The book of fate, formerly in the possession of Napoleon ... / now first rendered in to English from a German translation of an ancient Egyptian manuscript found in ... 1801 by M. Sonnini in one of the royal tombs near Mount Libycus, in Upper Egypt. By H. Kirchenhoffer.

Date:
1823
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The book of fate, formerly in the possession of Napoleon ... / now first rendered in to English from a German translation of an ancient Egyptian manuscript found in ... 1801 by M. Sonnini in one of the royal tombs near Mount Libycus, in Upper Egypt. By H. Kirchenhoffer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    face of the heavens into four different parts, and afterwards sacrificed to the gods, covering his head with his vestment. There were gene- rally five things from which the augurs drew omens: the first consisted in observing the phenomena of the heavens, such as thunder, lightning, comets, &c. The second kind of omen was drawn from the chirping or flying of birds. The third was from the sacred chickens, whose eagerness or indifference in eating the bread which was thrown to them, ; was looked upon as lucky or unlucky. The fourth was from quad- rupeds, from their crossing or appearing in some unaccustomed place. The fifth was from different casualties, which were called Dira, such as spilling salt upon a table, or wine upon one’s clothes, hearing strange noises, stumbling or sneezing, meeting a wolf, hare, fox, or pregnant bitch. Thus did the Romans draw their prophecies; the sight of birds on the left hand was always deemed a lucky object, and the words sinister Icevus, though generally supposed to be terms of ill luck, were always used by the augurs in an auspicious sense. j&fögllüte ricofes A strange old woman came once to Tarquinius Superbus, king of Rome, with nine books, copies of the following work, which she said were the oracles of the sibyls, and proffered to sell them. But the king making some scruple about the price, she went away and burnt three of them; and returning with the six, asked the same sum as be- fore. Tarquin only laughed at the humour; upon which the old wo- man left him once more; and after she had burnt three others, came again with those that were left, but still kept to her old terms. The king began now to wonder at her obstinacy, and thinking there might be something more than ordinary in the business, sent for the Augurs to consult what was to be done. They, when their divinations were performed, soon acquainted him what a piece of impiety he had been guilty of, by refusing a treasure sent to him from heaven, and com- manded him to give whatever she demanded for the books that re- mained. The woman received her money, and delivered the writings, arid only charging them by all means to keep them sacred, immediately vanished. Two of the nobility were presently after chosen to be the keepers of these oracles, which were laid up with all imaginable care in the capital, in a chest under ground. They could not be consulted