There is an ancient belief, handed down to us
even from mythical times and firmly established by
the general agreement of the Roman people and of all
nations, that divination of some kind exists among
men; this the Greeks call μαντική—that is, the
foresight and knowledge of future events. A really
splendid and helpful thing it is—if only such a faculty
exists—since by its means men may approach very
near to the power of gods. And, just as we Romans
have done many other things better than the Greeks,
so have we excelled them in giving to this most
extraordinary gift a name, which we have derived
from divi, a word meaning “gods,” whereas, according to Plato's interpretation, they have derived it
from furor, a word meaning “frenzy.”1
Cicero: De Senectute De Amicitia De Divinatione. With An English Translation. William Armistead Falconer. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1923.
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