Page - 275 - in Maximilian Hell (1720–92) - And the Ends of Jesuit Science in Enlightenment Europe

275Observing Venus and Debating the Parallax part, wrote a similar letter to his Jesuit friends in Hungary, exercising all his powers of eloquence to express his joy over the supreme benevolence of God in securing the most perfect conditions, but silent about any properly scientific aspects: From May 27 to June 3, we could not see the Sun because of perpetual clouds, and on the last-mentioned day, after we had recorded its corre- sponding heights, it disappeared in clouds again. Around nine o’clock in the evening, we—myself, Honorable Father Hell, and the student from Trondheim [i.e., Borchgrevink]—stood at our telescopes, our moods fluctuating between hope and fear as we waited in suspense to see wheth- er it would be possible to observe Venus entering the Sun, if it should happen to dive out from the clouds for a little while. Soon afterward an opening in the clouds emerged, and we could see the Sun as if through a window, and both contacts of Venus in ingress were elegantly observed. But not more than five minutes passed by, before the Sun again was en- veloped in thick clouds and no longer came forth in its entirety. Dark clouds stubbornly accompanied the Sun for altogether five hours; and we had lost all hope of observing the egress. Our hosts stood there with us, sad, their faces in mourning, and expressing their sorrow and sympathy by means of utter silence. How we ourselves felt, is easier to guess than to describe. Our only hope was that God, if he should wish to do so, would come to our aid with some miracle. Meanwhile, as the time when Venus was supposed to leave the Sun drew closer, the rays of the Sun suddenly began dissolving the extremely thick cloud that stood in their way, finally dispelling it altogether. And behold! The Sun came forth in full splendor, and both contacts of Venus during egress were recorded exactly; with how much joy, with how many thanksgivings to Divine Clemency, I am incapable of expressing. Our hosts, to whom the word ‘miracle’ is an un- common, perhaps even ridiculous concept, nonetheless agreed fully that the way in which the appearance of the sky had changed—so neatly and congruously—could not be due to any human or natural causes, but must be ascribed to the utterly exceptional and incredible favor of the Supreme Being. I for my part will cherish the magnitude of this miracle for as long as I live. The Sun then wandered through a very clear part of the sky, and its eclipse was observed most accurately and its passage through the meridian recorded. After lunch, its corresponding heights were again recorded in the clearest of skies, but just as I was busy taking down the very last of these observations, in the same moment a strong wind rose from the north, enveloping the sky, earth, and sea in the darkest