COMMON THINGS TIME. 



divide the year into a certain number of equal parts, with a 

 remainder, and to count that remainder as a supplemental part, 

 just as in arithmetic, when the dividend is not exactly divisible 

 by the divisor, we give the quotient, and name the remainder ; or, 

 secondly, to resolve the year into some convenient number of 

 unequal parts, which would be effected by distributing the days 

 composing the remainder between the equal divisions obtained by 

 the former expedient. 



Both of these expedients have accordingly been adopted by 

 different nations in different ages, but the latter has eventually 

 received the general preference, and the year is now, by all the 

 more civilised nations of the world, divided into twelve unequal 

 parts, called, somewhat inappropriately, MOXTHS. 



55. The Egyptians, adopting the first of the expedients above 

 stated, divided the year into twelve equal months of thirty days. 

 The remaining five days formed a complementary division at the 

 end of the year, and were intercalated before the commencement 

 of the next year. 



56. The division of the year into months by the Greeks was not 

 only incongruous and obscure, but no two states of the confedera- 

 tion agreed either in the number, or the lengths, or the names of 

 their months, nor even in the beginning of their year. Generally, 

 however, all agreed in resolving the year into twelve months of 

 unequal lengths. Some states commenced the year at the summer 

 solstice, some at the winter solstice, and some at or near the 

 autumnal equinox. A dozen or more separate states called the 

 months by different names. Some months were designated by 

 specific names, while others were indicated only by their nume- 

 rical order, counting from the beginning of the year ; but as the 

 states did not begin their years from a common epoch, months 

 having the same numerical designation in different states corre- 

 sponded to different seasons. Thus, the fifth Attic month 

 corresponded with November, the fifth Lacedemonian with 

 February, the fifth Boeotian with May, the fifth Delphic witli 

 January, and so on. The enormous confusion which must arise 

 from such discordance between different provinces of a nation, 

 having the same language, and the numerous and perplexing 

 difficulties of interpretation of Greek authors, writing according 

 to such different customs, can be easily imagined. 



"We forbear to encumber our pages with the eleven series of 

 names of these months, which, being all obsolete, would have no 

 other utility than to aid the interpretation of the Greek authors. 

 Those who desire such information, will find sufficient for their 

 purpose in the " Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities" of 

 Dr. Smith, Art. Calendarium. 

 148 



