sortesn.

/ˈsɔːtiːz/

/ˈsɔːteɪz/

Etymology: Latin, plural of sors lot, chance.

In phrases sortes Virgilianae, sortes Homericae, sortes Biblicae: divination, or the seeking of guidance, by chance selection of a passage in Virgil, Homer, or the Bible. Also elliptical and transferred.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > by books > choosing passages randomly > in Homer

sortes Homericaea1586

sortes Virgilianaea1586

Virgilian lots1845

bibliomancy1753

sortes Biblicae1845

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Apol. Poetrie (1595) sig. B4 Whereupon grew the worde of Sortes Virgilianæ, when by suddaine opening Virgils booke, they lighted vpon any verse of hys making.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica v. xxi. 272 The first an imitation of sortes Homericæ, or Virgilianæ, drawing determinations from verses casually occurring.

1700 J. Welwood Mem. Material Trans. 100 Lord Falkland, to divert the king, would have his Majesty make a trial of his fortune by the Sortes Virgilianæ, which..was an usual kind of augury some ages past.

1740 H. Walpole Let. 25 Sept. (1974) XXXVII. 79 In three words I will give you her picture as we drew it in the Sortes Virgilianæ—Insanam vatem aspicies. I give you my honour, we did not choose it.

1801 M. Edgeworth Belinda II. xiii. 25 Several volumes of French plays and novels were lying there, and Clarence Hervey, raking up one of them, cried: ‘Come, let us try our fate by the sortes Virgilianæ.’

1845 G. E. Jewsbury in A. Ireland Sel. Lett. G. E. Jewsbury to J. Welsh Carlyle (1892) 179 I send it you by way of a ‘sortes’, and the Bible has as much virtue—that way—as Virgil!

1886 D. C. Murray Cynic Fortune xv. 183 In the practice of the sortes (which was a favourite occupation of his) [he] was elevated or depressed by the text he fell upon.

1897 A. C. Benson Diary June in D. Newsome On Edge of Paradise (1980) ii. 63 I took a Sortes Biblicae before refusing.

1947 H. Nicolson Diary 11 Dec. (1968) 118 I consult sortes Biblicas. My Bible opens at Ezekiel XL 22.

1969 G. Greene Trav. with my Aunt i. xvi. 170 The Sortes Virgilianae—a game my mother considered a little blasphemous unless it was played with the Bible.

1975 V. Canning Kingsford Mark vi. 105 He acknowledged the encouragement of the sortes. All the omens were right.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2019).

单词	sortes
释义	sortesn. /ˈsɔːtiːz//ˈsɔːteɪz/ Etymology: Latin, plural of sors lot, chance. In phrases sortes Virgilianae, sortes Homericae, sortes Biblicae: divination, or the seeking of guidance, by chance selection of a passage in Virgil, Homer, or the Bible. Also elliptical and transferred. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > by books > choosing passages randomly > in Homer sortes Homericaea1586 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > by books > choosing passages randomly > in Virgil sortes Virgilianaea1586 Virgilian lots1845 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > by books > choosing passages randomly > in the Bible bibliomancy1753 sortes Biblicae1845 a1586 Sir P. Sidney Apol. Poetrie (1595) sig. B4 Whereupon grew the worde of Sortes Virgilianæ, when by suddaine opening Virgils booke, they lighted vpon any verse of hys making. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica v. xxi. 272 The first an imitation of sortes Homericæ, or Virgilianæ, drawing determinations from verses casually occurring. View more context for this quotation 1700 J. Welwood Mem. Material Trans. 100 Lord Falkland, to divert the king, would have his Majesty make a trial of his fortune by the Sortes Virgilianæ, which..was an usual kind of augury some ages past. 1740 H. Walpole Let. 25 Sept. (1974) XXXVII. 79 In three words I will give you her picture as we drew it in the Sortes Virgilianæ—Insanam vatem aspicies. I give you my honour, we did not choose it. 1801 M. Edgeworth Belinda II. xiii. 25 Several volumes of French plays and novels were lying there, and Clarence Hervey, raking up one of them, cried: ‘Come, let us try our fate by the sortes Virgilianæ.’ 1845 G. E. Jewsbury in A. Ireland Sel. Lett. G. E. Jewsbury to J. Welsh Carlyle (1892) 179 I send it you by way of a ‘sortes’, and the Bible has as much virtue—that way—as Virgil! 1886 D. C. Murray Cynic Fortune xv. 183 In the practice of the sortes (which was a favourite occupation of his) [he] was elevated or depressed by the text he fell upon. 1897 A. C. Benson Diary June in D. Newsome On Edge of Paradise (1980) ii. 63 I took a Sortes Biblicae before refusing. 1947 H. Nicolson Diary 11 Dec. (1968) 118 I consult sortes Biblicas. My Bible opens at Ezekiel XL 22. 1969 G. Greene Trav. with my Aunt i. xvi. 170 The Sortes Virgilianae—a game my mother considered a little blasphemous unless it was played with the Bible. 1975 V. Canning Kingsford Mark vi. 105 He acknowledged the encouragement of the sortes. All the omens were right. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2019). < n.a1586
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