The Way To Geometry. Petrus Ramus
signifieth the Earth; and Métron, a measure, importeth no more, but as one would say Land-measuring. And Geometra, is but Agrimensor, A land-meter: or as Tully calleth him Decempedator, a Pole-man: or as Plautus, Finitor, a Marke-man.) when as this Art teacheth not only how to measure the Land or the Earth, but the Water, and the Aire, yea and the whole World too, and in it all Bodies, Surfaces, Lines, and whatsoever else is to bee measured.
Now a Measure, as Aristotle doth determine it, in every thing to be measured, is some small thing conceived and set out by the measurer; and of the Geometers it is called Mensura famosa, a knowne measure. Which kinde of measures, were at first, as Vitruvius and Herodo teache us, taken from mans body: whereupon Protagoras sayd, That man was the measure of all things, which speech of his, Saint Iohn, Apoc. 21. 17. doth seeme to approve. True it is, that beside those, there are some other sorts of measures, especially greater ones, taken from other things, yet all of them generally made and defined by those. And because the stature and bignesse of men is greater in some places, then it is ordinarily in others, therefore the measures taken from them are greater in some countries, then they are in others. Behold here a catalogue, and description of such as are commonly either used amongst us, or some times mentioned in our stories and other bookes translated into our English tongue.
Granum hordei, a Barley corne, like as a wheat corne in weights, is no kinde of measure, but is quiddam minimum in mensura, some least thing in a measure, whereof it is, as it were, made, and whereby it is rectified.
Digitus, a Finger breadth, conteineth 2. barly cornes length, or foure layd side to side:
Pollex, a Thumbe breadth; called otherwise Vncia, an ynch, 3. barley cornes in length:
Palmus, or Palmus minor, an Handbreadth, 4. fingers, or 3. ynches.
Spithama, or Palmus major, a Span, 3. hands breadth, or 9. ynches.
Cubitus, a Cubit, halfe a yard, from the elbow to the top of the middle finger, 6. hands breadth, or two spannes.
Ulna, from the top of the shoulder or arme-hole, to the top of the middle finger. It is two folde; A yard and an Elne. A yard, containeth 2. cubites, or 3. foote: An Elne, one yard and a quarter, or 2. cubites and ½.
Pes, a Foot, 4. hands breadth, or twelve ynches.
Gradus, or Passus minor, a Steppe, two foote and an halfe.
Passus, or Passus major, a Stride, two steppes, or five foote.
Pertica, a Pertch, Pole, Rod or Lugge, 5. yardes and an halfe.
Stadium, a Furlong; after the Romans, 125. pases: the English, 40. rod.
Milliare, or Milliarium, that is mille passus, 1000. passes, or 8. furlongs.
Leuca, a League, 2. miles: used by the French, spaniards, and seamen.
Parasanga, about 4. miles: a Persian, & common Dutch mile; 30. furlongs.
Schœnos, 40. furlongs: an Egyptian, or swedland mile.
Now for a confirmation of that which hath beene saide, heare the words of the Statute.
It is ordained, That 3. graines of Barley, dry and round, do make an Ynch: 12. ynches do make a Foote: 3. foote do make a Yard: 5. yardes and ½ doe make a Perch: And 40. perches in length, and 4. in breadth, doe make an Aker: 33. Edwar. 1. De terris mensurandis: & De compositione ulnarum & Perticarum.
Item, Bee it enacted by the authority aforesaid; That a Mile shall be taken and reckoned in this manner, and no otherwise; That is to say, a Mile to containe 8. furlongs: And every Furlong to containe 40. lugges or poles: And every Lugge or Pole to containe 16. foote and ½. 25. Eliza. An Act for restraint of new building, &c.
These, as I said, are according to diverse countries, where they are used, much different one from another: which difference, in my judgment; ariseth especially out of the difference of the Foote, by which generally they are all made, whether they be greater of lesser. For the Hand being as before hath beene taught, the fourth part of the foot whether greater or lesser: And the Ynch, the third part of the hand, whether greater or lesser.
Item, the Yard, containing 3. foote, whether greater or lesser: And the Rodde 5. yardes and ½, whether greater or lesser, and so forth of the rest; It must needes follow, that the Foote beeing in some places greater then it is in other some, these measures, the Hand, I meane, the Ynch, the Yard, the Rod, must needes be greater or lesser in some places then they are in other. Of this diversity therefore, and difference of the foot, in forreine countries, as farre as mine intelligence will informe me, because the place doth invite me, I will here adde these few lines following. For of the rest, because they are of more speciall use, I will God willing, as just occasion shall be administred, speake more plentifully hereafter.
Of this argument divers men have written somewhat, more or lesse: But none to my knowledge, more copiously and curiously, then Iames Capell, a Frenchman, and the learned Willebrand, Snellius, of Leiden in Holland, for they have compared, and that very diligently, many and sundry kinds of these measures one with another. The first as you may see in his treatise De mensuris intervallorum describeth these eleven following: of which the greatest is Pes Babylonius, the Babylonian foote; the least, Pes Toletanus, the foote used about Toledo in Spaine: And the meane betweene both, Pes Atticus, that used about Athens in Greece. For they are one unto another as 20. 15. and 12. are one unto another. Therefore if the Spanish foote, being the least, be devided into 12. ynches, and every inch againe into 10. partes, and so the whole foote into 120. the Atticke foote shall containe of those parts 150. and the Babylonian, 200. To this Atticke foote, of all other, doth ours come the neerest: For our English foote comprehendeth almost 152. such parts.
The other, to witt the learned Snellius, in his Eratosthenes Batavus, a booke which hee hath written of the true quantity of the compasse of the Earth, describeth many more, and that after a farre more exact and curious manner.
Here observe, that besides those by us here set downe, there are certaine others by him mentioned, which as hee writeth are found wholly to agree with some one or other of these. For Rheinlandicus, that of Rheinland or Leiden, which hee maketh his base, is all one with Romanus, the Italian or Roman foote. Lovaniensis, that of Lovane, with that of Antwerpe: Bremensis, that of Breme in Germany, with that of Hafnia, in Denmarke. Onely his Pes Arabicus, the Arabian foote, or that mentioned in Abulfada, and Nubiensis: the Geographers I have overpassed, because hee dareth not, for certeine, affirme what it was.
Looke of what parts Pes Tolitanus, the spanish foote, or that of Toledo in Spaine, conteineth 120. of such is the Pes.
Heidelbergicus, that of Heidelberg, 137.
Hetruscus, that of Tuscan, in Italie, 138.
Sedanensis, of Sedan in France, 139.
Romanus, that of Rome in Italy, 144.
Atticus, of Athens in Greece, 150.
Anglicus, of England, 152.
Parisinus, of Paris in France, 160.
Syriacus, of Syria, 166.
Ægyptiacus, of Egypt, 171.
Hebraicus, that of Iudæa, 180.
Babylonius, that of Babylon, 200.
Looke of what parts Pes Romanus, the foote of Rome, (which is all one with the foote of Rheinland) is 1000. of such parts is the foote of
Toledo, in Spaine, 864.
Mechlin, in Brabant, 890.
Strausburgh,