The Cadiz sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 184?-1851, 1851-02-19
'..'...t From The Collegiap.
Computation Of Time.

| ffRt
The space of u year is deIerminaie ant
we'll known period. and yet period not ac
carately determined until comparatively
modem times, though very nearly approx.
mated long before The Christian Era. The
accurate determination of the Solar year re.
tqnlred great knowledge of Astronomy, and
exact obs efvailon Of the heavenly bodies
which could only be reached by The success,
sive efforts of many generations. Ills said
the Egyptians were the first who approxima
ted with any great exactness tne length oI
Ilhe Solar year, It is. remarked by Dr.
Gregory, that we read in several Of The Old
Greek writer's that the Egyptian year at one
! period was only month, being regulated b,
moon, and we are farther told, al other ne.
RODS it was three or four months. TIE ne,
rod OF day is fixed by nature, and every
where appreciated, even III the high Islitudes
where the sun is for some time entire ly be,
low, al onolher part Of The year for some
days entirely above, The horizon,. and the
period OF . month is also as readily appre-
tcated by the most unearDed, but 10 fix cel,
ialnly the length of a solar year requires an
accurate knowledge of Astronomy, and Ma
ihematcal calculations, hence the great un,
certainty, of time in the histories of The ear,
Ilest nations. The Egyptians talked 2OO0
years ago, Of events 4S,000 years D. evtous.
and ibe Chinese who pride themselves upnn
Icing the oldest, as well as the wisest of the
Nations, pretend 10 have records running
back thousands Of years prior tulhe Mosaic
account Of The creation of The world. The
BobylonIans claimed a like. antiquity. The
Egyptians speak of the stars having within
The period Of their history, four times altered
heIr courses, and the sun set twice in ibe
East They we're not such perfect astrono-
merS, bui alIer around about VOYAGE, they
might mistake the East for the West. when
they came in. To the length of time. con-
shutting year among these ancient. ma,
tons, we may, perhaps, safely attribute their
extravagant preensions 10 SO remote an an
Itquily.
Alter many generations the Egyptians, ac>
cordng 10 Heroditus, fixed their solar yea,
at $50 days. The inhabitants of Thebes af-
terwafds added 5 days They remarked :,
however, in The course Of years tbqt The dog
star sirius whose appearance just before sun
rise, belokened the 3verhowiog Of, the Nile
became visible one da! later every four years
but theiryear Of 365 days was never altered.
being intimately rterwOven with their fes,i.
walls, until Egyp,fe fell under tie power Of The !
Romans, when the calender of Julins Cesar
wasinuOduced. The frs. Roman CaIende
is said 70 saye been made by Romulus, who
divided the yearinto ten months. :IrtFys begin
mig on the first day of March, and contain
ing BOA days Numa Pompilus reformed
thus BY adding two months more, viz: Jan,ary
and February, and placing them before
March, the year commencing on The first oft
January, ana containing 365 DAYS. Julns
Cesareformed this by adding 6 huurs.
Now. as BY observation o accurate aslron. !
oneis LdlGnde, Zach; and others, the venrI
was found 10 contain 1865 days 5 hours 4S I
minutes 30 seconds, and q faction. it will
readily be conceived, that the Astronomical
and the clvi year must soon apparently diff /
fer; and that in the lapse o'cen,ures. this
difference would assume n very important
feature. This may be more fully exemoIifed
BY taking The year of 800 days surprising
The year 10 commence on The first of January.
One years expiration wculd throw the com
OF the year back to the 25th Dec.
second 10 The 2Olh; third 10 the 18th; |
Ionrth 70 the 10Th; a fifth the 5,h; and the (
S'xltl year month would be lost, and S in
seven years; the commencement of the wear
recedng 5 days per year, would bring the
commencement of the year mid summer in
stead of id-wInler. at sss s-s-aE
10 the Jewish Calender, this rregularity
was remedied, by inserting awhole monlhin
their leap year. between The sixth and sev>.
anth month. The Jewish year consisted of.
II months which We're divided alternately
ntot twenty and thirty days. Their new
years day was The day Of the first new moon
After The Autpmnal equine: In the period
y nineteen years by which they reckoned
hey had seven leap years, namely, the Sd;
IN; Slh; lllh; 18th; l7th; and l9h; aud
hus They made their civil aud ASTRONOMICAL
ear coincide. Esa,a sW
When Julius Casar restored the Roman
calendar, two months had been lost. that is
ne vernnl equinox by the calendar, differed
wo months from the trlie solar equinox. IlI
vas restored TO its proper place in March. by
be insertion in the year 707 of Two months !.
Q that year, from that ,circumstance called
he era ofconfusioa, so TINT that year ems
raced IA months, Thus to prevent the re-
urrence Of The error the year being estima-
ed at 3654 days, il was determined 10 inter,
o'ate day every 4th year. But 1854 ca.
eeds The tiuetyeaf BY about II minutes, or
day'in $50 years. gHak 5 st8s 4 +
ln consequence of this, in tho 10th centu-
y, the yernal equinox had changed lie place
. The calendar, from thu 2lst 10 ihe 10th of
larch. 4. e.) 1T really took place on The lObE,
ls'ead ofthe 2lst in whichit was placed in \,
ne calendar setA a6 Mba aaag "a 6.am3E
cian,7A!oysias Silas, projected d
Ian for amending the calendar which, after
is death, was presented by his brother 10
'ope Grcgofy Kill. The church feeling q
eep interest ihathe matter, on account on
40 movable feasts oflthe Church, pas,icn-
lrly the feast Easter (which was also The I,
reat Jewish Fessl ofthe Passover) Tie Pope Y
ssembled a number of Prelnfes and learned
rem for The purpose of remedying lie con-
ision existing, BY a reform 10 the reckon
'gof the year, and In 1877 the pfoposed
hange was adopted, The Pope ordering Ill
ie ecclesiastlcs lihder his jurisdiction, Il 4
oniorm TO the new mode Of reckoning, an6
exbo'ied all Christian princes, within ri,
ale Of his authority, 70 ndopi Il 10 their do
Unions. MHlhs' HF a'ss s9 '8Af
\ II was asiaccordin5Iy Introduced without de-.
y into all catholic Countries. IN Spain
oftogai, end partof Italy, il was intioducee
'e same day yas Rome, but in France no |