Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal SocietyRoyal Society (Great Britain)
History
Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal Society
Royal Society (Great Britain)
Natural history; Science -- Early works to 1800; Voyages and travels -- Early works to 1800
5. From these _data_, That it was in the Year of the _Consulate_ of
_Pompey_, and _Crassus_; That it was _Exigua parte æstatis reliqua_,
and Four Days before a Full-Moon, which fell out in the Night time.
The time of this Invasion will be determined to a Day: For by the
Eclipse of the Moon, whereof _Drusus_ made so good use to quiet
a Mutiny in the _Pannonian_ Army, upon the News of the Death of
_Augustus_, it follows that _Augustus_ Died _Anno Christi_ 14. which
was reckoned _Anno Vrbis conditæ_ 767. and that this Action was 68
Years before, _viz._ in the 55_th_ Year before Christ Current. In which
Year the Full Moon fell out _August 30._ after Midnight, or 31 in the
Morning before Day; and the preceeding Full-Moon, was _August 1._ soon
after Noon; so that this could not be the Full-Moon mentioned, as
falling in the Day time: nor that in the beginning of _July_, it being
not 10 Days after the Summer solstice, when it would not have been said
_exigua parte æstatis reliqua_. It follows therefore that the Full-Moon
spoken of, was on _August 30._ at Night, and that the Landing on
_Britain_ was _August 26._ in the Afternoon, about a Month before the
Autumnal equinox; which agrees to all the Circumstances of the Story in
point of Time.
6. As to the Place, the high Land and Cliffs described, could be no
other than those of _Dover_, and are allowed to have been so by all, it
remains only to examine whether the Descent was made to the Northward
or Southward of the place where he first Anchored. The _data_ to
determine this are first that it was Four Days before the Full-Moon.
2. That that Day by Three of the Clock in the Afternoon the Tide ran
the same way he Sail'd. 3_dly._ That a S. by E. Moon makes High-Water
on all that Coast, the Flood coming from the Southward: hence it will
follow, that that Day it was High-Water there about Eight in the
Morning, and consequently Low-Water about Two, wherefore by Three the
Tide of Flood was well made up, and it is plain that _Cæsar_ went with
it, and the Flood setting to the Northward shews that the open plain
Shore where he Landed was to the Northward of the Cliffs, and must be
in the _Downs_; and this I take to be little less than Demonstration.
A second Argument is drawn from the Wind wherewith he set out on his
second Expedition, _viz._ S. W. as appears by the Words _leni Africo
profectus_, with which the Navigation of those times would hardly
permit a Ship to Sail nearer the Wind than Eight Points, or a N. W.
Course; which would serve indeed to go into the _Downs_, but would by
no means fetch the Low-land towards _Dengyness_, which is much about
West from _Calais_, and not more than W. N. W. from _Boulogne_, if it
shall be said that that was the _Portus Icius_ from which _Cæsar_ set
out. Whence I take it to be evident that if _Cæsar_ was not bound more
Northerly than the _South-Foreland_, he could not have thought the
_Africus_ or S. W. Wind proper for his passage, which was then intended
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