It was a common act for the instructed persons among the earlier races of man, whether Egyptian or Greek, Roman or Indian, Chinese or Sumerian, to undertake no important enterprise and no long voyage without first consulting the will of the gods. And this they learnt within the secret walls of the temple, or from the lips of some revered holy man, or by studying the omens given by certain objects or circumstances. Men as gifted and as astute as Macedonian Alexander did not disdain to make the unpleasant journey to a corner of the Egyptian desert solely to consult the oracle at the temple of Ammon. It was here that Alexander, after dismounting from his horse at the door of this mystic shrine, was told that victory would follow his flag and that the world would be put into the hollow of his hand. Let us not think so slightingly of the people who lived before us, but remember that they too had culture, civilization, and religion.
-- Notebooks Category 9: From Birth to Rebirth > Chapter 3 : Laws and Patterns of Experience > # 450
