Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1900-01-11
The Century Ouestion n.

SOnSlucIdDlC llIIiS has OCSu spout
in argument as to the time when the
twentieth century begins. Some say
it began January 1st, 1900, while
others argue that it does not COM
mence until January 1st, 1901. The
following from French professor
seems to us the proper view:
every hundred years toward the
end of each century this question of
the date of the change of century is
discussed. 1 have before me docu-
ments of 1899, 1909, and 1899,
which pose the problem and turn it
over and over.
Again, hundred years hence, in
the year of grace 19oo-which, by
the way, will be favored by very
fine eclipse of the sun, total in the
neighborhood of Paris on August II
at 20 minutes past 10 o'clock in the
mornlng-our great-grand-chlldren
will put the ssme question. Again,
in the fn-de-siecle newspapers of
the period there will still be dis
tinguished minds to repeat the cen
tury's confusion.
Yet this eternal question is simple
enough. A dozen is composed of
twelve unities and No IL forms part
of the dozen.
A hundred is composed of hun
dred unities, and No. 100 forms
a part of the hundred.
There was no year o.
In the Oh. istian Era the first IL
months are called the first year, or
the year one.
When Christ came into the world
no one suspected the importance of
his coming, nor the place which the
religion that he was to found would
take in the political history of ma
tons. The year of his birth passed
unperceived by the Romans as by
the Hebrews. Even the First cen
fury of Christianity and the second,
third, fourth and fifth, had no place
in the calendar.
1t was only in the year 532 that
the Christian era was proposed by a
monk of the Catholic church, born at
Scythia, named Dionysius, who, on
account of his short stature, was
nicknamed Dionysius the little. 1t
was he who constituted the Christ
ian era. That, as has been seen,
was in the Sixth century. He sup
posed that Christ was born on Dec.
IS, fin the year of Rome, 753, and
the year 754 of the foundation of
Rome became the first of the Christ
ian era.
This first year was not, therefore,
even in the idea of Dionysius, that
of the birth of Christ. Its begin
ming was seven days posterior to his
birth. The monk Dionysius made
in his historical researches a mistake
of four years, which can easily be
verified, as the date of the death of
Herod is accurately known.
Christ was born in the year of
Rome 74o, not in 753, and died at
the age of 81, not 80, and the whole
Christian era is four years too
young.
But it would certainly be incon-
venient to change it, although this
mistake has been known for some
centuries.
But, whatever date be adopted
for the beginning of the Christian
era, there was no year o.
Therefore, the first year is the
year I. The tenth year is 10 and
the hundredth year of the First cen
fury is the year 100.
Put in this form, the problem
does not leave a shadow of a doubt
in the mind of the reader. Nothing
in the world could be simpler.
When the French revolution
created new calendar it acted in
the same way. 1t did not think of
a year o. 1t called its first year the
year I.
1t is, therefore, on December 81,
1900, at midnight, precisely, that
the century will end.