68

Chaiter

First.

C H R O N O L O G Y.

1689, orbeginningof the year 1690, will place the Argonau-'tic expedition about 25 years after the death of Solomon( 3 ). Eutit is not necelTary that the middle of the conftellation of Ariesfliould be exatftly in the middle between the two ftars called primaArietis and ultima cauda ,: and it may be better to fix the Cardinalpoints by the ftars, through which the Colures pafled in the pri-mitive fphere, according to the defcription of Eudoxus above re-cited. By the Colure of the equinoxes, I mean a great circlepaffing through the poles of the equator, and cutting the ecl:p-tic in the equinoxes in an angle of 66^ degrees, the complementof the fun’s greateft declination ; and by the Colure of the fol-ftices I mean a great circle pafting through the fame poles, andcutting the ecliptic at right angles in the folftices : and by theprimitive fphere, that which was in ufe before the motions ofthe equinoxes and folftices were known : now the Colures pafledthrough the following ftars, according to Eudoxus..

XXXII. In the back of Aries is a ftar of the fixth magnitude*marked v by Bayer: in the end of the year 1689, and begin-ning of the year 1690, its longitude was 8. 9 0 . 38'. 45" ( J ),and north latitude 6°. 7'. $6 f/ : and the Colurus JEquinodliorum

drawn

( J ) The equinodtial points gobaek 36°. 50'. in 2642 years. From the end of the-year of ourLord 1689, i. e. of the year of the Julian period 6402, count back 2642, and you come to theyear of the Julian period 3.760, the zzd from Solomoms death, according to Petavius.

C) Read 8

o

§ XXXII.

9 0 . 48'. 33". See Flamfted’s Cat. Brit.

According to my calculations in & . 7 0 . 7'. 56".

^ Let be an arc of the ecliptic ; ‘V’ Heingtlie place of the’

equinodtial point at the end of the year 1689. L et ^ le poirite be the place of » of Aries. Draw the circle of latitude b£,and ba the equinodtial colure of the primitive fphere. T.reain the right-angled fpherical triangle e£a, b b being the lati-tude of v of Aries, is 6 P . /. 56". And the angle ba b is 66°.30'. 00". Bence I find the arc a b — z°. 40'. 39".

But <rb — 39 0 . 48'. 35". being the longitude of » of Ariesin the fphere of 1690.

Tlierefore TAr 37 0 . of. 56".

In a copy of the chronology which formerly belonged to my late dear and learned friend

Matthew Raper, Efq. F. R. 8. for L . 6°. 58'. 57". I find Lia the margin.

7 0 . 7'. 55 written in his hand-

( 3 ) By my calculations . 6°. 53'. 29".

Thefe tw> ftars are fo near together, both in longitude and latitude ; that the mean longitudeand mean latitude may be fafely affumedfor the longitude and latitude of the middle point be-tweea the two.

Let