IN preparing and issuing this collection of essays and addresses, the author has yielded to what he could not but regard as the too flattering judgment of the publishers. Having done this, it became incumbent to do what he could to justify their good opinion by revising the material and bringing it up to date. Interest rather than unity of thought has determined the selection.

I HAVE tried to give in this book an outline of the history of astronomy from the earliest historical times to the present day, and to present it in a form which shall be intelligible to a reader who has no special knowledge of either astronomy or mathematics, and has only an ordinary educated person's
power of following scientific reasoning.

ASTRONOMY up to the present time has been chiefly on mathematical points and the mapping of the heavenly bodies, and more or less of the scientific points.

But this book is for the purpose of showing the origin of the Planets, their nature, and their working method, how they came into existence, what they
exist for, and to show that each and every one has a specific purpose ; that they do not merely exist or happen so, but that each and every one has a well-governed law that rules it the same as Man, and that they have a regular system wherein if they transgress that law they must suffer as well as you and I.

The endeavour to understand events in nature is as old as civilisation. In each of its three great seminal areas the Chinese, the Indian and the West Asian-European men tried to find a logic in the mysterious and an order in the chaotic. They made many attempts, sometimes revealing strange similarities in these totally different societies, to express general truths from which particular events would follow as rational, comprehensible consequences. They tried to describe and analyse in order to understand, for men could not live in the world without seeking to assign causes to the things that happen in it.

ALL sciences are making an advance, but Astronomy is moving at the double-quick. Since the principles of this science were settled by Copernicus, four hundred years ago, it has never had to beat a, retreat. It is rewritten not to correct material errors, but to incorporate new discoveries.

In the following pages I have endeavoured to give a simple account of some of the more interesting " Recent Advances in Astronomy". To harmonize with the general scheme of the series of which this work forms a volume, it was at first suggested that I should develop recent progress in Astronomy jf historically.

In the following pages I have endeavoured to give a simple account of some of the more interesting " Recent Advances in Astronomy". To harmonize with the general scheme of the series of which this work forms a volume, it was at first suggested that I should develop recent progress in Astronomy historically. The difficulties in the way of treating any branch of science in such a manner are, however, very considerable ; especially when, as in the present instance, it is desired to present the subject in such a manner as to be readily followed by those who have but slight familiarity with its technicalities.