Julius Caesar

adeo aberratum est ut G. Caesar pontifex maximus suo III et M. Aemilii Lepidi consulatu, quo retro delictum corrigeret, duos menses intercalarios dierum LXVII in mensem Novembrem et Decembrem interponeret, cum iam mense Februario dies III et XX intercalasset, faceretque eum annum dierum CCCCXLV, simul providens in futurum ne iterum erraretur: nam intercalario mense sublato annum civilem ad solis cursum formavit.

Things went so far wrong that Gaius Caesar, as chief pontiff, set out to correct the past error. In the year when he was consul for the third time, with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, he put two extra months, of 67 days in all, between November and December. He had already inserted 23 days in February, and so he made that year 445 days long. At the same time he made sure the error would not happen again. He did away with the extra month and shaped the civil year to the course of the sun.

ex hoc anno ita a Iulio Caesare ordinato ceteri ad nostram memoriam Iuliani appellantur, eique consurgunt ex quarto Caesaris consulatu. qui etiam si optimo , non soli tamen ad annum naturae aptati sunt: nam et priores anni, etiam si qui decemmenstres fuerunt, nec Romae modo vel per Italiam, sed et aput gentes omnes, quantum poterat, idem fuerunt correcti.

The years since then, down to our own time, are called Julian after this year that Julius Caesar set in order. They are counted from Caesar's fourth consulship. Even if these are the best [words are lost here], they are not the only years fitted to the year of nature. The earlier years too, even those of ten months, were corrected in the same way as far as possible, not only at Rome or in Italy but among all peoples.

eorum vero annorum quibus Iulianis nomen est ducentesimus octogensimus tertius, sed ex die Kal. Ianuariarum, unde Iulius Caesar anni a se constituti fecit principium;

Of the years called Julian, it is the 283rd, counting from January 1, the day Julius Caesar made the start of the year he set up.

maiores quoque nostri idem sunt aemulati, cum annum dierum CCCLV haberent. sed Divus Iulius cum videret hac ratione neque ad lunam menses, ut oportebat, neque annos ad solem convenire, maluit annum corrigere, ut sic etiam menses civiles cum veris illis solaribus, etsi non singuli, tamen universi ad anni finem necessario concurrerent.

Our ancestors copied them when they had a year of 355 days. But the Deified Julius saw that under this system the months did not match the moon, as they should, and the years did not match the sun. He chose to correct the year. In this way the civil months would match the true months of the sun, if not one by one, then necessarily all together by the end of the year.

ex his duodecim mensibus duorum tantum nomina inmutata. nam Quintilis Iulius cognominatus est C. Caesare V et M. Antonio cons. anno Iuliano secundo: qui autem Sextilis fuerat, ex SC. Marcio Censorino C. Asinio Gallo cons. in Augusti honorem dictus est Augustus anno Augusti vicensimo. quae nomina etiam nunc ad hanc permanent memoriam.

Of these twelve months, only two have had their names changed. Quintilis was renamed Iulius [July] when Gaius Caesar, for the fifth time, and Mark Antony were consuls, in the second Julian year. The month that had been Sextilis was renamed Augustus in honor of Augustus by a decree of the senate. That was when Marcius Censorinus and Gaius Asinius Gallus were consuls, in the twentieth year of Augustus. These names have lasted to our own day.

Sequitur Iulius qui, cum secundum Romuli ordinationem, Martio anni tenente principium, Quintilis a numero uocaretur, nihilo minus tamen etiam post praepositos a Numa Ianuarium ac Februarium retinuit nomen, cum non uideretur iam quintus esse sed septimus. sed postea in honorem Iulii Caesaris dictatoris, legem ferente M. Antonio M. filio consule, Iulius appellatus est, quod hoc mense a. d. quartum Idus Quintilis Iulius procreatus sit.

Next comes July. Under Romulus's plan, when March began the year, it was called Quintilis from its number, "fifth." It kept that name even after Numa put January and February in front of it, though it no longer seemed to be the fifth month but the seventh. But later it was named Iulius in honor of Julius Caesar the dictator, under a law proposed by the consul Mark Antony, son of Marcus. The reason was that Julius had been born in this month, on the fourth day before the Ides of Quintilis.

sed postea C. Caesar omnem hanc inconstantiam temporum uagam adhuc et incertam in ordinem statae definitionis coegit, adnitente sibi M. Flauio scriba, qui scriptos dies singulos ita ad dictatorem retulit, ut et ordo eorum inueniri facillime posset, et inuento certus status perseueraret.

Later, Gaius Caesar brought all this unsteady reckoning of time, still wandering and uncertain, into a fixed and settled order. He was helped by Marcus Flavius, a scribe, who wrote out each of the days for the dictator. Their order could then be found very easily and, once found, would stay fixed.

ergo C. Caesar exordium nouae ordinationis initurus dies omnes, qui adhuc confusionem poterant facere, consumpsit, eaque re factum est, ut annus confusionis ultimus in quadringentos quadraginta tres dies protenderetur. post hoc imitatus Aegyptios, solos diuinarum rerum omnium conscios ad numerum solis, qui diebus tricenis sexaginta quinque et quadrante cursum conficit, annum dirigere contendit.

So when Gaius Caesar was about to start the new order, he used up all the days that could still cause confusion. As a result the last year of confusion was stretched to 443 days. After this he followed the Egyptians, the only people who understand all things divine. He set out to fit the year to the number of the sun, which completes its course in 365 and a quarter days.

Iulius ergo Caesar decem dies obseruationi ueteri super adiecit, ut annum trecenti sexaginta quinque dies, quibus sol lustrat zodiacum, efficerent, et ne quadrans deesset, statuit, ut quarto quoque anno sacerdotes, qui curabant mensibus ac diebus, unum intercalarent diem, eo scilicet mense ac loco, quo etiam apud ueteres mensis intercalabatur, id est ante quinque ultimos Februarii mensis dies, idque bissextum censuit nominandum.

So Julius Caesar added ten days to the old count, to make a year of 365 days, the time the sun takes to pass through the zodiac. And so that the quarter day would not be lost, he ruled that every fourth year the priests in charge of the months and days should insert one day. It went into the same month and place where the ancients had inserted the extra month, before the last five days of February. He decreed that it should be called the bissextum.

post hoc unum diem secundum ordinationem Caesaris quinto quoque anno incipiente intercalari iussit, et omnem hunc ordinem aereae tabulae ad aeternam custodiam incisione mandauit.

After that he ordered one day to be inserted, as Caesar had arranged, at the start of every fifth year. He had this whole arrangement engraved on a bronze tablet, to keep it safe forever.