]
But quite independently of astrology there seem to have been many
other delusions current among the philosophers of Kepler's time. It
is now almost incomprehensible how the ablest men of a few centuries
ago should have entertained such preposterous notions, as they did,
with respect to the system of the universe. As an instance of what
is here referred to, we may cite the extraordinary notion which,
under the designation of a discovery, first brought Kepler into
fame. Geometers had long known that there were five, but no more
than five, regular solid figures. There is, for instance, the cube
with six sides, which is, of course, the most familiar of these
solids. Besides the cube there are other figures of four, eight,
twelve, and twenty sides respectively. It also happened that there
were five planets, but no more than five, known to the ancients,
namely, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. To Kepler's
lively imaginations this coincidence suggested the idea that the five
regular solids corresponded to the five planets, and a number of
fancied numerical relations were adduced on the subject. The
absurdity of this doctrine is obvious enough, especially when we
observe that, as is now well known, there are two large planets, and
a host of small planets, over and above the magical number of the
regular solids.
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