Book 1, Chapter 46
Original Latin
103 Quae quidem a te scis et consule et imperatore summa cum religione esse servata. Praerogativam etiam maiores omen iustorum comitiorum esse voluerunt. Atque ego exempla ominum nota proferam: L. Paulus consul iterum, cum ei bellum ut cum rege Perse gereret obtigisset, ut ea ipsa die domum ad vesperum rediit, filiolam suam Tertiam, quae tum erat admodum parva, osculans animum advertit tristiculam. ‘Quid est’, inquit, ‘mea Tertia? quid tristis es?’ ‘Mi pater’, inquit, ‘Persa periit.’ Tum ille artius puellam conplexus: ‘Accipio’, inquit, ‘mea filia, omen’. Erat autem mortuus catellus eo nomine.
104 L. Flaccum, flaminem Martialem, ego audivi, cum diceret Caeciliam Metelli, cum vellet sororis suae filiam in matrimonium conlocare, exisse in quoddam sacellum ominis capiendi causa, quod fieri more veterum solebat. Cum virgo staret et Caecilia in sella sederet neque diu ulla vox exstitisset, puellam defatigatam petisse a matertera, ut sibi concederet, paulisper ut in eius sella requiesceret; illam autem dixisse: ‘Vero, mea puella, tibi concedo meas sedes.’ Quod omen res consecuta est; ipsa enim brevi mortua est, virgo autem nupsit, cui Caecilia nupta fuerat. Haec posse contemni vel etiam rideri praeclare intellego, sed id ipsum est deos non putare, quae ab iis significantur, contemnere.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Latin in separate source-only tasks and reviewed throughout against it. Both books, all 130 chapters and 282 numbered sections; no historical English translation used. Latin transcription credited to the Perseus Project under CC BY-SA 4.0, Müller’s 1915 Teubner edition.
103 “You know that you yourself observed these rules with the utmost religious care, both as consul and as commander. Our ancestors also intended the century chosen to vote first to furnish an omen for the formal election. Let me offer some familiar examples of omens. Lucius Paulus, consul for the second time, had been assigned the war against King Perseus. Returning home toward evening that very day, he kissed his little daughter Tertia, then still very young, and noticed that she was rather sad. ‘What is it, my Tertia?’ he asked. ‘Why are you sad?’ ‘Father,’ she said, ‘Persa is dead.’ Then he hugged the child more closely and said, ‘My daughter, I accept the omen.’ It was a puppy of that name that had died.
104 “I heard Lucius Flaccus, the priest of Mars, tell how Caecilia, Metellus' wife, wishing to arrange a marriage for her sister's daughter, went to a little shrine to take an omen, as was customary in the old days. The girl stood while Caecilia sat on a chair, and for a long time no voice was heard. At last the girl grew tired and asked her aunt to give her a place, so that she could rest a little in her chair. ‘Of course, my girl,’ she replied, ‘I give you my place.’ Events fulfilled the omen: Caecilia herself died shortly afterward, and the girl married the man who had been Caecilia's husband. I understand perfectly that these things can be despised or even laughed at. But to despise what the gods signify is itself to disbelieve in the gods.
Plain English translation
Complete machine-assisted Plain English translation, made independently and directly from the Latin, never from the Musean edition. Both books and every numbered section; a separate Latin-source model review covered the entire text. No human specialist review is claimed.
103 “You know how scrupulously you yourself observed these practices, both as consul and as commander. Our ancestors also wanted the vote of the first voting unit to be an omen of a regular election. Here are some familiar cases of words taken as omens. During Lucius Paulus' second consulship, the war with King Perseus fell to him. On that very day, when he returned home toward evening, he kissed his little daughter Tertia, who was very young then, and saw that she was a little unhappy. He asked, ‘My Tertia, what is wrong? Why so unhappy?’ ‘My father, Persa has died,’ she answered. He hugged the girl more tightly and said, ‘I accept the omen, my daughter.’ A puppy with that name had died.
104 “Lucius Flaccus, who served as priest of Mars, once told this story in my hearing. Caecilia, Metellus' wife, wanted to arrange a marriage for her sister's daughter. Following the old custom, she went out to a little shrine to look for an omen. The girl stood while Caecilia sat on a chair. A long time passed without a word being heard. Tired out, the girl asked her aunt to give up her place so she could rest a little in her chair. ‘My girl, of course: my place is yours,’ was her answer. What happened next bore out that omen. Caecilia herself died soon afterward, and the girl married the man Caecilia had been married to. I understand perfectly well that these things can be scorned or even laughed at. But scorning the signs the gods give is the same as denying that there are gods.
About this section
Book 1, Chapter 46 is part of On Divination by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This page sets the Latin original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 46 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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