
audiobook
UNIVERSE,
By THOMAS WRIGHT, of Durham.
THE PREFACE.
THE CONTENTS.
Directions for placing the PLATES.
Some of the Principal ERRATA.
A LIST OF THE SUBSCRIBERS.
LETTER the FIRST.
LETTER the SECOND.
LETTER the THIRD.
This work invites listeners into a bold, eighteenth‑century attempt to map the heavens with the tools of mathematics and natural philosophy. Framed as a series of nine letters to a confidant, it weaves together observations of the Milky Way, the motions of the planets, and reflections on divine order, all underpinned by the author’s conviction that reason and faith can illuminate one another. The prose balances rigorous argument with poetic reverence, offering a glimpse of how early scientists grappled with the mysteries of creation.
Accompanied by more than thirty finely engraved plates, the text brings abstract ideas to life, guiding the ear through detailed diagrams of celestial spheres and speculative models of the cosmos. Listeners will appreciate the historical flavor of the author's appeal to contemporaries like Huygens and Dryden, as well as the earnest call to push beyond the limits of known knowledge. It is an engaging snapshot of a time when the pursuit of truth was as much a moral quest as a scientific one.
Full title
An original theory or new hypothesis of the universe founded upon the laws of nature, and solving by mathematical principles the general phænomena of the visible creation; and particularly the via lactea ... founded upon the laws of nature, and solving by mathematical principles the general phænomena of the visible creation; and particularly the via lactea ...
Language
en
Duration
~3 hours (216K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
United Kingdom: H. Chapelle, 1750.
Credits
Tim Lindell, T Cosmas and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2023-02-07
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1711–1786
An eighteenth-century stargazer with unusually wide interests, this English thinker tried to explain the shape of the Milky Way long before modern astronomy could confirm it. He also worked as a mathematician, instrument maker, architect, and garden designer, making his life story almost as surprising as his ideas.
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