De temporum ratione

Bede the venerable, 725

De temporum ratione, domino iuuante, dicturi necessarium duximus utilissimam primo promptissimamque flexus digitorum paucis praemonstrare solertiam, ut cum maximam computandi facilitatem dederimus, tum paratiore legentum ingenio ad inuestigandam dilucidandamque computando seriem temporum ueniamus.

With the Lord’s help, we have decided to set out an account of the reckoning of time. But first, it seems best to give a brief demonstration of the handy and efficient art of counting on the fingers. Once we have made calculation as easy as possible, we can then move on — our readers better prepared — to explore and explain the sequence of time through computation.

Neque enim contemnenda paruiue pendenda est regula cuius omnes pene sacrae expositores scripturae, non minus quam literarum figuras, monstrantur amplexi. Denique et multi alii alias, et ipse diuinae interpres historiae Hieronimus in euangelicae tractatu sententiae, huius adiumentum disciplinae non dubitauit assumere:

For this method is by no means to be dismissed or lightly regarded, since nearly all interpreters of Holy Scripture are shown to have embraced it, no less than they have the written characters themselves. Indeed, many others elsewhere have done so, and Jerome himself, that great interpreter of sacred history, did not hesitate to make use of this discipline as an aid in his exposition of a Gospel passage:

“The hundredfold, the sixtyfold, and the thirtyfold yield,” he says, “though they spring from the same soil and the same seed, differ greatly in number. Thirty refers to marriage: for even the joining of the fingers, gently embracing and, as it were, sealing one another with a soft kiss, represents husband and wife. Sixty refers to widows, because they are set in straits and affliction; hence, too, the fingers are bent down in a higher position, and the greater the difficulty they have experienced in restraining the enticements of desire once known, the greater their reward. But as for the hundredfold, attend carefully, reader: it is transferred from the left hand to the right, and with the same fingers — but not the same hand — by which married women and widows are signified on the left, it forms a circle, representing the crown of virginity.”

Centesimus, inquit, et sexagesimus et tricesimus fructus, quam quam de una terra et de una semente nascatur, tamen multum differt in numero. Triginta referuntur ad nuptias : nam et ipsa digitorum coniunctio et, quasi molli osculo se complectens et foederans, maritum pingit et coniugem. Sexaginta ad uiduas : eo quod in angustia et tribulatione sint positae ; unde et in superiore digito deprimuntur, quantoque maior est difficultas expertae quondam uoluntatis illecebras abstinere, tanto maius et praemium. Porro centesimus numerus, quaeso, diligenter lector, attende, a sinistra transfertur ad dexteram et, hisdem quidem digitis, sed non eadem manu, quibus in laeua manu nuptae significantur et uiduae, circulum faciens exprimit uirginitatis coronam.

So, when you say “one,” you bend the little finger of the left hand and press its tip firmly into the middle of the palm. When you say “two,” you place the next finger, bent, in the same spot. When you say “three,” you bend the third in the same way. When you say “four,” you likewise raise the little finger. When you say “five,” you raise the next finger in the same manner. When you say “six,” you also lift the third, leaving only the middle finger — the one called the “medical” finger — fixed in the center of the palm. When you say “seven,” you place only the little finger, with the others meanwhile raised, against the base of the palm. Next to it, when you say “eight,” you place the middle finger. When you say “nine,” you set the ring finger beside it.

Cum ergo dicis unum, minimum in laeua digitum inflectens, in medium palmae artum infiges. Cum dicis duo, secundum a minimo flexum, ibidem impones. Cum dicis tria, tertium similiter adflectes. Cum dicis quattuor, itidem minimum leuabis. Cum dicis quinque, secundum a minimo similiter eriges. Cum dicis sex, tertium nihilominus eleuabis, medio dumtaxat solo, qui medicus appellatur, in medium palmae fixo. Cum dicis septem, minimum solum, caeteris interim leuatis, super palmae radicem pones. Iuxta quem cum dicis octo, medicum. Cum dicis nouem, impudicem e regione compones.

Cum dicis decem, unguem indicis in medio figes artu pollicis. Cum dicis uiginti, summitatem pollicis inter medios indicis et impudicis artus immittes. Cum dicis triginta, ungues indicis et pollicis blando coniunges amplexu. Cum dicis quadraginta, interiora pollicis lateri uel dorso indicis superduces, ambobus dumtaxat erectis. Cum dicis quinquaginta, pollicem exteriore artu instar graecae literae gammae curuatum, ad palmam inclinabis. Cum dicis sexaginta, pollicem (ut supra) curuatum, indice circumflexo diligenter a fronte praecinges. Cum dicis septuaginta, indicem (ut supra) circumflexum pollice immisso superimplebis, ungue dumtaxat illius erecto trans medium indicis artum. Cum dicis octoginta, indicem (ut supra) circumflexum, pollice in longum tenso implebis, ungue uidelicet illius in medium indicis artum infixo. Cum dicis nonaginta, indicis inflexi unguem radici pollicis erecti infiges.

When you say “ten,” you press the tip of the index finger firmly against the middle joint of the thumb. When you say “twenty,” you insert the tip of the thumb between the middle joints of the index and ring fingers. When you say “thirty,” you gently join the tips of the index finger and thumb in a kind embrace. When you say “forty,” you draw the inside of the thumb across the side or back of the index finger, with only those two raised. When you say “fifty,” you bend the thumb at its outer joint, like the Greek letter gamma (Γ), and incline it toward the palm. When you say “sixty,” you curve the thumb (as before) and carefully encircle it in front with the index finger bent around it. When you say “seventy,” you fill up the bent index finger (as before) by inserting the thumb, with only its nail projecting across the middle joint of the index. When you say “eighty,” you fill the bent index finger (as before) with the thumb stretched out lengthwise, its tip pressed into the middle joint of the index. When you say “ninety,” you press the nail of the bent index finger against the base of the upright thumb.

Hactenus in laeua, Centum uero in dextera, quomodo decem in laeua facies. Ducenta in dextera, quomodo uiginti in laena. Trecenta in dextera, quomodo triginta in laeua. Eodem modo et caetera usque ad -dcccc-. Item mille in dextera, quomodo unum in laeua. Duo millia in dextera, quomodo duo in laeua. Tria millia in dextera, quomodo tria in laeua. Et cetera usque ad nouem millia.

So far, all is on the left hand. One hundred is done on the right, in the same way as ten on the left. Two hundred on the right, as twenty on the left. Three hundred on the right, as thirty on the left. And so on up to nine hundred. Likewise, one thousand on the right, as one on the left. Two thousand on the right, as two on the left. Three thousand on the right, as three on the left. And so on up to nine thousand.

Porro decem millia cum dicis, laeuam medio pectoris supinam appones, digitis tantum ad collum erectis. Viginti millia cum dicis, eandem pectori expansam late superpones. Triginta millia cum dicis, eadem prona, sed erecta, pollicem cartilagini medii pectoris immittes. Quadraginta millia cum dicis, eandem in umbilico erectam supinabis. Quinquaginta millia cum dicis, eiusdem pronae, sed erectae, pollicem umbilico impones. Sexaginta millia cum dicis, eadem prona femur laeuum desuper comprehendes. Septuaginta millia cum dicis, eandem supinam femori super pones. Octoginta millia cum dicis, eandem pronam femori superpones. Nonaginta millia cum dicis, eadem lumbos apprehendes, pollice ad inguina uerso.

Further, when you say ten thousand, you place the left hand, palm upward, at the middle of the chest, with the fingers raised toward the neck. When you say twenty thousand, you spread the same hand flat over the chest. When you say thirty thousand, with the same hand turned downward but raised, you press the thumb against the cartilage at the middle of the chest. When you say forty thousand, you turn the same hand upward and hold it upright at the navel. When you say fifty thousand, with the same hand turned downward but upright, you place the thumb upon the navel. When you say sixty thousand, with the same hand turned downward, you grasp the left thigh from above. When you say seventy thousand, you place the same hand, palm upward, upon the thigh. When you say eighty thousand, you place the same hand, palm downward, upon the thigh. When you say ninety thousand, you grasp the loins with the same hand, the thumb turned toward the groin.

At vero centum millia et ducentum millia et caetera usque ad dcccc millia, eodem quo diximus ordine in dextera corporis parte complebis. Decies autem centena millia cum dicis, ambas sibi manus, insertis inuicem digitis implicabis.

But one hundred thousand, and two hundred thousand, and so on up to nine hundred thousand, you will represent on the right side of the body in the same manner as we have described. When, however, you say one million (i.e. “ten times one hundred thousand”), you will interlock both hands together, with the fingers inserted into one another.

Est et alterius modi computus, articulatim decurrens, qui, quoniam specialiter ad paschae rationem pertinet, cum ad hanc ex ordine uentum fuerit, opportunius explicabitur.

There is also another method of reckoning, proceeding joint by joint, and since it pertains especially to the calculation of Easter, it will be explained more suitably when we come to that subject in due order.

Potest autem et de ipso quem praenotaui computo quaedam manualis loquela, tam ingenii exercendi quam ludi agendi gratia figurari ; qua literis quis singillatim expressis uerba, quae hisdem literis contineantur, alteri qui hanc quoque nouerit industriam, tametsi procul posito, legenda atque intellegenda contradat, uel necessaria quaeque per haec occultius innuendo significans uel imperitos quosque quasi diuinando deludens.

Moreover, from the very system of reckoning that I have just described, a kind of “manual language” can also be devised, both for the exercise of ingenuity and for amusement: by it, someone may express letters one by one and convey to another — who knows this technique as well — words formed from those same letters, even at a distance, to be read and understood, either thereby indicating necessary matters more secretly, or playfully deceiving the uninitiated as if by divination.

Cuius ordo ludi uel loquelae talis est : cum primam alphabeti literam intimari cupis, unum manu teneto; cum secundam, duo; cum tertiam, tria; et sic ex ordine ceteras. Verbi gratia, si amicum inter insidiatores positum ut caute se agat admonere desideras, .iii., et.i., et ·xx., et .xix., et .v., et .i., et vii, et .v., digitis ostende; huius namque ordinis literae, 'caute age, significant. Potest et ita scribi, si causa secretior exigat.

The method of this game or “language” is as follows: when you wish to indicate the first letter of the alphabet, hold up one on the hand; when the second, two; when the third, three; and so on through the rest in order. For example, if you want to warn a friend who has fallen among ambushers to act cautiously, show with your fingers: 3, and 1, and 20, and 19, and 5, and 1, and 7, and 5. For the letters corresponding to this sequence signify “caute age” (act cautiously). It can also be written in this way, if a more secret occasion requires it.

Sed haec Graecorum computo literisque facilius disci simul atque agi possunt, qui non, ut Latini, paucis hisdemque geminatis suos numeros solent exprimere literis ; uerum toto alphabeti sui charactere in numerorum figuras expenso, tres qui plus sunt numeros notis singulis depingunt, eundem pene numeri figurandi, quem scribendi alphabeti ordinem sequentes, hoc modo:

But these things can be learned and carried out more easily with the reckoning and letters of the Greeks, who do not, like the Latins, express their numbers with a few letters repeated; rather, distributing numerical values across the whole set of their alphabetic characters, they represent each number with a single sign — even the three additional ones — following almost the same order for forming numbers as for writing the alphabet, as follows:

Α I

Β II

Γ III

Δ IIII

Ε V

G VI

Ζ VII

Η VIII

Θ VIIII

Ι X

Κ XX

Λ XXX

Μ XL

Ν L

Ξ LX

Ο LXX

Π LXXX

Ч XC

Ρ C

Σ CC

Τ CCC

Υ CCCC

Φ D

Χ DC

Ψ DCC

Ω DCCC

↑ DCCCC

Qui et ideo mox numeros digitis significare didicerint, nulla interstante mora, literas quoque pariter hisdem praefigere sciunt; uerum haec hactenus. Nunc ad tempora, quantum ipse temporum conditor ordinatorque dominus adiuuare dignabitur, exponenda ueniamus.

And therefore, those who have quickly learned to indicate numbers with their fingers, without any delay, likewise know how to represent letters by the same means. But enough of this for now. Let us now proceed to set forth the reckoning of times, insofar as the Lord himself — the creator and disposer of times — may deign to grant assistance.

Source: Beda Venerabilis, Opera didascalica: 2. De temporum ratione, ed. C. W. Jones, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 123B (Turnhout: Brepols, 1977), 268–73.