56 UNIVERSAL ERUDITION. 



the other planets, have been called public and 

 cckdial characters of the times, as their calcula- 

 tion? afford chronologers infallible proofs of the 

 precife epochs on which a great number of the 

 moft fignal events in hiftory have occurred. So 

 that in chronological matters we cannot make 

 any great progrefs, if we are ignorant of the life 

 of aflronomic tables, and the calculation of 

 eclipfes. The ancients regarded the latter as 

 prognoftics of the fall of empires, of the lofs 

 of battles, of the death of monarchs, &c. And 

 , it is to this fuperftition, to this wretched igno- 

 rance, that we happily owe the vaft labour that 

 hiftorians have taken to record fo great a number 

 of them. The moil able chronologers have col- 

 lected them with ftill greater labour. Calvifius, 

 for example, founds his chronology en 144 

 eclipfes of the fun, and 127 of the moon, that 

 he fays he had caculated. The grand conjunc- 

 tion of the two fuperior planets, Saturn and Ju- 

 piter, which, according to Kepler, occurs once 

 in 800 years in the fame point of the zodiac, 

 and which has happened only eight times fino: 

 the creation, (the lait time in the month of De- 

 cember 1603) may allb furnifh chronology with 

 inconteftable proofs. The fame may be laid of 

 the tranfit of Venus over the fun, which has been 

 ebferved in our days, and all the other uncom- 

 mon pofuions of the planets. But among theic 

 celeftial and natural characters of times, there 

 are are alfo fome that are named civil w artificial, 



and 



