Caesar's measures sought to remove the economic evils
which a century of discord had made so manifest. By restricting the monthly
distribution of grain to those actually in need, he tried to discourage the
public charity which was making the capital city a paradise for the idle and
the shiftless. By planning great colonies beyond the sea, notably at Corinth
and Carthage, he sought to provide farms for the landless citizens of Italy. His
active mind even found time for such matters as the codification of Roman law,
the construction of great public works, and the improvement of the coinage and
the calendar. [27]
[27] Before Caesar's reform (46 B.C.) the Roman year
consisted of 12 months and 355 days. As this lunar year, like that of the
Greeks, was shorter than the solar year, it had been necessary to intercalate
an additional month, of varying length, in every alternate year. Caesar adopted
the more accurate Egyptian calendar of 365 days and instituted the system of
leap years. His rearrangement made the year 11 minutes, 14 seconds too long. By
1582 A.D. this difference had amounted to nearly 10 days. Pope Gregory XIII
modified the "Julian Calendar" by calling Oct. 5, 1582, Oct. 15, and
continuing the count 10 days in advance. This "Gregorian Calendar"
was adopted by Great Britain in 1752 A.D. and subsequently by other Protestant
countries. It has not won acceptance in Russia and Greece. The difference
between the two systems—the Old Style and the New Style—is now about 13 days.
