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of the month of June, they handed down as the beginning of the year. But for these and for all other nations one beginning of the year was observed, but for the Romans, three: one sacerdotal, another ancestral, and the other, cyclical and civil. And the sacerdotal was in January, when the sun, passing Capricorn, makes an increase of the day; the ancestral was what is called among them the first of the month of March, on which it is still the custom for the Romans to move their arms. And the civil, or rather cyclical, was the first of the month of September, which the Greeks call epinemesis, but they themselves call indiction; for the Romans ancestrally call the announcement of the annual cycle indiction. For since antiquity had the cycle for what is called among them a lustrum, that is, for a five-year period—and there was a purification and mysteries of the Mother were celebrated during it—it seemed good later, in honor of Mars—an ancestral god to the Romans, as they say—for the cycle to be renewed every fifteenth year. For the complete restoration of Mars is observed in two ways, the small one of fifteen, and the middle one of seventy-nine. That the Romans received March as the ancestral beginning of the year is clear also from the fact that the so-called matrons among them, that is, the noblewomen, feast the household servants, just as during the Cronia it was the custom for the masters to do this; of whom some, in honor of Mars, serve the male servants on account of their superior nature, while others—introducing a kind of apotropaic service to Cronus—served their own slaves, so that they might not in truth suffer something worthy of wrath and fall into the slavery of enemies. 3.23 The Greeks named it epinemesis from the practice. For when the sun is in the balance, it shows the quality of the crops; and at this time the ancients humanely apportioned the tributes to their subjects, so that the taxpayers might not seem to be impiously burdened beyond their yield. Therefore they reasonably called it epinemesis, as it were a certain distribution of the tributes. For the collection of the tributes was not so relentless, nor was it fixed or rather gradually increasing, but it was done according to the need that arose for the rulers. For this reason, even now the Asians call the tributes epitagmeta (imposts). Whence, in peace, when they apportioned very much and the remainder of the tributes was forgiven to the taxpayers, such wonderful things came to be in the cities, I mean baths and agoras and aqueducts, proclaiming the boundless prosperity of the inhabitants. 4.t LIBER QUARTUS. 4.1 January. It has been sufficiently said by us that the month of January was established by King Numa as the beginning of the sacerdotal year for the Romans, in which they sacrificed to those above the moon, just as in February to those beneath it. Therefore it must be said concerning Janus, who he is and what was the opinion concerning him among the ancients. Labeo therefore says that he is called Janus Consivius, that is, counselor; Janus Cenulus and Cibullius—for the Romans called food cibi—as it were, of feasting; Patricius, as if autochthonous; Clusivius, instead of of the road; Junonius, that is, of the air; Quirinus, as if champion; Patulcius and Clusius, as it were, of the door; Curiatius, as it were, overseer of the nobles; for Curiatii and Horatii are names of patricians. And some say in their myths that he is two-formed, now carrying keys in his right hand as if of the door, now counting with his right hand three hundred and with the other sixty-five pebbles, as if the year. Hence also four-formed, from the four seasons; and a statue of him of this kind in the forum of Nerva is said to be preserved even now. But Longinus [calls] him Aionarius

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Ἰουνίου μηνὸς, εἰς ἀρχὴν ἔτους παρέδοσαν. ἀλλὰ τούτοις μὲν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἔθνεσι μία τις ἐφυλάττετο τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ καταρχή, τοῖς δὲ Ῥωμαίοις τρεῖς· μία μὲν ἱερατική, ἑτέρα δὲ πάτριος, ἡ δὲ ἄλλη, κυκλικὴ καὶ πολιτική. καὶ ἱερατικὴ μὲν κατὰ τὸν Ἰανουάριον, ὅταν ὁ ἥλιος τὸν αἰγόκερων παριὼν αὔξησιν ποιῆται τῆς ἡμέρας· πάτριος δὲ ἡ παρ' αὐτοῖς λεγομένη πρώτη τοῦ Μαρτίου μηνός, καθ' ἣν καὶ τὰ ὅπλα ἔτι καὶ νῦν Ῥωμαίοις ἔθος κινεῖν. ἡ δὲ πολιτικὴ ἢ μᾶλλον κυκλικὴ ἡ πρώτη τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου μηνός, ἣν Ἕλληνες μὲν ἐπινέμησιν, αὐτοὶ δὲ ἰνδικτιῶνα καλοῦσιν· ἰνδικτιῶνα γὰρ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τὸ μήνυμα τοῦ ἐνιαυσιαίου κύκλου πατρίως καλοῦσιν. τῆς γὰρ ἀρχαιότητος τὸν κύκλον ἐχούσης εἰς τὸ λεγόμενον παρ' αὐτοῖς λοῦστρον, τουτέστιν εἰς τὴν πενταετηρίδα-καθαρμὸς δὲ ἦν καὶ μυστήρια Μητρὸς κατ' αὐτὸν ἐτελεῖτο-ἔδοξεν ὕστερον πρὸς τιμὴν Ἄρεος-πάτριος δὲ Ῥωμαίοις, ὥς φασι, θεός-παρὰ πεντεκαιδέκατον ἐνιαυτὸν ἀνανεοῦσθαι τὸν κύκλον. ἡ γὰρ τελεία ἀποκατάστασις Ἄρεος διχῶς παραφυλάττεται, μικρὰ μὲν πεντεκαίδεκα, μέση δὲ ἑβδομήκοντα ἐννέα. ὅτι δὲ πάτριον ἀρχὴν ἐνιαυτοῦ τὸν Μάρτιον οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι παρέλαβον, δῆλον καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ τὰς λεγομένας παρ' αὐτοῖς ματρώνας, τουτέστι τὰς εὐγενίδας, τοὺς οἰκέτας ἑστιᾶν, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς Κρονίοις τουτὶ πράττειν ἔθος ἦν τοὺς κεκτημένους· ὧν αἱ μὲν δι' Ἄρεος τιμὴν δουλεύουσι τοῖς ἄρρεσι τῶν οἰκετῶν διὰ τὴν κρείττονα φύσιν, οἱ δὲ- ἀποτρόπαιον ὥσπερ θεραπείαν εἰσάγοντες τῷ Κρόνῳ- τοῖς ἑαυτῶν δούλοις ἐδούλευον, ὅπως μὴ ταῖς ἀληθείαις νεμεσητόν τι παθόντες εἰς δουλείαν πολεμίων καταπέσωσιν. 3.23 Ἐπινέμησιν δὲ αὐτὴν Ἕλληνες ἐκ τοῦ πράγματος ὠνόμασαν. ἐπὶ γὰρ ζυγῷ γενόμενος ὁ ἥλιος δείκνυσι τὴν τῶν καρπῶν ποιότητα· κατ' αὐτὴν δὲ φιλανθρώπως οἱ πάλαι τοὺς φόρους τοῖς ὑπηκόοις ἐπένεμον, ὡς μὴ παρὰ τὴν τούτων ἐπίδοσιν ἀσεβῶς δοκοῖεν βαρύνεσθαι οἱ φορολογούμενοι. εἰκότως οὖν αὐτὴν ἐπινέμησιν οἱονεὶ διανομήν τινα τῶν δασμῶν ἐκάλεσαν. οὐ γὰρ ἦν οὕτως ἀδυσώπητος ἡ τῶν φόρων εἴσπραξις οὐδ' ὡρισμένη τις ἢ μᾶλλον αὐξομένη κατὰ μικρόν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ χρειῶδες τῶν ἀνακυπτόντων τοῖς κρατοῦσιν ἐγένετο. ταύτῃ καὶ ἐπιτάγματα τοὺς φόρους ἔτι καὶ νῦν Ἀσιανοὶ καλοῦσιν. ὅθεν ἐπ' εἰρήνης ἐναπονεμόντων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν συγχωρουμένων τοῖς συντελέσι τῶν φόρων, τοιαῦτα ταῖς πόλεσι περιγέγονε θαυμαστά, λουτρὰ λέγω καὶ ἀγοραὶ καὶ ὑδάτων ὁλκοὶ ἄπειρον εὐδαιμονίαν τῶν οἰκητόρων κηρύττοντες. 4.t LIBER QUARTUS. 4.1 Ἰανουάριος. Ἀποχρώντως ἡμῖν εἴρηται, ἀρχὴν ἱερατικοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ τὸν Ἰανουάριον μῆνα τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Νουμᾶ ὁρισθῆναι, καθ' ὃν τοῖς ὑπὲρ σελήνην ἐνήγιζον, ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ Φεβρουαρίῳ τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτήν. ῥητέον τοίνυν περὶ Ἰανοῦ, τίς τε ἄρα ἐστὶ καὶ τίς ἡ περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξα γέγονε τοῖς ἀρχαίοις. ὁ Λαβεὼν οὖν φησιν αὐτὸν καλεῖσθαι Ἰανὸν Κονσίβιον τουτέστι βουλαῖον, Ἰανὸν Κήνουλον καὶ Κιβούλλιον-οἱ γὰρ Ῥωμαῖοι κίβους τὴν τροφὴν ἐκάλουν-οἷον εὐωχιαστικόν, Πατρίκιον ὡσεὶ αὐτόχθονα, Κλουσίβιον ἀντὶ τοῦ ὁδιαῖον, Ἰουνώνιον τουτέστιν ἀέριον, Κυρῖνον ὡσανεὶ πρόμαχον, Πατούλκιον καὶ Κλούσιον οἱονεὶ θυρεόν, Κουριάτιον οἱονεὶ ἔφορον εὐγενῶν· Κουριάτιοι γὰρ καὶ Ὁράτιοι ὀνόματα εὐπατριδῶν εἰσι. καὶ οἱ μὲν δίμορφον αὐτὸν μυθο λογοῦσι, νῦν μὲν κλεῖς τῇ δεξιᾷ φέροντα ὡσανεὶ θυρεόν, νῦν δὲ τῇ μὲν δεξιᾷ τριακοσίας τῇ δὲ ἑτέρᾳ ἑξήκοντα πέντε ψήφους ἀριθμοῦντα ὥσπερ τὸν ἐνιαυτόν. ἔνθεν καὶ τετράμορφον ἀπὸ τῶν τεσσάρων τροπῶν· καὶ τοιοῦτον αὐτοῦ ἄγαλμα ἐν τῷ φόρῳ τοῦ Νερβᾶ ἔτι καὶ νῦν λέγεται σεσωσμένον. Λογγῖνος δὲ Αἰωνάριον αὐτὸν