claim no more for astronomy
than is reasonably due. When in 1846 Le Verrier announced the existence
of a planet hitherto unseen, and when he assigned it its exact position
in the heavens, and declared that it shone like a star of the eighth
magnitude, and with a perceptible disc, _not an astronomer of France,
and scarce an astronomer in Europe, had sufficient faith in the
prediction to prompt him to point his telescope to the heavens_. But
when it was announced that the planet had been seen at Berlin, that it
was found within one degree of the computed place, that it was indeed a
star of the eighth magnitude, and had a sensible disc--then the
enthusiasm not only of the public generally, but of astronomers also,
was even more wonderful than their former apathy. The sagacity of Le
Verrier was felt to be almost superhuman. Language could scarce be found
strong enough to express the general admiration. The praise then
lavished upon Le Verrier was somewhat extravagant. _The singularly close
agreement between the observed and computed places of the planet was
accidental._ So exact a coincidence could not reasonably have been
anticipated. If the planet had been found even ten degrees from what Le
Verrier assigned as its probable place, _this discrepancy would have
surprised no astronomer_. The discovery would still have been one of the
most remarkable events in the history of astronomy, and Le Verrier would
have merited the title of First Astronomer of the age."[332]

Nevertheless, astronomy from the comparative simplicity of the bodies
and forces with which it has to deal, and the approximate regularity of
the paths of the heavenly bodies, may be regarded as the science in
which the greatest possible certainty is attainable. It opens at once
the widest field to the imagination, and the noblest range to the
reason; it has attracted the most exalted intellects to its pursuit, and
has rewarded their toils with the grandest discoveries. These
discoveries have been grossly abused by inferior minds, ascribing to the
discoverers of the laws of the universe the glory due to their Creator;
and boasting of the power of the human mind, as if it were capable of
exploring the infinite in space, and of calculating the movements of the
stars through eternity. Persons who could not calculate an eclipse to
save their souls, have risked them upon the notion that, because
astronomers can do so with considerable accuracy, farmers ought to
reject