(原版)澳大利亞語文第六冊 LESSON 5

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LESSON 5 THE STORY OF THE MONTHS

THE STORY OF THE MONTHS

Well, Bobby, are you admiring the pretty colours? asked the boy's grandfather. Bobby was looking at a calendar which the grocer had given to the boy's mother. On it was a bright picture of an Australian river.

No, grandfather, answered Bobby; "I was just wondering how the months got their names. January, February, and others of them have a strange sound."

JANUS, THE ROMAN GOD, WHO IS REPRESENTED LOOKING TOWARDS THE PAST AND THE FUTURE

Most of them, indeed I think all, were named by the Ancient Romans who spoke Latin, answered the old gentleman.

I shall learn Latin when I go to the High School, said Bobby.

Then you will be able to understand these names better, but I think you can learn something about them now. The first month, January, was called after Janus, a Roman god. They always represented [1] him as having two faces, one looking towards the past, the other towards the future.

He was a kind of Mr. Facing-Both-Ways, remarked Bobby, who had read The Pilgrim's Progress .

No, Janus was much better than the man John Bunyan put in his wonderful book, replied grandfather. "The old Romans often placed a brass image [2] of him on their doors, as if they intended him to see inside and outside of their homes.

February is another name given by the Romans. In that month they held festivals [3] and cleaned up their temples.

March was named after Mars, the God of War. It was called by that name probably because that month in Europe is usually a time of blustering winds and driving showers of sleet [4] and hail. It is the stormy month when wind and rain seem to be making war on the earth's surface.

April comes from a Latin word meaning 'to open' In Europe, when April comes, the earth seems to awake from its long sleep of winter, and the trees that have been leafless during the winter now unfold their buds.

May is named from a goddess. She was the mother of Mercury, who is shown with wings on his feet. He was the messenger of the gods. In Europe, May is the month of merry-making."

When they dance around the maypole [5] , remarked Bobby.

Yes. In Europe and other places in the northern hemisphere, it is the last month of spring, went on grand-father. "June was named after Juno. She was a very

haughty [6] goddess and was the wife of Jupiter, the chief god worshipped by the Romans.

July was named in honour of Julius C?sar, a great Roman soldier and ruler."

Is he the man who led an expedition to Britain in 55 B. C ? asked Bobby.

JULIUS C?SAR a great soldier, ruler, speaker, and writer

He was that leader. Before he was killed in the Roman Parliament he had won a place among the greatest men who have ever lived. That is why the Romans called the seventh month after him. Julius C?sar had a niece whose son was known as Augustus C?sar. He became the first Roman Emperor, and the people were so impressed by his work that they called the eighth month, August, after him. So two months are named after famous Romans—one being a wonderful uncle, and the other his clever nephew. No man after the C?sars was thought great enough to have a month named after him. The remaining months were named from Latin numbers. Here they are. Septem , means seven; octo , eight; novem , nine; decem , ten.

But, grandfather, September is not the seventh month of the year; nor is October the eighth, said Bobby.

I am glad to find that my grandson's mind is not woolgathering, and that he is wide awake. These four months were once in their proper order. New Year's Day was then in March, which was counted as the first month of the year. Count on from March and you will find that September is the seventh month of the year, October the eighth, and so on. But in England, nearly two hundred years ago, New Year's Day was put back from March to January, and then September, October, and the remaining months had wrong names applied to them.

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[1] represented: Described, drawn.

[2] image: Picture, likeness.

[3] festivals: Times of feasting; the Romans had special days set apart in honour of their gods.

[4] sleet: Hail or snow mingled with rain.

[5] maypole: A pole with ribbons tied to the top of it, around which people in England dance on the first of May.

[6] haughty: Proud.