divest those bodies of the mystery with
which they were surrounded by proving that any conic section may be
described about the Sun, consistent with the law of gravitation, and
that comets, notwithstanding the eccentricity of their orbits, obey the
laws of planetary motion.

Beyond the confines of our solar system, little was known of the
magnitude and extent of the sidereal universe which occupies the
infinitude of space by which we are surrounded. The stars were
recognised as self-luminous bodies, inconceivably remote, and although
they excited the curiosity of observers, and conjectures were made as to
their origin, yet no conclusive opinions were arrived at with regard to
their nature and constitution, and except that they were regarded as
glittering points of light which illumine the firmament, all else
appertaining to them remained an unravelled mystery. Even Copernicus had
no notion of a universe of stars.

Galileo, by his discovery that the galaxy consists of a multitude of
separate stars too remote to be defined by ordinary vision, demonstrated
how vast are the dimensions of the starry heavens, and on what a
stupendous scale the universe is constructed. But at this time it had
not occurred to astronomers, nor was it known until many years after,
that the stars are suns which shine with a splendour resembling that of
our Sun, and in many instances surpassing it. It was not until this
truth became known that the glories of the sidereal heavens were fully
comprehended, and their magnificence revealed. It was then ascertained
that the minute points of light which crowd the fields of our largest
telescopes, in their aggregations forming systems, clusters, galaxies,
and universes of stars, are shining orbs of light, among the countless
multitudes of which our Sun may be numbered as one.

CHAPTER III

MILTON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE

It would be reasonable to imagine that Milton's knowledge of astronomy
was comprehensive and accurate, and superior to that possessed by most
scientific men of his age. His scholarly attainments, his familiarity
with ancient history and philosophy, his profound learning, and the
universality of his general knowledge, would lead one to conclude that
the science which treats of the mechanism of the heavens, and especially
the observational part of it--which at all times has been a source of
inspiration to poets of every degree of excellence--was to him a study
of absorbing in