[8,56] Εἴη δ´ ἂν ἁρμόττον ἱστορίας σχήματι καὶ ἐπανορθώσεως ἕνεκα τῶν οἰομένων μήτ´ ἐπὶ ταῖς τιμαῖς ταῖς παρ´ ἀνθρώπων χαίρειν τοὺς θεοὺς μήτ´ ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀνοσίοις καὶ ἀδίκοις πράξεσιν ἀγανακτεῖν, τὸ δηλῶσαι τὴν γενομένην ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς θεοῦ κατ´ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ καὶ δίς, ὡς αἱ τῶν ἱεροφαντῶν περιέχουσι γραφαί, ἵνα τοῖς μὲν εὐλαβεστέροις περὶ τὸ συνέχειν, ἃς παρὰ τῶν προγόνων δόξας ὑπὲρ τοῦ δαιμονίου παρέλαβον, ἀμεταμέλητος ἡ τοιαύτη προαίρεσις καὶ βεβαία διαμένῃ, τοῖς δ´ ὑπερορῶσι τῶν πατρίων ἐθισμῶν καὶ μηθενὸς ποιοῦσι τὸ δαιμόνιον τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων λογισμῶν κύριον μάλιστα μὲν ἀναθέσθαι ταύτην τὴν δόξαν, εἰ δ´ ἀνιάτως ἔχουσιν ἔτι μᾶλλον αὐτοῖς ἀπεχθάνεσθαι καὶ κακοδαιμονεστέροις εἶναι. ἱστορεῖται τοίνυν, ὅτι τῆς βουλῆς ψηφισαμένης ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου πάσας ἐπιχορηγηθῆναι τὰς εἰς τὸν νεών τε καὶ τὸ ξόανον δαπάνας, ἕτερον δ´ ἄγαλμα κατασκευασαμένων τῶν γυναικῶν ἀφ´ ὧν αὐταὶ συνήνεγκαν χρημάτων, ἀνατεθέντων τ´ αὐτῶν ἀμφοτέρων ἅμα ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῆς ἀνιερώσεως ἡμέρᾳ, θάτερον τῶν ἀφιδρυμάτων, ὃ κατεσκευάσανθ´ αἱ γυναῖκες, ἐφθέγξατο πολλῶν παρουσῶν γλώττῃ Λατίνῃ φωνὴν εὐσύνετόν τε καὶ γεγωνόν· ἧς ἐστι φωνῆς ἐξερμηνευόμενος ὁ νοῦς εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα διάλεκτον τοιόσδε· Ὁσίῳ πόλεως νόμῳ γυναῖκες γαμεταὶ δεδώκατέ με. οἷα δὲ φιλεῖ γίνεσθαι περὶ τὰς παραδόξους φωνάς τε καὶ ὄψεις, πολλὴ ταῖς παρούσαις ἐνέπιπτεν ἀπιστία, μή ποτ´ οὐ τὸ ξόανον εἴη τὸ φθεγξάμενον, ἀνθρωπίνη δέ τις φωνή· μάλιστα δ´ ὅσαι πρὸς ἄλλῳ τινὶ τὸν νοῦν ἔχουσαι τηνικαῦτα ἔτυχον, οὐκ ἰδοῦσαι τὸ φθεγγόμενον, ὅ τι ποτ´ ἦν, ταύτην εἶχον τὴν πρὸς τὰς ἰδούσας ἀπιστίαν. ἔπειτ´ αὖθις πληθύοντος τοῦ νεὼ καὶ σιωπῆς πλείστης κατὰ δαίμονα γενομένης ἐν μείζονι φωνῇ ταὐτὸ ξόανον ἐφθέγξατο τὴν αὐτὴν λέξιν, ὥστε μηδὲν ἔτι εἶναι τὸ ἀμφίλογον. ἡ μὲν οὖν βουλὴ ὡς ταῦτ´ ἔμαθεν ἐψηφίσατο θυσίας ἄλλας καὶ σεβασμούς, οὓς ἂν οἱ τῶν ἱερῶν ἐξηγηταὶ παραδῶσι καθ´ ἕκαστον ἔτος ἐπιτελεῖν. αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες ἐν ἔθει κατεστήσαντο τῇ τῆς ἱερείας χρησάμεναι γνώμῃ, τῷ ξοάνῳ τούτῳ μήτε στεφάνους ἐπιτιθέναι μήτε χεῖρας προσφέρειν γυναῖκας, ὅσαι δευτέρων ἐπειράθησαν γάμων, τὴν δὲ τιμὴν καὶ θεραπείαν αὐτοῦ πᾶσαν ἀποδεδόσθαι ταῖς νεογάμοις. ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων οὔτε παρελθεῖν τὴν ἐπιχώριον ἱστορίαν καλῶς εἶχεν, οὔτε πλείονα περὶ αὐτῆς ποιεῖσθαι λόγον. ἐπάνειμι δ´, ὅθεν εἰς τοῦτον ἐξέβην τὸν λόγον.

[8,56] It would be in harmony with a formal history and in the interest of correcting those who think that the gods are neither pleased with the honours they receive from men nor displeased with impious and unjust actions, to make known the epiphany of the goddess at that time, not once, but twice, as it is recorded in the books of the pontiffs, to the end that (p167) by those who are more scrupulous about preserving the opinions concerning the god which they have received from their ancestors such belief may be maintained firm and undisturbed by misgivings, and that those who, despising the customs of their forefathers, hold that the gods have no power over man's reason, may, preferably, retract their opinion, or, if they are incurable, that the may become still more odious to the gods and more wretched. It is related, then, that when the senate had ordered that the whole expense both of the temple and of the statue should be defrayed from the public treasury, and the women had caused another statue to be made with the money they themselves had contributed, and both statues had been set up together on the first day of the dedication of the temple, one of them, the one which the women had provided, uttered some words in Latin in a voice both distinct and loud, when many were present. The meaning of the words when translated is as follows: "You have conformed to the holy law of the city, matrons, in dedicating me." The women who were present were very incredulous, as usually happens in the case of unusual voices and sights, believing that it was not the statue that had spoken, but some human voice; and those particularly who happened at the moment to have their mind on something else and did not see what it was that spoke, showed this incredulity toward those who had seen it. Later, on a second occasion, when the (p169) temple was full and there chanced to be a profound silence, the same statue pronounced the same words in a louder voice, so that there was no longer any doubt about it. The senate, upon hearing what had passed, ordered other sacrifices and rites to be performed every year, such as the interpreters of religious rites should direct. And the women upon the advice of their priestess established it as a custom that no women who had been married a second time should crown this statue with garlands or touch it with their hands, but that all the honour and worship paid to it should be committed to the newly-married women. But concerning these matters it was fitting that I should neither omit the native account nor dwell too long upon it. I now return to the point from which I digressed.