Marcus Tullius Cicero, De divinatione

François GUILLAUMONT (Université de Tours - François Rabelais)
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The

De Divinatione

belongs to the several philosophical treatises Cicero (106-43 B.C.) composed at the end of his life, in the years 45 and 44 B.C. The particular treatise for its most part was written before Caesar’s death (15 March 44), at the end of 45 and the beginning of 44. After the Ides of March Cicero added a few passages and wrote the prooemium to the second book (Durand, 1903; Guillaumont, 2006, 26-33). Thus the

De Divinatione

was composed between the

De Natura Deorum

(

On the Nature of the Gods

, autumn 45) and the

De Fato

(

On Fate

, May-June 44). These three works together comprise a single unit: the question of divination is intimately connected with the questions of gods and fate.

Cicero defines divination, in Greek mantike, as “the foresight and knowledge of future

1794 words

Citation: GUILLAUMONT, François. "De divinatione". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 March 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13346, accessed 29 March 2024.]

13346 De divinatione 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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