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 Poeticall rising and setting of the starres. Chap. 35.

DEfine what the Poeticall rising and set∣ting is.

The Poeticall rising is the appearing of some starre aboue the Horizon, deter∣mined by the sunne, and the Poeticall set∣ting, is either the going downe of some starre vnder the Horizon, or else the hiding thereof vnder the beames of the sunne.

How manifold is the Poeticall rising and setting?

Thréefold, that is, Cosmicus, Acronicus, and Heliacus, the signification of which wordes shall appeare vnto you by the defini∣tions of the foresaid thrée kindes here following: For ortus Cos∣micus, called in Latine mundanus, which is asmuch to say here as the worldly or morning rising, is when any starre riseth in the morning aboue the Horizon, together with the sunne, or rather with that point of the Ecliptique line wherein the sunne is at that time. And the Cosmicall setting, called in Latine occasus Cosmi∣cus, is when a starre goeth downe vnder the Horizon at such time as the sunne riseth, so as this kind of rising and setting is wholly to be referred to the rising of the sunne.

What is Ortus and occasus Acronicus?

Ortus Acronicus which is as much to say as the Euening or temporall rising, is when any starre riseth aboue the Horizon in the Euening at the going down of the sunne: And occasus Acro∣nicus, that is to say, the Euening setting is when any starre go∣eth downe vnder the Horizon, together with the sunne, and ther∣fore this kind is alwaies to be referred to the going downe of the sunne, and not to his rising: And whatsoeuer signe or starre doth rise Acronicè, the same goeth downe Cosmicè, and whatsoeuer starre doth rise Cosmicè, the same goeth downe Acromicè. And generally all starres that rise in the day time, are saide to rise Cosmicè, and all those that rise in the Euening after the sunne set, are said to rise Acronicè.

What is Ortus & occasus Heliacus.

Ortus Heliacus, that is to say, the Solar rising, is when any star by departing from the beames of the Sun appeareth, & may be séen, which before being darkned by the sunne could not be séen, And occasus Heliacus, is when any starre by the nigh approching of the sunne ceaseth to bee séene, for by reason that the sunne by his yearely course & oblique motion of the Ecliptique, doth some∣time approch to diuerse starres, and sometime by little and little retireth backe againe from the same, it falleth out that those stars to whom he approcheth, are by nighnesse of his great light, dark∣ned and not séene, and by his departing from them, and especially when the sunne is in the East or West part of the firmament, they beginne againe to be séene. And therefore as in the other 2. kinds, the Horizon together with the rising and setting of the sunne, are to be considered as chiefe causes thereof, so in this last kinde the chiefe cause is to be referred to the highnesse or farrenesse of the sunne from the starre.

Whereto serueth the knowledge of this threefold Poeti∣call rising and setting of the starres?

It serueth chiefely to vnderstand thereby those Poets and Hi∣stroriographers, which in shewing the time of any act done or to be done, doe not set downe the day of the moneth, but are wont to describe the time by the rising or setting of some notable starre, which they thinke most méete for their purpose, and thereby doe greatly adorne their stile, and specially being poeticall: And be∣cause that the times wherein such starres did rise or set, do great∣ly differ in these dayes from the auncient times. Many therefore of our moderne writers, as Garceus and others, haue made di∣uese Tables of purpose to finde out the difference, and thereby to come to the true knowledge of the times by the auncient men de∣scribed, of which matter I leaue to speake, thinking it not méete to trouble young Saylers therewith, for whom I chiefely wrote this Treatise of the Spheare.

Yet some affirme that the auncient men did vse the fore∣said poeticall rising and setting of certaine starres, and speci∣ally of the Pleiades, Hiades, Orion, Arcturus, Capella, and Lira, (which starres were to them best knowne) as a Kalender not onely to know thereby the difference of times, and seasons of

the yeare: but also by their manner of rising, setting, hiding, and appearing to prognosticate and to fore-see tempests and stormes, yea and that in these daies wee also (as some write) might doe the like, though there were neither Kalender nor Ephemerides, and in that respect the knowledge hereof see∣meth most necessarie for Mariners.

All such things are to be knowne more exactly by the Astrono∣micall ascention and descention, then by the Poeticall rising or set∣ting of the starres: And you haue to vnderstande that the starres since those dayes haue changed their places, their longitudes, and declinations, and thereby in diuerse respects haue altered their Natures and qualities, yea and the very signes themselues: As for example, neither Taurus, Gemini, nor Cancer, is so hoat and dry now, as in times past, neither doth Scorpio cause so much thunder now, as in times past, some againe are more or lesse cold and moyst then they haue béene heretofore, the causes whereof I leaue to the discussing of the Astrologers, and so once againe ende with this matter.