THE GENESIS OF THE LAW OF GRAVITY 323 



judged by the standards of to-day they are to be viewed with respect. 

 When we remember that the telescope and microscope were then un- 

 known, respect rises to admiration and wonder. So careful was he that 

 not a single mistake due to carelessness has ever been detected in his 

 work. 



From 1576 to 1597 Tycho Brahe worked in his well-equipped ob- 

 servatory at Uraniburg on the island of Huen. For twenty years this 

 temple of science was the greatest center of its sort in Europe. Philos- 

 ophers, statesmen and even kings visited him in his island home. Year 

 by year the great tables of observations grew until further additions 

 seemed but repetitions of oft-told tales. Indeed, the tables grew beyond 

 the ability of their maker to interpret, and some keener mind was 

 needed to unfold their hidden meaning. The possessor of such a mind 

 was even then living in Austria in the person of John Kepler. 



