HEOPHRASTUS and Themistius affirme, that whatsoever happeneth unto man suddenlie and by chance, commeth from the providence of God. So as Themistius gathereth, that men in that respect/206. prophesie, when they speake what commeth in their braine, upon the sudden; though not knowing or understanding what they saie. And that seeing God hath a care for us, Averroes. 12. metaphysic. it agreeth with reason (as Theophrastus saith) that he shew us by some meane whatsoever shall happen. For with Pythagoras he concludeth, that all foreshewes and auguries are the voices and words of God, by the which he foretelleth man the good or evill that shall beetide.
Trismegistus affirmeth, that all augurificall things are mooved by divels; Porphyrie saith by gods, or rather good angels: according to the opinion of Plotinus and Iamblichus. Some other affirme they are mooved by the moone wandering through the twelve signes of the Zodiake: bicause the moone hath dominion in all sudden matters. The Aegyptian astronomers hold, that the moone ordereth not those portentous matters, but Stella errans, a wandering starre, &c./
The xvii. Chapter.150.
How ridiculous an art augurie is, how Cato mocked it, Aristotles reason against it, fond collections of augurors, who allowed, and who disallowed it.
ERELIE all these observations being neither grounded on Gods word,The fond art of augurie convinced. nor physicall or philosophicall reason, are vanities, superstitions, lies, and meere witchcraft; as whereby the world hath long time beene, and is still abused and cousened. It is written; Acts. 1, 7.Non est vestrum scire tempora & momenta, &c: It is not for you to knowe the times and seasons, which the father hath put in his owne power. The most godlie men and the wisest philosophers have given no credit hereunto. S. Augustine saith; Qui his divinationibus credit, sciat se fidem christianam & baptismum prævaricasse, & paganum Deiq; inimicum esse. One told Cato, that a rat had carried awaie and eaten his hose, which the partie said was a woonderfull signe. Naie (said Cato) I thinke not so; but if the hose had eaten the rat, that had beene a wonderfull token indeed. When/207. Nonius told Cicero that they should have good successe in battell, bicause seven eagles were taken in Pompeies campe, he answered thus; No doubt it will be even so, if that we chance to fight with pies. In the like case also he answered Labienus, who prophesied like successe by such divinations, saieng, that through the hope of such toies, Pompeie lost all his pavillions not long before.
What wiseman would thinke, that God would commit his counsell to a dawe, an owle, a swine, or a tode; or that he would hide his secret purposes in the doong and bowels of beasts? AristotleArist. de somno. thus reasoneth; Augurie or divinations are neither the causes nor effects of things to come; Ergo, they doo not thereby foretell things trulie, but by chance. As if I dreame that my freend will come to my house, and he commeth indeed: yet neither dreame nor imagination is more the cause of my freends comming, than the chattering of a pie.
When Hanibal overthrew Marcus Marcellus, the beast sacrificed wanted a peece of his hart; therefore forsooth Marius, when he sacrificed at Utica, and the beast lacked his liver, he must needs have the like successe. These are their collections, and as vaine, as if they said that the building of Tenderden steeple was the cause of Goodwine sands, or the decaie of Sandwich haven. S. Augustine August. lib. de doct. chri. 2. cap. 2.
Psal. 4, 2. saith, that these observations are most superstitious. But we read in the fourth psalme, a sentence which might dissuade anie christian from this follie and impietie; O ye sonnes of men, how long will you turne my glorie into shame, loving vanitie, and seeking lies? The like is read in manie other places of scripture.
Of such as allow this follie, I can commend PliniePlin. lib. natural. hist. 28. cap. 2.
Tho Aquin. lib. de sortib. best, who saith, that the operation of these auguries is as we take them. For if we take them in good part, they are signes of good lucke; if we take them in ill part, ill lucke/151. followeth; if we neglect them, and wey them not, they doo neither good nor harme. Thomas of Aquine reasoneth in this wise; The starres, whose course is certeine, have greater affinitie and communitie with mans actions, than auguries; and yet our dooings are neither directed nor proceed from the starres. Which thing also Ptolome witnesseth, saieng; Sapiens dominabitur astris, A wiseman overruleth the starres./