20. But you, on the contrary, forgetting how great^41844184    Lit., “forgetting the so great majesty and sublimity.” their dignity and grandeur are, associate with them a birth,^41854185    Both plural. and impute to them a descent,^41864186    Both plural. which men of at all refined feelings regard as at once execrable and terrible. From Ops, you say, his mother, and from his father Saturn, Diespiter was born with his brothers. Do the gods, then, have wives; and, the matches having been previously planned, do they become subject to the bonds of marriage? Do they take upon themselves^41874187    The ms., first four edd., and Oberthür read conducunt—“unite;” for which the rest read condic-unt, as above. the engagements of the bridal couch by prescription, by the cake of spelt, and by a pretended sale?^41884188    i.e., usu, farre, coemptione. Have they their mistresses,^41894189    The word here translated mistresses, speratas, is used of maidens loved, but not yet asked in marriage. their promised wives, their betrothed brides, on settled conditions? And what do we say about their marriages, too, when indeed you say that some celebrated their nuptials, and entertained joyous throngs, and that the goddesses sported at these; and that some threw all things into utter confusion with dissensions because they had no share in singing the Fescennine verses, and occasioned danger and destruction^41904190    Lit., “dangers of destructions.” to the next generation of men?^41914191    Instead of “occasioned,” sevisse, which the later editions give, the ms. and first four edd. read sævisse—“that danger and destruction raged against,” etc.