Book 2, Chapter 10
Original Latin
25 addunt ad extremum omnia levius casura rebus divinis procuratis; si enim nihil fit extra fatum, nihil levari re divina potest. Hoc sentit Homerus, cum querentem Iovem inducit, quod Sarpedonem filium a morte contra fatum eripere non posset. Hoc idem significat Graecus ille in eam sententiam versus:
Quod fóre paratum est, íd summum exsuperát Iovem.
Totum omnino fatum etiam Atellanio versu iure mihi esse inrisum videtur; sed in rebus tam severis non est iocandi locus. Concludatur igitur ratio: Si enim provideri nihil potest futurum esse eorum, quae casu fiunt, quia esse certa non possunt, divinatio nulla est; sin autem idcirco possunt provideri, quia certa sunt et fatalia, rursus divinatio nulla est; eam enim tu fortuitarum rerum esse dicebas.
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.
25 “they add at the end that the outcome will be less severe if the proper rites are performed. Yet if nothing happens outside fate, no religious rite can lighten anything. Homer understands this when he presents Jupiter lamenting that he cannot rescue his son Sarpedon from death against fate. A Greek verse conveys the same thought:
“‘What stands ordained surpasses highest Jupiter.’
“I think the whole notion of fate is rightly mocked even in a line of Atellan farce; but in matters so serious there is no room for jokes. Let us therefore close the argument. If no chance event can be foreseen because such events cannot be certain, divination does not exist. But if they can be foreseen because they are certain and fated, again divination does not exist: you said it concerned events dependent on chance.
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.
25 “they add at the end that everything will turn out less badly if the proper religious rites are performed. But if nothing happens outside fate, no religious rite can make anything less bad. Homer understands this when he has Jupiter complain that he cannot save his son Sarpedon from death against fate. The same point is made in a Greek verse that means:
“‘What is destined to happen overpowers even highest Jupiter.’
“I think an Atellan farce verse was also quite right to make fun of the whole idea of fate. But such serious matters are no place for joking. So let us finish the argument. If no chance event can be foreseen, because chance events cannot be certain, there is no divination. Alternatively, suppose we can foresee events precisely because fate has made them certain. That still leaves no divination. You said it concerned chance events.
About this section
Book 2, Chapter 10 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 68 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the Roman tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.