Book 1, Chapter 22
Original Latin
43 Sint haec, ut dixi, somnia fabularum, hisque adiungatur etiam Aeneae somnium, quod in nostri Fabii Pictoris Graecis annalibus eius modi est, ut omnia, quae ab Aenea gesta sunt quaeque illi acciderunt, ea fuerint, quae ei secundum quietem visa sunt.
Sed propiora videamus. Cuiusnam modi est Superbi Tarquinii somnium, de quo in Bruto Accii loquitur ipse?
44 Quoniám quieti córpus nocturno ínpetuDedí sopore plácans artus lánguidos,Visúst in somnis pástor ad me appéllerePecús lanigerum exímia puchritúdine;Duós consanguineos árietes inde éligiPraeclárioremque álterum immoláre me;Deinde eíus germanum córnibus conítier,In me árietare, eoque íctu me ad casúm dari;Exín prostratum térra, graviter saúcium,Resupínum in caelo cóntueri máximum acMirifícum facinus: déxtrorsum orbem flámmeumRadiátum solis líquier cursú novo.
45 Eius igitur somnii a coniectoribus quae sit interpretatio facta, videamus:
Réx, quae in vita usúrpant homines, cógitant, curánt, vident,Quaéque agunt vigilántes agitantque, éa, cui in somno áccidunt,Mínus mirandum est; dí rem tantam haud témere inproviso ófferunt.Próin vide ne, quém tu esse hebetem députes aeque ác pecus,Ís sapientiá munitum péctus egregié geratTéque regno expéllat; nam id, quod dé sole ostentúmst tibi,Pópulo commutátionem rérum portendít forePérpropinquam. Haec béne verruncent pópulo. Nam quod ad déxteramCépit cursum ab laéva signum praépotens, pulchérrumeAúguratum est rém Romanam públicam summám fore.
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.
43 “Let these, as I said, be dreams from fables; and add to them the dream of Aeneas, which in the Greek annals of our own Fabius Pictor is such that everything Aeneas did, and everything that happened to him, had appeared to him in sleep.
“But let us look nearer home. What of the dream of Tarquinius the Proud, which he himself describes in Accius’ Brutus?
44 “‘When at nightfall I gave my body overTo rest, soothing my weary limbs with sleep,I seemed to see a shepherd drive toward meA flock of woolly sheep of surpassing beauty.From it two rams, brothers by birth, were chosen,And I sacrificed the finer of the two.Then his brother charged at me with his horns,Butted me, and with that blow brought me down.Then, lying on the earth, sorely wounded,Flat on my back, I beheld in the sky a vastAnd wondrous sight: the sun’s flaming,Radiant disk slipped to the right on a new course.’
45 “Let us see, then, how the dream-interpreters explained it:
“‘King, the things people deal with in life, think of, care for, see,And do and busy themselves with while awake, should occasionLess wonder when they come in sleep. The gods do not lightly send so great a vision unforeseen.So beware: the man you judge as dull as a beastMay possess a heart nobly fortified with wisdomAnd drive you from your kingdom. For the vision of the sunPortends that a change in the people’s fortunesIs very near. May these things turn out well for the people! For that mighty signBegan its course from left to right: a most auspiciousAugury that Rome’s republic will be supreme.’
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.
43 “Let these be dreams from stories, as I said. Add to them the dream of Aeneas. In the Greek history of our own Fabius Pictor it is described in such a way that everything Aeneas did and everything that happened to him was what he had seen in his sleep.
“But let's look at things closer to home. How did Tarquinius the Proud describe his own dream in Accius' Brutus?
44 “‘When I gave my body over to sleep at night's arrival,Soothing my tired limbs with slumber,I dreamed a shepherd drove up to meA flock of woolly sheep of outstanding beauty.Two rams, brothers, were chosen from them,I killed the finer one as a sacrifice.His brother then drove his horns against me,And rammed me; the blow sent me falling to the ground.Then, lying flat on the ground, badly wounded,I looked up at an immense and amazing eventIn the sky: the sun's flaming, radiant diskSlipped away to the right on a new course.’
45 “Now let's see how the dream-interpreters explained this dream:
“‘King, when the things people use in life, think about, worry over, see,And do and work at while awake come to someone in sleep,It is less surprising. The gods do not suddenly send so great a warning without a purpose.So beware: a man you think as dull as a sheepMay have an exceptional mind, well armed with wisdom,And drive you from your kingdom. For what was shown to you about the sunForetells a change in the people's affairsVery soon. May this turn out well for the people! And because the mighty signBegan its journey from the left toward the right, it gave a splendidAugury that the Roman state would become supreme.’
About this section
Book 1, Chapter 22 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 22 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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