352 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



call Matque, the other Abacte. Scaliger, who has taken 

 great pains upon this confufed fubjecl:, the computation of 

 time in the church of Abyffinia, without having fucceed- 

 ed in making it much clearer, tells us, that the firft ufe or 

 invention of epacts was not earlier than the time of Diocle- 

 fian ; but this is contrary to the pofitive evidence of Abyf- 

 finian hiftory, which lays exprefsly, that the epacl was in- 

 vented by Demetrius*, patriarch of Alexandria. " Unlefs, 

 fays the poet in their liturgy, Demetrius had made this 

 revelation by the immediate influence of the Holy Ghoft, 

 how, I pray you, was it poffible that the computation of 

 time, called Epacts, could ever have been known ?" And, 

 again, " When you meet, fays he, you fhall learn the com- 

 putation by epacts, which was taught by the Holy Ghoft to 

 father Demetrius, and by him revealed to you." Now De- 

 metrius was the twelfth patriarch of Alexandria, who was 

 elected about the 190th year of Chrifl, or in the reign of 

 the emperor Severus, confequently long before the time of 

 Dioclelian. 



It feems the reputation the Egyptians had from very old 

 time for their fkiil in computation and the divifion of time, 

 remained with uhcm late in the days of Chriftianity. Pope 

 Leo the Great, writing to the emperor Marcian, confeffes 

 that the fixing the time of the moveable feafts was always 

 an exciuiive privilege of the church of Alexandria ; and 

 therefore, fays he, in his letter about reforming the kalen- 

 dar, the holy fathers endeavoured to take away the occa- 

 sion of this error, by delegating the whole care of this to 



the 



Encom. 12th October, Od. 3. torn. 1. Ann. Alexan. p.m. 363. 



