Mercurius vero somniorum appellatus est comes, quod ut clam mordax canis interna saevitia summissius agitans caudam, epulis coetibusque se crebris inserens, si per quietem quisquam, ubi fusius natura vagatur, vidisse aliquid amico narrasset, id venenatis artibus coloratum in peius, patulis imperatoris auribus infundebat, et ob hoc homo tamquam inexpiabili obnoxius culpae, gravi mole criminis pulsabatur.
But Mercurius was dubbed Count of Dreams, because, like a slinking, biting cur, savage within but peacefully wagging its tail, he would often worm his way into banquets and meetings, and if anyone had told a friend that he had seen anything in his sleep, when nature roams more freely, Mercurius would give it a worse colour by his venomous skill and pour it into the open ears of the emperor; and on such grounds a man, as though really chargeable with inexpiable guilt, would be beaten down by a heavy burden of accusation.
final_alignments\Ammianus_Marcellinus_Book15.json