This he fitted up with a collection of instruments of hitherto
unapproached size and perfection, and here, for twenty years, he
pursued his observations. Thus it was that Kepler, himself a poor
observer, found his complement in one who, without any power of
constructive generalization, was yet the possessor of the richest
series of astronomical observations ever made. From this admirable
conjunction admirable realizations were to be expected. And, indeed,
the "Astronomia Nova" presents an unequalled illustration of
observation vivified by theory, and theory tested and fructified by
observation.
To appreciate the significance of the discovery of the elliptical orbit
of the planets, it is necessary to understand the complicated confusion
that prevailed in the conception of planetary motions. The primal
thought was that the motions of the planets were uniform and circular.
This intuition of circular orbits was a happy one, and was, perhaps,
necessitated by the very structure of the human mind. The sweeping and
centrifugal soul, darting manifold rays of equal reach, realizes the
conception of the circle, that is, a figure all of whose radii are
equidistant from a central point.
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