[115]
Likewise Marcius and Publicius,1 according to tradition, made their prophecies in verse, and the cryptic
utterances of Apollo were expressed in the same
form.
[p. 349]
51. "Such is the rationale of prophecy by means
of frenzy, and that of dreams is not much unlike it.
For the revelations made to seers when awake are
made to us in sleep. While we sleep and the body
lies as if dead, the soul is at its best, because it is
then freed from the influence of the physical senses
and from the worldly cares that weigh it down.
And since the soul has lived from all eternity and
has had converse with numberless other souls, it
sees everything that exists in nature, provided that
moderation and restraint have been used in eating
and in drinking, so that the soul is in a condition
to watch while the body sleeps. Such is the explanation of divination by dreams.
1 Publicius is mentioned again in ii. 55. 113. Nothing else is known of him.
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