BOOK rooms in the upper ftory, inhabited by his fcholars, the handles
■ of which were concealed in his own apartments.
Frequently, when company was with him, he would pretend
to want fomething, and having .fecretly pulled the bell, would
cry out “ Come hither, Peter,” “ Come hither, Chriftian,” and
was pleafed to .obfer-ve the aflonifhment of the company, who not
hearing the bells were furprized at the appearance of the perfon
who was thus fummoned.
He was no lefs devoted to the ftudy of chymiitry than to af-
tronomy, and expended as much on the terreftrial aftronomy, as
he ityles it, as on the celeftial. He left, indeed, no writings
upon that fcience, although it feems to have been his intention
to have given to the public a feleftion of his experiments, which
he had made with fo much labour and expence j yet he adds, in
the true cant of alchymy, “ On confideration, and by the advice
of the moil illuitrious as well as the moll learned men, he
thought it improper to unfold the fecrets of the art to the vulgar,
as few people were capable of ufing its mylteries to advantage,
and without detriment.”
His foibles were as prominent a« his virtues and capacity. He
-was of a morofe and unbending difpofition, indulged himfelf in
too great freedom of fpeech *, but while he rallied others was-
„not pleafed to be rallied himie-lf.
He was greatly addicted to judicial altrology, and prone to a
* Nihil Return; nihil fimulatum in ipfo 5 fed fcaphum fcapham appellabat; unde
aomne quod fuitinuit odium.— O r . Fun. 260.
credulity
credulity and fuperilition below his learning and judgment. If
he met an old woman in going out of his houfe, he would in-
ftantly return home; and confidered an hare as an ill omen.
While he lived at Uranienburgh he had a fool, whofe name was
Sep, who was accuitomed during dinner to fit at his feet, and
whom he ufed to feed with his own hand. This man was continually
uttering incoherent expreffions, which Tycho obferved
and noted down, from a perfuafion that- the mind, in a flats
of emotion, was capable of predicting future events; and he
even believed, if any inhabitant of the ifland was taken ill,
that this mad-man could predict whether he fhould live or
die. He maintained, that the cabala and magic, if they did
not aCt to the offence of God or man, could lay open many
abftrufe things by figures, images, and marks.
But to turn from the unfavourable to the brighter parts of
his character, we may affent to the truth of the following eulo-
gium given by his panegyrift3 that to him his iludies were life ;
meditation his delight3 fcience riches 3 virtue nobility; and religion
his conflant direction*.
* Ipfi vita ftudia e ra n t; delici® vero medita tio; d iv id e fcientise 3 virtus nobilitas
3 religio diredtio,— Oratio Funebris.
V ol. III. K. T R A V E L S