The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1858-05-01

There IS nothing in the universe that 50
powerfully imprcsses a reflective mind with
the wisdom and power Of Him WAC made
all things, as contemplation OF the starry
heavens. for they "dec!are the glory OF God
and the iirmrmeut showeth his GanaiWork."
How often Las man looked up into the star
lii skv, and eHdeay0rcd E, by searching to
find o4: God, and finding himself iucom-
-peteut for the task, has been constrained 10
acknowledge the majesty of Him WHO @lDne
can bind the sweet influences Of the
Plci2dgs and loose the bands of Orion
How often when our attention j. called to
the subject d we ask ourselves, that moon
aud these stars, what are they; Inc finest
intoI,ectS of the past ages "a well as Oi the
present century have been called TO answer
this grea! and interesting question. Astro-
nOuy uui3lus TO Us the mechanism OF these
heavens. giving Us much larger fed !pr
thought, and is now considered one of the
Elosi beautiful, certainly the best establish
cd Of the sciences. Some of the most dis
tingushed astronomers who have aided u
by their invest cations and whose fame hiss
tory has brought down to US are kippar-
chus, Plolemv. Pytnagoras, CopernicuS,
Tvcho- Brahe, Galieo and Newton. kippar-
chus fougi>hed l25 years before the Chris
tan era. There Is much responsibility rest
ing upon him, as he i considered the orlgl-
nater of the system Of astronomy. lie gave
names to the stars and divided the heavens
into conscientious. lie also placed latitude
and longitude, fixing the first degree OF
longitude at the Canaries. Ptolemy was
native of Alexandria and lived in the second
century. He gave the latitude Of lO22 OF
the fixed stars, but placed the earth as the
centre OF the universe, doctrine which
was universally believed until contuted by
CopernicuS in tie 10th century. Pythago-
ras lived 800 years before tie Christian era.
He advanced the correct theory, that the
sun was the centre of the system, and the
planets revolved around him in eliptical or
bits. He had no followers, however, until
Copernicus. Tycho Brehe, a Danish astro-
nomer, lived about the middle of the 10th
century. His discoveries have been Of
much benefit to the science. He gave US
a more correct catalogue OF the fixed stars,
and made investigations respecting the
moon and comets, and the refiaction of the
ravs of light Copern;cus was Prussian by
birth He abored with much opposition, as
he revived the theory of Pythagoras, which
paced the sun as the centre OF the SYSTEM.
lie also started the fact that the real motion
Of the earth causes the apparent motion of
the heavenly bodies. Calico who lived in
the latter psrt of the 10th century, was Il
Young man. without reputation or influence,
or station, and although the most learned
men Of the age, these revered for wisdom and
science, we're his opposers, yet he was con
fident in the power of truth and continued
his investigations, and by close observations
Of the planets Venus and Jupiter, he was pre-
pared to confirm the theory of Copernious
that the earth moved; and he was as firm that
although imprisoned as a hereto, and on the
penalty OF death if he refused. compelled to
deny it upon his knees, he Immediately eN-
claimed, "but il does more." kepIer found
ed three great laws, upon the observations
of Tycho- Brahe, and upon these were iound-
/ ed the whole modern theory oi 'he plahets,
| and also the discoveries OF Newton, who
! has becn called the father OF natural Philo-
/ SONNY. This discovery of the law Of grayi-
| taiion, together with many other important
| discoveries, places him among the most
! learned of the past ages, to whom the world
/ is indebted. But what do we learn from al!
this? Only that this magnificent panorama
has been uniolded, night after night for
ages, merely for the amusement of few as
tronomcrs? That the greater part Of crea-
ton is an empty parade, and that not a
! worshipper of the Deity is TO be found thro'
/ all these vast immeasurablc regions: No,
may they not be the dwelling places Of those
who not having been corrupted by sin, yet
worship God in the beauty OF holiness?