The Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics - College of Stoic Philosophers

378 THE STOICS.
Chap, the soul partly from God or the universal spirit dif-
"
fused throughout the world.' and partly from the
souls which haunt the air or demons.- External
causes, however, contribute to of enthusiasm.^
put people in a state
Artificial prophesying, or the art of foretelling the
future, depends upon observation and guess-work.'*
One who could survey all causes in their effects on
one another would need no observation. Such a one
would be able to deduce the whole series of events
from the given causes. But God alone is able to do
this. Hence men must gather the knowledge of
future events from the indications by which their
coming is announced.* These indications may
be of
eveiy variety ; and hence all possible forms of fore-
telliug the future were allowed by the Stoics ; the
' Conf. the quotations on Posidonius can only have spoken
p. .S75, 4, from fie. Divio, ii. of Gods in condescension to
JO, 2; 15, H5; and his rem.irks popular views; as a Stoic, he
on the instinct us aftiatusque would only know of that condivinus.
Cic. i. 18, 34. ncction with the soul of the
' According to Cir. Divin. i. universe which is referred to in
30, 04, Posidonius thought pro- the first mode,
phetic dreams were realised in
'
Amongst such external
one of three ways: uno, quod helps,
tiie Stoic in Cir. Divin.
pncvidcat animus ipse per sese, i. 50, 114; 3fi, 7!*, enumerates
quippe qui Deorum cognitione the impression derived from
t«neatur : altcro, quofl plcnus music, natural scenery, mounaiir
sit immortalium animorum, tains, woods, rivers, seas and
in quibus tanquara insignitie vapnurs arising from the earth,
notajveritatisappareant; tertio, But it is difficult to understand
quod ipsi Dii cum ilormientibus how, on Stoic principles, he
colloquantur. Of these three can have attached value to
modes, not the first onl}', but also oracles (il^id. 18, 34) by lot, or
the second, corresponds with justified them otherwise tlian
the Stoic hypotheses. Indeed, in the way mentioned on p.
in Stob. Eel", ii. lt'2, 2:!8. /xavrtKri 375, 4.
is defined = ^iri(TT^wi7 BewprtnKr)
ai^ixilwv Twv oitJ) Qdtiv ^ haiix6vwv
icphs avQpdnrivov $ioy (rwTeivdvrwv.
*
*
Cif.'i. 18, 34; 33, 72.
Ibid. i. 56, 127.