Book 2, Chapter 60
Original Latin
124 Sed haec [quoque] in promptu fuerint; nunc interiora videamus. Aut enim divina vis quaedam consulens nobis somniorum significationes facit, aut coniectores ex quadam convenientia et coniunctione naturae, quam vocant συμπάθειαν, quid cuique rei conveniat [ex somniis], et quid quamque rem sequatur, intellegunt, aut eorum neutrum est, sed quaedam observatio constans atque diuturna est, cum quid visum secundum quietem sit, quid evenire et quid sequi soleat. Primum igitur intellegendum est nullam vim esse divinam effectricem somniorum. Atque illud quidem perspicuum est, nulla visa somniorum proficisci a numine deorum; nostra enim causa di id facerent, ut providere futura possemus.
125 Quotus igitur est quisque, qui somniis pareat, qui intellegat, qui meminerit? quam multi vero, qui contemnant eamque superstitionem inbecilli animi atque anilis putent! Quid est igitur, cur his hominibus consulens deus somniis moneat eos, qui illa non modo cura, sed ne memoria quidem digna ducant? Nec enim ignorare deus potest, qua mente quisque sit, nec frustra ac sine causa quid facere dignum deo est, quod abhorret etiam ab hominis constantia. Ita, si pleraque somnia aut ignorantur aut negleguntur, aut nescit hoc deus aut frustra somniorum significatione utitur; et horum neutrum in deum cadit; nihil igitur a deo somniis significari fatendum est.
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.
124 “But grant that these points, too, are obvious; let us now look deeper. Either some divine power, concerned for our welfare, makes dreams convey signs; or interpreters understand from a certain harmony and interconnection in nature, which they call συμπάθεια, ‘sympathy,’ what corresponds to each thing in dreams and what follows from it; or neither is true, but there is a body of steady, long-continued observation of what generally happens and follows after a particular vision in sleep. First, then, we must understand that no divine power produces dreams. Indeed, it is plain that no dream visions proceed from the gods’ will: the gods would send them for our sake, so that we could foresee the future.
125 “How few people, then, obey dreams, understand them, or remember them! How many despise them, thinking such superstition a sign of a feeble, old woman’s mind! Why, then, would a god, concerned for these people, warn them in dreams they regard as unworthy not merely of attention but even of remembrance? A god cannot be ignorant of anyone’s state of mind, nor is it worthy of a god to do anything vainly and without purpose—something inconsistent even with human steadfastness. So if most dreams go unnoticed or unheeded, either the god does not know it, or he uses dream signs in vain. Neither possibility is compatible with divinity. We must therefore admit that a god signifies nothing through dreams.
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.
124 “But these points too have been readily available. Now let us look deeper. Either some divine power, looking after us, gives dreams their meanings; or interpreters understand from dreams what fits with what, and what follows what, through a certain harmony and connection in nature that they call ‘sympathy’; or neither is true, but there is a fixed, long-running record of observation: when something is seen in sleep, what normally happens and follows it. First, then, we must understand that no divine force produces dreams. It is certainly clear that no dream visions come from the gods' will. If the gods did send these, their purpose would be to help us see events before they happen.
125 “How few people follow dreams, understand them, or remember them! How many scorn them and think this superstition shows a weak, old woman's mind! Why would a god, looking after these people, warn them through dreams which they consider unworthy not only of attention, but even of memory? A god cannot be unaware of each person's state of mind. And doing something pointless, with no reason for it, is beneath a god's dignity. That is inconsistent even with a steady human character. So, if most dreams are either unknown or ignored, either the god does not know this, or he uses the signs in dreams for nothing. Neither can apply to a god. We must therefore admit that a god gives no signs through dreams.
About this section
Book 2, Chapter 60 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 118 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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