What does the に do in 表情から察するに?

Question

その表情から察するに魔剣を所持している人は少ないみたいだ。

I'm having trouble figuring out what に does here. Does it have the same meaning as と?

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 23 '15 at 20:13

That's right. This kind of に won't always be replaceable with と, but in your case it basically is.

［接助］活用語の連体形に付く。
１あとの叙述の前置きとして続ける意を表す。…と。…ところ。
「考えてみるに庶民のための政治は当分望めそうにない」

The に marks a lead-in to the main point which follows.

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