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We smile at De Quincey's giving in "copy" on the generous margins of a splendid "Somnium Scipionis"; but the precious words, that might perhaps have found some more fit vehicle to the composer's eye, could have found no deeper place in our hearts.
HUIUS P. SCIPIONIS: 'the present P. Scipio'. So in 14 hi consules 'the present consuls'; Rep. 1, 14 Africanus hic, Pauli filius, and often. The P. Scipio who is meant here is not Africanus, but Nasica Corculum. FLAGRANTIS: 'all aglow'; so ardere studio in Acad. 2, 65. SENES: = cum senes essent, so senem below.
On the food required by the heavenly bodies cf. Chrysippus, fr. 658-61, Arnim. Scipionis, ii. These magic letters are still used in the Roman ritual for the consecration of churches. Also Ag. 365, where ἀστρῶν βέλος goes together and μήτε πρὸ καιροῦ μήθ' ὕπερ. Quaest. iii. 29, 1. Esse divinationem si di sint et providentia. De. iii. 11, 28; especially De Divinatione, ii. 14, 34; 60, 124; 69, 142.
To illustrate this, he introduces the "Dream of Scipio," in which he explains the resplendent doctrines of Plato respecting the immortality of the soul with inimitable dignity and elegance. This Somnium Scipionis, for which we are indebted to the citation of Macrobius, is the most beautiful thing of the kind ever written.
Music, in the Middle Ages, was, for dialectical purposes, treated in accordance with the Pythagorean theory as interpreted by Cicero in his Somnium Scipionis, who represented the eight revolving spheres of heaven the Earth being fixed as forming a complete musical octave. Such celestial music forms the subject of the argument in Roswitha’s play, the music of Earth being merely touched upon.
Nay, it is said he once gave in copy written on the edges of a tall octavo Somnium Scipionis; and as he did not obliterate the original matter, the printer was rather puzzled, and made a funny jumble between the letterpress Latin and the manuscript English.
I'll prove to you out of Rudow's 'Theory of Sleep, and explain to you, what sleep really is, and that people can sleep without dreaming at all; and as for what dreaming is, you will know as well as I do, if you will read the 'Somnium Scipionis, and Artimidorus's great work on Dreams, and the Frankfort Dreambook; but, you see, you never read anything and that's why you are always making such a hash of everything you have to do with."
The Somnium Scipionis was an inspiration, written under the influence of Plato at one of those emotional moments of Cicero's life which make it possible to say of him that there was a religious element in his mind. Some years later the poignancy of his grief at the death of his daughter Tullia had the effect of putting him again in a strong emotional mood.
Agias felt as though he must howl, scream, spring into the sea do anything to break the horrible suspense that oppressed him. A woman was taking leave of Pompeius on the deck, a tall, stately, patrician lady, with a sweet, trouble-worn face; Agias knew that she was Cornelia Scipionis.
That Cicero held to the Buddhist doctrines at points so important as to make it improbable that he did not have esoteric teaching in the system, any one will, I believe, admit, who will read the last chapter of the Somnium Scipionis. And Cicero's ideas must have been those of the students and scholars of his day.
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