El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-02-29

man DeIOre a calendar was constructed
/ and the return Of the seasons under
stood. Neither can II be easily under
stood how serious were the effects Of
manipulatiOns of the calendars in those
I later times when the rulers knew the
secrets OF the seasons and the pOpu-
/ lace did not OF course the calendar,
! like every other invention Of mankind,
/ is the result of long process Of evO-
/ luton
When a Week Was the Standard.
In his earliest existence man could
I not have comprehended a year, and IL
. IS thought by most people to be proba-
/ bic that the week, as the nearest ap-
/ prOach TO the quarter moon time, was
the first unit of time beyond the pri-
mary divisions Of a day and night
/ How mans ideas expanded to compre-
/ bend the month. how they came next
/ to embrace the half year, and finally
! heightened TO include the tropical
1 year; how the exact duration OF shaI
I year has been a thing 100 generations
: have sought to fix; how the nations
have worked from the remotest an
uquity TO determine a method OF time
reckoning that would keep the civil
year forever stable; these things con
stitute a fascinating story IN the book
OF human progress
The first glimpse Of antiquity which
history affords seem to be Of time
when the week was the standard unit
Of passing DAYS Whether we cOnsid-
er that II was God-fixed unit
through His six days OF labor and one
of rest. or whether we regard 1t IS the
Quarter-mOOn, established by mans Cd
servatiOn OF the luminary Of the night,
il stir seems to remain the first unit
Of time Later one begins TO near OF
the month, which was originally the
measure Of the time from full moon TO
Year Believed Variable.
There naturally is a tendency with
men today to consider that the civil
year has always been the same, ap-
proximately the length OF the solar
year. But there are many who 90
not share this belief Rather. they pc
Iieve that the year has been a var1a Die
unit, and that at first II measured the
time for a complete lunation OF the
moon, instead Of the time for jour
ney OF the earth around the sun. Later.
say those who hold this view, IL eX-
banded so as TO embrace the time be-
tween equinox and equinox Iney OIIer
the Bible a confirmation Of their view.
They say that IL Is not scientifically
possible that the span Of life could
have been so remarkably shortened in
the 81 generations between Adam and
David as the Biblical story would in
dicates and that If we consider that
the year heightened rather than that
life Shortened, We viii be on safer
ground.
Without a word in support Of or op-
position 20 this theory. il may be
related here because OF its interest as
well as for its novelty. Presenting
that the antideluvian year was meas
ured by one lunatiOn of the moon. it
, viii be found that Adam. under our
method Of time reckOnings, would have
been IS years and three months old at
the time Of his death. while Methu-
I selah would have been only IS years
and nine months old. The proponents
Of this view OF the matter say that
this comedies with the Psalmists span
Of life, three score years and O. They
-. argue that there could not have been
rrrna ar~aH Il
% generations which Holy Writ SAYS
there were between Adam and David
change that would have served to
shorten the span OF life to one-twelfth
. Its former proportions.
tt is also claimed that after the
deluge there came a lengthening Of
the BIBLICAL year TO 80 days. and that
this year continued from Noah to ia
cob. who made another revision of the
calendar This again. it is said. would
make the life span Of the patriarchs
or that day agree with that stated by
David. 1t would make Isaac "A and
Abra ham "a at the time of their
deaths. When Jacob came to revise
the calendar it is believed that he in
creased the length Of the year to $50
days, dividing the seasons into winter
and summer. The Bible states that he
took rods Of green poplar, and Of ha-
Eel and chestnut and put white strakes
In them, and students Of time-reckOn-
ing systems think he used the rods TO
Tx the dates of the sOistices and
equinoxes.
Strengthening Out Bible Time.
Tending to confirm the idea that in
the DAYS Of Jacob the year was $50
days long, is the statement of the Bible
tnat his children osFelt in Egypt 45O
years. Egyptian chronology places
the soJourn at 2l5 years. Accepting the
theory that the Biblical year then was
$50 days, the two chrOnologies would
tally.
The next calendar revisionist is said
by many to have been Moses. When the
exodus out Of Egypt came Moses de-
cided. it is asserted. to adopt the
Egyptian year. a mum Der of circum-
stances point to the probable correct
ness Of this theory. the most striking
being that thereafter Egyptian and
Biblical chronology essentially coin
eide That the Egyptians had re-
markedly accurate system Of reckon
ing time is recognized by all Egypt
OlOgists.
The present Hebrew calendar is not
exactly the same as that Of the an
cient Hebrews, although the changes
have been very slight It IS calen-
dar based on a combination or the
movements Of the sun and moon The
ordinary year is 354 days long. while
the embolismic years cover 564 DAYS,
The embolismic years are scattered
through cycle Of 10 years The Jew
ish New Year falls on or Immediately
after the new moon after the autmnal
equinox
1t mas Deen urged strongly oy co.'s
worth, Of England. that the 9xplana-
ton Of the mysteries OF the pyramids
OF Egypt Is that they were the great
and enduring clocks by which the
Egyptians measured their years and
centuries. He finds that the Great
Pyramid was built so that II would
consume its own shadow on the day OF
the equinox. Mr.. Cotsworth has pur-
sued this theory to all parts OF the
world and cites much strong evidence
in support of the idea that whether
they be found I'm Egypt. in Mexico, IN
China in England, in Assyria, in the
United States or in Peru, the pyra-
mids. mounds Obelisks, or what not
represent the efforts OF the anclents to
fix the length of the tropical year and
master the secret Of the seasons
Egyptian Guard Secret.
1t is said that the ancient Egyptian
rulers carefully guarded the secret OF
time recording from the people, the
exclusive knowledge OF the comings
and goings Of the seasons being val
liable asset in their hands. This was
especially true in the valley OF the
Nile. where plenty or famine was
largely dependent on a mastery Of the
calendar Furthermore just as many
q rude savage has IN more modern
times had his eyes opened In wonder
nal Lee Ell ~-