no more heard of.

Milton's Ptolemaism is apparent in some of his shorter pieces, and also
in his minor poems, 'Arcades' and 'Comus.' His 'Ode on the Nativity' is
written in conformity with this belief, and the expression,

Ring out ye crystal spheres,

indicates a poetical allusion to this theory. But as Milton grew older
his Ptolemaism became greatly modified, and there are good reasons for
believing that in his latter years he renounced it entirely in favour of
Copernicanism. When on his continental tour in 1638, he made the
acquaintance of eminent men who held views different from those with
which he was familiar; and in his interview with Galileo at Arcetri, the
aged astronomer may have impressed upon his mind the superiority of the
Copernican theory, in accounting for the occurrence of celestial
phenomena, as compared with the Ptolemaic.

On his return to England from the Continent, Milton took up his
residence in London, and lived in apartments in a house in St. Bride's
Churchyard. Having no regular vocation, and not wishing to be dependent
upon his father, he undertook the education of his two nephews, John and
Edward Phillips, aged nine and ten years respectively. From St. Bride's
Churchyard he removed to a larger house in Aldersgate, where he received
as pupils the sons of some of his most intimate acquaintances. In the
list of subjects which Milton selected for the purpose of imparting
instruction to those youths he included astronomy and mathematics,
which formed part of the curriculum of this educational establishment.
The text-book from which he taught his nephews and other pupils
astronomy was called 'De Sphaera Mundi,' a work written by Joannes
Sacrobasco (John Holywood) in the thirteenth century. This book was an
epitome of Ptolemy's 'Almagest,' and therefore entirely Ptolemaic in its
teaching. It enjoyed great popularity during the Middle Ages, and is
reported to have gone through as many as forty editions.

The selection of astronomy as one of the subjects in which Milton
instructed his pupils affords us evidence that he must have devoted
considerable time and attention to acquiring a knowledge of the facts
and details associated with the study of the science. In the attainment
of this he had to depend upon his own exertions and the assistance
derived from astronomical books; for at this time astronomy received no
recognition as a branch of study at any of the universities; and in
Britain the