These several alterations, which took place in the language of the early Quakers, were adopted by their several successors, and are in force in the society at the present day.

SECT.  III.

Other alterations in the language—­the names of the days and months altered—­reasons for this change—­the word saint disused—­various new phrases introduced.

Another alteration, which took place in the language of the Quakers was the disuse of the common names of the days of the week, and of those of the months of the year.

The names of the days were considered to be of heathen origin.  Sunday had been so called by the Saxons, because it was the day, on which they sacrificed to the sun.  Monday on which they sacrificed to the moon.  Tuesday to the god Tuisco.  Wednesday to the god Woden.  Thursday to the god Thor, and so on.  Now when the Quakers considered that Jehovah had forbidden the Israelites to make mention even of the names of other gods, they thought it inconsistent in Christians to continue to use the names of heathen idols for the common divisions of their time, so that these names must be almost always in their mouths.  They thought too, that they were paying a homage, in continuing the use of them, that bordered on idolatry.  They considered also as neither Monday, nor Tuesday, nor any other of these days, were days, in which these sacrifices were now offered, they were using words, which conveyed false notions of things.  Hence they determined upon the disuse of these words, and to put other names in their stead.  The numerical way of naming the days seemed to them to be the most rational, and the most innocent.  They called therefore Sunday the first day, Monday the second, Tuesday the third, and soon to Saturday, which was of course the seventh.  They used no other names but these, either in their conversation, or in their letters.

Upon the same principles they altered the names of the months also.  These, such as March and June, which had been so named by the ancient Romans, because they were sacred to Mars and Juno, were exploded, because they seemed in the use of them to be expressive of a kind of idolatrous homage.  Others again were exploded, because they were not the representatives of the truth.  September, for example, means the [44]seventh month from the storms.  It took this seventh station in the kalendar of Romulus, and it designated there its own station as well as the reason of its name.  But when it[45] lost its place in the kalendar by the alteration of the style in England, it lost its meaning.  It became no representative of its station, nor any representative of the truth.  For it still continues to signify the seventh month, whereas it is made to represent, or to stand in the place of, the ninth.  The Quakers therefore banished from their language the ancient names of the months, and as they thought they could not do better than they had done in the case of the days, they placed numerical in their stead.  They called January the first month, February the second, March the third, and so on to December, which they called the twelfth.  Thus the Quaker kalendar was made up by numerical distinctions, which have continued to the present day.