Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

How to reduce

S. 12. Unequal hours may be reduced to equal, by knowing firft the Quantity of the Natural day in equal anequal to hours, at a determined time and place. For that beequal

Hours.

of the De

ons of Hours.

ing given, we fay, as 12 hours is to the Quantity of the Natural day, fo is one equal hour to the unequal hour that answers it. By this means the proportion between equal and unequal Hours will be fo well known, that it will be very eafię to reduce them. For Example, fuppofe at Witteberg, that the greatest natural day is 16 hours and a half; then one equal hour 22 30 will anfwer to an unequal hour, or the twelfth part of the Natural Day.

S. 13. The various Computations of the time among Nominati- feveral Nations, occafion a diverfity in the Denominations of Hours. Those which commence their Order from the rifing of the Sun, were called Babylonian hours; thofe which begin from its fetting, are known by the name of Italian; and the hours that take their courfe from Midnight, are ftiled in general, European. But after all, fome give the unequal hours the title of Jewish or Ancient.

The Auci

S. 14. The Cuftom of the Romans in their Divifion ents, their of the feveral Hours of the Day for their ordinary Divifion of Hours Concerns, Martial l. 4. ep. 9. gives us the following

for Labour.

Account of

The two first Hours o' th' great confumed are,
The third in Lawyer: Pleadings at the Bar;
The Trades of Rome the fourth and fifth employ,
The fixth fome Reft, the seventh all Rest enjoy.
From eight to nine in Exercife is fpent,
The ninth on Feafting all Men are intent.
The tenth hour proper for my Book and me;
Then Euphem thou who doft the board o'erfee
And order our great Lord's Ambrofian fare,
When Nectar has diffolv'd his publick Care
His mighty Hand the fober Cup do's hold,
To introduce my Mirth, thou may't be bold:
My Mufe forbears licentiously to Rove
Ith Morn when ferious to importune Jove.

But the Greeks ufed fix Hours only for the dispatching their Affairs, fpending the reft in the Refreshment of the Body and Mind.

CHAP.

CHA P. III.
Of Vigils or Watches.

RULE Ś.

Y. A Vigil is a certain pace of Time, by which the Natural Day and its opposite Night was formerly divided into certain Parts, lo called from the relieving of Centinels or Watch men.

2. There are two forts of Vigils, one of the Day, and the other of the Night.

3. The Day Vigils, or the periods of Time alloted for Watches and Wards by Day, were most commonly four equal Parts of a Natural Day, each of which contain ed three Hours,

4. And those of the Night, with fome Nations, were four equal Parts of the Night, of the fame extent with the former. 5. 1. THE Ancientest Divifion of the Night and Day, The Anci was that into Evening and Morning, of which enteft Dithe Hiftory of the Creation, often makes mention; and vision of .. although the Lights were not created till the third Day, the vuxen νυχθή yet the Motion of the first Light which bore an Ana- uigov. logy to the enfuing Sun, might make a distinction of Evening and Morning.

§. 2. The Name of Vigils or Watches arofe from The Names the relieving of Centries every three Hours, in order of the Vi to prevent their flagging, and being over wearied for gils. want of fleep; and to give the Enemy the lefs time to lay their treacherous Defigus against the City: Whence it's plain, that it had its firft Rife from a Military Cuftom, and this Flavius Vegetius, de re mil. l. 3. confirms giving this Account of the fame; namely, That out of every Century four Horfe, and as many Footmen were drawn forth to keep the Watch; and that because it was hard for the fame Men to keep Guard all Night, 'twas therefore thought neceffary to divide it into four Parts, according to the Order defcrib'd before The Watch was fet by Sound of Trumpet, and call'd off by that of the Cornet: Befides which the Tribunes appoint C

ed

ed fome of noted Men to go round the Watch to fee if. any were remifs in, or left their Pofts.

The Jewish §. 3. Since all our Accounts of the Day Vigils are Night Vi- very flender, we fhall confine our felves to thofe of the gils. Night. Some think that the Jews divided the Night at least into three Watches, the firft of which began at Sun-fet, and lafted till Midnght, whence in fob c. 4. v. 13. it is called the Time when deep Sleep falleth on Men. The fecond is fuppofed to begin at Mid-night, and enc at the firft Cock-crow, where the third commences, lafting until the Sun begins to rife. And indeed the Jews themselves do frequently make mention of three Watches for in their Thalmud in the Book of Prayers and Thanksgivings, R. Ifaac the Son of Samuel faith, There are three Watches of the Night, in every one of which the Holy and Bleffed God fitteth roaring like a Lyon; and faith, Woe unto my Children; for I have devoured my House by reason of their Sins, and burnt my Temple, and mingled them with other Nations, &c. and the like you may find in R. Salom ad Exod. 14. Conf.Jud. 7. 19. But in the time of the New Teftament it is plain, that the Night was divided into four Watches, a Cuftom probably introduc'd by the Romans; as in thofe Places of Mat. 14. v. 25. Mark G. v. 48. c. 13. v. 35. in which fenfe Suidas interpreteth puaanny, calling it the fourth part of the Night,

Not recei

the Ro

mans.

S. 4. Some think that the Jews received this Cuftom ved from of dividing the Night into Watches, from the Romans, but without any Ground: For as much as mention is made of the Jewish Vigils before ever the Name or Empire of the Romans was known to the Jews. Though after all it cannot be denied but that the Jems followed the Roman Custom when the Jewish Policy began to decline.

Another fort of Vigils.

S. 5. The famous Scaliger 1. 7. de Em. Tem. p. 637. is of opinion that the Jews as well as the Romans and Greeks divided the Night and Day into four Parts, and called thofe Quarters the Vigils; The first of which, (as he fays) was from Sun-fet to Midnight; the fecond call'd alfo the Middle, as being between the two Suns, viz, the Setting of the one and Rifing of the other, was from Midnight to the Sun-rife: After thefe was the Morning Watch, which began at Sunrife and

[ocr errors]

continued till Noon: The laft call'd Noon continued From Noon till Sun-fet.

9.6. The Romans diftinguifh'd the periods of How the Night and Day by various Names; fome of which we Romans find in the twelve Tables and others elfewhere. The Be- divided the ginning and End was Midnight; after followed the vuμafter Night, after this the Cock-crow, after this the ev Dead of the Night, then before Day, then Daybreak, after this the Morning, after this the Forenoon, then Noon, after this the Afternoon, then late, after this the Evening, then Twilight, after this CandleLight, after that Bed-time, after that far in the Night, then before Midnight, and fo Midnight again.

[ocr errors]

§. 7. However we are still at a Lofs in adjusting the How they Vigils nicely. For though 'tis certain, in time of War, and the the Romans divided the Night into four Vigils, and Greeks a fome are of Opinion that in this point they imitated greed in the Gracians; yet we meet with feveral Paffages in this matter Antient Authors that feem to infinuate that the Greeks divided their Night and Day into three Parts rather than four particularly in Seneca's Thyeftes, and in his Troas, and in the Scholiaft's Obfervations on the 10th Iliad of Homer.

CHA P. IV.

Of the Days.

RULES.

1. A Day is afpace of time wherein the San by afcending
and defcending, either defcribes a certain part of a Cir
cle, or makes an intire revolution,

2. It is commonly divided into Natural and Civil.
3. That space of time is called the Natural Day, which
paffeth betwixt Sun-rife and Sun-fer..

4 The Civil Day is that which contains one Revolution
of the Heavens,and fo includes also the Night as diftinct
from the Natural Day, whence the Greeks call it
runcher.

3. Days are alfo either Holy-days or Work-days.

[ocr errors][merged small]
« PoprzedniaDalej »