FORMAL ASTRONOMY. 520 



The third edition, of 1592, contains an Addition, by the son, of 

 twenty pages, lie there speaks of having found, apparently among 

 his father's papers, " A description or raodile of the world and situa- 

 tion of Spheres Coelestiall and elementare according to the doctrine of 

 Ptolemie, whereunto all universities (led thereunto chiefly by the au- 

 thoritie of Aristotle) do consent." He adds: "But in this our age> 

 one rare witte (seeing the continuall errors ^hat from time to time 

 more and more continually have been discovered, besides the infinite 

 absurdities in their Theoricks, which they have been forced to admit 

 that would not confesse any Mobilitie in the ball of the Earth) hath 

 by long studye, paynfull practise, and rare invention, delivered a new 

 Theorick or Model of the world, shewing that the Earth resteth not 

 in the Center of the whole world or globe of elements, which encir- 

 cled and enclosed in the Moone's orbe, and together with the whole 

 globe of mortalitye is carried yearely round about the Sunne, which 

 like a king in the middest of all, raygneth and giveth lawes of motion 

 to all the rest, sphserically dispersing his glorious bcames of light 

 through all this sacred ccelestiall Temple. And the Earth itselfe to 

 be one of the Planets, having his peculiar and strange courses, turning 

 every 24 hours rounde upon his owne centre, whereby the Sunne and 

 great globe of fixed Starres seem to sway about and turne, albeit in- 

 deed they remaine fixed So many ways is the sense of mortal man 

 abused." 



This Addition is headed : 



"A Perfit Description of the Coelestiall Orbcs, according to the 

 most ancient doctrine of the Pythagoreans : lately revived by Coper- 

 nicus, and by Geometrical Demonstrations approved." Mr, De Mor- 

 gan, not having seen this edition, and knowing the title-page only as 

 far as the word " Pythagoreans," says " their astrological doctrines we 

 presume, not their reputed Oopernican ones." But it now appears that 

 in this, as in other cases, the authority of the Pythagoreans was claim- 

 ed for the Copernican system. Antony a Wood quotes the latter part 

 of the title thus : " Cui subnectitur orbium Copernicarum accurata 

 descriptio ;" which is inaccurate. "VYeidler, still more inaccurately, 

 cites it, " Cui subnectitur operum Copernici accurata, descriptio." La- 

 lande goes still further, attempting, it would seem, to -recover the Engr 

 lish title-page from the Latin : w r e find in the Bill. Astron. the fol- 

 lowing: "1592 . . Leonard Digges, Accurate Description of the 

 Copernican System to the Astronomical perpetual Prognostication." 



Thomas Digges appears, by others also of his writings, to have been 

 VOL. I 34 



