redd cockes, with his strength Gemini and Virgo. Jupiter on thursdaie, in his chariot drawen by twoepecockes, his coachman Sagitarius, his strength Pisces. Venus on fridaie, drawen in her chariot by twoe white doves, her coachman Cupid, her strength Libra and Taurus. Saturne on satterdaie, drawen in his coach by twoe greane dragons, his strength Capricornus and Aquarius; so that in the whoale weake they all showe themselves. This motion is mervelous beautifull and veary strange, and in my opinion adorneth more than any other parte in the whoale fabricke. Those rounde spotts in the twoe sides of the callender be the notable eclipses of the soone and moone, that shall happen within this thirtie twoe yeares. The rounde blewe, havinge the center thereof redd, is nothinge but the motion of an index that sheweth the minutes of the hower; on the sides whereof be twoe angelicall boyes, the one havinge an hower glasse which he toorneth every hower, the sande beinge emptied out in the lower parte thereof; the other havinge a cepter in his hande whiche he liftinge up semeth as it weare to commaunde the clocke to stricke. The next great circumpherence distinguished by twenty foure howers, is an astronomicall instrument called the astrolabe, wherein be the howerly, dailie, weakly, monethly and yearly motions of the planets and starres; in the corners whereof be the foure ages of man, the foure seasons of the yeare: above this is the monethly course of the moone which doeth so wax and walne, is manifested shininge or shadowed, as the moone is in the firmament. Above this be those men which stricke the quarters, wheare the hower is resembled to the life of man, which hath his infancie like to the first quarter, which is strooken by the child; his adolescencie resembled by the second quarter, which is strooke by a yooth; his manhood resembled by an armed souldier, whoe strikes the third quarter; and his owld age resembled by a graie-bearded man, whoe striketh the laste quarter. The hower glasse beinge nowe emptied (which the angelicall boye before spoken of that sitteth belowe by the circule of minutes held in his hand), the course of man's age is by that figured to be ended, and therefore death ensueth and striketh the stroke on the little bell, as it weare to summon us to appeare before the tribunale seat of the heavenly judge, and sheweth that the lif is finisshed as the hower, whose droppes of sand be resembled to the daies, and protract our lif to our end, and that our period of abidinge heare is so shorte as the hower is in respect of eternitie. Opposite to death is Christ which reviveth and raseth up to lifeverlastinge; and in this second place is eternitie signified, whoe was before all tyme, figured in the pellican belowe, and shall continew after all

tyme is ended. The motion whereby the nature of our Saviour is manifested is every moment to come forth out of that place where he is pourtracted, to signifie that he carefully provideth for all ages, and lovingly presenteth him selfe at all tymes. This is, Right Worshipfull Sir, in breef, the summe of that which is in the fabricke of the clocke contayned, wherein lie hidden more misteries then I have manifested unto you in theise fewe lines, and yet so mutch hath been uttered as deserveth a duble and treble consideracion, for in this so many divers partes is a wonderfull consent and agreement; for heer the foure men doe soe distinguishe the continewaunce of the whole woorld, as the foure seasons doe the yeare; the ages doe the life of man, and the foure quarters doe the moone and the hower; and yeat all theise have and figured by death, all theise have originall motion by Christ, which is there lif, figured forth by the pellican, and all theise have been garded and maintained by our Saviour, the laste parte of the worke. There is also the creation of man, the fall of man, and the restoringe of man, and his resurrection, painted in the lower parte of the table, over the eclipses of the soonne and the moone. The cocke on the left hand dothe croe at three of the clocke in the afternoone. This was not devised of late, but kept in the church as a monument of antiquitie; forin tymespast they used, when the passion of Christ was celebrated, to make this cocke croe at sutch tyme as they reade in the Evangelist, Peter three tymes deniall of Christe, the which savoreth nothinge of the invention of the rest of the woorke. The other side is only an artificiall steare whereby men maie behould the conveyances of the motions within. In the mindes of the magistrates that fournisshed the deviser with habilitie to make shewe of his skill by magnificent expenses, there is to be considered a desyre to consecrat the memoriall of there names to perpetuall admiration of succeadinge ages, imitatinge therebie the examples of many kinges and princes that emptied there treasures on such heroicall woorkes. Some in buildinge of temples; some by inventinge of warlike engins; some by devisinge spatious and ample theatres; some by convayinge miraculously waters by aquaeductes; some by buildinge of bathes; by bridges; by gardens; some by piramides; some men by obeliscy, and some by measuringe of tyme by clepsydrae, clockes and howerglasses and sutch like, that to recite all the other kindes of inventions weare to you troublesome and to me laborious. The great Temple of Diana in Ephesus did contayne in length foure hundred and thirtie twoe feet, in breadth one hundred and twenty, was supported by one hundred and twenty seaven statly pillers, and was a buildinge twoe hundred and twenty yeares by the moste exquisite artizans in all Asia. The walles that inclosed the great citie of Babilon, built by Gueen Symiramis, weare in circute sixtie miles; in heith, two hundred feet; in breadth fiftie; weare distinguished with twoe hundred and fiftie stately towers; in one yeares space weare finisshed, but by the hand of thirteen thowsand woorkmen. The children of Israell, that lived foure hundred and thirtie yeares under the slavishe servitude of the tirannicall Pharoes in Egipt, weare busied cheefely in there latter tyme in workinge of those stately Piramides; the commen people bakinge of bricke for the foundations, and the most learned amongest them in carvinge of stones for those hyerogliphicall misteries. Trajan the Emperure, as it weare in dispite of nature, made a stony bridge over the swifte river Ister of twenty arches, seavered by one hundred and twentie feet, in heith forty cubites, in breadth thirtie. The theaters at Rome weare capable of sixtie thowsand persons to behould, and of navis of shippes to present navale prelium for pleasure unto the people, Hortipensiles weare no lesse admirable, that were so artificially sett on pillers, that they seamed to hange in the aire, and therefore weare called hanginge gardens. The tombe that Artemisia bywilt for the kinge of Caria is renouned through the whole woorld by the name of Mausole. The great Colossus (that was in the haven of the Ile of Rodes, was an immage of sutch a mervelous heith, that great shippes with all ther sailes, there toppes and topp gallantes, mought enter betwixt his legges,) is to be wondered at howe it stoode firme and immovable of winde and tempest, without any shrowed, so many hundred yeares. Dionisius the tiran was the inventor of the warlicke engin called Catapulta; but first he, by proposinge infinite rewardes, assembled at Siracusa, in Sicily, the most rare persons for invention in all Africa and Europe. Archimedes did devise, by many yeares study and wonderfull expenses, a burninge glasse, wherewith he woold sett a fiar the Romaine shippes many leagues of, and handes of iron to lifte upp whole navies by force, and to make them as it weare flie in the aire. Nero did invent and caused to be bywilt a banquetinge howse in Rome, wherein the motions of the heavens, the conjunctions and opositions of the planettes, wear hourely presented unto him as he sported him self with musicall instruments. Vitruvius for warlike engins is of admirable renoune. And Berosus the Caldean did first devise to measure the tyme by an Hemicycle. Aristarchus of Samos, by a dishe havinge in the center thereof a strawe directed to the zenith, and Augustus the Emperewer in Campo Martio uppon the

caracters in obeliscis, did discerne the shadowes, and by that meanes distingwisshed the howers of the daie. Papirius Cursor did the use of horologis at Rome: and Scipio Nascica did firste devid the daie into twenty foure howers by the runninge of water. And Boetius Severinus the philosopher did first invente those clockes wee daily use, that move by waightes and tourne by wheeles*. This catologge I alleadge to shew, that in all tymes and ages mosterenounied princes have contended for the prise of glory, by inventinge rare woorkes for necessitie or pleasure, and also to shew that in all tymes andages menn have been very curious, and have bestowed great cost in distinguisshinge of tymes, as a thinge that ought to be estemed moste pretious. To imitat whose example and to exceed whose excellencie, the Senate of Strasbourge have caused this wonderfull fabrike to be made in this forme as you see, by Doctor Dassipodius, publicke professor of the Mathematickes, Wolkenstenius his coadjutor, and Stun the painter; the renoune of whose fame as it is reported in moste partes of Europe, so no doupt it wil be perpetuated by continewaunce of tyme to all ensewinge posterities. Thus hath, Right Worshipfull Sir, my desyre to declare the forwardnes of my good will carried me perhaps farr beyonde the compas of my learninge, in indeavoringe to include sutch an exquisite peece of woorke in my rude letters, and to contayne the statlynes of the high tower within the basnes and lownes of my creapinge style. But I hope you will easily pardon this presumption, consideringe it proceadeth from an obsequious mynde to procure your contentment by this my studious travaile. And although as it was geaven for advise to a temerarious weake person, that he should abridge some what from his rasshenes or addsomethinge to his strength, if he ment to attaine any thinge by his labour, so I maie be admonished that I should have with houlden some parte of my good will, or encreassed somewhat to my knowledge, before I had undertaken the description of this fabricke, yf I did desyre to make my letters acceptable to the willinge peruser thereof. Yet still I bwild the foundation of my compforte on the assured pillers of your favorable and gracious acceptaunce.

LORD BURGHLEY'S MEMORIAL CONCERNING DR. JOHN DEE’S OPINION ON THE REFORMATION OF THE CALENDAR.

I have perused Mr. Dee’s booke concerning his opinion for the reformation of the old Romaine Calender, and I have conferred also by speche with him at good length thearein, and I find his judgment resolute for the error and inconvenience to have yt continued; but he differethin the quantetie of the error, for he hath made manie proofes by demonstration astronomicall, that the superfluous nombre of daies to be abridged are xj. wheare the Gregorean judgment maketh them to be but x. I am not skilfull in the theoreekes to desernn the pointes and minutes, but yet I am inclined to thinke him in the right line, for I find he maketh his roote from the vearie point of the nativitie of Christ in the meridian of Bethlem; and the Romaines have made theire roote from the time of the Counsell of Nice, and, according to that, theie maie mainteine theare opinion. But by Mr. Dee, yt appeareth the error in computation grewe betwixt the radix of Christes Nativity and the celebration of the Nicene Counsell, which he proveth by a great nombre of good authorities, such as I think the Romanistes cannot denie. It weare good in mine opinion (wheareunto he also consenteth), that by hir Majesties order sum skilfull men in this science, as Mr. Digges and others, to be called owt of the Universities, might peruse his worke, and conferr the thinges by spech; and though he discovereth the x. daies to be insufficient, yet he yeldeth for conformitye with the rest of the world to assent to the reformation of our Engleshe calender, with the abridgment of x. daies onelie; so as the trewthe be denounced to the world that yt ought to be xj. dayes, hoping that the trewthe will drawe the Romanestes and other partes of Christendome to take owt of their Calender hereafter the said odd daie.

Theare appeareth great cawse to have this conference accelerated, for that it is requisite, for a secrett matter, to be reformed before November; so as either everie moneth from Marche till November maie beare equall defalcation, or els sum one moneth maie bear the whole. Thus much have I thowght good briefuelie to deliver you mine opinion.