SKYFFARTH ON THE THEORY OF THE MOON's MOTIONS. 453 



mian (xxix. i, 39), Hieronymus (a. A. 2 181), and others, report 

 that the philosopher Peregrinus burned himself to ashes while 

 the Olympian games were taking place in Ol. 236, i, a.d. 167. — 

 Still further, Malala (xii. 372) recites that the same games were 

 transferred to Antiochia in the 260th year of the Antiochian era, 

 which commenced in — 48, consequently a.d. 211, Ol. 247, i. — 

 Besides, Censorin (c. 18, 21) says that u.c. 991, yEr. Act. 267, 

 yEr. Jul. 283, in the first year of Gordian, i.e. a.d. 239, Ol. 254, i, 

 the Olympian games were repeated. — Again, Libanius (i. p. 91* 

 94) tells us that, subsequent to Julian's death, 01. 285, i, the same 

 festival took place a.d. 263. 



Finally, Cedrenus (p. 325) bears witness that the Olympian 

 games, interdicted by Theodosius during his i6th year, came to 

 an end a.d. 395, Ol. 293, i ; u.c. 1146. All these epochs of the 

 Olympian games concur in putting beyond question that, after 

 Christ, these games were repeated in such years which, being 

 divided by 4, leave the remainder 3. And these arguments will 

 suffice to convince every unbiased man that Caesar died in — 41, 

 and not in — 43 ; that, consequently, the following consuls and 

 emperors, down to a.d. 47, ruled two years later than Petavius 

 brought out. (See the Chronological Table p. 433-37 ) In one 

 word, the Olympian games are the basis of the whole Greek and 

 Roman histories. 



We return now to the chronology of the Roman eclipses ob- 

 served after J. Caesar's death in — 41. 



26. Dio Cassius (L. xlv. to the coss. Hirtius and Pansa, u.c. 

 711) reports that a small eclipse of the sun occurred in — 40 

 {to r£ ^wc Toi) fj/do'j i/MTTOuadai zs xac (Toi)^i>eaf)ai), and the 

 Chronicon Paschale refers the same eclipse to the second year of 

 Augustus, 01. 184, 4 ; consequently to — 40, viz. to Aug. 10, i6h. 

 15m., y 14° E. According to the present theory of the moon, 

 however, the obscuration of the sun reached only 60°, 71°, 39°, 

 and finished prior to sunrise in Rome. Our Table (p. 429) puts 

 15 10° only E. of the sun, and the conjunction 2h. 29m. later. In 

 — 41 and — 42 no solar eclipses were visible in Rome, as Pin- 

 gre's computations evince. 



£7. Dio Cassius (xlvii. 40, p. 519, Reim.) mentions a great 

 eclipse of the sun (6 r^Aioi; tots Dmttojto xal i/A^caro^ iyi^ZTo), 

 u.c. 712, coss. Lepidus II. and Plancus. This is the eclipse in 



