Lectitō › Cicero › The Dream of Scipio (Somnium Scipionis)
Somnium Scipionis (De Re Publica 6.14)
Paulus, and the life that is death
Cicero, Somnium Scipionis. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōRep. 6.14.1Hīc ego, etsī eram perterritus nōn tam mortis metū quam īnsidiārum ā meīs, quaesīvī tamen, vīveretne ipse et Paulus pater et aliī, quōs nōs extīnctōs arbitrārēmur.
At this point, although I was terrified, not so much by fear of death as of treachery from my own family, I nevertheless asked whether he himself was alive, and my father Paulus, and the others whom we thought dead.
Note. nōn tam mortis metū quam īnsidiārum ā meīs: 'not so much by fear of death as of a plot by my own people'. vīveretne: an indirect question with -ne, 'whether he was alive'. Paulus pater: L. Aemilius Paulus, his natural father, conqueror of Macedon at Pydna in 168 BC.
Rep. 6.14.1Immō vērō, inquit, hī vīvunt, quī ē corporum vinculīs tamquam ē carcere ēvolāvērunt, vestra vērō, quae dīcitur, vīta mors est.
'Yes indeed,' he said, 'these are alive, who have flown out of the chains of the body as if from a prison; but what you call life is death.
Note. Immō vērō: 'no, on the contrary', 'yes indeed'. ē corporum vinculīs tamquam ē carcere: the body as the soul's prison is a Platonic image. vestra vērō, quae dīcitur, vīta: 'what is called your life'.
Rep. 6.14.1Quīn tū aspicis ad tē venientem Paulum patrem?
Why, don't you see your father Paulus coming towards you?'
Note. Quīn … aspicis?: quīn with a question, 'why don't you see?', a lively way of saying 'just look!'.
Rep. 6.14.1Quem ut vīdī, equidem vim lacrimārum profūdī, ille autem mē complexus atque ōsculāns flēre prohibēbat.
When I saw him, I poured out a flood of tears, but he embraced and kissed me and would not let me weep.
Note. vim lacrimārum prōfūdī: 'I poured out a flood of tears'. flēre prohibēbat: 'he kept stopping me from weeping'.
Vocabulary
| hīc, adv. | here; hereupon |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| etsī, conj. | even if, although |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus | thoroughly frighten, terrify |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| tam, adv. | so |
| mors, mortīs, f. | death |
| metus, -ūs m. | fear, dread |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| īnsidiae, -ārum, f. plur. | ambush; plot, stratagem |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītus | seek; ask, inquire |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctus | live |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| pater, patris, m. | father |
| alius, -a, -ud | another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| nōs | plur. of ego |
| exstinguō, -ere, -stīnxī, -stīnctus | put out, extinguish; destroy |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |
| immō (adv.) | no rather, on the contrary; immō vērō: no, indeed, even |
| vērō, adv. | in truth, indeed; however |
| inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb | I say, you say, he says |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| vinculum, -ī, n. | bond, chain |
| tamquam (adv., conj.) | as, just as; as if |
| carcer, -eris, m. | prison |
| ēvolō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | fly out, rush out |
| vester, -tra, -trum | your |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| vīta, -ae, f. | life |
| quīn, conj. | so that ... not, but that, but |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| aspiciō, -spicere, -spēxī, -spectus | look at or on, behold |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| equidem (adv.) | indeed, truly; for my part |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| lacrima, -ae, f. | tear |
| profundō, -fundere, -fūdī, -fūsus | pour out; squander |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| complector, -plectī, -plexus | embrace |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ōsculor, -ārī, -ātus sum | kiss |
| fleō, -ēre, flēvī, flētum | weep |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |