Page:Roman Constitutional History, 753-44 B.C..djvu/295

Rh The Gold Coinage. — Caesar, finally, hastened the introduction of the gold standard, and reformed the calendar. Following the precedent of Sulla and Pompeius, he paid his soldiers their rewards in gold coins (each aureus = 𐆘 100). These he issued in such quantities that they led to the establishment of the gold standard during the imperial period.

Reform of the Calendar. — The republican calendar, which was still the lunar calendar of the decemvirs, was now, through the omission of intercalary months, sixty-seven days ahead of the correct time. There had been one intercalary month in 46, and Caesar, by an edict, added two more between November and December. Hence this year contained fifteen months, or 445 days. He gave the months their present number of days, while before March, May, Quintilis, and October had had thirty-one days each, February usually twenty-eight, and the others twenty-nine; and he directed that an intercalary day was to be added to February every fourth year. In 44 the month Quintilis was called July in his honor, and in 8 B.C. Sextilis was named August in honor of Augustus. The Julian calendar was slightly modified by Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582; otherwise it still remains in force.

Caesar as a Statesman. — Caesar was the ruler of Rome for about five years, and in the intervals of seven campaigns he spent a year and a half in his capital. He displayed extraordinary ability, unique versatility, and marvelous energy. He was not an advocate of new ideas, a creative statesman such as Gaius Gracchus, but rather a man of supreme executive and administrative ability like Sulla. Nor was he endowed with profound political insight or preëminent tact in politics. Perhaps this was due to the fact that he represented two incompatible principles: he was, in