one ftraight Line; which does not happen every Full Moon by reafon of the Moons motion fometimes to the North and fometimes to the South of the Eclyptick. If the Center of the Moon be in the fame line or almoft in the fame with the Center of the Earth, the whole Body of the Moon is obfcur'd, which we call a Total Eclypfe. When the Luminaries are more remote from the Nodi, there infues but a Partial Eclypfe. 3. The Sun is Eclyps'd not by being depriv'd of The cause his own Light, but by the interpofition of the Moon of Total between it and the Earth, which intercepts his Rays and Parfrom our View. The Globe of the Moon being leffer tial Solar than that of the Sun, cannot fhade off the Sun's Rays Eclypfes from the whole Earth, but only from a certain part of it. Now, if that part is quite robb'd of the Sun's Light for fome time, 'tis call'd a Total Eclypfe of the Sun, and happens when the two Luminaries meet together in the Head or in the Tail of the Dragon. If only part of the Sun is obfcured, 'tis call'd a Partial Eclypfe, and happens when the Moon is not exactly in the very fame point with the Sun. Cardinal §. 4. In regard that the Julian year makes fix hours The reason beyond 365 days, whereas the Tropical year makes and meabut 5 hours and 49 minutes or thereabouts; 'tis plain fure of the that the Tropical year compleats its annual courfe a- anticipati bout 1 minutes fooner than the Julian. Now the on of the accumulation of thefe anticipating minutes every year, points. throws the Equinoxes and Solftices, farther back towards the beginning of their respective Months. This we call their Anticipation. By this Rule, following Longomontanus's measure of the Tropical year, we will find that the Equinoxes and Solftices anticipate a whole day in about 130 years. So that fuppofing the Spring Equinox (for inftance) to fall this year on the 10th of March at fuch an hour, 130 years hence 'twill fall at the fame hour on the 9th, and fo on anticipating a day every 130 years. S. 5. The Equinoxes and Solftices are commonly cal- How to culated from Aronomical Tables, the best of which compute are thofe of Tycho Brahe's: But there's a way of com- the Equiputing 'em by the Rules of Arithmetick; which tho' noxes and new and unheard of is very certain. Let this be a Solftices: ftanding Rule that in 130 years they fall a whole day fooner than before; and let one Equinox be pitch'd F upor upon as a Standard or Epocha, from which we calcu late the others that are fuppofed to be unknown. Now, let a year be propofed, the Equinox of which is inquir'd after. In this cafe I compute the number of years from my Epocha or fix'd Equinox, and if the propofed year went before my Epocha, I add one day to the computed number of years as often as it contains 130, by reafon that in that interval of time the Equinoxes had gone as many days backwards as there are 130 in the Sum. If the propofed year comes after the Epocha, I take off as many days, by reafon that the Equinoxes go fo many days backwards in that interval of time. After the fame manner we may compute the Anticipation of Hours and Scruples, obferving the Rules of Proportion. CHA P. II. Of the Hebdomatic or Weekly Character. RULES. 1. The Weekly Character is that whereby we diftinguish one Day of the Week from another. 2. The Week is a Syftem of 7 Days continually recurring; and to this end divinely ordain'd, that the Memory of the fix Days Creation might be preserved, that the feventh might be kept Holy, that Man and Beaft might reft, &c. 3. One Denomination of the Days of the Week is vulgar, owing its Original to Gentilifm, Another Chronological relating to the Order of the Days in the Week. 4. In common Use the Days of the Week are denominated from the Planets in this Order: The firft from the Sun, the fecond from the Moon, the third from Mars, &c. 5. The Chronological Denomination of the Days of the Week runs in a numeral Order; as, the first Day is called Feria prima, the second, Feria fecunda, &c. §. I. At §. 1. AT the Creation of the World, the 7th Day The Obferwas fanctified; and from hence Man,to whom vation of that Law was given, ought to continue it fo, fince the 7th day that Sanction was made only becaufe of Man : Mark or the Heb 2,27. And confequently this Character takes its date domatic the 7th day after the Creation, on which the Sanction Character was inade. Add to this the mentioning of the Sabbath in from the was in ufe Scripture as a noted thing, even before the Law was Creation of made, Exo. 16. 26. which without doubt, the Au- the World. thor of the Epistle to the Heb. Chap. 43. refers to, io afferting that the eternal Rel which God had prepard for his Children, was not only prefigurd by the Poffeflion of the Holy Land, but allo by that Sabbath which commenc'd from the Original of the World. Some alfo will refer to this that Paffage of Noah, Gen. 8 11. who in the time of the Flood fent not out the Birds till after the 7th day to try whether the Waters were abated. Thefe and feveral other Arguments are fufficient to fix the Sanction upon the 7th day, as a pofitive Moral, tho' not natural, Duty upon Men, notwithstanding the Objections of fome againft it,viz.Rob. Locus, Gomarus and Riverns; who would have the Sabbath to take its Original from the raining of Manna in the Wilderness. the the(Feria) fo or days in the the Week, bas been always inpreferved corrupt till our times. §. 2. All Chronologers who admit the Antiquity of Theorderof the Hebdomatic Cycle, look upon the Order of Days of the Week to have been always the fame; that to deny it, would be to call in doubt one of Arft Principles in Chronology. §. 3. Fofeph Scaliger de Emend. Temp. 1. 1. p. 6. 4. 7. p. 775, 776. will have it, that the Roman Church, whom all Chronologers follow, called every day in the Week Feria as Feria 1ma. Feria zda, &c. b.caufe the old Ecclefiaftical year began from the Paf Why all the cha,and the Pafcha was called Annus novus,as 'tis now in Week are days in the the Church of Antioch; and for the fame realon in that now called of Conftantinople, dianaviy quds. Now all the Feig. days of the Paichal Week were called feriati, as St. Jerome and other Ancients witnefs: And hence ic obtain'd for the days of the other Weeks to be called Ferie, in imitation of that initiatory Week. It may like. wife be offer d that we were led into this way of Computation by the Caftom of the Jews, who reckon'd the F 2 days 1 days of the Week according to their numeral distance from the preceding Sabbath: as I fhall fhew in the fequel.But Toftatus, and after him,Cornelius â Lapide upon Lev. 33. fays, that the Church by the inftitution of Pope Sylvefter, called all the days of the Week Feria, Firt, because every day in the Week ought to be a Holy-day to a Chriftian: Secondly, because in relation to Ecclefiaftick Officers, and the Minifters of the Church,all days are really Feria or Fefta,i.e.Holy-days to them who ought to mind nothing but Divine WorShip. The Origi- §. 4. We cannot feek for the Derivation of this nal and Word Sabbath among the Greeks, as Plutarch I. 4. Importance Symp. Prob. 6. has done in deriving it from 26, of the word Name for Revellers; nor among the Egyptians à Sabbo, a Word fignifying a Difeafe in the Groin, from which Appion Alexandrinus derives it in the fecond Book of Fofephus, but 'tis deriv'd from the Hebrew Word which fignifies Reft, as referr'd to the Inftitution of God, when after fix days Creation he refted upon the 7th. Cornelius Tacitus Lib. 5. Hift. being ignorant of this Jewish Cuftom, has invented feveral Fables about the Original of the Word; which may be confulted by any one that thinks it worth his Pains. Sabbath. The ufe and a S. 5 In times paft they did not only call the 7th day fignificati of the Week the Sabbath; but from this very day all on of the the days of the Week received their Denominations; Word Sab- as our Sunday they called the one or first day after the bath. What me are to un Sabbath, our Monday the fecond day after the Sabbath, Tuesday the third,and so on; Math. 28. 1. 1 Cor. 16. 2. Mark 16.9. That by the Word Sabbath they fometimes meant the whole Week, is evident from that Paf fage of the proud Pharifee Luke 18. 22. Nusów Sis TO Easßars, I faft twice in the Week. But on the other hand the Ancients fometimes ufed the Word Week for Sabbath, as in this Paffage; 2 Maccab. 6. 11. av douda fignifies no more than to keep the Sabbath. §. 6. Amongst divers Opiuions about the Sabbath derstand called Seuregorov, that of Scaliger feems to be the by the Sab- moft reafonable, and has been approved of by R. Schmi dins, Langius, and others. He understands by it çèδευτερό του σαββατών και η δευτέρας τῶν ̓Αζύμων, Hebraic πρωτου. The Rin the first Sabbath after the next batum day day to the Sabbath, upon which the Oblation of Fruits mere folemnifed, and from whence feven Weeks were reckoned to Pentecoft, Lev. 23. 15. the Sabbaths betwixt the Pafcha and Pentecoft being thus named: The Saturdays before Eafter. Δευτερόπρωτον Δευτρότριτον Δευτεροτέταρτον Δευτερόπεμπον Δευτερόεκτον Δεύτερο έβδομον Quafi modo geniti. Cantate Vocem jucunditatis that the §.7. After many other Fabulifts, Menaffeh Ben If of the Sab rael writes thus, in Concil. Quaft. 36 in Exodum. The basic River Sabbatic River is a Teftimony of the Sabbath, its being which the fanctified by God, whereof mention is made in the Ba- Jews were bylonian and the Jewish Talmuds, as well as in Rabat wont to aland Jalcut. Jofephus alfo an Hiftoriographer of great ledge as a Authority, makes mention of it as running through Phoe- Teftimony nicia in Affyria, which after fix days of its own accord Sabbath ftops its rapid courfe, and after the feventh day is over, was fantirecalls its former rapidity, and fo it received the Name fied by of the Sabbatic River, from its reft on the feventh day. God. R. Mofes Genundinenfis will have it, that this River is that called Gozan, over which the ten Tribes were carried in Captivity, expecting to be fet free from that Bondage at the coming of the Meffias. And according to the Ancient Wifemen Ifaiah Cap. 49. 9. Speaks of the People beyond this River, which is commonly called Flumen Lapidum. But these are the Childish Fables of the Jews: For the above-mentioned Jofephus l. 7. c. 35. fays the contrary of what Ben Ifrael pretends to quote. These are Rivers that run only out of the Brains of the Rabbies, which are near a-kin to the Poets. §. 8.The Number feven was not only in great efteem What we among the fuperftitious Gentiles, who confecrated it to ought to judge of Apollo, as Photius in his Excerpta ad Nicom. affures us, the Numb. but alfo amongst the Chriftians many wonderful things are fpoken of the myfterious Character of 7. Nor has determines Augustine Lib. 5. Quæft. fuper Deut. & Lib. 2 de Cive the Cycle of F3 7, which Dei the Feri |