There dwelt at this time at Leipsic an ingenious artisan named Scultetus, who was employed by Homelius, the professor of mathematics in that city, to assist him in the construction of his instruments. Having become acquainted with this young man, Tycho put into his hand a wooden radius, such as was recommended by Gemma Frisius, for the purpose of having it divided in the manner adopted by Homelius; and with this improved instrument he made a great number of astronomical observations out of his window, without ever exciting the suspicions of his tutor.
Having spent three years at Leipsic, he was about to make the tour of Germany, when, in consequence of his uncle’s death, he was summoned to his native country to inherit the fortune which had been left him. He accordingly quitted Leipsic about the middle of May 1565, and after having arranged his domestic concerns in Denmark, he continued his astronomical observations with the radius constructed for him by Scultetus. The ardour with which he pursued his studies gave great umbrage to his friends as well as to his relations. He was reproached for having abandoned the profession of the law; his astronomical observations were ridiculed as not only useless but degrading, and, among his numerous connexions, his maternal uncle, Steno Bille, was the only one who applauded him for following the bent of his genius. Under these uncomfortable circumstances he resolved to quit his country, and pay a visit to the most interesting cities of Germany.
At Wittemberg, where he arrived in April 1566, he resumed his astronomical observations; but, in consequence of the plague having broken out in that city, he removed to Rostoch in the following autumn. Here an accident occurred which had nearly deprived him of his life. On the 10th December he was invited to a wedding feast; and, among other guests, there was present a noble countryman of his own, Manderupius Pasbergius. Some difference having arisen between them on this occasion, they parted with feelings of mutual displeasure. On the 27th of the same month they met again at some festive games, and having revived their former quarrel, they agreed to settle their differences by the sword. They accordingly met at 7 o’clock in the evening of the 29th, and fought in total darkness. In this blind combat, Manderupius cut off the whole of the front of Tycho’s nose, and it was fortunate for astronomy that his more valuable organs were defended by so faithful an outpost. The quarrel, which is said to have originated in a difference of opinion respecting their mathematical acquirements, terminated here; and Tycho repaired his loss by cementing upon his face a nose of gold and silver, which is said to have formed a good imitation of the original.
During the years 1567 and 1568, Tycho continued to reside at Rostoch, with the exception of a few months, during which he made a rapid journey into Denmark. He lived in a house in the college of the Jesuits, which he had rented on account of its fitness for celestial observations; but, though he intended to spend the winter under its roof, he had made no arrangement respecting his future life, leaving it, as he said, in the hands of Providence. A desire, however, to visit the south of Germany induced him to quit Rostoch, and having crossed the Danube, he paid a visit to Augsburg.
Upon entering this ancient city, Tycho was particularly struck with the grandeur of its fortifications, the splendour of its private houses, and the beauty of its fountains; and, after a short residence within its walls, he was still more delighted with the industry of the people, the refinement of the higher classes, and the love of literature and science which was cherished by its wealthy citizens. Among the interesting acquaintances which he formed at Augsburg, were two brothers, John and Paul Hainzel, the one a septemvir, and the other the consul or burgomaster. They were both distinguished by their learning, and both of them, particularly Paul, were ardent lovers of astronomy. Tycho had hitherto no other astronomical instrument than the coarse radius which was made for him by Scultetus, and he waited only for a proper occasion to have a larger and better instrument constructed for his use. Having now the command of workmen who could execute his plans, he conceived the bold design of making a divided instrument which should distinctly exhibit single minutes of a degree. While he was transferring the first rude conception of his instrument to paper, Paul Hainzel entered his study, and was so struck with the grandeur of the plan, that he instantly undertook to have it executed at his own expense. The projected instrument was a quadrant of fourteen cubits radius! and Tycho and his friend entered upon its construction with that intense ardour which is ever crowned with success.
In the village of Gegginga, about half a mile to the south of the city, Paul Hainzel had a country house, the garden of which was chosen as the spot where the quadrant was to be fixed. The best artists in Augsburg, clockmakers, jewellers, smiths, and carpenters, were engaged to execute the work, and from the zeal which so novel an instrument inspired, the quadrant was completed in less than a month. Its size was so great that twenty men could with difficulty transport it to its place of fixture. The two principal rectangular radii were beams of oak; the arch which lay between their extremities was made of solid wood of a particular kind, and the whole was bound together by twelve beams. It received additional strength from several iron bands, and the arch was covered with plates of brass, for the purpose of receiving the 5400 divisions into which it was to be subdivided. A large and strong pillar of oak, shod with iron, was driven into the ground, and kept in its place by solid mason work. To this pillar the quadrant was fixed in a vertical plane, and steps were prepared to elevate the observer, when stars of a low altitude required his attention. As the instrument could not be conveniently covered with a roof, it was protected from the weather by a covering made of skins, but notwithstanding this and other precautions, it was broken to pieces by a violent storm, after having remained uninjured for the space of five years.
As this quadrant was fitted only to determine the altitudes of the celestial bodies, Tycho constructed a large sextant for the purpose of measuring their distances. It consisted of two radii, which opened and shut round a centre, and which were nearly four cubits long, and also of two arches, one of which was graduated, while the other served to keep the radii in the same plane. After the radii had been opened or shut till they nearly comprehended the angle between the stars to be observed, the adjustment was completed by means of a very fine tangent screw. With this instrument Tycho made many excellent observations during his stay at Augsburg. He began also the construction of a wooden globe about six feet in diameter. Its outer surface was turned with great accuracy into a sphere, and kept from warping by interior bars of wood supported at its centre.
After receiving a visit from the celebrated Peter Ramus, who subsequently fell a victim at the massacre of St Bartholomew, Tycho left Augsburg, having received a promise from his friend Hainzel that he would communicate to him the observations made with his large quadrant, and with the sextant which he had given him in a present. He paid a visit to Philip Appian in passing through Ingolstadt, and returned to his native country about the end of 1571.
The fame which he had acquired as an astronomer procured for him a warmer reception than that which he had formerly experienced. The King invited him to court, and his friends and admirers loaded him with kindness. His uncle, Steno Bille, who now lived at the ancient convent of Herritzvold, and who had always taken a deep interest in the scientific character of his nephew, not only invited him to his house, but assigned to him for an observatory the part of it which was best adapted for that purpose. Tycho cheerfully accepted of this liberal offer. The immediate proximity of Herritzvold to Knudstorp, rendered this arrangement peculiarly convenient, and in the house of his uncle he experienced all that kindness and consideration which natural affection and a love of science combined to cherish. When Steno learned that the study of chemistry was one of the pursuits of his nephew, he granted him a spacious house, a few yards distant from the convent, for his laboratory. Tycho lost no time in fitting up his observatory, and in providing his furnaces; and regarding gold and silver and the other metals as the stars of the earth, he used to represent his two opposite pursuits as forming only one science, namely, celestial and terrestrial astronomy.
In the hopes of enriching himself by the pursuits of alchemy, Tycho devoted most of his attention to those satellites of gold and silver which now constituted his own system, and which disturbed by their powerful action the hitherto uniform movements of their primary. His affections were ever turning to Germany, where astronomers of kindred views, and artists of surpassing talent were to be found in almost every city. The want of money alone prevented him from realizing his wishes; and it was in the hope of attaining the means of travelling, that he in a great measure forsook his sextants for his crucibles. In order, however, that he might have one good instrument in his observatory, he constructed a sextant similar to, but somewhat larger than, that which he had presented to Hainzel. Its limb was made of solid brass, and was exquisitely divided into single minutes of a degree. Its radii were strengthened with plates of brass, and the apparatus for opening and shutting them was made with great accuracy.