THE MONTHS. 



62. Unequal as were the lengths of the months instituted by 

 Romulus, still greater inequality, irregularity, and confusion, 

 were introduced by his successors. In the Romulian year of 

 ten months, the months of March, May, Quintilis (afterwards 

 July), and October, had each thirty-one days, all the others 

 having thirty. When it was decided to render the year more 

 conformable to the solar phenomena, by increasing its length, 

 it was resolved to add fifty-one days to it; but this being 

 considered too much for one month, and too little for two, one 

 day was taken for each of the six months having thirty days ; 

 and the fifty- seven days thus obtained were divided into two 

 months, twenty-nine being given to January, and twenty-eight 

 to February. 

 The months then stood as follows : 



January . 

 February . 

 March . 

 April 



May if,.-' 

 June. 



Days. 

 29 

 28 

 31 

 29 

 31 

 29 



July (then Quintilis) 

 August (then Sextilis) 

 September. 

 October . 

 November . 

 December 



Days. 

 31 

 29 

 29 

 31 

 29 

 29 



The practice of such arithmetical caprices in dealing with 

 matters upon which all chronological and historical records must 

 more or less depend, would seem inexplicable if tradition had not 

 supplied a clue to it. Why, for example, take a day from each 

 of the months of thirty, instead of the obvious expedient of taking 

 the odd day from each of those having thirty-one days ? 



63. It appears that in these times odd numbers were regarded 

 as lucky or auspicious, even ones unlucky or inauspicious. A 

 point was therefore made to create divisions of time, consisting, 

 as far as possible, of odd numbers of days ! Months of twenty-nine 

 and thirty-one days were, therefore, preferable to months of thirty 

 days. Fifty-one days being added to 304, gave a year of 355 

 days, which, being an odd number, answered very well. But it 

 was impossible to divide an odd number into twelve parts, all of 

 which are odd, since twelve odd numbers added together would 

 make an even number. One of the twelve months was doomed, 

 by the very nature of things, and the laws of number, to consist 

 of an even number of days. This unlucky number was, therefore, 

 as a matter of course, assigned to February, over which the Genius 

 of Death presided, and which was appropriated to the celebration 

 of the Festival of the Dead. Hence it arose that February has 

 the exceptional number of twenty-eight days. 



Before we hastily visit with harsh censure this most absurd 

 superstition, let us pause, and look at home, and see if we be 



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