Book 1, Chapter 49

109 “But to bring my argument back to the point from which it wandered: if I could give no explanation of why each thing happens, and merely showed that the things I have described do happen, would my answer to Epicurus or Carneades be inadequate? What if an explanation of artificial foreknowledge is actually easy to give, while that of divinely inspired foreknowledge is somewhat less clear? For predictions drawn from entrails, lightning, portents, and stars have been recorded through long observation. In every field, the long observation of ages brings astonishing knowledge. This may exist even without any movement or impulse from the gods, once repeated attention has revealed what follows from each thing and what signifies each event.

110 “The other kind of divination is natural, as I said before. Through a subtle inquiry into nature, it must be traced to the nature of the gods, from which, according to the most learned and wisest thinkers, our souls have been drawn, each a small share. Since all things are filled and pervaded with eternal awareness and divine mind, human souls must be stirred by their kinship with divine souls. But while awake, souls serve life's necessities and, hampered by the body's bonds, sever themselves from fellowship with the divine.

111 “There is a rare class of people who withdraw from the body and are swept with all their care and zeal toward knowledge of divine things. Their predictions come not from divine impulse but from human reason: through nature they foresee future events, such as floods and the conflagration that will one day consume heaven and earth. Others, experienced in public affairs, foresee the rise of tyranny long beforehand, as we are told of Solon the Athenian. We may call such men prudent—that is, provident, seeing ahead—but we cannot possibly call them diviners, any more than Thales of Miletus. To refute his critics and show that even a philosopher could make money if he found it worthwhile, he is said to have bought up the whole olive crop in the territory of Miletus before it began to flower.

109 “But let my argument return to the point from which it wandered. Suppose I could offer no explanation of why any of these things happens, and could only show that the events I have mentioned do happen. Wouldn't that be enough of an answer to Epicurus or Carneades? And what if there is an easy explanation for artificial foresight, though a somewhat less clear one for divinely inspired foresight? Long years of watching have established what entrails, lightning, unusual events, and stars foretell. In every field, centuries of such observation yield astonishing knowledge. Such knowledge can exist even without any action or impulse from the gods. Repeated observation has shown what follows from each thing and what gives a sign of each event.

110 “The second form, as I explained earlier, is natural divination. A careful discussion of natural philosophy must trace it back to the nature of the gods. As the most learned and wisest thinkers have held, our minds are small portions drawn from that nature. Everything is filled to overflowing with everlasting awareness and divine intelligence. So human minds must be stirred by their kinship with divine minds. But when we are awake, our minds serve life's needs. Hampered by the body's bonds, they cut themselves off from their connection with the divine.

111 “In rare cases people draw themselves away from bodily concerns, devoting all their energy and attention to understanding divine matters. Human reasoning, not divine inspiration, accounts for their forecasts. For example, their knowledge of nature lets them foresee floods and the eventual burning of the heavens and the earth. Political experience likewise enables others to predict a tyranny's rise far in advance. This is what we are told of Solon of Athens. We can call them prudent—that is, able to see ahead—but certainly not diviners. No more so than Thales of Miletus, who is said to have bought the whole olive crop in Milesian territory before it began to flower. He wanted to refute his critics and show that a philosopher too could make money if it suited him.