ble gypt. §. 9. But Kepler Eclog. Chron. p. 89: fays that the of their Jews after their departure out of Egypt, ufed only the Calendar Solar year, fo that, thereby he would make the Lu- after their nar Solar Calendar but of late date. To use his departure own words, The Patriarchs, fays he, made ufe of the out of EEgyptian year of 365 days, divided into 12 Months, 11 of which contained 30, and the 12th 35 days. But whereas the beginning of the Egyptian year went through all the Seafons of the year, at their departure out of Egypt it happpened in their computed Autumn, whereas it was actually in the Spring; for which reafon. Mofes commanded the Month of first Fruits to be made the first Month, by which the Egyptian moveayear became fixed. But admit this to be true, it does not thence follow, that a Lunar form was Eftablifhed according to the Egyptian way. I know fome Objections may lie against me, but I will not argue against Self. Let my Adverfaries mufter up their whole Artilery, I ftill maintain that the fewith year was Solar and not Lunar, till the Macedonians bore the ascendant. He adds p. 91. that 'tis probable the Jews did not compute their year from the courfe of the Moon, or celebrate their Feafts at New Moon, for fear of being cenfured for worshiping the Moon, in oppofition to the Lam Deut. 17. But in calculating from the Sun, they incurred no fach reflection, fince that calculation being of equal standing with the world it felf, was of an ancienter date than Idolatry. Thomas Lydiat joyns in the fame pinion. But after all tho I readily own that for fome time after their departure out of Egypt,they retained the ancient and Solar form of the year, purluant to Josephus's authority, Antiq. l.1.c. 4. Yet I can never be perfwaded that from their departure out of Egypt to the time of the Macedonians, their Ecclefiaftical year was purely Solar, without the leaft regard to the Moon" in adjusting their Months: Efpecially confidering that in the Holy Scriptures we have frequent infinuations of Lunar Months, and of the fervice of the Moon in the regulation of the Seafons, particularly in Pfa. 104. 19. Syr. 43. 7. And that all the fees agree with Majes Maimonides in afferting that the Months of the year are Lunar Months, and that the years which are not Computed are Solar, of the My- S. 10. As to the mystical years,confifting of 7 months, ffical years fince they are only the Off-fpring of one Man's Brain, and never yet ufed by any fort of People, what we have faid of such Months, may be applyed to the years, which are merely fictitions, and grounded neither on Holy or Prophane Writings; not to mention that the Scriptures plainly oppofe it by mentioning more Months than feven, and by appointing a fixed Month for the oblation of the firft fruits, which in the Myftical Computation mult have been ambulatory. of the Julian year. S. 11. Chronolagers ufe the form of the Fulian Year, as a conftant and accurate rule of their times; whence it happens that they do not only refer to the Julian Calendar, thofe things which came to país after its fire Inftitution, but by way of prolepfis, make ufe of the fame from the beginning of the World, nay, before the beginning it felf, and that for three Reasons. ift. Because this fort of year is univerfally known, whereas the Egyptian, Nabonaffarean and other forms are not fo obvious. 2dly. That next to the Nabonaf farean, it is the moft plain and eafie of any 3dly. Becaufe the fame Months in this year, have the fame changes of the Seafons fixed., Thefe and fuch like Reafons induced that famous Mathematician, Kepler, to Jay a fide the Gregorian, and make ufe of the Julian in his Tables of Heavenly Bodies; nay, and Petavius, tho very much addicted to the Gregorian Stile, cannot but give the Julian this Character, viz. the Julian year (fays he) is not only most adapted to common ufe, but most agreeable to the Nature of things, fince it comes as near as can be to the course of the Sun, and is no less fit to register the times, for which reafon it is made ufe of in the Chronicles and Annals of moft Writers, and that not only in recording of things fince its Inftitution, but before, nay from the beginning of the World it felf. When the Chronologers mean to range the Eclypfes, for inftance, of the Sun and Moon, or the Wars of Cities or Kingdoms, and their famous Actions, in their proper years and feafons, they always make ufe of the Julian years and Months, as if they had been used when the thing was acted. This they do by way of anticipation and fiction that the Reader may the better compute the times when thus adapted to the vulgar meafures, and be be freed from the trouble of confidering feveral forms of years. For this and feveral other Reafons 'twill be neceffary in our general part of Chronology to give an Explanation of the Julian year, efpecially confidering that the Julian Period calculated from the form of this year, is the Common Receptacle of all Epocha's. 12. The Ancients did not add that whole day Why the arifing from the 4 times 6 hours, to the end of the year, Leap day but to February, by reckoning the 6to Calendas is called Martii, or the 23 of February, twice over, and ac- Biffextile. counting those two days for one. This is confirmed by Calfus de verb. Sign.l.Cum. Biffextus. And Marcellinus 1. 26. brands the Biffextile for an unfortunate day among the Romans. §. 13. Since a Julian year is taken to be 365 days The diff36 hours, and the Solar Tropical mean years, accord- rence being to Longo-montanus, to be 365 days 5 hours 48', tween a 55. it thence appears, that the difference of quan- Solar Trotity between them, following the faid Longo montanus's pical and Hypothefis, is but 11. 5". which Chronologers ufually the Comcall the Civil Proceffion of the Equinoxes, and that mɔn julian year. because by fo much time the places of the Equinox do vary in the Julian year, by which means, in the space of almoft 130 years, the Equinotial and Solftitial points feem to go backward a whole day. nicular S. 4.As to the pace of time comprehended in the great of the Canicular year, which is called the Sathick or Cynick pe- great Ca riod, Cenforinus de die nat. c. 18. gives us this account of it. The Moon (fays he) belongs not to the Egypti-ear. an year, which we call Canicular, because it begins the first day of the month that they call Thoth, when the Dog-Star arijes. For their Civil year has only 365 days, without any intercalatory day; therefore the space of 4 years with them, is almost a day less than the Natural 4 years, by which it happens that in the year 1461, it refolves to the fame beginning. This year is by fome called Heliacal, as belonging to the Moon, and by others Ganauròs, S. 15. As the Heathens being deftitute of the light of Plato's of Scripture, were widely mistaken about the Original great year. of the World, fo they err'd ftrangely about its end. The great year of Plato was a very notable fiction of this nature. The Stoicks as well as the Platonicks thought that the World muft have naturally an end, when all D 3 the of Ariftotle's greateft year. the Stars were again revolved to the fame point; but what period of years this Revolution may require, is not as yet known, even Kepler himfelf myft. cofm. c. 23. defpairs of the Poffibility of this invention, when he afferts that the motions of the Stars are incommenfu- . rable with themselves. §. 16. As to Ariftotle's greatest year, fome confound it with Plato's great year, but without Ground. Cenforinus de die nat. c. 18. fpeaks of it thus. There is (fays be) another year, that Ariftotle calls the greatest, rather than the great, which the Spheres of the Planets conftitute when they come together to the fame places where they once met before; the Winter of which made the Words Deluge, and its Summer will make the last Confiagration, &c. But Marfilius Ficinus in Argum. I. 10. de Repub. makes mention of another great year, in which the Soul of Man finishes its Circuit of Tranfmigration, and returns to the first individual. This is faid to confift of 12000 years, and to three of these the great year of the World is equal, confisting of 36000 years, wherein the Anima Mundi performs its Courfe. But Peter de Aliaco the Cardinal, determines the quantity of the great year otherwife; for (fays he) from the beginning of Aries to the end of Virgo, is equal to the half of that space, which is from the beginning of Libra to the end of Pifces; fo ought there to be from the Birth of Chrift, to the end of the World, as much time as was from Adam, or the Creation of the World, to the coming of our Saviour. But this fpace was 5260 years, therefore from the beginning of the World to the end will be 10400 years, at which time all the Stars will have finished their Orbicular Course. Additions to the foregoing Chapter collected out of Dr. Beveridge's Inftitutiones Chronologica. RULES. 1. The Solar years are either Fix'd or Erratick. 3. The Solar Erratick years commence by turns in all the Seafons of the Tropick year. Such are the Nabonaffarean and the Yezdegerdick years. 4 The Lunar years are in like manner divided into the Fix'd and the Erratick. 5. The Fix'd Lunar years are kept up very near to one Seafon of the year by vertue of an Embolism; whereas the Erratick range without controul throughout all the Periods of the year. Of the former fort are the Athenian and the Jewish, as the Mahumetan or Arabian are of the latter. 6. Among the various forms of Civil years, 'twill be worth a Chronologers while to take a view of the Roman, the Egyptian, the Perfian, the Syriack, the Grecian, the Jewish, and the Mahumetan or A rabick. 7. The Roman Civil year is either Julian or Gregorian. 8. The Gregorian is only the Julian form caftigated, for it differs from the Julian only in this, that after the 1600 year of our Lord, of every four years terminating four Centuries, the three firft are Common, and the fourth Biffextile,according to the Gregorian calculation, whereas all the four are Leap years in the Ju lian. 9. The Egyptian Civil year is Solar; and is either Erratick or Fix'd. 10. The Erratick Egyptian year (alias the Nabonassarean) confifts exactly of 365 Days, which are made up of twelve Months comprehending thirty Days a piece, and five fupernumerary or acceffory Days. 11. The Fix'd Egyptian year agrees with the Julian in the general quantity or length, though it difagrees in the names and length of its Months (which are the fame with thofe of the Erratick,) and in the Place of its intercalations. 12. The Ethiopian Civil year differs from the Egyptian only into the names of its Months. 13. The Perfian Civil year is of a Solar form; and is divided in the Erratick and Fix'd. 14. The Erratick (alias the Yezdegerdick) has the fame form with the Nabonaffarean or Erratick Egyptian year. |