7-6-8
iam etiam mathematicorum fallaces divinationes et impia deliramenta reieceram. confiteantur etiam hinc tibi de intimis visceribus animae meae miserationes tuae, deus meus!
By now I had also repudiated the lying divinations and impious absurdities of the astrologers. Let thy mercies, out of the depth of my soul, confess this to thee also, O my God.
tu enim, tu omnino (nam quis alius a morte omnis erroris revocat nos nisi vita quae mori nescit, et sapientia mentes indigentes inluminans, nullo indigens lumine,
For thou, thou only (for who else is it who calls us back from the death of all errors except the Life which does not know how to die and the Wisdom which gives light to minds that need it, although it itself has no need of light—
qua mundus administratur usque ad arborum volatica folia?), tu procurasti pervicaciae meae, qua obluctatus sum Vindiciano acuto seni et Nebridio adulescenti mirabilis animae,
by which the whole universe is governed, even to the fluttering leaves of the trees?)—thou alone providedst also for my obstinacy with which I struggled against Vindicianus, a sagacious old man, and Nebridius, that remarkably talented young man.
illi vehementer adfirmanti, huic cum dubitatione quidem aliqua sed tamen crebro dicenti non esse illam artem futura praevidendi,
The former declared vehemently and the latter frequently—though with some reservation—that no art existed by which we foresee future things.
coniecturas autem hominum habere saepe vim sortis et multa dicendo dici pleraque ventura, nescientibus eis qui dicerent sed in ea non tacendo incurrentibus—
But men’s surmises have oftentimes the help of chance, and out of many things which they foretold some came to pass unawares to the predictors, who lighted on the truth by making so many guesses.
procurasti ergo tu hominem amicum, non quidem segnem consultorem mathematicorum nec eas litteras bene callentem sed, ut dixi, consultorem curiosum
And thou also providedst a friend for me, who was not a negligent consulter of the astrologers even though he was not thoroughly skilled in the art either—as I said, one who consulted them out of curiosity.
et tamen scientem aliquid quod a patre suo se audisse dicebat: quod quantum valeret ad illius artis opinionem evertendam ignorabat.
He knew a good, deal about it, which, he said, he had heard from his father, and he never realized how far his ideas would help to overthrow my estimation of that art.
is ergo vir nomine Firminus, liberaliter institutus et excultus eloquio,
His name was Firminus and he had received a liberal education and was a cultivated rhetorician.
cum me tamquam carissimum de quibusdam suis rebus, in quas saecularis spes eius intumuerat, consuleret, quid mihi secundum suas quas constellationes appellant videretur,
It so happened that he consulted me, as one very dear to him, as to what I thought about some affairs of his in which his worldly hopes had risen, viewed in the light of his so-called horoscope.
ego autem, qui iam de hac re in Nebridii sententiam flecti coeperam, non quidem abnuerem conicere ac dicere quod nutanti occurrebat,
Although I had now begun to lean in this matter toward Nebridius’ opinion, I did not quite decline to speculate about the matter or to tell him what thoughts still came into my irresolute mind,
sed tamen subicerem prope iam esse mihi persuasum ridicula illa esse et inania,
although I did add that I was almost persuaded now that these were but empty and ridiculous follies.
tum ille mihi narravit patrem suum fuisse librorum talium curiosissimum et habuisse amicum aeque illa simulque sectantem.
He then told me that his father had been very much interested in such books, and that he had a friend who was as much interested in them as he was himself.
qui pari studio et conlatione flatabant in eas nugas ignem cordis sui, ita ut mutorum quoque animalium, si quae domi parerent, observarent momenta nascentium
They, in combined study and consultation, fanned the flame of their affection for this folly, going so far as to observe the moment when the dumb animals which belonged to their household gave birth to young,
atque ad ea caeli positionem notarent, unde illius quasi artis experimenta conligerent.
and then observed the position of the heavens with regard to them, so as to gather fresh evidence for this so-called art.
itaque dicebat audisse se a patre quod, cum eundem Firminum praegnans mater esset, etiam illius paterni amici famula quaedam pariter utero grandescebat,
Moreover, he reported that his father had told him that, at the same time his mother was about to give birth to him [Firminus], a female slave of a friend of his father’s was also pregnant.
quod latere non potuit dominum, qui etiam canum suarum partus examinatissima diligentia nosse curabat;
This could not be hidden from her master, who kept records with the most diligent exactness of the birth dates even of his dogs.
atque ita factum esse, ut cum iste coniugis, ille autem ancillae dies et horas minutioresque horarum articulos cautissima observatione numerarent,
And so it happened to pass that—under the most careful observations, one for his wife and the other for his servant, with exact calculations of the days, hours, and minutes—
enixae essent ambae simul, ita ut easdem constellationes usque ad easdem minutias utrique nascenti facere cogerentur, iste filio, ille servulo.
both women were delivered at the same moment, so that both were compelled to cast the selfsame horoscope, down to the minute: the one for his son, the other for his young slave.
nam cum mulieres parturire coepissent, indicaverunt sibi ambo quid sua cuiusque domo ageretur,
For as soon as the women began to be in labor, they each sent word to the other as to what was happening in their respective houses
et paraverunt quos ad se invicem mitterent, simul ut natum quod parturiebatur esset cuique nuntiatum: quod tamen ut continuo nuntiaretur, tamquam in regno suo facile effecerant.
and had messengers ready to dispatch to one another as soon as they had information of the actual birth—and each, of course, knew instantly the exact time.
atque ita qui ab alterutro missi sunt tam ex paribus domorum intervallis sibi obviam factos esse dicebat,
It turned out, Firminus said, that the messengers from the respective houses met one another at a point equidistant from either house,
ut aliam positionem siderum aliasque particulas momentorum neuter eorum notare sineretur.
so that neither of them could discern any difference either in the position of the stars or any other of the most minute points.
et tamen Firminus amplo apud suos loco natus dealbatiores vias saeculi cursitabat, augebatur divitiis, sublimabatur honoribus,
And yet Firminus, born in a high estate in his parents’ house, ran his course through the prosperous paths of this world, was increased in wealth, and elevated to honors.
servus autem ille conditionis iugo nullatenus relaxato dominis serviebat, ipso indicante qui noverat eum.
At the same time, the slave, the yoke of his condition being still unrelaxed, continued to serve his masters as Firminus, who knew him, was able to report.