[108]
He says in substance, 'If the eyes are
sometimes at fault, yet, because they have sometimes seen correctly, the power of sight resides
within them; likewise if a person has once foreseen
something by means of divination, yet even when
he errs in his predictions, he must be held to have
the power of divination.'
53. "Pray point out, my dear Cratippus, the
similarity in these propositions of yours. I confess
that it is not apparent to me. For the eyes in seeing
correctly employ a sense conferred by nature; while
the soul, if it ever has a true vision of the future,
whether by vaticination or by dreams, relies upon
luck or chance. This you must admit unless, perchance, you think that those who consider dreams as
dreams and nothing more, are going to concede that
the fulfilment of any dream was ever due to anything
but luck. While we may grant your two major
premises,—these the Greeks call λήμματα, but we
prefer to call them by their Latin equivalent sumptiones—yet we will not grant your minor premise—
which the Greeks call πρόσληψις.
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