ABSTRACT
The regularity of astronomical forms admits of geometrical treatment, and the simplicity of astronomical movements admits of mechanical treatment with a very high degree of precision. Considering the simple nature of astronomical investigations, and the easy application to them of mathematical means, it is evident why astronomy is, by common consent, placed at the head of the natural sciences. The perfection of a science is in exact proportion to its approach to this consummation; and, according to this test, astronomy distances all other sciences. Philosophically speaking, astronomy depends on mathematics alone, owing nothing to physics, chemistry, or physiology, which were either undiscovered or lost in theological and metaphysical confusion, while astronomy was a true science in the hands of the ancient geometers. If astronomical conditions were liable to indefinite variations, the human existence that depends upon them could never be reduced to laws.
