treasures of literature through Western Europe, by the works of
Raphael and Michael Angelo, by the Reformation, and by the extension
of the known world through the voyages of Spaniards and Portuguese.
During that period there came to the front the founder of accurate
observational astronomy. Tycho Brahe, a Dane, born in 1546 of noble
parents, was the most distinguished, diligent, and accurate observer
of the heavens since the days of Hipparchus, 1,700 years before.

Tycho was devoted entirely to his science from childhood, and the
opposition of his parents only stimulated him in his efforts to
overcome difficulties. He soon grasped the hopelessness of the old
deductive methods of reasoning, and decided that no theories ought to
be indulged in until preparations had been made by the accumulation of
accurate observations. We may claim for him the title of founder of
the inductive method.

For a complete life of this great man the reader is referred to
Dreyer's _Tycho Brahe_, Edinburgh, 1890, containing a complete
bibliography. The present notice must be limited to noting the work
done, and the qualities of character which enabled him to attain his
scientific aims, and which have been conspicuous in many of his
successors.

He studied in Germany, but King Frederick of Denmark, appreciating his
great talents, invited him to carry out his life's work in that
country. He granted to him the island of Hveen, gave him a pension,
and made him a canon of the Cathedral of Roskilde. On that island
Tycho Brahe built the splendid observatory which he called Uraniborg,
and, later, a second one for his assistants and students, called
Stjerneborg. These he fitted up with the most perfect instruments, and