[149]
"Wherefore, just as it is a duty to extend
the influence of true religion, which is closely
associated with the knowledge of nature, so it is a
duty to weed out every root of superstition. For
superstition is ever at your heels to urge you on;
it follows you at every turn. -It is with you when
you listen to a prophet, or an omen; when you
offer sacrifices or watch the flight of birds; when
you consult an astrologer or a soothsayer; when
it thunders or lightens or there is a bolt from on
high; or when some so-called prodigy is born or is
made. And since necessarily some of these signs
[p. 539]
are nearly always being given, no one who believes
in them can ever remain in a tranquil state of mind.
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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