Book 2, Chapter 58
Original Latin
119 Similis est error in somniis; quorum quidem defensio repetita quam longe est! Divinos animos censent esse nostros, eosque esse tractos extrinsecus, animorumque consentientium multitudine conpletum esse mundum; hac igitur mentis et ipsius divinitate et coniunctione cum externis mentibus cerni, quae sint futura. Contrahi autem animum Zeno et quasi labi putat atque concidere, id ipsum esse dormire. Iam Pythagoras et Plato, locupletissimi auctores, quo in somnis certiora videamus, praeparatos quodam cultu atque victu proficisci ad dormiendum iubent; faba quidem Pythagorei utique abstinere, quasi vero eo cibo mens, non venter infletur. Sed nescio quo modo nihil tam absurde dici potest, quod non dicatur ab aliquo philosophorum.
120 Utrum igitur censemus dormientium animos per sene ipsos in somniando moveri an, ut Democritus censet, externa et adventicia visione pulsari? Sive enim sic est sive illo modo, videri possunt permulta somniantibus falsa pro veris. Nam et navigantibus moveri videntur ea, quae stant, et quodam obtutu oculorum duo pro uno lucernae lumina. Quid dicam, insanis, quid ebriis quam multa falsa videantur? Quodsi eius modi visis credendum non est, cur somniis credatur, nescio. Nam tam licet de his erroribus, si velis, quam de somniis disputare, ut ea, quae stant, <si> moveri videantur, terrae motum significare dicas aut repentinam aliquam fugam, gemino autem lucernae lumine declarari dissensionem ac seditionem [moveri].
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Latin in separate source-only tasks and reviewed throughout against it. Both books, all 130 chapters and 282 numbered sections; no historical English translation used. Latin transcription credited to the Perseus Project under CC BY-SA 4.0, Müller’s 1915 Teubner edition.
119 “There is a similar error about dreams. And how far back they reach to defend them! Our souls, they hold, are divine and drawn from outside us; the universe is filled with a multitude of souls in harmony with one another. Through the mind’s own divinity, then, and its connection with minds outside it, the future is perceived. Zeno, however, thinks the soul contracts, as though slipping and sinking down, and that this itself is sleep. Pythagoras and Plato, authorities of the greatest weight, bid us prepare for bed with a certain regimen and diet, so that we may see more truly in dreams. The Pythagoreans insist above all on abstaining from beans—as though that food swelled the mind rather than the belly! Somehow there is nothing so absurd that some philosopher has not said it.
120 “Do we think, then, that sleepers’ minds move of themselves in dreams, or that, as Democritus holds, they are struck by visions arriving from outside? Whichever way it happens, dreamers can see a great many false things as true. To people sailing past, things standing still appear to move; fix your gaze in a certain way and one lamp flame looks like two. Need I mention how many false things the mad and the drunken see? If we must not trust visions of that sort, I do not know why we should trust dreams. If you like, you may argue about these delusions just as well as about dreams: you may say that stationary things appearing to move signify an earthquake or some sudden flight, while a doubled lamp flame foretells dissension and sedition breaking out.
Plain English translation
Complete machine-assisted Plain English translation, made independently and directly from the Latin, never from the Musean edition. Both books and every numbered section; a separate Latin-source model review covered the entire text. No human specialist review is claimed.
119 “The error about dreams is similar. How far back they go to defend them! They hold that our souls have a divine nature and come into us from outside. On their account, many souls fill the universe, all in tune with one another. The mind therefore sees the future through its own divinity and its connection with minds outside it. Zeno, however, thinks the soul contracts, and in a sense slips down and collapses. That is what sleeping is. Then Pythagoras and Plato, authorities of the greatest weight, tell us to prepare for bed with a certain way of life and diet, so that we may see more reliable things in dreams. The Pythagoreans tell us above all to avoid beans—as if that food made the mind, rather than the stomach, swell! Somehow nothing is too absurd for some philosopher to say it.
120 “Do we think sleepers' minds move by themselves when dreaming? Or, as Democritus thinks, are they struck by visions coming in from outside? On either account, people asleep may take all sorts of unreal sights for reality. People on ships see stationary objects as moving, and a certain way of looking makes one lamp flame appear as two. Why mention how many false things mad people and drunk people see? When such sights deserve no belief, what grounds are there for believing dreams? I cannot say. If you like, we can make arguments about these mistakes just as well as about dreams. When stationary things seem to move, you could say this means an earthquake or some sudden flight. The doubled lamp flame could indicate an outbreak of disagreement and rebellion.
About this section
Book 2, Chapter 58 is part of On Divination by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This page sets the Latin original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 116 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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