114 F.AILLY. 



HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY. LETTF.RS ON THE ATLANTIS 



OF PLATO AND ON T1TK ANCIENT HISTORY OF 

 ASIA. 



In 177,'). iKiilly published a quarto volume, entitled 

 History of Ancient Astronomy, from its Origin up to the 

 EstabUsliment of the Alexandrian SeJiooL An analogous 

 work for the lapse of time, comprised between the Alex- 

 andrian School and 17^0, appeared in 1770. in two vol- 

 umes. An additional volume appeared three years later, 

 entitled the History of Jf,->dern Astronomy i<p to the Epoch 

 of 17^'2. The tifth part of this immense composition, the 

 History of Indian Astronomy, was published in 1787. 



When Bailly undertook this general history of Astron- 

 omy, the science po--c>M-d nothing of the sort. Erudition 

 had seized upon some special questions, some detailed 

 point-, but no commanding view had presided over these 

 investigations. 



Weidler's book, published in 17-11, was a mere simple 

 nomenclature of the astronomers of every age. and of 

 everv countrv : the dates of their birth and death : the 







titles of their works. The utility of this precise enumer- 

 ation of dates and titles did not alter the character of the 

 book. 



Baillv sketches the plan of his work with a masterly 



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hand in a few lines: he savs. "It is interesting to trans- 







port one's self back to the times when Astronomy began ; 

 to observe how discoveries were connected together, how 

 errors have cxn mixed up with truth, have delaved the 



C 1 * 



knowledge of it. -and retarded its progress : and. after 

 having followed the various epochs and traversed every 

 climate, finally to contemplate the edifice founded on the 

 labours of successive centuries and of various nations/' 



