Somnium Scipionis (De Re Publica 6.14)

Rep. 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'.