The Martyrs of Science, or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler Part 6

22. Zodiacal armillaries of bra.s.s, with steel meridians, three cubits in diameter.

23. A s.e.xtant of bra.s.s, kept together by screws, and capable of being taken to pieces for travelling with. Its radius was four cubits.

24. A moveable armillary sphere, three cubits in diameter.

25. A quadrant of solid bra.s.s, one cubit radius, and divided into minutes by Nonian circles.

26. An astronomical radius of solid bra.s.s, three cubits long.

27. An astronomical ring of bra.s.s, a cubit in diameter.

28. A small bra.s.s astrolabe.

In almost all the instruments now enumerated, the limb was subdivided by diagonal lines, a method which Tycho first brought into use, but which, in modern times, has been superseded by the inventions of Nonius and Vernier.

When Tycho had thus furnished his observatory, he devoted himself to the examination of the stars; and during the twenty-one years which he spent in this delightful occupation, he made vast additions to astronomical science. In order to instruct the young in the art of observation, and educate a.s.sistants for his observatory, he had sometimes under his roof from six to twelve pupils, whom he boarded and educated. Some of these were named by the King, and educated at his expense. Others were sent by different academies and cities; and several, who had presented themselves of their own accord, were liberally admitted by the generous astronomer.

As Tycho had spent nearly a ton of gold (about 100,000 dollars) in his outlay at Uraniburg, his own income was reduced to very narrow limits.

To supply this defect, Frederick gave him an annual pension of 2000 dollars, beside an estate in Norway, and made him Canon of the Episcopal Church of Rothschild, or Prebend of St Laurence,[39] which had an annual income of 1000 dollars, and which was burdened only with the expense of keeping up the chapel containing the Mausolea of the Kings of the family of Oldenburg.

[39] This office had been usually conferred on the King's Chancellor.

It would be an unprofitable task, and one by no means interesting to the general reader, to give a detailed history of the various astronomical observations and discoveries which were made by Tycho during the twenty years that he spent at Uraniburg. Every phenomenon that appeared in the heavens, he observed with the greatest care; while he at the same time carried on regular series of observations for determining the places of the fixed stars, and for improving the tables of the sun, moon, and planets. Though almost wholly devoted to these n.o.ble pursuits, yet he kept an open house, and received, with unbounded hospitality, the crowds of philosophers, n.o.bles, and princes who came to be introduced to the first astronomer of the age, and to admire the splendid temple which the Danish Sovereign had consecrated to science.

Among the strangers whom he received under his roof, there were some who returned his kindness with ingrat.i.tude. Among these was Paul Witichius, a mathematician; who, under the pretence of devoting his whole life to astronomy, insinuated himself into the utmost familiarity with Tycho.

The unsuspecting astronomer explained to his guest all his inventions, described all his methods, and even made him acquainted with those views which he had not realised, and with instruments which he had not yet executed. When Witichius had thus obtained possession of the methods, and inventions, and views of Tycho, and had enjoyed his hospitality for three months, he pretended that he was obliged to return to Germany to receive an inheritance to which he had succeeded. After quitting Uraniburg, this ungrateful mathematician neither returned to see Tycho, nor kept up any correspondence with him; and it was not till five years after his departure that Tycho learned, from the letters of the Prince of Hesse to Ranzau, that Witichius had pa.s.sed through Hesse, and had described, as his own, the various inventions and methods which had been shewn to him in Huen.

Being unable to reconcile his own observations with those of Copernicus, and with the Prutenic Tables, Tycho resolved to obtain new determinations of the lat.i.tude of Frauenburg, in Prussia, where Copernicus made his observations, and of Konigsberg, to the meridian of which Rheinhold had adapted his Prutenic Tables. For these purposes he sent one of his a.s.sistants, Elias Morsia.n.u.s, with a proper instrument, under the protection of Bylovius, Amba.s.sador of the Margrave of Ans.p.a.ch, to the King of Denmark, who was returning by sea to Germany; and after receiving the greatest attention and a.s.sistance from the n.o.ble Canons of Ermeland, he determined, from nearly a month's observations on the sun and stars, that the lat.i.tude of Frauenburg was 54 22', in place of 54 19', as given by Copernicus. In like manner he determined that the lat.i.tude of Konigsberg was 54 43', in place of 54 17', as adopted by Rheinhold. When Morsia.n.u.s returned to Huen in July, he brought with him, as a present to Tycho, from John Hannovius, one of the Canons of Ermeland, the Ptolemaic Rules, or the Parallactic Instrument which Copernicus had used and made with his own hands. It consisted of two equal wooden rules, five cubits long, and divided into 1414 parts. Tycho preserved this gift as one peculiarly dear to him, and, on the day of his receiving it, he composed a set of verses in honour of the great astronomer to whom it belonged.

Among the distinguished visits which were paid to Tycho, we must enumerate that of Ulric, Duke of Mecklenburg, in 1586. Although his daughter, Sophia, Queen of Denmark, had already paid two visits to Uraniburg in the same year, yet such was her love of astronomy, that she accompanied her father and his wife Elizabeth on this occasion. Ulric was not only fond of science in general, but had for many years devoted himself to chemical pursuits, and he was therefore peculiarly gratified in examining the splendid laboratory and extensive apparatus which Tycho possessed. It has been said by some of the biographers of Tycho, that the Landgrave of Hesse visited Uraniburg about this period; but this opinion is not correct, as it was only his astronomer and optician, Rothman, who made a journey to Huen in 1591 for the recovery of his health. Tycho had long carried on a correspondence with this able astronomer respecting the observations made at the observatory of Hesse-Ca.s.sel, and, during the few months which they now spent together, they discussed in the amplest manner all the questions which had previously been agitated. Rothman was astonished at the wonderful apparatus which he saw at Uraniburg, and returned to his native country charmed with the hospitality of the Danish astronomer.

Hitherto we have followed Tycho through a career of almost unexampled prosperity. When he had scarcely reached his thirtieth year he was established, by the kindness and liberality of his sovereign, in the most splendid observatory that had ever been erected in Europe; and a thriving family, an ample income, and a widely extended reputation were added to his blessings. Of the value of these gifts he was deeply sensible, and he enjoyed them the more that he received them with a grateful heart. Tycho was a christian as well as a philosopher. The powers of his gifted mind have been amply displayed in his astronomical labours; but we shall now have occasion to witness his piety and resignation in submitting to an unexpected and an adverse destiny.

CHAPTER III.

_Tycho's Labours do honour to his Country--Death of Frederick II.--James VI. of Scotland visits Tycho at Uraniburg--Christian IV.

visits Tycho--The Duke of Brunswick's visit to Tycho--The Danish n.o.bility, jealous of his fame, conspire against him--He is compelled to quit Uraniburg--And to abandon his Studies--Cruelty of the Minister Walchendorp--Tycho quits Denmark with his Family and Instruments--Is hospitably received by Count Rantzau--Who introduces him to the Emperor Rudolph--The Emperor invites him to Prague--He gives him a Pension of 3000 Crowns--And the Castle of Benach as a Residence and an Observatory--Kepler visits Tycho--Who obtains for him the Appointment of Mathematician to Rudolph._

The love of astronomy which had been so unequivocally exhibited by Frederick II. and his Royal Consort, inspired their courtiers with at least an outward respect for science; and among the ministers and advisers of the King, Tycho reckoned many ardent friends. It was every where felt that Denmark had elevated herself among the nations of Europe by her liberality to Tycho; and the peaceful glory which he had in return conferred upon his country was not of a kind to dissatisfy even rival nations. In the conquests of science no widow's or orphan's tears are shed, no captives are dragged from their homes, and no devoted victims are yoked to the chariot wheels of the triumphant philosopher.

The newly acquired domains of knowledge belong, in right of conquest, to all nations, and Denmark had now earned the grat.i.tude of Europe by the magnitude as well as the success of her contingent.

An event, however, now occurred which threatened with destruction the interests of Danish science. In the beginning of April 1588, Frederick II. died in the 54th year of his age, and the 29th of his reign. His remains were conveyed to Rothschild, and deposited in the chapel under Tycho's care, where a finely executed bust of him was afterwards placed.

His son and successor, Christian IV., was only in the 11th year of his age, and though his temper and disposition were good, yet Tycho had reason to be alarmed at the possibility of his discontinuing the patronage of astronomy. The taste for science, however, which had sprung up in the Danish Court had extended itself no wider than the influence of the reigning sovereign. The parasites of royalty saw themselves eclipsed in the bright renown which Tycho had acquired, and every new visit to Uraniburg by a foreign prince supplied fresh fuel to the rancour which had long been smothering in their b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The accession of a youthful king held out to his enemies an opportunity of destroying the influence of Tycho; and though no adverse step was taken, yet he had the sagacity to foresee, in "trifles light as air," the approaching confirmation of his fears. Hope, however, still cheered him amid his labours, but that hope was founded chiefly on the learning and character of Nicolas Caasius, the Chancellor of the Kingdom, from whom he had experienced the warmest attentions.

Among the princes who visited Uraniburg, there were none who conducted themselves with more condescension and generosity than our own sovereign, James VI. In the year 1590, when the Scottish King repaired to Denmark to celebrate his marriage with the Princess Anne, the King's sister, he paid a visit to Tycho, attended by his councillors and a large suite of n.o.bility. During the eight days which he spent at Uraniburg, James carried on long discussions with Tycho on various subjects, but chiefly on the motion which Copernicus had ascribed to the earth. He examined narrowly all the astronomical instruments, and made himself acquainted with the principles of their construction and the method of using them. He inspected the busts and pictures in the museum, and when he perceived the portrait of George Buchanan, his own preceptor, he could not refrain from the strongest expressions of delight. Upon quitting the hospitable roof of Tycho, James not only presented him with a magnificent donation, but afterwards gave him his royal license to publish his works in England during seventy years. This license was accompanied with the following high eulogium on his abilities and learning:--"Nor have I become acquainted with these things only from the relation of others, or from a bare inspection of your works, but I have seen then before my own eyes, and have heard them with my own ears, in your residence at Uraniburg, and have drawn them from the various learned and agreeable conversations which I there held with you, and which even now affect my mind to such a degree, that it is difficult to determine whether I recollect them with greater pleasure or admiration; as I now willingly testify, by this license, to present and to future generations," &c.

At the request of Tycho, the King also composed and wrote in his own hand some Latin verses, which were more complimentary than cla.s.sical.

His Chancellor had also composed some verses of a similar character during his visit to Tycho. A short specimen of these will be deemed sufficient by the cla.s.sical reader:--

"Vidit et obstupuit Rex Huennum Scoticus almam; Miratus clari tot monumenta viri."

In the year 1591, when Christian IV. had reached his 14th year, he expressed a desire to pay a visit to Uraniburg. He accordingly set out with a large party, consisting of his three princ.i.p.al senators, and other councillors and n.o.blemen; and having examined the various instruments in the observatories and laboratory, he proposed to Tycho various questions on mechanics and mathematics, but particularly on the principles of fortification and s.h.i.+p building. Having observed that he particularly admired a bra.s.s globe, which, by means of internal wheelwork, imitated the diurnal motion of the heavens, the rising and setting of the sun, and the phases of the moon, Tycho made him a present of it, and received in return an elegant gold chain, with his Majesty's picture, with an a.s.surance of his unalterable attachment and protection.

Notwithstanding this a.s.surance, Tycho had already, as we have stated, begun to suspect the designs of his enemies; and in a letter addressed to the Landgrave of Hesse, early in 1591, he throws out some hints which indicated the anxieties that agitated his mind. The Landgrave of Hesse, as if he had heard some rumours unfavourable to the prospects of Tycho, requested him to write him respecting the state of the Kingdom, and concerning his own private affairs. To this letter, which was dated early in February, Tycho replied about the beginning of April. He informed the Landgrave that he led a private life in his own island, exempt from all official functions, and never willingly taking a part in public affairs. He was desirous of leaving the ambition of public honours to others, and of devoting himself wholly to the study of philosophy and astronomy; and he expressed a hope that if he should be involved in the tumults and troubles of life, either by his own destiny or by evil counsels, he might be able, by the blessing of G.o.d, to extricate himself by the force of his mind and the integrity of his life. He comforted himself with the idea that every soil was the country of a great man, and that wherever he went the blue sky would still be over his head;[40] and he distinctly states at the close of his letter, that he had thought of transferring his residence to some other place, as there were some of the King's councillors who had already begun to calumniate his studies, and to grudge him his pension from the treasury.

[40] Omne solum forti patria, et coelum undique supra est.

The causes which led to this change of feeling on the part of Christian IV.'s advisers have not been explained by the biographers of Tycho. It has been stated, in general terms, that he had made many enemies, by the keenness of his temper and the severity of his satire; but I have not been able to discover any distinct examples of these peculiarities of his mind. In an event, indeed, which occurred about this time, he slightly resented a piece of marked incivility on the part of Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick, who had married the Princess Eliza of Denmark; but it is not likely that so trivial an affair, if it were known at court, could have called down upon him the hostility of the King's advisers.

The Duke of Brunswick had, in 1590, paid a visit to Uraniburg, and had particularly admired an antique bra.s.s statue of Mercury, about a cubit long, which Tycho had placed in the roof of the hypocaust or central crypt of the Stiern-berg observatory. By means of a concealed mechanism, it moved round in a circular orbit. The Duke requested the statue and its machinery, which Tycho gave him, on the condition that he should obtain a model of it, for the purpose of having another executed by a skilful workman. The Duke not only forgot his promise, but paid no attention to the letters which were addressed to him. Tycho was justly irritated at this unprincely conduct, and ordered this anecdote to be inserted in the description of Uraniburg which he was now preparing for publication.

In the year 1592, Tycho lost his distinguished friend and correspondent the Prince of Hesse, and astronomy one of its most active and intelligent cultivators. His grief on this occasion was deep and sincere, and he gave utterance to his feelings in an impa.s.sioned elegy, in which he recorded the virtues and talents of his friend. Prince Maurice, the son and successor of the Landgrave, continued, with the a.s.sistance of able observers, to keep up the reputation of the observatory of Hesse-Ca.s.sel; and the observations which were there made were afterwards published by Snellius. The extensive and valuable correspondence between Tycho and the Landgrave was prepared for publication about the beginning of 1593, and contains also the letters of Rothman and Rantzau.

For several years the studies of Tycho had been treated with an unwilling toleration by the Danish Court. Many of the n.o.bles envied the munificent establishment which he had received from Frederick, and the liberal pension which he drew from his treasury. But among his most active enemies were some physicians, who envied his reputation as a successful and a gratuitous pract.i.tioner of the healing art. Numbers of invalids flocked to Huen, and diseases, which resisted all other methods of cure, are said to have yielded to the panaceal prescription of the astrologer. Under the influence of such motives, these individuals succeeded in exciting against Tycho the hostility of the court. They drew the public attention to the exhausted state of the treasury. They maintained that he had possessed too long the estate in Norway, which might be given to men who laboured more usefully for the commonwealth; and they accused him of allowing the chapel at Rothschild to fall into decay. The President of the Council, Christopher Walchendorp, and the King's Chancellor, were the most active of the enemies of Tycho; and, having poisoned the mind of their sovereign against the most meritorious of his subjects, Tycho was deprived of his canonry, his estate in Norway, and his pension.

Being no longer able to bear the expenses of his establishment in Huen, and dreading that the feelings which had been excited against him might be still further roused, so as to deprive him of the Island of Huen itself, he resolved to transfer his instruments to some other situation. Notwithstanding this resolution, he remained with his family in the island, and continued his observations till the spring of 1597, when he took a house in Copenhagen, and removed to it all his smaller and more portable instruments, leaving those which were large or fixed in the crypts of Stiern-berg. His first plan was to remove every thing from Huen as a measure of security; but the public feeling began to turn in his favour, and there were many good men in Copenhagen who did not scruple to reprobate the conduct of the government. The President of the Council, Walchendorp--a name which, while the heavens revolve, will be p.r.o.nounced with horror by astronomers--saw the change of sentiment which his injustice had produced, and adopted an artful method of sheltering himself from public odium. In consequence of a quarrel with Tycho, the recollection of which had rankled in his breast, he dreaded to be the prime mover in his persecution. He therefore appointed a committee of two persons, one of whom was Thomas Feuchius, to report to the government on the nature and utility of the studies of Tycho. These two individuals were entirely ignorant of astronomy and the use of instruments; and even if they had not, they would have been equally subservient to the views of the minister. They reported that the studies of Tycho were of no value, and that they were not only useless, but noxious. Armed with this report, Walchendorp prohibited Tycho, in the King's name, from continuing his chemical experiments; and instigated, no doubt, by this wicked minister, an attack was made upon himself, and his shepherd or his steward was injured in the affray. Tycho was provoked to revenge himself upon his enemies, and the judge was commanded not to interfere in the matter.

Thus persecuted by his enemies, Tycho resolved to remain no longer in an ungrateful country. He carried from Huen every thing that was moveable, and having packed up his instruments, his crucibles, and his books, he hired a s.h.i.+p to convey them to some foreign land. His wife, his five sons and four daughters, his male and his female servants, and many of his pupils and a.s.sistants, among whom were Tengnagel, his future son-in-law, and the celebrated Longomonta.n.u.s, embarked at Copenhagen, to seek the hospitality of some better country than their own.

Freighted with the glory of Denmark, this interesting bark made the best of its way across the Baltic, and arrived safely at Rostoch. Here the exiled patriarch found many of his early friends, particularly Henry Bruce, an able astronomer, to whom he had formerly presented one of his bra.s.s quadrants. The approach of the plague, however, prevented Tycho from making any arrangements for a permanent residence; and, having received a warm invitation from Count Henry Rantzau, who lived in Holstein at the Castle of Wandesberg, near Hamburg, he went with all his family, about the end of 1597, to enjoy the hospitality of his friend.

Though Tycho derived the highest pleasure from the kindness and conversation of Count Rantzau, yet a cloud overshadowed the future, and he had yet to seek for a patron and a home. His hopes were fixed on the Emperor Rudolph, who was not only fond of science, but who was especially addicted to alchemy and astrology, and his friend Rantzau promised to have him introduced to the Emperor by proper letters. When Tycho learned that Rudolph was particularly fond of mechanical instruments and of chemistry, he resolved to complete and to dedicate to him his work on the mechanics of astronomy, and to add to it an account of his chemical labours. This task he soon performed, and his work appeared in 1598 under the t.i.tle of _Tychonis Brahe, Astronomiae instauratae Mechanica_. Along with this work he transmitted to the Emperor a copy of his MS. catalogue of 1000 fixed stars.

With these proofs of his services to science, and instigated by various letters in his favour, the Emperor Rudolph desired his Vice-Chancellor to send for Tycho, and to a.s.sure him that he would be received according to his great merits, and that nothing should be wanting to promote his scientific studies. Leaving his wife and daughters at Wandesberg, and taking with him his sons and his pupils, Tycho went to Wittemberg; but having learned that the plague had broken out at Prague, and that the Emperor had gone to Pilsen, he deferred for a while his journey into Bohemia.

Early in the spring of 1599, when the pestilence had ceased at Prague, and the Emperor had returned to his capital, Tycho set out for Bohemia.

On his arrival at Prague, he found a splendid house ready for his reception, and a kind message from the Emperor, prohibiting him from paying his respects to him till he had recovered from the fatigues of his journey. On his presentation to Rudolph, the generous Emperor received him with the most distinguished kindness. He announced to him that he was to receive an annual pension of 3000 crowns; that an estate would as soon as possible be settled upon him and his family and their successors; that a town house would be provided for him; and that he might have his choice of various castles and houses in the country as the site of his observatory and laboratory. The Emperor had also taken care to provide every thing that was necessary for Tycho's immediate wants; and so overwhelmed was he with such unexpected kindness, that he remarked that, as he could not find words to express his grat.i.tude, the whole heavens would speak for him, and posterity should know what a refuge his great and good Sovereign had been to the Queen of the Arts.

Among the numerous friends whom Tycho found at Prague, were his correspondents Coroducius and Hagecius, and his benefactor Barrovitius, the Emperor's secretary. He was congratulated by them all on his distinguished reception at court, and was regarded as the aeneas of science, who had been driven from his peaceful home, and who had carried with him to the Latium of Germany his wife, his children, and his household G.o.ds. If external circ.u.mstances could remove the sorrows of the past, Tycho must now have been supremely happy. In his s.p.a.cious mansion, which had belonged to his friend Curtius, he found a position for one of his best instruments, and having covered with poetical inscriptions the four sides of the pedestal on which it stood, in honour of his benefactors, as well as of former astronomers, he resumed with diligence his examination of the stars.

When Rudolph saw the magnificent instruments which Tycho had brought along with him, and had acquired some knowledge of their use, he pressed him to send to Denmark for the still larger ones which he had left at Stiern-berg. In the meantime, he gave him the choice of the castles of Brandisium, Lyssa, and Benach as his country residence; and after visiting them about the end of May, Tycho gave the preference to Benach, which was situated upon a rising ground, and commanded an extensive horizon. It contained splendid and commodious buildings, and was almost, as he calls it, a small city, situated on the stream Lisor, near its confluence with the Albis. It stood a little to the east and north of Prague, and was distant from that city only five German miles, or about six hours' journey.

On the 20th of August, the Prefect of Brandisium gave Tycho possession of his new residence. His grat.i.tude to his royal patron was copiously displayed, not only in a Latin poem written on the occasion, but in Latin inscriptions which he placed above the doors of his observatory and his laboratory. In order that he might establish an astronomical school at Prague, he wrote to Longomonta.n.u.s, Kepler, Muller, David Fabricius, and two students at Wittemberg, who were good calculators, requesting them to reside with him at Benach, as his a.s.sistants and pupils: He at the same time dispatched his destined son-in-law, Tengnagel, accompanied by Pascal Muleus, to bring home his wife and daughters from Wandesberg, and his instruments from Huen; and he begged that Longomonta.n.u.s would accompany them to Denmark, and return in the same carriage with them to Bohemia.

Kepler arrived at Prague in January 1600, and, after spending three or four months at Benach, in carrying on his inquiries and in making astronomical observations, he returned to Gratz. Tycho had undertaken to obtain for him the appointment of his a.s.sistant. It was arranged that the Emperor should allow him a hundred florins, on the condition that the states of Styria would permit him to retain his salary for two years. This scheme, however, failed, and Kepler was about to study medicine, and offer himself for a professors.h.i.+p of medicine at Tubingen, when Tycho undertook to obtain him a permanent appointment from the Emperor. Kepler, accordingly, returned in September 1601, and, on the recommendation of his friend, he was named imperial mathematician, on the condition of a.s.sisting Tycho in his observations.

Tycho had experienced much inconvenience in his residence at Benach, from his ignorance of the language and customs of the country, as well as from other causes. He was therefore anxious to transfer his instruments to Prague; and no sooner were his wishes conveyed to the Emperor than he gave him leave to send them to the royal gardens and the adjacent buildings. His family and his larger instruments having now arrived from Huen, the astronomer with his family and his property were safely lodged in the royal edifice. Having found that there was no house in Prague more suited for his purposes than that of his late friend Curtius, the Emperor purchased it from his widow, and Tycho removed into it on the 25th February 1601.

CHAPTER IV.