The Right Reckoning of Years and Ages of the World, Proposition 4
FOVRTH PROPOSITION.
That in our time, the signes and revolutions of the heauen, are changed and remooved from the olde accustomed places: And therefore the vulgar Prognosticator…, are in an error: And of the way to reforme the same.
LIke as I hauehave travelled heretofore, by Sabbaticall reckoning to deduce & finde out the perfite count of the yeares of the world, how long it hath continued vntounto this instant 1600. yeare of Christ: And there with to discover the erroneous reckoning of the Papisticall Iubilees, and their impieties: So now might I enter into an other kinde of reckoning, which is called Astronomicall, gathered by the course and revolutiones of the Heaven; the Sunne, the Moone, and the Starres: For as the Sabbaticall reckoning, (whereof I hauehave spoken) hath the grounde out of the Scriptures, and worde of God; So this Astronomicall count, hath also the original out of the same. And as thereckoning of Sabbathes and Sabba…icall yeares, beginneth at the seaventh daye of creation, when God rested from all his workes; so this Astronomical calculation, hath the beginning frō the 4. day of creation, when as God made those heavenly lights, and placed them in the lyft of heaven: not only for that cause, that they should shine & giuegive light vponupon the earth, separating the day from the night… but also to be for signes and for seasons of times, dayes, and yeares: that is, by their motions and revolutions, to distinguish times and seasons, and therewith, to signifie certaine effects following, vponupon their courses and motions: So that thereby, we may learne the difference of times, and make distinction of the partes thereof: as of yeares, monethes, dayes, and of all seasons and appointed diettes: Without the knowledge and reckoning whereof, there should be nothing but extreame confusion, in all the actions of men. For neither could the memory of things, by past be kept, norrespect had of things to come, nor the progresse of time be numbred, without the same were defined and measured, by the motion of these heauenly bodies, and namely, of the Sunne and Moone. For the Sunne, by his most equall and simple motion, is as a most perfite rule to vsus, to appoynt and measure the yeares and seasons thereof: The Moone also by her shorte motion, to measure and distinguish the Monethes of the years: So there is no more perfite way to measure the yeares of the World, then by the course of the Sunne, the Moone, and the Starres, which everie one hauehave their juste periodes of time, within the which, they compleit their courses, & revolutiones, the which, albeit they appeare sometime vnequall to vsus that dwell on the earth, yet they are most equall & constant in themselues. But because I think I hauehave prooven sufficiently already, both by Sabbaticall and by Historicall reckoning, the just count of the yeares of the World to our dayes: I thinke it not necessarie in this short Treatise, to set downe the Astronomicall reckoning: al-be-it it would ratifie and confirme our former count. For it should be both long-some & tedious to them that are not well grounded in Astronomie: and peradventure, over difficill to be taken vp. Therefore I refer the same to a more ample worke: In the meane time, by reason of the great errour I see fall forth among the vulgare Prognosticators, for wronge taking vp of their groundes, in judging the face of the heaven, the weather, and other accidents and influences thereof: I hauehave thought good to discover their errour, that they may amend the same, and others be no further deceived by them. But first I would informe them to amend their errour also, that deny the heavenly influences to be effectual, because the predictions of such as commonly set out the vulgare Prognostications oft-times, take not effect: I say, these men declare them selues very ignorant in naturall Philosophie, and are convict by experience and ensample of such things, as daily fal out, by vertue of the heavenly influences. Yea, by the Scripture it self, Namely in Iob, where the Lord himsele maketh mention of the pleasant influence of Pleiades, Iob. 3. …which is the pleasant spring-time of the year, when the Sunne commeth to those starres. For these influences, not onelyonly make the earth to fructifie, but also worke a great varietie in the seasons of the year: so that they are not like one to another, nor to themselues every yeare in many thinges. And many evident signes are founde in the motiones, configurations, and interchangeings of the courses of the heavenly light, where by men, who are expert in divine science of Astrology, may gather and conjecture, many things to fall out, not onelyonly in the aire, but also in the naturall inclination of earthly creatures. For, for that cause, the eternall God appoynted them in the beginning, not onelyonly to shine and shew light vntounto the world, but also to be for signes of things to come: as it is testified in Genesis. So that by the great providence of God,Gen… three excellent benefites are communicated to men, by these heavenly bodies: The one is, to shine and giuegive light vntounto the Earth: The seconde, to distinguish times, dayes, and yeares: The third, to forewarne men of many things profitable for this life; not that wee should thinke that all things can be fore-told thereby, or that the starres hauehave force to mooue the minds and willes of men, as it were by constraint, to this or that. For this science, hath certaine limittes and boundes, over the which it ought not to be drawen. For as the chiefe author in this arte Ptolemee himselfe affirmeth, that part of Astrologie, which is called Iudiciar, exceedeth the weaknesse of mens apprehension, which is aggreeable to that which God by his owne wordes objected vntounto Iob, in the place before cited, saying: Knowest thou the statutes of the heaven, & canst thou set downe the ruling thereof in the Earth? And besides this obscure knowledge of the heavenly influences, there are supersticious observations vsed by many in the artificial setting vp of the figure of the heaven, & applying the same without any sufficient natural cause or reason to every purpose, which I for my parte, altogether improoue & cōdemne. And yet it followeth not hereof, that this divine science should be allutterly rejected or contemned, as many that be ignorant of it do. For by it, many profitable things ar knowen, which some for the vtilitie of men edifie, and namely, for instruction of Physitiones, labourers of the ground, Sea-faring-men, and other travellers & observers of times, to knowe and fore-see, the falling out of windes, tempest, and other accidents of the aire, and for releeving of infirmities of mens bodies, by knowing the right times of applying medicines, according to the dispositions of the complexions and humours, over which, the Moone is knowen by experience, to hauehave great dominion. For if it be granted (as we know it is) to certaine foules of the aire, and beastes of the earth, to fore know and feele the mutationes of the aire, and tempestes to come, how should we altogether denie fore-knowledgs to be graunted to men, to conjecture of these accidents, having reason, judgement, and experience to lead them thereto? not as to come by absolute necessitie (for God is aboue all second causes, & may stay them when he pleaseth) but by probable reasones and appearance. And yet, I confesse, that men of no evill inclination, are mooved to hauehave those Astronomicall predictiones in greater contempt, because of the errour and ignorance of many professores of this science, and namely, of such as set foorth the vulgare Prognostications, that are yearely to be sold abroade. For when the common sorte of men see, that the accidents fore-tolde by them, as namely, concerning the mutationes of the aire, fall not out according to the judgement of such Prognosticators, they suppose the fault, which is in the ignorance and evill-taking vp of the men, to be in the science it selfe: as though there were no probable certaintie in Astronomical predictiones. But as it followeth not, if an ignorant Physition, kill a man, when he professed to heale him, that therefore no man should vse medicine, so the vnskilfulnesse of the professor is no good cause to derogate authoritie to this divine science: if it be lawfullie vsed and reteined within the right boundes. Now because I perceiue one of the chiefe causes, of the errour of those cōmō Prognosticators to be, that they take not rightly vp the grounds of their cōjectures, but follow the old rules of the Chaldeans, Arabians, and others auncient authors in that science, which serue not for our dayes and time. For the doctrine of the signes and houses of the heauens, and placing of the Planets thereinto, with their triplicities & mutuall qualities, in their applicationes, and joyning with the fixt starres, which served for the former ages; cannot now serue, nor be sufficient to ground solide conjectures vponupon, for they are altered and changed. For the which, it is to be vnderstood, that the auncient out-letters of this science, who divided the whole arche of the Zodiake in twelue equall parts, and into twelue signes: For that time, considdered the qualities of every signe, depending vponupon the nature & qualities of the sixt starres, that were in such a signe; so that when any of the Planets, come to the stars, or had aspect thereto, they caused the alteration of the aire, according to their naturall qualities, and other accidents to fall out, beg inning at the signe of Aries; and so counting consequently from the Spring-time Aequincctium throughout the rest of the signes: At which time, the entring of the Sun, in the Aequinoctiall poynt, was i… the beginning of the signe of Aries, of the eight sphere, or not farre distant from the first starre of that signe, which they peradventure thought to bee vnchangeable: But by processe of time and experience, it is found, that the Aequinoctial poynt is moveable, flitting, and remooving back-wards, contrary the order of the signes, and the fixed starres that were in the signe of Aries remooued forwarde. In so farre, that from the first observation of the heauenly motions, when the beginning of the signe of Aries, aggreed in position & situatiō, with the first star of that signe in the 8. spheare, vntounto our dayes, counting in the midde-motion of the Aequinoctial, to witte, to this 1600. yeare of Christ, the fixed starres of the signe of Aries, that were some time in the beginning thereof, at the Acquinoctial poynt, are now distant more then twenty seaven degrees, and fifteene minutes from that poynt fore warde: or rather, the Aequinoctial poynt is slipped backe from them, and preventeth their course in the motion of the heavens. And so the stars that were in the signe of Aries of olde, are now (counting from the Aequinoctial point) for the most part in the signe of Taurus, & they of the signe of Taurus in Gemini; and so consequently of the reste: Notwithstanding of this difference, the common setters out of Prognostications, and also the Mediciners, in giuing of their medicine, mak their counte after the olde maner, as the signes were woont to be reckoned, nearer to the poynt of the Vernall Aequinoctial: where vponupon followeth this errour, that the signes taking their nature and properties from the fixed starres, and having now changed their place, render other influences to the aire and earth, them they did of before. So that they which sometime were hoat, are now become colde, and they that were drye humide; and by the contrary, cold, hote, and humide drie: And so no certainty can folow, to know the mutatiōs of the aire, or other accidēts thereby: neither can the placing of thē in the twelue houses of the heaven, after the old reckoning, nor the compting of their triplicities or aspectes by that calculation be right; and consequently, all that is builded …herupon, by out common Prognosticators, falleth to the ground, and can hauehave no solidity: So that it is no marvell, albeit they erre in their predictions for the most part. As to the cause of the prevention of the Aequinoctial, and concerning the inequall variation thereof, because it belongeth to a more subtil & ample discourse, for the present I leaue it: Only to speak some what of the remedie of this errour in reckoning, which falleth out by not-taking-heede to the anticipation of the Aequinoctial poynts. In my opinion, I think there may be two waies to remeid the same: The one is, to reckon and calculate the signes, according to the eight spheare and fixed starres being therein, as they were reckoned of old, & in the daies of Ptolemee, not having respect to the vernall Aequinoctial poynte: Albeit, in describing the generall disposition of the year, respect may be had thereto, and likewise to the reste of the tropike poyntes and fixed starres being therein for the time, with the configurationes of the Planets, and the conjunction or opposition of the Lights, being nearest vntounto the same. The other way is not far differēt frō the former, that is, without respect of the signes of the ninth spheare, to begin to reckon at the twentie seuen degree, & fifty one minutes of Aries, as if it were the first degree this present yeare, and as the Moone flitteth her Mansiones, frō the Aequinoctial poynt hereafter to follow the degree of the Zodiake, where shee b…gouth her first Mansion, and so to proceed with the rest, and to counte by the mansiones of the Moone, ascribing to every mansion, twelue degrees, fifty one Minutes, and thirtie secondes, as the maner is throughout all the twenty eight ma…siones, which is a verie sure way. For certaine it is, that the affections and influences that flow from the Moone, especially cōcerning the alterations of the aire, are of greater force and effect nor those that come of other planets, by reason of her propinquitie to the earth. As also in medicine, shee worketh greater effects then all the rest of the Planets, because she is predominant in all humide things, aswel in mens bodies, as in the Sea and the aire: And shee bringeth foorth her effectes, according to the qualities of the fixed starres that are founde in every one of her mansiones, when shee is joyned with them: And so commonly is the disposition of the aire at that present time, vnlesse some other greate impediment stay the force thereof: Therefore, having respect to the mansiones of the Moone, a…d the aspects and applications of other Planets to her, and to her Mansiones, great conjecture may be taken of the wether that is to fall out at any time, according to the season of the yeare. Moreover, they that would Prognosticate rightly of the weather, should hauehave more respect to the Moone then all the rest of the Planets, because, as the Moone setteth after the first evidente appearing after every change (which is commonly the third, or the fourth daye) so followeth the course of that whole Moone: Therfore, considderation would be taken, what disposition the Moone hath the third and fourth daye, and the fourth day especially, in what mansion she will be, to what other Planets she will be applyed in a conjunct opposite or quadrate aspect: and namely, if she apply to Saturne soone after the change, or immediatly before, for then besure of rough weather. But if she be rid the fourth day, of all malevolent aspectes, the mansion wherin she is, being of temperate nature, the whole space of that Moone, commonly for the most part will be faire: and generally note, that if any evill weather is to fall out in the Moone, it falleth with greater effect in the dayes of the quarters and full Moone. But to speake more particularly and exactly of these thinges, it belongeth to a more large treatise then this present, which serveth only for a taist of things that may be spoken herevpon. And my intent was principally, to shew the errour only of the common sort of Prognosticators, that deceiue the people, founding them selues vponupon wrong groūds, and thereby make the divine science, of naturall and lawfull Astrologie, to come in mockage and contempt.