War, Numbers and Losses in Some Former Wars.—The famous “Battle of the Nations,” fought in 1813, was won by 300,000 Prussians, Austrians, Russians, and Swedes against 180,000 French under Napoleon, and the total killed and wounded did not exceed 100,000.SBBS 584.2

Tennyson characterized Waterloo a “world-earthquake,” yet Wellington led to battle not more than 67,000 troops, Blucher adding 56,000, while the French numbered only 72,000, the losses all told being 57,000.SBBS 584.3

Henderson calls Sadowa, “one of the greatest battles of history,” remarking that “seldom indeed have two such colossal armies stood over against each other.” The fighting arrayed 222,000 against 221,000, and the losses totaled 50,000.SBBS 584.4

In the Franco-Prussian War over 1,000,000 men were called out by the Prussians, but not more than half of them were actively engaged in the field. Bazaine is described as retreating on Metz “with his huge army of 170,000,” while the battle fought outside Sedan is called “the most impressive spectacle that man could well devise.” The losses amounted to 23,000 killed and wounded.SBBS 584.5

At the close of our Civil War the Federal army numbered about 1,000,000, and at least 1,000,000 had been enrolled during the struggle by the Confederates. At the first battle of Bull Run 28,000 Federals under McDowell faced 30,000 Confederates under Beauregard, and the losses were about 5,000; at the second, Lee had about 46,000 men, Pope about 35,000, the Confederates losing 8,400, the Federals 15,000. The forces engaged in the three days’ battle at Gettysburg numbered not more than from 70,000 to 80,000 a side; the Federals lost 23,186, the Confederates 31,621. And the whole losses in the “tremendous” struggle between Russia and Japan in 1904-05 did not exceed 600,000.—The Boston Herald, quoted in the Washington Herald, Aug. 18, 1916.SBBS 584.6

Week, the Astrological or Egyptian Week Not Identical with the Semitic or Jewish Week.—The way in which the allotment of the planets to the days of the week was arrived at was the following: The Greek astronomers and mathematicians concluded that the planet Saturn was the most distant from the earth and that the others followed in the descending order of Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. In the progress of astrology there came a time when it was found necessary to assign a planet to every hour so as to increase the number of omens it could afford. Starting then with Saturn as presiding over the first hour of the day, each planet was used three times over on that day, and three planets were used a fourth time. The sun, the fourth planet, took therefore the first hour of the second day, and gave it its name so that Sunday followed Saturday. In like manner the third day became the moon’s day, and so on with the other planets which followed in the order Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and again Saturn. This idea of the relative distances of the planets was that arrived at by the astronomers of Alexandria, and was necessarily subsequent to the reduction of the planetary motions to a mathematical system by Eudoxus and his successors. The division of the day implied was one of twenty-four hours, not of twelve; the Egyptian division, not the Babylonian. But the Egyptian week was one of ten days, the seven-day week was Semitic, and the week implied in the system is the free week, running on continuously, the Jewish week, not the Babylonian. For the Babylonians, though they paid some attention to the seventh day, began their reckoning fresh at the beginning of each month. This particular astrological system therefore owed its origin to four distinct nationalities. The conception of the influence of the planets was Babylonian; the mathematical working out of the order of the planets was exclusively Grecian; the division of the day into twenty-four hours was Egyptian; the free continuous seven-day week was particularly Jewish. These four influences were brought together in Alexandria not very long before the Christian era.—The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, art. “Astrology,” subsection, “Names of the Week-Days;” Vol. I, p. 299. Chicago: The Howard-Severance Company.SBBS 584.7

Week.—See Calendar.SBBS 585.1

White, Mrs. E. G., Teaching and Work of.—See Advent, Second, 25, 26.SBBS 585.2

Williams, Roger.—See Religious liberty, 413, 414; Sabbath, 469.SBBS 585.3

Wolff, Joseph.—See Advent, Second, 16, 17.SBBS 585.4

World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh.—See Missions, 313; Religious Liberty, 415.SBBS 585.5

Worms.—See Diet of Worms; Diets; Reformation.SBBS 585.6

UNITED STATES IN FORMER WARS

“X” Entry