omnium scipionis de re...

SOMNIUM SCIPIONIS

(= DE RE PUBLICA 6.9-29)

M. Tulliī Ciceronis

potior, potius “more [important]” complector, complectī, complexus sum “to embrace” agō gratiās (= gratēs) “I give thanks” caeles, caelitis “heavenly, celestial; (as noun) god; dweller in

the sky” discēdō, discēdere, discessī, discessum “to go away” rēs pūblica “the public business; the state” percontor, percontārī, percontātus sum “to ask” ultrō citrōque “(lit.) on this side and that side” (In other

words, both Scipio and Massinissa did a good deal of talking.)

habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum “to have, hold; to hold an opinion, think [that]”

9. Scipio:1 “Cum in Africam venissem M’. Manilio consuli2 ad quartam legionem tribunus, ut scitis, militum, nihil mihi fuit potius, quam ut Masinissam convenirem regem, familiae nostrae iustis de causis amicissimum. Ad quem ut veni, complexus me senex collacrimavit aliquantoque post suspexit ad caelum et: ‘Grates,’ inquit, ‘tibi ago, summe Sol, vobisque, reliqui Caelites, quod, antequam ex hac vita migro, conspicio in meo regno et his tectis P. Cornelium Scipionem, cuius ego nomine ipso recreor; ita numquam ex animo meo discedit illius optimi atque invictissimi viri memoria.’ Deinde ego illum de suo regno, ille me de nostra re publica percontatus est, multisque verbis ultro citroque habitis ille nobis consumptus est dies.

1Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus; born the younger son of Lucius Aemilius Paulus (conqueror of Macedonia), the narrator was adopted by the son of the Scipio who defeated Hannibal at Zama (the Elder Scipio Africanus), and therefore took his adoptive father’s name, using an adjective-form of his original nomen gentile as a cognomen (the normal Roman practice). 2Manius Manilius, consul in 149 BC, at the beginning of the Third Punic War.

Pfundstein, ed: Cicero, SOMNIUM SCIPIONIS, p. 2

acceptī “[having been] entertained” sermō, sermōnis (m.) “speech, conversation, talk” loquor, loquī, locūtus sum “to speak” meminī, meminisse [defective verb; translate perfect as

present, etc.] “to remember [+ acc. or gen.]” cubō, cubāre, cubuī, cubitum “to lie down, to sleep” vigilō, vigilāre, vigilāvī, vigilātum “to watch, to be awake” artus, —a, —um “tight, narrow, close” hīc “here; at this place, at this time” pariō, parere, peperī, partum “to bear, give birth to [+

acc.]” somnus, —ˆ€ “sleep” quam (adv.) “than” agnoscō, agnoscere, agnōvī, agnōtum “to perceive; to

recognize” equidem “indeed, truly” cohorrescō, cohorrescere, cohorruī, ———— “to shudder”

10. “Post autem apparatu regio3 accepti sermonem in multam noctem produximus, cum senex nihil nisi de Africano loqueretur omniaque eius non facta solum, sed etiam dicta meminisset. Deinde, ut cubitum4 discessimus, me et de via fessum, et qui ad multam noctem vigilassem, artior, quam solebat, somnus complexus est. Hic mihi (credo equidem ex hoc, quod eramus locuti; fit enim fere, ut cogitationes sermonesque nostri pariant aliquid in somno tale,5 quale de Homero scribit Ennius,6 de quo videlicet saepissime vigilans solebat cogitare et loqui) Africanus7 se ostendit eā formā, quae mihi ex imagine eius quam ex ipso erat notior; quem8 ubi agnovi, equidem cohorrui, sed ille: ‘Ades,’ inquit, ‘animo et omitte timorem, Scipio, et, quae dicam, trade memoriae!

3apparatu regio is ablative of means with accepti. 4accusative supine of purpose with a verb of motion. 5This is an Aristotelian notion about the genesis of dreams (see De Divinatione per Somnium 463a, and also Cicero De Divinatione 2.128, which Rockwood cites regarding this passage). See also Ecclesiastes 5:2 “A dream cometh through the multitude of business.” 6In the Annales (which survives only in fragments) Ennius wrote that Homer appeared to him in a dream and said that he (Ennius) was Homer’s reincarnation. Ennius also wrote that he remembered being a peacock (or possibly just someone named Pavo) (Annales 15). 7The famous father of the narrator’s adoptive father. 8quem = et illum here (the “connecting relative”) and is the direct object of agnovi.


oppugnō, oppugnāre, oppugnāvī, oppugnātum “to fight against”

quīdam, quaedam, quoddam (indefinite) “some ———; a certain ————”

biennium, —ī (n.) “a period of two years” evertō, evertere, evertī, eversum “overturn, destroy” cognōmen, cognōminis (n.) “the third (or later) in the series

of names given to Roman men; sometimes a personal nickname or a name awarded for a personal achievement, it typically becomes herditary, the marker of a familia (or group of familiae) within a larger gens.”

dēleō, dēlēre, dēlēvī, dēlētum “destroy, erase” obeō, obˆ€re, obiī, obitum “to go to” iterum (adv.) “again, a second time” exscindō, escindere, exscindī, excissum “utterly destroy,

extirpate”

11. “‘Videsne illam urbem, quae parere populo Romano coacta per me renovat pristina bella nec potest quiescere?’9' (Ostendebat autem Carthaginem de excelso et pleno stellarum, illustri et claro quodam loco.) ‘Ad quam tu oppugnandam10 nunc venis paene miles.11 Hanc hoc biennio consul evertes, eritque cognomen id tibi per te partum, quod habes adhuc a nobis hereditarium. Cum autem Carthaginem deleveris, triumphum egeris12 censorque fueris et obieris13 legatus Aegyptum, Syriam, Asiam, Graeciam, deligere iterum consul absens bellumque maximum conficies, Numantiam exscindes.14 Sed cum eris curru in Capitolium invectus,15 offendes rem publicam consiliis perturbatam nepotis mei.16

9This is rather unfair. The Third Punic War was not provoked by Carthage, but by Massinissa’s attempts to encroach on Carthage’s territory. Carthage’s modest efforts at self-defence alarmed Phoenicophobes in the Roman Senate. (See Scullard, History of the Roman World, p. 306ff, for a fuller discussion.) Rockwood does not print nec potest quiescere. 10gerundive of purpose; agrees with quam. 11“nearly a [common] soldier.” Tribunus militis was, in fact, an officer rank, but Scipio the Elder contrasts this with the supreme command Scipio the Younger will wield within a couple of years. 12agere, not egēre. 13Often a euphemism for death (obīre diem suprēmum) but not here. 14Scipio the Younger would take and destroy the Spanish city of Numantia (selling the survivors into slavery) in 133 B.C., an ugly precedent not much followed by Roman conquerors. Afterwards the Senate awarded him the right to call himself “Numanticus” as well as “Africanus” but he doesn’t seem to have used it much. 15A reference to the military triumph Scipio the Younger would receive in 132 B.C., after the sack of Numantia. 16The grandson in question is the tribune Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the son of Cornelia, daughter of Scipio the Elder. Tiberius Gracchus led a movement for land reform until his death at the hands of a mob led by the aristocratic consularis Scipio Nasica in 133 B.C.


anceps, ancipitis “two-headed, ambiguous; doubtful; dangerous”

septēnī, —ae, —a “seven (each); sevenfold” octiē(n)s (adv.) “eight times” anfractus, —ūs (m.) “bending, circuit” redditus, —ūs (m.) “return” intueor, intuērī, intuitus sum “to look to” nītor, nītī, nīsus (or nīxus) sum “to lean on” propinquus, —a, —um “near; (as a noun) kin, relative” effugiō, effugere, effūgī, effugitum “to escape” ingemescō, ingemere, ingemuī, ingemitum “to groan at” st! (exclamation) “ssh!” quaesō “I ask [you]; please” parumper (adv.) “for a little while”

12. “‘Hīc tu, Africane, ostendas oportebit patriae lumen animi, ingenii consiliique tui. Sed eius temporis ancipitem video quasi fatorum viam. Nam cum aetas tua septenos octiens solis anfractūs reditūsque17 converterit duoque hi numeri, quorum uterque plenus alter altera de causa habetur, circuitu naturali summam tibi fatalem confecerint, in te unum atque in tuum nomen se tota convertet civitas; te senatus, te omnes boni,18 te socii, te Latini intuebuntur; tu eris unus, in quo nitatur civitatis salus, ac, ne multa, dictator rem publicam constituas oportet, si impias propinquorum manūs effugeris.’”19

Hīc cum exclamasset Laelius ingemuissentque vehementius ceteri: “St! Quaeso,” inquit, “Ne me ex somno excitetis et parumper audite cetera!

17 8 x 7 = 56, the younger Scipio’s age at the fictional date of the De Re Publica (and at his death). 7 is a “full” or complete number by virtue of being a prime, and for a slew of other reasons. (See Macrobius’ commentary on this passage.) 8, as Rockwood points out, is 7 (perfect number) plus 1 (unity), so there you go. As Powell points out (ad loc), “a competent numerologist can find some magic significance in any number whatsoever.” 18Here, as is typical in Cicero, bonī is a term of political allegiance: those who adhere to the aristocratic or optimate faction in Roman politics. 19Scipio the Younger was found dead in 129 B.C. (the fictional date of Cicero’s dialogue). Foul play was suspected, particularly because he was married to Sempronia, the sister of Tiberius Gracchus, whom he had pointedly chosen not to defend or avenge. Still, four years seems like a rather lengthy lapse of time for a crime of passion. The propinqī in question probably include Gaius Gracchus, brother of Sempronia and Tiberius. Gaius would go on, as tribune, to advance a series of reforms more sweeping and controversial than his older brother’s and, like his brother, he would die at the hands of the aristocratic faction (in 121 B.C.).


alacer, alacris, alacre “quick, active” tūtor, tūtārī, tūtātus sum “watch over, protect” fruor, fruī, fructus sum “to enjoy, have the benefit of (+

abl.)” aevum, —ī (n.) “age (of the world), life” sempiternus, —a, —um “eternal” quidem “certainly; for instance” fiō, fierˆ€, factus sum “to become, to happen” coetus, —ūs (m.) “assembly, joining together” iūs, iūris (n.) “law, right” sociō, sociāre, sociāvī, sociātum “to ally, unite, associate”

13. “‘Sed quo20 sis, Africane, alacrior ad tutandam21 rem publicam, sic habeto:22 omnibus qui patriam conservaverint, adiuverint, auxerint, certum esse in caelo definitum locum, ubi beati aevo sempiterno fruantur; nihil est enim illi principi deo, qui omnem mundum regit, quod quidem in terris fiat, acceptius23 quam concilia coetūsque hominum iure sociati, quae civitates appellantur; harum rectores et conservatores hinc profecti huc revertuntur.’

metus, —ūs (m.) “fear” insidiae, —arum (f. pl.) “ambush, plot, trap, deceit” immō “1.) no, indeed; 2.) indeed” tamquam “as though” carcer, carceris (m.) “barrier, prison” ēvolō, ēvolāre, ēvolāvī, ēvolātum “to fly out of, to fly from” quin “why... not?” [quin + ne] lacrima, —ae (f.) “tear” profundō, profundere, profūdī, profūsum “to pour forth” osculō, osculāre, osculāvī, osculātum “to kiss” fleō, flēre, flēvī, flētum “weep”

14. “Hīc ego, etsi eram perterritus non tam mortis metu quam insidiarum a meis, quaesivi tamen, viveretne24 ipse et Paulus pater25 et alii, quos nos exstinctos arbitraremur. ‘Immo vero,’ inquit, ‘hi vivunt, qui e corporum vinculis tamquam e carcere evolaverunt, vestra vero, quae dicitur, vita mors est. Quin tu aspicis ad te venientem Paulum patrem?’' Quem ut vidi, equidem vim lacrimarum profudi, ille autem me complexus atque osculans flere prohibebat.

20ablative of cause; the relative appears here in place of ut due to the comparative (alacrior). 21gerundive of purpose with ad 22future imperative of habēre 23passive perfect participle of accipiō, in the neuter, singular, nominative, comparative; it agrees with nihil. 24vīveretne = num vīveret 25L. Aemilius Paulus, Scipio the Younger’s natural father, who died in 160 B.C. (eleven years before the fictional date of the Somnium).


flētus, flētūs (m.) “weeping” coepī, coepisse, coeptum [defective verb; translate tenses

literally] “to have begun” quoniam “since” moror, morārī, morātus sum “to delay, to linger” properō, properāre, properāvī, properātum “to hasten” corpus, corporis (n.) “body” custōdia, —ae (f.) “protection; confinement, prison” aditus, aditūs (m.) “entrance” pateō, patēre, patuī, ———— “to lie open” sīdus, sīderis (n.) “constellation; star” stella, —ae (f.) “star; constellation” orbis, orbis (m.) “circle; flat, round plate or wheel-shaped

entity” quārē “wherefore, from which thing (as cause)” iniūssū (adv.) “without command” mūnus, muneris (n.) “duty, office, fuction; gift; gladiatorial

show” videor, vidērī, vīsus sum “to seem”

15. “Atque ut ego primum fletu represso loqui posse coepi: ‘Quaeso,’ inquam, ‘pater sanctissime atque optime, quoniam haec est vita, ut Africanum audio dicere, quid moror in terris? Quin huc ad vos venire propero?’

“‘Non est ita,’ inquit ille. ‘Nisi enim deus is, cuius hoc templum est omne quod conspicis, istis te corporis custodiis liberaverit, huc tibi aditus patere non potest. Homines enim sunt hac lege generati, qui tuerentur illum globum, quem in hoc templo medium vides, quae terra dicitur, iisque animus datus est ex illis sempiternis ignibus, quae sidera et stellas vocatis, quae globosae et rotundae,26 divinis animatae mentibus, circulos suos orbesque conficiunt celeritate mirabili.27 Quare et tibi, Publi, et piis28 omnibus retinendus29 animus est in custodia corporis nec iniussu eius, a quo ille est vobis datus, ex hominum vitā migrandum30 est, ne munus [humanum] assignatum a deo defugisse videamini.31

26Since this group includes the Moon and the Sun, it was only reasonable to extend their apparent spherical form to the other stellae. More than mere reason is in operation here, though. The circle (and its three dimensional equivalent, the sphere) are perfect forms, and as everything from the orbit of the Moon outward was held by Platonists to be perfect and immortal (made of a fifth non-terrestrial element, aether), it was necessary to concieve of all astronomical forms as spherical and all astronomical paths as circular. (Dicks, Early Greek Astronomy 72,74, et passim.) 27In the geocentric system of astronomy, the entire sphere of the heavens was held to rotate around the earth in a single day. Using Hipparchus’ figures for the Sun’s distance, this would mean that the Sun moves at 13,072,536 stades per hour (or 1,499,216 miles per hour = 2,418,091 km per hour). Nor is the Sun especially distant, for an ancient planet. (See Figure 1.) The superior planets would have, of necessity, orbited at vastly greater speeds, with the sphere of fixed stars moving the fastest of all. 28piis [hominibus] omnibus: dative of agent 29gerundive of obligation 30gerundive of obligation 31This has been called a “prohibition against suicide.” (See Powell, Rockwood etc. ad loc.) But it is not quite that: not all suicide is forbidden, only that which would be a desertion of responsibilities.


avus, —ī “grandfather” colō, colere, coluī, cultum “to cultivate, inhabit, worship” candor, candōris (m.) “whiteness; brightness; beauty;

honesty, frankness” ēlūceō, ēlūcēre, ēlūxī, ———— “to emit light, to shine” orbis lacteus = oJ galaxiva" kuvklo" “the Milky Circle” (ie.

the Milky Way) praeclārus, —a, —um “extremely bright, clear or famous” nuncupō, nuncupāre, nuncupāvī, nuncupātum “to (call

by) name” suspicor, suspicārī, suspicātus sum “to suspect, to suppose” citimus, —a, —um “nearest” punctus, —ī (m.) “pinprick, point, dot” paeniteō, paenitēre, paenituī, ———— “to repent,

displease (usually impersonal)”

16. “‘Sed sic, Scipio, ut avus hic tuus, ut ego, qui te genui, iustitiam cole et pietatem, quae cum magna in parentibus et propinquis tum in patria maxima est; ea vita via est in caelum et in hunc coetum eorum, qui iam vixerunt et corpore laxati illum incolunt locum, quem vides.’ (Erat autem is splendidissimo candore inter flammas circus elucens.32) ‘Quem vos, ut a Graiis accepistis, orbem lacteum nuncupatis.’ Ex quo omnia mihi contemplanti praeclara cetera et mirabilia videbantur. Erant autem eae stellae, quas numquam ex hoc loco vidimus, et eae magnitudines omnium, quas esse numquam suspicati sumus; ex quibus erat ea minima, quae ultima a caelo, citima a terris luce lucebat aliena. Stellarum autem globi terrae magnitudinem facile vincebant. Iam ipsa terra ita mihi parva visa est, ut me imperii nostri, quo quasi punctum eius attingimus, paeniteret.

32Earth was believed to be surrounded by a zone of fire, lightest of the terrestrial elements. See, e.g., Lucan, Pharsalia Book 8 (apotheosis of Pompey).


quousque (adv.) “to what extent? how long?” mēns, mentis (f.) “mind” dēfīgō, dēfīgere, dēfˆ€xˆ€, dēfixum “to fix on, fasten (in)to” novem (indeclinable noun/adj.) “nine” vel (conj.) “or; even; for example” conectō, conectere, conexī, conexum “to join together, connect” extimus, —a, —um “outermost” (superlative of exter) summus, —a, —um “highest, last” arceō, arcēre, arcuī, ———— “shut in, enclose, protect [acc.] from [abl.]” īnfīgō, īnfīgere, īnfˆ€xˆ€, īnfixum “to fix in, nail on, fasten to” sempiternus, —a, —um “eternal” subiciō, subicere, subiēcī, subiectum “to throw or place under” septem (indecl. noun and adj.) “seven” mōtus, —ūs (m.) “motion” atque “and also; [after words of comparison], as, than” rutilus, —a, —um “reddish -yellow” subter (adv.) “below” (prep. + acc. or abl.) “underneath, below” ferē (adv.) “nearly” mundus, —ī (m.) “world, universe, cosmos” temperātiō, temperātiōnis (f.) “order” cunctus, —a, —um “all” compleō, complēre, complēvī, complētum “to fill up” īnfimus, —a, —um (superlative of īnfer[n]us, —a, —um) “lowest” cadūcus, —a, —um “falling, perishable, mortal” nōnus, —a, —um “ninth” Tellūs, Tellūris (f.) “the Earth” nūtus, —ūs (m.) “nodding; gravity, weight (as an abstraction)” pondus, ponderis (n.) “a weight, something heavy”

17. “Quam cum magis intuerer: ‘Quaeso,’ inquit Africanus, ‘quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris? Novem tibi orbibus33 vel potius globis conexa sunt omnia, quorum unus est caelestis, extimus, qui reliquos omnes complectitur, summus ipse deus arcens et continens ceteros; in quo sunt infixi illi, qui volvuntur, stellarum cursūs sempiterni. Cui subiecti sunt septem, qui versantur retro contrario motu atque caelum.34 Ex quibus summum globum possidet illa35, quam in terris Saturniam nominant. Deinde est hominum generi prosperus et salutaris ille fulgor, qui dicitur Iovis; tum rutilus36 horribilisque terris, quem Martium dicitis; deinde subter mediam fere regionem Sol obtinet, dux et princeps et moderator luminum reliquorum, mens mundi et temperatio, tanta magnitudine, ut cuncta sua luce lustret et compleat. Hunc ut comites consequuntur Veneris alter, alter Mercurii cursus, in infimoque orbe Luna radiis solis accensa convertitur. Infra autem iam nihil est nisi mortale et caducum praeter animos munere deorum hominum generi datos; supra Lunam sunt aeterna omnia. Nam ea, quae est media et nona, Tellus, neque movetur et infima est, et in eam feruntur omnia nutu suo pondera.’

33See Figure 1: The Nine Spheres of the Universe. Cicero’s order here conflicts with Plato’s, which upsets Macrobius terribly (see his commentary ad loc ). 34In addition to the east-to-west rotation they shared with the fixed stars, the seven ancient planets were believed to have a second motion, which accounted for their respective apparent movements, west-to-east, through the zodiac. 35illa [stella] 36rutilus [globus]


stupeō, stupēre, stupuī, ———— “to be stunned; to be amazed; to gaze in amazement at [+ acc.]”

auris, —is (f.) “ear” impār, imparis “unequal” reor, rērī, rātus sum “to reckon, figure, calculate” acūtus, —a, —um “sharp” temperō, temperāre, temperāvī, temperātum “to mix in

due measure, order, arrange, temper” concentus, —ūs (m.) “harmony” incitō, incitāre, incitāvī, incitātum “to hasten, hurry” stēllifer, —a, —um “star-bearing, star-carrying” conversiō, —ōnis (f.) “turning, revolution” concitātus, —a, —um “swift” haereō, haerēre, haesī, haesum “to stick, to adhere” nodus, —ī (m.) “knot, crux” doceō, docēre, docuī, doctum “to learn” nervus, —ī (m.) “string, cord” imitor, imitārī, imitātus sum “to imitate” reditus, —ūs (m.) “return” praestō, praestāre, praestitī, praestitum “to stand out,

excel” colō, colere, coluī, cultum “cultivate, worship, dwell”

18. “Quae cum intuerer stupens, ut me recepi: ‘Quid hic?’ inquam, ‘quis est, qui complet aures, tantus et tam dulcis sonus?’ ‘Hic est,’' inquit, ‘ille, qui intervallis disiunctus imparibus, sed tamen pro rata parte distinctis, impulsu et motu ipsorum orbium efficitur et acuta cum gravibus temperans varios aequabiliter concentūs efficit; nec enim silentio tanti motus incitari possunt, et natura fert, ut extrema ex altera parte graviter, ex altera autem acute sonent. Quam ob causam summus ille caeli stellifer cursus, cuius conversio est concitatior, acuto et excitato movetur sono, gravissimo autem hic lunaris atque infimus; nam terra nona immobilis manens una sede semper haeret complexa medium mundi locum. Illi autem octo cursūs, in quibus eadem vis est duorum,37 septem efficiunt distinctos intervallis sonos, qui numerus rerum omnium fere nodus est; quod docti homines nervis imitati atque cantibus aperuerunt sibi reditum in hunc locum, sicut alii, qui praestantibus ingeniis in vita humana divina studia coluerunt.

37It’s not intuitively obvious why two spheres should have the same force. Macrobius argues, and Rockwood accepts (see his commentary ad loc), that Venus and Mercury count as one, since they move at roughly the same speed. Powell regards this as “not very plausible” and proposes that the Moon and the Sun “have the same effect” because they sound an octave apart. This seems plausible, but may be anachronistic. Greek music combined notes in groups of four (“tetrachords”); when more than one tetrachord was used, the highest note of the lower tetrachord was counted as equivalent to the lowest note in the upper tetrachord. So what “Scipio the Elder” (Cicero) seems to be saying is that the music of the spheres consists of two complete tetrachords, with the fourth (solar) and fifth (martian) sphere counting for the same note.


oppleō, opplēre, opplēvī, opplētum “to fill up” obsurdescō, obsurdescere, obsurduī, ———— “to grow

deaf” hebes, hebetis “blunt, dull” accolō, accolere, accoluī, accultum “to dwell in (+ acc.)” Catadupa, —ōrum (n. pl.) “cataract on the Nile, modern

Wadi Hellal” praecipitō, praecipitāre, praecipitāvī, praecipitātum “to

cast head long, destroy, ruin; (intrans.) to fall down, cast oneself down”

careō, carēre, caruī, ———— “to lack, be without (+ abl.)”

nequeō, nequīre, nequīvī, nequītum “to not be able (+ infinitive)”

aciēs, aciēī (f.) “edge, point, sharpness, eye, line (of battle)” identidem (adv.) “constantly, repeatedly” domus, —ī [and domus, —ūs] (f.) “house, home” contemplor, comtemplārī, contemplatus sum “to

comtemplate” macula, —ae (f.) “spot, speck, blemish” mānō, mānāre, mānāvī, mānātum “to flow, to drip, trickle,

pass, proceed” partim (adv.) “partly”

19. “‘Hoc sonitu oppletae aures hominum obsurduerunt; nec est ullus hebetior sensus in vobis, sicut, ubi Nilus ad illa, quae Catadupa nominantur, praecipitat ex altissimis montibus, ea gens, quae illum locum accolit, propter magnitudinem sonitus sensu audiendi caret. Hic vero tantus est totius mundi incitatissima conversione sonitus, ut eum aures hominum capere non possint, sicut intueri solem adversum nequitis, eiusque radiis acies vestra sensusque vincitur.’

“Haec ego admirans referebam tamen oculos ad terram identidem. 20. “Tum Africanus, ‘Sentio,’ inquit, ‘te sedem etiam nunc hominum ac

domum contemplari; quae si tibi parva, ut est, ita videtur, haec caelestia semper spectato,38 illa humana contemnito! Tu enim quam celebritatem sermonis hominum aut quam expetendam consequi gloriam potes? Vides habitari in terra raris et angustis in locis et in ipsis quasi maculis, ubi habitatur, vastas solitudines interiectas eosque, qui incolunt terram, non modo interruptos ita esse, ut nihil inter ipsos ab aliis ad alios manare possit, sed partim obliquos, partim transversos, partim etiam adversos stare vobis, a quibus exspectare gloriam certe nullam potestis.39

38future imperative 39The question of whether the Antipodes were inhabited was a live one in antiquity, but they were believed to be inhabitable. A century later Seneca would speculate more than once on the existence of a western continent, beyond the Atlantic (e.g., Medea 375ff). For more, see Romm The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought (Princeton, 1992) esp. his Ch. 4 “Ultima Thule and Beyond.”


cernō, cernere, crēvī, crētum “distinguish, see, determine, decree”

redimiō, redimīre, redimīvī, redimītum “to crown, wreathe around”

cingulus, —ī (m.) “zone (geographical and astronomical)” vertex, verticis (m.) “whirlpool, peak, (top of) head” uterque, utraque, utrumque “either (of two) pars, partis (f.) “part, direction” subnixus, —a, —um “leaning on, resting on (+ abl.)” obrigescō, obrigescere, obriguī, ———— “to become stiff” pruīna, —ae (f.) “frost” torreō, torrēre, torruī, tostum “to scorch, roast” australis, —e “south(ern)” aquilō, aquilōnis (m.) “the North; the North Wind” vestīgium, —ī (n.) “footstep; station, position; moment” tenuis, tenue “thin, slight” contingō, contingere, contigī, contactum “to touch on,

concern, affect” angustō, angustāre, angustāvī, angustātum “to make

narrow, constrict” latus, lateris (n.) “side” īnsula, —ae (f.) “island”

21. “‘Cernis autem eandem terram quasi quibusdam redimitam et circumdatam cingulis, e quibus duos maxime inter se diversos et caeli verticibus ipsis ex utraque parte subnixos obriguisse pruina vides, medium autem illum et maximum solis ardore torreri. Duo sunt habitabiles, quorum australis ille, in quo, qui insistunt, adversa vobis urgent vestigia, nihil ad vestrum genus; hic autem alter subiectus aquiloni, quem incolitis, cerne quam tenui vos parte contingat! Omnis enim terra, quae colitur a vobis, angustata verticibus, lateribus latior, parva quaedam insula est circumfusa illo mari, quod Atlanticum, quod magnum, quem Oceanum appellatis in terris; qui (tamen tanto nomine) quam sit parvus, vides.

22. “‘Ex his ipsis cultis notisque terris num aut tuum aut cuiusquam nostrum nomen vel Caucasum hunc, quem cernis, transcendere potuit vel illum Gangem tranatare? Quis in reliquis orientis aut obeuntis solis ultimis aut aquilonis austrive partibus tuum nomen audiet? Quibus amputatis cernis profecto, quantis in angustiis vestra se gloria dilatari velit. Ipsi autem, qui de nobis loquuntur, quam loquentur diu?

23. “‘Quin etiam si cupiat proles illa futurorum hominum deinceps laudes unius cuiusque nostrum a patribus acceptas posteris prodere, tamen propter eluviones exustionesque terrarum,


ne quidem (adv.) “not even” diūturnus, —a, —um “long-lasting” intersum, interesse, interfuī, ———— “to be

important, to matter, concern” praesertim (adv.) “especially, chiefly” cōnsequor, cōnsequī, cōnsecūtus sum “to follow,

attain to, know” populāriter (adv.) “commonly, vulgarly” tantummodo (adv.) “only, merely” astrum, —ī (n.) “star” reditus, —ūs (m.) “return, revolution” mētior, mētīrī, mēnsus sum “to measure” discriptiō, —ōnis (f.) “division, appointment” dēficiō, dēficere, dēfēcī, dēfectum “to fail, to fall

off; (astron.) to be eclipsed” vīcēsimus, —a, —um “twentieth” fore future infinitive of sum

quas accidere tempore certo necesse est,40 non modo non aeternam, sed ne diuturnam quidem gloriam assequi possumus. Quid autem interest ab iis, qui postea nascentur, sermonem fore de te, cum ab iis nullus fuerit, qui ante nati sunt — [24.] qui nec pauciores et certe meliores fuerunt viri — praesertim cum apud eos ipsos, a quibus audiri nomen nostrum potest, nemo unius anni memoriam consequi possit. Homines enim populariter annum tantummodo solis, id est unius astri41, reditu metiuntur; cum autem ad idem, unde semel profecta sunt, cuncta astra redierint eandemque totius caeli discriptionem longis intervallis rettulerint, tum ille vere vertens annus appellari potest; in quo vix dicere audeo, quam multa hominum saecula teneantur.42 Namque ut olim deficere sol hominibus exstinguique visus est, cum Romuli animus haec ipsa in templa penetravit, quandoque ab eadem parte sol eodemque tempore iterum defecerit,43 tum signis omnibus ad principium stellisque revocatis expletum annum habeto; cuius quidem anni nondum vicesimam partem scito esse conversam.44

40The notion that the inhabited areas of the Earth undergo periodic threats of near-extinction by alternating catastrophes of fire and flooding appears in Plato’s Timaeus 22 c-23 c. 41This sounds deceptively modern; to the ancients, the sun was a planet and all the planets were stars. 42This is the doctrine of the “Great Year” or “Perfect Year”-- again a Platonic concept (Timaeus 39d). It is sometimes (freqfuently, by modern astrologers) identified with the cycle of the precession of the equinoxes, discovered by Hipparchus-- a period of 25,800 years, by modern calculation. There is no reason to suppose that Plato knew about precession. But even if he did, the “Great Year” is not the same as the precession cycle. Once every 25,800 years the “fixed” stars assume the same place in the sky, but unless the planets have simultaneously aligned in the same positions they held 25,800 years before, Plato’s “Perfect Year” is not fufilled. 43Plutarch, in his biography of Romulus, tells two stories about his death: first, that he was attacked by the senators in the temple of Vulcan, his body cut to bits and carried away under the togas of the assassins; second, that he was translated into heaven during an eclipse and a thunderstorm. Interestingly, in the same passage, he compares the mystery of Romulus’ death to the death of Scipio the Younger. 44Romulus reigned, traditionally, from 753 BC to 715/716 BC (Cicero, De Re Publica 2.17: [Romulus] septem et triginta regnavisset annos; since the Romans counted inclusively, Romulus’ mysterious death must have occurred before the anniversary of his reign, in 37 AUC (716 BC). The fictional date of Scipio’s dream is 149 BC. The difference, times 20, is 11,340 years. This, at least, sets a minimum length for the “great year,” which, however, is probably somewhat longer (nondum vicesimam partem etc.). Could Cicero (through “Scipio the Elder”) be hinting that a “Great Year” = 12,000 solar years? Though not astronomically accurate, even with the best science of Cicero’s time, this is roundly impressive.


quocirca (conj.) “therefore” dēspērō, dēspērāre, dēspērāvī, dēspērātum “to despair,

give up hope” contueor, contuērī, contitus sum “to see, watch” praemium, praemiī (n.) “prize” ponō, ponere, posuī, positum “to put” oportet, oportere, oportuit, ———— (impersonal) “it is

necessary, fitting” (with acc. + inf., or the subjunctive) illecebra —ae (f.) “lure, enticement” decus, decoris (n.) “beauty, glory, honor” angustiae, —ārum (f. pl.) “narrow place, strait; narrowness” cingō, cingere, cinxī, cinctum “constrain, enclose, gird” perennis, —e “eternal” obruō, obruere, obruī, obrutum “to bury” interitus, —ūs (m.) “death” siquidem “if in fact, since” līmes, līmitis (m.) “path” pateō, patēre, patuī, ———— “to lie open; to be obvious” ingredior, ingredī, ingressus sum “to enter in, proceed,

undertake (+ acc. or in/intra + acc.)” dēsum, deesse, defuī, ———— “to be lacking, absent; to

fail” ēnītor, ēnītī, ēnīsus [or ēnixus] sum “to struggle up, ascend,

strive” vigeō, vigēre, viguī, ———— “to flourish” meminī, meminisse (+ gen.) “to remember” moderor, moderārī, moderātus sum “(+ dat.) stop, restrain;

(+ acc.) govern, control” prīnceps, prīncipis “first, most eminent”

25. “‘Quocirca si reditum in hunc locum desperaveris, in quo omnia sunt magnis et praestantibus viris, quanti45 tandem est ista hominum gloria, quae pertinere vix ad unius anni partem exiguam potest? Igitur, alte spectare si voles46 atque hanc sedem et aeternam domum contueri, neque te sermonibus vulgi dederis nec in praemiis humanis spem posueris rerum tuarum! Suis te oportet illecebris ipsa virtus trahat ad verum decus; quid de te alii loquantur, ipsi videant47! Sed loquentur tamen; sermo autem omnis ille et angustiis cingitur iis regionum, quas vides, nec umquam de ullo perennis fuit et obruitur hominum interitu et oblivione posteritatis exstinguitur.’

26. “Quae cum dixisset, ‘Ego vero,’ inquam, ‘Africane, siquidem bene meritis de patria quasi limes ad caeli aditum patet, quamquam a pueritia vestigiis ingressus patris et tuis decori vestro non defui, nunc tamen tanto praemio exposito enitar multo vigilantius.’ Et ille: ‘Tu vero enitere et sic habeto non esse te mortalem, sed corpus hoc; nec enim tu is es, quem forma ista declarat, sed mens cuiusque is est quisque, non ea figura, quae digito demonstrari48 potest. Deum te igitur scito esse49, siquidem est deus, qui viget, qui sentit, qui meminit, qui providet, qui tam regit et moderatur et movet id corpus, cui praepositus est, quam hunc mundum ille princeps deus, et ut mundum ex quadam parte mortalem ipse deus aeternus, sic fragile corpus animus sempiternus movet.

45genitive of price or value 46future of volō, velle, not subjunctive present of volō, volāre. 47“let them look to it” i.e. what they say about you is their concern, not yours. 48mōnstrārī digitō is an idiom for “to be a celebrity, be famous” 49“Thou art God,” is a tenet of Martian religion, according to Robert Heinlein’s once-notorious novel Stranger in a Strange Land. Barring interplanetary contact, Cicero may have come across the notion in Plato, or the Stoics. His proof of the soul’s immortality is strictly Platonic: see Phaedrus 245c.


aliunde (adv.) “from elsewhere” fīnis, —is (m./f.) “end, boundary” motus, —ūs (m.) “motion” vīvō, vīvere, vixī, victum “to live” sōlus, —a, —um “sole, alone” quīn (adv.) “in fact; nay, rather” moveō, movēre, mōvī, mōtum “to move” orīgō, orīginis (f.) “beginning, origin” orior, orīrī, orsus sum “to arise, begin” necesse est “it is necessary [that] (acc.+inf.; subjunctive; ut +

subjunctive)” nascor, nascī, natus est “to be born” gignō, gignere, genuī, genitum “to give birth” quodsī “and if, but if” vel (conj.) concidō, concidere, concidī, ——— “to fall down” nanciscor, nanciscī, na(n)ctus sum “find, obtain” quā “whereby”

27. “‘Nam quod semper movetur, aeternum est. Quod autem motum affert alicui, quodque ipsum agitatur aliunde, quando finem habet motus, vivendi finem habeat necesse est. Solum igitur, quod se movet, quia numquam deseritur a se, numquam ne moveri quidem desinit. Quin etiam ceteris, quae moventur, hic fons, hoc principium est movendi. Principii autem nulla est origo; nam ex principio oriuntur omnia, ipsum autem nulla ex re alia nasci potest; nec enim esset id principium, quod gigneretur aliunde. Quodsi numquam oritur, ne occidit quidem umquam. Nam principium exstinctum nec ipsum ab alio renascetur nec ex se aliud creabit, si quidem necesse est a principio oriri omnia. Ita fit ut motus principium ex eo sit, quod ipsum a se movetur. Id autem nec nasci potest nec mori; vel concidat omne caelum omnisque natura et consistat necesse est nec vim ullam nanciscatur, quā a primo impulsa moveatur.

tribuō, tribuere, tribuī, tribūtum “to confer, ascribe,

bestow” cieō, ciēre, cīvī, cītum “to set in motion; to call by name”

28. “‘Cum pateat igitur aeternum id esse, quod a se ipso moveatur, quis est, qui hanc naturam animis esse tributam neget? Inanimum est enim omne, quod pulsu agitatur externo; quod autem est animal, id motu cietur interno et suo; nam haec est propria natura animi atque vis. Quae si est una ex omnibus, quae sese moveat, neque nata certe est et aeterna est.


salūs, salūtis (f.) “safety, health” vēlōx, vēlōcis “swift” pervolō, pervolāre, pervolāvī, pervolātum “to fly through

(+ acc.), to hasten to (in + acc)” ocius (adv.) “more quickly” ēmineō, ēminēre, ēminuī ———— “to project, to be

eminent” fōrās (adv.) “forth; out of doors” extrā (adv.) “on the outside” abstrahō, abstrahere, abstraxī, abstractum “to draw

away” voluptās, voluptātis (f.) “pleasure” minister, ministrī (m.) “slave, servant” praebeō, praebēre, praebuī, praebitum “give, show; (+

reflexive) behave as” impulsus, —ūs (m.) “impulse, attack” libīdō, libīdinis (f.) “passion; lust” oboediō, oboedīre, oboedīvī, oboedītum “to listen to, obey

(+ dat.)” iūs, iūris (n.) “law” saeculum, —ī (n.) “age” somnus, —ī (m.) “sleep” solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtum “to loose, release”

29. “‘Hanc tu exerce optimis in rebus! Sunt autem optimae curae de salute patriae; quibus agitatus et exercitatus animus velocius in hanc sedem et domum suam pervolabit; idque ocius faciet, si iam tum, cum erit inclusus in corpore, eminebit foras et ea, quae extra erunt, contemplans quam maxime se a corpore abstrahet. Namque eorum animi, qui se corporis voluptatibus dediderunt earumque se quasi ministros praebuerunt impulsuque libidinum voluptatibus oboedientium deorum et hominum iura violaverunt, corporibus elapsi circum terram ipsam volutantur nec hunc in locum nisi multis exagitati saeculis revertuntur.'

“Ille discessit; ego somno solutus sum.”


Figure 1:

The Nine Spheres of the Universe

(Somnium Scipionis [6].17

Pfundstein, ed: Cicero, SOMNIUM SCIPIONIS, p. 17 Bibliography: Editions, Commentaries and Translations of Scipio’s Dream

Davis, Sally & Lawall, Gilbert (eds.) Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis : The dream of Scipio (Longman, 1988) Powell, J.G.F. (ed./trans./comm.) Cicero: Laelius on Friendship = Laelius de Amicitia ; The Dream of Scipio = Somnium Scipionis (Aris & Phillips,

1990) Rockwood, Frank E. (ed./comm.) Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations I, and Scipio's Dream (1903; reprinted University of Oklahoma Press, 1966) Stahl, William Harris (trans./comm.) Macrobius: Commentary on the Dream of Scipio (Columbia University Press, c1990) Willis, J. (ed.) Macrobius: In Somnium Scipionis commentarios (Teubner, 1970) Zetzel, James E.G. Cicero: De Re Publica (Cambridge University Press, 1995)

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