COMMON THINGS TIME. 



The days of Mars, Jupiter, and Venus have been called TUES- 

 DAY, THURSDAY, and FRIDAY, from TUESCO, THOE, and FRIGGA, 

 the Mars, Jupiter, and Yenus of the Scandinavian mythology. The 

 day of Mercury has been called WEDNESDAY, from WODIIT or 

 ODIIT, the chief of the gods. 



In all legislative and judiciary acts and documents, the Latin 

 names of the days of the week are still retained. 



Derivations of the Latin names, with one or two exceptions, 

 are used in the languages of "Western Europe. SUNDAY is an 

 exception, the name of which is a derivative of DIES DOMINICA, 

 the LOED'S-DAY, and SATURDAY, in Italian, is SABBATO, the 

 SABBATH, that day being the Jewish Sabbath. 



There is another method of connecting the series of days of the 

 week with the seven celestial objects from which their names have 

 .been taken, so as to explain the order in which they succeed each 

 other, which if it be only from respect to its antiquity may be 

 worth mentioning here. 



The ancient astrologers, among whom were included a large 

 number of astronomers, properly so called, imagined a mystical 

 figure, in the centre of which the earth was placed, surrounded by 

 the seven celestial bodies dividing the circular space as shown in 

 fig. 4, into seven equal arcs. From each planet's place two straight 

 lines were supposed to be drawn to the places of the two most 

 remote planets in the circular order, so as to form seven triangles, 

 each of which has two rectilinear sides and an arc of the circle as 

 its base. The planets succeed each other round this circle in the 

 order of their then supposed distances, in the same manner as 

 already explained. Thus Saturn is succeeded by Jupiter, which 

 is followed by Mars, and so on as in the former case. 



Now let us suppose that commencing from any one planet, the 

 moon for example, we follow in regular succession the intersecting 

 straight lines, we shall find that the planets succeed each other in 

 the same order as that of the days of the week, or in the contrary 

 order. Thus proceeding from A, we pass to B, from B to c, and so 

 on, following the course indicated by the arrows, and the names of 

 the planets at A, B, c, D, E, F, and G are precisely those from which 

 the names of the days of the week, beginning from Monday and 

 ending with Sunday, are taken. If we had followed the other 

 course against the direction of the arrows, we should have obtained 

 the names in a contrary order, as if we went backwards through 

 the week. 



In the cabalistic doctrines of astrology there were various 

 influences imputed to the succession of planets thus obtained, with 

 which we have however here no concern. 



In both systems the number seven which forms the basis of the 

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