d the Sunday Office had only three, all taken from the Bible, which
was read in its entirety, yearly. In the seventh century, ferial Offices
received three lessons. About the time of St. Gregory, (died 604) the
Office for Matins was divided into three parts or nocturns, each having
lessons. The lessons for the second and third nocturns were not taken
from the Bible, but from the works of the Fathers. These extracts were
collected in book form--the _homilaria_. The collection of extracts made
by Paul the deacon (730-797) and used by Charles the Great (742-814) in
his kingdom, form the foundation of the collected extracts in our
Breviaries. The scripture lessons in our Breviaries are generally known
as "the scripture occurring," and are so arranged that each book of
scripture is begun at least, except the books, Josue, Judges, Ruth,
Paralipomenon and the Canticle of Canticles. Quignonez arranged in his
reform that the whole Bible should be read yearly. But his book was
withdrawn by Pope Paul IV. in 1558.

Although the ecclesiastical year begins with Advent, the beginnings of
the Bible are not read till March. Hence, we begin the lessons from
Genesis, after Septuagesima Sunday, and not, as we should naturally
expect, at Advent, the beginning of the ecclesiastical year. The order
in which the Scripture lessons are read does not follow the order in
which the books of the Bible stand in the sacred volume. Thus, the Acts
of the Apostles begin on the Monday after Low Sunday and are read for a
fortnight; The Apocalypse begins on the third Sunday after Easter and is
read for a week; then the Epistle of St. James begins, and so on, with
special regard to the feasts of the time, rather than to the order of
the books of the Bible.

The lessons of the second nocturn are generally commemorative of a saint
or some episode of a saint's life. They have been much, and often
ignorantly criticised, even by priests. The science of hagiology is a
very wide and far-reaching one, which demands knowledge and reverence.
Priests wishing to study its elements may read with pleasure and profit
and wonder _The Legends of the Saints_, by Pere H. Delehaye, S.J.,
Bollandist (Longmans, 3s. 6d.). "Has Lectiones secundi Nocturni ex
Historiis sanctorum, quas nunc habemus recognitas fuisse a doctissimis
Cardinalibus Bellarmino et Baronio, qui rejecerunt ea omnia, quae jure
merito in dubium revocari poterant et approbatus sub Clemente VIII."
(Gavantus). And