h
at even, is the Lord's passover." _Numbers, chap. 28, v. 10._ "Four
hundred and thirty years being expired of their dwelling in Egypt, even
in the self same day they departed thence."

With regard to evil days and times, Astrologers refer to _Amos. chap. 5,
v. 13._ "Therefore, the prudent shall keep silence in that time, for it
is an evil time," and _chap. 6, v. 3_, "Ye that put far away the evil
day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;" also _Psalm 37, v.
19_, "They shall not be ashamed in the evil time; and in the days of
famine, they shall be satisfied;" and _Jeremiah, chap. 46, v. 21_, "Also
her hired men are in the midst of her, like fatted bullocks, for they
are also turned back and are fled away together; they did not stand
because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of
their visitation." And to _Job_ cursing the day of his birth, from the
first to the eleventh verse. In confirmation of which may also be quoted
a calendar, extracted out of several ancient Roman Catholic prayer
books, written on vellum, before printing was invented, in which were
inserted the unfortunate days of each month, which it would be
superfluous to cite here.[142]

Roman History sufficiently proves that the nature of lucky and unlucky
days owes its origin to Paganism; where it is mentioned, that that very
day four years, the civil wars were begun by Pompey, the father; Caesar
made an end of them with his son, Cneius Pompeius being slain; and that
the Romans counted the 13th of February an unlucky day, because, on that
day they were overthrown by the Gauls at Alba; and the Fabii attacking
the city of the Recii, were all slain, with the exception of one man;
also from the calendar of Ovid's "Fastorum," _Aprilis erat mensis
Graecis auspicatissimus_; and from Horace, Book 2nd, Ode 13, cursing the
tree that had nearly fallen upon it; _ille nefasto posuit die_.

The Pagans believed there were particular months and days which carried
something fatal in them; those, for instance, upon which the state
perhaps had lost a great battle; and under this impression, they never
undertook any enterprise on these days and months. The twenty-fourth of
February in the Bisextile years was considered so unlucky, that
Valentinian (_Ammiam. Marcell. lib. 26. cap. 1._) being elected Emperor
upon it, durst not appear in public under the apprehension of suffering
the fatality of the day. Many other particular days might be quoted