) The
vestiges
of this method of computation still appear in the English language, in the terms se'nnight and fort'night.
Tacitus
that "the Persians believed the Sun to be the only God, and horses to be peculiarly consecrated to him.
" The priest of the Isle of Rugen also took auspices from a white horse, as may be seen in Saxo-Grammaticus.
]
70 (return)
[ Montesquieu finds in this custom the origin of the duel, and of knight-errantry. ]
71 (return)
[ This remarkable passage, so curious in political history, is commented on by Montesquieu, in his Spirit of Laws. vi 11. That celebrated author expresses his surprise at the existence of such a balance between liberty and authority in the forests of Germany; and traces the origin of the English constitution from this source. Tacitus again mentions the German form of government in his Annals, iv. 33. ]
72 (return)
[ The high antiquity of this made of reckoning appears from the Book of Genesis. "The evening and the morning were the first day. " The Gauls, we are informed by Caesar, "assert that, according to the tradition of their Druids, they are all sprung from Father Dis; on which account they reckon every period of time according to the number of nights, not of days; and observe birthdays and the beginnings of months and years in such a manner, that the day seems to follow the night. " (Bell. Gall. vi. 18.
) The vestiges of this method of computation still appear in the English language, in the terms se'nnight and fort'night. ]
73 (return)
[ Ut turbae placuit. Doederlein interprets this passage as representing the confused way in which the people took their seats in the national assembly, without reference to order, rank, age, &c. It rather represents, however, that the people, not the chieftains, determined when the business of the council should begin. —White. ]
74 (return)
[ And in an open plain. Vast heaps of stone still remaining, denote the scenes of these national councils. (See Mallet's Introduct. to Hist. of Denmark. ) The English Stonehenge has been supposed a relic of this kind. In these assemblies are seen the origin of those which, under the Merovingian race of French kings, were called the Fields of March; under the Carlovingian, the Fields of May; then, the Plenary Courts of Christmas and Easter; and lastly, the States General. ]
75 (return)
[ The speech of Civilis was received with this expression of applause. Tacitus, Hist. iv. 15.
70 (return)
[ Montesquieu finds in this custom the origin of the duel, and of knight-errantry. ]
71 (return)
[ This remarkable passage, so curious in political history, is commented on by Montesquieu, in his Spirit of Laws. vi 11. That celebrated author expresses his surprise at the existence of such a balance between liberty and authority in the forests of Germany; and traces the origin of the English constitution from this source. Tacitus again mentions the German form of government in his Annals, iv. 33. ]
72 (return)
[ The high antiquity of this made of reckoning appears from the Book of Genesis. "The evening and the morning were the first day. " The Gauls, we are informed by Caesar, "assert that, according to the tradition of their Druids, they are all sprung from Father Dis; on which account they reckon every period of time according to the number of nights, not of days; and observe birthdays and the beginnings of months and years in such a manner, that the day seems to follow the night. " (Bell. Gall. vi. 18.
) The vestiges of this method of computation still appear in the English language, in the terms se'nnight and fort'night. ]
73 (return)
[ Ut turbae placuit. Doederlein interprets this passage as representing the confused way in which the people took their seats in the national assembly, without reference to order, rank, age, &c. It rather represents, however, that the people, not the chieftains, determined when the business of the council should begin. —White. ]
74 (return)
[ And in an open plain. Vast heaps of stone still remaining, denote the scenes of these national councils. (See Mallet's Introduct. to Hist. of Denmark. ) The English Stonehenge has been supposed a relic of this kind. In these assemblies are seen the origin of those which, under the Merovingian race of French kings, were called the Fields of March; under the Carlovingian, the Fields of May; then, the Plenary Courts of Christmas and Easter; and lastly, the States General. ]
75 (return)
[ The speech of Civilis was received with this expression of applause. Tacitus, Hist. iv. 15.
