[92]
"Again, the Etrurians are very skilful in observing thunderbolts, in interpreting their meaning and
that of every sign and portent. That is why, in
the days of our forefathers, it was wisely decreed
by the Senate, when its power was in full vigour,
that, of the sons of the chief men, six should
be handed over to each of the Etruscan tribes1
for the study of divination, in order that so important a profession should not, on account of the
poverty of its members, be withdrawn from the influence of religion, and converted into a means of
mercenary gain. On the other hand the Phrygians,
Pisidians, Cilicians, and Arabians rely chiefly on the
signs conveyed by the flights of birds, and the
Umbrians, according to tradition, used to do the same.
1 Val. Max. i. I says that ten (not six) were handed over. Editors differ as to whether the youths set apart were Roman or Etruscan. See Moser, De div. p. 106, note; Wissowa, Relig. und Kult.2 p. 548.
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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