[89]
"Furthermore, did not Priam, the Asiatic king,
have a son, Helenus, and a daughter, Cassandra,
who prophesied, the first by means of auguries and
the other when under a heaven-inspired excitement
and exaltation of soul? In the same class, as we
read in the records of our forefathers, were those
famous Marcian brothers,1 men of noble birth. And
does not Homer relate that Polyidus of Corinth2
not only made many predictions to others, but
that he also foretold the death of his own son, who
was setting out for Troy? As a general rule among
the ancients the men who ruled the state had
control likewise of augury, for they considered
divining, as well as wisdom, becoming to a king.
Proof of this is afforded by our State wherein the
kings were augurs; and, later, private citizens
endowed with the same priestly office ruled the
republic by the authority of religion.3
Cicero: De Senectute De Amicitia De Divinatione. With An English Translation. William Armistead Falconer. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1923.
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