NOTES. 
^24 
Egypt *. I here insert an extract of a letter, which 
he has lately addressed to me. 
« j have also recognised in your memoir on 
the division of time among the Mexican nations com- 
pared with those of Asia some very striking analogies 
between the Tolteck calendar and institutions observed 
on the banks of the Nile. Among these analogies there 
is one, which is worthy of attention. It is the use of 
the vague year of 365 days, composed of equal months 
and of five complementary days, equally employed at 
Thebes and Mexico, a distance of 3000 leagues. It 
is true, that the Egyptians had no intercalation, while 
the Mexicans intercalated 13 days every 52 years. Still 
farther, intercalation was proscribed in Egypt to such 
a point, that the kings swore on their accession, never 
to permit it to be employed during their reign. Not- 
withstanding this difference, we find a very striking 
agreement in the length of the duration of the solar 
year. In reality the intercalation of the Mexicans, 
being thirteen days on each cycle of fifty-two years, 
comes to the same thing as that of the Julian Calendar, 
which is one day in four years ; and consequently sup- 
poses the duration of the year to be 365 days six hours. 
Now such was the length of the year among the Egyp- 
tians, since the sothic period was at once 1460 solar 
years, and 146 1 vague years; which was in some sort 
the intercalation of a whole year of 375 days every 
* See the interesting memoirs of Mr. Jomard, on the Lake 
Moeris compared with the lake of Fayoum, on Syene and the cata- 
racts, on the island of Elephantina, on Ombos and its environs, and on 
the antiquities of Edfou and Hermontgis, making a part of the Descrip- 
tion of ancient and modern Egypt, for which we are indebted to the mu 
nificence of the French government. 
