[Sidenote: The different beginning of the day.]
All nations do not begin their day, and reckon their hours alike. In _Great-Britain_. _France_, and _Spain_, and in most places in _Europe_, the days is reckoned to begin at midnight, from whence is counted twelve hours ’till noon, then twelve hours more ’till next midnight, which makes a compleat day; yet the _Astronomers_ (in these countries) commonly begin their day at noon, and so reckon 24 hours ’till next noon, and not twice twelve, according to the vulgar computation.
The _Babylonians_ began their day at Sun-rising, and reckoned 24 hours ’till he rose again! This way of computation we call the _Babylonish Hours_. In several parts of _Germany_ they count their hours from Sun-setting, calling the first hour after the Sun has set, the first hour, _&c._ ’till he sets the next day, which they call the 24th hour: These are commonly called the _Italian Hours_. According to both these ways of computation, their hours are commonly either a little greater or less than the ¹/₂₄ part of a natural day, in proportion as the Sun rises or sets sooner or later in the succeeding days. They have also this inconvenience, that their mid-day and midnight happen on different hours, according to the seasons of the year.
The _Jews_ and the _Romans_ formerly divided the artificial days and nights each into 12 equal parts; these are termed the _Jewish Hours_, and are of different lengths, according to the seasons of the year; a _Jewish Hour_ in summer being longer than one in winter, and a night-hour shorter. This method of computation is now in use among the _Turks_, and the hours are stiled the _first hour_, _second hour, &c._ of the day or night; so that _Mid-day_ always falls on the sixth hour of the day. These hours are also called _Planetary Hours_, because in every hour one of the seven Planets were suppose to preside over the World, and so take it by turns. The first hour after Sun-rising on _Sunday_ was allotted to the _Sun_; the next to _Venus_, the third to _Mercury_; and the rest in order to the _Moon_, _Saturn_, _Jupiter_, and _Mars_. By this means on the first hour of the next day, the Moon presided, and so gave the name to that day; and so seven days by this method had names given them from the Planets that were supposed to govern on the first hour.