OT: Roman Calendar (was Re: USAGE: syllables)

AJ = Andreas Johansson
CG = Christophe Grandsire

AJ> It's all Caesar's fault*. There was nothing wrong with _Quintilis_, you
AJ> egomaniac!

Actually, I'm pretty sure it was Quinctilis, though several Internet sources
seem to have lost their 'c's somewhere along the way.

CG> Well, *he* didn't change the name of the month. That was done after he was
CG> dead. For egomania, better look at Augustus ;))) .

True enough.  But Augustus does deserve some credit; without him might still
be celebrating leap years every three years instead of every four, and be
*way* off with respect to the tropical year. :)  And while it does seem that
renaming Sextilis to Augustus may have been his own idea, it's not true
that he stole a day from February so his month would be just as long as
Julius's.  The month lengths have been as they are ever since Julius announced
his new calendar in 45 BC.  So he was not *quite* as much of an egomaniac
as he is made out to be.

-Mark

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