21Z ' The SSQatural Hijlory 
William Rede (after Bifiop of Chkbe^er) ^ndjohn Efchenden joint-^ 
ly to carry on this ftudy, as appears from their Treatifes of the 
central Eclyps of the Moon^ and conjunftion of the three fupe- 
rior Planets that happen'd An. 1 345 . and the great conjunftion of 
Jupiter and Saturn^ An, 1365. both which were calculated by 
William Rede^ and the PrognoHications added by j^obn Efchenden 
From which Eclyfs^ and the fir ft conjunSiion^ he fore-told the 
Epidemical PeJIilence th^t followed in the year 1349. which be- 
ginning in Turky^ fpread all over Sjria and Greece ; whence it 
came into Italy^ Spain and France , and at length into England, 
To thefe add John Somer and William Wyrcefler^ alfo moft eminent 
Aflronomers ; the former whereof correfted the Calendar perhaps 
yet more accuratly than Bacon ^ ; and the latter wrote a verifica- 
tion of all the fix'd [tars-, as to their longitude and latitude^ for 
the year 1 440 K with fome other Ajironomical matters, at the in- 
ftanceof his Patron ^vcjohn Falftoff, 
I 7. Great we fee was the increafe of this fort of Learnings 
even in thofe days, yet that former Ages may not carry away the 
whole honor, let us alfo make an eftimate of its modern advance- 
ments*, fuch as it received from 7"/?o;;z(?!5 formerly Fellow 
of New College^ and Redor of Alkerton in this County, who de- 
fining a yet truer period than any of the former^ of the Sun and 
Moons motion (without which, there could be no accurat Syfiem j 
or Calendar years ^ months and dajs') moft happily fir ft contri-. 
ved the OSlodefexcentenary Period : ipfe primus^ abfit di^o inuidia; 
no§lro feculo obfervavi^ are his own words Which Period^ 
though till now not fo certainly known, by Learned Antiquity 
was called the great year ^ as is manifeftfrom Jofephus his Hiftory 
of the j^evps where fpeaking of the great advantages our Fere- 
fathers h^d m Aflronomy^ he fays, Uhkv rQiov w^'^ls >s>^^l!v^ a- 
that 'tis probable God gave them a 
longer life, that they might fully underftand the Theorems ofAjjro^ 
nomy^ which they could not well do, unlefs they lived fix hun- 
dred years ; for the great year^ fays he, is accomplifti'd in that 
number of years. 
1 8. which Lydiat found to come fo near the truth, that there j|j 
«i Fol.MS. 176. hiterCodkes t>igh- ''■ ^od. vid. inter Codices Dig^f, 12° MS. 5. f MS- inter Codices 
Laudi 12°. B' 23. e Lydiati Ajlronm. de Ami Solaris menfura. ^ Lib, i- cap, ^.fub.finem. 
needed ji 
