1. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 29.8 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 29.8. וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר יַחֲלֹם הָרָעֵב וְהִנֵּה אוֹכֵל וְהֵקִיץ וְרֵיקָה נַפְשׁוֹ וְכַאֲשֶׁר יַחֲלֹם הַצָּמֵא וְהִנֵּה שֹׁתֶה וְהֵקִיץ וְהִנֵּה עָיֵף וְנַפְשׁוֹ שׁוֹקֵקָה כֵּן יִהְיֶה הֲמוֹן כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם הַצֹּבְאִים עַל־הַר צִיּוֹן׃ | 29.8. And it shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth, But he awaketh, and his soul is empty; Or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh, But he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite— So shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion." |
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2. Aeschylus, Agamemnon, 179, 178 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 178. θέντα κυρίως ἔχειν. | 178. In sleep, before the heart of each |
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3. Euripides, Alcestis, 355, 354 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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4. Hippocrates, On Regimen In Acute Diseases, 4.89, 4.91-4.93 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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5. Plato, Republic, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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6. Cicero, On Divination, 1.29-1.30, 2.67 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 1.29. Ut P. Claudius, Appii Caeci filius, eiusque collega L. Iunius classis maxumas perdiderunt, cum vitio navigassent. Quod eodem modo evenit Agamemnoni; qui, cum Achivi coepissent . inter se strépere aperteque ártem obterere extíspicum, Sólvere imperát secundo rúmore adversáque avi. Sed quid vetera? M. Crasso quid acciderit, videmus, dirarum obnuntiatione neglecta. In quo Appius, collega tuus, bonus augur, ut ex te audire soleo, non satis scienter virum bonum et civem egregium censor C. Ateium notavit, quod ementitum auspicia subscriberet. Esto; fuerit hoc censoris, si iudicabat ementitum; at illud minime auguris, quod adscripsit ob eam causam populum Romanum calamitatem maximam cepisse. Si enim ea causa calamitatis fuit, non in eo est culpa, qui obnuntiavit, sed in eo, qui non paruit. Veram enim fuisse obnuntiationem, ut ait idem augur et censor, exitus adprobavit; quae si falsa fuisset, nullam adferre potuisset causam calamitatis. Etenim dirae, sicut cetera auspicia, ut omina, ut signa, non causas adferunt, cur quid eveniat, sed nuntiant eventura, nisi provideris. 1.30. Non igitur obnuntiatio Ateii causam finxit calamitatis, sed signo obiecto monuit Crassum, quid eventurum esset, nisi cavisset. Ita aut illa obnuntiatio nihil valuit aut, si, ut Appius iudicat, valuit, id valuit, ut peccatum haereat non in eo, qui monuerit, sed in eo, qui non obtemperarit. Quid? lituus iste vester, quod clarissumum est insigne auguratus, unde vobis est traditus? Nempe eo Romulus regiones direxit tum, cum urbem condidit. Qui quidem Romuli lituus, id est incurvum et leviter a summo inflexum bacillum, quod ab eius litui, quo canitur, similitudine nomen invenit, cum situs esset in curia Saliorum, quae est in Palatio, eaque deflagravisset, inventus est integer. 2.67. Atque etiam a te Flaminiana ostenta collecta sunt: quod ipse et equus eius repente conciderit; non sane mirabile hoc quidem! quod evelli primi hastati signum non potuerit; timide fortasse signifer evellebat, quod fidenter infixerat. Nam Dionysii equus quid attulit admirationis, quod emersit e flumine quodque habuit apes in iuba? Sed quia brevi tempore regnare coepit, quod acciderat casu, vim habuit ostenti. At Lacedaemoniis in Herculis fano arma sonuerunt, eiusdemque dei Thebis valvae clausae subito se aperuerunt, eaque scuta, quae fuerant sublime fixa, sunt humi inventa. Horum cum fieri nihil potuerit sine aliquo motu, quid est, cur divinitus ea potius quam casu facta esse dicamus? | 1.29. For example, Publius Claudius, son of Appius Caecus, and his colleague Lucius Junius, lost very large fleets by going to sea when the auguries were adverse. The same fate befell Agamemnon; for, after the Greeks had begun toRaise aloft their frequent clamours, showing scorn of augurs art,Noise prevailed and not the omen: he then bade the ships depart.But why cite such ancient instances? We see what happened to Marcus Crassus when he ignored the announcement of unfavourable omens. It was on the charge of having on this occasion falsified the auspices that Gaius Ateius, an honourable man and a distinguished citizen, was, on insufficient evidence, stigmatized by the then censor Appius, who was your associate in the augural college, and an able one too, as I have often heard you say. I grant you that in pursuing the course he did Appius was within his rights as a censor, if, in his judgement, Ateius had announced a fraudulent augury. But he showed no capacity whatever as an augur in holding Ateius responsible for that awful disaster which befell the Roman people. Had this been the cause then the fault would not have been in Ateius, who made the announcement that the augury was unfavourable, but in Crassus, who disobeyed it; for the issue proved that the announcement was true, as this same augur and censor admits. But even if the augury had been false it could not have been the cause of the disaster; for unfavourable auguries — and the same may be said of auspices, omens, and all other signs — are not the causes of what follows: they merely foretell what will occur unless precautions are taken. 2.67. And you have even collected the portent-stories connected with Flaminius: His horse, you say, stumbled and fell with him. That is very strange, isnt it? And, The standard of the first company could not be pulled up. Perhaps the standard-bearer had planted it stoutly and pulled it up timidly. What is astonishing in the fact that the horse of Dionysius came up out of the river, or that it had bees in its mane? And yet, because Dionysius began to reign a short time later — which was a mere coincidence — the event referred to is considered a portent! The arms sounded, you say, in the temple of Hercules in Sparta; the folding-doors of the same god at Thebes, though securely barred, opened of their own accord, and the shields hanging upon the walls of that temple fell to the ground. Now since none of these things could have happened without some exterior force, why should we say that they were brought about by divine agency rather than by chance? [32] |
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7. Artemidorus, Oneirocritica, 1.1.11-1.1.12 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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8. Plutarch, On Isis And Osiris, 80 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 80. Cyphi Cf. Müller, Frag. Hist. Graec. ii. p. 616 (Manetho, frag. 84). An interesting note in Parthey’s edition (pp. 277-280) describes the different kinds of cyphi mentioned in ancient writers, and gives in modern terms recipes for three. is a compound composed of sixteen ingredients: honey, wine, raisins, cyperus, resin, myrrh, aspalathus, seselis, mastich, bitumen, rush, sorrel, and in addition to these both the junipers, of which they call one the larger and one the smaller, cardamum, and calamus. These are compounded, not at random, but while the sacred writings are being read to the perfumers as they mix the ingredients. As for this number, even if it appears quite clear that it is the square of a square and is the only one of the numbers forming a square that has its perimeter equal to its area, Cf. 367 f, supra . and deserves to be admired for this reason, yet it must be said that its contribution to the topic under discussion is very slight. Most of the materials that are taken into this compound, inasmuch as they have aromatic properties, give forth a sweet emanation and a beneficent exhalation, by which the air is changed, and the body, being moved gently and softly Cf. Moralia, 1087 e. by the current, acquires a temperament conducive to sleep; and the distress and strain of our daily carking cares, as if they were knots, these exhalations relax and loosen without the aid of wine. The imaginative faculty that is susceptible to dreams it brightens like a mirror, and makes it clearer no less effectively than did the notes of the lyre which the Pythagoreans Cf. Plato, Timaeus, 45 d, and Quintilian, ix. 4. 12. used to employ before sleeping as a charm and a cure for the emotional and irrational in the soul. It is a fact that stimulating odours often recall the failing powers of sensation, and often again lull and quiet them when their emanations are diffused in the body by virtue of their ethereal qualities; even as some physicians state that sleep supervenes when the volatile portion of our food, gently permeating the digestive tract and coming into close contact with it, produces a species of titillation. They use cyphi as both a potion and a salve; for taken internally it seems to cleanse properly the internal organs, since it is an emollient. Apart from this, resin and myrrh result from the action of the sun when the trees exude them in response to the heat. of the ingredients which compose cyphi, there are some which delight more in the night, that is, those which are wont to thrive in cold winds and shadows and dews and dampness. For the light of day is single and simple, and Pindar Pindar, Olympian Odes, i. 6. says that the sun is seen through the deserted aether. But the air at night is a composite mixture made up of many lights and forces, even as though seeds from every star were showered down into one place. Very appropriately, therefore, they burn resin and myrrh in the daytime, for these are simple substances and have their origin from the sun; but the cyphi, since it is compounded of ingredients of all sorts of qualities, they offer at nightfall. Some think the essay ends too abruptly; others think it is quite complete; each reader may properly have his own opinion. 80. Cyphi is a compound composed of sixteen ingredients: honey, wine, raisins, cyperus, resin, myrrh, aspalathus, seselis, mastich, bitumen, rush, sorrel, and in addition to these both the junipers, of which they call one the larger and one the smaller, cardamum, and calamus. These are compounded, not at random, but while the sacred writings are being read to the perfumers as they mix the ingredients. As for this number, even if it appears quite clear that it is the square of a square and is the only one of the numbers forming a square that has its perimeter equal to its area, and deserves to be admired for this reason, yet it must be said that its contribution to the topic under discussion is very slight. Most of the materials that are taken into this compound, inasmuch as they have aromatic properties, give forth a sweet emanation and a beneficent exhalation, by which the air is changed, and the body, being moved gently and softly by the current, acquires a temperament conducive to sleep; and the distress and strain of our daily carking cares, as if they were knots, these exhalations relax and loosen without the aid of wine. The imaginative faculty that is susceptible to dreams it brightens like a mirror, and makes it clearer no less effectively than did the notes of the lyre which the Pythagoreans used to employ before sleeping as a charm and a cure for the emotional and irrational in the soul. It is a fact that stimulating odours often recall the failing powers of sensation, and often again lull and quiet them when their emanations are diffused in the body by virtue of their ethereal qualities; even as some physicians state that sleep supervenes when the volatile portion of our food, gently permeating the digestive tract and coming into close contact with it, produces a species of titillation. They use cyphi as both a potion and a salve; for taken internally it seems to cleanse properly the internal organs, since it is an emollient. Apart from this, resin and myrrh result from the action of the sun when the trees exude them in response to the heat. of the ingredients which compose cyphi, there are some which delight more in the night, that is, those which are wont to thrive in cold winds and shadows and dews and dampness. For the light of day is single and simple, and Pindar says that the sun is seen "through the deserted aether." But the air at night is a composite mixture made up of many lights and forces, even as though seeds from every star were showered down into one place. Very appropriately, therefore, they burn resin and myrrh in the daytime, for these are simple substances and have their origin from the sun; but the cyphi, since it is compounded of ingredients of all sorts of qualities, they offer at nightfall. |
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9. Achilles Tatius, The Adventures of Leucippe And Cleitophon, 1.6.2-1.6.3 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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10. Aelius Aristides, Orations, 47.26 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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11. Apuleius, Apology, 30.1 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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12. Apuleius, Florida, 19 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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13. Apuleius, The Golden Ass, 1.18.8, 9.1-9.2, 10.25 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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14. Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies, 3.2.10 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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15. Galen, On Diagnoses From Dreams, 833.7-833.11, 833.16-833.18 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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16. Irenaeus, Refutation of All Heresies, 1.25 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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17. Philostratus The Athenian, Life of Apollonius, 2.37 (2nd cent. CE
| 2.37. And more than this, as a faculty of divination by means of dreams, which is the divines and most godlike of human faculties, the soul detects the truth all the more easily when it is not muddied by wine, but accepts the message unstained and scans it carefully. Anyhow, the explains of dreams and visions, those whom the poets call interpreters of dreams, will never undertake to explain any vision to anyone without having first asked the time when it was seen. For if it was at dawn and in the sleep of morning tide, they calculate its meaning on the assumption that the soul is then in a condition to divine soundly and healthily, because by then it has cleansed itself of the stains of wine. But if the vision was seen in the first sleep or at midnight, when the soul is still immersed in the lees of wine and muddied thereby, they decline to make any suggestions, and they are wise. And that the gods also are of this opinion, and that they commit the faculty of oracular response to souls which are sober, I will clearly show. There was, O king, a seer among the Greeks called Amphiaros. I know, said the other; for you allude, I imagine, to the son of Oecles, who was swallowed up alive by the earth on his way back from Thebes. This man, O king, said Apollonius, still divines in Attica, inducing dreams in those who consult him, and the priests take a man who wishes to consult him, and they prevent his eating for one day, and from drinking wine for three, in order that he may imbibe the oracles with his soul in a condition of utter transparency. But if wine were a good drug of sleep, then the wise Amphiaros would have bidden his votaries to adopt the opposite regimen, and would have had them carried into his shrine as full of wine as leather flagons. And I could mention many oracles, held in repute by Greeks and barbarians alike, where the priest utters his responses from the tripod after imbibing water and not wine. So you may consider me also as a fit vehicle of the god, O king, along with all who drink water. For we are rapt by the nymphs and are bacchantic revelers in sobriety. Well, then, said the king, you must make me too, O Apollonius, a member of your religious brotherhood. I would do so, said the other, provided only you will not be esteemed vulgar and held cheap by your subjects. For in the case of a king a philosophy that is at once moderate and indulgent makes a good mixture, as is seen in your own case; but an excess of rigor and severity would seem vulgar, O king, and beneath your august station; and, what is more, it might be construed by the envious as due to pride. |
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18. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 56a. אמר ליה קיסר לר' יהושע בר' (חנינא) אמריתו דחכמיתו טובא אימא לי מאי חזינא בחלמאי אמר ליה חזית דמשחרי לך פרסאי וגרבי בך ורעיי בך שקצי בחוטרא דדהבא הרהר כוליה יומא ולאורתא חזא אמר ליה שבור מלכא לשמואל אמריתו דחכמיתו טובא אימא לי מאי חזינא בחלמאי אמר ליה חזית דאתו רומאי ושבו לך וטחני בך קשייתא ברחייא דדהבא הרהר כוליה יומא ולאורתא חזא,בר הדיא מפשר חלמי הוה מאן דיהיב ליה אגרא מפשר ליה למעליותא ומאן דלא יהיב ליה אגרא מפשר ליה לגריעותא אביי ורבא חזו חלמא אביי יהיב ליה זוזא ורבא לא יהיב ליה אמרי ליה אקרינן בחלמין (דברים כח, לא) שורך טבוח לעיניך וגו' לרבא אמר ליה פסיד עסקך ולא אהני לך למיכל מעוצבא דלבך לאביי א"ל מרווח עסקך ולא אהני לך למיכל מחדוא דלבך,אמרי ליה אקרינן (דברים כח, מא) בנים ובנות תוליד וגו' לרבא אמר ליה כבישותיה לאביי א"ל בנך ובנתך נפישי ומינסבן בנתך לעלמא ומדמיין באפך כדקא אזלן בשביה,אקריין (דברים כח, לב) בניך ובנותיך נתונים לעם אחר לאביי א"ל בנך ובנתך נפישין את אמרת לקריבך והיא אמרה לקריבה ואכפה לך ויהבת להון לקריבה דהוי כעם אחר לרבא א"ל דביתהו שכיבא ואתו בניה ובנתיה לידי איתתא אחריתי דאמר רבא אמר ר' ירמיה בר אבא אמר רב מאי דכתיב בניך ובנותיך נתונים לעם אחר זו אשת האב,אקרינן בחלמין (קהלת ט, ז) לך אכול בשמחה לחמך לאביי אמר ליה מרווח עסקך ואכלת ושתית וקרית פסוקא מחדוא דלבך לרבא אמר ליה פסיד עסקך טבחת ולא אכלת ושתית וקרית לפכוחי פחדך,אקרינן (דברים כח, לח) זרע רב תוציא השדה לאביי א"ל מרישיה לרבא א"ל מסיפיה,אקרינן (דברים כח, מ) זיתים יהיו לך בכל גבולך וגו' לאביי א"ל מרישיה לרבא א"ל מסיפיה,אקרינן (דברים כח, י) וראו כל עמי הארץ וגו' לאביי א"ל נפק לך שמא דריש מתיבתא הוית אימתך נפלת בעלמא לרבא אמר ליה בדיינא דמלכא אתבר ומתפסת בגנבי ודייני כולי עלמא קל וחומר מינך למחר אתבר בדיינא דמלכא ואתו ותפשי ליה לרבא.,אמרי ליה חזן חסא על פום דני לאביי א"ל עיף עסקך כחסא לרבא א"ל מריר עסקך כי חסא,אמרי ליה חזן בשרא על פום דני לאביי אמר ליה בסים חמרך ואתו כולי עלמא למזבן בשרא וחמרא מינך לרבא אמר ליה תקיף חמרך ואתו כולי עלמא למזבן בשרא למיכל ביה,אמרי ליה חזן חביתא דתלי בדיקלא לאביי אמר ליה מדלי עסקך כדיקלא לרבא אמר ליה חלי עסקך כתמרי,אמרי ליה חזן רומנא דקדחי אפום דני לאביי אמר ליה עשיק עסקך כרומנא לרבא אמר ליה קאוי עסקך כרומנא,אמרי ליה חזן חביתא דנפל לבירא לאביי א"ל מתבעי עסקך כדאמר נפל פתא בבירא ולא אשתכח לרבא א"ל פסיד עסקך ושדי' ליה לבירא,אמרי ליה חזינן בר חמרא דקאי אאיסדן ונוער לאביי אמר ליה מלכא הוית וקאי אמורא עלך לרבא א"ל פטר חמור גהיט מתפילך א"ל לדידי חזי לי ואיתיה אמר ליה וא"ו דפטר חמור ודאי גהיט מתפילך,לסוף אזל רבא לחודיה לגביה אמר ליה חזאי דשא ברייתא דנפל אמר ליה אשתך שכבא אמר ליה חזיא ככי ושני דנתור א"ל בנך ובנתך שכבן אמר ליה חזאי תרתי יוני דפרחן א"ל תרי נשי מגרשת אמר ליה חזאי תרי גרגלידי דלפתא אמר ליה תרין קולפי בלעת אזל רבא ההוא יומא ויתיב בי מדרשא כוליה יומא אשכח הנהו תרי סגי נהורי דהוו קמנצו בהדי הדדי אזל רבא לפרוקינהו ומחוהו לרבא תרי דלו למחוייה אחריתי אמר מסתיי תרין חזאי,לסוף אתא רבא ויהיב ליה אגרא א"ל חזאי אשיתא דנפל א"ל נכסים בלא מצרים קנית א"ל חזאי אפדנא דאביי דנפל וכסיין אבקיה א"ל אביי שכיב ומתיבתיה אתיא לגבך א"ל חזאי אפדנא דידי דנפיל ואתו כולי עלמא שקיל לבינתא לבינתא א"ל שמעתתך מבדרן בעלמא א"ל חזאי דאבקע רישי ונתר מוקרי א"ל אודרא מבי סדיא נפיק א"ל אקריון הללא מצראה בחלמא א"ל ניסא מתרחשי לך,הוה קא אזיל בהדיה בארבא אמר בהדי גברא דמתרחיש ליה ניסא למה לי בהדי דקא סליק נפל סיפרא מיניה אשכחיה רבא וחזא דהוה כתיב ביה כל החלומות הולכין אחר הפה רשע בדידך קיימא וצערתן כולי האי כולהו מחילנא לך בר מברתיה דרב חסדא יהא רעוא דלמסר ההוא גברא לידי דמלכותא דלא מרחמו עליה,אמר מאי אעביד גמירי דקללת חכם אפילו בחנם היא באה וכ"ש רבא דבדינא קא לייט אמר איקום ואגלי דאמר מר גלות מכפרת עון,קם גלי לבי רומאי אזל יתיב אפתחא דריש טורזינא דמלכא ריש טורזינא חזא חלמא א"ל חזאי חלמא דעייל מחטא באצבעתי א"ל הב לי זוזא ולא יהב ליה לא א"ל ולא מידי א"ל חזאי דנפל תכלא בתרתין אצבעתי א"ל הב לי זוזא ולא יהב ליה ולא א"ל א"ל חזאי דנפל תכלא בכולה ידא א"ל נפל תכלא בכולהו שיראי שמעי בי מלכא ואתיוה לריש טורזינא קא קטלי ליה א"ל אנא אמאי אייתו להאי דהוה ידע ולא אמר אייתוהו לבר הדיא אמרי ליה אמטו זוזא דידך חרבו | 56a. On a similar note, the Gemara relates that the Roman bemperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua, son of Rabbi Ḥaya: YouJews bsay that you are extremely wise.If that is so, btell me what I will see in my dream.Rabbi Yehoshua bsaid to him: You will see the Persians capture you, and enslave you, and force you to herd unclean animals with a golden staff. He thought the entire dayabout the images described to him by Rabbi Yehoshua band that night he sawit in his dream. bKing Shapurof Persia bsaid to Shmuel: YouJews bsay that you are extremely wise.If that is so, btell me what I will see in my dream. Shmuel said to him: You will see the Romans come and take you into captivityand force you bto grind date pits in mills of gold. He thought the entire dayabout the images described to him by Shmuel, band that night he sawit in his dream.,The Gemara relates: bBar Haddaya was an interpreter of dreams.For bone who gave him a fee, he would interpretthe dream bfavorably, andfor bone who did not give him a fee, he would interpretthe dream bunfavorably.The Gemara relates: There was an incident in which both bAbaye and Rava saw anidentical bdreamand they asked bar Haddaya to interpret it. bAbaye gave him moneyand paid his fee, bwhile Rava did not give himmoney. bThey said to him:The verse: b“Your ox shall be slain before your eyesand you shall not eat thereof” (Deuteronomy 28:31) bwas read to us in our dream. Heinterpreted their dream and bto Rava he said: Your business will be lost and you will derive no pleasure from eating because of theextreme bsadness of your heart. To Abaye he said: Your business will profit and you will be unable to eat due to the joy in your heart. /b, bThey said to him:The verse, b“You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity”(Deuteronomy 28:41), bwas read to usin our dream. He interpreted their dreams, and bto Rava he said itsliteral, badversesense. bTo Abaye he said: Your sons and daughters will be numerous, and your daughters will be married to outsiders and it will seem to you as if they were taken in captivity. /b,They said to him: bThe verse: “Your sons and your daughters shall be given unto another people”(Deuteronomy 28:32), bwas read to usin our dream. bTo Abaye he said: Your sons and daughters will be numerous. You say,that they should marry byour relatives andyour wife bsaysthat they should marry bher relatives and she will imposeher will bupon you and they will be givenin marriage bto her relatives, which is like another nationas far as you are concerned. bTo Rava he said: Your wife will die and your sons and daughters will come into the hands of another woman. As Rava saidthat bRabbi Yirmeya bar Abba saidthat bRav said: What isthe meaning of bthat which is writtenin the verse: b“Your sons and your daughters shall be given unto another people”? Thisrefers to bthe father’s wife,the stepmother.,They said to him: The verse: b“Go your way, eat your bread with joy,and drink your wine with a merry heart” (Ecclesiastes 9:7) bwas read to us in our dream. To Abaye he said: Your business will profit and you will eat and drink and read the verse out of the joy of your heart. To Rava he said: Your business will be lost, you will slaughter but not eat, you will drinkwine and breadpassages from the Bible in order bto allay your fears. /b,They said to him: The verse: b“You shall carry much seed out into the field,and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it” (Deuteronomy 28:38), bwas read to usin our dream. bTo Abaye he said from the beginningof the verse, that he will enjoy an abundant harvest. bTo Rava he said from the endof the verse, that his harvest will be destroyed.,They said to him: The verse: b“You shall have olive-trees throughout all your borders,but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off” (Deuteronomy 28:40), bwas read to usin our dream. And again, bto Abaye he said from the beginningof the verse. bTo Rava he said from the endof the verse.,They said to him: The verse: b“All the peoples of the earth shall seethat the name of the Lord is called upon you; and they shall be afraid of you” (Deuteronomy 28:10), bwas read to usin our dream. bTo Abaye he said: Your name will become well-known as head of the yeshiva, and you will be feared by all. To Rava he said: The king’s treasury was brokeninto band you will be apprehended as a thief, and everyone will draw an ia fortioriinference from you:If Rava who is wealthy and of distinguished lineage can be arrested on charges of theft, what will become of the rest of us? Indeed, bthe next day, the king’s treasury was burglarized, and they came and apprehended Rava. /b,Abaye and Rava bsaid to him: We saw lettuce on the mouth of the barrels. To Abaye he said: Your business will double like lettucewhose leaves are wide and wrinkled. bTo Rava he said: Your work will be bitter likea blettucestalk., bThey said to him: We saw meat on the mouth of barrels. To Abaye he said: Your wine will be sweet and everyone will come to buy meat and wine from you. To Rava he said: Your wine will spoil, and everyone will go to buy meat in order to eat with it,to dip the meat in your vinegar., bThey said to him: We saw a barrel hanging from a palm tree. To Abaye he said: Your business will rise like a palm tree. To Rava he said: Your work will be sweet like dateswhich are very cheap in Babylonia, indicating that you will be compelled to sell your merchandise at a cheap price., bThey said to him: We saw a pomegranate taking root on the mouth of barrels. To Abaye he said: Your business will increase in value like a pomegranate. To Rava he said: Your work will go sour like a pomegranate. /b, bThey said to him: We saw a barrel fall into a pit. To Abaye he said: Your merchandise will be in demand asthe adage bsays: Bread falls in a pit and is not found.In other words, everyone will seek your wares and they will not find them due to increased demand. bTo Rava he said: Your merchandise will be ruined and you will throw itaway binto a pit. /b, bThey said to him: We saw a donkey-foal standing near our heads, braying. To Abaye he said: You will be a king,that is to say, bhead of the yeshiva, and an interpreter will stand near youto repeat your teachings to the masses out loud. bTo Rava he said:I see the words ipeter ḥamor /i, first-born donkey, erased from your phylacteries.Rava bsaid to him: I myself saw it and it is there.Bar Haddaya bsaid to him:The letter ivavofthe word ipeter ḥamoris certainly erased from your phylacteries. /b, bUltimately, Rava went tobar Haddaya balone.Rava bsaid to him: I saw the outer door of my house fall.Bar Haddaya bsaid to him: Your wife will die,as she is the one who protects the house. Rava bsaid to him: I saw my front and back teeth fall out. He said to him: Your sons and daughters will die.Rava bsaid to him: I saw two doves that were flying. He said to him: You will divorce two women.Rava bsaid to him: I saw two turnip-heads [ igargelidei /i]. He said to him: You will receive two blows with a clubshaped like a turnip. bThat same day Rava went and sat in the study hall the entire day. He discovered these two blind people who were fighting with each other. Rava went to separate them and they struck Rava twoblows. When bthey raisedtheir staffs bto strike him an additional blow, he said:That is benough for me, Ionly bsaw two. /b, bUltimately, Rava came and gave him,bar Haddaya, ba fee. Andthen Rava, bsaid to him: I saw my wall fall.Bar Haddaya bsaid to him: You will acquire property without limits.Rava bsaid to him: I saw Abaye’s house [ iappadna /i] fall and its dust covered me.Bar Haddaya bsaid to him: Abaye will die and his yeshiva will come to you.Rava bsaid to him: I saw my house fall, and everyone came and took the bricks. He said to him: Your teachings will be disseminated throughout the world.Rava bsaid to him: I saw that my head split and my brain fell out. He said to him: A feather will fall out of the pillownear your head. Rava bsaid to him: The Egyptian ihallel /i,the ihallelthat celebrates the Exodus, bwas read to me in a dream. He said to him: Miracles will be performed for you. /b,Bar Haddaya bwas going withRava bon a ship;bar Haddaya bsaid: Why am Igoing bwith a person for whom miracles will be performed,lest the miracle will be that the ship will sink and he alone will be saved. bAsbar Haddaya bwas climbingonto the ship ba book fell from him. Rava foundit band saw: All dreams follow the mouth, written therein. He saidto bar Haddaya: bScoundrel. It wasdependent bon you, and you caused me so much suffering. I forgive you for everything except for the daughterof bRav Ḥisda,Rava’s wife, whom bar Haddaya predicted would die. bMay it beYour bwill that this man be delivered into the hands of a kingdom that has no compassion on him. /b,Bar Haddaya bsaidto himself: bWhat will I do? We learnedthrough tradition bthat the curse of a Sage,even if bbaseless, comestrue? bAnd all the more soin the case of bRava, as he cursedme bjustifiably. He saidto himself: bI will get up and go into exile,as bthe Master said: Exile atones for transgression. /b, bHe arose and exiled himself to the seat of the Romangovernment. bHe went and sat by the entrance,where bthe keeper of the king’s wardrobestood. bThe wardrobe guard dreamed a dream.He bsaid tobar Haddaya: bI saw in the dream that a needle pierced my finger.Bar Haddaya bsaid to him: Give me a izuz /i. He did not give himthe coin bsobar Haddaya bsaid nothing to him.Again, the guard bsaid to him: I saw a worm that fellbetween bmy two fingers,eating them. Bar Haddaya bsaid to him: Give me a izuz /i. He did not give himthe coin, bsobar Haddaya bsaid nothing to him.Again, the guard bsaid to him: I saw that a worm fellupon bmy entire hand,eating it. Bar Haddaya bsaid to him: A worm fellupon and ate ball the silkgarments. bThey heardof this bin the king’s palace and they brought the wardrobe keeper and werein the process of bexecuting him. He said to them: Why me? Bring the one who knew and did not saythe information that he knew. bThey broughtbar Haddaya band said to him: Because of your izuz /i, ruincame upon |
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19. Macrobius, Commentary On The Dream of Scipio, 1.3.4 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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