The doctrines he laid down in his famous book, "The
Almagest," prevailed throughout those ages. No substantial addition
was made in all that time to the undoubted truths which this work
contained. No important correction was made of the serious errors
with which Ptolemy's theories were contaminated. The authority of
Ptolemy as to all things in the heavens, and as to a good many things
on the earth (for the same illustrious man was also a diligent
geographer), was invariably final.
Though every child may now know more of the actual truths of the
celestial motions than ever Ptolemy knew, yet the fact that his work
exercised such an astonishing effect on the human intellect for some
sixty generations, shows that it must have been an extraordinary
production. We must look into the career of this wonderful man to
discover wherein lay the secret of that marvellous success which made
him the unchallenged instructor of the human race for such a
protracted period.
Unfortunately, we know very little as to the personal history of
Ptolemy. He was a native of Egypt, and though it has been sometimes
conjectured that he belonged to the royal families of the same name,
yet there is nothing to support such a belief. The name, Ptolemy,
appears to have been a common one in Egypt in those days.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25