Book 2, Chapter 68
Original Latin
140 Haec scilicet in inbecillo remissoque animo multa omnibus modis confusa et variata versantur, maxumeque reliquiae rerum earum moventur in animis et agitantur, de quibus vigilantes aut cogitavimus aut egimus, ut mihi temporibus illis multum in animo Marius versabatur recordanti, quam ille gravem suum casum magno animo, quam constanti tulisset. Hanc credo causam de illo somniandi fuisse. Tibi autem de me cum sollicitudine cogitanti subito sum visus emersus e flumine. Inerant enim in utriusque nostrum animis vigilantium cogitationum vestigia. At quaedam adiuncta sunt, ut mihi de monumento Marii, tibi, quod equus, in quo ego vehebar, mecum una demersus rursus apparuit.
141 An tu censes ullam anum tam deliram futuram fuisse, ut somniis crederet, nisi ista casu non numquam forte temere concurrerent? Alexandro draco loqui visus est. Potest omnino hoc esse falsum, potest verum; sed utrum est, non est mirabile; non enim audivit ille draconem loquentem, sed est visus audire, et quidem, quo maius sit, cum radicem ore teneret, locutus est. Sed nihil est magnum somnianti. Quaero autem, cur Alexandro tam inlustre somnium, tam certum, nec huic eidem alias, nec multa ceteris; mihi quidem praeter hoc Marianum nihil sane, quod meminerim. Frustra igitur consumptae tot noctes tam longa in aetate.
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.
140 “In a weakened, relaxed mind these many things naturally appear confused and varied in every way. Above all, the traces of things we thought about or did while awake stir and move within us. At that time Marius was much in my thoughts, as I recalled the courage and constancy with which he had borne his own grave misfortune. That, I believe, was why I dreamed of him. You, thinking anxiously about me, suddenly saw me in a dream emerging from a river. In each of our minds there remained traces of our waking thoughts. But some details were added: in my case, Marius’s monument; in yours, the horse I was riding, which sank with me and reappeared.
141 “Do you think any old woman would have been so delirious as to believe in dreams if such things did not sometimes coincide by sheer random chance? Alexander seemed to hear a serpent speak. The story may be false or it may be true; either way, there is nothing remarkable about it. He did not hear a serpent speaking; he seemed to hear it—and, to make it more impressive, it spoke while holding a root in its mouth. But nothing is too extraordinary for a dreamer. I ask, though, why Alexander had so vivid and definite a dream, yet did not have others at other times, and why other people do not have many. Apart from this dream of Marius, I myself have had none worth mentioning that I remember. All those nights in so long a life have been wasted, then!
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.
140 “Of course, in the mind's weakened, relaxed state, many such things pass through it, mixed up and altered in every way. What moves and stirs in our minds above all are the remains of things we thought or did while awake. At that time Marius was often in my thoughts. I remembered how bravely and steadily he had borne his own terrible fall. That, I think, was why I dreamed about him. You were thinking anxiously about me, and suddenly saw me emerge from a river. Both our minds held traces of our waking thoughts. But some things were added: in my case, Marius' memorial; in yours, the horse I was riding, which went under with me and then reappeared.
141 “Would any old woman have been crazy enough to trust dreams without these occasional, purely accidental coincidences? Alexander seemed to see a snake speak. The story may be entirely false, or it may be true. Either way, it is not remarkable. He did not hear a snake speak; he seemed to hear it. More astonishing still, its mouth was holding a root as it talked! But nothing is extraordinary to a dreamer. My question is why Alexander had so vivid and definite a dream, but did not have others, and why other people do not have many. I certainly remember none apart from this one about Marius. So I have wasted all those nights in such a long life!
About this section
Book 2, Chapter 68 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 126 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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