Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Book_ of Canc_er_, of the nature of Mars and M_er_cury.' 29. _Amiddes_, &c. Observe that the Ecliptic line _in the midst_ of the _celestial_ zodiac, a belt 12° broad, is on the _outer edge_ of the zodiac as shewn in the astrolabe, which is only 6° broad and shews only the northern half of that belt. The 'way of the sun' is elsewhere used of the sun's apparent _diurnal_ path (see Part ii. sect. 30); but it here refers, as is more usual, to the _annual_ path. 34. _streitnes_, narrowness, closeness, smallness of size. In Fig. 2, I have marked every degree in the southern half of the zodiac, but only every _fifth_ degree in the northern, in order to avoid an appearance of crowding in so small a figure. In Chaucer's own Astrolabe, every _other_ degree was marked all round. 40. Here Chaucer gives at least three reasons for the name of 'zodiac.' The true one is the second, 'for that the sterres that ben there fixed ben disposed in signes of bestes, or shape like bestes.' But these imaginary shapes are very absurd and arbitrary. 50. Not only the influences here assigned to the signs, but others due to planets, may be found in 'Porphyrii Philosophi introductio in Claudii Ptolomæi opus de affectibus astrorum,' fol. Basileæ, n.d. p. 198. I here add a few extracts from the MS. in Trinity College, Cambridge (marked R. 15. 18), to shew the nature of the old astrology. I choose them with especial reference to Aries. The other signs are spoken of in a similar manner. 'It is principally to be considered that the signes of hevyn haue their_e_ strenght and propre significaciou_n_ vpon the membris of eny man; as, Aries hath respect to the hed, taurus to the neck, ge_min_is (_sic_) the Armys, Cancer the brest, leo the hert, virgo the bowels, &c.; as it shall shew in the Chapiters folowyng. Secundarily it is to be noted that plotholomee (_sic_) saith, that to touche with instrument of yrou_n_ while the mone is in the signe of the same membre, is for to be dred; let the surgen beware, and the letter of blode, let hym be aferd to touche that membre w_i_t_h_ yren_e_, in the which the mone shal be.'--MS. G; Trad C. p. 12. 'Thenne Aries hath respect to the hed; And this signe is hote and dry, fiery & colerik. Saturne hath ij witnes in Ariete, a triplicitate and a terme. Jubit_er_ also hath ij, a triplicitate and a term_e_. Mars hath iij testimonials or iij fortitudis in Ariete, A hows, A face, and A terme. The sonne hath iij fortitudis in Ariete, s_cilicet_, an exaltaciou_n_, a triplicite, and a face. Venus hath ij testimonials, A terme and a face. M_er_cury hath on_e_ testymony, that is to sey, a term_e_. And luna in Ariete hath no testimoniall. For the which it is to know, that the influens of the planet_is_ may be fortyfied v maner of wayes. And these v man_er_ be called v fortitud_is_ of planet_is_, or testimonials, which be these: _domus_, _exaltacio_, _triplicitas_, _terminus_, and _facies_. _Domus_ gevith to a planet v fortitud_is_; And a planet in his hows is lyke a kynge in his hall, And in the high trone of his gl_or_ie. A planet in his _exaltacioun_ is lyke a kynge when he is crowned. A planet in his _triplicite_ is like a kynge in hono_ur_, Amonge his sencible people. A planet in his _terme_ is As a man_n_ among_es_ his kynnesmen_n_ And fryndis. _Facies_ gyvith to a planet that thyng the which rowme gyvith to a maistre. Wherfore _facies_ gyvith only on fortitude, _Terminus_ ij, _Triplicitas_ iij, _Exaltacio_ iiij, And _domus_ v. And for the more clere declaraciou_n_, the dignytes of planet_is_ in signes be co_m_p_re_hendid in this figure ensuynge, &c.[75]'--Same MS., Tract C. p. 13. 'The dygnytes of planet_is_ in the signes, most speciall they be to be noted in iudicials. When the mone is _in Ariete_, it is not gode, but vtterly to be exshewed, both for seke And disesid, for to shafe their_e_ hede or to boist in the eris or in the nek; nor loke þou let no blode in the vayn of the hede. How-be-it, benyficiall it is to begynne eu_er_y worke that þou woldest bryng aboute son_e_. But that thynge that is stabill ought to be eschewed. In this signe it is necessary to dele with noble estat_is_ And rich men, And for to go in-to A bayn_e_ [_bath_][76].'--Same MS., Tract C. p. 14. 54, 5. See Prologue, l. 73. As the zodiak is here called a part of the eighth sphere, so we have been before told that the equinoctial is the girdle of the ninth sphere; see note above to sect 17. l. 28. 57. _evene parties_, equal parts. That is, the equinoctial bisects the zodiac. But the northern half _looks_ much smaller than the southern on the Astrolabe, owing to the manner in which the zodiac is there represented, viz. by projection on the plane of the equator. PART II. § 1. Rubric, _hir cours_. The gender of the sun was feminine in Anglo-Saxon, and that of the moon masculine; but in Chaucer's time, the gender was very variable, owing to the influence of Latin and French. § 3. Between sections 2 and 3, a section is inserted in the late copies, which merely repeats section 1, and is clearly spurious. It does not appear at all in the best MSS.; though it is found in the black-letter editions. I quote it here from MS. L. 'TO KNOWE THE DEGRE OF THYN SONNE IN THYN ZODIAK BY THE DAYS IN THE BAKSYDE OFF THE ASTROLABYE. '[T]hanne iff þou wylte wete thatt / rekyn & knowe / qwych is the day off the monyth thatt thow arte yn_n_e, & ley thy rewle of thy astrolabye, that is to sey, the allydatha, vpon þe day in the kalendr_e_ off the Astrolabye, & he schall schewe the thy degree of the sonne.' 26, 7. After 'assendent,' the following additional paragraph occurs in MS. Bodley 619; fol. 21. It is worthy of notice, because the original of it appears in Messahala's treatise, with the title 'De noticia stellarum incognitarum positarum in astrolabio.' The paragraph runs thus:-- 'Nota. þat by þis conclusio_n_ þou may knowe also where ben at þat same tyme all_e_ oþir sterres fixed þ_a_t ben sette in thin Astrelabie, and in what place of þe firmament; And also her arising in thy orizonte, and how longe þ_a_t thei wol ben aboue þe erthe wiþ þe Arke of þe nyght / And loke eu_er_more hov many degrees þou fynde eny sterre at þat tyme sitting vpon þin Almycant_er_as, and vp-on as many degrees sette þou þe reule vpon þe altitude in þe border_e_; And by the mediaciou_n_ of þy eye through þe .2. smale holes shalt thou se þe same sterre by the same altitude aforseid, And so by this conclusiou_n_ may þou redely knowe whiche is oo sterre from a-noþ_er_ in the firmament / for as many as ben in the Astrelabie. For by þ_a_t same altitude shal thou se that same sterre, & non othir / for þ_er_e ne woll_e_ non othir altitude accorde þerto.' 30. _Alhabor_; i.e. Sirius or the Dog-star, as is evident from the fact of its being represented by a dog's head on the Astrolabe; see also the table of stars marked on the Astrolabe (in MS. Camb. Univ. Lib. li. 3. 3, fol. 70, back), which gives the declination 15° |