The eminent Roman statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 b.c.e.) analyses the positions of the Stoic, Epicurean, and Academic schools on the existence and nature of the gods, and whether they act in the interests of humankind. Cotta, the Academic spokesman, criticises his Epicurean and Stoic interlocutors for their failures, respectively, to account for human freedom and for the accidents and evils that occur in life. Lacking sure knowledge of what gods are, human beings are left to their own intelligence and natural abilities to make their way in an uncertain world. In the dialogue of 'On Divination', Cicero and his brother, Quintus, examine various sorts of divination on Stoic principles, which Quintus upholds. Cicero counters that there is no such "science" of divination, and that the ambiguities and absurdities inherent in oracles, prodigies, and dreams preclude any divine agency. They are, rather, the result of natural phenomena or coincidence.
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Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin
Original Language: Latin
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
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By "jjkarn" (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Nature of the Gods: And on Divination (Great Books in Philosophy) (Paperback)
This translation is horrible. In fact, every translation of an older text that I've read from this publisher has been terrible. It's incredibly wooden and hard to follow.The book itself (The Nature of the Gods), on the other hand, is great. It was written (of course) by Cicero, who was one of the greatest writers, statesmen, and philophers of his time and is the one actually brought many of the philosophical term from Greek into Latin, which made it possible for many Romans to discuss philosophy, whereas they could not before. It gives a glimpse of the leading philosophies of his day: Epicureanism, Stoicism, etc. It's definitely worth reading (a different translation). I would suggest the Penguin edition. To the publisher's credit, there's excellent biographical sketch of Cicero in the front of the book, which is helpful and concise.
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