The Project Gutenberg eBook of Benjamin Franklin, Representive Selections, with Introduction, Bibliography, and Notes, by Frank Luthor Mott and Chester E. Jorgenson

Poor Richard improved:

BEING AN
ALMANACK
AND
EPHEMERIS
OF THE
Motions of the SUN and MOON;
THE TRUE
Places and Aspects of the Planets;
THE
RISING and SETTING of the SUN;
AND THE
Rising, Setting and Southing of the Moon,
FOR THE
Year of our LORD 1753:
Being the First after Leap-Year.

Containing also,

The Lunations, Conjunctions, Eclipses, Judgment of the Weather, Rising and Setting of the Planets, Length of Days and Nights, Fairs, Courts, Roads, &c. Together with useful Tables, chronological Observations, and entertaining Remarks.

Fitted to the Latitude of Forty Degrees, and a Meridian of near fire Hours West from London; but may, without sensible Error, serve all the Northern Colonies.

By RICHARD SAUNDERS, Philom.

PHILADELPHIA:
Printed and Sold by B. Franklin, and D. Hall.

The Anatomy of Man's Body as govern'd by the
Twelve Constellations.

♈ The Head and Face.
♊ Arms		♉ Neck
♌ Heart		♋ Breast
♎ Reins		♍ Bowels
♐ Thighs		♏ Secrets
♒ Legs		♑ Knees
♓ The Feet.

To know where the Sign is.

First Find the Day of the Month, and against the Day you have the Sign or Place of the Moon in the 5th Column. Then finding the Sign here, it shews the Part of the Body it governs.

The Names and Characters of the Seven Planets.

☉ Sol, ♄ Saturn, ♃ Jupiter, ♂ Mars, ♀ Venus,
☿ Mercury, ☽ Luna, ☊ Dragons Head and ☋ Tail.

The Five Aspects.
☌ Conjunction,	☍ Opposition,	✱ Sextile,
△ Trine,	□ Quartile.

Common Notes for the Year 1753. N. S.
Golden Number	6	right bracket	left bracket	Dominical Letter	G
Epact	25	right bracket	left bracket	Cycle of the Sun	26

Courteous Reader,

This is the twentieth Time of my addressing thee in this Manner, and I have reason to flatter myself my Labours have not been unacceptable to the Publick. I am particularly pleas'd to understand that my Predictions of the Weather give such general Satisfaction; and indeed, such Care is taken in the Calculations, on which those Predictions are founded, that I could almost venture to say, there's not a single One of them, promising Snow, Rain, Hail, Heat, Frost, Fogs, Wind, or Thunder, but what comes to pass punctually and precisely on the very Day, in some Place or other on this little diminutive Globe of ours; (and when you consider the vast Distance of the Stars from whence we take our Aim, you must allow it no small Degree of Exactness to hit any Part of it) I say on this Globe; for tho' in other Matters I confine the Usefulness of my Ephemeris to the Northern Colonies, yet in that important Matter of the Weather, which is of such general Concern, I would have it more extensively useful, and therefore take in both Hemispheres, and all Latitudes from Hudson's Bay to Cape Horn.

You will find this Almanack in my former Method, only conformable to the New-Stile established by the Act of Parliament, which I gave you in my last at length; the new Act since made for Amendment of that first Act, not affecting us in the least, being intended only to regulate some Corporation Matters in England, before unprovided for. I have only added a Column in the second Page of each Month, containing the Days of the Old Stile opposite to their corresponding Days in the New, which may, in many Cases, be of Use; and so conclude (believing you will excuse a short Preface, when it is to make Room for something better)

Thy Friend and Servant,
R. SAUNDERS.

HYMN to the Creator, from Psalm CIV.

Awake, my Soul! with Joy thy God adore;
Declare his Greatness; celebrate his Pow'r;
Who, cloath'd with Honour, and with Glory crown'd,
Shines forth, and cheers his Universe around.
Who with a radiant Veil of heavenly Light
Himself conceals from all created Sight.
Who rais'd the spacious Firmament on high,
And spread the azure Curtain of the Sky.
Whose awful Throne Heav'n's starry Arch sustains,
Whose Presence not Heav'n's vast Expanse restrains.
Whose Ways unsearchable no Eye can find,
The Clouds his Chariot, and his Wings the Wind
Whom Hosts of mighty Angels own their Lord,
And flaming Seraphim fulfil his Word.
Whose Pow'r of old the solid Earth did found,
Self-pois'd, self-center'd, and with Strength girt round;
From

From her appointed Sphere forbid to fly,
Or rush unbalanc'd thro' the trackless Sky.
To reas'ning Man the sov'reign Rule assign'd,
His Delegate o'er each inferior Kind;
Too soon to fall from that distinguish'd Place,
His Honours stain'd with Guilt and foul Disgrace.
He saw the Pride of Earth's aspiring Lord,
And in his Fury gave the dreadful Word:
Straight o'er her peopled Plains his Floods were pour'd,
And o'er the Mountains the proud Billows roar'd.
Athwart the Face of Earth the Deluge sweeps,
And whelms the impious Nations in the Deeps:
Again God spake——and at his pow'rful Call
The raging Floods asswage, the Waters fall,
The Tempests hear his Voice, and straight obey,
And at his Thunder's Roar they haste away:
From off the lofty Mountains they subside,
And gently thro' the winding Vallies glide,
Till in the spacious Caverns of the Deep
They sink together, and in Silence sleep.
There he hath stretch'd abroad their liquid Plains,
And there Omnipotence their Rage restrains,
That Earth no more her Ruins may deplore,
And guilty Mortals dread their Wrath no more.
He bids the living Fountains burst the Ground,
And bounteous spread their Silver Streams around:
Down from the Hills they draw their shining Train,
Diffusing Health and Beauty o'er the Plain.
There the fair Flocks allay the Summer's Rage,
And panting Savages their Flame asswage.
On their sweet winding Banks th' aerial Race
In artless Numbers warble forth his Praise,
Or chant the harmless Raptures of their Loves,
And cheer the Plains, and wake the vocal Groves.
Forth from his Treasures in the Skies he pours
His precious Blessings in refreshing Show'rs.
Each dying Plant with Joy new Life receives,
And thankful Nature smiles, and Earth revives.
The fruitful Fields with Verdure he bespreads,
The Table of the Race that haunts the Meads,
And bids each Forest, and each flow'ry Plain
Send forth their native Physic for the Swain.
Thus

Thus doth the various Bounty of the Earth
Support each Species crowding into Birth.
In purple Streams she bids her Vintage flow,
And Olives on her Hills luxuriant grow,
One with its generous Juice to cheer the Heart,
And one illustrious Beauty to impart;
And Bread of all Heav'n's precious Gifts the chief
From desolating Want the sure Relief.
Which with new Life the feeble Limbs inspires,
And all the Man with Health and Courage fires.
The Cloud-topt Hills with waving Woods are crown'd,
Which wide extend their sacred Shades around,
There Lebanon's proud Cedars nod their Heads;
There Bashan's lofty Oaks extend their Shades:
The pointed Firs rise tow'ring to the Clouds,
And Life and warbling Numbers fill the Woods.
Nor gentle Shades alone, nor verdant Plains,
Nor fair enamell'd Meads, nor flow'ry Lawns,
But e'en rude Rocks and dreary Desarts yield
Retreats for the wild Wand'rers of the Field.
Thy Pow'r with Life and Sense all Nature fills,
Each Element with varied Being swells,
Race after Race arising view the Light,
Then silent pass away, and sink in Night.
The Gift of Life thus boundlesly bestow'd,
Proclaims th' exhaustless Hand, the Hand of God.
Nor less thy Glory in the etherial Spheres,
Nor less thy ruling Providence appears.
There from on high the gentle Moon by Night
In solemn Silence sheds her Silver Light,
And thence the glorious Sun pours forth his Beams,
Thence copious spreads around his quick'ning Streams.
Each various Orb enjoys the golden Day,
And Worlds of Life hang on his chearful Ray.
Thus Light and Darkness their fix'd Course maintain,
And still the kind Vicissitudes remain:
For when pale Night her sable Curtain spreads,
And wraps all Nature in her awful Shades,
Soft Slumbers gently seal each mortal Eye,
Stretch'd at their Ease the weary Lab'rers lie.
The restless Soul 'midst Life's vain Tumults tost,
Forgets her Woes, and ev'ry Care is lost.
Then

JANUARY. I Month.

Then from their Dens the rav'nous Monsters creep,
Whilst in their Folds the harmless Bestial sleep.
The furious Lion roams in quest of Prey,
To gorge his Hunger till the Dawn of Day;
His hideous Roar with Terror shakes the Wood,
As from his Maker's Hand he asks his Food.
Again the Sun his Morning Beams displays,
And fires the eastern Mountain with his Rays.
Before

		Remark. days, &c.	☉ ri.		☉ set		☽ pl.		Aspects, &c.
1	2	Circumcision.	7	24	4	36	♐	11	☽ with ♂
2	3	Clouds and	7	24	4	36	23		☽ with ♄
3	4	cold, with	7	23	4	37	♑	5	♃ rise 4 23
4	5	snow;	7	23	4	37	17		Tis against
5	6	Days inc. 4 m.	7	23	4	37	29		☽ with ☿ some
6	7	Epiphany.	7	22	4	38	♒	10	♂ rise 4 44
7	G	1 p. Epiph.	7	22	4	38	22		☽ w. ♀ Mens
8	2	wind and	7	21	4	39	♓	4	Principle to pay
9	3	falling	7	21	4	39	16		Interest, and
10	4	Days inc. 10 m.	7	20	4	40	28		seems against
11	5	weather,	7	19	4	41	♈	10	♃ s. 11 6 others
12	6	then	7	18	4	42	23		♄ rise 5 42
13	7	very cold,	7	17	4	43	♉	6	Sirius so. 10 52
14	G	2 p. Epiph.	7	16	4	44	19		✱ ♄ ♀ Interest
15	2	Day incr. 18 m.	7	16	4	44	♊	2	7 *s so. 7 42
16	3	wintry	7	15	4	45	16		♃ so. 10 39
17	4	weather;	7	14	4	46	♋	0	♂ rise 4 36
18	5	but grows more	7	13	4	47	15		☽ with ♃ to
19	6	Day 9 36 long.	7	12	4	48	♌	1	☉ in ♒ pay
20	7	moderate,	7	12	4	48	17		△ ♃ ♀ the
21	G	3 p. Epiph.	7	11	4	49	♍	3	Principal.
22	2	followed by	7	10	4	50	18		♀ sets 8 2
23	3	clouds, wind	7	9	4	51	♎	2	Philosophy as
24	4	and	7	8	4	52	15		well as Foppery
25	5	Conv. St. Paul.	7	7	4	53	28		✱ ♂ ☿ often
26	6	Day incr. 38 m.	7	6	4	54	♏	11	changes Fashion.
27	7	cold, with	7	5	4	55	24		♄ rise 4 48
28	G	4 p. Epiph.	7	4	4	56	♐	7	7 *s sou. 6 47
29	2	snow or	7	3	4	57	19		Sirius sou. 9 44
30	3	K. Char. behead.	7	2	4	58	♑	1	☽ with ♄ & ♂
31	4	rain.	7	1	4	59	13		☽ with ☿

January hath XXXI Days.
			D.	H.	Planets Places.
New ☽			4	8 mor.	D.	☉	♄	♃	♂	♀	☿	☽ ^sL.
First Q.			12	at noon.		♑	♐	♋	♐	♒	♑
Full ●			19	10 mor.	1	12	29	11	7	15	26	N.	2
Last Q.			26	4 mor.	6	17	30	10	11	21	24	5
					12	23	♑ 0	9	15	29	19	2
	bracket left	12	♏	12 Deg.	17	28	1	8	19	♓ 5	14	S.	4
☊		22		11	22	♒ 3	1	8	22	11	13	4
		31		10	27	8	2	7	26	17	15	N.	1

January Woodcut Illustration

D.	☽ rise		☽ sou:		T.	O S l t d i l e.	The Greatness of that Power, which has been exerted in the Creation, though every Object in Nature shews it, will best appear by considering a little the GREAT Works, properly so called, of Nature; the Sun, and Planets, and the fixed Stars. The Sun and Moon, the most conspicuous to us of all the celestial Bodies, are the only ones mentioned in the sacred Text: But the Invention of that noblest of Instruments the Telescope, and the Sagacity of the Astronomers of later Ages, whose Observations have improved and corrected those of the foregoing, afford us a very different Idea of the Solar System, from what the single Consideration of those two most conspicuous Bodies gives us. As this may probably fall into the Hands of some, who have not Leisure or Opportunities of reading Books of Astronomy, the following brief View of our System, and of the Immensity of the Creation, according to the Theory of the Moderns, may not be unacceptable. It is proper, in the first Place, just to mention, That the real Magnitudes, Distances, Orbits, and other Affections of the Bodies of our System are determined by what Astronomers call their Parallaxes, and by their Elongations from the Sun, and their apparent Magnitudes, and other analogical Methods, which would take up by far too much Time to explain here; by which it is possible to determine
1	4	39	9 M	41	12
2	5	33	10	30	1
3	Moon		11	19	2
4	sets.		12	6	3	24
5	A.		A.	53	3	25
6	7	0	1	36	4	26
7	8	0	2	18	5	27
8	8	54	3	0	6	28
9	9	50	3	43	6	29
10	10	47	4	27	7	30
11	11	46	5	10	8	31
12	12	50	5	55	8	Jan.
13	M.	50	6	44	9
14	1	51	7	34	10	3
15	2	52	8	28	11	4
16	3	56	9	23	12	5
17	4	57	10	22	1	6
18	Moon		11	21	2	7
19	rises		12	25	3	8
20	A.		Morn.		3	9
21	7	56	1	30	4	10
22	9	11	2	26	5	11
23	10	18	3	16	6	12
24	11	19	4	5	7	13
25	12	22	4	54	7	14
26	M	22	5	43	8	15
27	1	17	6	34	9	16
28	2	21	7	26	10	17
29	3	16	8	14	11	18
30	4	3	9	3	12	19
31	4	44	9	51	12	20	(deter-)mine their

FEBRUARY. II Month.

Before him fly the Horrors of the Night;
He looks upon the World—and all is Light.
Then the lone Wand'rers of the dreary Waste
Affrighted to their Holds return in Haste,
To Man give up the World, his native Reign,
Who then resumes his Pow'r, and rules the Plain.
How various are thy Works, Creator wise!
How to the Sight Beauties on Beauties rise!
Where

		Remark. days, &c.	☉ ris		☉ set		☽ pl.		Aspects, &c.
1	5	Days 10 h. long.	7	0	5	0	♑	25	♃ sou. 9 28
2	6	Purification V. M.	6	59	5	1	♒	7	♂ rise 4 20
3	7	Clouds	6	58	5	2	19		Setting too good
4	G	5 p. Epiph.	6	56	5	4	♓	1	an Example
5	2	and wind,	6	55	5	5	13		☿ rise 5 34
6	3	with	6	54	5	6	25		☌ ☽ ♀ ☌ ♄ ♂
7	4	falling	6	53	5	7	♈	7	♀ sets 8 2 is a
8	5	Days incr. 1 6	6	52	5	8	20		Kind of Slander
9	6	weather,	6	51	5	9	♉	3	seldom forgiven;
10	7	then fair	6	50	5	10	16		'tis Scandalum
11	G	6 p. Epiph.	6	48	5	12	29		Magnatum.
12	2	and cold;	6	47	5	13	♊	13	□ ♃ ♀ A great
13	3	changeable	6	46	5	14	27		♄ rise 3 49
14	4	Valentine.	6	45	5	15	♋	12	☽ W. ♃ Talker
15	5	Days inc. 1 22	6	43	5	17	27		□ ♂ ♀ may be
16	6	and like for	6	42	5	18	♌	12	7 *s sets 1 0
17	7	rain, or snow,	6	41	5	19	27		♃ sou. 8 21
18	G	Septuagesima.	6	40	5	20	♏	12	☉ in ♓ no Fool,
19	2	then follows	6	38	5	22	26		Sirius sou. 8 21
20	3	Day 10 46 long.	6	37	5	23	♎	10	♂ rise 4 5
21	4	clear and cold	6	36	5	24	24		♀ sets 9 0
22	5	weather; but	6	35	5	25	♏	8	✱ ☉ ♄ but he
23	6	soon changes to	6	33	5	27	21		is one that
24	7	St. Matthias.	6	32	5	28	♐	3	△ ☉ ♃ relies
25	G	Sexagesima.	6	31	5	29	15		on him.
26	2	snow	6	30	5	30	27		♄ rises 3 0
27	3	or cold rain.	6	28	5	32	♑	9	☽ with ♄
28	4	Day inc. 1 56 m.	6	27	5	33	21		☽ with ♂