adds absit ut a Deo supernaturalens motionem denegemus Anno 1614. he was made a Priest besides the continuation of the other Direction he says Mercury was directed to the Antiscion of the part of Fortune Pray what is that to the purpose On that Direction he might as well have set up a Fudling-School as the Trade he did Anno â—616 he turned Jesuit he had now Mars directed to Venus Lady of the Tenth Do you think this is not a hopeful Direction to be offered on such an occasion Anno 1629. he was chosen General of the Order in France he had then the Midheaven directed to the Sextile of Jupiter and the Ascendent to the Body of Mercury As to the first I look on that as no Direction in the Zodiack and for the last I cannot see why he should lay so much stress upon it You see he doth not take one word of notice of the Midheaven to the Body of Venus nor the effect of it I am of opinion he hath made a mistake in his Correction and taken one thing instead of another for the Midheaven to the Body of Venus in Sextile to Mercury and Jupiter is a most glorious Direction and must give Eminent Preferment to a man of his Trade But perhaps this Error will more aptly appear in the following Paragraph Anno 1641. January 6. Aged 52 Years and a Month he died of a Feaver which took him the 30 of December before for this Morinus says he had the Sun Lord of the Eighth in the Ascendent ideoque Aphetae simulque Anaeretae to the Square of the Moon Lady of the Eighth and he says he predicted the day of his death First you may observe he lays a stress on the Sun Hileg in the Ascendent and because there are some degrees of Leo in the Eighth he calls him Aphaeta and Anareta by which he confounds the name of the one by the power of the other and to be sure of a killing-causeâ— he appoints both Sun and Moon Governors of the Eighth on which House he mightilâ— depends in all Cases and Directions of death Bur the most principal thing to be observed here is that he lets him outlive the Sun to the Square of Saturn and kills him with the Square of the Moon as if Saturn had not power sufficient to do â—is business or else out of Complaisance he would not which I do not often find him guilly of If Morinus lodgeth this Mystery of killing in the Moon because she is Lady of the Eighth he takes away all the Philosophick Principles at once and makes the Art wholly Cabalistical and tacitly tells his Pupils they must in the first place believe the power of the Houses without asking why or wherefore which no ingenious Man can allow For the Planets do not kill because they are Lords of the Fourth Sixth or Eighth Houses as he would here insinuate but by the Intemperance of their Natures and you see that Mankind generally dye by the Excess either of Heat or Cold and this can by no means proceed from the Houses which are but imaginary spaces except the four Angles but from Bodies and such Bodies too that consist of that Temperature and Quality that they hurt by as all men will own that have either had or observed the Sun or Ascendent to the Bodies of Saturn and Mars the one certainly by his own Nature gives hot and the other cold Diseases But if all that Morinus pretends to were allowed yet that doth not take away Saturn's power to kill and if this is Condren's true Nativity I can by no means see any reason why he should think the Square of Saturn was not as likely to kill as that of the Moon and also as likely to be believed and if you do but observe Saturn you 'll find he is as wicked as possibly he can be For he is in the Sixth Cadent out of all Dignities but a Term Retrograde among the Pleiades and in opposition to the Moon in Scorpio and if all these added to his own ill Nature will not make him able to kill this High-Priest if the Sun is Hileg then I have no more to say to him But I am certain the Sun is not Hileg and by Consequence the Figure not true that he hath printed and my reason for it is this About 40 or a little before the Sun passed 4 such Directions that nothing but a miracle could save him and they were the Zodiacal parallels of the Moon and Saturn and the Mundane Squares of the Moon and Saturn and therefore I rest satisfied that this Nativity is false and leave it to others to believe as they please and I think convenient Perhaps it may be expected by some that I should give a Correct Scheme according to my Opinion but that I shall decline for Two Reasons First he hath not given the Estimate time And Secondly I shall make such a great alteration in the time from his Figure by doing of it that it will be of no service when done because it will be at best but dubious and no man can rely on it either for Example or Judgment And therefore I will leave it as it is perhaps it may fall into the hands of some that are more able to Correct it than I am which I heartily wish But one thing I do observe on this Nativity c. That Morinus hath given us this Nativity in his Book of Revolutions and it is not so much to shew the Proof Coherence and Truth of the Nativity it self as the admirable agreement between the Revolutions and the Accidents of this Native in those Years they are set sor of which he hath taken notice of half a dozen and so I have done with his Nativities and their Examination Some Observations on the Theory and Practice of Morinus in Astrology IT is both plain and certain that Mâ—rinus had been at his ne pius ultra in point of Directions to suit to the time and accidents in Nativities and that put him upon finding out some way that might help him out in those difficult Cases and to this purpose we find his great Project laid down and demonstrated in his Sixteenth Book and that is To direct to the Aspects of the Planets with Latitude where he hath wittily taken a great deal of pains and very ingeniously both disecursed and proved what he there aims at and that is that the Aspects of the Planets fall in their Circle of Latitude which cannot be denied because it is a visible truth proved by the Diurnal Motion And yet when all that is done according as he hath managed the matter in practice it is not worth a farthing for though the thing he contends for is true in it self yet he makes a wrong use of it and the way he useth it is no more to the purpose than the former which he Condemns and full as wide from truth as that is the reason of this will appear if you
DEFECTIO GENITURARUM Being an ESSAY toward the REVIVING and PROVING THE TRUE Old Principles of Astrology HITHERTO NEGLECTED Or at leastwise not Observed or Understood In FOUR PARTS The First shewing the Ground and Cause of Error The Second contains an Examination of those Nativities Printed by Morinus The Third considers those done by Argol And The Fourth those Printed by Mr. Gadbury in his Collection WHEREIN Many things relating to this Science are Handled and Discoursed But the principal End and Design of the Book is to prove the Power and sole Use Of the Hileg in Cases of Life and Death By JOHN PARTRIDGE Ne prorsus inutilis olim Vixisse hîc videar pereámque in funere totus LONDON Printed for Benj. Tooke at the Middle-Temple-gate in Fleetstreet MDCXC VII To the Honourable Sir Joseph Tily Knight A Member of this Present Parliament Honoured Sir I Here presume to lay before you a small Treatise the Subject of which is overgrown with Years and perfectly obliviated so that it will seem to this Age to be a real Novelty and a product but of yesterday And this too among those who think themselves Masters of the Mystery because they have abandon'd the Old Doctrine and set up a new-fangl'd one of their own remote from the Old both in its Principles and Practice and no ways agreeable to the Doctrine of Ptolemy I need not use Arguments with you to perswade a Belief of Starry Influence you have both seen and felt it nay and foreseen it too as well in the late times of Iniquity when it was a Crime to be Just or to appear an Englishman as since our happy Restoration by the successful Arms and Conduct of His present Majesty to whom we owe our Safety both for Laws and Religion both which were ruin'd and torn from us by Force Your former Obligations lead me to beg your Patronage of this Treatise a Discourse out of the Common way and therefore more subject to Censure and Envy And though I am conscious of the meanness of my Performance therein yet I am the more bold to offer the Protection of it to you and hope you will be the less displeased when you find it already protected by an Honourable Gentleman and my Noble Friend Sir Edward Dering who having much approv'd the Scope and Design of the Book of which he is a very Able and Sufficient Judge was pleased in the interim to write the following Letter to me upon that Subject for my Encouragement wherein he hath learnedly vindicated the Immortal Ptolemy and set his Seal to that Old Doctrine of the true and genuine Hileg delivered only by him so many hunded years ago the thing which I here chiefly contend for Which Epistle being too worthy and noble a thing to be buri'd in my Study I made bold to importune Sir Edward Dering to permit me to publish it which at last referring it to my Discretion to do as I thought fit I was proud to honour my Treatise by prefixing so ingenious a Discourse from a Learned Hand before it Thus Sir with your Favour also I account my self and my poor Endeavours doubly protected and shall not fear the snarling of any Ignorant Readers although they bestow the like Railing Epithets on me as they do on the Great and Learned Ptolemy the chief and only Talent indeed in which they are famous I hope the owning these Sheets will no ways tend to your Dishonour because they come from so unlearned a Pen as mine The thing is well designed and I intend it for the Service of the present as well as the succeeding Ages though I despair to find Entertainment with the present they being wedded to a Method as a man to a false Religion with which he will by no means part tho' for his Safety and Advantage both here and hereafter Sir I beg your good Opinion of what I have done and though it may come short of what it ought to be and you may justly expect Yet attribute that not to my want of Gooâ—-will but Abilities and always be pleased to give both Book and Author your good Word a Favour sufficient and what I can never pretend to deserve yet shall always endeavour to the utmost to shew I am Honoured Sir Your real humble Servant John Partridge To his Ingenious Friend Mr. John Partridge Mr. Partridge SInce you have been so kind not only to acquaint me with the Intention and Design of your Defectio Geniturarum but also to permit me the perusal of some part of it in Sheets I have so good an Opinion of the Work and the Necessity of it that I am sorry the Laziness or Ignorance of some men hath given occasion for such an Exposure Never was Astrology more pretended to and vended than in this Age and never perhaps less understood for tho' there be some learned Students and Professors of it yet the most part of our Vulgar Practicers are so illiterate and negligent that I may complain with the learned Cardan Rem difficillimam maximae industriae adâ—o â—scitanter tractant ut artem in maximam vitâ—perationem dâ—duâ—erint And others that understand little or nothing at all of it yet that they may seem what they are not saith the same Author Lucrique cupidâ—tâ—te artem profitentur quam viâ— Ã limine salutarunt There is also a mixt sort of these self-conceited men who presumptuously trampling upon all Antiquity have the confidence to erect their Babels of new Theorems and Systems and other their dreaming Fancies in Astrology tho' upon due Examination they must fall to the like Confusion with that presumptuous Undertaking and in this Folly they shew their ill manners also and spare not to rail not only at their Contemporaries but even at Ptolomy himself to whom the world is obliged for what is preserved of the Art Tho' indeed some of them cannot read him nor others understand him he having wrapp'd up the Secrets of this Mysterious Science in dark and concise Language perhaps on purpose Ne detur sacrum Canibus And because in our Age also there have risen up some pitiful illiterate Mushrooms who for Gain would pretend to Astrology which they understand not and think that they shall raise themselves a Name and Reputation by scribling against others honester and more learned than themselves but especially if a bold fellow dares to fly in the face of Ptolomy himself whose Name he hath heard of but understands nothing of his Writings I will here take occasion to transcribe what the learnd Cardan's sense was of the incomparable Ptolomy and of such like Empericks as these which have been found in all Ages Thus therefore Cardan Ut in omni disciplina nobiliore semper vitia major a contingunt alia quidem per eos qui cum eam non norint se scire jactant alia per eos qui sciunt sed malè utuntur it à in hanc ut nobilissimam etiam pessima vitia
being only excellent in Tricking and Cheating Nay I know one ignorant Fellow that hath lived by the Art these Thirty Years told mighty things about Celâ—stial Influence and the truth of the Art in print and yet I often hear He doth in Company at Taverns say It is a Cheat that there is nothing in it and that he useth it only for a Livelikood I suppose you will guess at the man his Guts and his Brains often contend for the Preheminence Now let me exhort all those that are real well wishers to Astrology to set to the Work in earnest get many Nativities that are true 't is no matter what their Quality is work and observe whether your Directions have the same effects in one that they have in another's Nativity make your â—â—lves Masters of Ptolemy 's Rules and Principles and make him your Standard to try your Operations by Learn to chuse your Giver of Life your Poiothanatos and your Biothanatos And when you are Masters of these you will be able to see through those Fooleries no win fashion among those that are your Masters and publick Teachers of the Art in all the corners of the Town When you are got into this Method and Way you will see a Prospect of arriving at something that will be satisfactory to the laborious Student in his farther pursuit after Truth and yet with me despair of ever seeing it brought to a compleat Perfection and both of us say with Campanella Ptolemeum sequimur Omnes enim Astrologi omnium temporum ab exordio Mundi ad nos non sufficiunt ad Astrologiam totam recte conficiendam And as a Conclusion to this Paragraph give me leave to say and that most truly That all Methods Ways and Projects in Astrology not founded on the Principles and Doctrine of Ptolemy are vain and idle and all those that employ themselves in such Methods c. do but trifle away their Time and are never the better When I quote Ptolemy in the following Treatise it is that Translation done by the Learned Melancthon and printed at Basil in the Year 1553. and is the best of all the Translations that are extant of the Quadripartite And I have an Intention to Print that Translation of Melancthon again it being grown very scarce and to Print Melancthon 's Epistle before it likewise and to add to it a short Commâ—nt on the remarkable Chapters in the two last Books making it a handsom Pocket-Volume in a clear Letter an excellent Companion for those that are studious in this Art and whosoever is once Master of that Treatise will set a small-value on the rest of the Authors And it must be done at our own Charge because the Booksellers will not encourage it nor be at the Charge to do it will and fair When I quote Argol 's De Diebus Criticis it is that Edition Printed at Padua in the year 1652. and is both the best and last and a good thing in its kind though the Nativities are for the most part false and his Rules misappli'd I intend also to give the world a few Nativities perhaps an Hundred or Two in a way different to all that have gone before me and in all that I Print I will take care to give the true Estimate Time which all the Authors on that subject have hitherto omitted It is the want of that which hinders our examining those already printed and so prevents not only me but all men else to endeavour a Correction of them It is too arbitrary to impose upon mankind such Nativities that we have corrected and neither give Reasons nor the Estimate Time thereof to assist them that come after some differing Three Hours from the Estimate but commonly half an Hour or an Hour So that all that have been done hitherto are of no use but to stare upon and that with a doubtful Eye too I have not elected a Time for Publishing my Book which perhaps some will wonder at especially because Saturn is on my Radical Sun let it take its Fate if the present doth not like it the next Age I am sure will thank me for it and this Book will be the occasion of the Old Doctrine's Resurrection at one time or another And now Reader I give it into thy Hand prithee do not censure the Doctrine nor the Matter before you understand it you know whose Faculty that is read and consider well the matter throughout this whole Book and when thou hast done that lay by partiality and judge fairly and do by me as you would be done by were you in my place and station and then I can say you are a kind Reader and yet it is no more than you ought to do by all as well as From my House in Salisbury-street July 19th 1697. Your Friend John Partridge A Table of the Chapters and Nativities in this Book PART I. CHap. I. Prooemium pag. 1 Chap. II. Of a Scheme of the Twelve Houses 26 Chap. III. Of Directions to the Angles 39 Chap. IV. Of Directions to the Sun and Moon in the Zodiack 54 Chap. V. Of the Antiscions of the Planets 66 Chap. VI. Of the Part of Fortune 70 Chap. VII Of the Alchocoden 76 Chap. VIII Of the Almuten 79 Chap. IX Of the Alfridaries Chroaâ—crâ—tors Lord of the Orb c. 81 Chap X. Of Transits and Eclipses 86 Chap. XI Of Heliocentrick Aspects and Directions 93 Chap. XII Of the Errors in Nativities handed down to us 101 PART II. The Introduction 112 The Nativity of Zaga Christi 114 Caâ—dan the time only 113 Morinus 120 Gusâ—â—vus Adolphus 127 Franciscus de Bonne 136 The Queen of Poland 138 French King 143 Hâ—tâ—minga 147 Cardinal Richeliâ—u 154 Mousieur Tronson 155 Nativ of C. Condren 159 Observ. on Morine 's Theor. 162 PART III. The Introduction 175 Argol 's Animadversions 177 The Nativity of Pope Gregory XIII 184 Pope Sixtus Quintus 186 Pope Urban VII 188 Ca. Ascanius Columna 190 French K. Lewis XIII 192 Cardinal Farnesius 194 Ann Queen of Poland 195 Gonzague D. Maâ—tua 197 the Duke of Veimâ—r 200 Duchess of Sfortia 203 Molinus Sen. of Venice 207 Ca. Verospius Roman 208 Cardinal Gipsius 211 Cardinal Mantica 214 Cardinal Spinellus 216 Cardinal Mazarine 219 Cardinal Uâ—â—inus 223 Octavian Ubaldinus 226 Octâ—vianus Vestrius 229 Laâ—rentius Mancinus 231 Cardinal Matteus 233 Cardinal Caesarinus 237 Cardinal De â—alneo 240 Dâ—m Foelix Gloveria 243 N. Burattas Bononi 245 Cardinal Blanchettus 247 Cardinal Ubaldinus 250 Cardinal Paravacinus 253 Cardin. de Cornitibus 257 Cardinal Simoncelius 260 Examp. of direct ☽ to Antis 264 Observ. on â™ being Hileg 266 PART IV. The Prooemium 270 The Nativity of the World Nero Alexander 271 Henry VI. K. of Engl. 272 Henry VIII 273 Edward VI. ibid. Q. Mary and Elizab. 275 King James I. 277 King Charles I. 278 Duke of Glocester 279 Lady Mary ibid. Duke of Lenox 280 Henry II. of France ibid. Henry III. IV. of Fr. 281 Frederick K. of
to his Twenty second Book says Verùm quam difficilis confusa fuerit hactenus testantur Veterum Neotericorum Astrologorum sententiae plurimùm inter se differentes c. But says he how confused and difficult it hath hitherto been the various and different Opinions of the Ancient and Modern Astrologers do testify And in the very first Chapter of that Book he falls upon most of the Famous and Reputable Authors even those that the Students of this present Time admire and accuses them some for their Ignorance and others for their Traditional Innovations and at last he saith Unde major in Astrologiam Confusio introducta est So that you see I am not the first that hath call'd the Abuses and Fooleries of Astrology in question and I believe shall not be the last By these Words of the Learned Morinus you may judge what a confused Heap of Stuff the then Method of Directions seem'd to him and yet he had the same Authors to inform his Judgment that our Modern Artists admire and defend and if the Methods in his Time were so confused abstruse and idle as he tells us they were pray consider what Amendment hath been made since and who hath done any thing in Astrology besides Thieving and Transcribing one from another Did not Cardan follow this same Method in Directions he found laid down by Regiomontanus and others Did not Origanus hand those things down to us that he found delivered to him by Leovitius c. and this without any Amendment And did not Argol transcribe from him and those beforementioned their Methods and Effects of Directions and gave them down to us with fresh Authority And have not our Countrymen transcribed from them all without so much as asking one Word whether they were to be credited or not Therefore why should I be blamed for asking a Question seeing Morinus goes free with Approbation and yet he hath charg'd them home in divers things and proved there are Errors to be found beyond Excuse as you may read at large in the Fifth Chapter of his Sixteenth Book wherein he justly chargeth them with abundance of Nonsensical and most Irrational Fooleries For Example If a Planet is under the Sun-Beams which they call Combust he is Weak but if a Planet is in the middle of the Sun which they call in Cozimi then he is supposed to be Strong and the more Powerful for being there as if a man should be burnt by being near the Fire but if he creeps into the middle of it he shall be refresh'd and supported and not burnt Precious Nonsense With divers other things that he there recites In the Preface to his Twenty third Book he chargeth the Astrologers with Errors in their Doctrine of Revolutions and in particular Stadius and at the same time sets up a Doctrine not allowable by the great Cardan in Seg. 1. Aph. 21. Quaedam propinquo modo ut solis Revolutio which ought to be very exact if the Doctrine of Morinus is allowed but of that Subject see Opus Reformatum page 43. But Morinus hath done admirably well in his Sixteenth Book and Fifteenth Chapter of the First Section where he hath taught the true way to take the Antiscions or Zodiacal Parallels of the Planets and quite turn'd out the old foppish way generally taught by all Authors almost except Ptolomy and Cardan who teach their Pupils to take the Antiscions with Latitude and not without it as most of our later Pretenders have done but notoriously false And a man would think That any one who was able to consider any thing might easily conclude if the Latitude of a Planet caused so much Variation in a Direction to the Ascendent c. it must do the same in an Antiscion also In the Preface to his Twenty fifth Book concerning the Universal Constitution of the Heavens he says Complectitur autem pars ista Doctrinam pulcherrimam amplissimam momenti maximi de qua Veteres Astrologi diversimodè scripserunt sed confuse imperfecte Erroneò defectu verae cognitionis principiorum hujus nobilissimae Scientiae c. It contains says he a Doctrine large delightful and of the greatest moment concerning which the ancient Astrologers have written variously but Confusedly Imperfectly and Erroneously not knowing the Principles of this most Noble Science Hence you see he chargeth our ancient Authorities with Errors in all the Parts of this Study and if you please but to read him he will make most of them appear to be so as he tells you they are And these things he doth not charge upon one only but upon most of them if not all Nay in many Places throughout his Book he falls very hard upon Ptolomy also but how he will make that appear perhaps I may a little further enquire before I conclude it being none of my Business to contend with him in this Place And yet after all this he himself hath trumpt up some Innovations that will not stand the Test and Trial and in many things he is chargeable with Mistakes as indeed we are all more of which you shall hear hereaâ—ter Lastly Mr. J. G. in his Hundred Aphorisms made and borrowed tells us in the last of them That the Art of Astrology is certain but there are few that pâ—â—ctâ—s it who rightly understand it Now if this be truâ— it must beyond all doubt proceed from hence Not knowing the true Rules or knowing too many of the false ones for a man's Ignorance in any Science is nothing else but his not knowing its true and rational Principles and the ways to attain them Now if a man in any Art knows them imperfectly and falsly I think it is high time for him to acknowledge his Ignorance and Enquire the way to Truth and such Persons this Aphorism says there are if so why is that Gentleman so angry with me for making this Enquiry after Truth But if there are no such Persons then what occasion had we for that Aphorism But besides if there are no such ignorant and false Pretenders what did he formerly mean by his Rats in Science and of late by those that he said were not Cutis deep for if we bring these and the Aphorisâ— together it proves the Affirmation more forcibly and I wish he is not found to be one of the Number he endeavours to reprove for the Ax is laid to the Root of the Tree It seems there are but few that understand it and how we shall come to know the whole Number of those few or any part of them I can't tell unless he will be pleased to give us directions for of all those that pretend to it I know there are very few but think they understand it as well as Ptolomy and Cardan did although divers can scarce write their own Names But if we compare his Words one with another and consider them with what is said by Morinus and Cardan it will then appear that there are now and ever
Native did live And after this came up the Mundane Square of Saturn to the Sun thus The distance of the Sun from the Cusp of the Tenth is 24 degrees 5 minutes the distance of Saturn from the Cusp of the Ascendent is 62 degrees 27 minutes now by the Rule of Proportion I say if 17 degrees 58 minutes gives 24 degrees 5 minutes what shall 19 degrees 29 minutes give 26 degrees 7 minutes which is the part proportional to be substracted from 62 degrees 27 minutes Saturn's primary distance from the Ascendent and it leaves the Ark of Direction 36 degrees 20 minutes And these two Directions to the Hileg will appear much more likely to give Death I mean to one that understands it than the Ascendent to the Body of Mars which is but a Sham Direction and nothing in it Argoll tells us Leonora Dutchess of Sfortia was born the 12th of March at 7 of the Clock at Night 1570. sub Polo 43 R. A. of the Midheaven 107 degrees 19 minutes and that she dyed on the Ascendent to the Opposition of the Moon Mars to the Tâ—ine of Venus and the Sun to the Square of Venus That she was taken the last day of November at Night with great Pain in the Reins and Ureters and Suppression of Urine attended with a slight Fever and on the 17th of December she dyed being aged 64 years and 9 months 1634. Among his 117 Nativities he kills two on the Ascendent to the Opposition of the Moon and they are this Lady for one and Cardinal Burghesius for the other In the first the Moon is Hileg but in the last she is not so that the Mystery is not lodged in that point And he lets six pass the same Direction without dying or so much as telling us a reason for it And they are Gaspar Cardinal Matteus who had his Moon in the Eighth Duke Bernard Veimarius whose Nativity see before Pope Gregory XV. Domina Foelix Gloveria where the Moon was Lady of the Eighth Cardinal Cobellutius who had the Moon in the Eighth and Cardinal Viâ—ilis who had the Moon there also These all escaped on that Direction And for the other Direction of the Sun to the Square of Venus it looks so notoriously like a Sham that I am loth to observe it there being so many among his Geniture that have passed that Direction untoucht either with Sickness or Death And among those I will name only Four of them Pope Sixtus V. Pope Gregory XV. Cardinal Richelieu Feltrius Duke of Urbin with a great many more too great a number to name He also makes use of another Direction and that is the Moon to the Opposition of Jupiter Lord of the Sixth House but this as well as the Square of Venus are so far from killing that they would have saved had either the Sun or Moon been Hileg Thus by comparing one with another you see what Credit is to be given to those Directions that our Author says kill'd her which you find he will not allow to hold in other Nativities and therefore suspicious here Nor doth he tell us whether he lays the stress on the Ascendent to the Opposition of the Moon or the Moon to the Seventh House but in his way if the Ascendent to the Opposition of the Moon could kill now why did not the Body of Saturn do it when she was young Sometimes the Sextile and Trine of Saturn will kill and sometimes the Body and Opposition will not and is not this a sorry sort of Astrology But to what purpose do they talk of a Hileg and never use it All Authors write of it all Practitioners can speak the word but to this day I could never find any of them keep to it except the Learned Placidus who follows Ptolemy strictly In this Lady's Nativity the Moon is most certainly Hileg and because it is a curious case and comes under that Rule of Ptolemy concerning Addition and Substraction in his 14th Chapter of the Third Book I will take the pains to correct the Figure and shew you how naturally it doth answer to the Rule in that Case and the time of her Death The correct Scheme is this that follows and differs but 6 minutes from his mine being 6 hours 54 minutes and his 7 hours P. M. his 13 degrees of Libra and mine 12 degrees ascending 'T is needless I think to quote Authors to prove the Moon Hileg I suppose every one will readily grant that the Moon within two degrees and an halâ— of the Cusp of the Ninth House must be allowed Giver of Life in a Nocturnal Nativity and so she is here and seeing we have no other accident but Death we must endeavour to prove her Death by rational Causes and find such Directions as are suitable to give those Disorders that she complain'd of before her Death which were Pains with a Suppression of Urine and for these I say she had the Sun to the Mundane Squâ—re of Mars that gave the beginning of her Disease but the mortal Directions were the Moon to the Cusp of the Seventh and to the Mundane Parallel of Saturn which I thus work The Oblique Ascention of the Moon under the Pole of Birth is 263 degrees 17 minutes her distance from the Cusp of the Seventh House is 68 degrees 13 minutes which Ark I thus adjust according to the Doctrine of Ptolemy in the place before quoted by Addition and Substraction Thus I first observe how many Rays of the Benefick Stars fall between the Cusp of the Seventh and the Body of the Moon these increase the Native's years and must be added to the Ark of Direction Then I observe what Rays of the Maleficks are likewise projected in that place for they diminish the number of years and must be substracted from the Ark of Direction each of them first wrought in proportion to its Ark c. And to this purpose I find Venus casteth a Sextile to the Seventh her Quintile and her Square Jupiter casteth his Quintile and Quartile thither Saturn sendeth his Opposition his Biquintile and Sesquiquadrate The Sun his Semiquadrate and Mars his Square I might have taken notice of Mercury but that I do not find him joyn'd either to a Benefick or Malefick and therefore pass him by for Ptolemy's words are Mercurius vero Utris Adjunctus fuerit hos Adjuvabit But in the Table following you may see a Synopsis of the whole Calculation Cuspis 7. directa Aspects Ar. D. pa. pr. ad Sextâ—lem ♀ 4 16 0 21 ad Quinti ♃ 4 43 0 23 ad Quintol ♀ 18 20 1 32 ad Quadrat ♃ 26 39 2 13 ad Quadrat ♀ 39 10 3 16 Arcui Directi Addendae 7 45 Cuspis 7. directa ad Oppositi ♄ 8 46 0 44 ad Semiqua ☉ 29 42 2 32 ad Biquint ♄ 43 4 3 37 ad Quadrat ♂ 44 56 3 55 ad Sesquiquad ♄ 51 4â— 4 20 Ab Arcu Directi Subtraâ—end 15 â— In the Right-hand Table you see
Marriage and Death are quite out of doors And some will make a further inference in the matter and that is That he did not believe his Holy Father nor his Diary The truth of it is I believe neither of the Three to be her Birth for in this of his Collection and that of the Obse Rati it is impossible she should pass the Mâ—on Hileg to the Body of Mars Square of Saturn and Square of the Sun of which Mars was at the head of the Train and in their method past at 25 in mine at 27 years of age But I do believe she had some part of the beginning of Scorpio ascending and judge it no hard matter to make a rectification of it And yet for all that you must reckon this among the number of Uncertain Nativities The Duke of Lenox is said to be born April the 6th hor. 12. min. 11. P. M. 1612. Lat. 52 degrees 30 minutes and that he dyed March 30th 1655. of a long lingring Consumption and no other Reason given for his long Disease and Death but the Ascendent to the Opposition of Jupiter and Square of the Moon and yet the Moon at the same time on the Culp of the Eleventh House Hileg this plaguy Ascendent kills more people by Direction than all the Aphetical Places beside nay ten times as many as all of them do If he had said That the Ascendent to the Opposition of Jupiter and Square of the Moon had given the lingring Disease and found out something else for his Death it had been something like but this I can never allow and therefore shall look on this as a sham Nativity among the rest And to prove it false by example I can shew you several in his own Book that have passed these Directions and never gave either Consumptions or Death Henry II. King of France was born March 31st 9 minutes past 7 manè 1519. Pol. 48. This is taken â—rom â—rgol to a minute and yet Gauricus makes it at 5 manè If the Scheme Argol gives is true the Ascendent to the Body of Mars might kill him because it is Hileg and the Opposition of Saturn followeth Mars Henry III. King of France was born September the 19th hor. 0. min. 54 manè 1551. Lat. 48. and he was murdered by James Clement a Monk who was afterward canonized for it and made a Saint August the 1st Anno 1589. being almost 38 years of age Here they are at a plunge what to allow for this man's Death nor have they any way but to bring the Ascendent to the Opposition of Saturn and then the time must be an Hour and 3 Quarters sooner and yet Junctinus gives it as he doth within 15 minutes But suppose that should be done the Ascendent will not be Hileg but the Part of Fortune and in this Figure of his the Moon is certainly giver of Life So that the Horoscope is shut out in both But oh the wonderful Ascendent If I were to correct this Scheme I would make the Moon Hileg to the Mundane Parallel of Mars direct and converse hit that Accident with a very little Alteration in time but I will leave it to those that will take more pains upon it than at present I am willing to do The Nativity you see is violent the Moon being among Violent Stars in Square to Saturn and he in Opposition to the Ascendent Henry IV. of France was born says Argol from whom our Author takes it December 14th at 13 minutes past 2 manè 1553. But Junctine says He was born 19 minutes sooner I suppose the Alteration was made to bring the Ascendent to the Square of Saturn for his Death the Pole of Birth says Argol 48. says Gadbury 43. I believe the former because it is so in Argol's last Edition He was murdered by Ravillac May the 14th 1610. having been wounded in the Mouth before by Castellus in December 1594. And the great dispute here will be Whether the Ascendent to the Square of Saturn in the Zodicack can kill or not I can bring several Examples out of his own Book where it hath not killed particularly Ant. Columna pag. 63. Bishop Hall Mr. Gataker with divers others and why should it kill this man Now if I were to correct it I would set the Figure to the Aestimate Time and the Moon to that time would be in 25 degrees 35 minutes of Aries and this by Argol's own Tables of the Motions and not in 21 degrees 14 minutes of Aries as they make her And so the Moon will be Giver of Life and at the same time he was killed came to the Square of Saturn in the Zodiack but by the Caroline Tables she is in 26 degrees and 7 minutes of Aries And therefore take the Figure according to my Correction where you may see all before you This is set to Junctine's Estimate and the Moon is about 3 degrees within the Seventh her Oblique Ascention under her own Pole is 211 degrees 51 minutes Oblique Ascention of the Square of Saturn cum Lat. 271 degrees 23 minutes Ark of Direction 59 degrees 32 minutes This turned into time gives almost 6 months above 56 years of Age. And about the same time the Moon came to the Rapt Parallel of Saturn and the Sun also at the same time very near the Zodiacal Parallel of Saturn Now what think you of this it is more agreeable to Rule than the other and the exact Estimate Time too With which consider That I have directed the true Hileg and not strain'd the Time and so I leave it to your consideration Sebastian King of Portugal is also brought as proof of the Truth of Astrology he was born 1554. Jan. 20. hor. 1. min. 46. mane Lat. 43. And he says the Ascendent to the Square of Saturn killed him notwithstanding the Moon is in the Ninth Giver of Life He fell by a Wound or two in his Head when he went into Africa at the age of about 24. Why should not the Moon to the Opposition of Saturn be as likely to kill as the Ascendent to hisSquare Nay I should sooner have depended on that than the other according to my Skill in it I will not spend time to correct it for I am sure it is false I will pass by Gustavus Adolphus having already handled that in the Second Part to which I refer you Lewis XIII King of France I omit here as having considered that in the Third Part where you will find it Likewise I pass by Charles Gustavus having handled that in my Opus Reformatum Frederick III. King of Denmark is brought to illustrate the Fortune and Fury of the Stars he was born says Mr. Gadbury the 18th of March O. S. hor. 11. min. 53. manè 1609. in the Latitude of 51. But that I believe is false printed there being no part of the Kingdom of Denmark in less than 54 degrees North Latitude the Duchy of Holstein being on the South of it lieth under that
now It is not easy to determine what Direction to the Part of Fortune did kill because the Figure is not certain but the Rule must be kept to or else there is nothing to be done to any certainty You may observe he says This Native was subject to much Trouble and many Infelicities in his Life time and particularly at 64 years of age he was plundered and forced to fly to Oxford and this on the Midheaven to the Square of Jupiter It is not usual for Jupiter to give such destructive Troubles as these are his ill Rays do for the most part give Vexations for some time but at last they go off and leave the Native in a capacity to live what he speaks of seems to be the â—ffects of Saturn and Mars's Fury Besides if you look into the Figure you will find Saturn in 5 degrees and Jupiter's Squâ—re in 9 degrees of Aquary So that he lets the Midheaven to the Body of Saturn go off without any mischief and 4 or 5 years after the Square of Jupiter plundered and destroyed him for his Loyalty is this probable risum â—eneatis And if you please to look over his Nativities in his Collection you will find he often lets the Square of Jupiter pass by without any effect at all in comparison to this and I must confess I do not know why this Nativity should produce so many Troubles and this Ray of Jupiter in particular so much Mischief Mr. John Mallet was born August the 21st bor 11. min. 15. P. M. 1615. Lat. 51. 32. and he says He dyed in October 1646. of the Plague the Sun then to the Body of Mars and the Ascendent to the Square of Saturn If he can prove the Ascendent to the Square oâ— Saturn I will excuse his Body of Mars for in this Nativity you may be certain the Ascendent is Giver of Life and I think soon after the time he dyed the Ascendent was directed to the Trine of Jupiter in Mundo as it ought to be and then Jupiter will follow the Body of Saturn and Venus follow the Body of Mars so that we must find out something else to kill him or else I cannot allow his Death upon these Directions alledged by our Author And if you please but to look into his Examples you will find the Ascendent to the â—quare of Saturn did not kill Mr. Woolsey nor the Opposition kill Mr. Hoâ—per nor the Body of Saturn kill the Merchant of Genoua with abundance more I could give you out of his own Book that thwart this of Mr. Mallet's Mr. John Booker was born March the 24th hor. 8. min. 10. manè 160â— Lat. 53. 26. Our Author hath given us no Directions nor Accidents for this Nativity nor had I taken notice of tâ— but that I have tâ—e time of his Death which was April the 8th 1667 he dyed of a Dysentery under the weakness of which Disease he had layn for a long time and by the Figure following we shall be put to it to find a Direction that may be regularly allowed for his Death and the time of it The Estimate Time that was given him he was used to say was about 8 of the Clock in the Morning which doth not differ much from this of our Author And my Friend tells me He had the Bloody Flux Three Years and an half and there is no Direction to hit it by this Figure neither in my method nor theirs The only Direction they can pretend to is the Ascendent to the Square of Saturn and when they bring the Ascendent back to make that give Death then I have the Horoscope in my way to the Square of the Sun and the Ascendent being Hileg is not likely to pass that with safety and therefore if you will take my Opinion for his Disease and Death it was thus His Flux began on the Sun to the Rapt Parallel of Mars and the Square of Mars in the Zodiack and he dyed on the Ascendent to the Square of the Sun there being no Help nor Relief I confess the Ascendent to the Square of Saturn in the Zodiack doth come up much about the same time and therefore I do not expect to be believed by some who have nothing to say for their method but thâ—t they have used it a long time and they will not now be convinced of its Errors and therefore lâ—t them go on Mr. Vincent Wing was born April the 9th hw 5. min. 48. P. M. 1619. Lat. 52. 40. and the Figure was saith our Author done by himself That he was not only an ingenious man but also a very laborious man in his Study the whole Kingdom can testify and that his Endeavours were succeeded with Applause and Reputation as a just Reward to his Merit every man bookishly inclined in this way will readily acknowledge But it was not because his Angles were possessed by Cardinal Signs as our Author doth fondly imagine for had not the Moon Sun and Mercury been in Cardinal Signs and Venus Lady of his Ascendent in her Exaltation and Jupiter her Dispositor in Trine to the Tenth notwithstanding his great Parts he might have been as obscure a man as some others are for all the Cardinal Signs on Angles But if any are disposed to believe that Foolery I will not be their Hindrance Si Populus vult decipi Decipiatur The Figure followeth Perhaps In some men'sOpinion it may be doubted and disputed who is Giver of Life in this Nativity because both Luminaries are in Aphetical Places and in their own Dignities but I think there is no ground for any Doubt of that nature if a man rightly understands the Text and will be guided by it Let him remember Interdiâ— Sol anteferendus est And by that Rule the Sun is here Hileg without dispute I am not punctually certain when he dyed but as I think it was in the end of the Summer in the year 1668. or 1669. at the age of 49 or 50. Nor do I know what Disease he dyed of but do believe it was a lingring sort of a Disorder attended with a Hectical Habit of Body and a Consumption because Mars who is first in the Train of Death is in Opposition to Jupiter and also Jupiter's Square in Mundo falls in with them but cannot save and therefore specificates the Disease which I do think is some Disorder of the Lungs See the Directions ☉ ad â–¡ ♂ in mund d. d 46 24 47 6 1666 ☉ ad ♂ ♄ in Zod. sin Lat. 47 51 48 11 1668 ☉ ad Aldâ—baran sine Lat. 48 34 49 8 1669 ☉ ad â–¡ ♄ motu converso 49 44    ☉ ad ♂ ♄ in Zodiaco c. L. 50 23    ☉ ad â–¡ ♃ in mundo d. d. 50 31    This is that Train of Directions that I do assign for his Death and this done without altering the Figure he gave a minute and besides I keep to my Hileg If any skilful man is
in the Year 1679. Mr. R. W. desired me to give him the Directions in his Nativity so I took his Time corrected his Figure which was but a small difference from the Estimate Time wrought the Directions and gave them to him and among them there was one to come up the beginning of May the next Year i. e. 1680. and that was the Ascendent to the Square of Mars the Horoscope being 22. deg in Gemini and Mars in 21. deg in Aries in the Eleventh The M. C. 16. deg in Aquary and this Direction I had determined to touch about the sixth or eighth Day of May at which Time he was seized with a violent Fever which held him about eight Days And this was a wonderful Confirmation of my Skill and the Truth of the Art both of which were not a little talk'd of about it But when I came to understand Directions better and to examin the Figure and the Accident more carefully I found the Ascendent came at that time to the Square of the Moon and that the Square of Mars did not come up till about thirty Years afterward Thus you may see how easie it is for a Beginner to make a Mistake and at the same time to be confirmed in it that he is really in the Right and this in Correcting is easily done either by not knowing the Motion or by erring in the Measure of Time or by supposing the Disease or Accident to be caused by a Planet or Ray that had nothing to do in the matter And these indeed are Errors of our own but they are founded upon the Rules and Directions laid down by our Authors for our Instruction in such Cases as these are And these are the Errors if you can perswade your self to believe they are such that I think ought to be known and would advise you to endeavour to reform among the rest of the Mistakes and let the World see an Astrology free from those Falsities that its Enemies so often charge us with and this brought to pass and effected by your Labour and Diligence I say if you can perswade your selves to believe they are Errors and ought to be regulated and amended For indeed there lies the main Obstacle for he that doth not believe they are Errors will never endeavour either to reform them or get better Rules to work and judge by for every man lives and manageth his Affairs according to his Belief This Belief is in all things guided by the Will for no man believes against his Will however he may endeavour to hide and dissemble it for the Belief is in all things where-ever it is imploy'd either in Spirituals or Temporals nothing else but an Act of the Will This Will is nothing else but the last Act of Deliberation or the ultimate Result of all the Faculties of the Soul and this Will is really guided by the Understanding in all its Resolves The Understanding is more or less active and capable of knowing more or less according to the Power of its first Principle and the various Methods and Ways taken for its Information for by how much the better a man's Judgment and Understanding is inform'd by so much the more he is able to judge for himself or for any other and therefore whosoever hath strong intellectual Abilities we see they are mightily advanced by the Happiness of a Good and Learned Education for the Faculties of the Soul are always active busie and love to be employ'd in things suitable to the Nature and Position of Mercury at the time of Birth Hence we may observe That some men do in particular excel others in a peculiar sort of Learning Science or Trade and this from the Power of their Mercury and the Position of the Heavens at their Birth so ordered and appointed by the Power and Wisdom of the Eternal God Hence I would perswade the Students in this Science to consider and deliberate upon the matter and as they have learn'd to know that there is an Astrology in Nature so now let them inform their Understandings about the rationality of that which is so call'd and also learn to distinguish between those things that are solely Notional and such as are naturally Demonstrable and upon Examination visibly True And last of all try if they can bring themselves to belive that those things which I shall make appear to be false are indeed and reality Errors and ought to be amended and regulated by those that study Astrology And that you may see I am not the first man that have doubted in these things and that what I propound to you is both Necessary and Rational observe what your own Authors say to this purpose I begin with Cardan Difficilimum omnium est scire Locum Interfectoris c. Seg. 3. Apb. 108. Hence I observe That if it is the most difficult thing of all to know the Anareta or Interfector there are very few that are acquainted with it and yet how easily do the Common and more Ignorant sort of Astrologers judge of the Time of Death before it comes in which case I know they are generally deceiv'd and by that Rule deceive others and yet Cardan tells us It is the most difficult thing of all and in that I can justly assert the Truth of his Aphorism and so can any one else that hath taken Pains to work and try Experiments And the reason why it is the most difficult and that they are mistaken in it is because there are more things than one goes to compleat the Locus Interfectoris and it is not the Point and Place they take it to be and their Rules in that Case are all of them False and Erroneous and that I do not doubt but Cardan well knew when he said It was the most difficult thing of all to know and therefore a little afterward in the 113th Aphorism he gives you a Glimps of the Reason why it is so where he says Maxima igitur ambiguitas est cum Radii foelices Luminarium aut Fortunarum super Locum Interficientem ceciderint frequenter enim servantur praeter spem alii autem de quibus sperabamus ut etiam in morbis medici intereunt The greatest Doubtfulness says he is when the happy Rays of the Luminaries or Fortunes fall upon the interficient Place they often save beyond all Hope but others of whom both we and the Physicians in Diseases have a great deal of Hope they die Thus you see he doth increase the Doubt and makes it appear more plainly that there is a Mystery in the thing which if your Rules generally laid down are true cannot be for by those it is the easiest thing in the World for it is but to have Recourse to the Lord of the Eighth House and the Business is done But I can assure you that you must find out better Rules than those or else you will never be Masters of your Profession Morinus speaking of Directions in the Preface