Many Among Them, To The Shame Of Us Christians, Pray Five Tunes
A-Day, Whatever May Happen To Be Their Interruptions Of Pleasure Or
Profit.
Their set times are at the hours of six, nine, twelve, three,
and six, respectively.
The manner in which they divide the day is quite different from us; as
they divide the day and the night each into four equal parts, which they
denominate pores, and these again are each subdivided into eight
smaller parts, called grees. [Hence each pore contains three of our
hours, and each gree is equal to 22-1/2 of our minutes.] These are
measured, according to an ancient custom, by means of water, dropping
from one small vessel into another, beside which there always stand
servants appointed for the purpose, who strike with a hammer upon a
concave plate of metal, like the inner portion of a plate, hung by a
wire, thus denoting the pores and grees successively as they
pass.[238] Like the mother and her seven sons, mentioned in the
Maccabees, such is the temperance of many, both among the Mahometans and
Gentiles, that they will rather die than eat or drink of any thing
forbidden by their law. Such meats and drinks as their law allows, they
use only in moderation, to satisfy nature, not to please their
appetites, hating gluttony, and esteeming drunkenness a sin, as it
really is, or a second madness; and indeed their language has only one
word, mest, for a drunkard and a madman.
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