[121]
The same power sends us signs,
of which history has preserved numerous examples.
We find the following ones recorded: when just
before sunrise the moon was eclipsed in the sign of
Leo, this indicated that Darius and the Persians
would be overcome in battle by the Macedonians
under Alexander, and that Darius would die. Again,
when a girl was born with two heads, this foretold
sedition among the people and seduction and adultery
in the home. When a woman dreamed that she
had been delivered of a lion, this signified that the
country in which she had the dream would be conquered by foreign nations.
"Another instance of a similiar kind is related by
Herodotus:1 Croesus's son, when an infant, spoke,
and this prodigy foretold the utter overthrow of
his father's family and kingdom. What history has
failed to record the fact that while Servius Tullius
slept his head burst into flame?2 Therefore, just as a
man has clear and trustworthy dreams, provided he
[p. 357]
goes to sleep, not only with his mind prepared by
noble thoughts, but also with every precaution
taken to induce repose; so, too, he, when awake,
is better prepared to interpret truly the messages
of entrails, stars, birds, and all other signs, provided
his soul is pure and undefiled.
Cicero: De Senectute De Amicitia De Divinatione. With An English Translation. William Armistead Falconer. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1923.
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