Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.20.4-5

nam Apollodorus in libris quibus titulus est περὶ θεῶν scribit quod Aesculapius divinationibus et auguriis praesit. nec mirum: siquidem medicinae atque divinationum consociatae sunt disciplinae. nam medicus vel commoda vel incommoda in corpore futura praenoscit, sicut ait Hippocrates oportere medicum dicere de aegroto τά τε παρεόντα καὶ τὰ προγεγονότα καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα ἔσεσθαι, id est ‘quae sint, quae fuerint, quae mox ventura sequentur’, quod congruit divinationibus quae sciunt τά τ᾽ ἔοντα τά τ᾽ ἐσσόμενα πρό τ᾽ ἐόντα.

Apollodorus writes (in his books whose title is On the Gods) that Aesculapius is in charge of divinations and auguries. And this is not surprising, since the disciplines of medicine and divination are connected; for a doctor knows in advance both the good and bad things which will occur in the body, just as Hippocrates says that a doctor ought to speak, concerning a sick person, of ‘the present things and the things which existed before and the things which shall be’ – that is, ‘What is, what has been, and what soon will come and follow’ – which is in agreement with prophecies, which know ‘What is, what will be, and what was before’.

The two verse quotations are from Virgil (Georgics 4.393 with a slightly different reading) and Homer (Iliad 1.70).

Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.20.12

nam Theron rex Hispaniae citerioris cum ad expugnandum Herculis templum ageretur furore instructus exercitu navium, Gaditani ex adverso venerunt provecti navibus longis, commissoque proelio adhuc aequo Marte consistente pugna, subito in fugam versae sunt regiae naves, simulque inproviso igne correptae conflagraverunt. paucissimi qui superfuerant hostium capti indicaverunt apparuisse sibi leones proris Gaditanae classis superstantes ac subito suas naves inmissis radiis, quales in Solis capite pinguntur, exustas.

When Theron, the king of Nearer Spain, was driven by madness to attack the sanctuary of Hercules, and had prepared a fleet, the people of Gades came out to meet him sailing on long ships; when battle had been joined and they were still fighting on an equal footing, all of a sudden the king’s ships turned to flee and at the same moment unexpectedly burst into flames and burned up. When the very few of the enemy who had survived were captured, they said that they had seen lions standing on the prows of the fleet from Gades, and that their own ships were suddenly attacked and consumed by rays such as those which are depicted on the head of the Sun.

Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.praef.1

multas variasque res in hac vita nobis, Eustachi fili, natura conciliavit; sed nulla nos magis quam eorum qui e nobis essent procreati caritate devinxit, eamque nostram in his educandis atque erudiendis curam esse voluit, ut parentes neque, si id quod cuperent ex sententia cederet, tantum ulla alia ex re voluptatis, neque, si contra eveniret, tantum maeroris capere possent.

Many and various, Eustachius my son, are the affections with which nature has provided us, but she has bound us together by none greater than our love for those who are our offspring; she has wished us to have such care for their upbringing and education that parents can take no greater pleasure if what they desired goes according to plan – nor, if the opposite happens, can they suffer any greater sadness.

Macrobius, Saturnalia 2.3.2

M. Cicero, cum apud Damasippum coenaret et ille mediocri vino posito diceret, ‘bibite Falernum hoc, annorum quadraginta est’, ‘bene,’ inquit, ‘aetatem fert.’

Marcus Cicero was dining at the house of Damasippus, who put a mediocre wine before him, saying, ‘Drink this Falernian wine; it’s forty years old.’ Cicero replied, ‘It carries its years well.’

Macrobius, Saturnalia 7.16.1

An age-old conundrum.

scire ex vobis volo ovumne prius exstiterit an gallina.

I want to know from you whether the egg existed first or the chicken.

Macrobius, Saturnalia 3.15.1-2

Macrobius investigates some fishy names.

quos Murenas cognominatos, quod hoc pisce effusissime delectati sint, satis constat. huic opinioni M. Varro consentit adserens eodem modo Licinios appellatos Murenas quo Sergius Orata cognominatus est, quod ei pisces qui auratae vocantur carissimi fuerint.

It is agreed that these people have been surnamed ‘Murena’ because they took a most extravagant delight in this fish. Marcus Varro is in agreement with this opinion, when he says that the Licinii were called ‘Murenae’ in the same way that Sergius Orata got his surname, because those fish which are called ‘goldfish’ were most dear to him.

Orata is an alternative spelling for Aurata; the fish called ‘aurata’ is literally a ‘golden fish’. The ‘murena’ was likewise a type of fish, of which, to quote Lewis and Short’s dictionary, ‘the ancients were very fond’.