The days of the week are called Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. To thefe days the Pagans gave the names of the fun, moon, and planets; to the first the name of the Sun, to the fecond of the Moon, to the third of Mars, to the fourth of Mercury, to the. fifth of Jupiter, to the fixth of Venus, and to the -feventh of Saturn.

All nations do not reckon the days in the fame order. The Chriftians count from Sunday, in memory of the refurrection of our Saviour, the Jews from Saturday, and the Mahometans from Friday.

A day is either artificial or natural. An artificial day is the space of time, which paffes between the fun's rifing and fetting, or the time of his ftay above the horizon. In oppofition to which,' the time between his setting and rifing, or his duration under the horizon, is called night.-A natural day comprehends both, being the time in which the fun makes one entire revolution; or, to speak more properly, the time in which the earth revolves, once about its axis.

1.

The natural day is divided into morning, noon, evening, and midnight; and confifts of twenty-four hours.

The prefent Greek's begin their day at fun-rifing,› as did the ancient Babylonians, Perfians, Syrians,,

and most other eastern nations. The modern Įtalians and Chinese reckon it from fun-fetting; as did the ancient Jews, Athenians, Bohemians, and Silefians. The Arabians and modern astronomers begin the day at noon. The English, French, Dutch, Germans, Spaniards, Portuguese, Egyptians, begin it at midnight.

and

The length of the day and night is equal, in England, twice every year, once on the 21st of March, and again on the 21ft of September. Both these times are called the equinoxes.

Those intenfely hot days between the 19th of July and the 28th of August, are called dog-days, because the star called the canicular, or the great dog-ftar, during that time, rifes and sets with the fun.

The longest day is on the 21st of June, at the beginning of Summer, after which the days begin gradually to decrease. This is called the fummer folftice, because then the fun ftops fhort in his journey towards the north, and begins to return fouthward.

The forteft day is on the 21st of December, at the beginning of winter, after which the days begin gradually to increase. This is called the winter folftice, becaufe then the fun ftops fhort in his

courfe

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courfe towards the fouth, and begins to return northward.

This change, however, is not the fame in every part of the earth. There are, for example, fome countries, where the length of the day and night is always exactly, or nearly the fame *; and others where the night continues always fix months, and the day confequently as many,t.

The Romans divided their months into calends, nones, and ides; calling the first day of every month its calends.

CHA P. LVII.

OF HOURS, MINUTES, AND SECONDS.

AN hour is the twenty-fourth part of a natural

day. Different people reckon the hours in a different manner. Babylonish hours are thofe, which are counted from fun-rifing in a continued feries of twenty-four. Italian hours are thofe reckoned from fun-fetting in a like feries. Eu

* At the Equator.

↑ At the Poles.

ropean

ropean hours are thofe counted from midnight, twelve from thence to noon, and from noon to midnight twelve more. Thofe which commence their order from noon, are called aftronomical, be cause used by astronomers.

An hour is ufually divided into fixty equal parts called minutes; each minute into fixty feconds; thefe: again into fixty thirds, and foon. The Jews, Chaldæans, Arabs, and other eastern people, di'vide the hours into a thousand and eighty fcruples,, eighteen whereof are equal to our minute.

CH A P. LVI.

OF CYCLES, AND THE DOMINICAL LETTER.:

A Cycle is a circle of years, months and days,

ufed by chronologers, to fignify a perpetual round or circulation of the fame parts of time, proceeding orderly from first to laft, and recurring again from laft to firft, fucceffively, and without: interruption. at an

As the annual motion of the fun, and other hea-venly bodies, cannot be measured exactly without any remainder of minutes, feconds, &c. to swallow

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up these fractions in whole numbers, that is, fuch as only express days and years, cycles have been in-vented; which, comprehending feveral revolutions of the fame body, replace it, after a certain num-ber of years, in the fame point of the heavens whence it first departed; or, which is the fame thing, in the fame place of the civil calendar.

The most famous cycles are, the Cycle of the Moon, the Cycle of the Sun, and the Cycle of Indiction

The cycle of the moon, or lunar cycle, called alfo the Metonic cycle, from its inventor Meton, an Athenian, is a circle or revolution of nineteen years, in which time the new and full moons are supposed to return to the fame day of the month in the Julian calendar...

The cycle of the fun, or folar cycle, is a revolution of twenty-eight years. When these are elapfed, the Dominical, or Sunday Letters in the calendar, return into their former place, and proceed in the fame order as before. It is from thefe Sunday Letters, and not from any regard to the fun's courfe, that the cycle has obtained its name.

1. The feven first letters of the alphabet, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, are used in our almanacks to denote the days of the week in order, from the first to the feventh, throughout the year. Now that which

ftands