A LETTER sent by a Gentleman of England, to his frende, contayning a confutacion of a French mans errors, in the report of the myraculous starre nowe shyninge.
Anno Domini. 1573.
SIr, whereas ye requyre my opynion touching y e French Pamflet of a blasing starre lately Englished: Surely I cannot but condempne y e rashnes of him that did translate y e same, for that at one time he offered two iniuryes. First to the Frenche man y t made the same, for whom it had beene sufficiente that Fraunce had knowen hys dotinges, & not England also to haue bene made partaker of his follyes. Secondly the ill opynion hee seemed to haue of his owne countryemen, that amonge the abundant choise of so many excellent Mathematicians, woulde rather publishe such a toye, then vse thaduise of suche as mighte haue taughte a veritye. For the Booke although it haue fewe lines, yet hath it manye errors & that of all sortes. Geometricall, Astronomicall, Physical, Cosmographicall and Historicall First in the portrayture of Cassiopeia the very starres are mistaken, and the new starre misplaced. For the three other starres [Page] that frame a figure wyth hym of Geomitricianes commōly called Rhombus, are these, one of the thirde lighte in her breste, an other of the same lighte in her chayre nighe vnto the thighe of Cassiopeia, the thirde in the middle ascense or backe of her Chaire, this beinge of the thirde light also, is by him quite misplaced, and in steede thereof another little starre of the fifte lighte placed, and the newe starre that is beneath the foote of her seate, is there situate farre higher. Hee wanteth also one starre in the toppe of her chayre, and an other in her foote, and notwythstandynge he hath clapte in one where neuer anye was, yet wanteth hee one of his nomber, which although hee had neuer redde Aratus Ptolomey, Copernicus or other Mathematicianes, yet of Poetes as Palingenius, he might haue learned howe Cassiopeia decem at (que) tribus stat lucida flammis. Hee proceedeth to his obseruations, and declareth this newe starres distances from Alrucuba commonlye called the Pole starre, and another of Queene Cassiopeia inferring that such as be skilfull in [Page] the doctrine of triāgles Sphericall, will soone finde his place to be in the ende of ♓ about the 29. grade, wherby it appeareth that his own knowledge in Sphericall triangles was verye small, for admittinge his owne distances true, it falleth out in y e first face of ♉, but his true longitude and place in deede, is esilye by sighte without Instrumente within one degree to be coniectured, of the meanest scholler in obseruations Astronomical, beinge more then that In sedis pede, a little starre harde by hym whose longitude by Copernicus is deliuered 8. grades. 20. minutes, and lesse then that other by hym mencioned in Cassiopeia her thighe whose longitude is also. 10. grades. This starre therefore being verye nighe in the meane betweene these two, is soone founde within 10. minutes of nyne grades in longitude, makinge accompte as Copernicus doth from the little starre in the horne of the Ramme, which in the olde Astronomers tyme stoode in the very intersection of the line Ecliptike and Equinoctial, but sithens by the stealinge course of the starres [Page] fixed, or rather of the earthe as Copernicus with better reasons proueth, is remoued since that time 27. grades 49 minuts, which I haue by certaine Calculatiō found to be Precessio Aequinoctiorum vera, for the Natiuitye of oure Sauiour last past, nyne grades therfore the longitude of this newe starre in the eyghte sphere by sighte onely collected, as I haue before declared, vnto y t nomber of the true Praecession adioyned, produceth 6. grades 49. minutes in ♉ for his longitude or place, and therefore I muse the more that anye man shoulde so muche erre y t woulde presume in a cause Mathematicall to write, but perhappes his meaninge was y t this starres righte Ascention shoulde be about that grade, wherein thoughe it be very vnproper to apply the Computation of right Ascension to the line Ecliptike, yet had his error bene that way the lesse, but not contented wyth these inferioure causes beinge in deede but Elementa artis, hee ascendeth to discouer a Parallaxe, & produceth obseruations flatte repugnaunt betweene theymselues. I meane not so [Page] much for that hee giueth his new starre seuerall distances from Alrucuba at his greatest heighte, (which in deede is nothinge so) but hee attributeth also vnto hym hys greatest Parallaxe aboue the Pole, and his lesser vnderneath, whiche is a matter so absurde, as oure Mathematicall infantes will laughe to scorne. And these hee sayth are the principall matters hee noted in hym since hys first appearaūce the 15 of Nouember, wherin his credite may somthing be doubted also, cōsidering others of as good iudgement as he seemeth to bee, obseruinge y e same figure of Cassiopeia coulde see no such starre the 16. night of the same moneth: His Mathematicall causes thus handled he entereth to iudge of y e effects ensuing, and for discouery thereof translateth the opinions of other writers cō cerning Comets, which by Aristotle in his booke of Meteores are affyrmed to be in the Region of the ayre, and wythin the concauitye of the Moones Orbe ingendred, affyrming them to be nourished wyth vapours and resolutions from the ball of earth and Occeane, and therefore [Page] rather to signifye then to cause scarcity and sterilitye ensuinge, but by this Auctors owne Parallaxis allowing him his own witnesses, they giue it to be aboue y e Moone, as any mā may know that hath any meane sight, I say not in Sphaerickes triangles, but plaine and righte lined, & therefore vnlesse he will make war with naturall Philosophers and explode Aristotle, he cannot terme hym a Comet. Also Comets are into thre kindes deuided, Crinitas, Barbatas & Caudatas: And this surelye by any sound sight to be wel founde none of them: for thoughe hee do suppose it hath a tayle recching into the Orient, wherevppon hee foundeth hys phantasticall diuinations. Trulye the starre is troubled wyth no such thinge, howsoeuer his head was at the viewing thereof. Againe whereas hee coniectureth by his imagined tayle, that his effect should fall out in the Orient & East partes of y e world, he seemeth also therein to be as slēder a Cosmographer, that knoweth not no part of the worlde to be East or West simplye or of it selfe: But the thing he harpeth on and hath belike [Page] harde some talke of, as of the Parallaxe also, is this: Astronomers first by the signe wherein the Comet is, his Parallele, his situation in respect of the intersection of the Horizon and Meridian, his latitude, and by many other meanes also pronounce first of y e prouinces wheron theyr effect shal light▪ and then by the direction of the tayle iudge of the parts of those prouinces and the countryes adioyninge, and so in respecte of some one place determined, others may be called East or West, Occident or Orient, at pleasure. Againe where he pronounceth horrible effects alway to ensue Comets, Historyes would haue taught hym that sometime they promise vnto some great felicitye, as Iustine when he speaketh of the Comet at Methridates byrth sayth: Huius quo (que) viri magnitudinem Coelestia portenta nuntiabant, and at y e inuasiō of Tamberlane, that famous Captayne that toke the Turke and vanquished his Empyre (ascending by militare vertue from base estate) had also a Comet which is noted to signifye his felicitye. But had al his Phisicall Collections [Page] beene true, yet vnfitly are the significations of Comets applyed to starres, or Phaenomena that are aboute the Region Elementare. To conclude because you requyre my opinion of the booke & the Authors knowledge &c. For y e matter as ye may perceiue, it is farced so ful of errors apparant, that euery one that sauoureth any thing in the sciences Mathematical, shal sone finde them. Of the man I cannot iudge but ab affectu, and so take hys audacity much more then either his learning, or his descretion, that would presume to put himselfe in prease to tell a tale in presēce of such a nōber of Geometers, Philosophers, Astronomers Cosmographers, and that of a matter in part concerninge all theyr sciences, and proceede so weekelye furnished. It had beene better for him to haue first redde Erasmus Apothegmata, wher he shold haue founde howe Apelles to a Shomaker that presumed to talke in his science lest this Prouerbe Ne sutor vltra crepidam, which well noted might haue caused this Auctour to content hymselfe to loke on, and geue others leaue to playe y t [Page] part on the Mathematicall stage.
His conclusion is not to be disliked for that it contayneth both piety & veritie, & no doubt it is as he sayth a forewarning of Gods inscrutable pleasure, which wil fall out to be no lesse straung and myraculous in effect, then this signe wherby it is forewarned is rare and supernaturall, I commende therefore herein his modestye, that he would not geue iudgemente whether the same shoulde happen in Fraunce or els where. For surelye it were hard for a man of greater science then hee seemeth to bee, so to doe: But wheresoeuer any haynous outrage hath bene cōmitted, eyther by great or small, heade or foote, they haue as hee trulye collecteth, greate cause to stande in horrour of this myraculous signe, as a forerunner of Gods iust Iudgemente. And thus exhortinge you to proceede in the passinge pleasaunte studyes of the noble sciences Mathematicall fit onely for fre and noble mindes that stoupe not at filthy lucre I commit you to the protectino, of the Almightye.