for the liberty of resorting to
oracles. No colony undertook new settlements, no war was declared, no
important affair begun, without first consulting the oracles.

The most renowned oracles were those of Delphos, Dodona, Trophonius,
Jupiter Hammon, and the Clarian Apollo. Some have attributed the oracles
of Dodona to oaks, others to pigeons. The opinion of those
pigeon-prophetesses was introduced by the equivocation of a Thessalian
word, which signified both a pigeon and a woman; and gave room to the
fable, that two pigeons having taken wing from Thebes, one of them fled
into Lybia, where it occasioned the establishing of the oracle of
Jupiter Hammon; and the other, having stopped in the oaks of the forest
of Dodona, informed the inhabitants of the neighbouring parts, that it
was Jupiter's intention there should be an oracle in that place.
Herodotus has thus explained the fable: there were formerly two
Priestesses of Thebes, who were carried off by Phenecian merchants. She
that was sold into Greece, settled in the forest of Dodona, where great
numbers of the ancient inhabitants of Greece went to gather acorns. She
there erected a little chapel at the foot of an oak, in honour of the
same Jupiter, whose priestess she had been; and here it was this ancient
oracle was established, which in after times became so famous. The
manner of delivering the oracles of Dodona was very singular. There were
a great number of kettles suspended from trees near a copper statue,
which was also suspended with a hunch of rods in its hand. When the wind
happened to put it in motion, it struck the first kettle, which
communicating its motion to the next, all of them tingled, and produced
a certain sound which continued for a long time; after which the oracle
spoke.

THE ORACLE OP JUPITER HAMMON.

This oracle, which was in the desert, in the midst of the burning sands
of Africa, declared to Alexander that Jupiter was his father. After
several questions, having asked if the death of his father was suddenly
revenged, the oracle answered, that the death of Philip was revenged,
but that the father of Alexander was immortal. This oracle gave occasion
to Lucan to put great sentiments in the mouth of Cato. After the battle
of Pharsalia, when Cesar began to be master of the world. Labrenus said
to Cato: "As we have now so good an opportunity of consulting so
celebrated an oracle, let us know from it how to regulate our conduct
during this war. Th