Book 1, Chapter 52

118 “But we should distinguish how they do so. The Stoics do not hold that a god is present at every cleft in a liver or every birdcall: that is neither fitting nor worthy of the gods, nor in any way possible. Rather, the universe was so constituted from its beginning that certain signs should precede certain events—some in entrails, some in birds, some in lightning, some in portents, some in stars, some in the visions of dreamers, and some in the voices of the frenzied. Those who have grasped these signs well are not often deceived. Mistaken inferences and interpretations prove false not through any fault in the things themselves, but through the interpreters' ignorance. Once we establish and grant that some divine power encompasses human life, it is not difficult to conceive how the things we certainly see happening come about. For a conscious power diffused throughout the universe may guide the choice of a sacrificial victim; and at the very moment you intend to sacrifice, a change in the entrails may occur, so that something is missing or something is added. With slight impulses nature fashions, alters, or removes many things.

119 “A most powerful proof, leaving no room for doubt, is what happened shortly before Caesar's death. He was sacrificing on the day when he first sat in a golden chair and appeared in a purple robe, and among the entrails of a fat ox there was no heart. Do you suppose, then, that any creature possessing blood can live without a heart? He was shaken by this strange occurrence, and Spurinna said there was reason to fear that both judgment and life might fail him, since both had their source in the heart. The following day the liver's head-lobe was missing. These things were portended to him by the immortal gods so that he might see his destruction, not escape it. When, therefore, parts are not found among the entrails without which the victim could not have lived, we must understand that those missing parts perished at the very moment of sacrifice.

118 “But the way this happens needs to be distinguished. For the Stoics, a god does not personally attend each separate split in a liver or each call of a bird. That would not be fitting or worthy of gods, and it is quite impossible. Rather, the world was set up from the beginning so that particular signs would come before particular events. They can be found in entrails and in birds, in lightning and in unusual events, in stars, in what sleepers see, and in what people cry out in a frenzy. Those who understand these well are not often wrong. When signs are wrongly explained and interpreted, the failure comes not from the things themselves but from the interpreters' ignorance. Once we have established and accepted that a divine power sustains human life, it is not hard to suggest how the things we certainly see happening come about. A conscious power spread throughout the whole world can guide the choice of a sacrificial animal. And at the very moment you intend to sacrifice it, the entrails can change so that something is missing or something extra is there. In very brief moments nature adds, changes, or removes many things.

119 “What occurred not long before Caesar died gives us the strongest reason not to doubt this. On the day he first took his seat in a golden chair and went out wearing a purple robe, Caesar was offering a sacrifice. Among the entrails of the fat ox there was no heart. Can any creature that has blood, in your view, survive with no heart? This strange event shocked Caesar. Spurinna told him to fear that both his judgment and his life might fail, since both came from the heart. The next day the liver was missing the part called its head. The immortal gods gave him these warnings so that he would see his death coming, not escape it. So if the sacrificial animal's entrails lack parts it needed in order to live, we must conclude that they vanished just as it was being sacrificed.