occurs in October, but in a less 
 marked degree ; it is then known as the hunter s moon. 
 
 This succession of brilliant moonlight evenings 
 depends upon the small angle of inclination of the 
 lunar orbit to the horizon when the full Moon is 
 crossing the equator from south to north at the 
 equinoctial point. 
 
 The Moon is in no sense a duplicate of her pri- 
 mary, and no analogy exists between the Earth and 
 her satellite. Evidence of the presence of a lunar 
 atmosphere is wanting. No clouds nor vapours can 
 be perceived, and it is believed that no water exists 
 on the surface of the orb. Indeed, all the conditions 
 essential for the support and maintenance of organic 
 life with which we are familiar on Earth appear to 
 be non-existent on the Moon. Our satellite has no 
 seasons. Her axial rotation is so slow that one 
 lunar day is equal in length to fourteen of our days, 
 and this long period of sunshine is succeeded by a 
 night of similar duration. The alternate recurrence 
 of such long days and nights subjects the lunar 
 surface to great extremes of heat and cold, and 
 owing to the absence of a protective atmosphere 
 which would prevent the rapid radiation of heat 
 into space, it is believed that the lunar temperature 
 during the Moon's long night sinks to absolute zero. 
 Desolation and solitude are characteristic of the 
 Moon, whose arid surface appears incapable of sus- 
 taining the lowest forms of organic life. 
 
192 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 The Moon when viewed through a telescope presents 
 to our gaze lofty mountain-chains with rugged peaks ; 
 numerous extinct volcanoes called crater-mountains, 
 and vast level plains — a region of desolation consist- 
 ing of the shattered and upturned fragments of 
 the Moon's crust convulsed by forces of a volcanic 
 nature that have long since expended their energies 
 and died out. 
 
 The mountain ranges resemble those of the Earth, 
 but have a more rugged outhne, and their peaks are 
 more precipitous, for, in consequence of the absence 
 of the disintegrating effects of water, and the fury 
 of tempests, they retain their primitive sharpness 
 unaffected by the hand of time. They are called 
 the lunar Alps, Apennines, and Cordilleras, and 
 embrace every variety of hill, cleft, and ridge, some 
 of their summits attaining a height of 20,000 feet. 
 
 The crater-mountains are, however, the most 
 striking features of the Moon's surface ; in some 
 regions they are so numerous that portions of the 
 lunar disc appear honeycombed with them, and 
 no fewer than 33,000 have been enumerated. They 
 differ from those of the Earth inasmuch as they are 
 circular areas or great walled plains, each having in 
 its centre an elevated peak, and its circumference 
 bounded by a rocky annulus. Their floor hes much 
 below the level of the adjacent surface, the interior 
 depth being often several times greater than that of 
 the exterior height. They vary in size from a few 
 yards to 150 miles in diameter. Their origin is 
 correctly ascribed to volcanic agency. 
 
A PORTION OF THE MOON S SURFACE 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 193 
 
 The plains are large level areas formerly believed 
 to be seas. They are of a darker hue than the 
 mountains which surround them, and are analogous 
 to the deserts, steppes, and prairies of the Earth. 
 They vary in extent, the dimensions of some being 
 equal to those of an inland sea. The lunar valleys 
 differ in length and width ; some are spacious and 
 broad, whilst others contract into mere gorges and 
 chasms. Clefts, or fissures of considerable depth, 
 extend for long distances across the Moon's strata, 
 and are a result of the shrinkage of the lunar 
 substance when undergoing the process of cooling. 
 
 Although the face of the Moon has been carefully 
 scanned for two centuries and a half, and seleno- 
 graphers have mapped and dehneated her features 
 with the utmost precision, yet no perceptible change 
 of a reliable character has been perceived to occur 
 on any part of the lunar surface. The hemisphere 
 directed towards the Earth appears to be an alter- 
 nation of craggy wildernesses, desert plains, and 
 extinct volcanoes — a, region of desolation unoccupied 
 by any living thing, and upon which ' the hght of life 
 has never dawned." On account of the absence of an 
 atmosphere there is neither diffuse dayhght nor twi- 
 light on the Moon, every portion of the lunar surface 
 not exposed to the Sun's rays is shrouded in dark- 
 ness, and black shadows can be observed fringing 
 prominences of silvery whiteness. If our satellite 
 were enveloped in an atmosphere similar to that by 
 which the Earth is surrounded, the difiusion and 
 reflection of hght by the minute particles of aqueous 
 
194 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 vapour that permeate it would give rise to a gradual 
 transition from light to darkness — ^the lunar surface 
 would then be visible when not illumined by the direct 
 rays of the Sun, and before sunrise and after sunset, 
 dawn and twilight would occur as upon the Earth. 
 But on the Moon there is no dawn, and the darkness 
 of night envelopes the orb until the edge of the 
 Sun's disc appears above the horizon; then, his 
 dazzling rays illumine the loftiest peaks of the lunar 
 mountains whilst yet their sides and bases remain 
 wrapped in deep gloom. Since there is no atmosphere 
 on the Moon to diffuse or reflect her light, the Sun 
 shines in a pitch-black sky, and at lunar noon-day 
 the planets and constellations can be seen displaying 
 a brilliancy of greater intensity than can be per- 
 ceived on Earth during the darkest night. Every 
 portion of the Moon's surface is bleak, bare, and 
 untouched by any softening influences ; no fitful 
 gale ever sweeps down her valleys ; no refreshing 
 shower ever falls upon her arid mountains and plains ; 
 no cloud ever tempers the fierce glare of the Sun 
 that pours down his rays from a sky of inky black- 
 ness ; no sound ever breaks the profound stillness 
 that reigns over this world of solitude and 
 desolation. 
 
 None of the celestial orbs have had their charms 
 and attractive aspects so frequently portrayed by 
 poets as the Moon, whose silvery radiance dispels 
 the all-pervading darkness that enshrouds the 
 dominion of ancient Night ; and who as queen of 
 the firmament presides over the stellar multitude 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 195 
 
 that adorn her shadowy realm. Milton's apprecia- 
 tion of the charming visual effects that accompany 
 the Moon's presence when above the horizon is 
 frequently and felicitously expressed in numerous 
 passages that testify to his keen perception of the 
 pleasing recurrence of lunar phenomena. 
 
 In directing Satan to Earth, the archangel Uriel, 
 Eegent of the Sun, calls his attention to our globe's 
 illumined hemisphere, and remarks that the other 
 hemisphere night would invade — 
 
 But there the neighbouring Moon 
 (So call that opposite fair star) her aid 
 Timely interposes, and, her monthly round 
 Still ending, still renewing, through mid-Heaven, 
 With borrowed light her countenance triform 
 Hence fills and empties, to enlighten the Earth, 
 And in her pale dominion checks the night. — iii. 726-32. 
 
 This concise description of the Moon's office in 
 relation to her primary, and of the varied aspects 
 she presents on her monthly journey, indicates that 
 Milton fully appreciated the importance and use- 
 fulness of the orb as the Earth's satellite. The 
 poet was well aware that the partial or complete 
 illumination of the Moon's disc, giving rise to her 
 triform appearance as crescent, half moon, and full 
 moon, depended upon her position with regard to the 
 Sun as observed by a spectator standing on Earth. 
 
 In the following passage a description of lunar 
 motion is given that differs in several respects from 
 that contained in the citation just referred to. 
 Kaphael, in his conversation with Adam in Paradise, 
 mentions the Sun as having been the first created 
 
 o 2 
 
196 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 of celestial bodies ; and afterwards the Moon. The 
 
 glorious orb in commencing his journey appeared 
 
 first in the east, while — 
 
 Less bright the Moon, 
 But opposite in levelled west, was set. 
 His mirror, with full face borrowing her light 
 From him ; for other light she needed none 
 In that aspect, and still that distance keeps 
 Till night ; then in the east her turn she shines. 
 Revolved on heaven's great axle, and her reign 
 With thousand lesser lights dividual holds. 
 With thousand thousand stars, that then appeared 
 Spangling the hemisphere. — vii. 375-84. 
 
 At the time when the Sun was commencing his 
 journey in the east, the Moon could be seen setting 
 in the west, with full face reflecting his light, and 
 this interval was maintained between the two orbs 
 until ' revolved on heaven's great axle ' the Moon 
 in her turn rose in the east as the Sun set in the 
 west. Consequently there was full moon every 
 evening, nor was there any temporary disappearance 
 of the orb from the sky. The Moon ruled the night 
 similar to the way in which the Sun ruled the day — 
 the days and nights being of equal length. 
 
 EaphaeFs description of the two prime orbs in 
 their aspects and relationships is based upon their 
 disposition prior to the Fall when there reigned 
 upon Earth a perpetual spring. But we are told that 
 after the first act of transgression the paths of the 
 heavenly bodies were altered, presumably for the 
 worse — 
 
 To the blanc Moon 
 Her office they prescribed.--x. 656-57. 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 197 
 
 It is in harmony with this re-arrangement of the 
 celestial orbs that Uriel, when directing Satan to 
 Earth, gives such a lucid description of the Moon's 
 motions and phases. But the adverse changes in 
 the physical Universe did not occur until some time 
 after Satan's arrival upon the terrestrial globe. 
 Chronologically, the poet is premature in describing 
 the occurrence of lunar phenomena which at that 
 time were not exhibited by the orb, and only became 
 apparent after the general confusion that arose in 
 Nature consequent upon the introduction of evil. 
 
 Cynthia is the classical name given to the Moon. 
 Its derivation is from Cynthus (Mount) in Delos, 
 which was the birthplace of the Moon-goddess Diana. 
 She is represented as drawn in a chariot by a yoke of 
 dragons, and having a crescent on her head. 
 
 Milton alludes to the Moon as Cynthia when 
 directing attention to the entrancing music that 
 greeted the ears of the shepherds at the Nativity, 
 and which was also heard by Nature within the 
 concave of the lunar orbit : 
 
 Nature that heard such sound 
 Beneath the hollow round 
 Of Cynthia's seat, the airy region thrilling, 
 Now was almost won 
 To think her part was done, 
 And that her reign had here its last fulfilling ; 
 She knew such harmony alone 
 Could hold all Heaven and Earth in happier union. 
 
 H. 101-8. 
 
 The Moon's path in the sky is often famiharly 
 known by observing her relative position at certain 
 
198 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 seasons with respect to some prominent object in the 
 landscape such as a mountain-summit or wood- 
 capped hill. A similar instance occurs in the case 
 of a particular tree with which Milton was familiar, 
 and over which he frequently observed the slowly- 
 moving Moon travel — 
 
 While Cynthia checks her dragon yoke, 
 Gently o'er the accustomed oak. — II P. 59-60. 
 
 Cynthia in listening to Philomers song slackens 
 her pace when passing over the well-known oak that 
 probably stood in the garden at Horton. 
 
 The heathen goddess Astoreth, or Astarte, in her 
 worship was symbolised by the Moon. She is repre- 
 sented as horned like the crescent moon ; Milton 
 alludes to her in the following lines : 
 
 With these in troop 
 Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians called 
 Astarte, Queen of Heaven, with crescent horns ; 
 To whose bright image nightly by the Moon 
 Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs. — i. 437-41. 
 
 In the seventeenth century, the belief in witch- 
 craft, demonology and sorcery was vigorously upheld 
 by all classes ; and many inoffensive persons were put 
 to death for alleged participation in those occult prac- 
 tices. Referring to the gruesome deeds perpetrated 
 by witches and night-hags, Milton describes the 
 efiect of their incantations upon the Moon : 
 
 Nor uglier follow the night-hag, when, called 
 In secret, riding through the air she comes. 
 Lured with the smell of infant-blood, to dance 
 With Lapland witches, while the labouring Moon 
 Eclipses at their charms. — ii. 662-66. 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 199 
 
 In bygone ages it was believed that the Moon 
 and heavenly bodies were influenced by magic, and 
 by charms. The Moon could be affected in two 
 ways : (1) by being drawn down nearer to the 
 Earth ; (2) by becoming eclipsed, i.e. withdrawing 
 her light. The expression ' labouring moon ' is 
 classical, ' lahores lunae,' signifies eclipses of the orb; 
 but the phrase might bear another interpretation, 
 for the Moon would ' labour ' strenuously in resisting 
 any attempt to deflect her from her path. Her 
 obscuration or eclipse would indicate the presence 
 of vapour or cloud that intercepted her light. 
 
 The supposed influence of the Moon upon persons 
 
 of feeble intellect finds expression in our language 
 
 in the words 'lunatic' and 'moon-struck.' The 
 
 latter is employed by Milton when he mentions the 
 
 numerous maladies that afflicted the inmates of the 
 
 lazar-house, whose miseries made Adam weep. In 
 
 enumerating them the poet includes — 
 
 Demoniac phrenzy, moping melancholy, 
 'And moon-struck madness. — x. 485-86. 
 
 The temporary invisibility of the Moon, when 
 
 pursuing her monthly round, has inspired the Celtic 
 
 poet Ossian with the sentiment that the solitary 
 
 orb retires into darkness to mourn for her sisters 
 
 who have fallen from Heaven. Milton alludes to 
 
 the Moon as retiring into her cave. Samson in 
 
 bewailing his blindness says : 
 
 The Sun to me is dark 
 
 And silent as the Moon, 
 
 When she deserts the night, 
 
 Hid in her vacant interlunar cave. — S. A. 86-9. 
 
200 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 The Moon in ancient times was an object of worship, 
 and the history of all nations teems with superstitions 
 regarding our satellite, some of which are believed 
 in still. The orb was supposed to exercise great influ- 
 ence over human affairs, and few undertakings were 
 attempted without first referring to the age of the 
 Moon. When the Moon was new, or at full, the 
 season was considered favourable for embarking 
 upon an enterprise, but when the orb was on the 
 wane the time was regarded as inauspicious. 
 
 The dances and nocturnal revels of fairies and 
 elves are usually described as having been held by 
 moonlight. Those diminutive and graceful beings 
 haunted woods and streams, and by their alleged 
 capricious exploits and interference in the affairs 
 of mortals have held a prominent place in the 
 imagination of mankind. Milton was no stranger 
 to Fairyland, nor to the quaint doings of its nimble 
 inhabitants : 
 
 The sounds and seas, with all their finny drove, 
 Now to the Moon in wavering morrice move ; 
 And on the tawny sands and shelves 
 Trip the pert fairies and the dapper elves. 
 
 C. 115-18. 
 And again : 
 
 or faery elves, 
 Whose midnight revels by a forest side 
 Or fountain, some belated peasant sees, 
 Or dreams he sees, while overhead the Moon 
 Sits arbitress, and nearer to the Earth 
 Wheels her pale course. — i. 781-86. 
 
 The Moon and the belated peasant were the 
 only spectators of these revels. The orb, situated 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 201 
 
 overhead, acted as arbitress or umpire in deciding 
 
 the merits of the individual competitors who engaged 
 
 in the sports and pastimes that formed part of 
 
 the night's amusement. It was beheved that those 
 
 beings possessed the power of causing the Moon 
 
 to describe her course nearer to the Earth. 
 
 There is an old and widespread superstition 
 
 that ghosts and supernatural beings vanish on the 
 
 approach of morning. The faeries then cease their 
 
 revels — 
 
 And the yellow skirted fays 
 
 Fly after the night-steeds, leaving their moon-loved maze. 
 
 H. 235-36. 
 
 Few persons fail to appreciate the beauty of a 
 bright moonlight night. The calm, the impressive 
 stillness, the hushed repose of animated beings, 
 the overhead Moon flooding the Earth with her 
 silvery radiance and transforming mountain, lake, 
 and vale into fairyland, excite the most pleasing 
 emotions combined with wonder and admiration 
 that Nature in all her varied aspects should exhibit 
 such loveliness. 
 
 Ossian addresses the Moon as ' Queen of the silent 
 night ' ; and Milton says : 
 
 now reigns 
 Full-orbed the Moon, and, with more pleasing light 
 Shadowy sets off the face of things — in vain 
 If none regard. — v. 41-4 
 
 The poet in other descriptive passages, to which 
 allusion is made elsewhere, expresses his high 
 appreciation of the nocturnal beauty that accompanies 
 the orb when describing her path in the heavens. 
 
202 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 The Attendant Spirit in ' Comus/ concluding 
 his epilogue, expresses himself thus : 
 
 But now my task is smoothly done ; 
 
 I can fly, and I can nm, 
 
 Quickly to the green Earth's end, 
 
 Where the bowed welkin slow doth bend, 
 
 And from thence can soar as soon 
 
 To the corners of the Moon.— C. 1012-17. 
 
 These numerous quotations descriptive of lunar 
 phenomena testify to the pleasure which Milton 
 derived from his observation of the varied appear- 
 ances presented by the Moon when on her monthly 
 journey round the Earth. Whether in referring to 
 ' the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow/ or to the Sun's 
 briUiant radiance, the poet is equally felicitous in 
 depicting the distinctive glories peculiar to each orb. 
 Milton delighted in astronomical phenomena, and 
 especially in those associated with the Moon. 
 
 The Stars 
 
 The celestial vault, that, like a circhng canopy 
 of sapphire hue stretches overhead from horizon 
 to horizon, resplendent by night with myriad stars 
 of different magnitudes and varied brilliancy, forming 
 clusterings and configurations of fantastic shape 
 and beauty, arrests the attention of the most casual 
 observer. But the impression , conveyed to the 
 mind of one who has studied the heavens and followed 
 the efforts of human genius in unravelhng the 
 mysteries associated with those bright orbs, is one 
 of wonder and longing to know more of their being, 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 203 
 
 and the hidden causes which brought them forth. 
 Here, we have poetry written in letters of gold on 
 the sable vestment of night ; music in the gliding 
 motion of the spheres ; and harmony in the orbital 
 sweep of sun, planet, and satellite. 
 
 On looking up to the heavens on a clear moonless 
 night, one is impressed with the apparent countless 
 number of the stars — so thickly studded is the 
 firmament with glittering points of light — and yet 
 if an attempt were made to enumerate them it 
 would be found that it is seldom more than 2000 
 stars are together visible to the naked eye. Much 
 depends upon sharpness of vision and the trans- 
 parency of the atmosphere. Argelander counted 
 at Bonn, 3237 stars ; Hozeau at Jamaica, 5719 ; 
 and Gould at Cordoba, in South America, enumerated 
 10,649 stars. These marked discrepancies are in a 
 large measure due to the multitude of minute stars 
 that are constantly hovering on the verge of visi- 
 bility, and which can only be seen by persons gifted 
 with exceptionally good eyesight. With the aid 
 of an opera-glass, thousands of stars can be perceived, 
 and in the fields of large telescopes multitudes of 
 stars are brought within the range of vision. 
 
 Early astronomers paid but scant attention to 
 the stars, and scarce anything was known of them. 
 They were called ' fixed ' on account of their apparent 
 immobility on the sphere, and consequently served 
 as convenient points from which the motions of 
 planets and of comets could be determined. 
 They, however, did not fail to excite the curiosity of 
 
204 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 observers, and conjectures were hazarded as to their 
 nature and origin ; but the mystery by which they 
 were surrounded remained impenetrable, and the 
 star-depths could only be contemplated with wonder 
 and awe. 
 
 The stars, prior to the overthrow of the Ptolemaic 
 system, were believed to accomplish a diurnal 
 revolution round the Earth ; but after the adoption 
 of the Copernican hypothesis, when they were 
 assigned their true position in space, it became evident 
 that the stars were self-luminous orbs, but of what 
 magnitude and how distant no one could tell. 
 When, however, the vast scale upon which the 
 Universe was constructed gradually dawned upon 
 the minds of astronomers, it became evident that 
 the stars must be regarded as orbs rivalling our 
 Sun in splendour, and that their apparent minuteness 
 could be accounted for by their amazing distances. 
 
 In 1718 Halley announced that the stars were not 
 ' fixed ' but had a real motion in space. He 
 discovered from observations made by himself that 
 Sirius, Arcturus, Aldebaran, and several other bright 
 stars had shifted their positions on the sphere as 
 compared with the places assigned them in Ptolemy's 
 catalogue. This was afterwards verified by J. Cassini. 
 Tobias Meyer in 1756 issued a hst of fifty-seven stars, 
 in which he showed the direction and amount of 
 their proper motions based upon observations made 
 by Roemer fifty years previous. Hence, the term 
 ' fixed ' could no longer be applied to the stars. 
 Each orb that enters into the formation of the 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 205 
 
 stellar universe, however distant, is in motion, and 
 pursues a definite path in space, illuminating vast 
 regions, and probably fulfilling its destiny by 
 dispensing light and heat to circling planets. 
 
 Towards the close of the eighteenth century a 
 fresh impetus was given to the study of sidereal 
 astronomy by Sir William Herschel, who devoted 
 many years of his life to a minute exploration of the 
 starry heavens. We are indebted to him more than 
 to any other astronomer for our knowledge of the 
 vastness of the stellar universe. It was he who 
 first explored the shining regions of the Milky Way 
 and attempted to delineate its structural configura- 
 tion. He also penetrated with his great telescopes 
 the recesses of the star-depths, but was unable to 
 fathom their utmost limits. During his exploration 
 of th^ heavens, Herschel conceived the idea of 
 embracing in one grand harmonius design of celestial 
 architecture all the concourses, systems, and galaxies 
 of stars promiscuously scattered throughout the 
 regions of space. Having this sublime object in 
 view he adopted a method called ' star- gauging,^ 
 by which he accomplished an entire survey of the 
 heavens, and examined minutely all the stars in 
 their groups and aggregations as they passed before 
 his eye in the field of the telescope. He sounded 
 the depths of the Milky Way, and in attempting to 
 unravel the intricacies of its structure, perceived 
 clustering swarms of lucid orbs so closely aggregated 
 as to resemble a mosaic of stars. He resolved 
 numerous nebulae into clusters of stars, and 
 
206 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 penetrated with his telescope depth after depth of 
 space occupied by ' island universes of stars/ beyond 
 which he could discern luminous haze and filmy 
 streaks of light, evidence of the existence of other 
 stellar regions still more profoundly situated in the 
 abysmal depths of space. As Herschel extended 
 his survey of the heavens, he found himself incapable 
 of accomplishing the object he had in view, for he 
 discovered that the star-depths were unfathomable ; 
 neither could he determine the structural con- 
 figurations and relationships that existed among 
 the sidereal systems and galactic concourses of 
 stars — the undertaking was too great for human 
 effort. He consequently abandoned his work of 
 star-gauging, and confined his attention to the 
 investigation of other phenomena associated with 
 the stars. 
 
 The distances of the stars had for long constituted 
 a problem that astronomers were unable to solve. 
 The stars were known to be inconceivably remote, 
 but how far away no one could tell. In attempting 
 a measurement of the space that intervenes between 
 our Earth and the nearest stars, astronomers had 
 recourse to what is termed ' parallax,' which is the 
 apparent change in the position of an object resulting 
 from a change of the observer's station. The paral- 
 lactic angle is the measure of the amount of parallax. 
 The stars are so distant that their positions are the 
 same from whatever part of the Earth's surface they 
 are seen, but when observed from opposite points ' 
 of the Earth's orbit, which affords a base-hne of 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 207 
 
 186 million miles, astronomers equipped with the 
 most delicate and powerful instruments have been 
 enabled to perceive the minutest measurable dis- 
 placements of a few of the nearest stars. 
 
 The first reliable stellar parallax was announced 
 by Bessel in 1840. He found that the star 61 Cygni 
 disclosed a parallax of 0'^*3483, but recent observa- 
 tions have increased it to 0^'*4:5, a result which 
 indicates a distance 458,000 times that of the Sun 
 from the Earth. 
 
 a Centauri, the nearest star to our system, gives a 
 parallax of 0^^*75, a result equivalent to a distance 
 greater by 271,000 times than the 93 million miles 
 that separate the Earth from the Sun. The paral- 
 laxes of half a dozen other stars have been determined 
 with comparative exactness, and all indicate extreme 
 remoteness. 
 
 Terrestrial measurements are not of much assist- 
 ance in enabling us to comprehend the distances 
 of the nearest stars. Perhaps the time required by 
 light in travelling such vast intervals of space will 
 give a clearer conception of the remoteness of those 
 orbs. Light, which travels 186,000 miles in every 
 second of time, requires a period of 4J years to cross 
 the abyss that separates us from the nearest star, 
 and in the case of 61 Cygni the light-unit is 1\ years. 
 The ' light-years ' of some of the more conspicuous 
 stars are as follows : Aldebaran, 6 years ; Sirius, 8 ; 
 Procyon, 12 ; Vega, 18 ; Capella, 30 ; Regulus, 35 ; 
 and Polaris, 42 years. The light from stars of the 
 sixth magnitude, which are just visible to the naked 
 
208 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 eye, requires a period of upwards of 100 years to 
 reach the Earth, whilst hght emitted by the smallest 
 stars visible in great telescopes does not accomplish 
 its journey until after the lapse of several thousand 
 years. 
 
 Entering into the structure of the stellar universe 
 are single stars, double stars, triple, quadruple, 
 and multiple stars ; periodical, temporary, and 
 variable stars ; star-groups, star-clusters, galaxies, 
 and nebulae resolvable into stars. 
 
 Single or Insulated Stars are orbs sufficiently 
 isolated in space so as not to be perceptibly influenced 
 by the attraction of other similar bodies. The Sun 
 is an example of this class of star, and is one of a 
 rather widely scattered group situated in the plane 
 of the Milky Way, in or near its centre. As a star 
 among the stars, the Sun would be included in the 
 constellation of the Centaur, a Centauri being his 
 nearest neighbour. Stars of this class are believed 
 to be the centres of planetary systems, similar to 
 that of which our Sun is the centre. Reasoning 
 from analogy, we should naturally conclude that 
 there are other suns, numberless beyond conception, 
 the centres of systems of revolving worlds to which 
 they dispense light and heat. 
 
 Double Stars. — ^Many stars which appear single 
 to the naked eye are found on telescopic examina- 
 tion to be double, i.e. they consist of two stars 
 in juxtaposition. Double stars are divided into 
 two well-defined classes : (1) ' Optical ' doubles — 
 stars almost in the same line of vision, and although 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 209 
 
 apparently very near, are yet situated far apart, 
 and have no physical relationship ; (2) Binary Stars 
 — ^these, on the other hand, besides being in close 
 proximity, are united in a mutual bond of union, 
 and revolve round each other, forming real dual 
 systems, the components of which perform their 
 orbital motions in obedience to the law of universal 
 gravitation. We are indebted to Sir William 
 Herschel for the discovery of binary star systems. 
 They are now known to exist in profusion all 
 over the heavens. 
 
 The revolution of two suns in one sphere presents 
 to our observation a scheme of creative design of a 
 higher and more complex order in the ascending 
 scale of celestial architecture than that of the single 
 star system with which we are familiar. For, if 
 we assume that round each sun there circles a retinue 
 of planetary worlds, it is obvious that there must 
 exist a more intricate arrangement of the orbs which 
 enter into the formation of such a system than 
 is found among the bodies that gravitate round 
 our Sun. 
 
 The common centre of gravity of a binary system 
 is situated on a straight line between both stars, 
 and distant from each in inverse proportion to their 
 respective masses. When the stars are of equal 
 mass, their orbits are of equal dimensions, but when 
 the mass of one star exceeds that of the other, the 
 orbit of the larger star is proportionately diminished 
 as compared with the circumference traversed by 
 the smaller star. When their orbits are circular — 
 
210 
 
 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 a rare occurrence — both stars pursue each other 
 in the same path and invariably occupy it at dia- 
 metrically opposite points, nor is it possible for one 
 star to approach the other by the minutest interval 
 of space in any duration of time so long as the 
 synchronous harmony of their revolution remains 
 undisturbed. When a pair of suns move in an 
 
 270- 
 
 
 18 
 
 / 
 
 .^^ ^ ^^t^ \ '85C 
 
 1819/^ ^y^ ^y^ 
 
 Periastron 
 1807-65 
 
 1802 
 
 y 
 
 1888 
 
 -/^I873 
 ^/^I879 
 
 ^^^^^^^ 1882 
 
 0" 
 
 
 N 
 
 Scale of seconds 
 
 .2 .3 .4- 
 
 Fig. 5. — A Binary Star System — 70 Ophiuchi. 
 
 (Drawn by Mr, J. E. Gore.) 
 
 Showing positions of companion star in different years. 
 
 ellipse, their orbits intersect, and are of equal dimen- 
 sions when the stars are of equal mass, their common 
 centre of gravity being then at a point equidistant 
 from each ; consequently neither star can approach 
 or recede from this point without the other afiecting 
 a similar motion ; they must be in periastron, and 
 at apastron together, and any acceleration or re- 
 tardation of speed must occur simultaneously with 
 each. Stars of unequal magnitude always maintain 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 211 
 
 a proportionate distance from their common focus, 
 and both simultaneously occupy corresponding parts 
 of their orbits. 
 
 The star 70 Ophiuchi may be regarded as typical 
 of a binary system. The components are of the 
 fourth and sixth magnitudes, and are five seconds 
 apart. Their light period is stated to be twenty 
 years, and the combined mass of the system is nearly 
 three times that of the Sun. The pair travel in an 
 orbit from fourteen to forty-two times the radius 
 of the Earth's orbit, so that when in apastron they 
 are three times the distance from each other that 
 they are when in periastron. They accomplish a 
 revolution in eighty-eight years. 
 
 The accompanying diagram is a delineation of 
 the beautiful orbits of the components of 7 Virginis, 
 which may be described as elongated ellipses. Both 
 stars are of equal mass ; consequently their orbits 
 are of equal dimensions, and their common centre 
 of gravity is at a point equidistant from each. 
 Any approach to, or recession from, this point must 
 occur simultaneously with each ; they must always 
 
 I926f I836f fl836 f 1926 
 
 Fig, 6. — The Orbits of the Components of y Virginis. 
 
 occupy corresponding parts of their orbits ; the 
 two must be in periastron, and retire together 
 towards apastron. 
 
 The ellipse described by this pair is the most 
 
 p 2 
 
212 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 eccentric of known binary orbits, and approaches 
 in form the path pursued by Encke's comet round 
 the Sun. The stars complete a revolution in one 
 hundred and eighty years. 
 
 -The finest binary star in the northern heavens 
 is Castor, the brighter of the two leading stars in 
 the constellation Gemini. The components are of 
 the second and third magnitudes, and of a brilliant 
 white colour. It is among double stars that the 
 richest and most varied colours predominate. Albireo, 
 in the constellation Cygnus, is one of the loveliest 
 of double stars ; the larger component is of a golden 
 yellow colour, the smaller of a sapphire blue. Cor 
 Caroli, in Canes Venatici, is a pleasing double star, 
 the components being of a pale white and lilac 
 colour. Mirac, in Bootes, is a delicate object of 
 charming appearance, the components of which are 
 orange and pale green. 
 
 The aid of a good telescope is, however, essential 
 in order that we may be able to perceive the varied 
 colours and tints of the sparkling gems with which 
 Nature has adorned her star-built edifice of the 
 Universe. Most of the precious stones on Earth 
 have their counterparts in the heavens, presenting 
 in a jewelled form, pleasing harmonies, contrasts 
 of colour, and endless variety of shade. The diamond, 
 sapphire, emerald, amethyst, topaz, and ruby sparkle 
 among crowds of stars of more sombre hue. Agate, 
 chalcedony, onyx, opal, beryl, lapis-lazuli, and aqua- 
 marine are represented by the radiant sheen emanat- 
 ing from distant suns, displaying an inexhaustible 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 213 
 
 variety of colour blended in tints of untold har- 
 monies. There are pairs of white, yellow, orange, 
 and red stars ; yellow and blue ; yellow and pale 
 emerald ; yellow and rose-red ; yellow and fawn ; 
 green and gold ; azure and crimson ; golden and 
 azure ; orange and emerald ; orange and lilac ; orange 
 and purple ; orange and green ; white and lilac ; lilac 
 and dark purple. Companion stars revolve round 
 their primaries coloured olive, russet, buff, grey, dun, 
 and other shades indistinguishable by any name. 
 
 Tkiple, Quadkuple, and Multiple Stars. — 
 These, when observed with the naked eye, appear as 
 single stars, but when examined with a high magni- 
 fying power, each lucid point can be resolved into 
 several component stars. They vary in number from 
 three to half a dozen or more, and form systems of 
 a more complex character than those which have 
 been already described. In the usual construction 
 of a triple system, the secondary star of a binary 
 is resolved into two ; each star being in mutual 
 revolution whilst they both gravitate round their 
 primary. By another arrangement, a close pair 
 control the movements of a distant attendant. 
 
 One of the most interesting of triple stars is the 
 tri-coloured 7 Andromedse. The brilliant components 
 of this system have their counterparts in the topaz, 
 the emerald, and the sapphire. The larger star is of 
 the third magnitude, and of a golden yellow colour ; 
 the secondary of the fifth magnitude and of an emerald 
 green. In 1842 Struve discovered that the com- 
 panion star is itself double, and that round it there 
 
214 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 gravitates a sapphire sun. If in association with 
 these orbs there should circle systems of dependent 
 worlds inhabited by intelligent beings, the varied effect 
 created by Hght emanating from suns so differently 
 coloured would be exceedingly pleasing and very 
 beautiful. Quadruple stars are usually arranged 
 in pairs, i.e. the primary and secondary of a binary 
 system are each resolvable into two, forming two 
 pairs ; each pair being in mutual revolution, whilst 
 they both travel round their common centre of gravity. 
 Close upon twenty of these double double systems 
 are known to astronomers. Ascending higher in the 
 scale of celestial architecture, we come to multiple 
 stars, which form systems still more elaborate and 
 complex, and these, as they increase in number, 
 gradually merge into star- clusters. 
 
 If we assume that around each of the components 
 of a multiple star there circles a retinue of planetary 
 worlds, we are confronted with a most perplexing 
 problem as to how the dynamical stability of a 
 system so different from, and so vastly more com- 
 pHcated than, that of our solar system is maintained 
 — where, as it were, suns and planets intermingle — 
 how numerous circling orbs can accomplish their 
 revolutions without being swayed and deflected 
 from their paths by the gravitational attraction of 
 adjacent members of the same systems. Perplexing 
 though the arrangement of such a scheme may be to 
 our conception, yet, each orb has been weighed, 
 poised, and adjusted by Infinite Wisdom to perform 
 its intricate motions in synchronous harmony with 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 215 
 
 other members of the system — all moving in concerted 
 unison like the parts of a complicated piece of 
 mechanism, and maintained in stable equilibrium by 
 their mutual attraction — 
 
 Mystical dance, which yonder starry sphere 
 
 Of planets and of fixed in all her wheels 
 
 Resembles nearest ; mazes intricate, 
 
 Eccentric, intervolved, yet regular 
 
 Then most, when most irregular they seem ; 
 
 And in their motions harmony divine 
 
 So smooths her charming tones that God's own ear 
 
 Listens delighted.— v. 620-27. 
 
 All the natural phenomena with which we are 
 familiar on Earth would, in the case of planets re- 
 volving round the component suns of a multiple 
 star system, be of a different kind or altogether 
 absent. Instead of being illumined by one sun, 
 those worlds would, at certain times, have several 
 suns — some more distant than others — above their 
 horizons, and upon very rare occasions, if ever, 
 would there be an entire absence of all of them from 
 their skies. Consequently there would be no year 
 such as we are famihar with ; no regular sequence 
 of seasons similar to what is experienced on Earth ; 
 no alternation of day and night, for there would be 
 no night there, though, in the absence of the primary 
 orb, the hght emitted by distant suns, whilst sufficient 
 to banish night, and beyond comparison brighter 
 than the Moon when full, would, in the diminution 
 of its intensity, be as grateful a change as that of 
 from day to night experienced by dwellers on Earth. 
 Should these orbs be differently coloured, each 
 
216 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 emitting its own particular shade of light as it appears 
 above the horizon, the varying aspects of the per- 
 petual day enjoyed by the inhabitants of the worlds 
 to which they minister would be of a dehghtful 
 nature and exceedingly beautiful. 
 
 Periodical and Variable Stars. — ^These are dis- 
 tinguished from other similar objects by fluctuations 
 in their light. The decrease in luminosity of some 
 stars of this class is so apparent, that in the course 
 of a few weeks or months they sink from the position 
 of first or second magnitude stars to invisibility, 
 and after remaining in this state for a certain time 
 re-appear and gradually regain their original 
 brightness. When these fluctuations of hght recur 
 with regularity, the stars are called ' periodical ' ; 
 when the recurrence is uncertain and irregular they 
 are described as ' variable.' Some stars accomplish 
 their cycle of changes in a few days, many in a few 
 weeks or months, and others not until the expiration 
 of many years. Algol, ' the Demon,' situated in 
 / Perseus, is one of the most interesting of periodical 
 stars, its fluctuations being perceptible to the naked 
 eye. For about two days and thirteen hours it 
 shines as a star of the second magnitude, then in 
 three and a half hours it declines to the fourth 
 magnitude, and remains thus for twenty minutes. 
 On the expiration of this short interval, it begins to 
 increase, and in three and a half hours more, regains 
 its original brilhancy, at which it remains for two 
 days and thirteen hours, afterwards to undergo a 
 similar series of changes. 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 217 
 
 , Mira, ' the Wonderful/ situated in the constellation 
 Cetus, is one of the most remarkable of periodical 
 .stars. When at its maximum brilliancy it shines 
 for a fortnight as a star of the second magnitude. 
 It then begins to decline, and at the end of three 
 months becomes invisible. It remains in this 
 condition for about five months, when it re-appears, 
 and during the ensuing three months gradually 
 regains its former brightness. Mira completes a 
 cycle of its changes in about three hundred and thirty- 
 one days, during which time it oscillates between a 
 star of the second and tenth magnitudes. 
 
 No explanation is forthcoming which would 
 satisfactorily account for the phenomena associated 
 with long-period variable stars, but in the case of 
 short-period stars of the Algol type, it is beheved that 
 a close dark companion or satellite revolves round 
 its primary, and that at recurring intervals it passes 
 between the Earth and the star, thus intercept- 
 ing a portion of its light and causing an apparent 
 diminution of the orb. The existence of Algol's 
 dark satelhte has been verified. 
 
 Temporary Stars. — The stars have been regarded 
 from time immemorial as the embodiment of all 
 that is eternal and unchangeable. From age to age 
 they present the same appearance, shine with the 
 same undiminished splendour, and rise and set 
 with the same regularity. Yet, the serenity of the 
 heavens does not always remain undisturbed, for 
 on rare occasions, a ' nova ' or new star unexpectedly 
 blazes forth and perplexes astronomers — and after 
 
218 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 shining vividly for a few weeks or months, gradually 
 diminishes in size and brightness until it ceases to 
 be visible. 
 
 A record has been kept of about twenty temporary 
 stars that have been observed since the publication 
 of reliable data. Pliny (134 B.C.) mentions the 
 appearance of a new star in Scorpio, and it is said 
 that it was the apparition of this star that led the 
 famous astronomer Hipparchus to construct what is 
 known as the earliest star-catalogue. In the reign 
 of the Emperor Honorius (a.d. 389) a new star 
 appeared in Aquila, which surpassed Venus in 
 magnitude. In 827 a new star of considerable 
 brilliancy was seen at Babylon, which remained 
 visible for four months. A ' nova ' appeared in 
 Aries in 1012, and one in Ophiuchus in 1230. But 
 the most notable object of this class was the star 
 observed by Tycho Brahe in Cassiopeia. It first 
 attracted his attention in November 1572, and 
 when at its brightest rivalled Venus. It remained 
 visible for sixteen months, and finally disappeared 
 in March 1574. Anthelme, a Carthusian monk, 
 discovered a new star in Cygnus in 1670 ; another 
 was seen in Ophiuchus in 1848 ; one in Scorpio in 
 1860 ; in Corona Borealis in 1866 ; in Andromeda 
 in 1885 ; and in Auriga in 1892. 
 
 Astronomers can only conjecture as to what may 
 be the causes that give origin to these short-lived stars. 
 
 Star-Groups. — These are plentifully distributed 
 over the heavens, and by their conspicuousness 
 enhance the beauty of the nocturnal sky. The 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 219 
 
 seven stars in Ursa Major, the crown in Corona 
 Borealis, the belt in Orion, the sickle in Leo, and the 
 Hyades in Taurus are well known to all observers. 
 The stars in Coma Berenices form a rich group, and 
 those in Aquila, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, and other 
 constellations have each their attractive aspects. 
 
 Star-Clusters. — Clusters have been divided into 
 two classes — ' irregular ' and ' globular,' but no sharp 
 line of demarcation exists between them, though 
 each class has its distinctive appearances. Upwards 
 of five hundred clusters are known to astronomers, 
 the majority of which are exceedingly remote. Many 
 of them contain thousands of stars compressed into 
 a very small space, whilst others are so distant that 
 the largest telescopes are incapable of resolving 
 their nebulous appearance into stars. 
 
 Irregular Clusters are of different shapes and 
 sizes. They present no distinct outline, possess no struc- 
 tural arrangement, and are not condensed towards 
 their centre, but are promiscuously aggregated after 
 the manner of a flock of birds. The three most con- 
 spicuous clusters of this class visible in the northern 
 heavens are the Pleiades in Taurus, the Great Cluster 
 in the sword-handle of Perseus, and Praesepe in 
 Cancer, commonly called the Beehive. 
 
 Globular Clusters have been described by Sir 
 John Herschel as ' the most magnificent objects that 
 can be seen in the heavens. ' They are all very remote, 
 and when viewed with a telescope present the appear- 
 ance of a ball of stars. In some clusters the consti- 
 tuent stars are perceptible as minute points of light ; 
 
220 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 in others more distant they appear as coarse granules, 
 and in those still more remote, resemble a ' heap of 
 golden sand/ Many clusters are situated at such a 
 profound distance in space that astronomers with 
 the most powerful telescopes are unable to define 
 their stellar structure. 
 
 Globular clusters usually present a radiated 
 appearance at their circumference, but become 
 more condensed towards the centre, where there seems 
 to exist the resemblance of a nucleus. This apparent 
 condensation is not altogether owing to the depth 
 of star-strata as viewed from the circumference of 
 the cluster, but there would seem to be present an 
 attractive force, probably gravitational, which draws 
 the stars towards its centre, and if this ' clustering 
 power ' were not opposed by some other counter- 
 acting force, the stars would eventually coalesce into 
 one mass. It is not known how the dynamical 
 equilibrium of a star-cluster is maintained, for, on 
 account of its extreme remoteness, no perceptible 
 motion can be observed among its component 
 stars, whether towards concentration or diffusion. 
 The laws by which these stellar aggregations are 
 produced and governed are wrapped in deep mystery. 
 
 The largest and most magnificent globular cluster 
 in the heavens is situated in the constellation of 
 the Centaur, in the southern hemisphere. To the 
 naked eye it is visible as a round, indistinct, cometary 
 object, but when observed with a powerful telescope 
 it expands into a large globe of innumerable minute 
 stars of the fifteenth and sixteenth magnitudes. 
 
GEEAT CLUSTER IN HERCULES 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 221 
 
 Sir John Herschel describes it as ' the richest and 
 largest object of its kind in the heavens/ Another 
 remarkable cluster in Toucan is described by 
 Herschel as being ' most magnificent : very large, 
 very bright, and very much compressed in the 
 middle/ The interior mass consists of closely aggre- 
 gated pale rose-coloured stars, surrounded by others 
 of a pure white, which constitute the remainder of 
 the cluster. A fine globular cluster is situated in 
 Sagittarius, between the archer's head and the bow ; 
 and in Aquarius there is a magnificent spherical ball 
 of stars which Sir John Herschel compared to a heap 
 of fine sand. 
 
 The finest and most remarkable object of this 
 class visible in the northern heavens is the Great 
 Cluster in Hercules. It was discovered by Halley 
 in 1714. He writes : ' This is but a little patch, but 
 it shows itself to the naked eye when the sky is 
 serene and the Moon absent.'' When observed 
 with a powerful telescope, its magnificence becomes 
 at once apparent to the beholder. ' Perhaps/ says 
 Dr. Nichol, ' no one ever saw it for the first time 
 through a telescope without uttering a shout of 
 wonder.' At the circumference of the cluster the 
 stars are rather scattered, but towards its centre 
 they appear so closely aggregated that their com- 
 bined effulgence gives rise to a perfect blaze of light. 
 Sir William Herschel estimated that there are 14,000 
 stars in the cluster, but as a result of more recent 
 investigations this number has been considerably 
 reduced, and it is now generally believed that not 
 
222 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 more than 4000 stars enter into the formation of 
 this superb object. 
 
 For what purpose do these thousands of clustering 
 orbs shine ? Who can tell ? Night is unknown in 
 the regions illumined by their brilHant radiance. 
 This stupendous aggregation of suns testifies to the 
 magnificence of the starry heavens, and to the 
 omnipotence of the Creator. 
 
 Galaxies. — These consist of immense concourses 
 of stars, which form separate ' island universes ' 
 floating in the depths of space. The Milky Way, 
 to which our system belongs, and the Magellanic 
 Clouds in the southern hemisphere, are examples of 
 these vast stellar aggregations. 
 
 Nebula. — We now reach the last, and what are 
 believed to be the most distant, of the known contents 
 of the heavens. They are all exceedingly remote, 
 faintly luminous, devoid of any perceptible motion, 
 and in the majority of instances are only visible in 
 large telescopes. Some nebulae have been resolved 
 into star-clusters, but many exhibit no stellar 
 structure. 
 
 The Great Nebula in Orion is the largest and 
 most remarkable of the nebulae. It is perceptible 
 to the naked eye, and when viewed with a glass of 
 low magnifying power, appears as a luminous haze 
 surrounding the multiple star Orionis, one of the 
 stars in the giant's sword. When observed with a 
 powerful telescope, this nebula is perceived to be 
 of vast dimensions. Its brightest part, which is 
 of a greenish tinge, bears a slight resemblance to 
 
GREAT NEBULA IN ORION 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 223 
 
 the wing of a bird; projecting outward from the 
 parent mass are streams, branches, sprays, filaments 
 and curved spiral wreaths of nebulous matter that 
 occupy an area of the heavens measuring 4° by 5^°. 
 
 This object remained for long a profound mystery ; 
 no telescope was capable of resolving it, nor was its 
 nature ascertained until the spectroscope revealed 
 that this 'unformed fiery mist, the chaotic material 
 of future suns,' consists of a stupendous aggregation 
 of luminous gases — hydrogen, helium, and other 
 elementary substances that pervade a region of 
 space greater in extent than that occupied by the 
 entire stellar system to which our Sun belongs. 
 
 In the days when Milton lived — three hundred 
 years ago — the nocturnal aspect of the heavens was 
 precisely similar to what it now is. The stars pursued 
 their identical paths, and looked down upon the 
 Earth with the same tranquil gaze, regardless of the 
 vicissitudes that affect the denizens of this terrestrial 
 sphere. The constellations that adorn the celestial 
 vault duly appeared in their seasons — 
 
 and in the ascending scale 
 Of Heaven the stars that usher evening rose. 
 
 iv. 354-55. 
 
 The winter glories of Orion, the scintillating 
 brilHancy of Sirius, the stately march of Arcturus, 
 the joyous dance of the Pleiades, together with 
 other orbs that illumine the firmament, commanded 
 then, as now, the admiration of all beholders. 
 
 With these attractive aspects of the midnight 
 sky Milton was entirely familiar, and his allusions 
 
224 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 to them in his poems are both frequent and full. 
 But if we endeavour to ascertain his views with 
 respect to the distances, magnitudes, and constitu- 
 tion, of the stars, we shall find that he remains silent ; 
 apparently those details had not occupied his 
 thoughts, nor had it dawned upon his mind that 
 the stars were the light- and heat-giving centres of 
 other systems of worlds. This need occasion no 
 surprise when we consider how little was known of 
 the stars in Milton's time. Even astronomers had 
 their doubts about them. Tycho Brahe would not 
 admit the supposition that the stars were com- 
 parable to our Sun, and believed that their distances 
 did not much exceed those of the planets. Kepler 
 sagaciously surmised that the distance of the stars 
 was about two thousand times that of Saturn from 
 the Sun, but it has been ascertained that the remote- 
 ness of the nearest star exceeds Kepler's estimate by 
 about fourteen times. Galileo remarked that the stars 
 were not illumined by the Sun's rays in the same 
 manner as were the planets, but expressed no opinion 
 as to their magnitude and physical constitution. 
 Only within the past fifty years has conclusive 
 evidence been obtained as to the real nature of the 
 stars. By the spectroscopic analysis of their light, 
 proof was forthcoming that the elements of which 
 they consist are in almost every respect identical 
 with, and exist under, conditions similar to those 
 that prevail in the Sun. The stars, therefore, are 
 suns, many of them surpassing in brilHance and 
 magnitude the great luminary of our system. 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 225 
 
 The subordinate position assigned to the stars 
 by Ptolemaic astronomers becomes apparent on 
 -observing how Milton, in various passages, refers 
 to them. The archangel Uriel, who witnessed the 
 Creation, describes how the stars came into existence 
 (iii. 708-21). After having mentioned the four 
 grosser elements that combined to form the terres- 
 trial globe, he states that a fifth element, the ' ethereal 
 quintessence of Heaven," usually called the ' ether,' 
 in its upward flight rolled orbicular, and turned to 
 stars numberless. 
 
 The poet says that God, having created the Sun — 
 
 then formed the Moon 
 Globose, and every magnitude of stars, 
 And sowed with stars the heaven thick as a field. 
 
 vii. 356-58. 
 And again, God — 
 
 made the stars, 
 And set them in the firmament of heaven, 
 To illuminate the Earth, and rule the day 
 In their vicissitude, and rule the night. 
 And light from darkness to divide. — vii. 348-52. 
 
 The insignificance of the stars when compared 
 
 with the surpassing splendour of the Sun is very 
 
 apparent to any casual observer of the heavens 
 
 whose knowledge of those orbs is limited to the 
 
 visual impression which they create. Milton appears 
 
 to have regarded the stars in this light, both 
 
 individually and collectively, when referring to the 
 
 Sun: 
 
 where the great luminary, 
 Aloof the vulgar constellations thick. 
 That from his lordly eye keep distance due, 
 Dispenses light from far. — iii. 576-79. 
 
226 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 In Milton's lifetime, scarce anything was known 
 of the stars, and it was not until more than a century 
 later, when Herschel, with his powerful telescopes, 
 ' burst the barriers of heaven,' that the glories 
 of the sidereal universe were revealed. 
 
 In summing up Milton's knowledge of the 
 stars, we should not greatly err in concluding (1) that 
 when compared with the Sun and Moon he regarded 
 them as objects of small magnitude, (2) that they 
 were more distant than the planets, but not very 
 remote, (3) that they occupied a circumscribed 
 region in space, (4) that they were innumerable. 
 
 Milton acquiesced in the popular behef as to 
 the countless number of the stars perceptible to 
 the naked eye. In alluding to the visible presence 
 of the Deity the poet says : 
 
 About him all the Sanctities of Heaven 
 Stood thick as stars. — iii. 60-1. 
 
 and in describing the Powers of Satan that were 
 
 advancing with winged speed, he calls them — 
 
 an host 
 Innumerable as the stars of night. — v. 744-45. 
 
 Satan, prior to his fall, is described as — 
 
 brighter once midst the host 
 Of Angels than that star the stars among. — vii. 132-33. 
 
 Although Milton's poems contain numerous 
 allusions to the stars, yet no individual orb is 
 mentioned in them by name. But two stars well 
 known to astronomers are indirectly referred to by 
 the poet, viz. Sirius, the great dog-star, and Alpha 
 Arietis, the leading star in the constellation Aries. 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 227 
 
 Milton designates Sirius the ' swart-star ' — the 
 star associated with the oppressive heat of summer. 
 In describing the flowery contents of low sequestered 
 valleys — 
 
 On whose fresh lap the swart ^ star sparely looks. — L. 138. 
 
 the poet alludes to the solstitial heat experienced 
 during the dog-days or dies caniculares, a period that 
 lasted for twenty days before, and twenty days after 
 the heliacal rising of Sirius, i.e. its earliest appearance 
 in the morning before sunrise. During this time 
 unwholesome exhalations were believed to permeate 
 the atmosphere, which caused sickness among men 
 and madness in dogs. Homer alludes to the orb — 
 
 whose burning breath 
 Taints the red air with fevers, plagues and death. 
 
 Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens, and 
 leader of the stellar host, is situated in Canis Major — 
 one of Orion's hunting dogs. The orb greatly 
 surpasses our Sun in magnitude and in luminosity. 
 According to recent photometric measurements, Sirius 
 emits from sixty to seventy times the quantity of 
 light given out by the Sun, and exceeds him in mass 
 two and a half times. At the distance of Sirius 
 (fifty bilhon miles), our Sun would shrink to the 
 dimensions of a third magnitude star, and the com- 
 bined light of sixty-three such stars would only equal 
 the brilliant radiance of the great dog-star. 
 
 '^ The use here is appropriate, because strictly the word signifies 
 ' darkened by heat,' and that, Milton implies, is what the flowers would 
 be after the dog-star had ' looked ' on them. — A. W. Verity. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 The Egyptians worshipped the orb as ' Sothis/ 
 and it was beheved to be the bright abode of the 
 soul of Isis. The nations that inhabited the region 
 of the Nile commenced their year with the heliacal 
 rising of Sirius ; its appearance above the horizon 
 having been regarded as a sure forerunner of the 
 rising of the great river, the fertilising flood of which 
 was attributed to the influence of this beautiful 
 star. The name Mazzaroth, in Job, applies to this 
 briUiant orb. Homer compares the fiery lustre 
 of Diomede's armour to the flashing splendour of 
 the great dog-star. Among the Eomans, Sirius 
 was regarded as a star of evil omen, and its visi- 
 bility after the summer solstice was associated with 
 pestilence and miasmatic diseases. 
 
 Alpha Arietis, * the fleecy star that bears Andro- 
 meda," although of the second magnitude, is yet of 
 some importance to astronomers. It is from the 
 First Point of Aries that the Right Ascension of 
 a heavenly body — ^a measurement equivalent to 
 terrestrial longitude — ^is counted on the equator. 
 In the time of Hipparchus, the ecliptic intersected 
 the celestial equator in Aries when the vernal equinox 
 occurred, and with it the commencement of the 
 astronomical year. The star was called Hamal 
 (a Sheep), by the Arabs, and the constellation Aries 
 (the Ram) is represented as looking backward. 
 ManiHus writes : 
 
 First Aries glorious in his golden wool, 
 Looks back and wonders at the mighty Bull. 
 
 Aries is associated with the legend of the Golden 
 
SUN, MOON, AND STARS 229 
 
 Fleece, in quest of which Jason, with his vahant 
 crew, sailed in the good ship Argo. Milton's 
 reference to this particular star indicates that he 
 studied astronomy as a science, and fully re- 
 cognised the astronomical importance of the First 
 Point of Aries. 
 
 Milton on two occasions alludes to the Sun as a 
 star : 
 
 So sinks the day-star in the ocean bed, 
 
 And yet anon repairs his drooping head, 
 
 And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore 
 
 Flames in the forehead of the morning sky. — L. 168-71. 
 
 And again : 
 
 ere this diurnal star 
 Leave cold the night. — x. 1069-70. 
 
 Lucifer, or the morning star, was commonly 
 known as the day-star — ^the star that ushers in the 
 day. Ben Jonson, who was contemporary with 
 Milton, writes : 
 
 I meant the day-star should not brighter rise. 
 
 But, in both of the above citations it is apparent 
 that Milton's utterances apply to the Sun, and 
 although poetical, they yet give a correct definition 
 of the orb and of his office — the star that illumines 
 and warms the Earth — ^the star that, by its proximity, 
 gives us the day. 
 
 In ' Comus ' the Spirit says : 
 
 Come, let us haste; the stars grow high. — C. 956. 
 
 Sidereal astronomy was in its infancy when Milton 
 lived, and of the physical constitution of the stars 
 
230 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 nothing was known. But this lack of knowledge did 
 not retard the poet from making free use of his 
 observational powers, in the exercise of which he has 
 given us so many beautiful descriptions of the stellar 
 regions, and of the orbs that occupy them. 
 
i CHAPTEE VII 
 
 Milton's references to familiar celestial 
 
 OBJECTS 
 
 The Planet Hesperus 
 
 This is the beautiful Morning and Evening Star ; 
 the peerless planet that ushers in the twilight and 
 the dawn ; the harbinger of day, and unrivalled 
 queen of the evening. Venus, called after the 
 Roman goddess of love, and also identified with the 
 Greek Aphrodite of ideal beauty, is the name by 
 which the planet is popularly known, but Milton 
 does not so designate it. By the Ancients, the orb 
 was called Lucifer and Phosphor when it shone as a 
 morning star before sunrise, and Hesperus and 
 Vesper when it became visible after sunset as the 
 evening star. It is the most lustrous of all the 
 planets, and at certain periods its brilliancy is so 
 marked as to cast a distinct shadow. 
 
 Venus is the second planet in order of distance 
 from the Sun. Its orbit lies between those of Mercury 
 and the Earth, and in form deviates but shghtly 
 from a circle. The distance of Venus from the Sun 
 
232 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 is about 67 million miles. The diameter of the 
 planet is 7700 miles, about the same as that of our 
 globe, and its mean density is not much less. It is 
 surrounded by a dense atmosphere. Venus accom- 
 phshes a revolution of her orbit in 224 days, and 
 travels with a mean velocity of 80,000 miles an hour, 
 or more than 22 miles in a second. Astronomers are 
 not agreed as to the planet's period of rotation — some 
 say it rotates on its axis in about 24 hours, whilst 
 others maintain that its rotation and revolution 
 synchronise. The planet's axis is nearly perpen- 
 dicular to the plane of its orbit. Unlike the Earth, 
 Venus has no satellite. 
 
 Twice in every revolution Venus is in conjunction 
 with the Sun. In superior conjunction the planet 
 is in the same longitude as the Sun, and has that 
 luminary between it and the Earth. In inferior 
 conjunction the planet is between the Earth and the 
 Sun. At these times the orb is invisible. Venus is a 
 morning star when travelling from inferior to superior 
 conjunction, and an evening star when moving from 
 superior to inferior conjunction. The planet attains 
 her greatest brilliancy at an elongation 40° west or 
 east of the Sun — ^five weeks before and after inferior 
 conjunction. Her figure then resembles the Moon 
 when five days old, and it is at these periods that 
 she casts a shadow at night. The planet can never 
 be much longer than three hours above the horizon 
 before sunrise and after sunset. 
 
 The phases of Venus are similar to those exhibited 
 by the Moon on her monthly journey round the 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 233 
 
 Earth, and are brought about by a change in position 
 of the illumined hemisphere of the planet with 
 regard to our globe. In superior conjunction the 
 whole enlightened disc of the planet is turned towards 
 the Earth, but is invisible, being lost in the solar 
 rays. Shortly before and after the orb arrives at 
 this point her form is gibbous, the illumined portion 
 being less than a circle, but greater than a semi- 
 circle. At her greatest elongation, east or west of 
 the Sun, the planet resembles the Moon in quadrature 
 — a half Moon, and between this phase and inferior 
 conjunction she is visible as a beautiful crescent 
 that becomes narrower and sharper until just before 
 her disappearance at the conjunction, when she 
 resembles a curved luminous thread. After having 
 passed inferior conjunction, when her darkened 
 hemisphere is turned towards the Earth, the planet 
 re-appears on the other side of the Sun as the morning 
 star. 
 
 Next to the Sun and Moon, Venus is the brightest 
 object in the heavens. Her maximum brilHancy 
 occurs once in every eight years, when the orb can 
 be seen with the naked eye in full dayhght. The 
 intrinsic brilhancy of Sirius is greater than that 
 of Venus, which shines by reflected light, but as an 
 object to gaze upon, the planet easily surpasses in 
 splendour the leader of the stellar host. 
 
 Viewed from Venus, the Sun would present a 
 diameter half as large again as when observed from 
 the Earth. Consequently the planet receives twice 
 as much light and heat as does our globe. Venus 
 
234 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 possesses a dense and extensive atmosphere in 
 which is contained aqueous vapour. One writer 
 describes the orb as ' doubly swathed in a steaming 
 ocean, and in steaming vapour exhaled by it. ' Should 
 vegetation be present, it must be of more than 
 tropical luxuriance nurtured amid such moisture 
 and heat ; the planet is probably clothed with a 
 wealth of arboraceous growth and herbage surpassing 
 everything terrestrial of a like nature. 
 
 If there is life on Venus, we should expect to find 
 creatures that can live in a moist, torrid heat. A 
 French savant, M. E. Perrier, in the free exercise of 
 his imagination, supported by tolerably reliable de- 
 ductions, mentions the organisms that may inhabit 
 the planet, and describes their mode of existence. 
 He says : 
 
 Organised life is more than probable : a life that is violent, 
 vigorous, abundant, but less advanced than our own. Butter- 
 flies measuring a yard across the wings, and beetles of 
 proportionate size hover over the crests of giant ferns and 
 exaggerated grasses. Mighty frogs croak in the steaming marshes, 
 and are devoured by enormous reptiles. Fish there may be, 
 but fish of the primeval slime, monstrous caricatures of tropical 
 splendour. Neither bird nor mammal has yet appeared. 
 
 Although so pleasing an object to gaze upon, 
 Venus, when viewed through the telescope, is a 
 source of disappointment. This is in consequence 
 of her dazzhng brilliancy, which renders any accu- 
 rate definition of her surface impossible. Sir John 
 Herschel writes : 
 
 The intense lustre of its illumined part dazzles the sight, and 
 exaggerates every imperfection of the telescope ; yet we see 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 235 
 
 clearly that its surface is not mottled over with permanent 
 spots like the Moon ; we notice in it neither mountains nor 
 shadows, but a uniform brightness in which sometimes we may 
 indeed fancy, or perhaps more than fancy, brighter or obscurer 
 portions, but can seldom or never rest fully satisfied of the fact. 
 
 Schroter, a German astronomer, believed that he 
 discerned mountains of lofty elevation on the planet, 
 but his observation has not been confirmed. 
 
 Science has so far failed to penetrate the veil of 
 Aphrodite — the ' sheeny robe of cloud ' that conceals 
 the planet from the gaze of curious mortals. Much 
 relating to the orb is mere conjecture ; and although 
 our nearest planetary neighbour, yet the lustrous 
 shell of cloud which constitutes her environment 
 prevents astronomers from ascertaining any definite 
 information regarding the effulgent orb. 
 
 Milton fully appreciated the charming aspect of 
 this peerless orb — ^the most beautiful and lustrous of 
 the planets upon which men have gazed with longing 
 admiration, and designated the emblem of all beauty 
 and all love. Hesperus and Lucifer are the names 
 by which the planet was known to the poet ; he also 
 recognised it as the morning and evening star. In 
 none of his poems does he introduce the name ' Venus ' 
 when alluding to the orb ; the reputation borne by 
 the licentious goddess among mortals may have 
 influenced the poet — who always extolled virtue 
 and purity — not to associate her name with this 
 beautiful star. In addressing the orb as the morning 
 star, he expresses himself thus : 
 
 Fairest of Stars, last in the trains of night, 
 If better thou belong not to the dawn, 
 
236 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Sure pledge of day, tliat crown' st the smiling morn 
 With thy bright circlet, praise Him in thy sphere 
 While day arises, that sweet hour of prime. 
 
 V. 166-70. 
 
 Having addressed the planet as ' fairest of stars/ 
 Milton associates with the orb all the charming 
 phenomena that accompany the dawn and the 
 awakening of morn. The illumined veil of Aphrodite 
 flashes out of the dusk and lights the way for radiant 
 Aurora as she unbars the gates of light on her 
 triumphal progress through the skies. 
 
 Milton's exquisite song on * May Morning ' com- 
 mences with a charming allusion to the morning 
 star rejoicing in its course, and accompanied by 
 vernal delights that impart joyousness to the hearts 
 of all who welcome the propitious month of May : 
 
 Now the bright morning star, day's harbinger. 
 Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her 
 The flowery May, who from her green lap throws 
 The yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose. 
 
 M. M. 1-4. 
 
 Lucifer/ one of the names by which Satan was 
 known after his expulsion from Heaven, is mentioned 
 in the following citations : 
 
 The rest were all 
 Far to the inland retired about the walls 
 Of Pandemonium, city and proud seat 
 Of Lucifer, so by allusion called 
 Of that bright star to Satan paragoned. — x. 422-26. 
 
 ^ The name Lucifer, ' hght bringer,' is properly a Latin title of the 
 morning star, but it was applied by patristic writers to Satan, in 
 allusion, perhaps, to the tradition of the original ' brightness ' of his 
 person. — A. W. Verity. 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 237 
 
 Elsewhere the poet says of the arch-rebel 
 
 His countenance as the morning star that guides 
 The starry flock, allured them, and with lies 
 Drew after him the third part of Heaven's host. 
 
 V. 708-10. 
 
 After his soliloquy in the desert, Milton says of 
 the Saviour : 
 
 So spake our Morning Star then in his rise. — P. L. i. 294. 
 
 As Hesperus, and the evening star, the planet 
 is repeatedly introduced by Milton with pleasing 
 effect in his references to expiring day : 
 
 The Sun was sunk, and after him the star 
 Of Hesperus, whose office is to bring 
 Twilight upon the Earth, short arbiter 
 Twixt day and night. — ix. 48-51. 
 
 The surpassing brilliance of the orb is alluded to 
 by the poet when he says : 
 
 Hesperus that led 
 The starry host rode brightest. — iv. 605-6. 
 
 The intimate friendship that existed between 
 Milton and the ill-fated Edward King, when they 
 were students at Christ's College, Cambridge, is 
 described by the poet in pastoral verse as that of 
 fellow shepherds who tended the same flock : 
 
 Oft till the star that rose at evening bright, 
 y- Toward Heaven's descent had sloped his westering wheel. 
 
 i. 30-1. 
 
 Milton associates Hesperus with hymeneal 
 
 rejoicing : 
 
 And now of love they treat, till the evening star, 
 Love's harbinger, appeared. — xi. 588-89. 
 
238 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 In describing his nuptials with Eve, Adam says : 
 
 The Earth 
 Gave signs of gratulation, and each hill ; 
 Joyous the birds ; fresh gales and gentle airs 
 Whispered it to the woods, and from their wings 
 Flung rose, flung odours from the spicy shrub, 
 Disporting, till the amorous bird of night 
 Sung spousal, and bid haste the evening star 
 On his hill top to light the bridal lamp. — viii. 513-20. 
 
 The phases of Venus were one of Gahleo's dis- 
 coveries with the telescope. They afforded him 
 conclusive evidence that the planet revolved round 
 the Sun. 
 
 The Planet Earth ^ 
 
 No lovelier planet circles round the Sun than the 
 planet Earth, with her oceans, continents, mountains, 
 valleys, rivers, lakes, and plains. Surrounded by 
 heaven's azure, radiant with the sunlight of her 
 day, and adorned by night with countless sparkhng 
 points of gold, this beautiful world, the abode of Man, 
 is of paramount importance to us, and is the only 
 part of the Universe of which we have any direct 
 knowledge. 
 
 The Earth is the third planet in order of distance 
 from the Sun, and is situated between the orbits of 
 Venus and Mars. In form, our globe resembles an 
 orange, being slightly flattened at the poles and 
 bulging at the equator. It is therefore not a perfect 
 
 ^ Although not a celestial body, it is desirable to describe the Earth 
 as a member of the solar system. 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 239 
 
 sphere but an oblate spheroid. This figure of the 
 Earth affords strong evidence that our globe assumed 
 its present form whilst rotating rapidly on its axis 
 when in a fluid or plastic state. The Earth's polar 
 or shortest diameter is 7899 miles, and its equatorial 
 or longest diameter 7926 miles — greater than the 
 other by 27 miles, which indicates the extent of the 
 flattening of the Earth at the poles. The circum- 
 ference of the globe at the equator is 24,899 miles, 
 and its total area is 197 million square miles. The 
 mean density of the Earth is five and a half times 
 greater than that of water. 
 
 The Earth rotates from west to east round an 
 imaginary axis, and accomplishes a complete revolu- 
 tion in twenty-four sidereal hours, or, according to 
 solar time, in 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds. This 
 movement is sustained with such exact precision 
 that during the past 2000 years it has been impossible 
 to detect the minutest difference in the time in which 
 the globe completes a revolution on its axis. In this 
 motion we have a time-measuring unit which may 
 be regarded as absolutely correct. The extremities 
 of the Earth's axis are termed the north and south 
 poles. They are always directed to the same point 
 in the heavens. Equidistant from the poles is the 
 great circle called the equator, which divides the 
 globe into two equal hemispheres. 
 
 The mean distance of the Earth from the Sun 
 is about 93 million miles. Our globe is nearer the 
 orb by 3^ million miles at Christmas than at mid- 
 summer — a difference which indicates the extent of 
 
240 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 the eccentricity of her orbit. The Earth completes 
 a revolution round the Sun in 365 days 6 hours 
 9 minutes. In this interval she travels 580 million 
 miles with an average velocity of 66,000 miles an 
 hour or 181 miles a second. The Earth performs 
 none of her motions with rigid precision, they being 
 subject to slight irregularities called 'perturbations 
 that are caused by the gravitational attraction of 
 other members of the solar system. 
 
 The Earth, if viewed with a telescope from Venus 
 or from the Moon, would exhibit but few topographical 
 details, as the proportion of light sent back into 
 space after reflection from the terrestrial surface 
 is very small, most of it being absorbed or scattered 
 in the atmosphere. The presence of several lofty 
 mountain-ranges, such as the Andes and Himalayas, 
 could be discerned, and more than a dozen snow- 
 clad peaks would be visible, but no evidence would 
 be forthcoming to indicate the existence of the 
 teeming organic life that abounds on the surface of 
 mother Earth. 
 
 The spot on Earth round which centres the chief 
 interest in Milton's great poem is Paradise, which 
 was situated eastward in Eden — a district of Western 
 Asia. It was here where God ordained that Man 
 should first dwell — a place created for his enjoyment 
 and delight. 
 
 After his soliloquy on Mount Niphates, Satan 
 pursues his way to Paradise, and arrives in 
 Eden, where he beholds at a distance the Happy 
 Garden : 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 241 
 
 So on he fares, and to the border comes 
 
 Of Eden, where delicious Paradise, 
 
 Now nearer, crowns with her enclosure green, 
 
 As with a rural mound, the champain head 
 
 Of a steep wilderness, whose hairy sides 
 
 With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild. 
 
 Access denied ; and overhead up-grew 
 
 Insuperable highth of loftiest shade. 
 
 Cedar, and pine, and fir, and branching palm, 
 
 A sylvan scene, and as the ranks ascend, 
 
 Shade above shade, a woody theatre 
 
 Of stateliest view. Yet higher than their tops 
 
 The verdurous wall of Paradise up-sprung ; 
 
 Which to our general sire gave prospect large 
 
 Into his nether empire neighbouring round. 
 
 And higher than that wall, a circling row 
 
 Of goodliest trees, loaden with fairest fruit, 
 
 Blossoms and fruits at once of golden hue 
 
 Appeared, with gay enamelled colours mixed; 
 
 On which the Sun more glad impressed his beams 
 
 Than in fair evening cloud, or humid bow. 
 
 When God hath showered the Earth ; so lovely seemed 
 
 That landskip. And of pure now purer air 
 
 Meets his approach, and to the heart inspires 
 
 Vernal delight and joy, able to drive 
 
 All sadness but despair. Now gentle gales. 
 
 Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense 
 
 Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole 
 
 Those balmy spoils. As when to them who sail 
 
 Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past 
 
 Mozambic, off at sea north-east winds blow 
 
 Sabean odours from the spicy shore 
 
 Of Araby the Blest ; with such delay 
 
 Well pleased they slack their course, and many a league 
 
 Cheered with the grateful smell, old Ocean smiles. 
 
 iv. 131-66. 
 
 In gaining access to the Garden, Satan, with one 
 slight bound, overleaped the tangled thicket of 
 shrubs and brushwood that formed an impenetrable 
 
/ 
 
 242 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 barrier, and having alighted within, flew up on to 
 the Tree of Life : 
 
 Beneath him, with new wonder, now he views, 
 
 To all delight of human sense exposed, 
 
 In narrow room Nature's whole wealth; yea more ! — 
 
 A Heaven on Earth : for blissful Paradise 
 
 Of God the garden was, by Him in the east 
 
 Of Eden planted. Eden stretched her line 
 
 From Auran eastward to the royal towers 
 
 Of great Selucia, built by Grecian kings, 
 
 Or where the sons of Eden long before 
 
 Dwelt in Telassar. In this pleasant soil 
 
 His far more pleasant garden God ordained, 
 
 Out of the fertile ground he caused to grow 
 
 All trees of noblest kinds for sight, smell, taste ; 
 
 And all amid them stood the Tree of Life 
 
 High eminent, blooming ambrosial fruit 
 
 Of vegetable gold : and next to life, 
 
 Our death, the Tree of Knowledge, grew fast by — 
 
 Knowledge of good, bought dear by knowing ill. 
 
 Southward through Eden went a river large. 
 
 Nor changed his course, but through the shaggy hill 
 
 Passed underneath ingulfed ; for God had thrown 
 
 That mountain, as his garden mould, high raised 
 
 Upon that rapid current, which, through veins 
 
 Of porous earth with kindly thirst up-drawn, 
 
 Rose a fresh fountain, and with many a rill 
 
 Watered the garden ; thence united fell 
 
 Down the steep glade, and met the nether flood, 
 
 Which from his darksome passage now appears ; 
 
 And now, divided into four main streams, 
 
 Runs diverse, wandering many a famous realm 
 
 And country whereof here needs no account ; 
 
 But rather to tell how, if Art could tell 
 
 How, from that sapphire fount the crisped brooks, 
 
 Rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold. 
 
 With mazy error under pendent shades 
 
 Ran nectar, visiting each plant, and fed 
 
 Flowers worthy of Paradise, which not nice Art 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 243 
 
 In beds and curious knots, but Nature boon 
 Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain, 
 Both where the morning Sun first warmly smote 
 The open field, and where the unpierced shade 
 Imbrowned the noontide bowers. — iv. 205-46. 
 
 Milton's description of Paradise is not less re- 
 markable than is his portrayal of the lurid scenes 
 and horrors of Pandemonium. The versatility of his 
 poetic genius is nowhere more apparent than in the 
 charming pastoral verse contained in this part of his 
 poem. The poet has lavished the whole wealth of his 
 luxuriant imagination in his description of Eden 
 and blissful Paradise, with its ' vernal airs ' and 
 ' gentle gales ' ; its ' verdant meads ' and ' murmuring 
 streams rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold ' ; 
 its ' stately trees laden with blossom and fruit ' ; its 
 spicy groves and shady bowers, over which there 
 breathed the eternal Spring. 
 
 Satan, in an eloquent apostrophe to the primitive 
 Earth, testifies to her consummate loveliness as she 
 appeared fresh from the hands of the Creator ; he 
 also glorifies her supremacy over the other orbs of 
 the firmament that minister to her requirements : 
 
 Earth how like to Heaven, if not preferred 
 More justly seat worthier of gods, as built 
 With second thoughts, reforming what was old ! 
 For what God, after better, worse would build ? 
 Terrestrial Heaven, danced around by other Heavens 
 That shine, yet bear their bright officious lamps, 
 Light above light, for thee alone, as seems, 
 In thee concentrating all their precious beams 
 Of sacred influence ! As God in Heaven 
 Is centre, yet extends to all, so thou 
 
 R 2 
 
244 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Centring receiv'st from all those orbs ; in thee, 
 Not in themselves, all their known virtue appears, _ 
 Productive in herb, plant, and nobler birth 
 Of creatures animate with gradual life 
 . Of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in Man, 
 With what delight could I have walked thee round, 
 If I could joy in aught — sweet interchange 
 Of hill and valley, rivers, woods, and plains. 
 Now land, now sea, and shores with forest crowned. 
 Rocks, dens, and caves. — ix. 99-118. 
 
 In this exquisite passage, the adaptabihty of the 
 Ptolemaic system to poetic description is beautifully 
 exemplified by Milton. 
 
 As a habitable world, the Earth is perhaps the 
 most important of the planets. It is the largest of 
 the terrestrial planets, the other three, viz. Mercury, 
 Venus, and Mars, being inferior to it in size. Our 
 globe is also specifically the heaviest of all the planets. 
 Mercury and Venus possess no satellite ; Mars has 
 two diminutive moons, each not much more than ten 
 miles in diameter ; but the Earth has in attendance 
 upon her a satellite which, in proportion to the size 
 of its primary, exceeds in magnitude all the other 
 satellites of the system. The four great outer 
 planets, viz. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, 
 are on an immensely larger scale than those whose 
 names have been mentioned, but their physical 
 condition is very different, their density being solar 
 rather than terrestrial, and they probably possess 
 no solid surface. When we come to contemplate 
 our Earth, we must regard it not as an insignificant 
 planet, but as a great and mighty world which for 
 ages has been fulfilling its destiny, and will continue 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 245 
 
 to fulfil it until ' Heaven and Earth shall pass 
 away/ 
 
 The Pleiades 
 
 The immemorial cluster of the Pleiades, famihar 
 in legend and instructive in science, is perhaps 
 the most pleasing and interesting aggregation of 
 stars visible in the heavens. The ' sweet influences ' 
 believed to be shed down upon Earth by the vivid 
 components of this group, and their close association 
 with human destinies, have rendered them almost 
 sacred among the different races of mankind. In 
 every region of the globe, and in every cHme — among 
 civilised peoples and untutored savage tribes- — the 
 same benign influences were ascribed to the stars 
 that enter into the formation of this beautiful cluster. 
 
 In Greek mythology they were known as the 
 seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Different 
 versions are given of their fate. By some writers 
 it is recorded they died of grief in consequence of 
 the death of their sisters the Hyades, or, on account 
 of the fate of their father, who for high treason was 
 condemned by Zeus (Jupiter) to support on his head 
 and hands the vault of Heaven on the mountains 
 of north-west Africa that bear his name. By others 
 it is said they were the companions of Diana, and 
 in order to escape from Orion, by whom they were 
 pursued, the gods translated them to the sky. All 
 writers affirm that after their death or translation, 
 they were transformed into stars. Their names 
 
246 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 are Alcyone, Atlas, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, 
 and Celseno the invisible star. Wlien looked at 
 directly, six stars only are visible, but should the 
 eye be turned sideways, seven or more can be seen. 
 
 The universality of the belief in the legend of 
 the ' lost Pleiad ' would seem to indicate that in 
 the prehistoric past one of the stars in the cluster 
 shone with a brilliancy that it has since lost. Homer 
 and Attains mention six stars as the number visible ; 
 Hipparchus and Aratus seven. Ovid writes : 
 Quae septem dici, sex tamen esse solent. 
 
 That they ' were seven who now are six,' is a belief 
 that was almost universally upheld by the nations 
 inhabiting different regions of the globe. 
 
 In accounting for the legend of the ' lost Pleiad,' 
 it has been suggested that some of the stars in the 
 cluster may be slowly variable, i.e. their hght may 
 fluctuate so that a star of this type may gradually 
 diminish in lustre until it becomes invisible — 
 the existence of such stars being well known to 
 astronomers. In this instance, the ' veiled face ' 
 of the seventh Atlantid may at the present time 
 represent a star that in bygone ages was a conspicuous 
 object. 
 
 The vivid scintillation of the Pleiades and their 
 onward joyous dance have, from the earliest ages, 
 riveted the attention of mankind. In the Book of 
 Job there is the well-known beautiful allusion to 
 the Pleiades : 
 
 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, 
 Or loose the bands of Orion? 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 247 
 
 All petitions presented to the ancient kings of 
 Persia were "graciously granted on the day of the 
 midnight culmination of the Pleiades, which occurred 
 on Novembei 17. The Greeks, from an early period 
 in their history, were deeply interested in the Pleiades, 
 and regarded the heliacal rising of those stars as 
 a favourable time for embarking on a voyage. A 
 passage from Hesiod, construed into rhyme, reads : 
 
 There is a time when forty days they lie, 
 And forty nights, concealed from human eye ; 
 But in the course of the revolving year. 
 When the swain sharps the scythe, again appear. 
 
 The Pleiades are invisible during the summer 
 months, but early in September appear low down 
 in the east ; in November they arrive on the meridian, 
 and form one of the most attractive objects in our 
 winter skies. 
 
 With telescopic aid the number of stars in- the 
 cluster is largely augmented ; Galileo counted thirty- 
 six, and Hooke, with an object-glass barely three 
 inches in diameter, enumerated seventy-eight stars. 
 Large modern telescopes have disclosed the presence 
 of several thousand stars in this region, but it is 
 impossible to determine whether they are associated 
 with the cluster or are merely part of the star- 
 population of the heavens. 
 
 The Pleiades are exceedingly remote, their 
 estimated light-period of 250 years indicating a 
 distance of 1500 billion miles. Our Sun thus far 
 removed would shrink to the dimensions of a tenth 
 magnitude star and become invisible. 
 
248 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 There can be little doubt in fact, [writes Miss Agnes Gierke] 
 that the solar brilliancy is surpassed by sixty to seventy of the 
 Pleiades. And it must be, in some cases, enormously surpassed ; 
 by Alcyone 1000, by Electra 480, by Maia nearly 400 times. 
 Sirius itself takes a subordinate rank when compared with the 
 five most brilliant members of a group, the real magnificence of 
 which we can thus in some degree apprehend. 
 
 This is the only star-cluster that has an ascertained 
 common proper motion. Its constituents form a 
 magnificent system in which the stars bear a mutual 
 relationship to each other, and accomplish intricate 
 internal revolutions, whilst they in systemic union 
 drift together through the depths of space. 
 
 Within a comparatively recent period, a faint 
 nebula has been discovered surrounding the four 
 principal stars in the Pleiades. From its edges 
 extend streamers, rays, and filaments, that wind 
 among the outlying stars of the cluster. This 
 intertwining of nebula and star reminds us of 
 Tennyson's felicitous lines : 
 
 Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising thro' the mellow 
 
 shade, 
 Glitter like a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid. 
 
 Milton alludes to the Pleiades on two occasions. 
 In describing the joyousness associated with the 
 birth of the Universe, the poet mentions the bright 
 surroundings that accompanied .the Sun when setting 
 out on his first journey. Preceding him — 
 
 the grey 
 Dawn, and the Pleiades, before him danced. 
 Shedding sweet influence. — vii. 373-75. 
 
 The Ancients believed that the influence of the 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 249 
 
 stars, whether for good or for evil, was exercised, 
 not in the night, but in the day, when their rays 
 mingled with those of the Sun. 
 
 Milton, when describing the Sun's altered path 
 among the constellations, mentions the seven ' Atlantic 
 Sisters ' — ^the seven daughters of Atlas — the Pleiades 
 that are situated in Taurus, the second sign of the 
 zodiac. 
 
 The Galaxy 
 
 The Galaxy or Milky Way is the great luminous 
 zone that can be seen extending across the heavens 
 from horizon to horizon. Its diffused nebulous 
 appearance caused the Ancients much perplexity, 
 and many quaint opinions were hazarded as to the 
 nature of this celestial highway. But the mystery 
 associated with its existence remained unsolved until 
 Galileo directed his telescope to this lucent object, 
 when, to his intense delight, he discovered that it 
 consisted of myriads of stars — millions upon millions 
 of orbs so distant as to be individually indistin- 
 guishable to the naked eye, and so closely aggregated 
 that their blended light gave rise to the milky 
 luminosity indicated by its name. 
 
 This stelUferous zone almost completely encircles 
 the sphere, and divides it into two nearly equal parts. 
 It is inclined at an angle of 63 degrees to the celestial 
 equator, which it intersects in the constellations 
 Monoceros and Aquila. In Cassiopeia it passes 
 within 27 degrees of the north pole of the heavens, 
 and in Crux is at a similar distance from the south 
 
250 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 pole ; its own poles are located in Coma Berenices 
 and Cetus. The Milky Way varies from 5 degrees 
 to 16 degrees in width, and is of irregular outline. 
 In Centaurus it divides into two portions, one bright 
 and well defined, the other indistinct and of inter- 
 rupted continuity ; these, after remaining apart for 
 120 degrees, reunite in Cygnus. 
 
 It is indeed [says a well-known astronomer] only to the most 
 careless glance, or when viewed through an atmosphere of 
 imperfect transparency, that the Milky Way seems a continuous 
 zone. Let the naked eye rest thoughtfully on any part of it, 
 and if circumstances be favourable it will stand out rather as 
 an accumulation of patches, and streams of light of every 
 conceivable variety of form and brightness ; now side by side, 
 now heaped on each other, again spanning across dark spaces, 
 intertwining, and forming a most curious and complete network. 
 
 The stars in the Galaxy are very unevenly 
 distributed. In some of its richest regions there 
 have been enumerated within the space of a square 
 degree as many stars as are visible to the naked eye 
 on a clear night, but in other tracts they are much 
 fewer in number. Adjacent to some of the most 
 luminous portions of this zone, dark spaces and 
 irregular channels can be perceived almost entirely 
 devoid of stars. A remarkable instance of this 
 kind occurs in the constellation of the Southern 
 Cross, where, in a rich stellar region, there can 
 be seen an oval-shaped dark vacuity 8° by 5° in 
 extent, almost entirely denuded of stars. By early 
 navigators it was known as the Coal-sack. When 
 gazed upon, this gulf of ' Cimmerian darkness ' 
 conveys the impression of looking into a yawning 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 251 
 
 void of space far beyond the limits of the Milky Way. 
 Similar dark spaces, though not of such magnitude, 
 are visible in Ophiuchus, Scorpio, and Cygnus. 
 
 The Galaxy, when viewed with a powerful tele- 
 scope, is found to consist of congeries of stars ; vast 
 
 Fig. 7. — ^A Portion of the Milky Way. 
 
 stellar aggregations, great luminous tracts resolvable 
 into clouds of stars of overpowering magnificence, 
 superb clusters of various orders, and convoluted 
 nebulous streams wandering ' with mazy error ' 
 among * islands of light and lakes of darkness,' 
 resolved by the telescope into banks of shining worlds. 
 The concourses of stars that enter into the formation 
 
252 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 of this wonderful zone exhibit in a marvellous degree 
 the amazing profusion in which these orbs exist 
 in certain regions of space ; yet all of them perform 
 their motions in harmonious unison, and in orderly 
 ari'ay, and by their mutual attraction sustain the 
 dynamical equilibrium of this stupendous galactic 
 ring, the diameter of which, according to one authority, 
 is traversed by light in not less than 13,000 years. 
 
 Sir William Herschel, who devoted a considerable 
 period of his life to exploring with his great telescopes 
 the depths and recesses of that portion of the Milky 
 Way situated in the northern hemisphere, found its 
 structure to be exceedingly intricate, and that 
 within its limits were embraced an endless variety 
 of systems, groups, clusters, branches, and streaming 
 filaments of stars, all of which combined to form this 
 luminous zone. In its richest tracts, which are 
 in Perseus, Cygnus, and Aquila, Herschel perceived 
 the stars present in marvellous profusion. During 
 an observation, he computed that in the space of 
 fifteen minutes 116,000 stars passed before his eye 
 in the field of the telescope. On another occasion 
 he estimated that 258,000 stars travelled in review 
 before him in an interval of forty-one minutes ; 
 and in the constellation Cygnus, in a space five degrees 
 in breadth, he surmised there were visible upwards 
 of 331,000 stars. 
 
 Although Herschel was able to fathom the Galaxy 
 in most of its tracts, yet there were regions which 
 his great reflector was unable to penetrate. In Cephus 
 there is a spot where he observed the stars ' become 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 253 
 
 gradually less till they escape the eye, so that appear- 
 ances here favour the idea of a succeeding more 
 distant clustering part/ He perceived another in 
 Scorpio, ' where, through the hollows and deep recesses 
 of its complicated structure, we behold what has all 
 the appearance of a wide and indefinitely prolonged 
 area strewed over with discontinuous masses, and 
 clouds of stars which the telescope at last refuses to 
 analyse." The Great Cluster in Perseus, which is in 
 the Milky Way, also baffled the penetrative capacity 
 of Herschel's instruments. Professor Nichol, in de- 
 scribing the revealed glories of this inconspicuous 
 object, says : 
 
 In the Milky Way, thronged all over with splendours, there is 
 one portion not unnoticed by the general observer, the spot in the 
 sword-hand of Perseus. That spot shows no stars to the naked 
 eye ; the milky light which glorifies it comes from regions to 
 which, unaided, we cannot pierce. But to a telescope of 
 considerable power the space appears lighted up with unnumbered 
 orbs ; and these pass on through the depths of the infinite, until, 
 even to that penetrating glass, they escape all scrutiny, with- 
 drawing into regions unvisited by its power. Shall we adventure 
 into these deeper retirements ? Then, assume an instrument 
 of higher efficiency, and lo ! the change is only repeated ; those 
 scarce observed before appear as large orbs, and behind, a new 
 series begins, shading gradually away, leading towards farther 
 mysteries ! The illustrious Herschel penetrated on one occasion 
 into this spot, until he found himself among depths whose light 
 could not have reached him in much less than four thousand 
 years ; no marvel that he withdrew from the pursuit, conceiving 
 that such abysses must be endless. 
 
 With the most powerful telescopes of modern 
 construction, the nebulosity of the more distant 
 tracts of the Milky Way is incapable of definition, 
 
254 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 although its stellar nature is strongly indicated ; 
 even the penetrating capacity of the great refractor 
 of the Lick Observatory is unable to resolve the 
 finer parts of the Galaxy into stars, the receding 
 nebulosity being beyond the power of the instrument. 
 
 The stars of the Milky Way are so inconceivably 
 remote that it is futile to surmise their distance. 
 Their light-journey may embrace a period of many 
 hundreds, or even several thousand years, so profound 
 is the abyss of space that intervenes between us and 
 those sta.rs. Of their magnitude it is impossible to 
 speak with any degree of certainty, but there are 
 good reasons for concluding that the stars of the 
 Galaxy equal, and may often surpass, our Sun in 
 brilliance and luminosity. The * swarms of the 
 Milky Way ' lie at a distance intermediate between 
 the distances of stars of the tenth and fourteenth 
 magnitudes ; our Sun, thus far removed, would 
 appear a much fainter object in the telescope ; it 
 would barely attain the fifteenth magnitude. We 
 should therefore be justified in regarding the galactic 
 stars as being by no means of subordinate importance, 
 but that in lustre and light-giving power they may 
 equal the Sun. 
 
 Those m5n:iad suns are in ceaseless motion— in 
 Nature a stationary body is unknown — and their 
 distances apart are so regulated that in accomplishing 
 their revolutions no undue disturbance of their 
 mutual gravitational attraction occurs. 
 
 Milton refers but once to the Milky Way. The 
 passage is, however, one worthy of the great starry 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 255 
 
 zone. The poet gives a singularly accurate descrip- 
 tion of this luminous track, which he glorifies as the 
 way by which the Deity ascended to the Heaven of 
 Heavens, after having completed His great work 
 of creation : 
 
 He through Heaven, 
 That opened wide her blazing portals, led 
 To God's eternal house direct the way — 
 A broad and ample road, whose dust is gold, 
 And pavement stars, as stars to thee appear 
 Seen in the Galaxy, that Milky Way 
 Which nightly as a circling zone thou seest 
 Powdered with stars. — vii. 574-81. 
 
 Milton was aware of the stellar constitution of 
 the Galaxy, which was one of Galileo's earliest 
 discoveries with the telescope. 
 
 Comets 
 
 In the Middle Ages, the sudden appearance of 
 a comet in the heavens was regarded with mingled 
 feehngs of apprehension and dismay as presaging 
 the occurrence of disasters arid direful events among 
 the nations of the Earth. A great cojnet heralded 
 the birth of Mithridates, a comet blazed forth in 
 the heavens when Julius Caesar died, and the appari- 
 tion of a conspicuous comet in 1456, the year in 
 which the Turks captured Constantinople arid 
 threatened to overrun Europe, was hailed by 
 Christendom with superstitious dread. 
 
 The word ' comet ' is derived from the Greek 
 KOfXT)^ ' hair ' ; the hirsute appearance of these 
 
256 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 objects having procured for them that name. A 
 comet consists of a bright central part called the 
 nucleus, which is surrounded by a mass of nebulous 
 matter known as the coma; both combined form 
 the head, from which extends a luminous elongation 
 of the coma — Shakespeare's ' crystal tresses ' — 
 termed the tail. The nucleus is often granular in 
 appearance, and, in great comets, shines as a star of 
 the first magnitude. The coma is of extreme tenuity, 
 and small stars have been observed shining through 
 it without any appreciable diminution of their 
 light. The train or tail is frecpently very con- 
 spicuous, and presents considerable diversity in 
 form and length. Sometimes it is straight, at other 
 times curved, and occasionally it is bifurcated. 
 Some comets have exhibited two or more tails. 
 The comet of 1743 possessed six tails, which gave 
 it a beautiful fan-shaped appearance. Sometimes the 
 tail extends over 60 or 70 degrees of arc, indicating a 
 length of from 100 to 150 million miles. The Earth 
 on two occasions has passed through the tail of a 
 comet without any perceptible effect having been 
 observed. 
 
 The celebrated comet of 1680 afforded Newton 
 an opportunity of making observations which led 
 to his discovery that comets obey the law of gravi- 
 tation in the same manner as do the planets, and 
 that their orbits conform to three out of the four 
 possible sections into which a cone can be divided. 
 Comets, whose paths are elongated ellipses, may be 
 regarded as belonging to the solar system, and are 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 257 
 
 periodical. Those that describe paraboHc and h5rper- 
 bohc orbits may be regarded as stray objects that, 
 having paid us one visit, never return. 
 
 The quantity of matter, even in large comets, is 
 known to be exceedingly small. It is generally 
 admitted that the nucleus consists of an aggregation, 
 more or less dense, of meteoric fragments. These, 
 when exposed to the Sun's heat, coruscate and throw 
 off luminous particles that are swept by some re- 
 pulsive force into space, and become conspicuous 
 as the tail. This appendage is always directed 
 away from the Sun. 
 
 The seventeenth century was rich in great comets ; 
 Halley's was seen on two occasions — ^first in 1607 
 and again in 1682. The great comet of 1680 will 
 always be memorable as having afforded Newton 
 an opportunity of calculating its orbit on gravita- 
 tional principles. In 1618 several comets appeared 
 in the heavens — one in particular had a remarkable 
 appearance. It was observed in November of that 
 year by Kepler, by Gassendi, and by our country- 
 man Harriot, who describes it as one of the finest 
 comets ever seen, having been visible in full daylight. 
 Its head consisted of several nuclei, which later 
 on appeared as a cluster of small stars. Its tail 
 was computed to extend a length of 100 million 
 miles. At the time when this comet appeared, 
 Milton was ten years old, so that the apparition of 
 this imposing object must have made a deep and 
 lasting impression upon his mind. The only 
 other comet of note that appeared in Milton's life- 
 
258 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 time was one which was seen in 1652. Hevelius 
 describes it as having been as large as the Moon 
 when half full, and that it shone with a pale livid 
 light. Although Milton, doubtless, may have heard 
 much about this comet, it could not have interested 
 him greatly, for in 1652 he was totally blind. Milton 
 was then in his forty-fourth year. 
 
 Milton on two occasions introduces a comet in 
 the ' Paradise Lost." When describing the hostile 
 meeting between Satan and Death before the gates 
 of Hell, the poet says : 
 
 On the other side, 
 Incensed with indignation, Satan stood 
 Unterrified, and like a comet burned, 
 That fires the length of Ophuichus huge 
 In the arctic sky, and from his horrid hair 
 Shakes pestilence and war. — ii. 706-11. 
 
 This passage is eminently descriptive of a great 
 comet, and of the dread and dismay with which 
 those unwelcome visitors were regarded by mankind. 
 The comparison of the enraged Prince of Hell, amid 
 his lurid surroundings, to a great fiery comet, is 
 singularly appropriate, and worthy of the mighty 
 combatant. 
 
 The constellation Ophiuchus or Serpentarius (the 
 serpent-bearer) is represented by the figure of a man 
 holding in both hands a large snake. It occupies a 
 rather barren region of the heavens to the south-east 
 of Hercules, and although unattractive to the naked 
 ^y^> y^t contains some interesting telescopic objects. 
 Its magnitude is considerable, and in length it extends 
 about forty degrees. In describing Ophiuchus as ' in 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 259 
 
 the arctic sky/ Milton does not assign the constellation 
 its true position, for it lies nowhere near the 
 polar region of the heavens, but is situated in the 
 south-eastern sky, where it is intersected by the 
 equator. The poet, who was well acquainted with 
 the relative positions of the principal constella- 
 tions, appears to have been unfamihar with that of 
 Ophiuchus. There are not many astronomers 
 who can dehneate this rather obscure constellation, 
 situated as it is in a region devoid of any celestial 
 objects that would attract the attention of an observer. 
 It would be interesting to know why Milton 
 selected Ophiuchus as the constellation in which he 
 located his comet. The expression ' Ophiuchus huge ' 
 is striking, and has a ponderous rhythm that must 
 have caught Milton's poetical ear. But had he 
 some knowledge of the history of comets, which 
 perhaps he had, he would have learned that two 
 great comets, one in a.d. 178 the other in 891, travelled 
 through Ophiuchus. On the other hand, comets 
 were numerous in the seventeenth century, and it is 
 possible the poet might have seen one in the region 
 of the sky in which Ophiuchus is situated. 
 
 In the final act in the great drama unfolded in 
 his sublime epic, viz. the removal of our first parents 
 from Paradise, Milton compares the sword of God to 
 a flaming comet. Preceding the Cherubim, who in 
 bright array descended to take possession of the 
 Garden — 
 
 High in front advanced, 
 The brandished sword of God before them blazed, 
 Fierce as a comet ; which with torrid heat, 
 
 s 2 
 
260 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 And vapour as the Lybian air adust, 
 Began to parch that temperate clime ; whereat 
 In either hand the hastening angel caught 
 Our lingering parents, and to the eastern gate 
 Led them direct, and down the cliff as fast 
 To the subjected plain ; then disappeared. 
 They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld 
 Of Paradise, so late their happy seat, 
 Waved over by that flaming brand ; the gate 
 With dreadful faces thronged and fiery arms. 
 
 xii. 632-44. 
 
 Comets may be regarded as entirely imiocuous ; 
 neither danger nor harm need be apprehended from 
 their visits : they come to please and instruct, not 
 to injure and destroy. 
 
 Meteoes and Falling Stars 
 
 UnUke comets, meteors and falling stars are 
 evanescent bodies that indicate their presence by 
 an intensely brilhant flare, or by a momentary streak 
 of light athwart the sky. A few falling stars may 
 be seen on any clear night, but the sudden appearance 
 of a large meteor is of rare occurrence. Occasionally a 
 meteor appears as a fire-ball, which, after a momentary 
 flight, drops to the Earth or plunges into the ocean. 
 Fire-balls sometimes explode with a loud detonation. 
 
 Meteors and falling stars are of cosmical origin, 
 and vary from a grain to a few tons in weight. They 
 occupy interplanetary space, and travel with a speed 
 of from thirty to forty miles a second. This velocity, 
 when they reach the higher regions of the Earth's 
 atmosphere, proves fatal to most of them, for the 
 heat evolved by friction with the air becomes so 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 261 
 
 intense that they are rendered incandescent, and are 
 finally resolved into a streak of glowing vapour, which 
 becomes visible to us as a falling, or shooting star. 
 Fragments of large meteors reach the Earth, and 
 have been picked up from time to time, or found 
 deeply embedded in the ground. 
 
 Shooting Stars usually form vast aggregations, 
 each individual member of which pursues its own 
 path, whilst collectively they travel round the Sun 
 in highly elongated ellipses inchned at all angles to 
 the plane of the ecliptic. They glide along in absolute 
 silence, and no sound is heard at the moment of 
 their dissolution. Most of them are probably no 
 larger than a pea or small pebble, but as the Earth 
 encounters millions of them daily, our globe would 
 be scarcely habitable were it not for the protec- 
 tion afforded by her atmosphere, in which they are 
 consumed. 
 
 The region of the sky from which the meteors 
 appear to diverge is called the 'radiant point." If it 
 should be overhead, and the arrows of light are very 
 numerous, they will resemble a parachute of fire ; 
 if below the horizon, the meteors will ascend into the 
 sky like rockets. As the radiant point is fixed, the 
 meteors are usually named after the constellation in 
 which it is situated. The August meteors, which 
 recur annually about the 10th of the month, are 
 called Perseids, because they radiate from a point 
 in the constellation Perseus. Those in Taurus, 
 Taurids ; in Lyra, Lyraids, and in Andromeda, 
 Andromedes. 
 
262 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 The falling stars that have attracted most 
 attention are the November meteors ; they are 
 called Leonids, because they radiate from a point in 
 the constellation Leo. A few may be seen about 
 the 13th and 14th of the month in each year, but 
 three times in a century, or about once in thirty-three 
 years, a grand meteoric display occurs, when the stars 
 appear to rain down upon the Earth. The earliest 
 allusion to this meteoric shower is by Theophanes, 
 who states that in the year a.d. 472 the sky at 
 Constantinople appeared to be on fire with falHng 
 stars. Another remarkable visitation is recorded 
 as having occurred in 902, and from that date up to 
 1833 twelve conspicuous displays are mentioned as 
 having taken place. In the latter year the grandest 
 spectacle of this kind ever witnessed visited the 
 North American Continent. The meteoric shower 
 commenced at midnight and lasted for four or five 
 hours. During its continuance the stars fell almost 
 as thickly, and as silently, as snow-flakes, and caused 
 great consternation, many of those who witnessed 
 the phenomenon believing that the end of the world 
 was at hand. 
 
 The regular recurrence of these meteoric displays 
 has been satisfactorily explained on the assumption 
 that the Leonids accomplish a revolution of their 
 orbit round the Sun in 33J years. In pursuing her 
 annual journey, the Earth, once in each year, intersects 
 the path of the meteors and captures a few of them, 
 but when she encounters the main swarm, which 
 happens once in thirty-three years, millions of these 
 
FAMILIAR CELESTIAL OBJECTS 263 
 
 small objects are attracted to her surface, and in 
 their downward flight become visible as falling stars. 
 In November 1866 the shower returned, but in 1899, 
 much to the disappointment of many eager watchers, 
 the meteors failed to put in an appearance ; conse- 
 quently there were no celestial fireworks. Owing 
 to the perturbative influence of Jupiter and of Saturn, 
 the swarm was caused to swerve slightly from its 
 usual path, and as a consequence millions of meteors 
 escaped destruction by not coming within the influence 
 of the Earth's attraction. The occurrence of these 
 meteoric displays can now no longer be relied upon, 
 and they may never recur again. 
 
 Milton refers to these celestial objects as meteors, 
 shooting stars, and falling stars. The poet, in 
 describing UrieFs rapid flight from the Sun to 
 Paradise, likens his speed to the velocity of a 
 shooting star : 
 
 Thither came Uriel, gliding through the even 
 
 On a sunbeam, swift as a shooting star 
 
 In autumn thwarts the night, when vapours fired 
 
 Impress the air, and shows the mariner 
 
 From what point of his compass to beware 
 
 Impetuous winds. — iv. 555-60. 
 
 The notion prevalent in Milton's time concerning 
 the nature of meteors and falling stars was that 
 they were mere ignes fatui — inflammable vapours 
 that became accidentally ignited in the atmosphere. 
 They were also regarded as the precursors of stormy 
 weather. A passage in Virgil testifies to this : 
 
 Oft shalt thou see ere brooding storms arise, 
 Star after star glide headlong down the skies. 
 
264 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 In describing the fall of Mulciber from Heaven, 
 
 Milton says : 
 
 from morn 
 To noon lie fell, from noon to dewy eve, 
 A summer's day ; and with the setting sun 
 Dropt from the zenith, like a falling star, 
 On Lemnos, the ^gaean isle. — i. 742-46. 
 
 Azazel, a ' Cherub tall/ claimed the distinction of 
 bearing the mighty standard of the Infernal Powers — 
 
 Who forthwith from the glittering staff unfurled 
 
 The imperial ensign, which, full high advanced. 
 
 Shone Uke a meteor streaming to the wind. — i. 535-37. 
 
 The simile is a striking one, and eminently adapted 
 to the situation. 
 
 In ' Comus," the Attendant Spirit says : 
 
 Swift as the sparkle of a glancing star 
 I shoot from Heaven. — C. 80-1. 
 
 Milton's references to these meteoric bodies are all 
 very beautiful, and their pleasing effect is much 
 enhanced by the harmonious rhythm of the verse, 
 in which the poet fehcitously adjusts the sound 
 to the sense. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII 
 
 Milton's descriptive astronomy 
 
 The prime charm of Milton's poetic genius is at no 
 time more apparent than when he gives utterance to 
 thoughts expressive for his admiration for the celestial 
 orbs, and of the varied phenomena that accompany 
 their motions. His vivid perception of the beautiful, 
 together with the melodious flow of his harmonious 
 verse, have enabled him to favour us with those 
 charming descriptions of the planetary and stellar 
 orbs that enhance so much the attractiveness of 
 several of his poems. 
 
 Urania — the Heavenly Muse — whose aid Milton 
 invoked at the commencement of his poem, and 
 under whose divine guidance he soared up to the 
 Heaven of Heavens and breathed empyreal air, he 
 now implores to lead him down to his native element 
 lest he might meet with the fate that befel Bellerophon. 
 
 Descend from Heaven, Urania, by that name 
 If rightly thou art called, whose voice divine 
 Following, above the Olympian hill I soar. 
 Above the flight of Pegasean wing ! 
 The meaning, not the name, I call ; for thou 
 Nor of the Muses nine, nor on the top 
 
266 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Of old Olympus dwell' st ; but Heavenly-born, 
 
 Before the hills appeared or fountain flowed, 
 
 Thou with eternal Wisdom didst converse. 
 
 Wisdom thy sister, and with her didst play 
 
 In presence of the Almighty Father, pleased 
 
 With thy celestial song. Up led by thee, 
 
 Into the Heaven of Heavens I have presumed, 
 
 An earthly guest, and drawn empyreal air. 
 
 Thy tempering : with like safety guided down. 
 
 Return me to my native element ; 
 
 Lest, from this flying steed unreined (as once 
 
 Bellerophon, though from a lower clime) 
 
 Dismounted, on the Aleian field I fall. 
 
 Erroneous there to wander, and forlorn. 
 
 Half yet remains unsung, but narrower bound 
 
 Within the visible diurnal sphere. 
 
 Standing on Earth, not rapt above the pole, 
 
 More safe I sing with mortal voice, unchanged 
 
 To hoarse or mute, though fallen on evil days. 
 
 On evil days though fallen, and evil tongues ; 
 
 In darkness, and with dangers compassed round, 
 
 And solitude ; yet not alone, while thou 
 
 Visit'st my slumbers nightly, or when morn 
 
 Purples the east. Still govern thou my song, 
 
 Urania, and fit audience find though few. — ^vii. 1-32. 
 
 The loftiness of Milton's imagination, and the 
 majesty of his diction, are eminently displayed in the 
 description given of the Creation by the archangel 
 Uriel : 
 
 I saw when at His word the formless mass. 
 This World's material mould, came to a heap ; 
 Confusion heard His voice, and wild Uproar 
 Stood ruled, stood vast infinitude confined; 
 Till at His second bidding darkness fled. 
 Light shone, and order from disorder sprung. 
 Swift to their several quarters hasted then 
 The cumbrous elements. Earth, Flood, Air, Fire ; 
 And this ethereal quintessence of Heaven 
 
MILTON'S DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY 267 
 
 Flew upward, spirited with various forms 
 That rolled orbicular, and turned to stars 
 Numberless, as thou see'st, and how they move ; 
 Each had his place appointed, each his course ; 
 The rest in circuit walls this Universe. — iii. 708-21. 
 
 The same sublimity of utterance is sustained by 
 the poet when describing the progress of the Messiah 
 on His great expedition — the bringing into being of 
 a new Universe — the Heavens and the Earth — in the 
 creation of which He exhibits His almighty power : 
 
 Meanwhile the Son 
 On His great expedition now appeared, 
 Girt with omnipotence, with radiance crowned 
 Of majesty divine, sapience and love 
 Immense ; and all His Father in Him shone. 
 About His chariot numberless were poured 
 Cherub and Seraph, Potentates and Thrones, 
 And Virtues, winged Spirits, and chariots winged 
 From the armoury of God, where stand of old 
 Myriads, between two brazen mountains lodged 
 Against a solemn day, harnessed at hand. 
 Celestial equipage ; and now came forth 
 Spontaneous, for within them Spirit lived, 
 Attendant on their Lord. Heaven opened wide 
 Her everduring gates, harmonious sound 
 On golden hinges moving, to let forth 
 The King of Glory, in His powerful word 
 And Spirit coming to create new worlds. 
 On Heavenly ground they stood, and from the shore 
 They viewed the vast immeasurable Abyss, 
 Outrageous as a sea, dark, wasteful, wild. 
 Up from the bottom turned by furious winds 
 And surging waves, as mountains to assault 
 Heaven's highth, and with the centre mix the pole. 
 ' Silence, ye troubled waves, and thou Deep, peace ! ' 
 Said then the omnific Word : ' your discord end ! ' 
 Nor stayed; but on the wings of Cherubim 
 UpUfted, in paternal glory rode 
 
268 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Far into Chaos, and the World unborn ; 
 
 For Chaos heard His voice. Him all His train 
 
 Followed in bright procession, to behold 
 
 Creation, and the wonders of His might. 
 
 Then stayed the fervid wheels, and in His hand 
 
 He took the golden compasses, prepared 
 
 In God's eternal store, to circumscribe 
 
 This Universe, and all created things. 
 
 One foot He centred, and the other turned 
 
 Round through the vast profundity obscure ; 
 
 And said, ' Thus far extend, thus far thy bounds ; 
 
 This be thy just circumference, World ! ' 
 
 Thus God the Heaven created, thus the Earth, 
 
 Matter unformed and void. Darkness profound 
 
 Covered the abyss ; but on the watery calm 
 
 His brooding wings the Spirit of God outspread. 
 
 And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth. 
 
 Throughout the fluid mass ; but downward purged 
 
 The black, tartareous, cold infernal dregs. 
 
 Adverse to life ; then founded, then conglobed 
 
 Like things to like, the rest to several place 
 
 Disparted, and between spun out the air, 
 
 And Earth, self-balanced, on her centre hung. — 
 
 vii. 192-242. 
 
 Milton, in his description of the Creation, upholds 
 with lofty eloquence his sublime conception of this 
 latest display of Divine power, when God, by specific 
 acts in certain stated periods of time, called into 
 existence the visible Universe and all that it contains. 
 The poet invests with becoming majesty all the acts 
 of the Creator who, when He finished His great work, 
 saw that ' all was entirely good/ 
 
 The varied phenomena that occur as a consequence 
 of the motions of the heavenly bodies, and the 
 diurnal rotation of the Earth on her axis, are ac- 
 companied by those agreeable changes in the aspect 
 
MILTON'S DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY 269 
 
 of Nature with whidi all are familiar. The rosy 
 footsteps of morn, the solar splendour of noonday, 
 the fading hues of even, and night with her jewelled 
 courts and streams of molten stars, have been uni- 
 versally sung by all poets with unfailing dehght. 
 In his portrayal of these pleasing vicissitudes in 
 Nature, Milton is unsurpassed. He expresses himself 
 thus : 
 
 Sometime walking, not unseen, 
 
 By hedge-row elms, on hillocks green, 
 
 Right against the eastern gate, 
 
 Where the great Sun begins his state. 
 
 Robed in flames, and amber light, 
 
 The clouds in thousand liveries dight. — L'A. 59-62. 
 
 Or: 
 
 To behold the wandering Moon, 
 Riding near her highest noon, 
 Like one that had been led astray- 
 Through the heaven's wide pathless way ; 
 And oft, as if her head she bowed. 
 Stooping through a fleecy cloud. — II P. 67-72. 
 
 Surely no poet has given us a loveher description 
 of Evening, or has enhanced its beauty more, by 
 allusion to the celestial orbs, than Milton, when he 
 describes the first evening in Paradise : 
 
 Now came still Evening on, and Twilight gray 
 Had in her sober livery all things clad ; 
 Silence accompanied ; for beast and bird. 
 They to their grassy couch, these to their nests, 
 Were slunk, all but the wakeful nightingale ; 
 She all night long her amorous descant sung ; 
 Silence was pleased. Now glowed the firmament 
 With Uving sapphires ; Hesperus, that led 
 
270 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 The starry host, rode brightest, till the Moon, 
 Rising in clouded majesty, at length 
 Apparent queen, unveiled her peerless light. 
 And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw. 
 
 iv. 598-609. 
 
 In the following citation, Milton felicitously indi- 
 cates the period of the day by referring to the positions 
 of certain orbs, and describing their course in the 
 heavens : 
 
 The star that bids the shepherd fold 
 
 Now the top of heaven doth hold ; 
 
 And the gilded car of Day, 
 
 His glowing axle doth allay 
 
 In the steep Atlantic stream ; 
 
 And the slope Sun his upward beam 
 
 Shoots against the dusky pole, 
 
 Pacing toward the other goal 
 
 Of his chamber in the east. — C. 93-101. 
 
 Perhaps no more movingly beautiful passage, or 
 one that breathes such fervid poetic sentiment, can 
 be found in any of Milton's poems than the following : 
 
 thievish Night, 
 Why shouldst thou, but for some felonious end. 
 In thy dark lantern thus close up the stars 
 That Nature hung in Heaven, and filled their lamps 
 With everlasting oil, to give due light 
 To the misled and lonely traveller ?— C. 195-200. 
 
 The Morning Hymn of Praise which Adam and 
 Eve offer up in concert to their Maker, contains 
 their loftiest thoughts and most reverent sentiments 
 expressed in melodiously flowing verse. In their 
 solemn invocations, they call upon the orbs of the 
 firmament to join in praising and extolling the 
 Creator, and in their devout adoration, address by 
 
MILTON'S DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY 271 
 
 name those that are most conspicuous. Hesperus, 
 ' fairest of stars/ is asked to praise Him in her sphere. 
 The Sun, great image of his Maker, is told to acknow- 
 ledge Him his greater, and to sound His praise in 
 his eternal course. The Moon, the planets, and the 
 fixed stars are called upon to resound the praise of 
 the Creator, whose glory is displayed in the Heavens : 
 
 Fairest of Stars, last in tlie train of night, 
 
 If better thou belong not to the dawn, 
 
 Sure pledge of day, that crowns't the smiling Morn 
 
 With thy bright circlet, praise Him in thy sphere 
 
 While day arises, that sweet hour of prime. 
 
 Thou Sun, of this great world both eye and soul. 
 
 Acknowledge Him thy greater ; sound His praise 
 
 In thy eternal course, both when thou climb'st. 
 
 And when high noon hast gained, and when thou fall'st. 
 
 Moon, that now meet'st the orient Sun, now fliest 
 
 With the fixed stars, fixed in their orb that flies ; 
 
 And ye fivei other wandering Fires, that move 
 
 In mystic dance, not without song, resound 
 
 His praise who out of darkness called up light. 
 
 V. 170-79. 
 
 The following passage illustrates how, when 
 describing phenomena of almost everyday occurrence, 
 a great poet can, by a touch of his genius, impart to 
 others the sentiments which he breathes, thus 
 awakening in the mind a higher conception of the 
 beautiful. After having listened to the archangel 
 
 ^ Several of Milton's commentators have suggested that the poet, 
 after having addressed Venus as the Morning Star, is in error by invok- 
 ing five other planets — the number should be four, viz. Mercury, Mars, 
 Jupiter, and Saturn. But it must be remembered that it is Adam 
 who expresses himself, and, naturally enough, he is unaware that the 
 Morning and Evening stars are one and the same planet. Consequently 
 Venus is again included as the Evening Star, and according to this 
 interpretation of the passage the number ' five ' is correct. 
 
272 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 RaphaeFs long narration of what happened in 
 
 Heaven prior to the creation of the Universe, Adam, 
 
 who is deeply interested, requests him to relate 
 
 how the Earth and surrounding heavens were called 
 
 into existence, and in alluding to the unexpired 
 
 portion of the day, he says to his celestial visitor : 
 
 And the great Light of Day yet wants to run 
 
 Much of his race, though steep. Suspense in heaven 
 
 Held by thy voice, thy potent voice, he hears, 
 
 And longer will delay, to hear thee tell 
 
 His generation, and the rising birth 
 
 Of Nature from the unapparent Deep ; 
 
 Or if the Star of Evening and the Moon 
 
 Haste to thy audience. Night with her will bring 
 
 Silence, and Sleep listening to thee will watch ; 
 
 Or we can bid his absence till thy song 
 
 End, and dismiss thee ere the morning shine. 
 
 vii. 98-108. 
 
 The poet, in order to escape from the heat and 
 
 glare of the blazing Sun, desires to be brought where 
 
 umbrageous shade excludes the solar rays : 
 
 And when the Sun begins to fling 
 His flaring beams, me Goddess bring 
 To arched walks of twilight groves. 
 And shadows brown that Sylvan loves. 
 Of pine, or monumental oak. 
 Where the rude axe with heaved stroke 
 Was never heard the nymphs to daunt 
 Or fright them from their hallowed haunt. 
 There, in close covert by some brook, 
 Where no profaner eye may look. 
 Hide me from Day's garish eye, 
 While the bee with honeyed thigh, 
 That at her flowery work doth sing. 
 And the waters murmuring. 
 With such consort as they keep. 
 Entice the dewy-feathered Sleep. 
 
MILTON'S DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY 273 
 
 And let some strange mysterious dream 
 
 "Wave at his wings, in airy stream 
 
 Of lively portraiture displayed, 
 
 Softly on my eyelids laid ; 
 
 And, as I wake, sweet music breathe 
 
 Above, about, or underneath. 
 
 Sent by some Spirit to mortals good, 
 
 Or the unseen Genius of the wood. — II P. 131-54. 
 
 The ' Ode on the Nativity/ which was composed 
 by Milton when twenty-one years of age, contains 
 numerous happy allusions to the celestial orbs, all 
 of which enhance the solemn richness of the melody 
 breathed in the poem : 
 
 Say, Heavenly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein 
 
 Afford a present to the Infant God ? 
 
 Hast thou no verse, no hymn, or solemn strain. 
 
 To welcome him to this his new abode. 
 
 Now while the heaven, by the Sun's team untrod. 
 
 Hath took no print of the approaching light. 
 
 And all the spangled host keep watch in squadrons bright ? 
 
 On the night of the birth of Christ : 
 
 The stars with deep amaze, 
 
 Stand fixed in steadfast gaze, 
 
 Bending one way their precious influence, 
 
 And will not take their flight. 
 
 For all the morning light. 
 
 Or Lucifer that often warned them thence ; 
 
 But in their glimmering orbs did glow, 
 
 Until their Lord himself bespake, and bid them go. 
 
 And though the shady gloom 
 
 Had given day her room. 
 
 The Sun himself withheld his wonted speed, 
 
 And hid his head for shame, 
 
 As his inferior flame 
 
 The new enlightened world no more should need : 
 
 He saw a greater Sun appear 
 
 Than his bright throne or burning axle-tree could bear. 
 
274 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 In the concluding stanza of the poem, a star is 
 mentioned as being in waiting upon the infant 
 Saviour when asleep : 
 
 But see! the Virgin blest 
 
 Hath laid her Babe to rest, 
 
 Time is our tedious song should here have ending ; 
 
 Heaven's youngest teemed star 
 
 Hath fixed her pohshed car, 
 
 Her sleeping Lord with handmaid lamp attending ; 
 
 And all about the courtly stable 
 
 Bright-harnessed Angels sit in order serviceable. 
 
 The Saviour, in meditating upon the fulfilment of 
 His mission, repeats the words uttered by His mother 
 respecting Himself : 
 
 ' A star, not seen before, in heaven appearing, 
 Guided the wise men thither from the East, 
 To honour thee with incense, myrrh, and gold ; 
 By whose bright course led on, they found the place, . 
 Affirming it thy star, new- graven in heaven.' 
 
 P. R. i. 249-53. 
 
 In his poem ' On the Death of a Fair Infant,' 
 Milton, musing over the fate of the babe, inquires : 
 
 Wert thou some star, which from the ruined roof 
 
 Of shaked Olympus by mischance didst fall ; 
 
 Which careful Jove in Nature's true behoof 
 
 Took up, and in fit place did re-instal? 
 
 Or did of late Earth's sons besiege the wall 
 
 Of sheeny Heaven, and thou some gooddess fled 
 
 Amongst us here below to hide thy nectared head ? 
 
 43-9. 
 
 In the avowal of her conjugal love. Eve, with 
 charming expression, associates the orbs of the 
 firmament with the delightful aspects in Nature that 
 meet her admiring gaze : 
 
MILTON'S DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY 275 
 
 Sweet is the breath of Morn, her rising sweet, 
 With charm of earhest birds ; pleasant the Sun, 
 When first on this delightful land he spreads 
 His orient beams, on herb, tree, fruit, and flower, 
 Glistering with dew : fragrant the fertile Earth 
 After soft showers; and sweet the coming on 
 Of grateful Evening mild ; then silent Night, 
 With this her solemn bird, and this fair Moon, 
 And these the gems of Heaven, her starry train : 
 But neither breath of Morn, when she ascends 
 With charm of earliest birds ; nor rising Sun 
 On this delightful land ; nor herb, fruit, flower ; 
 Glistering with dew ; nor fragrance after showers ; 
 Nor grateful Evening mild ; nor silent Night, 
 With this her solemn bird ; nor walk by Moon, 
 Or glittering star-light, without thee is sweet. 
 But wherefore all night long shine these ? for whom 
 This glorious sight, when sleep hath shut all eyes ? 
 
 iv. 641-58. 
 
 One of the charms of Milton's verse is the devoutly 
 poetical sentiment that pervades it. His thoughts, 
 though serious, are not austere, and his reverence is 
 most apparent in his loftiest musings. This is con- 
 spicuous in Adam's reply to the inquiry addressed 
 to him by Eve : 
 
 ' Daughter of God and Man, accomplished Eve, 
 These have their course to finish round the Earth 
 By morrow evening, and from land to land 
 In order, though to nations yet unborn, 
 Ministering light prepared, they set and rise ; 
 Lest total Darkness should by night regain 
 Her old possession, and extinguish life 
 In Nature and all things ; which these soft fires 
 Not only enlighten, but with kindly heat 
 Of various influence foment and warm, 
 Temper or nourish, or in part shed down 
 Their stellar virtue on all kinds that grow 
 On Earth, made hereby apter to receive 
 
 T 2 
 
276 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 Perfection from the Sun's more potent ray. 
 These, then, though unbeheld in deep of night. 
 Shine not in vain ; nor think, though men were none, 
 That Heaven would want spectators, God want praise : 
 MiUions of spiritual creatures walk the Earth 
 Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep : 
 All these with ceaseless praise his works behold 
 Both day and night. How often, from the steep 
 Of echoing hill or thicket, have we heard 
 Celestial voices to the midnight air. 
 Sole, or responsive each to other's note. 
 Singing their Great Creator ! Oft in bands 
 While they keep watch, or nightly rounding walk, 
 With heavenly touch of instrumental sounds 
 In full harmonic number joined, their songs 
 Divide the night, and lift our thoughts to Heaven.' 
 
 iv. 660-88. 
 
 The concluding stanza in ' Lycidas ' contains a 
 pleasing allusion to sunset and the expiring day : 
 
 Thus sang the uncouth swain to the oaks and rills. 
 
 While the still Morn went out with sandals gray ; 
 
 He touched the tender stops of various quills, 
 
 With eager thought warbling his Doric lay : 
 
 And now the Sun had stretched out all the hills, 
 
 And now was dropt into the western bay, 
 
 At last he rose, and twitched his mantle blue ; 
 
 To-morrow to fresh woods, and pastures new. — L. 186-93. 
 
 Our first parents, before retiring to rest, do not 
 forget in their devotions to refer to the celestial 
 orbs as indicating the power and goodness of the 
 Creator : 
 
 Thus at their shady lodge arrived, both stood. 
 
 Both turned, and under open sky adored 
 
 The God that made both Sky, Air, Earth, and Heaven, 
 
 Which they beheld, the Moon's resplendent globe, 
 
 And starry pole. — iv. 720-24. 
 
MILTON'S DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY 277 
 
 After having described in ' II Penseroso ' the 
 serene and contemplative pleasures associated with 
 Melancholy, Milton concludes the poem with the 
 following refrain : 
 
 And may at last my weary age 
 
 Find out some peaceful hermitage, 
 
 The hairy gown and mossy cell, 
 
 Where I may sit and rightly spell 
 
 Of every star that heaven doth shew, 
 
 And every herb that sips the dew ; 
 
 Till old experience do attain 
 
 To something like prophetic strain. — 167-74. 
 
 The numerous extracts and quotations contained 
 in this volume testify to the frequency and delight 
 with which Milton's thoughts turn to the phenomena 
 of the heavens. The poet's love of astronomy is 
 nowhere more apparent than in the ' Paradis-e Lost/ 
 in which we find page after page devoted to the 
 discussion of astronomical theories, whilst many of 
 its choicest passages are descriptive of the wbs of 
 the firmament, and of the glories of the nocturnal 
 sky. 
 
 The chief characteristic of Milton's poetry is its 
 sublimity. The loftiness of his muse is admitted 
 by all readers who have perused his works. No 
 poet soared with greater ease, or sustained himself 
 so long in the sublime, as Milton, who in the heaven- 
 ward flights of his genius depicted the glories of the 
 sidereal heavens, and unveiled the eternal splendours 
 of the Empyrean. 
 
 In his incursions into the realms of literature, 
 science, and philosophy, in which his imagination 
 
278 MILTON'S ASTRONOMY 
 
 wove its brightest visions, no more enticing subject 
 allured his mind, or afforded his poetic fancy such 
 facilities for its loftiest flights, than the sublimest of 
 sciences — astronomy. Whether we most admire the 
 accuracy and comprehensiveness of his astronomical 
 knowledge, or his charming descriptions of the celestial 
 orbs and the pleasing phenomena that accompany 
 them, it is apparent that in this domain of 
 science Milton, as a poet, stands alone and 
 unrivalled. 
 
 In his portrayal of the celestial orbs, Milton, with 
 marked discernment, depicts the individual splen- 
 dours peculiar to each. The Sun, above all, is accorded 
 that precedence which is his due ; nor does the poet 
 ever fail to surround him with the ' surpassing 
 glory ' that distinguishes him from all other occu- 
 pants of the sky. The Moon — his consort — peerless 
 in the subdued effulgence of her borrowed light, 
 the beautiful morning and evening star Hesperus, 
 the Galaxy, overpowering in the magnificence of its 
 clouds and streams of stars, and the Sidereal Heavens 
 with their untold glories, have each their distinc- 
 tive features and charms mirrored in the pages of 
 this remarkable poem. The wealth of astronornical 
 allusion and detail contained in the ' Paradise Lost ' 
 bears testimony to the irresistible charm exercised 
 over the poet's mind by the orbs which tenant the 
 depths of space. With Milton they were an unfailing 
 source of lofty contemplation and of meditative 
 delight. The following citation testifies to the poet's 
 
MILTON'S DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY 279 
 
 admiration of all that he beheld as indicating the 
 power and wisdom of the Creator : 
 
 For wonderful indeed are all his works, 
 Pleasant to know, and worthiest to be all 
 Had in remembrance always with delight ! 
 But what created mind can comprehend 
 Their number, or the wisdom infinite 
 That brought them forth, but hid their causes deep. 
 
 iii 703-8. 
 
 It is needless to remark how pleasing and in- 
 structive it is to know the astronomy of Milton's 
 * Paradise Lost ' ; nor can it be denied with what 
 seductive charm one is enticed to linger over the har- 
 monious utterances associated with the sublimest 
 of sciences felicitously expressed in the melodious 
 language of England's greatest epic poet. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abul Wefu, 9 
 
 Adam, philosophic discussion with 
 Raphael, 103 et seq., 136, 161 
 
 Akkadians, 2 
 
 Al-Batani, 9 
 
 Albireo, double star, 212 
 
 Alexandrian School, 7 
 
 Algol, 'the Demon' (star), 216, 
 217 
 
 Alimental nourishment of the 
 heavenly bodies, ancient theory 
 of, 136-37, 179. 
 
 Alpha Arietis, 82, 226, 228 
 
 Alphonsine system, 67, 71 n. ; 
 Tables, 10, 14 
 
 Altitude circle, 40 
 
 Anagram, astronomical discoveries 
 announced in, 36, 144 
 
 Anaxagoras, 6 
 
 Anaximander, 6 
 
 Anaximenes, 6 
 
 Andromeda, 119-20 
 
 7 Andromedse, 213-14 
 
 Anthelme, monk, 218 
 
 Arabs, the, and astronomy, 4, 
 9-10 
 
 Arcturus, 223 
 
 Argelander, 203 
 
 Ariel's flight, 161 
 
 Aries, 82, 119, 120, 147, 218, 228-29 
 
 Aristarchus, 7 
 
 Aristotle, Galileo's examination of, 
 22-3 
 
 Aristyllus, 7 
 
 Astrology, belief in, 2-3, 152 
 
 Astronomical observations first 
 made by the Chaldeans, 5 
 
 Astronomical refractions, 21 
 
 Astronomy, brief history of, 1 et 
 seq. ; associated with astrology, 
 2 ; introduction of, into Western 
 Europe, 10 ; study of, in Eng- 
 land, 41 ; period of transition 
 
 in, 97, 100-2 ; invention of the 
 telescope, 101 ; phraseology of, in 
 Milton's time, indefinite and 
 vague, 112, 141 
 
 Astronomy, Urania, the goddess 
 of, 164 
 
 ' At a Solemn Music,' quoted, 72 
 
 Autolycus, 7 
 
 Azazel, 264 
 
 Azimuth circle, 40 
 
 Babylonia, records of astronomy 
 in, 5 
 
 Bacon, cited, 98 
 
 Bartolinus, Erasmus, 39 
 
 Bayer, star atlas of, 41 
 
 Bear, the Great (Ursa Major), 6, 119 
 
 Bessel, stellar parallax of, 207 
 
 Binary star systems, 209-13 
 
 Bootes, 212 
 
 Brewster's ' Martyrs of Science/ 
 quoted, 25 
 
 Bright polar sea in Milton's cos- 
 mology, 80 
 
 CASsmi, Giovanni Domenico, 38 
 Cassini, Jaques, 38, 204 
 Castor, 212 
 
 Catalogues of stars, 8, 10, -21, 218 
 Causeway from Hell, the, in 
 'Paradis3 Lost,' 86-8, 90, 91, 
 93, 94-5 
 Centaurus, 120, 121, 220 
 Chaldeans, the, and astronomy, 5 
 Chambers's ' Handbook of Astro- 
 nomy, cited, 32 
 Chaos, in Milton's cosmology, 52, 53, 
 55 et seq. ; personification of, 57 ; 
 ' The womb of Nature and perhaps 
 her grave,' 58 ; ancient con- 
 ceptions of, and modern science. 
 
282 
 
 INDEX 
 
 60 ; origin of idea of, unknown, 
 60 ; evolution of the cosmos out 
 of, 60 ; storms of, allusions to, 
 78, 91, 93, 95 ; wild waste 
 anarchy of, 86 ; of Hesiod, 53, 57 
 
 "Chaucer, cited, 68 
 
 Chemistry in Milton's time unknown 
 as a science, 180 
 
 China, astronomy in, 3 
 
 Chromosphere, 171 
 
 Cicero, quoted, 69 and n? 
 
 Clepsydra, 5 
 
 Clerke, Miss Agnes, quoted, 248 
 
 Clock, astronomical, construction of, 
 22, 35 
 
 Coal Sack, the, 250 
 
 Colures, the, 118 
 
 Comets, 5, 255 et seq. ; coma of the, 
 256 ; description of, 256-57 ; 
 harmless, 260 ; nucleus of, 256, 
 257 ; orbits of, 256 ; rasaarches of 
 Hevelius on, 37-8, 258 ; super- 
 stitions regarding, 255, 258 ; tail 
 of, 256, 257 
 
 Constellations, delineation of, 2, 37 ; 
 description of, 118-23; the com- 
 ponent orbs of, little known in 
 Milton's time, 84 
 
 Copernican theory, promulgation 
 of, 13, 97 ; progress of, retarded 
 by imperfections and inaccuracies, 
 98, 100; repudiated by Tycho 
 Brahe, 98 ; supported by Kepler, 
 98 ; and Galileo, 98 ; attitude 
 of other men of eminence, 98 ; 
 gradual supersession of Ptolemaic 
 system by, 68, 99, 100, 102 ; 
 confirmed by the advances made 
 in astronomy, 100-2, 130, 139, 
 144 ; condemned by the Inquisi- 
 tion, 24 ; otherwise mentioned, 1 14, 
 184, 204 
 
 Copernicus, Nicolas, 10-13 ; his ' De 
 Revolutionibus Orbium Celes- 
 tium,' 11, 24 ; propounds the 
 Copernican System, 12-13; retains 
 the notions of uniformly circular 
 motion, 107 ; other references, 
 6, 27, 34 
 
 Cor Caroli, 212 
 
 Corona, 171-73 
 
 Cosmology, of the ancient Greeks, 
 53 ; and of Milton, 52, 53 ; the 
 Mosaic, 52, 60, 177 
 
 Crabtree, William, 42 ; observation 
 of transit of Venus by, 47 ; 
 death, 48 ; mentioned, 49, 50 
 
 Creation, description of, 266, 268 
 
 Crystalline Sphere, the, 67, 73, 80 
 Cynthia, the Moon, 197, 198 ^ 
 
 Dante, cited, 62, 71 n., 74, 102 
 
 Day, division of, 5 
 
 Day and night, according to 
 
 Ptolemaic theory, 67 
 Declinations, earliest use of, 8 
 Deity, abode of the, according to 
 
 Ptolemaic astronomers, 67 
 Delambre, cited, 49 
 Denderah, temple of, 4 
 Deodorus, cited, 4 
 Descartes, 41 
 
 ' De Sphaerum Concentu,' cited, 72 
 Dog days, the, 227 
 Domitian, Emperor, cited, 126 
 
 Earth, the, 114, 238 et seq. ; axis, 
 inclination of, 148, 153, 154, 155 ; 
 density, 239, 244 ; dimensions, 
 239, 244 ; distance from the Sun, 
 7, 239 ; eccentricity of orbit, 
 239-40; form, 238-39; per- 
 turbation, 240 ; revolution, 7, 
 239, 240 ; rotation, 155, 239 ; 
 topographical details, as viewed 
 from other planets, 240 ; velocity, 
 240 ; otherwise mentioned, 6, 35, 
 113 n., 114, 256 
 As centre of the universe. See 
 
 Ptolemaic theory 
 Milton's allusions to, 240 et seq. 
 
 Eclipse, use of the word in Milton's 
 poems, 124-25 
 
 Eclipses, of Sun and Moon, 123, 126 ; 
 impression of, as supernatural 
 manifestations, 125-26, 198-9 
 
 Ecliptic, the, 126-27, 147, 155, 189 ; 
 obliquity of the, 3, 6, 7, 147, 148 
 
 Egyptians, the, and astronomy, 
 4-5 
 
 Eighth Sphere, the, distribution of 
 the stars in, 83 
 
 Empyrean, the. See Heaven 
 
 Encke's comet, 212 
 
 Equinoxes, the, 147, 149 ; pre- 
 cession of the, 8, 67, 73, 114 
 
 Eratosthenes, 7 
 
 Eudoxus, 7 
 
 Evening star. See Venus 
 
 Exhalations from the celestial 
 bodies, ancient theory of, 136 
 
 Fabricitjs, 41 
 Faculae, 169 
 
 Fairyland, Milton's allusions to, 
 200 
 
INDEX 
 
 283 
 
 Tall, the, according to legend pre- 
 ceded by a perpetual spring, 150 
 et seq., 153, 154, 196; physical 
 changes supervene after the, 151 
 et seq., 153 
 
 Fallen angels, 161 
 
 Falling stars, 161, 260, 263 
 
 Fates, the, 71 
 
 Fathers, early, conception of Hell 
 in the, 62 
 
 Fire-balls, 260 
 
 Firmament, the, 65 
 
 Flamsteed, first Astronomer- Royal, 
 50 
 
 Gabriel, 118, 184 
 
 Galaxy, the, 249 et seq., and see 
 Milky Way 
 
 Galileo Galilei, 21 ; his astronomical 
 clock, 22, 35 ; early scientific 
 writings of, 22 ; examination of 
 Aristotle, ^2 ; adherence to the 
 Copernican hypothesis, 23, 98 ; 
 summoned before the Inquisi- 
 tion, 23 ; received by Urban 
 VIII, 24 ; publishes the ' Dia- 
 logue,' breach of faith with the 
 Inquisition, 24-6 ; abjuration, 
 25 ; meeting with Milton, 129 
 et seq. ; his incredulous oppo- 
 nents, 140, 143 : caution in 
 disclosing his discoveries, 144 ; 
 blindness, 130, 146 ; death, 26 
 Astronomical and scientific dis- 
 coveries of, 26-7, 127, 130, 133 ; 
 observation of the Moon, 133 
 et seq. ; Jupiter's moons, 138 
 et seq. ; observation of the Sun, 
 142 ; phases of Venus, 144, 238 ; 
 stellar structure of the Milky 
 Way, 143, 249 ; views as to 
 habitability of the Moon, 135, 
 137 ; views on the stars, 224 ; 
 telescope constructed and first 
 used by, 26, 101, 130, 132 
 Characteristics of in controversy, 
 
 23, 26 
 Otherwise mentioned, 34, 247 
 
 Gascoigne, William, 49-50 
 
 Gassendi, 41, 257 
 
 Genghis Khan, 9 
 
 Gilbert, cited, 50 
 
 Gnomon, the, 5 
 
 Golden Ladder, the (in ' Paradise 
 Lost'), 79, 81, 88, 90, 91, 94, 95 
 
 Gould, 203 
 
 Gravitation, universal, discovery of 
 law of, 68 
 
 Great Bear, the, 6, 119 
 
 Greeks, the, and astronomy, 5-9 
 
 Grotius, Hugo, 128 
 
 Halley, observations of stars by, 
 204 ; discovery of the Great 
 Cluster in Hercules by, 221 ; 
 cited on eclipse of the Sun, 126 ; 
 mentioned, 46 
 
 Halley' s comet, 257 
 
 Hamal (Alpha Arietis), 228 
 
 Harriot, Thomas, 50, 257 
 
 Harvest home, 191 
 
 Moon, 190 
 
 Heaven or the Empyrean, 52, 54, 
 
 61, 67, 75-6, 76 n.^, 88. 
 Heavenly bodies, ancient beliefs 
 
 as to movements of, 107-8 
 Helium, 173 
 Hell, 52 ; locality of, according to 
 
 Milton, 62, 70 ; description of, 
 
 62, 76, 88-9; different concep- 
 tions of, 62 
 
 Hercules, Great Cluster in, 221 
 
 Herodotus, cited, 126 
 
 Herschei, Sir John, quoted, on 
 globular clusters, 219-20 ; on 
 Venus, 234 ; cited, 49 
 
 Herschei, Sir William, work of, 
 in sidereal astronomy, 205-6, 
 226 ; observations of the Milky 
 Way, 205, 252 ; method of star 
 gauging, 205, 206 ; discovery of 
 binary star systems by, 209 ; on 
 the number of stars in the Great 
 Cluster in Hercules, 221 
 
 Hesiod, cited, 52, 57 ; quoted, 247 
 
 Hesperus. See Venus 
 
 Hevelius, Johann, 37 ; astronomical 
 work of, 37-8 ; publishes Hor- 
 rox's treatise, 37, 49 ; mentioned, 
 258 
 
 Hindus, the, and astronomy, 4 
 
 Hipparchus, 7-8 ; star catalogue of, 
 8, 218 
 
 Hobbes, cited, 98 
 
 Holywood, John, 117 
 
 Homer, cited, 227, 228 
 
 Hooke, cited, 50, 247 
 
 Horrox, Jeremiah, 41 et seq. ; study 
 of astronomy, 42 ; acquaintance 
 with Crabtree, 42 ; work on 
 Rudolphine Tables, 43 ; investi- 
 gation of Lunar Theory, 43-4 ; 
 detection of long inequality in 
 Jupiter and Saturn, 44-5 ; ob- 
 servation of transit of Venus, 42, 
 
284 
 
 INDEX 
 
 45-7 ; treatise on transit of 
 Venus, 37, 47, 49 ; treatise in 
 defence of Kepler, 98 ; his 
 scientific works, 48-9 ; death, 
 48-9 ; supported Copernican 
 theory, 98 
 
 Hozeau, 203 
 
 Huygens, Christian, discoveries of, 
 35-7 
 
 Ibn-Yunis, 9 
 
 India, astronomy in, 4 
 
 Ionic school, 5, 6, 
 
 Jasper Sea, the, 79, 80 
 Job, Book of, cited, 246 
 Jonson, Ben, quoted, 229 
 Juno, 147 
 
 Jupiter, 4, 38, 40, 44-5, 138 et seq., 
 166, 244 
 
 Kepler, John, 27 et seq. ; visits 
 Tycho Brahe, 28-9 ; appoint- 
 ment at Prague, 29 et seq. ; the 
 Rudolphine Tables, 29, 33, 
 financial and domestic troubles, 
 30, 33; publishes 'The New 
 Astronomy,' 30 ; investigations 
 of laws of planetary motion, 27, 
 28, 30-2, 85, 98, 102 ; Kepler's 
 Laws, 27, 31-2 ; definition of, 32 ; 
 estimate of the distance of the 
 stars, 224; letter to Galileo on 
 discovery of Jupiter's moons, 
 139-40 ; death, 33 ; apprecia- 
 tion of, 27, 34 ; characteristics, 
 34, 139 ; ' Epitome of the Coper- 
 nican System,' of, inhibited, 24 ; 
 otherwise mentioned, 21, 42, 46, 
 257 
 
 King, Edward, 125, 237 
 
 Lansberg Tables, 42-3 
 Law of falling bodies, 26 
 ' Legislator of the Heavens ' 
 
 (Kepler), 32 
 Leonids, 262 
 Lesser Bear, 6 
 Libra, 82, 121 
 Light, refraction of, 8 ; transmission 
 
 of, 39-40 ; undulatory theory of, 
 
 35 ; velocity of, 40, 207 
 Lippershey, Hans, 131, 132 
 Logomontanus, 29 
 Lucifer, or the morning star, 229, 
 
 236. and note.^ See under Satan 
 
 Maestlin, 28 
 
 Magellanic Clouds, the, 222 
 Manilius, quoted, 228 
 Maraldi, 41 
 
 Mars, 12, 38, 244; Kepler's re- 
 searches on, 30 
 Masson, Prof., quoted, 91 
 Matter, distribution of, according to 
 ancient philosophies, 73; weight of 
 invisible, demonstrated by Galileo, 
 27 ; speculations and discoveries- 
 concerning properties of, 58, 59 ; 
 allusions in Milton, 58, 59 
 Mazzaroth (Sirius), 228 
 Mercury, 5, 13, 34, 244 ; transit of,. 
 
 37, 49 
 Meridian, 7, 118 
 
 Circle, 40 
 Meteoric showers, 262-63 
 Meteors, 260, 261-63 
 Meton, 7 ; the Metonic cycle, 7 
 Meyer, Tobias, 204 
 Michael (archangel), 61, 122 
 Micrometer, the, 49-50 
 Milky Way, the, 222, 249 et seq. ; 
 extent of, 249; width of, 250; 
 form of, irregular, 250 ; computa- 
 tion of stars in, 252 ; uneven dis- 
 tribution of stars in,250; structure 
 of, 143, 251-52 ; unfathomable 
 abysses in, 252-53 ; remoteness 
 of stars in, 254 
 Milton, death of his mother, 99 ; visit 
 to the Continent, 100, 117, 128, 
 145; meets Galileo, 100, 129 
 et seq. ; impressions of his 
 visit to Galileo, 130, 134; 
 return to England, work in 
 defence of the Commonwealth, 
 100 ; his academy in Alders- 
 gate, 117 ; his blindness, 126, 
 146, 163, 174, 258 
 Allusion?, astronomical and other,. 
 in poems of : Comets, 258 ; con- 
 stellations, 119, 122; descrip- 
 tive of everyday phenomena,. 
 269 et seq. ; eclipses, 124, 198- 
 99; evening, 184-85, 209; 
 evening star, 237 ; Fairyland,. 
 200 ; falling stars, 263-64 ; 
 Galaxy, the, 278; Galileo's 
 discoveries, 127, 134-35, 138, 
 142-46 passim ; Hesperus, 278 ; 
 humorous, 193 ; Jupiter, 141 ; 
 light, 174; meridian, 118; 
 meteors, 263-64 ; Milky Way, 
 254-55 ; Moon, 124, 135-36, 
 137, 195 et seq., 269, 278; 
 
INDEX 
 
 285 
 
 morning, 182, 270-71 ; morn- 
 ing star, 236-37 ; Music of the 
 •Spheres, 69-72 ; night, 270 ; 
 noon-day, 183 ; Ophiuchus, 
 huge, 259 ; personal : his blind- 
 ness, 160, 176; visit to the 
 Continent, 145 ; planets' ' starry- 
 dance,' 84, 215 ; Pleiades, 
 the, 248 ; seasons, 152 et seq. ; 
 shooting stars, 263-64 ; stars, 
 223, 225 ; Sun, 174 et seq., 180- 
 86, 278 ; Sun as a star, 229 ; 
 telescope, 145 ; Venus, 235 et 
 seq., 271 ; phases of Venus, 
 144-45 
 Astrology, knowledge of, 152 
 Astronomical knowledge of, 50-1, 
 85, 97, 126-27, 255, 259 ; Ptole- 
 maist, 99 ; then later a Coperni- 
 can, 99, 103, 115-16; apprecia- 
 tion of astronomical controver- 
 sies, 103 et seq., 115-16, 127, 
 185 ; configuration of spheres, 
 117; the constellations, 118-19, 
 121, 126; the Sun, 113, 154, 
 174, 180 et seq. ; the Moon, 135 
 et seq. ; the stars, 224-20 
 Characteristics, 59, 136, 164; 
 classical tradition, partiality 
 for, 137 
 Poetry, Evolution theory por- 
 trayed in, 58-60, 178 ; compo- 
 sition of, influenced by the 
 seasons, 158-59 ; character- 
 istics of, 164, 275 et seq. 
 Scholarship of, 102, 137 
 Mira, the Wonderful, 217 
 Mirac, 212 
 
 Moon, 37, 113 w.2, 137, 188 et 
 seq., 244 ; annual equation, 20, 
 43 ; atmosphere absent, 191, 
 193-94 ; classical name of, 197 ; 
 craters in, 192 ; density of, 187 ; 
 distance from the Earth, 187; 
 Earth in contrast Avith, 191 
 et seq. ; eclipses of, 123, 199 ; 
 evection, 8, 43 ; harvest, 190 ; 
 hunter's, 191 ; libration, 37 ; 
 magnitude, 187 ; measurement 
 of time by, 187 ; motion of, 7. 
 8, 189-90, 197-98 ; mountain 
 ranges of, 192 ; nodes, the, 38, 
 189 ; orbit of, 43, 187 ; pertur- 
 bation of, 20, 43. 44 ; phases 
 of, 187-88 ; plains of, 193 ; 
 revolution, 187 ; rotation, 187, 
 191 ; surface of, 191, 192-94 ; 
 sy nodical period of, 189 ; spots 
 
 on, regarded as exhalations 
 from the earth, 136 ; variation, 
 21 
 Poetical allusions to, 194 ; Mil- 
 ton's allusions to, 124, 135-36, 
 137, 195 et seq., 278 ; the Moon- 
 goddess, 197 ; symbolical of 
 Astarte or Ashtoreth, 198 ; 
 an object of worship, 200 ; 
 superstitions regarding, 200-1 ; 
 the ' labouring moon,' 199 ; 
 ' lunatic,' 199 ; * moon-struck,' 
 199 
 
 Morning and evening stars, 6, and 
 see Venus 
 
 Mosaic cosmology, 52, 60, 177 
 
 Mount of God, 55 
 
 Mulciber, 264 
 
 Mundane Universe, 52, 63 
 
 Music of the Spheres, allusion to, 
 69-72 
 
 Napier (Logarithms), 50 
 
 Nasir Eddin, 9 
 
 Navigation and the constellations, 
 
 2, 6 
 Nebulae, 222 
 Neptune, 244 
 Newton, Sir Isaac, cited, 32, 43, 44, 
 
 99, 256, 257 
 Nicetas, 7 
 
 Nichol, Dr., quoted, 221, 253 
 Ninth Sphere (Crystalline), 67, 73, 80 
 Norwood, 50 
 Novarra, 11 
 
 * Ode on the Nativity,' the, 273 
 Omar Khayyam, 9 
 Ophiuchi, 210, 211 
 Ophiuchus, 120, 218, 258, 259, 
 Orion, constellation of, 120-21 
 Great Nebula in, 37, 222-23 
 Ossian, cited, 199, 201 
 Ovid, definition of Chaos in, 56 
 
 Pallas, 147 
 
 Pandemonium, Milton's portrayal 
 of, 243 
 
 Parabolic law of projectiles deter- 
 mined by Galileo, 26 
 
 Paradise, situation and description 
 of, in Milton, 240 et seq. 
 
 ' Paradise Lost ' : date of commenc- 
 ing, 102 ; a cosmological epic, 63 ; 
 vastness of, 95 ; astronomical 
 system of, 64-5 ; on the choice of 
 
286 
 
 INDEX 
 
 the Ptolemaic system for, 73-4, 
 104, 116, 244 ; additions to Ptole- 
 maic system in, 74, 92-4 ; deriva- 
 tion of cosmology of, 52-3, 88 ; 
 cosmological scheme of, 54, 63, 
 95 ; Heaven or the Empyrean, 
 54, 61, 67, 75-6, 76 n.^, 88; 
 Chaos, 53, 55 et seq., 61 ; Hell, 
 62, 70, 76, 88-9 ; the creation of 
 the Heavens and the Earth, 63 ; 
 the visible Universe in, 64, 75, 76 
 and n.'^, 88, 89 ; aspect and sur- 
 roundings of the Universe, 77-8, 
 92 ; reconciled with the Mosaic 
 cosmology, 79 ; distribution of 
 the aqueous element, 79-80 ; 
 description of the newly created 
 Universe in, 80 ; the Golden 
 Ladder, method of communica- 
 tion between Heaven and the 
 New Universe, 79, 81, 88 ; the 
 
 ; aperture in the ' first convex,' 
 74, 81 ; the passage down to 
 Paradise, 81, 85-6, 88 ; commu- 
 nication between Hell and the 
 New Universe, 86, 88 ; descrip- 
 tion of the viaduct from Hell, 
 86-7 ; distances in, not easy to 
 comprehend, 89-90 ; inconsist- 
 encies in, 90 et seq. ; the 
 Primum Mobile described in, 92 ; 
 the speed of the spheres in, 92 ; 
 nature and uses of the ' first 
 convex,' 90-3 ; creation of Light 
 and its concentration in the Sun, 
 177 ; mystical numbers in, 89 
 
 Paradise of Fools, locality of, 91, 
 93 
 
 Parallax, 206 ; Bessel's stellar 
 parallax, 207 ; of o Centauri, 
 207 ; solar, 38, 46 
 
 Perrier, M. E., cited, 234 
 
 Perseids, the, 161, 261 
 
 Perseus, 216, 252, 253; Great 
 Cluster in, 219, 253 
 
 Persia, astronomy in, 9 
 
 Phillips, Edward, 158 
 
 Philosopher's stone, the, 179 
 
 Physical astronomy, basis of, in 
 Kepler's work, 30 
 
 Picard, 39 
 
 Planets, the, aspects and motions of, 
 ] 13 and notes ; orbits of, 7, 27, 
 85 ; * starry dance ' of, 84, 215 
 
 Plato's 'Republic,' description of 
 the journey of Er, 70, 71 
 
 Pleiades, the, 219, 223, 245 et seq. ; 
 brilliancy of, 247-48 ; in Greek 
 
 mythology, 245 ' lost Pleiad,' 
 the, 246 ; motion of, 248 ; 
 names of, 246 ; nebula in, 248 ; 
 number of stars in, 247 ; scintil- 
 lation of, 246 ; ' sweet influences ' 
 of, 245, 246 ; time of appearance, 
 247; years of ( — light period), 
 247 
 
 Pliny, cited, 136, 218 
 
 Polarisation, discovery of, 35 
 
 Primum Mobile, the, 67, 73, 114 ; 
 speed of, 94 
 
 Prutenic Tables, 14 
 
 Ptolemaic system, 8-9, 12, 65 ; 
 described, 65 et seq., 71 n., Ill ; 
 a,dditions to, in the Middle Ages, 
 66-7 ; harmonious sound asso- 
 ciated with the revolution of the 
 spheres, 68 et. seq. ; description 
 of substance and function of the 
 spheres, 73 ; the Universe cir- 
 cumscribed and Mdthin the power 
 of man's mental capacity, 73 ; 
 eccentric, epicycle, and other 
 expedients in, 12, 107-9 ; multi- 
 plication of spheres in, 109, 116 ; 
 supremacy of the Sun in, 84 ; 
 the stars in, 204, 225 ; shattered 
 by Copernican system, 12, 68 ; 
 mentioned, 97, 152, 184. 244 
 
 Ptolemy, 8 ; astronomical work of, 
 8-9, 43 ; the • Almagest ' of, 8, 10. 
 117 ; mentioned, 5, 139. See 
 Ptolemaic system above 
 
 Purbach, 10 
 
 Pyramids, the, 4 
 
 Pythagoras, 4, 6, 49 
 
 Radiant Point, 261 
 
 Ramsay, Sir William, cited, 173 
 
 Raphael, 92, 103-16 passim, 135-6, 
 
 161, 195-6 
 Refracting telescope, principle of, 
 
 132 
 Refraction, 8 
 Regiomontanus, 10 
 Rheita, 140 
 Right ascension, 8, 228 
 River of Bliss, 55 
 Roemer, Olaus, 39 ; astronomical 
 
 work of, 40-1, 204 
 Rudolphine Tables, 21, 29, 33, 34, 
 
 43 
 
 Sacrobosco, Joannes, 117 
 Satan, 236-37 ; prior to his fall, 226 ; 
 angelic prediction as to fall, 161 ; 
 
INDEX 
 
 287 
 
 warned of his fate, 121 ; meeting 
 with Michael on the battlefield, 
 122 ; flight, 117 ; rebellion and 
 expulsion from Heaven, 61 ; 
 journey to discover the newly 
 created Universe, 74 et seq. ; 
 arrival at the Golden Stairs, 81 ; 
 his field of vision, 82 ; passage 
 through the spheres, 82 et seq. ; 
 address to the Sun, 180-1 ; lands 
 in the Sun, 85, 142, 177; flight 
 down to Earth, 85-6, 88, 147, 195 ; 
 peregrination round the Earth, 
 117 ; in the Garden of Eden, 241 ; 
 return to Hell, 121, 122 ; his 
 shield, 134, 146 
 Saturn, 4, 36-7, 38, 141 n,\ 244 
 Savilian, Dr. Wallis, 48 
 Scheiner, 140 
 Schroeter, cited, 39, 235 
 Scorpio, 121 
 Scudamore, Lord, 128 
 Seasons, the, 148 et seq., 155 et seq. 
 Serpentarius, 258 
 Shakespeare, cited, 68, 256 
 Sherburn, cited, 50 
 Shooting stars, 261 
 Sirius, 223, 227-28, 233 ; regarded 
 
 as of evil omen, 228 
 Solar system, earliest stage of, 60-1 
 
 ■ apogee, 9 
 
 Solstices, the, 140 
 'Sothis' (Sirius), 228 
 Southern Cross, 250 
 Spherical Shell, or ' first convex,' 
 the, 90-4 ; cannot be identified 
 with the Primum Mobile, 92-4 
 Stars, the, 202 et seq. ; grouping 
 of into constellations, 2 ; in 
 navigation, 6 ; as inhabited 
 worlds, belief as to, 83 ; in the 
 astronomy of Milton's time, 
 113, 224, 226, 229; little re- 
 garded by early astronomers, 
 203 ; structure of stellar 
 universe, 208 ; creation of (in 
 ' Paradise Lost '), 225 ; ancient 
 beliefs as to the influence of, 
 248-49 
 Atlas of, the first, 41 
 Binary, 209-12 
 Catalogues of, 8, 10, 21, 218 
 Clusters of, 214, 219-22, 253 ; 
 globular, 219-22 ; irregular, 
 219 ; Pleiades, the, 245 et seq. 
 Colours in, 212-14 
 Distances of, 206-7 
 Double, 208-13 
 
 Fixed, 7, 114 ; regarded as, by 
 early astronomers, 203, 204 
 
 Fluctuations of light in, 216 
 
 Galaxies, 222 
 
 Groups, 218-19 
 
 Insulated, 208 
 
 Light years of, 207-8, 211 
 
 Multiple, 213-16 
 
 Nature of the, 224 
 
 Nebulae, 222 
 
 Number visible, 203 
 
 Periodical, 216-17 
 
 Quadruple, 213, 214 
 
 Single, 208 
 
 Temporary, 217, 218 
 
 Triple, 213 
 
 Variable, 216, 217 
 Struve, cited, 213 
 Summero-Akkadians, the, 2 
 Sun, the, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 83, 84, 162, 
 
 165 et seq., 174 ; central nucleus 
 
 of, 173 ; chemical constitution 
 
 of, 173 ; chromosphere, the, 171 ; 
 
 distance of, 165 ; eclipse of, 4, 5, 
 
 6, 123, 170, 171 ; gravity, force of, 
 
 in, 166; heat of, 166-67, 170; 
 
 light of, 166-67, 170 ; magnitude, 
 
 166 ; nature of, 174 ; nebular 
 
 surroundings of, 170 ; parallax, 
 
 46 ; photosphere, the, 167-71 ; 
 
 rotation, 165 ; spots in, 142, 168 
 
 et seq. ; star, as a, 208 
 Suns, other suns, 208, 224, 254 
 Swart-star (Sirius), 227 
 
 Telescope invention and astro- 
 nomical research, 34, 36, 101, 
 130-33 
 
 Tennyson, quoted, 248 
 
 Thales, astronomical work of, 5-6 
 
 Theophanes, cited, 262 
 
 Timocharis, 7 
 
 Tirvalore Tables, 4 
 
 Torricelli, 41 
 
 Toucan, cluster in, 221 
 
 Townley, cited, 50 
 
 Transit instrument, 40 
 
 Trigonometry, 8 
 
 Tuscan artist. See Galileo 
 
 Tycho Brahe, 13-21, 28, 29, 98; 
 ' Uranienburg,' 17, 21 ; astro- 
 nomical work of, 13, 17, 20-1, 
 28, 29 ; the ' Tychonic ' hypo- 
 thesis, 21 ; view as to " the 
 stars, 224 ; death, 20, 29 
 Mentioned, 33, 34, 41, 42, 49, 
 218 
 
288 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Ultjgh-Beg, 10 
 
 Urania, goddess of astronomy, 164 
 
 and n., 265 
 Uranus, 166, 244 
 Uriel (archangel), 85, 118, 122, 184, 
 
 195, 197, 225, 263, 266 
 
 Venus (Hesperus), 5, 13, 231 et 
 seq. ; atmosphere, 232, 234, 
 235 ; axis, 232 ; brilliancy of, 
 232, 233, 234, 237 ; density 
 of, 232 ; diameter of, 45, 46, 
 47, 232 ; distance from the 
 sun, 231 ; evening star, as, 
 232 ; light and heat received 
 bv, 233 ; morning star, as, 
 232 ; orbit of, 231 ; phases, 144, 
 232-33 ; revolution, 232-33 ; 
 rotation, 38, 39, 232; no 
 satellite, 232, 244 
 Surface of, 234-35 ; vegetation 
 on, 234 ; organisms on, M. E. 
 Perrier's hypothesis, 234 ; 
 
 accurate definition of, impos- 
 sible, 234-35 
 Transit of, 34, 37, 42, 45-7 
 Verity, A. W., quoted, 227 n., 
 
 236 
 Virgil, quoted, 263 
 7Virginis, 211 
 
 Waltherlts, 10 
 
 Waters above the firmament, the, 
 79, 80 
 
 Waters under the firmament, the, 
 80 
 
 Winter solstice, position of de- 
 termined by the Chinese, 3 
 
 Witchcraft, belief in, 198 
 
 World, significance of the word in 
 Milton's time, 53 n., 112-13 
 
 Year, divisions of the, 3, 7, 149 
 
 Zodiac, the, 4, 5, 147-48 ; con- 
 stellations of, 148 ; signs of, 147, 
 148 
 
 THE END 
 
 PRINTED BY 
 
 SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., COLCHESTER 
 
 LONDON AND ETON 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 RENEWALS ONLY— TEL. NO. 642^405 
 
 This book is due onibe l<ist date stamped below, or 
 
 on the dsmbo which renewed. 
 
 Renewed book^ffi subject to immediate recall. 
 
 ■& 
 
 w~w 
 
 m^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 M^ 
 
 <^ 
 
 
 SEP 2 3 19 69 \ 1 
 
 REC'D LP SE^ 2^ '69 -101^ 
 
 m^^ 
 
 HECD LD 
 
 NOV 24 "69 
 
 HEC. C I R.OT 1^ T 
 
 WM\ 
 
 LD21A-60m-6,'69 
 (J9096slO)476-A-32 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
CQbl3SbS3b 
 
 Joo5i7