Book 2, Chapter 26
Original Latin
55 Quid igitur aut ostenta aut eorum interpretes vel Lacedaemonios olim vel nuper nostros adiuverunt? quae si signa deorum putanda sunt, cur tam obscura fuerunt? si enim, ut intellegeremus, quid esset eventurum, aperte declarari oportebat, aut ne occulte quidem, si ea sciri nolebant.
Iam vero coniectura omnis, in qua nititur divinatio, ingeniis hominum in multas aut diversas aut etiam contrarias partis saepe diducitur. Ut enim in causis iudicialibus alia coniectura est accusatoris, alia defensoris et tamen utriusque credibilis, sic in omnibus iis rebus, quae coniectura investigari videntur, anceps reperitur oratio. Quas autem res tum natura, tum casus adfert, non numquam etiam errorem creat similitudo, magna stultitia est earum rerum deos facere effectores, causas rerum non quaerere.
56 Tu vates Boeotios credis Lebadiae vidisse ex gallorum gallinaceorum cantu victoriam esse Thebanorum, quia galli victi silere solerent, canere victores. Hoc igitur per gallinas Iuppiter tantae civitati signum dabat? An illae aves, nisi cum vicerunt, canere non solent? At tum canebant nec vicerant. Id enim est, inquies, ostentum. Magnum vero! quasi pisces, non galli cecinerint! Quod autem est tempus, quo illi non cantent, vel nocturnum vel diurnum? Quodsi victores alacritate et quasi laetitia ad canendum excitantur, potuit accidisse alia quoque laetitia, qua ad cantum moverentur.
57 Democritus quidem optumis verbis causam explicat, cur ante lucem galli canant; depulso enim de pectore et in omne corpus diviso et mitificato cibo cantus edere quiete satiatos; qui quidem ‘silentio noctis’, ut ait Ennius,
[…] favent faucíbus russisCantú plausuque premúnt alas.
Cum igitur hoc animal tam sit canorum sua sponte, quid in mentem venit Callistheni dicere deos gallis signum dedisse cantandi, cum id vel natura vel casus efficere potuisset?
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.
55 “What help, then, did portents or their interpreters bring either the Spartans long ago or our own people recently? If these are to be considered signs from the gods, why were they so obscure? If the gods meant us to understand what would happen, they should have declared it plainly; if they did not want it known, they should not have declared it even obscurely.
“Moreover, all the conjecture on which divination rests is often pulled by human ingenuity in many different, even opposite directions. In trials, the prosecutor makes one conjecture and the defense another, yet both are credible. So too in all matters that seem to be investigated by conjecture, arguments can be found on either side. Events are brought about sometimes by nature, sometimes by chance; sometimes resemblance itself produces an illusion. It is great folly to make the gods responsible for these things instead of seeking their causes.
56 “You believe that the Boeotian prophets at Lebadea saw in the crowing of roosters that victory would belong to Thebes, because defeated cocks generally fall silent and victorious ones crow. Was Jupiter giving so great a city its sign through barnyard fowl? Do those birds never crow unless they have won? ‘But then they were crowing without having won. That,’ you will say, ‘is the portent.’ A mighty one indeed! As though fish had crowed, not roosters! What hour of night or day is there when they do not crow? If victory rouses them to crow through excitement and a kind of joy, some other joy could also have arisen to prompt their crowing.
57 “Democritus explains in excellent language why roosters crow before dawn: once food has passed from the breast, been distributed through the whole body, and softened, they give voice, satisfied with their rest. As Ennius says, ‘in the silence of night’ they
“‘[…] cheer with ruddy throats,And beat their wings with crowing and clapping.’
“Since this creature is naturally so vocal, what possessed Callisthenes to say the gods gave the roosters a signal to crow, when either nature or chance could have brought it about?
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.
55 “How did portents or their interpreters help the Spartans long ago, or our people recently? Why such obscurity, if we must take these as divine signs? If the gods intended us to know the outcome, a clear statement was needed. If they meant to keep us ignorant, even a veiled disclosure was out of place.
“Besides, all the inference that divination relies on is often pulled by people’s imaginations in many different, even opposite directions. In court cases, the prosecutor draws one inference and the defense another, yet both are believable. In the same way, two sides can be argued in all matters that seem to call for investigation by inference. Sometimes nature produces events, sometimes chance; sometimes resemblance even creates a mistaken impression. How foolish to stop searching for causes and attribute such events to the gods!
56 “Do you trust the prophets of Boeotia who, at Lebadea, took the roosters’ cries to mean victory for Thebes? Defeated roosters, they said, are usually silent, while victorious ones crow. Was Jupiter giving a sign to such a great state through chickens? Do these birds normally crow only after a victory? But on that occasion they were crowing without having won. ‘That is the portent,’ you will say. A great portent indeed! As if fish had crowed instead of roosters! What time of night or day is there when roosters do not crow? If victory makes them lively and, so to speak, happy enough to crow, some other happiness could also have occurred and prompted them to crow.
57 “For the roosters’ cries before daybreak, Democritus gives a beautifully worded explanation. Their food has left their chest, spread through their whole body, and softened. Refreshed by rest, they give their cries. In ‘the silence of the night,’ as Ennius says,
“‘[…] they give voice through their red throatsAnd beat their wings with crowing and clapping.’
“Since this animal is so noisy of its own accord, why did it occur to Callisthenes to claim a divine command made the roosters crow? Either nature or chance could have brought it about.
About this section
Book 2, Chapter 26 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 84 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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