从Caesar说开去
夹在旧书的一角， 有一页发黄的中文旧报， 上面是“浅谈中西历法”（作者是胡志伟）。
上面一句“羅馬皇帝凱撒於西元前四十六年頒布修正的曆法， 即陽曆之始”（原文就是繁体字）引起我的注意。
前几天还和犬子说起Julius Caesar［1］和Augustus［2］呢。
根据现有的资料， “於西元前四十六年頒布修正的曆法”的是Julius Caesar（一般翻译成”恺撒“）， 所建历法就是Julian calendar。
但这个恺撒本人虽是独裁者， 却不是罗马皇帝， 第一个正式罗马皇帝是Augustus （其名也是阳历八月份August所本）。
Augustus以前的名字叫Octavian(中文似乎翻译成“屋大维”)， 看过电影”埃及艳后“（Cleopatra）的人应该都知道 － 里面涉及了当年罗马的重量级人物Julius Caesar，Mark Antony（83－30 bc）和Octavian。
这Octavian是Julius Caesar二姐Julia Caesaris (101-51 bc)之女 Atia Balba Caesonia (85-43 bc)的儿子， 在正式登翻罗马共和， 成为第一个罗马皇帝之后， 他依旧沿用Julian历。
直到公元1582年，因为经年累积太大的误差， 才由教宗葛里高利十三世（Pope Gregory XIII）颁布改革法， 以Gregorian历［4］取代 － 并一直沿用到今天。对应于Julian历， Gregorian历称为新历（New Style）［5］。
记得行者以前写过一文， 解释”新历“的闰年问题。
自Augustus之后，罗马皇帝就使用Caesar作为称号［6］ 。
后来， Caesar经拉丁语融入欧洲的主要语言， 在德国就是Kaiser（英语化的形式）－既是德国皇帝的称号， 也是德国的一个姓氏。
我们这里有一家连锁医院叫Kaiser Permanente， 其创办人叫Henry John Kaiser (1882 – 1967)， 虽然生于美国纽约， 想来是德国后裔 － 他也是美国有名的实业家， 造船， 也生产钢铁和水泥。
我们平常所见的一些词和Caesar有关， 不妨举来几例。
例如Caesarean section（剖腹产）， 据说就源于原始的Julius Caesar － 只是一种传说， 说他和母亲都是剖腹产的幸存者。另外， 常见的Caesar salad［7］和他间接有关， 这是一个叫Caesar Cardini的厨师发明的。
在Julius Caesar之后， 似乎所有的Caesar都最终指向那里。
（完）
NOTE
1。Gaius Julius Caesar (100–44 bc), Roman general and statesman. He established the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus in 60 and became consul in 59. Between 58 and 51 he fought the Gallic Wars, invaded Britain 55–54, and acquired immense power. After civil war with Pompey, which ended in Pompey's defeat at Pharsalus in 48, Caesar became dictator of the Roman Empire. He was murdered on the Ides (15th) of March in a conspiracy led by Brutus and Cassius （Apple Dictionary）. 行者按， 恺撒所在年代比中国西汉汉武帝刘彻（156－87 bc）略晚， 但在东汉汉光武帝刘秀（6 bc - ad 57）之前。2。Augustus (63 bc – ad 14), the first Roman emperor; born Gaius Octavianus also called Octavian(行者按， 即屋大维);. He was adopted in the will of his great-uncle Julius Caesar and gained supreme power by his defeat of Antony in 31 bc. In 27 bc he was given the title Augustus ("venerable”) and became in effect emperor（Apple Dictionary）.3。 Julian calendar， a calendar introduced by the authority of Julius Caesar in 46 bc, in which the year consisted of 365 days, every fourth year having 366 days. It was superseded by the Gregorian calendar though it is still used by some Orthodox Churches. Dates in the Julian calendar are sometimes designated “Old Style.”（Apple Dictionary）4。Gregorian calendar， the calendar introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, as a modification of the Julian calendar（Apple Dictionary）.5。To bring the calendar back into line with the solar year, 10 days were suppressed, and centenary years were made leap years only if they were divisible by 400. England did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752, by which time 11 days had to be suppressed. At the same time, New Year's Day was changed from March 25 to January 1, and dates using the new calendar were designated ‘New Style.’6。Caesar － A title used by Roman emperors, esp. those from Augustus (63 bc – ad 14) to Hadrian （ad 76–138）（Apple Dictionary）.7。Caesar salad， a salad consisting of romaine lettuce and croutons served with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning. ORIGIN named after Caesar Cardini, the Mexican restaurateur who invented it in 1924 （Apple Dictionary）.

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