352 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER
call Matque, the other Abacte. Scaliger, who has taken great pains upon this confufed fubjecl:, the computation of time in the church of Abyffinia, without having fucceed- ed in making it much clearer, tells us, that the firft ufe or invention of epacts was not earlier than the time of Diocle- fian ; but this is contrary to the pofitive evidence of Abyf- finian hiftory, which lays exprefsly, that the epacl was in- vented by Demetrius*, patriarch of Alexandria. " Unlefs, fays the poet in their liturgy, Demetrius had made this revelation by the immediate influence of the Holy Ghoft, how, I pray you, was it poffible that the computation of time, called Epacts, could ever have been known ?" And, again, " When you meet, fays he, you fhall learn the com- putation by epacts, which was taught by the Holy Ghoft to father Demetrius, and by him revealed to you." Now De- metrius was the twelfth patriarch of Alexandria, who was elected about the 190th year of Chrifl, or in the reign of the emperor Severus, confequently long before the time of Dioclelian.
It feems the reputation the Egyptians had from very old time for their fkiil in computation and the divifion of time, remained with uhcm late in the days of Chriftianity. Pope Leo the Great, writing to the emperor Marcian, confeffes that the fixing the time of the moveable feafts was always an exciuiive privilege of the church of Alexandria ; and therefore, fays he, in his letter about reforming the kalen- dar, the holy fathers endeavoured to take away the occa- sion of this error, by delegating the whole care of this to
the
Encom. 12th October, Od. 3. torn. 1. Ann. Alexan. p.m. 363.
