20.11.25: Level 3; Socrates

In eundem carcerem paucīs post annīs Sōcratēs iit, eōdem scelere iūdicum. Quī est igitur eius sermō apud iūdicēs? "Lubenter," inquit, "mortī obviam ībō. Alterum enim dē duōbus fīet: aut sēnsūs omnīnō omnēs mors auferet, aut in alium quendam ex hīs locīs abībimus. Itaque aut somnō fruēmur, aut cum optimō quoque cīve loquī poterimus et versārī."

[1]

in eundem carcerem │ into the same prison

eōdem scelere │ through the same wickedness

When reading don’t confuse two endings: [i] -dem and [ii] -dam

We will deal with -dam in the Level 3 language topic of indefinites. Therefore, simply bear in mind that -dem indicates ‘the same’; this was discussed here:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/02/150525-level-3-beasts-in-egypt-and.html

[2] mortī obviam ībō │ I shall go to meet / face death

obviam (adv.): in the way; against; at hand; within reach

sī nihil obviam est (Plautus) │ if there’s nothing within reach

It is often used with verbs of movement to indicate, for example, going to meet / “face” somebody or something, and the person / thing being faced is in the dative case. All the quotations, apart from one, are from Plautus.

mortī [dative] obviam ībō │ I shall go to meet / face death

[i] ībō ego illī [dative] obviam [ii] ībō huic [dative] obviam │ I'll go meet him

obviam grātulantēs Antōniō exiērunt (Caesar)│ they went out [literally congratulating] to meet Antony = they went out to meet Antony to give their congratulations

sed ego cessō īre obviam adulēscentī │ But why am I delaying going to meet the young man?

Sī istāc ībis, commodum obviam veniēs patrī │ If you go that way, you'll conveniently run into your father [ = literally: you will come into the path of (your) father]

Num nōn vīs mē obviam hīs īre? │ Won't you let me go to find them?

sī rēx obstābit obviam, rēgem ipsum prius pervortitō │ if the king stands in your way, first overthrow the king himself

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A few years after Socrates went to the same prison through the same (kind of) wickedness of his judges. What then is his speech before the judges? ‘Willingly,’ he said, ‘shall I go to meet death; for one thing of two will happen: either death will altogether remove all feelings, or we shall go to some other (place) from these (places). So we shall either enjoy sleep, or shall be able to converse and live with all the best citizens.’