He wrote at once to Rothmann (in February 1589) that Reymers must have seen a drawing of the new system during his stay at Uraniborg in 1584, and as a proof of this he refers to the orbit of Mars, which in a drawing made before that time, by a mistake, had been made to surround the solar orbit instead of intersecting it. This cancelled drawing had got in among a number of maps in a portfolio, where Reymers must have seen it, as he copied the erroneous orbit of Mars in the diagram of his book. He therefore expressed his concurrence in the not very flattering expression which Rothmann had applied to Reymers Bär in a former letter.[1]
It must, however, be said that this accusation of plagiarism is founded on very slight evidence, and the verdict of posterity can only be "not proved." In his writings Reymers has shown himself an able mathematician, and there is no reason whatever why he should not independently have arrived at a conclusion similar to the idea which Tycho conceived on the planetary motions. We shall afterwards see what a curious end this affair got, and how Tycho and Rothmann may have regretted that they had not let the bear alone.
- ↑ Epist. astr., pp. 149, 150.
