There are two matters of importance to be noted in connection with the _De Temporibus_.[301] Isidore is the first to introduce into formal chronology the division of the world’s history into six ages. The idea was not his, however; he was merely putting into practice a suggestion given repeatedly in Augustine’s writings,[302] and used by Orosius in his _History Against the Pagans_. In the second place, it should be remarked that Isidore shows no signs of being aware of the proposal of Dionysius Exiguus for an era beginning with the birth of Christ. It is true that Isidore’s sixth age is supposed to begin at that time,—although as a matter of fact it begins at the death of Julius Caesar,[303]—but his era is a world era beginning at the creation. [301] In some respects Isidore’s chronology is peculiar, and differs from any known chronology of world-history of the time. For example, where Hieronymus gives the time from the flood to Abraham as 1072 years, Isidore gives it as 942 years; and where Africanus put the birth of Christ in the year 5500 of the world, Isidore put it in 5197. See Hertzberg, p. 376. Again, only the full years are noticed, the fractions of the older chronologies being either counted as integers or ignored, though this is not done according to any system. For table showing irregularities here, see _ibid._, p. 325, notes 3 and 4. [302] E.g. _De Civitate Dei_, xxii, 30. [303] 5, 38, 5. EXTRACTS Book V, Chapter 28. On the word _chronica_. 1. _Chronica_ is the Greek word which in Latin is rendered _series temporum_ (succession of times), such as Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, wrote in Greek and the priest Hieronymus translated into Latin; for χρόνος in Greek is translated by _tempus_ in the Latin. Chapter 29. On moments and hours. 1. Time is divided into moments, hours, days, months, years, lusters, generations (_saecula_), ages. A moment is the least and briefest time, so-called from the motion (_motu_) of the stars. 2. ... _Hora_ is a Greek name and still has a Latin sound. For _hora_ is a limit (_finis_) of time, just as _horae_ are the limits of the sea and of streams and the borders of garments.[304] [304] _Hora_ (hour) and _ora_ (coast or border) are confused. Chapter 30. On days. 5. The days are named from the gods (_dii_) whose names the Romans bestowed on certain heavenly bodies. They named the first day from Sol, which is the chief of the heavenly bodies just as this same day is the chief of all the days. 6. The second they named from Luna, which is next to Sol in splendor and size and borrows its light from it. The third they named from the star of Mars, which is called Pyrois; the fourth, from the star of Mercurius, which certain ones name Stilbon. 7. The fifth, from the star of Jupiter, which they call Phaeton; the sixth, from the star of Venus, which they call Lucifer, which has more light than all the other stars.