there being but one odd day beyond the compleat number of Weeks, 'tis plain that the next year will commence on the 2d day of the Week, and fo on. But in this Computation regard must be had to the Biffextile year which has 366 days, and confequently two for the Epact. S. 3. Thefe Solar Epacts are now in dif ufe, by rea- The Solar fon that the Feriæ or Weekly days are trac'd with more Epics why facility and Expedition by the Dominical Letters. (Oneglected.", which elsewhere.) S. 4. To find out the Menftrual Lunar Epact we The use of must confider that a Lunar Month confifts of 29 days the Lunar 12 hours, 44' 3", and that all the Julian Civil Months Menftrual excepting February have either 30 or 31 days. Now, Epaits. fuppofing the Conjunction of the Moon or the New Moon to happen just as March comes in, fo that the Lunar and the Solar Month have a joint beginning; And fubftracting the Lunar Period or 29 days, 12 hours, 44' 3" from 31 (the number of days in March) the Re mainder is 1 day and 12 hours or thereabouts. This one compleat day must be added to the Calends of April, and is called the Epact of April. Thefe Menstrual Lunar Epacts ferve to point out the Age of the Moon, for the Epact of April being one, that is to fay the Moon being one day old, or having paft its Conjunction a day before April began, the addition of unity to fuch a day of April gives the Age of the correfponding Moon. As for the twelve hours which we o'relook'd in the Epact of April, they muft (be kept up till the fractional hours of the fubfequent Months inake up a day in Conjunction with them. For April having but 30 days, it has but twelve hours above the Lunar Month, and these twelve hours being added to the former twelve make a day to be added to the Calends of May, and that day being joined to the Epact of May is 2. Thus if you go round all the Months in the Year, you'll find that at the end of the last you have eleven days for the Epact of the next year, and that is call'd the Lunar Annual Epact. §. 5. To find out the Lunar Epact in a Julian Year, How to you must confider the Lunar Cycle of the propos'd find the Lu year (See Strauchius Book 2. chap. 7.) and multiply it nar Epack by eleven; for the Product if lefs than 30 gives you of a Fulian the Epact of that year; if it exceeds 30, divide it by year. E 4 30, How to 30, and the Remainder refolves the queftion. Thus you'll find that in the year of our Lord 1667 the Cycle being 15th, the Lunar Epact of that year was 15. §. 6. Having found the Julian Epact, you may eafily find the Lu- convert it into the Epact of a Gregorian year; for if it nar Epact exceeds 10 fubftract 10 out of it, and the Remainder of a refolves you; if it is under 10, add 30 to it, and fubGregorian ftract 10 out of the joint fum. The reafon of the opeyear. How to find the ration is manifeft, if we confider, when the Pope reform'd the Calendar, he took off 10 days from October. In the mean time it must be remembred that from the 1700 year of Chrift to the 1900 we muft fubftract eleven instead of ten, and from the 1900 to the 2200 twelve instead of eleven, and fo on. The reafon of this variation may be gather'd from the additions to Chap. 6. in this first Book, §. 7. To find the time of the New Moon by the Epact; add the Epact of the current year to the number day of the of the Month reckoning from March inclufive, fubNew Moon ftract the fum out of 30 if it be under 20, and from by the E-60 if it exceeds 20. The Remainder will give you pact. the day of the propos'd Month on which the New Moon falls. If it be ask'd for inftance what day of June in the year 1667 gave the New Moon. The Epact of that year being 15 I add it to 4 (June being the 4th Month from March inclufive) and fubftracting the fum from 30, find it to be the 11th day. By this operation you may eafily know the Age of the Moon 'on any day of the Month, by reckoning from the day of the New Moon. CHA P. CHAP. VIII. Of a Luftrum, Seculum and Ævum. RULES. 1. A Luftrum is a certain space of time anciently appoint ed for Civil Ufe; and tho' formerly it was reckoned to confift of 5 Years, yet Chronologers do now repute it only as four. 2. An Evum is sometimes taken for the Age of a Man, and fometimes it denotes infinite Duration. 3. A Seculum is the space of one hundred Years. ftrum and its Vfe a mong the Ancients. LUftrum is derived à Luendo, from paying or expi- The Lupiating: For in times paft, when the Sacrifices were performed, the Tributes were paid both by a Poll Tax, till the time of Conftantine the Great (as is now done amongst the Turks) and by a Tax upon real and perfonal Estates. The Antients alfo,as Feftus remarks, were wont to let out their Farms for the space of a Luftrum. Vide Matth. Wefen. paratitla, ad dig. L. 1. Tit. de Cenfibus. §. 2. The Ancients, viz. Tit. Liv. and his Epitomi- 'Twas the zer; Zonaras, Lib. 2. Cic. de Leg. Lib. 3. Fran. Duty of Hotomannus de Magift. Rom. p. 107. unanimoufly affert, the Cenfors that Luftration among the Romans was the Duty of the to purifie Cenfors. Thefe (fays Zonaras) Leafed out the Publick (luftrare) Revenues, took care of the High-ways and publick Build- the People. ings, examined the Riches of every City, and infpected The first their Manners. Author of this Luftra tion was Servius *Solum iz §. 3. Servius Tullius Son-in-law of Tarquinius Prif cus, introduced this Cuftom: For of him Livy Lib. 1. C. 42. writes thus, He inftituted the Valuation Tullius. of every Man's Eftate; whence Taxes were laid not by a Poll Tax, as formerly, but according to their Eftates. the LanIn another Place C.44. he afcribes to him the Suoveguage of taurilia or Solitaurilia (an Immolation of a whole Bull, the Etruf a Ram, and a Boar :) The Taxation of Eftates being ci fignifies made (fays Livius) which he haftned for fear of the whole. Law mongst the Romans was every 5 years. Law de Incenfis, he iffued forth an Order under the Pain of Imprifonment and Death, that all the Roman Horfe and Foot fhould appear in their respective Centuries in the Field of Mars; where, after Exercise he (luftravit) purify'd the whole Army by the foremention'd Sacrifice, whence this Action was called the Luftrum, being perfect at the finishing of the Taxation. The Return S. 4. This Cafe is controverted amongst the Antiquaof the Lu- ries: Pliny L. 2. C. 47. G. Budens in Pand. &c. ftrum a- will have it that the Luftrum amongft the Latines anfwers to the Olympiads amongst the Greeks, which return'd every fifth Year, fo that it comprehends only four Years. But others of better Authority, viz. İ fid. Hifpal. L. 5. C. 37. Etym. Barnab. Briffon, de fiżnificat. verb. L. 10. Jof. Caftal. Tab. Capit. Varro, Ovid. Hor. Claudian. in 6. Honor. Conful. Thefe, I fay, will have but one Luftrum in five Years, reckoning the beginning of the next from the commencement of the fixth Year. But perhaps this difference amongit Authors arifes from the Change of the Luftrum: For according to Livy, when Æmilius was Dictator, the period of the Taxation was chang'd from five Years to an Year and a half. However amongit all Chronologers at this time a Luftrum is reputed conftantly for the fpace of four Years, which was the firft Opinion, There are S. 5. The Luftrum of Julius and Nabonaffar differ two forts but one Day, the former confifts of 3 common Years, of Luftrum and one Biffextile, which makes 1461 Days; the the Nabo- other is made up of 4 common Years, or 1460 naffarean Days. and the S. 6. The Aum of the Ancients in its proper and Julian. received Signification pafs'd for the Age of one Mar Evam its and in this Senfe 'tis ufed by the the Nurse in Seneca's Significa Hippolitus, tion. Other Sig nifications of it a Hoc erit, quicquid vides, $ 7. Philofophers ufe the Word Avum to fignifie a Duration, that has a Beginning but no End; whence the Duration of finite Spirits is commonly expreffed by ther Wri- this Word. But Cenforinus De die natali. Cap. 16. makes No diftinction betwixt Evum and Eternity. mongt o ters. . 8. Cen §. 8. Cenforinus Lib. jam Citato.reports that Men had Seculum not agreed in his time about the measure of a Seculum, its Signifi He diftinguishes between Secula Naturalia and Secula cations. Civilia. The Natural he defines to be the longest fpace of a Man's Life, and that being variable and unequal, he takes occafion to point to the Custom of the Etrufci: The Ritual Books of the Etrufci (fays he ) feem to teach us these Naturalia Secula, viz. They examined when any Town or City was founded, and who was born at that time; from thence they begin their Secula Naturalia, which expir'd upon the Death of the last of those who were born at the time of the Towns Foundation. Then of all that were living at that time,he that lived the longest determined the fecond Seculum Naturale, &c. The Seculum Civile is a Century or the Space of a hundred Years: See Varro de ling. Lat. Nov. 4. Alberic. Gentil. de diverfis temp. appellationibus. Cap. 2. culum or S. 9. Cenforinus gives this Comical Reafon out of Varro and Difcorides, why a Man's Age or Seculum Why a Seis reckon'd a Century of Years. In Alexandria the the Age of Imbalmers of dead Corps alledg'd that a Man could not Man is live above 100 Years, from a Remark they made upon commonly the hearts of fuch as dy'd in their full ftrength with- reputed to] out any previous decay; for that they increased in their be 100 Weight for fifty Years, and then decreas'd gradually Tears. for fifty more, at which period they return'd to the fame weight that they had at firft. CHA P. IX. Of the Epocha, Era, Cycle and Period. RULES. 1. The Epoche and Erx are folemn remarkable Limits, from which we reckon the progrefs of time. 2. The Cycles and Periods are fuch Spaces of time as revolve into themfelves again. S. 1. Pocha is derived from the Greek word 'exew, inhibere, infiftere, to reftrain or limit, and The DeriCenforinus calls it not improperly Index or Titulus, as vation of being a fix'd point of time, from whence the paft or fucceeding progrefs may be calculated. §. 2. Se the Word Epocha. |