Maximilianus Hell (1720-1792) - Munin

Arguably, these concluding lines are no more than an echo of the impression given on the title
page, that it was the “observation of Christian VII” (Observatio … Christiani VII) that the
report was all about. 160 While a modern reader may be quick to dismiss this as mere flattery, it
was certainly not considered insignificant in a Europe still under the Old Regime.
Needless to say, Hell continued to express his gratitude to the Danish monarch even after he
had returned to Vienna. In his first treatise on the solar parallax, for example, we find him
stating that he has determined it to within a margin of error of 1/870, or 8.70 ±0.01″; adding
that astronomers now 161
have cause to convey to eternal memory the munificence of Kings and Rulers,
owing above all their immortal gratitude to the highly supreme King of
Denmark, Christian VII, thanks to whose munificence and auspices – and most
wise government‟s careful organisation and support – they have obtained the
observation from Vardø, as complete and perfect as may be achieved, an
observation which, along with the highly successful observation of the
Englishmen in Tahiti, will serve as the safest of bases, and the firmest of
fundaments, upon which the entire definition of the parallax rests.
Furthermore, to judge from the introductory chapter of the Expeditio litteraria ad Polum
arcticum, edited below, we may safely conclude that this encyclopædic work on northern
Norway would not, had it materialised, have allowed its readers to forget the role played by
the Danish monarch in 1769. 162
When consulting the publications of British and French astronomers in the aftermath of 1769,
we find that the propaganda of Denmark-Norway did in fact have a certain impact. The
presence of Father Hell in Vardø meant that the participation of the Danish-Norwegian state
could no longer be neglected. On the British side, the Oxford Professor of Astronomy,
Thomas Hornsby, is known to have been calculating the solar parallax. In his published and
160 Admittedly, the praise of the King in the concluding lines of the report is the only element that was included
in all subsequent editions of the report. Neither the reprint in the Nova Acta Eruditorum (Hell 1770a2) nor that in
the Eph.Astr. (Hell 1770a4) included the dedicatory preface to the King, and the same applies to the Danish and
German translations (Hell 1770a3; Hell 1793). What is more, the expression “auspiciis … Christiani VII” is
omitted in the Eph.Astr. reprint and therefore also in the German translation, which bases itself upon that edition
(Hell 1770a4; Hell 1793). See also Table 5 (at the end of Section II.3.2 below).
161 Hell, De Parallaxi Solis ex Observationibus Transitus Veneris Anni 1769 1772, p. 108: “habent [scil.
Astronomi], unde Regum, & Principum munificentiam æternæ comendent memoriæ, sed cumprimis
Augustissimo Daniæ Regi Christiano VII. immortales debent gratias, cujus munificentia & Auspiciis, Ejusque
Ministerii Sapientissimi cura & favore Wardhusianam obtinuere observationem, eamque completissimam
[scripsi; completissimum ed.], perfectissimamque, cui tanquam basi tutissimæ, fundamentoque firmissimo una
cum observatione Anglorum Taïtensi absolutissima negotium omne definitæ Parallaxeos innititur […]”.
162 See Chapter III.3, especially §. 5.
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