Hercules called of Diodorus alpe Abyle doth declare The cause which moued Ptolomaeus thus to do you shal finde in his Geographie Spoud And is ther the like difference betwixt Cosmographers Astronomers cōcerning the signification of the Latitude of à region as ther was in the Longitude Philo. No verely For they meane nothing els by the Latitude of à region but th' Arke or portion of the Meridiane circle conteined betwixt the Pole of the world the Horizont of the same region Spou. And is not this Latitude reconed frō th' Equinoctiall vnto either of the Poles Philo. It is as in like maner the Longitude from the West to th' East Spoud Yet Glarianus accōpteth the Latitude from the North to the South not from th' Equator towarde either of the Poles Philon. It is à small errour you your selfe are able to refute it But nowe will I shewe vnto you howe muche the circuite of th' Earth is then make mention of the Zones Spou. Sir neuer take it in hande for the comon people will iudge you madde seynge you neither haue gone about the viij parte of it neither yet for want of yeres you might acheue such an enterprise althoughe you had so long life giuen you as Nestor had because of the hougie Seas greate Riuers depe Lakes besides Wodes Rockes deserte places innumerable perils which I can not repete Philon. You haue trewly sayd if ther were none other way to atteine to it thē by traueling about it but it shal be sufficient to haue traueled any portiō of this great circuit For Ptolomaeus sheweth how to find out the Circuit of th' Earth by searching the distaunce of à great Circle cōprehended betwixt the vertical points of two or more places distaūt à sunder Spoud By what meane shall I finde out the vertical point Phi. It is equall to the Pole Arctike the finding of whiche hereafter I will teache you you maye vse th' one for th' other thē you also in like maner must know the distaunce in miles of these places after diuid the distaunce of the two places by the differēce of the two verticall pointes the quotiēt shall shew you howe manye miles do answere to one degree of the saide Circle in the Heauēs But or we further proced marke this figure in which C. is th' earth A. B. the distaunce of two placis in th' Earth D. E. the space of the greate Circle in Heauen betwixte the two verticall pointes Now diuiding the space A. B. by D. E. the quotiēt shal shew the nūber of miles As for exāple I take th' eleuatiō of the pole at Portsmouth whiche is the furdest place on the south shore of Englande finde it 51. degr 20. minutes in like sort at Barwike the furdest place North whose Latitud is 56. deg 50. mi. The differēce of these 2. eleuatiōs is 5. degrees 30. minutes Also the directe distaūce from Portsmouth to Barwicke is 330. miles Therefore diuiding the. 330. miles which is the portiō of th' Earth answering the differēce of these 2. Eleuatiōs by the 5. degrees 30. minutes which is the difference I find the quotient to be 60. Wherefore in all places in Englande 60. miles answer to one degre of any great Circle in the heauen Spoud Then I pray you retorne to your figure againe and conferre it with your example Philo. I wil so do First A. do represent Barwike B in like maner Portsmouth whose eleuations of the pole Arcticke is set ouer their heades The distance frō A. to B. 330. miles the portion of the heauen betwixte the ij eleuations is 5. degrees 30. minuts by which I did deuide the distance of th' Earth A. B. findinge the quotient 60. And in like sorte you may worke with anye other places in th' Earth Spoud This serueth well for to knowe what portion of th' Earthe in Englande answereth to th' Arke of anye greate Circle conteined betwixt the Zenit of two seuerall places But what is thys in respect of the Circuit compasse of the hole Earth Philo. Yet by this you are able to declare how manye miles answer to 30. degrees Spou. Yea verely and that easely Philo. And by the same ordre you may find that 21600. English miles answere vnto 360. degrees whyche is the compasse of the heauēs Spou. This is so euident that all men must nedes cōfesse it but it semeth very meruailus Ph. What say you then which is more if I make you presentlye to find how many barly cornes in thicknes wil go about the Horizont if thei might be placed equally Spo. It semeth impossible to be brought to passe by any mans deuise therfore you had best omit the worke Phi. You know how many barly cornes will extend the lēgth of an English mile Spo. Yes sir you said 253440. maketh a mile in length Phi. Thē if 253440. cornes make à mile shall not 5474304000. barly cornes answer to 21600 miles Spo. And is there any difference towchīg the cōpasse of th' earth Ph. Yes for Ptolo. saith 22500. mil. the circuit of th' earth Tibitius Alphraganus but. 20400. Eratosthenes 31250. Hipparchus 34625. Spo. And you differ frō thē all but wherof doth all this diuersitie spring Phi. Ether of the diuersitie of the measures or els that the places Latitudes wer not exactly knowē As Ptolom making example of Alexādria Rodia calleth Rodia 36. deg 50. mi Wher it is 38 degr 30. min. now behold the Figure And seyng you haue learned sufficiently what the Lōgitude Latitude Circuit or Compasse of th' Earth is it should seme very requisite to make playne relatiō which places of th' Earth are habitable which be not Spoud That thing is very expedient aswel for the conseruation as also reperation restoring a man vnto health lost For by that inuention the temperature of th'Aëre is easely founde out Phil. You haue well spoken therfore we wyll conuerte our talke vnto the zones Spou. It should seme first requisite to declare the nature of Paralleles for by the distinction of them as I remēber the Zones are founde out Philo. It is so but here note that there are Paralleles which diuideth the Longitude of Regions are called Paralleles of Longitude also Paralleles of Climates which in there place I will declare makinge here mention but of v. onely which haue principall vse in the distinctiō of zones As th'equinoctial the ij tropikes the circles Arcttike Antarctike And these deuide the face of th' Earth in fiue portiōs or partes are called zones in French bēdes we may aptly call thē equidistaunt places or Girdles Spou. And howe is th' Earth diuided into fiue Zones according to the v. parallele Circles Phi. I will shewe you after Parmenides mind vnto whō Possidonius as Strabo witnesseth ascribeth th'inuentiō First directly vnder th'equinoctial in the heauēs ther
Cancer in whiche place he is the. 12. daye of Iune causing in our region the lōgest day in the yere imediatly the time semed as it were midnight Charles Wayne with Bootes diuers other sterres turned about the Pole But as he wold haue caried me about the heauēs to haue shewid me the North Crowne stronge Hercules Cassiopeia th' Egle the flieng Horse mightie Orion the two Dogges the famous great shippe Argo c. Mercury the messenger of the Godes came to my bedde side saide Aurora did appeare Phebus with his goldē beames was entred his chariot minding to finishe his diurnall Arcke so that it was à reproche for me any lōger to play the sluggard declaringe more ouer that Philonicus was in the fildes And surely I suppose no lesse but I shall not from him be longe absent I am iustly reprehended of Mercury because the time that is cōsumed with slepe more then nature requireth is all lost for ther spring no profit therof but sicknes disquietnes both of body minde But what is he that calleth Spoudaeus beckneth with his hand It is Philonicus I will make spede to mete him Philon. God saue you Spoudaeus Spoud And you also moste hertilie I require the Gods you know th' occasiō I trust of my resorting into this place Philo. For to be further instructed in the knowledge of Cosmographie Spoud It is verely my desire specially to know the Longitude Latitude circuit of th' Earth and of the diuisiō of it into Climates to know the meanyng of Zones paralleles to finde out the Meridiane line the longitude latitude of any place because they haue à singular vse in this Arte. Philo. You haue repeted matter ynough to cōsume this day in I wyll if tyme permitte willingly satisfie your request But seynge this thinge doeth depende chiefly of dimention measuringe it is requisite to knowe that first yea the principall partes of it Spou. Dimention is no other thing then à lōgitude knowen practised by which we maye in like maner measure th'vnknowē distaunce of places by the same experience Philo. Trew it is And there are thre thinges only which may be measured For either it is à line as Longitude or els à Plat forme as Latitude or last à body as thicknes or profunditie Spoud Glarianus hath the like saying Campanus sheweth wherof these three do spring in this maner A point saith he is that which haue no partes yet by the mouyng of it à lyne is described And a lyne moued because it hath length beynge voide of breadth depenes cā but describe a plat forme This plat forme is both a rounde plat forme also a flatte as in these figures And a plat forme moued because it hathe lēgth breadth describeth a Body hauing both length breadth depenes Philo. A rounde plat forme A plaine plat forme A Barly corne is the least mea sure yet from it do all other mea sures procede as A Finger breadth An Vnche A Hande breadth A Spanne A Fote A Geomtricall Pase An Englishe Pearche A Furlonge An Englishe Furlonge A Leque An Italian mile A comon Germaine mile An Englishe mile Conteyninge in it 4 Barly cornes in thicknes 3 Fingers 4 Fingers 3 Hande breadth 4 Hande breadth 5 Fiue fote 16 Fote a halfe 125 Pase 660 Fote or 132. Pase 1500 Pase 1000 pase or 8. furlōgs 32 Furlonges 8 Furlonges There is also diuersitie what a Furlong should conteine in length it should appeare that Ptolomaeus Strabo Plinius do not agree herin Spou. What call you this worde Furlong Philon. That which the Grecians call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plinie name it stadium 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is à statione And it is vsurped for a place where men exercise ther horse ronnyng a rase which length Plinie determineth to be 125. pases or 625. fote by which reason 8. of these furlonges do make an Italian or Englishe mile which beyng multiplied by 4. makes 32. furlonges the length of a comon Germanie mile I call it à common Germaine mile for that in Heluetia not obseruing any true distāce in theyr iorneis they vse 40. or 50. furlōges for a mile Spou. Those are Robin Hodes miles as the prouerbe is Phi. There is also a diuers order in measure obserued as th' Aegiptians by signes the Gretians by furlonges the Spaniardes French men by leques the Italiās Germaines Englishmen by miles which I thought mete to declare more for that it may further you in reading theyr workes then that I entende to introduce in place any of ther waies but wil vse only th' English mile writing to Englishe men the quantitie wherof as I said is 8. furlonges euery furlonge conteining 132. pases euery pase 5. fote euery fote 4. handbreadthes euery hand breadth 4. fingers in thicknes euery finger 4. Barly cornes rounde dried So that an Englishe mile conteineth in length 253440. Barly cornes as by the rules of Arithmetike is manifest plaine Spoud This semeth very straunge yea rather incredible yet surely to be trew I am assured Philon. You shall vnderstande matters both more straunge pleasaunt then this which is founde out by th' infalible rules of Arithmetik Geometrie now procede we to our purpose beginning with this word Lōgitude Spoud I take it for no other thinge then the distaunce of à Starre or part of à signe from the beginning of Aries the first signe in the Zodiake As the Virgines spike in the xvij degree xlij minutes of Libra is vj. signes xvij degrees xlij minu or 197. degrees xlij minu from the head of Aries Philo. That signification of Lōgitude is vsed among th' Astronomers but in Cosmographie it is otherwise For they call the Longitude of any Region the portion of th' Equinoctiall Circle which is included betwixte the Canarian Ilandes in the West beyng the first degre of Longitude the Meridiane of the Regiō that thou wilt describe Such portiō of th' Equinoctiall in the middes of Englande from the fornamed Ilandes is about xxij degrees Spoud Then in describinge the face of th' Earth Cosmographers do place the first degre of Lōgitude in the West fortunate Ilandes so proced thorow the whole face of the same vntill they come to that place agayne Philo. It is so as you say So that the myddes of th' Earth is 180. degrees from the West Such are th' East Indians 360. is the furdest that one can be from the West Spou. But could not the degrees of Longitude be accompted from some other parte of th' Earth as well as from th' Iandes afore said Philo. Yes verely but Ptolomaeus the restorer of this Art placed the first degree of Longitude in them as the furdest point of the confines boundes of Afrike Europe as the famous excellent pillers of
is also in the mides of th' earth an Equino imagined vnder the tropick in the heauē two tropike Circles in th' Earth and finallye vnder the two polary circles in the Heauen two circles in th' Earth answering in like proportiō so that th' Earth is parted in v. equall portiōs which are called zones as this Figure doeth manifestly set out Spoud Do you not in this Figure call euery portion betwixt two paralleles à zone Phil. Yes verely as the space betwixt the tropike of Cacer Capricorn in Graeke is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with vs the burning zone because the sonne goeth ouer th' inhabitauntes heades cōtinually Also betwixt the tropicke of Cancer the Circle Arctike 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the temperate zone And the portiō betwixt the circle Arctick the north Pole 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we call it Frosen In lyke maner with th' other two zones southe from th' Equinoctiall the temperate south zone is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the frosen zone 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Spou. Yet by my computation your table sheweth sexe zones Two frosen zones two temperate and two burninge zones for the space betwixte the two Tropicke Paralleles is deuided equally of th' Equinoctiall Phi. You are in the same error that Polybius was as testifieth Strabo but Proclus hereto do aptly answer where he speke of zones and I will repeate his wordes of this burning zone only omitting the rest whereby it shal be euident vnto you that there are not two but one burning zone his wordes are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Reliqua quae inter memoratas quatuor medium locū tenet quod sub ipso Solistransitu iacet torrida nuncupatur à terestri equatore in duas partes diuisa Th' other zone saith Proclus which is in the mids of the. iiij aforesaid because it lieth vnder the course of the sonne is called burning and is deuided of th' earthly Aequinoctiall in two equall portions Spoud But what compelled Proclus to saye that it is but one zone Seinge it is deuided in two by the aforesaide earthlye Aequinoctiall I wil tel you because ther is no alteratiō of the quality tēperature of the heauēs betwixt the space and distance of the. ij Tropikes but continuallye hote al the yere by resō of the sōnes iornay in the zodiake as in the figure you may se therfore not only Proclus but also Plato Aristotle Strabo Ouide ād Uirgil yea al authors do make their accōpt but of v. zones Spo. It shuld seme that this burning zone for the feruēt heat the. ij frosen zones so far distant from the sōnes course shuld not be habitable as Ouide doth right excellently in these verses set out Vtque duae dextra coelum totidemque sinistra Parte secant zonae quinta est ardentior illis Sic onus inclusum numero distinxit eodem Cura dei totidemque plagae tellere praemuntur Quarum quae media est non est habitabilis aestu Nix tegit alta duas totidem inter vtrasque locauit Temperiemque dedit mista cum frigore flamma Like as the Zones into v. partes do right the Heauens diuide Euen so for th' Earth à nūbre like nature did well prouide The middest of thē all men eschew the burning is so fell In the zones next the Poles through could no creature long maye dwell Bitwixt these the burning Zone two other se you may For tempratnes replenished with liuinge thinges alway Philo. Well bycause I will not haue you to erre with Poëtes other that suppose these not habitable I will take the more diligence to driue this Heresie out of your heade althoughe Ptolomaeus Auicenna were of sufficient authoritie to make you credit this thing affirminge that they haue sene men whiche did inhabite betwixt th' Equinoctiall the tropike of Cancer yea that ther ar many notable Cities Villages yet I wil vse other reasons then testimonies in this behalfe And first answer me Is not the heate of the Sōne cause that in the Sūmer ceason he inclining toward our habitatiō that mens colour in ther faces hādes are made blacker then naturally they are Spoud Yes verely I haue sene some dwellers in litle Vilages as Plowmen Heardmen Shepehards maruelously sonneburnt Philon. What wil you cōiecture then of those people that are blacke face body all externe partes of them doeth it not come of the heate of the Sōne Spoud It muste nedes so be and I haue sene men of that colour we call them Aethiopians Philo. Very well do not you beleue that the countrey where they dwell must of force be vnder the beames of the Sōne Spou. Els it could not folow that ther colour should so much differ frō ours Philon. And there is no place vnder the perpendiculer Sōne beames but only this burning Zone Ara bia sumwhat frō the Sōne beames situated is the cause that th' inhabitauntes are not so blacke as the Aethiopians nor the Spaniardes as th' Arabians or Frēchmē as the Spaniardes Spoud And the Germaynes haue their skinne whiter then the Frenchemen we here in Englande then all these so that the furder from this burninge Zone the whiter the skie and the nerer th' Equinoctiall the blacker more adust burnt Philo. Moreouer the Nauigatiō to Calicute of which voiage Vesputius Columbus were the first authors nowe more frequented of the spanierdes then sayling into coūtreis nie adiacēt to vs do witnes beare that vnder this burning Zone there are inhabitaūtes Spou. by these wordes it is manifest that the burning Zone is not habitable onely but also inhabited And as touchinge the temperate Zones no man is so folishe or madde as to denie them to be replenished with all liuing creatures abūdantly wherfore if you can proue that the two Zones next the Poles are also habitable you shall as farre banish this errour frō me as the Sōne doth darkenes Philoni Although Ptolomaeus do not describe any parallele beyonde Thylim whiche is two degr more of this side of the Circle Arctike And that for the situatiō of it farre distant from the beames of the sonne and therfore the Waters cōtinually frosen and th' Earth with Snow couered Yet Erasmus Reignholt and that truley describeth a Parallele by Hielso an Ilād in Norway which is 9. degrees beyonde the polary or Arctike circle Also the grene lande and in diuers countreis there inhabited and the inhabitants are called in Greke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Latine Periscij and we may call them aptly inhabitantes which haue there shadowe daily declininge vnto all partes of the Horizont Spo. Then I perceiue that both the burning zone also the frosen are habitable and not that only but also inhabited although not so plentifullye as the temperate zone But nowe sence ther is offered good occasion to intreat of shadowes and