Divination--Heathen Gods giving Signs--Sortes
Pr[oe]nestinae--St. Augustine's View of
Divination--Sortes Sanctorum--Divination in the Greek
and Latin Churches--Ceremonies at the Consecration of
Bishops, etc.--Declarations of the Divine Will--How
St. Consortia became a Nun--Responses--Hieroglyphic
Texts--Oracles--Sorcery and Divination among the
Jews--Training of Rabbins--Bath-Kool--Death of a
Friend foretold--Recovery from Sickness made
known--Plutarch on Oracles--Malthus's Belief in
Oracles--A Missionary's Opinion--Sibylline
Oracles--Various Modes of
Divination--Alectoromantia--Belomancy--Divination by
means of Rods--Cleromancy--Napoleon's Belief in
Cleromancy--Questions and Answers.
Divination is an art of foretelling future events by supernatural
means. The word is generally understood to denote fortune-telling or
sorcery, performed in divers ways--such as by the inspection of
planets, stars, clouds; consulting spirits, witches, magicians;
watching the flight of birds, inspecting the entrails of beasts and
human victims, and examining the lines of the hand. But it is not
necessary to extend the list here, as the various methods of
divination will be enumerated and explained as we proceed. It was a
maxim with the heathen nations of antiquity, that, if there were gods,
they cared for men; and if they had any regard for the human family,
they would give signs of their will. The Sortes Pr[oe]nestinae were
famous among the Greeks; and this superstition passed into Christian
nations.
St. Augustine did not disapprove of divination being resorted to,
provided it was not used for worldly purposes. Gilbert of Nogent says
that in his time (about the beginning of the twelfth century) it was
customary, at the consecration of bishops, to consult the Sortes
Sanctorum, to ascertain the success, fate, and other particulars of
their episcopate. Many divines held that the lot was conducted by
Providence. Though several popes about the eighth century disapproved
of divination, and classed it among Pagan superstitions, traces of
this mode of searching into futurity were found in after ages in the
Greek and Latin Churches.
Upon the consecration of a bishop, after laying the Bible upon his
head, the book was opened, and the first verse that the eye fell on
was supposed to throw light on the bishop's future career. A bishop of
Rochester, at his consecration by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury,
had a happy presage in these words: "Bring hither the best robe, and
put it on him." But the answer of the Scriptures at the consecration
of St. Lietbert, Bishop of Cambray, was still more propitious: "This
is my beloved son." The death of Albert, Bishop of Liege, was reported
to have been made known to him by these words, which the archbishop
who consecrated him found on opening the New Testament: "And the king
sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought; and he went
and beheaded him in prison." The Primate, greatly moved, embraced the
new bishop, and said: "My son, having given yourself up to the sacred
office, carry yourself righteously and devoutly, and prepare yourself
for the trial of martyrdom." The bishop was afterwards murdered by the
treacherous connivance of Henry VI.
De Garlande, Bishop of Orleans, became so odious to his clergy that
they sent a complaint against him to Pope Alexander III., concluding:
"Let your apostolical hands put on strength to strip naked the
iniquity of this man, that the curse prognosticated on the day of his
consecration may overtake him; for, the gospel being opened according
to custom, the first words that appeared were: 'And the young man,
leaving his linen cloth, fled from them naked.'"
William of Malmesbury relates that Hugh de Montaigne, Bishop of
Auxerre, was obliged to go to Rome to answer several charges brought
against him by some of his chapter, touching his morals; but his
friends urged as undoubted testimony of his chastity the prognostic on
the day of his consecration: "Hail Mary, full of grace."
Piously-inclined people not unfrequently went to church with the
intention of receiving a declaration of the divine will, by hearing
words of Scripture read or sung at the moment of the person's
entrance. St. Anthony, when irresolute about his retirement, went to a
church, where on entering he heard the words: "Go, sell all thou hast,
and give it to the poor, then come and follow me." These expressions
terminated his wavering: he withdrew to his solitude, leaving wealth
and friends behind, and took up his abode in an old ruin on the top of
a hill, where he spent many years of rigorous seclusion. He became the
mighty oracle of the valley of the Nile.
It is reported that Clovis, the first Christian king of France,
marching against Alaric, king of the Visigoths, sent nobles with
presents to be offered at the tomb of St. Martin, and with
instructions to endeavour to bring him a favourable augury, while he
himself prayed for supernatural help. His messengers had no sooner
entered the sacred place than they heard the priest chanting: "Thou
hast girded me with strength for war; thou hast subdued under me those
that rose up against me." Encouraged by this favourable prognostic,
Clovis girded on his armour, engaged in battle, and gained a complete
victory.
Peter de Blois, who lived in the twelfth century, says in a letter to
Reginald, whose election to the see of Bath had long been strenuously
opposed, that he believed he would soon be established in his diocese,
for he (De Blois) had dreamed two nights successively of being at
Reginald's consecration; and also, that being anxious to know the
certain meaning of his dreams by lots and the psalter, his dreams were
confirmed by the words turning up to him: "Moses and Aaron among the
priests."
St. Consortia, in her youth, was passionately courted by a young man
of a very powerful family, though he knew she had formed the design of
taking the veil. Knowing that a refusal would expose her parents to
many inconveniences, if not to positive danger, she desired a week to
determine whether she would become his wife. At the expiration of that
time her lover came to know her answer. "I can neither accept you nor
refuse the offer," said she; "but if you agree to it, let us go to the
church and lay the holy gospel on the altar, and say a joint prayer,
then we will open the book, to be informed of the divine will." He did
as suggested, and the first words that met the eyes of both were:
"Whosoever loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me."
This was enough: the lovers acquiesced in the decree, and she became a
nun.
Responses were given in the heathen temples through certain objects,
such as the tinkling of the caldrons at Dodona, the rustling of the
sacred laurel, the murmuring of streams, or by the action of sacred
animals. In the Egyptian hieroglyphic texts the gods speak in an
oracular manner, and their consultation by the Pharaohs is mentioned.
Oracles were used by the Hebrews. Their oracles were by word of mouth,
dreams, visions, and prophetical sayings. They were also in use
throughout Babylonia and Chaldaea; but the Grecian oracles possessed
the highest reputation for truthfulness, the most renowned of which
was the Delphic oracle. The precedence of consulting this oracle was
determined by lots; and sacrifices were offered by the inquirers, who
went, with laurel crowns on their heads, and delivered their
questions carefully sealed. There was a secondary class of oracles or
prophetic persons in Greece. One was situated at Oropus, in Attica,
being the shrine of a deified magician. Those who consulted it fasted
a whole day, abstained from wine, sacrificed a ram to Amphiaraus, and
slept on the skin in the temple, where futurity was opened up to them
through dreams. The oracle of Trophonius, which owed its origin to a
deified seer, was given in a cave into which the votary entered,
bathed, and anointed himself, while holding a honeyed cake. He
obtained the desired knowledge by what he saw and heard. Written
oracles existed of the prophecies of celebrated seers, and were
preserved in the acropolis of Athens. Among the Arabs divination was,
and is, greatly practised, and also among the Celtic people. Oracular
answers were usually couched in dark ambiguous terms; and it was
thought that at times the information was given by demons.
Lightfoot proved that the Jews, after their return from Babylon,
gradually abandoned themselves to sorcery and divination. The Talmud
abounds with directions for the due observance of superstitious rites.
Many Jews were highly esteemed, after the destruction of their holy
city, for their pretended skill in magic. Rabbins were trained in the
school of Zoroaster; they interpreted dreams, cured the sick, healed
wounds, and detected thefts, through their intercourse with superior
beings.
Bath-Kool, daughter of the voice, was the name given by the Jews to an
oracle in the second temple, which, according to report, was destined
to supply the defect of the Urim and Thummim, the mysterious oracles
of former and greater days. Of Bath-Kool many stories are related.
When two Rabbins went to consult this oracle concerning the fate of
another Rabbin, they passed before a school, in which they heard a boy
reading: "And Samuel died." On inquiry they subsequently found that
their friend was no longer a dweller among men. Two other Rabbins
went to visit Acha in his sickness, and as they proceeded on their way
they agreed to hear what Bath-Kool would pronounce on the fate of
their brother. Immediately on their going to the sacred place
appointed for inquirers, they heard a voice saying: "The candle is
going out; let not the light be extinguished in Israel." By these
words they were assured that the sickness was not unto death. Acha
recovered.
Plutarch wrote a treatise on the ceasing of oracles; and Van Dale, a
Dutch physician, published a volume to prove that they did not cease
at the dawn of Christianity, as had been supposed by early Christians.
Malthus laboured to prove that there were real oracles, such as could
not be reasonably attributed to any artifices of priests or
priestesses; but he thought several of the oracles became silent
before the Church and the prayers of saints. A pious missionary in
India gave it as his opinion that the devil gave oracles there, but
that he became meek wherever the gospel was preached. This religious
man was not singular in his opinion, for most of the Fathers of the
Church believed it was the devil that gave oracles. Pagan priests went
to sleep in their temples, that they might receive responses in their
dreams, and that they might with greater certainty play the prophet.
The sibylline oracles were held in so great veneration among the
ancients, that nothing of importance was undertaken without consulting
them.
That divination was used and believed in by the Hebrews, is proved by
the Scripture injunctions against divinations. The Jews were told not
to have among them any that used divination, or any observers of
times, or enchanters, or witches, or charmers, or consulters with
familiar spirits, or wizards, or necromancers, or star-gazers, or
miracle-mongers, or seekers of oracles.
One species of divination was performed by laying an agate stone on a
red-hot hatchet. This is known as Axinomancy. The agate was called
sacred, as it was regarded as a preservative against the poison of
reptiles. Pliny has written a whole chapter on the virtues of agates.
There was an art among the Greeks known as Alectoromantia, by which
future events were made known by means of a cock's movements. A circle
was made on the ground, and divided into twenty-four equal parts, in
each of which spaces was written one of the letters of the alphabet,
and upon each of these letters was laid a grain of wheat. This done,
the fowl was turned loose, and watched to ascertain the order in which
the grains were picked up. The letters corresponding to those grains
were formed into words, and supplied an answer to important questions.
Belomancy was a kind of divination by arrows, practised among various
nations in the East, but chiefly among the Arabians. It was performed
in different ways. One was to mark a parcel of arrows, and put eleven
or more of them into a case. These were drawn out, and according to
their marks future events were judged. Another way was to have but
three arrows, upon one of which was written an injunction to do a
certain thing; upon another a warning against doing it; and upon the
third there was no writing. These were put into a quiver, out of which
one of the arrows was drawn at random. If it happened to be the one
with the injunction, the thing regarding which there was a
consultation was done; if it chanced to be the arrow with the warning,
the matter was let alone; but if the arrow without an inscription, a
second drawing took place. Kings going out to war frequently consulted
with arrows and images, and according to the drawing or flight of an
arrow was it determined which city or town should be first besieged.
The king of Babylon resorted to Belomancy before assaulting
Jerusalem. When he came to a place where two roads met, one led to the
city of Rabbath, and the other to Jerusalem. There he wrote the names
of the two cities upon several arrows which were mixed together
promiscuously in a quiver, and a boy who was unacquainted with the
matter drew out one, and the name Jerusalem being on it, the king
determined to lead his army towards that city.
Divination by means of rods prevailed among the Magi, Chaldaeans, and
Scythians, whence it passed to the Sclavonians, and thence to the
Germans. The women among the Alani gathered straight rods or wands,
and used them in their superstition. In Sheppard's _Epigrams_ we find:
"Some sorcerers do boast they have a rod,
Gathered with vows and sacrifice,
And borne about will strangely nod
To hidden treasure where it lies;
Mankind is sure that rod divine,
For to the wealthiest ever they incline."
The notion still prevails in England and elsewhere, that water and
precious treasure could be discovered, though far below the surface of
the earth, by carefully and skilfully handling the divining rod. Men
of scientific knowledge have been believers in the occult power
ascribed to the divining rod, while others, who have considered the
subject, regard the supposed power of this rod as a delusion, and
ascribe the whole phenomenon to the effect of a strong impression on
the mind of the operator.
Cleromancy was performed by the throwing of dice. At Brura, a city of
Achaia, there was a temple and a celebrated oracle of Hercules, where
such as consulted the oracle threw four dice, the points whereof being
observed by the priest, he was supposed to draw an answer from them.
The great Napoleon was a firm believer in various modes of
superstition, particularly in Cleromancy. A curious book on divination
was found in Bonaparte's cabinet of curiosities at Leipsic, during the
confusion that ensued there after the defeat of the French army. It
was looked upon by him as a sacred work, and he was accustomed to
consult it prior to his most hazardous undertakings. The book, which
was upwards of five hundred years old, was written in German. It
contained a table called the Oraculum, at the top of which was a
column of dots or points similar to those on dice, but arranged in
somewhat different order. The way of proceeding to inquire what was
about to happen, was by asking questions, and the answer, whether good
or bad, was according to the number and position of the dots opposite
to the interrogatives. There was also a table containing the letters
of the alphabet from A to Q, disposed of in a particular manner, the
exact position of which had to be observed in prying into futurity.
But as it is not our province to instruct any one in occult science,
we shall not further explain the method of procuring answers to the
questions propounded.
Information on almost every subject might be asked, if not obtained.
Among the list of questions we find:--"Shall I obtain my wish? Shall I
have success in my undertaking? Shall I gain or lose my cause? Shall I
have to live in foreign parts? Shall I have to travel? Will the
stranger return from abroad? Shall I recover my stolen property? Does
the person love and regard me? Will the marriage be prosperous? Will
my wife have a son or a daughter? Will the patient recover from his
illness? Will the prisoner be released? Shall I be lucky or unlucky
to-day? What does my dream signify?"
Among many answers and advices there are:--"What you wish for, you
will shortly obtain. Be very cautious what you do this day, lest
trouble befall you. If you marry this person, you will have enemies
unlooked for. The patient should be prepared to leave this world. She
will have a son, learned and wise. You had better decline this love,
for it will neither be constant nor true. Your travels are in vain;
you had better stay at home. You must not expect to regain that which
you have lost. You will obtain a great fortune in another country. You
may have many impediments in the accomplishment of your pursuits.
Beware! an enemy is endeavouring to bring you into strife and
misfortune. This day is unlucky, therefore alter your intentions. Your
fortune will soon be changed into misfortune."
There were unlucky days, on which one was advised not to consult the
Oraculum: for instance, January 1, 2, 4, 6, 11, 12, and 20 were looked
on as particularly unpropitious. The 1st, 17th, and 18th February were
lucky, and so were the 14th and 16th March. Besides those mentioned,
there were unfortunate days in all the months of the year. If a person
wished to avoid meeting with severe disappointment, he was not to
inquire twice in one day regarding the same subject.
SIGNS, OMENS, AND WARNINGS.