PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 52

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

The "STritlns of History, Ancient anil Modern. Has ib ever ocenrred to you what difficulties the ancients must have been tinder ■when writing the history of their times » The other day I read a few lineß on this point, and when I took up the Daily Times and glaccsd through two or three columns of political Etuff telegraphed from Wellington I wondered what the old Latins and Greeks would think if they were dropped among us justnow. Not only have we cablegrams and telegrams and all the modern inventions connected with printing, but we have so many aids to writing that were never dreamt of in the days gone by. When writing a book broad in conception and full of detail?, how limited were the forms in those times. Since the introduction of printing what a superior mechanism is at tbe writer's command for the systematic, and particularly for what might bo called the graphic, arrangement of his subject matter. " The elasticity of the diaeramatic echeine which is supplied by the printed page ; the accuracy with which j parenthetic, explanatory, and confirmatory ! sections can be distinguished from, and subordinated to, the main thesis of the essay, and the accommodation supplied by footnotes and appendices render the exposition of a complex theme aud tha proportion of its varioue parts incomparably easier than when text, foot-notes, appendices, illustrations, and atlas had to be arranged as con- j secutive or parenthetical paragraphs and periods." When we look at a standard history and eeß so many divisions and subdivisions and the various aidß used, and yet all so clear, we wonder how they could possibly be done without. Bat somehow or other most of them had to be done without, for most of them couldn't exist in a manuscript writing; and, oh, how tedious manu- ! Ecript must have been to wade through I especially if the more common of our modern aids were worked in. But even in ordinary writing and illustration what undreamt of strides have been made. Imagine an account of a Queen's Diamond Reign as written by^a Cae?ar cr Cicero, and published by them in ancient style. Supposing we existed as ancients, and supposing we had ships as they had, how long would it be before we got an account of tbe celebrations, and how much of it would wo get when it did arrrive ? and how many of us would be able to peruse our own copy of the proceedings, and how many of us would be able to afford that copy, even If. we were able to r«ad it, which wouldn't be likely 1 Talking of the Diamond Reign, nothing bas been dene in Dunedin yet. I suppose that the last week or two will see a abating up of the dry bones, and money will be spent which, if spent sooner, would have gone much farther and hare had more effect. Easter Time. Some years ago I explained to my young ' readers bow Easter time is calculated, and perhaps ib won't be amiss to give the information again. Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after the fall moon which j happens upon, or nexb after. March 21, so ! it cannot take place before March 22, nor later than Aptil 25. In 18S6 Easter tell ou tbe last date, but it won't be so late again until 19d3. This year Easter Sunday falls on the day following the full moon. It seems that in the second century a dispute arose as to the proper time for celebrating Easter; and the dispute seems to have arisen through a confusion as to what j was being celebrated. The Western churches ; held it slightly later than the Eastern churches, holding that it was commemorating tbe resurrection of Christ ; while tbe Eastern churches held it on tbe fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, or moon, considering it to be equivalent to tbe Jewish Passover. The dispute was decided in favour of the Western church, and the time so arranged that the two could not be ocnfused. It may be news to some of my more youth£ul readers to hear that Easter celebrations were originally in honour of the Saxon deity Eastre, and that it was a time for revelry. And a well-chosen time too, for the terrors of winter were passed when the festivities took place, and all rejoiced at tbe increasing light and warmth of spring. Naturally the early Christians took advantage of heathen ceremonies for tbe furtherance of Christianity, and as the crucifixion approximately coincided with the pagan jollity the latter was used as a time to celebrate the lormer.