nan | And where should I sooner begin, than from the most sacred memory of divine Augustus? His physician Artorius being asleep, the night before the day when the Romans fought against each other in the plains of Philippi, the appearance of Minerva told him to warn Augustus, then lying very ill, that notwithstanding his sickness he should not abstain from the battle. When Caesar heard this he caused himself to be carried in a litter into the field of battle, where, while he laboured above his strength for the victory, his camp was taken by Brutus. What else can we think then, but that divine benevolence so ordained it, that a man destined to immortality, should not be subject to a fate unworthy of his divinity?,Nor was it only the dream of Artorius that gave warning to Augustus, who had a natural perspicacity and vigour to judge of everything, but also a recent and domestic example. For he had heard that Calpurnia the wife of his father Julius, the last night that he lived upon earth, dreamed that she saw her husband lie stabbed and bleeding in her bosom; and being frightened by the strangeness of the dream, she earnestly begged him to abstain from going to the senate the next day. But he, lest he should have been thought to have been moved by a woman's dream, went even so to the senate-house, where the murderers quickly laid violent hands upon him. It is not necessary to make any comparison between the father and the son, both equal in their divinity: for the one had already made way for himself to heaven by his own works, and the other was to let the world enjoy his virtues for a long time. Therefore the gods were only willing that the first should know the approaching change, which the other was to defer; it being enough that one honour should be given to heaven, and another promised.,Remarkable also was that dream, and clear in its outcome, which the two consuls P. Decius Mus and T. Manlius Torquatus dreamed, when they lay encamped not far from the foot of Mount Vesuvius, at the time of the Latin War, which was very fierce and dangerous. For a certain person foretold to both of them, that the Manes and Terra Mater claimed as their due the general of one side, and the whole army of the other side; but whichever general should assail the forces of the enemy, and devote himself as a victim for the good of his army, would obtain the victory. The entrails of the sacrifices confirmed this on the next morning to both consuls, who endeavoured either to expiate the misfortune, if it might be averted, or else resolved to undergo the decision of the gods. Therefore they agreed, that whichever wing should begin to give way, there the commander should with his own life appease the Fates; which while both undauntedly ventured to perform, Decius happened to be the person whom the gods required.,The dream which follows, seems equally to concern public religion. A certain head of a family caused his servant to be whipped, and brought him to the execution at the fork in the Flaminian Circus, at the time of the Plebeian Games, a little before the show was about to begin. Jupiter, in a dream, commanded Titus Latinius, one of the common people, to tell the consuls, that the front-dancer at the last Circus Games in no way pleased him; and that unless the fault were expiated by an exact repetition of the games, there would ensue not a little vexation and trouble to the city. He, fearing to involve the commonwealth in a duty of religion to his own disadvantage, held his peace. Immediately his son, taken with a sudden fit of sickness, died. Afterwards being asked by the same god in his sleep whether be thought himself punished enough for the neglect of his command - yet remaining obstinate - he was stricken with a general weakness of body. At length, by the advice of his friends, he was carried in a horse-litter to the consuls' tribunal, and fully declared the cause of his misfortunes; then, to the wonder of all men recovering his former strength, he walked on foot to his house.,Nor must we pass over in silence, that when M. Cicero was banished from the city by the conspiracy of his enemies, he went aside into a certain country house in the territory of Atina, and falling asleep there, he thought that he was wandering through strange places and uncouth regions, and that he met C. Marius in his consul's robes, who asked him why he was wandering unsurely there with so sad a countenance. Whereupon Cicero making his condition known to him, the consul took him by the right hand and delivered him to the principal lictor, to conduct him to Marius's own monument, telling him that there there was a joyful hope of a better condition laid up for him. Nor did it fall out otherwise; for the senate made a decree for his return in the temple of Jupiter built by Marius.,But C. Gracchus was most openly and clearly forewarned in a dream, of the mischief of approaching misfortune: for being asleep, he saw the likeness of his brother Tiberius, who told him that there was no way for him to avoid the same fate which he had undergone, when he was killed. This many heard from the mouth of Gracchus himself, before he had undertaken the tribuneship, wherein he perished. And one Caelius, a Roman historian, said that he had heard talk of this while Gracchus was still living.,But what follows exceeds the dire aspect of that dream. After Antonius had lost the battle of Actium, Cassius Parmensis, who had taken his side, fled to Athens; where he fell asleep in the night, being tired with care and trouble. He thought there came to him a person of a very great stature, with dark complexion, his beard bedraggled, and long hanging hair, who being asked what he was answered, "Cacodaemon". Being frightened by so horrid a sight, and so terrible a name, he called for his servants, and asked them if they had seen anyone of such an appearance, either come in or go out of the chamber: When they affirmed that no such person had come there, he again betook himself to his rest; and immediately the same figure appeared to him again. Awaking completely, he called for a light, and commanded the servants to depart. Between this night and his execution, to which Caesar condemned him, there was only a very short space of time.,The dream of Haterius Rufus, a Roman knight, was more plainly hinted to him: for he dreamed one night, at a time when there was a great gladiatorial show at Syracuse, that he saw himself slain: which he told the next day to those that sat by him in the theatre. It happened afterwards, that near to the knight's place, a retiarius was introduced with a murmillo, whose face when he saw, he said, that he was to be slain by the retiarius and immediately would have departed. Those who endeavoured by conversation to put away his fear, were the cause of the destruction of this miserable man. For the retiarius drove the murmillo thither and cast him upon the ground, but while he was endeavouring to strike his opponent on the ground, he ran Haterius thorough the body with his sword. |
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