St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-01-17
The Twersieth Century.

There are quit a few who believe we
are in the twenteth century and one OF
them is the new president of Wellesley
College. Here b President Hazards
opinion on the SUBJECT:
The discussion as to whether the nine
tenth century ended Dec. 81, 1899, or a
year later, seems Is far from conclusions
as was a similai one hundred years
ago. Yet, the Whole problem is involved
in the definition of the number of the
year. Is it cardinal or an ordinal? Is
this year 1899 or 1899th? To answer
this question is to solve the pre- blem.
Can it be answeIed conclusively? Can
we ascertain in What sense those who
originated the chronological system
known as "The y,ar of our Lord" used
the date A. D.? What did they mean
by January 1, A. 2. 1:
1t must be understood that this system
was not originated until many years
after the death Of Christ. The Church
Fathers who conceived it, desired by its
means to commdno what they re.
garded as the most important event in
the worlds history. They wished to
make it a date for computations not
only for events following but OF history
preceding; so that the story of the Old
Testement no less than that of the New
could be measured and dated by it. It's
application to sctiptural history was
made by the learned Archbishop Usher,
and it is not difficult to ascertain
whether he regarded the dates as ordi.
nails or cardinals.
The chief difficulty met by those who
regard the year as indicating completed
time is to dispose pt the first year in the
era. Perhaps the learned Fathers per-
ceived the same difficulty. AT any rate
they avoided it by so applying the sys-
tenn to the Julian era then in vogue
that no recorded event occurred during
the first year B. G. or the first year A. D.
Thus, the promise to Zachariah was
B. c. 6; the miraculous conception B. c.
s. the birth at Bethlehem B. c. 4; the
return from Egypt B. c. 8 or 2: the
going up to the feast A. D. 8; and the
baptism by John A. D. e.
Now if January 1, A. D. 1, meant the
commencement of the Christian era the
time elapsing between b. c. and A. D. 1
would be one year. If on the contrary
the commencement of the era was re-
garded as starting point OF mathemat-
ical zero, then, B. c. corresponding to
minus one, and A. D. corresponding to
plus one, the time between the two dates
would be two years; and January 1, A.
D. /, would indicate the commencement
OF the second year. Happily, for this
controversy, we are not left ignorant of
the use which Archbishop Usher makes OF
the term. In Luke H., AZ, we learn that
Jesus was twelve years old when he ac-
companied his parents to the feast at
jerusalem. The bible chronology says
this was A. D. s, and that Christ was
born B. c. Therefore, as surely as
and make ~, just so surely in Arch
bishop Usher's use Of the term, did A. D.
8 mean eight completed years and not
the eighth year of the era But If A. D.
8 meant s completed years, 1899 means
1899 completed years, and Sunday,
Dec. 81, 1899, at midnight 1900 years
were completed, and at the same instant
the twentieth century began. This con.
clusion is in harmony with the statement
of the learned DR.. Meyers, professor Of
astronomy at the Chicago university,
who says that "the date of the Christian
era always shows how many years have
elapsed" 1t also makes the nomen-
clature of the centuries consistent. The
eighteenth century took in all that had
II in the hundreds column, the nine
tenth all that had Is and the twentieth
will include all that will have 10.