Abstract
(1) THE first of these two little books is the work of a master-hand. Sir Thomas Heath published in 1913 a valuable edition of the only extant writing of Aristarchus, preceded by an introduc tion of more than 300 pages, in which he gave a critical history of Greek cosmology up to the time of Aristarchus. In the present little book 'he also begins by giving a rapid sketch of the various systems of the world proposed by Greek philo sophers. The statements of ancient writers are next quoted, proving beyond dispute that Aris tarchus really put forward the heliocentric hypothesis. We could have wished that it had been shown in more detail how Aristarchus may have been led to propose this wav of “saving the phenomena.” Lastly, there is an account of the contents of the treatise of Aristarchus on the sizes and distances of the sun and moon, which is of considerable mathematical interest.
(1) The Copernicus of Antiquity (Aristarchus of Samos).
By Sir Thomas Heath. (Pioneers of Progress. Men of Science.) Pp. v + 59. (London: S.P.C.K.; New York: The Macmillan Co., 1920.) 2s. 6d. net.
(2) Kepler.
By W. W. Bryant. (Pioneers of Progress. Men of Science.) Pp. 62. (London: S.P.C.K.; New York: The Macmillan Co., 1920.) 2s.
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(1) The Copernicus of Antiquity (Aristarchus of Samos) (2) Kepler. Nature 107, 713 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/107713a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/107713a0