ABSTRACT
De Ostentis begins with a discussion of signs and portents among the Hebrews, using the story of Moses and the Exodus as illustration. Someone other than Lydus at some later date, however, must have added this prooemion to the manuscript, for its definitions of signs (manifest in comets) and portents (earthly phenomena that transcend nature) bear no resemblance to those employed by Lydus in the remainder of the text. In fact, in none of his works does Lydus display any significant interest in the Bible. To have begun de Ostentis with such a nod toward Christianity would have been entirely out of character for him. The same is true of de Mensibus. At the end of Lydus’ treatment of traditional January celebrations (none of them Christian), there has been added a quotation from Isaiah proclaiming that God abominates such festivals and sacrifices. 1 Once again we confront a sentiment utterly at odds with the intellectual outlook evidenced in the rest of the book.
