ing small objects--producing, in short, a crude microscope. Some
years later, Johannes Lippershey, of whom not much is known except that
he died in 1619, experimented with a somewhat similar combination of
lenses, and made the startling observation that the weather-vane on
a distant church-steeple seemed to be brought much nearer when viewed
through the lens. The combination of lenses he employed is that still
used in the construction of opera-glasses; the Germans still call such a
combination a Dutch telescope.

Doubtless a large number of experimenters took the matter up and the
fame of the new instrument spread rapidly abroad. Galileo, down in
Italy, heard rumors of this remarkable contrivance, through the use of
which it was said "distant objects might be seen as clearly as those
near at hand." He at once set to work to construct for himself a similar
instrument, and his efforts were so far successful that at first he "saw
objects three times as near and nine times enlarged." Continuing his
efforts, he presently so improved his glass that objects were enlarged
almost a thousand times and made to appear thirty times nearer than
when seen with the naked eye. Naturally enough, Galileo turned this
fascinating instrument towards the skies, and he was almost immediately
rewarded by several startling discoveries. At the very outset, his
magnifying-glass brought to view a vast number of stars that are
invisible to the naked eye, and enabled the observer to reach the
conclusion that the hazy light of the Milky Way is merely due to the
aggregation of a vast number of tiny stars.

Turning his telescope towards the moon, Galileo found that body rough
and earth-like in contour, its surface covered with mountains, whose
height could be approximately measured through study of their shadows.
This was disquieting, because the current Aristotelian doctrine supposed
the moon, in common with the planets, to be a perfectly spherical,
smooth body. The metaphysical idea of a perfect universe was sure to
be disturbed by this seemingly rough workmanship of the moon. Thus
far, however, there was nothing in the observations of Galileo to bear
directly upon the Copernican theory; but when an inspection was made of
the planets the case was quite different. With the aid of his telescope,
Galileo saw that Venus, for example, passes through phases precisely
similar to those of the moon, due, of course, to the same cause. Here,
then, was demonstra