| Show from frim chambers edinburgh journal 1 boyds history of literature origin of time reckonings TV 0 volumes out of four have hare appeared of a sll III 11 II crory of literature or he progress of lan cago writing and letters from the earliest ins ans Ps of antiquity to the present time with a N i 1 vr tv of the state of science and the fine s the author being sir william boyd MD NID the s cond volume terminates with the i stan age of rome U without eliout to ai y bril lalit lafit orgin athis this work appears cp lears jears to i s 0 o present a very a r is view lew of tha the r 1 logi ogi ess of letters u AJ cst crt jat st manki man kii kli 1 the biffi 1 I lites hies of writers binl ini n i i 01 oa their heir writ are generally ap sp c ci and i in a specimens of classic prodoc 1 s of celel calel dy lre ire for the most part ably abl abi Lat cd for study we do not w a book i pon poi pou the same subject calculi A d bf f equally i i 9 sv ful i i ol 01 i a 0 perus d 1 of the work it has appears I 1 to a ceat 1 icat none of the purely literary notices noti cs a 1 be so appropriate for quotation in this e as the brof view vi ihl ohl b h the author gives 1 es i the ori orl origin in of time tune reckonings recko reckon aings a sll sli subject lct 0 11 i li comes cornea uner under his atte lion lod ion in treating of h astory story of cr onomy arri arr air ithe th e ancien ancients tg U ys years the siy sly sly r ky the const lla s av f ar 1 lc le says flays id lid is s which common 1 d 1 I minds winds po pors rss nevertheless 1 upil are the i oits fits of agn asi afi nomy onomy 1 ihm lh notion of a day is olivious obviously ly and coni ov im imons hp res d apon lion llon maii mau ri ui every condition condi condl concion con dion wih h hes heg e plad the r clrrence cir clr rence of li liba bt u k warmth N and awl col of noise aud s i of ac at N ry and makes the noi i a day I 1 siri occar I 1 ear ear is a arf ari r 1 lan 0 n formed in i n a similar mn I 1 implying 1 I 1 ho h idea of ring facts v with ith I 1 0 t b culty acuity of th lu iii in time and of I 1 r clatin biating their c the not nol on of i ver vcr of a vear year though obvious abl is on ij choul Is esa ess less acsa so than th tint it of a day lile lite repe til wi of at oi i intern a is 13 fay tar less leas and the i tais atals r As be Z linch lluch loni ioni P an exertion of r ry beck becar w 8 requisite in order that the r i ice may mav be T 1 ilis llis ins 1119 geni geu t iol I 1 N have in i Y 1 ed this poi pol coition tion of if i 1 aie lle e by ai i word arnin hn 1 a reference to iua tup c crac co of the ans Tb the eLatin latin f bius tius rm signify 3 a ri and he fhe greek term jus dus aua jos aoa mea mes a son thing which aich returns into v f to in k th tho term tar aar year aply ii a fixed ti L LJ i rr r of dd date dave 1 it is necessary sarY to know bow how r a d i days dys ulo flo ti i c caf c of the sea spa bois sois occupies a of 1 age beyond 11 what hat has been I 1 ab adly paly allun 1 t tr and mer mev cannot reckon as far a s any ni n r lo 10 i r approaching that of days iu in j a e it r with t abing a s system tein of n umer numer J einis cinis a i f practical dl numera 1 on wb wt h b B s ch eh a s s f v in is i s foun found founded d ed pd I 1 z the gr 1 a the se 0 o 9 were at first ry simmer Bimmer ai a 1 winter the iatter litter inch included ded T 1 we wet and i 1 y 1 artio i of t he 5 3 ear 1 kee iri d sun gi i a though his c cle cie ee of positions positions ions lons a 0 be the same f J d that thit th it the lars tars rs go t through rou ib a acl byck of app a i f rd s beon belong belona rato to t them e and it ii a 3 that ib h I 1 were also i careful carefully lv obi to de i lie aie the act exe len leh t of the year tear I 1 several of flaa flap rh olag of f C vj d stars are read uy ly recognize recognise exhibition exhibit in always the same sime LatiOl 8 ad J stars bright eco aco econn moi mol mc ir tr objects of atten atton i lon aon on tb tae abe e are t r rod tod at p ti cilar calar sea seasons somis to api ap r in th we lve t after sur e it is remarked 1 however tiow ver th t v ahen ehen han they do this they are I 1 la 13 1 ir lr 11 l nearer an I 1 pearce ircy to flie the ill lii sun bun q ever every y sic 1 e lve ive live even t til they I 1 liehne i cc le invisibly by as 3 light it is ily lly dr ed that at certai A v Is aft r i i they rif rii before the dawn if day renders ih th 11 i imperl imperi r 1 tibie tible and after afier wira j they r aei ari e at ji j berval before the pi lue luf i alrig bol agi s I 1 dungs of fit bhe the stars uner 11 ue e above c u 1 I L stances crip vrle v r e in courtl ciutti ies les opre wt pre the shy sky 4 f i 1 anly anny aly carr clo clr ir a great hep in in gnarl marking ing the io 9 3 sea soa soni song illus thus the risu nan z 2 of the Pl pleiade eia ela in the he evenn 2 was an eblem j of the app approach roah of the rising of the I 1 vaters waters of the Y nac e coincided an mth ith the heli beli heliacal acal ns of sh is P pen een en with jt at an artificial d division of tim it ws was not impossible to carry abs ovations of if ahr tho kind tt ta such a degree of 4 a baracy as lo 10 airn larn I 1 rn from thom them the number numb r of dys ays which a year yeah and to fix the s son on from the appearance of the stars av such in iia lis i it is said to hae have been d di lc tor lor ri m nid rod ro lid d that tb tl yer consists 1 at least of neli nedi ly day din a U VP P are told by ll 11 herodotus that tile the 11 I 1 j ial lal iia 3 cl ji i led the honor of thib dincov rn ci luhe J bhe uhe prier a ii 11 formed hu hw h u that they X e v ie e lat isi st al tv twelve elve eive equa equal ir n xu its co coi s ii i g of thirty days each ai d i r i albey tibey t adi 3 fi e days m ri i af at the ent ec 1 cf cl t atie te year and u uis s the cire cine of the seas s si c ti round if it appears ih t tle ile jews it at a early period j 1 h d a smilar sl ni thod of rech mg time for forthe the I 1 aeu r is sta A d to have COT co foo lao d bayst j f om m the 1 I y oi of the sero t ijo eio iio nth to the 17 11 h day of the ww seventh erith c n i 1 I that is five mn M hs of thirty da a A ye year r this settled as a p T I 1 of a c chain t a i n rumber of dys ays is called a bivil i year andis andisi c ne of the ins litora ito of state states s possessing any of wt and one of the earliest i i portions of cyst ma cal val knowledge is ibe the find 1 ing out ont the lir v b afif f th ti ci il year ear so that thai it may ag agree r e wi xvi h the r lj ral year of th sea suns by such a mode cf of reckoning fel fec koning however the j r C acle acle of the seasons would not come round 0 pa tbt tbt according to the legend it was waa king aaseth wh first adt adf d the five fire additional days daya to 0 I 1 gor tor he sar san yar warl Y yarl ar at u itkor B r j agn n fis BIS c V v A c eil til 01 v 11 I 1 quent ale ble c ri t v r 4 exactly the actual length of the year is 19 very iery nearly days and a quarter so that if a year rear of days were used in four years yeara the year ear would commence a day too soon when considered censi dered with reference to the sun am atil at str rs and in sixty years it would be acin in fifteen if ted ten days loo too soon a number perceptible to even a loose share of attention various contrivances were used to keep the year correct the method which we employ consisting in counting an additional day at the j eid eld cud cid of Fei fe fer rury ru iry try evel v four h or leap ip y var yar r is 19 an example of the principle anik ipie of crib predation by which the correction was more us lally made i methods of intercalation for the above puri pur I 1 pose were found to exist in the new world the I 1 mexicans added thirteen days daya at the end of fifty two years the plan plin of the greeks was moie more e con plex by means of a cycle of eight years vears which had the additional object of accommodating commo dating dawg itself to the motions of the I 1 acon the egyptians on the other hand knowingly j I 1 per permitted mitte their civil year 5 ear to deviate at leasel least so 30 far as lit L ir religious ceremonies were ere concerned A according to Ge geminis minus they did not wish the sina to be made mad elways alvi alii ays at the same in til i ie but that they should go through the vario varlo 19 s sed seasons solis in order that the same feast might h ippen in summer and winter in in spring and antuan autumn there were other nations that did not regulate their col coi civil cul i year by intercalation at short intervals inte naia nala but rec rectified tidied it at long periods when considered necessary the persians are said to have added a month of thirty days d i a every ery years yearb the its roman calendar at fired girst first rude in its structure was reformed by numa and was directed to be kept sept in order by the const constant amt ami interposition of the augurs this however was from various causes neglected and the reckoning fell into complete disorder in which aich state it was found by julius cegar casar sy by the advice of Sogi genes the astronomer who cami camf cane cine from alexandria to correct the he calendar n bo h adopted the mode of intercalation of one day in four years which we still retain and aid to amend the derangement which lad had been ko produced r deuced he added ninety days to a year of the usual length which consequently became became what wh at was called the year of contusion the julian calendar thus corrected came into use january 1 45 B u c the circle of changes chances through which the moon passes in about thirty days was wag marked in the earliest cal cai liest stages of languages by the word month as the circle of changes of the seasons was vas designated by that of year the lunar luhar changes are much more obvious to the senses than the annual when the sun has lias set the moon is is the great natural object which attracts our notice her changes of form and place are arc marked and definite to all ail and the duration of her cycle Is so short as t to require little effort of memory to embrace it it it was therefore more easy reasy and IB in the earlier stages of civilisation civilization ch ilisa tion more awre common to reckon time by moons than by years the mouth is not an exact number of days davs being more than twenty nine and I 1 less ess than thirty the 1 latter itter was girst first tried as possessing the advantage a vantage of regularity regu mity Wity it existed for a long iong period in in many coun countries mes Wes ateon A tew few mon hs of thirty y days however would suffice to deange the a agreement giem rit between the dys days of the month m nth and affe the moons appearance but a further trial of twenty nine and thirty das days alternately alter lately would preserve for a considerable period the agreement the greeks adopted this calendar and considered the dav dan davs 9 ot of their month as representing b the changes ot of the moon the last day of the month was wis styled the old and new as belong ing to both the waning and reappearing woon moon 0 add and and their festivals and sacrifices as deter determined amil ty by this mode of reckoning were considered to be conne ofed with the same periods of the cycles c cles cies of the ehe sun and moon maon accordi p g to geminis Ge minus their laws lars and oracle dire dirc directed cLed that they should in sacrifices observe three things and months days da and years were so understood with suc sac such V fl persuasion a correct system became a religious religions duty the rule of alternate months of twenty nine nina and thirty davs days avs supposes the length of the lunar mo ih to be twenty nine days and a half which is not i ot exact accordi izy iry s y the months and the moon became at nm n j ti c ci the correction of this inaccuracy 1 i CT er was wis not pursued sina sing singh ely gly it was co corni m j cd d v ith another object ol ct that of securing an exact correspondence correspond enci between the lunar and arid solar years the chief purpose of the early ear cycles according ai cording to the above rule 12 lu Iti nations in a yer year ye r woud make das davs leaving about 11 davs dais ras nas of difference bet between een such i a innar t and a solar suler TOP the fiad n a c carlp cie rip which aich pi eni ehl ehica ehi cd a near correspondence between the reckoning of the moon and the sun was the greek octa betens egeris or period of 8 year years 8 years of 1 days together with 3 months of 30 davs days each made mada up 2922 days is the amount of 8 yeas aas eab of 3 i t days each the usual method it is said was to add a month at the end of the third fifth and eighth year of the cycle it is not known with certainty at what period nr by whom this method was introduced probably about the sixth century before the christian era this cycle was ivas imperfect and was corrected I 1 by y others of 16 and years which eh were sug when the length of the solar and lunar periods became known with accuracy at length a more exact cycle was introduced by meton of athens athena B nc c this ayce cyc consisted of 19 years and is BO so correct and con renier venier that it continues in use among ourselves he e time occupied by 19 years yeara and by lu nations is about the same game the former being less than days by 91 hours the latter by 71 hence if the 10 IS years be divided I 1 teto months so as to agree with the chanzes chances I 1 of the moon at t h be e end of boit hat period tb same scinie succession may begin again willi m h m ich eade L ness nusa the coincidence of the solar and lunar period in this cye was certainly an important discovery indeed it is so exact that it is is still used in calculating the new moon for the time s of E eliter i lter iter and whit hat is 19 r call cail ild iad d the y in n imber luber of this c cae cde cle cie to the cur eur curre curreia reit relt ye ir alefons afe RIe tons cycle was maie maje still more exact by caligur Caliup ug years later nc B c he discovered t the e error of it by observing an eclipse of the moon six years before the death dath of alexander the great he calculated a peri perl I 1 tp t P four c cycles cles cies of 19 years and eft left out 0 u t a day c it t t oie cie ie end of 76 years vears to make an allowance for f tile lie hours by which as already mentioned 1 days are greater than 19 years and luna eions the same cycle of nineteen years earb has been used by the chinese for a va vaz v z bength of time their civil year consisting consist 11 like that of the greeks of months of twant twenty nine and thirty days the siamese also aiso use the same period the planets doubtless attracted the notice of men w while ile lle they were becoming acquainted with the fixed stars venus owing to her brightness and her accompany compary ac the bun gun un at no great distance and so appearing as the morn 1 ing and evening star was conspicuous aytha goras is said to have been the first who maintained that the evening and arid morning star are the same body jupiter and mars sometimes brighter than venus were also very observable saturn aburn and 11 mercury e r y less so would in a clear climate still be detected with their motions by persons who studied the aspect of the heavens to reduce to rules the movements of these luminaries must have taken time and thought h remarkable remar remarkable kalle katle evidence of their antiquity is is to to be found in the structure of one of our most familiar objects of time the week which comes down to us according to the jewish scriptures from the commencement of the ex of mankind on earth the ile same usage is found all over the east it existed among the tiie assyrians As syrians egyptians and ail arabians the week is is found in in india among the brahmins Brah Brab mins I 1 it t has there also its day marked malkea by those of r rhe e heavenly bodies the idea |
