INDUCTIVE EPOCH OF HIPPARCHUS. 197 



exist in the heavens, when we know nothing of 

 their nature which entitles us to suppose that any 

 inconsistency will result?" 



But it may be said, we now know that the 

 motions are more simple than they were thus 

 represented, and that the theory of epicycles was 

 false, as a conception of the real construction of the 

 heavens. And to this we may reply, that it does 

 not appear that the best astronomers of antiquity 

 conceived the cycles and epicycles to have a mate- 

 rial existence. Though the dogmatic philosophers, 

 as the Aristotelians, appear to have taught that the 

 celestial spheres were real solid bodies, they are 

 spoken of by Ptolemy as imaginary 13 ; and it is clear, 

 from his proof of the identity of the results of the 

 hypothesis of an eccentric and an epicycle, that they 

 are intended to pass for no more than geometrical 

 conceptions, in which view they are true represen- 

 tations of the apparent motions. 



It is true, that the real motions of the heavenly 

 bodies are simpler than the apparent motions ; and 

 that we, who are in the habit of representing to our 

 minds their real arrangement, become impatient of 

 the seeming confusion and disorder of the ancient 

 hypotheses. But this real arrangement never could 

 have been detected by philosophers, if the apparent 

 motions had not been strictly examined and suc- 

 cessfully analyzed. How far the connexion between 

 the facts and the true theory is from being obvious 



13 Synt. iii. 3. 



