The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-03-27

LECTURES ON ACCOMMODATIONS Gould's
lectures on the progress OF Astronomy at the
Atheneum on Monday and Thursday evenings,
were attended by select and attentive audiences,
and gave great satisfaction. We find in the Nation
al Intellisencer lucid sketch of the principal
points advanced in like series of lectures delivered
at Washington and we avail ourselves OF it, in or
der that our readers may be able to Judge Of the
style and matter Of the Professors discourses. An
esneciaI theme of the lecture was the development
of astronomy, up to the beginning of the preseDt
century-connected with the special consid
Grafton of its recent progress. Astronomy was
unousstionably the oldest of the sciences, if we
reckon from the time ct the earliest observations
but il we date from the time when The real charac-
ter of the motions of the heavenly bodies began to
be understood, its commencement must be consid.
cred as very recent, and in the opinion of Besseb
no science deserving the name OF Astronomy, ex
isted before the close of the sixteenth century
What little astronomical knowledge was possessed
BY the Greeks had been forgotten during the long
period when ignorant Rome ruled the destinies of
the world IT. e whole history of this nation ad
not furnished us single reliable scientific observa
ton.
The earliest observations usually attributed to
the Chaldeans But in the opinion of the lecturer,
the Chinese might with more probability be consid-
| cred the people with whom astronomy first assum-
| ed the rank of science. Astronomical instru.
ments existed in China at the early date of 270O B.
c.. and an eclipse recorded as observed 2l55 c.,
is strong argument for the reliability of the Chi
| nese chronicles. Most IF the observations up to
few CT INJURIES before were destroyed by or
| der of one of the Emperors, and astronomy died
away in the Celestial Empire till some 1900 years
| after the time of our Saviour. Astronomy had
mean time taken deep root in Chaldea, Hindostan,
| and Egypt, and the especial province Of the
| priestly classes. Practical astronomy attained in
| Egypt precision and development which was
hardly surpassed until the time of Keppler But in
| all these nations astronomy took merely the form
of almanac making, until the latter days of Egyp-
tan glory and the foundation of the Greek schools
| of philosophy
But even in the works of Plato we begin to find
| the wholesome distinction between the astrono-
| mers and the dabblers in astrenomy-those who
observed the heavenly bodies to deduce the laws OF
their motions, and those who merely looked and
| noticed phenomena in other words, between those
| who used their eyes and those who used their
| brains
Then followed the Roman blank, in which the
only advance consisted in the reformation of the
| calendar under Julius CRsar operation for
| which a second rate Egyptian mathematician ad to
| be imported. who left the Roman calendar in no
better condition than the Chinese calendar had
been two thousand years previously.
Dr. Gould next described the return of astrono-
mical science to the East, and then its revival in
Europe again in the fifteenth century, and the intiu-
ence exerted on it by astrology Charlataoism this
most nsidious foe of science. seemed in all ages to
have taken astronomy under its especial patronage
but never more than at this epoch.
The history of the Copernlcan system was next
| related and prosecutions described which this the.
| DRY suffered from the christian church, number
| OF anecdotes OF Copernicus, Calico and others
being given to show the state of things.
| The labors OF Copernicus, Keppler, and Calico
paved the way for the discovery OF the law of uni
| versal gravitaon, which it the privilege of
Newton first to discover. But the fruit was mature
| when Newton plucked it, and the discovery could
| not have been long delayed The detection of this
law Was the great era in astronomical history, not
| merely because this explains what was unexplain-
ed before, but because did not expect to solve
| the problems of astronomy before. and it had now
| become their duty to leave none uusolved. I'm Ter
standing and comprehension have taken the place
| OF establishment and wonder-where was darkness
there is light.
The eighteenth century brilliant period for
astronomy. Obseryatories were established and
new discoveries made But the especial character.
lstc OF this century consisted in the regularly alter
mating action and reaction of theoretical nvestga-
ton and practical astronomy The true problem
| OF astronomy became understood 1t is to discern
the laws OF the motion of the heavenly bodies and
thence to deduce rules and data for computing their
apparent position. 1t is not to detect curious phe.
| nomena; it Is to measure and to calculate
| Mr.. G. win deliver his third and last lecture at
| the Atheneum, this evening.