Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-14
TIE SUN DIAL.
The Flight of Time Told as 1t was
Before the Christian Era.

From the Nelo York Sun.
On the sidewalk in front of the store of
an optieian and dealer in astronomical
instruments in upper Broadway stands a
sun dial. "Clocks and watches have, of
course, supplanted sun dials entirely as
time keepers" the Optician said, shut
many are bought by gentlemen owning
country seats to adorn their grounds, and
others by colleges and seminaries for
purposes OF instruction. Many of them
can be found on places along the Hudson,
and, in fact, almost anywhere in the
neighborhood Of New York city. They
are made of marble with brass gnOmon-
the shaft which casts the shadow-or en-
tirely of rass, which becomes bronzed
by age. The divisions on the dial must
be adapted to the latitude of the place
where the instrument is set up. In order
to construct dial the maker should have
an acquaintance with some of the simple
doctrines of astronomy, with the elements
of geometry, and plane and spherical trig-
OnOmetry. The use of the instrument is
readily learned. 1t can be set up in Yari-
Gus positions, vertical, horizontal, declIn-
ing or inclining. 1t may also be said that
there are human sun dials, as the intelli-
gent farmer, by noting his shadow cast
the day.
"rhe date of the invention of the sun
dial is unknown, but the earliest mention
of it is in the Bible, in the III Chronicles,
Xl.xii., "a, where it is recorded that Hez-
ekah was sick and prayed Unto the Lord,
and received in answer a sign, which IS
particularly described in Isaiah,
XXXiii., 8, as follows: Behold, / will
bring again the shadow of the degrees
Nuhi qh IL N al nf
Ahaz ten degrees backward. So the sun re-
turned ten degrees,by which degrees twas
gone down. Seven hundred years before
the Christian era the Chaldeans, amonglthe
earliest astronomers, divided the day into
60 parts in some manner, but the first sun
dial used by them was the hemicycle or
hemisphere made by BeTOsus, who lived
about $40 b. &. This primitive instru-
ment consisted of a concaye hemisphere
placed horizontally in an open space,
with the cOncaylty toward the zenith. A
small globe was suspended, or fixed in
any way at It's centre, and the shadow
marked the SUMS daily flight by means of
regular lines upOu the dial. IL is highly
probable that ali the nations Of antiquity
used sun dials, but none has been found
in Egypt, although they may be buried in
the ruinsOf the cities. However, It seems
TO be UNREASONABLE that the Obelisks
shadows told the hour OF the day with
sufficient correctness TO the inhabitants
Of ancient Egypt. The circle OF Osyman-
dias, an Egyptian astronomer, might have
determined the aZimuths Of the heavenly
bodies and thereby have told the hour OF
the day or night. In Rome the sun dial
was seen for the first time about 300 Il. c.,
one having been captured from the sam
mites, ana in 26l Is. &. Nalerius Messiah
placed In the forum "a dial which be had
taken al Catania. The Ara0ians acquired
the sun dial from the Greeks, and were
enthusiastic atudents Of astronomy aud
mathematics. There IL IN the British
Museum a combination Of four dials
called the dial8 Of Pnadrus. They are
traced on single block Of pentelique
marble, and they date from the second or
third century Of the Christian era. They
were part oi the spOils OF Lord Elgen.
"But 10 would take too long 70 detail
the entire history Of the sun dial. AS /
said before, IL was most probably used by
an nations of antiquity, and 10 IN some
countries utilized 81 this day; and con-
sidering the use tue average individual or
even nation makes 81 time, ! am not pre-
pared 10 SAY that the sun dial Is not q
good enough time piece YETI