XLVIII.

French.

La grand Copie qui passera les Monts, _Saturne_, _Aries_, tournant au Poisson _Mars_, Venins cachez sous testes de Moutons, Leur chef pendu a fil de _Polemars_.

English.

The great Army that shall pass over the Mountains, _Saturn_, _Aries_, _Mars_, turning to the Fishes, Poisons hidden in Sheeps heads, Their Captain hang’d with a thred of _Polemars_.

ANNOT.

_Paradin_ relateth in his History, that after the Duke of _Alba_ had relieved _Vulpian_ with Victuals, which was done from the 22. of _July_ to the first of _August_, a Captain of the Emperors Army named _la Trinité_, went out of _Valfrenieres_ the same first day of _August_, to plunder the Countrey of _Piemont_.

He had 400 Horses, and 500 Foot: The news being brought to the Marshal of _Brissac_, he sent out a great number of Horses, who did utterly destroy their Foot, so that but thirty escaped, to carry the news to _Valfrenieres_.

The _Spanish_ Horse, seeing the _French_ in such a fury, ran away, and got some to _Ast_, some to _Alexandria_.

After that, the _Spaniards_ seeking to revenge themselves, took a Castle three miles from _Cazal_, called _Frezene_, or _Fracinet du Pau_, where they hanged up the Captain, put to the sword all the _Italians_, and sent all the _French_ to the _Galleys_.

This proceeding being not according to the Laws of Arms, we may believe, that the victorious discovered a malitious craft of the vanquished, who had left some Sheeps-heads poisoned, to revenge themselves of the victorious, which obliged the _Spaniards_ to serve so the Captain, the _Italians_ and the _French_; and because the _French_ were not so ill used, as the _Italians_, we may judge that the _Italians_ were the chief contrivers of this business.

Therefore the Author foreseeing this, saith, that the great Army of the _French_, which shall go over the Mountains, shall come to this mischief, because of the poison that was hidden in the Sheeps heads.

The Vulgar impression erreth much in putting _Salmons_, for _Muttons_; for every body knoweth that the _Salmons_ do not come into the Mountains of _Montserrat_, and that in the Month of _August_ it is not a meat fit for Souldiers, therefore in stead of _Salmons_, we have put _Muttons_, or Sheep.

_The Captain was hanged with a thread of Polemars_, that is, with a Match, of which, I am perswaded, that one certain _Polemars_ was the Inventor.

The Author saith in the second Verse, that the time when this accident happened, was, when _Saturn_ was in _Aries_, the Vulgar impression putteth _Are_ in stead of _Aries_, but that’s false, therefore set down _Aries_. _Saturn_ was in that Sign in the year 1555. from the 20th of _February_, to the 14th of _July_, where from the 12th degree and four Minutes, he began to retrograde in the same Sign of _Aries_, till the 18th of _November_, so that _Saturn_ was almost all that year in _Aries_.

He saith also that _Mars_ was going back to _Pisces_; because in that same year, _Mars_ that was gone out of the Sign of _Pisces_ from the 19 of _March_ 1554. was retrograding to come back again into it upon the 20th of _January_ 1556.

Thus the Author meaneth, that this accident should happen in the year that _Saturn_ should be in _Aries_, and _Mars_ should be near the Sign of _Pisces_.

And to say truth, in the Month of _August_, _Mars_ was in the Sign of _Scorpio_; upon the 23 of _September_, he entred into that of _Sagitarius_; the third of _November_, into that of _Capricornus_; the 12th of _December_ into that of _Aquarius_; and the year following, _viz._ 1556. into that of _Pisces_; so that _Mars_ was returning into _Pisces_, which is the end of its particular motion.

By this Astrological and Historical discourse we correct the Vulgar impression, which putteth turning from _Pisces_, _Mars_, in stead of which, we put, turning to _Pisces_, _Mars_, which we do by changing only _from_, into _to_, and sheweth us how careful we ought to be in the explication of these Stanza’s, when the time is prefixed to us by Astronomical calculations.

The Authors Phrase doth confirm us in this correction, when he useth this word _turning_, which signifieth the motion that tendeth towards its end, and not the motion that cometh from its end.