Astronomica

IX

Whether you look at the end of the man himself, or of his wife, or of his children—whom he had fathered from two marriages—the outcome is the same. We ourselves are witnesses to this matter, original: ἐπ᾽ ὀνειδίζομεν τύχας "yet we do not mock their misfortunes." This same Caster of Nativitiesoriginal: Genethliacus; one who calculates horoscopes based on the moment of birth, although he had determined the day and hour of his own death many years in advance, found himself still in good health when the time approached. Even though he was already over eighty years old, rather than expose his craft to insult by remaining alive, he resolved to die by starvation original: inedia. I do not know whether this occurred later or sooner than the time he had previously established. The matter is well known, and it is not our place to lie. He did exactly what the man in the Epigram did: original: αἰσχυνθεὶς Πετόσειριν ἀπήγξατο "feeling ashamed before PetosirisA famous semi-mythical Egyptian founder of astrology, he hanged himself." Read the whole epigram; nothing could better express the end of this Caster of Nativities, for he was a man of little substance.

And yet, that man was considered so great in that art that today his decrees are held as original: κύριαι δόξαι "authoritative doctrines." But, they say, the errors of individual men are not the fault of the art itself, nor is the error of one the error of all. On the contrary: if those who lead the schools in this art are so ridiculously and childishly deceived, what certainty can be expected from those who follow them and rely on their decrees as if they were the strongest fortifications?

If individuals can err, but not the whole body, then come—let us summon a Council of Casters of Nativities to decide on future events. See what happened in the year of Christ 1179 original: MCLXXIX, in which year all the Eastern astrologers—Christians, Jews, and Saracens A medieval term for Muslims—sent out letters across the whole world like royal diplomas or imperial edicts. In these, they predicted that in the seventh year following, which was...