The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Divine Office of Christians, in both Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Church. These Hours are called 'little' due to their shorter and simpler structure compared to the Night Hours. Traditionally, these times of prayer include Prime (First Hour), at 6 a.m., Terce (Third Hour) at 9 a.m., Sext (Sixth Hour) at noontime, and None (Ninth Hour) at 3 p.m. These prayer times derive from ancient Jewish practice and are mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles; the prayers consist mainly of psalms.
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“The mountainous region of the State of Maine stretches from near the White Mountains, northeasterly one hundred and sixty miles, to the head of the Aroostook River, and is about sixty miles wide. The wild or unsettled portion is far more extensive. So that some hours only of travel in this direction will carry the curious to the verge of a primitive forest, more interesting, perhaps, on all accounts, than they would reach by going a thousand miles westward.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)