The gods,
they think, know the future, and they send signs that permit men to
divine them. Before undertaking any act, the Roman consults the gods.
The general about to engage in battle examines the entrails of
victims; the magistrates before holding an assembly regards the
passing birds (called "taking the auspices"). If the signs are
favorable, the gods are thought to approve the enterprise; if not,
they are against it. The gods often send a sign that had not been
requested. Every unexpected phenomenon is the presage of an event. A
comet appeared before the death of Caesar and was thought to have
announced it.
When the assembly of the people deliberates and it thunders, it is
because Jupiter does not wish that anything shall be decided on that
day and the assembly must dissolve. The most insignificant fact may be
interpreted as a sign--a flash of lightning, a word overheard, a rat
crossing the road, a diviner met on the way. And so when Marcellus had
determined on an enterprise, he had himself carried in a closed litter
that he might be sure of not seeing anything which could impose itself
on him as a portent.
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