Notwithstanding the fact that Herschel spent most of his life in England, and that he is included in the ‘Dictionary of National Biography,’ he was pre-eminently a German. Like most Germans his style of writing was somewhat obscure, and this was emphasised when he wrote in English, owing to his imperfect command of the language. Had he written in German as well as in English, he would probably have been better understood in his native country, where erroneous views of his theories were long entertained. Even so distinguished an astronomer as Wilhelm Struve, when translating Herschel’s papers into German, made a mistake when translating a certain passage, which leaves the erroneous impression that Herschel believed the Universe to be infinite—a mistake which would not have arisen had he written in German. The student of Herschel should also be careful in quoting the views of the great astronomer. Had Herschel at the close of his life written a volume containing his final views on the construction of the heavens, this would not have been necessary; but Herschel did not write such a volume. His researches were embodied in a series of papers communicated to the Royal Society from 1780 to 1818. As he observed the heavens his opinions progressed, so that a statement of his views at any given time was by no means a statement of his final opinions. The late R. A. Proctor, who was the first great exponent of Herschel in England, has well said: “It seems to have been supposed that his papers could be treated as we might treat such a work as Sir J. Herschel’s ‘Outlines of Astronomy’; that extracts might be made from any part of any paper without reference to the position which the paper chanced to occupy in the entire series.” Herschel, like the true student of nature, held theories very lightly. They were to him but roads to the truth. Unlike many scientists, he did not interpret observations by hypothesis: he framed his theories to fit his observations. If he found that a certain theory did not agree with what he actually saw in the heavens, he abandoned it: he did not hesitate to change his views as his investigations proceeded. “No fear of ‘committing himself,’” says Miss Clerke in her admirable work on ‘The Herschels,’ “deterred him from imparting the thoughts that accompanied his multitudinous observations. He felt committed to nothing but truth.”