Draft letter concerning ancient calendars, and notes on Jewish chronology
I have perused the Paper which his Lordp the Bp of Worcester sent to Dr Prideaux & find it full of excellent {propotions} of antiquity \remarks observations/ concerning the ancient year: but do not perceive that they amount to any thing more then a proof that the Kalendar of the ancient Lunisolar year was consisted of twelve lunar months & each month Kalendar month of 30 days. |That they followed their Kalendar without correcting it from time to time by the courses of ye Sun & Moon is the that proved thing to be proved.|
The first nations \before \they/ used an artificial cycles {illeg}/ kept a recconing of time by the courses of the Sun & Moon Gen 1.14. & the Lunar month consisting of 30 days in ye nearest round number & the solar year of {illeg}|12| Lunar months in the nearest round numbers, these round num it was obvious for those nations to keep reccon time by such months & years & compose Kalendars thereof for knowing what days of each month were to be celebrated as festivals & to what God. And hence came the year of 36 division of the Ecliptick into 360 degrees, upon a supposition that the sun |But yet for knowing what days of every month in the year they were to celebrate as festivals & to what God it was requisite to have a Kalendar & in this Kalendar it was obvious to reccon \set down/ 30 days to a Lunar month & 12 Lunar months to a Solar year, these being the nearest round numbers answering to the courses of the Sun & Moon. And hence it came to pass that the Ancients recconed the Luni-solar years to consist of 360 days & accordingly divided the Zodiac into 360 equal parts the Ancients supposing Ecliptic into 360 equal parts, supposing that the Sun| moved round the heavens in 360 \equal/ days. But I do not find that in civil affairs they adhered to their Kalendar where they found it differ from the courses of the Sun & Moon but rather corrected it from time to time where they as often as the to make it agree constand|t|ly wth the heaven taking a day or two from the month as often as they found the month too long for the course of the Moon & adding a month to the year as often as they found twelve lunar months too short for the return of the seasons of the years & fruits of the earth. And thus to correct the \Lunisolar/ year was the business of the Priests. |And by reforming this primitive Calendar to make it agree better & better with the courses of the Sun & Moon came all the {illeg} of years & cycles of years wch have been ever since|
And \For/ after they found that three \twelve lunar/ months were to be added {illeg} in eight years |too short for the return of the seasons| they added a month every other year excepting once in |\& thereby formed the Dieteris/ & when they found this too long they omitted an intercalary month once in| eight years: wch made the old \primitive first/ Octaetheris of the ancients \the half of wch was their Tetraeteris./ And at length finding that the Octaeteres in length of time differed manifestly from ye heavens they found \out/ the |{Then} the Greeks or their mended the form of the Octaeteris. ✝| Afterwards the Geeks {sic} altered the form of ye octaeteris intercaling a month in ye third sixt & eighth years, or in the 3d 5t & eighth years or in ye 2d 5th & 8th months years to make these years agree better with the course of the Sun. | And when they found the Octaeteris too short for the seasons & course of the Sun, they invented the| Cyclus decemnovalis in wch 7 months were added in nineteen years. But the Ægyptians for the sake of navigation measuring the length of the Calenda Solar year more exactly, added five days to the Luni-solar Kalendar year of 360 days, & |to this year being received by the Chaldeans & Persians & by the Greeks in their Rhafi recconing \the Philippian year/ from the death of Alexander| the Romans added in /to it a\ day once in four years. And the Arabians {illeg} at length omitted the intercalary month & made their year to consist of only twelve Lunar months. And Pope Gregory XIII made a new {illeg} correction of the Roman Calendar year. And the Arabians & Mahometans by neglecting all the intercalary months made their year to consist of only twelve Lunar Months. And these are |All these corrections were made for bringing the Calendar nearer & nearer to ye course of the Sun. And some of the ancients used Months alternately of 30 & 29 days for bringing the Calendar months nearer to ye course of the Moon. And the Arabians & Mahometans {illeg} neglecting all the intercalary months retain to this day the year of 12 Lunary months & 360 days correcting their months perpetually by the course of the Moon. And these are all the| all the {sic} principal forms of years hitherto known.
1B Now when Moses reccons the duration of the flood by months of 30 days, I understand him of the Calendar months of the Luni-solar year not corrected by the course of the Moon the rainy cloudy weather not suffering her to appear.
2 When Herodotus reccons by years of 360 days he understands Lunisolar calendar years without correcting them by the courses of the Sun & Moon
3 When he reccons by years of 12 & 13 months alternately he understands the ancient Dieteris without correcting the Calendar lunar months by the course of the Moon. For he saith that the leap months were added to make the year agree wth the seasons.
When Manetho tells us that the ancient Egyptian year consisted of 360 days, he means the ancient L Calendar Luni-solar year not corrected by the courses of the Sun & Moon \& to the end of wch the Egyptians at length added five days/. For the year wch the Israelites brought out of Egypt was Luni-solar. And Diodorus tells us that in the o Vranus king of Egypt \& Libya/ measured ye year by the course of the Sun & the months by the course of the Moon.
6 When Cleobulus Lindices one of the seven wise men \enigmatically/ describes the year to consist of twelve months & every month of 30 days he describes the calendar year of the Greeks who in those ages & long after used the lunisolar year. And in the same Hippocrates understands the same calendar years when he saith that seven years are exactly 360 weeks. And so did Aristotle when he equals the fift part of a year to 72 days the sixt part to 60 days & a month to 30 days. And so so {sic} did the Athenians when they erected 360 statues to Demetrius according to ye number of days in their year; & when they had at Athens 4 φυλὰς imitating the 4 seasons of ye year & 12 φατρίας καὶ τριττυς according to the months & every φατρια had 30 γένη as ye days are 360. They seem When they speak of a certain number of days in their month or year they mean their Calendar {illeg} Month & calendar year, but in keeping an account of time the Priests constantly corrected their calendar by the courses of the sunn & Moon to make the four quarters of the \Athenian/ year keep constantly to the same seasons. |They recconed 4 seasons {illeg} in their year & therefore corrected their Kalendar year of 360 days to make it keep constantly to the same four seasons. Solon recconed 30 days to ye Athenian month but called the 30th \day/ ενην και νεαν making it every other month the first day of the next month as well as the last day of the month past| And in the same sense Plutarch is to be understood where he saith that their \old Roman/ year was of 360 days. And so when Cyrus cut the River Gendus into 360 channels he might have relation to ye old Kalend number of days in the old Kalendar year of ye Medes or Assyrians.
7 So where the Babylonians, as Diodorus tells us, say that there are XII chief Gods & to every one of these assigne a Month & a signe in the Zodiac & \say/ that through these 12 signes the Sun makes his course every year & the Moon every month: they speak not of the year of Nabonassar but of a \solar/ year divided into 12 equal \lunar/ months & measured by the revolution of the Sun, that is of the calendar luni-solar year of 360 days \& make this year to be solar & the months Lunar/ supposing \(with the ancients)/ that the sun in so many days passes through the 360 degrees of the Ecliptick, & that ye Moon doth the same in a month. This year the Iews during their stay at Babylon made use of in their contracts & civil affairs & in their journey from Babylon to Ierusalem, retaining|ed| the names of the Babylonian months & ever after calling|ed| their own Luni-|ar|solar months by the|ir| names of the Babylonian Months if they \months/ had not been the same wch they would not have done if their \own/ Lunar months had not been the same with the Babylonian. And Athenæus \(lib. 12)/ tells us out of Berosus that upon the 16th day of the month Lous the Babylonians annually celebrated the feast Sacæa. Which is all one as to tell us that the sixteenth d feast Sacæa was kept by ye Babylonians upon the 16th day of the Moon & by consequence that the Babylonian months were lunar. For the Month Lous was a lunar month of the Macedonian year.
|While| They had at Athens 4 φυλὰς imitating the four seasons of ye year & 12 φατρίας καὶ τριττυς according to ye months & every φατρία had 30 γένη according to ye days, it signifies that every Athenian year had \consisted of/ 4 seasons & was from time to time corrected by the luminaries so as to make it keep to the seasons. And when the B in like manner when the Babylonians, as Diodorus tells us, say|id| that there were 12 chief Gods
<2r>4|5| When David appointed 12 courses of Guards, one for every month of the year (1 Chron 27) he had respect to ye Iewish \ordinary/ year of 12 Lunar months without considering the intercalary months. For when a month was added to ye end of the year, the cours wch was to wait in ye first month of the next year might wait in ye intercalary month & the next course might wait in the first month of ye next year, & so on: & therefore there was no need of appointing a proper course for the intercalary month.
1A When we read of the Annus magnus of Minos or Cadmus we are to understand the \composed of eight yeares/ or of the Trietrica of Bacchus or any other cycle of years used in the ancient sacr religions or solemnities or of any years with intercalary months, or of any years corrected by the courses of the Sun & Moon we are always to understand it of the Luni-solar year.
In allusion to ye number of days in ye Calendar year of the Medes or Assyrian \eastern nations/ Cyrus seems to have cut ye River Gindus into 360 channels.
When therefore Cleobulus one of the seven wise men, & \or/ Hippocrates, & \or/ Herodotus & \or/ Aristotel &|or| Plutarch \or Manetho/ describe the Ancient year of the Greeks Romans or Egyptians as consisting of 12 Equal months or 360 days, \or Cyrus in allusion to the days in the year cut the river Gindus into 360 channels or/ or {sic} the Athenians in allusion to the days in this year erected 360 statues to Demetrius, \or had 4 φ/ they are to be understood of the Calendar year not of the ancients not yet corrected by the courses of the sun & Moon. |And when they {had in} Athens 4 φυλας imitating the 4 seasons of the year . . . . . the days: it signifies that the Athenian year of 360 days was {illeg} corrected by the heavens so as to make it keep to the four seasons| And when {illeg} Herodotus intercales a month of 30 days every other year he is to be understood of the Dieteris of the Ancients continued for 70 years together wthout correcting it by the Luminaries \Moon/. And when Moses reccons the duration of the flood by months of 30 days he is to be understood of Calendar months not corrected by the course of the Moon by reason of the cloudy rainy weather wch did {illeg} not suffer her to appear. And when David appointed 12 courses of Guards one for every month of the year (1 Chon {sic} 27) he had respect \only/ to the Calendar months of ye Iewish year leaving the intercalary months unprovided because they were uncertain, & might be suppli{ed} by the 12 courses, the course wch should serve upon the first month of ye next year se\r/ving upon the intercalary month & the next course serving upon the first month of the next year. And when the Babylonians, as Diodorus tells us, say that there are XII chief Gods & to every one of these assigne a Month & a signe in the Zodiac & say that through these 12 signes the sun makes his course every year & the Moon every month: they spe describe the Chaldaic year \to be solar &/ to consist of 12 equal mo lunar months whose days are represented by the degrees in ye zodiac & are to be understoo & mean the months & days in the Calendar year not yet corrected by the courses of the Sun & Moon; & by the relation \& correspondence/ wch these months have to ye 12 signes, \they/ fix them to the seasons of the year \by such corrections as are to be made for that purpose/. This year the Iews during their stay at Babylon made use of in their contracts & civil affairs & in their journey from Babylon to Ierusalem brought it home with them calling their own months ever after by the names of the Babylonian, wch they would not have done if their own Lunar months had not been the same with those of Babylonian.
So then the Lunisolar Calendar was very ancient \& universal/, being propa used by Noah & propagated down from him to his posterity \& giving occasion to ye division of the Zodiac into 12 signes & of {circles} into 360d/, & continuing to be used in Egypt till their institution of the year of 365 days, in Chaldea till \& the nations adjacent till the expedition of Cyrus over Gindus &/ |till| the Babylonian captivity & in Greece till the days of the seven wise men & long after & giving occasion \to the division of the Zodiac into 12 signes & of a great circle into 360 degrees &/ to the Dieteris & other \ancient/ cycles for avoyding \the trouble/ of correcting it every month by the Moon & every year by the Sun. And where we meet wth any number of years \are/ mentioned in any ancient author sacred or prophane we if the years be civil & practical we are to understand so many Lunisolar years corrected by the heavens, the revolutions of summer & winter, but \if/ they be theorical & of a certain length, such as have not been nor are to be corrected by the heavens we are to understand Calendar years of 360 days that {illeg}
And where we meet wth a week of years or a month of years or a year of years we are to understand seven years or 30 years or 360 years. And these years are to be taken for so many summers & winters unles But if his Lordp the Bp of Worcester it appear that the author used either the solar year of 365 days or the Lunar Year of the Mahometans. For I meet wth no other years among the ancients then such as were either Luni-solar or solar or Lunar or the Calendars of these years. A year o practical year of 360 days would have run round the seasons in 70 years & such a \notable/ revolution would have been mentioned in History.
Reverendissimo Viro D. P. Allix S.T.D
Is. Newton S.P.
Vir dignissime
Quamvis linguæ Latinæ multo minus assuetus sim quam vernacu{læ} tamen ut Responsum tibi magis gratum sit, rescribam in hæc Lingua licet minus orna stylo rudiore.
Anno 19 Nebuchadnezzaris perijsse Hierosolymam sub Sed{illeg}|{illeg}|ia agnosco sed id contigisse A. 162 subdubito Æræ Nabonass. subdubito. Evilmerodach successit patri suo anno 37 Captivitatis Iehojachin, (2 Reg. 25.27) anno Nabonass 1{illeg}|86| completo et anno {illeg}|187| currente juxta Canonem. Aufer annos 37 & captivitas Iehojachin incidet in annū Nabonass 150. Adde regnum Zedekiæ annorum 11 et \interitus/ Hierosolymorum incidet in an. Nabonass 161. Annus autem quartus Darij primi incidit in An. Nabonass. 230 juxta Canonem. Et hic annus est septuagesimus ab interitu Hierolymorum {sic} inclusive.
Nebuchadnezzar reigned regnavit annos 43 a morte patris juxta Canonem annos vero 45 a victa Iudæa juxta sacras liter a quarto Iehojakim \& victa Palestina/ inclusive juxta sacras literas: annos scilicet octo ad captivitatem Iehojakin & inde annos 37 ad initium regni filij \sui/ Evilmerodach 2 Reg. 24.12 & 25.27. Anni autem a morte Nebuchadnezzaris ad quartum annum Darij Hystaspis inclusive sunt 44 jux anni 44 juxta Canonem Ptolomæi. Ab summa annorum \summa 89/ ab aufer annos 19|8| & menses quatuor usqꝫ ad interitum urbis {excurr} & conflagrationem Templi \excurrentes,/ & manebunt ab hoc interitu ad \mensem nonum/ quartu|i|m annu|i|m Darij septuaginta \Histaspis/ manebunt anni septuaginta et menses aliquot quatuo quatuor. Et in fine hujus temporis Propheta dicere potuit Quum jejunaretis\ris/ & plangetis\xistis/ quinto \[ob interitum Vrbis ac Templi]/ et septimo mense [sc \sc/. ob interitum urbis et cæ |interitum Vrbis &| cædem Gedaliæ,] ut illis septuaginta annis, an ullo pacto mihi, mihi inquam jejunastis? Zech. 7.5
Obsessa fuit Vrbs mense \Ivasa {sic} fuit Iudæa a Chaldæis anno nono Zedeciæ & obsessa urbs Hierosolymorum/ anno nono Zedeciæ mense decimo, et inde ad an |ejusdem anni| 2 K|R|eg 25.1. Et inde ad mensem undecimum anni secundi Darij anni sunt \anni/ septuaginta. I Et propterea in fine illius temporis Propheta dicere potuit: O Iehova exercituum quousqꝫ tu miseraturus es Hierosolymorum & civitatum Iudææ in quas indignatus es jam septuaginta annis. Zech. 1.12.
The conquest of Iudæa by Nebuchadnezzar in ye f{illeg} \first/ year of his reign & f over Iudæa \the Iews/ & fourth of Iehojakims \reign/, was sixteen years & some months \before the siege of Ierusalem/ & so long was the first year of Cyrus over Persia before the sixt middle of the second ye eleventh month of the second year of Darius Hystaspis: & therefore from the conquest of Iudea by Nebuchadnezzar in ye 4th year of Iehojakim to ye return of the Iews from captivity in ye first year of Cyrus was \were/ 70 years, as in the prophesies of Ieremiah.
Sub reditu captivitatis Babylonicæ anno primo Cyri, potuit Iddo esse senex annorum septuaginta aut amplius & ejus filius Barchiah esse vir annorum plu quadam plus minus quadraginta quinqꝫ \vel quinquaginta/ & Ejus Nepos Zechariah Propheta esse juvenis annorum plus minus viginti \vel viginti et quinqꝫ/. Et post annos sexdecim, anno scilicet secundo Darij Hystaspis, Zechariah potuit esse vir annorum 36 vel 40 ubi {fuit propheta} \ubi cœpit prophetare/ esse Propheta.
Sed Zerubbabelem rexisse Iudæos ad usqꝫ annum secundum Darij Nothi et Ieshulm t id est annis 160 114 et Ieshuam toto illo tempore sacerdotium summum gessisse non est admodum verisimile. Et multo minus verisimile est senes tunc in vivis fuisse qui templum primum viderant, ante annos 164|5| igne consumptum. Haggai 2.3. Vel quod Ezra cujus pater Serajah filius Azariæ occisus fuit anno excidij Templi \(2 King. 25.18)/ in vivis esset anno 20 vel 28 Artaxerxis Memonis (Nehem 12.36) senex annoru annos plusquam ducentos natus.
<cover sheet for bundle>§ III 4
XVIII
Considerations about the Iulian Calendar
No. 3
[Editorial Note 1] The remaining text on this page is written upside down.
