Which may be translated thus:—
“I am anxiously looking for an answer to my last two letters, that I may learn what Kepler says about the marvels of Saturn’s orb. In the meantime I send him a riddle concerning a certain new and splendid observation which tends to decide great controversies in astronomy; and especially contains a fine argument in favour of the Pythagorean and Copernican system of the universe. At the proper time I will publish the solution of the riddle, and some other particulars. I hope that I have found a method of determining the periodic times of the four Medicean planets, which Kepler, not without very good reason, thought inexplicable, etc.
“The letters turned into an anagram, are these:
“Haec immatura a me jam frustra leguntur, o.y.”
So far Galileo. But if, reader, this letter has filled you with a desire to know the meaning contained in those letters, then you must read another letter of Galileo which follows.
Fig. 1.
E the Earth (centre of universe). S the Sun. C centre of eccentric. D centre of planet’s epicycle. VV’ stationary points. s v v’ projections of SVV’ on the ecliptic of which E is the centre.
Fig. 2
