Academica

M. Tullius Cicero

Quid si in eiusdem modi cera centum sigilla hoc anulo impressero, ecquae poterit in agnoscendo esse distinctio? An tibi erit quaerendus anularius aliqui, quoniam gallinarium invenisti Deliacum illum qui ova congnosceret?

Well, if I imprint a hundred seals with this ring on lumps of wax of the same sort, will there possibly be any mode of distinction to aid in recognizing them? Or will you have to seek out some jeweller, as you found that poultry-keeper at Delos who recognized eggs?

Reprinted by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of the Loeb Classical Library from M. Tullius Cicero: Volume XIX. On the Nature of Gods. Academics, Loeb Classical Library Vol. 268, translated by H. Rackham, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, © 1933, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. The Loeb Classical Library ® is a registered trademark of the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

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