_The Roman Year._
Romulus divided the year into ten months; the first of which was called
March from Mars, his supposed father; the 2d April, either from the
Greek name of Venus, ({Aphrodita}) or because trees and flowers open
their buds, during that month; the 3d, May, from Maia, the mother of
Mercury; the 4th, June, from the goddess Juno; 5th, July, from Julius
Caesar; 6th, August, from Augustus Caesar; the rest were called from their
number, September, October, November, December.
Numa added two months--January from Janus, and February because the
people were then purified, (_februabatur_) by an expiatory sacrifice
from the sin of the whole year: for this anciently was the last month in
the year.
Numa in imitation of the Greeks divided the year into twelve lunar
months, according to the course of the moon, but as this mode of
division did not correspond with the course of the sun, he ordained that
an intercalary month should be added every other year.
Julius Caesar afterwards abolished this month, and with the assistance of
Sosig{)e}nes, a skilful astronomer of Alexandria, in the year of Rome
707, arranged the year according to the course of the sun, commencing
with the first of January, and assigned to each month the number of days
which they still retain. This is the celebrated Julian or solar year
which has been since maintained without any other alteration than that
of the new style, introduced by pope Gregory, A. D. 1582, and adopted in
England in 1752, when eleven days were dropped between the second and
fourteenth of September.
The months were divided into three parts, _kalends_, _nones_ and _ides_.
They commenced with the _kalends_; the _nones_ occurred on the fifth,
and the _ides_ on the thirteenth, except in March, May, July, and
October, when they fell on the seventh and fifteenth.
In marking the days of the month they went backwards: thus, January
first was the first of the _kalends_ of January--December thirty-first
was _pridie kalendas_, or the day next before the _kalends_ of
January--the day before that, or the thirtieth of December, _tertio
kalendas Januarii_, or the third day before the _kalends_ of January,
and so on to the thirteenth, when came the ides of December.
The day was either civil or natural; the civil day was from midnight to
midnight; the natural day was from the rising to the setting of the sun.
The use of clocks and watches was unknown to the Romans--nor was it till
four hundred and forty-seven years after the building of the city, that
the sun dial was introduced: about a century later, they first measured
time by a water machine, which served by night, as well as by day.
Their days were distinguished by the names of _festi_, _profesti_, and
_intercisi_. The _festi_ were dedicated to religious worship, the
_profesti_ were allotted to ordinary business, the days which served
partly for one and partly for the other were called _intercisi_, or half
holy days.
The manner of reckoning by weeks was not introduced until late in the
second century of the christian era: it was borrowed from the Egyptians,
and the days were named after the planets: thus, Sunday from the Sun,
Monday from the Moon, Tuesday from Mars, Wednesday from Mercury,
Thursday from Jupiter, Friday from Venus, Saturday from Saturn.
_A Table of the Kalends, Nones, and Ides._
Days of| Apr, June, | Jan, August, | March, May, |
Month. | Sept, Nov. | December. | July, Oct. | February.
1 Kalendae. Kalendae. Kalendae. Kalendae.
2 IV. Nonas. IV. Nonas VI. IV. Nonas.
3 III. III. V. III.
4 Pridie. Pridie. IV. Pridie.
5 Nonae. Nonae. III. Nonae.
6 VIII. Idus VIII. Idus. Pridie. VIII. Idus.
7 VII. VII. Nonae. VII.
8 VI. VI. VIII. Idus. VI.
9 V. V. VII. V.
10 IV. IV. VI. IV.
11 III. III. V. III.
12 Pridie. Pridie. IV. Pridie.
13 Idus. Idus. III. Idus.
14 XVIII. Kal. XIX. Kal. Pridie. XVI. Kal.
15 XVII. XVIII. Idus. XV.
16 XVI. XVII. XVII. Kal. XIV
17 XV. XVI. XVI. XIII.
18 XIV. XV. XV. XII.
19 XIII. XIV. XIV. XI.
20 XII. XIII. XIII. X.
21 XI. XII. XII. IX.
22 X. XI. XI. VIII.
23 IX. X. X. VII.
24 VIII. IX. IX. VI.
25 VII. VIII. VIII. V.
26 VI. VII. VII. IV.
27 V. VI. VI. III.
28 IV. V. V. Prid. Kal.
29 III. IV. IV. Martii.
30 Prid. Kal. III. III.
31 Mens. seq. Prid. Kal. Prid. Kal.
Mens. seq. Mens. seq.