SEYFFARTII — ON THE THEORY OF THE MOON'S MOTIONS. 44I 



confirms the date ; because Ol. 48, 4, began, according to the 

 Romans, with January in -581. This eclipse, moreover, was a 

 total one in Miletus, and it coincided with sunrise. For Themis- 

 tius (Or. xxvi. p. 317, Dind.) says: 7Tpos<frjz£'J(Tau — Mc/.rjaioi-, 

 ore uu? iaoiTO iv ^/ftsp^/^ xai ouasro 8.u.a 6 r^Aio^ xai b-oOvjazzm 

 a'jzbu -^ as/.i^i^^, uktts d-OTiavtada: zir^i' wjyr^v xai zd^ dxzr^a^. 

 Herodotus (i. 74 & 103) combines the eclipses in -581 and -621, 

 as we shall see hereafter, and refers the latter to noon, the former 

 to sunrise (bcSoi^ vjxza dvz't ■fjuinr^;: Ycvoixepr^i'). Eusebius (Chr. 

 ii. p. 161) likewise refers this Thalesian eclipse to Ol. 48, 3, i.e. 



— 581. About that time only one eclipse coincided with sunrise 

 in Miletus, viz. that in -581, Mar, 27, i7h. 45m. ; for, according 

 to our Table (p. 429-30), the obscuration of the sun happened 

 4h. 9m. later. The longitude of ft being 2° E. according to the 

 present theor}^ the curve of the moon's shadow was _ 22°, _ 4°, -f- 

 13° ; but, according to our Table (p. 429-30), the place of the ft 

 was about 4° W. Hence the eclipse was total near Miletus. 



6. Cicero (De rep; i. 16) — "Anno CCCL. fere post Romam 

 conditam," says he, "Nonis Junis soli luna obstitit et nox. Atque 

 hac in re tanta inest ratio atque sollertia, ut ex hac die, quam 

 apud Ennium et in Maximis Annalibus consignatam videmus, 

 superiores solis defectiones reputatae sint, usque ad illam quae 

 Nonis Quinctilibus fiiit regnante Romulo" (no, 3). These words 

 are uttered by Scipio, who. as Ideler's Chronology states, referred, 

 according to Dionysius, the foundation of Rome to —750. Hence 

 u.c. CCCL is the year -400. and about that time only one eclipse 

 was possible in June or July, viz. that in -400, July ist, i7h.45m,, 

 ft 1° 5' E., which was invisible in Rome (p. 426), According 

 to our Table (p. 429-30), however, the place of the ft was 4° 21 ' 

 W., and the conjunction happened 3h. 31m. later. (See the 

 specialities of this eclipse, computed by means of Carlini's and 

 Damoiseau's Tables, in the premises, p. 427). From -407 to 



— 401 and -399 to -398 no similar eclipse was possible. 



7. Livy (vii. 28) and Jul. Obsequens (c, 22) report that u c. 

 490, during Rutilus and Manlius's consulate, extending from the 

 Kal. Qiiinctiles (July) in -341 to the same in -340, "nox inter- 

 diu visa intendi," which words signify a total or great eclipse 

 of the sun at sunrise. Since the lunar months of the Romans, as 

 is well known, sometimes preceded our solar ones by 30, even 



