492 Dr. Moll on the Invention of Telescopes. 



But Ae saw the spots of the sun, which may be seen Avith in- 

 struments of a less power; and he labours under the erroneous 

 notion, then common to many, that the spots were planets or 

 satellites circulating round the sun. 



But what the Professor says of the accuracy which the inven- 

 tion of the telescope is likely to insure to astronomical observa- 

 tions, is very remarkable. What does he mean by assert- 

 ing, that the observations on the stars will become accurate to 

 a second ? Did the pupil of Tycho anticipate the application 

 of the telescope to instruments of mensuration ; to quadrants ? 

 I must own that it is difficult to take his distinct words in any 

 other sense ; and I am led to believe, that the idea of an inven- 

 tion, which did so much credit to Gascoigne, had occurred 

 to Adrian Metius. 



There is a passage in the English life of Galileo, which 

 ought not to pass unnoticed. The anonymous author accuses 

 William Boreel, to whom he chooses to give the Italian name 

 of Borelli, of glaring partiality against Galileo. ' Borelli,' 

 says this author, not ' satisfied with attributing the invention of 

 telescopes to Zanssen, endeavours to secure for him and for 

 his son the more solid reputation of having anticipated Galileo 

 in the useful employment of the invention. He has, however, 

 inserted in his collection a letter from John, the son of Za- 

 charias, in which John, omitting all mention of his father, 

 speaks of his own observations of the satellites of Jupiter, evi- 

 dently seeking to insinuate that they were earlier than Galileo's ; 

 and in this sense the latter has been since quoted, although it 

 appears from John's own deposition, preserved in the same 

 collection, that, at the time of the discovery, he could be no 

 older than six years. An oversight of this sort throws doubt 

 on the whole of the pretended observations ; and, indeed, the 

 letter has much the air of being the production of a person im- 

 perfectly informed on the subject on which he writes, and pro- 

 bably was compiled to suit Borelli's purposes, which were to 

 make Galileo's share in the invention appear as small as 

 possible.' 



I crave the liberty of replying to this passage, that if proba- 

 bilities are to be introduced in the case, it seems extremely 

 probable that the learned author of the Life of Galileo has 



