Caesar made
the reformed year consist of 365 days, and he directed one day to be
intercalated in every fourth year (quarto quoque anno) in order that
the civil year, which began on the 1st of January, might agree with
the solar year. The old practice of intercalating a month was of
course dropped. The year B.C. 46 was a year of 445 days. By this
reformation, says Dion Cassius, all error was avoided except a very
small one, and he adds, that to correct the accumulations of this
error, it would only be necessary to intercalate one day in 1461
years. But this is a mistake; for in 1460 years there would be an
error of nearly eleven days too much. Ten days were actually dropped
between the 4th and 15th of October, 1582, by Gregory XIII., with the
sanction of the Council of Trent.
A curious mistake was soon made at Rome by the Pontifices who had the
regulation of the Kalendar. The rule was to intercalate a day in every
fourth year (quarto quoque anno). Now such expressions are ambiguous
in Latin, as is shown by numerous examples. (Savigny, _System des
heut. Roem. Rechts_, iv. 329.) The expression might mean that both the
year one and the year four were to be included in the interpretation
of this rule; and the Pontifices interpreted it accordingly. Thus,
after intercalating in year one, they intercalated again in year four,
instead of in year five. In the time of Augustus, B.
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