This is the Bafts of the myftic Computation; but 'tis built upon Sand: For first of all our Myfteriographer feigns a ftrange Agreement betwixt Chriftians, Jews and Turks, in their admitting of the old Teliament. For how great foever the Agreement of the two former may be, that of the Turks is a Dream of the Author. We know indeed that according to Hotting. H. Orient. p. 409. the Turks value the Law of Mofes, that they believe Chrift to be the Son of Mary, the Spirit of God, his Word, and his Apoftle. But at the fame time we know that thefe Articles of their Belief must be understood in the Senfe that Mahomet put upon 'em. The Turks tell us of many things deprav'd, many things omitted, and many added in the old as well as the new Teftament. Nor do they acknowledge the Hiftory of the Creation or the firit Week from the Mofaic Writings, as the Chriftians and fews do, but are wont to report many Fables of them, which that Impoftor invented; as when God made Adam,the Throne of God, Paradife,&c. that he held in his Hand a Pen 500 Miles long, and 80 broad. Befides, the Turks keep not the 7th but the 6th day of the Week holy, contrary to Mofes. So little occafion has our Author from the Agreement of the Turks for the Foundation of any of thefe Hypothefes. And if we confider his 5th Hypothefis, we'll find that even the fems and Chriftians are not agreed upon it, if he means that all memorial times ought to be the multiple of the thing commemorated. For the Festivals of our Saviours Nativity, of his Circumcifion, of the Eremetic Faft, c. are memorial of those things which hapned long fince; though no one ever dream'd of the myftic Multiples. Further, the 6th, 8th, and 9th Hypothefes are no where extant in the Old Teftament; nor are they received by Chriftians, if you except our Author and his Difciples; neither are they granted by the Jews (not to mention the Turks.) In the Paffage quoted from Leviticus we find no infinuation, that in the inftitution of that Syftem of years God had fuch a regard to the firft Sabbath, that from the 7th day of the Creation the quantity of the year fhould be deduced by an Arithmetic and Geometric Progreflion. On the contrary it makes out the oppofite affertion. As for our Authors Philofophy, or the time of the Labour and Fruits of the Agriculture, we'll find it altogether falfe, if we confider the ainplitude of the Divine Promifes, expreffed in Levit. 26. 3, 4, 5. In fhort, the Author of this Computation acts ignorantly, when he makes one of his Limits a Syftem of 366 days, for the Jews knew nothing of it, their Annus Communis being 354 days, and their Annus Embolimaus 384. Having thewed the fallity of thefe Hypothefes, we eafily fee what Aufwer ought to be given to the Discoverer of fuch Paralogifms, in which there is not the leaft Probability. $.8. Although the Divine Wifdom is infcrutable, of the yet we ought not to reject the pious Opinions of thofe chief Rea who think that the occafion of this divine Inftitution fons why related, partly 1. to God. 2. the Earth. 3. The the SabbaPoor. 4. Strangers. 5. Brutes. 6. Servants. tic Cycle Debtors. 8. All the Ifraelites promifcuoufly. See was infii Ex 23. 11. Lev. 25. 4. Deut. 31. D.Walth. Sporg. Mof. Tuted. Pricfis §. 9. I am of the fame opinion with Alphon us To- In every ftatus Bishop of Avila, who in his Commentary upon 7th year Leviticus, fays, That the Oblation of first Fruits did the Fift not ceafe in the 7th year, becaufe though the Fruits fits were were not gathered in for the use of their Mafters, as offered being common for any one, yet the Right of the to the Fields did belong to them, before all others; fo that but not it's probable they might gather the first Fruits, and the liber offer fome part to the Priefts. But as to the Tenths the Priests had nothing to complain of, if in that year wherein the Fruits were not gathered (in order to be preferved for their Masters Ufe) they did not receive the Tithes. 1. Because in that year wherein God beftow'd as much as was neceffary for three years, the Tenths of the Priefts were multiplyed. 2. Because it was free for them in common with poor Perfons and Strangers, to enjoy the benefit of the Fruits, though they laid 'em not up in Barns or Granaries. S. 10. So long as the Jews lived in obedience to the of the Law, they wanted not abundance of Encrease: but freight to when they began to rebel and grow ftubborn, they which the fufficiently experienc'd the Penalties intail'd upon the Jews were Tranfgreffors of God's Laws. For when their Cen- reduced equerors impos'd Tributes upon them they could not very pay 'em on the 7th year. Jofephus often mentions year. this Calamity, and the story of Alexander the Ma-, Why this its laf year cedonian, fufficiently proves it: For when at Jerufalem he had learnt from the Books of Daniel that the Perfians were to be deftroyed by a Grecian; he was fo fond of the Prophecy which he took to be fulfill'd in him, that he bid the Jews ask fome great thing of him; to whom they answered, he could give nothing greater than a Relaxation of the Tributes for the 7th year; and that they obtained. See Cunaus de Repub. Jud. l. 1. c. 4. CHA P. IV. Of the greater Sacred Annual Character, or the RULE. The Jubilean Cycle is a Syflem of 7 Sabbatic Cycles, or 49 Luna Solar years continually recurring; and for this end divinely instituted, that in the Judaic Republic, the Wealth of a few should not opprefs the reft; but that the Eftates of the Tribes fhould always be immovable; as also that the years of Servitude might have their viciffitudes. S. I. THe He Word Jubile is not derived à fubilo, as thofe who are little read in Hebrew fupCycle and pofe; nor from the ruftic Inclamation of the Greeks, especially i's Baraw; but either from which Word fignifhould be fies a Ram, because this Solemnity was promulgated with a Rams Horn, Foh. 6. 5. or elfe from which Root fignifies a bringing back; and that (as Se rarius notes upon Folna) with a certain fingular Emphafis of Joy and Mirth. called a Fubile. Whether §. 2. Tornielius in Annalib. ad An. 2584. Numb. 2. we have yet. 3. fuppofes it probable that the fews never obfervany foot- ed any Jubilean year before the Babylonian Captivity. fteps of the Ohjervati. But we dare not affert fo much; for that not only in on of the the time of Fofbua, but in that of the pious Kings, as Fubilean David, Jofaphat, and others, its very probable they year. had had fome refpect to that Divine Inftituiton. In 2 Kings c. 8.v. 1. & fequ. the Jubilean year feems to be defcribed, when King foram graciously gave the Shunamitifh Woman thofe Priviledges that were proper to a Jubilean year. But after all the Circumitances of History feem to render this Opinion fufpected: For Foram came to the Crown about the year 3053, and in 3061 was killed by Jehu, in which 8 years no Jubile could happen. Perhaps that in Ezech. 29. 17. more probably refers to a Jubile, where he makes mention of a 27th year: For I cannot fee how that can relate to any other Epocha at this time known; Of which more hereafter. §. 3. Since we have not fo many. certain Jubilean as The FubiSabbatic years; and fince we can fcarce judge from the lean Cycle latter of the Jubilean Cycle; from hence it happens confifted of that Chronologers fo little agree about the Quantity 49 years, of this Cycle, but difpute with the greatest heats of thefe Shadows of the ancient Laws. There are five Opinions about this matter, the first of which is, That the Jubilean Cycle confifted of 50 years; This Opinion is juftified by Funccius, Salianus ad an 2544. Serarius ad fof. 13. Paraus, Cornelius à lapide in Lev. 25. The fecond is that of William Langius, who in l. de an. Chrifti c. 14. p. 138, & feq. contends that the Jubilean year depended upon the Sabbatic ones, but fo, that after the Expiation of 7 annual Sabbatic years, the fame went along with the 5oth; fo that the Jubilean year was always the firft in the Annual 7. The third is the Opinion of our Myftic Chronologer, who makes the Jubilean Cycle to confift of 45 Fulian years, and 271 days over. The fourth Opinion is maintained by Jofeph Scaliger, Buntingus, Meftli nus, Codomannus, Mercator, Calvifius, Ubbo Emmius, Helvicus, B.Thummius, B. Behmius, Spanhemius, Petavius, Cloppenburgius, funius, Tremellius, and many more, who affert that the Jubilean year was the fame with 7 times the 7th year, or 7 times the Sabbatic Cycle, and fo the Jubilean Cycle precifely made 49 years. The fifth Opinion is only propofed as pro bable by the fame Cloppenburgius in his Schol. Sacrif; p. 42. where he fuppofes it poffible for the Jews to mix their Computation, and reckon both by 49 and jo years, which he fuppofes very eafie for 'em to do, G 2 the of thofe the great Period of the Jubilean years being admitted, which is made by multiplying 49 into 50, whofe Product makes that Period 2450. We affent to their Opinion who affert the Jubilean Cycle to confift of 49 Lune Solar years: For befides, that the Sabbatic year had many Priviledges in common with the Jubilean year, which is inferr'd from the Jiblic Style, the Confent of the Jews, and Rabbi Adda's Calendar, it would follow alfo that if the Jubilean year was different from the Sabbatic, the Earth would reft for two whole years, and the Jews muft fuftain themselves with the Produce of one year for three years together, which feems wholly pugnant to the fenfe of the Divine Command. 'Tis true the fame Jubilean year in the Mofaic Text is fometimes called the Quinquagefimus, but that is not to be otherwife understood than as Pindar called the Olympiad, v7a7ngid, and we are wont to call the 7th Day the 8th. §. 4. The Roman Pontiffs, after the manner of Apes, Characters have endeavoured to imitate the Inftitution of God in which the their Fubilean Inftitutions; but divers of 'em after difPopes Inftiferent manners. The firft Author of a Jubilean year tuted for their fubi- Was Boniface the 8th, whofe Encomium Platina gives lean years. P. 231. de V. P. He ordained that every hundred years the Treafury of Indulgences fhould be opened; by the Publication of a peculiar Bull which is extant, in Extrav. L.V. de pænit. remif.c. 2. and which inftituted the 1300th year to be Jubilean. But Clemens the fixth corrected this precarious Inftitution of Boniface, upon the confideration that the Age of Man fcarce reached to ICO years, and fo might fee no Jubile. He therefore made every 50th year a Jubilean; to which end he gave notice in the year 1345 that the following 1350 fhould be a Jubile. This Bull is extant in the Ecok laft cited in the Chapter of Unigentins. In that year, as Petrarcha witneffes, there was fuch a Concourfe of People at Rome, that it was no wonder if from fuch a defiled Air a moft grievous Plague arofe,which fo exhaufted all Italy,that fcarce ten of a Thoufand were left alive. But Urban the VI. corrected this last inftitution, transferring the Jubile from the 5oth year to the 33d. in regard that our Saviour liv'd fo long to preach the Jubile upon the Earth. |