58 OF THE SYSTEMS OF PTOLEMY,

was known in the world from the most earlyages, and taught by some of the greatest andwisest men of antiquity. That admirable phi-losopher Pythagoras, who flourished near 500years before Christ, was undoubtedly acquaintedwith this doctrine. But, from the accounts ofhis disciples and followers, it is evident, that itwas not the result of his own observations; butthat he had received hints of it from some moreenlightened nations, who had made greateradvances in the science.

It is most probable, that the doctrine was trans-planted by him from the east, in which part ofthe world he spent two and twenty years, andscrupled not to comply with all the customspeculiar to the eastern nations, in order to ob-tain free access to their priests and magi, towhom almost all knowledge of arts and scienceswas then confined. And as he was a man ofextraordinary qualities, and had an insatiablethirst for knowledge, so he seems to have beenthe most successful of any of the ancients inmaking himself acquainted with their philo-sophy.

Accordingly we find, that many of his fol-lowers had just notions of the planetary system ;and not only taught that the earth moved dailyon its own axis, and revolved annually roundthe fun, but gave such an account of the comets

as

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