Suetonius Divus Julius 40.1

ed. J. Eugene Reed, Alexander Thomson (Translator)

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[1] Turning afterwards his attention to the regulation of the commonwealth, he corrected the calendar,¹ which had for some time become extremely confused, through the unwarrantable liberty which the pontiffs had taken in the article of intercalation. To such a height had this abuse proceeded, that neither the festivals designed for the harvest fell in summer, nor those for the vintage in autumn. He accommodated the year to the course of the sun, ordaining that in future it should consist of three hundred and sixty-five days without any intercalary month; and that every fourth year an intercalary day should be inserted.

Divus Julius. Suetonius. ed. J. Eugene Reed, Alexander Thomson (Translator). Philadelphia. 1883.

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Current edition Perseus

Julius Caesar (English) (Suetonius. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Thomson, Alexander, M.D, translator; Reed, J.E., editor. Philadelphia: Gebbie, 1883.)

Editions (4)

Divus Julius Perseus (Suetonius. De Vita Caesarum Libri VIII. Ihm, Max, editor; Leipzig: Teubner, 1908.) — 40.1 focus

[1] Conuersus hinc ad ordinandum rei publicae statum fastos correxit iam pridem uitio pontificum per intercalandi licentiam adeo turbatos, ut neque messium feriae aestate neque uindemiarum autumno conpeterent; annumque ad cursum solis accommodauit, ut trecentorum sexaginta quinque dierum esset et intercalario mense sublato unus dies quarto quoque anno intercalaretur.

Divus Julius (Suetonius. Rolfe, John C., editor. London: William Heineman; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1914.) — 40.1 focus

[1] Conversus hinc ad ordinandum rei publicae statum fastos correxit iam pridem vitio pontificum per intercalandi licentiam adeo turbatos, ut neque messium feriae aestate neque vindemiarum autumno conpeterent; annumque ad cursum solis accommodavit, ut trecentorum sexaginta quinque dierum esset et intercalario mense sublato unus dies quarto quoque anno intercalaretur.

Latin (Butler and Cary, 1927; OCR draft) Experimental (Suetonius, Divus Iulius, edited with introduction and commentary by H. E. Butler and M. Cary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1927. HathiTrust uc1.$b242814 OCR; aligned to Ihm chapter/section references. Unresolved OCR retained and documented.)

No corresponding passage available

Latin (Peck, 1893, second edition; OCR draft) Experimental (Harry Thurston Peck, Gai Svetoni Tranqvilli De Vita Caesarvm Libri Dvo. Second edition. New York: Henry Holt, 1893 (copyright 1889). UC1 and UIUG OCR witnesses. Ihm-aligned chapters and sections; Peck omissions and relocated extracts retained and documented. OCR draft; see peck1893-audit.)

No corresponding passage available

Translations (5)

The Deified Julius (Suetonius. Rolfe, John C., translator. London: William Heineman; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1914.) — 40.1 focus

[1] Then turning his attention to the reorganisation of the state, he reformed the calendar, which the negligence of the pontiffs had long since so disordered, through their privilege of adding months or days at pleasure, that the harvest festivals did not come in summer nor those of the vintage in the autumn; and he adjusted the year to the sun’s course by making it consist of three hundred and sixty-five days, abolishing the intercalary month,¹ and adding one day every fourth year.

Julius Caesar — English (Holland, 1899; selective 1606 variants) (OCR draft) Experimental (Reviewed existing structured XML; conservative source comparison and unresolved-note inventory, September 2026. English (Holland, 1899; selective 1606 variants))

No corresponding passage available

Julius Caesar — English (Rolfe, 1914; reviewed XML) (OCR draft) Experimental (Reviewed existing structured XML; conservative source comparison and unresolved-note inventory, September 2026. English (Rolfe, 1914; reviewed XML))

No corresponding passage available

Commentary (Butler and Cary, 1927; English; OCR draft) Experimental (Suetonius, Divus Iulius, edited with introduction and commentary by H. E. Butler and M. Cary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1927. HathiTrust uc1.$b242814 OCR; aligned to Ihm chapter/section references. Unresolved OCR retained and documented.)

No corresponding passage available

Commentary (Peck, 1893, second edition; English; OCR draft) Experimental (Harry Thurston Peck, Gai Svetoni Tranqvilli De Vita Caesarvm Libri Dvo. Second edition. New York: Henry Holt, 1893 (copyright 1889). UC1 and UIUG OCR witnesses. Ihm-aligned chapters and sections; Peck omissions and relocated extracts retained and documented. OCR draft; see peck1893-audit.)

No corresponding passage available

Notes on the current edition

Julius Caesar

1. Julius Caesar was assisted by Sosigenes, an Egyptian philosopher, in correcting the calendar. For this purpose he introduced an additional day every fourth year, making February to consist of twenty-nine days instead of twenty-eight, and, of course, the whole year to consist of three hundred and sixty-six days. The fourth year was denominated Bissextile, or leap year, because the sixth day before the calends, or first of March, was reckoned twice. The Julian year was introduced throughout the Roman empire, and continued in general use till the year 1582. But the true correction was not six hours, but five hours, forty-nine minutes; hence the addition was too great by eleven minutes. This small fraction would amount in one hundred years to three-fourths of a day, and in a thousand years to more than seven days. It had, in fact, amounted, since the Julian correction, in 1582, to more than seven days. Pope Gregory XIII., therefore, again reformed the calendar, first bringing forward the year ten days, by reckoning the 5th of October the 15th, and then prescribing the rule which has gradually been adopted throughout Christendom, except in Russia , and the Greek church generally.