in Roman antiquity, the calendar wherein were expressed the several days of the year, with their feasts, games, and other ceremonies.

There were two sorts of fasti, the greater and lesser; the former being distinguished by the appellation fasti magistralis, and the latter by that of fasti kalendares.

1. The Fasti Kalendares, which were what was properly and primarily called fasti, are defined by Feitius Pompeius to be books containing a description of the whole year: i.e. Ephemerides, or diaries, distinguishing the several kinds of days, fasti profecti; fasti nefasti, &c. The author hereof was Numa, who committed the care and direction of the fasti to the pontifex maximus, whom the people used to go and consult on every occasion. This custom held till the year of Rome 459, when C. Flavius, secretary to the pontifices, exposed in the forum a list of all the days wherein it was lawful to work; which was so acceptable to the people, that they made him curule aedile.

These lesser fasti, or fasti calendares, were of two kinds, urbani and rustic.

The fasti urbani, or fasti of the city, were those which obtained or were observed in the city. Some will have them thus called because they were exposed publicly in divers parts of the city; though, by the various inscriptions or gravings thereof on antique stones, one would imagine that private persons had them likewise in their houses. Ovid undertook to illustrate these fasti urbani, and comment on them, in his Libri Fastorum, whereof we have the six first books still remaining; the six last, if ever they were written, being lost.

In the fasti rustic, or country fasti, were expressed the several days, feasts, &c. to be observed by the country people: for as these were taken up in tilling the ground, fewer feasts, sacrifices, ceremonies, and holidays, were enjoined them than the inhabitants of cities; and they had also some peculiar ones not observed at Rome. These rustic fasti contained little more than the ceremonies of the calends, nones, and ides; the fairs, signs of the zodiac, increase and decrease of the days, the tutelary gods of each month, and certain directions for rural works to be performed each month.

2. In the greater fasti, or Fasti Magistralis, were expressed the several feasts, with every thing relating to the gods, religion, and the magistrates; the emperors, their birth-days, offices, days consecrated to them, and feasts and ceremonies established in their honour, or for their prosperity, &c. With a number of such circumstances did flattery at length swell the fasti; when they became denominated Magni to distinguish them from the bare calendar, or fasti kalendares.

Fasti was also a chronicle or register of time, where- in the several years were denoted by the respective con- fusis, with the principal events that happened during their confutates; these were called also fasti confusares, or confusari fasti.

Dies Fasti, also denoted court-days. The word fasti saeforum, is formed of the verb fari, "to speak," because during those days the courts were opened, causes might be heard, and the praetor was allowed fari, to pronounce the three words, do, dice, addico: The other days wherein this was prohibited were called nefasti: thus Ovid,

Ille nefasius crit, per quem tria verba silentur: Fasius crit, per quem lege licit agi.

These dies fasti were noted in the calendar by the letter F: but observe, that there were some days ex parte fasti, partly fasti, partly nefasti; i.e. justice might be distri- buted at certain times of the day, and not at others. These days were called interfasti, and were marked in the calendar thus; F. P. fastos primo, where justice might be demanded during the first part of that day.