Obsession With The Earth In Scipio's Dream By Cicero

Scipio's Dream written by Cicero is a short philosophical dialogue, in which Scipio realizes that the earth is actually very small relative to the stars, but Africans points out how beautiful the stars are, but notices that Scipio is still obsessed with the earth. Africanus emphasises that the earth is so insignificant in relation to the bigger cosmos, that Scipio's own land is just a tiny island in the bigger picture of things. Any fame that Scipio achieves in his tiny part of the world will never go any farther or live on after his death. Scipio's accomplishments on earth therefore are very small in the grand scheme of things, and will be remembered for a short time. The author describes a view from above, shadowing over the earth in which humans are merely a speck
Africanus says that those are alive who have escaped from the chains of the body as if from out of prison. The dead are truly living, but we who must live in these bodies are actually living a kind of death. The status of this dialogue as a dream also raises the question of whether it is more or less real than walking life. At the beginning of the dialogue Scipio says that he recognizes his grandfather Africanus who was more familiar from his" image". This theme of a heavenly dream turns out to be more real than the things of this earth pertains to be. Instead Africanus encourages Scipio to go beyond the opinions of others and be true to his own self and his own free will, the laws of the bigger universe. By thinking mediating about the bigger picture and the development of his soul, Scipio will find it easier to rise above earth to the heavens and achieve great things that will be remembered for a long time. Scipio is encouraged to exercise and develop his soul by caring and working for his country's good. By doing so, he'll be assured of a resting place in the heavens with his father and