"The principal Professor of Philosophy at Padua resisted Galileo's repeated and urgent entreaties to look at the moon and planets through his telescope; and he even laboured to convince Cosmo de Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, that the satellites of Jupiter could not possibly exist. Sizzi, an astronomer of Florence, maintained that as there were only _seven_ apertures in the head--_two_ eyes, _two_ ears, _two_ nostrils, and _one_ mouth--and as there were only _seven_ metals, and _seven_ days in the week, so there could only be _seven_ planets. He seems (eventually), however, to have admitted the visibility of the four satellites through the telescope; but he argues, that as they are invisible to the naked eye, they can exercise no influence on the earth; and being useless they do not exist." [8] See his "_Martyrs of Science_." Such being the crude state of astronomical science in the 17th century, it must have been comparatively imperfect throughout all preceding centuries; and open to mystical appropriation and abuse by Egyptians, Chaldeans, Hindus, Chinese, and European and other ancient astrologers. Among that motley group the most learned were found strangely associated with ignorant impostors, and their activity in writing and travelling served to spread their different systems over the entire civilized world. It was not until late in the 17th century that Astrology could be absolutely declared to be in its decline. In England, William Lilly, the Sidrophel of Hudibras, and the most famous astrologer of his time, died in 1681, leaving behind him his _Introduction to Astrology_, together with many other works of the same character. Astrology is merely a philosophism, being empirical, wholly visionary, a mere fanciful system compounded of incongruous mixtures of astronomical with human events, of mythology with theology, and of facts with pure fiction. It has been variously designated Judicial, Hororary, Atmospherical, and Mundane, Astrology. It has also many off-shoots subservient to Magic or the black art, Sorcery, Witchcraft, and other pretended mysticisms ostentatiously styled occult philosophy.