Weights and Measures , &c.

Drachma: perhaps it may be of uncertain value, but that it wasan inconsiderable Sum, is conjectured from the passage of Homer,where describing the prizes at the funeral of Patroclus, he putsthem in the following order. First, The captive woman and aTripod ; Second, a Mare big with Foal j Third, a Kettle; Fourth,two Talents of Gold; Fifth, a Brass Vial. Where the two Ta-lents of Gold are propos’d as the most inconsiderable prize but one.Several Authors write, that amongst the old Greeks a Talent ofGold was very small; and the conjecture of the learned Bishop ofBath and Wells seems to be well founded, ct that this Talent of" Gold, tho’ not equinumerant (ltrclgtdfjLov the Phrase is) nor yetcc equiponderant (Ico^cttriov) as to any other; yet was equivalent" Clcrod'vvoLpLov) to some correspondent Talent in Brass, whatsoeverfc it was, whose under parts kept the common proportion betweenfc themselves; a Talent we may suppose of the Phœnicians , the" great Merchants remembred by Homer. For Example, if we" take the value of Gold to Silver to have anciently been, as" ten to one; the rate it bore for a long time in Greece. Andtc if we soppose the value of Silver to the Brass of the Cyprians," or Copper , to have been with their neighbours the Phœnicians,“ as one to a hundred (and for a long time it has since generallytc went not much above that value:) we then have six Attick (orff Tyrian) Drachma’s weight of Gold equal in value to six thousand" Drachma’s weight of Brasi.

According to this ancient Talent some reckon the Treasure ofKing David, particularly that mention’d i Chronicles xxii. Nowhehold in my Trouble I have prepared for the House of the Lord ahundred thousand Talents of Gold,and a thousand thousand Talents of Silver :which according to the common reckoning would amount inGold Talents to the value of j 47,5 00,000 /. and the Silver toabove 3 41,000,000 /.

Or reckoning according to the decuple proportion of Gold toSilver, the two Sums would be equal.

F L Josephus