Book 1, Chapter 50
Original Latin
112 Animadverterat fortasse quadam scientia olearum ubertatem fore. Et quidem idem primus defectionem solis, quae Astyage regnante facta est, praedixisse fertur.
Multa medici, multa gubernatores, agricolae etiam multa praesentiunt, sed nullam eorum divinationem voco, ne illam quidem, qua ab Anaximandro physico moniti Lacedaemonii sunt, ut urbem et tecta linquerent armatique in agro excubarent, quod terrae motus instaret, tum cum et urbs tota corruit et e monte Taygeto extrema montis quasi puppis avolsa est. Ne Pherecydes quidem, ille Pythagorae magister, potius divinus habebitur quam physicus, quod, cum vidisset haustam aquam de iugi puteo, terrae motus dixit instare.
113 Nec vero umquam animus hominis naturaliter divinat, nisi cum ita solutus est et vacuus, ut ei plane nihil sit cum corpore; quod aut vatibus contingit aut dormientibus. Itaque ea duo genera a Dicaearcho probantur et, ut dixi, a Cratippo nostro; si propterea, quod ea proficiscuntur a natura, sint summa sane, modo ne sola; sin autem nihil esse in observatione putant, multa tollunt, quibus vitae ratio continetur. Sed quoniam dant aliquid, idque non parvum[, vaticinationes cum somniis], nihil est, quod cum his magnopere pugnemus, praesertim cum sint, qui omnino nullam divinationem probent.
114 Ergo et ii, quorum animi spretis corporibus evolant atque excurrunt foras, ardore aliquo inflammati atque incitati cernunt illa profecto, quae vaticinantes pronuntiant, multisque rebus inflammantur tales animi, qui corporibus non inhaerent, ut ii, qui sono quodam vocum et Phrygiis cantibus incitantur. Multos nemora silvaeque, multos amnes aut maria commovent, quorum furibunda mens videt ante multo, quae sint futura. Quo de genere illa sunt:
Eheú videte!Iúdicabit ínclitum iudícium inter deás tris aliquis,Quó iudicio Lácedaemonia múlier, Furiarum úna, adveniet.
Eodem enim modo multa a vaticinantibus saepe praedicta sunt, neque solum verbis, sed etiam
Versibus, quos olim Fauni vatesque canebant.
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.
112 “Perhaps some special knowledge had shown him that the olive harvest would be abundant. He is also said to have been the first to predict the eclipse of the sun that occurred in the reign of Astyages.
“Doctors foresee many things, as do pilots and farmers, but I call none of their predictions divination—not even the warning given to the Spartans by Anaximander, the natural philosopher, to leave their city and houses and spend the night armed in the countryside, because an earthquake was imminent. At that time the entire city collapsed, and the end of Mount Taygetus was torn away like a ship's stern. Nor should Pherecydes, the famous teacher of Pythagoras, be considered a diviner rather than a natural philosopher because, on seeing water drawn from a never-failing well, he declared that an earthquake was imminent.
113 “Indeed, the human soul never divines naturally unless it is so unbound and free that it has absolutely no dealings with the body. This happens either to prophets or to sleepers. Dicaearchus therefore accepts these two kinds, as does our friend Cratippus, as I said. If it is because they arise from nature, let them certainly rank highest, provided they are not the only ones. But if these men think observation has no value, they abolish much that sustains the conduct of life. Still, since they grant something, and no small thing—prophecy together with dreams—we have no reason to fight them very hard, especially when some people accept no divination at all.
114 “Those, then, whose souls spurn their bodies, take wing, and range abroad, fired and stirred by some ardor, surely see the things they proclaim in prophecy. Many things kindle such souls, no longer fastened to their bodies: some are stirred by a particular sound of voices and by Phrygian songs. Groves and forests move many, rivers or seas many others, whose frenzied minds see far in advance what will happen. Of this kind are these lines:
‘Alas, look!Someone will give a famous judgment among three goddesses;Through that judgment a Spartan woman, one of the Furies, will come.’
“For in the same way prophets have often foretold many things, not only in words but also in
‘Verses such as Fauns and prophets sang of old.’
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.
112 “He may have known enough to recognize in advance that a rich olive harvest was coming. We are also told that he was the first person to forecast a solar eclipse—the one during Astyages' reign.
“Doctors foresee many things, and so do ship pilots and farmers. But I call none of this divination. Not even the warning that Anaximander, the natural philosopher, gave the Spartans: an earthquake was near, so they were to abandon both town and homes and keep an armed night watch in the open country. It was then that the whole city fell down, and the far end of Mount Taygetus broke off like a ship's stern. Pherecydes, Pythagoras' teacher, likewise belongs more among students of nature than among diviners: he announced an approaching earthquake after inspecting water drawn from a well that never ran dry.
113 “The human mind never practices natural divination unless it is so free and unoccupied that it has absolutely nothing to do with the body. This happens either to inspired prophets or to people asleep. These are the two forms Dicaearchus approves, along with our friend Cratippus, whom I mentioned earlier. If they consider them the highest forms because they arise from nature, by all means let them be the highest, as long as they are not the only ones. But if they think observation has no value, they remove much that keeps life running. Still, since they grant something, and something substantial—prophecies and dreams—we have no reason to fight hard against them, especially when some people reject divination entirely.
114 “So when people's minds disregard their bodies, fly away, and range outside them, some kind of fire excites and stirs them. They really do see the things they announce in prophecy. Such minds, no longer attached to their bodies, are set on fire by many things. Some respond, for instance, to particular vocal sounds and Phrygian songs. Many are stirred by groves or forests; others by rivers or seas. Their frenzied minds see the future far in advance. These lines are of that kind:
“‘Oh, look!Someone will judge a famous contest between three goddesses.That decision will bring a woman from Sparta, one of the Furies.’
“In the same way, inspired prophets have often predicted many things, not only in ordinary words but also
“‘In verses which Fauns and prophets sang long ago.’
About this section
Book 1, Chapter 50 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 50 of 130 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the Roman tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.