LIBER II · CAPUT 55
OBJECTS WHICH ARE NEVER STRUCK
Latine · Mayhoff 1906
ex iis, quae terra gignuntur, lauri fruticem non icit nec umquam quinque altius pedibus descendit in terram. ideo pavidi altiores specus tutissimos putant aut tabernacula pellibus beluarum, quas vitulos appellant, quoniam hoc solum animal ex marinis non percutiat, sicut nec e volucribus aquilam, quae ob hoc armigera huius teli fingitur. in Italia inter Tarracinam et aedem Feroniae turres belli Civilis temporibus desiere fieri, nulla non earum fulmine diruta.
English · Bostock & Riley 1855–57
Among the productions of the earth, thunder never strikes the laurel, nor does it descend more than five feet into the earth. Those, therefore, who are timid consider the deepest caves as the most safe; or tents made of the skins of the animal called the sea-calf, since this is the only marine animal which is never struck; as is the case, among birds, with the eagle; on this account it is represented as the bearer of this weapon. In Italy, between Terracina and the temple of Feronia, the people have left off building towers in time of war, every one of them having been destroyed by thunderbolts.