Lectitō › Cicero › The Dream of Scipio (Somnium Scipionis)
Somnium Scipionis (De Re Publica 6.23)
Virtue her own reward
Cicero, Somnium Scipionis. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōRep. 6.23.1Quōcircā sī reditum in hunc locum dēspērāveris, in quō omnia sunt magnīs et praestantibus virīs, quantī tandem est ista hominum glōria, quae pertinēre vix ad ūnīus annī partem exiguam potest?
So if you have given up hope of returning to this place, where everything is for great and outstanding men, what is that human glory of yours worth, which can hardly reach to a small part of a single year?
Note. in quō omnia sunt magnīs … virīs: 'where all things are (available) to great men', dative of possession. quantī: genitive of value, 'of how much worth'.
Rep. 6.23.1Igitur altē spectāre sī volēs atque hanc sēdem et aeternam domum contuērī, neque tē sermōnibus vulgī dēdiderīs nec in praemiīs hūmānīs spem posuerīs rērum tuārum;
Therefore, if you are willing to look on high and gaze at this dwelling and eternal home, do not give yourself up to the talk of the crowd or place the hope of your affairs in human rewards;
Note. alte spectāre: 'to look on high'. sī volēs …, neque tē dēdideris nec … posueris: perfect subjunctives of prohibition: 'do not give yourself up …, do not place …'.
Rep. 6.23.1suīs tē oportet inlecebrīs ipsa virtūs trahat ad vērum decus, quid dē tē aliī loquantur, ipsī videant, sed loquentur tamen.
virtue herself must draw you by her own charms to true honour; what others say about you, let them see to it, but talk they will all the same.
Note. suīs tē oportet illecebrīs ipsa virtūs trahat: oportet with the subjunctive, 'virtue herself must draw you with her own charms'. quid dē tē aliī loquantur, ipsī videant: 'what others say about you, let them see to it themselves': a famous line on indifference to reputation.
Rep. 6.23.1Sermō autem omnis ille et angustiīs cingitur iīs regiōnum, quās vidēs, nec umquam dē ūllō perennis fuit et obruitur hominum interitū et oblīviōne posteritātis extinguitur.
All that talk is hemmed in by the narrow limits of the regions you see; it has never lasted for anyone, and it is buried by the death of men and blotted out by the forgetfulness of later ages.'
Note. angustiīs … iīs regiōnum: 'by those narrow limits of the regions'. obruitur … extinguitur: fame is buried by death and put out by forgetfulness.
Vocabulary
| quōcircā (adv.) | for which reason, therefore |
| sī, conj. | if |
| reditus, -ūs, m. | return |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| dēspērō, -spērāre, -spērāvī, -spērātus | despair |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| praestāns, -stantis, adj. | preëminent, remarkable |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| tandem, adv. | at length or last, finally |
| iste, ista, istud, dem. pron. | that of yours, that |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| glōria, -ae, f. | glory |
| pertineō, -ēre, -uī | extend, reach; tend toward, concern |
| vix, adv. | with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| exiguus, -a, -um | small, scanty, short |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| altē (adv.) | high; deep |
| spectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | look at or on |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| sēdēs, -is, f. | seat, abode |
| aeternus, -a, -um | everlasting, eternal |
| domus, -ūs, f. | house, home |
| contueor, -ērī, -tuitus sum | look at, gaze upon |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| sermō, -ōnis, m. | conversation, talk, speech |
| vulgus, -ī n. | the common people, the crowd |
| dēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give away or up |
| praemium, -ī, n. | reward |
| hūmānus, -a, -um | of man, human |
| spēs, speī, f. | hope |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| oportet, -ēre, oportuit (impersonal) | it is right, it is necessary |
| inlecebra, -ae f. | enticement, lure, charm |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| virtūs, -tūtis, f. | manliness, courage, bravery |
| trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus | draw, drag |
| vērus, -a, -um | true; rē vērā, in truth, in fact |
| decus, -oris n. | honour, glory; what is fitting, propriety |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| alius, -a, -ud | another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others |
| loquor, loquī, locūtus | speak |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| sed, conj. | but |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| angustia, -ae f. | narrowness; (pl.) a narrow place, straits |
| cingō, cingere, cinxī, cinctus | surround, gird |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| regiō, -ōnis, f. | direction; country, region |
| umquam, adv. | ever |
| ūllus, -a, -um | any |
| perennis, -e | lasting throughout the year, perennial, perpetual |
| obruō, -ere, -ruī, -rutus | overwhelm, bury, crush |
| interitus, -ūs m. | destruction, death |
| oblīviō, -ōnis f. | forgetfulness, oblivion |
| posteritās, -ātis f. | the future; later generations, posterity |
| exstinguō, -ere, -stīnxī, -stīnctus | put out, extinguish; destroy |