THEORY OF THE EARTH. 



parchus to Tycho, from Tycho to Hevelius, from 

 Hevelius to Flamstead, Lacaille, Bradley, or 

 Piazzi. 



" I have said elsewhere, the constellations are 

 good for nothing, unless at the most to enable us 

 to mark the stars with more ease ; whereas the 

 stars in particular afford fixed points to which we 

 can refer the motions, whether of the colures or of 

 the planets. Astronomy commenced only at the 

 period when Hipparchus made the first catalogue 

 of the stars, measured the revolution of the sun, 

 that of the moon, and their principal inequalities. 

 The rest presents nothing but darkness, uncer- 

 tainty, and gross error. The time would be lost 

 that were occupied in attempting to reduce this 

 chaos to order. 



" I have given, with the exception of a few 

 particulars, the whole of my opinion on this sub- 

 ject. I am nowise anxious about making con- 

 verts, for it gives me little concern whether my 

 ideas be adopted or not ; but, if my reasons be 

 compared with the reveries of Newton, Herschell, 

 Bailly, and so many others, it is not impossible 

 but that, in time, these more or less brilliant chi- 

 meras will no longer be relished. 



" I have attempted to determine the extent of 

 the constellations, according to the catasterisms 

 of Eratosthenes ; but the thing is really im- 

 possible. The matter would be still worse were 

 i 



