1022 RECKONING OF TIME AMONG THE ROMANS. 
such as he found it. The common Roman year, when he undertook the rectification of the calendar, consisted ol 
355 days, distributed among twelve months in the following manner :— 
Januarius.. .29 days ; 
Maius. 
.31 days; 
September . .29 days ; 
Februarius. .28 “ 
Junius. 
.29 “ 
October.31 “ 
Martius.31 “ 
Quintilis... 
.31 “ 
November.. .29 “ 
Aprilis.29 “ 
Sextilis.... 
.29 “ 
December. ..29 “ 
h 
which, added to the five days taken from 
Februarius, make a total of 27 or 28 days; 
In earlier times, the year began with Martius. It will be seen that this year was considerably shorter than the 
solar year; so that, if no correction were applied, each month would be continually going the round of all the sea- 
sons. Januarius would be at one time in the dead of winter, at another in midsummer. This was attempted to be 
remedied by means of an intercalary month, called Mercedonius, consisting alternately of 22 and 23 days, which 
was thrown in at the close of February of every second year, namely after the 23d of that month, the anniversary 
of the Terminalia, originally the closing festival of the year. The first months of an intercalary year would 
therefore stand thus :— 
Januarius.29 days ; 
Februarius.23 “ 
Mercedonius. .22 or 23 
Martius.31 “ 
and so on, as above. Four years, upon this plan, would contain 1465 days, or four days more than a Julian qua- 
driennium. Here, then, was an average annual excess of one day, which required a further correction. How this 
was applied is not satisfactorily ascertained, though there are indications of a cycle of 24 years, in theory, if not in 
use But had the calendar been perfectly correct in theory, and much better adapted to practice than it really was, 
the mismanagement to which it was subjected would inevitably have perverted it. The direction of the intercalation 
was left to the pontifices, who did not scruple to consult private interest at the expense of the public convenience. 
When Julius Cmsar set about his work of reformation, the first of January had retrograded nearly to the autumnal 
equinox. Accordingly we find, in the year 705, Cicero writing to Atticus, under date of the 16th of May (XVII 
Kal Jun) in these words, — Nunc quidem aequinoctium nos moratur. The Roman 16th of May ol that year has 
been computed to correspond to the Julian 24th of March, which was in fact the day before the vernal equinox. 
Cresar, in order to bring the first of January to the place it was to hold, was obliged to make a year of 445 days, 
in which, besides the Mercedonius of 23 days, which was inserted in its usual place, two extraordinary intercalary 
months making a sum of 67 days, were thrown in between the 29th of November and the first of December. When 
therefore we find Cicero, in the year 708, speaking of a. d. V. Cal. Intercalares priores, we are to understand 
nereby the 26th of November of that year, as it was actually reckoned, or the 23d of September of the anticipated 
Julian reckoning. This year is called the year of confusion. 
The chief alteration effected by Ccesar was the abolition of the Mercedonius, and the distribution of the ten 
days which had hitherto been lacking, among some of the other months. But as his year was still too short by 
about a quarter of a day, which, in four years, would amount to a day, he provided for the insertion, every fourth 
year, of a day, immediately after the Terminalia or 23d of February. His corrected year, therefore, stood as 
follows 
Maius.31 days; September. .30 days; 
Junius.30 “ October ... .31 “ 
Quintilis_31 “ November . .30 “ 
Sextilis.31 “ December..31 “ 
Januarius.. .31 days ; 
Februarius.. 28 “ in leap year 29 ; 
Martius.31 “ 
Aprilis.30 “ 
The months Quintilis and Sextilis afterwards received the names of Julius and Augustus, in honor of the first 
two emperors. Simple as Cfesar’s method was, the pontifices mistook it, and for some time went on to make tie 
intercalation every third year. But Augustus finally corrected the error by omitting the intercalary day for twelve 
years in succession. , . . , . 
The Romans did not count the days of the month in a regular numerical succession, as we do, but reckoned 
them with reference to three principal points, the Calends (Calendar), the Nones {Nonce), and the Ides (Lius). T ie 
Calends were invariably the first of the month. In March, May, Quintilis (July), and October, the only month 
which before Caesar, lad 31 days, the Nones were the seventh and the Ides the fifteenth of the month ; in all other 
months the Nones were the fifth and the Ides the thirteenth; so that the Nones were always eight days before the 
Ides The Romans, after passing one of these points, counted forward to the next, calling the day after t e 
Calends so many days before the Nones, the day after the Nones so many days before the Ides, and so on. c- 
cordin-dy the days were numbered back from ewh point to the preceding. By this arrangement, the last day o a 
month was called the day before the Calends of the next month ; thus the 31st of January was Pndte Calendar 
Februarius or Februarii, or Calendarum FebruaHarum or -ii ; for the names of the Roman months are proper y 
adiectives, which, when used substantively, have mensis understood. The day before that, the thirtieth of January, 
was reckoned as the third day before the Calends of January (for the Romans counted in the current day), and wa 
Expressed by Tertio Calendas (sc. die ante) or Calendarum Februarius or -arum, or, substantively, -n. o, 
