The English having claimed the property of several of the provinces of France, by the treaty of Bretagne, Benard remarks, that by this very document they actually renounced all their pretended rights to the crown of that kingdom; they were also obliged by its tenor, to evacuate the French territory; but neither of these conditions were kept. In addition to that, they forced king John to sign it while their prisoner, and granted him his liberty on this very condition. The next argument shews, that at the period when Benard wrote, a forcible idea still existed of the former liberties enjoyed by the people. This treaty too," says he," was never confirmed by the states of France, without the consent of which, neither king John nor Charles, his eldest son, then regent, could alienate the natural domain." In This zealous Frenchman combats with equal vigour, the pretence of prescription set up by queen Elizabeth; for, remarks he, an allegation of this kind cannot be made with any propriety, unless it be accompanied with good faith, originates in a fair title, and is supported by continual and uninterrupted possession: now this cannot be the case between two nations who were in the habit of continual hostilities. It is well known," adds he, "that the English, since the death of Henry V. and VI. have never ceased. vexing France, nor alowed so much as ten or twelve years to slip away, without declaring war against her. 1174, Edward IV. formed an alliance with the duke of Burgundy against Louis XI. In 1483, Richard III, the murderer of his two nephews, summoned the said king to make good the contributions which his ancestors had paid to England. Henry VII. on being driven from England, landed in Britanny, and took refuge with Charles VIII. who out of commiseration furwished him with troops, vessels, and money, by means of which, that Englishman was enabled to get the better of his rival at Bosworth field. By way of recompence for a service so import ant, the English monarch declared war against the king of France his deliverer, in 1488. His son, Henry VIII. also made war in 1512, on Louis XII. on the side of Gascogny; in 1522, he laid siege to Therouenne and Tour nay; in 1522 he caused the city of Morlaix in Britanny to be burnt, and MONTHLY MAG. No. 208. at the same time pillaged several towns in Picardy. At length a peace took place in 1526, between him and Francis I. who nominated Henry a knight of the Order of St. Michael; but in 1542 the English monarch contravened the treaty, by leaguing with the emperor Charles V. then at war with France. In 1541, he laid siege to Montreuil, &c. &c. &c. After much investigation concerning the author of this work, who was unknown to his contemporaries, La Croix du Maine, and du Verdier, the two great French librarians, he was at length discovered to be Jean Benard. secretary of the king's chamber, and author of a Discourse printed at Paris in 1579, des plus memorables faits des trois & grands seigneurs d'Angleterre," which is merely an extract from a great work in manuscript, entitled "Sommairedes grandes Annales & Chroniques d'Angleterre, & d'Ecosse, depuis Brutusjusquia l'an 1565, written 1567;" and the author, Jean Benard, terms himself « interprete du roi en langues Anglois & Ecossoise." "L'Antiquité de l'empire de la Chine, prouvée par les Observations astrono miques, &c.” The antiquity of the Chinese empire, demonstrated by means of astronomical observations. By M. Biot, a member of the Institute. The subject of Chinese astronomy has given rise to great controversy, and involves in it not only matters of science, but also of history, both of which are of the highest importance. The modern astronomical tables were originally founded on the principle of universal gravity, applied to the present state of the celestial motions, such as they are found to be from 05servations. These are not performed with that scrupulous degree of exactitude which could be wished, and perhaps never can attain it, because every thing that depends on the me. chanical action of our senses, has cer tain bounds; yet although not perfect, they approximate perfection; and we are here told, that the greater part of our astronomical tables may still serve during two or three thousand years to could not at'ain such a degree of precision as distinguishes the modern astronomy; consequently little or no advantige results from comparing their observations with ours, as a mean of determining the precession of the equinoxes, the length of the year, or the other elements of the celestial movements. These elements, which serve as the basis of all calculations, are verified by means of a comparison of various modern observations effect. ed with much more precision than formerly. Yet, in making the necessary allowance for the imperfections of the ancient astronomers, the results of their labours may still be regarded as useful confirmations, which guarantee the excellence of our present tables, and indicate what may be expected in future. Nay more, the very approximation may serve to demonsirate the reality of the observations themselves, and verify the ancient epochs with which the chronologists connect them. In truth, the state of the system of the universe is not always the same; it changes slowly with time, in virtue of the reciprocal actions of the bodies which compose it. The principle of universal gravity, after being submitted to a profound analysis, has made us acquainted with the precise laws of these great changes, of which the existence is proved by a comparison of the ancient with the modern observations, and which will be still more evident to posterity than ourselves. The effects of these grand in. equalities, which were entirely unknown to the ancient astronomers, ought necessarily to manifest themselves in the observations attributed to them, and must serve to prove their reality; for that analysis, which has developed the laws of these phenomena, is too recent to have been known to the chronologists of former times, and corsequently those could not be able to alter and amend their remarks at pleasure. Let us try if the results registered in the ancient Chinese books, and related by the missionaries, can sustain such a trial. It is a tradition generally received in China, that from the most remote times, it was there customary to observe regularly the eclipses, the positions of the solstices, and the meridian a'titudes of the sun; the last of these are measured by means of a cognomon. The whole of the religious system of that people, being connected with astronomical phenomena, renders this tradition very probable, and the little progress made by them in theoretical astronomy, notwithstanding so ancient a practice, ought no moie to astonish us, than their small attainments in chemistry and physies, although they have been so long acquainted with the manufactures of porcelaine, the compass, printing, and gunpowder. This inertness, which appears wonderful on the part of an European, is connected with their man ners, and that superstitious scrupulo. sity which they have always exhibited in regard to the preservation of their former usages. Father Gaubil, in the manuscript published by the Board of Longitude. mentions all the observations of this kind which he was able to collect from the ancient books of the Chinese; but the conflagration of these that took place in China, 213 years before the Christian æra, must have necessarily annihilated a great number of their astronomical monuments. The greater part of the eclipses or solstices, which are indicated as having been noted at very remote epochs,and which it would be particularly interesting to know with exactness, are reported in too vague a manner for us to be able to infer astronomical determinations from them. Such indica tions can only serve to elucidate chronology by affixing epochs more or less remote to historical events. This want of exactitude is one of the chief arguments that have been recurred to, in order to attack the authenticity of the ancient chronology of the Chinese. It has been supposed, that observations which denote so little precision have been invented by later writers who were desirous to exaggerate the antiquity of their nation. But this supposition is deprived of much of its weight, if we consider that the whole system of government. customs, and belief of the Chinese has always been in perfect harmony with these traditions. Luckily, however, all the observations detailed by Pere Gaubil, are not subjected to the same degree of uncertainty, for some present such precise data, as to admit of a complete calculation. The most ancient of this kind, are those which are attributed to Tcheon Koung, brother of the Emperor You Vang. Vang. This prince, one of the best who ever governed China, was also one of the most learned men of his time, and on both accounts his memory is still respected among his countrymen. According to a tradition attested by books anterior to the prescription, this prince determined the lengths of the meridional shadows of The sun during the two solstices, and also fixed the position of the solstices in the heavens.* The measures of the shadows detailed by Father Gaubil were calculated by the learned Freret, in his "Dissertation sur la Certitude de la Chronologie Chinoise," and have since undergone that process with still greater exactitude by M. Laplace, in his Exposition du Systeme du Monde."t After the necessary corrections, the latter found the latitude of the city of Loyang, the place where the observations were made, to be precisely the same as that ascertained by the missionaries; and the difference of the two solstitial heights then remarked, made him acquainted with the obliquity of the ecliptic at the period when those remarks were made. He found it to be 23 deg. 53 min. 2 sec. The agreement of the latitude of Teleon-Koung with that of the missionaries, is a very important verification. The epoch of the regency of Tcheon-Koung has been fixed by Freret between the years 1098 and 1104, before our ara, and the observation alluded to, took place in one of those six years. This determination relative to the ingenious calculations referred to above, perfectly agrees with those of P. Gaubil, and the tribunal of history, as well as of the lettered men among the Chinese. Now, if in conformity to the present formula of celestial imechanism, we calculate the value of the obliquity of the ecliptic, for the epoch in question, it will be found equal to 23 deg. 51 min. 52 sec. being only two minutes less than what results from the shadows of the gno. mon. Now, there is here no interven ing objection; for the obliquity of the ecliptic has considerably changed since the time of Tcheon-Koung to our own days. It is at present 24 minutes (plus faible) less, than it was then, and Gaubil, Connoissance des Temos de 1809, p. 393. Lettres Edifi. tom. 27. p. 124. † 3me edit. in 8vo, &c. 2. p.269 & 400, most certainly neither Tcheon-Koung nor P. Gaubil, nor any of the other missionaries, were acquainted with the laws of its diminutioa; for even when the last wrote, the existence of these changes were not as yet fully proved.* According to the sime tradition Tcheon-Kong had also determined the position of the winter solstice in. the heavens, and fixed it at two Chi nese degrees from the constellation Nu, which commences with the star & Aquarius. If we equally connect this ob. servation with the year 1100 before our æra, and by means of the formulæ, of the celestial mechanism (mechanique céleste), we calculate the position of the solstice for that epoch, we shall discover that it only differs from that of Tcheon-Kong to the amount of 49 minutes of degrees, or about thirty minutes of time.+ It suffices then, in order to make the observations and the theory agree, to suppose that Tcheon-Koung may have deceived himself to the amount of that quantity relative to the time of the solstice: this is not at all incre. dible, when we recollect, that the Chinese at the period alluded to, measured time by clepsy dræ, according to the successive heights of water in a vase, where it rose in the exact proportion as it descended from another vessel which was more elevated. They determined the place of the solstice by noting the stars which passed the meridian 12 hours after the sun; and consequently occurred, that they had measured this interval of 12 hours, within three minutes, which, considering the means used, is a remarkable degree of precision. It may, moreover, be sus pected, that the little difference just alluded to, proceeds from an error in the probable epoch of this obser. vation, which we have fixed at the year 1100 before our era; therefore it is sufficient in order to make the whole agree, merely to ascend 54 years higher. Whatever may be the case, the smallness of these differences is an undeniable proof of the excellency of our astronomical tables, and the re *Exposition du Systeme du Monde. According to the obliquity of the ecliptic, as certified by the tables for the year 1100 before the Christian æra, the observations of Tcheon-Koung make the latitude correspond with the present determination of it. + Exposite du Syst, du Monde, ality ality of these observations. It is truly astonishing also, that at so distant an epoch, such precise determinations, which precede, by 400 years, the three Chaldean eclipses observed at Babylon, and mentioned in the Algamesta of Ptolemy could be made. After these preliminary considerations, we may decide on the credit to be given to the opinion of a celebrated member of the Academy of Inscriptions, who pretended that the Chinese had acquired the principal part of their astronomical knowledge from Chaldea, and that the observations made in China, 720 years before the Christian epoch, were likely to be fic. titious, being borrowed from the Ba. bylonians, at a period which corresponds with the epoch of Nabonassar.* The proofs, however, which have been already offered relative to the ohservations of Tcheon-koung, are so much the more strong as they cannot apply to any other country than that where they were made. It is possible to transmit from one kingdom to another, the recollection of an eclipse, but it is impossible to transport thither the observations made by a gnomon only proper for a certain determined latitude. It is not until 1000 years after Tcheon-Koung, and only 50 before the Christian æra, that we find other observations made with sufficient exactness to be calculated. These also have been examined by M. Laplace. The obliquity of the ecliptic resulting from it, is equally conformable to the theory it only differs two minutes from the real one. These are the last notices of this kind auterior to the Christian æra; posterior to it, there were a great number, among which the chief are those of that excellent astronomer Cocheon-king, who lived in the 13th century. The observations alluded to, were made with a gnomon of 40 feet, and with all imaginable precautions, and they are more exact than those of Hipparchus, or even Tycho-Brahe. They are indeed the best in existence before the introduction of glasses, and even the best that can be made without the aid of this invention: accordingly, Mem.de M. DE GUIGNES; Acad. des Inscrip. tom. 36, p. 172. + In a manuscript memoir which its illustrious author communicated to M. Biot, who wrote these observations. M. Laplace has been at great pains to compare them with the present tables, which they confirm in the most satisfactory manner imaginable. These observations are posterior to the burning of the Chinese books, and the reestablishment of history. The calculations already mentione:!, suppose the certainty of the Chinese chronology up to the epoch of TcheonKoung, who existed towards the year 1100 before our Christian æra, a point of great consequence in itself, and which is confirmed by historical proofs: nay, the greatest admirers of the Chinese chronology have never contested it. What has produced so many controversies relative to the ancient annals of China, and the state of that empire from the earliest times, is the cruel persecution exercised in the year 213 before the epoch of Christianity, against both learned men and books, by the emperor Tsin-Chi-Hoang. It was excited by the instigation of a minister who dreaded the study of history, and the influence of literature. An order was issued throughout the whole empire, that within the space of 40 days, all the historical books should be transmitted, under the penalty of death, to certain mandarins employed to receive them. From this proscription were only excepted such as contained the history of the reigning family, and those that treated of astrology, medicine, agriculture, and divination. This happily served as a pretext to preserve some ancient works, particularly the Yking, composed dur ing the time of the first Chinese em. perors, and commented on by Confu cius; but the greater number perished, for it proved the more difficult to conceal them, it being then customary to write on tablets of bamboo, so that the most trifling work occupied a considerable space. The decrees of the emperor excited troubles, and produced the death of many men of letters. To this event, the Chinese attributed the loss of their early history, their astronomy, and other ancient monuments. After the death of Tsin-Chi-Hoang, his prede. cessors endeavoured to repair the evil which he had done. They accordingly searched for the ancient books with as much care as was formerly used in their proscription; they even collected the very fragments. It is also certain, according to P. Gaubil, that neither the the geographical charts, nor the memoirs relative to the state of each departiment, were consumed by fire; and, in fine, about a century before the Christian æra, an authentic history was compiled from the remaining materials, which is that of Se-Mai-Tsiene. 'fore the epoch of Christianity. All beyond this is fabulous, according to Father Gaubil, who resided during 36 years at Pekin, under a variety of circumstances favourable to his means of acquiring knowledge. From that epoch, the Chinese annals have not experienced any interruption, and the tribunal charged to compose them, has never been thwart ed in its functions: similar tribunals had existed from the remotest antiquity, and if some difficulties occurred at the period alluded to, let it be recollected, that some persons must still have been in existence, who were well acquainted with the principal facts, notwithstanding 450 were put to death in a single day by the emperor Tsin-Chi-Hoang, within the precincts of one imperial city. This mode must bave appeared nearly infallible for the purpose of destroying all information, at a time when the imperfection of writing, and the size of the works pre. sented great difficulties to study. No persons have been better able to appreciate the authenticity of the Chinese history, than the missionaries, who are familiar with the language of the country, and adınitted into the confidence of the emperor; now all of these agree as to the high antiquity of the empire, and only differ as to certain dates respecting the reigns of the first Sovereigns. None of these have ex. hibited more talents or zeal than P. Gaubil, who has made extracts from the Chinese and Tartar languages, and to whom we are indebted for a translation of the Chouking, one of the most ancient books appertaining to China, a treatise of chronology, a history of astronomy, &c. Such was his skill in languages, that he was nominated interpreter to the court for the Tartar Mentcheon, and refused the post of mandarin of the tribunal of mathematics. He carries back the reign of Yao 114 years further than Freret, who fixes it at the year 2261 before the Christian epoch. Anterior to this, he allows that several emperors swayed the sceptre in succession; but he maintains that the sum of their reigns cannot be estimated, although the Chinese traditions valued the total at 250 years. This calculation brings the epoch of. the emperor Fouhi, the first in historical record, according to Confucius, to the exact number of 2500 years be Some learned Europeans have presumed to accuse the missionaries of gross exaggeration, in respect to the antiquity of the Chinese empire; but their prejudices would naturally tend towards a different direction, for the coincidence of these ancient epochs with that of the dispersion of the human race in Mesopotamia has not escaped their notice; they clearly saw that all this tended to the rejection of the Fulgate, and even carried back for some centuries the period of the deluge, as established by the holy writings. Their conviction in respect to these points was so strong, that Father AdamSchall,* president of the Tribunal of Mathematics, transmitted to Rome a memorial in the name of his mission, requesting to be permitted to teach the Septuagint translation alone, which is the only one that could possibly accord with the historical traditions of the Chinese. This was accordingly conceded to them. The author concludes his very important work by alluding to the recent labours of the younger M. de Guignes. He remarks," that this gentleman could have made but few discoveries by travelling from Canton to Pekin under a guard, and by resid ing in the latter city under the inspection of the police. He remained there," it is added, scarcely as many days as Father Gaubil did years, and was even shut out from all correspondence with the missionaries." 61 "Histoire Chevaleresque des Maures de Grenade," &c. The Chivalrous History of the Moors of Grenada, translated from the Spanish of Ginés Perez de Hita; preceded by a few reflections relative to the Moslems of Spain, by M. M. Sané. 2 vols. 8vo. Paris. We are assured in the preface, that * Pere Adam Schall has fixed the epoch of Yao at the year 2357, which is 96 years further back than Pere Gaubil. The latter supposes six emperors at least to have reigned before him; and asserts that the founders of the Chinese empire existed nearly at the time of Noah and his children. He even allows that great difficulties exist in reconciling the chronology of the Bible with that of China. "this |