Somnium Scipionis (De Re Publica 6.18)

Rep. 6.18.1Quae cum intuērer stupēns, ut mē recēpī, Quid?

When I had gazed at these things in amazement and come to myself, I said: 'What?

Note. ut mē recēpī: 'when I had recovered myself'. Quid?: 'What?', an exclamation of surprise.

Rep. 6.18.1hic, inquam, quis est, quī conplet aurēs meās tantus et tam dulcis sonus?

What is this sound, so great and so sweet, that fills my ears?'

Note. quis … tantus et tam dulcis sonus: quis is used for qui, 'what so great and so sweet a sound'. conplet: the edition's spelling of complet.

Rep. 6.18.1Hic est, inquit, ille, quī intervallīs disiūnctus inparibus, sed tamen prō ratā parte ratiōne distīnctīs inpulsū et mōtū ipsōrum orbium efficitur et acūta cum gravibus temperāns variōs aequābiliter concentūs efficit;

'This,' he said, 'is the sound which, made up of unequal intervals, but intervals divided in fixed proportion, is produced by the thrust and motion of the spheres themselves, and, blending high notes with low, creates a variety of harmonies in due measure;

Note. The music of the spheres, a Pythagorean doctrine: the spheres, spaced at intervals corresponding to the ratios of a musical scale, sound notes as they turn. prō ratā parte ratiōne distīnctīs: 'divided by proportion in fixed parts'. acūta cum gravibus temperāns: 'blending high notes with low'.

Rep. 6.18.1nec enim silentiō tantī mōtūs incitārī possunt, et nātūra fert, ut extrēma ex alterā parte graviter, ex alterā autem acūtē sonent.

for such great motions cannot be set going in silence, and nature brings it about that the extremes sound low at one end and high at the other.

Note. nec … silentiō … incitārī possunt: 'cannot be driven so fast in silence'. nātūra fert, ut …: 'nature brings it about that …'. extrēma: the two ends of the series, the outermost sphere and the moon's.

Rep. 6.18.1Quam ob causam summus ille caelī stellifer cursus, cuius conversiō est concitātior, acūtō et excitātō movētur sonō, gravissimō autem hic lūnāris atque īnfimus;

For this reason that highest, star-bearing course of heaven, whose revolution is swifter, moves with a high, sharp sound, but this lowest, the moon's, with the deepest;

Note. Quam ob causam: 'for which reason'. The fastest sphere, the outermost, gives the highest note; the moon's sphere, the lowest, the deepest. concitātior: 'faster'.

Rep. 6.18.1nam terra nōna inmōbilis manēns ūnā sēde semper haeret complexa medium mundī locum.

for the earth, the ninth, stays motionless and always clings to one place, holding the centre of the universe.

Note. terra nōna: the ninth body, the earth, makes no sound because it does not move.

Rep. 6.18.1Illī autem octō cursūs, in quibus eadem vīs est duōrum, septem efficiunt distīnctōs intervallīs sonōs, quī numerus rērum omnium ferē nōdus est;

But those eight courses, two of which have the same pitch, produce seven sounds separated by intervals, and that number is the knot of almost everything;

Note. eadem vīs est duōrum: two of the planetary spheres (Mercury's and Venus') sound the same note, so eight moving spheres give only seven notes. septem: the seven strings of the lyre and the seven notes of the octave. nōdus: 'knot', the key that binds everything together.

Rep. 6.18.1quod doctī hominēs nervīs imitātī atque cantibus aperuērunt sibi reditum in hunc locum, sīcut aliī, quī praestantibus ingeniīs in vītā hūmānā dīvīna studia coluērunt.

learned men, imitating this on strings and in song, have opened for themselves a way back to this place, as have others who with outstanding genius have pursued divine studies in their human lives.

Note. quod … imitātī: quod refers to this harmony; 'which learned men imitated'. nervīs … atque cantibus: 'on strings and in song'. sibi reditum in hunc locum: musicians, like philosophers and statesmen, win their way back to heaven.

Rep. 6.18.19Hōc sonitū opplētae aurēs hominum obsurduērunt;

Men's ears, filled with this sound, have grown deaf to it;

Note. obsurduērunt: 'have grown deaf'; we do not hear the music because we have heard it from birth.

Rep. 6.18.19nec est ūllus hebetior sēnsus in vōbīs, sīcut, ubi Nīlus ad illa, quae Catadūpa nōminantur, praecipitat ex altissimīs montibus, ea gēns, quae illum locum adcolit, propter magnitūdinem sonitūs sēnsū audiendī caret.

and you have no duller sense; just as where the Nile rushes down from very high mountains at the place called the Catadupa, the people who live near that place lack the sense of hearing because of the greatness of the roar.

Note. hebetior: comparative of hebes, 'dull'. Catadūpa: the cataracts of the Nile, where the people were said to have been deafened by the roar of the falls. sēnsū audiendī caret: careō takes the ablative; audiendī is a gerund.

Rep. 6.18.19Hic vērō tantus est tōtīus mundī incitātissimā conversiōne sonitūs, ut eum aurēs hominum capere nōn possint, sīcut intuērī sōlem adversum nequītis, eiusque radiīs aciēs vestra sēnsusque vincitur.

But this sound, from the very rapid revolution of the whole universe, is so great that men's ears cannot take it in, just as you cannot look straight at the sun, and your sight and senses are overwhelmed by its rays.'

Note. incitātissimā conversiōne: ablative of cause. sīcut intuērī sōlem adversum nequītis: 'just as you cannot look straight at the sun'.

Rep. 6.18.19Haec ego admīrāns referēbam tamen oculōs ad terram identidem.

Though I marvelled at these things, I kept turning my eyes back to the earth.

Note. admīrāns: present participle of the deponent admīror. identidem: 'again and again'.