M. Blundevile his exercises containing sixe treatises, the titles wherof are set down in the next printed page: which treatises are verie necessarie to be read and learned of all yoong gentlemen that haue not bene exercised in such disciplines, and yet are desirous to haue knowledge as well in cosmographie, astronomie, and geographie, as also in the arte of navigation ... To the furtherance of which arte of navigation, the said M. Blundevile speciallie wrote the said treatises and of meere good will doth dedicate the same to all the young gentlemen of this realme.

Of the Sunne, and of his motion, and of the chiefest appa∣rances belonging to him. Chapter 44.

THe Sunne according to the moouing of the first mooueable which is from East to West maketh his dayly reuolution in 24▪ houres, as all other Starres doe, but according to his owne motion, which is from West to East in going through the twelue Signes of the Zodiaque he spendeth a whole yeare, for his daylie mouing vpon his own center, called the excentrick, because it is out of the center of the world, is little more then 59. minutes, 8. secondes, making thereby the whole yeare to consist of 365. dayes, fiue houres 49. minutes, 8. se∣conds, 19. thirdes, 37. fourths, 24. fiftes, and this is called of Copernicus, the equall tropicall yeare, which taketh his begin∣ning from the first point of Aries, otherwise called the Vernall Equinoxe, into which point the Sunne entreth not euery yeare at one selfe day of the moneth, for sometime hee entreth into that point the tenth day, and sometime the eleuenth day of March,

which day of his entring is alwayes trulie set downe in euerie Ephemerides, and because the beginning of the tropicall yeare is so vncertaine, the Astronomers doe make their yeare called the syderal yeare, to begin at the former star of the Rams horne, and thereby doe make the yeare to consist of 365. dayes. 6 houres 9. minutes and 39. secondes, according to which yeare they alwaies rectifie or bring to equalitie, aswell the equall as the vnequal tro∣picall yeare, of both which I haue spoken in the first part of my Spheare, the 38. and 39. chapters.

Moreouer, the Sunne hath thrée motions, that is, slowe, swift and meane. His slowe motion is when he is in the point called Auge or Apogeon, which is a point imagined to bee nigh vnto the outermost edge of the circle which carrieth the bodie of the Sunne called Deferens Solis, and is furthest distant from the center of the world, which point in these our daies is in the 9. degrée of Cancer, or there abouts. And béeing in that point, he goeth little more than 57. minutes in 24. houres. Againe, his swift motion is when he is in the opposite point to the Auge, called Perigeon, which point in these dayes is in the 9. degree of Capri∣corne, and being in this point, he goeth one whole degree and almost two minutes in 24 houres, which is almost fiue minutes more than he maketh in his slow motion. His meane motion is when he is in the midst betwixt the two foresaid points, wheras in 24. houres he goeth one whole degree & somewhat more than two minutes. And these thrée sundrie motions doe cause the E∣quinoctiall pointes not to be of equall distance. For the Sunne spendeth seuen dayes and somewhat more in going from the E∣quinoxe of March, to the Equinoxe of September, than he doth in going from the Equinoxe of September to the Equinoxe of March. For if in this present yeare 1592. which is leape yeare, you count the dayes from the Vexnall Equinoxe, which is the e∣leuenth of March, vnto the Autumne Equinoxe, which is the 13. of September, you shall find the number of the dayes to be 186. and the other number from the 13. of September to the eleuenth of March, to be but 180. which is lesse than the first number by 6 dayes, and if it were not leape yeare the difference would be seuen dayes, because that Februarie in the leape yeare hath 29. dayes.

It is necessarie that sea men haue some vnderstanding of the

thrée foresaide motions to the intent that they may the better know the true place of the Sunne and thereby his true declina∣tion. And note that no calculation of his declination can conti∣nue without errour aboue twentie foure yeares. For as often as the leape yeare commeth about, which is euerie foure yeares, the Sunne is vppon the Equinoctiall sooner by halfe an houre. But as for the true place of the Sunne, and especially euery day at noontide, the Ephemerides doth most trulie shewe, and ha∣uing his place, you shall easilie finde his declination by this Ta∣ble following, which will serue for these twentie yeares and more, the like whereof, together with the vse of the same is set downe in the first part of my Spheare the 13. chapter.