Man's Place in the Universe: A Study of the Results of Scientific Research in Relation to the Unity or Plurality of Worlds

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book Man's Place in the Universe: A Study of the Results of Scientific Research in Relation to the Unity or Plurality of Worlds by Alfred Russel Wallace, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alfred Russel Wallace ISBN: 9781465610744
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Alfred Russel Wallace
ISBN: 9781465610744
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English
When men attained to sufficient intelligence for speculations as to their own nature and that of the earth on which they lived, they must have been profoundly impressed by the nightly pageant of the starry heavens. The intense sparkling brilliancy of Sirius and Vega, the more massive and steady luminosity of Jupiter and Venus, the strange grouping of the brighter stars into constellations to which fantastic names indicating their resemblance to various animals or terrestrial objects seemed appropriate and were soon generally adopted, together with the apparently innumerable stars of less and less brilliancy scattered broadcast over the sky, many only being visible on the clearest nights and to the acutest vision, constituted altogether a scene of marvellous and impressive splendour of which it must have seemed almost impossible to attain any real knowledge, but which afforded an endless field for the imagination of the observer. The relation of the stars to the sun and moon in their respective motions was one of the earliest problems for the astronomer, and it was only solved by careful and continuous observation, which showed that the invisibility of the former during the day was wholly due to the blaze of light, and this is said to have been proved at an early period by the observed fact that from the bottom of very deep wells stars can be seen while the sun is shining. During total eclipses of the sun also the brighter stars become visible, and, taken in connection with the fixity of position of the pole-star, and the course of those circumpolar stars which never set in the latitudes of Greece, Egypt, and Chaldea, it soon became possible to frame a simple hypothesis which supposed the earth to be suspended in space, while at an unknown distance from it a crystal sphere revolved upon an axis indicated by the pole-star, and carried with it the whole host of heavenly bodies. This was the theory of Anaximander (540 B.C.), and it served as the starting-point for the more complex theory which continued to be held in various forms and with endless modifications down to the end of the sixteenth century. It is believed that the early Greeks obtained some knowledge of astronomy from the Chaldeans, who appear to have been the first systematic observers of the heavenly bodies by means of instruments, and who are said to have discovered the cycle of eighteen years and ten days after which the sun and moon return to the same relative positions as seen from the earth. The Egyptians perhaps derived their knowledge from the same source, but there is no proof that they were great observers, and the accurate orientation, proportions, and angles of the Great Pyramid and its inner passages may perhaps indicate a Chaldean architect.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
When men attained to sufficient intelligence for speculations as to their own nature and that of the earth on which they lived, they must have been profoundly impressed by the nightly pageant of the starry heavens. The intense sparkling brilliancy of Sirius and Vega, the more massive and steady luminosity of Jupiter and Venus, the strange grouping of the brighter stars into constellations to which fantastic names indicating their resemblance to various animals or terrestrial objects seemed appropriate and were soon generally adopted, together with the apparently innumerable stars of less and less brilliancy scattered broadcast over the sky, many only being visible on the clearest nights and to the acutest vision, constituted altogether a scene of marvellous and impressive splendour of which it must have seemed almost impossible to attain any real knowledge, but which afforded an endless field for the imagination of the observer. The relation of the stars to the sun and moon in their respective motions was one of the earliest problems for the astronomer, and it was only solved by careful and continuous observation, which showed that the invisibility of the former during the day was wholly due to the blaze of light, and this is said to have been proved at an early period by the observed fact that from the bottom of very deep wells stars can be seen while the sun is shining. During total eclipses of the sun also the brighter stars become visible, and, taken in connection with the fixity of position of the pole-star, and the course of those circumpolar stars which never set in the latitudes of Greece, Egypt, and Chaldea, it soon became possible to frame a simple hypothesis which supposed the earth to be suspended in space, while at an unknown distance from it a crystal sphere revolved upon an axis indicated by the pole-star, and carried with it the whole host of heavenly bodies. This was the theory of Anaximander (540 B.C.), and it served as the starting-point for the more complex theory which continued to be held in various forms and with endless modifications down to the end of the sixteenth century. It is believed that the early Greeks obtained some knowledge of astronomy from the Chaldeans, who appear to have been the first systematic observers of the heavenly bodies by means of instruments, and who are said to have discovered the cycle of eighteen years and ten days after which the sun and moon return to the same relative positions as seen from the earth. The Egyptians perhaps derived their knowledge from the same source, but there is no proof that they were great observers, and the accurate orientation, proportions, and angles of the Great Pyramid and its inner passages may perhaps indicate a Chaldean architect.

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book Les affinités électives: Suivies d'un choix de pensées du même by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book Christmas, a Happy Time: A Tale Calculated for the Amusement and Instruction of Young Persons by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book La Foire Aux Vanites (Complete) by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book The Boudoir: A Magazine of Scandal, Facetiae, &C. by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book The Common Sense of Political Economy: Including a Study of the Human Basis of Economic Law by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book Natural and Artificial Duck Culture by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book Folhas Cahidas, Apanhadas Na Lama Por Um Antigo Juiz Das Almas De Campanhan by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book Serapis (Complete) by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book The Apple-Tree: the Open Country by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book A Pleasant Evening by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book England, Picturesque and Descriptive: A Reminiscence of Foreign Travel by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book It May Be True (Complete) by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves: Missouri Narratives by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book History of the English People: Early England, 449-1071; Foreign Kings, 1071-1204; The Charter, 1204-1307; The Parliament, 1307-1461; The Monarchy 1461-1540, Puritan England, 1603-1660, the Revolution, 1660-1760; Modern England, 1760-1815 (Complete) by Alfred Russel Wallace
Cover of the book A Thane of Wessex by Alfred Russel Wallace
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy