352 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 
call Matqué, the other Abacté. Scaliger, who has taken 
great pains upon this confufed fubject, the computation of 
time in the church of Abyfiinia, 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 fays exprefsly, that the epact 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 rgoth year of Chrift, or in the reign of 
the emperor Severus, confequently long before the time of 
Dioclefian. 7 
Ir feems the reputation the Egyptians had from very old 
time for their fallin computation and the divifion of time, 
remained with them late in the days of Chriftianity. Pope 
Leo the Great, writing to the emperor Marcian, confefles 
that the fixing the time of the moveable feafts was always 
an exclufive 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- 
fion of this error, by delegating the whole care of this to 
j the 
* Encom. 12th October, Od. 3. tom. 1. Ann, Alexan. p.m. 363. 
