Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-01-19
AMMO DOMINI.

terest There have been In the worlds
history an almost unlimited number of
events from which dates have been reck-
oned. 1t was for many centuries common
for rulers TO date from their accession
to power. Families and tribes on be.
coming sufficiently intelligent to attempt
TO keep an account of time sometimes
reckoned 1t by the number of moons,
and later by the period of the re-
curing moons of the same season, com
posing lunar year or about 354 days.
Time had never been adjusted to the true
solar year, with variation of only few
seconds, until the adoption of the Gregg
rian calendar in 1882. For more than a
thousand years the Romans computed
time by indictions or periods of about II
years. These periods were in use in France
in the 18th century The Greeks reckoned
time by periods of about four years, which
was the time of the recurrence of the
Olympic games
Students of chronology have given much
laborious study to the task of finding the
dates of events in ancient history, and
making them correspond with the dates Of
the Christian era, and with the true year,
with such varying results that the exact
time OF any occurrence alleged TO have tax
en- place thousands of years ago must be
considered uncertain. Many nations have
dated, and still date, from the creation of
the world, or from the time when it was
supposed that event occurred, but Biblical
scholars, figuring from Genesis and other
books Of the Old Testament, make differ
ence of several hundred years i'm the time
that has elapsed since the beginning of the
world. One writer on the chronology of
sacred history, quoted in the International
cyclopgdia, and also in Appleton's, has
collected more than 200 different dates Of
the era of creation, the shortest being 34S3
years, and the longest 1854, difference of
1901 years. There is said to be an era of
the creation in use in India, which is only
3lO2 years. The Jewish era of creation
begins Oct. l, 1851 b. c., and is, therefore,
now $500 years from the creation. The
most generally accepted era of creation be-
gan little more than 1000 years b. c.,
and will require nearly a century more to
complete an even 5000 years. Any of
these figures is practically better for a date,
and takes less time to write, than would
any number approXimating the estimates
of modern science.
The year 1900 corresponds to the year
$500 of the japanese era; to l317-1S Of
the Mohammedan era, and 10 74OS-9 of
the Byzantine era or the civil era of Con
stantinople. The year of the Moham-
medan era begins May l, and the Byzan-
tine era Sept. 1. Each one of all the
months has been taken to begin the year.
The Julian eraw, hich began As B. c., was
perhaps one Of the first to begin the year
with the month of January.
The Christian era was made TO begin
Jan. l, corresponding with the beginning
of the year in the Julian chronology, but
that date for the beginning of the year has
not been in uniform use in the countries
adopting the Christian era As late as the
middle OF the 18th century the 18th of
March was considered the beginning of
the year in England, and the legal year in
! the American colonies must have CORE
! sponded with that in England.
The Gregorian calander was adopted in
! England in 1852, and at the same time the
beginning of the lagal year was changed
| from March % to Jan. l. Only nine
months and seven days we're counted as
belonging to the year 1851, the months of
! January, February and "a days of March
being lost to that year. September 3 was
changed TO September II. Eleven days
we're added to correct the loss of time that
had occurred by making the year too long
! by the old method.
/ ~ WHAT tlLuC ulu pNbplt utElu W udAc
! from the birth of Christ? Without knowl-
edge Of the facts it might be supposed that
| dating from this time was begun in His
age, and that as Christianity spread it was
at length adopted by the principal nations of
the world. II appears, however, that dates
| of the Christian era were not in use until
centuries after the birth of Christ. All
historians and chronologists seem TO be
agreed that Dionysius Exguus, Roman
monk Of the sixth century, first proposed
| the date which has since been established
as the Christian era. The date from the
! birth of Christ which Dionysius first pro-
| posedIwas, according to Haydn's dictionary
! of dates, about $780, according TO the In
ternational cyclopedia about 527. Diony-
sius died in Rome in 54j, according To one
| authority; according TO another in $50;
to another in 557; to another in $50.
II was not until several centuries later
that a date founded upon Dionysius's
chronology of the birth of Christ came
into use. 1t is stated in Haydn's diction-
airy Of dates that the first religious body to
adopt it was the council of bishops of
| Chelsea in S16. The first official Iecogni-
ton of the Christian era by a nation was
made by Charles III. of Germany in $40.
The date of the Christian era began to be
used in England about the tenth century.
The Century dictionary states that
Dionysius placed the birth of Christ, Dec. 25
in the year one, B. c., the year one A. d.
beginning Jan. following Alfred II. Guern-
sey, in Applelon's cyciopedia, says that
| Dionysius begun his year with the Annun-
citation, March %, nine months before the
day which is now considered TO be the
birthday of Christ; $50 that his era, which
continued in use for some centuries, is by
so much in advance of that now in USE"
Not to notice further this difference of
nine months in the starting point as given
by different authorities, it is now conceded
by chronologists that DiORysius placed the
| birth of Christ from three TO six years too
late. The birth is generally believed to
have taken place about the year 4 A. d. (;
or four years before the Dionysian date
adopted in the date of the Christian era.
One writer, however, quoted in Haydn's
dictionary of dates-W. 7. Lynn-thinks
that Dionysius' date of the birth of Christ
was FIVE years too early, making differ
ence of eleven years between few of the
many writers who have made the question
a subject of study.
We cannot know, and it is not material
that we should know, the time of the birth
of Christ; it is enough that we are living
in the year 1900 of the Christian era,
M. o. HOWE.
| NeWfane, Vt.