The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1900-01-10
Camille Flammarion Says 1t Be-
gins on January I, 1901.
VIEWS OF FRENCH ASTRONOMER.
lie Asserts That All Chronological
Scientists Agree In Placing Dawn
Of Twentieth Hundred at Midnight
of December 81. 1900 = Discussion
Recurs nj Close of Each Period.

Of grace I999-which. by the way. will
be favored 10y very fine eclipse of the
sun. total in the neighborho0d O.. Paris
on Aug II at p minutes past 10 o'clock
in the morning-our -grandehil-
1 dren win put the same question. Again.
in the fin de steele newspapers of the
| Period there viii sriIl be distinguished
minds to repeat the centuries old con-
/ fusion.
Progress is slow In the human race
One hundred years ago the discussion
was very keen and was even reflected
on the stage. In 1900 there was played
NJ little theater in the Boulevard du
Temple n piece entitled En- Quel Sic
Gle Vivons Nous. Bon Dieu2" which
| had some little success. a title which
would again be an "actualite" next
year.
In what times are we living? Ger
| tainly not in those OF the age of reason.
Moreover. the discussions of the last
/ century have not convinced everybody.
For example. Victor Hugo was born on
/ Feb. 2G 1892. At that date the cen
tury was Is months. - days and few
hours old. do not think that any one
ever says OF a child Of that age that it
is years old. yet the immortal poet.
| speaking of his birth at Besaneon.
wrote. as every one knows:
&c steele await deux ans; Rome remplacait spsrte;
| Deja Napoleon percait sous Bonapartc.
It du premier consul; deja par maint endroit
Le front De fempereur brisat le masque etroit-
In spite of what is called poetical IL
cense Victor Hugo would not have
written these words unless he had
thought that the nineteenth century
| began in 1900.
Poets perhaps reckon otherwise than
! astronomers: Did not NJ de Heredia
! Of the French academy say recently.
in October 1896 in his greeting TO the
Emperor Nicholas in connection with
the POnt Alexandre. which will be
opened during the exhibition of 1900:
Et qrand raube du steele venir aura Iui
Faris. transport universel de ioie.
Ouyriera aerement Ia triomphale vote
Au couple triomphal gull acclame auiourdhui-
Frsncisque Sarcey also called the
year 1900 .'raube du steele" Well.
no: the dawn of the twentieth century
will not yet have shone in 1900. Al
though we hear the exhibition of 1900
/ spoken of every moment as the in
auguration OF the twentieth century. it
Is the end-the twilight-of the nine
/ teenth century.
| | have before me several works of
the year 16g9. First. a dissertation on
! the beginning of the next century TO
| ascertain which OF the two years. 100
| or 1901. is the first Of the century: sec
| ond. critical letter 10 the author of
| the dissertation: third. fresh disserta-
| ton on the next century In which il is
( shown that the year 1900 is the first OF
the century. fourth The authors
quarrel on thc beginning Of the next
/ century decided"
[ These four little books were printed
in Paris in the year 1G99. They consist
| Of endless discussions with arguments
drawn from the Bible. from the IA
Tiers of the church. from the Christian
/ dogma. from Noah's deluge. from the
institution OF jubllees by the pope
| the intermiuable gossip Of advocates
which confuscs the question to such an
extent that it is impossible TO make
tnything Of it. in spite Of the subtle
distinctions drawn between ordinal
cardinal numbers
The authors have even taken the
trouble 10 insert geOmetricai figures TO
show how the years should be separat-
81 and counted. Dissertations of the
came kind are met with in 1893. Even
The pope. who was mixed up in them.
lid not settle the question. but left it
20 the astronomers. who. moreover
have never varied any more than has
arithmetic. Yet this eternal question
IS simple enough.
\ dozen is composed of u unities.
and No. u forms a part of the dozen
y hundred is composed of 100 unities.
and No. 100 forms 4 part Of the hun
dred. Now. there was no year O. In
the Christian era the first II months
are called the first year. or the year l.
When Christ came into the world.
40 enc suspected the importance of hi.
coming nor the place which the re-
hsion that he was TO found would take
in the political history of nations The
year Of his birth passed unperceired
By the Romans As 10y the Hebrews
Even the first century OF Christianity
md the second. third. fourth and fifth
had no place in the calendar. II was
Inly in the year 532 that the Christian
era was proposed by a monk Of the
Roman church, born in Scyihla. named
DionysiuS. who on account Of his short
stature was nicknamed Dionysius the
Little. or Dionysirs Exiguus.
II was he who constituted the Chris
tian era. That. as has been seen. was
only in the sixth century. He supposed
that Christ was born on Dec. -. i'm the
year of Rome 753, and the year 75I Of
the foundation Of Rome became the
first OF the Christian era. This first
year was not. therefore. even in the
idea Of Dionysius. that Of the birth of
Christ. Its heginnins was seven days
posierior to his birth.
The monk DinnvSius made in his his
torical researches a mistake Of four
years. which can easily be verified, as
the date OF the death Of Herod is ac-
curately known. Christ was born in
the year of Rome I49. not In T53. and
died al the age of 81. not SO. and the
whole Christian era Is four years too
young. But it world certainly be in
convenient to change Ii. although this
mistake has been known for some CEN
turies. II is already referred 10 in the
dissertations mentioned. whose Chris
tian era has been kept as il was pro-
posed by Dionysius the Little. 1t is
rufiicient if people are agreed. 1t is
ilearly matter of convention.
But. whatever date be adopted for the
beginning Of the Christian era. there
WIS no year o. Therefore the first
year is the year l. The tenth year is
10. and the hundredth year of the first
century is the year 100. Put in this
form. the problem docs not leave a
shadow Of doubt in the minds OF the
reader. Nothing in the world could be
simpler. When the French revolution
created a new calendar. 1t acted in the
same way. IL did not think of a year
D. II called its first year the year l.
What appears to deceive certain
minds. probably superficial. at Isast as
far as chronology is concerned. is the
change in the first two figures of the
century-the figures 1879 to 1900. 1899
TO 1900. etc. In these 80 years there
is change from II 10 Is and from
Is to 10. This is true. but there is 70
other difference than that which makes
the change from No. TO No. 10 and
from No. 80 TO No. lOO-that is to say.