§19.1Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ ὅτι μὲν δέκα μῆνας εἰς τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ἔταττον, οὐ δώδεκα, τεκμήριον ἡ τοῦ τελευταίου προσηγορία· δέκατον γάρ αὐτὸν ἄχρι νῦν καλοῦσιν ὅτι δὲ τὸν Μάρτιον πρῶτον, ἡ τάξις·
That the Romans used to arrange ten months in the year, and not twelve, is proved by the name of the last month; for they call it the tenth even to this day.
τὸν γάρ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου πέμπτον ἐκάλουν πέμπτον ἕκτον δὲ τὸν ἕκτον καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἑξῆς ὁμοίως ἕκαστον, ἐπεὶ τὸν Ἰανουάριον καὶ τὸν Φεβρουάριον πρὸ τοῦ Μαρτίου τιθεμένοις συνέβαινεν αὐτοῖς τὸν εἰρημένον μῆνα πέμπτον μὲν ὀνομάζειν, ἕβδομον δὲ ἀριθμεῖν.
And that March was the first is proved by the order; for they used to call the fifth month from it "the Fifth", and the sixth "the Sixth", and each of the others in order likewise, since for those who placed January and February before March, it would happen that they named the aforementioned month "the Fifth" but counted it as "the Seventh".
§19.2ἄλλως δὲ καὶ λόγον εἶχε τὸν Μάρτιον Ἄρει καθιερωμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ Ῥωμύλου πρῶτον ὀνομάζεσθαι· δεύτερον δὲ τὸν Ἀπρίλλιον, ἐπώνυμον ὄντα τῆς Ἀφροδίτης, ἐν ᾧ θύουσί τε τῇ θεῷ καὶ ταῖς καλάνδαις αἱ γυναῖκες ἐστεφανωμέναι μυρσίνῃ λούονται, τινὲς δὲ οὐ διὰ τὴν Ἀφροδίτην τὸν Ἀπρίλλιὸν φασιν, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἔχει τοὔνομα ψιλόν, Ἀπρίλλιον κεκλῆσθαι τὸν μῆνα τῆς ἐαρινῆς ὥρας ἀκμαζούσης ἀνοίγοντα καὶ ἀνακαλύπτοντα τοὺς βλαστοὺς τῶν φυτῶν τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ γλῶττα σημαίνει.
Besides, it was also reasonable that March, dedicated to Ares by Romulus, should be named first; and second, April, named after Aphrodite, in which month they sacrifice to the goddess, and on the Kalends the women, wearing wreaths of myrtle, bathe. But some say that the month April is named not because of Aphrodite, but, as the name itself plainly implies, it is called April because, with the spring season in full vigor, it opens and uncovers the buds of plants; for this is what the language signifies.
§19.3τῶν δ’ ἐφεξῆς τὸν μὲν Μάϊον καλοῦσιν ἀπὸ Μαίας· Ἑρμῇ γὰρ ἀνιέρωται τὸν δὲ Ἰούνιον ἀπὸ τῆς Ἥρας.
Of those that follow, they call May after Maia, for it is sacred to Hermes, and June after Hera.
εἰσὶ δέ τινες οἱ τούτους ἡλικίας ἐπωνύμους εἶναι λέγοντες πρεσβυτέρας καὶ νεωτέρας· μαϊώρεις γὰρ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι παρʼ αὐτοῖς, ἰουνιώρεις δὲ οἱ νεώτεροι καλοῦνται, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν ἕκαστον ἀπὸ τῆς τάξεως, ὥσπερ ἀριθμοῦντες, ὠνόμαζον πέμπτον, ἕκτον, ἕβδομον, ὄγδοον, ἔνατον, δέκατον·
But there are some who say that these are named after ages, the older and the younger; for among them the older are called "maiores" and the younger "iuniores". And each of the remaining months they named from its order, as if counting, "Fifth", "Sixth", "Seventh", "Eighth", "Ninth", "Tenth".
§19.4εἶτα ὁ πέμπτος ἀπὸ Καίσαρος τοῦ καταγωνισαμένου Πομπήϊον Ἰούλιος· ὁ δὲ ἕκτος Αὔγουστος ἀπὸ τοῦ δευτέρου μὲν ἄρξαντος, Σεβαστοῦ δὲ ἐπικληθέντος, ὠνομάσθη.
Then the fifth month was named Julius after Caesar, who defeated Pompey; and the sixth Augustus after the one who ruled second and was surnamed Augustus.
τοὺς δὲ ἐφεξῆςΔομετιανὸς εἰσεποίησε ταῖς αὑτοῦ προσωνυμίαις οὐ πολὺν χρόνον, ἀλλὰ τὰς αὑτῶν ἀναλαβόντες πάλιν ἐκείνου σφαγέντος ὁ μὲν ἕβδομος, ὁ δὲ ὄγδοος καλοῦνται, μόνοι δ’ οἱ τελευταῖοι δύο τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς τάξεως κλῆσιν, ὥσπερ ἔσχον ἐξ ἀρχῆς, διεφύλαξαν.
Domitian adopted the following months with his own names for a short time, but when he was slain, they took back their own names and are called, the one the seventh, the other the eighth, and only the last two preserved the name from their order which they had from the beginning.
§19.5τῶν δὲ ὑπὸ Νομᾶ προστεθέντων ἢ μετατεθέντων ὁ μὲν Φεβρουάριος οἷον καθάρσιος ἄν τις εἴη· καὶ γάρ ἡ λέξις ἔγγιστα τοῦτο σημαίνει, καὶ τοῖς φθιτοῖς ἐναγίζουσι τότε καὶ τὴν τῶν Λουπερκαλίων ἑορτὴν εἰς τὰ πολλὰ καθαρμῷ προσεοικυῖαν τελοῦσιν ὁ δὲ πρῶτος Ἰανουάριος ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰανοῦ, δοκεῖ δέ μοι τὸν Μάρτιον ὁ Νομᾶς ἐπώνυμον ὄντα τοῦ Ἄρεως ἐκ τῆς προεδρίας μεταστῆσαι, βουλόμενος ἐν παντὶ τῆς πολεμικῆς δυνάμεως προτιμᾶσθαι τὴν πολιτικήν.
Of the months added or transposed by Numa, February would be, as it were, the "purifying" month; for the word signifies very nearly this, and at that time they make offerings to the dead and celebrate the festival of the Lupercalia, which in many respects resembles a purification. And the first month, January, is named after Janus; and it seems to me that Numa shifted March, named after Ares, from its precedence, because he wished that in everything civil power should be preferred to military.
§19.6ὁ γὰρ Ἰανὸς ἐν τοῖς πάνυ παλαιοῖς εἴτε δαίμων εἴτε βασιλεὺς γενόμενος πολιτικὸς καὶ κοινωνικὸς ἐκ τοῦ θηριώδους καὶ ἀγρίου λέγεται μεταβαλεῖν τὴν δίαιταν.
For Janus, whether he was a god or a king in the very ancient times, became civil and social, and is said to have changed their way of life from the beastly and wild.
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πλάττουσιν αὐτὸν ἀμφιπρόσωπον, ὡς ἑτέραν ἐξ ἑτέρας τῷ βίῳ περιποιήσαντα τὴν μορφὴν καὶ διάθεσιν.
And for this reason they fashion him with two faces, as having brought about for life another form and condition out of the previous one.