Chapter XVII: Appendix: Note on the Sign Libra

On page 47 we called attention to the point that in all probability the Sign LIBRA was a very ancient corruption.

The ancient Akkadian name for the _seventh_ month, which was the month when the sun was in the Sign now called LIBRA, was _Tul‐ku_, which means _the sacred mound_, or _altar_. The Akkadian name for this Sign was _Bir_, which means _the Light_, hence, the Lamp with its light, or the Altar with its fire.

Fig. 1—The Circular Altar, in the Sign now called Libra.

Its most ancient form was a circular altar.(88) In Figure 1 we have reproduced this,(89) and it will be at once seen that we have the original of the disc now preserved in the _two circular scales_ which form the Sign of LIBRA.

The next stage of the corruption is shown in the Akkadian name of _Scorpio_ (the Scorpion)—the Sign immediately to the left of the Altar. It was called _Gir‐tab_, which means _the Seizer and Stinger_, and the next Figure (2), taken from an Euphratean boundary stone,(90) shows the two Signs combined, for the Scorpion is stretching out its claws in order to _seize_ the _Lamp_ or _Altar_.

Fig. 2—The Scorpion and the Lamp. (From a Euphratean Boundary Stone.)

Thus the meaning of its name is exemplified. It is called the _Seizer and Stinger_. And just as in the constellation above it, the Serpent is struggling with the man, while at the same time it is stretching out its neck to seize the crown,(91) so here the Scorpion, while trying to _sting_ the same man in the heel, is stretching out its claws to _seize_ the altar.

A seal on a contract, nearly 700 B.C., shows this Circular Altar actually in the grasp of the Scorpion.

Fig. 3—Scorpion and Lamp. (From an Euphratean Seal.)

Figure 3 is a picture of this Euphratean Seal, preserved on a contract made on the 8th day of the month _Tisri_, _i.e._, this same _seventh_ month!(92)

This then is the next stage. But Mr. Robert Brown, junr., observes, “The _Circle_ or other representation of an _Altar_ not unnaturally disappeared as the use of the Sign advanced westward; whether by sea, or across Asia Minor, or both, and the _Chelai_ alone remained when the shores of the Ægean were reached.”(93)

This is quite true, for the Greek name for the Sign was _Chelai_, which means simply _the Claws_. And thus the Scorpion monopolised two Signs; its body one, and its claws the other. This led to the mistake of SERVIUS, the intelligent commentator on VIRGIL,(94) that “the Chaldean Zodiac consisted of but eleven constellations.” We now know that there were twelve Signs, and the mistake is thus explained.

Fig. 4—The Constellation of "the Claws." Formerly the Circular Altar, now
Libra.

Mr. Brown quotes ACHILLES TATIUS, about 475 A.D., in a Fragment on the _Phainomena_, who says, τὰς χηλὰς τὰς καλόυμένας ὑπ Ἀιγυπτίων Ζυγὸν.(95)

ARATUS says that “some few stars of the _Claws_ are in the (Celestial) Equator.” And PTOLEMY describes the stars, now reckoned in LIBRA, as being in what he calls “The Constellation of the Claws.” We have reproduced them so that his description of them may be readily traced. He speaks of—

“The bright one of those at the end of the southern _Claw_.” (It
is named _Zuben el Genubi_ and now marked α).

“The one more northerly than it, and dimmer” (now marked μ).

“The bright one of those at the end of the northern _Claw_” (named
_Zuben el Chemali_, and now marked β).

“The one in front of it and dim” (δ).

“The one in the middle of the southern _Claw_” (1 i).

“The one in the middle of the northern _Claw_” (now marked γ).

“The one behind it in the same _Claw_” (η).

“The foremost of the three more northerly than the northern
_Claws_” (1 f).

“The southern one of the two hindmost” (ε).

“The hindmost of the three between the _Claws_” (one of the stars
now marked κ or λ).

“The northern of the two remaining and preceding ones” (ζ).

“The southern one of them” (n).

This is how the stars formerly in the Sign of the (Circular) ALTAR, came to be reckoned in _the Claws_ of the Scorpion; and this is how the circular scales of LIBRA came to be substituted for the ancient _Circular_ ALTAR.

This corruption of the primitive teaching of the ALTAR, shows how the enemy attempted to _seize_ on the Atonement, bring in “the way of Cain,” and substitute _human merit_ for the atoning sacrifice of Christ; thus perverting the truth at its fountain head. Just as in Gen. iii. we have the woman’s promised Seed in conflict with the Enemy, so in Gen. iv. we see the Scorpion’s claws—“the way of Cain” in conflict with “the way of God.”

There can be but little doubt, therefore, that the first Sign of the Zodiac was VIRGO, the second was the ALTAR, and the third was the SCORPION. The lesson which they teach is clear: The Seed of the woman (VIRGO), who was to come as a child, should be a sacrifice (the ALTAR) for the sins of His people; endure a great conflict with the enemy (SCORPIO), in which He should be wounded in the heel; but should in the end crush and tread the enemy under foot.

FOOTNOTES

1 For what is meant by “Structure,” see _A Key to the Psalms_, by the
late Rev. Thos. Boys, edited by the present author, 7, St. Paul’s
Churchyard. Price Five shillings.

2 _Viz._, in _A_ (verses 7, 8),—

“Converting,” from שׁוּב, _to return_, as the sun in the heavens.

“Testimony,” from עוּד, _to repeat_, hence, _a witness_, spoken of
the sun in Ps. lxxxix. 37.

“Sure,” אָמַן, _faithful_, as the sun. (Ps. lxxxix. 37.)

“Enlightening,” from אוֹר, _to give light_, as the sun. (Gen. i. 15,
17, 18; Isa. lx. 19; Ezek. xxxii. 7.)

In _B_ (verses 11, 12, 13),—

“Warned,” from זָהַר, _to make light_, hence, _to teach_,
_admonish_.

“Keeping,” from שָׁמַר, _to keep_, _observe_, as the heavens. (Ps.
cxxx. 6; Isa. xxi. 11.) Or as the heavenly bodies _observe_ God’s
ordinances.

“Errors,” from שָׁנַה, _to wander_, as the planets.

“Keep back,” חָשַׂךְ, _to hold back_, _restrain_.

“Have dominion over,” from מָשַׁל, _to rule_. Spoken of the sun and
moon in Gen. i. 18. “The sun to rule the day,” &c. (Ps. cxxxvi. 8,
9.)

3 The other half of the Psalm is just as perfectly arranged. For
example, there are six words used (verses 7‐9) to describe the
fulness of the Word of God, and they are thus placed, alternately:—

F | _Two_ feminine singulars. (Law and Testimony.)
G | _One_ masculine plural. (Statutes.)
_F_ | _Two_ feminine singulars. (Commandment and Fear.)
_G_ | _One_ masculine plural. (Judgments.)

4 From סָפֹר, _to cut into_, or _grave_, hence, _to write_. It has the
two senses of our English verb _tell_, which means _to count_, and
also _to narrate_. The first occurrence is Gen. xv. 5, “_Tell_
(סְפֹר) the stars, if thou be able to _number_ (לסֵפֹּר) them.” Gen.
xxiv. 66, “The servant _told_ Isaac all things that he had done.”
Ps. lxxi. 15, “My mouth shall _show forth_ (יְסַפֵּר, _tell of_,
R.V.) thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know
not the _numbers_ (סְפֹרוֹת, _i.e._, _the accounts_) of them,”
_i.e._, all the particulars.

5 From כָּבַד, _to be heavy, weight_, the context determining whether
the weight spoken of is advantageous or not. The first occurrence is
Gen. xii. 10, “The famine was _grievous_ (כָּבֵד) in the land.” The
next, xiii. 2, “Abram was very _rich_ (כָּבֵד).” It is often applied
to persons who are _of weight_ and _importance_, hence, glorious and
honourable. It is used of the _glory_ of the Lord, and of God
Himself, as we use Majesty of a person. See Isa. iii. 8; iv. 2; xi.
10; xliii. 20; Hag. ii. 8; Ex. xvi. 7; xxiv. 17; 1 Sam. iv. 21; Pss.
xxvi. 8 (_honour_); lxiii. 3.

6 From נָגַד, _to set before_, _to set forth_, _to shew_. First
occurrence, Gen. iii. 11, “Who _told_ thee that thou wast naked.”
Ps. xcvii. 6, “The heavens _declare_ His righteousness”; cxi. 6,
“_He hath shewed_ his people the power of his works.”

7 This is the English idiom for the Hebrew “Day to day.” The ל is used
in its sense of _adding_ or superadding to, as in Isa. xxviii. 10,
צַו לָצָו, “precept to precept;” _i.e._, precept after precept, line
after line. Gen. xlvi. 26, “All the souls that came with Jacob”
(לְיַעֲקֹב, to Jacob; _i.e._, in addition to Jacob. So here, “Day to
day;” _i.e._, Day in addition to day, or, as we say, Day after day).

8 From נָבַע, _to tell forth_, akin to נָבַא, _to prophesy_, from root
_to pour forth_. Lit., here, poureth forth discourse. Ps. cxlv. 9,
“abundantly utter.”

9 Their line, קָו, _i.e._, their measuring line. By the figure of
metonymy the _line_ which measures is put for the portion or
heritage which is measured, as in many other places. See Ps. xvi. 6,
“The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a
goodly heritage.” (See also Ps. lxxviii. 55, &c.) Here, it means
that “Their measuring line has gone forth unto all the earth
(אֶרֶץ)”; _i.e._, All the earth inherits this their testimony
(_i.e._, has this testimony for its heritage), and to the ends of
the world (תֵבֵל, _the inhabited world_) their instruction has gone
forth. With this agrees, in sense, the LXX. here, and Rom. x. 16,
which each has φθόγγος, _a sound_, or _voice_; _i.e._, a sound in
relation to the hearer, rather than to that which causes it. The
meaning of the passage is, “All the earth has their _sound_ or
testimony as its heritage, and the ends of the world hear their
words.” Symmachus has ἦχος, _a sound_, or _report_.

10 חֵמָה means _that which is hot_, and is a poetical name of the sun
itself.

11 Job is thought by some to be the Jobab mentioned in Gen. x. 29, the
third in descent from Eber.

12 Note the structure of this verse:—

A | The seven stars,
B | Orion,
_A_ | The twelve signs,
_B_ | Arcturus.

13 General Chesney allowed the late Dean Goode to copy the passage,
among other matters, from his private MS. The Dean quotes it in his
_Warburtonian Lectures_ (2nd Ed., Note I. to Sermon IV., p. 170‐1.)

14 Fragments of these coloured glazed bricks are to be seen in the
British Museum.

15 _Babylonian Life and History_, p. 36.

16 τοῦ γαρ καὶ γένος ἐσμεν.

17 τοῦ γαρ καὶ γένος ἐσμεν.

18 Besides this _monthly_ difference, there is an _annual_ difference;
for at the end of twelve months the sun does not come back to
exactly the same point in the sign which commenced the year, but is
a little behind it. But this difference, though it occurs every
year, is so small that it will take 25,579 years for the sun to
complete this vast cycle, which is called _The precession of the
Equinoxes_; _i.e._, about one degree in every 71 years. If the sun
came back to the precise point at which it began the year, each
_sign_ would correspond, always and regularly, exactly with a
particular _month_; but, owing to this constant regression, the sun
(while it goes through the whole twelve signs every year) commences
the year in one sign for only about 2,131 years. In point of fact,
since the Creation the commencement of the year has changed to the
extent of nearly three of the signs. When Virgil sings—

“_The White Bull with golden horns opens the year_,”

he does not record what took place in his own day. This is another
proof of the antiquity of these signs.

The _Ecliptic_, or path of the sun, if it could be viewed from
immediately beneath the Polar Star, would form a complete and
perfect circle, would be concentric with the _Equator_, and all the
stars and the sun would appear to move in this circle, never rising
or setting. To a person north or south of the Equator the stars
therefore rise and set obliquely; while to a person on the Equator
they rise and set perpendicularly, each star being twelve hours
above and twelve below the horizon.

The points where the two circles (the _Ecliptic_ and the _Equator_)
intersect each other are called the _Equinoctial points_. It is the
movement of these points (which are now moving from Aries to Pisces)
which gives rise to the term, “_the precession of the Equinoxes_.”

19 It is exactly the same with the books of the Bible. Their order and
their names, _as we have them_ in the English Bible, are those which
_man_ has given them, copied from the Septuagint and Vulgate, and in
many cases are not the Divine names according to the Hebrew Canon.

20 Here, the fact of His humiliation, together with this long period of
His rejection, is leaped over, and the prophecy passes on at
once—over at least a period of 1893 years—to this “glory which
should follow.”

21 ε, _Al Mureddin_.

22 β, _Zavijavah_.

23 The star now marked δ.

24 The star ζ.

25 The star α, _Al Zimach_.

26 The stars are known by Greek letters and sometimes by numbers, &c.
Alpha (α) denotes a star of the _first_ magnitude; Beta (β), the
second, and so on. This plan was originated by Bayer in his
_Uranometria_, 1603. The star _Alpha_, as seen in the New Great
Equatorial Telescope recently set up at Greenwich, is now discovered
to be really a _double_ star, though it had hitherto always appeared
to be _one_.

27 Jer. xxxiii. 15 being only a repetition of Jer. xxiii. 5.

28 From כָּמַה which occurs only in Ps. lxiii. 1, “my flesh _longeth_
for thee.” It is akin to חָמַד, _to desire_. Ps. xix. 10; Is. liii.
2; Hag. ii. 7; etc.

29 A Latin translation of his work is in the British Museum Library. He
says the Persians understood these signs, but that the Indians
perverted them with inventions.

30 The constellations are called _Decans_. The word means _a part_, and
is used of the three parts into which each sign is divided, each of
which is occupied by a constellation.

31 It appears that MM. Saulnier, fils, and Lelorrain arrived while
Signor Bossi was engaged in copying it, but concealed their design
to remove it. The King of France paid £6,250 sterling for it. It has
since been copied, and lithographs have been published.

32 Act IV., Scene 3.

33 _I.e._, _come forth_ (as in the R.V.). _At_, as the preposition מ is
rendered in Gen. iii. 24. “There shall come forth a star at or over
the inheritance or possessions of Jacob,” thus indicating the
locality which would be on the _meridian_ of this star.

34 It ought also to be noted that in the preceding year there were
three conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, at the end of
May and October, and at the beginning of December. Kepler
(1571‐1631) was the first to point this out, and his calculations
have been confirmed by the highest authorities. These conjunctions
occurred in the sign of PISCES: and this sign, according to all the
ancient Jewish authorities (Josephus, Abarbanel, Eliezer, and
others), has special reference to _Israel_. The conjunction of
Jupiter and Saturn, they hold, always marked the occurrence of some
event _favourable to Israel_; while Kepler, calculating backwards,
found that this astronomical phenomenon always coincided with some
great historical crisis, _viz._: the Revelation to Adam, the birth
of Enoch, the Revelation to Noah, the birth of Moses, the birth of
Cyrus, the birth of Christ, the birth of Charlemagne, and the birth
of Luther.

35 The ancient name could not have been _Boötes_! though it is derived
from, and may be a reminiscence of the Hebrew.

36 ARATUS calls him _Arctophylax_, _i.e._, the guardian of Arctos, the
flock of the greater fold, called to‐day the Great Bear:—

“Behind, and seeming to urge on the Bear,
Arctophylax, on earth Boötes named,
Sheds o’er the Arctic car his silver light.”

By some moderns he is mistakenly called _The Waggoner_. Hence the
allusion of Thompson:—

“Wide o’er the spacious regions of the North,
Boötes urges on his tardy wain.”

This perversion scarcely does justice even to human common sense, as
waggoners do not use a sickle for a whip!

37 The constellation is a very brilliant one, having 54 stars, _viz._,
one of the 1st magnitude, six of the 3rd, eleven of the 4th, etc.

The constellation of the _Canes Venatici_ (_the Greyhounds_),
_i.e._, the two dogs (Asterion and Chara), which Boötes holds by a
leash, is quite a modern invention, being added by Hevelius
(1611‐1687). The bright star of the 3rd magnitude in the neck of
Chara, was named “_Cor Caroli_” (_the heart of Charles_) by Sir
Charles Scarborough, physician to Charles II., in honour of Charles
I., in 1649. This is a good example of the almost infinite distance
between the ancient and modern names. The former are full of
mysterious significance and grandeur, while the latter are puerile
in the extreme, almost approaching to the comic! _e.g._, the Air
Pump, the Painter’s Easel, the Telescope, the Triangle, the Fly, the
Microscope, the Indian, the Fox and Goose, the Balloon, the Toucan
(or American Goose), the Compasses, Charles’s Oak, the Cat, the
Clock, the Unicorn, &c. The vast difference can be at once seen
between those designed by the ancients and those added by
astronomers in more recent times.

These new constellations were added, 22 by Hevelius (1611‐1687); and
15 by Halley (1656‐1742). They were formed for the purpose of
embracing those stars which were not included in the ancient
constellations. This shows that the old constellations were not
designed, like the modern ones, merely for the sake of enabling
astronomers to identify the positions of particular stars. In this
case _all_ the stars would have been included. _The object was
exactly the opposite_! Instead of the pictures being designed to
serve to identify the stars, only certain stars were used for the
purpose of helping _to identify the pictures_!

This is another important proof of the truth of our whole argument.

38 See quotation from Dr. Budge, on page 12.

39 And certainly the symbol by which it is still known ♎ is more like
the top of an altar (See _Ara_, Plate XIV.) than a pair of balances,
to which we can trace no resemblance whatever. See Note in the
Appendix.

40 _Antares_ seems also to have been known as _Lesath_.

41 Luke xxii. 53: comp. Col. i. 13 and Eph. vi. 12.

42 In 1604 a new star appeared in the eastern foot of Ophiuchus, but
disappeared again in 1605.

43 There is an ancient Greek fable which calls Ophiuchus Æsculapius,
the son of Apollo. Having restored Hippolytus to life, he was
everywhere worshipped as the god of health, and hence the serpent
entwined around him is, to this day, the symbol of the medical art!
This, however, is, doubtless, another perversion of the primitive
truth that the Coming One in overcoming the serpent, should become
the great healer of all the sorrows of the world, and cause all its
groanings to cease.

44 _Cerberus_, or the serpent with three heads, was placed by Hevelius
(1611‐1687) by the side of Hercules. Bayer had previously placed the
apple branch in his hand. This was symbolical of the golden apples
of _Hesperides_, which he obtained by killing the three‐headed
_hydra_, by whom they were guarded. In our picture these are
combined, and a bow and quiver added from other ancient authorities.

45 In our picture we have combined the two great thoughts, taking the
_harp_ from a picture dug up at Herculaneum, and adding an eagle
soaring up with it.

46 This is the first time that the word “Alleluia” occurs in the New
Testament, and it is praise for judgment executed.

Where is its first occurrence in the Old Testament? In Ps. civ. 35,
where we have the very same solemn and significant connection:—

“Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth,
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless thou the LORD, O my soul,
HALLELUJAH (Praise ye the LORD).”

47 There is a fish tail here. The third Decan of CAPRICORNUS is a fish
(_Delphinus_). There is again a fish (_Piscis Australis_) in the
next sign (AQUARIUS), and then the following sign is PISCES, or the
Fishes. So that the Redeemed Multitudes are presented throughout
this Second Book.

48 When we come to the last chapter of this book we shall see that the
Sun was in the sign of the other sacrificial animal, ARIES, at the
very hour of the Crucifixion. And ARIES sets before us the victory
of “the Lamb that was slain.”

49 The eleventh, because everyone begins to reckon from ARIES, and not
as we have done from VIRGO, as shown by the riddle of the Sphinx.
See page 20.

50 And in great contrast with several modern ones near it, _e.g._, the
Balloon, the Sculptor’s Apparatus, the Microscope, Euclid’s Square,
the Telescope, etc., etc.

51 How inconsistent when there were three such conjunctions in one
year, all in the same sign of PISCES, immediately preceding the
birth of the woman’s Seed; and in addition to this the new star
which had been foretold. See under _Coma_, Pages 36, 37, 38.

52 The figure of _Tapeinosis_, which calls our attention to that fact
that He was delighted thus to be called.

53 There are 113 stars in this sign, none of any great importance; only
one of the 3rd magnitude, five of the 4th, etc.

54 “El Nath” is used by Chaucer as the name of a spring star.

55 TAURUS then marked the Spring Equinox.

56 “Thy beauty; for it was perfect through My comeliness, which I put
upon thee (Jerusalem), saith the LORD” (Ezek. xvi. 14).

57 Those who interpret the Queen here of the Church as the Bride,
interpret the “Virgins” in Matt. xxv. of the Bride also. But how
inconsistent! If the “Virgins” be the Church in Matt. xxv., then
where is the Bride? If the Queen is the Bride (the Church) in Ps.
xlv., then who are the “virgins her companions”? Both cannot be the
correct interpretation. In fact, both are wrong, and hence the
_confusion_. The Bride must be interpreted by the Old Testament
scriptures, and the Prophecies which belong to Israel must not be
robbed and given to the Church. They cannot be thus diverted without
bringing confusion into the Scripture, and causing loss to our
souls.

58 See Job xxxix. 14, 15, where it is said, the ostrich “leaveth her
eggs in the dust, forgetting that the foot may crush them, or that
the wild beast may break them.”

59 The others have names, but they were given by the Greeks from the
names of the seven daughters of _Atlas_ and _Pleione_. The Hyades
were their sisters. Together they tell us that the saints will be
secure with this mighty Lord when he comes to rule.

60 The Pleiades and Hyades are sometimes spoken of as constellations,
but this is a mistake; they are integral parts of Taurus.

61 See Jer. xxx. 21; and Matt. xxi. 10.

62 The star ζ (in the belt) is called _Mintaka_, _dividing_, as a
sacrifice. (Lev. viii. 2.)

63 Note, that—

In a and _a_, we have the rising of Israel;
In b and _b_, the light that is come upon her;
In c and _c_, the glory of the LORD; and
In d and _d_, the darkness of the world.

64 It is also reckoned in the horn of Taurus.

65 The same as in 2 Sam. iv. 1.

66 Our English “Sir” is derived from this word.

67 _Euphratean Stellar Researches_.

68 Marg., “_the captives of the just_,” or, as read by _the Vulg._ and
_Syr._, “_the captives of the terrible_.”

69 The Scarabæus, passing its early existence as a worm of the earth,
and thence issuing as a winged denizen of heaven, was held sacred by
the Egyptians as an emblem of the resurrection of the body.

70 The _Ass_ was the emblem of _Typhon_, the king _who smites_ or _is
smitten_.

71 The word is so rendered in Judges v. 16, in A.V.

72 _Euphratean Stellar Researches_, pp. 8, 9.

73 The Græco‐Judean equivalent of Joshua or Jesus.

74 Jamieson’s _Scientific Display_, &c., p. 58.

75 (1) _Gor_, a lion’s whelp. (2) _Ciphir_, a young lion when first
hunting for himself. (3) _Sachal_, a mature lion in full strength.
(4) _Laish_, a fierce lion. (5) _Labia_, a lioness; and (6) _Arieh_,
an adult lion, having paired, in search of his prey (Nah. ii. 12; 2
Sam. xvii. 10; Num. xxiii. 24).

76 The passage consists really of two members, each of which is
arranged as an introversion, where the subject of 1 corresponds to
7; 2 corresponds to 6; etc.

77 General Vallancey spells _Saros_ שׂערוֹץ, which amounts to 666 by
Gematria! _Viz._, ש = 300 + ע = 70 + ר = 200 + ו = 6 + ץ = 90 = 666.

78 These facts are kindly supplied by Mr. E. W. Maunder, of the Royal
Observatory, Greenwich, who gives another example, as follows:—

In A.D. 586 there were two solar eclipses: on June 22 (Julian) the
old and dying eclipse, and on July 22 (Julian) another (the new
one). A _Saros_ (_viz._, 18 years and 11 days) earlier _there was
only one_, _viz._ on June 11 (Julian), A.D. 568, there being no
eclipse on July 11 of that year.

The last appearance of this new eclipse, which first appeared on
July 22, 586, was on August 28 (Greg.), 1848, so that it had a life
history of 70 _Sari_, amounting to 1,262 years 36 days (after the
Julian dates have been corrected to correspond to the Gregorian).
Thus the eclipse that died, so to speak, on August 28 (Greg.), 1848,
first appeared on July 22 (Julian) in A.D. 586. See an important
article on Eclipses by Mr. E. W. Maunder in _Knowledge_, for October
1893, where other _life‐histories_ of eclipses are given, and the
whole subject of eclipses clearly explained.

79 The relations between 595 years and 1,262 years 36 days, are the
same as the relations between 594 years and 1,260 years. The
difference of the 2 years 36 days is due to the excess of 10.96 days
over the 18 completed years in each _Saros._

80 This is the date which concerns only the _City of Jerusalem_. The
Romans were not completely driven out from _the land_ until Cæsarea
had fallen in 638, when the conquest was finally completed. See
Gibbon’s _Decline and Fall_.

81 This date 636‐7 is a great and important central date, whether we
reckon backwards or forwards; whether we reckon them as _Lunar_,
_Zodiacal_ (360 days), or _Solar_ (365 days) years.

(1.) If we take _Lunar years_ (= 1222‐1/2 Solar)—

(a.) reckoning _backward_, we get to 587 B.C., the very date of the
destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar.

(b.) reckoning _forward_, we get to 1860 A.D., the very date of the
European intervention in the Lebanon, which has brought the Eastern
Question into its present prominent position.

(2.) If we take _Zodiacal years_ (= 1242 Solar)—

(a.) reckoning _backward_ we get to 608 B.C., the date of the battle
of Carchemish (2 Chron. xxxv. 20), when Babylon completed the
conquest of Assyria, and became supreme; utterly shattering all the
hope which Israel had in Egypt.

(b.) reckoning _forward_ brings us to 1879 A.D., when, by the Treaty
of Berlin, Ottoman power received a blow from which it has never
recovered, and which has prepared the way for its extinction.

(3.) If we take _Solar years_, then—

(a.) reckoning _backward_, we get to B.C. 624 (A.M. 3376), the
beginning of the Babylonian kingdom, the “head of gold.”

(b.) reckoning _forward_ we get to 1896‐7 A.D., which is yet future.

These reckonings in their _beginnings_ and _endings_ form an
_introversion_, or _Epanodos_, thus:—

587 B.C. ... 606 B.C. ... 624 B.C. ... dates increasing.

1860 A.D. ... 1879 A.D. ... 1896‐7 A.D. ... dates increasing.

The _Solar_ reckonings are the more important dates; the _Lunar_ are
next in significance; while _Zodiacal_ reckonings furnish us with
dates which, to say the least, fit neatly into their places.

82 These dates are those furnished by the Monuments, as given by Dr.
Budge, of the British Museum, in his _Babylonian Life and History_,
R.T.S., 1885. They also agree with the dates dug up by Sir Henry
Rawlinson in 1862, consisting of fragments of seven copies of the
famous “Eponym Canon of Assyria,” by which the Assyrian chronology
has been definitely settled. Before this, historians had to be
content with inferences and conjectures.

83 In adjusting the A.M. and B.C. dates, the latter are always
apparently one year in advance of the former, because B.C. 4000 was
A.M. 1, and B.C. 3999 was A.M. 2. Hence A.M. 3376 is not B.C. 624,
but it is B.C. 625.

84 Cyrus took Babylon, according to the Monuments, in the 17th year of
Nabonidus, B.C. 539. 1 Maccabees i. begins the first of Alexander
from the death of Darius Codomannus in A.M. 3672. This would
slightly vary the above distribution of the years of separate
duration.

85 In passing from B.C. dates to A.D. dates, _one year must always be
deducted_, _e.g._, from B.C. 2 to A.D. 2 is only _three_ years, not
four! Thus—

From Jan. 1 B.C. 2 to Jan. 1 B.C. 1 is one year.

From Jan. 1 B.C. 1 to Jan. 1 A.D. 1 is one year.

From Jan. 1 A.D. 1 to Jan. 1 A.D. 2 is one year.

These make only _three_ years.

Hence, B.C. 31 to A.D. 636 is 666 years, not 667.

86 While the _premisses_ of the Historicist school are thus
strengthened, their _conclusions_ are shown to be erroneous.

87 And cause sacrifice and oblation to cease (Dan. ix. 27). We know
that is referred, by historicists, to the Messiah. But they are not
entitled to so interpret this passage unless they take with it viii.
11, xi. 31, and xii. 11, where the same event is distinctly referred
to, and is spoken, not of Christ, but of Antichrist.

88 See ARATOS, line 440.

89 As proved by Mr. Robt. Brown, junr., in his _Remarks on the
Euphratean Astronomical Names of the Signs of the Zodiac_ (p. 16).

90 By the kind permission of Mr. Robt. Brown, junr., _The Celestial
Equator of Aratos_, p. 466.

91 See this shown on the cover of this book.

92 Menant, _Empreintes de Cachets Assyro‐Chaldéens_, 9. “Sur un contrat
daté du 8 Tisri, de l’année de Bin‐takkil‐ani, 690 ou 645 avant
J.C.”

93 _Researches on the Euphratean Astronomical Names of the Signs of the
Zodiac_, p. 17.

94 In _Georgica_, i. 33.

95 AP PETAVIUS, _Uranologion_, 168, “_The claws, called by the
Egyptians Zugon_,” _i.e._, _the yoke_ that joins any two things
together.