Bibliomancy

[Gr. biblion, and manteia, prophecy.) Divination by the Bible, sometimes called Sortes Biblice, was a common practice among the early Christians, who were accustomed to regulate their conduct by opening the Sacred Scriptures, and accepting the pa age which first presented itself as a guide. Although condemned by the councils of Vannes in 465; Agde, in 506, and Orleans in 511, this mode of divination was practised for many years. The Mohammedans exercise a similar divination by means of the Koran. The ancients used the works of Homer and Virgil in the same manner - the Sortes Homericæ, and the Sortes Virgilianæ being popular means of prognosticating future events.