Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1903-12-28

Sun, Mercury, Venus, Moon, Mars
Jupiter. Saturn. We call three day!
of the week directly after the planet.
Saturday Saturn, Sunday (Sun)
Monday (Moon), and four through the
Saxon names for the others: Tuesday
: CTuesco-Mars), Wednesday (Woder
Mercury. Thursday CThor-Jupi
teri, and Friday Friga-venus).
The month, no doubt, originated
from the phases of the moon. These
sharp and weil-defned, are four in
number: the new moon, first quarter
full moon and last quarter Each OF
these phases occupies about seven
days, so that from new full moon to
new full moon, there is something
more than Twenty-Five days. which is
called q syncdical month, or lunation.
No nation up to the present time
has devised a system of absolute &C
curacy in the measurement OF the
collar year. Some ancient nations, such
as the Ch2ldeans, reckoned the year
as $50 days. This is the principle of
that most ancient astronomical term,
the Zodiac. The Zodiac is belt en-
circling the heavens on each side of
the ecliptic. within which the planets
known to the ancients always reyolve.
1t extends eight degrees on each side
of the ecliptic 1t is divided into
| twelve equal parts. called signs of the
Zodiac. II Is a great cycle, and is d.
vided into $50 degrees, like all ci.-
Giles; hence $50 days in the Chaldean
| year.
The Egyptians counted 355 days in
their year. As the year contains
1854 days nearly. such systems could
not fail to work great inconvenience.
for the seasons would move round in
cycle from one time of the year to
the other. Let me make this quite
plain. Take the winter solstice, for
instance, which happens on Dec. 81.
At the end of four years the solstice
would be not on Dec. 81. but on Dec.
%. The sun would be behind time. In
order, therefore, that the seasons
should occur at the same time in the
civil year. it was necessary to take
account Of this fraction Of a day.
julius Caesar, the great Roman en-
peror. determined to rectify the error.
He called the celebrated Egyptian as
tronomer, Sosigines, to his aid. Sosi- |
sines suggested the addition of day
every fourth year. This day was add
ed to February, and is known to US as
Leap Year." but to the Romans as |
Bissextile IBIS, twice, sextus, SIXTH.
This corrected calendar became
known as the Julian. But as 1t made
the year consist of Sos days, hours,
il was in excess of the actual time by
minute 1913 seconds. Small as was
this fraction, it accumulated TO about
enc day in every 1874 years.
The calendar needed reform. Time,
civil and ecclesiastical, required re-
adjustment. But to urge the reces-
sary change was dangerous, as the
learned Friar Bacon found to his cost.
For pointing out errors in the calendar
he received as a reward for the ad-
vocacy of the truth a prison, where he
remained ten years.
AS often happens, ecclesiastical
minister to civil neces-
sites. The Immediate cause of the
of the calendar was an
error in the time of observing the
Easter festival. The Council of Nice,
in A. d. 1926, decreed that Easter is
the Sunday following the full moon,
next after the Vernal equinox Owing
70 disputes arising from this decree
Pope Hilarius, in 1853, ordered that the
Daschal moon should not be the actual
'ull moon, but an ideal one, falling on
he 14th day of the moon by the
netonic cycle tso-called from Metoni,
. Greek philosopher, who discovered
{. 1t consists of nineteen years, at
he end of which the sun is in about
he same position he was at the be- I
,inning).
In 1882 it was found that the real '
equinox fell ten days before the NOM t
nal one. and from the error in the I
detonic cycle, Easter had got four r
lays wrong. Then Pope Gregory ,
XII reformed the calendar, called
fter him the Gregorian calendar, by i
he aid of Clavius, a learned Jesuit. /
The equinox of 1882, which should S
ave fallen on March 81, fell on
farch II. Gregory cut the Gordian o
not by decreeing that Oct. of that o
ear should be counted as Oct. Is. a
To the question. What is time? We 4
nay give the answer, duration, as
measured by the solar system. For g
veryday purposes and artificial d. s.
isions mechanical contrivanees are q
d
The first method of measuring time, h
s far as we know, was by means of r.
he obelisk. The pyramids of Egypt q
cry probably answered the same pur- fl
ose. Josephus states that Moses
rected, at Heliopolis. in Egypt, a pill a
IT for such purposes. The cloudy a
illar" that accompanied the Israel N
es in their forty years wanderings in S;
ne wilderness, and which was pill g
IT of fire by night" most likely an
wered the same purpose. Pliny states 81