LVII.

French.

Sept fois changer verrez gens _Britanique_, Teints en sang en deux cens nonante an, _France_ non point par appuy _Germanique_, _Aries_ double son Pope _Bistarnan_.

English.

Seven times you shall see the _English_ to change, Died in blood, in two hundred ninety year, Not _France_, by the _German_ support, _Aries_ doubleth his _Bastarnan_ Pole.

ANNOT.

The two first Verses concern _England_; the third _France_; the fourth marketh the time by the motion of the Sign of _Aries_, which shall be favourable to _France_.

We shall leave the two first Verses to be interpreted by the _English_ Nation, which is most concerned in it, and come to the last two, which concern _France_.

The third Verse saith that _France_ shall not change as _England_, by reason of the help it shall have from _Germany_, which hath been made good already for these hundred years, notwithstanding the Wars between _Henry_ II. and the _Spaniard_; the Conspiracy of the Protestant party against _Francis_ the II. at _Amboise_; the civil Wars under _Charles_ the IX. the League under _Henry_ III. and _Henry_ IV. the Forrain Wars under _Lewis_ XIII. and _Lewis_ XIV. now Reigning.

The Authors meaning by these words, _but France not_, is, you shall not see _France_ change seven times in two hundred ninety years, as the _Brittish_ nation, and then he giveth the reason of it, _by German help_, that is to say, that _France_ shall have help from _Germany_.

The fourth Verse saith, that during those two hundred ninety years, _Aries doubleth his Bastarnan Pole_, to understand this, we must suppose first that the Sign of _Aries_ ruleth over _France_, _Palestine_, _Bastarnia_, &c.

Secondly, we must learn from _Ptolomy_ and other Geographers, that _Bastarnia_ containeth the people that are towards _Sarmatia_ or _Poland_, which were called by the Ancients, the people of _Admone_, _Sidane_, _Roxolane_, and by others _Peucins_, from the Island _Peuce_, which is in _Istria_.

Thirdly, we must suppose, that the Sign of _Aries_ hath two Poles, the first is that of the Æquinoctial Line, and the second, that of the _Eccliptick_, because the Sign of _Aries_ beginneth just in the Line of the _Equator_, and afterwards stretcheth towards the North. Now it is so that the place where its extension endeth in the Eccliptical Line of the Sun, is called by the Author the _Bastarnan Pole_.

It is a _Pole_ sith in the constellations of Heaven, we call _Poles_, the two ends or extremities of them, and in the constellations of the Zodiack, we call the first Pole that which is next to the Equator, and the second Pole that which stretcheth towards the North, or towards the South in the Eccliptical Line.

In this sense, the first Pole of the Sign of _Aries_, is that which hath its first degree in the Equator; the second is, that which stretcheth towards the North in the Eccliptick, and this last Pole is called _Bastarnan_, because it is Vertical to _Bastarnia_, as the Astrologers set down their Climates, Kingdoms, Provinces and Towns under the twelve Signs.

Fourthly, We must suppose that this word _to double_, may signifie three things. 1. In Sea-mens tearms; it signifieth to go beyond some place, as to double the Cape of _bona Speranza_, which is called in _Italian_, _Tramontare_; that is, to go beyond. 2. It signifieth to do twice the same thing, as _Jacob_ did double his service for _Rachel_, &c. 3. In matter of traveling; it signifieth to go twice as far as is requisite.

_To double_, in this place cannot be understood in the first sense; because the constellations never stretcht out of their compasses, though the Stars of which they are compounded, have their peculiar motions.

To understand this, we must know that the Stars of the Firmament have their peculiar motions from West to East, upon the Pole of the Eccliptick, and that they go that way a matter of one Degree, in the space of about 100 years, and consequently the Stars do retrograde every year in the Eccliptick from West to East 52 Seconds. _Ptolomeus_ holdeth this opinion, but other renowned Astrologers give them more: For my part I am of _Tychobrahe_’s opinion, who allowed them one Degree of retrogradation in 70 years and 7 Months, and consequently 51 Seconds every year.

According to this Doctrine the Star that is in the Horn of _Aries_, was observed by _Tymocharis_ in 2d Degree; 150 years after, _Hipparchus_ observed it in the first; 265 years after, _Ptolomeus_ saw it in the 6 Degree; 740 years after, _Albathognius_ observed it in the 18 Degree; 304 years after, _Alphonsus_ King of _Spain_, found it in the 6 Degree; 265 years after, _Copernicus_ did observe it to be in the 27 Degree and two Minutes; 61 years after, _Tychobrahe_ saw it in the 27 Degree, and above 37 Minutes; so that in the space of 61 years it had gone 35 Minutes.

By this Doctrine we see that the whole constellations do not go beyond their Poles, though the Stars that Compound them change their Poles every year of 51 Seconds.

To double, then here cannot be taken in the first sense, nor in the third sense, for the first reason, it must then be in the second sense; and thus _Aries doubleth his Bastarnan Pole_; that is, _Aries_ maketh twice his Pole, which answereth to _Bastarnia_.

If you ask how it cometh to pass that _Aries_ doubleth this Pole, and in what place of Heaven we set this _Bastarnan Pole_. I answer to the first, that _Aries_ doubleth his Pole, when one of those 13 Stars cometh to that point, which is a Northern or Western Pole to that sign in the Eccliptick. As to the second: I answer, that the place ought to be its last Degree, _viz._ the end of the 30 Degree.

Why? (will you say) did the Author mark that difference of the Sign of _Aries_, rather than that of _Taurus_, or of another?

I answer, that it was in favour of _France_; because _Aries_ doth govern in _France_, and if it hath been favourable to it, when it came first to the _Bastarnan Pole_, it will be so too when it doubleth the same Pole, seeing that it will have the same position and Aspect. Now we see, that in the space of these 100 years, _France_ was not overcome, much less shall it be hereafter, seeing that the Stars do promise its exaltation for a long continuance.

If I were a great Astrologer, I should observe exactly by this, that within the space of 290 years, _Aries shall double his Cape Bastarnan_, and consequently _Aries_ should come to that Pole just in the year 1845. which is according to that we have said.