before, and may by physical subtlety of reasoning appear referable to the nature of the Gods, from which, as the wisest men acknowledge, we derive and enjoy the energies of our souls; and as everything is filled and pervaded by a divine intelligence and eternal sense, it follows of necessity that the © soul of man must be influenced by its kindred with the soul of the Deity. But when we are not asleep, our faculties are employed on the necessary affairs of life, and so are hindered from communication with the Deity by the bondage of the body.
There are, however, a small number of persons, who, as it were, detach their souls from the body, and addict themselves, with the utmost anxiety and diligence, to the study of the nature of the Gods. The presentiments of men like these are derived not from divine inspiration, but from human reason; for from a contemplation of nature, they anticipate things to come,—as deluges of water, and the future deflagration, at some time or other, of heaven and earth.
There are others who, being concerned in the government of states, as we have heard of the Athenian Solon, foresee the rise of new tyrannies. Such we usually term prudent men; like Thales the Milesian, who, wishing to convict his slanderers, and to show that even a philosopher could make money, if he should be so inclined, bought up all the olive-trees in Miletus before they were in flower; for he had probably, by some knowledge of his own, calculated that there would be a heavy crop of olives. And Thales is said to have been the first man by whom an eclipse of the sun was ever predicted, which happened under the reign of Astyages.
L. Physicians, pilots, and husbandmen have likewise presentiments of many events: but I do not choose to call this divination; as neither do I call that warning which was given by the natural philosopher Anaximander to the Lacedemonians, when he forewarned them to quit their city and their homes, and to spend the whole night in arms on the plain, because he foresaw the approach of a great earthquake, which took place that very night, and demolished the whole town; and even the lower part of Mount Taygetus was torn away from the rest, like the stern of a ship might be. In the same way, it is not so much as a diviner, as a natural philosopher that we should esteem Pherecydes, the master of Pythagoras who, when he beheld the water exhausted in,a running spring, predicted that an earthquake was nigh at hand.
The mind of man, however, never exerts the power of natural divination, unless when it is so free and disengaged as to be wholly disentangled from the body, as happens in the case of prophets and sleepers.
Therefore, as I have said before, Dicezearchus and our friend Cratippus approve of these two sorts of divination, as long as it is understood that, inasmuch as they proceed from nature, though they may be the highest, they are not the only kind. But if they deny that there is any force in observation, then by such denial they exclude many things which are connected with the common experience and institutions of mankind. However, since they grant us some, and those not insignificant things, namely, prophecies and dreams, there is no reason why we should consider these as very formidable antagonists, especially when there are some who deny the existence of divination altogether..
Those, therefore, whose minds, as it were, despising their bodies, fly forth, and wander freely through the universe, being inspired and influenced by a certain divine ardour, doubtless perceive those things which those who prophecy — predict. And spirits like these are excited by many influences that have no connexion with the body, as those which are excited by certain intonations of voice, and by Phrygian melodies, or by the silence of groves and forests, or the murmur of torrents, or the roar of the sea. Such are the minds which are susceptible of ecstasies, and which long beforehand foresee the events of futurity; to which the following lines refer:— Ah, see you not the vengeance apt to come, Because a mortal has presumed to judge Between three rival goddesses?—he ’s doom’d To fall a victim to the Spartan dame, _ More dreadful than all furies, Many things have in the same way been predicted by prophets, and not only in ordinary language, but also In verses which the fauns of olden times And white-hair’d prophets chanted. It was thus that the diviners, Marcius and Publicius, are said to have sung their predictions. The mysterious responses of ‘Apollo were of the same nature. I believe also that there were certain exhalations of certain earths, by which gifted 192 _ ON DIVINATION, minds were inspired to utter oracles. These, then, are the views which we must entertain of prophets,.
LI. Divinations by dreams are of a similar order, because -presentiments which happen to diviners when awake, happen to ourselves during sleep. For in sleep the soul is vigorous, and free from the senses, and the obstruction of the cares of the body, which lies prostrate and deathlike; and, since the soul has lived from all eternity, and is engaged with spirits innumerable, it therefore beholds all things in the universe, if it only preserves a watchful attitude, unencumbered by excess of food or drinking, so that the mind is awake during the slumber of the body,—this is the divination of dreamers.
Here, then, comes in an important, and far from natural, but a very artificial interpretation of dreams by Antiphon: and he interprets oracles and prophecies in the same way; for there are explainers of these things just as grammarians are expounders of poets. For, as it would have been in vain for nature to have produced gold, silver, iron, and copper, if she had not taught us the means of extracting them from her bosom for our use and benefit; and as it would have been in vain for her to have bestowed seeds and fruits upon men, if she had not taught them to distinguish and cultivate them, —for what use would any materials whatsoever be to us, if we had no means of working them up’—thus with every useful thing which the Gods have bestowed on us, they have vouchsafed us the sagacity by which its utility may be appreciated; and so, because in dreams, oracles, and prophecies there are many things necessarily obscure and ambiguous, some have received the gift of interpretation of them.
But by what means prophets and sleepers behold those things, which do not at the time exist in sensible reality, is a great question. But when we have once cleared up those points which ought to be investigated first, then the other subjects of our examination will be easier. For the discussion about the Nature of the Gods, which you have so clearly explained in your second book on that subject, embraces the whole question; for if we grant that there are Gods, and that their providence governs the universe, and that they consult for the best management of all human affairs, and that not only in general, but in particular,—if we grant this, which indeed appears to me to be undeniable, then we must hold it as a necessary consequence that these Gods have bestowed on - men the signs and indications of futurity. ° The mode, however, by which the Gods endue us with the gift and power of divination requires some notice.
LII. The Stoics will not allow that the Deity can be interested in each cleft in entrails, or in the chirping of birds. They affirm that such interference is altogether indecorous---unworthy of the majesty of the Gods, and an incredible impossibility. They maintain that from the beginning of the world it has been ordained that certain signs must needs precede certain events, some of which are drawn from the entrails of animals, some from the note and flight of birds, some from the sight of lightning, some from prodigies, some from stars, some from visions of dreamers, and some from exclamations of men in frenzy: and those who have a clear perception of these things are not often deceived. Bad conjectures and incorrect interpretations are false, not because of any imposture in the signs themselves, but because of the ignorance of their expounders, It being, therefore, granted and conceded that there exists a certain divine energy, by which human life is supported and surrounded, it is not hard to conceive how all that happens to men may happen by the direction of heaven; for this divine and sentient energy, which expands throughout the universe, may select a victim for sacrifice, and may, by exterior agency, effect any change in the condition of its entrails at the period of its immolation: so that any given characteristic may be found excessive or defective in the animal’s body. For by very trifling exertions nature can alter, or new-model, or diminish many things. And the prodigies which happened a little before Czesar’s death are of great weight in preventing us from doubting this,—when on that very day on which he first sat on the golden throne and went forth clad in a purple robe, when he was sacrificing, no heart was found in the intestines of the fat ox. Do you then suppose that any warm-blooded animal, unless by divine interference, can live an instant without a heart? He was himself surprised at the novelty of the phenomenon; on which Spurinna observed that he had reason to fear that he would lose both sense and life, since both of these proceed from the heart. The next day the liver of the victim was DE NAT, ETO, 0 194 ON DIVINATION; found defective in the upper extremity. Doubtless the im: mortal Gods vouchsafed Ceesar these signs to apprize him of his approaching death, =e not to enable him to pa against it.
‘When, therefore, we vita discover in the entrails. of the victim those organs without which the animal cannot live, we, must necessarily suppose that they have been annihilated by a superintending Providence at the wey instant that the sacrifice is offered.
LIII. And the same divine ‘ieibaeiine may likewise be the cause why birds fly in different directions on different. occasions, why they hide themselves sometimes in one place and sometimes in another, and why they sing on the right hand or on the left. For if every animal according to its own will can direct the motions of its body, so as to stoop, to look on one side, or to look up, and can bend, twist, contract, or extend its limbs as it pleases, and does those things almost before think-+ ing of doing them, how much more easy is it for a God to do 80, whose deity governs and regulates all things.
It is the Deity, too; which presents various signs to us, many of which history has recorded for us; as for instance; we find it stated that if the moon was eclipsed a little before sunrise in the sign of Leo, it was.a sign that Darius should be slain and the Persians be defeated by Alexander and the Macedonians. And if a girl was born with two heads, it was a sign that there was to be a sedition among the people and - corruption and adultery at home. Ifa woman should dream that she was delivered of a lion, the country in which such an occurrence took place would soon be subjected to foreign domination. Of the same kind is the fact. mentioned. by Herodotus, that the son of Croesus spoke, though the gift of speech was by nature denied him; which prodigy was an indication that his father’s kingdom and family would be utterly destroyed. And all our histories relate that the head of Servius Tullius while sleeping appeared to be on fire, which was a sign of the extraordinary events which followed, y As, therefore, a man who falls asleep while his mind is full of pure meditations, and all circumstances around him adapted to tranquillity, will experience in his dreams true and certain presentiments; so also the chaste and ptire a ie ia : rc i Rt iy. We xe Ly a iP + a ‘ ; i) ON DIVINATION: 195 mind of a waking man is better suited to thé observation of the course of the stars, or the flight of birds, and the intimations of the truth to be collected from entrails. SG LIV. And connected with this principle is the tradition which we have received concerning Socrates, which is often ~ affirmed by himself in the books of his disciples—that he possessed a certain divinity, which he called a demon, and to which he was always obedient,—a genius which never compelled: him to-action, but often deterred him from it.. The same Sovrates (and where can we find a better authority?) being consulted by Xenophon, whether he should follow Cyrus to the wars, gave him his counsel, and then added these words,—* The advice I give you is merely human: in such obscure and uncertain cases, it is best to consult the oracle of Apollo, to whom the Athenians have always publicly appealed in questions of importance.”
It is likewise written of Socrates, that having once seen his friend Crito with his eye bandaged, and having asked him what was the matter with it, he received for answer, that as he was walking in the fields, a branch of a tree he had attempted to bend sprang back, and hit him in the eye. Upon this, Socrates replied, “This is the consequence of your _ not having obeyed me when I recalled you, following the divine presentiment, according to my custom.”
Another remarkable story is told of Socrates. After the battle in which the Athenians were defeated at Delium, under the command of Laches, he was obliged to fly with that unfortunate general. At length reaching a spot where three | ways met, he refused to pursue the same track. as the rest.
_ When they inquired the cause of his behaviour, he said that he was restrained by a God. The others, who left Socrates, fell in with the enemy’s cavalry. } Antipater has collected many other instances of the admirable divination of Socrates, which I omit, for they are quite familiar to you, and I need not further enumerate them. IT cannot, however, avoid mentioning one fact in the history of this philosopher, which strikes me as magnificent, and almost divine;—namely, that when he had been condemned by the sentence of impious men, he said, he was prepared to die with the most perfect equanimity; because the God within him had not suffered him to be afflicted with any idea of ania impending evil, either when he left his home, or when he appeared before the court.
LV. I think, therefore, that true divination exists, although those men are often deceived who appear to proceed on conjecture, or on artificial rules. For men are fallible in all arts, and we cannot suppose they are infallible here. It may happen that some sign, which has an ambiguous signification, is received in a certain one. It may happen that some particular has escaped the notice of the inquirer, or is purposely concealed by him, because opposed to his interest.
I should, however, consider my plea for divination sufficiently established, if only a few well-authenticated cases of presentiment and prophecies could be discovered; whereas, in truth, there are many. I will even declare without hesitation, that a single instance of presage and prediction, all the points of which are borne out by subsequent events— and that definitely and regularly, not casually and fortuitously —would suffice to compel an admission of the reality of divination from all reasonable minds. | It appears to me, moreover, that we should refer all the virtue and power of divination to the Divinity, as Posidonius has done, as before observed; in the next place to Fate, and afterwards to the nature of things. For reason compels us to admit that by Fate all things take place. By Fate I mean that which the Greeks call civappévy, that is, a certain order and series of causes—for cause linked to cause produces all things: and in this connexion of cause cousists the constant truth which flows through all eternity. From whence it follows that nothing happens which is not predestined to happen; and in the same way nothing is predestined to happen, the nature of which does not contain the efficient causes of its happening.
From which it must be understood that fate is not a mere superstitious imagination, but is what is called, in the language of natural philosophy, the eternal cause of things; the cause why past things have happened, why present things do happen, and why future things will happen. And thus we are taught by exact observation, what consequences are usually produced, by what causes, though not invariably. And thus the causes of future events may truly be discerned by those who behold them in states of ecstasy or quiet.
LVI. Since, then, all things happen by a certain fate, (as will be shown in another place,) if any»man could exist who could comprehend this succession of causes in his intellectual view, such a man would be infallible. For being in possession of a knowledge of the causes of all events, he would necessarily foresee how and when all events would take place.
But as no being except the Deity alone can do this, man can attain no more than a kind of presentiment of futurity, by ebserving the events which are the usual consequences of certain signs. For those events that are to happen in future do not start into existence on a sudden. But the regular course of time resembles the untwisting of a cable, producing nothing absolutely new, but all things in a grand concatenation or series of repetitions.
And this has been observed by those who possess the gifs. of natural divination, and by those who study the regularsuccessions of certain things. For though they do not. always apprehend the causes, yet they clearly discern thesigns and marks of the causes. And by diligently investi-. gating and committing to memory all such signs, and the. traditions of our ancestors concerning them, they produce. an elaborate system of that divination which is termed. technical respecting the entrails of victims, thunder and lightning, prodigies, and celestial phenomena.
We must not, therefore, be astonished that those who. addict themselves to divination foresee many events which. have no place of existence. For all things do even now exist, though they are removed in point of time. And as the vital embryo of all vegetation exists in seeds, from which they afterwards germinate, so are all things even now hidden in their causes, and perceived as hereafter to happen by the mind when it is thrown into an ecstasy, or relaxed in sleep, and cool reason and calculation is often granted a presentiment of them. And as the astrologers who watch the risings, settings, and various courses of the sun, moon, and other stars, can predict long before all their revolutions and phenomena; so those who have noted the series and consequence of events, with constant and indefatigable attention, during a very long period, do generally, or (if that is too difficult) at least occasionally, foresee with certainty the things that are to come to pass, Such are some of the arguments derived from the nature of fate, by which the reality of divination may be proved. | LVIL. ‘Another powerful plea in favour of divination, may be drawn from Nature herself, which teaches us how great is the energy of the mind when abstracted from the bodily Senses, a8 it 18 most especially in ecstasy and sleep. For even as the Gods know what passes in our minds without the aid of eyes, ears or tongues, (on which divine omniscience is founded the feeling of men, that when they wish in silence for, or offer up a prayer for anything, the Gods hear them,) so when the soul of man is disengaged from corporeal impediments, and set at freedom, either from being relaxed in sleep, or in a state of mental excitement, it beholds those wonders which, when entangled beneath the veil of the flesh, it is unable to see.
It may be difficult, perhaps, to connect this principle of nature with that kind of divination which we have stated to result from study and art. Posidonius, however, thinks that there are in nature certain sigus and symbols of future events. We are informed that the inhabitants of Cea, according to the report of Heraclides of Pontus, are accustomed carefully to observe the circumstances attending the rising of the Dog Star, in order to know the character of the ensuing season, and how far it will prove salubrious or pestilential. For if the star rose with an obscure and dim appearance, it proved that the atmosphere was gross and fogey, and its respiration would be heavy and unwholesome. But if it appeared bright and lucid, then that was a sign that the air was light and pure, and therefore healthful.
Democritus believed that the ancients had wisely enjoined the inspection of the entrails of animals which had been sacrificed, because by their condition and colour it is possible to determine the salubrity or pestilential state of the atmosphere, and sometimes even what is likely to be the fertility or sterility of the earth. And if careful observation and ‘practice recognise these rules as proceeding from nature, then every day might bring us many examples which might ‘deserve notice and remark; so that the natural philosopher ‘whom Pacuvius introduces in his Chryses, seems to me a ignorant of the nature of things, when he says,— All those who understand the speech of birds And hearts of victims better than their own, May be just listen’d to, bat not obey’d.
Why should he make such a remark here, when a little after he speaks thus plainly in a contrary sense!— . Whatever God may be, ’tis he who forms, Preserves and nurtures all. Unto himself He back absorbs all beings,—evermore The universal Sire, —at once the source And end of nature. | Why, then, since the universe is the sole and common home of all creatures, and since the minds of men always have existed, and will exist, why, I say, should they not be able to perceive the consequences, and what is the result indicated by each sign, and what events each sign foreshows { These are the arguments which I had to bring forward on the subject of divimation. For the rest, I in nowise believe in those who predict by lots, or those who tell fortunes for the sake of gain, nor those necromancers who evoke the manes, whom your friend Appius consulted. 7 Of little service are the Morsian prophet, The Haruspi of the village, the astrologer Of the throneg’d circus, or the priest of Isis, Or the imposturous interpreter Of dreams. All these are but false conjurors, Who have no skill to read futurity, They are but hypocrites, urged on by hunger; Ignorant of themselves, they would teach others, To whom they promise boundless wealth, and beg A penny in return, paid in advance. ad Such is the style in which Ennius speaks of those pretenders of divination; and a few verses before, he has affirmed that though the Gods exist, they take no care of the _ human race. I am of a contrary opinion, and approve of divination, because I believe that the Gods do watch over men, and admonish them, and presignify many things to them, all levity, vanity, and malice being excluded.: 3 And when Quintus had said this, You are, indeed, said I, admirably prepared. |.:: Gis [The rest of this Book is lost.]
BOOK II, I. Wuen I have been considering, as I frequently have, with deep and prolonged cogitation, by what means I might Serve aS many persons as possible, so as never to cease from doing service to my country, no better method has occurred to me than that of instructing my fellow-citizens in the noblest arts. And this I flatter myself that I have already in some degree effected in the numerous works which I have written. In the treatise which I have entitled “ Hortensius,” I have earnestly recommended them to the study of philosophy; and in the four books of Academic Questions, I have laid open that species of philosophy which I think the least arrogant, and at the same time the most consistent and © elegant.
Again, as the foundation of all philosophy is the knowledge of the chief good and evil which we should seek or shun, I have thoroughly discussed these topics in five books, in order to explain the different arguments and objections of the various schools in relation thereto.! In five other books of Tusculan Questions, I have explained what most conduces to render life happy. In the first, I treat of the contempt of death; in the second, of the endurance of pain and sorrow; in the third, of mitigating melancholy; in the fourth, of the other perturbations of the mind; and in the fifth, I elaborate that most glorious of all philosophic doctrines— the all-sufficiency of virtue; and prove that virtue can secure our perpetual bliss without foreign appliances and assistances. ) When these works were completed, I wrote three books on the Nature of the Gods. I have discussed all the different bearings and topics of that subject, and now I proceed in the composition of a treatise on Divination, in order to give ? He is here referring to the treatise De Finibus, a that subject the amplest development. And if, when this is finished, I add another on Fate, I shall have abundantly | examined the whole of that question.
To this catalogue of my writings, I must likewise add my six books on the Republic, which I composed when I was directing the government of the State. A grand subject, indeed, and peculiarly connected with philosophy, and one which has been richly elaborated by Plato, Aristotle, Theophrastus, and the whole tribe of the Peripatetics.
I must not forget to mention my Essay on Consolation, which afforded me myself no inconsiderable comfort, and will, I trust, be of some benefit to others. Besides this, I lately wrote a work on Old Age, which I addressed to Atticus; and since it is owing to philosophy that our friend Cato is. the good and brave man that he is, he is well entitled to an honourable place in the list of my writings, Moreover, as Aristotle and Theophrastus, two authors eminently distinguished both for the penetration and fertility of their genius, have united with their philosophy precepts likewise for eloquence, so I think that I too may class among my philosophical writings my treatise on the Oratorical Art. So there are three books on Oratory, a fourth Essay entitled Brutus, and a fifth named the Orator.
II. Such are the works I have already written, and I am girding myself up to what remains, with the desire (if I am not hindered by weightier business) of leaving no philosophical topic otherwise than fully explained and illustrated in the Latin language, For what greater or better service can we render to our country, than by thus educating and instructing the rising generation, especially in times like these, and in the present state of morality, when society has fallen into such disorders as to require every one to use his best exertions to check and restrain it?
Not that I expect to succeed (for that, indeed, cannot be even hoped) in winning all the young to the study of philosophy. I shall be glad to gain even a few, the fruits of whose industry may have an extended effect on the republic.
Indeed, I already begin to gather some fruit of my labour, from those of more advanced years, who are pleased with my various books. By their eagerness for reading what I write, my ambition for writing is from day to day more yehemently excited. And indeed such individuals are far more numerous than I could have imagined. A magnificent thing it will be, and glorious indeed for the Romans, when they.
shall no longer find it necessary to resort to the Greeks for philosophical literature. And this desideratum I shall cer-.
tainly effect for them, if I do but succeed in accomplishing my design. | To the undertaking of explaining philosophy I was originally prompted by disastrous circumstances of the state. For during the civil wars I could not defend the commonwealth by professional exertions; while at the same time I could not remain inactive. And yet I could not find anything worthy of myself for me to undertake. My fellow-citizens, therefore, will pardon me, or rather will thank me; because when Rome had become the property of one man, I neither concealed myself, nor deserted them, nor yielded to grief, nor conducted myself like a politician indignant at either an individual or the times,—nor played the part of a flatterer of, or courtier to, the power of another, so as to be ashamed of myself. For from Plato and philosophy I had learnt this lesson, that certain revolutions are natural to>all republics, which alternately come under the power of monarchs, and democracies, and aristocracies., And when this fate had befallen our own Commonwealth, then, being deprived of my customary employments, I applied: myself anew to the study of philosophy, doing so both to alleviate my own sorrow for the calamities of the state, and also in the hope of serving my fellow-countrymen by my writings. And thus in my books I continued to plead and to harangue, and took the same care to advance the interests of philosophy as I had before to- promote the cause of the Republic. Now, however, since Iam again engaged in the affairs of government, I must devote my attention to the state, or I should rather say, all my labours and cares must be occupied about that; and I shall only be able to give to philosophy whatever little leisure I can steal from public business and public employments. Of these matters, however, I shall find a better occasion to speak; let me now return to the subject of divination. For when my brother Quintus had concluded his arguments on the subject of divination, contained in the preceding book, and we had walked enough to be _ Gh Ss Seal i satisfy us, we sat down in my library, which, as I before noticed, is in my Lyceum.
III. Then I said,—Quintus, you have defended the doctrine of the Stoics, respecting divination, with great accuracy, and on the strictest Stoical principles. And what particularly pleased me was, that you supported your cause chiefly by authorities, and those, too, of great force and dignity, borrowed from our _ own countrymen. It is now my part to notice what you have advanced. But I shall do so without offering anything absolutely on one side or the other, examining all your arguments, often expressing doubts and distrusting myself. For if T assumed anything I could say on this subject as certain, I should play the part of a diviner even while denying divination. I am, no doubt, greatly fuiluenieed by that preliminary question which Carneades used to raise,—namely, What is the subject matter of divination? Is it things perceived by the senses, or not? Such things we see, or hear, or taste, or smell, or touch. Is there, then, among such, anything which we perceive more by some foreseeing power, or agitation of the mind, than through nature herself? Or could a diviner, if he were blind as Tiresias, somehow or other distinguish between white and black? or if he were -deaf, could he distinguish between the articulations and modulations of voices? Divination, therefore, cannot be applied to those objects which come under the cognisance of the senses.
Nor is it of much use, even in matters of art and science, In medicine for instance, if a person is sick we do not call in the diviner or the conjuror, but the physician; and in music, if we wish to learn the flute or the harp, we do. not take ‘ lessons from the soothsayer, but from the musician.
It is the same in literature, and in-all those sciences which are matters of education and discipline. Do you think that those who addict themselves to the art of divination can thereby inform us whether the sun is larger than the earth or of the same size as it appears, or whether the moon shines by her own light or by a radiance borrowed from the sun, or what are the laws of motion obeyed by these orbs, or by those other five stars which are termed the planets?
None of those who pass for diviners pretend to be able to instruct mankind in these matters, nor can they prove the truth or falsehood of the problems of geometry. Such matters belong to the mathematician, not to conjurors.
IV. And in those questions which are agitated in moral philosophy, is there any one with respect to which any diviner ever gives an answer, or is ever consulted as to what is good, bad, or indifferent? For such topics properly belong to philosophers. As to duties, who ever consulted a diviner how to regulate his behaviour to his parents, his brethren, or his friends? or in what light he should regard wealth, and honour, and authority? These things are referred to sages, not diviners.