מגילת העיתים

Words of the Master of the Calendar unto the Copying Scribe and unto the Sage of the Times Hearken, O scribe who copies these words upon a new tablet: add not, nor take away; set not the earlier in place of the later; and exchange not one number for another because the two seem nigh. A drop copied amiss corrupts not its own place alone, but every drop that follows it, and every bowl that drinks from them. And hearken thou also, O Sage of the Times who seeks to discover the name of a day: pass not over a labour because it is long, and say not, “A near answer is enough for me.” In this secret, nearness availeth nothing. He who is short by one unit at the beginning of the reckoning may find at its end another year, another month, and a cutlet of which his ear hath never heard. The secret of the calendar lies open, and all its words are written before the eyes of every reader; yet it is a great secret. For not only that which is hidden is called a secret, but also that which lies open and ...