THE GREGORIAN REFORM. 



and so on. The secular leap years will always be those of which 

 the first two figures are exactly divisible by 4 without a remainder, 

 as 2000, 2400, 2800, 3200, 3600, &c., all the other secular years 

 being common years. 



105. Let us see whether the compensation thus produced for 

 the errors of the Gregorian calendar is practically sufficient, 

 for perfect it is not, nor is it possible for any such compensation 

 to be so. It has been shown, that the Julian year was too long 

 by the 129th part of a day very nearly. To compensate for this 

 Pope Gregory XIII. does what ? He takes away three days from 

 400 years, which is equivalent to taking ^th part of a day 

 from one year, whereas the quantity required to be deducted is 

 the 129th part of a day, which is greater than the 5oth part. 

 The compensation of Pope Gregory is therefore short of the 

 requisite quantity by the difference between the 129th and the 

 ^th part of a day, that is by the 3969th part of a day. 



Thus it appears that by following the Gregorian calendar the 

 equinox will not be so much as one day behind its time until an 

 interval of 3969 years elapses, counting from the year 1582, that 

 is until the year of our Lord 5551. When that time arrives the 

 evil maybe staved off for another period of 3969 years, by declaring 

 the year 5600 a common, instead of a leap year. We may, how- 

 ever, safely leave to the inhabitants of the earth at that epoch the 

 management of the affair. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. 



106. Notwithstanding the undeniable reasonableness of this 

 reform of the calendar, and the manifest absurdity of persevering 

 in calling the 21st March the vernal equinox, when all the world 

 had the evidence of their senses to prove to them that the 

 equinox had really taken place ten days earlier, the change pro- 

 posed was not generally adopted. Protestant States were opposed 

 to it because it emanated from Catholic ecclesiastical authorities, 

 and as was wittily observed, they preferred rather to be in oppo- 

 sition to the sun than in accordance with the Pope. The nations 

 professing Greek Catholicism were opposed to it because it 

 emanated from the head of the branch of their Church which 

 they denied to be orthodox. 



The papal decree fixed the exact date of the commencement of 

 the reform at the 5th October, 1582, according to the former 

 style, which day was decreed to be called the loth October. 



107. In France the change was adopted on the 10th December, 

 next following, which was called 20th December. 



In the Catholic States of Germany it was adopted in 1584. 



The Protestant German States, having resisted the reform for 

 nearly twenty years, at length yielded, and accepted it in 1600, 

 in which year the 19th February was declared to be 1st March. 



171 



