Note 344 — BOOK IV.
Thomas Hodgkin translation
At the beginning of the first letter occurs the remarkable expression 'Abscedat ritus de medio jam profanus; conticescat poenale murmur animarum,' which the commentator interprets of the ventriloquistic sounds produced by soothsayers. Cf. Milton's Christmas Hymn:
'No voice or hideous hum Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving.'