[126] “sola utramque paginam facit.” The words utraque pagina generally refer to the two sides of the same sheet, but, in this passage, they probably mean the contiguous portions of the same surface.
[127] “astroque suo eventu assignat;” the word astrum appears to be synonymous with sidus, generally signifying a single star, and, occasionally, a constellation; as in Manilius, i. 541, 2.
“... quantis bis sena ferantur
Finibus astra....”
It is also used by synecdoche for the heavens, as is the case with the English word stars. See Gesner’s Thesaurus.
[128] “Quæ si suscipiamus, pedis offensio nobis ... et sternutamenta erunt observanda.” Cicero, De Nat. Deor. ii. 84.
[129] “Divus Augustus.” The epithet divus may be regarded as merely a term of court etiquette, because all the Emperors after death were deified ex officio.
[130] We learn the exact nature of this ominous accident from Suetonius; “... si mane sibi calceus perperam, et sinister pro dextro induceretur;” Augustus, Cap. 92. From this passage it would appear, that the Roman sandals were made, as we term it, right and left.
[131] It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the opinions here stated respecting the Deity are taken partly from the tenets of the Epicureans, combined with the Stoical doctrine of Fate. The examples which are adduced to prove the power of fate over the Deity are, for the most part, rather verbal than essential.
[132] “affixa mundo.” The peculiar use of the word mundus in this passage is worthy of remark, in connexion with note [86], ch. 1. page 13.