[76]
But the most
significant warning received by the Spartans was
this: they sent to consult the oracle of Jupiter at
Dodona as to the chances of victory. After their
messengers had duly set up the vessel in which were
the lots, an ape, kept by the king of Molossia for
his amusement, disarranged the lots and everything
else used in consulting the oracle, and scattered them
in all directions. Then, so we are told, the priestess
who had charge of the oracle said that the Spartans
must think of safety and not of victory.
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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