Sbptembkb 1, 1900.] 



KNOWLEDGE, 



205 



interstices between the loaves, provided only that they 

 are small, tlie spot of light on the ground is always of a 

 round or oval shape. Our photographic readers will 

 remember that the same thing is noticed with the 

 stops of their lenses, whether the aperture of the 

 stop is round, oval, or square, the image on the 

 ground glass is the same. Of coui-se to get the spots of 

 light on the ground quite circular the surface of the 

 ground must be at right angles t-o the ray of sunshine 

 which finds its way through the leaves. In this country, 

 however, the sua is never vertical, so the sun images are 



Crcsccnt-shaped Images of the Sim during tlie Eclipse. 



generally of an oval shape, except only in the rare cases 

 where the ground happens to slope in such a manner 

 that the sun's rays strike it at right angles. 



During an eclipse the images of the sun assume the 

 crescent shape of the sun itself, and in the accompany- 

 ing photograph, taken on May 28th last, a number of 

 spots of a crescent shape will be seen on the fence and on 

 the road. The large irregularly shaped patches of sun- 

 light are cases in which the sun has been shining through 

 spaces too large to act as a " pinhole-lens," or where 

 images from several apertures have fallen over one 

 another. E. Pierce. 



'" Claremont," Balfour Rd., 

 South Norwood. 



ASTROLOGY. 



TO THE EDITORS OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Sirs, — I should like to appeal against the antipathy 

 which appears to exist against those doctrines usually 

 termed astrological. 



The majority of astronomers, without the lea.st 

 examination of the subject, reject the idea of planetary 

 influence as being totally unworthy of their considera- 

 tion, completely ignoring the fact that there are hun- 

 dreds of proofs in its favour. 



No modem scientist would think of denying that 

 between the sun and the planets, and the planets and 

 each other, there is a mysterious connection, akin to 

 electricity, which manifests itself in gravitation, centri- 

 petal attraction, and perturbations of their orbits. Why, 



therefore, should not this mutual influence show itself, 

 psychically, so to speak, in the destinies and characters 

 of a planet's inhabitants? 



Pythagoras, whom wo have cvciy reason to believe 

 originated the modern system of astronomy, was un- 

 doubtedly a believer in astrology, and the famous Kepler 

 was also an adherent to its teachings. 



I wish that some of your readers would give the 

 matter a sound and unbiased investigation which would 

 prove whether the Egyptians, the Chaldeans, and other 

 liiglily-civilised races were wrong in the opinions they 

 entertained for many thousands of years. 



240, Ilolloway Road, N. B. Chatley. 



[In reply to Mr. Chatley it is sufficient to say that 

 astronomers do not care to waste time on an examina- 

 tion into astrology, for the reason that there is nothing 

 in it to examine. It is simply a gi-oss imposture, a 

 special form of Fetichism, i.e., of the arbitrary ascrip- 

 tion to inanimate objects of mysterious powers, entirely 

 apart from any physical and material action. The only 

 excuse it ever had was in the days of bygone heathen- 

 dom, when the sun, moon, and planets were looked 

 upon, not as things, but as beings : as Gods, in fact, 

 and were worshipped as such. 



But as compared with the English astrologer, the 

 West African negro shows himself much the more reason- 

 able and intelligent. The latter, if his fetich does not 

 bring him the expected good luck, will kick or beat it, 

 and consign it to the dust^heap. The former, if Venus 

 and Mercury do not justify his anticipations, does not 

 dream of reconsidering his notions as to their " in- 

 fluences," but goes on still blindly believing in spite of 

 the clearest evidences against him. 



Present day astrologers can neither tell when or how 

 the special " influences " supposed to reside in each in- 

 dividual " planet " or " house " were determined, nor 

 give the observations upon which primitive astrology 

 was based? They choose to call Jupiter "fortunate" 

 and Saturn "malign"; but if anyone should think fit 

 to reverse the attributes, who could contradict him ? 



Mr. Chatley asks " whether the Egyptians, the Chal- 

 deans, and other highly-civilised races were wrong in 

 the opinions they entertained for many thousands of 

 years." If modcni astrologers are right, they certainly 

 were. For the ancients recognised bait seven planets, 

 whereas there are — according to modern astrologers — 

 nine. That is to say, in the opinion of the ancients 

 Uranus and Neptune had no influence, for they never 

 detected anything wrong in their calculations, as they 

 should have done if these planets were really potent. 



By-the-bye, if these two new planets have any astro- 

 logical power upon the characters and fortunes of men, 

 how is it that astrologers did not discover them centuries 

 ago? The astronomers had to wait till sufficiently 

 powerful telescopes had been constructed ; the astro- 

 logers had their materials for study — nations, cities, and 

 individual men, all ready to their hands. 



Again, when Uranus and Neptune had been dis- 

 covered, from what observations, and by what process 

 of reasoning were their specific influences defined? 



Further, can astrologers tell us now, by the " out- 

 standing differences " between their predictions and 

 their fulfilments, whether there are more planets to be 

 discovered, beyond Neptune or within the orbit of 

 Mercury ? 



One point more, the force of gravitation, — to which 

 Mr. Chatley alludes, — varies directly as the mass of the 

 attracting body, and inversely as the square of the 



