ceremony of rekindling the facred fire in the Temple of Vefta, on the first day of March. By the practice of placing fresh laurels in the public buildings on that day: and by many other customs recorded by Macrobius. The Romulian year, if we follow the majority of authors, contained but 304 days, a period of time, differing fo widely from the length of the fun's course, that the months would rapidly revolve through all the seasons of the year. Macrobius obferves that a certain number of days neceffary to make the year approximate to the length. of the true year had to be intercalated: this intercalated period Servius fpeaks of as confifting of two months, which eventually obtained the names of Januarius and Februarius. The Calendar of Julius Cæfar. AIUS JULIUS CAESAR, in the year 45 B. C., with the affiftance of Sofigenes, an Egyptian aftronomer, introduced his re formed Roman Calendar, when the ft of January was the first day, and the 31st of December the last day of the year. February was to have 29 days in fourth years (or leap-years as they are now called), so that such fourth years might confift of 366 days. The intercalation of the extra day was made after the day marked in the Roman Calendars, "a. d. vj. Kal. Martias," which date will be found to correfpond to the 24th of February in our Calendar. This fixth of the Kalends of March was counted twice, hence the term bifextum has been applied to the intercalary day. The reformation of the Calendar is thus described by Cenforinus. The confufion was at laft carried fo far, that C. J. Cæfar, the Pontifex Maximus, in his third Confulate, with Lepidus for his colleague, inferted between the months of November and December two intercalary months (if the intercalated period may be so termed), confifting of fixty-feven days, the month of February having already received an intercalation of twenty-three days, and thus the whole year was made to confift of 445 days, which year was called by Macrobius, "the last year of confufion." It appears that everything connected with the business of intercalations was left to the unrestrained pleasure of the Pontifices; and the majority of these, on personal grounds, added to, or took from the year, capriciously, so as to lengthen or shorten the period during which a magiftrate remained in office, and thus to benefit or injure the farmer of the public revenue to a confiderable extent. Cæfar, therefore, to provide against this, and the errors caused by the fyftem, caft afide the intercalary month, and adapted the year to the fun's course, reckoning it at 365 days and 6 hours; and in confideration of the quarter of a day, which he considered would be necessary to complete the true year, he established the rule that at the end of every four years, a fingle day fhould be intercalated where the month had hitherto been inferted; that is, immediately after the terminalia, which intercalary day was at one time called the "bifextum." But those who had to attend to the Calendar (interpreting Cæsar's meaning to be, that the intercalation should take place every fourth year, reckoning according to the Roman fyftem, which included the first and last year) caused the intercalation to take place every third year, after the last leap-year, and this error prevailed for several years after Cæfar's death [44 B. C.] Twelve intercalations had taken place instead of nine before the mistake was difcovered, and there had thus been three more days intercalated than had been contemplated when the law was paffed. Sofigenes, being then still at Rome, affisted in the further correction of the Calendar, when, according to the edict of Auguftus, twelve years (i. e. 9 B. C. to 3 A. D. inclufive) were to be reckoned common years, having each only 365 days. Afterwards the intercalations were to be made according to Cæfar's rule. It thus follows that the first bifextile (or leap-year) after the correction, was 49 of the Julian Era 4 A.D. It was probably the original intention of Cæfar to commence the new year with the shortest day, the winter folftice at Rome, in the year 46 B. C. (common era), occurring on the 24th of December of the Julian Calendar. His motive for delaying the commencement for seven days longer, instead of taking the following day, was no doubt the defire to gratify the superstition of the Romans, by caufing the commencement of the first year of the Reformed Calendar to fall on the day of the new moon, for it is found that the mean new moon occurred at Rome on the 1ft of January 45 B. C. (common era), at 6h. 16m. p.m. In this way alone can the phrase used by Macrobius be explained: Annum civilem Cæfar, habitis ad lunam dimenfionibus conftitutum, edicto palam propofito publicavit. The edict is alluded to by Plutarch, where he gives the anecdote of Cicero, who, on being told by some one that the constellation Lyra would rife the next morning, obferved, "Yes, no doubt, in obedience to the edict." In the year of Julius Cæfar, which began on the Ift of January, and ended on the 31st of December, the months were Januarius, Februarius, Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis (afterwards called Julius), Sextilis (afterwards called Auguftus), September, October, November, and December. The fervices which Cæfar and Auguftus had conferred upon their country, by the reformation of the Calendar, seem to have been the immediate causes of the compliments paid to them, by altering the names of two of the months, Julius being fubftituted, in the fecond Julian year (44 B. C.), for Quintilis, the month in which Cæfar was born; and Auguftus for Sextilis, introduced by the Emperor Auguftus, at the time when he rectified the error in the mode of intercalating, Anno Auguftano xx. The first year of the Auguftan era was 31 B.C., but the year in which he took the name of Auguftus was 27 B.C. He was born in September, but gave the preference to the preceding month, for reasons stated in the Senatus-confultum, preserved by Macrobius: "Whereas the Emperor Auguftus "Cæfar, in the month of Sextilis, was firft admitted to "the Confulate, and thrice entered the city in triumph: "And in the fame month the legions, from the Jani"culum, placed themselves under his aufpices: And in "the fame month Egypt was brought under the autho"rity of the Roman people: And in the fame month an end was put to the civil wars: And whereas, for "these reasons, the faid month is, and has been moft "fortunate to this Empire, it is hereby decreed by the "Senate, that the said month shall be called Auguftus!" A plebifcitum to the fame effect was passed on the motion of Tribune Sextus Pucavius. The Julian commencement of the year has now been adopted by almost all Christian nations. The first leap year which occurred after the correction made by Auguftus, is the point of time from which the years may be faid to have been computed ftrictly according to the Julian method, and continued until the year 1582, [15 October,] when the Julian Calendar was corrected by Pope Gregory XIII., the then reformed Calendar being recognized as the New Style, a name by which it has ever fince been known. The New Style, however, was not adopted in England until the year 1752, when the day after the 2nd of September was called the 14th of September, 1752. New Style, Gregorian Year. ULIUS Cæfar's Calendar was found to be defective in this particular. The aftronomers of Cæfar's time made their calculations on the fuppofition that the folar year (with which it was Cæfar's defire that the civil year fhould accord) confifted of 365 days and 6 hours, and omitted to take into account the difference between that amount of time and the true time of the fun's course, which difference, in each year, amounted to 11 minutes and 12 feconds; confequently, in the year 1582 there was a difference of above 10 days, made up by the accumulation of the odd minutes. The reformation of the Calendar had been taken into confideration, at feveral Councils of the |