MARCUS: Can we use our minds aright when we are filled with an excess of food and drink?
[Ne mente quidem recte uti possumus, multo cibo et potione completi?]
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Tusculan Disputations [Tusculanae Disputationes], Book 5, ch. 35 (5.35) / sec. 100 (5.100) (45 BC) [tr. Peabody (1886)]
(Source)
(Source (Latin)). Other translations:We have not the free and clear use of our understanding, when we are stuffed with Meat and Drink.
[tr. Wase (1643)]The understanding is impaired when we are full with over-eating and drinking.
[tr. Main (1824); Yonge (1853)]Can even the mind itself be used rightly, stuffed with the press of superfluous viands and libations?
[tr. Otis (1839)]We cannot use the mind aright, when the body is filled with excess of food and drink.
[tr. Taylor/Hunt (1916)]We cannot use our minds properly either, when we are full of large quantities of food and drink.
[tr. Douglas (1990)]We cannot make proper use of our minds when we are full of quantities of food and drink.
[tr. Davie (2017)]

