the Rev. John Flamsieed. 149 



the moon inserted in the margin of the book, and considered to 

 be deduced from those observations, were the very same places 

 (at least those in the more early periods) that he had some years 

 before given to Newton under the express stipulation that they 

 were not to be made public, because they were deduced from an 

 approximate catalogue of the fixed stars. This was not just 

 either to Flamsteed or to the public, who had a right to expect 

 that the most correct determinations should be given *. It is 

 true that the editor thereby saved himself a vast deal of intricate 

 and troublesome computation ; but the character of Flamsteed 

 suffered in proportion, and we cannot be surprised that he should 

 be indignant on the occasion. And, if he has expressed his opi- 

 nion of Halley's conduct (in his confidential letters) in terms 

 which sound at the present day extremely harsh to our ears, it 

 must be confessed he had much to irritate and excite him. 



ner in which they were entered in the MSS. books, (and as they are in fact now 

 printed by Flamsteed in the second volume of the Historia Coelestis^ but mere- 

 ly partial extracts from the same, where they had reference to the moon or 

 any of the planets, all the remaining observations being wholly omitted. And these 

 extracts were arranged under different heads, according to the body with which 

 the stars (generally two or three only in number) were compared. Thus, on 

 15th September 1690, although there were 119 observations made, yet only 

 the five which relate to Jupiter, and the four which relate to the moon, are 

 extracted for the press, and jjlaced in different parts of the volume ; the re- 

 maining 110 observations being wholly omitted, and no notice whatever taken 

 of them in any part of the book. So that the future astronomer has no means 

 of correcting the error of the instrument t)r of the clock, nor of ascertaining 

 whether the catalogue of the fixed stars had been correctly deduced. (See 

 the last note in page 92.) Flamsteed knew much better than the referees the 

 practical advantage of having aW the observations recorded day after day in their 

 regular order. He was therefore perfectly justified in destroying (as he after- 

 wards did) this garbled and abortive production, and both the present and future 

 astronomer will duly estimate the obligations which they are under to him for 

 having Iiad the public spirit afterwards to print at his own expense the whole 

 of his observations in the order in which they were made. Flamsteed's mo-' 

 tive, however, was but little understood in his day, if we may judge from the 

 opinion of Mr Jones alluded to in page 20. 



* The early computations of the places of the moon are to be found in the 

 MSS. vol 54, and correspond exactly with those published in Halley's spurioua 

 edition. The subsequent lunar.computations, deduced from the corrtfc/ places of 

 the stars, are to be found in MSS. vol. 60, and correspond with those pub- 

 lished afterwards by Flamsteed himself. The difference is frequently very 

 considerable. See Mr Sharp's opinion on this subject in page 323. 



