TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION Ixix 



5. Kant and Lambert. In 1761, six years after 

 Kant's Cosmogony was elaborated in his Natural 

 History and Theory of the Heavens, the distin- 

 guished Mathematician and Astronomer, J. 

 Lambert, published his Cosmological Letters on' the 

 Arrangement of the Structure of the World, 1 which 

 obtained considerable popularity at the time. It gave, 

 as new and original, a view of the arrangement of the 

 stars, closely resembling that of Kant. When 

 Kant published the summary of his theory 

 in his Only Possible Proof in 1763, he re- 

 ferred in a footnote to Lambert as having 

 presented the same view as he had done, 

 concerning the systematic Constitution of the 

 Universe, the Milky Way, and the Nebulae. He 

 considers that his book had not become known to 

 Lambert, and infers from the agreement of Lambert's 

 view with his theory that it would yet receive more 

 confirmation. There can be no doubt of the inde- 

 pendence of Lambert and of his thoroughly good 

 faith in asserting it. In 1764 a friend of Lambert 

 showed him Kant's summary with its reference to 

 his work, and next year Lambert wrote a letter to 



Copies of Wright's Original Theory are not so rare as Professor De 

 Morgan and Mr. Gore suppose. The University Libraries of Edin- 

 burgh and Glasgow have each a copy. The Edinburgh University 

 Library has also a copy of Wright's Clams Ccelestis, London, I74 2 - 

 It is an ingenious Synopsis of the Universe^ elaborately illustrated ; but 

 it does not contain any hint of the later Theory of 1751. 



1 Cosmologische Briefe iiber die Einrichtung des Weltbaues. Ausge- 

 fertigt von J. H. Lambert. Augsburg bei Eberhard Kletts Wittib. 

 1761. 



