Book 2, Chapter 7
Original Latin
18 Qui thesaurum inventum iri aut hereditatem venturam dicunt, quid sequuntur? aut in qua rerum natura inest id futurum? Quodsi haec eaque, quae sunt eiusdem generis, habent aliquam talem necessitatem, quid est tandem, quod casu fieri aut forte fortuna putemus? Nihil enim est tam contrarium rationi et constantiae quam fortuna, ut mihi ne in deum quidem cadere videatur, ut sciat, quid casu et fortuito futurum sit. Si enim scit, certe illud eveniet; sin certe eveniet, nulla fortuna est; est autem fortuna; rerum igitur fortuitarum nulla praesensio est.
19 Aut si negas esse fortunam et omnia, quae fiunt quaeque futura sunt, ex omni aeternitate definita dicis esse fataliter, muta definitionem divinationis, quam dicebas praesensionem esse rerum fortuitarum. Si enim nihil fieri potest, nihil accidere, nihil evenire, nisi quod ab omni aeternitate certum fuerit esse futurum rato tempore, quae potest esse fortuna? qua sublata qui locus est divinationi? quae a te fortuitarum rerum est dicta praesensio. Quamquam dicebas omnia, quae fierent futurave essent, fato contineri. Anile sane et plenum superstitionis fati nomen ipsum; sed tamen apud Stoicos de isto fato multa dicuntur; de quo alias; nunc quod necesse est.
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.
18 “What reasoning guides those who say that treasure will be found or an inheritance received? Where in the nature of things is that future lodged? If these events and others of their kind possess any such necessity, what on earth can we suppose happens by accident or sheer good luck? Nothing is so opposed to reason and regularity as fortune. It seems to me that not even a god can know what will happen by chance and accident. If he knows, it will certainly happen; if it will certainly happen, there is no chance. But chance exists; therefore there is no foreknowledge of chance events.
19 “Or if you deny that chance exists and say that everything happening now or in the future has been determined by fate from all eternity, change your definition of divination, which you said was foreknowledge of chance events. If nothing can happen, occur, or come about except what has been certain from all eternity to happen at its appointed time, how can chance exist? And once it is abolished, what room is there for divination, which you defined as foreknowledge of chance events? Yet you also said that everything happening now or in the future is encompassed by fate. The very word ‘fate’ smacks of old wives' tales and superstition; nevertheless, the Stoics have a great deal to say about this fate of theirs. More of that another time; for now, only what is necessary.
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.
18 “What reasoning do people follow when they say that treasure will be found or an inheritance will arrive? What part of the natural world contains that future event? If these and similar things are governed by that kind of necessity, what is left that we can think of as happening by accident or sheer chance? Nothing is more opposed to reason and regularity than chance. So I think not even a god can know what will happen accidentally and by chance. If he knows, the event is certain to happen. If it is certain to happen, there is no chance. But chance exists. So there is no foreknowledge of chance events.
19 “Or if you deny that chance exists, and say that everything that happens or will happen has been fixed by fate from all eternity, change your definition of divination. You said it was foreknowledge of chance events. If nothing can take place, occur, or happen unless it has been certain from all eternity to happen at a fixed time, how can there be chance? Once chance is removed, what room is there for divination, which you called foreknowledge of chance events? Yet you did say that everything that happens or will happen is governed by fate. The very word ‘fate’ belongs to old women’s tales and is full of superstition. Even so, this fate is a subject the Stoics discuss at length. I will discuss that another time. For now I will say what is needed.
About this section
Book 2, Chapter 7 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 65 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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