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SUPPLEMENTARY ADDITIONS (II). 



CIRCLE OF THE HOURS. 

 I. O'CLOCK A.M. 



Obs. The revolution of the earth on its axis from any "iven 

 point to the same point again may be called the Natural Day, 

 just as the circuit of the earth in her orbit is called the Natural 

 Year. As the year is divided into seasons, months, tides, and days, 

 so the day is subdivided again into times, hours, minutes, and se- 

 conds ; and all these artificial divisions constitute the artificial years. 

 As we have described the peculiar history and the holy offices of 

 each day in the year, together with each day's natural phenomena, so 

 shall we now describe the particular offices performed and the parti- 

 cular natural phenomena which occur in each hour of the day ; and, 

 in order further to make the work complete, we shall introduce 

 some appropriate poetry for certain hours, as we did for certain days. 

 The Earth's orbit may be said to be the foundation of her Year, and 

 her rotation that of the Day ; the Moon's orbit that of the Months 

 and Weeks ; the flowering of plants that of the Seasons ; and their 

 periods of opening and shutting their blossoms that of the Hours. 

 But astronomy and the civilization which accompanied the exten- 

 sion of the Christian relig;ion has regulated, and the divine offices of 

 the Church have sanctified, tlie days, and seasons, and hours ; and 

 the study of them all together is a profitable as well as pleasing em- 

 ployment to those who would blend the useful and the delightful 

 foffether. 



After the solemn and measured strokes of the midnight bell of the 

 abbey clock have finished, vvhen, in the words of the poet, " The iron 

 tongue of midnight has lolled twelve," then the immediately follow- 

 ing hour was originally called from the Latin Prima hora or first 

 hour ; and it finished by the striking of one o'clock. The Nocturnal 

 Office of the Church in religious hours then took place. The Matins 

 and Laudes of some religious orders used to be said, and at this time 

 the solemn celebration of the Christmas Midnight Mass is celebrated. 

 The reason why the Office of Prime was afterwards said later in the 

 morning was because in the various divisions made of the canonical 

 hours some of their authors in Italy regarded the Prime as the Day- 

 break or as the Sunrise Office ; the day beginning in that country not 



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