Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1854-04-27
Ths Division Of Time.

creation OF the world before any method OF
computing Time, or of dating events, was
brought into established use. At very
early period, time was measured by the
revolutions of the moon, the seasons sue
cessive returns of labor and rest; but so
late as the age of Homer formal calendar
seems to have been unknown to history,
or "a register of events.
The division of days into weeks is the
most ancient way of making time, proba-
bly, took place at the Creation. The next
division was that of months, which appear
ed to have been in use before the Flood.
The months were marked by the revolu-
ton of the moon, consequently were cal
led lunar months.
The highest natural division of lime is
into years. At first year consisted of on
.ly twelve inssar months. Il is sukrussu
that this method of reckoning was in use
as early as the Deluge, and that it contin-
ued for many ages after. But this was
very imperfect mode of computing time,
for lunar year was nearly eleven days
shorter than solar year; hepce the
months could not very long correspond
with the season. Even IN the space of II
years the winter months would have
changed places with those of summer.
The Calendar which Is now generally
adopted in the Christian world was instl-
tuted by Romulus. His year began on
the lst of March and continued only ten
months, or about 30l days, hence was We
ry imperfect. Numa gave the year 355
days, added two months, and transferred
the beginning of the year TO the LIST Of Jan
uary. But this way was sill making the
year too short.
When Julius Cesar obtained til -sc---.---
eighty of Rome, he found the months had
changed from The seasons, and in order TO
bring them forward to their places, he fer
med long year of Is months or rs days.
This has been called the year of confusion.
1t ended January Ist, forty-6ve years be-
fore Christ. From this period the Julian
year of 365 days and 6 hours commenced.
The common years contained 3G5 days,
but once ever four years the six hours
amounted to another day, and this was ad-
ded to the 2Sth of February, or the sixth
calends of March, which was 10 be reck-
oned twice, hence this year was styled
Bissextile, or Leap Year.
The Julian year, however, was still inn
perfect, for the earth performs It's annual
circuit round the sun in three hundred
and sixty-fve DAYS, i've hours and forty
sig1.ss ll.ie7.si as.s.e, 81. lss
onds; hence the solar year was shorter
than the Julian, or civil year, by eleven
minutes, and fourteen and a half seconds,
which IN two hundred and thirty years
amounted to day.
In the course of time this inconvenience
becoming too considerable to be unnoticed,
Pope Gregory, XIII. substituted new
calendar, called the Gregorian Calendar or
new style. 1t was published in March,
A. D. 1892. Ten days had now been
gained by the old mode of reckoning. and
these were struck out of the month of Oc-
tober following, by reckoning the fifth day
of that month the fifteenth.
And IN order to prevent the occurrence
of a similar variation in time 10 come, he
ordained that one day should be added to
every fourth year before, and that from
the year 1880 every fourth centenial ~ ~yea-.
should be reckoned as leap year, and
the other three centennial years as common|
ones. Thus the years 100, 1900, 1900,
2100. $500, etc. are to be reckoned as COM
mon ones, and 1902, 2o00,> etc. as leap
years. Even this correction is not apso-I
lutely exact, yet the error is so small as to
hardly vary one day in over thousand
years.
The mode of computing time as estab-
lIshed by Gregory is called New Style,
aud that by julius Cesar, Old Style, The
new style was adopted by Spain, Portugal
and part of Italy on the same day as Rome
and in France on the tenth of December
following which was reckoned the Goth
day.
But in Great Britain this change was
not adopted until September, 1852, when
I70 years had elapsed since the Gregorl-
an alterations, consequently little snore-
than another day had been gained. 1t
was therefore enacted by Parliament that
eleven days instead of ten should be
stricken ou: of the month of September
1852. On the second day of that month
the Old Style ceased, and the third day
was reckoned the fourteenth. BY the
same act Great Britain changed the be-
ginning ofthe year from the 25th OF March
to the first of January.
The time for commencing theyea has
usually been determined, among different
nations. by the date of some memorable
event, such as the DeIuge, the Incarnation
of Christ, etc. The Egyptians began the
year with the au,umnal equinox The
Jewish eclesiastic year began in the
Spring, but in civil affairs they retained
the epoch of the Egyptians. The ancient
Swedish year began about the time Of
the winter solstice. The Turks and Arah-
commences their year about the middle of
July.