Dr. Moll on the Invention of Telescopes. 489 



cave. Bringing the eye near the concave glass, I saw the 

 objects large, and near enough : they appeared three-times 

 nearer, and nine times larger, than if seen with the naked eye. 



' Afterwards I made another instrument, which made objects 

 appear sixty times larger. 



' Finally, sparing neither industry nor expense, I succeeded 

 so far as to make an instrument of such excellence, as to 

 make the objects seen through it, appear a thousand times 

 larger, and more than thirty times nearer, than if seen with the 

 natural power of the eye.' 



Viviani, Galileo's favourite pupil and friend,*, says, that in 

 the month of April or May, 1609, it was rumoured in Venice, 

 where Galileo then was, that a Dutchman presented to Count 

 Maurus, of Nassau, a certain glass occhiale, with which distant 

 objects appeared as if they were nearer, nothing more was 

 said-\. With this information only Galileo returned imme- 

 diately to Padua, to try whether he could find out the con- 

 struction of this instrument, in which he succeeded on the 

 following night. The next day was employed in construct- 

 ing the instrument, in the manner which he had imagined ; 

 and, notwithstanding the imperfection of the glasses which 

 he procured, he saw the effects which he anticipated, and 

 immediately gave notice of it to his friends in Venice. He 

 constructed, after this, instruments of better quality ; and 

 six days later he took some of them to some elevated part 

 of the city, and made the first senators of the republic observe 

 distant objects, which they did with great admiration. Bring- 

 ing constantly the instrument to greater perfection, he re- 

 solved finally, with his wonted liberality, to communicate his 

 invention, and to make a free gift of it to the serene Prince 

 and Doge Leonardo Donati, and to the Senate of Venice, 

 presenting with the instrument a paper, in which he declares 

 the construction, and the admirable use and results on land 

 and on sea, which might be obtained from this invention. 

 In consequence of this noble present, the serene republic, 

 with generous demonstration of the 25th of August, 1609, 

 wrote to Galileo, and a pension was granted him for life, with 



* Viviani vita del Galileo, p. 69. t A* pi oltrifu detio. 



