Book 2, Chapter 18
Original Latin
42 Atque hac extispicum divinatione sublata omnis haruspicina sublata est. Ostenta enim sequuntur et fulgura. Valet autem in fulguribus observatio diuturna, in ostentis ratio plerumque coniecturaque adhibetur. Quid est igitur, quod observatum sit in fulgure? Caelum in sedecim partis diviserunt Etrusci. Facile id quidem fuit, quattuor, quas nos habemus, duplicare, post idem iterum facere, ut ex eo dicerent, fulmen qua ex parte venisset. Primum id quid interest? deinde quid significat? Nonne perspicuum est ex prima admiratione hominum, quod tonitrua iactusque fulminum extimuissent, credidisse ea efficere rerum omnium praepotentem Iovem? Itaque in nostris commentariis scriptum habemus: ‘Iove tonante, fulgurante comitia populi habere nefas.’
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.
42 “Once this divination from entrails is abolished, all haruspicy is abolished. Portents and lightning come next. Long observation is said to carry weight in the case of lightning; for portents, reasoning and conjecture are generally employed. What, then, has been observed about lightning? The Etruscans divided the sky into sixteen regions. That was easy enough: double our four divisions, then double them again, so as to say from which region a thunderbolt had come. First, what difference does that make? Next, what does it signify? Is it not clear that people's first astonishment, their terror at thunder and thunderbolts, made them believe these were the work of Jupiter, the supreme ruler of all things? That is why our records contain the rule: ‘When Jupiter thunders or lightens, it is forbidden to hold an assembly of the people.’
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.
42 “Once this divination by reading organs is removed, the whole practice of the haruspices is removed. Portents and lightning come next. Long observation is supposed to count in the case of lightning; reasoning and inference are generally used for portents. What have people actually learned from watching lightning? It was the Etruscans who marked out sixteen regions in the sky. That was easy enough: double our four divisions, then do it again, so they could say which part a thunderbolt had come from. First, what difference does that make? Second, what does it signify? Isn’t it obvious how the belief began? People were amazed at first, and terrified by the thunder and the thunderbolts striking. They thought Jupiter, who rules over everything, was causing them. So our records contain this rule: ‘When Jupiter thunders or sends lightning, it is a religious offense to hold assemblies of the people.’
About this section
Book 2, Chapter 18 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 76 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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