2 9 



alchemy, astrology from astronomy, medicine from sor- 

 cery. The long hunt for the philosopher's stone was not 

 all in vain, for it added much to mineralogy. Bazil 

 Valentine was not looking for antimony when he found 

 it. Had Kepler not cast nativities, told fortunes, and 

 made horoscopes science might have waited long for his 

 ■' three laws " and Newton been impossible. Kepler said 

 " astrology as the daughter of astronomy ought to keep 

 her mother,'' — an act of filial obedience which in this 

 case met with its just and promised reward, for the days 

 of the daughter and her line are likely to be as long as 

 the earth moves in its orbit. Out of Darwinism may yet 

 come a knowledge of biological laws which Darwin 

 dreams not of. 



Both the centripetal and centrifugal forces are need- 

 ed to keep earth in its orbit. Withdraw one and we 

 plunge into the sun ;— the other, and tangentially we 

 go darting away into limitless space without even the 

 comet's consolation. It is well to make haste, as the 

 planets do, safely. There are many theories which, like 

 the aerolites go plunging lawlessly about into every body's 

 orbit but their own, creating immense consternation, 

 dazzling light, — terror to the timid, — sensation to all, only 

 at last to bury themselves suddenly out of sight. It is un- 

 necessary to imitate Pope Galixtus in fulminating against 

 these erratic visitors, for even if they rise to the dignity 

 of comets their course is eccentric, and we may not expect 

 them again for some hundreds of years. 



Lord Bacon accused Copernicus of " introducing fic- 

 tions into nature ? ' by affirming that the earth moved 

 around the sun and the moon around the earth. Sir 

 Mathew Hale believed in witchcraft and tortured and ex- 

 ecuted old women accused of it. Richard Baxter wrote 

 a work in favor of the severest punishments for sorcery 

 and magic. John Wesley regretted the repeal of laws 

 for the capital punishment of witches and said " that the 

 giving up witchcraft is in effect giving up the Bible." 

 Dryden believed conjunctions and oppositions of planets 

 had a great part in the distribution of good and evil, and 



