Book 2, Chapter 71
Original Latin
146 At enim observatio diuturna (haec enim pars una restat) notandis rebus fecit artem. Ain tandem? somnia observari possunt? quonam modo? sunt enim innumerabiles varietates. Nihil tam praepostere, tam incondite, tam monstruose cogitari potest, quod non possimus somniare; quo modo igitur haec infinita et semper nova aut memoria conplecti aut observando notare possumus? Astrologi motus errantium stellarum notaverunt; inventus est enim ordo in iis stellis, qui non putabatur. Cedo tandem, qui sit ordo aut quae concursatio somniorum; quo modo autem distingui possunt vera somnia a falsis? cum eadem et aliis aliter evadant et isdem non semper eodem modo; ut mihi mirum videatur, cum mendaci homini ne verum quidem dicenti credere soleamus, quo modo isti, si somnium verum evasit aliquod, non ex multis potius uni fidem derogent quam ex uno innumerabilia confirment.
147 Si igitur neque deus est effector somniorum neque naturae societas ulla cum somniis neque observatione inveniri potuit scientia, effectum est, ut nihil prorsus somniis tribuendum sit, praesertim cum illi ipsi, qui ea vident, nihil divinent, ii, qui interpretantur, coniecturam adhibeant, non naturam, casus autem innumerabilibus paene saeculis in omnibus plura mirabilia quam in somniorum visis effecerit, neque coniectura, quae in varias partis duci possit, non numquam etiam in contrarias, quicquam sit incertius.
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.
146 “‘But long observation’—this is the one branch still left—‘has created an art by recording events.’ Really? Can dreams be observed? How? Their variations are countless. Nothing can be imagined so topsy-turvy, so incoherent, so monstrous, that we cannot dream it. How, then, can we embrace in memory or record through observation these endless, ever-new visions? Astronomers have recorded the movements of the wandering stars: an order was discovered in those bodies where none had been suspected. Show me, then, what order dreams have, what pattern of recurrence. And how can true dreams be distinguished from false ones, when the same dreams have different outcomes for different people, and not always the same outcome even for the same person? We do not generally believe a liar even when he tells the truth. I therefore find it astonishing that, when some dream comes true, these men do not let the many discredit the one, but let the one confirm countless others.
147 “If, then, a god does not produce dreams, if nature has no such connection with them, and if observation has been unable to establish knowledge of them, it follows that we should assign dreams no authority whatever. Especially so, since those who see them do not themselves divine anything, while their interpreters employ conjecture, not nature; since chance, over almost countless ages, has produced more wonders in every sphere than in dream visions; and since nothing is more uncertain than a conjecture that can be turned in different, sometimes even opposite, directions.
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.
146 “‘But long observation has built an art by recording events.’ That is the one part still left. Is that so? How could anyone keep a record of dreams? There is no end to the forms they take. Nothing we can imagine is too backward, too disorderly, or too monstrous for us to dream it. How, then, can we hold these endless, always new things in our memory, or record them through observation? Astronomers have recorded the movements of the planets. Order has been discovered in those stars where none was thought to exist. Now tell me what order or pattern of encounters exists in dreams. And how can true dreams be distinguished from false ones? The same dreams turn out differently for different people, and not always in the same way even for the same people. We normally do not believe a liar even when he tells the truth. So I find it strange that, if one dream comes true, these men use the one to confirm countless others, rather than let the many discredit the one.
147 “So if no god produces dreams, if nature has no connection with them, and if observation has not been able to establish knowledge of them, we have proved that dreams deserve no weight at all. This is especially so since the people who see them do not themselves divine anything; their interpreters use guesswork, not nature; over an almost endless span of ages, chance has worked more wonders in every field than those seen in dreams; and nothing is more uncertain than a guess that can be pulled in different directions, sometimes even opposite ones.
About this section
Book 2, Chapter 71 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 129 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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