Three Diatribes, Diatribe 3
A DIATRIBE OF MEASURING, &c.
GEometry is an Art of Meaſuring well.
The ſeveral †Dr. Wilkins his Eſſay toward a Real character pars 2. ch. 7.Nations of the World do not more differ in their Languages, then in the various kinds and proportions of their Meaſures.
That the Foot was the moſt received and uſual meaſure amongſt rhe Romans, Menſurant Talmudici, aliquando per Milliaria aliquando per Parſas, aliquando per Dietas. Ʋnam quamque harum Comperies apud eos frequent iſſime. D. Ligh…. Decas Chorographica. c. 8.as the Cubit amongſt the Jews, is a thing not controverted by any. Mr. Greaves of the Roman Foot. As the Denarius contained ſixteen Aſſes, ſo the Foot contained ſixteen Digitos.
The Roman Milliare contains Mille p…ſſus as the very name imports, Quem admodum Perſae Paraſ…ngis, Aegypt…i Schenis, Galli Leucis, ita Latini Millibus Paſſuum Lapidum menſuras deſignaverunt, Suritae Prefat. ad Comment in Antom Auguſt. Itin.and every p…ſſus conſiſts alſo of five Feet, as Columelia and Iſidorus expreſsly tell us. Mr. Greaves of the Roman Foot.
The Sun according to the Mathematical Computation, every hour, and that in reſpect of the Earth onelyonly, by this courſe abſolves two hundred twenty and five miles, in the day and night, and in reſpect of the earth, it runs over five thouſand four hundred miles. How great then will its courſe be in reſpect of its Orbe.
The Phyloſophers are of opinion that the Earth, together with the Sea, Totius globi terreni ambitus eſt milliarium Germanicorum Communium 5400. Keck. System. Geog. lib. 1. ch. 4.do contain in compaſs or circuit ſix thouſand three hundred Dutch miles.
The Romans uſed to Meaſure out the diſtance betwixt one place and another, A Mille eſt Milliare ac Milliarium, mille paſſuum ſpatium. Voſſii Etymologicon Linguae Latinae. Notiſſimum lapides veteribus dictos pro Milliaribus, quae ſingula ſingulis lapidibus denotabantur, Barth. ad Rutil. l. 2, Animadverſ.by thouſands of Paces, which they call Milliaria, Miles; and whereas there was placed at each Miles end, a ſtone, or pillar, the word Lapis came to be uſed to ſignifie a Mile, as ad Decimum lapidem poſitaurbs, a City ten Miles off.
Ad Lapidem Torquatus habet praetoria quartum, Mart. Epig. l. 10. Epig. 79.
Whence grew alſo the uſual Phraſe, Ad tertium quartum quintum ab urbe lapidem, for three, four or five miles from the City.
Sir Henry Savill in his notes on the firſt Book of Tacitus his History, where he alſo obſerves; that as there were milliaria laepidea, Little pillars of ſtone erected by order from C. Gracchus at the end of every mile; ſo there was Milliarium aureum, a Golden pillar ſet up by Auguſtus; ſo called becauſe from thence began the account of Miles.
There are ſtill in the Appian way ſeveral Columnae or Lapides Milliarii, ſtanding, Columna quaedam in Capite Romani Fori, in quam omnes Italiae viae terminabantur. Salmuth in Pancirolli Nova Reperta Tit. 16. The Columna Milliaria, from which they began to meaſure, is ſtill in the Court before the Capitol at Rome.whereby the Romans divided and diſtinguiſhed their Miles, which occaſioned thoſe phraſes, ad primum, ad quartum, ad centeſimum lapidem.
Mr. Greaves, Among the divers Meaſures which Geographers uſe to ſhew the dimenſion of the Earth, Intervalla locorum certis ſignis diſtinguere publico quaſi gentium Conſenſu receptum eſt: Ʋt puta in Italia Millibus Paſſuum in Graecia Stadiis; in Perſide Paraſangis, quod nomen hodie ineagente remanet, in Syria Schaenis in Gallia & Hiſpania Leucis, quod ad huc retinetur: in Germania Ruſtis, ut eſt apud Hieronymum. Scaligs De Emendat Temp. l. 5.the moſt uſual are theſe.
Firſt, A Geometrical pace which is five feet.
Secondly, A Furlong which is 125 paces, or 625 feet.
Thirdly, A Mile which is eight furlongs, or a thouſand paces.
Fourthly, A League which is 2 Miles in the quantity of Meaſures, we go from a Barley Corn to a Finger breadth, from a Finger breadth to an inch; from an inch to a hand breadth; from an hand breadth to a ſpan; from a ſpan to a foot; from a foot to a pace, and ſo forth to a pearch, a furlong, a leque, a mile.
Keckerman in his Systeme of Geography. l. 1. c. 4. ſaith, the general inſtruments of meaſure are either leſſer, a Barly Corn, a Finger, a Palm, a Foot; or greater, a Pace, a Furlong, a Mile. He ſaith, the Pace is either ſimple two Feet and a half, or Geometricall, five Feet.
The Sabbath-days journey, Acts 1.12. was the ſpace of two thouſand paces, that is, half a German mile. Victorinus Strigelius in loc.
There are Menſurae applicationis, as a ſpan, a cubit, a yard.
Et menſurae Capacitatis, either of things liquide, a Pint, Quart, Pottle, Gallon, Firkin, Barrel, Hogſhead, Pipe, Tunne, or things dry; a Peck, Buſhel, Quarters.
The Greeks did mete out the diſtances of places by Stadia †Stadium apud Romanos DCXXV. pedes Romanos facit, apud Graecos DC. pedes Graecos. DC. pedes Graecos. Dilh. Diſputat. Academ. Tomus 1. Stadium quod Latine Curriculum dicitur, locus erat, in quo homines & equi curſi, tabant, & aethletae certabant, à ſtatione, quod Hercules eo ſpatio uno ſpiritu confecto conſtitiſſet Onuphrius Panvinus De Ludis Cirenſibus. l. 2. c, 1.or Furlongs; one Stadium doth contain 125 paces; hence eight Stadia make one Roman mile, that is, one thouſand paces. Mr. Greaves ſaith ſeven Greek Stadia and a half, make a Roman mile.
Furlong *Sulcum noſtri dicunt agricolae id quod uno progreſſu arat rum deſcribit antequam regreditur. Spelmanni Gloſſarium.quaſi a Furrow long, a Furrow, hoc eſt quod longitudinem ſulci determinatur, a 125 paces.
An Acre mentioned, 1 Sam. 14.14. and Eſa. 1.10. Jugerum eſt quantum jugum bonum uno die poteſt ex arare. Peter Martyr in 1 Sam. 14. An Acre is ſo much land, as a couple of Oxen are able to Plow in one day. Among the Romans, it was eſteemed to be 240 Foot in length, and a 120 in breadth. See Plin. Nat. Hiſt. l. 18. c. 3.
The Perſians made uſe of their kind of meaſure called Paraſanga, Eſt vox Paraſangae Perſica, ac ſocero meo Fr. Junio in Elogio Linguae Hebraeae videtur corrupta ex Paraſch, hoe eſt, Eques, & Aggarus, hot eſt, tabellio. Quia nempe ſic vocaretur intervallum inter duo loca, loca, quibus equum mutaret tabellio. Voſſi Etymologicon Linguae Latinae.and by them at this day Farſach, whereof each did contain 30 Stadia, 4 miles, ſaith L'Empereur in his Notes on Benjamins Itinerary.
See of it in Mr. Greaves his Epiſtle to Mr. Selden before his Diſcourſe of the Roman Foot and Denarius. Muſladinus Sadus calls them Farſeng, the Arabians Ferſach, and the Latines Paraſanga. Gentius; Whence the Latines uſe that Phraſe, Multis paraſangis ſuperare.
Among the Greeks and Romans for meaſuring, the Perch was in uſe, as in theſe times in Europe, among the Egyptians, Arabians and Perſians, the Paraſanga and Schoenus, Among the Hebrews the Kane or Reed, Angelo Crator.
Now a days the name of Mile is moſt uſed by the Italians, Germans, Danes, Norweigians, Sweeds, Engliſh, Scots.
Keckerman in the book and chapter before quoted, ſaith, a mile is either proper, containing a 1000 paces, which being alwaies uſed in Italy, is called Italian, or improper, either a league or a German mile: A league (ſaith he) is either old, that is, a proper mile and a half, or new, (which they call a French mile) two proper miles. Four German mile is either common 4000 paces, or great, 5 thouſand paces.
The Spaniards and French met out their diſtance of places by Leagues, Leuca perperam, ut puta, vulgo nuncupatur, Cum Leuva ſit genuinum nomen, quod Curſum & deſtimatum certum ſpatium Curſus de notat Barthi. Ad Rutil l. 2. Animadvers vide Spelmanni Gloſſarium. Leuca recentioris menſurae nomen Maſſaeus. Hist. Ind. lib. 1.Leucae or Leugae, which are of a different length, as the miles in other Nations, Peter Martyr in his Decades ſaith, a league contains four miles by Sea, and but three by Land. From Spain to Hiſpaniola is a 1200 leagues.
The Ruſſians or Muſcovites reckon their diſtances of places by a certain ſpace which they in their native tongue call Voreſt.
Purchas in his Pilgrims ſpeaks of the Coſe among the Chinois and Eaſt-Indians. The Courſe or Coſe, ſaith he, is a mile and a half, ſomtimes two miles; moſt Engliſh Mathematicians accord with the Italians, and reckon 60 miles to a degree. The Gothick and Sweediſh mile is 5 or 6 Italian miles, ſomtimes 8. The Common Engliſh *An Engliſh mile containeth 5280 foot.mile makes one and a half Italian; Villamont ſaith, that a French league contains two Italian miles.
The common German mile being for the moſt part in plain makes more then 3 Engliſh or 5 Italian miles; but in ſome places the ſolitude and the aſcent of mountains make the miles of Germany ſeem much longer; one Dutch mile and a half makes a mile of Switzerland. The miles of Switzerland being over continual mountains are ſo long, as the paſſengers diſtinguiſh their Journy more by the ſpaces of hours, then by the diſtances or numbers of miles. The miles of Bohemia and Moravia are no leſs tedious, and though the length of the Switzers and Bohemian miles may in part be attributed to the climbing of the mountains and bad way, yet no ſuch reaſon can be given for the miles of Moravia, which countrey is either a plane, or full of little pleaſant Hills, and the ways fair, and the Country well inhabited.
The Low-Country miles are of a middle length between the German and French miles, among which the miles of Holland and Freezeland are longer than the reſt.
The mile of Denmark is ſomewhat longer then 3 Engliſh miles, and anſwereth to the common German mile.
The miles of Poland generally are like the miles of Denmark.
The Turks at this day have no diſtinction of their ways by miles, nor days by hours.Maſſaus Hiſt. Ind. l. 6. Cubitus dictus pleriſque videtur à cubando. Voſſii Etymologicon Linguae Latinae. Joſ. 3.4. John 21.8.
Ychan is a kind of meaſure among thoſe of China, the journy of one day.
A Cubit is the length of a mans arme from his Elbow to the top of his middle finger, it contains ſix hand breadths, or a foot and an half.
It was the moſt common meaſure in dimenſions of length, breadth, height and depth among the Jews, Gen. 6.15. Exod. 25.10.
Some ſay the Cubits were of 2 ſorts, Plerique tam Ebraeorum, quàm noſtrorum qui eos ſequuntur, duplicem in illo populo fuiſſe menſuram velunt ejuſdem nominis, unam communem, quae minor fuerit; alteram ſacram, quae major: Itaque Communem Cubitum fuiſſe quinque palmorum, ſacrum autem Sex. Rivetus in Exod. 25.10. Vide plura ibid.the Civil or common Cubit, conſiſting of one foot and an half ſix hand breadths, 24 finger breadths, and eighteen thumb breadths; and the ſacred or holy Cubit, that conſiſted of an hand breadth, or 4 fingers more then that other, Ezek. 40.5. and 43.13, Vide L'Empereur praefat. ad Cod. Middoth.
Mr. Ley on Gen. 5.15. mentions 3 ſorts of Cubits.
1. The Common Cubit containing 5 palms of 4 fingers breadth.
2. The Cubit of the Sanctuary one palm more, Ezek. 40.5.
3. The Geometrical Cubit, 6 times as great as the common Cubit. See him on Gen, 20.16. and on Deut. 3.11. and Dutch Annotat. on Gen. 6.15.
Epephanus hath written De Menſuris. And Caſper Wolphius hath put out an Alphabetital Enumeration of the famous men, who have written of the doctrine of weights and meaſures.
FINIS.
End of the text · Edward Leigh, Three Diatribes (1671)