Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
An Irish Astronomical Tract (Author: [unknown])

Caibidil 40

Do na h-ainminntib fastacha nemcedfadaca

.

Uneuersa animata insensibus ilia etcetera.

.i. Gach uili ni neimcedfadach ag a fuil anim, fedaidh se fas uada fein17, oir dacimaid is na coilltibh & is na cnocaib moran da chinelaib crann ar a fasann toradh uatha fein & gidedh as cruinne & as fearr oilter toiraid na crann cuirid lamha daine na iat. Agus ni fhed crann is in doman fas ach 'na inad & 'na aer nadurtha fein. Agus as e sil na nethead neimhcedfedach ag a fuil anim fastach as cruth adburtha doib, oir dob ail le Dia darinne iat brig silta da beth innta as a fasfadh a gne comhtrom comhcosmail fein tar eis a ceili co brach; & mar sin an trat tuites an sil sin asin talmain attaid se o fliche na feartana ac tuitim air.

As e naduir an usci dul asteach is gac en corp a n-egmais cuirp daingin & bith an grian, ar tedhadh an t-sil sin, ac tarraing a uisceamlachta as, oir as i naduir na greine gac uili uisceamlacht do tharraing suas & fasaidh annsin as in gran, ar na tedadh & ar na fliuchad, an geineamhain nadurtha da bhi a cumhachtaib folaidh don taib astid ann .i. adbur planda, comcosmail ris in planda o tainic fein roimhe & bit an talam a sir tobairt fliucha do a n-inad na fliucha beires an grian uadha & fasaidh annsin brig annsin on da ni sin re n-abar ainim fastac & fasaidh cuislenna as sis re n-abar precmha in a tairriginn se oileamain na talman chuigi. Et an trat tairrnges an grian na fliuchadain cedna, tairrngid le an brig folaidteach & crutaidter di gega & duilleabar & blath & toradh &


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bid a sir fhas mar sin no co scarinn d'fas & an toradh bhis air as as sil & is adbur da letheid sin da plannda aris.

Tri gneithe ata do no nethib fasas .i. cuid dib da tet a n-duilleabar sa geimread & tic orra aris is in t-samradh. An dara gne na teit a n-duilleabar sa geimrid dib na sa t-samradh. Et tres gne teit as gus an en raed sa geimread & fasaid as a sil sin a letheid fein isin t-samrad.

Et adeir ardmaigister na feallsaman .i. Aristoteles gorab tri gneithe ata ar na nethib fastacha nemcedfadacha .i.18


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An Irish Astronomical Tract.

Gloria Deo principio. Glory to God; whose beginning is without beginning, and whose end is without end, to the Person who existed always before everything, who will be eternal after everything, and to Him whom sense or human reason does not attain, to know or recognise what He is.And since He did not wish to remain for ever without manifesting Himself to men, He instructed the learned in His works and arts, so that the worker would be known from the works and the creator from the deeds, and therefore, it is fitting for the learned ones to whom He revealed His secrets to glorify Him above everything.Therefore, let us here begin to examine the difficult, obscure questions of the ancients concerning the works, and in particular we discuss, with the help of the Creator of whom I speak, the characteristics of the firmament and of the four elements, and of their situation and their creation, with very just, forcible arguments and indisputable, irrefutable reasons and conclusions.There are in this book, inclusive, forty chapters, and this is the first chapter of them:—
  1. The creation and manifestation of the firmament.
  2. The four elements and their positions as the Creator ordained them.
  3. Their motions and natures.
  4. Their natures and motions.
  5. The roundness of the four elements.
  6. The disagreement of the four elements and the nature of them.

  7. p.5

  8. The rotundity of the earth and the knowledge of day and night.
  9. The change of the sea and the rivers.
  10. The characteristic of the earth and of the hills.
  11. The characteristic of the waters and the motion of the earth.
  12. The two burning volcanoes.
  13. The flow and ebb of the tide.
  14. The flood of the river Nile in Egypt.
  15. The roundness of the firmament; its motion and its natures.
  16. The revolution of the firmarnent and of the sun.
  17. The change of the firmament.
  18. The circles, lines and points of the firmament.
  19. The difference in sunrise and sunset.
  20. The knowledge of the size of the sun.
  21. The light of the moon, which it borrows from the sun.
  22. The eclipse of the moon.
  23. The light of the constellations.
  24. The eclipse of the sun.
  25. The reason why the moon appears small, and large at its prime.
  26. The characteristic of the light of the moon.
  27. The number of the circles of the moon.
  28. The two spheres of the sun.
  29. All the circles and their motion.
  30. The motion of the very great sphere.
  31. The motion of the sphere of the signs.
  32. The change of nature and of the seasons.
  33. The number of the circles of Saturn and of the other planets.
  34. The retrograde movement of Saturn and the other planets.
  35. The sphere of the stars.
  36. The number of miles around the earth.
  37. The change of the stars in different countries.

  38. p.7

  39. The eight habitable regions of the earth.
  40. The two places where the whole year is one day and one night.
  41. The winds and their nature.
  42. Thunder, clouds, rain and lightning.
  43. The plants.