Book 2, Chapter 30

63 “I should marvel at the story you told from Homer, if I believed it: that Calchas divined the years of the Trojan War from the number of sparrows. About his conjecture Agamemnon speaks as follows in Homer, in a version I made at leisure:

“‘Endure, men, and bear hard labors in your hearts,So we may learn whether the prophecies of Calchas,Our augur, prove his heart's intuitions true or empty.For all retain that portent in their memoryWho have not left the light through deadly fate.When first Aulis was clothed in Argive fleetsThat bore destruction to Priam and ruin to Troy,Beside cool waters, at the smoking altars,We soothed the gods with bulls whose horns were gold,Beneath a shading plane tree, where a spring flowed out.We saw a serpent, huge in form and coils,Terrible, dart from the altar at Jupiter's urging.It seized the fledglings on a plane-tree bough,Sheltered beneath the leaves; as it devoured the eight,Their mother, ninth, flew overhead with trembling cries.The savage tore her entrails with its monstrous bite.

64 “‘When it had killed those tender birds and their mother,The selfsame Father, Saturn's son, who brought it to the light,Concealed it, shaping it in a hard sheath of stone.We stood in fear and watched that marvelous prodigyUnfold amid the altars of the gods.Then Calchas spoke these words in a confident voice:“Why, Achaeans, are you suddenly numb with wonder?The father of the gods himself has given us these signs,Slow, far too late in fulfillment, but of everlasting fame and praise.For as many birds as you see slaughtered by those foul teeth,So many years of war shall we endure at Troy.In the tenth it will fall and sate the Achaeans with vengeance.”So Calchas spoke; and now you see those things fulfilled.’

65 “What sort of augury is this, taking sparrows to signify years rather than months or days? Why does he base his conjecture on little sparrows, in which there was no prodigy, and say nothing of the serpent, which is said to have turned to stone—something that could not happen? Finally, what resemblance does a sparrow bear to years? As for the snake that appeared to Sulla while he was sacrificing, I remember both things: that Sulla sacrificed when about to lead out his army, and that a snake emerged from the altar. That day's success was due not to the haruspex's counsel but to the commander's.

63 “I would be amazed, if I believed it, by your account of Calchas in Homer, who counted the sparrows and so predicted how many years the Trojan War would last. Agamemnon speaks about his prediction in Homer like this, in a translation I made in my spare time:

“‘Endure, men, and bear the hard work in your hearts,So that we may learn whether our prophet Calchas’ predictionsRest on sound thoughts or empty ones.For everyone remembers the portent well,All whose eyes deadly fate has not closed.When Aulis was first covered with the Argive shipsThat carried ruin to Priam and destruction to Troy,We stood around cool streams and smoking altars,Seeking the gods’ favor with bulls whose horns were gilded,Under a shady plane tree from which a spring flowed.We saw a twisting snake of monstrous appearance,Terrible, come out from the altar at Jupiter’s prompting.In the plane tree’s branch, hidden by leaves,It seized the chicks; as it ate the eight,The mother, the ninth, flew above with trembling cries.The savage creature tore her insides with its monstrous bite.

64 “‘After the snake destroyed the delicate young birds and their mother,The same Father, Saturn’s son, who had brought it to light,Hid it away and shaped it in a hard covering of stone.We stood frightened and saw the amazing monsterThere, surrounded by the gods’ altars.Calchas then declared with assurance:“Why have you Achaeans suddenly frozen in amazement?The creator of the gods himself has given us these portents,Slow and far too late to come true, but winning lasting praise and fame.Count the birds you see slaughtered by those hideous teeth:So many years of war we shall struggle through at Troy.It will fall in the tenth and satisfy the Achaeans’ demand for punishment.”That was Calchas’ prediction, which you now see coming to fulfillment.’

65 “What kind of divination is this, counting years from sparrows rather than months or days? Why does he draw an inference from the little sparrows, which were not monstrous at all, and leave out the snake? It supposedly became stone, which is impossible. And after all, how are sparrows anything like years? I recall two things about the snake Sulla saw during a sacrifice: Sulla sacrificed when he was about to lead out his army, and a snake appeared from the altar. And that day’s great success came from the general’s plan, not the haruspex’s advice.