the latter, which accounts for Milton's description of the relative
positions of those two constellations.

Milton alludes to the starry sphere in several passages in his poem, and
also mentions the starry pole above which he soared in imagination up to
the Empyrean or Heaven of Heavens. His contemplation of the Galaxy must
have impressed his mind with the magnitude and extent of the sidereal
universe, for he was aware that this luminous zone which encircles the
heavens consists of myriads of stars, so remote as to be incapable of
definition by unaided vision. Milton's description of this vast
assemblage of stars is worthy of its magnificence, and the purpose with
which he poetically associates this glorified highway testifies to the
sublimity of his thoughts and to the originality of his genius. In those
parts of his poem in which he describes the glories of the celestial
regions, and instances the beautiful phenomena associated with the
individual orbs of the firmament, we are able to perceive with what
exquisite delight he beheld them all.

The invention of the telescope, and the important discoveries made by
Kepler, Galileo, and Newton in the seventeenth century, were the means
of effecting a rapid advance in the science of astronomy; but that
branch of it known as sidereal astronomy was not then in existence. The
star depths, owing to inadequate telescopic power, remained unexplored,
and the secrets associated with those distant regions were inviolable,
and lay beyond the reach of human knowledge. The physical constitution
of the stars was unknown, nor was it ascertained with any degree of
certainty that they were suns. The knowledge possessed by astronomers in
those days was but meagre compared with what is now known of the
sidereal heavens. Milton's astronomical knowledge, we find, was
commensurate with what was known of the stellar universe, and this he
has conspicuously displayed in his poem.

CHAPTER VIII

DESCRIPTION OF CELESTIAL OBJECTS MENTIONED IN 'PARADISE LOST'

THE SUN

The surpassing splendour of the Sun, as compared with that of any of the
other orbs of the firmament, is not more impressive than his stupendous
magnitude, and the important functions which it is his prerogative to
fulfil. Situated at the centre of our system--of which he may be
regarded as 'both eye and soul'--the orb has a diameter approaching
1,000,000 miles, and a mass 750 times greater than that of all the
planets com