The Greeks seem to have made the most early advances in astronomy; for
notwithstanding that the art of observation was still in its infancy, we
are indebted to the labours and speculations of ancient Greek
philosophers for raising astronomy to the dignity of a science. The
complicated but ingenious hypotheses of the Greek Ptolemy prepared the
way for the discovery of the elliptic form of the planetary orbits and
other astronomical laws by the German Kepler, which again conducted our
English Newton to the discovery of the law of gravitation. I am not,
however, desirous of giving this meeting a lecture on astronomy--I shall
leave that to Professor Grant. But it is singular that I should have
come here on a day on which one of the now known observations and
movements of the planets has taken place--the transit of Mercury. This
was calculated to occur this day by the science of astronomy, and it is
also known when it will again occur, namely, on the 6th of May 1878. I
will end this subject by saying, that the discoveries in astronomy in
the last and present centuries have been so many and interesting, that
it would be quite impossible for me to enter here minutely upon them.

In conclusion,--What have science and art done for us? They have
cultivated our minds--they have made us think, wonder, and admire, and I
trust caused us to adore and reverence the Creator of this vast
universe. They have taught us the knowledge and value of time, and have
also shown the value of what man has been enabled to work out for his
own benefit and that of the world at large.

The chemist deals with the various substances brought under his notice,
thereby acquiring a knowledge of their properties, enabling him to
produce results which are truly beneficial. This knowledge is power.

The painter makes the features of Nature his study, and by his brush
delineates them on the canvas, and thus by knowledge of art he exhibits
power.

The astronomer's science is one of vast magnitude and importance--the
study of it embracing both science and art: science in the various
intricate calculations he requires to make in connection with the
heavenly bodies. By his researches we have discovered the form of the
earth and other planets, their respective distances from each other,
their revolutions, their eclipses and their orbits, and, more wonderful
still, the precise time when the various movements of each occur. In
art, the astronomer has originated and