4

Question 1

id mihi duabus de causis instituisse videntur,

Answer 1

They seem to me to have established this for two reasons,

Question 2

quod neque in vulgum disciplinam efferri velint, neque eos, qui discunt, litteris confisos minus memoriae studere.

Answer 2

as they do not want their rule of life to be spread to the general public and they do not want those who are learning to rely on writing and so pay less attention to memory

Question 3

in primis hos volunt persuadere, animas non perire, sed ab aliis post mortem transire ad alios, atque hoc maxime homines ad virtutem excitari putant metu mortis neglecto.

Answer 3

They especially want to persuade people of this, that souls do not perish, but transfer from one to another after death, and by means of this belief especially they think that men are moved to courage and disregard the fear of death.

Question 4

multa praeterea de sideribus atque eorum motu, de mundi ac terrarum magnitudine, de rerum natura, de deorum immortalium vi ac potestate disputsnt iuventuti tradunt

Answer 4

They discuss many other things besides about the stars and their motion, about the universe and the size of the earth, about the nature of things, about the might and power of the immortal gods and they hand it all down tp their young people