
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 $b 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.
Subjects

1859–1936
A prolific English biographer and editor, he devoted much of his work to literary lives and the history of Olney, the Buckinghamshire town with which he was closely associated. His books on figures such as Daniel Defoe, Walter Pater, and William Cowper helped preserve literary history for later readers.
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