th chapter ring. In his second volume, Father Borghesi stated that
they "are not moved from inside the clock, but the one at the right
[inscribed _concitat_ and _retardat_] serves for loosening
[accelerating] and tightening [retarding] time; that is, the reins of
the perpendicular."

In other words, the purpose of this attachment is for adjusting the
pendulum to make the clock operate fast or slow. The second attachment,
which appears at the left, and which is inscribed "Claudit" (close) and
"Aperit" (open) serves the purpose of "... preparing the mechanism in a
moment, as swiftly as you wish, for sustaining the astronomical
experiments of which you will hear later; when these things have been
done, it restores the mechanism to its natural motion at the same
speed."

This adjustment relates to the final section of Father Borghesi's second
book, entitled "Chronologo-Astronomicus Usus Authomatis"
(Chronological-Astronomical Use of the Automaton), which is translated
from the Latin in its entirety:

With one glance at this automaton, you can quickly answer these
questions: What hour the sun shows, the moon, any fixed star,
the head and tail of the dragon. Is the sea swelling with
periodic heat [at high tide?] or is it deflated [low tide], or
quiescent? How many days is it from mean new moon or full moon?
By how many signs and degrees is the moon distant from the sun,
and from its nodes? What sign of the zodiac does the sun
occupy, the moon, the head and tail of the dragon? Is the sun
or the moon, in apogee or perigee, ascending or descending?
What is the apparent speed of the sun and of the moon? What is
the apparent magnitude of the solar and lunar diameter, and of
the horizontal parallax of the umbra and penumbra of the earth?
What is the latitude of the moon? Is it north or south? Does
the moon hide [occult eclipse] any of the fixed stars from the
earth dwellers, and which of these does it obscure? Is there a
true new or full moon? Is the sun in eclipse anywhere on earth?
What is the magnitude, and the duration of this eclipse, with
respect to the whole earth? Can it be seen in the north or in
the south? Is the moon in eclipse? Total or partial? Of what
magnitude, etc.? What limb of the moon is obscured? How many
years have passed from a given epoch? Is this year a leap year,
or a common year--first, second,