INTRODUCTION.

The individuals in society, who present to the view of their cotemporaries, and transmit to posterity, Memorials of illustrious men,—more especially those of their own country,—discharge thereby a debt of gratitude: because every man is, directly or indirectly, interested in the benefits conferred on his species, by those who enlarge the sphere of human knowledge, or otherwise promote the happiness of mankind.

But the biographer of an highly meritorious character aims at more than the mere performance of that duty, which a grateful sense of obligation exacts from him, in common with every member of the community, in commemorating the beneficence of the wise and the good: he endeavours to excite in great and liberal minds, by the example of such, an ambition to emulate their talents and their virtues;—and it is these, that, by their union, constitute true greatness of character.

The meed of applause which may be sometimes, and too often is, bestowed on meretricious worth, is ever unsteady and fleeting. The pseudo-patriot may happen to enjoy a transient popularity; false philosophymay, for a while, delude, if not corrupt, the minds of an unthinking multitude; and specious theories in every department of science,—unsupported by experience and untenable on principles of sound reason,—may give to their projectors a short-lived reputation: But the celebrity which is coveted by the man of a noble and generous spirit,—that estimable species of fame, which alone can survive such ephemera of error as are often engendered by the vanity of the individual and nurtured by the follies or vices of the many,—must ever rest on the permanent foundation of truth, knowledge and beneficence.

Virtue is essentially necessary to the constitution of a truly great character. For, although brilliant talents are sometimes found combined with vicious propensities,[1]—the impulse given to men of this description, often renders their great abilities baneful to society: they can seldom, if ever, be productive of real public good. Should eminent talents, possessed by a man destitute of virtue, even take a right direction in their operation, by reason of some extraordinary circumstance,—suchan event ought never to be calculated on: It is not the part of common sense,—much less of a cautious prudence, acquired by a knowledge of mankind,—to expect praise-worthy conduct from any one, whose predominating passions are bad, however great may be his capability of doing good.

While, therefore, the mind may view, with a sort of admiration, the achievements of a magnanimous soldier, it turns with indignation from the atrocities of a military tyrant: and at the same time that it may be induced to contemplate even with complacency, at the first view, the plausible, yet groundless speculations of ingenious theorists, in matters of science,—still the fallacy of their systems, when developed by experience, strips them of all their tinseled glare of merit. Thus, too, the applause which the world justly attaches to the character of a patriot-hero, deserts the unprincipled ruffian-warrior, however valiant and successful he may prove: In like manner, reason and experience expose to the censure of the good and the derision of the wise, the deleterious doctrines of metaphysical statesmen and philosophers.[2]Such estimablequalities as they may possess, in either character, are merged in the mischievous or base ones, withwhich they are combined: thus, infamy or contempt eventually become the merited portion of crime or of folly, as either one or the other may prevail. A Cæsar,[3]a Cromwell and a Robespierre, with otherscourges of mankind, of like character, will therefore be viewed as objects of execration by posterity, while the memories of an Alfred, a Nassau, and a Washington—a Chatham, a Burke, and an Ames,—will be venerated, to the latest posterity.

Much of the glory of a nation results from the renown of illustrious men, among its citizens: a country which has produced many great men, may justly pride itself on the fame which those individuals had acquired. The community to which we belong is entitled to such services as we can render to it: these the patriot will cheerfully bestow; and, in promoting the honour and prosperity of his country, a large portion of the lustre which the exertion of his talents shall have shed upon it, are again reflected on himself.[4]

The cultivator of those branches of natural science which constitute practical and experimental philosophy;—equallywith the teacher of religion and morals,—extends the beneficial effects of his researches and knowledge beyond the bounds of his particular country. Truth is every where the same; and the promulgation of it tends, at all times and in all places, to elevate to its proper station the dignity of man. The more extensively, then, true science can be diffused, the greater will be the means—the fairer will be the rational prospect, of enlarging the sphere of human happiness. The philosopher may, pre-eminently, be considered as a citizen of the world; yet without detracting in any degree from that spirit of patriotism, which ever stimulates a good man to contribute his primary and most important services to his own country. There are, indeed, some species of aids, which are exclusively due to a community, by all its citizens; and, consequently, such as they are bound to withhold from other national communities, in certain contingencies and under peculiar circumstances. But a knowledge of those truths which lead to the acquisition of wisdom and practice of virtue, serves to meliorate the condition of mankind generally, at all times, and under all circumstances;—inasmuch as they greatly assist in banishing error, with its frequent concomitant, vice, not only from the more civilized portions of the world, but also by their inherent influence, from among nations less cultivated and refined.

The truths promulgated by means of a natural and sublime philosophy—corresponding, as this does, withthe dignity of an enlightened spirit—must ever emanate from a virtuous heart as well as an expanded intellect. Hence, the real philosopher,—he whose principles are unpolluted by the sophisticated tenets of some modern pretenders to the appellation,—can scarcely fail to be agood man. Such was the immortal Newton; such were a Boyle, a Hale and a Barrow,—a Boerhaave, a Stephen Hales and a Bradley; with many worthies equally illustrious,—whose glories will, for ever, retain their primitive splendour.

Even the most celebrated sages of antiquity, extremely imperfect as we know the philosophy of the early ages to have been, elucidated, by the purity of their lives and the morality of their doctrines, the truth of the position,—that the cultivation of natural wisdom, unaided as it then was by the lights of revelation, encreased every propensity to moral virtue. Such were Socrates, Plato his disciple, and Anaxagoras; who flourished between four and five centuries before the Christian era.

The life of Socrates, who is styled by Cicerothe Father of Philosophers, afforded a laudable example of moderation, patience, and other virtues; and his doctrines abound with wisdom. Anaxagoras and Plato united with some of the nobler branches of natural science, very rational conceptions of moral truth. Both of them had much higher claims to the title of philosophers, than Aristotle, who appeared about acentury afterwards. This philosopher, however,—for, as such, he continued for many ages to be distinguished in the schools,—was, like Socrates, more a metaphysician than an observer of the natural world. His morality is the most estimable part of his works; though his conceptions of moral truths were much less just than those of Anaxagoras and Plato:[5]for hisphysics are replete with notions and terms alike vague, unmeaning and obscure.[6]The intimate connexionthat subsists between the physical and moral fitness of things, in relation to their respective objects, was more evidently known to Anaxagoras and Plato, than to either Socrates or Aristotle: and the reason is obvious;—both of the former cultivated the sublime science ofAstronomy.

To this cause, then, may be fairly attributed the half-enlightened notions of the Deity,[7]and of a future state, entertained by these pagan searchers after truth. To the same cause may be traced the sentiment that dictated the reply made by Anaxagoras,—when, in consequence of his incessant contemplation of the stars, he was asked, “if he had no concern for his country?”—“I incessantly regard my country,” said he, pointing to Heaven.

Plato’s attention to the same celestial science unquestionably enlarged his notions of the Deity, and enabled him to think the more justly of the moral attributes of human nature. According to Plato—whose morality, on the whole, corresponds with the system maintained by Socrates,[8]—the human soul is a ray from the Divinity. He believed, that this minute portion of infinite Wisdom, Goodness and Power, was omniscient, while united with the Parent stock from which it emanated; but, when combined with the body, that it contracted ignorance and impurity from that union. He did not, like his master Socrates,neglect natural philosophy; but investigated many principles which relate to that branch of knowledge:—and, according to this philosopher, all things consisted of two principles,—Godandmatter.

It is evident that Plato believed in the immortality of the soul of man; but he had, at the same time, very inadequate conceptions of the mode or state of its existence, when separated from the body. It seems to have been reserved for the Christian dispensation, to elucidate this greatarcanum, hidden from the most sagacious of the heathen philosophers.[9]It was the difficulty that arose on this subject, the incapability of knowing how to dispose of the soul, or intellectual principle in the constitution of our species, after its disentanglement from the body; a difficulty by which all the philosophers, antecedent to the promulgation of Christianity, were subjected to unsurmountable perplexities;—it was this, that rendered even the expansive genius of Anaxagoras utterly incompetent to conceive of the possibility that the soul should exist, independentof some union with matter. He therefore invented the doctrine of theMetempsychosis; in order to provide some receptacle of organised matter for that imperishable intellectual principle attached to our nature here, after its departure from the human frame; and to which new vehicle of the vital spirit of its original but abandoned abode, the extinguished corporeal man, its union with it should impart the powers and faculties of animal life.

Cultivating, as Plato did, the mind-expanding science of Astronomy, faintly even as the true principles of this branch of science were then perceived,[10]this philosopher could not fail to derive, from the vastness, beauty and order, manifested in the appearances and revolutions of the heavenly bodies, a conviction of the perpetual existence of a great intelligent First Cause. It was, indeed, as the Abbé Barthelemy justly remarks, the order and beauty apparent through the whole universe, that compelled men to resort to a First Cause:[11]This, he observes, the early philosophers ofthe Ionian school (which owed its origin to Thales) had acknowledged. But Anaxagoras[12]was the first who discriminated that First Cause from matter; and not only this distinguished pupil of Thales,[13]but Anaximander, who, antecedently to him, taught philosophy at Athens, with Archelaus the master of Socrates, all treated in their writings of the formation of the universe, of the nature of things, and of geometry and astronomy.

According to Mr. Gibbon, the philosophers of Greece deduced their morals from the nature of man,rather than from that of God. They meditated, however, as we are informed by this very ingenious historian, on the Divine Nature, as a most curious and important speculation; and, in the profound enquiry, they displayed both the strength and the weakness of the human understanding. The Stoics and the Platonists endeavoured to reconcile the interests of reason with their notions of piety. The opinions of the Academicians and Epicureans, the two other of the four most celebrated schools, were of a less religious cast: But, continues Mr. Gibbon, whilst the modest science of the former induced them to doubt, the positive ignorance of the latter urged them to deny, the providence of a Supreme Ruler.

Cicero[14]denominated the God of Plato theMaker, and the God of Aristotle theGovernor, of the world.[15]It is somewhere observed, that it is no reflection on the character of Plato, to have been unable, by the efforts of his own reason, to acquire any notion of a proper creation; since we, who have the advantage of his writings, nay of writings infinitely more valuable than his, to instruct us, find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to conceive how any thing can first begin to have an existence. We believe the fact, on the authority of Revelation.

Great were, undoubtedly, the improvements in astronomy, made by the Greek philosophers of early ages, on such of its rudiments as were handed down to them from those nations by whom it was first cultivated:[16]Yet it can scarcely be conceived, that, until the celebrated Euclid of Alexandria,[17]and his followers,had reduced the mathematics of Thales and others of those philosophers, into regular systems of arithmetical and geometrical science, the true principles of astronomy could be ascertained. In fact, seventeen centuries and an half had elapsed, from the time of that great geometrician, before Copernicus appeared: when this wonderful genius, availing himself of such remnants of the ancient philosophy, as the intervening irruptions of the barbarous nations of the north upon the then civilized world had left to their posterity, opened to the view of mankind the real system of the universe.[18]—So vast was the chasm, during which the nobler branches of physics remained uncultivated and neglected, that, from the age ofEuclid, fourteen centuries passed away, before Roger Bacon, an English Franciscan friar, began his successful enquiries into experimental philosophy.—This extraordinary man is said to have been almost the onlyastronomerof his age; and he himself tells us, that there were not, then, more than three or four persons in the world who had made any considerable proficiency in themathematics!

But after the appearance of Copernicus,[19]succeeded by the ingenious Tycho Brahe[20]and sagacious Kepler,[21]arose the learned physiologist Bacon, Viscountof St. Albans,—one of the most illustrious contributors to the yet scanty stock of experimental philosophy.[22]And soon after, in the same age and nation, was manifested to the world, in the full glory of meridian splendour, that great luminary of natural science, who first enlightened mankind by diffusing among them the rays of well-ascertained truths; clearly exhibiting to all, those fundamental principles of the laws of nature, by which the grand, the stupendous system of the material universe is both sustained and governed:—

“Nature and Nature’s Laws lay hid in night;God said, LetNewtonbe,—and all was Light.”

“Nature and Nature’s Laws lay hid in night;

God said, LetNewtonbe,—and all was Light.”

Finally, it was reserved for our own age and country to derive dignity and fame, from having given birth to an illustrious successor and disciple of that immortalman, in the person of the yet recently-departedRittenhouse.

The objects of a genuine philosophy, are the discovery and promulgation of the truths which emanate from a knowledge of the laws of nature, in relation to the material world, and the inseparable influence of those truths, consequent on an acquaintance with them, in giving a right direction to the moral faculty of man. The intimate connexion subsisting between natural and moral science, is indubitable; and it is equally certain, that the accordant order, fitness and rectitude, which unite into one glorious plan of wisdom, goodness and power, all portions of creation, intellectual and sensitive as well as material, must rest on the same unerring principles. The infinite variety and boundless extent of nature’s works constitute a sublime system; manifesting a correspondent perfection in the design, and all-bountiful dispensation of good in its purposes.[23]The Almighty First Cause has founded this system on immutable principles; whereintruth, in relation to the moral world, may be considered as its basis,—asfitnessis, when applied to the constitution of the natural world. These are, respectively,the correlatives of the one and the other: and the unity of design apparent in the whole system, plainly indicates the connexion that subsists, in the nature of things, between moral virtue, which is the result of a right perception of truth, and the fitness and order, to which all the operations of the material universe conform.[24]—Towards an investigation ofthesethings,the researches of the great American philosopher were eagerly directed: such were the objects of his unwearied pursuit; and such were the views entertained by him, of the utility and importance of those sublime branches of knowledge, which he cultivated so ardently and successfully.[25]

The enlightened part of the people have, in every civilized nation and in all ages, very rationally valued themselves on their great men. It is both useful and proper to commemorate the renown of such as have approved themselves, in an eminent degree, Benefactors of Mankind. The Life, therefore, of so distinguished a Philosopher asRittenhouse, must be expected to interest the feelings, as well as the curiosity, of the good and the wise, not only of our own country but of foreign nations.

With respect to the usefulness and importance of that majestic science, which was the favourite study and principal object of the pursuit of our philosopher, during a life of ordinary extent but of very extraordinary attainments and character, something may with propriety be said, with a view to an illustration of the subject. And among other evidence, which, it is presumed, may not be unaptly adduced on the occasion, the Memorialist will cite in the first place, as well as occasionally afterwards, the sentiments of a distinguished foreign astronomer, whose abilities and erudition rendered him eminently qualified to decide, in a discussion of this nature: He shall be made to speakfor himself, though not in his own tongue; the great work from which the quoted extracts are made, being written in French.

Among the numerous and important advantages, then, resulting from astronomy, noticed by the celebrated Lalande (in the preface to his book, entitledAstronomie,) he remarks that it is well known, that besides the tendency of this science to dissipate many vulgar errors and prejudices,[26]cosmography andgeography cannot go on, but by its means: that the discovery of the satellites of Jupiter has given greaterperfection to our geographical and marine charts, than they could have attained by ten thousand years of navigation and voyages;[27]and, that when their theoryshall become still better known, the method of determining the longitude at sea will be more exact and more easy.

“It is to astronomy,” says Mr. Lalande, “that we are indebted for the first voyages of the Phœnicians, and the earliest progress of industry and commerce: it is likewise to it, that we owe the discovery of the New World. If there remain any thing to desire for the perfection andsecuritysecurityof navigation, it is, to find the longitude at sea.” In continuation, he says:—

“The utility of navigation for the welfare of a state, serves to prove that of astronomy. But it seems to me, that it is difficult for a good citizen to be ignorant, now, of the usefulness of navigation; above all, (says Lalande, feelingly,) in France. The success of the English, in the war of 1764, has but too well shewn, that a marine alone governs the fortune of empires, their power, their commerce; that peace and war are decided on the ocean; and that, in fine, as Mr. Miere has expressed it,—

“Ancient chronology deduces, from a knowledge and calculation of eclipses, the best established periods in time, that it is possible to obtain: and in ages anterior to regular observations, nothing but obscurity is to be met with. We should not have in the history of nations any uncertainty in dates, if there had always been astronomers. We may perceive, above all, the connexions of astronomy inThe Art of verifying Dates. It is by an eclipse of the Moon,[28]that we discover the error of date that exists in the vulgar era with respect to the birth of Christ. It is known that Herod was king of Judea, and that there was an eclipse of the moon immediately before the death of that prince: we find this eclipse was in the night, between the 12th and 13th of March, of the fourth year before the vulgar era; so that this era ought to be removed three years back, at least.

“It is besides from astronomy, that we borrow the division of time in the common transactions of life, and the art of regulating clocks and watches. Wemay say, that the order and the multiplicity of our affairs, of our duties, our amusements; the attachment to exactness and precision; in short, our habits; all have rendered this measure of time almost indispensable, and placed it among the number of thedesiderataof human life.

“If, for want of clocks and watches, we should be under the necessity of recurring to meridians and sundials, even this would further prove the advantages derived from astronomical science; since dialling is only an application of spherical trigonometry and astronomy.

“Le Sage is displeased with good reason with those, whom an admiration of the stars has carried so far, as that they fancied them to be Deities:[29]but,far from condemning the study of them, he recommends it, for the glory of the Creator.”

Adverting to such as considered “fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the violent water, or the lights of heaven, to be gods which govern the world,”[30]he applies the words of Solomon:—“With whose beauty, if they, being delighted, took them to be gods; let them know how much better the Lord of them is: for the first Author of beauty has created them—For, by the greatness and beauty of the creatures, proportionably the Maker of them is seen.”[31]

“David found also, in the stars,” continues Lalande, “means of elevating his contemplation of the Deity:”—“The heavens declare the glory of God;”[32]“I will view thy heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established:” and we see that Mr. Derham has called by the name of “Astro-Theology,” a work, in which is presented, in all their force, the singularity and grandeur of thediscoveries that have been made in astronomy; as being so many proofs of the existence of a God. (See what Aristotle thought on this subject, in the eighth book of hisPhysics.).)

Such were the reflections of Mr. Lalande, on a subject with which he was intimately acquainted.

The opinions of eminent and enlightened men have deservedly great weight, in all those matters on which it is presumable, from the nature of their pursuits, their thoughts have been most employed. Notwithstanding, therefore, the fulness of the foregoing extracts, the writer believes that the very apt and judicious observations contained in the following passage, in support of similar sentiments, extracted from a voluminous work of a distinguished English astronomer, of the present day, will not be deemed to have been improperly brought into view, on this occasion:—

“The obvious argument of the existence of aDeity, who formed and governs the universe,” (says Mr. Vince, the author referred to,) “is founded upon the uniformity of the laws which take place in the production of similar effects; and from the simplicity of the causes which produce the various phænomena. The most common views of nature, however imperfect and of small extent, suggest the idea of the government of aGod, and every further discovery tends to confirm that persuasion. The ancient philosophers,who scarce knew a single law by which the bodies in the system are governed, still saw theDeityin his works: how visible therefore ought He to be to us, who are acquainted with the laws by which the whole is directed. The same law takes place in our system, between the periodic times and distances of every body revolving about the same centre. Every body describes about its respective centre equal areas in equal times. Every body is spherical. Every planet, as far as our observations reach, is found to revolve about an axis; and the axis of each is observed to continue parallel to itself. Now as the circumstances which might have attended these bodies are indefinite in variety, the uniform similarity which is found to exist amongst them, is an irrefragable argument of design. To produce a succession of day and night, either the sun must revolve every day about the earth, or the earth must revolve about its axis: the latter is the most simple cause; and, accordingly, we find that the regular return of day and night is so produced. As far also as observations have enabled us to discover, the return of day and night, in the planets, is produced by the operation of a similar cause. It is also found, that the axis of each planet is inclined to the plane of its orbit, by which a provision is made for a variety of seasons; and by preserving the axis always parallel to itself, summer and winter return at their stated periods. Where there are such incontestable marks of design, there must be aDESIGNER; and the unity of design through the whole system, proves it tobe the work ofOne. The general laws of nature shew the existence of a DivineIntelligence, in a much stronger point of view, than any work of man can prove him to have acted from intention; inasmuch as the operations of the former are uniform, and subject to no variation; whereas in the latter case, we see continual alterations of plan, and deviations from established rules. And without this permanent order of things, experience could not have directed man in respect to his future operations. These fixed laws of nature, so necessary for us, is an irresistible argument that the world is the work of a wise and benevolentBeing. The laws of nature are the laws ofGod; and how far soever we may be able to trace up causes, they must terminate in his will. We see nothing in the heavens which argues imperfection; the whole creation is stamped with the marks ofDivinity.”—[SeeA Complete System of Astronomy; by the Rev. S. Vince,A. M. F. R. S.&c. printed at Cambridge, in 1799—vol. ii. p. 290, 291.]

None of the works of creation present to the contemplation of man objects more worthy of the dignity of his nature, than those which engage the attention of the astronomer. They have, interested men of the sublimest genius, in all ages of the world: and the science of astronomy is spoken of with admiration, by the most celebrated sages of antiquity.

Although no astronomer of our day, how enthusiastic soever he may be in favour of his science, will be disposed to say with Anaxagoras, that the purpose for which he himself or any other man was born, was, that he might contemplate the stars; yet it does seem, as if the objects of this science more naturally attracted the attention and employed the research of elevated minds, than those things, within the narrow limits of this world, an acquaintance with which constitutes the ordinary mass of human knowledge. The disposition of man to direct his eyes frequently upwards, and the faculty to do so, arising from his erect figure and the position and structure of the organs of his vision, furnish no feeble argument in proving, that this temporary lord of his fellow-beings on this globe has nobler destinies, infinitely beyond them; being enabled and permitted by the Author of his being, even while in this circumscribed state of his existence, to survey those myriads of worlds which occupy the immensity of space; to contemplate their nature, and the laws that govern them; thence, to discern, with the eye of reason, the Great First Cause of their being;[33]and thus having acquired, a juster knowledge of his ownnature, to grasp at an endless futurity for its existence.

That the erect countenance and upward aspect of the human species were his peculiar endowments by the Deity, for these purposes among others, appears to have been the impression on the mind of Ovid, when he said:—

“Finxit in effigiem moderantum cuncta deorum;Pronaque cum spectentanimaliaanimaliacætera terram,Os homini sublime dedit, cælumque tueriJussit, et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus.”[34]Met.i. 88.

“Finxit in effigiem moderantum cuncta deorum;

Pronaque cum spectentanimaliaanimaliacætera terram,

Os homini sublime dedit, cælumque tueri

Jussit, et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus.”[34]

Met.i. 88.

Mr. Pope has well observed, that—

“The proper study of mankind, is Man:”—

But, in order that he may be enabledtotoknow himself, it is indispensably necessary for him to acquire such a knowledge of other created beings that surround him, as the limited nature of his faculties will allow. He must attentively observe the operations of nature in the material universe, survey with a reflecting mind its stupendous fabric, and study its laws. Hence, he will be made acquainted, and although in a partial, yet not an inconsiderable degree, with the powers and extent of that intellectual principle which he finds in the government of the moral, as well as the natural world. And being thus enabled to know his own proper standing in creation, and his appropriate relation to all its parts, he will by these means be qualifiedto ascend to those enquiries, which will open to his mind a just sense of the attributes of the Deity, of whose existence he will feel a perfect conviction. In this way, will man obtain a due knowledge of his own “being, end and aim;” and become fully sensible of his entire dependence on his Creator: while he will thereby learn, that he incessantly owes him the highest adoration and the most devoted service.[35]In thisway it is, that the philosopher, more especially the astronomer,—

“Looks, through Nature, up to Nature’s God.”[36]Pope’s Ess. on Man.

“Looks, through Nature, up to Nature’s God.”[36]

Pope’s Ess. on Man.

Besides the various and important uses of astronomy, here pointed out, it is connected, by means of numerous ramifications, with other departments of science,directed to some of the most useful pursuits of human life. Lalande has even shewn us, in the preface to hisAstronomie, in what manner this science has a relation to the administration of civil and ecclesiastical affairs, to medicine, and to agriculture. A knowledge of astronomy is obviously connected, by means of chronology, with history. It is even a necessary study, in order to become acquainted with the heathen mythology; and many beautiful passages in the works of the ancient poets can neither be distinctly understood nor properly relished, without a knowledge of the stars: nay, that finely poetical one, in the book of Job, in which the Deity is represented as manifesting to that patient man of affliction and sorrow the extreme imbecility of his nature, is unintelligible without some knowledge of astronomy:—

“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?—Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season; or canst thou guide Arcturus, with his sons?”

“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?—

Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season; or canst thou guide Arcturus, with his sons?”

Some of the greatest poets of antiquity were in a manner fascinated, by the grandeur of that science, (though they accompanied it with mystical notions,) which furnishes the sublimest objects in nature to the contemplation of the astronomer.

Ovid tells us, he wished to take his flight among the stars:

—-—-—“Juvat ire per altaAstra; juvat, terris et inerti sede relictis,Nube vehi, validique humeris insistere Atlantis.”[37]Metamorph.lib. xv.

—-—-—“Juvat ire per alta

Astra; juvat, terris et inerti sede relictis,

Nube vehi, validique humeris insistere Atlantis.”[37]

Metamorph.lib. xv.

And Horace acquaints us with the objects of curiosity and research, in the contemplation of which he envied his friend Iccius, who was occupied in that way, on his farm:—

“Quæ mare compescant causæ, quid temperet annum;Stellæ sponte suâ, jussæne, vagentur et errant,Quid premat obscurum Lunæ, quid proferat orbem.”[38]Lib. i. epist. 12, adIccium.

“Quæ mare compescant causæ, quid temperet annum;

Stellæ sponte suâ, jussæne, vagentur et errant,

Quid premat obscurum Lunæ, quid proferat orbem.”[38]

Lib. i. epist. 12, adIccium.

Virgil seemed willing to renounce every other study, in order that he might devote himself to the wonders of astronomy. In the second book of his Georgics, he says:

“Me vero primum dulces ante omnia Musæ,Quarum sacra fero, ingenti perculsus amore,Accipiant; cælique vias et sidera monstrent,Defectus Solis varius, Lunæque labores;Unde tremor terris, quâ vi maria alta tumescantObicibus ruptis, rursusque in se ipsa residant;Quid tantum oceano properent se tingere solesHyberni,Hyberni,vel quæ tardis mora noctibus obstet—Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.”[39]l. 475 and seq.

“Me vero primum dulces ante omnia Musæ,

Quarum sacra fero, ingenti perculsus amore,

Accipiant; cælique vias et sidera monstrent,

Defectus Solis varius, Lunæque labores;

Unde tremor terris, quâ vi maria alta tumescant

Obicibus ruptis, rursusque in se ipsa residant;

Quid tantum oceano properent se tingere soles

Hyberni,Hyberni,vel quæ tardis mora noctibus obstet—

Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.”[39]

l. 475 and seq.

And, in addition to these classical writers, a modern poet (Mr. Voltaire) appears, by a letter written in the year 1738, to have participated in the regrets expressedby Virgil; and to have been desirous of directing all his faculties towards the sciences. He produced, on the philosophy of Newton, a work which has contributed to the expansion of genius; and, in his epistle to the Marchioness du Chatelet, he pays that great man a very exalted compliment, in these poetic lines:

“Confidens du Tres Haut, substances eternelles,Qui parez de vos feux, qui couvrez de vos ailesLe trône oú votre Maitre est assis parmi vous;Parlez: Du grand Newton n’étiez-vous point jaloux?”[40]

“Confidens du Tres Haut, substances eternelles,

Qui parez de vos feux, qui couvrez de vos ailes

Le trône oú votre Maitre est assis parmi vous;

Parlez: Du grand Newton n’étiez-vous point jaloux?”[40]

Astronomy has not only engaged the attention of multitudes of illustrious men, of every age and nation,but it has been patronized by great and enlightened princes and states; cultivated by men of genius and learning, of all ranks and professions; and celebrated by historians and poets.

This charming, as well as sublime and invaluable science, has also been studied, and even practically cultivated, by many celebrated women, in modern times. There are indeed circumstances connected with this innocent and engaging pursuit, that must render it very interesting to the fair sex. Some ladies have prosecuted this object with such success, as to acquire considerable distinction in the philosophical world. While, therefore, the meritorious transactions of men are held in grateful remembrance and frequently recorded in the annals of fame, it is due to justice and impartiality, that literary, scientific, and other attainments of the gentler sex, calculated for the benefit of civil society, should be alike commemorated. Among such then, as examples, may be named the following:—

Maria Cunitia (Kunitz,) daughter of a physician in Silesia, published Astronomical Tables, so early as the year 1650.

Maria-Clara, the daughter of Eimmart and wife of of Muller, both well-known astronomers, cultivated the same science.

Jane Dumée published, in the year 1680, Conversations (or Dialogues) on the Copernican System.

Maria-Margaretta Winckelman, wife of Godfrey Kirch, an astronomer of some distinction[41]who died in 1710, at the age of seventy-one years, worked at his Ephemerides, and carried on Astronomical Observations with her husband. This respectable woman discovered the Comet[42]of 1702, on the 20th of April in that year: she produced, in 1712, a Work on Astronomy;and died at Berlin, in the year 1720. Her three daughters continued, for thirty years, to employ themselves in Astronomical Observations, for the Almanacks of Berlin.

Elizabeth d’Oginsky Puzynina, Countess Puzynina and Castellane of Mscislau, in Poland, erected and richly endowed a magnificent Observatory at Wilna, in the year 1753; and in 1767, she added to this establishment a fund equivalent to twelve thousand (American) dollars, for the purpose of maintaining an observer and purchasing instruments. The king of Poland afterwards gave to this institution the title of a “Royal Observatory.”

The wife of the celebrated Hevelius was, likewise, an astronomer. Madame Hevelius made Observations along with her husband; and she is represented, in theMachina Cœlestis, as having been engaged in measuring distances.

In the century just passed, the Marchioness du Chatelet translatedNewton: Besides whom,—

Madame Lepaute and Madame du Piery were both known in the Astronomical World.

In our own time, Miss Caroline Herschel, sister of the great practical astronomer of the same name, in England, has not only distinguished herself, by having discovered the Comet of 1786; another, on the 17th of April, 1790; and a third, on the 8th of October, 1793;[43]but likewise by attending to Astronomical Observations, along with her brother, for several years.

To these may be added the name of an illustrious female; Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Frederick V. Count Palatine of the Rhine and King of Bohemia, by the only daughter of James I. This Princess (who was an aunt of King George I.) cultivated a fine genius for the several branches of natural philosophy, and was well versed in mathematical science. Although this excellent woman was a Protestant, she was Abbess of Herworden in Westphalia, where she died in 1680, at the age of sixty-two years.

Mr. Lalande, in the prefatory department of his great work onAstronomy, after noticing the Abbé Pluche’s book, entitledSpectacle de la Nature, says: “The freshness of the shade, the stillness of night, the soft beams of twilight, the luminaries that bespangle the heavens, the various appearances of the moon, all form in the hands of Pluche a fit subject for finedescriptive colouring: it takes in view all the wants of man, regards the attention of the Supreme Being to those wants, and recognizes the glory of the Creator. His book is a treatise on final causes, as well as a philosophical work; and there are a great many young persons to whom the reading of it would afford satisfaction and pleasure.” Observing that he himself had no object in view, in his own work, but merely to treat of Astronomy, Lalande recommends to his readers,Nature Displayed, Derham’sAstro-Theology, and the Dialogues of Fontenelle onThe Plurality of Worlds. Such works as these, with some elementary books on astronomy and those branches of science most intimately connected with that science, would be very proper for the study of that respectable class of females, whose minds are too elevated and correct to derive any gratification from the trifling productions of most of the modern novellists and romance-writers; but who, at the same time, might not be desirous of engaging in the more abstruse and laborious researches, which demand the attention of profound practical astronomers.[44]The grand, the delightful views of nature, which studies of this sort would present to the vivid imagination, the delicate sensibility, and the good dispositions of a woman of genius and refinement,would not only improve her understanding and sanction the best feelings of her heart, but they would furnish her mind with an inexhaustible fund of animating reflections and rational enjoyments: in every respect, indeed, they would contribute to her happiness.

Let not, then, the beauties of astronomical science, and the captivating studies of natural philosophy in general, be exclusively enjoyed by men; but let the amiable, the intelligent, and the improved part of the female sex, be invited to a participation, with them, in these intellectual pleasures.[45]

Here, perhaps, might be rested the evidence of the all-important usefulness of that branch of knowledge, in which our American Philosopher was pre-eminently distinguished.

But, inasmuch as astronomy forms a part of mathematical science, more especially of those branches of it, which, under the denomination of mixed and practical mathematics, are intimately and inseparably interwoven, every where, with physical considerations, the reader will, it is presumed, be gratified by a perusal of the following admirable description of the Uses of Mathematics, extracted from the great Dr. Barrow’sPrefatory Oration,[46]upon his admission into the Professorship, at Cambridge. Indeed, in writing the Life of a man so eminently skilled as Dr. Rittenhouse was, in the several departments or various branches of natural philosophy, it seems properand useful to exhibit to the reader such views as have been furnished by men of renowned erudition, of the nature and importance of that complicated, that widely-extended science, in the cultivation of which our philosopher held so exalted a rank.

Dr. Barrow[47]thus eulogizes the Mathematics—a science “which depends upon principles clear to the mind, and agreeable to experience; which draws certain conclusions, instructs by profitable rules, unfolds pleasant questions, and produces wonderful effects: which is the fruitful parent of—I had almost said—all arts, the unshaken foundation of sciences,and the plentiful fountain of advantage to human affairs: In which last respect we may be said to receive from mathematics the principal delights of life, securities of health, increase of fortune and conveniences of labour: That we dwell elegantly and commodiously, build decent houses for ourselves, erect stately temples to God, and leave wonderful monuments to posterity: That we are protected by those rampires from the incursions of an enemy, rightly use arms, artfully manage war, and skilfully range an army: That we have safe traffic through the deceitful billows, pass in a direct road through the trackless ways of the sea, and arrive at the designed ports by the uncertain impulse of the winds: That we rightly cast up our accounts, do business expeditiously, dispose, tabulate, and calculate scattered ranks of numbers, and easily compute them, though expressive of huge heaps of sand, nay immense hills of atoms: That we make pacific separations of the bounds of lands, examine the momentums of weights in an equal balance, and are enabled to distribute to every one his own by a just measure: That, with a light touch, we thrust forward bodies, which way we will, and step a huge resistance with a very small force: That we accurately delineate the face of this earthly orb, and subject the economy of the universe to our sight: That we aptly digest the flowing series of time; distinguish what is acted, by due intervals; rightly account and discern the various returns of the seasons; the stated periods of the years and months, the alternate increasementsof days and nights, the doubtful limits of light and shadow, and the exact difference of hours and minutes: That we derive the solar virtue of the sun’s rays to our uses, infinitely extend the sphere of light, enlarge the near appearances of objects, bring remote objects near, discover hidden things, trace nature out of her concealments, and unfold her dark mysteries: That we delight our eyes with beautiful images, cunningly imitate the devices and portray the works of nature; imitate, did I say? nay excel; while we form to ourselves things not in being, exhibit things absent, and represent things past: That we recreate our minds, and delight our ears, with melodious sounds; attemperate the inconstant undulations of the air to musical tones; add a pleasant voice to a sapless log; and draw a sweet eloquence from a rigid metal; celebrate our Maker with an harmonious praise, and not unaptly imitate the blessed choirs of heaven: That we approach and examine the inaccessible seats of the clouds, distant tracts of land, unfrequented paths of the sea; lofty tops of mountains, low bottoms of vallies, and deep gulphs of the ocean: That we scale the ethereal towers; freely range through the celestial fields; measure the magnitudes and determine the interstices of the stars; prescribe inviolable laws to the heavens themselves, and contain the wandering circuit of the stars within strict bounds: Lastly, that we comprehend the huge fabric of the universe; admire and contemplate the wonderful beauty of the divineworkmanship, and so learn the incredible force and sagacity of our own minds by certain experiments, as to acknowledge the blessings of heaven with a pious affection.”

The honours that have been rendered to celebrated men in almost every age of the world, and by all nations concerning which we have any historical memorials, are noticed by numberless writers, both ancient and modern. The cultivation of astronomical science had, doubtless, its origin in the remotest ages of antiquity,[48]through the Chaldeans,[49]the Egyptians, thePhœnicians and Greeks, the Arabs, and the Chinese. But the Indians of the western hemisphere appear to have had little knowledge of astronomy, at the time of Columbus’s discovery, yet they were not inattentive to its objects: for Acosta tells us, that the Peruvians observed the equinoxes, by means of columns erected before the temple of the sun at Cusco, and by a circle traced around it. Condamine likewise relates, that the Indians on the river of the Amazons gave to the Hyades, as we do, the name of the Bull’s-head; and Father Lasitau says, that the Iroquois called the samestars the Bear, to which we give that name; and designated the Polar star by the appellation of the immoveable star. Captain Cook informs us, that the inhabitants of Taiti, in like manner, distinguish the different stars; and know in what part of the heavens they will appear, for each month in the year; their year consisting of thirteen lunar months, each being twenty-nine days.

Astronomy has been patronised by many great princes and sovereign states. Lalande observes, that, about the year 1230, the Emperor Frederick II.[50]prepared the way for the renewal of the sciences among the moderns, and professed himself to be their protector. His reign, according to the great French astronomer just mentioned, forms the first epocha of the revival of astronomy in Europe.

Coeval with that sovereign,waswasJohannes de Sacro-Bosco,[51]a famous English ecclesiastic, who was the first astronomical writer that acquired celebrity in the thirteenth century. Very nearly about the same time, appeared also that prodigy of genius and learning, Friar Bacon:[52]and from that period, down to our own day, there has been a succession of illustrious philosophers: whose names have justly been renowned, for the benefits they have conferred on mankind; names which reflect honour on the countries to which they respectively belong. Many of those benefactors of the world were honoured with marks of high distinction, by their sovereigns and cotemporaries; and their fame will descend to the latest posterity.

In recording these Memoirs of the Life of an American Philosopher, whose name adds dignity to the country that gave him birth, it is the design of the author to represent him as he truly was; and in doing so, he feels a conscious satisfaction, that his pen is employed in delineating the character of a man, whowas rendered singularly eminent by his genius, his virtues and his public services. Deeply impressed with the magnitude and importance, as well as delicacy of the subject, the writer has not undertaken the task without some hesitation. He is sensible of the difficulties attending it, and conscious of his inability to do justice to its merits. Arduous, however, as the undertaking is, and since no abler pen has hitherto attempted any thing more, on this subject, than to eulogize[53]some of the prominent virtues and talentsof our philosopher, his present biographer will endeavour, by the fidelity with which he shall portray the character of that truly estimable man, to atone for the imperfections of the work in other respects. Possessing, as he does, some peculiar advantages, in relation to the materials necessary for this undertaking, he flatters himself it will be found, that he has been enabled thereby to exhibit to his countrymen, and the world generally, a portrait, which, in its more important features, may prove deserving of some share of public regard.

Sir William Forbes, in the introduction to his interesting Account of the Life and Writings of the late Dr. Beattie, reminds his readers, that “Mr. Mason prefaces his excellent and entertaining Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Gray, with an observation more remarkable for its truth thannovelty;”novelty;”that “the Lives of men of letters seldom abound with incidents.”—“Areader of sense and taste, therefore,” continues Mr. Mason, “never expects to find, in the Memoirs of a Philosopher or Poet, the same species of entertainment or information, which he would receive from those of a Statesman or General. He expects, however, to be informed or entertained. Nor will he be disappointed, did the writer take care to dwell principally on such topics as characterize the man, and distinguish that peculiar part which he acted in the varied drama of society.”

Yet these observations of Mr. Gray’s biographer, though pretty generally correct, admit of some qualification and many exceptions, depending on a variety of circumstances. It is true, that a mere narrative of the life of a “philosopher,” as well as of a “poet,” considered only as such, and abstractedly, must be expected to be devoid of much “incident” that can interest the generality of readers. But, both philosophers and poets have, in some instances, been also statesmen; sometimes, even generals: both have, not unfrequently, distinguished themselves as patriots, and benefactors of mankind.

In writing the life of our philosopher, the plan of a dry recital of only such circumstances and occurrences as have an immediate relation to the individual, has not been pursued. Biographical Memoirs, it is conceived, do not confine a writer to limits so narrow, but permit him to take a much greater latitude. It iseven allowable, in works of this kind, to introduce historical facts, memorable events, proceedings of public bodies, notices of eminent men, evidences of the progress and state of literature, science and the arts, and the actual condition of civil society, in the scene that is contemplated; together with occasional reflections on those and similar subjects. Some of these objects may not seem, perhaps, to be necessarily or very intimately connected with the principal design, the life of the person treated of: but such of them as should, at first view, appear to have the most remote relation to that object, may be afterwards discovered to be both useful and interesting in a discussion of this nature; while others serve to elucidate the main scope of the work. A latitude of this description, in the compilation of memoirs, seems to be quite consistent with the genius and spirit of works of that nature; and the modern practice of memoir-writers has been conformable to this view of the subject.[54]

The writer of the present work has therefore ventured, with all due deference to the public opinion, topursue the course here described. And in doing this, he presumes that the comprehensive range he has allowed himself has enabled him to render his memoirs, even of a “philosopher,” not altogether barren of incidents, nor destitute, he trusts, either of pleasing information or useful instruction.

NOTE.—The reader is requested to substitute (with hispen) the wordEarth, in the place of “Sun,” in the sixth line of the note numbered (18), page xxxii. of the foregoing Introduction: the error in the print is an essential one; and passed unobserved, until it was too late to correct it in the press. At the same time the reader will be pleased to insert the wordsecurity, in the place of “scarcity,” in the ninth line from the top of page xlii.

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