326 Prowe's Life of Copernicus. Oct.
long-relaxed bonds of discipline were not drawn tighter without causing some uneasy rubs in the process. Even the Chapter had its black sheep, and with this black sheep — one Alexander Scultetus — Copernicus was accused of undue intimacy. To the delicately conveyed remonstrances of Bishop Dantiscus on the subject he however submitted, though not, it would seem, without reluctance; and Scultetus eventually succeeded in clearing himself at Rome from the charges brought against him at Frauenburg. But the incident must have been in every respect a painful one.
A fresh source of scientific sympathy was, however, opened late and unexpectedly to the great astronomer. In the early summer of 1539, a traveller rode up to the gate of the cathedral-close, and asked to see Canon Nicholas Copernicus. He was unknown, and (so far as can be ascertained) without recommendation of any sort; moreover, he came from Wittenberg, the metropolis of heresy ; he followed the spiritual guidance of Luther, and was deeply indebted to the temporal patronage of Melanchthon. Nevertheless, the hospitable warmth of his reception encouraged him to prolong his stay for above two years, and inspired the glowing eulogy of Prussia, its rulers, ecclesiastical and civil, the products of its soil, and the high culture of its inhabitants, appended to the 'Narratio Prima.' [1] George Joachim von Lauchen — usually styled 'Rheticus ' from the situation of his birth-place — was born at Feldkirch in the Vorarlberg (near the borders of the ancient Rhætia) February 16, 1514. He studied at Wittenberg, wandered from one German university to another, returned to fill a mathematical chair procured for him by Melanchthon, and at last, set on fire by reports concerning a new system of astronomy devised at Frauenburg, he resolved to repair thither, and enquire for himself into its merits. He was then twenty-five years of age; of an ardent, affectionate, restless disposition ; eager for novelty, rapid in assimilating the thoughts of others, and generous in appraising them at their highest value. Between him and his ' preceptor ' a warm attachment sprang up, and to their intercourse posterity is indebted for the publication of De Revolutionibus orbium cœlestium.
This memorable work was virtually finished about the year 1530. But from the irrevocable notoriety of print its author shrank with sensitive dread. He was aware that his con
- ↑ This was the title of a preliminary sketch of the Copernican system, published by Rheticus in 1540.
