The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1896-12-28
TINE MEASUREMENT.
esSyehss OF cHnpNoLoov USED sv
ThE .ANcIENTs.
1Upehans Dated Events by the Reigns Of
xings. scd tho Norsemen Reckoned by
Whtsrs The Jews Had Six Seasons.
Ohincss and Babyl0nisu Astronomy.

1ings. and tho Norsemen Reckoned by
Whtsrs The Jews Had Six Seasons.
0hHness and Babylsnisu Astronomy.
The Egyptian year began with the rising
Of the star Sirius and consisted of 365
dayA There were 12 months Of 80 days
each, and at tho close of the year five dayr
were intercalated. All reckoning was by
this year. The festivals were celebrated
by It, and as n consequence, like the Ro.
man festivals of later times, circled around
from one season to another on account OF
thc omission from the calendar Of the
quarter day. Notwithstanding this omis-
sion the Egyptians seem to have known
that the addition Of a quarter of day each
year was necessary in order to keep a cor
rect measurement of time, and their $50
thiac cycle" This cycle was a period OF
1,46i vague or !, 400 true years, and was
called "sothian' because its beginning was
fixed at q date when the dog star, known
by the Egyptians as Sothis, rose with the
sun ON the first of Thoth, which was the
commencement of their year. This rising
of Sirius and the sun on the first OF Thoth
took place in the years b. c. 27S2 and Is.
G.. 1899 and also I'm 1873 A. d. The Egyp-
tians know that the last named year was
the first of sothiao cycle. The year Is. Z.
1892 was also probably known as such,
but we have no knowledge whatever re-
garding II. G. 27S2. The ancient Egyp-
tians, therefore, appear Co have been aware
that for accuracy it was necessary to have
365l< instead of 365 days in the solar year,
but they do not seem to have realized that
this extra quarter day was in excess, and
provided for il as it Is provided for in the
Gregorian calendar.
The Egyptians seem TO have had no sys-
tenn Of chronology. They made use of no
era, but dated events by the regnal years
OF their kings Thus the astronomers
would note an eclipse of the sun as taking
piscc IN the fourth year Of Rameses III,
which would be- utterly uninteiligiblO as
regards to time TO one Of another country.
This fallacious method resulted In an in
terminable chronological obscuration
which the most astute researches of -savants
hayo not succeeded In unwinding.
The ancient northmen reckoned hy win
tors, and the beginning of their year was
probably dated from the 10th OF October.
The festival In honor of Thor was held in
nidwinter, about our Christmas time and,
IN fact, was the origin of the Christian
holiday merrymaking. We get the names
of at least three, IL not four, of our days OF
the week from the Morse gods of the Odin
religion. Tuesday Is from Tir, or Diss-
day, on which the offerings to fate were
made and the courts OF justice held;
Wednesday is from Wooden, or Odin one of
the Morse trinity; Thursday, or Thor's
day, from Thor, the chief of the trinity,
and Friday from Frigg, another of the
minor deities of the trinity
There is nothing OF especial importance
IN the Jewish chronology except in so far
as it pertains To Scriptural matters, and
even then the only valuable knowledge we
have 40 this regard is based on the Penta-
teuch. The only information the Jews
possessed of astronomy was obtained from
the Assyrians Like the ancient Greeks
and the modern Turkshhey divided their
year into l2 months of 20 and 30 days al
ternately, with an intercalary month every
three and sometimes every two years, 10
amend inaccurate measurement They had |
six seasons-seedtime, winter, cold season,
harvest, summer and hot season. The |
Jews that returned to Palestine after tho |
overthrow Of the Jewish nation used the |
Macedonian era, which dated from Sl1 B.
c. The Jews Of today, like the Freemasons,
claim to date their calendar from creation,
which, they assert, was 376O b. @.
" seems q very easy and natural thing
for us to COW use a year as unit Of tinc
measurement, but II one would but stop to |,
think a moment he would readily sec how !
difficult it must have been originally to |
have formed that unit with nothing but
space upon which to operate. Even as late
as 450 B. G. Herodotus referrd to century
Rs three generations, and formerly in near
ly all countries the phrase i've winters or
three summers was used instead of the ex-
preston Of so many years. In the early
times tho elapse of historical events was
chronicled from central figures, as kings
or great chieftains who had won renown.
In Rome and Athens reference was made
to a magistrate when an occurrence Of that
year was mem ..oned and Ms these officers
were elected ann,,olly the method was
very convenient one. m the same way
Babylonian and Assyrian eyen,. 49,
chronicled from the term Of -.;;1os =, the
Amu much more feo-. -..nt,v than from the
aver 49, -..ngs Such systems how
A. o necessarily very limited In their
,pe,. and the want of better earlier
chronology has been felt in the study OF
authentic ancient history.
The great progress that was made In
astronomy by China and Babylonia at tb'
dawn of civilization opened the way S,r a
better time measurement. Menu views
were broadencd, and the invention Of eras
was begun. The Cninese Eegan a time
computation tb,- Is undoubtedly prehis-
toric, for thslr records Of the eciipses that
have BEN observed show chronology OF
at ceast 4,700 years duration, and their
historians assert that they had year
measurement similar to oursJulian system
fully 1000 b. &.
The earliest authentic date that has been
handed down to us was inscribed on the
foundation stone Of the temple to the sur
god at Sppara by Naram-Sin, son Of Sar
Qon. This stone was exhumed by Naboni
dus, who reigncd over Babylon about 55
b. c., and it is asserted TINT Naram-SiI
sulcd $500 years previously. From Ties
dates we learn that the chronology o
Babylon began with the reign of Sargol
/, king Of Agade, $500 j. G. From th
best information we have The cnlendA