30 THE WORLD. 



known, the followers of the Egyptian school were in their glory, 

 Purbach, professor of Astronomy at Vienna, had reviewed the whole 

 system, and by the addition of various new spheres, had succeeded 

 in explaining all the observed irregularities of the planets, and 

 thus silenced forever the sneers of infidels, and particularly those 

 of Alphonso X. King of Castile, who had observed, "Had the 

 Deity consulted me at the creation of the universe, I could have 

 given him some good advice." But the hour of triumph 

 was short. Error, which had sat like a cloud npon the mountain 

 top, overshadowing all below, was ready to vanish before the bright 

 beams of the sun of Truth. 



The obscurity which hangs over those early days, conceals the 

 steps by which Copernicus arrived at the knowledge of the true 

 system. It required indeed a bold mind to disregard all the 

 religious dogmas of the time, and methodise a system, which ns 

 Tycho Brahe, himself an illustrious astronomer, observes, 

 "Moved the earth from its foundation, stopped the revolution of 

 the firmament, made the sun stand still, and subverted the whole 

 ancient order of the universe." Such a mind however, Coper- 

 nicus seems to have possessed, although his modesty prevented 

 him from publishing his views, until at so late a period, that he 

 only lived just long enough to see a printed copy of that book 

 which was to gain him immortal honor. At this time, in the 

 words of his admirable friend the Bishop of Culm, "He was 

 occupied with weightier cares" about to test the reality of that 

 unknown world whose mysteries sages have endeavored but in 

 vain to understand, from remotest ages. The first gleam of truth 

 which burst upon the mind of Copernicus was doubtless the idea 

 that the apparent revolution of the starry orbs around the earth 

 from east to west once in 24 hours, was actually accomplished by 

 a revolution of our earth on its axis in the same time but in the 

 contrary direction. Refer to the following diagram and observe 

 the simplicity of this explanation. 



Here is the earth, anH around it on all sides the celestial con- 

 cave. Suppose now an observer situated upon the earth should 

 see a particular star A, directly overhead at sunset, and that the 

 earth was revolving once on its axis in 24 hours in the direction of 



