$72 
improperly called, the four elements; 
what is all this, when compared with the 
progréfs which was afterwards made by 
the Arabian philofophers, and with the 
important difcoveries of modern times, 
in this branch of {cience ? 
in inveftigating the powers, and oe 
certaining the bans, of nature, that is, in 
the {cience ftrictly called Nararal Fhilo- 
fophy, the fupe riority of the moderns 
over the ancients is incontrovertible. it 
is a well-known faét,- that they were 
either unacquainted with, or ceipii ied, the 
only method by which this branch ot 
knowledge can be profecuted with fuc- 
cefs, that of experiment. Initead of Bes 
ferving in what manner effects wer 
produced, by attentively comparing ae 
with the circumftances by which they are 
immediately preceded, they amufed them- 
felves with framing and propagating a 
great variety of Fanciful hy pothefes on 
phyfical {ubje@is. Hence, in the midit 
ef aii their-refined {peculations, their 
knowledge of nature remained fo exceed- 
"ingly imperteét, that they-may jultly be 
confidered, in comparifon with the mo- 
derns, as children in philofophy-~ 
With refpeét, particularly, to aftro- 
namy, if, as many have fected the 
Chaldeans were the firft people among 
whom this icience appeared, their KROW- 
ledge of at probably went ro farther than 
a feries of rude and inaccurate obferva- 
tions on celefiial phenomena. lt reflects 
little honour on thee fathersof altronomy, 
that they were allo the inventors of ju- 
dicia! aftrology, a vain and ope ous 
art, which hepler galuy calls the fool- 
ih daughter of a wife mother.’ - The 
Egyptians appear to have frit difcover- 
a the zodiac, and to have divided ir into 
tweire figns, fade cont ee year 
into tweive anh ; but ic isa certain 
proof that their alfir onomical obfervations 
were not very accurate, that they were 
long unatle to difcover the true length 
ot the year, and were, for feveral ages, 
contented with a year of 360 days. be- 
fore the time of Herodotus, they had dif- 
covered the neceffity of introducing five 
sntercalary days 5 but it was not tili about 
i tine that Platoand Eudoxus travelled 
nto Egypt, that a ftill remaining defi- 
cant of fix hours was perceived, in their 
computation of the folar year. The firft 
rudiments of Grecian afironomy were cer- 
tainly borrowed from the Eg gyptians 5 and 
Thales, who was inftruéted in Egypt, 
has been celebrated. for pee 
eclipfe ; but there is no proof that his 
prediction amounted to any thing like 
an 
ais 
The Enquirer. - 
No x. [Dec, 
an exact calculation ef the time of its 
appearance. Of the accuracy cf their 
ideas, concerning the magnitude of the. 
heavenly bodies, we may judge from 
what has been related concerning fome 
of the Grecian pinlofephers. Anaxi- 
mander is faid to have taught, that the 
fun is twenty-eight times larger than 
the earth; Anaximenes, that the fun 
and moon are fiery bodies, whofe form is 
that of a circular plate; that the fiars. 
are fixed in the heavens, as nails in a 
cryfalline plane ; and that the earth is 
a plain tablet, Higbee uponair. Anax- 
avoras fays, that the fun is a flat circular 
mafs of het iron, fomewhat bigger ie 
the Peloponnetfus ; Xenophanes, tha 
the ftars are fiery vapours, einige 
by day and ignited by night, and the fun 
a nee of fiery. vapour daily renewed ; 
1d Heraclitus, that the heavenly pas 
are in the form of boats, having the hol- 
low fide to us, and becoming luminous, 
when certain fiery exhalations from the 
earth are collected within them. If thete 
tales fhould be thought too abfurd te ob- 
tain.credit, even upon the authority of 
Plutarch, and Diogenes Laertius, it muff, ~ 
at leafi, be owned, that we find i traces 
of any know ledge of aftronomy; which 
could be properiy called fetentific, tilt 
Egypt, atter the conqueft of Alexander, 
came under the government of the Pto- 
lemies. . Then, it will be acknowledged, 
aftrcnomy made a rapid progres. he 
names of Hipparehus and Ptolemy will 
always be celebrated among aftronomers. 
tae fe. all, what were their advances 
in this fcience, compared with thote of 
Gali ie Kepler, Tycho Brahe, Ceperni- 
cus, and Newton? It is evident, that 
the anc.ents, in comparifon with the mo- 
derns, muft have been very im perfectly 
acquainted with aftronomy, if it De con- 
fidered how extremely deficient they were 
in inftruments for experiments and obler- 
vations, and inthe method of abridging 
laberious calculations. _ Without a tee- 
{cope, without the pendulum, withoup 
numerical figures, without logarithms, 
a gebra, or fluxions, how cumbrous and 
operofe muft suas afronomical calcnla- 
tions have beer 
“einat ec od asuwejleas altees 
nomy, have been continually improving 
might be eafily fhown. Nor wul it Be 
diaputed, that there has been a fimi- 
lar progrefs in the “Arrs. ‘Thofe arts 
which furnith the primary neceflaries and 
conveniences of life, were doubtlefs in- 
vented in the firft ftages of civilization, 
When men began to form therafelves 
inte 
