( 6Z4 )

not help us in this particular; sceing the Greek Copics agree amongst them-selves, and the Arabicis Copia amongst themselves. The best way to endthe Dispute will be, to gire credit concerning the Latitude of Byzantium,ncifhcr to the Grcckj nor Arabiam. And that I have rea tön for this Aflerti-on, appears by several Observations of mine at Conflantinople , with a brassScxtant of above 4 Foot Radius. Where taking, in the Summer Solstice, theMeridian Altitude of the Sun without ufing any wfo&fetipt«« for the Pa-rallax and Refraction, (which at that time was not necessary,) I found theLatiiuJe to be 41 0 6'. And in this Latitudc in the Chart 1 have placed By-zantium, and not in that cither of the Greeks or Arabiam. From which Ob-servation, being of singular Ilse in the Rectification of Gcography , it will fol-low by way of Corollary, that all Mavs for the Kofth-Eajl of Europe, and ofAßa, adjoining upon the Bsphorus Thracius, the Pontus Euxinus, and muchfarther, are to be Corrccted; and consequently the Situation of raost Citiesin Aßa proper.) J 0 calicd, are to be brought more Southerly than those of Pto-lcmy by almost two intire Degrces, and than those of the Arabians by al-most four.

Concerning Hjsodes, it nny be presimied, that, having been the Motherand Nurse of tö many Eminent Mathematicians, and having long flouri-rished in Navigation, by the Direction of thesc, and by the Vicinity of thePhanicians, they could not be Ignorant of the pvecise Latitudc of their Coun-try, and that from them Ptolcmy might receive a true Information. Thoughit cannot be denyed, but that Ptolcmy in Places remoter from Alcxandriabath much erred. I shall only instance in our Own Country, where hesituates KtvJ'itlor, that is London, in 54 0 of Latitudc ; and the ti i&.m orthe midie of the Jße of PVight, ( which in the printed Copies is fallely termedxtK-ntn', but in the MSS. rightly irntitr ,) in yz° and zo / of Latitudc.Whereas London is certainly known to have for the Altitude of the Pole, orLatitudc of the Place, only yi° and zz/. and the middle of the )ße of H^ghtnot to exceed 50°. and some minutes.

But in my judgment Ptolcmy is very excusable in these and the like Errors,of several other places far distant from Alcxandria ; seeing he must for theirPosition necesiarily have depended either upon Relations of Travailers, or Ob-servations of Marincrs, or upon the Longitudc of the Day measüred in thosetimes by Clepsydra : all which how uncertain they are, and Subject unto Er-rour, if seine Celestial observations be not joyned with them, and those ex-actly taken with Large Instruments, (in which kind the Ancicnts have notmany, and Our Times, (excepting Tycho Brahe, and seme of the Arabians)but a few,) I sey no Man, that bath converscd with Modern Travailersand Kavigators , can be ignorant. Wherefore to excuse these Errors ofhis ( or rather of others fathered by h!m) with a greater Absiirdity, byaflerting the Poles of the World since his time to have Changed their site,and consequently all Countries their Latitudes, as Mariana the Master ofCoptmicus , and others afrer him have Imagined : or eise to Charge Ptolcmy,being so excellent an Artist, with Ignorance, and that even of his own Coun-try, as Cluverius hath done, ( from which my observations at Alcxandria, and

Mem-