ERA OF NEWTON, HALLEY, AND HERSCHEL. 37 



him cannot be given than by supposing Tycho Brahe in possession of a telescope, and the 

 adaptation of it to other instruments. Laplace calls him " one of the greatest observers 

 that has ever appeared," and Delambre remarks, " his name will be eternally cited like 

 those of Hipparchus and Tycho, both of whom, as an observer, he surpassed." Born in 

 the neighbourhood of Derby, and brought up in limited circumstances in that town, he 

 wrought his way to a station at the head of practical astronomy, and established a con- 

 tinental reputation by dint of strong natural genius and unremitting application, in the-face 

 of great discouragements. Bad health was a frequent attendant upon him all his days. 

 The patronage of the Crown did not screen him from the want of adequate resources, 

 while from several of his scientific contemporaries he encountered dishonourable treat- 

 ment. The salary attached to -his office, then a hundred a year, was often in arrears. 

 Instruments were promised him by the government, but he had to find his own, com- 

 mencing his duties in 1676 with an iron sextant of seven feet radius, two clocks, and a 

 quadrant of three feet radius, with two telescopes, which he brought with him from Derby. 

 With these instruments he could only measure the relative positions of the stars, and it 

 was not until 1689 that he succeeded in constructing at his own expense a mural arc to 

 determine their absolute places. From this period, through an interval of thirty years, 

 his time was spent in valuable labours, the fruit of which appears in the formation of a 

 catalogue of three thousand stars, and a vast collection of lunar and planetary observations, 

 from which Newton derived material assistance in forming his lunar theory. Yet, as if 

 some annoyance must follow him to the grave, upon his death in 1719, the government of 

 the day attempted to claim his instruments as public property, because found in the national 

 observatory. The name of Flamstead, lost in a great measure to public recollection, or 

 only dimly recognised as one of those who, with " lamp at midnight hour Ja^i 



in some high lonely tower, 



may oft outwatch the Bear, 



With thrice great Hermes" 



was revived a few years ago, and acquired notoriety at the expense of Newton and 

 Halley's fame. It fell to the lot of Mr. Baily to discover a large number of his letters in 

 private hands, with others, and a manuscript autobiography, upon the shelves of the 

 library in the observatory; and upon their publication, in 1835, by order of the Lords 

 Commissioners of the Admiralty, some painful and unexpected disclosures were made. 

 It may be admitted that Flamstead exaggerates his own case, that his temper was irascible, 

 that he did not appreciate the value of Newton's theory, and over-estimated the importance 

 of his own labours ; yet, after having allowed these elements of correction full force, the 

 conclusion is sufficiently plain, that he was most injuriously treated, and that much of 

 the moral distinction with which posterity has crowned the head of Newton is altogether 

 misplaced. His deep obligations to Flamstead's lunar observations are acknowledged in 

 the first edition of the Principia, but carefully suppressed in the second, apparently when 

 vindictive feeling had begun to operate ; and, in fact, nothing is more remarkable than 

 the opinion universally entertained of the meek and placable disposition of the great 

 philosopher, and the want of temper and honour displayed in his dealings with Flamstead. 

 The truth appears to be, that as when we view a country beneath a brilliant sky and a 

 balmy atmosphere, we are apt to frame our impressions of the people in harmony with 

 the beauty of the scene ; so, to the early admirers of Newton, his intellectual greatness 

 invested with fictitious lustre his private character, and the infirmities of the man were 

 lost sight of in the glory of the sage. 



But however much we may take from the moral greatness usually attributed to Newton, 

 and a considerable abatement is unquestionably necessary, his reputation for wonderful 

 sagacity and grasp of mind is incapable of impeachment. The course of events has only 



