Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

Miscellanies Upon Various Subjects by John Aubrey
page 17 of 195 (08%)
Sir Humphrey Davenport was born the 7th of July; and on that day
anniversary, his father and mother died, within a quarter of an hour
one of another. Same memoirs.

I have seen an old Romish MSS. prayer-book, (and shewed the same to
that general scholar, and great astrologer, Elias Ashmole, Esq.;) at
the beginning whereof was a Calendar wherein were inserted the unlucky
days of each month, set out in verse. I will recite them just as they
are, sometimes infringing the rule of grammar, sometimes of Prosodia;
a matter of which the old monkish rhymers were no way scrupulous.
It was as ancient as Henry the sixth, or Edward the fourth's time.

January "Prima dies mensis, & septima truncat ut ensis".
February "Quarta subit mortem, prostemit tertia fortem."
March. "Primus mandentem, disrumpit quarto, bibentem".
April "Denus & undenus est mortis vulnere plenus".
May "Tertius occidit, & Septimus ora relidit".*
June "Denus pallescit, quindenus feeders nescit".
July. "Ter-decimus mactat, Julij denus labefactat."
August. "Prima necat fortem, prostemit secunda cohortem".
September "Tertia Septembris & denus fert mala membris".
October. "Tertius & denus est, sicut, mors alienus".
November. "Scorpius est quintus, & tertius e nece cinctus".
December. "Septimus exanguis, virosus denus & anguis".
* Ex re & ledo.

The tenth verse is intolerable, and might be mended thus.

"Tertia cum dena sit sicut mors aliena".

DigitalOcean Referral Badge