nt and
modern astronomers, emerged at last from their hiding places.
Made light of by the jests of so many outstanding intellects,
they have so successfully brought to light the paths of the
stars and their motions, which are more complicated to us than
the Gordian knots. Now it is possible for even an amateur in
astronomy, sufficiently instructed, to predict for any given
time not only the mean position of the planets, but also their
true longitude and latitude, and even the true time of their
conjunctions, and their ecliptic oppositions, with all the
attendant circumstances. Yet, until now, no hypothesis has been
devised which would force an automaton to show to us, before
our very eyes, the eclipses of the planets in their true and
certain times.

For though there have been men seeking with all their might to
bind by laws their artificial heavens, by I know not how many
and how great calculations, and to systematize the complexities
of the rotations of celestial bodies; nevertheless, all of
them, as if by common agreement, considered themselves to have
made great contributions to mechanico-theoretical astronomy.
However, they have only attained, even though closely, the mean
locations of the secondary mobiles, and those by a certain
rather crude calculation. Some attained by more, some by less,
but all by some degree of wandering from the truth, either worn
out by the intricacies of the motions, or deceived and
deceiving by the errors of their calculations. This fact those
well know, who, setting about to collect information of this
kind, even those publicized not long ago, with true
astronomical calculation, have been bored to death while
digging out by the most elementary and superficial arithmetical
torture, the worst of fallacies spontaneously erupting from
thence.

It would seem that true calculations alone can be desired in
mechanico-astronomics. Long study had not only convinced me
that an automaton was within the realm of possibility, but that
there were many mechanical systems by which it could be
achieved. I girded myself for a new project and developed it
theoretically from the ground up, but under such unhappy
auspices that not only did all hope fail that anyone would ever
appear who might have seemed willing