Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 4, 2025
It is now generally acknowledged that workers of miracles, prophets, soothsayers, and inspired or divinely appointed men may, like metaphysicians, be quite sincere and fully believe they possess the powers which they pretend to display. In the case of the more intelligent, however, this sincerity was seldom complete, but mixed with a certain pitying or scornful accommodation to the vulgar mind.
They have also astrologers, philosophers, soothsayers, men who observe the flight of birds, and others who pretend to the calculation of nativities, particularly at Kaduge, a great city in the kingdom of Gozar . There are certain men called Bicar, who go all their lives naked, and suffer their hair to grow till it hides their hinder parts.
These soothsayers were able, as was supposed, to look somewhat into futurity dimly and doubtfully, it is true, but really, by means of certain appearances exhibited by the bodies of the animals offered in sacrifices These soothsayers were consulted on all important occasions; and if the auspices proved unfavorable when any great enterprise was about to be undertaken, it was often, on that account, abandoned or postponed.
There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and, in the days of thy grandfather, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him, whom the king, Nebuchadnezzar, thy grandfather I say the king himself made master of the magicians, astrologers and soothsayers; and this was a sure sign of his superior wisdom.
But the King was wroth to hear these words, and mocked the soothsayers art, saying, "Come now, thou wise man, divine unto me, can that which I think in my heart be done, or no?" Attus answered, having first made trial of his art, "Of a surety it can be done." Then said the King, "I thought this thing in my heart, that thou shouldest cut asunder this whetstone with a razor.
He tells us many amusing details as to prophetic dreams and the doings of soothsayers and wise men. The book so becomes chatty and full of anecdotes, and interspersed with many pieces of poetry some by others and some by Cicero. Here are given those lines as to the battle of the eagle and the dragon which I have ventured to call the best amid the nine versions brought forward.
My father dreamt before his death that you had wings, and was misled by the soothsayers into the fancy that you, though you were only eighteen then, would try to gain the crown.
After giving his troops two days rest, and having encouraged his men in the confident expectation of victory, by means of his astrologers and soothsayers, he advanced towards the encampment of Naiam, and appeared with his whole army on a hill, over against the camp of the rebels, who had not even sent out any scouts to procure intelligence.
It is so difficult, in truth, to foretell the course of fashion, that one cannot help wondering why the modern soothsayers, who eke out what appears to be a miserable existence in the smaller streets of the Faubourg St.
Gordius was a sort of mountain farmer. One day he was plowing, and an eagle came down and alighted upon his yoke, and remained there until he had finished his plowing. This was an omen, but what was the signification of it? Gordius did not know, and he accordingly went to a neighboring town in order to consult the prophets and soothsayers.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking