Cicero's view on "ominous" births: Cicero, de Div. 2.28.60

Cicero’s View of “Ominous” Births

Name:  Cicero Date:  106 – 43 BCE Region:  Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  On Divination 2.60

In this passage, Cicero denounces superstitious exposure of intersex children:

 

Are you really frightened by “omens” of unusual animal or human births? Long story short: all of these occur for one reason, and one reason only. Anything that is born, whatever it is, is caused naturally. Even if it happens to be unusual, it cannot occur “unnaturally.” Whenever something new and rare occurs, go ahead and investigate the cause, if you can. Even if you analyze the facts and still cannot find the reason, remember that nothing can occur without reason, and put aside the knee-jerk panic that the novelty of the occurrence gave you.  Once you do this, nothing will frighten you: not earthquakes, not weather patterns, not rain showers of blood or stones, not falling stars, nor will-‘o-the-wisps.

Latin text: 

An vero illa nos terrent, si quando aliqua portentosa aut ex pecude aut ex homine nata dicuntur? Quorum omnium, ne sim longior, una ratio est. Quicquid enim oritur, qualecumque est, causam habeat a natura necesse est, ut, etiamsi praeter consuetudinem extiterit, praeter naturam tamen non possit existere. Causam igitur investigato in re nova atque admirabili, si poteris; si nullam reperies, illud tamen exploratum habeto, nihil fieri potuisse sine causa, eumque terrorem, quem tibi rei novitas adtulerit, naturae ratione depellito. Ita te nec terrae fremitus nec caeli discessus nec lapideus aut sanguineus imber nec traiectio stellae nec faces visae terrebunt.   

Cicero [Marcus Tullius Cicero; 106 – 43 BCE, modern Italy] was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the complexities of Rome’s transition from Republic to monarchy. Cicero spent most of his life in service of his country, serving as both a lawyer, senator, and even consul [Roman equivalent of president]. He is known for his suppression of the failed governmental coup in 63 BCE known as the Catilinarian conspiracy that occurred during his consulship. After the rise of Octavian [later known as the first Roman emperor Augustus], his views fell out of favor and he was eventually put to death during the proscriptions under the Second Triumvirate [Octavian, Marc Antony and Lepidus]. He was a prolific author in a wide range in genres, and his literary style was adopted by Petrarch as the default model for the Latin language.