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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at|http: //books .google .com/I ■ ^H ■b^ ^^H 1 |~ L \ i 1 ] LEL«rD5TANfORDj? ^j p. UNIVERSITV retit-'fu B. IH9MA5 WCLTefl STANFORD 1 1 1 1 ^^^ B^ r" IH^K^SI 1 1 1 ' Lel*d5tanfordJ? _JL UNIVERSITV PsesEMtD 6r TH?«ft5 WELTOrt STANFORD L i I I -* it 1i ■■I *. * %c. Ill a: UNIVERSITV DPtiE»rEu B' THO«A5 WELTON STANFORQ A PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS, — — OR QUADRIPARTITE: BF.IXa FOUR BOOKS \. . - •■ ' OF THB Q-d/ INFLUENCE OF THE STARs/'^ ' NEWLY TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK PARAPHRASE OF IMIOCLUS. WITH A PRKFACE, EXPLANATORY NOTES, AKD t»XTAIKISO EXTRACTS FROM THE ALMAGEST OF PTOLEMY, And the wholo^of his C E N T I L O Q U Y. By J. M. ASHMAN D. " Ye stars, which are the poetry of Heaven I ** H, in your bright leaves, we would read the fate *' Of men and empires, — 'tis to be forgiven." __^ ^ LORD BVRON. •. ' /' ii'i nJ: e t\ .-» A i> r. c^B I. i an r (> B'i n .t v /.v ii-a d i* i l^h i^ e x- «... ' '.. ~^ ' -^--, •«.,.* *••* ' "' "0cn!rr3:iTi --i^ciciitific iippjtd/- .'.'- -*. V No. 17, St. Martin's-le-Grand, Newgate Street. 1822. J\'o*r Ki printed a$ a Stu.^iUnvnt to ^ ' iftM ^fiU$%%d, fi^^' '•» ••COMINQ EVENTS,"^' UyTTuJfv^M^^^^, "Tj ifiii£ Hy Hay Nis»:kt & Co., 1«» St. Eik*c)i Square, lil!l•»t;«':^■. 1893. 4^* •-•^n. <^ Hu^sm/fH^ ^'jur t 19l9y3 i THIS ITEM HAS BEEN MICROFIUIED BY STA2JF0RD UlIIVERSITY LIBRARIES REFORKATTIKG SECTION 1991. CONSULT SUL CATALOG FOR LOCATION TO THE AUTHOR OF "WAVERLEY," THIS TRANSLATION OF A WORK CONTAINING THE BEST ACCREDITED PRINCIPLES or ^Btrologg IM DEDICATEL); With the most profound admiration of his unrivalled Talents^ WHICH COULD ALONE HAVE KESTORED INTEREST TO THE SPECULATIONS OF AN AyTIQVATED SCJESCE. ^ibcrttBtment. I m I THE U8C recently made of Astrology in the poetical machinery of certain works of genius (which are of the highest popularity, and above all praise), seems to have excited in the world at large a desire to learn^something of the mysteries of that science which has, in all former ages, if not in these days, more or less engaged reverence and usnrped belief. The apparent existence of such a general desire has caused the completion of the following Translation, and its presentation to the public; although it was originally undertaken only in part, and merely to satisfy two or three individuals of the grounds on which the now neglected doctrines of Astrology had so long and so fully maintained credit F^RfiFA-Cfi. OF all sciences, whether true or false, which have at any time engaged the attention of the world, there is not one of which the real or assumed principles are less generally known, in the present age, than those of As- trology, The whole doctrine of this science is com- monly understood to have been completely overturned ; and, of late, people seem to have satisfied themselves with merely knowing the import of its name. Such con- tented ignorance, in persons, too, sufficiently informed in other respects, is the more extraordinary, since Astro- logy has sustained a most conspicuous part throughout the history of the world, even until days comparatively rec^t. In the East, where it first arose, at a period of very remote antiquity*, and whence it came to subjugate the intellect of Europe, it still even now holds sway. In * Sir Isaac Newton has the following remarks in regard to the origin of Astrology : — " After the study of Astronomy was set on " foot for the nse of navigation, and the ^Egyptians, by the heliacal " risings and settings of the stars, had determined the length of the "solar year of 365 days, and by other observations had fixed the " solstices, and formed the fixed stars into asterisms, all which was " done in the reigns of Ammon, Sesac, Oros, and Memnon," (about 1000 years before Christ,) "it may be presumed that they continued " to observe the motions of the planets, for they called them after the " names of their gods ; and Nechepsos, or Nicepsos, King of Sais,'* [772 B.C.] "by the assistance of Petosiris, a priest of Mgypt, in- a Europe, and in every part of the world wliere learning had "impress'd tlie human soul," Astrology reigned su- preme until the middlo of the 17th century. It entered •' TODted aatrology, gronniliog it upon the aspects of the planets, and "the qnalitieH of the men and women to whom they were dedl- " cnteil* ; and in the begianing of the reigo of Nabonas.'uir, Kinj; of " Biibylon, about which tirue the .^^thiopians, tinder Sabacmn, invailed " -V-KSf*-" [^f 1 ^-^^ " tliose -Egyptians who fled from him to Ba- " bylon, carried thither the ^Egyptian year of 365 days, nnd the study " of astronomy and astrolo^cy, and founded the irra of Nabonassar, " dating it from the first year of that king's raign " [747 B.C.], "and " beginning the year on the same day with the .K^-yptians for the " sake of their calculations. So Diodoms ; ' Chey lay lliat the Chat' " ' damnt in Babylon, being coloniaof the .-Kgyptiana. bteame famoiu " ' for ailrologi/, having learned it from tkt priala of .-Kgypl.' " — Xew- ton's Chronology, pp. 251, S52. Again, in p. 327 : "Tbe practice of observing the stars began in " -Egypt in the days of Aramon, as above, and was propagated from " thence, in tbe reign of bia aoo Sesac, into Afric, Europe, and Asia, " by conquest ; and then Atlas formed the sphere of tlie Libyans " («5a RC], "and Cbiron that of the Greelta [g.t'J B.C.]; and the " Chaldicans also made a epiiere of tbeir own. But astrology was " invented in .-Egypt by Nichepsos, or Necepsos, one of the Kings of " the Lower .I'^gypt, and Petoairis his priest, a little before the day* " of Sabacon, and propagated thence into Chaldira, where Zoroaster, " tbe legislator of the Magi, met with it : so Paiilinus ; ' ' Quiqut magoi doeuU myiter a Neeepiot.' " The arcana of Aatrology constituted a main feature in tlie doctrines of the Pernan Magi ; and it further appears, by Newton's Chronology, p. 347, that Zoroast«r (altbouiiih the n"ra of his life has been erro- * It is luaintaiDeal by astrologers, timt the planeta, haping been oi tervtd to produce certain eflects, were conaequently dedicated to th several parsonages whose names they respectively bear. into the councib of princes, it guided the policy of na- tions, and ruled the daily actions of individuals. All this is attested by the records of every nation which has neously asnigneil to vEuious remoter periods) lived in the reign of Dariiis Hystaspis, about 520 B C, and assiHled HyHtAHpes, the fnther of Darius, in reforming the Magi, of whom the said Kyittiupes wu Muter. Newton adda, p. 352, that " about the utme time with Hya- "taapeeand Zoroaster, lived aiao Ostanen, another eminent Magns: "Pliny places him nnder Dariua Hjstaapis, and Suidas makes him "the foUower of Zoroaster : he rame into Greece with Xerxes about "48» B.C., and Heenw to be the Otanes of Herodotos. In hi.i book, " called the Octateuchus, he taught the same doctrine of the Deity " as Zoroaster." Having ijnoted thus far from Newton, it neenw proper to subjoin the following extract from the " Ancient Uniiersal History : "— " In "the reign of Gnshtaap " [the oriental name of Darius HystRi^pLi], " King of Persia, floorished a celebrated astrologer, whose name was " Gjamasp, snmanied A1 Hakira, or the wise. The most credible "writers say that he was the brother of King Gushtaap, and liia con< " lidant and chief minister. He is Raid to have predicted the coining " of the Messiah ; and aorao treatises nnder hb name are yet rnrrent " in the East. Dr. Thomas Hyde, in speaking of this pliilosapher, " cites a passage from a very ancient author, having before told ua " that this author asserted tliere had been among the Persians ten "doctors of such conanmmate wisdom as the whole world coald not " boast the like. He then gives the author's words : ■ Of these, the '' 'sixth wosGjaiuasp, an astiologer, who was connsellor to Hyslas- " ' pia. He ia the author of a book intitled JudUia Gjatna*/iU, in "' which is contained Ms judgement on the planetary conjunctions. " ' And therein he gave notice that Jesus should appear ; that Mo. "'bammed ahonld be borni that the Magian religion should be "'abolished, &c, j nor did any astrologer ever come up to him.' ■■[B lib. Mticj. ajnid Eyde]. Of tliis hook there is an Arabic ver. "sion, the title of which runs thus; The Book of the Pliltosopher "UJAmaap, containing Judgements on tlie Grand Conjunctions of the " Planets, and on the Events produced by them. This version was " made by Lali % the title be gave it in Arabic was Al Keronat, and A history, and by none more fully than by those of Eng- land. Yet, with these striking facta K-fore their eyes, the present generation seem never, until now, to have "he pnbliahedit A.D, 128i). In the prcfuceof bb retsion it ia said " that, after ttie times of Zoroaxter, or ZerduElit, reigned IJuahtMp, " the Bon of Loliraap*, tt very poncrful prince ; and that in liia reign " Honrisfaed in the tily of Balcli, on the borders of Choraasiin, a most "cKcellent pliilosophcr, whose name was Ujamasp, anthor of this "book; Tfherein in contained an account of all the great conjunctiona "of the planets which had happened 1>efore his time, and wliich were "to happen in sncceeiliae ages; and wherein the nppearancefl of " new rel'gions aqiI the rixe of new monarchies were exactly set "down. This anthor, throughout his whole piece, styles Zerdnsht, cr "Zoroaster, our Prophet. [D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Gjumasb.] " The notion of predicting the rise and progress of religions from the "grand conjunctions of the planets, has been likewise propagated in "onr western parts; Cardan was a bold assertor of tliis doctrine. "The morlern Pcraiana are still great votaries of astrolo^, and al- " though they distinguish between it and astronomy, they have but "one word to express aslronoiner and astrologer; viz. manrgjim, " which is exactly equivalent to Ihe Greek word y Leo AllatiuR, a Greek by birth, eniiaently skilled " ill the iearuiiig of hie own Datiua, as well a« in Latin literature, "aod already celehratvd for other writiegn in both InnKoageB. Hr "liree, I kave nnilentood, in Rome, in the family of Canlinal RisciH, "anil holila soms office in the Vatican Library. He andertouk thir< " present work, however, (or his own private gralifi cation, and thai "of certain friend*; bi)t when writings compiled with this view *'hav« fiTife quiltod their atthur'B liands, it will often happen that " they bavB also, at lbs same time, esoaped his controut. Ho Ibis "offspiinj' of Allalins, hsviag enii^rged from Kotu be idle. The whole doctrine of the st&ts if not. however, here " treiit«d of, but only that iliHtiiiet pnrt of it whirh the Greeks call "jadioial (tad prognosUc, and which, while confined within certain " iiniita, is u entertnining as it \a useful, and is pnrtly considered to " be agreeable to nature. But should it pretend to subject to the skies " Hucb tliingfl as do not depend tiiereupon, and siiould it invite ns to " foreiec by the starn nucb things oh are above the weakness of our "apprehension, it will assnredly deserve to be reprehendeil as a vain "and empty art, which hai been demonstrated in many learned " books by the great Picus of Mirandols. The ChaldaianH, (^netli- "liacs, and PlaheUirianB,lia*e been always held in diBrepat«, because " they professed to know not only more than they actually did know, " hat also more than is allowed to man to know, Ev«ii Ptolemy, " while he employe hiniKelf \a Ms present wnrk upon the Doctrine of " NatiTities, is scarcely free from the charge of anperstition and va- " nity : perhaps, in a Pagan, this may ha forgiven ; but it is hardly *' [0 be tolerated, that persons professing Christianity should be led " away by such an empty study, in which Ihere is no solid utility, *■ and the whole plenaure of which is puerile. Finally, I warn jrou "that some person* doobt whether this was really produced by " Ptolemy* : neveriheless, it has certainly appeared to Porphyry and " Proclns (who were donbtleas great philosophers, although hostile " to the Christian faith) to be worthy of receiving elucidation by '■ their Commentaries upon it+, Pemse it, however, friendly reader, " with caution, having Rrst shaken ofl the weakness of credulity, for " the sinew of wisdom in not to believe rashly. Farewell." In addition to the remarks made in the foregoing address regard- • The reader i* again referred to the extract from Fabricua (insert- ed in a subupuHcnt panel, containing that learned person's account of this liook among the othet works of Ptolemy. + Their Commentaries were printed at Ilasle, in I5G9. by Junctinus, printed, with hi:^ own enormous < taries, at Lyons, in 1581. Independently of these re- ferences, the present iranslatJoii haa been collated with the Latin of Leo Allatius, and with two other L»ttn ttanslationa : mie printed at BosIb, together with a tran- slation of the Aiiim^e.st in 1541 ; the other by itself at Perugia in IGtC. The Trunslator has devoted all this extreme care and attention to hU labours, in the wiah to render Ploleinj's aatro-judicial doctrine into English as purely and perfectly as possible ; and, with the same view, he has likewise added, in an Appendix, certain extracts from such parts of the Almagest as were found to be refetrefl to in the present work. Further tltustra- tioQ ia also given by notes gathered from the " Piimum " Uobile " of Pladduaf , and from a variety of other ing Lea Allatikis, it may be obxerveil that be was appointed Keeper of ilia Vatican Library hy Pope Alcx&uder VII, wiUi whum he was in high favour. It is (aid of him, Ihnt hs had a pen with whidi he had written Greek for forty years, and that he shed tears on losing it. Another story of him 8tat«s, that the Fop« hod often arKcU him Ui lake holy oiden, Iliat ha niiKht be advanced in the chart'h, «ud one day hiVed bim why he tiad not done bo : " Bccaase," taid Allatinn, "I wootd be free to marry."—" Wliy, then, do yon not marry!"— " Becauw I would lie free to take orders."— CAa/mirra'« Biogrephieal Dietionarj/, *Thii tranalatjon from the Perugia piesa has been serviceable in preseottng t-crtaio viuioue readings ; but it doen not tseem ta possess any other peculiar merit. It professea to be a translation from the original l«xtof Ptolemy ; and so likowiae does the translation printed at Basle, ha above igiiuted. + It appears by the printed works of this author, that he was named DidavDs Plaeidu? de Titis. He was n native of Bologna, by pro- fearioD a iiiuak, and was styled Mathematician to tlic Arohduke I.eo- sources, whence any elucidation of the text might lie derived Even Whalley'a "Annotations" (to use his own grandiloquent desij^nation) have occasionally yield- ed information, not altogether unimportant, although geoeratly incomplete. It seenis improper to close this Preface (notwitlistand- ing the bulk it has already attained), without annexing the following short notice of the life and works of the great man from whom the Tetrabiblos has emanated. Claiidiufi Ptolemy was born at Pelusiuin, in ^gypt, and Lucamo an illustrious disciple of the school of Alexandria, in which city he flourished during the reign of Adrian and that of Antoninus Pius. Tht-date of hi.i birth has been commonly assigned to the 70th year of the Christian icra ; but the accuracy of this date seems questionable ; for lie has himself noted in one part of his works, that Antoninus reigned. twenty-three yeara. He must have, therefore, survived that prineo ; and, as it b not probable that he continued his scientific labours until after ninety years of age, which he must have done had he been Iwrn about the year 70, because Antoninus died in the year 161, it seems thai, his birth would oe more properly ascribed to some later period, Moreover, it is asserted by the Arabians, that he died in the 78th year of his age; and a simitar statement is aUo made by Luca Gauricus, in the dedication of his version of the Almagest* to Dominico Palavicini : Gauricus has pold William of Austria. He wrote in lliu earlier part of the ITtb century, sqiI liis work, now cited, is cousidoreil to cnntain the meet aucceattful upplicatioo of Ptoleni; '■ BHtroiugical rulr» to practice. Tbe original is extremel; ioarce ; bat a new English edition, by Cooper, ml,y be had of the VnblifhpTB of this work. * Printed at B>uil«, 1G41. PREFACE. ^ XXI however, placed his death in the year 147, which does not accord with the fact of his having survived Anto- ninus. Ptolemy has recorded that he observed, at Alexan- dria, an eclipse of the Moon, in the 9th year of Adrian ; and that he made many observations upon the fixed stars in the 2d year of Antoninus Pius : whence it may be concluded, that his observations upon the heavens were principally made during the period from A.D. 125 to A.D. 140, or thereabouts; and it also follows, of course, that the supposition, entertained by some au- thors, of his identity with the Ptolemy who was always in attendance upon Galba, as his personal astrologer, and who promised Otho that he should survive Nero and obtain the empire, is entirely without foundation*. To Gauricus's version of the Almagest there is also another dedication, addressed to Pope Sixtus, and com- posed by George Trapezuntius, describing Ptolemy as ''regid atirpe oHundumJ' and explaining that he had, " with a truly regal mind," applied himself to the sciences, because the ancient sceptre of the Ptolemies had previously passed into the hands of Cleopatra, and because the kingdom of iEgypt had been since reduced to the state of a Roman province. The authentic de- tails of the circumstances of Ptolemy's life are, however, extremely few. It is said that he was distinguished among the Greeks by the epithets " most wise," and "most divine," on account of his great learning; and, according to the Preface to Whal ley's translation of the Tetrabiblos, the Arabians report that "he was extreme- * Chalmers's Biographical Dictionary. c " ly abstemious, and rode much on horseback;" adding, that alth(mp[h he was "spruce in apparel," yet his breath was not remarkable for an agreeable odour. The errors of the Ptolemaic theory of the universe have now been long discarded; but there are many poinls in which modern sciences, and modem astrono- my in particular, have reaped incalculable benefits from the labours and researches of its great founder. He has preserved and transmitted to us the observations and principal discoveries of remoter periods, and has enriched and augmented them with hia own. He cor- rected Hipparchus's catalogue of the fixed stars, and formed tables for the calculation and regulation of th» motions of the Sun, Moon, and planets. He was, in fact, the fir.-^t who collected the scattered and detached obaervation.s of Aristotle, Hipparchus, Posidonius, and others on the CEconomy o( the world, and digested them into a system, which he set forth in hia MtyaAij Sutrofi!, or Great Construction, divided into thirteen books, and called, after him, the Ptolemaic System. This and all his other astronomical works are founded upon the hy- pothesis, that the earth is at rest in the centre of the universe, and that the heavenly bodies, stars, and pla- nets, all move round it in solid orbs, whose motions are all directed by one primwm mobile, or tirst mover, of which he discourses at large in the " Great Construc- "tiou." In that work he also treats of the figure and divisions of the earth, of the tiyht and oblique ascensions of the heavenly bodies, and of the motions of the Sun, Moon, and planets; and he gives tables for finding their situations, latitudes, longitudes, and motions: he treats also of ficlipses, ami the methods of computing them; and he discourses of the fixed stars, of which he for- niahes a numerou» c&iaiogae, with their magnitudes, la- titudes, ami longitudes*. It has been truly said, that "Ptolemy's order, false *■ as it was, enabled observers to give a plausible ac- ' count of the motions of the Sun and Moon, to foretell " eelipsea and to improve geography + ;" or, in other words, that it represented the actual phenomena of the heavens as they really appear to a spectator on the earth. It ia, therefore, clear that Ptolemy's astrology ia just as applicable to modern and improved astronomy as it was to his own \ . * In France, Kbout tha beginning of Uio I6th century, Oronce Pia6, the Koyitl Reiwler, atteniptcd, under cbe patronage of Francis I., to prudaue an iislroDoniical cWk, in wliich everything moved tiecon]- iag to-the prineiplos of Ptolemy. It waa kept, aboat fifty yeare ago, in the nionaatery of St. Genevieve, at Paris. In Lilly's Catalogae of A»trological Anthors, Orontins Finti'u« is mentioaed at tbe writer o/ a work on the twelve houses of heaven, printed in Paris, 1553. i Sptctaelt de la Xaluri, % The objection which has been urged against astrology, that the ugnt Me continually moving from their positions, cannot invalidate this eonclasioQ. That ohjeclion hnx, in fact, no real existence: for Ptolemy seems ta have been awara of this motion of the signs, and hu folly provided for it in the 2T<\\i Chapter of tlic Ist Book of the TetrabibloB. From that chapter it is clear that the respective in- lleaces he aacribes to the twelve signs (or divisions of the zodiac) wers connidered by liim as apparteuant to the placa they occnpled, and not to the start of which they ware composed. He baa expressly and repeatedly declared that the point of the vernal elgDGd. but that \ip wan a " phyHician. and educated in theae aciencei'." PREFACE. XXVllf nople, in the year 410. He studied at Alexandria and at Athens, and became very eminent among the later Platonists. He succeeded Syrianus, a celebrated phi- losopher, in the rectorship of the Platonic school at Athens, and died there in 485*. He was a most volu- minous author, in poetry as well as in prose. Among his works there are Hymns to the Sun, to Venus, and to the Muses ; Commentaries upon several pieces of Plato, and upon Ptolemy's Tetrabiblosf ; an Epitome or Compendium of all the Astronomical Precepts de- monstrated in the Almagest ; and Elements of Theology and Natural Philosophy. — He was in dispute witlAhe Christians on the question of the eternity of the world, which he undertook to prove in eighteen elaborate ar- guments.— A late writer in a certain periodical work has erroneously identified him with another Proclus, who was in favour with the Emperor Anastasius, and who destroyed the ships of Vitalianus, when besieging Constantinople in 614, by burning them with great bra- zen mirrors, or specula. * Chalmers's Biographical Dictionary. t Tt will, of course, be understood that this Commentary is distinct from his Paraphrase, now translated. V Signs of the Zodiac, Aries :^ Libra a Taurus n^ Scorpio n Qemini f Sagittarius OS Cancer '/^ Capricorn ^ Leo ssc Aquarius TTf Virgo K Pisces. ^able of Contents. BOOK I. CHAP. I. Proem ........ •II. Knowlodffe may b« acquired by Astronomy to a certain Extent III. That Pnsflcienct' u» useful .... ;IV. Tlie Influences of the Planetary. OrK- V. bcTietiefl and Malefic« VI. Ma»culinc and Feminine - VII. Dium;d and Nfictumal .... VIII. The IntUieucc of Position with regard to tho Sun IX. The Influence of tlic fixed Stars X. Cont'tellatiou.s North of the Zrxliac XI. ConstellationH South of the Zodi>io XII. The Annual Sc*i«on« .... .XIII. The Influence of the Four Angles X\y. lYopicd, Equinoctial, Fixed, and Bicorporeal Signs X\". Masculine and Feminine Higua • XVI. Mutual Confii^mitlone of the Sigi.- XVII. Signs commimding and obeying • XVni. Signs beholding each other, and of oqual Power XIX. Signs inconjunct . - . - - >*-XX. Houses of the Planets ... - XXI. The Triplicities ... XX H. Exaltations . ■ XXII I. The Disposition of the TennH XXIV. The Terms (according to Ptolemy) XXV. The Places and Degrees of every Planet XXVI. Faces, Chariot-*, and other similar Attributes of the Planet- XXVIl. Api»lication, .Seiwmtlon, and other Faculties* PAOB 1 2 11 VJ 21 ibid. 2-2 23 24 2f> ao 81 82 84 35 »('. 89 ibid. 40 41 48 4.S 47 51 5S 54 55 BOOK II. I. General Division of the Svibjcct - . - - - 11. Peculiarities observable throughout every entire Climate III. The Familiarity of the Regions of the Earth with the Tdplicities and the Planets ...... IV. The Familiarity of the Regions of the Earth with the fixed Stiirs V. Mftde of particTilar Prediction in Ecliiwes \l. The Regions or Countries to be considered a.s liable t<» be compre hended in the Event .----. VII. The Time and Periwl of the Event .... \'III. The Genus, Class, «>r Kind, liable to Ijc affected IX. The Qtudity and Nature of the Effect . . - X. Colours in Eclipnes, Comets, and similar Phenomena - XI. The New Moon of the Year ..... .>s 02 76 ibid. 77 78 .S4 yi 02 fONTENTH. XU. Ttxj tKirtimiLir Nutiires d[ tha Sl^us lij* which Ilie dIOgrDiit Oaqatl- tutlnnii of the AtnuHphen urn iiTfluanl . - ■ ■ ""* O'i XIII. Mc>iii)o(CDntWomliunfor|)8Micul»rOmu>Ht»aimRaIthBAtin»pl»m l» ' XIV. Tile Sli^ifliatinu of HotioTK dSt- /Of nooK III. I. p™,., *H't^ V. Tbfl ConcunMun, w.ii tlw IVrtiirition, or Birth i b^ wlilch Ullw III. The DoMTw MceniUng .....-- Jtf jit, IV. IHsUilnitlau uf ttui Dnttrlns of NHMvfltei 111 V. The Pnninti ....--.- In VI. BruUmnimil SlBtaiK ... - - Ihl VIT. UhId or FanuiJa - - - . ■ 1^1 VIII, TwillJl .... , - . - IKS tHonfltnmi or dsfiwUvs BIrthx I^VH Chlliireii not rMm) - • n» XI. Thclhiistlonof Life HH \II. The Pnffogatory I'lwiDa ....... .UK^-t\^ Kill. ThB ICumlior of Pporogitom, tii-i uWp IV Part i>' I'l-ri"". - - lai SIV KumbR of Uia UdiIob at PcunigaMoa . . - - - IS4 XV. Exmujilltlmtinu 41 SVI. Thn Ponn and Tompomnoiit of Ihe Body "■ XVII. Tbe Uiirta. Inlnh», tinil Ulseuunftlie Body l''I XVIIl. Thn Qiulltyatthe Hind ...-..- MM SIX. Tlu. DlmMorihe Mliid .... . iilB in. Ths FortuDBof lliink ....... lT4 IV. TliB ginlltr<>r ICni|>li>)'inetit ttt V. Murrlnfn - - - IM VI. rhlltojii IB» . Vlt. Frtentevid Bnaml» 1« VIII, TiBrBning ...,»( IX. Tbr Kind of pMtli tffT APPKSllJX, .\o. I. AluuwHt. Binlc vllt, Clinp. 4 SM 1.1 [ II. Rxtnct from Uu Almagnt, Book II. Chip, 1' ■ - HI li,] TmblB ol Latltudn (rum Ihs Jklmnectt Ui kl (. Eilmct fromthBTiblecil AwnnalouH, In the Alnugvtl '^'11 HI. PtoIetiij''B CantUuqur >>M It PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS cvffe,' I^FIUK.VCE OF TIIE .ST.Jfl.V. BOOK THE FIRST. tJlhaptEir I. Proem. J. HE studies prelimiaary to astronomical prognostication, O Syrus! w^two: tlieoiie.first alike in order and in power, leads to the knowledge of the figurations of the Sun, the Moon, and the stars ; andof their relative aspects to each other, and to the Earth : the other takes into consideration the changes which their aspects create, by means of their natural properties, in ohjectN under their influence. The first mentioned study has been already explained in the Syotaatis* to the utmost practicable extent; for it is complete in itself, and of essential utility even without being blended with the second ; to which this treatise will be devoted, and which is not equally self -complete. The present work shall, however, be regulated by that due regard for truth which pliilosophy demands : and since the material quality of the objects acted upon renders them weak and variable, and difficult to be accurately apprehended, no positive or infallible rulea (as were given in detailing the first doctrine, which is 2 lTOI.EM'v.'s.TETUAIilBl.n,S. [Bouk I. always governed -.Uy .tlie same immutable laws) celd be here set forth : hfjnle, on the other hand, a due observa- tion of most.-ef ^liose the eaat. " At the same time, it rolls all the inferior spheres round with it, by "ita own force; and there it* no star in it. Against Ihisjjrimunimo. " bih, the motion of tbe other spheres, running Erom the wast " through the meridian to the eaet, contends. Whatever is beyond " this, is fined and immoveable, anci the professor.'! of our orthodox " faith afiimi It to be the empyrean heaven which Goo inhabits with " ibe elect" — Cosmographia of Pcl«r Apianus (named Benewilit), dedicated lo the Archbishop of Salliburg, edited by Gemma Priaiiu, and printed at Antwerp, 1574. 4 PTOI-EMy's TETRABIBt.OS. [Book J. changes in light, heat, moi»tiire, dryness and cold; dependent upon his situation with regard to the zenith. The Moon, being of all the heavenly bodies the neatest to the Earth, also dispenses much influence; and things animate and inanimate sympathi^te and vary with her. By the changes of her illumination, rivers swell and are reduced ; the tides of the sea are ruled by her riainss and settings; and plants and animals are expanded or collapsed, if not entirely at least partially, as she waxes or wanes. The stars likewise (as well the 6xed stars as the planets), in performing their revolutions*, produce many impres- sions on the Ambient. They cause heats, winds, and storms, to the influence of which earthly things are con- formably subjected. And further, the mutual configurations of all these heavenly bodies, by commingling the influence with which each is separately invested, produce a multiplicity of changes. The power of the Sun, however, predomin- ates, because it ia more generally distributed ; the others either co-operate with his power or diminish its effect: the Moon more frequently and more plainly performs this at her conjunction, at her first and last quarter, and at her opposition : the stars act also to a similar purpose, but at longer intervals and more obscurely than the Moon ; and their operation principally depends upon the mode of their visibility, their occultation and their declination. From these premises it fuliows not only that all bodies, which may he already compounded, are subjected to the motion of the stars, but also that the impregnation and growth of the seeds from which all bodies proceed, iiro * It will be recollected tbnt the I'tulemaic HBtronoiiiy altribu[«8 notioD and a regalsr ooune tu those dt-ara which wo now call fixed, but irliicli (lie Greeks nienly termed utIki/i, undeBi^tinff. Chap. II.] PTOl.E-MV's TETRABIULOS. 5 framed and moulded by the quality existing in the Am- bient at the time of such impregnation and growth. And it 13 upon this principle that the more observant huabandmcii and shepherds are accustomed, by drawing their inferences from the particular breezes which may happen at seed-time and at the impregnation of their cattle, to form predictions as to the quality of the ex- pected produce. In short, however unlearned in the philosophy of nature, these men can foretel, solely by their previous observation, alt the more general and usual effects which result from the plainer and more visible configurations of the Sun. Moon, and stars. It is daily aeen that even most illiterate persons, with no other aid than their own experienced observation, are capable of predicting events which may be consequent on the more extended intiuence of the Sun, and the more simple order of the Ambient, and which may not be open to variation by any complex configurations of the Moon and stars towards the Sun. There are, moreover, among the bruto creation, animals who evidently form prognostication, and use this wonilorrul instinct at the changes oF the several eea.'tons of the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter ; and, also, at the changes of the wind. In producing the changes of the seasons, the Sun itself is chiefly the operating and visible canise. There are, however, other events which, although they are not in- dicated in .so simple a manner, hut dependent on a slight fiomplication of causes in the Ambient, art; also fore- known by persons who have applied their observation to that end. Of this kind, are tempests and gales of wind, produced by certain aspects of the Moon, or the fixed stars, towards the Sun, according to their several courses, and the approach of which is usually foreseen by mari- nere. At the same time, prognostication made by per- sons of this class must be frequently fallacious, owing to tf ITOLEMY'S TETRABlBLua. [Book I. their deficiency in science and their consequent inability to give necessary consideration to the time and place, or to the revolutions of the planets; all which circum- MtanceB, when exactly delinetl atiJ understood, certainly ti-ntl towards accurate foreknowledge. When, therefore;, a thorough knowledge of the motions of the -stard, and of the Sun and Moon, shall have lieen acquired, and when the situation of the place, the time, and all the contigurfttions actually existing at that place and time, shall also he duly known ; and .such knowledge be yet further improved by an ac(]UEiintance with the natures of the heavenly, bodies^not of what Ihey are composed, but of the elective inHuences they possess ; as, for instance, that heat is the property of the Sun, and moisture of the Moon, and that other peculiar properties respectively appertain to the rest of them; — when all these qualiticatiotis for prescience may be possessed by any individual, there seems no obstacle to deprive hiro of the insight, oHered at once by nature and his own judgment, into the effects arising out of the quality of all the various influences compounded together. So that he will thus be competent to predict the peculiar consti- tution of the atmosphere in every sea.son, as, fnr instance, with regard to its greater heat or moi.sture, or other similar qualities : all of which may be foreseen by the visible position or configuration of the stars and the Moon towards the Sun. Since it is thus clearly practicable, hj' an accurate knowledge of the points above enumerated, to make pre- dictions concerning the proper quality of the seasons, there also seems no impediment to the formation of similar prognostication concerning the destiny ami dis- poailion of every human being, For by the constitution of the Ambient, even at the time of any individual's rimary conformation, the general quality of that indi- Chap. II.] PTOLEMY'S T^BABIBLOS. 7 vidual's teniperament may be perceived ; and the cor- poreal shape and mental capacity with which the person will be endowed at birth may be pronounced ; as well as the favourable and unfavourable events indicated by the state of the Ambient, and liable to attend the individual at certain future periods ; since, for instance, an event dependent on one disposition of the Ambient will be ad- vantageous to a particular temperament, and that result- ing from another unfavourable and injurious. From these circumstances, and others of similar import, the possibility of prescience is certainly evident. There are, howpver, some plausible assailants of this doctrine, whose attacks though greatly misapplied seem yet worthy of. the following observations. In the first place, the science demands the greatest study and a constant attention to a multitude of different points ; and as all persons who are but imperfectly prac- tised in it must necessarily commit frequent mistakes, it lias been supposed that even such mistakes as have been truly predicted have taken place by chance only, and not from any operative cause in nature. But it should be remembered that these mistakes arise, not from any defi- ciency or want of power in the science itself, but from the incompetency of unqualified persons who pretend to exercise it. And besides this, the majority of the per- sons who set themselves up as professors of this science, avail themselves of its name and credit for the sake of passing off some other mode of divination ; by that means defrauding the ignorant, and pretending to foretellmany things which from their nature cannot be possibly fore- known ; and consequently affording opportunities to more intelligent people to impugn the value even of such pre- dictions as can rationally be made. The reproach, how- ever,*thus brought upon the science is wholly unmerited ; for it would be equally just to condemn all other branches d I'Tnr.EMV'S TETRABIRLOS, [liook I. of philosophy, because each numbers among its professors some mischievous pre tenders. Secondly, it is not attempted to be denied that any individual, although he may have attained to the greatest possible accuracy in the science, must still be liable to fre- quent error, arising out of the very nature of his under- taking, and from the weakness of his limited capacity in comparison with tbo magnitude of his object. For the whole theory of the quality of matter is supported hy inference rather than by positive and scientific proof; and this is caused principally by the concretion of its temperament out of a multitude of dissimilar ingredients. And, although the former configurations of the planets have been observed to produce certain consequences (which have been adapted to configurations now taking place), and are, after long periods, and in a greater or les.9 degree, resembled by subsequent configurations, yet these subsequent configurations never become exactly similar to those which have preceded them. For an entire return of all the heavenly bodies to the exact situ- ntion in which they have once stood with regard to the eartli will never take place, or at least not in any period determinable by human calculation, whatever vain at- tempts may be made to acquire such unattainable know- ledge*. The examples referretl to for guidance being * There spenis reason to siippof^e that tbjn nas a fnvorite specula. tioQ among tliu antientB. la Scipio's Dream, as related hj Cieero, the phantoni of his illastrioos grandfather is nade to speak uf thin «ntire return of all the celestial boiiiea lo some original position which they ha. 10 ITuLEMY's TLTKAMIULOS. [Boi'k 1. (litference in sitaation, of the places in which they are generated, produces a dissiiiiilai-ity in the body and spirit of one from the body and spirit of another: and in addition to this ifc must be considpred that different modes of nur- ture, and the variety of ranks, manners, and customs, con- tribute to render thecourse of lif e of one individual greatly ditfurontfrom that of another*; consequently, unless every one of these varieties bo liuly blended with the causes arising in the Ambient, the pre-jndgment of any event will doubtless be very incomplete. For, although the greatest iiiuttiplicity of power exists in the Ambient, and although all other things act as concurrent causes in unison with it, and can never claim it as a concurrent cause in sub- servience to thorn, there will still, nevertheless, be a great deficiency in predictions attempted to be made by means of the heavenly motions alone, without regard to the other concurrent causes just now adverted to. Under these circumstances, it would seem judicious neither to deny altogether the practicability of prescience, because prognostications thus imperfectiv derived are * In tbia passaKe tlie author seems to Iiotq anticipated, and ex- tiuied the ab8UTdit3- of an argument niiw wiDsidereJ very forcible ngainat astrology : vi/. lliat "if tlie art were true, then any two in- " •tiviiluaU bom under the eame meridinn, in tho itanie latitude, and " at tliesame momenL i>f time, iiiiut have one and the some destiny; "although ono were bom a prince, and the other a mendieant." Such a monstrous eonclofion is nowhere authorized by any a.'itrologi- cal writer ; it i-i, on the contrary, always inaintnined by all of them, that the worldly ililTurcntes and ilistinetions, altudcil to in the te.it, ineritahly prevent this e.vact resemblance of destiny ; and all that tliey presume to (ts."ert if, that, in tlieir respective degrees, any two individuals, xo born, will have a partial similarity in the hading fealnres of their fate. Whether their assertion is ani/crmiy borne ODt, T will not t&ku iipou ina to determine, but it would be unfair not to subjoin the followin;; fact ;— Id the newspapers of the month of Fcbraary, 1820, tho death of a Mr. Saiiiuel tienimingii ia notieed : it was statei) that lie had been an irtmimm^r, and proaperou« in trade; that be \rnn born on the Chap. 11.] PTOLEarr's tetrabiblos. 11 sometimes liable to be fallacious; nor, on the other hand, to admit that all events, whatever, are open to previous enquiry ; &s if such enquiry could in all cases be securely conducted without having recourse to mere inference, and as if it were not limited by the narrow extent of mere human abilities. The art of navigation, for instance, is not rejected, although it is in many points incomplete; therefore the bare fact that predictions are frequently imperfect cannot authorise the rejection of the art of prescience : the magnitude of its scope, and the faint resemblance that it bears to a divine attribute, should rather demand grateful commendation.s, and receive the utmost regard and attention. And, since no weakness is imputed to a physician, because he enquires into the individual habit of his patient, as well as into the nature of the disease, no imputation can justly attach to the professor of prognostication, because he combines the consideration of species, nurture, educa- tion and country, with that of the motion of the heavens: for &s the physican acts but reasonably, in thus consider- ing the proper constitution of the sick person as well as his disease; so, in forming predictiims, it must surely be justifiably allowable to comprehend in that consideration every other thing connected with the subject, in addition to the motion of the heavens, and to collect and compare with that motion all other co-operating circumstances arising elsewhere. 4th of Jane, 1738, at nearly the same moment as his late Majesty, aod in the same parish of St. Martin's in the Fields ; that he went into business for himself in October, 1760 ; that he married on the 8th September, 1761 ; and finally, after other events of hia life had resembled those which liappened to the late King, that he died on Saturday, the 29th January, 1820. These coincidences are, at least, highly remarkable. i TETRAIUBLOS, (llhiiiJtEi- III. That Prescience is useful. It appears, then, that prescience by astronomy is possible under certain adaptation ; and that alone it will afford premonition, as far a.'^ Hyinpboins in the Ambitint enable it to do so, of all such events as happen to men by the inHuencQ uf the Ambient. These events are, from their commencement, always fn conformity with the spiritual and corporeal faculties, and their occaj^ional affections ; as well as with the shorter or longer duration of those affec- tions. Tliey are also conformable with other things which, although not actually seated in man's immediate person, are still absolutely and naturally connected with him : — in connection with his body they are applicable to his estate, and his conjugal cohabitations ; in connection with his spirit, they relate to his oftspring* and his rank ; and they are also connected with all fortuitous circumstances which may occasionally befall him. That the foreknowledge of these can be attained has already been demonstrated ; and it remains to speak of the utility of the attainment. First, however, let it be said in what respect and with what view it is proposed to draw advantage from this science ; — if it be considered in its tendency to promote the good of the mind, no object more advantageous can surely be wanting to induce the the world to rejoice and delight in it, since it offers an acquaintance with things divine and human : if it be COQ- eidei-ed in respect to the benefits it is capable of conferring * Tlie Greek word for tliia, >»u. though found in the Elxevir edition from which this tranaUtion i.^ mwle, does not ftppear in other copies ; the Bule edition of 1553 eay4 merely, r t> rifin ■*• <> *i'ift*. " honour and rank," irhich ia the icnse aIbo given in the L&tin truia- Ution of Penigio, IW!, without any mention of " ofaprinj." Cliap. III.J PTOLEMY'S TETItABIIlDiW. 13 on the body, its utility, in this view also, will be found on oomparison to excel that of all other arts conducive to the comforts of life, for it is of more general application and Hervics than all the othiTii together. And, although it may be objected to the art of prescience, that it doen not co-operate towards the acquirement of riches or glory, let it also be remembered that the same objection attaches to every other art and science ; since there is not one which can of itself produce either richesorglory, nor yet is there one which Is on that plea deemed useless: it seems, therefore, that the science of prognostication, with its high qualifications and its aptitude to the most im- portant objects, does not, in any greater degree, deserve to be condemned. In t;eneral, however, the persons who attack and repro- bate it as being useless, do not pay due regard to the manner in which it becomes necessary; but deny its utility on the specious argument that it i.s supertluous and puerile to attempt to foreknow things which must inevitably come to pass : thus considering it in a mode at once abstracted, unlearned, and unfair. For, in the first place, this fact ought to be kept in view, that event* which necessarily and fully happen, whether exciting fear or creating joy. if arriving unforeseen, will either overwhelm the mind with terror or destroy its composure by sudden delight ; if, however, such events should have ' been foreknown, the mind will have been previously prepared for their reception, and will preserve an equable calmness, by having been accustomed to contemplate ■ the approaching event as though it were present, so I that, on its actual arrival, it will be sustained with tranquillity and constancy. In the next place, it must not be imagined that all thinga happen to mankind, as though every individual circumstance were ordained by divine decree and some 1+ I'Tul.EMVS TETlUlilBLris. [Dook I. indissoluble supernal cauae; nur is it to be tboiight tliat all events are shewn to proceed from oneainfjle inevitablu fate, without being inflneiiceii by tlie interposition of any other agency. Huch an opinion ia entirely inadmissible ; for it is on the contrary most essential to observe, not only the heavenly motion which, perfect in its divine in- stitution and order, is eternally regular and undeviating, but aho the variety which exists in earthly things, sub- jected to and diversiticd by the institutions and courses of nature, and in connection with which the superior cause operates in re^>pect to the accidents produced. It is further to be remarked that man is subject, not only to events applicable to his own private and indi- vidual nature, hut also to others arising from general causes. He siiH'ers, for instance, by pestilences, inunda- tions, or conHagrations, produced by certain extensive changes in llie Ambient, and destroying niultiludes at once; since a greater and more powerful agency must of course always absorb and overcome one that is more uiinuto and weaker. In great changes, therefore, where a stronger cause predominates, more general aifections, like tbo.se just mentioned, are put in operation, but atfec- lions which attach to one individual solely are excited when his own natural constitution, peculiar to himself, may be overcome by some opposing impulse of the Ambient, however small or faint. And in this point of view it is manifest tliat all events whatsoever, whetlier general or particular, of which the ptiuiaiy cause is strong and irresistible, and against which no other contrary agency has sufficient power to interpose, must of neces- sity be wholly fulfilled ; and that events indicated by a minor cause miipt of course be prevented and annihilated, when some olher agency may be found contending for an opposite effect ; if, however, no such opposing agency can be found, they also oiUst be fulfilled, in due succession to C%ap. III.] FTOLEMY'S TETRABIHLOS. 15 the primary cause. Nevertheless, the fultilinent of events thus indicated may not be ascribed solely to the vigour of the cause producing them, nor to any inevitable fate, but rather to the absence of any opposing influence capable of prevention. And thus, with all things whatsoever which trace their cause and origin to nature, the case is exactly similar; for stones*, plants, animals, wounds, passions and diseases, ail will of necessity operate on man to a certain degree ; and they fail to do so if antidotes be found and applied against their influence. In exercising prognostication, therefore, strict care must be taken to foretel future events by that natural process only which is admitted in the doctrine here delivered ; and, setting aside all vain and unfounded opinions, to predict that, when the existing agency is manifold and great, and of a power impossible to be resisted, the cor- responding event which it indicates shall absolutely take place; and also, in other cases, that another event shall not happen when its exciting causes are counteracted by some interposing influence. It is in this manner that experienced physicians, accustomed to the observation of diseases, foresee that some will be inevitably mortal, and that others are susceptible of cure. Thus, when any opinion is given by the astrologer wuth respect to the various accidents liable to happen, it .should be understood that he advances nothinor more than this proposition; viz. that, by the property inherent in the Ambient, any conformation of it, suitable to a particular temperament, being varied more or less, will produce in that temperament some particvdar affectiov. And it is also to be understood that he ventures this opinion with the same degree of confidence, as that with which a * In alliuion to tbe sympathetic powers antiently attributed to certain AtoBCB. IG ptolkmy's tetrabiblos. [BouIc I. pliyaician may declare that a certain wound will iacrease or grow putrid ; or a man acquainted with nietala say timt the magnet* wiil attract iron. For neither the in- crtjaae nor putrefaction of the wound, nor the magnet's nttraction of iron, is ordained by any inevitable law, althouf;h thene con'iequencea must necessarily follow, in due obedience to the lirst principles of the existing order of nature, when no means of prevention can be found and applied. But, however, neither of these consequences will take place, when such antidotes shall be presented as will naturally prevent ihem r— and a similar consideration should be givtn to the predictions of the astrologer: — because, if garlick be rubbed on the magnet, iron will experience no attraction -f; and if proper medicines be * Wlialley, in trBDalaliDg tliis chapter, makes the foUotviag remark on this mention of the magnet: " However much later it was tint " llio loathtone became known in Europe, what U mentioned uf it in '■ lliis chapter luakei it evident that it was known in .Egypt, where " Ptoleiiif lived, in his time."— That worthy translator forgot (if in- deed he ever knew) that the loadstono's property of attracting iron was known to Tlmlea, anil coniwcnted on by I'lalo and Aristotle, nil of whom lived some centarie«, more or 1es», before Ptolemy. It u itii polarity that was not known nntil the lllh or i'2th century; and llie French say that the earliest notice of that polarity in found in n poem of Guyot of Provence, who was at the Enipernr Frederick's Coart at MenU in 1181.— See the French Eneyclopicdia, &c. + Respecting the etTect here asserWd to be produced on the magnet by f^rlick, 1 have found the following nienlion in a book called "The Gardener's Labyrinth," printed at London in I5S6 "Hero " also 1 thonght not to ouerpasse the maruelloua discord of tlio ada- " m ant -atone and garlike, which tlie Greekea name to be an Anti- "patheia or natarall contiarietie betwecne them; for such is the " hatred or contrarietie between these two bodies, (lauking botU " hearing and feeliag) that the adamant rather pnttetli away, than " draweth t* it, iron, if the same afore be rubbed with garlike j as " PlntSTohos hath noted, nnd, after him, Clandinn Ptolemims. " Which matter, examined by diuers learned, and founde the con- " trarie, cansed them to jii'lge, that those skilful men (especially " Ptolemie) mcnt the hoiiic to be done with the Egyptian Gartike : Chuii. III.j rrc 'LEMV'.S TET1UH1BI.0S. itpplied to the wound, it will cease to increase or to putrefy. And therefore all events wliich happen to mankind take placi! also in the regular course of natine, when no iin- pedimentsf thereto are found or known: but a!:;ain, on iho otlier hand, if any impediments or obstructions be fouml in tlio way of events which may be predicted by tlie re*;ular coursti of nature to happen, such events will eilhiT nut take place, at all. or, if they should tnko plac. will l>e much diminished in their force and extent. Thu same order and consequence exist in all cases. whether the ev^-nts have a general or only a particular operation; and it may therefore well be demanded, why prescience is believed to be possible ai far as it regards general events, and why it is allowed to be serviceable in preparing for their approach : while in particular in- stances its power and use arr altogelher denietl. That the weather and the seasons, and the indications of the fixed Htars, as well as the configurations of the Moon, afford means of prognostication, many persons admit; and they exercise this foreknowledge for their own pre- Mervatinn. and comfort, adapting thi-ir constitutions to " w lucli Diotoiiridea nnite to be *tna,U garlitv. anil the same iweete " ill tMte, pi»Ho»»ing a. licwtifuU head, tending unto n purple colour. "Tliere be wliHi nttrihnl^ the tame to OphJoncoridon, which '"AntoaiMMiiTophoniitH Ritarix, a eingnint lon»l secrete to a, " friend wlrom ho loncil " In the Bnine hook, the "Ophia»coriJoii" it* thus ipoken of: "Tb«n U nnotiier Mild tinrlike which the Greekea name Ophioscori- "don; in En^lixii, ItunmieK; growing of tlie owns accord in the "f»ll<*wlid.liM" Comeliii* Agrippit (ut^oording to the Knglish translation) has uttited ithat the presenri' of the diamond also nEUtrali;ief< the attractive powet of tlie niagiiel. fiat aa tliat preat magician was somewbiit IWtliDed to qiiilililiiijf, it ia not imposBilile tiiat l>y ihc word he urv alone; whii'li wouhl reduce his assertion merely to this, that one fliagnct win poLinternpt another. 18 FroLKMY's TKTHAiilHLUS. [Book I, the ex])ecto,J temperature, by cooling and refreshing things for the summer, ami by warm thint;pt for the -winter. They also watch the a igniti cations of the tixed stars,'to aviiid dangerous weather, in making voyitgea liy i^ea; and they notice the aspects of the Moon, when at the full, in order to diroet the copulation of their herds and floclts, and the setting of plants or sowing of seeds : and there is not an individual who considers tliese general precautionn aa impassible or unprofitable. Still, how- ever, these same persons withhold their assent to the possibility of applying preiscience to particular caae.s; such, for instance, as any particular excess or diminution of cold or heat, whether arising out of the peculiar tein- peraiiient producing the original cold or heat, or from ihe eonjbination of other properties ; nor do they admit that tliere are any means of guarding against many of these particular circii instances. And yet. if it be clear that persons, who prepare themselves by cooling things, ure less affected by any general heat of the weather. there seems no rea.son for supposing that a similar preparation would not be equally effectual against any particular conjuncture oppressed by immodirato heat. It appears, however, that this idea, of the impractica- bility of attaining foreknowledge of particular circuiu- stances, must originate solely in the mere difficulty of the acquirement; which difficulty is certainly rendered peculiarly arduous by the necessity of conducting the enquiry with the greatest accuracy and precisir,KMV's TRTllArintLDS are luaaciiliiie ; when vespertinp ami following the Sun. they become feminine*. And they nre further regulated in this respect by their positions with regard to the horizon. From the ascend- nnt to the mid-heaven, or from the angle of the went to the lower heaven, they are considereil to be niai^cnline, lieing then oriental : and in the other two quadrantai feminine, being then occidental. Chapter VII J)mrn"l anrf Xor.tunial. Thk tiny at«l the iiiglit are the visible divisions of timetl The day, in its heat and it» aptitude for action, is mAMCD*^ line; — the ni^ht, in iU moisture and itis appropriation to rest, fendnine. Hence, a^ain, the Moon and Venus arc esteemed to Ije nocturnal ; the Sun and Jupiter, diornal ; and Mercury, common ; nnce in his nialutine position hi'- h diurnal, but nocturnal when vespertine. Of the ntber two planets, Saturn and Mars, which are noxious, one i.s considered to be diurnal, and the other noeturnul. Neither of them, however, is allotted to that division of time with which its nature occorfls, (as heat accords with heat,) but each is disposed of on a contrary prindple: and for this reason, that, although the benefit ia increased when a favourable temperament receives an addition of its own nature, yet, the evil arising from a [>ernicious inBuence is much mitigated when dissimilar (juaiities are mingled with that influence. Hence the coldnes.s of Saturn is allotted to the day, to counter- balance its beat; and the dryness of Mars to the night, * " Astro nuiuera i.tM the ptaneU malatine, wlien, being orienul " from tbe Sun, ttiey are above the earth when he rines ; anci vesper* ' line, when they set after him "— Moicoii'a MftlhenmticalDictioniirj'. 24 •roT.EMY S TETRABIllLOS. [liooi. r. to counterbalance its moisture. Thus each of thtse pkneta. being moderated by this combiaatiuu, is placed in a. condiliou calculated to produce a favourabU teni- perfttnerit*. i£lui;)ta- VIII. The Injlaeiwe vf Position ivith regard tu the Su-n. The respective powers of the Moon and uf the three MUperiur planets arc either augmented or diininisheil by iheir several positions with rt-gard to the Sun. The Moon, during her increase, from her first emerg- ing to her tir.st quarter, produces chiefly inoiiiture : on contimiing her increase from her first quarter to her full fatate of illumination, she causes heat ; from her full state to her third quarter she causes dryness; and from her third quarter to her occultation she causes coid. The planets, when matutine, and from their first emerging until they arrive at thtlr first station, are chietly productive of moisture; from their tir»t station until they rise at night, of heat; from their rising at night until their second station, of dryness; and from their second station until their occultation, thoy produce coldf. * Wbolley hern appends the following uo " ma; be properly added, that a p1aii«t ia aai " in ft diurani nativity, Above the earth ; and, < " under the earlh : but nortarnal, when, in n nuotiirnal na " aboTe the earlh ; or. in a diamal uativity, under the earth." t Although all the positiuna meationed ii applicable lo Veuus and Mercury, which can n< is to say, at Bunsut, and althoutth the author it chapter speaks only of the Moon aucl the three superior pkneta, there yet fteems no reason why the orbira of Venus and Mercury ahoald not lie »iiuilarly divided by ilieir in/orior and auperior ('onjunFtions, and their greatent elongatious. The fotluwinK it from Whalley : " The first statitiu. in thid chapter " luentiaued, i» whenapliuiet liegina toberetrograile: aud the second " To this chapter o be diurnal, whtan, uutturnal nativity. 1 thin pamgriLph arc nol e beginning of the (V.<(yi. IX.] ITOLtMV's TETKAUIHLOS. 25 But it is akosutticiently plain that they must likewise cause, by their iiiti;rmixlure with each other, many varieties of quality in tlie Ambient: because, although their individual and peculiar iiiHuence may for the most part prevail, it will still be more or less varied by the power of the other heavenly bodies configurated with them. (tllillJtcr IX. The Injiunwe of the FUvd Stars. "Sext in successioD, it is nt-ccsssry to detail the natures and )iroperties of the tixe zofliac require to be first ilescribed. Thii stars in the head of Aries possess an influence similar in its effects to that of Mars and .Saturn : those in the mouth act similarly to Mercury, and in some degree to Saturn ; th.jse in the hinder foot, to Mars ; those in the tail, to Venus. Those stars in Taurus, wliich are in the abscission of the sign, resemble in their leuiperamcnt the influence of Venus, and in some diHj;ree that of Saturn : those in the Pleiaden are like the Moon and Mars. Of the stars in the head, that one of the Hyades which is bright and ruddy, and called Facula* has the same temperament as Mars: the others r&semble Saturn, and, partly. Mercury; and those at the top of the horns are like Mars. " italioQ wlieu, from retrograUatiou, a planet becomes direct. They" (the pliiii«ta) "begin to riw at night when in uppoBJtioD to ilm ■' Sun." ' Tlie little Torch ; non knoivn by the name of Aldebaiaa. 26 rroLEMv's tkikahihi-os. [Baal.- I. Oemini. The stars in the feet of Oemini Imve an iiiHiience similar to that of Mercury, and moderately to that of Venns. The bright stars in the thighs are like Saturn ; of the two bright stars on the heads, the one, which precedes and is called Apollo", is like Mercury ; the other which follows, called HL'rciilea-(-, is like Mars. Cuii<:cy. The two stars in the eyes of Cancer are of the same inflnoDce as Mercury, and are also moderately like Mars. Those in the claws are like Saturn and Mercury, The nebulous mass in the breast, called the Pnosepe, has the same efficacy as Mars and the Moon. The two placed on either side of the nebulous mass, and called the Asini, have an influence similar to that of Mars and the Sun. ieo. Of the stars in Leo, two in the head are like Saturn and partly like Mars. The three in the neck are like Saturn, and in some degree like Mercury. The briyht one in the heart, called ReRulusJ. agrees with Mars and Jupiter. Those in the loins, and the bright one in the tail, are Saturn and Venus : those in the thighs resemble Venus, and, in some degree, Mercury. The stars In the head of Virgo, and that at the top of the southern wing, operate like Morcury and somewhat like Mars; the other bright stars in the same wing, and Ihose about ihc girdle, resemble Mercury in their in- fluence, and also Venus, moderately. The bright one in the northern wing, called Vindemiator, is of the .same 'olluxi f Cor Leonia. inHuence as Saturn and Meroiry : that calleH 8pica Virginia is like Venus and jjactly Mars : those at the points of the feet and at the bottom of the garments are like Mercury, and also Mars, moderately. Lilmi'. Those stars at the points of the claws of Seorpio operate like Jupiter and Mercury: those in the middle of the daws, like Saturn, and in some degree like Mars. The bright stars in the front of the body of Scorpio have an effect similar to that produced by the influence of Mar.% and partly to that produced by Saturn : the three in the body itself, the middle one of which, called Aritarest, is ruddy and more luminous, are similar to Mars and moderately fo Jupiter: those in the joints of Clieln-, or Iho elawt of Scorpio : itegrew, omittioK Libra, Tims * Cftlled by tbe antieuts x"'-' wbicb sign Ihey mnde to oonsial of Bf Virgil in the first Georgic, line 33, &< Qao locos Erigonen inter, Clielawjue seqnentes Pandiliu : ip«e tilii jam bruciiia coatrahit anleoK Scorpiui, et cSaturn ; but thi- bright and ruddy star, called Arcturus, i- like Mars and Jupiter. Cofona Jiorealifi is like Venus and Mercury. •Salmon, in his " Honi' MathetnftLicii', or 8o\il of Astrology" (printtvl by Dawks, I6~!>). divider ench sign of the zodiac ioto six hcus of live degrees e«i'li, "IjeciMiBa that in every sigT there are "variouBslruB of differing nalares;" and hegivcsapartit^alardeicrip- tion to each face, depending on its oscenBton or oalniination. This se«ni» an attempt to adapt Ptaleniy's si gniR cation of the several atan, CDmpu»ilig Ihe different figaa, to some general rale or mode of jiutgment i but it due* not merit llie inipiidt afeent of astrologerH. It U underatood that Salmon was not the invenlor of this divisioti of the aigUHintn faces, bat that it mine originally from the Arabian ■cbools. 30 ITOI.K n's TETUAiiiHr.iis, [liool t tfej-c«.?.s (or the Knee er) ia like Mercury. J'l/ra is like VenuM and Mercury. Gygnwt *, Venus and Mercury. Saturn and Venus. Pfrseua . ... Jupiter and Saturn : hut the nebula, in the hilt of the sword, is like Mars and Mercury. Aari.ja ... The bright Stars are like Mars Hnd Mercury. 4iei'2>entiiri'U» i-s liki]^ Saturn, and inoderatt^ly like Vunus. .Serpens . . i.s like Saturn and Mars. Sa-ali in some degree. ^ . , The bright stars are like Saturn and Jupiter. The respective iuKuences of the -several stars have been observed by the antients lo operate in confnnnity with | the mode pointe( out in the foreuoinj di.slributionsf. H ■ CkdU Minor. t " Of llie lineil "greftteitt inatnilud '• the L-cIiptic, more tar." ill genernl," Whdlley naya, " those of tlie ^1 PTOLEMVS TETRMIIBI.OS. Otiuptci- XII. [Book 1. The An ual H.-H The year comprises four seasons; spring, siiinmor, aii- tiiiiin, and winter ; rjf these, the spring partakes chiefly of nioist.Tire, for on the dissipation of cold and reconi- mencenient of warmth, an cspansion of the fluids takes place : the oniiimer is principally hot, owing to the Sun's nearest approach to the zenith : the autumn is principally dry, because the recent heat has absorbed the moisture : and the winter is chietjy cold, the Sun being then at his farthest distance from the zenith. The beginning of the whole zodiacal circle, (which in its nature as a circle can have no other beginning, nor end, capable of being determined,) ia therefore assinned to be the sit-n of Aries, which cominences at the vernal equinox*: since the moistnro of spring forms a primary beginning in the zodiac, analogous to the beginning of alt animal life; which, in its first age of existence, abounds principally in moisture: the spring too, like the first age of animal life, is soft and tender; it is therefore suitably placed as the opening of the year, and is followed by the otiu-r seasons in appropriate succession. The summer comes second, and, in its vigour and heat, agrees with " planet, ■ ortU latituJeund deciinfttion alTeet m niont, TLey in lUe ifliienea mure tbon othera, more remote, Likewixe sufli I pnrtile conjiinction with, or in the antiwioni of iiny r whirli ri-e nnd net, or culminate with itny planet, or "are belii-ld by Huy pknet, havo an increase of power: Iml of " themselvca the lixed etar* eniit no rays." * This sentence shews tbt' futility of the objection raiHtd againiit astrology (nn-t menlionmi in the Prefiioo to this translation) that the Bi]^B have chan)^ and are chinKini: places. It in olear froni this sentence that I'tolcniy atcrihes to the 30 ilegrecB after the vernal ei|Uioox, that inRapnr« which he han herein mentioned to heVin^ Id ArieB ; to the next 30 Ae^rKt». the inllnence herein said lo belong een connected by a straight line, AB; the apace of the two right angles, contained on the diameter, is then to be divided into aliquot partis of the two greatest denominations ; that is ' WhaUey, in lii« note upon tlii« chajiter, seems to have been sur- prised tbat no nientioo in Diade here by Ptolemy of the rimjunction ; bnt be overlooketl the lact that the chapter trcAts only uf parts of the lodiao coiiligiirat«il irilk taek other : and that it was not possible for Ptolemy to conceive bow aoy part eoiild be conligurat«nt PlaaiduB iiaa referreii Ut the_4lh Hinpler of the mth Rook of tht^AltiiBgest (which will lie found in tliu Appendix to thin tranNlntion) to prove that Ptolemy distinctly taught two kinds of lupeet ; one in the xodiac and one in the world, Wli&lley <|aotc» the opinion u/ I'lauidns, which he xaye ^, is farther conhrmed by the Igtii Chapter of the 3rd Book of this Tery / Itefttise, where it is atiit^d that the asucndaut and the eleventh bonHC are in MXtile to uai'h oilier; the asi^endant and the mid-heaven in qnartilei the nscendant and the ninth houHe in trine: and the Mcendant and the oceidental angle in opposition; all which certainly aeem to be applicable to mundane Mpect:! in paiticular. 40 rrOLEMY's TETHABUILUS. [Bi)Ok I. Slmptcr XVII. Signs covtviandlng and obeying. Ant two nigTis confi<;iirateH with each other at an eqaal ^ distance from the ^^iiih. or from either equinoctial point, are termei] commantlinc; nnd obeying, because the ascen- sional and ilesci-nsional times of the one are equal to those of the other, and both describe equal [mrallels. The aigna in the summer semicircle are coniuianding; those in the winter semicircle, obeying: for, when the Sun in present in the former, he luakes the day longer than the ni^ht; and, when in the latter, he produces the contrary eEFect. Clwfttv XVIII. Signs heJwldin;/ each other, a-itd of equal Power. Any twtj signs, equally distant from either tropical sign, are equal to euch other in power; because the Sun, when present in one, mukes day and night, and the divisions of lime, respectively equal in duration to those which he produces when present in the other. Such signs are also said to behold each other, as well for the foregoing reasons, as becAUae each of them rises from one and the same part of the horizon, and sets in ono and the same part.* * Wlmlle; has n very loni^tliy note upoD thU nnH lUv prcveiling obapler, to bIibw that Ptolemy here xpeAks of zodiac&l parallels, or parallel» of ilecUnntiun, anil lo point out tlie necesciLy of o1ii>erving a planet's laUtade, in order M aiwertnin iu true parallels, [t is, liow. ever, to be rauollect«J, tlial the pirailels now allmlad to are dialinel- from the mundant pan PlovidnH, who has applied Ptolemy's doctrine to prai'tice better than any other writer, liai nvdled hiii^lf of them*, and, if the nativities published by him ure lu be rredited, he lias fnlly cstahliehed their impS to p. 414) on the old Ptolemaic acpects, ■Dantrative of their foundation in nature and in mathematics ; apd, * F^xcept the xetiLiijuadrate, which he has not at all noliceil. ITIH.EMVS TETRAIilKLns, [Hool,: I. flthaptei- XX. Houses of tlie Planela. Those stars wiiicli are dKnotninated plurielarj urbs have particular familiarity with certain places ia the zodiac, by mean!' of parts designated as their houHea, and also by their triplicities, exaltations, termn, and so forth, The nature of their familiarity by houses is as follows: ullhougli hif roncluMons are not iiiiite Halisfactorily dmwu. etiiue of his arKiimeniR woulil Keem approprialc, if he had but liandlcil them more fully unil expertly ; pnrticiilnrly where ho Bays that (he nupecta are derived " from the aliquot parts of a circle, whnrein olxieTve that, " alUiouKh the zodiai- may Imve many more aliqQOt parbH than these " four (the eextile, quarCiie, trine, and oppoaitioD), yet thme other " aliquot parin of the circle, ur 360 dej,'reeK. will Dot make an aliqnot "division of the ttij^nn also, wliii;h in thin dengn waa noaght to " answer, ^ well in the aumlier V2, as in the numlnir 'Mi." The pasga^e in whicii he eniIeavour» to shew that they are anthori/*d hy their projection, also deserveB attention. All Salmoti'n argumentx, however, in Knpporl of the old I'lnlemaic aipeclK, militate against the new Keplerian ones ; and hu iloea the following extracf from the astrological discourse of ijir Christopher Heydon !— ■' For thus, aniongsl all ordjnaUj plancH (hfti may he "inscribed, there are two whose sides, joined together, have pre- " eminent^ lo taks up a seniieirclc, but only the hexagon. <|uadrate, " and equilateral trianjile. annwering Ui the nextile, quartile, and " trine irradiated. The subtense, therefore, of a sexlile aspect con- " siflteth of two Htgns, wliicb, joined to the siibten»G of a trine, " composed of four, being re^fular and equilateral, take up six signs, "which is a complete eemicirole in like maoner, the sides of a " i|Dadrate inscribed, subtending three ingjw, twice rerkoued, do " occupy likewine the mediely of a circle. And what those fignrea " nre before «nid to perform" (that is, U> take up a semicin''H) "either " donbled or joioeil together, may also be truly a!>cribed unto the " opposite aspect byitseK i for that the diametral line, which passeth " from the place of conjunction lo the opposite point, divideth a "circle into two equal parts; the like whereof cannot lie found in " any other inscripte ; for example, tkt *'fU cf a regular pinlagon" [tba noiatih) " tubleiideth 12 degrtet, of an Mcro^on" (Ihesemiquad- ral^) " but 45 : Ihr rtmaiitders of w/iieh arai, viz. 108 and IXJ drgnt*. r not fhtmifrd bu thr si-lta nf anv ordiuil-' fitiurt." Chnp XX.] Ptolemy's TETHAiniti.os. 43 Cancer and Leo are the most northerly of all the twelve signs ; they approach nearer than the other signs to the zenith of this part of the earth, and thereby cause warmth and heat: they are consequently appropriated as houses for the two principal and greater luminaries ; Leo for the Sun, as being masculine ; and Cancer for the Moon, as being feminine. It has hence resulted, that the semicircle from Leo to Capricorn has been ordained solar, and the semicircle from Aquarius to Cancer, lunar; in order that each planet might occupy one sign in each semicircle, and thus have one of its houses cnntigurated with the Sun and the other with the Moon, conformably to the motions of its own sphere, and the peculiar pro- perties of its nature. Saturn, therefore, since he is cold and inimical to heat, moving also in a superior orbit most remote from the luminaries, occupies the signs oppasite Ui Cancer and : these are Aquarius and Capricorn; and they are jfjned to him in consideration of their cold and wintry aire ; and because the configuration by opposition does not co-operate towards the production of good". Jupiter has a favourable temperament, and is situated beneath the sphere of Saturn; he therefore occupie.s the next two signs, Sagittariu:^ and Pisces. These signs are airy and fruitful, in consequence of their trinal di^^tance from the houses of the luminaries, which distance har- monizes with the operation of good. Mars is dry in nature, and beneath the sphere of Jupiter: he takes the next two signs, of a nature similar to his own, -viz. Aries and Scorpio, whose relative dis- tances from the houses of the luminaries are injurious and discordant. Tenus, possessing a favourable temperament, and * Saturn boiag also maletiu i , hi* HI ■** PTOLKMT'S TETaABIBLOS. [Book I. placed beneath the sphere of Mars, takes the next two signs, Taurus and Libra. Tliese are of a fruitful nature, and preserve harmony by the sexUle distance; and this planet is never mora than two itignH distant from the Sun, Mercury never has greater distance from the Sun than the space of one sign, and is beneath all the other planets: hence he is placed nearest to both luminaries, and the remaining two signs, Gemini and Virgo, are allotted to him*. fflliafttr XXI. The TriplicUies. The familiarity existing by triplicity arises in the foU lowing mode: The triplicity preserves accordance with an equilateral triangle, and the whole zodiacal orbit is defined by three circles, viz. that of the equinox, and those of the two tropics; the twelve signs are, therefore, distributed among four equilateral triangles. The first triangle, or triplicity, ia formed by three ma.%uline signs, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, having the Sun, Jupiter, and Mars, as lords by house. Mar.'i, how- ever, being contrary in condition to the solar influence, thin triplicity receives, as its lords, only Jupiter and the Sun. By day, therefore, the Sun claims the principal * The planets, bnving two lion»eB, are said to be mora powerful in one by ilny uod in the other by night: thuR, Satnrn'a day Iioa^te in AiiuariuH, liU oighl bgusa Capricom Jupiter'it Sagittarina PUcw Mara'ii Ariea Scorpio VeuDs's Taurus Libra Mercury's (Jemini Virgo. The above in from Whatley ; hut the »aiue diapMitioii in Ui be f«und in all modern astrological writem. Chaji XXI. 1 i-roLKMV's tetuaiii hlos. +R- co-regency of it. and Jupiter by niglit. Arie:* is on the equinoctial circle, Leo on the Miiinnier, ami Sagittarius on the winter circle. This tripHcity is principally northern, owing to the concurrent dominion of Jupiter, who in fruitful and airy, and expreaaly connected with winds proceeding froui the north ; it is, however, al.w north- west, in consetiiience of heing, in some degree, combined with the weHb hy means of the bouse of Mars, who intro- duces western breezes and the feminine qualities of that quarter, in consequence of lii.s lunar condition*. The second tripltcity, formed by Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, is allotted to the dominion of the Moon and Venus, since it consists of feminine signs. Tlie Moon rules it by night, and Venus by day. Taurus is on the snuimer circle, Virgo on the equinoctial, and Capricorn on the winter. This tripHcity is southern, in consequence of the dominion of Venus, whose warm and moist influ- ence produces south winds: it, however, additionally receives a mixture of the east, by means of Saturn ; for, as Capricorn is the house of that planet, and an eastern sign, Saturn becomet effective of winds from that quarter, and furniyhes this triplicity with a mixture of the east, with which quarter he is further connected by means of his solar condition-f. The third triplicity is composed of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, masculine signs. It holds connection with Saturn and Mercury by containing their houses, and is therefore attributed to them, and not to Mars, to which planet it bears no relation. Saturn rules it by day, owing to his condition!, *"'' Mercury hy night. Gemini * Tbe " lunar conditiuD" here Bpoken of refers to the posiliun of Aries (Miint'H bouite) in itiu lunar semicirde. t Capi iconi being in the m\m semicircle. X The reBHin for niakiuf; Saturn diiunal lord of this triplicity uiny be fonnd in Chap, vii, /.' i- i 46 Ptolemy's tetkabiiilos. [Book I. is on the summer circle, Libra un the equinoctial, and Afguarius on the winter. Thin triplicity ia principally eastern, by the influence of Saturn; but it becomes noith-eiLst hy receiving alijo a mixture of the north from thu condition of Jupiter, witli which planet Saturn baa, ill this respect, a diurnal familiarity *. The fourth triplicity, formed hy Cancer. Scorpio, and Pisces, ia left to the remaining planet, Mars, who has right in it by means of hia houae, Scorpio. But, as the signs which compose this triplicity are feminine, the Moon by night and Venus by day, through their feminine condition, govern it. together with Mara. Cancer ia on the summer circle, Scorpio on the winter, and Pisces on the equinoctiai. This triplicity ia western,, in conse- quence of the government of the Moon and Mara; but it is also blended with the iiouth by the joint dominion of Venua, and therefore hecomoa south-weat. (Chapter XXII. Exaltations. That which is termed the exaltation of the planets is considered by the following rulea : The Sun on his entrance into Aries ia then pa-saing into the higher and more northern semicirle; but on his entrance into Libra, into the more southern and lower one: his exaltation, therefore, is determined to be in Ariea, as, when pre.sent in that wign, he begins to lengthen the days, and the influence of hia heating nature increaaes at the aame time. Hia full is placed in Libra, for the converae r * This faiiiitiariLy seemx to urine from iho sexlile Ewpeot belweeo Aquarius, llie djurnkl lioiite of Saturn, and Sagittarias, the dioTDal CAap. XXII.] PTOLEMY'S TETWABIBLOS. 47 Saturn on the contrary, in order to preserve his station opposite to the Sun, in this respect, as well as in regard to their respective houses, obtains his exaltation in Libra, and his fall in Aries : since, in all cases, the increase of heat must be attended by a diminution of cold, and the increase of cold by a diminution of heat. The Moon, again, after conjunction with the Sun in Aries, the seat of his exaltation, makes her first appear- ance, and begins to augment her light in Taurus, the first sign of her own triplicity, which is consequently ascribed to be her exaltation; while Scorpio, the oppo- site sign, is her fall. Jupiter, since he is efficacious in exciting fruitful breezes from the north, and since he becomes most northerly, and augments his peculiar influence when in Cancer, accordingly obtains his exaltation in that sign, and his fall in Capricorn. Mars posses.ses a fiery nature, which receives its greatest intensity in Capricorn, in which sign this planet becomes most southerly ; his exaltation is therefore placed in Capricorn, in opposition to that of Jupiter, and his fall in Cancer. Venus is of a moist nature, and becomes chiefly moist when in Pisces. Under that sign a dampness begins to be perceptible in the atmosphere, and Venus, from being in that sign, derives an augmentation of her own proper influence : her exaltation is consequently placed therein, and her fall in Virgo. Mercury is of a nature opposite to that of Venus, and is more dry: in opposition to her, therefore, he takes his exaltation in Virgo, in which sign the autumnal dryness makes its first appearance ; and he receives his fall in Pisces. PTOLEMY S TETRABIBLOS, [Boo* T. ffiliapttt XXIII. Hie Disposition of the Terms ". Theue are two methods of disposing the terms o£ the planets, in reference to the dominion of the triplicities ; one is Egyptian, ihe other Chaldaic But the jEgyptian method preserves no regular dis- tribution, neither in point of suecensive order nor in point of quantity. In point of order it is defective, since it, in some in- stances, allots the tir&t degrees of a sign to the lord of the house, in others to the lord of the triplicity, and in others a " minntiims," {tfunjii, lenim) " linvi^ h. renl and iiaturul fuuodatinn ; " to wil, the po*er(nl napecl or pniporlionnl (nlliixen W the move- " ftble points in whirh tlie stan> bcKiD u> prolines the priiuftTj' " qiMlities, So ttiut, aeeonliog to tlione thio^^ we have explained " in lht< pliilusophy of the lieavens, these are funnd to upree *to well "with the .1C}{yptian boundaries," lt«rniK) " Ibat tbey are higbljr " rieMrvini; of admiralian. " Chap. XXUL] fiolemy's tkti!Abiiii.os. 49 Mercury take the first degrees in Aquarius, in which sign he rules only by triplicity, and why not Saturn who has government in it by house, as well as by tri- plicity ? or why in short should Mercury, who does not possess any kind of dominion in Capricorn, receive the first degrets in that sign also >. The same want of order is abundantly evident in the rest of the distribution. An equal irregularity exists in the respective quanti- ties of degrees allotted by the ^Egyptians to the several terms of the planets. For it is by no means a proper nor sufficient demonstration of accuracy that the aggre- gate snm of all the numbers of every single planet amounts to the precise total requiring to be divided into portions of time*; since, even if it be admitted that this total, collected from every single star, is correctly as- serted by the j^gyptians, it may still be objected that the same total, so collected by them, may bo found in many other ways by interchanging the numbers in a sign. There are persons also who contend that in every latitude the same space of time is occupied in ascension by every star ; this, however, is manifestly wrong : for, in the first place, these persons are guided by the vulgar opinion of the plane heights of ascension, which is totally foreign to truth, and according to which, in the parallel of Lower jEgypt, the signs of Virgo and Libra would ascend each in thirty-eight degrees and a thir.ij. U may further be observed, that Jufiler'a right, by triplidty, to thettrst degree* in Leu, U of'conrne aiirrendcred to Satnm, on the principle that tlie malelicfl have greaier potency in the tousee of the i4 PTOLEm''S TKTHAl)IHt,OS. [Book I. These terms are detailed in the toUowinp; table : — 4H«. Turn - <^. c.™,. 1 w Vlrjo. Jnpitor B 1 a [Von, 8 8 Mer. ' 7 Mm 6 7 7 ! 13 Her. 7 113 Mer. 7 7 13 18 Tmu 8 14:Her. 7 " Jnp. 6 13 Mer. J.p. Von. 0 Mtffcnr; 7 21 Jnp. 7 J Van. 7 20 26 fe I Sat. „ ,~n Ven. 1 Jnp. I0I2S Jup. Sat. S HUR 5;a!S«t 2J24 Uara 6 Ven. 7 e|H- Sktam 4 KIMUB S»t ' 30 Sab 3 Lo Hart Is 30 Man S.9» Ubnu j Bwrpio. a.giu. iriiu. Aq«Bl.«. PiW«. fiktnn e' 6 Mara a Jup. s 8 Ven. 616 Sat. -6 fl Ven. 6 8 VenDH 5 II Ven. lup. 15V.. ! s e U IS Mer. Jup. a 7 12 Her. |q IS Jnp. « 14 Hercnry 8 5 IS Jup. 21 Mer. 19 Ven. 8 X Mer. 6 9) Jupiter Mercury 8,** M„. »!27 9at. -^i. 6 2G Jnp. J) 2: Mtra 6 a 26 26 Mm .!» Sat .|» Uua 5 »«r SO Man D so Sat. 3 » fflliiifltr XXV. r/ic Places artil Degrees of every Plaviet. The signs have been subdivided by some persons into parts still more minute, whicli have been nutned places and degrees of dominion. Thus the twelfth part of a sign, or two degrees and a half, has been called a place, and the dominion of it given to the signs next succeed- /n/^. Other persons again, pursuing various modes of Vhaji. XXVI.] iTULEMY's TliTKABIHLOS. 55 iirrangement, attribute to each planet certain degrees, aa being aboriginally connected with it, in a manner nomcwhat siiniiar to the Chaldaic arrangement of the terms. But all these iiuaginary attiibutes cannot be herein detailed, for they receive no confirmation from nature, are not capable of being rationally demonstrated, and are. in fact, merely the ottspring of scientific vanity. The following observation, however, deserves atten- tion, and must not be omitted. The beginning.t of the signs, and likewise those of the terms, are to be taken from the equinoctial and tropical pointtj. This rule is nnt only clearly stated by writers on the subject, but is also specially evident by the demonstration constantly aifoided. that their natureu, influences, and familiarities, have no other origin than from the tropics and equinoxe.'i, as has been already plainly shown *. And, if other beginnings were allowed, it would either be necessary to exclude the natures of thi' digns from the theory of prognostication, or impossible to avoid error in then retaining and making use of them ; fts the regularity of their spaces and distances, upon which their influence depends, would then be invaded and broken in upon. Chaplev XXVI. Facm, Omriots. aiul othet- vimilar Attributee of t/ie Pianeta. The familiarities exi.sting between the planets and the signs are o ; that Jupiter is ao when iu trine ; Mare wben in iiQArtilei Venus when in sextile; &nd Mercnry nlien only one (ii|{n, or in modem ptir&w, in Mtni-wxtile,) after the Sun or before Uie Moon. Chnp. XXVII.] itolemy's tetrabiblos. > miwptct xxvii. Application, Separation, and other Faculties. In all canes wbeti the distances between planets or luiainaTies are but trifling*, tbe planet which precedes b said to apply to that which follows; and that which follows to be separatinr; from that which precedes -f. The same rule obtains both in reapect to hodily con- junction and to any otber of the aspects before described ; except that, in the application and i^eparation of the bodily conjunclinn, it is also essential to (ibserve tlie actual latitudes of the bodies, in order to receive and consider only »ucb a transit as may bo mad» in the same parti of the zodiac |. But in the application and separation of aspects merely, the same attention is not requisite, since all the rays are uniformly converj^ed into one focu.s, that is to say, into the angle of the earth S, and meet there alike from every tjuarter, * TliiH lias been unilerstooil to iiicfLn, wben ilie iikiietn or luniinsrieH are witliin each other's orVra ; Sawm's nrh being l(i ilef!ree«, Jopiter'^ IS, Mar»'B 7 degrees :ili mioutea, lliu San'» IT des^Teex. Venu>'B 8, Meruiiry'sTdegreet' 30 minutes, ftinl the Moon's 12 ile),'ree)- 30 minuter. t Aslrolitgcrs genorally agree, that the inferior jilnnetB ahvays apply to the superior, but tbe fuperior nevur to the inferior, except wben the inferior Iw retrograde. In llie present inalAnco it seeing moet probnble tliat tbe aotbnr meana the plinct whk-li in more occi- dental, l>y " the planet whicli preeeiles." He often use* " jiriMedent" as e<|Divalent to " oreiriental " in rt^ird to the dnily revolution of the heavens : and tbiis a. planet in the hrst det^iee of Aries would prerede and bo more occidental than one in the Hixtli degree nf Ariei', to which latter it would, by tbe regular planetary uintioa, be applying. tUn tbiB, Wballejsajs tbat "the less the dilfercnce uf latitude of " the planets in conjunction, the more pow<>Tfnl ^vill be the iuHnence: " for if two planets in conjunction have ench oonmdemble latiludo of "different ile nomination, the inHuence of *acb conjunction uill be " much Iwsened. ' f fauT Id IT. Ti nitTft m jB(. The precise meaning of the wonl •■t^» is "centre,'' rather than "angle;" but Ptolemy uses it i!S PTOLEMr'3 TETHABIBI.OS. [Book I. It appears, therefore, by the whole of what has been already (ielivereil, that the effective influence of the stars must be considered as arising not only from their own peculiar natures and properties, but also from the quality of the surrounding signs, and from configuration with the Sun and the angles ; alt which has been pointed out. The influence of each planet, however, is strengthened chiefly when it may be oriental, swift ami direct in its proper coui'se and motion — for it has then its greatest power: but, on the other hand, it loses strength when ficcidental and slow in motion or retrograde; as it then acts with smaller effect*. Its influence also receives accession or diminution, from its position with regard to the horizon ; as, if it be situated in the mid-heaven, or snccedent to the mid-heaven, it is especially strong; likewise, if it be on the actual horizon, or succedent to the horizon, it is also powerful ; — particularly if in the ea.stcrn quarter. Should it, however, be below the earth, Uironglinul thU worli, in epeakiDg of the fouranglenof licnven, and 1 concpiVH be uses i[ liere to signify an angle at, or on, the eurtlt The following definition of an aspect, by Kepler, strengthens my opinion : " An aipect is an angle fariueil on the earth, by the luniinouH rayH of " two planels ; cHirndouii in stimulating sublunary nature '' * Placi'lne (Cooper's translation) says Chat "the three Huperior> " are snpposd to be stronger, if they are found Ui bo niatuline, or " eastern, from tbe Sun ; the three inferiors, vespertine, or weHtern ; " for then they have a greater dejn^ee of light, in whieli oonsista their " virtual influence, and then they are calleil oriental ; but occidental "if otherwise. Every one knows how largely, yet to no purpose, " antliors have iroated of the orieotality of the pline-s " Moxon'x Mathematical Dictionary has tbe following words on the same subject : " Now tbe three »uporior planets are strongest, being "oriental and niatutine; but tbe three inferior when they are occi- " dental and vespertine. Tbe reason is, because tbe fint in the first " case, hut the last in the second, do then descend to tbe lowest part " of their orbit, are increased in light, and approaching nearer the " earth; and so on tbe contrary, tbe inferiors niatutine, the snperioiH " vespertine are weakened," Chap. XXVII.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. b9 and configurated with the ascendant, either from the lower heaven, or from any other part below the earth, its influence then becomes more languid ; but if, when below the earth, it hold no such configuration, it ia entirely deprived of efficacy *. * In a note on the 6th Chapter of this Book, Whalley says that, " according to Ptolemy, such as are between the ascendant and mid- " heaven obtain the first place of strength, and are Haid to be in their " oriental orientality : but, between the western horizon and the lower " heaven, in their occidental orientality, which is the second place of '* strength : between the lower heaven and the ascendant, in their '* oriental occidentality, the first degree of weakness ; and between " the mid-heaven and western horizon, in their occidental occiden- *'tAlity, the weakest place of all." This is all ^ery pretty jargon, but certainly not ''according to Ptolemy," who distinctly says, on the contrary, that if a planet " is on the actual horizon, or succedent *' to the horizon, it is bX^o powerful , and pariictUarly if in the eastern " quarter." The last member of this sentence, as well as the con- clusion of this 27th Chapter, shows that Ptolemy did not consider a situation between the mid-heaven and western horizon to be '*th& *' weakest place of all." BOOK THE SECOND. (Ehapter I. General Division of the Subject The great and leading points, requiring to be attended to as a necessary means of introduction to the consider- ation of particular predictions, having been succinctly defined, the further parts of the subject, comprehending every thing which may tend to facilitate prediction, and render it complete, shall now be duly proceeded in ; and, at the same time, care shall be taken to confine the whole doctrine within the limits of natural reason. The foreknowledge to be acquired by means of Astro- nomy is to be regarded in two great and principal divisions. The first, which may be properly called General, or Universal, concerns entire nations, countries, or cities; and the second, denominated Particular, or Genethliacal, relates to men individually. In considering these respective divisions, it seems proper to give priority to that which has the more general application and influence : because, in the first place, general events are produced by causes greater and more compulsatory than the causes of particular events ; secondly, because natures of more extended potency must invariably controul those which are more limited in action; and, thirdly, because particular events, or individual affections, are comprehended in those of general influence *. It is therefore especially necessary, * Vide Chap, ill, Book I, pp. 1314. •62 itolemy's tetbabirlos. [Boofc II. in desiring to investigate particular events, to treat firr^t of those which are general. Again, general events are anbdivided according to their operation upon entire countries, and upon certain cities or districts : one subdivision being regarded as affecting entire countrie.i, and the other certain cities or districts only. They are also separately considered according to the causes by which they are produced ; war, pestilence, famine, earthquakes, inundations, and other 'similar visi- tations being dependent on such greater and more im- portant causes, as arise only after considerable periods; while slighter causes, arising more frequently, have reference only to the revolution of the seasons; their greater or less variation in cold and heat ; the severity or mildness of the weather; the occasional abundance or scarcity of provisions; and other like occurrences. Hence the consideration of those events which concern whole countries, and are dependent on the greater causes, (since it has a more extended scope than the other, which attaches onlj' to certain cities, or districts, and is subject to slighter causes) takes precedence, And, for its due investi>i;ation, two essential points are to be attended to : the first is, the appropriate familiarity of the zodiacal signs and the fixed slars with the several regions which may be concerned : and the second comprises the indica- tions occasionally arising in those parts of the heavens where such familiarity is found : for instance, the eclipses of the Sun and Moon, and such transits as may be made by tlie planets, when matutine, and in their respective stations. The nature of the sympathy between these thinfjs must however be explained first ; and a brief description will therefore be given of the chief peculiarities observ- able in whole nations; in regard to their manners and customs, as well as to their bodily formation and tempera- Chap. IL] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 03 fnent; considered agreeably to their familiarity with those stars and signs whence the natural cause of their peculiarities duly proceeds. (Elwptcr II. Peculiarities observable throxighoxit every entire Climate. The peculiarities of all nations are distinguished accord- ing to entire parallels and entire angles, and by their situation with regard to the Sun and the Ecliptic. The climate which we inhabit is situated in one of the Northern Qua nfunKut uMiin^itK Chap, III.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 69 imperious, yet kind and benevolent, and careful of the commonwealth. Tuscany, Celtica, and Spain, are con- nected with Sagittarius and Jupiter ; and their inhabi- tants are lovers of freedom, simplicity, and elegance. The south-eastern parts of this quadrant, which are situated towards the middle of the earth, viz. Thrace, Macedonia, lUyria, Hellas, Achaia, and Crete, as well as the Cyclad Isles and the shores of Asia Minor and of Cyprus, assume, in addition, a connection with the south- east triplicity, which is composed of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, and ruled by Venus and Saturn ; and, in con- sequence of the vicinity of these regions to the middle of the earth. Mercury likewise has a proportionate dominion over them. Hence their inhabitants, being subjected to the rules of both triplicities, enjoy a favourable tempera- ment of mind and of body. From Mars they imbibe their fitness for command, their courage, and impatience of restraint ; from Jupiter their love of freedom, their self-rule, their skill in guiding public affairs, and in legislation : through the influence of Venus they are also lovers of the arts and sciences, as well as of music and poetry, of public shows, and all the refinements of life : and from Mercury they deduce their hospitality, their fondness for society and communion, their love of equity and of literature, and their power of eloquence. They are also in the highest degree conversant with sacred mysteries, owing to the vespertine figuration of Venus. It is further to be observed of these last-named countries, that the inhabitants of the Cyclad Isles, and of the shores of Asia Minor and of Cyprus, are more par- ticularly under the influence of Taurus and Venus, and are therefore voluptuous, fond of elegance, and over- studious in their attention to the body. The people of Hellas, Achaia, and Crete, have a stronger familiarity with Virgo and Mercury, and are therefore learned and McieQtific, preferring the cultivation of the mind to the care of the body. The people of Macedonia, Thrace, and Illyria, are chiefly influenced by Capricorn and Satnm ; whence they are greedy of wealth, inferior in civilization, and have no ordinances of civil polity. The second quadrant consists of the southern division of Asia Matjna. Such of its parts as are contained in India, Arriano-j Oedrgsia, Parthia. Media, Persia, Baby- lonia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria, are situated in the south-east of the whole earth, and have due familiarity with the south-east triplicity (composed of Taurus, Virgo, and CapricornX and consequently with Venus. Mercury, and Saturn, in matutine flguration. The nature of the inhabitants of these countries is obedient to the dominion of these ruling influences; they worship Venus under the name of Isis: and they also pay devotion to Saturn, invoking him by the name of Mithranhelios, Many of them likewise foretell future events: and they conse- crate to the gods some of their bodily members, to which superstition they are induced by the nature of the fiyur^- tion of the planets before mentioned*. They are, more- over, hot in constitution, amorous and lustful, fond of acting, singing, and dancing, gaudy in their dresses and ornaments: owing to the influence of Venus. Saturn, however, inclines them to simplicity of conduct; and, in consequence of the matutine figuration, they address their women publiclyf-. There are also many among them who beget children by their own mothers'. The * The Greek ie fLt fnllows ; ... » ^.,.. .ur.. t. y,.„ri... >.>l./»« FoIlieH, similar ia their kind to these, are still prootised by tbe F*quirs of Hindostui, and by other religioitii sects in Asia. Z The author gives > siat^lar reason for this incest! : wrvr. )• rai yCvidx.M'AK.A^^f-.l' Jf' Chap. Ill] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 71 matutine figurations also influence their mode of worship, which is performed by prostration of the breast ; because the heart is the nobler part of the body, and, in its vivifying faculties, acts like the Sun. And, although the influence of Venus makes the people, generally speaking, flnical and efl*eminate in their personal adorn- ment and apparel, yet the connection which Saturn holds with them, by means of the east, still rendera them great in mind, eminent in council, courageous and warlike. It is to be remarked, that Parthia, Media, and Persia, have a more particular familiarity with Taurus and Venus; whence it follows that the dwellers in those countries wear splendid garments, and clothe the whole person entirely, except the breast ; they are also fond of elegance and refinement. The countries about Babylon, Mesopotamia, and Assyria, are connected with Virgo and Mercury ; their inhabitants are consequently studious of the sciences, and, among other attainments, excel in making observations on the five planets. India, Arriana, and Gedrosia, are connected with Capricorn and Saturn ; the natives of these regions are, therefore, ill-formed in person, of dirty habits, and barbarous manners. The remaining parts of this second quadrant, viz. Idu- msea, Coelesyria, Judaea, Phoenicia, Chaldsea, Orchynia, and Arabia Felix, occupy a situation in the vicinity of the middle of the earth, and in the north-west of the quadrant to which they actually belong : hence they are in familiarity with the north-west triplicity (which con- sists of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius), and they have for their rulers, Jupiter and Mars, together with Mercury. By means of the figuration of these planets, the natives of the said countries are skilful in trade and all mercan- tile affairs, heedless of danger, yet treacherous, servile, and thoroughly fickle. 72 PT0LKMY8 TETRABIBLOS. [Book 11. The inhabitants of Ccelesyria, Iduriisea, and JudiBa, are principally intlueneed by Ariea and Mars, and are gener- ally audacious, atheistical", and treacherous. The Phoenicians, Ch&ldseans, and Orchynians, have fumiliarity with Leo and the Sun, and are therefore more simple and huniuDe in disposition ; they are also studious of a-strology, and pay greater reverence than all other nations to the SuD. The people of Arabia Felix are connected with Sagittarius and Jupiter: the country is fertile, and abundantly productive of spices; and its inhabitants are well-proportioned ia person, free in all their habits of life, and liberal in all their contracts and dealings. The third ijuadrant occupies the northern division of Ania Magna. Those several parts of it which lie to the north-east of the whole earth, and comprise Uyicania, Armeoia, Mantiana, Bactriana, Cunperia. Serica, Sauro- matica, Oxiana, and Sogdiana. are in familiarity with the north-east triplicity, composed of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, and have for their rulers Saturn and Jupiter, in uiatutine positions; hence the inhabitants worship Jupiter and the Sun-|-. They are abundantly rich in all things: they possess much gold, and are dainty and luxurious in their diet. They are also learned in the- ology, skilled in magic, just in all their dealings, free and noble-minded, holding dishonesty and wickedness in abhorrence, strongly imbued with the softer affections * TLie epitliet h remarkable, out only as being, in the opiuion of a tientile, merited by the Jews, among other natioos, but also at a period Boaruely exc«eiling t, century after their nio^t lieinous orime had been cominitted, exprenly under the tloak of religion. It seenu, however, tbnt the Jews were chiu-ged with Atheism by other writers «Jro, and od account of their neglect of the false godauf the heatliens; vie. "/aliomm deoram neglectiu. qoain eandem causam etiam "Jada'is RuJedicendi Tacitns liabnit, «t Flinius Major, cui JndHd " dicontur gent contumtlia nnminum inaignis." See Clark's Nut«s to Grotina de Verit. Helig. Christ. Lib. 2,^± t Other copies eay " Saturn." -Chap. III.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 713 of nature; and, in a worthy cause, they will even readily embrace death to preserve their friends. They are, furthermore, chaste in marriage, elegant and splendid in their dress, charitable and beneficent, and of enlightened intellect. All these qualities are principally produced by the matutine positions of Saturn and Jupiter, who influence the region. Among these nations, however, Hyrcania, Armenia, -and Mantiana, have a greater familiarity with Gemini and Mercury; and the inhabitants are consequently more acute in apprehension, but less tenacious of their probity. The countries about Bactriana, Casperia, and Serica, are connected with Libra and Venus ; and the natives are endowed with much wealth and many luxu- ries, and take delight in poetry and songs. The nations •about Sauromatica, Oxiana, and Sogdiana, are influenced by Aquarius and Saturn ; and are therefore less polished in manners, and more austere and uncouth. The other parts of this quadrant, lying near the middle of the entire earth, consist of Bithynia, Phrygia, Colchis, Laxica, Syria, Commagene, Cappadocia, LyJia, Lycia, •Cilicia, and Pamphylia. These, being situated in the south-west of their quadrant, have familiarity accord- ingly with the south-west triplicity, composed of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, and are ruled by Mars and Venus, together with Mercury. In these countries Venus is principally worshipped ; she is invoked as the Mother of the Gods, and by various local and indigenous appel- lations; Mars likewise receives adoration here, under the name of Adonis, as well as by other titles*; and * It is Uiiually understood that the male deity, coupled by the Phrygians with Cybeie, "the mother of the Gods," was called by them Atys ; and that Adonis was the name used by the PhtxjnicianH in addressing the associate of Venus. It has been said that these -divinities were identical with the Isis and Osiris of tV\« iV.^'^Xha.ii^. 74 Ptolemy's tetbabiui.os. [Boole U. some of the religious services to these deities are per- formed by loud lamentations. The people are servile in roind, diligent in labour, yet fraudulent, knavish, and thievish : they enter into foreign armies for the sake of hire, and make prisoners and slaves of their own coun- trymen : besides which, they are continually subject try intestine broils. These traits arise from the matutine figurations of Mars and Venns.— It is further to be observed, that, from the circumstance of Mar^* receiving his exaltation in Capricorn (one of the signs of the tri- pHcity ruled by Venus), and Venus hers in Pisces (a sign belonging to the triplicity of Mars), it thence follows that the women have strong attachments and kindly affections to their husbands, are vigilant and careful in domestic afFairs, and highly industrious: they also act as servants, and labour for the men, with all due obedi- ence, in every thing. Bithynin, Phrygia, and Colchis, must however be ex- cepted from sharing in this general propriety of the female character; for, as these nations are chiefly con- nected with Cancer and the Moon, their male population is, generally speaking, slavish in itn habits, timid and superstitious, while the greater part of the women, owing to the niatutine and masculine position of the Moon, are of masculine manners, ambitious of command, and war- like. Tlie.se females shun the addresses of men, as the Amazons did of old, and delight in the use of arms, and in manly occupations: they also amputate the right breasts of their female children for the sake of adapting them to military service, and in order that, when in combat and exposing that part of their body, they may appear to be of the male sex. — Again, Syria, Com- magene, and Cappadocia, are principally influenced by (.1 Scorpio and Mam ; and their inhabitants are accordingly ' lM)ld, wicked, treacherous, and laborious. Lydia, Cilicia. '<• Ou^fuL 4 2AJk*iC.I.(^. Af^v**-^ j *rzl;^2^i^a*-^ c^fr^ rffi^G I I Chap. Ill] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 75 and Pamphylia, have a great familiarity with Pisces and Jupiter ; whence their inhabitants are wealthy, of mer- cantile habits, living in freedom and community, faithful to their engagements, and honest in their dealings. The remaining quadrant is the vast tract known by the general name of Libya. Its several parts, dis- tinguished by the particular names of Numidia, Carthage, Africa*, Fhazania, Nasamonitis, Garamantica, Mauritania,. Getulia, and Metagonitis, are situated in the south-west of the entire earth, and have due familiarity with the south-west triplicity, composed of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces; their rulers therefore are Mars and Venus, in vespertine position. From this figuration of the planets it results that the dwellers in these regions are doubly governed by a man and woman, who are both children of the same mother ; the man rules the males, and the woman the females. They are extremely hot in constitu- tion, and desirous of women ; their marriages are Uvsually made by violence, and in many districts the local princes first enjoy the brides of their subjects : in some places,, however, the women are common to all. The influence of Venus causes the whole people to delight in personal ornaments, and in being arrayed in female attire ; never- theless, that of Mars renders them courageous, crafty ,^ addicted to magic, and fearleas of dangers. Again, however, of the above-named countries, Nu- midia, Carthage, and Africa, are more particularly in familiarity with Cancer and the Moon : their inhabitants,. * The name of Africa was, in Ptolemy's time, limited to those parte of the coast on the Mediterranean which contained the anticnt Utica, and in which Tunis now stands. Josephus says the name is derived from Afer, (one of the posterity of Abraham by Cethurah> who is stated to have led an army into Libya, and to have established himself in the country. This Afer is, of course, the same with Epher, mentioned in the fourth verse of the 25th chapter of Genesis, as a son of Midian, one of the sons of Abraham by his concubine Keturah. 76 Ptolemy's tetkabiblos. [Book 11, consequently, live in community, attend to mercantile pursuits, and enjoy abundantly all the blessings of nature. The natives of Metagonitis, Mauritania, and Getulia, are influenced liy Scorpio and Mars, and are consecjuently ferocious and pugnacious in the highest degree ; eaters ol' human flesh, utterly indifferent to danger, and so regard- less and prodigal of blood, as to alay each other without hesitation on the slightest cause. The people in Phazania, Nasamonitis, ahd Garamantica, are connected with Pisces and Jupiter, and are accordingly frank and simple in manners, fond of employment, well disposed, fond of the decencies of life, and, for the most part, free and un- restrained in their actions : they worship Jupiter by the name of Ammon. The other parts of this quadrant, which lie near the middle of the entire earth, are Cyrenaiea, Manimrica, jtlgypt, Thebais, Oasis, Troglodytica, Arabia, Azania, and Middle j^thiopia. These countries, being situated in the north-east of their quadrant, have due familiarity with the north-east triplicity (consisting of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius), and are governed by Saturn and Jupiter, and alio by Mercury. Their inhabitants, therefore, partici- pate in the influence of all the five planets in vespertine figuration, and consequently cherish due love and rever- ence for the gods, and dedicate themselves to their service. They are addicted to sepulchral ceremonies; and, owing to the said vespertine position, they bury their dead in the earth *, aud remove them from the * It does not appear why this practice should have beea remarkeJ oa a DKliooal pecatiarity, unless in dutinctiou froiu the oostoiu of burning the dead among the Gre«k4 and Honiana. iDteriuent ix recorded as liaviog been iisuat aiuuog the .Jewa, and it u known to have been cummon among many antienC barbarous nations. A conjecture may perhaps be allowed, tliat the author, when he wrote this possotK, lioil ia Lin miud the iua)^Dit)cent suburraoeaD Chap, III.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 77 pablic eye. They ase various laws and customs, and worship divers gods. In a state of subjection, they are submissive, cowardly, abject, and most patient; but when they command, they are brave, generous, and high-minded. Polygamy is frequent among them, and practised by the women as well as the men : they are most licentious in sexual intercourse, and allow in- cestuous commerce between brothers and sisters. Both men and women are extraordinarily prolific, and corre- spond in this respect with the fecundity of their soil. Many of the men are, however, effeminate and debased in mind, in consequence of the figuration of the malefics, together with the vespertine position of Venus ; and some of them mutilate their persons*. Among these last named countries, Cyrenaica, Mar- marica, and particularly Lower iEgypt, are chiefly influenced by Gemini and Mercury : the natives are therefore highly intellectual and sensible, and gifted with capacity for every undertaking; above all, for the attainment of wisdom, and an insight into divine mys- teries. They are also magicians, performing secret rites and ceremonies, and are in every respect calculated for the prosecution of all scientific inquiry f. The inhabitants palaces, constructed for the dead, in parts of the region in question ; some of which have been recently made known to the modern world by the sagacity and enterprize of the celebrated Belzoni. • Ttnt ^« ««i ««'«^^*»r< Tif yi99itltxtt9 juiXw*. — The "contempt" here expressed by *m\m^^§ftiei has been taken by all translators (except Whalley) to signify "mutilation." t History warrants the high encomium here given to the natives of these countries, -^gypt was the acknowleded mother of the arts and sciences, and at one time the great dep6t of all the learning of the worhl : her school of astronomy (a science which our author may be suf posed to have placed in the first rank), founded at Alexandria by Ptolemy Philadelphus, maintained its superior reputation for a thousand years. Cyrenaica gave birth to many illustrious philoso- phers, and, among them, to Eratosthenes, who is said to have 78 itolemy's TETRAfliBLos. [Book IT. of Thebaia, Oaais, and Troglodytica, are connected with Libra and Venus ; they are of warmer constitution, and more hasty disposition, and enjoy life in all its plenitude and abundance. The natives of Arabia, Azania, and Middle ^Ethiopia, have familiarity with Aquarius and Saturn ; they consequently feed on flesh and fish indis- criminately, and live in a state of dispersion like wild beasts; they never unite in society, hut lead a wandering and savage life. The familiarities exercised by the Planets, and by the Signs of the Zodiac, together with the manners, customs, and qualities, particular as well as general, which they produce, have now been concisely described; but in order to facilitate the knowledge and use of them, the subjoined table is inserted, to show, at one view, what countries are in connection with each sign, respectively, according to the mode above detailed. invented the arniillary sphere. TIiih great man meuured the obli- quity of tlie cclii>tic, and tliuugli he erroneooil; reckoned it at only 20} degrees, it shoutii be recoUecIed that lie lived tiOO years before the Clirislian icra. He tim iiiea.-areil a degree of the meridian, and itetermined the extent uf the earth by means niniilar to those adopteil by the DioderDS. r«t ^t*^ «itt«,>»^ f*A«c:U ( *i^t-^. ya.:,'.h.tr. tjrw-*j. *-si-* Okap. III.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 1 1 1 j 1 1 i\i\4i 1 Hi JOB, ^ s f 1 S an 1 ■5 1 fill 111 "!^ III 1 i ■i .s ■s Hi 1 1 ■3 1 IB: J |l| %M 1 HI i 1 1 i z 1 m J if f 1 m ^ 1 i 5 1 i .» 1 III. Hit 1 1 ^l| 1 1 1 !lii^ 1 1 -III u I'm 1 1 PillP ^5 : ! 1 |6 ^^ ■ 111 IF hi ITOLEMV'S TET1(AHII1I.0 [SmA- II. eEhaptcr IV, The Familiarity of tiu: Regimis uf the Earth vUh thf Jix^-d Stars. Is addition to the rules which have been alreaily given, respecting the familiarity of the regions of the earth with the sif;n3 and planets, it must he observed, that all fixed stars which may he posited on any line, drawn from one zodiacal pole to the other, through such parts of the- ;^odifle as may be connected with any particular country, are aiso in familiarity with that particular country. And, with regard to metropolitan cities, it ia necessary to state, that those points or degrees of the zodiac, over which the Sun and Moon were in transit, at the time when the construction of any auch city was first under- taken and commenced, are to be considered as sym- pathizing with that city in an especial manner; and that. among the angles, the ascendant is principally in accor- dance with it. In certain cases, however, where the date of foundation of a metropolis cannot be ascertained, the mid-heaven in the nativity of the reigning king, or other actual chief magistrate, is to be substituted, and considered as that part of the zodiac with which it chiefly sympathizes •. Qthaytcr V. Mode of particular Prediction in Eclipses. After having gone through the necessary preliminary topics, it is now proper to speak of the manner in which predictions are to be formed and considered ; beginning * \Vhiill(>y reiiiArlcB on IIiik paI^»aKe, that the gradual prui^ress of ihe lixed hIbth " from oae sign lo anotlier, i» in aa especial maDiier " to I>e regnrded in cooidderlii); th? mutation?, ' laws, government, and fortune of a kioKiioni." Gimp. VI.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 81 with those which relate to general events, affecting either certain cities, or districts, or entire countries. The strongest and principal cause of all these events exists in the ecliptical conjunctions of the Sun and Moon, and in the several transits made by the planets during those conjunctions. /, One part of the observations, required in forming pre- diction in cases of this nature, relates to the locality of the event, and points out the cities or countries liable to be influenced by particular eclipses, or by occasional continued stations of certain planets, which at times remain for a certain period in one situation. These planets are Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars ; and they furnish portentous indications, when they are stationary. 2. Another branch relates to time, and gives pre-infor- mation of the period at which the event will occur, and how long it will continue to operate. 3. The third branch is generic ; and points out the classes, or kinds, which the event will affect. /^. The last part is specific; and foreshows the actual quality and character of the coining event. arhnptcr VI. Tlte Regions or Gowntries to he considered as liable to he comprehended in the Event. The first of the several branches of consideration just enumerated relates to locality, and is to be exercised in the following manner : — In all eclipses of the Sun and Moon, and especially in such as are fully visible, the place in the zodiac, where the eclipse happens, is to be noted ; and it must be seen what countries are in familiarity with that place, accord- ing to the rules laid down regarding the quadrants and the triplicities ; and in like manner it must be observed o 82 PTOLEMY'S TETRAHIBLOS. [Bock II. what cities are under tlie influence of the sign in whicli tlie eclipse tiappens; either by means of the ascendant, and the situations of the luniinarieN at the time nf their foundation, or by inean.s of the mid-heaven of their kings or governors, actually ruling at the time of the eclipse; although such time may be subsequent to the building of the said cities. Whatever countries or cities shall be thus found in familiarity with the ecliptical place, will all be comprehended in the event; which will, however, principally attach to all those parts which may be connected with the identical sign of the eclipse*, and in which it was visible while above the earth t- eiiapter VII The Tivie and Period of the Event. The second point requiring attention relates to time, and indicates the date when the event will take place, and the period during which its effect will continue: these are to be ascertained in the following manner. It must, however, be premised, that as an eclipse, occurring at any particular season, cannot happen in all climates at the same temporal or solar hour^, so neither will the magnitude of the obscuration, nor the time of its continuance, be equal in all parts of the world. First, * As ehou'n in the Tabli: al pafje 70. f It does not ftppcAr that the text here warrants tiio coDclaBieii -which Whailey has drawn from it, viz. "thai wherever eelipaea »r« " not visible, they hava no iulluence. tiniace and the said ruling stars may be posited, are alao to be observed ; and, from the properties and characteristics of those signs, the genus, or species, to be comprehended in the event, is chiefly to be inferred. For instance, should the zodiacal constellations, and those of the ruling fixed stars out of the zodiac, be of human shape, the effect will fail upon the human race. If the signs be not of human shape, but yet terrestrial, or quadrupedal, the event would be indicated to happen t<' animals of similar form : the signs shaped like reptiles signify that .serpents and creatures of that description will be aff'ected ; those bearing the figure of ferocious beasts denote that the event will affect savage and de- structive animals; and those figured like tame beasts show that it will operate on animals serviceable to man- kind, anil of domestic character; as intimated by the shape and figure of the signs, whether resembling horses, oxen, sheep, or any other useful animals. — In addition to this, the terrestrial signs situated in the north, about the Arctic circle, indicate sudden earthquakes ; and those in the south, .sudden deluges of rain. And .should the * " In electing lixeH sUtre, CitrclBn ilirevU to obmrve tbe ingle " which the eclipM folIowB, and that which it precedes : as, if the " eclipM l>e between the seventh house" (or uctidental angle) "and " the mid-heaven, tbe Btais which are in the seventh shall be pre- " ferred : and next, those in tbe luid-heaven ; but, if between tbe " niid-beaven and the ascendant, those in the mid-beaven shall have " tbe preference; and next, those in the maceudaDt."^Whalle!/'t "Annolaliim*." iLEMYS TETBABIBLU sr Chap. VIII] ruling places be .situated in nin;ns nlmped like winged unimuls, as in that of Acjuila. or in others of similar form, the event will tike efl'ect on birds ; and will chiefly attach to those which affoni food to man. IE the said places should be in sign.s formed like creature.s which swim, and in marine signx, such as Delphinus, the effect will be felt by marine animals, and in the navigation of fleets; if in river signs, Mich as Aquarius and Pisces, it will attach to animals living in rivers and in fresh water ; and, if in Argo, both sea and fresh-water aniniab will be aflected by it*. Again, shuiild the ruling places be situated in tropical or in equinoctial signs, in either case alike they presignify changes in the stale of the atinoHphere, at the respective season to which each sign is appropriated. For example with rcf-ard tn the season of spring nnd the productions of the earth, if the said places .should be in the sign of the vernal equinox, they will produce an effect on the buds of the vine and fig, and of such other trees as sprout forth at that sea-son. Should they be in the sign of the summer tropic, the event will afl'ect the gathering and ■lepo.-iiling of fruits ; and, with respect to j?igypt in par- ticular, it will impede the rising of the Nile. If they should be in the sign of the autumnal equinox, they foreshow that it will operate on grain and on various sorts of herbs; if in the sign of the winter tropic, on potherb», esculent vegetables, and such birds and fishes an arrive in that season. The equinoctial signs further indicate the circum- stances liable to happen in ecclesiastical concerns, and * It i« perhnpi- tinnecemarj- to remark, th&t, in speaking of ruling plwwH. ft^ liaMe Ui be sitiUiUd in AiguiU, DelpliinDB or Ar^, Ptolemy MUndw only to the pl&cea of the flxed iCars in dorainion : since tlie eoliptical plat.'e and the pluiets moat be confined to tbe zoditcnl 88 PTOLEMV's TETRABIBLOS. \Book II. in religiouB matters ; tlie tropical signs give warning of changes in the atmosphere and in political affairs; the lixed signs, of changes in institutions and in buililings; tind the hicorporeal signs show that the future event will fall alike on princes and their subjects. Again, the ruling places situated in the east, during the time of the eclipse, signify that fruits and seeds, in- cipient institutions, and the age of youth, will be atTected . those which may be in the mid-heaven above the earth announce that the coming event will relate to ecclesi- astical affairs, to kings and princes, and to the middle age; those in the weat, that it will induence the laws, old age, and persons about to die. The proportion liable to be affected, of that genus or kind on which the event will fall, is to be a^icertained by the magnitude of the obscuration caused by the eclipse, and by the positions held by the operative stars in regard to the ecliptical place; as, in vespertine position to a solar eclipse, or in inatutine position to a lunar eclipse, the said stars will ujost usually much diminish the effect; — in opposition they render tt moderate; — hut in matutine position to a solar eclipse, or in vespertine tn a lunar, they greaily augment and extend it*. Chapter IX. The (jwdili/ ami Nature of tbt Effect. TU£ discrimination of the peculiar properties and char- acter of the offi'ct about to he produced, and of it<4 good or evil nature, occupies the fourth and last division of this part of the subject, " According (o Wlmllvy, Cardiiii. in referente to thn nine nii»le» of i-'oiitiguraliun, a|>plkable to the lixei) atom, oays, " When a lixeil itAT •' ifl with any pinnet, or in any angle, eousiiler whether it ba liy any " of lliene wayii ; if uol, it in iiiOHt weak ; if it be. uunxiiler wlietlier il Chxup. IX.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 89 These properties must be gathered from the power of the stars which control the ruling places, and from the contemperament created by their relative admixture with each other and with the places which they controul. For, although the Sun and the Moon are the acknow- ledged sources of all the efficacy and dominion of the stars, and of their strength or weakness, and in a certain manner regulate and command them, still, it is by the theory of the contemperament, produced by the stars in dominion, that the effect is indicated. In order to understand the indications thus made, it is necessary to begin by attending to the following detail of the effective property of each planet — previously observ- ing, however, that, when any circumstance is said, for the sake of brevity, to come to pass by the general influence of the five planets, their temperament, and the power and assistance they may derive from natures similar to their own, the actual continuance of their own proper constitution, or the casual combination of any analogous influence, arising from fixed stars or places in the zodiac, are all, at the same time, to be kept in view. Consequently, whenever any general remark is herein made relative to the five planets, it will likewise be necessary to bear in mind both their temperament and quality ; as fully, indeed, as if the stars themselves had not been named, but only their effective quality and nature. And, it is further to be remembered, that, in every case of compound temperament, not only the combination of the planets with each other requires to be considered, but also that of such fixed stars and zodiacal places as share in the natures of the planets, by \ parching disenses, quolidiitn fever, cough, CAap. IX.] PTOLEBiY'S TETRABIBLOS. 9* consumption, and haemorrhage. — All parts of the cere- monies and services of religion, the afiFairs of the executive government, as well as manners, customs, and laws, are disposed and regulated by this planet, con- formably to its admixture and familiarity with each of the others. And in consequence of the dryness of its nature, arising from its proximity to the Sun, and the rapidity of its motion, it will generate in the atmosphere turbulent, sharp, and variable winds, together with thunders, meteors, and lightnings, accompanied by sudden chasms in the earth, and earthquakes : by these means it not unfrequently occasions the destruction of animals and plants assigned to the service of mankind. Besides the foregoing effects, it produces, when in vespertine position, a diminution of waters, and, when matutine, an augmentation. Each of the planets, when fully exercising its own separate and distinct influence, will properly produce the ' peculiar effects above ascribed to it; but should it be combined with others, whether by configuration, by familiarity arising from the sign in which it may be posited*, or by its position towards the Sun, the coming event will then happen agreeably to the admixture and compound temperament which arise from the whole communion actually subsisting among the influencing powers. It would, however, be a business of infinite labour and innumerable combinations, quite beyond the limits of this treatise, to set forth fully every contem- perament and all configurations, in every mode in which they can possibly exist ; and the knowledge of them must, therefore, be acquired by particular discrimination * That is to say, (technically speaking,) by reception, or by being posited in a sign in which another planet has a certain dignity or prerogative. '94 croi-EUY's TETiumBLos, [Bookli. in every instance, under the guidance of the precepts of science. — Yet the following additional remark must not be here omitted. The nature of the familiarities dubnisting between the stars, lorda of the coming event, and the countries or cities over which the event will extend, requires to be observed ; for, should the stars be benetic, and their familiarity with the countries liable to sustain the effect be unimpeded by any opposing influence, they will then exercise the favourable energies of their own nature in a greater degree. And, on the other hand, when any obstacle may intervene to obstruct their familiarity, or when they ihemselve--^ may be overpowered by some opposing influence, the advantages of their operation will be diminished. Again, should the stars, lords of the coming event, not be benefic. but injurious, their effect will be leas severe, provided they may either have familiarity with the countries on which the event will fall, or be restrained by some opposing influence. IE, however, they .thould have no such familiarity, and not be subjected to restraint by any others, endowed with a nature contrary to their own. and pas.sessing a familiarity with the countries in question, the evils which they produce will be more violent and intense. And all these general aflections, of whatever kind. whether good or evil, will bo principally felt by those persons in whose individual nativities there may be found the same disposition of the luminaries, (which arc the most essential significators,) or the same angW, an those existing during the eclipse which operates the general artection. The same remark equally applies to other persons, in whose nativities the disposition of the luminaries and of the angles may be in opposition to that existing during the eclipse. With respect to these ■coincidences, the partite agreement, or opposition, of the Chap, X.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 95 ^cliptical place of the luminaries to the place of either luminary in a nativity, produces an effect least capable of being guarded against*. Chapter X. Colours in Eclipses ; Comets, and similar Phenomena. In investigating general events, it is necessary further to observe the colours or hues displayed during an Hclipse, either in the luminaries, or around them ; in the shape of rods or rays, or in other similar forms. For, if these colours or hues should be black, or greenish, they portend effects similar to those produced by Saturn's nature ; if white, to those operated by Jupiter ; if reddish, to those by Mars ; if yellow, to those by Venus : and if of various colours, to those by Mercury. And, if the entire bodies of the luminaries be thus coloured, or should the hues extend over all the parts * In conformity to the rale laid down in Chap 6 of this Book, tliose individuals whose nativities may thus resemble the position of the heavens at the time of an eclips , and who are here stated to be chiefly liable to the effects of the eclipse, will be more affected by it, if it should be visible to them. To the precepts contained in this chapter, Placiduw makes the fol lowing allusion, in his remarks on the nativity of Cardinal Pancirolo. — " Any significator whatever, together with the other stars, whils they are moved by a converse universal motion, change tie aspect alternately, and consequently the mundane rays, as it like«i^o happens when they acquire parallels : — the rays thus acquired aie of a long continuance, and denote a certain universal disposition of the things signified, either good or bad, accurding to the nature of the aspecting stars ; as it happened to this Cardinal, who some years before his death was always sickly : and this observation is wonderful in the changes of the times and weather ; for this prin- ciple Ptolemy adhered to in the Almagest, lib. viii, cap. 4 ; and this doctrine he also mentions in the 2nd Book of Judgments, io the chapter on the Nature of Events." — (Cooper's Translation, 272.) K (i C< (( <( << cc 4C 96 PTOLEMT'H TETRAlllBLOS. [BimIc II. immediately cirumjacent to the luminaries, it is an indication that the effects will attach to most part? of t!ie region, or countries, with which the eclipse and its ruling places may be in familiarity. If, however, the colourinir should not spread over the whole surface of the luminarie.', nor over all the parts around tliem, but be limited to some particular quarter, then only such a portion of the said countries, as may be indicated by the situation of the visible hues, will be comprehended in the event. It is also requisite to notice, with respect to general events, the risings or first appearances of those celestial phenomena called comet.s, whether presenting themselves at eclipticftl times or at any other periods. They are ilisplayed in the shape of beams, trumpets, pipes, and in other similar figures, and operate efl'ects like those of Mara and Mercury ; exciting wars, heated and turbulent dispositions in the atmosphere, and in the constitutions of men, with all their evil con.seqiiences. The parts of the zodiac* in which they may be posited when they Hrst appear, and the direction and inclination of thi^ir trains, point out the regions or places liable to be affected by the events which they threaten; and the form of the signs indicates the quality and nature of those events, as well as the genus, class, or kind, on which the effect will fall. The time of their continuance shews the duration of their effect; and their position, with regard to the Sun, the period when it will com- mence ; as, if they first appear mafcutine, they denote an * When a roiuet appears out of the xmlioc, it line abciiild be drawn from one zudiai^al pole to the other, through the »pot where it ftppeam : and that Bpot in to be comtidered as being in faniilianty with tbe same eountries as tlioae parCa of the zodiac which may b« on. th? uuae line.— Vide Chap. 4 of this Book, relatire to the manner in whifh liied slars oal of the zoiliae hold familiarity with certfun regions and eoontriea. Chap. XI.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 97 early commencement; but, if vespertine, that it will be late and tardy. The general and more comprehensive parts of the consideration regarding regions, countries, and cities, having now been explained, it becomes necessary to dis- cuss certain particular points of the same consideration ; that is to say, the annual occurrences which take place at certain fixed seasons, and the chief of which is that called the New Moon of the Year. (Ehaptcr XI. The New Moon of the Year, In every annual revolution made by the Sun, the first new Moon of the year is to be considered as the point of the commencement of his circuit ; this is evident not only from its denomination, but from its virtue also *. The case stands thus : — In the ecliptic, which, as a circle, has in fact no actual or definite beginning, the two equinoctial and the two tropical points, marked by the equator and the tropical circles, are reasonably assumed as beginnings. And to obviate any doubt as to which of these four points should preferably be con- sidered as the primary beginning, (since in the regular simple motion of a circle no part of it has any apparent precedence?,) the appropriate quality naturally belonging to each of these four points has been taken into con- sideration by the writers on this subject. And the point • The Neomenia, or new Moon, was observed as a festival with much solemnity in earlier ages and by the most ancient nations. It was celebrated by the Israelites, as well as by Pagans, and it may perhaps Ims gathereil from the 5th and 6th verses of the 20th Chapter of the 1st Book of Samuel, that it was kept once in a year with greater ceremony than at other times: this was done, probably, at the ** New Moon of the Year," as Ptolemy calls it ; or, in other words, at the new Moon nearest to the vernal equinox. H 38 PTOLEMY'3 TETHABIBLOS. [Buotc 11. of the vernai equinox has been consequently tiesignated by them as the beginning of the year; because, from that time, the duration of the day begins to excued that of the nitfht, and btcaiise the season then produced par- takes highly of inoisture, which is alwaytt a prt-dominant quality in all incipient generation and growth. After the vernal equinox comes the summer solstice ; when the day attains its greatest length, and in JEgy^it, at the name period, the rise of the Nile takes place and the Dog Star appears. Then follows the autumnal equinox, when all fruits arc gathered in, and the sowing of seeds recom- mences anew ; lastly, comes the winter solstice, when the day proceeds from its shortest duration towards its increase. Although the foregoing arrangement has been adopted by men of science to denote the commencement of the several seasons of the year, it yet seems to be more con- sonant to nature, and more consistent with the facts, that the combined positions of the Sun, and the new, or full. Moon, which happen when the Sun is nearest to the points above mentioned, should mark the four begin- nings; and more especially if such combined positions should produce eclipses: thus, from the new or full Moon, taking place when the Sun is nearest to the tirst point of Aries, the spring should be dated ; from that when the Sun is nearest to the tirst point of Cancer, the summer ; from that when he is nearest to the Krst point of Libra, the autumn ; and from that when he is nearest to the first point of Capricorn, the winter, The Sun not only produces the general qualities and cou'ititutiona of the seasons, by means of which very illiterate persons are enabled, in a certain degree, to form predictions, but he also regulates the proper significations of the signs with regard to the excitation of the winds, as well as other general occurrences, more or less subjected to Chap, XII.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 99 occasional variation. All these general efiects are usually brought about by the new or full Moon which takes place at the aforesaid points, and by the configurations then existing between the luminaries and the planets; but there are certain particular consequences which result from the new and full Moon in every sign *, and from the transits of the planets ; " and which require monthly investigation -f-/' It therefore becomes necessary to explain, in the first instance, the particular natures and attributes exercised by each sign in influencing the several constitutions of the weather, as it exists at various times of the year ; — these natures and attributes shall now be immediately detailed. It will be recollected, that the peculiar pro- perties of the planets and the fixed stars, as affecting the wind and the atmosphere, as well as the manner in which the entire signs hold familiarity with the winds and the seasons, have been already set forth. Chapter XII. The particidar Natures of the Signs by which the different Constitutions of the Atmosphere are pi^oducedl. The sign of Aries has a general tendency, arising from the presence of the Equinox, to promote thunder and hail. Certain of its parts, however, operate in a greater or less degree, according to the nature of the stars which com- pose the sign : for instance, the front parts excite rain and wind; the middle are temperate ; and those behind are * That is to ray, at the new and fnll Moon taking place during the Snn's progress through each sign. t The passage marked thus ** '' is not in the Greek, but is found in two Latin translations. X According to Wing, in his ** Introduction to the Ephemerides," printed in 1652, the signs, as mentioned in this chapter by Ptolemy, are to be considered in their quality as constellations, and not as 100 rTni,EMY'.S TETBABIBLOS. [ISook II, healing an! of the monthly oonaideratinn, p. |i)3, he again uses Duly i/V'ra, in reference to Ihe present passage, in which, how. ever, he lias need only r/i. Thirdly, it is a proper inference tiiat he meant to point out here the now or full Moon which nmy hnppen ttrai-r^l to the tropical or equinoctial pointe, becaase he has previously and rxplicitly taught th«t the principal variation of all things depcnda upon those points. Lastly, Allatua has here rendered the woril by no other than proximi., which is also the word given in the I'erugio Latin of 164(1. Un the other bund, Whaliey, in hie note on the present chapter, B«ys, that "accoriling to this I'nnne of Astrologers." (nie*ning Pto- lemy) " we are to observe l\\'. new or full Moon |ireceding the iugreag, "only, for our jiidgnieut on the succeeding quarter, and not the " lunation succeeding : and the reason I conceive to be, becanse the " Innation, which ininiediate'y precedes the ingress, carrieH its InHu- " ence to the very position of the ingress itself, but not so Ihat which " follows the ingresH." Wing, in his Introduction to the Epheme- rides (London 16^2} also says, that "for ihe knowledge of the " weather, it is requisite lo observe the oonjnnction or oppoucjoo of " the luminaries next precfding the Sun's ingresfi into the Grst point Now, if a new or full Moon happen immrdialelj/ after the Son's transit or ingress, the previous full or aatr Moon must have happened a fortnight btfort t\ie said transit or ingress; and, aft«r considering the other paria of Ptolemy's doctrine, ( do not conceive that bo intendeil to leach, in this rhapler. that a prtPioiu lunntion, when at so ureal a distance before the important ingress, would have a greater influence over the ensuing quarter of the year than a tubnquent lunatjim taking pUce no closely after the said ingress. Ghaj). XI II.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 103 the period of the Sun's transit through either tropical or equinoctial point, whichever it may be ; and to arrange the angles (as in the case of a nativity) according to the degree and hour at which the new or full Moon may be found to happen, in every latitude for which the con- consideration may be desired. Such planets and stars as may have dominion over the places where the said new or full Moort happens, and over the following angle, are then to be noted ; in the same manner as that stated with regard to eclipses. And after these preliminary steps have been attended to, a general inference may be drawn as to tho proper qualities of the whole quarter ; and the intensity or relaxation of their -operation is to be con- templated from the natures of the ruling planets or stars, distinguished by the faculties they possess, and by the mode in which they affect the atmosphere. The second part of the con.sideration relates to each month, and requires a similar observation of the new or full Moon first taking place on the Sun';* progress through each sign : and it must be remembered, that, if a new Moon should have happened at a period nearest to the Sun's transit over the past tropical or equinoctial point, the new Moon also in each succeeding sign, until the commencement of the next quarter, is to be observed ; but, if a full Moon should have so happened, then similar observation is to be made of each subsequent full Moon. The angles, also, must be duly attended to, as well as the planets and stars ruling in both the places*; and especi- ally the nearest phases, applications, and separations of the planets, and their properties. The peculiar qualities of the two places, and the winds, liable to be excited by the planets themselves and by those parts of the signs * •* Both the j'laees.'* These are the places of the new or full M«'ori, ami of tho following angle ; as hefore mentioned with regard to the quarterly conKideration. 104 Ptolemy's tetuahiblos. [Bcmk 71, in which they may 1m aitiiated, are likewise to be con- sidered ; and ftlso that particular wind, which is indicateil by the direction of the Moon's ecliptica! latitude. By the aid of these observations, and by wei(;hing and com- paring the existing vijjour of each of the several pro- perties and qualities, tlie general constitution of the atmosphere duriTig each month may be predicted. The third part of this considi-ration appertains to significations applying more minutely, and points out their force or weakness. In this case, the partile configurations of the Sun and Moon, at the intermediate quarters, as well as at the new or full Mo^n. are to be attentively regarded; since tliere is a cenain varia- tion in the cunstitution of the atmosphere, which usually commences about three days before, and some- tiroes, also, about three days after the Moon has equated her course to the Sun. The configurations efl^ected between the Moon, at each quarterly equation, and the planets, whether by the trine, sextilu. or -other authorized distances, are also to be observed; because the peculiar property of the change in the constitutions of the atmosphere drpends much upon sucli configurations, and may be accordingly perceived by conwidering iho nature of the influence which the said confii;urated planeti and the signs exercise over the atmosphere and the winds. The particular quality of tin- weather, thus produced, will be mure fully established on certain days ; especially when the brighter and more efficacious fixed stars may be near the Sun, either luatutine or vespertine; as, when BO posited, they most frequently convert the constitution of the atmosphere to an agreement with their own natures : and, when the Luminaries may tran.sit any one of the angles, a similar ett'ect is also produced. At all such po.sitions the particular coasiitutions of the atmosphere are suliject to variation, and thus becooie CKtop. XIV.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 106 alternately more intense or more relaxed in their respective qualities. In this manner, by certain positions of the Moon, the flux and reflux of the sea are caused ; and, when the Luminaries may be in angles, a change of the wind is produced, according to the direction of the Moon's ecliptical latitude. Finally, in all these considerations, it must be remem- bered that the more general and first constituted cause takes precedence, and that tlie particular cause comes subsequently and secondarily ; and that the operation is in the highest degree confirmed and strengthened, when the stars, which regulate the general effects, may be also contigprated towards the production of the particular effects. Orhapter XIV. The Signification of Meteors. In order to facilitate prognostication in minor and more limited instances, it is important to nnke further observation of all remarkable appearances occasionally visible around or near the Sun, Moon, and stars. And, for the diurnal state of the atmosphere, the Sun's rising should be remarked ; for the nocturnal state, his setting; but the probable duration of any such state must be considered by reference to the Sun's configuration with the Moon ; for, in most cases, each aspect, made between them, indicates the continuance of a certain state until another aspect shall take place. Hence, the Sun, when rising or setting, if he shine clear and open, free from mists, gloom, and clouds, promises serene weather. But, if he have a wavering or fiery orb, or seem to emit or attract red rays, or if he be accompanied in any one part by the clouds called parhelia, or by other reddish clouds of extended figure, 106 rruLKMVS TETRAItlBLOS. [Book II. in the form of long rayx. he then portends violent windp, chiefly liable to arise from those parts in wliich the said phenomena may have shewn theiiiselven. If he should he pale or lurid, and rise or set encumbered with clouds, or surrounded by halo.s, he indicates storms and winds coming from the quarter of hia apparent situation : and, if he bo also accompanied by parhelia, or by lurid or dark rays, similar effects are also threatened from the parts where those appearances may he situated*. The Moon'M course is to be carefully i>bscrved, at the third day before or after her conjunction with the Sun, her opposition, and her intermediate quarters ; for if she then shine thin and clear, with no other phenomena about her, she indicates serenity; but if she appear thin and red, and her whole unilluminated part visible, and in a stale of vibration, she portends winds from the quarter of her latitude and declination-|-: and if she appear dark, or pale and thick, she threatens storms and showers. All haios formed around the Moon should also be observed ; for, if there appear one only, bright and clear, and decaying by deirrees, it promises serene weather; but, it iwo or three appear, tempests are indicated : and, if they seem reddish and broken, they threaten tempests, with violent and boisterous winds; if dark and thick, they foreshew storms and 'Similar preccpto niay be found linely illustrated i'l Vir, GeoTgic, vide 1. 438 at iofra : " Sol qiiiM|ue et exoriens et onm se condit in auda.- "Signa daliit :" + Virgii liaH Hftid alinosl llie Name tiling in tliese bKftiitifnl li " At ni virgiuenm BotTuderit ore ruburem " Ventns urit i vento semper rubet anraa Phii-'bi!." See also tbv whole pasHage. be^noning at 1. 434 : " Si vero Suieni lul rnpidiim Lnnaaquu Bcqtienteit " Ordine reHpieies," etc Chap, XIV.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIULOS. 107 snow ; if pale, or black and broken, tempests with winds and snow, both : and, whenever a greater number may appear, storms of greater fury are portended. The planets, also, and the brighter fixed stars, occa- sionally have halos, which indicate certain effects appropriate to their tinctures, and to the nature of the stars around which they may be situated. The apparent magnitudes of the fixed stars, and the colours of the luminous masses among them, are likewise to be remarked : for, when the stars appear brighter and larger than usual, they indicate an excitation of the wind from that quarter in which they may be situated. The nebulous mass of the Praesepe in Cancer, and others similar to it, also require observation ; as, if in fine weather they appear gloomy and indistinct, or thick, they thereby threaten a fall of rain ; but. if clear and in continual vibration, they announce rough gales of wind*. Appearances occasionally visible in the sky, resemb- ling the trains of conietsf, usually indicate wind and drought; in a degree proportionate to their multitude and continuance. -'^'^Appearances, resembling shooting or falling stars, when presented in one part only, threaten a movement of wind from that part| ; when in various and opposite * At this place, the following sentence, not found in the Greek, is inserted in a Latin translation : " If the northern of the two stan, situated one on each side of the " Pra'sepe, and called the Asini, should not appear, the north wind "will blow : but, if the southern one be invisible, the south wind " t These coruscations are, perhaps, similar to those now known by the name of the Aun^ra Borealis. X Virgil again : "Sn'pe etiam stellas vento impendente videbis •* PniKsipites copIo labi."— etc. Georg. I, 1. 365. A great part of the 1st Georgio consists of astrological rules for pre- dicting the weather, closely resembling the precepts here given by Ptolemy. Virgil is said to have adopted his doctrine from Aratus. 108 FTOLEMV'S TETRAHIBLOS. [Book II. jMtta, they portend the approach of all kinds of tem- peijtiious weather, together with thunder and Uzhtning^. Olouds resembling fleeces of wool will also sometimes preuage tempests ; and the occasional appearance of the rainbow denotes, in stormy weather, the approach of serenity i in fine weather, storms. And, in a, word, all remarkable phenomena, visible in the sky, universally portend that certain appropriate events will be produced, each harmonising with its proper cause, in the manner herein described. After the foregoing brief investigation of the more limited, as well as more extensive significations, regard- ing general events it becomes proper to proceed to the doctrine of genethliacal prognostication, or judgment of individual nativities. BOOK THE THIRD. (Ehapter I. Proem. In the precedinjQr pages, such events as affect the world generally have been discussed in priority ; because they are operated by certain principal and paramount causes, which are, at the same time, predominant over par- ticular and minor events applicable only to the separate properties and natural peculiarities of individuals. The foreknowledge of these particular events is called Gen- ethlialogy, or the science of Nativities. It must be remembered that the causation, bv which all efiects, whether general or particular, are produced and foreknown, is essentially one and the same; for the motions of the planets, and of the Sun and Moon, pre- sent the operative causation of events which happen to any individual, as well as of those which happen generally ; and the foreknowledge of both may be obtained by the same accurate observation of the dis- tinct natures of the several creatures and substances subjected to the influence of the heavenly bodies, and by due attention to the changes prorluced in those natures, by the configurations displayed in the Ambient by the planetary motion. Still, however, the causes of general events are greater and more complete than those of particular events ; and, although it has been now stated that one aiu^V^ no ptolkmy's tetrabiblos. [Book III. identical power supplies both the causation and the foreknowledge of general as well as particular events. yet there does not belong to the two sorts of events a aimiiar origin or beginning, at which observation of the ccelestial configurations must be made for prognostica- tion. In regard to general events, the dates of origin and commencement are many and various; for all general events cannot be traced to one origin, neither is their origin always considered by means of the matter sub- jected to their operation, for it may also be established by circumstances occurring in the Ambient and presenting the causation. It may, in fact, almost be Maid that they b1! originate in eminent eclipses of the Luminaries, and in remarkable transits made by the stars, at various times. Particular events, however, which concern men indi- vidually, may be traced to one origin, single as well as manifold. Their origin is single, in respect to the primary composition of the nascent man; but it is also manifold, in respect lo other circumstances subsequently indicated by dispositions in the Ambient, correlative to the primary origin. In all particular events, the origin, or birth, of the subjected matter itself, must of course be the primary origin; and, in succession thereto, the various Ijeginnings of other subsequent circumstances are to be assumed. Hence, therefore, at the origin of the subjected matter, all the properties and peculiarities of iU contem- perament must be observed; and then the subsequent events, which will happen at certain periods, sooner or later, are to be considered by means of the division of time, or the scale of the ensuing years". * The DivUiuD of Time is Bulwequently IkUI ilown by llie author ir the IttMt Chapter of the foortli Itoolc, Chap. II.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. Ill IfX-i Otkapter IL * ^'^'^^s^^l^^-^ The Conception, and the Parturition, or Birth ; by which / .^T^ latter Event the Animal quits tite Womb, and assumes "^ another State of Existence. The actual moment, in which human generation com- mences, is in fact, by nature, the moment of the concep- tion itself; but, in efficacy with regard to subsequent events, it is the parturition, or birth. In every case, however, where the actual time of con- ception may be ascertained, either casually or by observa- tion, it is useful to remark the effective influence of the configuration of the stars as it existed at that time ; and, from that influence, to infer the future personal peculi- arities of mind and body. For the seed will, at the very first, and at once, receive its due quality, as then dis- pensed by the Ambient; and, although in subsequent periods its substance is varied by growth and conforma- tion, it will still, by the laws of nature, congregate, during its growth, only such matter as may be proper to itself, and will become more and more imbued with the peculiar property of the first quality impressed on it at the time of conception. These precepts must always be attended to, when that time can be ascertained. But, if the time of conception cannot be precisely made out, that of the birth must be received as the original date of generation ; for it is virtually the most import- ant, and is in no respect deficient, on comparison with the primary origin by conception, except in one view only; viz. that the origin by conception affords the inference of occurrences which take effect previously to the birth, whereas the origin by birth can, of course, be available only for such as arise subsequently. And, although the birth should in strictness be called tlie secondary beginning, while the conception might be 112 PTOLEMY S TETIlABIBr.OS. [Book 111. insisted on as the primary beginning, it is still found to be equal to the conception in ita efficacy, and much more complele, although later in time. For the concep- tion may, in Fact, be .said to be the generation of mere human seed, but the birth that of man hiiaself; since the infaTit at iti birth acqtiireM numerous qualitips which it could nut pOHsess while in the womb, and which are proper to human nature alone; "such for instance, as "the panicular action of the senses and the movement "of the body and limbs*" Besides, even if the position of the Ambient, actually existing at the birth, cannot be considereil to Assial in forming and engendering the particular shape and qualitieN of the infant, it is never- theless still auxiliary to the infant's entiance into the world : because nuluro, after couipleting the formation in the womb, always effects the birth in immediate obedience to some ciTtuin position of the Ambient, cor- responding and sympathizing with the primary position which operated the incipient foruiation. It is therefore perfectly admissible, and consistent with reason, that the confif^uration of the stars, as it exists at the time of birth, although it cannot be said to possess any share of the creative cause, should still be considered to act in signification as fully as the contigoration at the time of conc'.'pliim ; because it has, of necessity, a power corres- ponding to that configuration which actually possessed the creative cause. In speaking of the practicability of prognostication, in the conmienceuient of this treatise, the intention of setting forth this part of the subject, now under con- sideration, in a scientitic manner, has been alri'sdy noti- fied. The antient mo thuH marked '' e not in tbo Greek, bin i Chap. II.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 113 commixture of all the stars, and abounding in infinite complication and diversity, will therefore be passed over; and, in fact, any attempt to detail it, however accurately and minutely made, in conformity to the several precepts given in the traditions relating to it, would prove unserviceable and unintelligible : it is therefore entirely abandoned. And the doctrine, now presented, comprehending every species of event liable to happen, and explaining all the effective influences generally exercised by the stars, in their separate quali- ties, over every other species of event, shall be delivered succinctly, and in agreement with the theory of nature. With this view, certain places in the Ambient, regu- lating the formation of ail inferences of the events liable to affect mankind, are appointed as a kind of mark to which the whole theory of those inferences is applied, and to which the operative powers of the stars, when holding familiarity with the said places, are in a general manner directed : in the same way as, in archery, the arrow is directed to the target. — And any event, which depends on the compound temperament of many various natures and influences together, must be left to the discretion of the artist, who, like the skilful archer, must himself judge of the best mode of hitting the mark. To proceed methodically and in due order, it is proper to commence by investigating such general events as are open to consideration, and liable to have happened, or to happen, at the actual origin by birth ; since, from that origin, all things necessary to be investigated may be gathered, as before stated. Yet, if a previous inquiry, by means of the primary origin by conception, should nevertheless be desired and undertaken, such an inquiry may still in some degree assist prognostication ; although only in regard to properties and qualities dispensed and imbibed at the time of conception. 114 PTOLKMY'S TETKABIBLOS. [Book III. (tthapter III. The Detjree (tHce titling. There freqtientiy arises some uncertainty as to the pre- cise time of birth, and some apprehension lest it should not be accnratelj- noted. In most cases, the actual minute of the hour, at which the birth happens, can only be ascertained by making a scientific observation, at the time, with a horoscopieal astrolabe*; for all other instru- ments, employed in ascertaining the hour, are almost always fallacious, although used by many persons with much care and attention The clepsydraf, for instance, is subject to error, because the flow of the water will, from various causes, proceed irregularly: and the sun-dial is often incorrectly placed, and it-s gnomon often distorted from the true meridian line. To obviate the difficulty arising from the inaccuracy of these instruments, it seems highly necessary to present some method by which the actually ascending degree of the zodiac may be easily ascertained, in a natural and consistent manner, And in order to attain this essential point, it is necessary first to set down the ordinary degree which, by the Doctrine of Ascensions^, is found near the a-scendant at the presumed hour. After this has been done, the new or full Moon, whichever it may be, thai may take place next before the time of parturition, must be observed : and if a new Moon, it will be neoea- * It is, perbsps, D«edleas to remark tliat iiiiHlem iniprovetuents in Kcieni'e have Baperseded the use of this, aDil other antient instm- ineDti> liere iiieDtioueil. tAlthoagh tlie "clepsydra," or wa,terclock, was conimonly nxed ainoD^ the autientii for varion» piirpoBeH, it appears, from Martiait (a Latio nrit^r, who lived about a.d. i9U,| Iliat there was alao t^ olepsydra in special lue as an astroloKi<.'Al oagine. Z"Th- I'xlrine of yliCFnrioiu,"— in alluMon to the method of ' caU'nlatiiig the actual iMisition uf the ecliptic. /^U ] culinely disposed, and, when in the west, femininely. J Their relative position to the Sun also affords guidanoaj in distinguishing them ; since, if they should l^e matu-'. tine, they are considered to signify tlie male gender ; andil if vespertine, the female. Thus, from the aex ( prevalent, as observed by these rules, that of the nati^ may be rationally inferred. ChiilJtcr VIII. Tu'ins. With respect to the probability of the birth of twins, o a greater number at once, the same place.« must be ol> served as those mentioned in the preceding cl that is to say, the places of both luminaries, and I ascendant. "When two, or all three, of the said places may be situated in bicorporeai signs, births of this kind will occur, in consequence of the combination which then arises; especially, provided all the planets, which confcroul Clotp. VIII.] PTOLEMV'S TETRABIliLOS. 129 those places, should also be similarly circumstanced : or although only some of them be posited in bieorpoteai signs, while the rest may be placed by two or more together. Because even more than twinij will be born, in a case where all the ruling places may be in bicor- poreal signs, mcst of the planets being at the same time posited in the same way, and configurated with them. The number of children, however, to be produced at the birth, is to be inferred from that planet which exercises the right of determining the number* : and the sex ot sexes are to be predicted by means of the planets in configuration with the Sun, Moon, and ascendant. And, should the position of the heavens be arranged so that the angle of the mid-heaven, and not that of the ascendant, may be connected with the luminaries, there will, in that case, be produced, almost always, twins-, and sometime.^ even more. To .speak, however, more particularly, three males will be born, as in the nativity of the Anactores f, when Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars may be configurated with the places before appointed, in hicorporeal signs; and three females, as in the nativity of the Graces, when Venue and the Moon, with Mercury femininely constituted, may ' The planet here alluded to, seetu* to b« tliat which may be vonDected with moHt ol tlio ruling placw. f I have looked in many other books for this word " Anaetoret" (ploral of mtM*Tt,f), as desigQating three particular iniHriduals bom at the same birth, for which ci^ilication it is here utied hy Ptolemj'; but iny ■eari^li lias been in vain. Cicero has, however, written a pwsage, in whieli a word, very nearly resembling it, oecurs, and which would seem to relate to the very perions alluded to by Ptolemy: viz., "The godRbip of the Dioispuri wm eHtablinhed in " various rnoden among the Greeks, and applied to varions persons. " One set consisted of three peraons, who were styled at Athenn the ' Anacta, and were the sons of Jupiter, the most antient king, and " Proserpine ; their several names were Tritopatrens, Eubuleoi', and Dioaysiufl." De Xat. Dior. lib. 3, cap. 21. 130 I'TOLEMY'S TETIIABIBLOS. [Bnnl: HI, be configurated in like manner. When Saturn. Jupiter, and Venus may be so configurated, two males and one female will be horn, as in the nativity of the Dioscuri*; and, when Venus the Moon and Mare inay be »o con- figurated, two females and one male, as in the nativity of Cerea, Core and Liber -f". In cases of this kind, however, it most usually happens that the conception has not been complete, and that the children are born with some remarkable imperfections or deformities. And, in some instances, owing to a certain concurrence of events, these numerous productions are <^uite extraordinary and amazing. Chapter IX. Monstrous or defective Births. The same places, as those pointed out in the two chapters last preceding, are again to be considered, in inciuiring into the probability of a monatroua or defective birth, • ThL* is ilii? second set of the Dioocuri, as stalwi by Cicero : they were tlie children of the lliird, nr Cretan •tu)iit«r (tlie eon of Katnin) and Lcdai their natiies were Caetor, Pollux, and Uelcna.. Helena, however, in Dot raenlioiied by Cicero. I Core is a uarue of Proserpine: Liber, of IIaccIiub. And, altbon^ the mention here made of Ceres, Pronerpiue, and Bacchus, aa being the oRsiring of one and the same birth, does not accord with tlw usnal notion of the genealogy of these divinities, it seems (hat Ptolemy did not no represieDt tbem without same reason. For, in cap. 'i4. lib. 2, De Nal Dear., Cicero speaks of Lilier u» liaviag been deified conjointly with Ceres and Libera (another name of rroscTpine) : and adds, that "it may be understood, from the rit«B " and ii)y>terie8 of the wiirahip, hon ihe deification look place." It appears also, by Daviea'^ notes on Cicero, that Livj and Tacitus botii speak of the co-partnerfcbip in divinity exercised by Liber, Libera, and Ceres. There is not, however, any occasion at present te dive deeper into the question of the generation of thei« deities : for onr author bas ailvertcd to them only to point out that so many males or females will be produceil at one birth, under cevtjuu condguratjone of the stars. Chap. IX.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 131 For it will be found that, at a birth of this description, the luminarias are either cadent from the ascendant, or else not in any manner configurated with it ; while, at the same time, the angles* are occupied by the malefics. It therefore becomes necessary, when such a position of the heavens may occur at the time of birth, to observe forthwith the preceding new or full Moon-f" and its ruler, as well as the rulers of the luminaries at the said time of birth. For, if all the places, in which the rulers of the luminaries, and in which the Moon herself and Mercury may be situated, at the birth, or, if most of those places should be totally inconjunct and unconnected with the places of the said preceding new or full Moon and its ruler, the birth will then be monstrous. And if it should be further found, in addition to this absence of connection, that the luminaries may be also posited in quadrupedal or bestial signs, and the two malefics in angles, the birth will in that case not be human. And should the luminaries, when so circumstanced, be not at all supported by any benefic planet, but only by malefics, the creature born will be wholly indocile, wild, and of evil nature : if, how- ever, they should receive support from Jupiter or Venus, the offspring will, then be like that of dogs or cats, or other creatures held in religious veneration and used in worship J: but, if Mercury support the luminaries, it will resemble that of fowls, oxen, or swine, or of other animals adapted to the service of mankind. When the luminaries may be in signs of human shape, while other circumstances in the scheme of the nativity may exist as before described, the creature born will then • Whalley says here, " chiefly the ascendant and niid-h^avcn.'* t Whichever n)i«;ht have been nearer in time X It is perhaps superfluous to mention that the two kinds of animals here named, (as well as many others) were venerated by the iKji^yptians. 132 ptolkmy's tetrabiblds. [Boo!.: III. lie human, or wil) partake of liuman nature, although it will stilt be defective in some peculiar quality. And, in order to ascerlain the nature of that defect, the shape and form of the signs found on the angles occupied by the malefic-'i, as well as of those wherein the luminaries are situated, must be taken into consideration : and, if in this instance also, no benetic planet should lend support to any one of the prescribed places, the offspring pro- duced will he utterly void of reason, and indeed indefin- able*. If, however, it should happen, that Jupiter or Venus gives support, the defect will be veiled by a specious outward appearance, similar to that of hermaphrodites, and of those persons called Harporratiaci-f-. or others of like i III perfections. And should Mercury also give sup- port, in addition to that of Jupitsr or Venus, the offspring will then become ao interpreter of oracles and divina- tions; but, if Mercury .support alone, it will be deaf and dumb^, although clever and ingenious in its intellect. CluijJtev X. Children not reared. The question which now remains to be considered, in order to complete the investigation of circumstances taking place simultBDeously with the nativity, or im- mediately consequent thereon, is, whether the child, then born, M'iil or will not be reared. This inquiry is to be handled distinctly from that regarding the duration of life, although there is an • The Groek aays "ii-nigmatifdl.'' f One LaLin translation Las rendered this wurd " Btammerers;" anil, lis Httt|Hii'r».tes was the god of Bileuce, Ptolemy has probably ueeil the epithet to signify ilefet^t of speech. X " Dumb.'' The (ireek ia ilaiTui tri^^ixk, " depriitd of tteth," and AllntinB has bo traoslatad it : bnt other translationii render Clieae wonl^ by dumb, whii-h, ooofcidiarinK the nature of Mercary, seema their preferable signilicatinn. Chap, X.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 133 apparent connection between them. The questions themselves are, indeed, similar ; for it is much the same thing to inquire whether the child will be nurtured, or how long it will live; and the only distinction, between these two question?, arises from the different modes in which they are treated. For instance, the inquiry into the duration of life is to be pursued only in cases wherein there is allotted to the native some space of time, not less in duration than a solar period ; that is to say, a year. Therefore, since time is also measured by smaller portions, such as months, days, and hours, and since the question, whether the native will or will not be reared, belongs to cases wherein some exuberance of evil influence threatens speedy destruction, and where life is not likely to endure throughout a whole year, the inquiry into the duration of life must consequently involve a more multifarious consideration than that which relates to rearing ; which may be at once disposed of, in a more general and summary manner. Thus, if either of the two luminaries be in an angle, and one of the maleflcs be either in conjunction with that luminary, or else distant in longtitude from each luminary, in an exactly equal space, so as to form the point of junction of two equal sides of a trianirle, of which sides the two luminaries form the extremities, while, at the same time, no beneflc star may partake in the configuration, and while the rulers of the luminaries may be also posited in places belonging to, or controuled by, the malefics — the child, then born, will not be susceptible of nurture, but will immediately perish. Should the configuration, made between the malefic planet and the luminaries, not exist precisely in the mode jusu mentioned ; that is to say, should the said planet not be equally distant from both luminaries^ ao «& to form the point of junction oi two ec\w«\ ^\^^'9» ^^'i ^ 134 i'Tolemy's tetuakiblus. [Booklll. triangle : yet should it then hippen that tlie rays of two maletics may nearly approach the places of the two luminaries, easting an injurjoua influence either on both, nr only one of them, and if both the said roalefics be together succedent, or in opposition, to the luminaries, or if one of them be suecedent, and the other in opposi- tion, or even if only one may particularly afflict one of the luminaries, then, in any such case, no duration of life will be allotted to the child; for the Mupreiuacy of the power of the maiefics extinguishes the influence favour- iible to human nature, and tending to prolong existence. Mai's is exceedingly pernicious when sncoedent to the Sun, and Saturn when suecedent to the Moon. But a converse effect takes place when either of these planets may he in opposition to the Sun or Moon, or in elevation above them ; for the Sun will then be afllicted by Saturn, and the Moon by Mars: and especially so, provided the said planets !r in the mid-beaveu Chap, XL] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 135 If malefics should cast their rays to parts preceding the luminaries, and benefics to parts following them, the child will be abandoned at its birth ; but will afterwards meet with adoption, and will live. Yet, if the • malefics should be in elevation above those benefics which are thus configurated, the child, so adopted, will lead a life of misery and servitude : if, on the contrary, the benefics should be in elevation, then whoever may adopt the deserted child will supply the place of its parents. And, provided a benefic planet should either ascend with, or near in succession to the Moon, or be applying to her, and one of the malefics be occidental, the child's own parents will, in that case, take it again under their protection. Rules similar to the foregoing are to be observed when more than one child is bom; for, if any one of those planets, which may be configurated towards the produc- tion of two, or even more, children, should be under the west, the children will be born half dead, or deformed, and imperfect in body. And, if the planet so situated should also be beneath the malefics, the children will not be susceptible of nurture, or their life will be of the shortest span. Orhaptcr XI. The Duration of Life. Of all events whatsoever, which take place after birth, the most essential is the continuance of life : and, as it is, of course, useless to consider, in cases wherein the life of a child does not extend to the period of one year, what other events contingent on its birth might other- wise have subsequently happened, the inquiry into the duration of life consequently takes precedence of all other questions, as to the events subsequent to tVv^ VA?c\iVv. 18B ptolemy'-s tetrabibuis. [lioi'k III. The discua.^ion ot this inquiry is by no aietuis simple, nor easy of execution ; it is conducted in a diversified process, by means of the governance of the ruling places. And the method now about to be laid down seems, of all others, the most consonant with reason, and with nature : because the influence of the prorogatory places, as well as the rulers of those places, and the disposal of the anreretic* places or stars, perform the whole operation of regulating the duration of life. Each of the.se influ- ences is to be distinguished in the mode pointed out in the chapters immediately ensuing. Chapter XII. The Prorogatory Places. Firstly, those places only are to be deemed prorogatory, to which the future assumption of the dominion of pro- rogation exclusively belongs. These several places are the aign on the angle of the ascendant, from the fifth degree above the horiaon, to the twenty-fifth degree below it; — the thirty degrees in dexter textile thereto, constituting the eleventh hou.se, called the Good Daemon ; — also the thirty degrees in dexter quartile, forming the mid-heaven above the earth ; — those in dexter trine making the ninth house, called God ; — and lastly, those in opposition, belonging to the angle of the west. Secondly, among these places, the degrees which consti- tute the mid-heaven are entitled to preference, as being of a more potent and paramount influence ; — the degrees in the ascendant are next in virtue; — then the degrees in the eleventh hou.se succeJent to the mid-heaven ; — then those in the angle of the west ; — and, lastly, those in the ninth house, which precedes the mid-heaven. ' The epithet arntTitie U a. term of art, adopted from tbe Greek, signifying fatal, i Ckap. XIII.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 137 No degrees under the earth are, in any manner, eligible to the dominion now in question ; except such only as enter into light actually above the succedent, or, in other words, with the ascendant. And any sign, although it may be above the earth, is still incompetent to partake in this dominion, if it be inconjunct with the ascendant: hence the sign which precedes the ascendant, and constitutes the twelfth house (called that of the Evil Dsemon), is incompetent; and not only for the above reason, but also because it is cadent, and because the beams cast by the stars posited therein, towards the earth, are impaired by the thick and dark exhalations arising from the earths vapours, which produce an unnatural colour and magnitude in the appearance of stars so posited, confusing, and in some measure annihi- lating, their beams. Thus far with regard to the places of prorogation. Chapter XIII. The Nuniher of Prorogatora, and also the Part of Fortune. *»>^ /• '^f After due attention has been given to the instructions in the preceding chapter, the Sun, the Moon, the ascendant, and the part of Fortune, are to be considered as the four principally liable to be elected to the oflSce of prorogator ; and their positions, together with those of such planets as rule in the places of their positions, are to be observed. The part of Fortune is ascertained by computing the number of degrees between the Sun and the Moon ; and it is placed at an equal number of degrees distant from the ascendant, iA the order of the signs. It is in all cases, both by night and day, to be so computed and set down, that the Moon may hold with \\. l\\fe ^'OAXi^ xA^Naqtcv 138 PTOLEMV's TETRABIBLOS. [Book IIL as thai M'hich llie Sun may hold with the ascendant i iind it thus becomes, an it were, a hinar horoscope or Hscendaiit*. * Tlie Lntin tmiiKlnlion (irinteil at Prrufiio in 164fi. has here tbe fnliiiwtn); iiRKsaiie in uldition : " Hut it iiiust be *eea whicli lurnJD&rjr " iiiny fullow tlioothvr in llie *QCce»iion oF tbe signs; for if tbe Mooa " rtlimild »o follow tlitf Sum, tbe pnrt of FortQuu is also to be dddi- " IwiL'il froio the bor'ntope or a-wandant, acordUig w the BDeceMlon "of tliH HjjrK, But if the Moon precede the Sun, the part of Fortune " niu-it be nunibereJ froui Llie rtdcendiint, iMntrarg to tbe succesgioD Tlii^re iH K louy diivertBtioii un the pnrt of Fortune, in Cooper's Plii['i(lui>. from pp. SUM t« 31H : ami, among the directioon there given for eom|iutiii|j> ita niluntion, the following eeeni tbe iuobI accurate and Biinplu: vix. "In tbe diurnal geriiture, tbe Sun's true disiance " from the eaat is ti> be addeil to the Moon's rif:ht (ucension, and in " llie nvolurnal, Biibiracted ; for tlie number Ibeoce arising will be " tile plaee tind riglit ascension of the part of Fortune : and it always "has tlie BAiiie declination with the Moon, both iu number and "tiaiiiv, wherever it >* found Again, let the Siin'a ob1ii|ue ascen- " 'ion tAken in tlie OBuendant, be subtracted always frotu the oblique ''AHConMon of ibe asHnJant, an welt in the day as in the night, and " the remaining difference be addeil to the Moon's right ascenvioo i " the snni will bu the right aacenfion of the pnrt of Fortune, »bich " will have the Moon's declinatiou." It is nhewn also by this disaer* tation, that the situation of the part df Fortune must be neceiaarily confined lo the lunar parallels; that it can but rarely be in the ecliplie : and that ils latitude iu ever varying. Cooper alsu adds, from (ardun'M Coiiimeotariea on the Telrahiblos, that "if the Moon *' ii going from the conjunction to the oppoaittun of the Sun, then " the Moon follows the Sun, and the part of Fortune b always under "the Earth, from the ascendant; Init if the Moon has passed the "opposition, she goes before the Sun, and tlie part of Forlnne is " before the ascendant, and always above the earth.*' Thia remark of Cardan's is, in effect, exactly equivalent to what is stated in the additional posange inserted in ihe Perugiu Latin translation, and given above. In the Prinium Mobile of Placidaa (Cooper's translation, p. 45), the following remark and example are given: — "The part of Fonune "is placed according to the Moon's distance from ilie Sun ; and you ■' iiiUHt oliserve what rays tlie Moon has to the Sun, for the Utter " uu^h^ to have the satne, and with tbe same excess or deliciency. aa Chap, XIII.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 13i) Among the candidates for prorogation as before- mentioned, by day the Sun is preferred, provided he be situated in a prorogatory place; and, if not, the Moon; but if the Moon, also, should not be so situated, then that planet is to be elected which may have most claims to dominion, in reference to the Sun, the antecedent new Moon, and the ascendant; that is to say, when such planet may be found to have dominion over any one of the places where these are situated, by at least three prerogatives, if not more ; the whole number being five. If, however, no planet should be found so circumstanced, the ascendant is then to be taken. By night, the Moon is to be elected as prorogator, pro- vided, in like manner, she should be in some prorogatory place ; and if she be not, the Sun : if he also be not in any prorogatory place, then that planet which may have most rights of dominion in reference to the Moon*, and the antecedent full Moon and the part of Fortune. But, if there be no planet claiming dominion in the mode pre- scribed, the ascendant must be taken, in case a new Moon had last preceded the birth; but, if a full Moon, the part of Fortune. If the two luminaries, and also some ruling planet of appropriate condition, should be each posited in a proro- gatory place, then, provided one luminary may be found *' the part of Fortune to the horoscope. As tlie Moon ia to the 8ud, ** 80 is the part of Fortune to the horoscope ; and as the Sun i>« lo the " horoscope, so is the Moon to the part of Fortune. So, in the '* nativity of Charles V, the Moon applies to the ultimate sextile of ** the Sun, but with a deficiency of 7* 45' : I sulitract the T 45' from "S"* 34' of Scorpio, the ultinnte sextile to the horoscope, and the " part of Fortune is placed in 28^ 9' of Libra. — N.B. In this nativity, according to Placidus, the Sun is in the second house, in 14" 30' of Pisces ; the Moon in the ascendant, in 6" 45' of Capricorn ; the ascendant is 5' 34' of Capricorn ; and the part of Fortune is in the ninth bouse, in 28° Q' of Libra. * According to her position in tbo schema oi 1\\^ Ti-aXYNWrs . HO Ptolemy's tethabiblos. [Bo'A- III. to occupy some place more important and influential than the others, that luminary must be chosen; but sliould the ruling planet occupy the stronger place, and have pre- rogatives of dominion suitaMe to the conditions of both luminaries, the planet must then be preferred to either of them". flIhaptEC XIV. Number of the Modes of Prorogation. When the prorogator has been determined as above directed, it is also necessary to take into consideration the two modes of prorogation; one into succeeding signs, under the projection of rays, as it is called ; and, when the prorogator may be in an oriental place, that is to say, in any placn between the mid-heaven and the ascendant, this mode only is to be used. The other mode extends into signs preceding the prorogator, according to what is called horary proportion^; and, in cases when the pro- rogator may be situated in any place receding finm the mid-heaven, or, in other words, between the mid-heaven and the angle of the west, both modes of prorogation are to be adopted. It is next to be observed, that certain degrees are anteretic; though, in the prorogation made into signs * Ptacidus, in ri?iiiarkiDe on the nativity af Juhn
  • ]y instances of the fart, that "ont onlji ri(;Dtliea life, elected ac'urding to Ptolemy'* method." (Cooper's irauRlaiion, |i. 184.) t ■■ Horary yroportion." So the Perupu Latin of 1648 ; the Greek word, however, is w(<^iat. which seenis tn be conipoiimled of turn And !/.■>: and, if so, the literal nigiiilicatiun would be " exlraotiun " of hoiiK." Chap. XIV.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 141 preceding, the only degree which is strictly anaeretic is that of the western horizon ; — and it becomes so because it obscures the lord of life ; — while other degrees, of stars meeting with or testifying to the prorogator, both take away from and add to the aggregate amount of the pro- rogation, which would otherwise continue until the descension or setting of the prorogator. Of these last- mentioned degrees, however, there are none properly anaeretic ; since they are not borne to the prorogatory place, but, on the contrary, that place is carried to their positions*. In this manner the benefics increase the the prorogation, but the malefics diminish it; and Mercury assists the influence of either party with which he may be configurated. The amount of the increase or diminution is indicated by the degree in which each star, so operating, i3 exactly situated ; for the number of years will depend upon, and correspond with, the horary * By the apparent motion of the planetary system. On this pas- sage, Placid us has the following observations : '* In directing the sig- ''nificator to the west, you must consider what stars or mundane * *■ rays are intercepted between the significator and the west ; if for- "tunate, add their arc to the significator's arc of direction to the ''west; if unfortunate*, subtract it from the same, and it will give ''the arc of direction, augmented or diminished according to Pto- "lemy. — How largely and differently authors have spoken of this "direction of the significator to the west, putting various construe- " tions on the words of Ptolemy, is known to every one. See Car- *' dan in his Commentaries, Maginus in Prim. Mob. and the Use of " Legal Astrology in Physic, c. viii, where he delivers the sentiments "of Naibod. Argol censures wholly this doctrine of Ptolemy's, of " directing the moderator of life to the west, as vain and uselef^s ; " but I say it is worthy of remark, and altogether conformable to " truth ; because then the rays and intermediate stars of the malign "only lessen the arc of direction to the west, and do not destro}^ " life, when by a right direction, the moderator of life does not re- " main at the same time with the malignant planet : for, should this " happen, they kill, without any manner of doubt." (Cooper's trans- lation, pp 106 and 108.) 142 itolemy's tetrabiblos. [Buuk III. times* proper to each degree ; and if the birth be by day, care must be taken to calculute the diurnal horary times : it" by night, the nocturnal. Theae directions are to be understood as applicable to instances wherein the degrees in question may be in ihe ascendant ; if farther advanced, a deduction proportionate to the distance is to be made, unless they should be on the occidental horizon, in which case there can be no remainder, But, in the prorogation made into succeeding signs, the places of the maleflcs, Saturn and Mars, are an^retic. whether meeting the prorogator bodily, or by emission of lajs in quartile, from either side, or in opposition ; they are also sometimes anieretic, by a sextile ray, if in a sign of equal power, obeying or beholding the sign of the prorogator. And even the mere dejjree. in signs follow- ing, in quartile with the prorotjatory place, as also the degree in sextile, if badly afflicted, which is sometimes the ca.se in signs of long ascension, and, still further, the degree in trine, if in signs of short ascension, are all anteretic: so ako is the Sun's place, should the Moon be prorogatory. But, although the meetings, which occur in the course of prorogation thus made, have, respectively, some of them an anreretic, and other.s a preservative, power, in consequence of their occurring by means of an actual transmission to the prorogatory place+ ; yet theii- anroretic tendency is nat always effectual, but only in cases where the places, ao brought to the prorogatory place, may be badly afflicted. For should those places be situated within the terms of a benelic, the operation of their anreretic degree becomes impeded; and it wiil likewise be impeded, if either of the bene6cs should cast • " tlofnry Utatt." Theae are the number 0/ equatorial deKreca wliich tiny deKr^c of the ludiau may appear, in a certain Inlitude on the earth, to trannit in an equatorial hour- ly the apparuat motion of tlie planetary sytKia. Chap. XIV.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 143 a ray in quartile, trine, or opposition*, to the said anaeretic degree itself, or to some other degree near in succession, and not farther distant from it than twelve degrees, if the benefic be Jupiter; nor than eight, if Venus : the like impediment will also subsist, if both the prorogator and its opponent^ should be bodies^, and not have the same latitude. Therefore, whenever there may be found two or more conflicting configurations, auxiliary on the one hand, and hostile on the other, due observation must be made to ascertain which party surpasses the other, in power as well as in number. The pre-eminence in number will be, of course, obvious, from the greater number § on one side than on the other ; but, for pre-eminence in power, it must be seen whether the stars, auxiliary or hostile as the case may be, are, on the one side, in places appro- priate to themselves, while they are not so on the other ; and especially whether those on the one side may be oriental, and those on the other occidental. It is also to be observed, in all cases, that not any one of such stars, whether hostile or auxiliary, is to be left out of the * In reference to this pa^sa^e, IMacidiiB, in speaking of the death of Octavian Vestrius of Kome, has the?e words: *'The Moon is found " in a parallel declination of Mars, and Saturn with tlie opposition, of *'Mar8; the sextile of Jupiter to the Sun could give no assistance, " because Jupiter is cadent, and the ray sextile is very weak, espc- ** cially when it is the principal ray : for which reason, Ptolemy, in *' the chapter of Life, when he mentions the planets that are able to **8ave in the occourses of the infortunes, does not name the sextile. ''but the quartile, trine, and opposition; because the sextile ray is "feeble, particularly when it is less than 60' ; neither could Venus *' assist, as she was cadent from the house, and in a sign inimical to ** the Sun," etc. (Cooper's Translation, p. 286.) t Literally, and perhaps more properly, "its meeter." t That is to say, orbs, in contradistinction to prorogations made by inspects or degrees merely. § Of the stars and places brought into configuration. l*i . PTULKMYS TETRABIBLOW. [Book III, present calculation, on account of its caaual position under the sunbeams". This rule muat be particularly attendeil to, because, even thougli tlie Moon be not pro- rogatory, the solar place itself becomes anaT^tic, if shackled by the simultaneous presence of a malefic, and not restored to freedom of operation by any bene fie. The number of years, depending on the distances between the prorogator and Bnasretic places, cannot be always gathered simply and at once from the a.seensional time8+ of each respective degree; but only in cases when the ascendant itself, or some other specific degree or body actually ascending in the oriental horizon, may possess the prorogation. For, if it be desired to calculate agreeably to n&titre, every process of calculation that can be adopted must be directed to the attainment of one object; that i» to say, to ascertain after how many equatorial timesj the place of the succeeding body, or degree, will arrive at the position preoccupied at the birth by the preceding body, or degree : and, as equa- torial time transits equally both the horizon and the meridian, the places in qiie.-^tiou § must be considered, in respect of their proportionate distances from both these ; each equatorial degreeji being taken to signify one solar year. * WlialWy'K Iran^ltition of thin passage is iti ditect cod trod iation to llie aeaee : and even Chat of AllatiuH, hh well a» other Latin ones, are (if ilrictly correct) confuHed in tlieir ineaninK. + " Atcenaional timet." Tliete are, in other words, the number of itpgrees of the equator, equivalent to a certain number of zodiaeal ilogteeg. UFendini; in any particular latitude. They are also other- wise called the oblique atctnrion of such zodiacal de(;rees. t " E'jualorial timta" here sigaify degrees of the eiga&tor, by which all time is DtMsareil. i That is to Mf, of the preceding and of the tucceeding body or , Which may be intercepted in the arc tictween Cham. Chap. XIV.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 145 In conformity with the foregoinint of Gemini, in the latitude before quoted. It must necessarily vary in all other parallels of declination, and also in other latitudes. t Oblique ascension. X The times of oblique descension of any arc of the zodiac are equal to the times of oblique ascension of its opposite arc; as before explained. § That is to say, at the time of the 1st point of Aries transiting the cusp of each angle respectively. 152 PTuLEMY'-S TETKABIBLOS, [Book III. tiou. out of the excL'Ss of the times of liistance of one anyle over thoae of the other, is either to be aiKled to, or deducted from, the aclnnl rairiiber of times of the respec- tive aiigiea. For iiisiuiice, in the example before set forth, 70 times liscewi 5K times by 12 ; and the prewriing place was distant frnm the anf^lea three equal temporal hour.s, which are thu lialf of sis, the number beionuing to the whole qiiadraiil. Now, three Lein<>; the half of six, and t2 being the atiiuiint uf the exce.-is, the half of 12 is therefore to be taken, ^iviny 6 to be either added to tlie 58 time.s, or subtracted from the 70: thus, in either way, producing 64, tin- required number of times. If, however, the preceding place should be distant from either angle two temporal hours, which are the third part of six, thiii, in that case, (he third part of 12, the amount of the excess, must be taken, viz. i; and. if the said two hours be tlie di-^tance, as calculated from the uiid-heaven, the said 4 times are to be added to the ■58 times; but, if it be the distance from the occidental angle, the 4 times are to be subtracted from the 70. In conformity with these rule* now laid down, the amount of the times must necessarily be ohtRiiied*. * The calcalaliou of time may be greatly fatiliCated by tbe use of K Kuiliaoal planispbere, BHid to Lave beuu invented about lliirly yeAn ago by Mr. Kanger, nbo died without lunkinf; hi» invention pnblio. The iuventian eonsista of ti sei of inBtruments perfectly mlnpted, as far as relates to the zodiac, for aAtrononiical, as well as aatrologioal, pnrpo^es ; and tbe complelenese ivitb wbicb it Holve», in tlie most intelligible and expeditious munner, all the aHtronoiniciil problem* of the lodiac, deserves attention. Whether a eimilar planivpbere was known in tbe dajH of Plavidue, I am not aware ; but it is worthy of tflmiirk that tbe followiui; words occur in his " Primnm Mobile," and •eeni alnioat to have been predicated of Mr. Kan^jer's planisphere : — " If any one would provide himself with a PEolemaic planisphere, " with tbe iiorary circles, crepaHcales, tbe zodiac's latitude, and all " otlier things requisite, it would be of very great tervioe towards "foreseeing the aspecl»i.'' (Cooper's Triinalation, p. 87.) In the Chap, XV.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 153 The ansBretic and critical influences of all meetings or descensions of prorogators* remain to be determined; beginning, in due order, with such as are accomplished in the shortest time. And whatever else may happen, by means of any affliction or assistance offered (in the manner heretofore prescribed) during the actual transit of the meeting, is also to be decided on, as well as what- ever may occur through other circumstances, arising out of the ingresses taking place at the time : because, should the places of both the significators be afflicted, and should the transit of the stars, at the then existing ingress, operate injuriously on the chief ruling places, it is then altogether probable that death will ensue -(•; and, even though one of the places J may be disposed favourably to human nature, the crisis will still be important and perilous; but, if both the places be so disposed favour- ably, some debility only, or transient malady, or hurt, will then happen. It is, however, necessary in these Appendix will be found a plate, containing diagrams drawn by the instruments in question, which, though not completely filled up, will shew how easily, and, at the same time, how accurately, the measure of time in directions may be ascertained. The said diagrams have been adapted to the "exemplification" here given by Ptolemy; one of them being laid down for the latitude of Alexandria, and the other for the latitude of southern Britain (5r 30' N.), with similar positions of the preceding and succeeding places adverted to in the text. * These meetings and descensions are technically termed *'direc- " tions." t On these words Placidus has the following remark : ** The revo- '* lu tions may possess some virtue, but only according to the con- " stitotion of the stars to the places of the prorogators of the nativity, " and their places of direction, but no further ; as Ptolemy was of " opinion, and briefly expresses himself in his Chapter of Life. " * Those who are afflicted, both in the places and conclusions of the " ' years, by the revolution of the stars infecting the principal places, ** 'have reason to expect certain death.*" (P. 127 Cooper's Transl.) t Of the signiGcators before-mentioned. 154 PTOLKMY'S TETRABIBLOS. [fioofc I IL cases, to consider also what familiarity, or analogy, the peculiar properties of the places, thus meeting, may bear to the circu Distances of the nativity, III order to obviate the doubts which frequently arise, as to the particular star or place to which the anferetic dominion ought to be assigned, all the meetings should lie duly contemplated and considered, each by each ; and thus, after considering those chiefly corresponding with the events already past, and with the future events about to follow, or with the whole together, it will be practic- able to found an observation on the equality or inequality of their influence. Cliiipttr XVI. The Form and Tempemment of the Body. The matters afTeCting and regulating the duration of life have now been disposed of; and it becomes proper to enter into further particulais, commencing, in due order, with the figure and conformation of the body; because Nature forms and moulds the body before she inspires it with a soul. In fact, the body, in its materiality, is en- dowed with Muitahle constitutional properties begotten with it. and almost apparent from its very birth ; but the soul afterwards, and by degrees, develops the appropriate qualities which it derives from the primary cause, and which become known much later than external attributes, and in process of time only. In regard to the body, therefore, it is in all cases re- quisite to observe the oriental horizon, and to ascertain what planets may preside or have dominion over it. and al.so to pay particular attention to the Moon. For, from tmth these places*, and from their rulers, as well as from * That of tbe ascendant, and that of the Uood. CJvap. XVI.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 155 the natural formation and con temperament appertaining to every species of the human race, and also from the figure ascribed to those fixed stars which may be co- ascending, the conformation of the body is to be inferred. The planets possessing dominion have the chief influence, and the proper qualities of their places co-operate with them. And, in order to simplify these instructions, and as the planets are first to be treated of, each planet is individually to be considered as follows : viz. Saturn, when oriental, acts on the personal figure by producing a yellowish complexion and a good constitu- tion; with black and curled hair, a broad and stout chest, eyes of ordinary quality, and a proportionate size of body, the temperament of which is compounded principally of moisture and cold. Should he be occi- dental, he makes the personal figure black or dark, thin and small, with scanty hair on the head ; the body without hair, but well shaped ; the eyes black or dark ; and the bodily temperament consisting chiefly of dryness and cold. Jupiter ruling, when oriental, makes the person white or fair, with a clear complexion, moderate growth of hair, and large eyes, and of good and dignified stature ; the temperament being chiefly of heat and moisture. When occidental, he still causes a fair complexion, but not of equal clearness ; and he produces long straight hair, with baldness on the forehead or on the crown of the head ; and he then also gives a middle stature to the body, with a temperament of more moisture. Mars, ascending, gives a fair ruddiness to the person, with large size, a healthy constitution, blue or grey eyes, a sturdy figure, and a moderate growth of hair, with a temperament principally of heat and dryness. When occidental, he makes the complexion simply ruddy, and the personal figure of moderate stature, with small eyes ; 156 PTOLEMY S TETRAfllBLOS. [Book III. tlie body without hair, and the hair of the head Hght or red, ami Mtrai^ht; the bidily temperament being chiefly dry. Venus operates in a manner similar to that of Jupiter, but, at the same time, more becominffly and more gracefully; producing qualities of a nature more ap- plicable to women and female beauty, such as softness, juiciiieas, and greater delicacy. She also peculiarly makes the eyes beautiful, and renders them of an azure tint. Mercury, when oriental, makes the personal figure of a yellowish complexion, and of stature proportionate and well-shaped, with small eyes and a moderate growth of hair; and the bodily temperament ia chiefly hot. If occidental, he gives u complexion white or fair, but not altogether clear; straight, dark hair, a thin and slight figure, some squint or defect in the eyes, and a long: visage* faintly red; the temperament being chiefly dry. The Sun and Moon, when configurated with any one of ihe planeLs. also co-operate : the Sun adds a greater nobleness to the figure, and increases the healthinesa of the constitution; and the Moon, especially when holding or delaying her separation -f-, generally contributes better proportion and greater delicacy of figure, and greater moisture of temperament; but, at the same time, her influence in this latter particular is adapted to the proper ratio of her illumination; as referred to in the modes of temperament meniioned in the beginning of this treatise^ * Tlie original won! is (in the accusative plural) aiymvc, which AHatius haa readered, by "pedibut caprinU," gaat-foottd, as if it were compounded of mf eapra and tivi pet ; but tlie preferable derivation neeniH to li« from «.Eand -J. vultiit; ineaninj; "foat-faeed." t From any one of the said planets.. ; Vide Chap. 8, Book I. Chap. XVI.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 157 Again, should the planets be tnatutine, and fully con- spicuous*, they will cause the body to be large; if in their first station, they will make it strong and vigorous; if they should precede or be in advance, it will be e : as.'^imilating it, in some measure, to their own peculiarities, either by enlarging or diminishing h» size, by giving it additional strength or weakness, or by otherwise improving or disfiguring it. Thiifi. for example, Leo, Virgo, and Sagittarius, enlarge the person ; and Pisces, Cancer, and Capricorn, tend to make it diminutive ; and thus, again, the upper and anterior parts of Aries, Taurus, and Leo, increase its strenjfth, and their lower and posterior parts render it weaker : while, on the other hand, Sagittarius, Scorpio, and Gemini, act conversely ; for their anterior parts produce greater debility, and their posterior parts greater vigour. In like manner. Virgo, Libra, and Sagittarius, contribute to render the person handsome and well- proportioned : and Scorpio. Pisces, and Taurus, incline it to be mis-shapen and disfigured. The other constellations* also operate on similar principles ; and all these inliuences it is necessary to bear in mind, in order that the peculiar properties, observed in their joint temperament, may be so compounded a,s to authorise an inference therefrom, concerning the form and temperament of the body. Ehapttr XVII. The Hitrts. Injuries, and Diseases qfiiie Body. Next in succession to the foregoing chapter, the circum- stances relating to bodily hurts, injuries, and diseases, claim to be discussed ; and they require to be considered in the following mode, * Fur llie operative qaalitiee of the other conKtelUtioaH, viok 1. 160 PTOI-EMY'S TETRABIBLOH. [Book III. side; Venus, the nostriU, the liver, and the flesh; Mercury, the speech, the understanding, the bile, the tongue, and the fundament; and the Moon governs the palate, the throat, the stomach, the belly, the womb, and all the left parts. It generally happens that some casual hurt, or injuri- ous afiection of the body, is the utmost that takes effect when the maletics may be oriental, and that considerable diseases occur only when the tnalefics may be occidental. And a hurt is distinct from a disease, inasmuch as the pain, which it induces at the time, is not afterwards continued ; while a disease is, on the other hand, imposed on the sufferer either constantly or at repeated intervals. These remarks are applicable to all cases; but, in order to inquire particularly into the nature of the hurt or disease, a further attention must be paid to the figures, or schemes, with which the effects, about to bo produced, will for the most part correspond in character. For instance, blindness of one eye will ensue, when the Moon may be in the before-mentioned angles, either operating her conjunction, or being at the full : it will also happen should she be configurated with the Sun in any other proportional aspect, and be at the same time connected with any one of the nebulous collections in the zodiac; such as the cloudy spot of Cancer, the Pleiades of Taurus, the arrow-head of Sagittarua, the sting of Scorpio, the parts about the mane of Leo, or the urn of Aquarius. Moreover, both eyes will be injured should the Moon be in an angle, and in her decrease, and Mars or Saturn, being matutine, ascend in succession to her; or. again, if the Sun be in an angle, and theae planets pre-ascend before him, and be configurated with both the luminaries, whether the luminaries be in one and the same sign, or in opposition: provided also the said planets, although oriental of the Sun, be occidental Chap. XVII.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 161 of the Moon. — Under these circumstances, therefore, Mars will cause blindness by a stroke or blow, or by the sword or by burninpr ; and, if he be con6gurated with Mercury, it will be effected either in a place of exercise or sport, or by the assault of robbers. Saturn, however, under the same circumstances, produces blindness by cataract, or cold, by a white film, or by other similar disorders. Venus, if in one of the angles before-mentioned, and especially if she be in that of the west, and Saturn be in conjunction or in configuration with her, or be changing place with her*, while Mars, at the same time, is in elevation above her, or in opposition to her, will produce impotence in the native, if a male ; and, if a female, will render her liable to abortion, or to produce children still- born, or not capable of being extracted except in mangled parts. Such misfortunes especially happen under Cancer, Virgo, and Capricorn ; even though the Moon may be in the ascendant, in conjunction with Mars. And if, under the same circumstances, Venus be also configurated with Mercury, as well as Saturn, Mars again being in elevation above her, or in opposition to her, the native will be either an eunuch or hermaphrodite, or devoid of the natural channels and vents. And, when these positions occur, should the Sun also partake in the configuration, the luminaries and Venus being all masculinely consti- tuted, the Moon in her decrease, and the malefics brought up in the degrees next successively ascending, the males will be born maimed or crippled, or injured in their private members ; (particularly under Aries, Leo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Aquarius ;) and the females will remain childless and unprolific. And it also occasionally happens * This seems to imply, if Saturn be in one of Venus's places of- dignity, and Venus in one of Saturn's. Such a counterposition is technically termed " mutual reception." M 102 Ptolemy's tetrakiblos, [Donfc HI. that the natives, tinder such a coiittguration , are like- wise injured in tlie faee or eyes. If Saturn and Mercury, in conjunction with the Sua, be in the lief ore- mentioned angles, the native will have some defect in the tongue, and stammer or spt;a)c with difficulty I especially if Mercury be occidental, and both he and Saturn be configurated with the Moon. Should Mars, however, be found together with theuj, he will for the uioat part remove the defect in the tongue, after the Moon shall have completed her approach to him. Further, should the.inalefics be in angles, and the lumi- naries, either together or in opposition, be brought up to them ; or, if the inaletics be brought up to the luminaries, especially when the Moon may be in her nodes, or in her bend", or in obnoxious signs, such as Aries, Taurus. Can- cer, Scorpio, and Capricorn, the body will then be afflicted with excrescences, distortions, lameness, or paralysis. If the malefic^i be in conjunction with the luminaries, the calamity will take effect from the very moment of birth ; but should they be in the mid-heaven, in elevation above the luminaries, or in opposition to each other, It will then arise out of some great and dangerous accident, such as a fall from some height or precipice, an attack of robbers, or of quadrupeds. And thus, if Mars hold dominion, he will produce the ujisfoitune by means of fire or wounds, through quarrel.s. or by robbers ; and if Saturn, it will be eau.sed by a fall, by shipwreck, or by convulsive fits or spasms. The minor bodily disorders rao.stly occur on the Moon's being posited in a tropical or equinoctial sign ; and, if in that of the vernal equinox, these disorders usually arise from the white leprosy; in that of the summer tropic, from tetters; in that of the autumnal equinox, from * Tn lier extreme latilude, wbether north or soutli. Ckap, XVII.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 163 leprosy; and in that of the winter tropic, from the erup- tion of pimples, and similar inconveniences. Considerable diseases, however, take effect when the malefics may be configurated in the same situations as those before prescribed, yet differing in one respect; that is to say, being occidental of the Sun and oriental of the Moon. In such cases, Saturn will generally produce cold in the bowels, excessive phlegm, rheumatism, emaciation, sickliness, jaundice, dysentery, cough, ob- struction, cholic, or scurvy ; and, in women, besides these diseases, he produces complaints of the womb. Mars will cause expectoration of blood, atrabilarions attacks, pulmonary complaints, sores, and diseases in the private parts, (which will be rendered still more painful by surgical burning or incision,) such as fistula, haemorrhoids, or knots in the fundament, and also inflamed and putrifying ulcers. In women, to these calamities he adds abortion, excision of the foetus or its mortification. And, even though these planets should not be properly configurated towards the particular parts of the body, their qualities will still operate. Mercury also will act with them, and contribute to the increase of the evil ; thus, if he be in familiarity with Saturn, he will mucl» augment the coldness, and promote the continuance of rheumatism, and the disturbance of the fluids; especially in the chest, throat, and stomach. If in familiarity with Mars, he will tend to produce greater dryness, and will increase ulcers, abscesses, loss of hair, scarified sores, erysipelas, tetters, blackness of bile, insanity, epilepsy*, and similar disorders. * Tns tgpms MOV ; literally " the holy diseaAe," which aathors have explained to mean epilepsy. Perhaps the disease was antiently called holy, because the patient, when possessed by the fit, seemed to be ander the influence of some supernatural agency. 164 PTOLEMV'S TETItAHIBLOS. [Booh lit. Some o£ the properties, peculiar to di^iease, arise oat of the various character of the signs which may contain the above-mentioned coiitigu rat ions in the two angles. Thud Cancer, Capricorn, and Places, and, in short, all signs ascribed to terrestrial animals and fishes, appro- priately cause diseases of putridity, tetters, excociatton, Mcrophula, fistula, leprosy, and the like; while Sagittarius and Gemini produce disease by failing iits and epilepsy. And if the planets happen to be posited in the latter degrees of the signs containing them, the extremities of the body will then be chiefly atiected by the disease or hurt; which will arise from humours or accidents, producing leprosy, gout, or other infirmities, in tbt hands and feet. Under the circumstances above detailed, the disease or hurt will be incurable, provided there shall be not o the benefics in configuration with the maletics which effect the evil, nor with the luminaries posited in angles and even though the benefics may be so configurate the misfortune will still be incapable of remedy, if ths maleficij bo well fortified, and in elevation above them. Should the henetics, however, hold principal situadoom and be in elevation above the obnoxious malelics, ths disease or hurt will then be moderate, and have neither deformity nor disgrace attached to it; and it will some* times be altogether prevented and set aside, if tha b«a»' fics be oriental. Jupiter, for instance, by means of hum aid, such as wealth and rank can command, will c and soothe hurU and diseases ; and. if Mercury be join) with him, the assistance will be further improved by |] addition of skilful physicians and good medicine. Venu likewise, through the mediation of deities and ( will cause hurts to appear in a manner neither murno^ Ful nor unbecoming, and will ameliorate diseases I medicines granted by the gods. Chxip, XVIIL] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 165 Lastly, should Saturn be present in the configuration, the afflicted persons will move abroad to shew their maladies, and to complain ; and if Mercury also be pre- sent, they will do so for the sake of deriving support and profit from the exhibition. Othaptcr XVIII. The Quality of the Mind. The consideration of circumstances applicable to the body is practised under the foregoing rules. Of the spiritual qualities, however, all those which are rational and intellectual are contemplated by the situation of Mercury ; while all others, which regard the mere sensitive faculties, and are independent of reason, are considered rather by other luminaries of a less subtle constitution and more ponderous body ; for instance, by the Moon and such stars as she may be con- figurated with, as well by separation*, as by application. Now the mind is liable to impulse in a multiplicity of directions, and the investigation of them cannot be summarily or hastily performed, but must be conducted by means of many various observations: for the different qualities of the signs, containing Mercury and the Moon, or such stars as hold any infiuence over those two, are well competent to contribute towards the properties of the mind ; so likewise are the configurations made with the Sun and the angles, by stars bearing any relation to the point in question ; besides, also, the peculiar nature exer- cised by each star in operating upon the mental movements. Thus, the tropical signs generally dispose the mind to enter much into political matters, rendering it eager to engage in public and turbulent affairs, fond of distinc- * That is to Bay, in the commencement of her separation from tlie afipect or conjunction of Bach Htari^. \m PTOLEMY S TETHABIBLOS. [B:.>!.- III. tiiiii, anrl busy in theology ; at the »ame tiirie, ingenioas, acute, itn|uiflitive. inventive, speouliitive, and studious of astrology and divination. Bieorporeal «i^^ render the mind variablf, versntile, not easy to bw understoad. volatile, and unsteady; in- clined to duplicity, amorous, wily, fond of music, careless, full of expedients, and regretful* Fixed signs make the mind just, uncompromising, con- stant, firm of purpose, prudent, patient, industrious, strict, chaste, tnindfitl of injuries, steady in pursuing its object, contentious, desirous of honour, sudiliouM, avaricious, and ptrtinacious. Oriental positions, and those in the ascendant, especi- ally if innilu by planets in their proper faces-f-, make men liberal, frank, self-con tident. brave, ingenious, unreserved, yet acute. Oriental stations, and pasitions on the mid- lieaven, or culminations, make men reflective, constant, of good memory, firm, prudent, magnanimous, successfol in pursuing their desires, inflexible, powerful in intellect, strict, not easily imposed upon, judicious, active, hostile to crime, and skilful in science. Precedent and occidental positions make men unsteady, irreverent, imbecili', impatient uf labour, easily impressed, humbie. doubting, wavering, boastful, and cowardly, slothful, lazy, and hard to rouse. Occidental stations, Hnd positions on the lower heaven, (as well as Mercury and Venus, when making vespertine descension by day, and rising in the night.) will render the mind ingenioas and sagacious, but not capable of great recollection, nor very industrious; yet inquisitive into occult matters, such at magic and sacred mysteries; also studious of * Tlie Ureek U iiira/iKioT'iivi, wliiuli mean- " peiiileni," or " prom "lo repenwnce," or "ro BnUse.|uent regrtt." It iHiiifficiill toponvey 'M piecjiw meaning in tliu t«xC + Vide Clinliter 28, B.iok 1, ^m^ Chap. XVIII.] PTOLKMY*S TETRABIBLOS. 167 mechanics, and mechanical instruments ; addicted to the observation of meteors, to philosophy, to augury by means of birds, and to the judgment of dreams. Further, should the planets having dominion be in places of their own, and in conditions suitable to their own qualities, the mental properties will be rendered exquisite, unimpeded, and successful : and especially if these planets rule at the same time over both places; that is to say, be by some mode configurated with Mercury, and hold separation from, or application to the Moon. Should the said planets, however, not be thus constituted, but be posited in places not particularly appropriate to themselves, they will yet, even then, infuse into the composition of the mental energy the properties of their own nature; but obscurely and imperfectly, and not with such force and strong evidence as in the other case. The peculiar qualities of planets in dominion, or in elevation, are powerfully impressed upon the mental energy ; for instance, persons, who, in consequence of the familiarity of the malefics, become wicked and dishonest, have their impulse to commit evil, free and unrestrained, when the said familiarity is not governed by any contrary influence. But, should a contrary condition impede and govern that familiarity, the im- pulse will be frustrated, and the culprits will be easily overtaken, and undergo punishment. In like manner, persons endowed with goodness and virtue, by the familiarity between the benefics and the before-men- tioned places*, and when no contrary influence in elevation may interpose, will exert themselves with cheerfulness and alacrity in performing good actions, will be subject to no injustice, but enjoy the advan- tages of their honesty and virtue. If, however, this * That of Mercury, and that of the Mooyl. 168 PTOLEMY'S TETRAltlKLOS. [Book III. familiarity should be superseded by some contrary condition, the very mildness and humanity of these persons will operate to their diaadvantage, exposing them to contempt and accusation, and rendering theia liable to be wronged by the multitude. The foregoing observations, relative to the moral habit, apply generally; and the particular properties, created in the mental energies by the actual nature of the planets, according to the respective dominion of each, remain to be treated of. The planet Saturn, therefore, when alone possessing; dominion of the mind, and governing Mercury and the Moon, and if posited in glory, both co^jmically and with respect to the angles', will make men careful of their bodies'!', strong and profound in opinion, austere, singular in their modes of thinking, laborious, imperious, hostile to crime, avaricious, par.simonious, accumulators of wealth, violent, and envious ; but, if he be not in glory, coaraieally, and as regards the angles, he will debase the mind, making it penurious, pu.sillanimous, ill-disposed, indiscriminating, malignant, Liiuorous, .slanderous, fond of solitude, repining, incapable of .shame, bigoted, fond of labour, void of natural atl'ection, treacherous in friendship and in family connections, incapable of enjoyment, and regardless of the bodyj. — Connected with Jupiter in the mode before -mentioned, being also situated in glory, Saturn will render the mind virtuous, respectful, well- intentioned, ready to assist. Judicious, frugal, magnani- mous, obliging, solicitous of good, atfectionate in all domestic ties, mild, prudent, patient, and philosophical : but, if thus connected and posited ingloriously, he makes > imply, if wall placed i u a. conBpiunniu u[ dignities. t Or, penoDH :— the Greek is famfu^mi n tlie mid- ! i 'I I tt Cliap. XVIII.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 161) men outrageous, incapable of learning, timorous, highly superstitious, yet regardless of religion, suspicious, averse to children, incapable of friendship, cunning, misjudging, faithless, foolishly wicked, irascible, hypocritical, idle and useless, without ambition, yet regretful, morose, highly reserved, over-cautious, and dull. — Conciliated with Mars, and posited in glor}', Saturn renders men reckless over-diligent, free in speech, turbulent, boastful, austere in their dealings, pitiless, content ptuous, fierce, warlike, bold, fond of tumults, insidious, deceitful, and implacable; promoters of faction, tyrannical, rapacious, hostile to the commonwealth, delighting in strife, vin- dictive, profound in guilt, strenuous, impatient, insolent, mischievous, overbearing, evil, unjust, obstinate, inhuman, inflexible, immutable in opinion, busy, able in oftice, active, submitting to no opposition, and on the whole successful in their undertakings ; but, if thus connected, and not placed in glory, he will make men plunderers, robbers, adulterers, submissive to evil, seeking gain by their turpitude, infidels in religion, void of common affections, mischievous, treacherous, thievish, perjurers, and sanguinary ; eaters of unlawful food, familiar with guilt, assassins, sorcerers, sacrilegious, impious, violators of the tomb, and, in short, thoroughly depraved. — Con- ciliated with Venus, and being again in glory, ' Saturn makes men averse to women, and renders them fond of governing, prone to solitude, highly reserved, regard- less of rank, indiflerent to beauty, envious, austere, unsociable, singular in opinion, addicted to divination and to religious services and mysteries; solicitous to the priesthood, fanatical, and subservient to religion; solemn, reverential, sedate, studious of wisdom, faithful in friendship, continent, reflective, circumspect, and scrupulous in regard to female virtue: but, if he be thus conciliated, and not posited in glory, he rnake^ vss&v^ 170 PTOLEMY'S TETltABIBLOS. [BMk III. licentious and libidinous, practisers of lewdness, careless, and inipure in sexual intercourse; obscene, treacherous to women, especially to those of their own families; wanton, quarrel.'ionie, sordid, hating elegance; slander- ouk. drunken, superstitious, adulterous, and impious; blsisphenieia of the gods, and scoffers at holy rites; calumniators, sorcerers, hesitating at nothing. — If con- ciliated with Mercury, and if in a glorious position, Suturn makes men inquisitive, loquacious, studious of law and of medicine, mystical, confederate in secrecy, fttliricators of miracles, impostors, improvident, cunning, familiar with business, cjuick in perception, petulant, uccurate, vigilant, meditative, fond of employment, and tractable ; but, if efmnected with Mercury, and not posited gloriously, he causes men to be frivolous, vindic- tive, laborious, alienated from their families, fond of tormenting, and void of enjoyment; night- wanderers, insidious, treacherous, pitiless, and thievish ; magicians, sorcerers, forj^ers of writings, cheat.H, unsuccessful in iheir undertakings, and quickly reduced to adversity. — Such are the effecLs of Saturn. When Jupiter alone has dominion of the mind, and ia gloriously situated, he renders it generous, gracious, pious, reverent, joyous, courteous, lofty, liberal, just, magnanimous, noble, self-acting, compassionate, fond of learning, beneficent, benevolent, and calculated for government: and, if posited ingloriously, he will endow the ndnd with qualities apparently similar to these, but not of such virtue and lustre: as, instead of generosity, he will then cause profusion; instead of piety, bigotry; for modesty, timidity ; for nobleness, arrogance ; for courteousness, folly; for elegance, voluptuousness; tor magnanimity, carelessness ; and fur liberality, indiffer- ence,— Conciliated with Mara, and being in glory, Jupiter will make men rough, warlike, skilful in Cliup. XVIII.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 171 military affairs, dictatorial, refractory, impetuous, daring, free in speech, able in action, fond of dis- putation, contentious, imperious, generous, ambitious irascible, judicious, and fortunate : but, if thus con- nected, and not placed in glory, he makes men mis- chievous, reckless, cruel, pitiless, seditious, quarrelsome, perverse, calumnious, arrogant, avaricious, rapacious, inconstant, vain and empty, unsteady, precipitate, faithless, injudicious, inconsiderate, senseless, and oflS- cious ; inculpators, prodigals, triflers, altogether without conduct, and giving way to every impulse. — When conciliated with Venus, and in a glorious position, Jupiter will render the mind pure, joyous, delighting in elegance, in the arts and sciences, and in poetry and music; valuable in friendship, sincere, beneficent, com- pas.sionate, inoffensive, religious, fond of sports and exercises, prudent, amiable and affectionate, gracious, noble, brilliant, candid, liberal, discreet, temperate, modest, pious, just, fond of glory, and in all respects honourable and worthy ; but, if posited ingloriously, when so connected, he makes men luxurious, soft, effeminate, fond of dancing, indulgent in expenses, incapable of managing women, yet amorous and las- civious ; mean, slanderous, adulterous, fond of dress, dissolute, dull, wasteful, without energy, enervated, fond of personal adornment, womanish in mind, yet observ- ant of holy rites and ceremonies, faithful, harmless, pleasant, afi'able, cheerful, and liberal to misfortune. — If connected with" Mercury, and posited in glory, Jupiter will render men fit for much business, fond of learning, and of geometry and the mathematics; poetical, public orators, acute, temperate, well-disposed, skilful in counsel, politic, beneficent, able in govern- ment, pious, religious, valuable in all useful professions, benevolent, affectionate in their families, ready lev 172 PTOLRMY's TETItABlBLUS. [Book 111. acquiring knowledge, philosophical, and dignified: but when so connected, and placed ingloriously, lie will produce contrary effects, rendering men frivolous, empty. contemptible, credulous of faUehood, senseless, fanatical, trifling, petulant nfiV-ctera of wisdom, Mtupid, arrogant, pretenderM in art, magicians, and vacillating:— yet he will also produce men skilled in various learning, and of strong memory, capable of imparting instruction, and pure in their enjoyment. Mar» alone having dominion of the mind, and placed with glory, makes men noble, imperial, irascible, warlike, versatile, powerful in intellect, daring, bold, refractory, careless, obstinate, acute, self-confident, conteroptuoua, tyrannical, strenuous, stern and able in government : but, posited ingloriously. he makes men cruel, mischievous, sanguinary, tumultuous, extravagant in expense, boister- ous, ruffian-like, precipitate, drunken, rapacious, pitiless, familiar with crime, restless, outrageous, hostile to their families, and intidels in religion. — Should he be con- ciliated with Venus, and posited in glory, he renders the mind cheerful, docile, friendly, complacent, joyous, playful, frank, delighting in songs end dancing, ainoroua, fond of the art and of dramatic personation, voluptuous, brave, libidinous in desire, sensible, cautious, and discreet; disposed to free sexual intercourse*, (juick in anger, extravagant in expense, and jealous; but if he have an inglvrious position when thus conciliated, he makes men overbearing, lascivious, sordid, opprobrious, adulteronn, mischievous. Iiar,s, fabricators of deceit, cheats of their own families as well as others, eager in desire, and at the same time soon satiated, debauchers of wives and virgins, daring, impetuous, ungovernable, t^eacheroH^', faithless, dangerous, fickle, and weak in mind ; and occasionally also wasteful, fond of dress, audacious, am) Chap, XVIII.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 173 shameless. — Connected with Mercury, and placed with glory, Mars renders men skilful in command, cautious, strenuous, active, obstinate, yet versatile, inventive, sophistical, laborious, busy in all things, eloquent, im- posing, deceitful, inconstant, overknowing, maliciously artful, quick-witted, seductive, hypocritical, treacherous, habituated to evil, inquisitive, fond of strife, and success- ful ; fair dealers with persons of habits similar to their own, and, in short, altogether mischievous to their enemies, though beneficial to their friends ; but, if Mars be posited ingloriously, and thus connected, he makes men prodigal, yet avaricious, cruel, daring, bold, regret- ful, and vacillating; liars, thieves, infidels in religion, perjurers, and impostors; seditious, incendiaries, fre- quenters of theatres, covered with infamy, robbers, housebreakers, sanguinary, forgser of writings, familiar with crime, jugglers, magicians, sorcerers, and assassins. When Venus rules alone in a position of glory, she renders the mind benignant, good, voluptuous, copious in wit, pure, gay, fond of dancing, jealous, abhorring wickedness, delighting in the arts, pious, modest, well- disposed, happy in dreams, affectionate, beneficent, com- passionate, refined in taste, easily reconciled, tractable, and entirely amiable : but, if contrarily posited, she renders the mind dull, amorous, effeminate, timorous, indiscriminating, sordid, faulty, obscure, and ignominious. — Conciliated with Mercury, and posited with glory, Venus makes men lovers of the arts, philosophical, of scientific mind and good genius, poetical, delighting in learning and elegance, polite, voluptuous, luxurious in their habits of life, joyous, friendly, pious, prudent, fitted for various arts, intelligent, not misled by error, quick in learning, self-teaching, emulous of worth, followers of virtue, copious and agreeable in speech, serene and sincere in manner, delighting in exercise, 174 PTOLEHVS TETUA11IBLO.S. [a.",/,- III. hotie»t, judiciouH, high-minded, and continent in desiru as regards women"; but, when so conciliated, ami _positeil adversely, she will make men oppressive, tit for various arts, evil-tongued, unsteady, malevolent, fraud- ulent, turhulunl, Itarfl, caluminatortt, faithless, crafty, iniiidious, practised in evil, uncourteous, debaucheVs cf women, corrupters of youth-f-, fond of personal adorn- ment, dissolute, infamous, notoriously ofl'ensive and publicly complained of, yet striving after all things. Mercury, alone, having dominion of the mind, and being in a glorious position, rcndern it prudent, clever, sensible, capable of great learning, inventive, expert, logical, studious of nature, speculative, of good genius, emulous, benevolent, skilful in argument, accurate in con- jecture, adapted to sciences and mysteries, and tractable ; but, when placed contrarily, he makes men busy in all things, precipitate, forgetful, impetuous, frivolous, vari- able,regretful, foolish, inconsiderate, void of truth, careless, inconstant, insatiable, avaricious, unjust; and altogether of slippery intellect, and predisposed to error. To these influences and their etfects, as above detailed, the Moon also contributes : for, should she be in the bends of her southern or northern boundary^, she will render the properties of the mind more various, more versatile in art, and more susceptible of change : if she be in her nodes, she will make them more acute, more practical, and more active. Also, when in the a.-icendant, and during the increase of her illumination, she augments their ingenuity, perspicuity, tirmness, and expansion; but, when found in her decrea-se, or in occultation, she renders them more heavy, more obtuse, more variable of purpose, more timid, and more obscure. ..I.;^ latitude, whether south or nortbi j chap. XIX.] PTOLEMY'S TETRAKTBLOS. 175 The Sun likewise co-operates, when conciliated with the lord of the mental temperament ; contributinix, if he be in a glorious position, to increase probity, industry, honour, and all laudable qualities; but, if adversely situated, he increases debasement, depravity, obscurity, cruelty, obstinacy, moroseness, and all other evil qualities. Chnpter XIX. The Diseases of the Mind. In connection with the foregoing discussion on the pro- perties of the mind, the circumstances relating to eminent mental disorders, such as madness, epilepsy*, and others of the like formidable nature, duly claim attention. Now, with reference to these, it is always essential to consider the planet Mercury and the Moon, and to observe in what mode they may be disposed towar;i4i>, aa eotnpririiig ■ " ilotory of mvei," ae well aanlher " gift* fnm women." cW Chap. Ill] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 181 the stars, which operate the loss, in respect of the angles and succedent houses *. (Chapter III. The Fortune of Rank, The disposition of the luminaries and the respective familiarities exercised by the stars attending them, are to be considered as indicative of the degree of rank or dignity f. For example, should the two luminaries be found in masculine signs and in angles, or even if only one of them be in an angle J, they being at the same time specially attended by a doryphory§ composed of all the * That is to say, its duration will depend on the time requisite to complete the arc of direction or prorogation between the stars, operating the loss, and the places which give the wealth. And the calculation is to be made as pointed out in the 14th and 15th Chapters of the 3d Book. t It seems that there have been different opinions on this point. Placidus makes the following remark on the subject: ** I do not take " the dignities from the horoscope, but from the Sun and Medium " Oeli, according to Ptolemy and others." (Cooper's Translation, p. 121.) X The Perugio Latin, of 1646, says, " If either both luminaries, or ** only that one of the chief quality" (which Whalley defines to be the Sun by day, and the Moon by night) **be in an angle," etc. § Doryphory. Vide Chapter 5 of the 3(1 Book. On the present passage, Placidus has the following words : ** You are not to observe " what ia generally alleged by professors, respecting the satellites" {quasi doryphory) " of the luminaries, for dignities ; viz that the *' satellites are those planets which are found within 30^, on either ^* side of the luminaries ; but that a satellite is [also] any kind of ** aspect of the stars to the luminaries of what kind soever: which, if "it be made by application, its power extends inwardly over the ** whole orb of light of the aspecting planet, and the more so, as the ** proximity is greater ; but, by separation, it is not so This doctrine " may be seen in several chapters of Ptolemy ; for, an aspeoting ntar influences the significator, and disposes him to produce effects co- (I 182 niiLEMVS TKTflAlilBL'lS [liootr LV. five planets ; the Smi by such as are oriental, but th>- lloon by occidental, the persons then about to be born will consequently become kings or princes. And, if thf attendant stars themselves should also bo in angles, or configurated with the anijle above the earth", the said persons will become great, powerful, and mighty in thf world: and even yet muie abundantly so, provided tbr configurations, made by the attemlant stars with the angles above the earth, be dexter. But, when bcitli luminaries may not be found in iii&.sculine Mgnn as afore- said, but the Sun only in a uiascuHne and the Moon in u feminine sij^n, and only one of them posiwd in an angle, the other concomitant circumstances still existing in tbe mode above described, tlic persons about to be born will ibon become merely chiuftaius, invested with the sovereignly of life and death. And if tbe attendant stars, while tbe luminaries may be situated in ibe manner last -mentioned, nbould be neither actually in angles, nur bear any testimony to the angles, tbe persons then horn. althi>ugb they will still enjoy eminence, will attain only some limited dignity or distinction; such as that of a delegated governor, or coin- luauder of an army, or ilignitary of the priesthood; and they will nut be invested with sovereignty. If, however, neither of tbe luminaries be in an ftngle, and it happen that must of tbe attendant stars Vje eilfaer themselves in angles, or configurated with the angles, the persons then born will not attain to any very eminent rank; yet they will take a leading part in ordinary civil and municipal affairs: but, should the attendant stars " natuml lu him, by u xubsequeiil ilin:i:tiun. Bat a »t&r of no a^eet ■' doee not predispuw lliu Biffutlicnior, and prutlucvH v«ry Itltlrt «r BO "elTect of ita natnre, by r, oubAeijuent ilirection; thi* is Iba (nM " doctrine of the atftn." ((.'ooper's Trftiuliitioii, pp. It!4, 12S.) * Tlic an^le of lie luid-liuaveii : we lliu linil not* to lliis Ch&pter. Chap: III ] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 183 have no configuration with the angles, they will then remain altogether undistinguished and without advance- ment; and provided, further, that neither of the lumin- aries be found situated in a masculine sign, nor in an angle, nor be attended by any benefics, they will be born to complete obscurity and adversity. The general appearance of exaltation or debasement of rank is to be contemplated as before stated, but there are many gradations intermediate to those already specitied, and requiring observation of the particular interchanges and variations incidental to the luminaries themselves and their doryphory, and also to the dominion of the planets which compose their doryphory. For instance, should the benefics, or stars of the same condition, exer- cise the chief dominion, the dignities to be acquired will be not only more important, but also more securely established: and, on the other hand, if the chief dominion be claimed by the malefics, or by stars of an adverse condition, the dignities will be more subordinate, and more dangerous and evanescent. The species of dignity may be inferred by observing the peculiar qualities of the attendant stars. And, if Saturn have chief dominion of the doryphory, the power and authority derived therefrom will lead to wealth and profit : authority proceeding from Jupiter and Venus will be pleasurable, and attended by presents and honours: that proceeding from Mars will consist in commanding armies, in obtaining victories, and in over-awing the vanquished : and that proceeding from Mercury will be intellectual, superintending education and study, and directing the management of business. 1S4 PTULEMV'S TKTUABIBLOS. QThavter IV. The Qiuility of Employment. The dominion of the employment, or profession, is claimed in two quarters ; viz. by the Sun, and by the sign on the mid-heaven. It is, therefore, necessary to observe whether any planet may be making its oriental appearance nearest to the Sun", and whether any he posited in the mid- heaven; especially, when also receiving the application of the Moon. And, if one and the same planet possesa both thene qualiiications, that is to say. make its nearest appearance to the Sun, and be also in the mid-heaven, that one alone must be elected to determine the present inquiry ; and, likewise, though the planet should not be thus doubly qualified, but only singly, in whichever respect, even then that planet alone must still be elected, provided itself alone should possess such single qualification. If, however, there should be one planet presenting its nearest appearance, and another in the mid-beaven conciliated with the Moon, both must then be noticed ; and whichever of these two may have greater sway, and possess greater rights of dominioQ, that one must be preferred. But where not any planet may be found so situated, neither making its appear- ance as above described, nor being in the mid-heaven, then that one, possessing the dominion of the mid- heaveni". is to be considered as lord of the employment : * See llie 4tli CLttpter of th« Sill Book of the Almagest, inserted in the AppendU. + The Greek says merely " tbal one having the domiDloii," with- ont Bpeuifying the place of dominion : the L#atia printed iit Perugia, is, however, " diuiiinum accipe m»e posit«d. Mercury, for imitance, produces writers, superintend- ents of business, accomptants, teachers in the sciences, merchants and bankers : also, soothiiayens, asttolt^ers, and attendants on sacritices, and, in short, all who liv« by the exercise of literature, and by furnishing explana- tion or interpretation ; as well as by stipend and salary, or allowance. If Saturn bear testimony jointly with Mercury, persons then born will become maitagera of the affairs of others, or interpreters of dreams, or will be enij^ed in temples for the purposes of divination, and for the sake of their fanaticism. But. if Jupiter join testimony, they will be painters, orators, or pleaders in argument, and occupied with eminent personages. Should Venus have dominion of the employment, she will cause persons to be engaged in the various per- fumes of flowers, in unguents and wines, and aUo in colours, dyei, and in spices: thus she will produce vendors of unguents, garland -makers', wine- merchants, dealers in medical drugs, weavers, dealers in spices, painters, dyers, and vendors of apparel. If Saturn add his testimony to hers, he will cause persons tu be * Amonji the antieolJ*, H ^rUuH wiu t,a indupennablB liprorKtion at dl public c«rt>iuoaie«, wlietlier rivil or rcligiaas, uid private M buiqueU. The making of garUniU km, th«rolon>, n cooB)nrsi), tbnt the aatlior inlended to point out personfl competent to obtain the victor's wreath io public exhthitiODs. — Bub it uppearH that the woiil ufamfi^ii, gartaad- vearer. nlso BiguiKes a pereuo wlio was annually uliuaen hy the ptieHts tu Hupurinteurl religious ite re monies, an olGue similar to thai of high print. AcoonlinK to Athenivus, tbe Stephanephorus of TAraos WKs invested with a. purple tunic, edged or ntripetl with white, anil wore the laurel chaptet, which Plato, in the treatise etc Leiibun, describes hh being eonetantly iroru by these otfic«i«, iilthoiit{;h the other priest« wore it only during the {lerfur the cerenionie* -J Chnp. IV. ] noLEMV'-. TKTIIAHIIH.'W. 157 their places*) mimics, actors, dealers in slaves, in/ikers of musical instruinents. clionsters and musical per- formers, dancers, weavers, niodellers in wax, and painters. And if Saturn join testimony with Mercury and Venus, the preparation and sale of female ornaments will be added to the aforesaid occupations. But, if Jupiter give testimony, the persons will become adminis- trators of justice, Kunrdians of public aflfairs, instructors of youth, and ma^diitrates of the people. Should Mercury and Mars together bu lords of the employment, persona will become statuaries, armour- inakers, sc^lptoTS'^, modellers of animals, wrestlers, surgeons, spies or informers, adulterers, busy in crime, and forgers. And. if Saturn also liear testinxjny in addition to Mei-cury and Mars, he will produce a.^sas')- ins, hi^jhwayraen thieves, robliers lurking in amhush, marauders on cattle, and swindlers. But, if Jupiter afford testimony, he will engage persons in honourable warfare, and in industry ; making them cautious and diligent in business, curious in foreign matters, and derivin;^ protit from their pursuits. When Venus and Mars exercise the dominion together, persons will become dyers dealers in unguents and perfumes, workers in tin, lead, gold and silver, mock combatants or dancers in armour, dealers in medical drugs, agriculturists, and physicians, healing by means of medicine. And, if Saturn add testimony to Venus and Mars, he will produce persons attendant on animals consecrated to religion ; also grave-diggers and under- takers, mourners and musicians at funerals, and fanatics occupied in religious ceremonies, lamentations and blood. But, if Jupiter add testimony, the persons will become * Meaning iirobubly •' if in mattui nweptinn," wliicli portion \au. lieen Icfore c^tplnined. t iir iiiiikeri of liierogl3'iiliio*~i<^yi vf«. PTOLEMY'S TKTUABiai.OS. [Bvnh IV. regulatora of sacrilices, aiigura, holders of sacred officea, governors placed over women, and interpreters ; and they will derive support from such occupations. The properties of the signs, in which the lords of the employment may he posited, are also influential in vary- ing the employment. For uxample, the signs of human shape promote all scienti&c pursuits, and such as are of utility to mankind; the quadrupedal signs contribute to produce employment among metals, in business and trade, in house-building, and in the work of smiths and mechanics: the tropical and equinoctial signs tend to give employment in translation or interpretation, in matters of exchange, in mensuration and agriculture, and in religious dutien; the terrestrial and watery signs tend to employment in water, and in connection with water, as well in regard to the nurture of plants, as to ship- building; they likewise contribute to employment in funerals, in embalming and preserving, and also in ^t Moreover, should the Moon herself actually occupy the place regulating the employment*, and, after her con- junction, continue in course with Mercury, being at the same time in Taurus, Capricorn, or Cancer, she will then produce soothsayers, attendants on sacrifices, and diviners by the basin f, If she be in Sagittarius or Pisces, she * That is to Bay, the mid-iieaTen ; an stated in the 4th Chapt«r of the 3d Book, and in the i^oiumenaemeDt of the present Chapter t This mode of diviuntion.as practised by the Greeks, is mentioneil by Potter. It is likewiae deserilied by a le&med Doctor of Mediciov, t.>eo. PictoriaB Vieillanus, (ia bis Truatine "de Speeiebiis Magiir Cereiiioniali«," printed at Stra^bargh, l.'iSI,) us lieing used "'when " the fraudulent vanity of a dii'mon renders things moTc like each '■ other than eggs are to eggs." And, according to this writer, it is pmctixed by oxorcisinc water, and pouring it into a basin, wherein I be vain and refractory divniou is immersed :—tbe eaid do'iiiuu will Homelimen remain at the botloni, and sometimeH raixe hiniuelf to llie Kurface, Bending forth a Blender iitstiing ; out of which the desimi reaponses are to he formed. Chap. IV.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 189 will make necromancers, and evokers of daemons: if in Virgo or Scorpio, magicians, astrologers, and oracular persons, possessing prescience: and, if in Libra, Aries, or Leo, she will produce fanatics, interpreters of dreams, and makers of false vows and adjurations. From the foregoing rules, the various forms of em- ployment are to be inferred ; and its magnitude or importance will be manifested by the existing power of the ruling planets. For instance, if the said planets be oriental, or in angles, they will give the person eminence and authority in his employment : but, if occidental or cadent, they will render him subordinate. And should the benefics be in elevation, the employment will be important, lucrative, secure, honourable, and agreeable ; but, on the other hand, if the malefics be in elevation above the lords of the employment, it will then be mean, disreputable, unprofitable, and insecure : thus, Saturn brings an adverse influence in coldness or tardi- ness, and in the composition or mixture of colours * ; and Mars produces opposition by audacity and publicity in enterprise: and both planets are alike hostile to proficiency and prosperity. The general period, at which any increase or diminu- tion of the employment may take place, must, again in this case also, be determined by the disposition of the stars, which operate the eff'ect, towards the oriental and occidental angles. • K^tiffi^t Tft»» ^^ufAmru^. — These words have been rendered literally, hat they seem to contain some figurative meaning, rather than a literal one. Perhaps the preferable sense of them is, "bya mixture " of views,** or **from various pursuits being blended together.** I'TULEMV'S rKTRABIKLOS. l/.'..oi-|V. C li fl ? t e r V. Marriage. Tee coiisKieration of circumstances relatinj^ to marriage. or the cohabitation of husband and wife, aa sanctioned by law, Rucceeda to the foregoing details, and must be pursued in the following method. With regard to men, it is to ire observed in what manner the Moon may hn disposed ; for, in th« tir^t place, if ahe be found in the oriental quadrants, she will cause men either to many early in life, or, after liavin^' over- passed their prime, to marry young women ; " but, should " she be situated in either uf the occidental quadrants, " men will then marry either late in life, or to women " advanced in age" :" and if she be found under the Sun's beams, and conBgurated with Saturn, she then entirely denies marriage. Secondly, should she be in a sign of single form, and in application to only one of the planets, she will cau.'^e men to marry only once; but. if she be in a bicorporeal or multiform sign, or in appli- cation to several planets, she will then cause them to be married several times; ami, provided also that the planets, which thus, either by adjacency or by testimonyf-, receive her application, be benetic, men will then obtain good wives; but if. on the contrary, the said planets be malefic, bad. For example, if Saturn receive the Moon's applica- tion, the wives whom he will provide will be troublesome and morose; but, if Jupiter receive it, they will be de- corous and coeonomical ; if Mars, bold and refractory ; if Venus, cheerful, handsome, and agreeable; and if Mercury, * The words marked with inverted cnmiDK», are not in tlie Urnek ; til ey are found, liowever, in (no Latin IraiielalionH ; iblit of liable, 1541. and tbjil of Perujtio, lfi4H. t In other editioDB, " whether by uoiij unci ion or a>'pecl." ifn Chap, v.] |-T1)I.EMV'S TETI{AI!llir.llS. IfJl senoibiL', piudent, aud clever. Moreover, should Venus be found connected with Jupiter, Saturn*, or Mercury, she will render wives provident, and attached lo their husbands and children; but, if she be found connected with Mars, they will be irascible, unsteady, and indis- creet,— Thus far in reference to the marriage of men. But, in the case of women, the Sun must be observed, instead of the Moon ; and, should he be posited in the oriental quadrants, women will be married either in their own youth, or to men younger than themselves; but, if he be in the occidental quadrants, they will itither be married late in life, or to men who have passed their prime, and are advanced in years. And should the Sun be in a sign of single form, or configurated with only one oriental planet, he will cause them to enter into matri- mony only once ; but, if in a bicorporeal or multiform sign, or configurated wjth several oriental planets, he will then cause them to be often married. And Saturn, being configurated with the Sun, will provide husbands -stedfast, advantajreous, and industrious ; Jupiter, such OS are honourable and noble-minded ; Mars, severe liusband.4, void of affection and intractable; Venus, amiable and handsome husbands ; and Mercury, nuch as are provident and expert in business. But, if Venus be found connected with Saturn, ahe will indicate dull and timid husbands ; " if with Jupiter, the husbands will be "good, just, and modest t;" if with Mars, hasty, lustful, and adulterous; and if with Mercury, they will be ex- travagantly desirous of young persons ^. In regard to tho Sun, thone quadrants which precede the ascending and descending points of the zodiac, and, * " Saturn." Not founi,-m n^ftri^ •. .< }diied, while the.malelics transit the configuration; and. in a similar manner, enmity also will be softened-and atmi«d, when the benefics may enter upon the configuration^. The friendship and enmity, which men b^ar towardu each other, may be classed under three general heada. One kind is suggested by spontaneous wilfulness ; another, by the idea of profit ; and another, by pain and pleasure mutually excited. And, therefore, should either all or most of the aforesaid places be in familiarity with each other, friend- ship of all the three kinds will be established: so, alao. * Or, re^ftnl each oUier within the dixttince of gevenUMn tl#|tre«> + That is to say: if the placw of tho Sun. etc. in one nativity bo conligDrat«d with sucli parts of the iuxlinc as are ocoupied by the Sun, etc. in the other nativity. t Of any of the tour |>lace« above BpectKeil. ■ I . 1 ■■ I I ;» 1;! '1 Ckap. VII.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 201 should the places be entirely without familiarit3% similar enmity will be established. If, however, familiarity, or absence of familiarity, (as the case may be) exist only as regards the places of the luminaries, friendship or enmity will then be established by spontaneous will ; and friend- ship thus produced is the best and most secure ; while, on the other hand, enmity so arising is, in like manner the worst and most dangerous. The friendship, or enmity, consequent on the familiarity or non-familiarity of the respective parts of Fortune, will be established on the idea of profit; and that, consequent on a similar disposition of the respective ascendants, will arise from pain or pleasure mutually excited between the parties. It will, however, be necessary to pay still further attention to the places in question, in order to observe whether any and what planets may bo in elevation above them, or in aspect to them ; because, among all the said places, that particular one, to which any planet in elevation, or in succession, may be adjacent, whether in the same sign, or in the next, will possess the more powerful influence over friendship or enmity : and whichever place may have its aspecting planets more powerfully benetic, will operate in a greater 0»ited in the cadetit houses of the oriental quadrants, the travel will talte place in the eastern or southern quarters of the world ; and that, it placed in wcatern >iituations, or in an occidental ijiiadrant, travel will be then pro.secuted in the northern or wtstern parts. And, xhould the signs, which operate travel, be themselves single in form, or should the planets, having dominion of them, be singly posited, the journeys will then take place after long intervals, and occasionally only: bul, if the said signs be bicorporeal, or double in form or figure, travel will be constantly repealed and continued, Thus, when Jupiter and Venus may be in dominion over the luminaries, and over the places producing travel, they will render the journeyN agreeable, as well as free from danger : for the traveller will be joyfully forwarded on his way by the magistrates of the country, and by the concurrent assistance of friendly persons ; the statt- of the atmosphere will also be favourable, and he will meet with abundance of accouiiuodation. And, provided Mercury also be present with the planets above -specified, utility, profit, presents and honours will likewise be derived from the journey. %«/). VMI] rroLEMT's tutbauiiu/js. 205 Saturn and Mars, if controuling the luminaries, and, especially, if placed distantly from each other*, will pro- duce great dangers, and at the same time render the journey fruitless and unavailing. Should they be in watery signs, the dangers will arise by shipwreck, or iimong deserts and wildernessas-f-; if in fixed signs, by precipices, and adverse blasts of wind ; in tropical and equinoctial signs, by want of food and other necessaries, and by some unwholesome state of the atmosphere; in signs of human form, by robbery, treachery, and various depredations; and, if in terrestrial signs, by the attack of wild beasts, or from earthquakes. And, ahould Mercury also lend concurrence, the traveller will incur further danger from accusations made against hira, a» well as from reptiles and venomous stings or bites. The question, whether the events will be advantageous or injurious in quality, must, however, be further con- sidered by observation (made in the forms already detailed), of the peculiar properties of the places, in which the lords of employment, of wealth, of the body, or of rank, may be posited. And the periods, at which travelling will take place, are to be considered by the occasional ingress of the five planetsj. * The probable nieanini; i-i, "it not Mting in concert ;" but tlie Latin of Perugio sajre, "ti tint oppositi mc'tndnm longitvdbitru." t There aeeniB a misprint here in the uriginnl : iutiiair, " fuuL " vapours," instead of isnim, " wilderneuea." i On the placeH indicative of travelling, €liii;)tci- IX. ThH Kind of Dmth. It now renmina to treat of the kind and species of death. — It is, however, first to be determines), by tho rules already delivered reijarding the duration of life*, whether death will ensue from an oriental or occidental position of the predominating influence. And, if death ensue from some oriental position, or meeting of rays. the place of such meeting must be observed, and by means of that place the kind of death is to l>e dis- tinguished ; if from the descension, or setting, of the signifieator, or prorogator, the place of descension+ must be considered; because death is to be expected conform- able in character to the influences, whatever they may be, which preside over the said places ; or, if not any infinencps should directly preside, it will then be con- formable to the influences, of whatever kind, which may be brought first in succession to the places in question: the configuration of the stars, the property of the aforesaid anreretic places, and the nature of the signs and of the termsj, are, also, all of theiii co-operative. Thus, for example, if the dominion of death be vested in Saturn, he will produce death by means of lingering diseases; cough, rheumatism, tlux, ague, disorder of the .spleen, dropsy, cholic. and complaints in the womb; and, in short, by all such di.seases as proceed from the super- abundance of cold, * Vide the 14th Chapter uf the :(il Book ; on the nuJiiliKr of tlin luoilei of prorogation. t ThHt iH to say, tlie sign and degree on tlie occidental horizon. ;See a Hulueifuenl not«, p. 208, which gives on instance of tha mode in which Ptavidus applied the power of the i«rniK, In aa Aaii-retie direction. I I il I I tl ! Cluli). IX.] FI-OI.EMy's TETKAHIIiLUS. Jupiter ctfect^ death by qiiitisey. iotiatnm&tion of the lungs, apoplexy, spasm, pains in the head, morbid per- formance uf the heart, and by all diseases arising from superabundance of air, and from immoderate and imputK- respiration. Mars causes death by constant fevers, semi tertians. sudden and Hpontaneous wounds, diseases of the kidneys, expectoration of blood, and hfeniorrhages uf various kinds- by miscarriage, or abortion, and by child-birtb, by erysipelas, and, in short, by nucb diseases as proceeil from abundant and immoderate heat. Venus produces death by disorders of the stomach, and of the liver, by scurvy and dysentery r also by consumption or wasting away*, and by fistula and poison, and by all disea-ses incident on the super- abundance or poverty of moisture, and its corruption. La-stly, Mercury causes death to proceed from fury, madness, melancholy, epilepsy, falling fits, coughs, and obstructions, and by such diseases as arise from super- abundant or disproportionate dryness. When the lords of death may fully possess their own peculiar and natural properties, and when neither of the malefics may be in elevation above them, death will ensue in the modes above detailed, and in the ordinary course of nature. But a violent and remarkable death will occur when both the malefics, either in conjunction, or in quartile or opposition to each other, may be lords of the anatretic places ; or if both, or only one of the two, should attack either both the luminaries, or even only the Sun or the Moon. In such a case, the evil character of the death will proceed from the concurrence of the malefic influence, and its magnitude or remarkable • ^m ni^iBi. Perhsp» more properly, piitriJity or rotltniies!.. The Peragio Latin tranaUtion renders it by " cancer." 20H I-TOLKMT's TETRABdlLOS. [Boolc I V. nature Fro[ii the additional tuMtiinony of the limiinariM: its quality, alao, will be known by means of the rest of the planets and stars in configuration, and by the signs which contain the malefic influence". Hence, if it happen that Saturn be in fixed si>{as, and in qiiartile or opposition to the Snn. and contrary in conditi'in, he will produce death by siiSWcation, occa- sioned either by multitudes of people, or by hanging or strangulation: so, likewise. Hhonld he be occidental, and the Moon be xuccedent to him, he will operate the same efl'ects. If he be posited in places or sijjna of bestial form, the native will be destroyed by wild beasts: and, if Jupiter also offer testimony, being at the same time badly afflicted, the death will then occur in public, and by day; for example, by being exposed to combats with wild beasts. If Saturn be posited in opposition to either of the luminaries in the a.-^cendanti-, he will cause death in prison : if he be configurated with Mercury, and especially if near the constellation of the Serpent in the sphere, and in terrestrial .tigns of the zodiac, he will • Placidns, in treatinjf of tliu imliviLy of Lewie, CarJitiHl Zochia, UM* ihCRe irord« : ''Thi» example aUo teacliPN n« wliac the »eDii- "inenls of Ptolemy were conteming a violent death; when, in a "peremptory place, both the eDFniies met together, it ia to be " anilerHtood, iliat \a the Daticity the violence is Bometinies fint '■ pre-onlKined from tlie anfortnoate podicionof the Aphcla; at ot^ier *'iiiue» quite the contrary. Bnt, becauBB the direct direction " happcnnl to be in the termx of Mercury, the nickoeas was atl«i)ileil " witli a delimm and letliargy, bo tlial you may per<«>;>«•«» occurs), that it can only be properly iranslaleil " in oppotitian to thr ascendant." I. It' 1 ' I t '■ Chaj'. IX.] nOLEMY's TETRABIBLUS. 209 produce death by venoraoua wounds or bites, and by reptiles and wild beaatn. And, should Venus also attach beiself to Saturn and Mercury thus combined, death will then ensue by poison or female treachery. If Saturn be in Virgo or Pisces, or watery signs, and configurated with the Moon, he will operate death by means of water, by drowning and suffocation ; and, if found near Argo, by shipwreck. Should he be in tropical or quadrupedal signs, and the Sun be either in conjunction with him, or in opposition ; or if, instead of the Sun, Mars shouhi so present him- self, death will be caused by the fall of houses or buildings; and, if posited in the mid-heavon, death will happen by falla from heights or precipices.— These ate the various effects of Saturn, when configurated as described. Mars, if in signs of human form, and posited in quar- tile or in opposition to the Sun or Moon, and contrary in condition, will operate death by slaughter, either in civil or foreign war, or by suicide : if Venus add her testimony, death will be intlicted by women, or by assassins in the employment of women : and, should Mercury also be con6gurated with them, death will happen from robbers, thieves, or highwayman. If Mars be in mutilated or imperfect signs, or near the Gorgon* of Perseus, he will produce death by decapitation, or by mutilation of limb. If found in Scorpio or Taurus, he will cause death by surgical amputation, burning or searing, or also by spasms or convulsion.s. Should he be found in the mid-heaven, either above or below the earth, death will be intlicted either by crucifixion or impalement, and especially if he be in the vicinity of CepheuH or Andromeda. If descending, or in opposition * Caput Meilosii PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. [Book IV. to the aacendant*, he will produce death by fire: and, if in quadrupedal signs, by falls and fractures. Should Jupiter, however, bear testimony to Mars, and be at the same time afflicted, death will ensue from the wrath of princes and kings, and from Judicial condemnation. If it happen that the malefics be in concurrence with each other in the Hrst instance, and afterwards io mutual opposition, in any of the aforesaid situations, the evil character of the death will be yet further aug- mented ; but its species or quality, and its dominion, will depend upon that one which may be in occupation of the anseretic place. And, if both the malefics claim preroga- tive in the anntretic places, the bodies of persons wbo thus die will be cast abroad without interment, and will be devoured by beasts and birds: these circumstances will especially ensue, when the malefics may be Found in signs similar in form to beasts and birds ; and provided not any one of the benefica should offer testimony to the place below the eartht. nor to the anjeretic places. Lastly, death will occur in foreign lands, when it may happen that the planets controuling the ana3retic places may be posited in cadent houses; especially if the Moon be present in the said places al,so, or if she be found in quartile or in opposition^. " A>^.(.r..».. Vide note ' in p 208. t That is to say, Che lower heaven, or imuia-c<^li.~WbaUey h«> tranBlat«d it, "abi.i^e the earth," inetead of " Mow :" iiiUtaking »-■ for «»•.. t On this chapter Whalley makeit the following tiDontAtioDs -. " One direction, liow malevolent soever, rarely kills ; and, in aimX " nativilies, there ii required a train of iiialevolent Jirectionn to " rancnr to death ; where several malevolent direi^lious coot'ur »o " together, without the aid or interveningB of the benevolentB, t*iey " fail not to destroy life. '* In BQrb trains of directions, the author here dieting ai»heth be- " tween the killint; planet and the causer of the qutility of de«tli : I I ' ■: 'I : I ; I I I j Chap. X.] Ptolemy's tetrabiblos. 211 (Ehaptcr X. The periodical Divisions of Time, In addition to the foregoing brief observations, applic- able to the various forms of death, further attention is demanded with respect to the division of time, which requires to be contemplated in its natural order and succession. Now as, in all genethlialogical cases, a certain common and general arrangement, affecting the region or country, and the race or generation, is pre-supposed to be in operation, to which arrangement particular inferences, relating to the form of the body, the properties of the mind, and national habits and variations, must each be subservient; and as, in these respects, certain causes more general and predominating are pre-supposed in existence before particular causes, due care must consequently be taken, in order to make an inference consistent with the course of nature, to observe always the original and predominating cause, and never to lose sight of it ; lest some similarity in nativities (if any such should exist) might induce an assertion, when the original predominating cause proceeding from the region itself ** for one planet doth not give both. The foremost of the malevolent ** train is the killing place, and shews the time of death ; but the " following directions, though benevolent, shew the quality. If the ** train fall altogether, and none follow, for the quality observe those *' which precede, though at a distance and benevolent also; for, ** though the benevolent contribute to the preservation of life, yet " they frequently {ipecify the disease which is the cause of death " And with these, our author tells us, concur the configurating stars, ** the quality of the stars and signs, and the terms in which the lords '* happen. In violent deaths, the genethliacal positions of the lights ** are to be observed, and how the malefics affect them, and [how ** they] are also concerned by 'directions in the quality of death." See also Chap. 14, Book 3. •212 itulemt's TETiiAiiint,o.s, [Book IV. has beeu overlooked, that the natiwe of j^thiopia will be born of white complexion, and with long and straight hair; or, on the other hand, that the native of Germany or of Gaul will be black in complexion, and have curled hair; or, that the said nations are polished in mannera, and cuUivate learning, but that the people of Greece are barbarous and illiterate: and so, in abort, of any other countriLs; — withont duly considering the national differ- ences and variations in theit several courses of life. — So also, with regard to the division of time, it is in the samu manner essential to consider the different qualities nf the several ages of life, and to pre-determine the appropriate fitness of every age to such events as may be e.tpected ; in order to avoid the gross error which might arise from a merely vague consideration of the subject, by attri- buting to infancy some deed or circumstance of too complete a nature and belonging rather to manhood, or by aHcribing to extreme old age iho procreation of children, or some other action belonging to youth; and to adapt, on the contrary, to each separate age such cir- cumstances as seem, by due observation of the periods, to be suitable and appropriate thereto. The mode of consideration * applicable to human nature, is universally one and the same; and it is analogous to the arrangement cjF the sevi'n planetary orbst. It, therefore, duly commencea with the first age of human life, and the first .sphere next above tiie earth, that of the Uuon : and it terminates with the final age of man, and the last of the planetary spheres, which Is that of Saturn; and, in fact, it accordingly happens that the appropriate qualities of each sphere take effi^ct in a corresponding age of life, each age being subjeclml to one • With respect to tlio periiwlica' diviaioiiB of time. t It will, of course, be renieruliered, that Ihs Sun, in Ibe FtolelBiie a^Ironomy, U counted »■* i> lilmiatttry orh. Chap. X.] Ptolemy's teirabiblos. 213 particular sphere. These observations are necessary, because the general divisions of time must be considered by means of the spheres, as a primary arrangement; although minor distinctions are to be made by means of the existing peculiarities found in nativities. Hence, the first age of infancy, which endures for four years, agreeing in number with the quadrennial period of the Moon, is consequently adapted to her ; being in its nature moist and incompact, presenting rapidity of growth, being nourished by moist things, and possessing a highly variable habit. Its mental incompleteness is likewise in accordance with its familiar relation to the Moon, and her operative influence. The age after this continues for ten years, and accom- modates itself to the second sphere, that of Mercury. In this period, the intellectual and reasoning faculties of the mind begin to take their character, imbibing the seeds of learning, and developing, as it were, the elements and germs of the genius and abilities, and their peculiar quality. The mind is also aroused to discipline and in- struction, and to its first exercises. Venus corresponds with the next and third age, which lasts throughout the following eight years, the number of her own period : from her, the movement of the seminal vessels originates, as well as an unrestrained impetuosity and precipitancy in amours. The fourth and adult age next succeeds, and is subject to the fourth sphere, that of the Sun: it endures for nine- teen years, according to the Sun's number. Authority of action now commences in the mind, the career of life is entered upon, distinction and glory are desired, and puerile irregularities are relinquished for more orderly conduct, and the pursuit of Honour. Mars, next after the Sun, claims the fifth age, that of manhood, agreeing in duration with his own period, viz. 214 PTOLEMV'S TETRAUIBUIS. [Bool; IV. fifteen yoara. He induces greater austerity of life, together with vtxation, care, and trouble. Jupiter occupies the sixth sphere, aod influences the Tnaturer age, during the twelve years corresponding to his own period. He operates the relinquishment of labour, of hazardous employment and tumult, and produces greater gravity, fore-sij^ht, prudence, and saga- city, favouring the claim to honour, respect, and privilege. Saturn, moving in the last sphere, regulates the final old age, as agreeing with its ehillness. He obstructs the mental movementa, the appetites and enjoyments; rendering them imbecile and dull, in conformity with the dullness of his own motion. The common properties attributable to the variou.s times of life are suliject, in a general manner, tu this previous adaptation ; but there are particular periodsi arising from the respective peculiarities of nativities, whicli also lequire determination, and must be ascer- tained from the ruling prorogations; that is to say, from the whole of them, and not from any single one only, as in the case of the duration of lifu. For example, proro- gation made from the ascendant is to be applied to events affecting the body, and to travelling, or change of residence; I hat from the Part of Fortune, to incidents affecting the substance or wealth ; that from the Mood, to nHections of the mind, and to communion* and cohabitation ; that from the Sun, to dignitias and glory ; and tliat from the mid-heaven, to other particular circumstances of life, such as employment, friendship, and the pos.session of children. So that thus, at one and the same time, any single planet, whether beneSc or malefic, will not possess the sole dominion; for many conflicting events frequently occur at the same period. ' Tlie Lalin copy of Basle. 1641, aays, ' i Chap, X.] PTOLEMY'S TETRABIBLOS. 215 and a person may, at one and the same time, lose a kinsman, yet inherit his substance ; or be at once ill in health, yet prosperous and advantageously established in regard to fortune; or be struggling with adversity and in want, yet, notwithstanding, be also a father and beget children; or he may experience other similar contrarieties: because individuals are subject to occur- rences which may affect either the body, the mind, the rank, or the condition of wealth, and which are not altogether fortunate or unfortunate at the same period. Something of the kind will, however, frequently happen in cases of perfect good fortune or distress, when meetings of all the benefics or malefics may concur in all or most of the prorogations. Still such cases are but rare, because human nature in general is not subjected to the extremity either of good or evil, but rather to their moderate alternation and counterchange. The prorogatory places must, therefore, be separately distinguished in the mode before pointed out; and the planets meeting the prorogations must again be all taken into consideration : not only those which may be anseretic (as in the case of the duration of life), nor those only which may be configurated bodily*, or in opposition or quartile, but also those in trine or sextile. And, first, the times in each prorogation will be governed by the planet occupying or configurated with the actual pro- rogatory degree itself: if, however, there be found no planet thus constituted, the nearest preceding planet will govern the times until another, which may be in aspect to the degree following in the order of the signs, shall take them; and this one, again, will do the same until the next in succession shall take themi*. The like • ** Bodily" or in conjunction. + On this passage, Whalley remarks, ** we are to observe in direc- tion, that the star in exact ray with the prorogator shall be ruler 216 ITOLEMY's TETRABIBLOfS, [Booir IV, rule obtains with respect to any other planetu received into dominion, and with respect to those in occupation of the terms. Further, in prorogations of the aacendant, the degrees of distances will be equal in number to the ascensional times of the particular latitude; but, in prorogation from the mid-heaven, to the times of culmination ; and, in other prorogations, they will be in proportion to the ascensions, or descensiona, or culminations and will depend on their proximity to the angles ; as has been already said in treating of the duration of life-. The arbiters of general times are to be determined by the foregoing method ; but arbiters of annual periods as follows: viz. after the number of years which have elapsed since the birth has been ascertained, the amount ia to be projected from each place of prorogation, in the succession of the signs, at the rate of one sign for a jearf " nntil tlie prorogaUirmeetsiinothGr ray ; that then tlie planet wlioM " ray it is aball tske the ilomiDion, nnil so on. But if no plajiet " aspei't tlie hyleg (prorogator) exat'tJy, Ihut which ctuls it* rays " before the prorogator ia to be taken for ruler of the time, till " another planet's ra,y comes in by direotion. And the lord of tbe " term in which the direction falls, most becoDHiitereda^auo-pBTUter " in this dorainion." • Vide Chap. 14, Book 3. tThe Greek is simply n, rm irt>u-a ■■» £«)»r^ bat the cont«Xt proves that the entire meaning mnst be as now givun, altliongh the Latin translation of Perugio renders il "one yesr to each degrae." Whalte; explains that by annual periods " the niitbor intends pro- " fections ; for the taking of which, for every year (roro the bIrUi, " add' one sign to the sign in which tlie apbetira are at birth, and " the sign which endR at the year desired ia the aigD profectional for " that year, and the lard of that sign is chronocratoT larbiler) for '■ that year j so far as the ilegreea of that sign reach. For example, " if a prorogator at birlli be in l.'i of l^mini, to 15* of Cancer st-rrea " th« lint year ; bat the tirst six months are rulod by Mercury, nnd " ibe last six by the Moon nnd Jupitor ; and so on." }li I h i^iVi I" Chap. X.] ITOLEMV's TETKAHIULOS. 217 and the lord of the laat sign* is to be assumed as arbiter. And. with regard to periods reckoned by months, the same rule is to be observed : for in this case also, the number of the month, as counted from the month of the nativity, is to be projected from such places as possess the dominion of the year, in the proportion of twenty- eight days per si^n. So, likewise, in the case of periods reckoned by days, the number of the day, counted from the day of birth, must be projected from the monthly places of dominion, allowing for each sign two days and a thirdt. It is, however, necessary to notice the ingresses made on places allotted to different periods ; for they take effect in no small degree on the events of the period. Thus, the ingresses made by Saturn, on places of general periods, require special observation ; those made by Jupiter, on places of annual periods ; those made by the Sun, Uars, Venus, and Mercury, on monthly places ; and the Moon's transit over daily places. It must also be remembered, that arbiters of general periods are chiefly paramount over the events ; and that, to their intiuence, the arbiter.^ of particular periods (each of whom acting by its own proper nature) present either co-operation or obstruction ; and that the ingresses also operate on 'The Latin IranslaLion of Basle, 1541, sayH, "Che lord of Chat " sign in wliich the oarnWr xliall tertninaU," 1-Wlialley aajB here, "Let a nign bt added for each mouch to "the siga of the year. So, in the example before proposed, the "laat 13° of Gemini, and the first 15" of Cancer, ahall teive for "the first monch: the last 15' of Canoer and the fl«t I.i" of " Leo, far the neiKind month ; and bo on And for days, from 15' " of Gemini to IS' of Canuer, rules twodajs and eijjhc lioarn after "birth, etc." Placidos is of opinion, " that Ptolemy, spenking of annual places, "is to be understood r>f the placea of secondary directions 1 anil thit "when he apeaks of Che mensCrnal, he hints at the places of pro- "gresMons." (Cooper's Translation, pp. 25 and .'57.1 ITiiLEMY's TErrRABIBLOS. [Book IV. events, by increasing or Himiniahing their force and extent*. The general diaracterhtic property, and the duration of the period, will be indicated by the place of proroga- tion, a.'i also by the lord of the general times, and by the pjantt in posstession of the terras ; by means of the familiarity subsisting, from the actual birth, between each planet, and the places of which they may have reapeciively and originally taken dominion. The arbi- ter.s of time will also give indication whether the event will be good or evil, by mean.s of their own naturally benefic or maleHc property and temperament, and by their original familiarity or variance with the place of which they have become lords. But the period, at which the event will become more strongly evident, is ishewn by the relative positions of the annual and monthly -signs towards the places wherein the causes exist, and also by the iiigre.sses of the planetsf. ' Plaoidai Buys, Ihat "autire ingreaaes, if tliey be HimiUr to the " pre-ordainvd elfecte, uause theDi to tiiHuence; if dUBimiEar, they " eitlier diminish or retard ; as Ptolemy han it in the IftBt Chapter of " Hook 4." (Cooper's Translation, p. 27.) t Placidua oUsertes, that " the primary directions of the aignilioa- " tors to their promittorK. and the lonU of the terms, Ptolemy (rails " the General Arbiters of Times, because tliey pre-onlaia the general " times of thdr cflci^ts : which, u its motion is slow and its pene- " verance long, discovers its efTeota after a very long lime ; thai ii, "after months and years. In order that we may kaow, in this " extent of time, on what particular month and day the eflecls ap< "pear, Ptnlemy proposes these motions for olwervalioti, wherein, " vhen the majority of the uausea agree together, then doubtless the " offset is aceomplished, or mo.it clearly manifests ilaelf." (Cooper's Translation, p. IIHt.) And he says afterwards, in speaking of secon- dory directions, progressions, ingresses, etc. " these subsequent "motions of the causes demand oor greatest att«nliou." (lUd, p. Ill) ) In the Appendix to the same book, at p 438, the proper equation of time, or measurement of the area of direction, is also treateil of, in reference to the 16th canon of Placidna, which is as follows :— \ ■! ii 5' ! V ' il I Chap. X.] PTOI.EMV'S TETRABI BLOS. 219 The mode in which the Sun and Moon may be (li»- posed in reference to the signs relating to annual and monthly periods, is also indicative. For example, should they, from the date of the nativity, be posited in con- cord with the operative places, and keep a position of concord at the ingresses, they will produce good ; but, if adversely posited, evil. And also, if they be not in con- cord with the said places, and provided they be contrary in condition, and in opposition or in quartile, to the transits, they will cause evil : should they, however, not be in quartile, nor in opposition, but otherwise con- tigurated, their influence then will not be equally malefic. Should it happen that the same planets may be lords of the times*, as well as of the ingresses. the effect will be extreme and unalloyed, it' of a favour- able nature ; and more particularly unmitigated, if evil. And should the said planets be not only lords of the times, but likewise hold dominion from the date of the nativity, and provided also that all the prorogations, or most of them, should tend to, or depend on. one and the same place, or, should the prorogations not be so con.stituted, yet notwithstand- ing, if the meetings occurring at the periods be found to be either all, or most of them, benefic or iiialeKc, they will wholly produce, in all respects, good or evil fortune, respectively. " Tti equate tkt Arc of Direcliim. Add tbe are of direction U> the " rigbt aacenatOD of tbu natal Sun ; look for this sam in the table of " right ascentiiona under the euliplic, and take llie dej^ee and minute of longitude cotresponUing with that Hum ; then, in the best ephe- " mens, reckon in how many days and honrs tLe Sun, from llie day " and hour of hirth, has arrived at (bat degree and ntinut«. The " namber of days indicate as many years ; every two lioura over, "reckon a niontli." (Ibid, p, nH.) ' Whether general or annnal. 220 PTOLEMY S TETRABIBLOS- [Book IV. It 13 in thit) method, which preserves a uatural order and succession, that times and seasons require to be con- templated. And now, in adverting to the scope allotted to this work in its commencement, all further adaptation of the forms of events liable to take effect at particular time.-i will here be relinquished; because the operative influ- ences which the stars exercise in all events, whether general or particular, may be arranged in proper order, if care be taken that the causes set forth by the Rules of Science, and the causes arising from any existing com- mixture, be duly combined and blended together. J..ll !:!■■ ■ <:\ : ■ 1 ■ 1- I i it* V * 11 I. IT ■Ml 2XJ APPfiKBiK, No. I. Almagest: Book Vlll, Chap. IV THE various constellations of the fixed start; having now been duly described, their aspects remain to be in ve8 tinted. Independently of the atedfa^t and immutable aspects which the said stars preserve among themselves, either rectilinearly, or triangularly, or by other similar forms*, they have also certain aspects considered as referring exclusively to the pjanets and the Sun and Moon, or parts of the zodiac; certain others lo the earth only; and others, again, to the earth, the planets and the Sun and Moon, or parts of the zodiac, combined. With regard to the planets only, and parts of the zodiac, aspects are properly considered as made to them by the Hxed stars, when the said planets and fixed stars may be posited on one and the same of those circles which are drawn through the poles of the zodiac; or, also, if they be posited on diHerent circles, provided a trinal or sextilc distance between them may be preserved ; that is to say, a distance equal to a right angle and a third part more, or a distance equal to two thirds of a right angle; and provided, also, that the fixed stars be on such parts of the circle as are liable to be transited by any one of the planets. These parts are situated within the latitude of the zodiac, which circumscribes the • That ii to iay, by the oppusitio 222 API'KNDIX. planetary motioiiii. And as far as the five planets i concerned, the aspects of the fixed stars depend upon the visible mutual conjunctions, or configurations, made in the forms above prescribed; but. with respect to the Sun and Moon, they depend on occultations, conjunctions, and succedent riainga of the stars. Occultation is when a star becomes invisibie by being carried under the rays of the luminary; conjunction, when it is placed under the himinary'a centre; and succedent rising, when it begins to re-appear on issuing out beyond the rays. In regard to the earth only, the aspects of the fixed stara are four in number, and are known by the common term of angles; to speak, however, more particularly. they are the oriental horizon, the meridian or mid- heaven above the earth, the occidental horizon, and thc meridian or mid-heaven below the earth. And in that part of the earth where the equator is in the zenith, the whole of the fixed stars are found to rise and set, and to be above as well as below the earth, once in each revolution ; because the situation of the poles of the equator, being in this manner on the plane of the horizon, thereby prevents the constant visibility or invisibility or any one of the parallel circles. But in other parts of the earth, where the pole of the equator is in the zenith, the fixed stars can never set nor rise ; because the equator itself is then on the plane of the horizon, and circumscribes the two hemispheres (which it thus creates, one above and the other below the earth) in such a manner, that in one revolution every star must twice transit the meridian, some of them above, others below the earth. In other declinations, however, between these extreme positions of the equator, as just mentioned, there are certain of the circles always visible, and others never visible; consequently, the stars intercepted between the firat of such circles and the poles can ■SI !; a '1 ; '1 i 4: I "I i APPENDIX, 229 neither rise nor set, but must, in the course of one revolution, twice transit the mertdi&n ; above the earth, if the said stars be on a circle always visible ; but below the earth, if on a circle never visible. The other stars, however, situated on the greater parallels, both rise and set, and are found in each re- volution once on the meridian above the earth, and once on that below the earth. ^In all theae cases, the time occupied in proceeding round from any one angle to the same again, must be everywhere equal in its duration^ for it i.s marked by one sensible revolution ; and the time occupied in passing from either meridianal angle to the angle diametrically opposite, is also everywhere equal ; because it is marked by the half of one re- volution. So, al.so, the passage from either horizontal angle to its opposite angle is again effected in the same e' and a fnu-tion of the equator In Ihe ulimHte oF Southern Britain, the agjiregate times of asct^niiion of tlie liret puiiit d( Gemini are W 43': the sixth part of the diflercixie between lluil RiiRi and 57' 44' of riKht aacenaion in 4' Vf and a. fraction, which, added to 15°, makes tlie diurnal tempural hour of the liret point of Gemini, la South Britaiu, equal Ui 19 -10' nnd a frui^tinii of the equator, as before tbeHii. If .1 I I I il i ! f! i'it> APPENDIX. 221) given day or night*. On the other hand, equatorial hours are also to be reduced into temporal hours by being multiplied by fifteen, the product of which is to be divided by the horary times proper to the given day or night in the said climate. The degree ascending in the ecliptic, at any given temporal hour, may also be ascertained by multiplying the number of temporal hours since sunrise, if the given hour be diurnal, but if nocturnal, since sunset, by their proper horary times; and the product is to be added, in the succession of the signs, to the aggregate number (as shewn by the ascensions proper to the climate) of the Sun's degree, if the given hour be diurnal, but, if nocturnal, to that of the degree diametrically opposite, and that particular degree of the ecliptic which shall correspond with the total number thus found in the ascensions of the climate will be the degree then ascending f. • For example. Diurnal horary times of the firnt point of Gemini, in the latitude of Alexandria 17' 6' 3(r Number of temporal hours - - - - - - 12 ir))20o 18 0 Diurnal equatorial hours of the first point of Gemini in the latitude of Alexandria 13 41 12 Diurnal horary times of the first point of Gemini in the latitude of Southern Britain 19"* -HY l(f Number of temporal hours 12 15)236 2 0 Diurnal equatorial hours of the first point of Gemini in the latitude of Southern Britain - - - - 15 44 8 t Let the first point of Gemini be on the meridain above the earth; the number of temporal hours since sunrise will then be 0, by which IT 6' 3(r are to be multiplied. The product will be 102*' 39': thif>, 230 Al'1'E.VDIX, But. in order to ascertain the degree on the meridian above the eartli, the oumher of temporal hours since the preceding noon are alwo to be multiplied by their pi-oper horary times, and the product i» to be added to the aggregate number of the Sun's right ascension; and that degree uf the ecliptic, with which the total number as found in the aggregate times of right ascension shall correspond, will then be on the meridian \ The degree on the oriental horiiton will, however, al.so shew what degree occupied the meridian; for. by subtracling 90 timea (the amount of the quadrant) from the aggregate number ascribed to the said ascending degree in the Table proper to the climate, the number so reduced will be found, in the aggregate times of the Table of Right Aitcennions, to correspond with the degree on the meridian. And again, on the other hand, by adding 90 to the aggre- )^te times ascribed by right ascension ti* the degree on the meridian above the earth, the degree ascending may be obtained, for it will be that degree which corresponds to that total number, aa stated in the Table proper to the climate t- ftdded tu 45° 5', Lbe aggregate auoiber of the Grat point u( Uemini in the Intitnde of AlennndrU, will give 147° 44', wliiofa, in tlio aweo- aioQs of the cliniate id queelion, will corr.fiKiiid to tbe 3d degree tj • Virgo, hdJ kIihw Lliat to 1w tlio ilej>reu aacenJing. In tlie lalitude ot Soutlivru Britain tiie total number Konld ititl ainuunt to tlie «ame ; viK. 147" 44', bitl it would sliew T aud about 30' of Virgo lo be iXBcending. ■ Let llie liri-t point of Cieniiui be three temporal hourB past the meridian : theiie Lonrt rednced to defjreen, in the latitude of Alex andria, will give ST 10', wbieb, added to the rijiht aacenaiou of the fint point of Gemini, make l>;9' 3', shewing the lath degree of Can' cer on the meridian. In the lalitude of Southern Britain, these honn would produce 59% which, added lo tlio right awenniim, would make 1 Id' 44', and shew the 25lli degree of Canuer on the meridian -t Thus, in the latitude uf Alexandriii, when the Hrat point of Gemini is three temporal hours past the meridian, the llith degre: of Libra I ■; 1 i.l; .; « I •1 J -I I APPENDIX. 231 The Sun always preserves an equal distance in equa- torial hours from all parts of the same meridian; but his distance in equatorial hours from different meridians varies according to the degrees of distance between meridian and meridian. will be on the ascendant, and the aggregate times of ascension of that degree in the said latitude are 199' 3' : by subtracting 90 from this sum, the remainder will be 109" 3', the right ascension of the mid- heaven answering to the 18th degree of Cancer. In the latitude of Southern Britain, the 18th degree of Libra would be on the ascendant, of which degree the aggregate times of ascension in that latitude are 206"* 44', from which, if 90 be subtracted, the remainder will be 116* 44', the right ascension of the mid-heaven answering to the 25th degree of Cancer. — The converse of these operations seems too obvious to need explanation. [From the AlmE^^t.] ^.,«rz>... ^T.™. ' IBNIEST PJY ^r,^:. 12 6 0 0 i 16 15 60 15 12 15 4 15 IG 30 +51 35 12 30 8 25 16 -45 52 50 12 45 12 30 17 0 54 1 13 0 16 27 17 15 17 30 55 0 13 15 20 14 se 0 13 30 23 51 17 45 57 0 58 0 13 45 27 40 18 0 ■■ p I I :!l I.I i' !■ Extinct from the Table of Ascenuions (contained in the Almagest), calculated for every tenth Degree of the Zwiiac. 1« -. n-a ",'.:z 'V'r:'' '«;;;;; --'1'* ^ ^ 'WHIBI 1I An, aiGNS. 11M0.K4. 'hi —■.. W II .-r .<.^„,j«iK T.wil/ Allll-d, 1 know nut ; uid ho I le&vfl it " i I 1 _ ! \ APPENDIX. 243 the ascending lords i)t* triplicity ; matters of life, by the lords of the conditionary luminary's triplicity. LXXIII. If the Sun be found with the Gorfjon's head (Caput MediLSca), and not aspocted by any benefic star, and if there be no beneiic present in the eighth house, and the lord of the conditionary luminary be opposed to Mars, or in quartile to him, the native will be beheaded. If the luminary culminate, his body will be maimed or mangled ; and if the aspect in quartile be from Gemini or Pisces, his hands and feet will be am[)utated. LXXIV. Mars, if ascending, uniformly givej a scar in the face. LXXV. If the Sun be in conjunction with the lord of the ascendant, in Leo, and Mars have no prorogative in the ascendant, and if there be no benefic in the eighth house, the native will be burned. LXXVJ. If Saturn hold the mid- heaven, and the con- ditionary luminary be opposed to him, the native will perish in the ruins of buildings, provided the sign on the lower heaven be an earthly sign; if it be a watery sign, he will be drowned or suffocated by water : if a human sign, he will be strangled by men, or will perish by the halter or the scourge. Should there, however, be a benefic in the eighth house, he will not suffer death, although he will be brought near it. LXXVII. Protection of the ascendant is to be made for matters affecting the body ; of the Part of Fortune, for extrinsic circumstances; of the Moon, for the connec- tion between the body and the spirit ; and of the mid- heaven, for the employment or profession. LXXVIII. A star often dispenses influence in a place in which it has no prerogative, thus bringing unexpected advantage to the native. LXXIX. Whoever has Mars in the eleventh house, does not govern his master. 24+ APPEKDIX. 1 conJuricLiun with Saturn, aad B in tho suveutli house, the native LXXX. If Venus bu Iiave any lord of houst will be of spurious origin. LXXXI. Times are reckoned in ueven ways; viz. by the apace between two sisniticatoi-s ; by the spaca be- tween their mutual aspects; by the approach of one to the other ; by ihe space between either of them and the place appropriated to the proposed event; by the deseen- siou oE a star, with its addition or diminuti