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f.ttlier, Otto Br^hcs having a large family, the charge of his 

 c.'iucation was undertaken by his uncle, George Drahe, who 

 ;idopted him as his heir. This was a fortunate circumllance 

 1 ir Tycko, as his father thcnigiit literature inglorious, and 

 wilhtd allhis fons to follow the military profeflion. After a 

 oourfe of private inftruCtiOn in the I-atin language, his uncle 

 flit him, i:i l55Ti to Ihidy philufojihy and rhetoric at the 

 ;:caJeiny of Copenhagen ; where he was cafually incited to 

 :;lic Ihidy of ailronomy hy an eclipfe of the fun, which iiap- 

 j.encd Auguft 2'ilt 1560, at the precife time predifled by 

 allroiiomers. plence he was led to regard that fcieiice as 

 divine, which accurately defcribtd the motions of the celcllial 

 bodies, and predettrniiiied their relative pofitions. From 

 this time l.e devoted himfclf to the ftiidy of ailronomy, and 

 by means of the tables of Stadius, which he pnrchnfed, he 

 acquired a knowlcdg;e of the theory of the planets. In 1562 " 

 he was fent to iludy the civil law at Leipzig, in which he 

 made a very confiderable proficiency ; but, 11 twithftanding 

 the remoi.llrances of his tutor, and the application with 

 which he was required to profccute the Ihidy of the law, his 

 predominant inclination led him to peifeft himfelf in aftro- 

 iiomv. With this view he expended the money that was 

 allowed iiim for his private e.\pences, in the purchafe of 

 books, the difiicult palTarres of which were explained to 

 him by his private tutor Scultens ; and by means of a fmall 

 celelUal globe, and nightly obfervations of the heavens while 

 his preceptor was in bed, he became acquainted, in the courfe 

 of a month, with the names and pofitions of the conftelbtious, 

 and the spparent motions of the celelllal bodies. Infpired 

 with the fame ardent zeal in the proiecution of his favourite 

 fcie':ce, he acquired a competent knov\ledge of malhematics, 

 without the aifuiance of a niaflcr, and invented feveral ma- 

 thematical inilruments. Having paffed three years at Leip- 

 zig, it was his intention to have purfued his travels through 

 Germpny ; but the death of his uv.cle in 1565, and the eilate 

 which was bequcaihcd him, required his return to his native 

 councry. Difcuuiaged, iiowevcr. in his favourite purfuits by 

 his relations, he made the neccfiary arrangement ot hisailairs; 

 and before the expiration of a year, he abandoned liis 

 couutrv, and fet out on his travels. Accordingly he firll 

 went to Wittenberg, and on occafion of the plague, which 

 broke out in this town, he rem.oved, in 1567, to Rotloc, 

 where an accident occurred that endangered his life. At a 

 wedding-feall to which he was invited, a difpute arofe be- 

 tiveen him and a Uanifh nobleman, on fome fubjecl of ma- 

 thematics, v.'hich terminated in a duel ; and having loll his 

 nofe ill theconflift, he contrived to fupply the defect fo com- 

 pletely, by an artificial compohtion of gold, filver, and wax, 

 that it could hardly be diftinguifhed from the natural organ. 

 From Roftoc, Tycho continued his travels through the 

 principal towns of Germany and Italy, and in l^6g he re- 

 paired to Augfburg, where he formed an acquaintance with 

 the celebrated Peter Ramus, who admired his (kill in the 

 fcience of ailronomy. After his return to Copenhagen, 

 in 1571, he was favoured by his maternal uncle, Stcno Billes, 

 with a convenient retreat from the ceremonies of the court, 

 and the intrnfive vifits of the capital, at hiscaftie of Herritz- 

 vold near Knudllorp ; which alfo afforded him a com-nodious 

 fituatlon for the conllruclion of an aftronomical obfervatoi-y, 

 and a chemical laboratory. During his refidence with his 

 uncle, Tycho, belides his allronoraical refearches, profecutcd, 

 with his natural ardour, the Iludy of chemillry, or rather of 

 alchemy, to which he feems to have had an early inclination, 

 with the c.iiiiv.erical view of obtaining the philofopher'sfl one, 

 that he might amafs wealth fufficient to enable him to fettle 

 in lumc foreign country. At Herritzvold he obferved, in 

 1572, a new liar in the coiiilellatioai Cadopeia. Soouafter 



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this period he incurred ti;c refentment of his relatione by 

 marrying a beautiful country girl, whole name was Chrilliiia, 

 and who v as the daughter of a neighbouring piafaiii. Al- 

 though he offered various reofons in jnllificalion of his elioice, 

 the connexion with a ptrfon fo far below his rank alienated 

 his f'an)ily from him; and they lefufed to hold any inter- 

 conrle with him, until Frederic II. interpof^.d, and au'thorita- 

 tively effeded a reconciliation. Tvcho himfelf feems not 

 to hive repented of his choice ; but 'found in his Chrillina, 

 to whom affedion had attached him, a grateful companion, 

 and an obedient wife. In 1574, he connnenced his Icilurcs 

 at Copenhagen, by the exprels dtfire of the king ; and ia 

 thele Icdures he took occafuni to explain the theory of the 

 planets, introducing his explanation by a learned oration oa 

 the hiilory and excellency ofallro-iomy and the filler-fciencei, 

 with fume remarks in favour of judicial ailrology, a Iludy no 

 lets conger.ial to the times thaii'to the inclinations of Tycho 

 hnnfelf. Difguilcd by the condud of bis relations, and with 

 his countrymen in general, our philofophcr determined to 

 quit Denmark and fettle abroad. After travelling through 

 Germany and Italy, he at length formal a puipofe of fixing 

 hisj:cfidence at Bafle, to which he was induced by the fakr. 

 brity of the air, the cheapnefs of living, the celebrity of the 

 univerfity, and Che opportunity this lituation would afford 

 him of maintaining a correfpondence with the allronomcrs of 

 France, Germany, and Italy. With this view lie retnrne<( 

 to Denmark; but wliilll he was preparing for his removal., 

 he received an uiiexpecled melfage from the king. Frede- 

 ric, iecrelly apprifed of his intentions, was unwilling that 

 Denmark Ihould be deprived of fo great an ornament"; and 

 in order to retain him in his dominions, offered him protec- 

 tion, and, with a liberality which did honour to the monarch 

 as well as to the philofopher, prefentcd him with the ifland 

 of Huen, and promifed to ertd the buildings and to provide 

 the apparatus necefl":)ry for his feientific purfuits. He ::lfo 

 fettled on him a pe:;fion of 2000 crowns a year, and "-ave hira 

 a fee in Norway, and a canonryof Rofehild, which pixiduced a. 

 thonfai.d more. 



This liberal offir Tycho gratefully accepted ; and repair- 

 ing to Huen, he was prefent, on the Sth of Augult, ir76, 

 at th^e laying of the lirit ftone of a magnificent houfe, which 

 he afterwards called Uraniburg, or the Caftle of the Hea- 

 vens. This was a building 60 feet fquarc, containing 3 

 fpacious fuit of apartments, an obfervatory, and a fubterra- 

 i.eous laboratory ; for the eredion of which the king fup- 

 phed 100,000 rix-dollars (2o,oool.), and *Tycho liimfelf 

 expended no lefs a fum. He afterwards conilruded a de- 

 tached-building for his obfervatory, which he called Sriern- 

 berg, or the Mountain of the Stars-. lu this retreat he 

 paffed 20 years, and, by his obfervations and ftudy, greatly 

 contributed to the in.ipr<wement of the fcience of a'llroiiomy'.. 

 He maintained ten or twelve fcholars, whom he inllruded in, 

 mathemarics and ailronomy, and whom he employed as his 

 affilbnts in his obiervations. His retreat was not, however, 

 that of an hermit, who fecluded himfelf from fociety f but 

 he lived in a fumptuous and hofpitable manner, affording 

 free accefs and liberal entertainment to all vifitors. Among 

 thefe wereperfons of the high.eil rank, fuch as Ulric, duke 

 of Mecklenburgh, with his daughter Sophia, queen of Den- 

 mark ; William, landgrave of Heffe-Cafftl ; and James VI. 

 king of Scotland, and afterwards James I. of England, on 

 occaiion of his repairing to Copenhagen in 1 Kfjo for the 

 purpofe of concluding his marriage with the princefs Anne. 

 James remained with Tycho eight days ; and, on leaving him, 

 made him a handfome prefent, granted him a royal licence 

 for the publication of his works, accompanied with an ho- 

 nourable tdlimonyto his talents and learning, aiidcompofed 



fome 



