therefore it needed no sign; whereas Hananiah, who,
contrary to all the prophets, foretold the speedy restoration of the
state, stood in need of a sign, or he would have been in doubt as to the
truth of his prophecy, until it was confirmed by facts. "The prophet
which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to
pass, then shall the prophet be known that the Lord hath truly sent
him."

As, then, the certitude afforded to the prophet by signs was not
mathematical (_i.e._, did not necessarily follow from the perception of
the thing perceived or seen), but only moral, and as the signs were only
given to convince the prophet, it follows that such signs were given
according to the opinions and capacity of each prophet, so that a sign
which would convince one prophet would fall far short of convincing
another who was imbued with different opinions. Therefore the signs
varied according to the individual prophet.

So also did the revelation vary, as we have stated, according to
individual disposition and temperament, and according to the opinions
previously held.

It varied according to disposition, in this way: if a prophet was
cheerful, victories, peace, and events which make men glad, were
revealed to him; in that he was naturally more likely to imagine such
things. If, on the contrary, he was melancholy, wars, massacres, and
calamities were revealed; and so, according as a prophet was merciful,
gentle, quick to anger, or severe, he was more fitted for one kind of
revelation than another. It varied according to the temper of
imagination in this way: if a prophet was cultivated he perceived the
mind of God in a cultivated way, if he was confused he perceived it
confusedly. And so with revelations perceived through visions. If a
prophet was a countryman he saw visions of oxen, cows, and the like; if
he was a soldier, he saw generals and armies; if a courtier, a royal
throne, and so on.

Lastly, prophecy varied according to the opinions held by the prophets;
for instance, to the Magi, who believed in the follies of astrology, the
birth of Christ was revealed through the vision of a star in the East.
To the augurs of Nebuchadnezzar the destruction of Jerusalem was
revealed through entrails, whereas the king himself inferred it from
oracles and the direction of arrows which he shot into the air. To
prophets who believed that man acts from free choice and by his own
power, God was revealed as standing apa