MOTION, as transferred by the curious mechanism of nature from body to body, is, according to Phillips, the sole and sufficient cause of all phenomena. 3. The Primary Laws of Motion are, First. That every body will continue in its state of rest, or of uniform motion, in a right line, until it is compelled by some external force to change its state. Secondly. That the change of motion is always proportional to the moving force by which it is produced, and it is made in the line of direction in which that force is impressed. Thirdly. That action and re-action are always equal and contrary. 4. Several things require notice with regard to motion :The force which impresses the motion. The quantity of matter in the moving body. The space passed over in the moving body. The force with which it strikes another body that may be ⚫pposed to it. XXX. Of Chronology and History. 641. Nature divides time into days, nights, and seasons. Savage nations added the division of moons, which are about 29 days. Civilized nations have agreed to reckon the period of the rotation of the earth round the sun, and call it a year; and they again subdivide this into its 12 moons, (moonths or months.) But 12 equal moons make but 354 days, and the earth is 365 days going round the sun; Julius Cæsar, therefore, varied the months as we now have them, so as to make 365 days. Obs.-The Hebrews and Greeks added an extra month every third or fourth year; but as the revolution of the earth was a quarter of a day longer than 365, Cæsar directed the 6th of March to be counted twice in every 4th year, so as to keep the reckoning of mankind equal with that of the heavenly bodies. This, however, was not correct; for the actual revolution of the earth is not quite a quarter of a day more than 365, but only 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 57 seconds; consequently 11 minutes, 3 seconds, are gained every year, or a whole day in 131 years. 642. In 1752, this gain of 11 minutes, 3 seconds, per annum, had carried the reckoning 11 days before its proper time; the style of reckoning, therefore, was altered, and 11 days dropped by act of parliament; the day after the 1st of September being called the 12th. It was settled also, that in every 400 years, three leap years in three centuries should be dropped; so that, in future the annual recurring year will keep pace with time, within two or three seconds per annum. 643. The year is also divided into 52 weeks, and one day over; the week into seven days, or rotations of the earth on its own axis; those rotations into 24 hours; each hour into 60 minutes; and each minute into 60 seconds, or periods, in which a pendulum that is 39.2 inches long will vibrate. The vibration of such a pendulum, or a second, is therefore the first measure of time; but a pendulum of a fourth the length, will vibrate half seconds; seconds are also, in calculations, divided into 60 thirds, fourths, &c. 644. The names of the days of the week are derived from the names of certain Saxon objects of worship:— As Sunday, or the first day, from the Sun. Monday, from the Moon. Tuesday, from Tuisco, a German hero; whence they call themselves Tuitschen, or Dutchmen. Wednesday, from Woden, their god of battle. Thursday, from Thor, the god of winds and wea ther. Friday, from Friga, the goddess of peace and plenty. And Saturday, the seventh day, from Seator, the god of freedom. Obs.-The Romans called the days after the planets:-as dies Solis, day of the sun; dies Luna, day of the moon; dies Martis, day of Mars; dies Mercurii, day of Mercury; dies Jovis, day of Jove; dies Veneris, day of Venus; dies Saturni, day of Saturn. 645. The names of the 12 moons, or months, are derived from the Latin, as under : January, from Janus, the god of new-born infants. March, from Mars, the god of war, the first month of the Roman year. April, from Aperio, signifying to open the year, or the blossoms. May, from Maia, the mother of Mercury. June, from Juno, the wife of Jupiter. July, from Julius Cæsar, the Roman Emperor. August, from Augustus Cæsar, the Roman Emperor. September, from Septem, the seventh month of the Royear, which began in March. October, from Octo, the eighth month of the Roman year. November, from Novem, the ninth month of the Roman year. December, from Decem, the tenth month of the Roman year. 646. It will readily be supposed, that owing to the various lengths of years, and the different modes of calculation practised by different nations, great differences of opinion have existed in regard to the date of past events. The great difficulty has been, to fix the period of certain great events, as a sort of land-marks, from which to ascertain and correct others: these are The Creation The Deluge The Call of Abraham Before Christ. The Departure from Egypt The Taking of Troy by the Greeks The Building of Solomon's Temple The Building of Rome The Death of Cyrus Years. 4004 2348 1921 1491 1183 1012 753 526 * According to Cæsar, the mother of Mars was Juno, and Februa was a feast of atonement, held in the month of Febru ary, which thence received its name. Moscow burnt by the Russians 1812 land against Napoleon restored and abdicated All the Kings and Potentates in Europe subsidized by Eng Napoleon abdicated 1815 Obs. The preceding dates should be accurately remembered by every one, who would talk and reason on historical facts. But there is an art of short memory, worthy of being known; by which, all numbers and dates may be converted into syllables, and added to the word to which the date beTongs. For this purpose, a set of vowels and diphthongs, and 1813 1814 a set of consonants, are assigned to every one of the digits; and in forming a date into a syllable, either vowels or consonants may be taken at pleasure; thus, a e i O u au eu ei ou y 1 2 3 4 5 6 17 8 9. 10 bd t f 1 S P k n Z In the vowel-line, the five first digits are represented by the five vowels, and 6, 7, and 9, are diphthongs, formed from combining vowels that make up their numbers. Ei are the two first letters of the word eight, and y for 10, is the occasional Vowel. In the consonant line, b is the first consonant, and t, f, s, and n, are the first letters of their respective digits; d is the first letter of duo, two; 1 stands for 5 or 50; p stands for 7, from its full sound in septem, seven; and z is the last letter in the alphabet. As the year of the Creation can never be forgotten by the lowest intellect, I shall begin with the Deluge, and dropping uge, affix a syllable to Del, corresponding with 2, 3, 4, 8. Looking to the table, and taking d for 2, i for 3, f for 4, and k for 8,1 make the syllable difk, which added to del, makes deldifk. Or, to vary the example, I can make a different termination by taking e for 2, t for 3, o for 4, and k for 8, which added to del, make deletok, either of which may be easily remembered; but the former is to be preferred, because only one syllable. It is, therefore, an easy task for the student to make syllabic terminations to all the preceding dates; and then commit the whole to memory. He may, also, extend the art to other dates, distances, and numbers, and 2 or 300 such will easily be recollected through life. 647. History is one of the most agreeable studies; but unhappily there are few authentic histories. The causes of political events are often unknown; and the real characters of those who direct the affairs of mankind, are generally perverted by prejudice, falsehood, or flattery. It will however be useful, in many respects, to be acquainted with the revolutions of empires; and for this object, recourse must be had to general and particular histories.-See Robinson's Grammar of History; and also his Ancient and Modern History. |