180 A Short History of Astronomy [CH. vii. 



manual work at home he was sen* in 1584 at the public 

 expense to the monastic school at Adelberg, and two years 

 later to the more advanced school or college of the 

 same kind at Maulbronn, which was connected with the 

 University of Tubingen, then one of the great centres of 

 Protestant theology. 



In 1588 he obta'njd the B.A. degree, and in the following 

 year entered the philosophical faculty at Tubingen. 



There he came under the influence of Maestlin, the 

 professor of mathematics, by whom he was in private 

 taught the principles of the Coppernican system, though 

 the professorial lectures were still on the traditional lines. 



In 1591 Kepler graduated as M.A., being second out of 

 fourteen candidates, and then devoted himself chiefly to 

 the stifdy of theology. 



136. In 1594, however, the Protestant Estates of Styria 

 applied to Tubingen for a lecturer on mathematics (in- 

 cluding astronomy) for the high school of Gratz, and the 

 appointment was offered to Kepler. Having no special 

 knowledge of the subject and as yet no taste for it, he 

 naturally hesitated about accepting the offer, but finally 

 decided to do so, expressly stipulating, however, that he 

 should not thereby forfeit his claims to ecclesiastical 

 preferment in Wiirtemberg. The demand for higher 

 mathematics at Gratz seems to have been slight ; during 

 his first year Kepler's mathematical lectures were attended 

 by very few students, and in the following year by none, 

 so that to prevent his salary from being washed he was 

 set to teach the elements of various other subjects. It 

 was moreover one of his duties to prepare an annual 

 almanack or calendar, which was expected to contain not 

 merely the usual elementary astronomical information such 

 as we are accustomed to in the calendars of to-day, but 

 also astrological information of a more interesting character, 

 such as predictions of the weather and of remarkable events, 

 guidance as to unlucky and lucky times, and the like. 

 Kepler's first calendar, for the year 1595, contained some 

 happy weather-prophecies, and he acquired accordingly a 

 considerable popular reputation as a prophet and astrologer, 

 which remained throughout his life. 



.Meanwhile his official duties evidently left him a 



