De Somniis (lib. i-ii)

for, say the scriptures, "Not a dog shall move his tongue, nor shall anything, man or beast, utter a sound;" [*](Exodus xi. 7. ) which is equivalent to saying, It does not become either the impudent tongue to bark and curse—nor the man that is within us, that is to say, our dominant mind; nor the cattle-like beast which is within us, that is to say, the outward sense—to boast, when all the evil that was in us has been utterly destroyed, and when an ally from without comes of his own accord to hold his shield over us.

But there are many occasions which are not well suited to silence: and if we go to the language of ordinary prose, of which we may again see memorials laid up, how did there, ever an unexpected participation in good take place to any one? It is well, therefore, to give thanks and to sing hymns in honour of him who bestowed it. [*](Deut. xxvii. 19. ) [*](Exodus xiv. 14. ) [*](Exodus xi. 7. )