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public importance could be predicted. When, however, the laws which
govern the motions of the heavenly bodies became better known, and
especially after the discovery of the great law of gravitation,
astrology ceased to be a belief, though for long after it retained its
power over the imagination, and was often alluded to in the writings of
poets and other authors.

In the early dawn of astronomical science, the theories upheld with
regard to the structure of the heavens were of a simple and primitive
nature, and might even be described as grotesque. This need occasion no
surprise when we consider the difficulties with which ancient
astronomers had to contend in their endeavours to reduce to order and
harmony the complicated motions of the orbs which they beheld circling
around them.

The grouping of the stars into constellations having fanciful names,
derived from fable or ancient mythology, occurred at a very early
period, and though devoid of any methodical arrangement, is yet
sufficiently well-defined to serve the purposes of modern astronomers.
Several of the ancient nations of the earth, including the Chaldeans,
Egyptians, Hindus, and Chinese, claim to have been the earliest
astronomers. Chinese records of astronomy reveal an antiquity of near
3,000 years B.C., but they contain no evidence that their authors
possessed any scientific knowledge, and they merely record the
occurrence of solar eclipses and the appearances of comets.

It is not known when astronomy was first studied by the Egyptians; but
what astronomical information they have handed down is not of a very
intelligible kind, nor have they left behind any data that can be relied
upon. The Great Pyramid, judging from the exactness with which it faces
the cardinal points, must have been designed by persons who possessed a
good knowledge of astronomy, and it was probably made use of for
observational purposes.

It is now generally admitted that correct astronomical observations were
first made on the plains of Chaldea, records of eclipses having been
discovered in Chaldean cities which date back 2,234 years B.C. The
Chaldeans were true astronomers: they made correct observations of the
risings and settings of the heavenly bodies; and the exact orientation
of their temples and public buildings indicates the precision with which
they observed the positions of celestial objects. They invented the
zodiac and gnomon, made use of several kinds of dials, not