Book 1, Chapter 9
Original Latin
15 Videmus haec signa numquam fere mentientia nec tamen, cur ita fiat, videmus.
Vos quoque signa videtis, aquai dulcis alumnae,Cum clamore paratis inanis fundere vocesAbsurdoque sono fontis et stagna cietis.
Quis est, qui ranunculos hoc videre suspicari possit? sed inest in ranunculis vis et natura quaedam significans aliquid per se ipsa satis certa, cognitioni autem hominum obscurior.
Mollipedesque boves spectantes lumina caeliNaribus umiferum duxere ex aëre sucum.
Non quaero, cur, quoniam, quid eveniat, intellego.
Iam vero semper viridis semperque gravataLentiscus triplici solita grandescere fetuTer fruges fundens tria tempora monstrat arandi.
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.
15 “We see that these signs almost never lie, yet we do not see why this is so.
“‘You too perceive the signs, children of fresh water,When you prepare to pour your hollow cries aloudAnd stir the springs and pools with your discordant sound.’
“Who could suspect that little frogs perceive this? Yet there is a certain inherent power in them, by itself quite reliable in giving a signal, though less accessible to human understanding.
“‘And soft-footed cattle, gazing at the lights of heaven,Have drawn the moist breath from the air into their nostrils.’
“I do not ask why, since I understand what follows.
“‘Then the mastic, always green and always laden,That habitually swells with a threefold crop,Yields fruit three times, marking three seasons for the plow.’
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.
15 “We see that these signs almost never mislead us. Yet we do not see why this happens.
“‘You too, creatures raised in fresh water, recognize the signs,As you get ready to pour out loud cries that mean nothingAnd stir the springs and pools with your harsh noise.’
“Who could imagine that little frogs see this coming? Yet frogs have a certain natural power to give a sign. The power is quite reliable in itself, though rather hard for human beings to understand.
“‘And soft-footed cattle, looking toward the lights of the sky,Have drawn wet moisture from the air through their nostrils.’
“I do not ask why, since I understand what will happen.
“‘Then the mastic tree, always green and always heavily laden,Which normally grows large with a threefold crop,Bears fruit three times and shows three times for plowing.’
About this section
Book 1, Chapter 9 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 9 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.