Excerpt from An Historical Survey of the Astronomy of the Ancients The history of sciences has in general been written with a scientific purpose, and with a view of throwing light upon the special science of which the origin and progress are described. In such a work as Dr. Whcwell's History of the Inductive Sciences, the historical form is subsidiary to the scientific end: it is a book intended for the use and instruction of the professors of the several sciences which it successively passes in review. In like manner, Delambre's elaborate histories of Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern Astronomy, are works, composed by an astronomer, principally for the use of astronomers. No one can master them who is not versed in the modern mathematical astronomy. Hut astronomy has this peculiarity, that it is conversant with subjects which from the earliest ages have attracted the daily attention of mankind, and which gave birth to observation and speculation before they were treated by strictly scientific methods. Chronology, moreover, without which political history cannot exist, is dependent upon astronomical determinations. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."