Book 1, Chapter 58
Original Latin
132 Nunc illa testabor, non me sortilegos neque eos, qui quaestus causa hariolentur, ne psychomantia quidem, quibus Appius, amicus tuus, uti solebat, agnoscere; non habeo denique nauci Marsum augurem, non vicanos haruspices, non de circo astrologos, non Isiacos coniectores, non interpretes somniorum; non enim sunt ii aut scientia aut arte divini,
Séd superstitiósi vates ínpudentesque hárioliAút inertes aút insani aut quíbus egestas ímperat,Quí sibi semitám non sapiunt, álteri monstránt viam;Quíbus divitias póllicentur, áb iis drachumam ipsí petunt.De hís divitiis síbi deducant dráchumam, reddant cétera.
Atque haec quidem Ennius, qui paucis ante versibus esse deos censet, sed eos non curare opinatur, quid agat humanum genus. Ego autem, qui et curare arbitror et monere etiam ac multa praedicere, levitate, vanitate, malitia exclusa divinationem probo. Quae cum dixisset Quintus, Praeclare tu quidem, inquam, paratus […]
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.
132 “Now let me declare this: I do not recognize people who cast lots, or those who prophesy for profit, or even those consultations with the dead that your friend Appius used to employ. In short, I put no value at all on a Marsian augur, village haruspices, astrologers from the Circus, interpreters serving Isis, or interpreters of dreams. These are diviners neither by knowledge nor by art,
‘But superstitious prophets, shameless fortune-tellers,Either lazy or insane, or driven by their poverty,Who cannot find a footpath for themselves, yet show another the road;They promise people riches, then beg a drachma from those very people.Let them deduct their drachma from those riches, and hand over the rest.’
“These are Ennius' words: a few lines earlier he holds that gods exist, but thinks they do not care what the human race does. I, however, believe that they do care, that they warn us, and that they foretell many things; and so, once frivolity, falsehood, and fraud are excluded, I accept divination.” When Quintus had finished, I said, “You certainly came splendidly prepared […]”
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.
132 “Now I will state this plainly. I do not accept people who cast lots or those who prophesy for money, or even the ceremonies for calling up the dead that your friend Appius used to practice. In short, to me a Marsian augur is worth nothing; neither are village haruspices, the Circus astrologers, Isis' interpreters of signs, or people who interpret dreams. These people are not diviners through knowledge or skill,
“‘But superstitious prophets and shameless fortune-tellers,Either lazy or mad or driven by poverty,Who do not know their own path but show another person the way.They promise people riches, then ask those same people for a drachma.Let them take their drachma from those riches and give back the rest.’
“That is Ennius. A few lines before this, he acknowledges the gods' existence while denying that humanity's actions concern them. But I think they do care, and also warn us and predict many things. I support divination once frivolity, falsehood, and fraud have been excluded.” Quintus stopped there, and I replied, “You have certainly prepared your case well […]”
About this section
Book 1, Chapter 58 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 58 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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