70 Mr Pearson, On some points in the [May 21, 



(2) Mr Pearson, On some points in the history of Astronomy. 



Mr Pearson read a paper on some passages from the classics, 

 one from Hesiod, and three from Ovid, which he considered might 

 be fairly tested by Modern Astronomy. Admitting, as is often 

 averred, that many allusions of this nature in the classics are 

 either inaccurate or wrong, some he thought might still be found 

 to have the stamp of truth about them. 



On the one hand, it is certain that in Greece the phenomena of 

 the heavens had from the earliest times many thoughtful and 

 attentive observers. In the time of Hesiod, which may be perhaps 

 best assumed to have been about the middle of the eighth century 

 B.C., the rising and setting of the stars seems to have been the 

 recognised guide in distinguishing the successive seasons of the 

 year: the Metonic cycle, now known under the title of the Golden 

 Numbers, was discovered in the time of Socrates : and the ordinary 

 authorities, such as the article Astronomia in the Dictionary of 

 Antiquities, show how much interest the subject attracted down 

 to the period of Ptolemy and Hipparchus. On the other hand, it 

 must be allowed that the references we can actually find in classical 

 authors are often vague or rhetorical ; and that, probably except- 

 ing Hesiod, those whose writings we refer to wrote on second-hand 

 authority. It may be therefore fully admitted that the question 

 requires to be investigated with much caution. 



The first reference was to Hesiod {Op. et Di. 564 — 7), as being 

 the most distinct passage in that author's writing, although there 

 are others which deserve consideration as data in Practical Astro- 

 nomy: these lines, Mr Pearson said, he thought deserved the best 

 attention, as the whole character of the work in which they occur 

 is most genuine and natural, nor is it easj^ to study it without the 

 impression that the author was himself dependent, as a practical 

 agriculturist, on the facts that he recites. 



The passage itself runs thus : 



Ei^t' av 5' e'^rjKovTa fiera rpoira'i rjeXloio 

 ^€Lfiept eKTeXicrr) Zet"? ij/iaTa, Srj pa tot dcTTrjp 

 ApKTovpo<i, 7rpo\i'Tra)V lepov poov ^flKeapoto 

 UpcoTOV irafKpaivcov eircTeWeTat aKpoKve(^aLo<;. 



From this we learn that, sixty days after the winter solstice, 

 Arcturus rose during twilight in the evening. Arcturus' position 

 for Jan. 1, 1875, is given in the Nautical Almanac as E,.A. 

 14 h. 9m. 55 s., Dec. 19" 50' 22^" K If we convert these data 

 into Latitude and Longitude, reduce the star's longitude by about 

 86** 10', which at the annual rate of 50""1 for precession will bring 

 us to about 730 B.C., and reconvert the star's new longitude and 

 latitude into R.A. and Dec, we shall find that the position of the 



