you, therefore, to have recourse to it as the great physician, as the pearl of immense price, as the infallible guide; to seize it as the thing most necessary, most valuable, most indispensable; as the only medicine that begins to operate exactly where the malady of man commences, namely, in the heart.

And will the history of astronomy help me to

see this?

I do not say it will; but the Mosaic history, it will wonderfully corroborate, and consequently all that the Bible contains; for between the Old and New Testament, there exists an indispensable bond of union. I wish the parts of this inestimable volume to be interwoven with all your studies, that each of its divisions being endeared to you, the whole may be infinitely precious. Let it acquire this measure of value during your youth, and as the world with all its necessities, unfold themselves to your view, the Bible with all its sufficiency, will be ready to answer your every demand.

CHAPTER II.

ON THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF ASTRONOMY.

Were not the Greeks the first people who

studied astronomy?

No; certainly not.

Who, then, were they?

The Chaldeans.

How do you know that the Chaldeans were the first people who studied astronomy?

Because astronomy was so essential to husbandry, that the country which first became the residence of mankind after the flood, must have been the parent of astronomy; and that country was Chaldea.

But I seem to have imbibed a firm idea, though I can scarcely tell how, that to the Greeks we are indebted for all that we have, connected with astronomy.

I am not much surprised at that, and your mind is at present unprepared to receive all I have to communicate on that subject; but in a future chapter, I trust I shall succeed in convincing you that the Greeks, and the Egyptians, both claim an antiquity which belongs alone to the Chaldeans. There can be no doubt that

there existed a more ancient sphere, than the Grecian, or Egyptian, allusive to an older race, and to a different mythology.

Then when I look on the celestial globe, do I see the sphere formed by the Chaldeans?

That is too much to believe; since, if the original sphere be not totally lost, it must have been considerably altered, by the prevalence, in Asia, of the Arabian, and, in Europe, of the Grecian, system of astronomy. I will give you the words of the indefatigable Mr. Maurice on this subject: he says, "In truth I consider the sphere of which we are in possession as the work of astronomers of many distinct nations of the East, combining various circumstances of their respective mythology, and united into one mass, as well as appropriated to themselves by those of Greece, from whom it has descended down to posterity."

Did the Greeks then derive their knowledge of astronomy from the Chaldeans?

No, not immediately, but from the Egyptians. To Egypt, according to their own confession, the immortal band of Grecian philosophers resorted, and amidst the colleges of Thebes, and Heliopolis, drank deeply of this pure fountain of celestial science.

You mentioned to me just now, the Arabian system of astronomy: from what people did they derive it ?

From the Grecians, at a period comparatively recent.

And are those, that you have mentioned to me, the principal nations that have cultivated this science?

No: among the Phoenicians, the Persians, and the Indians, it was carried to a great extent. But we need not hesitate in pronouncing Chaldea the parent of astronomy: the knowledge here acquired must have spread itself on every side, as the people migrated; but, when they became stationary, as in India, in Egypt, or in Persia, the local peculiarities, the prevailing habits of the people, would mark themselves in their progress in this science.

Will you tell me who were Mus&us, Atlas, and Chiron?

Three Grecian philosophers, who observed the heavenly bodies, and made some faint essays towards the formation of a sphere. Chiron formed a broad circle representing the seasons, and marked down such stars as were particularly useful in agriculture.

At what period did these persons flourish? About fourteen hundred years before Christ. / suppose astronomy must have rapidly improved, when men ventured to embark on the mighty ocean?

This certainly must have been the case; yet how little was known to the Greeks is obvious

from the circumstance of only five constellations being mentioned by Hesiod.

When did Hesiod write?

About nine hundred years before Christ. Which are the constellations he names? The Hyades and the Pleiades, Sirius, Orion, and Arcturus.

But was not Homer a more distinguished poet than Hesiod? How many does he mention ?

A proper inquiry, since he did not live at a period very remote. He adds, however, but two; which proves that even in his time the catalogue was inconsiderable.

Which are those two?

Bootes and the great Bear.

When I look at the little Bear, whose name shall I associate with it, as having formed those stars into a constellation?

You may associate with it the name of Thales, in whose time astronomy began to be cultivated as a regular science in Greece; for, if he were not the inventor, it is certain he first brought it into Europe.

Did the Greeks at that early period unite as much fable with their astronomy, as they did

with the other sciences?

Yes; as a specimen I will tell you, that there was among them, one, who paid great attention to those nightly changes in the moon which you witness; and from this simple fact