Question 25. Why do they determine that the days
after the Kalends, Nones, and Ides are unfit to travel or go
a long journey in?
Solution. Was it (as most men think, and Livy tells us)
because on the next day after the Ides of Quintilis (which
they now call July), the tribunes of the soldiery marching
forth, the army was conquered by the Gauls in a battle
about the river Allia and lost the city, whereupon this day
was reckoned unlucky; and superstition (as it loves to do)
extended this observation further, and subjected the next
days after the Nones and Kalends to the same scrupulosity?
Or what if this notion meet with much contradiction? For
it was on another day they were defeated in battle, which
they call Alliensis (from the river) and greatly abominate
as unsuccessful; and whereas there be many unlucky days,
they do not observe them in all the months alike, but every
one in the month it happens in, and it is most improbable
that all the next days after the Nones and Kalends simply
considered should contract this superstition. Consider now
whether—as they consecrated the first of the months to
the Olympic Gods, and the second to the infernals, wherein
they solemnize some purifications and funeral rites to the
ghosts of the deceased— they have so constituted the
three which have been spoken of, as it were, the chief and
principal days for festival and holy days, designating the next
following these to daemons and deceased persons, which
days they esteemed unfortunate and unfit for action. And
also the Grecians, worshipping their Gods at the new of the
moon, dedicated the next day to heroes and daemons, and
the second of the cups was mingled on the behalf of the
[p. 218]
male and female heroes. Moreover, time is altogether a
number; and unity, which is the foundation of a number, is
of a divine nature. The number next is two, opposite to
the first, and is the first of even numbers. But an even
number is defective, imperfect, and indefinite; as again an
odd number is determinate, definite, and complete. Therefore the Nones succeed the Kalends on the fifth day, the Ides
follow the Nones on the ninth, for odd numbers do determine the beginnings. But those even numbers which are
next after the beginnings have not that pre-eminence nor
influence; hence on such days they take not any actions
or journey in hand. Wherefore that of Themistocles hath
reason in it. ‘The Day after the feast contended with the
Feast-day, saying that the Feast-day had much labor and
toil, but she (the Day after the feast) afforded the fruition
of the provision made for the Feast-day, with much leisure
and quietness. The Feast-day answered after this wise:
Thou speakest truth; but if I had not been, neither hadst
thou been.’ These things spake Themistocles to the Athenian officers of the army, who succeeded him, signifying
that they could never have made any figure in the world
had not he saved the city.
Since therefore every action and journey worth our diligent management requires necessary provision and preparation, but the Romans of old made no family provision
on feast-days, nor were careful for any thing but that they
might attend divine service,—and this they did with all
their might, as even now the priests enjoin them in their
proclamations when they proceed to the sacrifices,—
in like manner they did not rush presently after their
festival solemnities upon a journey or any enterprise (because they were unprovided), but finished that day in
contriving domestic affairs and fitting themselves for the
intended occasion abroad. And as even at this day, after
they have said their prayers and finished their devotion,
[p. 219]
they are wont to stay and sit still in the temples, so they
did not join working days immediately to holy days, but
made some interval and distance between them, secular
affairs bringing many troubles and distractions along with
them.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.