Anyone who has read a history of the life of Galileo, and contemplated the career of this remarkable man, his ardent struggles in the cause of freedom and philosophic truth, his victories and reverses, his brilliant astronomical discoveries, and his investigation of the laws of motion, and other natural phenomena, will arrive at the conclusion that he merited the distinction conferred upon him by our great English poet, when he included him among the renowned few whose names are found in the pages of ‘Paradise Lost.’
CHAPTER V
THE SEASONS
The great path of the Sun among the constellations as seen from the Earth is called the Ecliptic. It is divided into 360°, and again into twelve equal parts of 30°, called Signs. As one half of the ecliptic is north, and the other half south, of the equator, the line of intersection of their planes is at two points which are known as the equinoctial points, because, when the Sun on his upward and downward journey arrives at either of them the days and nights are of equal length all over the world. The equinoctial points are not stationary, but have a westerly motion of 50'' annually along the ecliptic; at this rate they will require a period of 25,868 years to complete an entire circuit of the heavens.
Milton alludes to the ecliptic when he mentions the arrival of Satan upon the Earth:—
Down from the ecliptic, sped with hoped success,
Throws his steep flight in many an airy wheel,
Nor staid till on Niphates top he lights.—iii. 740-42.
Extending for 9° on each side of the ecliptic is a zone or belt called the Zodiac, the mesial line of which is occupied by the Sun, and within this space the principal planets perform their annual revolutions. It was for long believed that the paths of all the planets lay within the zodiac, but on the discovery of the minor planets, Ceres, Pallas, and Juno, it was ascertained that they travelled beyond this zone. The stars situated within the zodiac are divided into twelve groups or constellations, which correspond with the twelve signs, and each is named after an animal or some figure which it is supposed to resemble. The zodiac is of great antiquity; the ancient Egyptians and Hindoos made use of it, and there are allusions to it in the earliest astronomical records. The twelve constellations of the zodiac bear the following names:—
| Aries | the Ram |
| Taurus | the Bull |
| Gemini | the Twins |
| Cancer | the Crab |
| Leo | the Lion |
| Virgo | the Virgin |
| Libra | the Balance |
| Scorpio | the Scorpion |
| Sagittarius | the Archer |
| Capricornus | the Goat |
| Aquarius | the Water-bearer |
| Pisces | the Fishes |