36o 



NATURE 



[Augusi 8, 1889 



now so carefully studied. A coming Newton will discover the 

 laws of these changes. Those laws, when applied to chemistry, 

 may exhibit peculiarities, but these will certainly be mere varia- 

 tions on the grand harmonious theme which reigns in Nature. 

 The discovery of the laws which produce this harmony in 

 chemical evolutions will on'y be possible, it seems to me, under 

 the banner of Newtonian dynamics which has so long waved 

 over the domains of mechanics, astronomy, and physics. In 

 calling chemists to take their stand under its peaceful and 

 catholic shadow, I imagine that I am aiding in establishing that 

 scientific union which the managers of the Royal Institution wish 

 to effect, who have shown their desire to do so by the flattering 

 invitation which has given me — a Russian — the opportunity of 

 laying before the countrymen of Newton an attempt to apply to 

 chemistry one of his immortal principles. 



BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY} 



IV. 



'T'HE nightly motion of the stars from east to west appears to 

 have been the only one known to the Babylonian astro- 

 nomers. The inclination of the equator on the ecliptic brought, 

 however, a few of the austral stars over the horizon at certain 

 times of the year for a short period, and in a few cases, as in that 

 of the star Sjikttdu (Sirius), these stars were used to determine 

 certain periods or festivals. The complicated motion of the 

 planets never was known to them, and the planets were accord- 

 ingly regarded as evil spirits which disturbed the harmony of 

 Nature. A similar view is taken in the Zend-Avesta. After a 

 cosmical year of 360,000 ordinary years, the series of heavenly and 

 consequently terrestrial events was to begin again. 



While the Semitic religion had emerged from tribal monotheism, 

 the Akkadians followed a sect professing Mazdeism — that is, a 

 religion admitting two principles, one good and one bad ; but they 

 thought that, as the good gods would not hurt them, it was 

 wise to propitiate the bad ones, and propitiation easily led to 

 worship. That is how the seven planets, the disturbers of 

 heavenly harmony, became their chief deities. For the same 

 reason all disturbing causes, apparent or real, were subjects of 

 their special attention, pestilence, thunder, comets, &c. Eclipses 

 (which they could not predict) were at first also of bad omen, 

 but by a curious reversion they became happy signs. 



The ignorance of the Babylonians with regard to astronomy 

 might have been gathered from the statements of classical 

 authors, if they had been examined with an unprejudiced mind, 

 Diodorus Siculus says positively that their notions about astro- 

 nomy, fixed at an early date, never changed, and that they could 

 not predict the solar eclipses. We also know from a fragment 

 of Berosus, preserved by Vitruvius, that the Babylonians believed 

 the moon to be a globe half incandescent and half dark, the 

 lunar phases and eclipses being produced by its own motion. 

 The errors and contradictions of the Greek and Latin authors, 

 which misled us also, came from the fact that they borrowed 

 their information from the Alexandrian astronomers, who, 

 they thought, derived their science from Babylon. This was 

 true, indeed, but only to a very small extent, as we shall see. 



When, after the conquest of Alexander, the Greeks estab- 

 lished themselves in Babylon, they imported with them all their 

 scientific knowledge. The Babylonians, who had to learn Greek, 

 soon discovered the accuracy of their new masters in science, 

 and, exactly as did the Chinese astronomers after the settlement 

 of the Jesuits in China, adopted the discoveries of the West. 



This is put beyond doubt by the tablets of this period, 

 the Seleucidian, which give tables of the motions of the moon 

 and planets, and mention solar and lunar eclipses without 

 any omens. The Seleucidian astronomers, wishing to use 

 the older observations, made search for old records and tabu- 

 lated them ; these tablets are of the highest interest from the 

 astronomical point of view. The British Museum possesses, for 

 instance, a tablet, written 100 years B.C., giving the list of nine- 

 teen lunar cycles of eighteen years — that is, a table combining the 

 Metonic cycle vi'nh Xht saros . This ^awj, or cycle of the lunar 

 eclipses, must have been discovered after the settlement of the 

 Greeks; it was called the "king" {sar m Babylonian, hence 

 saros in Greek) just as the Metonic cycle was called "golden." 



The first care of these astronomical innovators was, no doubt, 



* Abstract of the fourth lecture delivered by Mr. G. Berlin at the British 

 Museum. Continued from p. 285. 



to reform the very defective calendar of former times. They also 

 divided the ecli ptic into twelve parts, corresponding to the months, 

 and chose twelve cuneiform signs to represent in their tablets the 

 twelve zodiacal constellation". They then devised the Grseco- 

 Babylonian calendar, whence was derived the Jewish one of the 

 time of the Maccabees. 



This reform was not made, however, without causing a cer- 

 tain confusion in the star nomenclature, and even in the calendar 

 itself ; for, as the older Babylonians used to connect the various 

 parts of the year with the stars or constellations according to 

 their acronic rising, there was a certain hesitation in the choice 

 made by the reformers. Probably this was what caused the 

 parallel use of two calendars, one beginning with Nisan and the 

 other with Tisrit. This hesitation has also left traces in the sijfns 

 chosen to designate the zodiacal constellations ; for instance, the 

 sign representing the month Tisrit in older Babylonian was used 

 to represent the constellation connected with the month Nisan. 



It was from this new focus of astronomical science that the 

 Alexandrian astronomers borrowed much of their information. 

 Unfortunately, the old Babylonian superstitions had a most 

 injurious influence on I he rising Alexandrian astronomy, Jewish, 

 Syrian, and Babylonian emigrants, fleeing from the Seleucidian 

 tyranny, flocked to Egypt, bringing with them their superstitions 

 and love for allegories. The Alexandrian astronomers accepted 

 with the Babylonian nomenclature all the ideas of influences 

 attributed to planets and stars, and, being able to predict con- 

 junctions, tried to predict events supposed to be due to star 

 influences. Astrology was then born, for astrology, it must be 

 remembered, requires an accurate knowledge of the motions of 

 stars and planets. 



In conclusion, it may be said that we owe very little to the old 

 Babylonian astronomers, and if the astronomical work of Berosus 

 had been preserved, it would have given no scientific information, 

 but only long lists of omens drawn from the rising and conjunc- 

 tions of stars and planets, and also from their colour and other 

 accidental aspects. The loss of such a work is not much to be 

 regretted. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Annuario dell' Institute Cartografico Italiano, 1884 (Roma). — Algerian 

 Hinis for Tourists: C. E. Flower (Stanford). — Mason Science College, 

 Birmingham ; Syllabus of Day Classes, Session 1889-90. — The Visitation 

 of Pallas's .Sand-Grouse to Scotland in 1S88 : Rev. H. R. Macpherson 

 (Porter). — Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, July (Churchill). — 

 Madras Journal of Literature and Science for the Session 1888-89 (Madras). 

 — Journal of the Anthropological Institute, August (Triibner). — Journal ol 

 the Chemical Society, August (Gurney and Jackson). — Archives Italiennes 

 de Biologic, tome xii., fasc. i, 2 (Turin, Loescher). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Empirical Logic. By James Sully 337 



Remsen's " Inorganic Chemistry " 339 



The Middle Lias of Northamptonshire 341 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Cundill : " A Dictionary of Explosives " 341 



Thwaite : " Gaseous Fuel " . 342 



Casey : " A Treatise on Spherical Trigonometry, and 

 its Application to Geodesy and Astronomy "... 342 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



Coronse round a Light produced by a Peculiar Struc- 

 ture in the Eye.— James C. McConnel , • • • . 342 

 Use or Abuse of Empirical Formulae, and of Differ- 

 entiation, by Chemists.— Spencer Pickering . . 343 

 Photographic Star-gauging, {Illustrated.) By A. M. 



Clarke 344 



Two American Institutions, By J. Taylor Kay . . 346 

 The Meeting of the British Association at Nevir- 



castle-on Tyne 349 



The New Buildings of the Sorbonne 349 



Notes 35*^ 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1889 



August 11-17 352 



Geographical Notes • 353 



An Attempt to apply to Chemistry one of the 

 Principles of Newton's Natural Philosophy. By 



Prof. D. Mendeleeff 354 



Babylonian Astronomy. IV. By G. Bertin , . . . 360 

 Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 360 



