PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES. 7

speculate on causes and effects. Accordingly, we are pre-pared to expect even considerable advances in practicalarts long before we have any traces of speculativescience. The Mosaic history refers to the very earliestepoch, the working of metals, the construction of musi-cal instruments, and some advance in various arts oflife. But we find no distinct allusions to any culti-vation of science properly so called.

Early Astronomy.

Of all sciences astronomy is probably that which maylay claim to the earliest origin ; but in speaking of theastronomy of remote ages we must understand the termin a very confined and limited sense. We must neitherimagine speculations of that extent to which we are nowaccustomed to apply the name, nor observations con-ducted with the accuracy and regularity which we nowconsider essential to confer the character of scientificresults. The astronomy of the earlier ages was probablyconfined to noting the most obvious phenomena of themotions and eclipses of the sun and moon; the risingand setting of the principal fixed stars; and the appa-rent positions of the planets among them : and the meansof observing were no other than such as were suppliedby the use of the naked eye, and some of the simplestand rudest instruments. The progress of the sun inhis apparent orhit was followed by remarking the dif-ferent well known'stars, as at different parts of the yearthey were successively lost in the twilight, and also bythe variation in the length of the shadow of a suitableobject, or “ gnomon,” on a level horizontal plane, ob-served at the time of day when it was shortest. In orderto recognise the fixed stars, the heavens were dividedinto constellations, or groups, in which, by the aid of afertile imagination, some resemblance was traced out inthe configuration to the shapes of the various objectswhose names were assigned to them. They are al-luded to by those distinctive names in the most ancientrecords we possess, the books of the Old Testament ,b 4