In 1601, at the age of fifty-five, Tycho Brahe died after a short illness. He was accorded by the Emperor's orders a funeral of great pomp, and buried in the Teyn Church at Prague. In the funeral oration pronounced over his grave he was well described thus:
In his words were truth and brevity, in his demeanor
and countenance sincerity, in his counsel wisdom, in his
deeds success. In him was nothing artificial or hypocritical,
but he spoke his mind straight out, and to this no
doubt is due the hatred with which many regarded him.
He coveted nothing but time, and his endeavor was to be
of service to all and hurtful to none.
The tomb, with the effigy of the great Danish astronomer
and the epitaph composed by Kepler, was restored
and put in order in 1901, on the celebration
of the three-hundredth anniversary of his death.
By his wonderful industry Tycho Brahe laid the foundations on which others were able to build up great inventions and great discoveries. A discoverer or inventor may only put the finishing touch to the labor of others who have gone before him, preparing the way. Their names may not be known, their work may be forgotten, while he gets all the praise and renown for the famous achievement, which, however, without the help of his predecessors he could never have accomplished. You may see a man trying to pull a stiff cork out of a bottle. He fails. Another
