132 LIGHT SCIENCE FOR LEISURE HOURS. 



letter of Herschel's name with a small globe attached 

 to the cross-stroke, still reminds us of the honour which 

 Continental astronomers generously proposed to render 

 to their fellow-worker in England. 1 Lichtenberg pro- 

 posed the name of Astrsea, the goddess of justice for 

 this ' exquisite reason,' that since justice had failed to 

 establish her reign upon earth, she might be supposed 

 to have removed herself as far as possible from our 

 unworthy planet. Poinsinet suggested that Cybele 

 would be a suitable name ; for since Saturn and Jupiter, 

 to whom the gods owed their origin, had long held their 

 seat in the heavens, it was time to find a place for Cybele, 

 'the great mother of the gods.' Had the supposed 

 Greek representative of Cybele Ehsea been selected 

 for the honour, the name of the planet would have 

 approached somewhat nearly in sound, and perhaps in 

 signification, to the old name Kahu. But neither 

 Astraea nor Cybele were regarded as of sufficient dignity 

 and importance among the ancient deities to supply a 

 name for the new planet. 2 Prosperin proposed Neptune 

 as a suitable name, because Saturn would thus have the 



1 There is a certain incongruity, accordingly, among the symbols of 

 the primary planets. Mercury is symbolised by his caduceus, Venus by 

 her looking-glass (I suppose), Mars by his spear and shield, Jupiter by 

 his throne, Saturn by his sickle ; and again, when we pass to the sym- 

 bols assigned to the planets discovered in the present century, we find 

 Neptune symbolized by his trident, Vesta by her altar, Ceres by her 

 sickle, Minerva by a sword, and Juno by a star-tipped sceptre. Uranus 

 alone is represented by a symbol which has no relation to his position 

 among the deities of mythology. 



2 Both these names are found among the asteroids, the fifth of these 

 bodies (in order of discovery) being called Astraea, the eighty-ninth 

 being named after the great mother of gods and goddesses. 



