The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1900-01-13
are We Living in the Twentieth Cen
tury Of the Christian Era
~ Il. r Hawis3u. LL d
To The Fae -ance:

To The F.e -ance:
read the communication from one
whom you designate as our friend ano
correspondent, Squire Thos W Frank
lin ." " tn approval If his views.
have SINE read ur brief editorial IN
your is ne Of saturday. January 9th.
1900 In this The Free Lance ar-
gues that we are not now living in the
twentieth century Of the Christian era
and that that century will not com
mence until after the year 1901 shall
have been ended Feeling assured, from
past experience that The Free Lance
Is liberal IN its policy as 70 the ptiuci'
pie Of "audire alteram partem. and
knowing that many Of our people de-
sire light on this question. send tC
you an article as brief as It could be
made consistently with a competent
presentation Of the evidence.
Mathematics chronology and history
all unite their voices in declaring that
Leo XIII the Ponuf Of the Roman
Church. and Kaiser wilhelm. Emperor
Of the Germ IN States. are right in the
decision lately announced by both OF
them. that we have entered upon ana
are now living in the twentieth cen
turv ~ the Christian era
In the close Of your editorial you al
lude e. "the error o. to the blrth OF
Chri,r. which occu red chronologIcslly
in the year O. That question Is
set unsettled, but whether settled OF
unsettled. IT does Mt, in the slightest
darree eiFcc: the question as 70 whether
we ar now living in the twentieth
century If the Christian era In wnat-
ever year Of the four debated years Of
he reign Of the Emperor August ~
Cp,ar Christ was born, it Is certain
,hat the designations Of the beginnings
and ends Of years and Of centuries made
5v what is called The Christian Era, -
all run from the moment Of the birth
Of Christ into this world Therefore
that question about those four years Is
eliminated, thoroughly and finally. IN
this discussion.
But a far more pertinent and essential
enquiry arises herein, the settlement Of
which does substantially affect the
question as TO the designation Of the
century in which we are now living
This enquiry is: When was the Chris
tian Era" with its designations OF
time. established? Some intelligent
people, who hold to the 1901 theory, be-
lieve that the Christian Era" was es'
tablished Immediately after the birth
of Christ. This is q grave error, and
has deplorably darkened counsels here
in. The Christian Era. " with its
designations Of the beginnings and endl
of years and Of centuries, was not es
taIlished until many centuries, after
the birth OF Christ. had elapsed. An
EZRA" means a period Of time running
from the occurrence Of some greatly i'm
portsnt or sublime event The Chris
tiaus in the Roman Empire had been
50 accustomed to and. as it were, en-
slaved to the designations Of the heather
era. known as the "Seleucidian, that
they continued to use it, in estimating
and describing periods and points Of
time, for many centuries after Christ
was born The facts on this subject
are thus summed up by the learned
Professor HeIzOg
THE Christian Era, thus called be-
cause it dates from the person Of Christ,
is now universally used by the nations
of Europe and America; but five CEN
turies elapsed before it was invented
aud five more before it was general j
adopted Schsff- HerzJg l, 1852
But from the time when it was es.
tablished all over Ohristendom its desig-
nations Of time and Of ends and of be-
ginDings Of years aud centuries have
been recognized and adopted.
Now it is certainly true that. by the
fixed designation of the Christian Era.
when one year had passed and ended,
dating from the birth Of Christ, the
point of time was designated as the
year lone" or (D, and the next mo-
ment of time was designated as in the
year two" of the Christian Era. And
upon precisely the same principles OF
arithmetic, and for the same reasons,
when the full period Of one hundred
years from the birth Of Christ had come
to an end the Christian Era designated
that point Of time as the First Cen
tury," and the next moment or the
next day was in the second century.
According to the established designa'
tions of the Christian Era it was not
needful that the year A. D l01 should
have arrived before the first century
ended
Aud thus the designations Of the
Christian Era have continued evel
since, and thus they exist now. The
mark A D. 600 meant the end OF tbs
fifth century, and the next day was II
the sixth century. The designation A
d 1900, meant the end Of the fifteenth
century, and the next day was in th'