Divisions of Time. 1 5 



ng, as it is shown by the clock, it is termed the 

 thirteenth hour of the day, and so on to the end 

 of the twenty-four hours. 



With respect to the civil day, its commence- 

 ment has not been established by all nations at 

 the same period. The Babylonians began to 

 count the hours of the day from the rising of the 

 sun. The Jews and Greeks, on the contrary, 

 counted from his setting ; and this, I believe, is 

 the practice in Italy at present. All the other 

 countries of Europe begin their day as we do, 

 immediately after midnight. 



In the Latin, the seven days of the week are 

 denominated after the sun, moon, and the pri- 

 mary planets. With the exception of Saturday 

 and Sunday, the French follow the same plan. 

 In four of our days, Tuesday, Wednesday, 

 Thursday, and Friday, we have adopted the 

 names of four of the Saxon divinities, who are 

 said to correspond with Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, 

 and Venus ; Saturday, Sunday, Monday, are the 

 same as the Roman names. 



Four weeks two days and about T 7 ^th consti- 

 tute a mean solar month, that is, the time in 

 which the sun appears to traverse one sign, or 

 twelfth part of the zodiac. The actual lengths, 

 however, varv, by reason of the earth's variable 

 motion in different parts of its elliptical orbit. 



Twelve months constitute a year, or that pe- 

 riod in which the earth completes its orbit round 

 the sun, or in which the sun appears to have 



