Space and Time: An Early Modern Tour

Making Time

Making Time

Today, checking the time is simple: we carry the hours around with us on our phones or watches, to read at a glance. We know, abstractly, that a day is the time it takes for the earth to revolve once on its axis – or, in observable terms, the time it takes for the sun to return to the same position in the sky. But how often does the average person today really think about the passing of time in terms of the astronomical changes it represents?

Time and space were once intrinsically intertwined. Checking the time involved a direct observation of the changing skies, whether that be the shadow of the sun on a sundial or the sighting of stars with an astrolabe. Calendars and almanacs would provide the phases of the moon, or the position in the Zodiac of the sun, alongside dates of Christian feast days or important dates for agriculture. People thought a lot more about space and space interacted with a lot more aspects of their lives.

The early modern era (loosely defined as c.1500-1700 CE) marked a continuation of the scientific curiosity and developments of the medieval era. The centuries preceding saw an increased interest in classical scientific texts, and their renewed study through new Latin translations. New translations of Arabic scientific works also became highly popular in Europe, and medieval religious centres began to collect, produce and distribute scientific knowledge. This foundation for the study of the natural sciences, of which astronomy was a vital part, laid the groundwork for the early modern developments and debates. Some of these concepts are still a part of modern science, while others now seem completely wacky.

This exhibition explores the many ways that time and space were observed in the early modern era, and how these observations were utilised by scholars and by the general public in the study and understanding of the world.

Time Machines

Time Machines

How were space and time monitored? How did space inform time-telling? How did this change with developments in time-telling technology?

Astrolabes

The astrolabe is the original computer, the oldest and most versatile of the time machines in this exhibition. With hundreds of functions, they were the tool of the astronomer, the timekeeper, the farmer and the navigator, amongst many others. With an astrolabe, you could find the locations in the sky of the fixed stars, tell the time for crops to be planted, and calculate tide times.

There are two main parts of an astrolabe: the rete, a map of the stars; and a plate which is inscribed with a projection of the earth’s surface, and usually a horizon line. Everything above the line is visible and everything below it is hidden. Astrolabes with a single plate were designed to work at a single latitude, but the addition of further interchangeable plates could enable an astrolabe to be used at many latitudes. A moveable rule allowed measurements to be taken based on the date and time. An alidade, or sighting device, allowed angles of celestial objects to be measured and from those, the time of day could be calculated.

Astrolabes were in use since classical antiquity, with many developments in their production and function coming out of the early medieval Middle East. Western medieval poet, Chaucer (c.1340-1400), wrote a treatise on the astrolabe, explaining how it could be used to make astronomical calculations. It is likely based on a Latin translation of the work of 8th century Arabic mathematician and astronomer, Messahala.

The astrolabe is the ultimate embodied connection with the night sky, showing physically the movements of the stars from our vantage point and how these correspond to our time and seasonal measurements.

John Blagrave’s The mathematical jewel (London, 1585)
A Universal Astrolabe: John Blagrave’s The mathematical jewel (London, 1585)

The mathematical jewel represents the work of John Blagrave, mathematician and instrument maker, to create a universal astrolabe that would work at any latitude, which he called his ‘jewel’. This page shows his design for the rete of the astrolabe. The rete is a cut out plate which rotates over the fixed latitude plate and acts as a moveable star map. It marks the locations of specific stars and usually has a ring which shows the ecliptic: the path of the sun through the signs of the zodiac in the course of the year. Kk.3.4

Volvelles

Unlike the other ‘time machines’, there is no standard function for a volvelle: they are simply circular slide charts which assist in calculations of various kinds. It would be impossible to list all their various functions but some examples of uses include: determining the position of the sun and moon, the times they rise and set, calculating tide times, calculating the dates of Sundays of a given year, or the time of night without using the sun.

However, the most common type, and one of the more versatile, was the lunar volvelle. Examples of their many uses include: determining the position of the sun and moon; finding the length of light or dark hours on a specific day; calculating the altitude of the sun at its height; and finding the time at night by the moon’s sundial shadow. Like astrolabes, lunar volvelles were designed to work on a given latitude, but unlike astrolabes they did not have plates that could be changed out.

Due to their fragility, many early volvelles have not survived intact, and of those in the St John’s collections, the majority are missing vital elements. St John’s MS E.26, a 15th century book of hours, has a space for a volvelle, although its discs are missing. It is therefore not display alongside the volvelles of other functions below, but an image of a lunar volvelle

Flat pack volvelles from Johannes de Sacrobosco’s De sphaera mundi and commentaries (Paris, 1564)
Flat pack volvelles from Johannes de Sacrobosco’s De sphaera mundi and commentaries (Paris, 1564)

First written in the early 1200s, De sphaera was one of the most popular astronomical texts of the early modern period, receiving hundreds of editions over the course of the sixteenth century. Its descriptions are based on the geocentric model, which sees Earth at the centre orbited by the planets, moon and the sun – whose orbit sits between Venus and Mars. At points, the text directs its readers to carry out demonstrative calculations with their astrolabes, for example to find the earth’s circumference. This edition includes a printed plate which was intended to be cut up and assembled into various different volvelles. In this copy, it remains intact. Kk.11.13(1)

A volvelle for timekeeping in John Seller’s An epitome of the art of navigation (London, 1681)
A volvelle for timekeeping in John Seller’s An epitome of the art of navigation (London, 1681)

This volvelle allows the hour of the night to be calculated without the need for the sun, by taking the measurements of the Great Bear – the constellation Ursa Major, a portion of which is commonly called the Plough. Kk.13.15

Volvelles to map the sky from Vincent Wing and William Leybourn’s  Urania practica: or, Practical astronomie (London, 1649)
Volvelles to map the sky from Vincent Wing and William Leybourn’s  Urania practica: or, Practical astronomie (London, 1649)

This volvelle can be used to calculate the location of the sun and moon by date. It is included in a textbook which provides instruction in astronomy, geography and navigation using celestial objects for reference. Kk.10.20

Armillary Spheres

An armillary sphere is a visual explanatory model for the changes to the celestial bodies that are observed from earth. About the centre is a ring representing the horizon, and when the latitude is set, everything above the horizon is visible and everything below the horizon is hidden. The point at which the sun (or other celestial body) intersects with the horizon line shows where and when it will rise, and where it intersects with the meridian line shows its altitude at midday. It can be used to calculate what time an object will rise or set relative to local solar noon, the length of a day, and the altitude of the Sun or stars.

Armillary Spheres in George Adams’ Astronomical and geographical essays (London, 1789)
Armillary Spheres in George Adams’ Astronomical and geographical essays (London, 1789)

Pictured here are two types of armillary sphere. The one on the right contains at its centre a globe, and surrounded by a sphere representing the sky. Offset at an angle to the other rings is the ecliptic, which is marked with the months and the signs of the Zodiac and tracks the movements of the sun throughout the year. A common armillary sphere sits in a ring representing the horizon and can be oriented relative to this ring to set the latitude of the observer. On this model, the latitude is set by means of a graded scale attached to the base by which the latitude can be set. The sphere on the left contains a miniature orrery. 4.22.9

Orreries

An orrery was not a calculating tool, but rather a demonstrative or teaching tool, designed to show a model of the movements of the planets. Most orreries contained the inner planets – those between the earth and the sun – but grand orreries did exist which showed the outer planets as well.

The orrery in John Harris’s Astronomical dialogues between a gentleman and a lady (London, 1719)
The orrery in John Harris’s Astronomical dialogues between a gentleman and a lady (London, 1719)

 

Pictured here is an orrery that shows the earth, moon and sun, and the inner planets. This guide to the principles of astronomy was written as a dialogue between ‘a gentleman and a lady’, which is as funny as it sounds. The movements of the orrery are used by the title gentleman to demonstrate to his lady interlocutor the workings of the solar system.

One of the best exchanges – although there is stiff competition – is when the lady complains that sunspots hide the face of the sun and the gentleman uses the opportunity to simultaneously criticise the 18th century practice of wearing fabric patches to hide blemishes, and to flirt with his student: ‘I am as angry at Patches in a good Face, as you are at Spots in the Sun; and for your Reason, because I would not have any part of it hidden from me.’

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Clocks

The clock is the ultimate time machine. Rather than measuring astronomical changes, like a sundial or an astrolabe, clocks measured time completely independently. Before the kind of clocks that we are now familiar with, there were other forms of early timekeeping devices which didn’t require an astronomical reference. These included candle clocks, which measured time by what proportion of a candle had melted; water clocks, which used the flow of water, and hourglasses, which did the same with the flow of sand. They did not usually last long, and so either acted as timers or were reset according to astronomical time.

Developments in clock-making improved the accuracy of the devices and the amount of time that they could run for. In their later incarnations, they required very little in terms of maintenance and resetting in order to keep time. With the new ubiquity of clocks by the end of the 17th century, the tracking of time was suddenly much less connected to astronomical changes and this started to change how people thought about time.

Developments in clock-making solved basic issues of reliability, with the invention of the escapement to conserve energy and modulate the timing of the clock in combination with the pendulum. Where early clocks only had a single hand to represent the hour, the increase in accuracy also allowed the addition of a minute hand in the late 1600s. However, these improvements made clocks so accurate that they were now able to observe and appear affected by astronomical discrepancies. The length of a solar day – the time it takes for the sun to return to the same position in the sky – varies over the course of the year as it is affected by the earth’s elliptical orbit. These discrepancies became much more noticeable as the cumulative effect became visible over the course of the clock’s running.

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A Challenge from Space: John Smith’s Horological disquisitions concerning the nature of time (London, 1694)
A Challenge from Space: John Smith’s Horological disquisitions concerning the nature of time (London, 1694)

 

Space Travel/Time Travel

Space Travel/Time Travel

What’s the point of tracking time and space?

Early modern people had a very different understanding of the study of space than we do. Today, the word astronomy describes the study of physical objects and phenomena in space, including mapping the movements of stars and planets, the discovery and classification of celestial bodies, and the prediction of astronomical events, like comets and eclipses. Astrology refers to how these planetary bodies are believed to affect the ‘sublunary’ world – including the lives of people, their health, the health of their livestock, the weather and even future events.

However, for the majority of the early modern period, the words astronomy and astrology were used interchangeably, and the study of space and time could tell you a lot more about the world than just its physical aspect. In many ways, what we would now consider astronomy was a means to an end: the ends being the astrological influences that could be inferred from the locations of the planets and stars. There was very little doubt that the celestial bodies did indeed impact the sublunary world, and instead the major distinction was between natural and judicial astrology.

Natural astrology

Natural astrology was ‘the calculation and prediction of natural phenomena and meteorological events – such as the measurement of time, the times of tides and eclipses – on the basis of astronomical observations’. It is much more analogous to the modern understanding of astronomy, as the study of physical phenomena in space. But natural astrology also included the effect of the stars on the weather, animal behaviour, the health of humans and animals, the medical properties of herbs and the treatment of patients. It played a vital role in the study of natural sciences, impacting medicine and meteorology.

Judicial astrology

Judicial astrology aligns much more closely with the modern concept of astrology as ‘the art of foretelling or counselling in human affairs by interpretation of the motions of the planets and stars’. By observation of the stars, and the creation of natal charts and horoscopes, the future (and the past) can be observed. Judicial astrology became controversial much more quickly than natural astrology, as it found itself in conflict with the Bible’s prohibition of divination – although it did retain its staunch defenders.

Navigation

Before the invention of our modern navigation systems, navigation was an art which relied heavily on tracking the positions of the stars. By the measurement of angles between known celestial bodies and the horizon, the position on the earth could be calculated. These methods of navigation were purely scientific, and are still as useful and applicable nowadays as they were in the early modern period.

Seeing the past

Because it was presumed that the heavens acted predictably, it was therefore considered possible to extrapolate backwards to any given date and to calculate the positions of the heavenly bodies at any moment in the past. It was popular for natal charts to be made which showed these celestial relationships, which in turn could be used to answer questions or reveal details about a person – in much the same as modern astrology still uses birth charts. This was a form of judicial astrology.

John Butler’s Christologia, or, A brief (but true) account of the certain year, moneth, day and minute of the birth of Jesus Christ (London, 1671)
John Butler’s Christologia, or, A brief (but true) account of the certain year, moneth, day and minute of the birth of Jesus Christ (London, 1671)

 

In this book, astrologer John Butler attempts to pin down the exact year, date and time of Christ’s birth, and to read from that hidden truths about his life, personality and even looks. Uncovering these lost details of Christ’s life was intended to bring Christians closer to the real Jesus in religious meditation. This, however, was not universally accepted as a valid part of Christian practice, and John Butler did receive criticism for his work.

Displayed here is the chart which Butler draws up to represent the moment of Jesus’ birth. Throughout the book, he explains what all this signifies according to the science of astrology. From these signs, he dubiously extrapolates Jesus to have fair hair, a fair complexion and grey eyes.

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Seeing the present

One of the most popular printed forms in the early modern period was the almanac, which provided vital information relating to the heavens. Before the printing press, almanac production was a much more involved process. Each text was handwritten, and so early almanacs were usually reusable tables of the movements of celestial bodies which allowed their positions for any given year to be calculated – though these calculations were inconvenient and lengthy. With the introduction and proliferation of the printing press, creating almanacs became less labour- and time-intensive, and so disposable almanacs for individual years could be produced which did not require lengthy calculations to use. These provided the locations of the celestial bodies including the sun and moon, tide times, and also, frequently, astrological data like weather predictions and bloodletting tables.

Another problem in the early modern era was that there was no guarantee that different countries were using the same calendar– which meant something as seemingly unambiguous as the day of the year could actually end up causing a lot of confusion. In 1582, the Catholic Church adopted the Gregorian calendar, but England, no longer a Catholic country after Henry VIII’s break with Rome, refused until 1752. Almanacs were a way of bridging this gap and easing the confusion over dates between countries using the Julian vs Gregorian calendar, which was ‘necessarie for all estates, whosoeuer that hath cause to trauel, trade, or traffique into any nation which hath alreadie receyued this new kalender’.

William Farmer’s The common almanacke or kalender, drawen foorth for this yeere. (London, 1587)
William Farmer’s The common almanacke or kalender, drawen foorth for this yeere. (London, 1587)

 

This is an example of an almanac created for the year 1587. It contains the equivalent Julian and Gregorian dates, the phases of the moon, and its location in the sky. It also contains a ‘prognostication’ of future events, including the prediction of an eclipse, and rules for administering medicines.

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Seeing the future

Almanacs did not only provide strict astronomical data but also astrological interpretations of celestial events. The knowledge which could be read in the stars was considered nearly unlimited, and the predictions that could be made ranged from the future weather (a practice called astrometeorology), to the events of the ensuing centuries. Mapping the stars for the past, present and future enabled the prediction of future events. Popular figures such as the still widely-known Nostradamus and John Dee and the now obscure William Lilly and John Goad, all made careers out of their astrological work and divination.

John Goad’s Astro-meteorologica, or Aphorism's and discourses of the bodies cœlestial, their natures and influences (London, 1686)
John Goad’s Astro-meteorologica, or Aphorism's and discourses of the bodies cœlestial, their natures and influences (London, 1686)

 

One popular belief was that the celestial bodies influenced the weather, known as astrometeorology. It was believed that, just as the moon affects the tides, the planets and stars could affect the atmosphere. Each planet had specific properties which it was believed to pass on to the weather, combinations of which would create weather conditions like fog, storms, hurricanes or droughts. As celestial movements were predictable, these calculations could therefore be done in advance of a date, helping to shape yearly plans for agriculture. Astrometeorology became popular in the West in the medieval era, with the translation of the works of Ptolemy into Latin, and remained so for many centuries afterwards.

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Nostradamus was a 16th century French astrologer who became well-known throughout Europe for his prophecies and as a publisher of almanacs. Like many people at the time, he believed that the future could be read in the stars. His method of prophecy involved comparing the positions of planets during past events to those in the future, assuming seeing the same configurations as in the past would cause those events to repeat again. Even after Nostradamus’s death in 1566, his work remained popular, hence this edition of his prophecies printed in London over a hundred years later.

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The true prophecies or prognostications of Michael Nostradamus, physician to Henry II. Francis II. and Charles IX. Kings of France, and one of the best astronomers that ever were (London, 1672)
The true prophecies or prognostications of Michael Nostradamus, physician to Henry II. Francis II. and Charles IX. Kings of France, and one of the best astronomers that ever were (London, 1672)

 

William Lilly’s Catastrophe mundi: or, Merlin reviv'd : in a discourse of prophecies & predictions, and their remarkable accomplishment (London, 1683)
William Lilly’s Catastrophe mundi: or, Merlin reviv'd : in a discourse of prophecies & predictions, and their remarkable accomplishment (London, 1683)

 

William Lilly was another future-telling astrologer whose analysis of the stars informed his prophecy. This book features a collection of obscure woodcuts, or ‘hieroglyphics’, which contained his visions of the future, first published in 1651. The scene displayed here shows two figures over a fire being doused, and a horoscope diagram without astronomical details is pictured in the background.

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Time heals all wounds

Another reason to keep track of the heavenly bodies was the practice of medicine. Not only were the stars and planets navigational tools, time tellers, and portents of the future, but, as with the weather, they were also believed to affect the sublunary or earthly world, particularly earthly bodies. Understanding the stars was as vital in medicine as understanding the physical human body.

An important idea in medicine in the early modern period was the concept of the macrocosm-microcosm: the human body was understood to represent the universe on a small scale, and be represented by the universe. Each celestial object ruled over some part of the human body, for example Aries ruled the head and Pisces the feet. Days of the week and times of the day were also ruled by celestial objects. Depending on which disease you wished to cure or which body part you intended to treat, there were suitable and unsuitable times.

Veterinary medicine in Henry Season’s Speculum anni, or, Season on the seasons : being an almanack for the year of our Lord 1763 (London, 1763)
Veterinary medicine in Henry Season’s Speculum anni, or, Season on the seasons : being an almanack for the year of our Lord 1763 (London, 1763)

 

This almanac provides a table for when and where it is suitable to treat cattle according to the astrological signs. This is one of the later books on display in this exhibition, being published in 1763, yet it still retains these aspects of folk astrology that were beginning to lose popularity.

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Pictured here is a Zodiac man – a conventional diagram showing which astrological signs ruled over specific body parts. It is an example of the macrocosm-microcosm analogy, with the human body being represented and influenced by the signs of the Zodiac. Images such as these were common in medical and astrological works, and alongside calendars or in Books of Hours from the medieval era.

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The Zodiac Man in Robert Fludd’s Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia (Oppenheim, 1617-1619)
The Zodiac Man in Robert Fludd’s Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia (Oppenheim, 1617-1619)

 

Nicholas Culpeper’s The English physitian enlarged (London, 1671)
Nicholas Culpeper’s The English physitian enlarged (London, 1671)

 

Nicholas Culpeper was a 17th century physician and astrologer who wrote The Complete Herbal in 1653 which remained one of the most popular herbals – books containing the names, descriptions and uses of plants. Culpeper also wrote The English physitian, which was later revised into this book, The English physitian enlarged, which contained descriptions of plants and their uses, and also which planets they were ruled by and their resulting effects. The entry on display is for the garden carrot, which is ruled by the planet Mercury. Read the ‘Government and Vertues’ section to discover what it was used for.

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Chiromancy – more often now known as palmistry – was an example of the macrocosm-microcosm. As well as interpreting the lines of the hand, parts of the hand had astrological correspondences which guided their interpretation and could tell both current ailments and future concerns.

This book also contains a treatise on how the astrological signs that one is born under affects one’s appearance. This is the kind of science and understanding of astrology which would have influenced John Butler when he was interpreting Jesus’ natal chart for his Christologia (1671).

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Johannes ab Indagine, translated by Fabian Withers Briefe introductions, both naturall, pleasant, and delectable unto the arte of chiromancy, or manuell divination, and phisiognomy (London, 1598)
Johannes ab Indagine, translated by Fabian Withers Briefe introductions, both naturall, pleasant, and delectable unto the arte of chiromancy, or manuell divination, and phisiognomy (London, 1598)

 

Scepticism

Scepticism

What started to change over the early modern period?

But you will not allow me then to believe any Astrologic Influences?

Not any at all, said I, Madam, for they serve only to nurse Superstition, to fill us with false Fears, deceive us with vain Hopes, and to excite a dangerous Curiosity, and an unreasonable Inquisitiveness into Futurities; and it is indeed, in effect, either making the Stars so many Deities, and consequently running into some of the worst Sorts of the Idolatry of the Heathens; or else 'tis introducing the Notions of a Physical Fatality, and banishing out of our Minds all Religious and moral Notions.

John Harris, Astronomical dialogues (London, 1719)

Over the early modern period, significant shifts began to take place in the understanding of the natural sciences. This is not to say that prior to this period no challenges were made against the credibility of astrology. The medieval period, too, saw lively debate about the role of astrology with respected thinkers holding a plethora of stances both for and against. However, this early scepticism and criticism tended to be levelled primarily against judicial astrology, rather than the idea of astrological influences generally.

The reasons for this controversy were twofold: the first argument was that being able to read human affairs in the stars was incompatible with the fundamental Christian principle of people’s free will. The second was that reading the stars was a form of divination, done by consorting with spirits or demonic influences, and therefore condemned by the Bible. Others argued that the Bible itself had stories of signs from the stars – even predictors of Jesus’ birth. There is therefore a tension between what is considered permitted and what is prohibited, which scholars continued to debate, even well into the 17th century.

Thomas Swadlin’s Divinity no enemy to astrology (1653), on display here, responds to these charges arguing that the heavens are a natural part of God’s creation and so any messages there must have been created by God. He also debates the point of free will, arguing that the astrological influences can be shaped by a person’s will.

However, the pushback against judicial astrology marked the start of trend that would damage the reputation of astrology more generally. Over the 17th century the meanings of astronomy and astrology began to diverge, and the general attitude became increasingly critical towards the idea of astrological influences, including those of natural astrology. The growing market for print provided the perfect stage for these debates, from pamphlets to book-length refutations of every possible argument. Astrology retained its staunch supporters but the tide of opinion was changing.

By end of the 17th century, the meanings of astrology and astronomy had separated: astronomy remained a popular and respected science, while astrology was relegated to the realm of pseudoscience and superstition. While it continued to have popular and folk appeal, its intellectual credibility was lost.

Thomas Swadlin’s Divinity no enemy to astrology (London, 1653)
Thomas Swadlin’s Divinity no enemy to astrology (London, 1653)

 

Swadlin argues for the study of astrology, from the common argument that the stars are part of nature and therefore God’s creation. It still shows the crossover in meaning between astrology and astronomy in the preface, where he poses the question of ‘Whether the knowledge of Times and Seasons can be had by any meanes, but Astrology’. What is at stake is not whether or not the stars impact our lives – according to him, they unambiguously do – but whether it is acceptable for people to study and read these signs.

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Fighting in the Press 1: John Butler’s Hagiastrologia. Or, The most sacred and divine science of astrology (London, 1680)
Fighting in the Press 1: John Butler’s Hagiastrologia. Or, The most sacred and divine science of astrology (London, 1680)

The status of astrology continued to be debated throughout the 17th and into the 18th century. Here, J. B. (John Butler) responds to a previously published work by Reverend Dr Henry More:

How can the Stars sway our thoughts? And say I, How can the Moon sway and order the Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea, as it is apparent she does, who knows how? for though we read of many conceits in the case, yet how easie is it to confute all those conceits as fond things, over it is for us to say or shew how it is in certain truth.

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Fighting in the Press II: Henry More’s Tetractys anti-astrologica, or, The four chapters in the Explanation of the grand mystery of godliness (London, 1681)
Fighting in the Press II: Henry More’s Tetractys anti-astrologica, or, The four chapters in the Explanation of the grand mystery of godliness (London, 1681)

At this stage, the layers of responses have started to get a bit silly: this is More’s original criticism of astrology reprinted with his new criticisms of John Butler’s criticisms of his original work. Though his target is judicial astrology, he also argues that the stars and planets do not in fact influence the world in the ways that astrologers claim. Where common practice associated each planet with the quality of being either hot or cold, and dry or moist, More criticises thus:

for the Qualities of the Planets, where they define the Sun to be hot and moist, rather than drying, but Mars hot and parchingly dry, and Saturn dry and cold; what will not these impudent Impostors dare to obtrude upon us, when they will vent such stuff as is liable to confutation by our very senses? For does not our very sense tell us that the Sun is the most hot and drying Planet that is?

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