388 Dr. Lhotsky on the Complete 



held from him, — whose discoveries have been confirmed in so 

 splendid a way. 



Something, it is true, has been done in the way of atone- 

 ment towards his long-neglected memory ; and it is now 

 thirty-seven years since over his grave at Regensburg (his 

 native city), the image of the great man was placed under the 

 cupola of a monument, on the anniversary of his birth-day, 

 amid the roar of cannon. It cannot, however, be said that 

 this slight token of gratitude could suffice to the memory of 

 one whom his coevals left in misery and distress, while occu- 

 pied with the examination of the very innermost secrets of 

 science ; while at the same time the produce of a painful and 

 thorny life, his splendid works, remained unknown and for- 

 gotten. It is true, his name is on the lips of every astronomer 

 and philosopher ; the three great Keplerean laws are yet the 

 main basis of the knowledge of the heavens ; still his works 

 moulder in dust and oblivion. On the other hand, it must 

 be acknowledged that the present position of mathematical 

 science is far different from what it was in the seventeenth 

 century ; and problems are now solved with facility and speed 

 which then occasioned much labour; and many a deep axiom 

 and saying of Kepler will be more easily appreciated if pre- 

 sented to the reader in a more modern garb. But it is not 

 merely the contents, but even the form and style of the im- 

 mortal astronomer's works, which imparts value to them ; and 

 it requires but little attention to become familiar with that 

 form, albeit hidden and enigmatic. 



There are two reasons, however, which have hitherto pre- 

 vented the greater spread of Kepler's works, — their rarity 

 and their external appearance. There is hardly a library in 

 Europe where all the works of Kepler are to be met with, and 

 many where even the most important are wanting. The cause 

 is obvious. In the then condition of typography and publish- 

 ing, only a few copies could be printed, and of those many 

 were lost in conveying them about the country and by other 

 accidents. Thus, for instance, Kepler's Harmonie and Astro- 

 nomia Nova are so scarce, that only the largest libraries can 

 boast of their possession. The next cause of the neglect of 

 our author's works, is the wretched type, bad paper, and 

 the improper size of many of them. The figures, moreover, 

 are so badly designed, and the letters thereon so indistinct, 

 that they cannot be read without difficulty. These reasons 

 will be deemed sufficient for making a collection of Kepler's 

 works. It was the late Prof. Pfaffat Eslingen, who, in 1810, 

 first conceived this design, which, however, did not come to 

 maturity. Still, constant communications with this gentleman 



