LLL9424 Lo

T . L U CR ET I CARI

DE RERUM NATURA

A SELECTION FROM THE FIFTH BOOK

(783—1457)

EDITED

QWITH I NTRODUCTION ,

ANAL"SES AND NOTES

W. D. LOWE,M .A ;

FORMERL" SCHOLAR OF PEMBROK E COLLEGE, CAMBR IDGE"UNIOR CENSOR , UN IVERSIT" COLLEGE, DURHAM

EDITOR OF ‘THE CENA TRIMALCI-I IONIS OF PETRON IUS ARB ITER

TALES OF THE CIVIL WAR FROM CAESAR BELLUM C IV ILE I I I

O X F O RD

AT TH E C LA R EN D O N PR ES S

I 90 7

HENR" FROWDE , M .A .

PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVER SIT" OF OX FORDL ONDON , ED IN BURGH

NEW "ORK AND TORONTO

PREFACE

TH IS ed it ion has been prepared in the hope that with i t s

help some of the fines t and mos t vivid Lat in poetry that surv ives may in the future be read in lower forms than has beenh i therto usua l .There i s a natura l object ion to reading part of a poem or

to beg inn ing in the midd le of a book, and i t i s hoped that an

ed i t ion wh ich omits the preced ing eigh t hundred l ines, a longand d ifficu l t passage w i th no part i cu lar connex ion w i th th i s

select ion, and wh i ch so presents a subject of more reasonab lelength for a midd le form ,

w i l l v irtual ly i f not actually removesuch hes i tat ion .

Though a select ion, i t is {0q teres a lgae roz‘una

’

us and

forms a comp lete epic in i tself. Lucret ius i s general ly con

sidered to be a d ifficu l t author and i s reserved for the h igherforms

,but i t i s bel ieved that thi s select ion w i l l, w i th the aid of

the notes, be found to present l i t t le d ifficu l ty to the averageboy, and i t w i l l certa inly g ive h im an intensely graph i c pi c tureof the development of c iv i l iza t ion as conceived by the mos t

imag inat ive gen ius among Lat in wri ters . Every ed i t ion of

Lucret ius i s based on Munro’s grea t work, and th is one owes

much to Mr. Duff’s admirab le ed i t ion . I also offer my s incere

thanks to the reader of the C larendon Press for many instancesof sugges t i ve advice. The text of the C larendon Press has

been fol lowed pract i cal ly throughout.W . D . LOWE .

THE CASTLE,

DURHAM ,1906.

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION

The Life of Lucret iusThe S tyle of Lucret iusThe Ph i losophy of EpicurusThe Poem ‘ De Rerum Na tura ’

The Subject-matter of F i fth Book

TEXT

NOTES

I NTRODUCT ION

THE L IFE OF LUCRET IUS

THE l ife of Lucret ius,a s i t i s usua l ly accepted, i s given here

w i thout any exam ina t ion of the confl ict ing account s and theor iesput forwa rd by different editors.T i tus Lucret ius Ca rus was born probably B. C. 99 and died

O ctober 15, B . C . 55. The s tatement tha t h i s dea th wa s due to

suic ide during madness brought on by drugs mus t be viewed w i thsusp ic ion. He was a man of good fam ily . He had l i tera ry ta stesand showed no incl ina t ion for a pol i tica l l ife, moreespecially dur ingthe t roub lous times of the struggles between Pompey and Caesar.He l ived the l i fe of a student and devoted himself to the ph i losophyof Ep i curus : the resul t of h is l ifework is the presenta t ion of tha tph i losophy in the d idact ic poem De Ren a /z N a tum in six books ,a work that i s not the production of a madman, whatever defects i tmay conta in. M oreover, as Mr. Mackail in his L a tin L itera turesays : M any of the most importan t physi ca l d iscoveries ofmodernt imes are h inted at or even expressly sta ted by Lucret ius.

’ Indeedhis theories of the a tom i c doctr ine, of l ight , of evolut ion and of the

ul t ima te constitut ion of a toms have won the adm ira t ion of modernscient ists .

THE ST"LE OF LUCRET IUS

Lucret ius wa s , at anyTate in l i tera ture, lauda Zor temfiorz’

s a ctz'

.

He adm i red and im i ta ted the older poets Homer and Empedoclesamong the Greeks , Enn ius and the older traged ians among the

La t in poets , were s tudied dil igently by him and influenced his

language and turn of express ion s trongly . He i s fond of us ing oldand ha lf- forgotten forms of words he uses and invents compoundadject ives of a Greek type, such a s vulg ar/ag ar, lew

'

somnus,ang ui

maflus , fienm'

potem , bucerus a l l i tera t ion and a ssonance, a characteristic feature in the ea rly period of the l i tera ture of any nat ion,play a prom inent part, especia lly where the poet w ishes to drive apoint home.

The Lucret ian hexameter is dist inctly in advance of tha t ofEnn ius, yet i t i s closer to the rugged verse of the older poet than tothe smoothness and elabora t ion of theVergil ian l ine. He i s readyto use sponda i c endings , a rcha i c termina t ions of substant ives andverb s : he makes free use of el i s ion and frequently marks off the

S

INTRODUCT ION

first two feet from the res t of the l ine, interrupt ing the rhythm by a

sudden jerk. One of the especia l fea tures In the verse of Lucret iusi s h is method of dea l ing w i th the fourth foot , wh ich i s frequentlyconta ined In a s ingle word and ends w i th i t , wh ileVergi l prefers tohave a caesura . For instance Vergi l w r i tes ‘

a rma virumque canoTroiaequi primus ab oris ,’ invert ing thenatura l order of Trazag gm :

Lucret ius would be content to reta in the natura l order guz‘

Troz'

ae

and to dispensew i th the caesura which Vergil prefers to have. So in

our passage Lucret ius w ri tes‘

per totum corpus adhaesu,quod tant i sviribus auctos , nix vent i fulm ina grando ’

in these l ines Vergilwould probably havew ri tten ‘ totum per corpus adhaesu, tant i s quod ,vent i nix.

’

The poem leaves on the reader, and st i l l more on the bearer, animpress ion of grea t vigour and freedom of express ion untrammelledby the elabora t ion cons idered necessary by the later poets. Mr.

Dy

°

ufi'

in h is introduct ion aptlyquotes the words of Munro : ‘ I t hasoften struck me tha t h is gen ius i s akin to tha t of M il ton. He displays a wonderful depth and fervour of thought , expressed in

language of singular force and beauty ; an adm irable facul ty of

clear, vigorous and wel l susta ined ph ilosophica l reasoning ; and a

style equa l in i ts pur ity and correctness to that of Terence, Caesaror C i cero, and superior to tha t of any wri ter of the Augustan age.

’

Another grea t asset posses sed by Lucret ius is the imagina t iveins ight and exuberant origina l i ty by wh ich he p ictures to h imsel fand unfolds to his readers the long per iods of the early s truggles ofmankind In thedim reces ses of thepas t, unti l gradua l ly they reachedby the processes of evolution tha t development of civil i za t ion whichculm ina ted in the perfect ion of h is own t ime ad summum donecvenere cacumenMommsen closes h is sketch of Lucret ius w i th th is tr ibute : The

didact i c poem concern ing the Nature of Th ings , however much ini t may cha l lenge censure, has rema ined one of the most bri ll iantstars in the poorly i llum ina ted expanse of Roman l i tera ture.

’

THE PH ILOSOPH" OF EPICURUS

Epicurus ba sed h is phi losophy on the axiom tha t experiencea lone was the founda t ion- stone of certa inty : experience i s to be

ga ined from the impress ions of the senses : therefore sensat ion isthe standard of truth . Moreover, he held tha t the study of Na turew as des irab le in so far a s i t freed mankind from the trammel s ofrel igion and superst it ion.

In Phys ics he den ied divine agency in the crea t ion of the world,

ma inta in ing tha t i t wa s due to the col l i s ion and comb inat ions ofimmutable and i rreducible a toms, and that the meeting of thesea toms wa s rendered poss ible by the existence of void . S im i larlythe soul i tsel f i s composed of the l igh test atoms, and i s therefore of

THE PH ILOSOPH" OF EPICURUS

the same nature a s the body, though more agi le through the

excess ive l ightness of i ts compos i t ion yet i t w i l l perish w i th the

body and w il l have no future exi stence as i t,no less than the more

ma teria l and tangible world , ha s no d ivine element .In E th ics Epicurus held the v iew that pleasure i s the sole good

and,

’

pa in the sole ev i l : plea sure i s the absence of pa in. Menta lpleasures are the grea ter, forbodily pleasures aremerely ephemera l .To ensure freedom from pa in he taught the va lue of p la in l iving ,seeing in virtue not the end of l i fe, but ra ther the means to the endof l ife

,wh ich offered to him a state of tempera te equi l ibrium and

plea sant tranqui ll i ty , both mental and physica l So in

E th ics,no less than In Phys ics , we see tha t all idea of h igher and

more spi r i tua l l i fe i s ab sent , tha t the d iv ine element i s aga inlacking.

Wha t was a ph ilosophy to the mas ter became a rel igion to the

disciple, and Lucret ius in h is enthusia st ic adm i ra t ion for Epicuruspreached the gospel of Epicurean i sm more fervently than i tsfounder, excla im ing from the depths of hi s heart

‘ deus i l le fuit ,deus ’ (bk. 5.

THE POEM ‘ DE RERUM NATURA ’

Lucret ius w i shed to expound the doctrine of Epicurus not merelyfrom a des ire to put before h is readers h i s physica l system , but

ch iefly from a deeply rooted w i sh to free mankind from fear of

the gods and from the terrors of death which are caused by thebel ief m a future l ife : he therefore determ ined to expla in theytruena ture of th ings .Books one and two describe ful ly the physica l theories of Demo

critus and Ep icurus , dwel l ing on the nature of a toms and void , thech ief component parts of the un iverse. Book three show s that thesoul i s a ma ter ia l part of man and peri shes when the body diesthe next dea l s w i th the Epi curean theory of sense. The fifth bookdescr ibes the crea t ion of the world, the evolut ion of man and the

beginn ings of society . In the la st book Lucret ius put s before us

a number of natural phenomena and curios i t ies in nature, probab lyintending to rearrange and systemat i ze them before i t was actua l lypub l i shed .

THE SUB"ECT -MATTE R OF THE F IFTHBOOK

The fifth book of Lucret ius opens w i th a panegyric on Epicurus .The poet then promi ses a sketch of the creat ion of the world and of

the heavenly bodies , in order that men rea l iz ing themorta l natureof the world may not be enslaved to the bel ief tha t i t was crea ted

7

INTRODUCT ION

by the gods, who were in real i ty indifferent to the affa irs of mankind and had no inducement to exchange their leisured happinessfor the anxiety of world making. Surely too, if the gods had madethe world

,i t would have been both bet ter and happier. To

Lucret ius Na ture was the rea l crea t ive power . The world and

all tha t i s in i t is morta l ; wa ter,a ir

,fire, stones , ether i t self, all

gradual ly decay and die away. Ea rth had i ts beginn ing and mustha ve i ts end. He then goes on to describe the format ion of the

world out of indestructib le a toms wh ich col l ided and comb inedthe heav ier pa rt icles form ing the ea rth , the l ighter ones compos ingthe ether and the heavenly bod ies , and so the earth sank and the

ether rose. Next, he endeavours to describe the mot ions and

courses of the sta rs and to expla in the na ture of the sun,wh ich

he w i th the Epicureans ma inta ined was rea l ly of the s ize tha t i tappea i ed to them. After th is fol lows a descript ion of the recurrenceof days and n ight s

,of the success ion of the seasons, and an explana

t ion of the causes of ecl ipses.At th is point our select ion opens w i th the story of the creat ion of

herbage, an ima l s,b i rds, and las tly man produced from earth , the

all-mother. Lucret ius denies the poss ib i l i ty of beings of twofoldna ture, such a s Centaurs

, Satyrs , Scylla and the l ike. Thenfollow s an a ccount of the earl iest l i fe of man, the beginnings of

socia l intercourse,the d iscovery of fire and the development of

civil iza t ion. And now Lucret ius launches out into a b i t ter indictment of rel igion and descr ibes i ts ev i l effects on man. Next hetell s of the discovery of the use of meta ls

,the consequent develop

ment of war and i ts instruments, the cul t iva t ion of the soi l

,the

beginnings of mus ic , and the ob servance of the recurring seasons .Na tura l ly resul t ing from these arts come the closer l ife andcommun ion of man w i th man

,the discovery of let ters

,the

beginnings of h is tory,and the progress of the a rts and luxur ies

of l ife up to the elaborate civil i za t ion of h is own day.

D E R E R V M N A T V RA

L I BER V

E arth, tlzemotherqf all,firedneea’fi rst herbag e, t/zen animate

ira’s , S

ea , lastly mankind. Size also g ave tlzem na tura l

a mot/zer does to lzer e/zila'

. I n Me early day sseasons w ere tempera te.

PR INC I PIO genus herbarum viridemque nitorem

terra ded i t c ircum col l i s camposque per omnis ,

flori da fulserunt viridanti pra ta colore,arboribusque datumst variis exinde per auras

crescend i magnum immissis certamen habenis .

ut pluma a tque pi l i primum saetaeque creantur

quadrupedum membris et corpore pennipotentums i c nova tum tel lus herbas virgultaque primumsustulit

,inde loc i mortalia saecla creavit

mu l ta mod is mu l t is varia rat ione coorta .

nam neque de caelO cecidisse anima l ia possuntnec terres tria de salsis exisse lacunis .

linquitur ut mer i to maternum nomen adepta

terra s i t, e terra quoniam sunt cuncta crea ta .

multaque nunc et iam exsistunt an imalia terrisimbribus et cal i do sol i s concreta vapore ;quo m inus est mirum s i tum sunt plura coorta

et maiora, nova tel lure atque aethere adu l ta .

princ ip io genus alituum variaeque volucres

ova relinquebant exclusae tempore verno,folliculos ut nunc teretes aestate c icadae

linquunt sponte sua victum vitamque petentes.tum t ibi terra ded i t p rimum mortalia saecla .

multus en im ca lor atque umor superabat in arv is .

hoc ub i quaeque loc i regio opportuna dabatur,crescebant uteri terram radicibus apt i

9

T . LVCRETI CARI

quos ub i tempore maturo patefecerat aetas

infantum fug iens umorem aurasque petessens ,convertebat ib i na tura foram ina terrae

et sucum venis cogebat fundere apertis

consimilem lact i s , sicut nunc femina quaequecum peperit, du lc i repletur lacte, quod omnis

impetus in mammas convertitur i l le a l iment i .terra c ibum puer is, ves tem vapor, herba cubile

praebebat mu l ta et mol l i lanug ine abundans .

at novitas mund i nec frigora dura ciebat

nec n im ios aes tus nec magnis viribus auras .

omnia enim par i ter crescunt et robora sumunt. 820

M other earth has now in her old ag e cea sed bearing . A ll

thing s g radually chang e and decay ,even so it is w ith earth .

Quare et iam a tque et iam maternum nomen adepta

terra tenet meri to, quon iam genus ipsa creavit

humanum a tque an ima l prope certo tempore fud i tomne quod in magnis bacchatur montibu

’ pass im,

aeriasque s imu l volucris variantibu’ form i s .

sed quia finem aliquam pariendi debet habere,destitit, ut mu l ier spa tio defessa vetusto.

muta t en im mund i na turam —totius aetas

ex alioque a l ius s ta tus excipere omiiia debet,nec manet ulla su i s im i l i s res : omnIa mig ran t,omn ia comniutat na tura et verteregcegit i

namque a l iud putrescit et aevo'

debile languet ,porro al iud succrescit et e contemptibus ex i t .

s i c ig i tur mund i na turam totius aetas

muta t et ex al io terram s ta tus excipit ..alter,

quod tu l i t ut‘

nequeat, possit quod non tu l i t ante.

The earth a tfirstproduced many monsters and monstros ities ,but f ortuna tely na ture did not a llow these to propag a te theirhind, and so they g radually died out ag a in .

Multaque tum tel lus et iam portenta creare

conatast mira fac ie membrisque coorta,

l o

DE RERVM'

NATVRA V

androgynum, interutrasque nec utrum, utrimque remotum,

orba pedum part im , mannum viduata vicissim, 840

muta s ine ore et iam ,s ine vultu caeca reperta ,

vinctaque membrorum per totum corpus adhaesu,nec facere ut possent quicquam nec cedere quoquamnec vitare ma lum nec sumere quod foret usus .

cetera de genere hoc mons tra ac portenta creabat,

nequiquam,quon iam na tura absterruit auctum

nec potuere cupitum aetatis tangere fiorem

nec reper ire c ibum nec iung i per Veneri s res.

mu l ta videmus en im rebus concurrere debere,ut propagando possint procudere saecla .

Animals w hich did not possess some pre-

eminent quality or

na tural advantag e soon became extinct and fell a prey to thosetha t w ere strong er and better fitted for the strugg le f orexi stence. Others ow e their preserva tion to their domestica

tion by man.

Multaque tum internsse animantum saecla necessest

nec potuisse propagando procudere prolem.

nam quaecumque vides vesci vitalibus auris,

aut dolus aut virtus aut denique mobilitas est

ex ineun te aevo genus i d tutata reservans .

multaque sunt, nob is ex utilitate sua quae

commenda ta manent, tutelae trad ita nostrae.

princ ip io genus acre leonum saevaque Saeclatutatast v irtus, vu lp is dolus et fuga cervos .at levisomna canum fido cum pec tore corda

et genus omne quod est veterino semine partum

lanigeraeque s imu l pecudes et bucera saecla

omn ia sunt hominum tutelae trad ita, Memmi.

nam cupide fugere feras pacemque secutasunt et larga suo s ine pabula parta labore,quae damus utilitatis eorum praemia causa .

at qu is nil horum tribuit na tura, nec ipsa

sponte sua possent ut vi vere nec dare nobis

1 1

T . LVCRETI CAR I

utilitatem aliquam quare pateremur corumpraesidio nos tro pasci genus esseque tutum,

sc i l i cet haec aliis praedae lucroque iacebantindupedita su is fatalibus omn ia vinclis ,

donec ad interitum genus i d na tura redeg it.

Such strang emonsters as Centaurs , Sa ty rs , Scy lla , Chimaera ,

651 ,could never have ex isted outs ide the imag ina tion : f or in

these being s of tw ofold na ture the maturity cf the onefiart is

f ully developed before the maturity of the other part; a horse

w ould be s trong and vigorous w hile the human element w ould

still be tender, and ag a in the horse w ould be old and bey ond

w ork w hen the human element had just reached its streng th.

So too trees and plants s till reta in their characteristics and

cannot a t any ra te bey ond a certa in limit be transf ormed.

Sed neque Centauri fuerunt, nec tempore in u l loesse queunt dupl i c i na tura et corpore bino

ex alienigenis membris compacta , potes tas

hinc illinc part i s ut non par esse potissit.

i d l i cet hinc quamvis hebeti cognoscere corde.

princ ipio c ircum tribus act i s impiger ann i s

fioret equus , puer haudquaquam ; nam saepe et iam

ubera mammarum in somn i s lactantia quaeret.pos t ub i equum validae v ires aetate senecta

membraque deficiunt fugienti languida v i ta,tum demum pueri s aevo fiorente iuventas

occipit et mol l i vestit lanug ine ma las .ne forte ex hom ine et veterino semine equorum

confieri credas Centauros posse neque esse,

aut rabidis canibus succinctas semimarinis

corporibus Scyl las et cetera de genere horum ,

inter se quorum d iscord ia membra videmus ;

quae neque fiorescunt pari ter nec robora sumunt

corporibus neque proiciunt aetate senecta

nec s im i l i Venere ardescunt nec moribus un i s

conveniunt, neque sunt eadem iucunda per artus .

qu ippe videre l icet pinguescere saepe c icuta

1 2

DE RERVM NATVRA V

barbigeras pecudes, homini quae est acre venenum . 900

( denique) fiamma quidem cum corpora fu lva leonumtam soleat torrere atque urere quam genus omnevisceris in terri s quodcumque et sanguin i s exstet,qu i fieri potuit, trip l i c i cum corpore ut una,

prima leo, pos trema draco, media ipsa, Ch imaera

ore foras acrem flaret de corpore flammam ?

quare et iam tel lure nova caeloque recent ital ia qui fing it potuisse an ima l ia g igni,nixus in hoc unO novitatis nomine inan i

,

mu l ta l i cet s im i l i rat ione effutiat ore,

aurea tum dicat per terras flam ina vu lgofluxisse et gemmis florere arbusta suesse

aut hominem tanto membrorum esse impete natum,

trans mar ia a l ta pedum n i sus ut ponere posset

et manibus totum c ircum se vertere caelum .

nam quod mu l ta fuere in terri s semina rerumtempore quo primum tel lus an imal ia fud i t,nil tamen est signi mixtas potuisse creari

inter se pecudes compactaque membra animantum,

propterea quia quae de terris nunc quoque abundant 920

herbarum genera ac fruges arbustaque laetanon tamen inter se possunt comp lexa creari,

sed res quaeque suo r i tu procedit et omnesfoedere naturae certo

°

d iscrimina servant .

I n the day s of old men w erehardier than they arenow . Their

f ood w as the natura lproduce of the earth, their drinh w as the

running stream . They had neither fire nor clothing and lived

law less lives . L ifew as f ull of the terrors of the unhnow n f orthem

bas yet they were not confident of the superiority of man

over east.

At genus humanum mu l to fu i t illud in arvi s

durius , ut decuit, tel lus quod dura creasset,

et maioribus et solidis mag i s ossibus intusfundatum, validis aptum per v i scera nervi s ,

I 3

T . LVCRETI CAR I

nec fac i le ex aestu nec frigore quod caperetur

nec novitate c ib i nec lab i corpori s u l la.

multaque per caelum sol i s volventia lus travulg ivago vi tam tractabant more ferarum.

nec robustus era t curvi modera tor aratr i

quisquam,nec scibat ferro molirier arva

nec nova defodere in terram virgulta neque al t i sarboribus veteres dec idere falcibu’ ramos.

quod sol atque imbres dederant,quod terra crearat

sponte sua, sat i s i d placabat pectora donum .

glandiferas in ter curabant corpora quercus

plerumque ; et quae nunc h iberno tempore cern i s

arbuta pun i ceo her i ma tura colore,plurima tum tel lus etiam maiora ferebat.

multaque praeterea novitas tum florida mund i

pahu la dura tu l i t, miseris mortalibus ampla .

at sedare sitim fluvu fontesque vocabant,

ut nunc montibus e magnis decursus aquaiclaru

’citat late sitientia saecla ferarum .

denique nota vag i silvestria temp la tenebant

nympharum,quibus e scibant umor i’ fluenta

lubrica proluvie larga lavere umida saxa,umida saxa

,super v ir id i stillantia musco,

et part im p lano scatere atque erumpere campo .

necdum res ign i scibant tractare neque u t i

pellibus et spoliis corpus vest i re ferarum,

sed nemora atque cavos mont is silvasque colebant

et frut i ces inter condebant squal ida membraverbera ventorum vitare imbrisque coacti.

nec commune bonum poterant spectare neque u l l i smoribus inter se scibant nec legibus ut i .

quod cuique obtulerat praedae fortuna, ferebat

sponte sua s ib i qui sque valere et v ivere doctus .

et Venus in s i lv is iungebat corpora amantum ;

conciliabat enim vel mutua quamque cupidoI 4

DE RERVM NATVRA V

vel violenta viri v i s atque impen’

sa l ib idovel pret ium , glandes atque arbuta vel pira le‘

cta .

et manuum m i ra freti virtute pedumqueconsectabantur silvestria saecla ferarum

missilibus sax i s et magno pondere c lavaemultaque vincebant

,vitabant pauca latebris ;

saetigerisque pares subus silvestria membra

nuda dabant terrae nocturno tempore capti,

c ircum se foliis ac frondibus involventes .

nec plangore d iem magno solemque per agrosquaerebant pav id i palantes noct i s in umbri s

,

sed tacit i respectabant somnoque sepulti,

dum rosea face sol inferret lumina caelo.

a parv is quod en im consuerant cernere semper

al terno tenebras et lucem tempore g igni,non era t ut fieri possent mirarier umquamnec diffidere ne terras aeterna teneret

nox in perpetuum detracto lum ine sol i s .sed mag i s illud erat curae, quod saecla ferarum

infes tam m iseris faciebant saepe quietem .

eiectique domo fugiebant saxea tecta

spumigeri su is adventu validique leoni sa tque intempesta cedebant noc te paventes

hospitibus saevis instrata cubilia fronde.

And y et dea th w as not more f requent then than now ,

thoug h many w erehillea’and devoured by w ild bea sts , and others

perished f rom hung er orf rom ea ting fioisonous f ruits , y et f ar

g rea ter numbers are sla in now in a s ing le ba ttle, or are w reched

on voy ag es , while some ea t themselves to dea th or arepoisoned.

Nec n im io tum p lus quam nunc mortalia saecla

dulc ia linquebant lamentis lumina v i tae.

unus enim tum qui sque mag i s deprensus eorumpabula viva feri s praebebat, dentibus haus tus,et nemora ac mont i s gemitu silvasque replebat

I S

T. LVCRETI CAR I

v iva videns v ivo sepeliri viscera busto. .

et quos efl’

ug ium servarat corpore adeso,pos terius tremu las super u lcera taetra tenentes

palmas horriferis accibant vocibus Orcum,

donec eos v i ta privarant vermina saeva

expertis opis, ignaros qu id vu lnera vellent.

at non mu l ta virum sub s ignis mi l ia ductauna d ies daba t exitio nec turb i da pont i rooo

aequora lidebant navis ad saxa virosque.

hic temere incassum frus tra mare saepe coortum

saevibat leviterque minas ponebat inanis,nec poterat quemquam p lac idi pellacia pontisubdola pellicere in fraudem ridentibus und is,improba navigus rat io cum caeca iacebat.

tum penuria deinde c ib i languentia letomembra dabat, contra nunc rerum copia mersat.

i l l i imprudentes ips i s ib i saepe venenumvergebant, nunc dant ( ali i s ) sollertius ips i . I oro

Soon f ollowed the beg i nning s of civiliz a tion and f awhich, coupled w ith the discovery of fi re, g radually enerva ted

them . L ovebeg an tofilay itsfiart,first betw een man and w oman ,

then between parents and children, presently between neig hhours ,finally among na tions .

Inde casas postquam ac pel l i s ignemque pararunt,et mu l ier coniuncta viro concess i t in unumhospitium,

ac lecti socialia iura duobus

cogni ta sunt, prolemque ex se videre creatam,

t um genus humanum primum mollescere coepit.

igni s enim curavit ut alsia corpora frigus

non ita iam possent cael i sub tegmine ferre,et Venus imminuit vir is puerique parentumblanditiis fac i le ingen ium fregere superbum .

tunc et amicitiem coeperunt iungere aventes

finitimi inter se nec laedere nec violari, 1020

et pueros commendarunt muliebreque saeclum,

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T . LVCRETI CAR I

nec ra t ione docere u l la suadereque surd is ,qu id s i t opus facto, facilest neque en im paterentur

nec ra t ione u l la s ib i ferrent amplius auris

vocis inaud i tos sonitus obtundere frus tra .

pos tremo qu id in hac mirabi le tantoperest re,

s i genus humanum, cu i vox et l ingua vigeret,

pro var io sensu var ia res voce notaret ?

cum pecudes mutae, cum denique saecla ferarum

d iss imi l i s soleant voces variasque ciere,

cum metus aut dolor est et cum iam gaudia gliscunt.quippe etenim l i cet i d rebus cognos cere apertis .

i rri ta ta canum cum primum magna Molossum

mol l ia ricta fremunt duros nudantia dent is,

longe a l io sonitu rabie restricta minantur,

et cum iam la trant et vocibus omn ia complent.

et catulos b lande cum l ingua lambere temptant

aut ubi eos iactant ped ibus morsuque petentessuspensis teneros imitantur dentibus haus tus ,longe a l io pacto gannitu vocis adu lant,et cum desert i baubantur in aedibus aut cum

plorantes fug iunt summisso corpore p lagas .denique non hinnitus i tem differre v idetur,inter equas ub i equus florenti aetate iuvencuspinnigeri saevit calcaribus i c tus amoris

et fremitum patulis sub naribus ed i t ad arma,et cum s i c a l ias concussis artubus hinnit ?

pos tremo genus alituum variaeque volucres,

accip i tres a tque ossifragae merg ique marini sfluctibus in salso vrctum vitamque petentes,longe a l ias a l io iaciunt in tempore voces,et cum de victu certant praedaeque repugnant.et part im mutan t cum tempestatibus una

raucisonos cantus, cornicum ut saecla vetus ta

corvorumque greges ub i aquam dicuntur et imbris

poscere et interdum ventos aurasque vocare.

1 8

DE RERVM NATVRA V

ergo s i varu sensus anima l ia cogunt,

muta tamen cum s int , var ias emittere voces ,quanto mortalis mag i s aequumst turn potuissed iss im i l i s a l ia a tque a l ia res voce notare"

L ightning ,or possibly the friction of branches in the firs t

instance, g ave or sugg ested to men the use of fi re. The sun

itself by its ripening action onfruit and corn w ould lead men byanalogy to cooh theirf ood.

I llud in his rebus tac i tus ne forte requiras,fu lmen detulit in terram mortalibus ignem

primitus, inde omnis flammarum diditur ardor.

mu l ta videmus en im caelestibus inlita flammis

fu lgere, cum cael i donavit p laga vapore.

et ramosa tamen cum vent i s pu lsa vac i llansaestuat in ramos incumbens arboris arbor,exprimitur validis extritus viribus igni set micat interdum fiamma i fervidus ardor,mutua dum inter se rami stirpesque teruntur. I too

quorum utrumque dedisse potes t mortalibus ignem.

inde c ibum coquere ac flammae mollire vapore

sol docuit, quon iam mitescere mu lta videbant

verberibus radiorum a tque aestu victa per agros .

ll"en w ith orig ina l ideas g radually ra ised manhind to the

hig her civiliz a tion of combined life and property . A tfirst themerit of beauty, streng th, and intellect had g rea t w eig ht, but

g radually thepower of w ealth becamepre-eminent; theg row th ofambition w as often ruinous to its victims , w ho f or their f ollyandg reed well deserved the destruction w ith w hich Retribution

often vis ited them .

Inque d ies magi s hi victum vitamque prioremcommutare novis monstrabant rebu’ ben igni

,

ingenio qui praestabant et corde vigebant.

coudere coeperunt urb is arcemque loca repraes i d ium reges ipsi s ibi perfug iumque,et pecus a tque agros divisere a tque dedere 1 1 10

pro fac ie cuiusque et viribus ingenioqueI 9

T . LVCRETI CAR I

nam fac ies mu l tum valuit viresque vigebant.

posterius res inventast aurumque repertum,

quod fac i le et validis et pulchris dempsit honorem

divitioris enim sec tam plerumque sequunturquamlibet et fortes et pulchro corpore cret i .

quod Sqls vera vitam ratione gubernet,divitiae grandes bom in i sunt v ivere parceaequo an imo neque en im est umquam penuria parvi .at c laros homines voluerunt se a tque potentis , 1 120

ut fundamento stabi l i fortuna maneretet placidam possent opu len t i degere v i tam

,

nequiquam, quon iam ad summum succedere honorem

certantes i ter infestum fecere v ia i,

et tamen e summo, quas i fu lmen, deicit ictosinvid ia interdum contemptim in Tartara taetra

°

invid ia quon iam , ceu fu lmine, summa vaporant

plerumque et quae sun t aliis mag i s ed i ta cumque ;ut satius mu l to iam s i t parere quietumquam regere imper io res vel le et regna tenere.

proinde s ine incassum defess i sanguine sudent,

angustum per i ter luctantes ambitionis ;

quandoquidem sapiunt a l ieno ex ore petuntqueres ex auditis potius quam sensibus ipsis ,

nec magis i d nunc est neque erit mox quam fu i t ante. 1 135

{Monarchy w a s overthrow n and anarchy ensued, until self-tu

teres t taug ht man to appoint a uthori ties respons iblef or thema in

tenanceof law and order andfor the suppress ions of crime and

blood-feuds . And now even if a man may occas iona lly escapepunishment, he cannot avoid the sting s of hz s ow n conscience.

Ergo regibus occisis subversa iacebat

pris t ina maiestas soliorum et sceptra superba,et capi t i s summi praeclarum ins igne cruentum

sub ped ibus vu lg i magnum lugebat honorem ;nam cupide conculcatur n imis ante metutum .

res itaque ad summam faecem turbasque redibat,

ao

DE RERVM NATVRA V

imperium s ib i cum ac summatum qu isque petebat.

inde magistratum part im docuere creare

iuraque constituere, ut vellent leg ibus ut i .

nam genus humanum , defessum v i colere aevum ,

ex inimicitiis languebat ; quo mag i s ipsumsponte sua cecidit sub leges artaque iura.

acrius ex ira quod en im se qu isque parabat

ulcisci quam nunc concessumst leg ibus aequis,

hanc ob rem est homines pertaesum v i colere aevum .

inde metus maculat poenarum praemia vi tae.

circumretit en im v i s a tque iniuria quemquea tque, unde exortast

,ad cum plerumque revertit,

nec facilest placidam ac pacatam degere vi tamqui viola t fact i s commun ia foedera pac i s .ets i fa l l i t en im divum genus humanumque,perpetuo tamen i d fore c lam difiidere debet ;quippe ub i se mu l t i per somnia saepe loquentesaut morbo del i rantes protraxe feranturet celata ( d iu ) in med ium peccata dedisse.

The beg inning sqf relig ion . Vis ions and dreamsfirstplantedin man a belief in the ex istence of g ods . And the immutable

appearanceQf these visions w ould g ive rzse to the belief in theimmortali ty qf deiti .es Ag ain the unaccountable chang es ofsea sons and celestial phenomena w o uld na turally result in the

shy being assig ned to the g ods a s their especia l province or

sphere of action and consequently as their home.

Nunc quae causa deum per magnas numina gent i spervulgarit et ararum compleverit urb is

suscipiendaque curarit sollemnia sacra,quae nunc in magnis florent sacra rebu

’locisque,

unde et iam nunc est mortalibus insitus horror

qu i delubra deum nova toto suscitat orb i

terrarum et festis cog i t celebrare diebus,non ita difficilest rat ionem reddere verb i s .

qu ippe etenim iam tum divum mortalia sacelaeg regias animo facies v ig i lante videbant

2 1

T. LVCRETI CAR I

et mag i s in somn i s m irando corpor is auctu.

h is ig i tur sensum tribuebant propterea quod

membra movere videbantur vocesque superbas

mittere pro fac ie praeclara et viribus ampl i s .aeternamque dabant vi tam, qu ia semper eorum

suppeditabatur fac ies et forma manebat,et tameh omnino quod tant i s viribus auctos

non temere u l la v i convinc i posse putabant.fortunisque i deo longe praestare putabant,quod mort i s t imor haud quemquam vexaret eorum,

et s imu l in somn i s qu ia mu l ta et mira videbant

efficere et nu l lum capere ipsos inde laborem .

praeterea caeli rat iones ord ine certoet varia annorum cernebant tempora vert i

nec poterant qui bus i d fieret cognoscere cans i s .ergo perfugium s ibi habebant omnia d iv i s

tradere et illorum nutu facere omnia fiecti.

in caeloque deum sed is et temp la locarunt,per caelum volv i qu ia sol et luna v idetur,luna dies et nox et noct i s s igna severanoctivagaeque faces cael i fiammaeque volantes ,nubi la sol imbres nix ven t i fu lmina grandoet rapidi fremi tus et murmura magna minarum .

M en have courted misery by assig ning to the g ods not onlysupernaturalpow ers but also the capricious use of them . The

truly pious man is not the superstitious man, but rather he

w hose conscience is a t rest. The va stness of the universefills usw i th a larm , thunder terrzfies us lest i t be the harbing er ofdivine veng eance on our crimes . The mighty streng th qf thesea , of the w ind and of earthguahes natura lly instil into men

’

s

minds a heartful realiz ation of their ow n z'

nszgnzficance.

O genus infelix humanum,ta l ia d ivi s

cum tribuit facta a tque i ras adiunxit acerbas "

quantos tum gemitus ips i s ibi , quantaque nobis

vulnera,quas lacrimas peperere minoribu

’nostris '

nec p ietas ullast velatum saepe videri

22

DE RERVM NATVRA V

vertier ad lapidem atque omnis accedere ad aras

nec procumbere hum i pros tra tum et pandere palmas 1 200

an te deum delubra nec aras sangu ine mu l tospargerequadrupedum nec votis nectere vota,sed mage pacata posse omn ia mente tueri .

nam cum suspicimus magn i caelestia mund itemp la super stellisque micantibus aethera fixum,

et ven i t in mentem sol i s lunaeque viarum,

tunc aliis oppressa mal i s in pectora curai l la quoque expergefactum caput erigere infit,nequae forte deum nobi s immensa potes tas

s i t,vario motu quae cand ida s i dera verset . 1 2 10

temptat en im dubiam mentem rationis egestas,

ecquaenam fueri t mund i geni ta l i s or igo,et s imu l ecquae s i t finis , quoad moenia mund isolliciti motus hunc possint ferre laborem ,

an divinitus aeterna dona ta sa luteperpetuo possint aevi labentia tractu

immens i val i das aevi contemnere v iri s .praeterea cu i non an imus formidine divum

contrahitur, cu i non correpunt membra pavore,fulminis horribili cum p laga torri da tel lus 1 220

contremit et magnum percurrunt murmura caelum ?non popu l i gentesque tremunt, regesque superb icorripiunt divum percussi membra t imore,nequid ob admissum foede dictumve superbe

poenarum grave s i t solvendi tempus adultum ?summa et iam cum vis v iolent i per mare vent iinduperatorem c lass i s super aequora verrit

cum validis par i ter leg ionibus atque elephantis,

non divum pacem votis ad i t ac prece quaesitventorum pavidus paces animasque secundas ,nequiquam, quon iam violento turb ine saepe

correptus n i lo fertur minus ad vada let i ?usque adeo res humanas vi s abd ita quaedam

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T. LVCRET I CAR I

obterit et pulchros fasc i s saevasque securis

proculcare ac lud ibrio s ibi habere videtur.denique sub ped ibus tel lus cum tota vacillat

concussaeque cadunt urbes dubiaeque minantur,quid mirum s i se temnunt mortalia saecla

a tque potestates magnas mirasque relinquuntin rebus vir is divum,

quae cuncta gubernent ?

Then followed thediscovery of metals by theheating of theea rthf romf orestfires hind/ed by lig htning or by man

’

s ag ency . The

meta ls cong ealed and a ttracted menfirst by their beauly , then bytheir utility . They learned to f use them and bea t them into

shape, a tfirstf or use in ordinary lif e. Orig inally copper w a s

va lued more highly than g old or s ilver g radually g old w on

thepremier posi tion even so does the w heel of Fortune mahe

a ll thing s chang ef rom prosperity to adversi ty andf rom adver

sity toprosperity .

Quod superest, aes a tque aurum ferrumque repertumst

et s imu l argen t i pondus plumbique potestas,ign i s ub i ingentis s i lvas ardore cremarat

montibus in magnis, seu cael i fu lm ine misso,s i ve quod in ter se bel lum s i lves tre gerenteshostibus intulerant i gnem formidinis ergo,s ive quod inducti terrae bon ita te volebant

pandere agros pinguis et pascua reddere rura,s ive feras interficere et ditescere praeda .

nam fovea atque ign i prius est venarier ortum

quam saepire plag is sa l tum canibusque ciere.

quidquid i d est, quacumque e causa flammeus ardor

horribili sonitu s i lvas exederat a l t i sab radicibus et terram percoxerat ign i ,manabat venis ferventibus in loca terraeconcava conven iens argent i ri vus et auri ,aeris i tem et plumbi. quae cum concreta videbant

pos terius claro in terra splendere colore,tollebant n i t i do capt i levique lepore,et s imi l i formata videbant esse figura

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T . LVCRET I CAR I

miscebant fluctus et vu lnera vasta serebant

et pecus a tque agros adimebant. nam fac i le ol l i somn ia cedebant armatis nuda et inerma .

inde minutatim processit ferrens ens i s

versaque in opprobrium spec ies est falcis aenae,

et ferro coepere solum proscindere terrae

exaequataque sunt creperi certamina bel l i .et prius est armatum in equ i conscendere cos tas

et moderarier hune frenis dextraque vigerequam b l ingo curru bel l i temptare pericla .

et biiugos prius est quam b is coniungere binos

et quam falciferos arma tum escendere currus .

inde boves lucas turri to corpore, taetras,anguimanus, bel l i docuerunt vu lnera Poen isufferre et magnas Mart i s tu

'

rbare catervas .

s i c alid ex a l io peperit d iscord ia tri st i s,horrib i le humanis quod gen t ibus esset in armis ,inque d ies bel l i terroribus addidit augmen .

All sorts of w ild animals were tra ined f or w ar, but the

a ttempts w ere unsuccesy‘ul

,a s the bea sts made no distinction

betw een friend and f oe in thef ury of thef ray . F inally onlywhen in despa ir the weaher had recourse to such a llies .

Temptarunt et iam tauros in moenere bel l iexpertique sues saevos sunt m i t tere in hos t i s .

et val i dos part im prae se m i sere leonescum doctoribus armatis saevisque mag istrisqu i moderarier his possent vinclisque tenere,nequiquam,

quon iam permixta caede calentes

turbabant saevi nu l lo d iscrim ine turmas,terrificas capitum quatientes undique cri s tas,nec poterant equites fremitu perterrita equorum

pectora mu lcere et frenis convertere in host i s .

i rr i ta ta leae iaciebant corpora sal tuundique et adversum venientibus ora petebant

et nec opinantis a tergo deripiebant26

DE RERVM NATVRA V

deplexaeque dabant in terram vu lnere victos,

morsibus adfixae validis a tque unguibus uncis .

iactabantque suos tauri pedibusque terebant

et la tera ac ventri s hauribant subter equorum

com ibus et terram minitanti fronte ruebant.

et validis socios caedebant dentibus apri

tela infracta suo tingentes sanguine saevi,

perm ixtasque dabant equitum peditumque ru inas .nam transversa feros exibant dent i s adactus

iumenta aut pedibus ven tos erec ta petebant,nequiquam,

quon iam ab nervis succ i sa videres

concidere a tque g ravi terram consternere casu .

s iquos ante dom i domitos sa t i s esse putabant,effervescere cernebant in rebus agendis

vulneribus c lamore fuga terrore tumultu,

nec poterant ullam partem reducere eorum

difl'

ugiebat en im varium genus omne ferarum ;

ut nunc saepe boves lucae ferro ma le mactaedifl

’

ugiunt, fera fa ta su i s cum mu l ta dedere.

sed facere i d non tam vincendi spe voluerunt,

quam dare quod gemerent hos tes, ipsique perire,qu i numero diffidebant armisque vacabant.

The invention qf w eaving f ollowed the discovery of iron,

which w a s usedf or mahing the necessary instruments . A tfirstmen did the w eaving ,

till the scofi s of thef armers drove them to

resig n such w arh to w omen .

Nexilis ante fu i t ves t i s quam text i le tegmen .

text i le post ferrumst, qu ia ferro tela paratur,nec ratione al ia possunt tam levia gigniins ilia ac fus i rad i i scapique sonantes .et facere an te viros lanam na tura coeg it

quam mu l iebre genus ; nam longe praestat in arte 1 355

et sollertius est mu l to genus omne viri le ;agricolae donec vitio vertere severi ,ut muliebribus i d manibus concedere vellent

2 7

T . LVCRETI CAR I

a tque ips i pari ter durum sufferre laborema tque opere in duro durarent membra manusque.

N a turew as the chief instructress of man in ag riculture. Byobservation man learned how to sow seeds and to g raf t and

cultivate the land,until thepresent high perf ection of f a rming

ha s been a tta ined.

At spec imen sationis et insitionis or igoipsa fu i t rerum primum na tura crea tr ix,arboribus quon iam bacae glandesque caducae

tempes t iva dabant pu l lorum examina subter ;

unde et iam libitumst s t i rp i s committere ramis

et nova defodere in terram virgulta per agros .inde a l iam a tque al iam culturam dulc is agel l itemptabant fructusque feros mansuescere terram

cernebant indu lgendo blandeque colendo.

inque d ies magi s in montem succedere s i lvascogebant infraque locum concedere cultis,

pra ta lacus rivos segetes vinetaque laetacollibus et campis ut haberent, a tque olearum

caerula distinguens in ter p laga currere posset

per tumulos et convallis camposque profusaut nunc esse vides var io distincta leporeomnia

,quae pomis intersita dulcibus ornant

arbustisque tenen t felicibus obsita c ircum .

S o too man learnt s ing ing from birds,reed an

play ing f rom hearing thew ind s blow throug h reed beds . [Mus icw a s especia lly popular in the country and a t therusticf estiva ls ,and roug h thoug h it w ould seem to us , it g ave the peasantsg rea tplea sure. L ife became less s imple, luxury crept in men

learned to despise acorns as f ood a nd stains of bea sts a s clothing :

now they strug g le to deelethemselves w ith purple and g old, and

a llow g reed of g a in and ambition to mar the na tural happiness

At l i quidas avium voces im itarier ore

ante fui t mu l to quam levia carm ina cantuconcelebrare homines possent aurisque iuvare.

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DE RERVM NATVRA V

et zephyri, cava per calamorum, s ib i la primumag rest i s docuere cavas inflare c icutas .

inde minutatim du lc is didicere querelas ,t ib ia quas fundit dig itis pu lsata canentum,

av ia per nemora ac s i lvas saltusque repertas ,

per loca pastorum deserta a tque ot ia dia .

haec animos ol l i s mulcebant a tque iuvabant

cum sa t ia te cib i ; nam tum sunt omnia cord i .

saepe itaque inter se pros tra t i in gramine mol l ipropter aquae rivum sub ramis arboris altae

non magnis opibus iucunde corpora habebant,praesert im cum tempestas ridebat et ann i

tempora pingebant viridantis floribus herbas .

tum ioca, tum sermo, tum du lces esse cach inn iconsuerant. agres ti s en im tum musa vigebat

tum caput a tque umeros plexis‘

red imire coron i s

fioribus et foliis la sc ivia laeta monebat,a tque extra numerum procedere membra moventis

duriter‘

et duro terrarn pede pellere matrem

unde oriebantur r isus dulcesque cach inn i ,omn ia quod nova tum mag i s haec et m i ra vigebant.

et vigilantibus hinc aderant solacia somni ,ducere multimodis voces et flectere cantus

et supera ca lamos unco percurrere labro ;unde et iam vig i les nunc haec accepta tuentur

et numerum servare recens didicere, neque h i lomaiorem interea capiunt dulcedini

’

fructum

quam s i lves tre genus capiebat terrigenarum.

nam quod ades t praesto, ni s i qu id cognovimus ante

suavius,in primis p lacet et pollere videtur,

posteriorque fere mel ior res i l la repertaperd i t et immutat sensus ad prist ina quaeque.

s i c odium coepit gland is , s i c i l la relicta

s trata cubilia sunt herbis et frondibus aucta .

pel l i s i tem cecidit ves t i s contempta ferinae

29

T . LVCRETI CAR I

quam reor inv id ia tal i tunc esse repertam

ut letum insidiis qu i gessit primus obiret,et tamen inter eos distractam sanguine mu l todispernsse neque in fructum convertere quisse.

tunc ig i tur pel les,nunc aurum et purpura curis

exercent hominum v i tam belloque fa t igantquo mag i s in nobis, ut Opinor, cu lpa resedit.

frigus en im nudos s ine pellibus excruciabat

terrigenas at nos nil laedit veste carere

purpurea a tque auro signisque ingentibus apta,dum p lebeia tamen s i t quae defendere possit.

ergo hominum genus incassum frustraque laboratsemper et in curis consumit inanibus aevum ,

nimirum qu ia non cognovi t quae s i t habend ifinis et omnino quoad crescat vera voluptas .idque minutatim Vi tam provexit in al tumet bel li magnos commovit funditus aes tus .

Gradua lly men learned to anticipa te the seasons of theyear byw atching themotions of the sun and moon .

At vig i les mund i magnum versa t i le temp lumsol et luna suo lus trantes lumine c ircumperdocuere homines annorum tempora vert i

et certa rat ione geri rem a tque ord ine certo.

M en g radually learned the value of social life in towns and

lands w ere allotted to individua ls . S imilar influences developedtheg row th of alliance between cities . The inventivepow er ofman now devised ships and navig a tion, the alphabet and

literature.

Iam validis saept i degebant turribus aevum

et d iv isa colebatur discretaque tel lus,iam mare velivolis florebat puppibus 5 urbes

auxi l ia ac socios iam pacto foedere habebant,carminibus cum res ges tas coepere poetae

tradere ; nec mu l to priu’ sunt elementa reperta .

30

DE RERVM NATVRA V

propterea qu id s i t prius actum reSpicere aetas

nos tra nequit, n i s i qua ra t io ves t ig ia monstrat.

M an by g radual experience has evolved va rious useful arts ,and la ter many hinds of luxury ,

ma inta ining a steady if s low

prog ress tofull development, a ndfinally reaching theperf ectionof thepresent time

Navig ia a tque agri cu l turas moenia legesarma v ias ves ti s et cetera de genere horum,

praemia, del i c ias quoque v i tae funditus omnis ,

carm ina picturas, et daedala s igna pol i re,usus et impigrae s imu l experientia ment i spaulatim docuit pedetemptim progredientis .

s i c unumquicquid paulatim protrahit aeta s

in med ium ratioque in lum in i s erig it oras .

namque alid ex a l io clarescere cord i ’ videbant

artibus,ad summum donec venere cacumen .

N O T E S

783. p rincip io,‘at the beginning of the world .

’The account

of the crea t ion of the world in the first chapter of Genes i s may becompared w i th th i s passage. The stra ightforward simpl ici ty ofboth a ccounts and the harmony of the b ibl ica l and pagan na rrat ivesare rema rkable. The ea rly ph ilosophers agreed tha t primarily a ll

l i ving th ings sprang from the earth . S im i lar descript ions of thecreat ion are found at the beginn ing of the firs t book of Ovid’sM etamorphoses and in Hes iod’s Worhs and D ay s .

786. arboribu s . Wakefield quotes Empedocles’ theory tha therbage was created first

, npé‘

rra raw{gimp rr‘

r de'

v’

o‘

pa e’

x‘

yrjs‘ dvadfiva t .certamen i s the subject to datumst.787. m agnum certamen ,

‘a keen riva l ry.

’

imm i s s i s h ab en i s ,‘ in unchecked profusion

’a somewhat

incongruous metaphor for the riotous luxuriance of th ick junglegrow th . Vergi l, however, has no hes i ta t ion in using the phra se ina s im i lar context, where he describes the vine shoot as grow ingfreely Georg . i i . 364 palmes se agi t laxis immissus habenis788. p rimum . Munro says tha t as b irds have rudiments of

feathers and an ima ls have ha i r at b irth and before they Show anyact iv i ty in l ife, so the earth at crea t ion had herbage before i tproduced animate beings Ov. Met. i . 44 iussit fronde tegi s ilva s ’.789. p enn ip otentum : a word coined by Lucret ius , found onlyhere and in i i . 878.

791 . inde loci : so too in l . 443 ; cf. 1. 807 ubi loci , a parti t ivegeni t ive cf. postea loci

,

‘afterwards .’

m ortali a s aecla , all l iving creatures ,’thegenerat ions of l iv ing

creatures that must die.

792 . multa.modi s multi s . Not ice the all i teration ; see Introduct ion

,The S tyle of Lucret ius. Observe tha t Lucret ius has no

object ion to the repet i t ion of meaning in different words cf. 1. 80 1 ,l . 1002 ‘ temere incassum frustra ’

,l . 1050 . Here modis multis=

varia ra tione.

793. de caelo. Cf. 11. 1 153‘ haud mortalia saecla superne aurea

de caclo dem is i t funi s in arva ’

: the S toics ma inta ining tha t l i fecame from heaven let down by a golden cord . Lucret ius deniestha t the gods had any interest or share in the crea t ion of the

worl d.

794. de s als is lacun i s =mare ; cf. 11. 1 155 nec ma re necfluctusplangentes saxa crearunt, sed genuit tel lus eadem quae nunc a l i t exse

’: Lucret ius says tha t l ife could not be genera ted in the firs t

instance in the sea , but required the warmth and nurturing care ofmother earth .

795. linqu i tur. We find th i s impersona l useof linquitur w i th a t

32

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LUCRET IUS v . 8 18- 39

8 18. novi ta s . See on nova , l. 800, and on ova , l . 802.

820. As the world grew and developed , so a lso d id the extremesof hea t and cold gradual ly becomemore ma rked.

821 - 2. Cf. 795 6.

82 1 . etiam a tque etiam : understand tibi ,‘ let me tel l you aga in

and aga in.

’

823. humanum . O vid sa id tha t creat ion found its consumma t ionin the b i rth of man. M et. i . 76

‘sanctius h is an imal mentisque

capacius altae deerat adhuc, et quod dominari in cetera possetnatus homo est

’.

an im al hereonly in Lucret ius in the s ingular.p rop e certo temp ore. Cf. Verg . Georg . i i . 338, quoted in note

on ova , l. 802.

fudit expres ses wel l the generous product iveness of nature.

Verg . Georg . i . 13 fud i t equum tel lus824. montibu

’

. A favouri te suppress ion of final s in Lucret iusthe usage i s common a lso in the earl ier La t in poets fina l s ,especial ly in short syllables, was l igh tly sounded.

825. vari an tibu’. Cf. l . 801.

826. finem usua lly ma scul ine, but fem in ine in ante and postcla ssica l wri ters and in poets cf. 11. 1213, 1432. There i s only oneinstance of the p lura l w i th a femin ine adj. Va rro L . L . v. 1 . 13 .

827. desti tit . Munro quotes i i . 1 150 effetaque tellus v ixanima l ia parva crea tquae cuncta creavit sacela

spatio vetu sto= senectute.

828—9. Cf. l l. 834—5.

829. ex cip ere, to overtake.

’

830. m anet, rema ins unchanged .

’ Cf. l . 1 176.

83 1 . vertere : intrans i t ive (cf. iv. 1 130) for the more usual severtere or verti . In 1. 1422 convertere i s used in the same way.

Lucret ius uses a lso as neuter verbs volvo, traho, movea, teneo,immuto. For the subs tance of 11. 831—3 cf. 11. 1276—8.

832—3. The doctrine of ia ovopla , the equil ibrium or balance ofthe

world, as held by Ep icurus, appears here.

833. p orro, forthw i th , ’ and a t once.

’

contemp tibus . Note the use of the plural as in835. a lter : for ali ;us cf. 1. 829.

836. The earth cea ses i ts old funct ions and develops fresh onesmore su itab le to the needs and the progress of civi l i za t ion, and so

the equil ibrium i s ma inta ined . Observe how s im i lar th is i s to theop in ions of modern science on the variat ions and ext inction of

certa in species . With possit repea t ut.838. m ira facie : descript i ve ab lat ive.

839. androg ynum ,

‘the man-

’woman, a being comb ining the

two sexes . the word is borrowed from the Greek , a s a l so the

synonym hermaphrodi .tus The Lat in word i s semivir or semimas .

interu tra sque. So in l. 472, an adverb ; cf. i .nterea For the

form of the term ina t ion Munro compares a lias and f oras . Noteinterutra sque followed by utrum,

utrimque. Cf. 11. 1 163—4 sacra ,sa

’

cra, and note.

34

LUCRET IUS v. 840—58

neo utrum = neutrum nec and ne were the old forms of theneg a t ive ; cf. neg leg o, nec-leg o, not to regard, disregard.

840. orb a : more commonly cons tructed w i th the abla t ive. Verg .

Georg . iv. 309 visenda modis anima l ia mi ris , trunca pedum pr imo ’

.

vi duata : a l so farmore usual ly constructed w i th the ab la t ivecf. i i . 843 corpora secreta teporis i. 1041 materies aversa via i

vi oi s s im = contra .

841. vultu= luminibus , oculis . Cf. Verg . Aen. xi i . 70 fig itque invirg inevultus These monstrosi t ies of nature st i ll recur from t imeto t ime.

842. adh aesus i s a Lucretian word .

844. quod foret us us . So in iv. 831‘ quae foret usus guod i s

a ccusa t ive of reference (in p lace of the usual abla t ive) orelse sumerei s understood ; Plaut. Truc. v . 10

‘

puero opus est cibum ’. Ca to

R . R . 15 (ca lci s) opus est unum modium Duff compares l . 1053‘quid s i t opus facto ,’ ‘ in respect of what there i s need of action.

’

MS . has quod volet usus846. ab s terru it . So in iv. 1 233 nec d ivina satum gen i ta lem

num ina cuiquam absterrent‘ frighten away ,

’ hence,remove.

’

847 . cup itum aetati s florem . Cf. i i i . 770 cupitum aeta tistangere fiorem crescere, i . e. they peri shed before reach ingmaturity. So in Greek we find in P indar 3107 09 ( was ,

‘the flower

or prime of l ife.

’

848. V eneri s res ,‘ un ion of love or

‘marriage.

’

The Romanswere fond of us ing proper names ins tead of common nouns ; cf.Ter. E un . i v. 5. 6

‘ s ine Cerere et Libero friget Venus’

,Love in

a but w i th water and a crust,’Keats . We find the same proverb in

C ic. N . D . i i . 23. 60.

849. All conditions mus t be favourable to ensure procrea t ion.

concurrere,‘ happen at the same t ime,

’

meet together.’

debere i s theonly instanceof hypermeter inLucretius i t i s notuncommon inVerg il,but i s practicallylunknown in Greek hexameters .850. Not ice the strong al l itera t ion in l . 856 we find a more

empha t ic instance st il l . The first syllable of both the verb and

the subs t. propag o i s va riab le ; cf. 1. 856.

p rocudere : i . e. to establ ish the continui ty : the metaphor i sfrom forging meta l , to weld on the anvi l of l ife the l inks of futuregenera t ions .’ Cf. P laut. P s . i i . 2. 20

‘ haec m ih i incus est : procudam ego hodie hinc multos dolos

’

.

855. tum : in the old days when l ife was a struggle and only thebest fit ted survived , exactly as modern sc ience teaches us .

an im antum : all kinds of l iv ing crea tures .856. Cf. l . 8563.

857. The old pronunc iat ion of the Lat in v as the Engl i sh w

would emphas ize the a l l i terat ion of such l ines as these. D rinkingin the breath of l ife.

’

Verg . Aen . i . 546‘

s i vescitur aura aetheria ’

858. These three qua l i t ies represent the fox , the l ion, and the

deer mentioned in 11. 862—3.

aut. denique, or even the adverb impl ies that th is physical35 C 2

LUCRET IUS V. 859—75

qua l ity i s a gift inferior to the two mental qual i t ies. Take est w i th

859. ex ineunte aevo= a primis annis.

reservan s, preserve,

’ i . e. keep back for something bet terthan dea th .

860. Here the domest i c an ima l s wh ich are ment ioned in IL 864- 6are meant , such a s dogs

,horses , sheep , and ca ttle.

862. princip io ,‘in the first place

,

’

not as in

s aecla : se. anima lium not homi .num Verg . Aen. iv . 154‘atque agmina cervi pulverulenta fuga g lomerant .

levi somna : (m ag key. Cf. Hor. 0d. i i i. ‘vig ilum canum

tr i stes excubiae munierantcum has the same force a s the s imple abla t ive and th i s use i s

common in Lucret ius ; cf. 1. 904. Dufi'

adds I. 352‘ sol ido cum

corpore ’. He ment ions al so the instance in Homer of the fa i thful

dog Argos , and remarks tha t Pla to finds in the dog the qual i t iesproper for the guardians of h is idea l S tate. Republ. i i . 375, 376.

865. veterino : more fully 1n 1. 890 ‘veterino sem ine equorum ’

,

horses : theword 15 contracted from vehiterinus from veho, a bea stof burden

,ra ther than a draught- an ima l .

866. bucera : from the Greek Bovxepws : in 11. 663 we have‘buceriaeque greges ’. Ov. M et. vi . 395 lanigerosque gregesarmentaque bucera pavi t ’.867 . M omm i . Ga ius Memmius was a Roman noble of dis

tinguished b i rth : after hold ing the praetorsh ip he served as

propraetor of B i thynia . I t was to th i s Memmius tha t Lucret iusdedicated h is poem.

868. secuta : in the sense of conseguor orpeto, i t governs pabula

869. suo s ine labore : man suppl ies domes t1c an imals w i th foodprepared by h is own labour in return for the labour and servicesperformed by them.

87 1. qui s : i . e. animali a quibus.

h orum : i . e. no espec ia l qual i t ies to recommend them. The

fol low ing l ines i llustrate Da rw in’s theory of the surviva l of thefi ttest .872. sp on te sua . So in II. 938, 961 ; originally, ‘

of thei r ownfree w i ll ,

’ here,‘by thei r own efi

'

orts .

’

Plaut . Truc. i i . 6. 45‘nequeo pedibus mea sponte ambulare ’

.

873 . quare= guamobrem : pract ica l ly ablative of the cause.

874. p a s ci : as Boo-rem of ma inta ining inferiors or thoseunable tohelp themselves : of anima ls

,slaves , and even of aged pa rents,

wherea s a lere= rp€¢etv i s used in a more compl imentary sense.

Hor. Sa t. i . 6. 103‘

plures calones a tquecaballi pascendi’

; Petron.

57‘vig inti ventres pasco et canem ’

.

os seg ue. In Augustan poet ry i t was very except iona l toa ttach gue or ve to a word ending in a short e : Lucret ius

,however,

uses i t frequently : muli .ebregue, l 1052 suadereque, l. 1289aereque.

875. sci li cet : scire licet ra ther than sci ( imperat ive) licet. See

36

LUCRET IUS v. 876—98

Lindsay’s Short H istorical L a t. Grammar

, p. 124. In meaning iti s equivalent to 811710187 1, ‘

you must know .

’

aljie da tiv. commodi .

praedae lucroque predicat. dat. See on 1. 960.

876. indup edi ta : for impedi ta,a s in i . 240, i i . 102, i v. 70.

Lucret ius has also indug redi , induperator l . 1227, and indu . In

vi . 890 endo mari for in mari ; cf.fatalibus vi ncli s , bonds of dest1ny ,

’ i . e. thei1 na tural d isadvantages wh ich h indered them in the struggle for existence.

878. fuerunt : to be scanned fuerant : thee of the th i rd perfectplura l i s somet imes short in poetry cf. deder ant, stete

’

runt, tule‘runt.

879. duplici n atura : descript ive ab la t ive.

88 1 . p otesta s p arti s ut. non p ar es se p oti s s it , so tha t thepower in creatures born of two d ifferent species cannot be a l ike.

’

In the next few l ines Lucret ius’ mean ing becomes qui te clear.We find potesse and potis est in Lucret ius ; here we have thesubjunct ive. Seepossum ,

init,Lew i s and Short .

hi nc illinc the two component parts or different natures .p arti s i s the dat ive of the part iciple frompario.

882. hinc,‘ from the fol low ing arguments .’ Th is l ine occurs in

i v. 53. Lucret ius i s here address ing not Memmius so much as anychance reader.883. princip io,

‘to begin w i th .

’circum actis , tmesi s i s

common in Lucretius , a s in all earl y poets , a l so in Greek ; cf.11. 1 128, 1268, 1374. Cf. Butler’s H udibra s

,Pt. i . c . i . 328

‘ tha told Pyg

— (what d’

ye ca l l h im) malion. Hooker E ccl. P olit. v .

creatures of what kind soever.’885. queerer, ‘

w i ll cry out for.

’

Ov. Met. v i . 342‘uberaque

ebiberant avid i lactantia nat i886. aetate senecta : so in l . 896 the adject ive i s rare. In i i i .

772 membri s exire senectis

888. tum demum : very emphatic , then, and not t i l l then.

’

pueri s : the da t i ve of the party interested .

889. Cf. Verg . Aen . x. 324‘fiaventem prima lanugine ma la s

Clytium890. no credas : final not prohib it ive cf. 1. 1091.veterino semi ne. C f. l . 865.

neque i s more forcible than the s imple conjunction et,as i t

recal l s ne creda s to the reader’s m ind .

892. succincta s Verg . E el. v i . 74 Scyllam succinctamlatrantibus monstri s nautas canibus lacerasse mar in i s The

La t in poets represent Scylla as more terri fying than the Scylla of

Homer, 0d. xii. 86—100.

895. sumun t : conseguuntur,‘ reach thei r full bodily strength .

’

With proiciunt understand robera .

897 . Venere. Cf. l . 848= stimulis amaris .

un i s : we find the p lura l in i i i . 616 ‘uni s sedibus C ic . Fla cc.

63 un i s moribus vivunt,’

are endowed w i th s im ilar ity of hab i ts .’898. neque aunt a second rela t ive sentence para l lel w i th quae

neque would have been more grammat ica l .37

LUCRET IUS V . 899—92 1

899. cicuta . iv. 640 nob i s veratrum est acre venenum, at capr isadipes et coturnicibus auget ’. One man

’s meat i s another man’spoison.

900. b arb ig era s . Cf. vi . 970 barb igeras Capellas ’. The word i scoined by and found only in Lucret ius .

3. vi sceri s,flesh

,

’

all that l ies between the skin and bones , so in993. Transla te In the fol low ing order ‘

visceris et sanguini squodcumque m terri s exstet ’

.

l .904. qui : old abla t ive=— guomodo. For trip li ci cum corp ore cf.

864.

905—6. Th is descript ion i s an exact im i tat ion of a passage in

Homer,ll. Vi . 181—2 up0096 We

'

re",aw dey 86 Spa /( a w, pe

'

am) 83 Xt’

pa tpa

Ba you auo'n'

vefovo a 1rvpos pe'

uos a tdope'

vow .

medi a i p s a ,‘ in the middle a goa t

,from wh ich i t receives i t s

name : note the full emphas i s of ipsa .

fora s : ofmot1on outs ide,wh11ef orzs 1s of rest outs ide ; thetwo,

however, are frequently confused .

907. See". 800 and note.

908. qui fing i t : i . e. Empedocles who bel ieved in the exi s tenceof bul l s w i th men’

s heads and men w i th bul l s’ heads . Ov. Ar.

Am . i i . 24 semibovemque vi rum ,semivirumque bovem

animali a : i . e. monstra .

910. licet : w i th subj . w i thout ut,‘ may babble out

’z licet must

be repeatedw1thdzcat 1n thenextline. In l. 792wehave‘varia ratione

’

.

91 1 . aurea : to be taken predicat ively : streams such as the

r iver Pactolus In Lydia . Verg . Aen. x . 142 Pactolus irrig at auro’

.

So too in Georg . ii . 165 haec eadem a rgent i r ivos aerisquemetal laostendit venis a tque auro p lurima fluxit

’

. The river Hermus hadthe same qual i t ies . Georg . i i . 137

‘auro turbidus Hermus ’. See

11. 1255 wh ich reca l l M i l ton, P aradi se L ost, xi. 565‘ Two massy

clods of n on and brass Had mel ted, whether found where casual fireHad was ted woods on mounta in or in va le

,Down to the veins of

earth , thencegl iding hot To some cave’s mouth .

’

912. arbu s ta : forarbores , as animantum for animalium, for the

sake of the metre. Cf. l. 1378.

sues se : for suevisse cf. 1. 53 suerit. Perhaps the idea originated in the gl istening of the morn ing dew on the leaves in the

sunl ight .913. im p ete,

‘ s i zeand s trength moreusual ly of strength a lone.

Th i s word 15 used only In the gen i t ive and ab la t ive.

914. p edum ni su s p onere,‘

plant h is foots teps fi rmly contrastv i . 834

‘

pinnarum ni sus inan is,

’of the unsure fl ight of b i rds . For

the idea of compare i . 199 201‘cur hom ines tan tos natura

pa rare non potuit, pedibus qui pontum per vada possent transire etmagnos manibus divel lere mont is .

i ’

vertere,‘to whirl ’ or ‘ dash ,

’ trans i t ive.

918. s ig ni : part itive gen i t .comp acta , un i ted into a s ingle body.

’

920. nun c quoque : defin i tely opposed to tum,l . 911 .

92 1 . leeta . l . 1372 vineta lacta ,’ ‘ luxuriant .’

38.

LUCRET IUS V . 922—44

922. comp lexa : pass ive as in 11. 154 complexa meant inter se’.

See complector,fin.,Lew i s and Short .

924. di s crim ina ,‘ thei r d i st inct ive differences .’

926. quod=guippequod.

928. fundatum , built on a firm founda t ion,’or,

‘ framework .

’

Wakefield compares Arnobius ,‘ossibus i ll i s fundata sunt corpora

et nervorum colligationedevincta .

’

vi s cera‘ sol id flesh

,

’

a s in". 903.

Order ‘nec quod faci le caperetur consecut ive rela t ive,

‘not likely to be incapac i ta ted ’

. for thi s use of cap: see Lew i s andShort capio I . 1 . e. ; .cf iv . 1022

‘ mentibu’ capt i’. C i c. Tusc v . 40.

1 17 oculis et auribus captusex aestu i . e. by any result s ari s ing from hea t .

930. lab i : ab lat ive as igni , 11. 1250, 1254.

931 . volventia lus tra : accus . of dura t ion of t ime. volventia for

sevolventia ; see". 831 .

932. vulg ivag o : a Lucret ian word : a l so 1n W 107 1 w i th Venus .933. m o zderator a lso found w i th equorum or arundi

'

;nzs i . e.

agriculture was st i l l unknown, see note on I. 945. Wakefield com

pares Verg . Aen . vi i i . 3 16‘quei s nequemos nec cul tus era t ’.

934. s cibat : for sciebat, so 11. 949, 953 scibant,l . 1003 saevi

bat, 1324 hauribant. Duff adds accibant, l . 996.

‘know how

to = e’

1r1'

orapa t w i th infin i t i ve.

molirier. Cf. Verg . Georg . i . 494‘agricola incurvo terra in molitus

aratro’. Notethearcha i c infinit. , a favouri teusagew i th Lucret ius ; cf.

1. 979mirarier, l . 1023 misererier, l . 1 199vertier, l . 1250 venarier,II. 1298, 1312 moderarier, l . 1379 imitari er.

935. defodere : l . 1366‘nova defodere in terram virg ulta

’

inserere.

936. falci bu’: here ‘

pruning-hooks,

’

a stra igh ter and strongerinstrument than the s i ckle. For om i s s ion of s see 1. 824.

938. sp onte sua . Cf. l . 872.

p lacab at ,‘ contented .

’ So in Hor. S a t. 11. 8. 5‘quae prima

iratum ventrem placaverit esca Of quenching the th irs t , Mart ia l ,i . 49 17

‘avidam Dercenna placab it s itim ’

. We find a s im i lardescript ion of the rudeness of early l ife in Ov. M et. i . 103 con

tentique cib i s nul lo cogente creatis arbuteos fetus montanaquefraga legebant cornaque et mora et glandes

donum ebepye’

rrjpa , i . e. a boon bestowed by mother-earthand the sun.

939. g landifera s Verg . Georg . i . 148 cum iam glandes a tquearbuta sacrae deficerent s i lvae941 . arbuta the frui t of thew i ld strawberry . Verg . Georg . i i . 519

‘ ven i t h iems : teritur Sicyonia baca trapetis, glande sues laet iredeunt, dant arbuta s ilvae ’

. Munro says tha t in Decembercerta in districts of the Peloponnese are bright w i th the scarletfrui t .

p lurim a etiam (=et) ma iora ,

‘ in great plenty and finer thannowadays .’

944. Though the food was coarse, yet there was abundance of i tcf. Soph . E l. 354 of) ( 13 Ka xé s pe

’

v, oid’

,inap xobw w s 8

’

e’

poi.

39

LUCRET IUS v. 945-

58

945. sedare aitim vocab ant. seepassages quoted on I. 938.

Dv. F ast. i i . 293 pro domibus frondes norant, pro frug ibus herba snecta r era t palmis hausta duabus aqua nul lus anhelabat sub aduncovomere taurus nulla sub imperio terra colentis erat Verg . Aen.

v i i i . 316 quei s nequemos nec cul tus era t ’. Not ice the infin. aftervocare instead of a t. Hor. 0d. i i . 18. 38 h ic levare functumpauperem laboribus vocatus

946. aqua i : the archa i c gen i t ive of wh ich Lucret ius i s so fond.

l. 1099fi ammai , l. 1 124m ax.

947. claru’

of sound here and not of appearance : so appropria tely w i th citat : cf. iv. 7 1 1 clara voce vocare948. vag i : understand nostri ma iores . The s ilvestria templa

are wel l described by Verg . Aen . i . 166 fronte sub adversascopulis pendentibus antrum, intus aquae dulces vivoque sedil iasaxo, Nympharum domus For the asyndeton see 11. 1063- 4.

949. s cib ant : see on scibat l . 934. Notice the invers ion of

quibus 0. Observe the repeti t ion of the letters I, s , and u,umori’

fluenta lubrica proluvie larga lavere umida saxa , um ida saxa , superv irid i stillantia musco See note on I. 989.

lavere : the present infini t ive for the more usual lavare,governed by scibant. Munro takes lubrica w i th fi uenta , which i spreferab le to taking i t w i th saxa

,as saxa i s not only separa ted

from i t by a number of words but a l so has i ts own epi thet : aga inthe second umida saxa loses force if i t i s merely a part ia l repet i t ionof the whole phra se lubrica um ida saxa For the repet i t ion or

irravcikmln s see 1. 1402 In i i i . 12 we find ‘aurea dicta, aurea

951. s tillantia : Wi thfluenta .

952. s catere : here th ird conjugat ion, usua lly second : the

infinit. depends on scibant. In I. 598 scatere a tque erumperelumen of the l ight of the sun.

953. i g ni tractare,‘to mould

,

’or prepare w i th fire

’ for igni

cf. labi I . 930. We find an account of the discovery and benefits offire in Aesch . P . V. 7 naure

'

xvov uvpbs oe’

has Gum-020 111 dimm er, and

in 252 n i p e’

yd) o¢w a’

irraa a dd)’

013

ye nohkc’

xs e’

xnadrja om‘

a t re'

xva s .

See the passages on fire I. 101 1 and 11. 1091- 1 104 ; for s cib ant. see1. 934.

954. sp olii s : i . e. skins (Duff) exuviae i s often used in th i ssense. So we have spolium leonis , the skin of the Nemean l ionspolium pecudi s , the golden fleece : spolium viperei monstrz ,

Medusa’s head . Cf. l . 10 1 1 .

955. We have a s im i lar account of caves used as dwel l ings byprim i t ive man in Aesch . P . V. 452 xara

’

apvxes 8'

3110101: r'

iw pwv

c’

v PUX°79 ( ix/qMots, and in Ovid . M et. i . 121 domus antra fueruntet dens i frut ices et vinctaecort icevirg ae Munro says that nemoroare cult ivated woods or groves , while s ilvae are w i ld forests , butthat the dist inct ion i s often lost s ight of.957 . Not ice the a l l i terat ion.

958. Nei ther the advantages nor the cla ims of society wererecogni zed yet.

inter so : there was no idea of social l ife and obl igat ion, and40

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LUCRET IUS V. 977-

98

earl iest days , and would have been farmore surprised if one daythe sun had never set at all.977. a p arvi s ==a primis annis .

979. Not i ce how Lucret ius p iles up h is verbs to emphas ize theimposs ib il i ty of the v iew . In v i . 727 he actually has fi t uti fiat

m irarier : see molirier l . 934.

981. detracto as if the disappearanceof the sun had been causedby some ev i l sp iri t or by enchantment s . Cf. Verg . E cl. vi i i. 69‘ carm ina vel caelo possunt deducere lunam

’. Hor. Epod . v. 45

Thessala lunam caclo deripit

982. curao : predica t ive dat ive.

983. quietem ,

‘ repose.

’ There i s no need to suppose tha t i t i sei ther ‘ t ime of res t ’ or

‘

place of rest ’ : the mere fact that thei rv igilance was relaxed often proved fa ta l to them.

986. in tem p es ta nocte, in the dead of night.’ Verg . Georg . i .247 intempesta s ilet nox

’

; Aen. i i i . 587‘nox intempesta

’.

Con ington compares vmm‘

w dept. On intempestus Varro says‘cum tempus agendi est nul lum ’

.

cedeb ant , surrendered.

’

987 . The savage guests were the uninv i ted boar and l ion988. n im io p lu s : usually too much

,

’ here,‘much more

,a com

parative use. In vi . 1 196 nec n im io post’

. P laut . B acch. i . 2. 14

quem eg o sapere n im io censui p lus quam Thalem

989. Not ice the a l l i tera t ion of the l iquid 1. Dufl'

comparesGray’s E legy , nor ca st one longing l inger ing look beh ind.

’

990 . unu s qui sque, one or other.’

m ag is sc.quam nunc.

991. h au stu s , rent ’ cf. note on 1. 1324hauribant : so we havein l . 1069

‘suspensis teneros imitantur dentibus haustus

’

. SeeLew i s and Short , haurio, I . B. 2.

992. i . e. the la i rs where they had made thei r homes ; cf. 1. 955.

993. Not ice the a l l i tera t ion : the use of v (w i th a w - sound ) wasfel t to convey pathos . Verg . Aen. vi . 833

‘neu patr iae va l idas in

v i scera vertite vires For vi scera see on I. 903. Munro quotesSpenser’s F aery Queene i i . 8. 16

‘ but be entombed in the raven or

the kight . Gorgias has yvrres sail/11x01 ra¢o1.994. adeso,

‘ cruelly torn,’ l i tera l ly ‘eaten into.

’

995. p osteriu s= i5crrepov,‘ever after.’

996. a ccib ant : see on scibat, l . 934.

Orcum : god of the lower world and so the Lord and Giver ofDeath .

997 . donec . Lucret ius has not used in any other passage theconstruct ion of the p luperfect a fter donec, and Munro suggests tha tpos s ib ly privarant should be read or tha t perhaps the verb i sa ttracted into the pluperfect by the tense of servarat.

verm in a . Fest. p . 375, Mul l ‘ verm ina dicunturdolores corpori scum quodam m inuto motu quas1 a vermibus scindatur. H ic dolorGraece a rpécpos dicitur.

’As orpécpos f1om o rpe

’

cpm, so in Lat in wefind tormina from torqueo. For

pthe v al l i terat ion see I.

998. vellent,‘wanted ’

or‘needed,

’

so as to be hea led . Wake42

LUCRET IUS V . 999- 10 1 0

field ment ions Bentley’s citat ion of S il. I t . xi. 166 ‘medicinamvulnera poscunt999. at : marking a strongly contrasted thought leading off from

the preceding idea . Perhaps Lucret ius i s th inking of the b loodshed of the civ i l wars during his early l ife.

1000. In I. 95 we have‘una dies dabit exitio So in Enn. Ann.

8 (milia ) mul ta dies in bel lo conficit unus100 1 . We have a p i cture of the reckless greed of merchants in

Hor. Od. i . 1 . 17‘

(merca tor) mox reficit rates quassas , indocilispauperiem pat i

’

lideb ant , dashed’

; the verb lido 15 found here Only, but i t i sfrequent In compounds allido, collzdo, illido.

1002. hi c= tum.

temere incas sum fru s tra,

‘w i thout a im , purpose, or resul t.

’

These three adverbs occur in i i . 1060 and are pract ica l ly synonymous : see note on multa modis multis , l . 792.

1003. saevi b a t : see note on sciba t, l. 934.

p oneb at deponeba t.inan i s : to be taken predica t ively.

1004. Not ice the strong a l l i tera t ion and a l so the repet i t ion of

pellacia , pellicere for the sake of empha si s . The sent iment i ss im ilar in i i . 559

‘ subdola cum ridet placidi pellacia pont i’ but

w i thout any idea of treachery In i . 8 t ib i r ident aequora pont i1005. in fraudem ,

‘to h i s ruin.

’

1006.

‘When reckless seacraft wa s s t i l l a locked mystery to the

sh ips,as in the days before sh ipbuilding described in Ov. M et. i .

94‘nondum caesa sui s peregrinum ut viseret orbem montibus in

l iqui da s p inus descenderat undas, h ullaque morta les praeter sualitora norant,

’when men did not t ravel beyond thei r immediate

neighbourhood .

1007. tum deinde,

‘ i t was then too tha tp enuri a inopia , n ew

1008. mersat. : the Object IS homines understood Munro seemsto take mersat a s i f i t were intrans i t ive ‘ sinks 1nto ruin.

’The

mean ing is tha t men dig thei r graves w i th their teeth , greaternumbers dying from overea t ing than from want of food .

1009. Men used in thei r i gnorance the juice of poi sonous berriesas a drink or poss ibly as a medicine. Duff quotes Verg . Georg .

i i . 152 nec miseros fallunt aconita legentes’.

10 10. verg eb ant,‘ poured out for themselves ’ : so in Stat. Theb.

vi. 2 1 1 spumantesquemero pa terae verguntur.

’verg eremeans to

t i l t the vessel so as to pour out the contents .nun c dant ali i s : a correct ion for the M S . reading nudant.

Munro sugges ted ‘nuru i nunc dant ’ ‘

now w i th n icer ski ll mengive i t to thei r son

’

s w ife instead,’ i . e. to ob ta in her dow ry . He

quotes in support of his emenda t ion juv. xiv. 220‘elatam iam

crede nurum ,s i l im ina vestra mort ifera cum dote sub i t .’ A pa ssage

m ight a l so be added from Cv. M et. i . 147‘ lurida terribiles miscent

aconita novercae’

Pa lmer proposed ‘ medici nunc dan t . .

’

us i‘now doctors prescribe and adm in i ster it ,’ w i th the meaning tha t

43

LUCRET IUS V. 1 01 1 - 29

though a large dose would be fatal , a doctor could use a poi son insma l ler quant it ies w i th good effects . But th is 15 not so pointed andinvolves a further departure from the MSS.

101 1 . See the notes on 955.

p elli s = spolia ferarum see 1. 9541012. The beginn ings of the format1on of the fami ly. Munro

suppl ied the i ta l icized l ine to complete the sense, wh ich was defect iveow ing to the los s of a verse.

leoti s ocialia iura ,

‘the t ies and laws of wed lock .

’

1015. curavi t ut= cfi ecit ut.

als ia ,

‘ cold,

’

once in Lucret ius, tw ice in Cicero : the word isconnected w i th alg eo, a ls i .

igni s : see 1. 953. Darw in says the d iscovery of fire was

probably the greatest man ever made, except ing tha t of language.

1016. Contras t th is w i th the hardier hab i t s of 1. 970—2, no longera s before.

’

1017—8. Children began to take freer l ibert ies w i th their parent s .

1019. am ici tiem : for amicitiam . I. 1047 notities, I. 1267 ma

teriem ; i i i. 59 avarities . Th is i s the beginning of the socia lcontract of mutual advantage between men.

1021. commendarun t , cla imed indulgence for.

’

muliebreque : see note on esseque, l . 874.

1022. b albe w i th ha lt ing, stammering speech .

1023. mi sereri er : see note on molirier, l . 9341024. omn im odi s . Cf. multimodis (mul t i

’ modis) , mirimodis(mi ri

’

modis) so th is should be omnibumodis .

1025. b ona magnaque p ars : so in Ter. F un 1. 2. 43‘ bonam

magnamque pa rtem.

’Dufl

'

compares pleno bene, l . 708.

cas te inviolata .

1026. aut d 83mi.‘otherw i se.

’

1027. Cf. ll.

1028. There 15 a good description of the early l ife ofmankind inHor. S a t. i . 3. 99

—1 1 1

cum prorepserunt primi s an imal ia terr is ,mutum et turpe pecus , g landem a tque cubilia propterung uibus et pugn is , dein fustibus , a tque ita porropugnabant arm i s quae pos t fabricaverat usus,donec verba qu ibus voces sensusque notarentnom inaque invenere dehinc abs istere bello,opp ida coeperunt mun ire et ponere leges ,ne qui s fur esset, neu la tro, neu qui s adul ter.

1ura inventa metu iniusti fateare necesse est.’

1029. ex p res s i t emi tterecoeg i t,‘w rested , el icited . Lucret ius

hold s the v iew tha t the names were given gradually by a natura linstinct and des ire on the part of the indiv idual to express h i sw i shes and feel ings . Contras t w i th th i s view the account g iven inGenes i s , where the story says that all an imal s were brought toAdam and he g ave each one i t s name.

44

LUCRET IUS V . 1030—47

1030. In a very s imi lar way inabi l i ty to speak i s in i t s turn seento prompt infant s to po int and to beckon.

’

infantia : Hor. S a t. i i . 5. 39 seu rubra Cani cula findet infantesstatuas s tatues tha t cannot speak .

’

1032. cum facit ut , when i t causes them to.

’

s in t : the subjunct ive i s poss ib ly due to the feel ing in Lucret ius’

m ind tha t their reason for po int ing i s thei r w i sh to ask somequest ion about the object : s int then i s an indirect ques t ion.

1033. vi s : for viri s as in i i . 586, i i i . 266.

vi s : to be taken ei ther 1) w i th senti ,‘

t as to h is powers eachman feel s thi s i s probab ly the correct way of taking the

passage, ow ing to the pos i t ion ofquisque between vis and suas , as

i t would be dist inctly awkward to extract guisque from i ts enclosedpla ce and to separa te i t from the two words tha t confine i t or (2)w i th abuti , wh ich in Plaut. and Terence frequently governs theaccusat. So we have in 1. 358

‘neque fung itur hilum ’

. Of abutor

Dufi'

says =o

a 1roq 0°

t9m here, often = 1<araxprjm9a 1.

quoad IS scanned by syn izes i s as one long syllable , cf. II. 1213,14331034. vi tulo : da t ive of possessor.1035. illi s : i . e. cornzbus . Hor. Od. i i i . 13. 3

‘ haedo, cui fronsturgida cornibus prim i s et Venerem et proelia destinat

inurg et. : a rare word , ‘ pushes or but ts ’

. Hor. Sa t. 52‘ dente lupus , cornu taurus pet i t

’

and Verg . E cl. i i i . 87‘

(taurus )cornu petat

’

. Wakefield adds Ov. H a l. 2‘vitulus s ic nempe

minatur qui nondum geri t in tenera iam cornua fronte s ic

dammae fug iunt, pug nant v irtute leones , et morsu cani s, et caudaes ic scorp ios ictu

’. That i s, in all an ima l s we find tha t instinct

causes them to act in the way natural to thei r k ind, even beforethey have been taugh t by actual experience : th i s i s worked out inthe next few l ines .1036. s cymn i : a word characteri st i ca lly chosen by Lucret ius as

being paral lel to ca tuli .i am tum ,

‘even at th is early age.

’

1040. tremulum wel l expresses the uncerta in efforts of ha lffledged b i rds 1n thei r earl ies t attempts at fl ight.

aux i lia tum : drr. 7\ey . aux ilium. Cf. summatum, l . 1 142.

1041. proinde : dissyllab ic, and so.

’

aliquem ,

‘one dist inct person.

’

inde refers back to the a lz‘

guem ,

‘and i t was from h im men

learned cf. the use of inde, l . 1093.

putare i s subject to est.

1045. Munro compares the same phrase in 11. 756, 765. In ful li t i s equivalent to tamen tempore eodem the phrase i s to be takenw i th putentur.

non qui s se guivisse) : for neguivi sse.

1047. fuerant : the pluperfect of the auxi l ia ry marks a verystrong pluperfect t ime.

notities : see note on ami'

,cztiem l 10 19. Th is i s a poet ica l ,though not a str ict ly accurate transla t ion of Epicurus’ npokqxln s ,

45

LUCRET IUS v. 1048—66

which i s preconception based on know ledge ga ined from formerexper iences ; see the Introduct ion,

‘Philosophy of Epicurus .’ Cf.

1. 182‘notities divis hominum uncle est ins i ta primum, qu id vellent

facere ut scirent animoque viderent .P ’ i e. wha t pa ttern for the

crea t ion of man could be present in them1nds of the gods to enablethem to rea l i ze wha t wa s their rea l object and w i sh ? for i f theyhad no preconceived idea of man

,they could have no pa t tern

to follow in thei r work of crea t ion. 80 too i f man had no pre

concept ion of vo ice he never ei ther could or would have used it .1048. h u ic : i.e. the a liguem of l. 1041.

1049. See note on 1047. Not ice sciret lengthened by the

empha t ic bea t : so in Eng l i sh poetry, especia l ly 1n the hymns wehave frequent ins tances of syllables usual ly short being lengthenedby theheat. The only other example in Lucret ius i s fulg é t i i . 27 .

1050. cog ere victosque domare : seeon I. 7 2

1052. suadereque : see on esseque, 1 8 74. Successful effortshave recently been made, especial ly in America , to teach thosewhoare both deaf and bl ind to ta lk.

1053. qui d s it opus facto facto depends on opus, wh ich takesthe ab la t ive.

qui d i s an accusat. of reference. See note on 1. 844. In

Terence Ad. i i i . 4. 65‘moneo qu id facto opus s it ’. Plaut . Truc.

v. 10 ‘opus est cibum

1054. amp li u s ,‘ further, longer, too long, ’ so cont inual ly.’

1057 . vi g eret : subjunctive after cui quippe cui , Duff.

1058. p ro vario sen su ,"according to their different emot ions ,

’

pleasure, gr ief or fea r, &c. cf. 1. 106 1 and note on I. 1063.

1059. mutae : of inart iculate sounds, see note on I. 1088.

denique, actua lly .

’

106 1. g li scun t : l i tera l ly swell,’ i .e. thei r hearts swel l w i th joy or

pa ss ion (dolor, cf. iv . 1069 inque d ies g liscitfuror ’.

1062. quippe eten im : so in l . 1 169 a redundant express ionfor.

’

rebus aperti s ,‘ from p la in ’

or‘obvious facts.’ So in i v. 467.

nam nil aegrius estquam res secernere aperta s ab dubiis’

1063. Munroquotes Darw in :‘the dog s ince being domesticated

has lea rnt to bark in a t leas t four or five dist inct tones.’ Mo los s i(canes is often om i tted) were a famous breed of large dogs celebrated throughout all La t in l i tera ture.

1064. m ollia ri cta ,‘ spongy Open l ips.

’

ricta : an irregular p lura l from colla tera l form rzctum as in v i .1 195. Observe the number of adject ives w i thout connecting particles ; asyndeton i s very common in Lucret ius ; cf. 11. 948, 1096,1436.

1065. res tricta : bare or show thei r teeth , as in Quint . Decl. xi i .

27 restrictis labris

1066. et cum ,

‘ than when so aga in in 11. 1067, 107 1, 1077.

After a lia s , a c or a tque i s more common than et ; see noteon I. 1260.

i am,

‘outright .’

46

LUCRET IUS V. 1069- 85

omnia : sc. loca .

1069.

‘ pretend to b i te them gently w i th l igh tly clos ing jaw s ’

Munro seems to put it ra ther too strong ly : ‘a feint of swallow ing

them.

’

Forh aus tu s see note on 1. 991 . Munro quotes a pa ssage,‘nec blandis m ih i morsibus renides ,

’ from an epigram on a pet dog ,Myia , w ri tten perhaps in the firs t century A.D .

,and . found a t Agen

aAuch in South France apparent ly i t i s in im i tat ion of Ca tul l . i i i .1070. alio p acto=alia ratione; cf. 1. 1281 ; i t is common through

out Lat in.

g ann itu, yelping.

’

adulant : rarer than adulantur, caress ,’ l i terally, ‘ fawn on.

’

107 1. et cum : as above, 1. 1066.

b aub antur, bay,’(In . key .

1072. p lorantes ,‘wh ining ’

or‘ how l ing .

’

summ i s so corp ore, crouching,’

w i th the ta i l between the legs .1074. invenous : the adjective i s rare in th i s use : the word i s

more common as a substant ive or w i th bos understood . I t i s a lsoused of young men and ma idens .1075.

pinnig eri . Cf. l . 737 ‘Veneri s praenuntius ante pennatus

g raditur’

.

calcaribu s amori e: so wehavemVerg . Georg . 1i i . 209‘sed non

ul la magis v i res industria firmat quam Venerem et cacc i s timulosavertere amori s

, s ive boum sive est cui gratior usus equorum ’

1076.

‘ he snorts out the alarm ’ad arma ,

aux armes , th is i sthe cry of the sent inel warning his com rades, here of the horsesnort ing to a ttra ct h i s mate.

1077. s ic ali as = at any chance t ime.

concu s s i s artubu s : h is l imbs pul s ing and quivering w i th l i fe.

1078. Not ice the redundancy of express ion.

1079. os s ifrag ae,‘Osprey,

’which i s i tself derived from theLat in.

Aga in the phraseology i s tautologica l , marinis fi uctibus in salso

victum vitamgue, as in l . 1 105. sa lsum i s here a noun. Duff compares in tranquillo, used as a substant ive, 1. 12.

1081 . iaciunt=mittere, l. 1029. Dufl’s theory tha t some l ine, aset cum progeniem parvam nidosque revisunt ’

,cf. Verg . Georg . i .

414 iuva t progeniem parvam dulcesquereviseren idos ,’has droppedout, i s not only improbab le ow ing to the doub le et cum in differentsenses so close together, but a lso absolutely unnecessary, forLucret ius says b i rds frequently ut ter cr ies qui te distinct from thosetha t they make when fighting over thei r prey : there i s no need toadd another point of difference.

1082. p raedaeque ‘ struggle w i th their prey’: if praeda 1s

read , i t is governed by de.

1083. temp estatib us , a long w ith the changes of weather .’

Take una w i th cum for the invers ion cf. 1. 1228.

1084. corn icum ut saecla vetusta : crows , rooks, and ravensare sa id to be long- l ived1085. This superstitition i s ment ioned in Verg . Georg . i. 388

‘ cornix plena pluviam voca t improba voce ’ Not ice theredundancyofexpress ion in l. 1086.

47

LUCRET IUS V. 1087- 1 1 13

1087. Cf. l . 1061 .

m uta of inart icula te sounds, so in l . 1059.

1089. tum : emphat ic.aequum ,

na tura l,’ right and fa i r by the rules of na tural supe

riority .

1091. For th i s and the fol low ing l ines wh ich ampl ify Lucret ius’

former remarks about fire, cf. 1. 953 and note.

ne forte requira s : fina l not impera t ive ; cf. neforte credasl . 890.

1093. p rim i tu s ante and pos t- class i cal .inde

,

‘and from i t

,

’as in l . 1042.

1095. fulgere. Cf. v i . 165 in the same pos i t ion in the l ine.

p lag a‘the bol t of heaven has fi lled them w i th i ts glow ing

hea t ; cf. 1. 1220.

1096. et tamen,

‘and apart from that,

’as in l . 1 177, i . e. the

fol low ing reason i s in i tself a sufficient ly strong argument . Noticethe two unconnected pa rt ic iples in addit ion to an adjective ;

‘

see

note on l. 1064. Cf. w i th th is pa ssage i . 897 900 ‘ fi t ut a l t i sarboribus v icina cacumina summa terantur inter se, validis facerei d cogentibus austris , donec flamma i fulserunt flore coorto.

’

1097 . aestuat,‘ sways about,

’others transla te,

‘

g row s hot.’ But

cf. ‘ fret is aestuos is ’

, Hor. Od. i i . 7 . 16. aestus i s used in the samesenseof turmoi l and violent mot ion, 1. 1435 bel l i magnos commovitaestus ’.1099. flamma i : see on aqua i, l . 946.

1 100. mutua : adverb ia l neuter plural , a s in iv. 301, for mutua,wh ich i s imposs ible in hexameters.1 101 . u trumque : subject topotest, ‘

ei ther of these causes .’

1 104. verb eribus : a strong word of the heat caused by the

st riking of the sun’s rays ; cf. plag a , whim/{7. 111 we have‘ radi i sol i s cogebant terram verberibus crebris 1n artum.

’

1 105. vi ctum vitamque. Cf. note on l. 1079. The poetry fromll . 1 105—1240 includes some of the finest in th i s book .

1 106. reb u’

: ablat ive of exchange1 108. The beginn ings of a moreun1ted and elabora te c ivi l i za t ion

see the quotat ion from Horace on 1. 10281 109. Duff recal l s the origina l meaning of praesidium (from

praesidere, a place to rule in) . I t i s , however , more in accordancew i th Lucret ius ’ custom to redouble h i s synonyms for empha si sra ther than to search for sl ight d ifferences in mean ing, which hadpract ica lly van i shed In h is t ime.

1 1 1 1 . The persona l qua l i t ies of men, from wh ich ow ing to

a strongly heredi tary tendency an ar i s tocracy wa s gradua l ly evolved.

Monarchy is the earl iest form of government after the first combinat ion of fam i l ies th i s i s fol lowed by a monarchy tempered by ana ri stocrat ic element. Later comes the t ime when power of wea l thsupersedes influenceof rank and g raduallya plutocracy or democracybecomes the fina l governing princip le.

1 1 12. vig eb ant,‘were held in h igh honour.’

1113. res ,‘

property,’ ‘wealth .

’ Lucret ius deplores the power48

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LUCRETIUS V. 1 1 3 1- 5 1

1 131 . proinde : d is syllabic as in l . 1041 .

s ine : addres s ing each reader individually.s angui ne sudent : see Lew i s and Short, sudo, I . A. B , Luke

xxu. 44‘ Hes iod, Of . 289 ms 6 dpems 18p6"ra 0

so1 1rpo1rapo10w

( 6011011 aeava'

rov 110p 9 86 x0 1 opdtos 011109 6 9 0137 7111 1101 rpqxés‘ . Duff

quotes the French proverb ‘ suer sang et eau’

to exert onesel fexcess ively.

1 133. Men are too ready to fol low the majori ty and g o w i th thestream of pub l ic op inion : a lso they do not trouble to th ink for

themselves , and so the facul t ies gradua l ly become weaker and morerudimentary from disuse. Duff adds Hor. E75. i . 16. 19 vereor ne

cui de te p lusquam t ib i creda s1 135. And th i s i s no more good a t the present t ime nor w il l i t

be in the future1 136. The Nemes is and of l 1 126 fel l on the kings of

old t imes . Not ice part i ciple and adject ive to ma iesta s .

1 137 . s oli orum : an unusua l p lura l attracted probably by the

number of sceptra , which in the abstract sense i s genera lly used inthe p lura l see on 1. 1234.

1 138. The glor ious badgeof the sovereign head ,’ i . e. the crown.

in s i g ne i s a substant ive.

cruentum must be taken w i th sub p edi bus lug eb a t.1 140 . conculcatur. Cf. l l . 1234—5.

m etutum : the only instance of the pa ss ive of metua, w i ththe except ion of metuena

’

us . "uvenal gives a lurid p i cture of the

ma levolence of the mob in S at. x . 66‘Seianus ducitur unco

spectandus : gaudent omnes . " quae labra, qui s i l l i vultus era t .

numquam amav i hunc hom inem1 141 . res : ei ther th ings came at length into complete ruin

and confusion ’

, ad summ am faecem turb asque, ‘to the lees of

the utmost d isorder,

’

or (2) summa res ,‘the sovereign power

passed into the hands of the lowest of the mob’where ad sum

mam faecem turbasque means ‘to the mere dre

‘gs of the peopleand to mob - rule.

’

redi b at; i s probab ly emphat i c, returned, went back to the

disorder of the ea rl iest t imes previous to the government of kings .1 142. summ atum , Aey .

= summum imperium . Cf. a ux iliatum,

l . 1040.

1 143. From p art im we get the subject to docuere, as in l. 1310.

Compare the development of the power of the plebs in the earlyh istory of Rome.

1 144. con s ti tuera i s of course the perfect.1 145. defes sum : common w i th infin i t ive in Plautus , as lassus

w i th the same construct ion in Propert ius .1 149. a equi s : emphat ic, lega l 1. t . ‘

equi ty,’ or ca se-law , wherethe circumstances of the case are taken into cons idera t ion.

1 150 . p ertaesum : more common w i th the geni t ive than w i th theinfini t ive.

1 151 . inde : from the pun i shment tha t i s now meted out to thoseavengers who take the law into thei r own hands .

SO

LUCRETIUS V. 1 1 52-

7 1

1 152. i . e. all who comm i t violence and wrong are l ikely totindthei r evi l deeds recoi l on thei r own heads .1 153. Wakefield quotes Hes . Ofi. 265 01 aura? Kaxa revxet avrjp

aAAa) kak a revxanqr)11 86 Ram) Bovhr‘

;‘

rqS Bovhevo avn Kaxio 'rr) , i .e. they

fa l l into p i ts that they have dug for others they arehoi s t w i th thei rown petard .

1 156. Th is i s not an incons i stency in Lucret ius, who held theview tha t the gods entirely d isregarded the affa irs of morta l s : hemeans tha t if a man does bel ieve, whether rightly or wrongly, inthe existence of the gods he ought to act on h is bel ief and dreadd ivine retribut ion on h is m i sdeeds .1 157 . Cf. Psa lms xiv. 1 and l i i i . 1,

‘ The fool hath sai d in hisheart , There i s no God.

’ ‘But,

’ says B acon,‘ he does not bel ieve

i t ’ he says i t merely to encourage h imself.clam an adverb instead of an adject ive, wh ich would bemore

usual w i th f ore. Munro :‘ he cannot but feel a m i sgiving

tha t h i s secret (i d ) can be kept for ever . So a l so 1n Cic. de F 111.i . 16. 50

‘quamvis occulte fecerit, numquam tamen id confidet foresemper oc

e

cultum

: to be taken w i th p rotraxe protmm'

sse,‘ have gi ven

themselves away.’

protraxe in medium : as in l . 1454‘

protrahit in medium.

Compare i v. 10 1 1- 14, where Lucretius says tha t men dur ing thei rsleep and in thei r dreams carry out thei r mos t deeply cherishedw i shes and plans .1 161 num ina pervulg ari t , spread abroad the worsh ip of

Lucret1us w i l l now set forth the beginnings of rel igion.

1 163. sollemnia , recurring at stated interval s .’ Not ice sdemfol lowed by se

‘

z’

era ; cf. 1. 839‘

interutrasque nec utrum fitrimque ’

so in iv. 11222‘ quae patribus patres

’iv. 1259

‘ liquidis et liquidaso Homer has Apes Apes.

1 164. Thi s sentence i s an adjectival c lause.

rebu’

,

‘occa sions .’

1 166. su sci tat aedzfieat, ra i ses ,’ i e. makes men ra i se.

1 167 . celebrare,

‘to throng them so i. 4

‘ terras concelebras ’.

1 168. non ita difi icilest : exactly theEngl i sh id iom ,i t is not so

hard on th is l ine depends the construct ion of the indirectquest ions , 11. 1 161-

3.

1 169. quip p e eten im : see note on 1. 1062.

1 170. Waking vis ions or trances , finap, opposed to l. 1 17 1 , dreamsin sleep, Spap. Duff remarks tha t in l l. 148—9, ‘

tenvis en im na turadeum longeque remota sens ibus ab nos tris anim i vix mente videtur, ’Lucret ius seems to be inconsi stent. But Lucret ius means tha t sofine i s the na ture of thematter of which the gods are composed tha tthe senses of man (s ight, hearing) are qui te unab le to perceive i t,and only them ind, i.e. tha t part of man wh ich is composed of the

finest a toms, i s able to receive any impression of i t .1 17 1 . mirando auctu : ablat ive ofqua l i ty.

et mag-i s ,

‘and st i l l more.

’

SI

LUCRETIUS V. 1 1 72—93

1172. tribuebant,‘a t tributed ’

; cf. trt'

bz/zt, l . 1 195 : so tradere,dabant, l. 1 175, and relmguzmt, l. 1239.

1 174. pro,‘to ma tch .

’

1 176. suppedi tab atur,‘was brought up before them,

rose upbefore thei r eyes.’

m aneb at ,‘appeared unchanged cf. 1. 830 manet sui s im i l i s

res Thereforemen imagined tha t these divin i t ies were immutableand immorta l .

1 177. et tamen : see note on 1. 1096 ; w i th omn ino ,

‘and yet

w i thout all th is .’ With a uetos understand deos .

1 178. temere,‘ l ightly or eas i ly ’

.

convi nci . Munro says Lucret ius often uses forcont/111mto th i s use of eomz z

’

nez’

for wind there i s no parallel case. Dufi'

quotes Shakespeare, M aebetlz , i . 7 . 64,‘ his two Chamberla insWill I

w i th w ine and wassa i l so convince,’i .e. overcome.

fortunie z they bel ieved tha t the happ iness of the gods farexceeded thei r own.

1 180. vex aret : subjunct ive, as express ing their thought , not necessarily the true reason, a sem i - sneer on the part of Lucret iusat the credul i ty of these god worsh ippers .1 182. inde i .e.

‘ab operibus sui s ’

1 183. caeli rationes ,‘the system of the heavens ,

’ i .e. the seriesor cycle of natural phenomena, e. g . tempora , ‘

the seasons,’

the

wan ing and wax ing of themoon, &c.

1 185. Compare -Vergi l’s l ine that refers to Lucretius, Georg . i i .90

‘ fel ixqui potuit rerum cognoscere causas ’1 186.

‘And so they considered i t to be thei r last resource toa ttr ibute everything to the gods and to make everyth ing subject totheir w i ll .

p erfug ium , a complementary accusa t ive to tradere et facere,mfinitives to be trea ted as nouns .1 188. temp la : here used in the older sense of ‘ rea lms ’ or

qua rters of the sky ’

, as i t i s in 11. 1205, 1436, and in i .1014

‘ cael i lucida temp la ’

. Ep icurus ma inta ined tha t the godsl ived not in the sky but in the spaces between the worlds, peruK00

'

111a .

1 189. 801 : a reading suggested forMS. nox which occurs aga inin the next l ine.

1 190. The substant ives in th is l ine and the next are subjectsto w etetur. Not ice the repet i t ion of tuna .

s i g na severa,‘the st i ll, cold stars,’ ‘

the austere stars l . 1210candida s idera1 191 . faces ,

‘meteors 11. 206 ‘nocturnasque faces ’. Vergi l

descr ibes them wel l in Georg . i . 367‘

(videbis ) fiammarumlongos a tergo albescere tractus Not ice the repet it ion fi ammae

que volan tes , ‘ fiery comets.’

1 192. A remarkab le ca se of asyndeton ; cf. 11. 1372, 1448—9.

1 193. Not ice the force given by the 111 a l l i terat ion as the

culm ina t ion of the cata logue of phenomena ,‘the terrors of the

threatening thunderbol t ’ ; cf. 1. 1221 .

52

LUCRETIUS V. 1 194- 1 209

1 194. g enus : probably theexc lamatory accusa t ive. Duff compares i i. 14

‘o m i seras hominum mentes .

1 195. tribui t z a s 1n 1 1 172.

ira s : men in thei r fol ly ass igned human pass ions to the gods ,though, as Munro says ,

”neque tang itur ira wa s an essent ia l

of the d ivine nature a ccord ing to Ep icurus and Lucret ius ’

. So

Verg . Ae1z . 1. 1 1‘tantaene anim is caelestibus 1rae .

1 198. p ieta s ,‘no act of p iety i s i t to be often seen.

’

velatum theRomans prayed °aeta te eapz

'

te, the Greeks aperta

1 199. vertier see note on Munro ‘the suppl iant

approached in such a way as to have the sta tue of the g od on h i s

right and then after pray ing wheeled to the right so as to front i t,and then prostra ted h imsel f : r poa xvvew 7rep1¢epop€vovs .

ad lap idem : ei ther ( 1) contemptuously on thepart ofLucret ius ,‘a mere stone,

’

the work of men’s hands ,’or poss ibly a dior ite or

meteoric stone, or (2) oneof thebust s of"anus or perhaps one of thetermz

’

fu (boundary stones ) wh ich were held sacred by the Romans .1 200 . Notice the strong p a ll i tera tion .

pO

andere p alm a 8° i . 8 . w i th the pa lms uppermos t a s in Verg .

Aen. IV. 205‘mul ta Iovem manibus supplex ora sse supinis

’

, and in

Aesch . P . V. 1005 hmapew v1r1°

100°

1mow xepé'

w.

1202. voti s meeters vota ei ther ( 1) to reel off one prayer afteranother a s a selfish man m ight do, making no end to his w i shes asin Pers. S at. v . 53 nec voto vivituruno or (2) a s the row s of vot ivetab let s wh ich were hung up on thewa l l s of the temples in return forbles sings a l ready vouchsafed and sett ing forth pet it ions st il l to begranted, votz

’

vae tabulae.

1203. sed mag e,‘ but ra ther,

’an apocop. form of mag zs , being

orig inal l ymag z then mag z , fina l ly changing to mag e aspate ofpotzsin ii i. 1079. An untroub led consc ience i s thepossess ion of the real lygood man.

1205. templa : as in 11. 1 188, 1436.

fixum : for the fixity of the sky we may compare‘ex

utraque polum part i premere aera nob i s dicendum est extraquetenere et claudere utrimque ’

, and for i t s revolut ion 1. 2‘ cael i subter

labentia s igna ’

and Ov. M et. i i. 204‘altoque sub aethere fixis

incursant stellis ’the two idea s should be comb ined , i . e. the

revolut ion of the sky on a fixed ax i s.1206. Not ice th i s impersona l construction w i th a gen i t ive pro

bab ly on the ana logy of the gen i t ive after verbs such as rem i'

m seor

th is construct ion i s common in C i cero, see Lew i s and Short , 11ze1ts ,I I . B . Themore usua l construct ion i s the persona l subject.1207 . oppres s a to be taken w i th pectora .

1208. exp erg efactum cap ut erig ere : i . e.

‘se expergefacere et

consurgere atque intrare pectora nostra ’

.

1209. n0b 18°

eth ic da t ive,‘wemay find to our cost

’ cf. 1. 805.

immen sa° in i ts pr1ma1y sense,

y‘boundless .

’Th is i s one of

the l ines wh ich seem to shadow certa in mi sgivings in the mind ofLucret ius about the power of the gods ; cf. 156 7.

53

LUCRET IUS V . 1 2 1 1—36

1211. Inab il i ty to solve the riddle of theuniversedistracts man’s

m ind .

’

dub iam i s predicat ive.

1213. fin i s : fem in ine, a s in l. 826.

quoad : monosyllab i c as in 11. 1033, 1433=guate1111s.1214. lab orem , the stra in of restless mot ion,

’

pul l ing now in onedirect ion, now in another ; cf. 1. 1272

‘ durum sufferre laborem1215. donata : to be taken w i th moenia . Munro : or gifted by

the grace of the gods w i th an everla st ing existence they may gl ideon through a never-ending tract of t ime and defy the strong powersof immeasurable '

ages a fine translat ion of a fine p iece of poetry.1. 1216 recurs in i . 1004, l. 1217 in l . 379 of th is book.

12 19 . an imu s contrahi tur : we find a s im i lar expression in C ic.L ael. xi i i . 48 ut et bon i s am i c i quas i difi

'

undantur (expand) etincommodis contrahantur

’. For correp unt m em bra cf. 1. 1223

corripiunt membra1220. p lag a : see note on 1. 1095. For murmura cf. 1. 1 193murmura magna minarum1223. corrip iunt governs membra ; in l . 1219111emb1°a is subject

to correpunt.1224. nequid oh adm i ssum : for 11e 08quid admissum.

1225. p oenarum solvendi : ei ther ( 1) a comb ina tion of (a ) gerund ,fiaena s solvendi , (b) gerundive, fioe11arw 1z solvendarum , the objectbeing to avo id harsh and cumbrous term ina t ions (see Roby, L a t.Gram . Pt. i i . p . lxvi i i ) , or bet ter (2) poenarum depends on selvenai ,wh ich is to be taken as a substant ive, both being objective gen i t ives,‘the t ime of the paying -of the pena l ty.

’

adul tum : Lachmann’s suggestion for aa’auetum ; cf. 1. 800.

1227. induperatorem see on 1. 876.

cum p ari ter= zm a £11111 ; for the invers ion of the usua lorder see note, 1. 1083.

1229. di vum p acem ,

‘the g race and favour of heaven,

’ in th i scase mani fes ted by ventaram paces , ‘

a lull in the storm .

’ Not icead it= 1

’

mplorare. Munro quotes the same use of aa’

z'

re in Apul .M et. v i . 3 adire cuiuscumque dei ven iam

animas : auras as in vi .693 nedubites quin haec an ima i turb idaS it vis and in Hor. Oa

’. i v. 12. 2 impellunt animae l intea Thraciae.

’

1231 . saep e, in many an instance ’= ut sa epe/it.1232. n i lo m in us for

ad vada leti = aa’tetalz

'

a vada .

1233. vi s ab di ta : the secret power and inscrutable working of

na ture.

1234. ob teri t : soproculca re next l ine andfas ci s s aeva sque securi s . the phrase i s repea ted m iii

.996‘

petere a populo fa sci s saevasque securis’ In 1. 1 137 the ms ignia

of the highest ofii ces sceptra superba et praeclarum ins igne are

used forthe power they confer,‘

g reatness’

ludi brio : predi ca t ive da t ive ; cf. 711110 vertere,1236. vacillat : as the resul t of an earthquake ; so in vi . 575vacillant omnia tecta

54

LUCRET IUS V. 1 237—64

1237 . dub iaeque minantur , ‘ threa ten to fal l .’ Duff comparesSen. N . D vi . 1 . 2

‘opp id i pars ruit dubieque stant et iam quae

relicta s int1239. relinquunt= trz

°

bueba1zt,l . 1 172 , ‘

a ss ign.

’

1240 . in rebus i . e. in th ings on earth .

quae i s consecut i ve.

1241. quod superest= 7 01a 6m 118V 7 0177 0, so much for tha t‘to cont inue i t marks a trans i t ion. Cf. note on 1. 1 1 13.

1242. arg enti p ondu s , p lum b i p o testa s . Lucret ius i s veryfond of periphra s i s , and ins tead of nam ing thema ter ia l or substancea lone he prefers to add to i t i ts especia l propert ies or qua l i t ies cf.1. 1286 ‘ ferri vis aerisque l . 1281 ‘ ferri na tura

p otesta s , the potent ial i ty or useful qua l i ties1245. b ellum s ilves tre the mode of warfare na tura l to savage

tribes and prim i t iveman.

1246. formidini s erg o :‘to inspire terror ’ erg o,

‘for the sake

of,’ i s found in Cato, Livy, C i cero, and Vergil , yet i t was held by

those who used i t to be an archa i c prepos i t ion.

1248. p andere, to clear ’

or‘open up

’111 1101311. Duff a lso

compares 41 11 1) arab le land .

’

p a scua : adject ive and predica t ive, fi t for pasture.

’

1250. fovea ,‘

p i tfa l l’

; so in Hor. E15. i . 16. 50‘cautus enim

metuit foveam lupusi gni : ab la t ive, a s in l . 1254 ; see I. 930.

venarier : a substant iva l infinit ive ; for the form see note on

1. 34.91252. qu idqui d id es t

,wha tever the causemay be.

’

1254. p ercox erat : the heat penetrated into the very vital s of theearth .

i gn i : as in l . 1250.

1255. See noteon 1. 91 1. veni s fervent ibu s , from the glow ingvems .

’

1257. concreta i . e. cooled and moulded into lumps ; cf. 1. 798.

videb ant= the optat ive of indefini te frequenc y

, a Graecismfrequently im i ta ted by Livy .

1259. levi , smooth and pol ished .

’

1260.

‘ Moulded into shapes s imi lar to the out l ines of the cavi t iesin which each lump lay.

’

s im ili atque see note on 1. 1066.

1262. p enetrab at eos , i t gradua l ly occurred to them’theword

impl ies tha t i t took some t ime for the idea to penetra te Wakefieldquotes Tac. A rm. i i i . 4

‘nih i l tamen T iberium magi s penetravit

quam studia hominum accensa in Agrippinam but thi s i s notpara l lel use, for here For the use of the

impersona l verb see the note on 1. 795.

1264. Munro and could by hammer ing out be brought totapering points of any degree of sharpness and fineness

p rorsum ,

‘absolutely,

’ perfectly ,’ i s less commonly used than

the form prorsa s .

quamvi s , as far as one could w i sh .

’

55

LUCRETIUS'

V. 1 266—90

1266.

‘ instruments or‘ tools ’ for agri cul ture, &c

the use of meta l s for weapons was a la ter development ; cf. the nextpa ragraph . The subject to p arent i s haec metalla understood , top os sent , zf sz

'

unders tood .

1267 . m a teriemque dolare, hew t imber and plane smooth thelanks .’p

levi a : predicat ively. For the form ma teriem see note on

1268. p erque forare : tmes i s ; see note on terebrare, to

bore a hole w i th a gimlet ; to p ierce w i th a bradaw l ;pertundere, to punch a hole.

1270 . vi olenti s viribu s ,‘w i th masterful might.’

1272. lab orem ,

‘ s tra in ’

as in l. 1214.

p ariter : i . e. cum aera. In we have aga in ‘ pariterdurum sufi

’

erre laborem1273. i aceb at,

‘ lay neglected .

’

1274. h eb eti mucrone : oxymoron, ab la t ive of descript ion.

1275. Cf. 1. 1 123 ad summum succedere honorem1276. volvenda aeta s ,

‘ t ime as i t rol ls on’

; so in‘volventia lustra ’ In Lucret ius the gerundive 13 the equiva lent ofthe present partic1ple in mean ing ; so too we find in Verg . /1m . ix .

7‘volvenda d ies ’= dzes se wok/em .

1277 . nullo h onore : abla t ive of description. Forthe sen t imentof 11. 1276

- 8 cf. 11. 83 1—3. 1. 1278 i s practically a repetition of l . 833.

1279. ap p eti tur,‘ i s coveted.

’

laudi bu s ab lat ive of attendant circums tances. For in dies

cf. 11. 1307 , 1370 of da ily increa se, oppos i te to quotz"

dze whichimpl ies no increase.

1281 . quo p acto guomodo ; cf. 1. 1070.

ferri n a tura : a periphras i s forferrum ; cf. 1. 1286‘ ferri vi s

aerisque ’

, and the note on1283. Horace gives a s im ilar descript ion in Sat. i . 3. 10 1

‘ungui

bus et pugn is , dein fustibus, a tque ita porro pugnabant arm i squaepos t fabricaverat usus

’

.

1285. cogn i ta : neuter plura l agreeing w i th fem in ine and mascu

l ine subjects wh ich are impersona l .1286. ferri vi s : see note on 1. 1242.

1288. quo : Duff ‘because often used when the sentence

conta ins a compara t ive.

fa cili s , duct ible,’easy to work.

’

n a tura i s nomina t ive.

1289. tra ctab ant ,‘ t i l l ’ : so in Cal. 11. 4. 5

‘ lutosum ag rumtractari Hesiod descr ibes the tool s of prim i t ive agri culture Op.

151 xahxq'

i 3’

eipydfow o'

110x119 8’

013K 30 1 6 a idqpos.

aereque : see note on esseque, I. 874. For belli fluctus cf.bel l i aestus ’

.

1290 . sereb ant : surely from serere,‘to sow

’

; cf. Lucan, whouses the same metaphor in vi i i . 352

‘ vulnera nostra in Scythicossparg is populos

’

. Munro suggests tha t i t poss ibly comes fromserere, to pla i t .

’

56

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LUCRETIUS V . 1 3 14—3 1

13 14. turb ab ant the subject i s leones understood from 1. 1310.

1315. These were not themanes and crests of the w i ld beas ts ,but were art ificial and were intended partly to protect the hea d butch iefly to insp ire terror, as in Liv. xxxvi i . 40. 4

‘ ingentes ipsi(elephanti) erant : addebant speciem frontalia et cr i stae et tergoimpos itae turres

’ In Vergi l we have the natura l cres t of the l ionment ioned, Aen . xii. 6 ‘ turn demum movet arma leo, g audetquecomantes excutiens cervice toros ’

1316. frem i tu : sc. leonum.

irri ta ta : transference ofepithet wh ich properly belongs toeae.

leae i s poet i ca l for leaenae.

1319. adversum would strike in the face these who metthem.

’adversum i s an adverb and i s to be taken w i th veni enti

bu s , wh i ch i s da t ive of the possessor. Duff compares on lui

trancha la tete ’

1320. u s e op inanti s : accusat i ve agreeing w i th the unexpressedobject of deripiebant, would tear down.

’

1321 . dep lex ae, a 1r. key. from depleetor,‘ tw in ing round them.

’

dab ant in terram , dragged them to the ground ; Liv. xxx i .37. 9

‘rex, ruente sauc io equo , praeceps ad terrarn datus

’

adfix ae z‘

nfzaerentes , fasten ing on them .

’

1324. h auri b ant : for the form see note on scz'

,ba t l . 934, for themean ing see on lzaustus , Livy uses the same expression in

a s im i lar context vi i . 10. 10‘uno alteroque ictu ventrem a tque

inguina hausitsub ter : an adverb , as in l . 1364, and compare infra , l. 137 1,

and circum, 11. 972,1325. terram rueb ant.,

‘ scored ’or

‘

ploughed up the earth ’

, as

in vi . 726‘cum mare permotum vent is rui t intus harenam ’

Therei s a s im i lar idea in Verg . E el. i i i . 86 ‘

pascite taurum, iam cornupetat et pedibusqui sparg at harenam ’

fronte : i . e. com a .

1327 . Th is l inei s fol lowed in the MSS . by a verse in s e fracta

suo tin guentes s anguine tela, wh ich is probab ly spurious , and wasw r i tten as a gloss to expla in the word infracta a s equiva lent to insef meta , broken off short in thei r bodies,

’

for there i s a lso a rareword z

'

nf raetus , unbroken .

’

1329. dab ant ru ina s , w rought ruin l . 1340 fera factadedere1330. tran sversa ,

‘by shying

’or swerving to the s ide would

try to avoid .

’

ex i b an t,w i th the accusa t ive, i s not uncommon in the sense of

avoid ing ; so in Verg . Aen. v . 438‘ corpore tela modo atque oculis

vig ilantibus exi t’

, and m xi . 750 vim viribus exi t .

ada ctu s,

‘the thrusts

’or

‘ gashes ’ a common meaning of

aa'

zgo, though adactu s 1s (N T. key .

1331 . iumenta : tame anima ls ,‘equi mulique a tque as1n1.

’ We

have a s im i lar descript ion of rear ing in Verg . Aen. x. 892‘tollit se

arrectumquadrupes et calcibus auras verberat’

58

LUCRETIUS V. 1 332—5 1

1332. ab nervi s succi s a ,‘ hamstrung,

’ used of men or horses .ab nervi s = a parte nervorum .

1333. conci dere Verg . Aen. v . 447‘ ipsegravis g raviterque

ad terram pondere vasto conC1d1t of the crash ing fal l of them igh ty boxer Entel lus .1334. ante : adverb ial , to be taken w i th putab ant. For the

a ssonance of domi domi tos cf. the quota t ion from Verg i l on1. 1333 In we have ‘ certam ine . . cernere certant i i. 539‘

penitus penetrari’ i i i . 753 fera saecla ferarum ’

.

1336. Not ice the empha t ic a syndeton as in 1372, 1448 9.

1337. reducere: scanned as reddueere ; cf. rellzg zo and f elli'

guzae

for the sake of metre.

1339. male m actae. Munro takes mat tae as a past part iciple ofan obsoletemacere; cf.perm

o

aeere. Ennius has"

‘

permaceat paries’

cf. macellum . O thers hold i t to be a syncopated form of maeta tus

from macte. Duff dist ingui shes i t clearly from the part iciple of theobsolete mag e

’

re, found in the phra se macte virtute’

, wel l done.

1340. fera fa cta : the object of dedere cf. 1. 1329.

1341—6. MSS . have s ix l ines wh ich Munro cons iders spurious .

"Duff says ‘ they are clearly a collect ion of tags from other parts ofthe poem, interpola ted by some ignorant copyis t

’. O thers reta in

the firs t three l ines and reject the three fol low ing.

s i ( c ) fui t ut facerent : sed vix adducor ut, antequam commune malum fieret foedumque, futuru

’

mnon quierint an imo praesentire a tque videre

et magis id poss is factum contendere in 0mmin variis mundis varia ra t ione creatis (as in l. 528)quam certo a tque uno terrarum quol ibet orb i .

The genera l mean ing i s‘ such was their conduct : yet I can

scarcely bel ieve tha t they would not be ab le to foresee and foreca stthe probab le disaster even before i t actua l ly happened . And one

would find i t ea s ier to imagine i t happening under general c ircumstances anywhere in the un iverse ra ther than in any particularworld ,

’

the idea being tha t i f a phenomenon i s uncommon somewhere i t must be common somewhere el se in order to preserve theequi l ibrium (20 011011fa ) .1347. voluerunt : the subject is the whole of

1348. ip s ique perire, ‘ though they themselves shoul d perishthey did not w i sh to die. Duffquotes Thuc . i i i . 40 01 ,u

‘

; .v 7rpo¢a oe1f wd Kaxc

'

bs wocofivres‘ e’

m fe'

pxov'ra t Ka i dtéhkvw a t

, i . e. a ttack thei r foesat the cost of thei r own l ives .1350. nexi li s : i .e. of skins t ied together, and st i l l earl ier ofpla i ted

reeds or long leaves .135I . tela , theweb,

’the threads ofwhich were fas tened vert i ca l ly

to the yarnbeam (seafiz’

) below and above to the z'

ug zem and

separa ted a l ternately by the heddles of which therewere two, so as to leave a diamond-shaped space through wh ichthe shuttles (radi i ) passed hor izontal ly the sp indles (f a st ) heldthe thread . See cut on p. 60.

lévia , pol i shed .

’

59

LUCRETIUS v. 1352- 68

1352. g ig n i , bemade.

’

1353. in s ili a , (in . key.

sonantes : theyarnbeams resounded as they swung between theuprights.

A A the z'

ug um to which the vertica l threads (the warp) were made fast ; B B the

s capus or yarnbeam on which the c loth is bui lt ; D D the l ine where the w arp meets

the cloth a lready ,w oven ; c‘c‘cze2are the ins ilia which pass throu h the vertica l

threads a lterna tely and so form a diamond-shaped passage throug h w ich the shuttleand weft travel horiz onta l ly .

1354. In Egypt in Herodotus’ t ime men did the weaving , wh ilethe women did bus iness and traded , Herod. i i . 35 of 1181; yuva ixes

c’

zyopcigovrn Ka i Kamyhet'

iovcn ,of88 (i vdpes Kar

'

oi'

xovs‘ fox/res 150116110110 1.

1357. vi tio vertere. Cf. l . 1294 ‘ versa in opprobriumvi tio : predica t ive dat ive ; cf. 1. 1235.

1359. p ari ter : i. e. cum ag rz'

eolz’

s . Cf. l . 1272‘ pa ri ter durum

sufferre laborem1361. specimen ,

‘model ’ ; so in l . 186 ‘ s i non ip sa dedit specimennatura creandi

ins i tion i s , grafting.

’

rerum depends on crea trz'

x .

1363. arb oribus : ab lat ive of placewhence.

caducas cadentes .

b acae especia l ly ol ives and arbute-berries .1364. temp estiva ,

‘ in due season.

’

ex amina , swarms’or patches of young shoots

p ullorum , orpullztlus, rare in th is sense for surculus .

sub ter : adverb ; see note on 1. 1324.

1365. unde either ( 1 ) and st imula ted by th is success’

; or (2)a na tura dz

'

scentes ,‘ im i ta t ing nature aga in,

’

when for ins tance theynot iced m i st letoe graft ing it self on apple- trees .

lib i tum st,they conceived the w i sh to.

’

1366. Cf. l. 935.

defodere= z'

m erere.

1367. aliam a tque aliam ,

‘another and yet another ti llage of

the plot so dear to them .

’

ag elli an affectionate d iminut ive.

1368. mansues cere here t rans i t ive governing fructus . They60

LUCRETIUS V. 1370-

92

saw that careful working of the soi l improved thefruits by gradual lyremoving the roughness natura l to them in thei r w i ld cond it ion.

terram is an altera t ion for term .

1370. in dies : see note on 1. 1279.

succedere, retrea t h igher up the hil ls ide.

’

137 1 . in fra : an adverb ; see note on suéter,l . 1324.

1372. Not ice the a syndeton and cf. 11. 1 192, 1336, 1448—9.

Iaon s , wa ter tanks’,or perhaps dew ponds

rivos ,‘ i rriga t ion channels.’

laeta ,‘ luxur iant ,’ as in l . 921.

1374.

‘And to admi t a grey-green r ibbon of ol ive- t rees to run

between and ma rk the plots , spreading overcaerula : the stock ep i thet of ol ives, referring to the leaves of

the trees . The Greeks use epithets of the same s ign ificat ion,Find. 01. i i i . 23 yhavk oxpoa Koo /1 011 eha 109 3 50ph. 0. C. 70 1

‘

ykavm'

is‘

(fivhhoy c’

ha 1c s.

inter . . currere : tmes i s ; cf. note on 1. 883.

p lag a : a band or zone.

I 377 . quae : governed by ornant.

inters ita : w ith frui t trees planted between .

p om i s : of d ifferent k inds of trees , apples, pears, cherries, figs ,grapes

,berries, nuts , &c.

1378. arbu sti s ,‘

plantations .’ Munro : Lucret ius uses a rbusta

continua l ly for arbores , never arbustz’

s for ardom’

bus wh i ch suits h i sverse : aréustz

'

s therefore ha s here i ts usua l mean ing.

’

circum adverb see note on w ater,1. 1324.

1379. im i tarier : seenoteonmolirier,l . 934. I t i s subject tofuit.

1380. ante fui t, i t was the custom to cf. note on I. 12971381 . concelebrare,

‘to frequent,

’

as in 1. 4 terras concelebra sso

‘to pract ise frequent ly

’

, here‘to sing.

1382 z ep hyri depends on s ib ila ,‘the wh istl ing ’

an irregular plural found 1n poets , szbz‘

fi occurring in C icero ,cf. i

'

ocz ,

z'

,oea and others .

cava calamorum Cf. 1. 772 ‘caerula mund i ’ ; Verg . Aen .

v. 180 ‘ summa scopuli

1383. cicutas : properly hemlock sta lks, used for pipes a lso inVerg .E tl. 1i . 36 estm i hi disparibus septem compacta cicutis fistula

’

ag resti s : accusa t ivemascul ine.

1385. pulsata : of the fingers press ing on the flute holes .1386. rep erta s , wh ich greet us,’ agreeing w i th guerela s .

1387 . otia di a ,abodes of unearth ly ca lm,

’

preterna tura l st illness .d iu s has two mean ings, bright,’ d ivine.

’Two l ines fol low here

wh ich are ident ica l w i th ll . 1454—5 and have been w rongly inserted .

1390. olli s see note on I. 1291 .

1391 . cum satiate cib i = zam sati'

atzs ezba. Munro quotes thel ine so frequent 1n Homer : 37rd 7r00

'

10s‘ m 1 e

’

dqrvos e’

é epou euro.

tum =post epulas .

cordi . Roby, L a t. Gram. Pt. 11. x1, predica t ive dat ive. Dufftakes i t as a locat ive at heart ’.1392-6. These l ines resemble very closely i i. 29-

33.

6 1

LUCRETIUS V . 1394—1416

cum tamen inter se prostrat i in gramine moll i"

propter aquae rivum sub ram i s arboris altae

non magn is op ibus iucunde corpora curant ,praesert im cum tempestas arridet et ann itempora consperg unt viridantis floribus herbas .

l1394. iucunde h abeb ant= iuezmdt refiez

’

eéaflt or curabant as in

9391395. tem pes ta s , weather.’

temp ora , seasons .’

1398. con suerant contracted for M i nuet/erant.

1399. p lex i s coron i s flori b us , w i th wreaths pla i ted w i th flowers.’Cf. Catull . lx iv. 284

‘ hos (flores) plexos tul i t i l le corollis

lascivi a ,‘

pure l ightnes s of heart .’ In th i s sense moneba t

woul d usua l ly be fol lowed by a t w i th subj .140 1 . extra numeram ,

‘out of s tep and t ime.

’In 1. 1409 we

have numerum servare1402. duri ter et duro : cf. 1. 950

‘um ida saxa, umida saxa

’

,and

note , Verg . Aen . v . 447‘ ipse grav i s graviterque concidit

’

1404. vi g eb ant,‘were in high honour.’

1405. b ine z a musa ag restz .

s olacia s omni,

‘a consolat ion forwant of s leep

11711101) aw ip ohvrov"axos

‘

.

1406. ducors , flectere, p ercurrere : infinitives used as sub

stantives .

1407. percurrere labro . Cf. iv. 588‘unco saepe labro calamos

percurrit h iantis’.

1408. undo h aec accep ta ,‘ these tradit ions received from them,

’

i . e. from the countrymen above.

vi g iles : ei ther ( 1 ) sent inels in camp, or (2) the fire brigade inRome, of which there i s a v iv id account in Petron. 78 and"uv. S at.

xiv . 305—6.

1409. numerum servare,‘to keep the proper t ime

’

; cf. 1. 1401 .

Munro reads retens for MS . reading g enus .

h ilo : Izzlum i s the pr im i t ive form of m"

1211um. We find mFes tus ‘ h ilum putant essequod grano fabae adhaeret, ex quon i hi l et n ih i lum Ab la t ive of d ifference as multa in l. 1445.

1411 . s i lvestre, rough,’ uncouth .

’

1412. p raes to : pleonas t ic w i th adest ; but cf. 1. 604‘est et iam

p ollere,‘to be best .’

. There are three ways of taking th i s l ine : ( 1) asWakefield‘ i liaquemeliorres posteriorreperta perdit sensus ’ posteriorqueres mel ior perd it i l la reperta et immutat sensus ’ as Munro‘

posteriorque res mel ior reperta perd it i lla ( i . e. priora ) ,

‘as a rule

the la ter discovery of someth ing better spoi l s the taste for formerth ings . The las t way seems to be the clea rest and best .1415. sen sus ad

‘our feel ings towards all tha t i s old

fash ioned .

’

1416. g landi s : object ive geni t ive a fter odz'

um. Cf. Numbersxxi . 5 our soul loatheth th i s l ight bread.

’

62

9so in Aesch .

LUCRET IUS V . 141 7—39

i11a=prz°

ora .

1417. strata : w i th herb ie. Cf. 11. 97 1- 2.

aucta ,heaped up .

’

1418. Cf. 11. 954, 10 1 1, of the t imes when such cloth ing was st i l lunknown and when i t was inven ted .

pelli s : the gen i t ive depends on ves ti s .

1419. quam reor,‘ though I can wel l imagine that cloth ing of

skins 1n the early days of i t s d iscovery provoked such envy1420. letum : accusat. after oézret : in s idi i s , ab la t iveofmanner.qui g es s i t, sc. jellem ferz

'

nam .

1421 . et tam on ,and yet a fter all.

’

s ang uine : w i th was spo i led.

’

convertere, in trans i t ive ; see note on 1. 831.1425. quo, ‘

and in th is mat ter. ’

resed it : from resz'

deo.

1426. Cf. -

7.

1427 . ca rere : substant iva l infin i t ive, subject to laedit.1428. auro s ig n i sque ap ta : 1) hendiadys, decked w i th figures

embroidered in gold (2) decked w i th gold spangles and em

broidered‘ figures .’ For the hendiady3 cf. Verg Aen . xi . 72

‘

gerninas vestes auroque ostroque rigentes’Aen . 1. 648

‘

pa llams igni s auroque rigentem

’

. So too in Engl ish , Byron’s Seunnaefierzb

h i s cohorts were gleam ing w i th purp le and gold.

’

1429. dum ,if only .

’

p lebeia : sc vestis .

s i t : sc. 710815 .

For the sent iment cf. Hor. Sat. i . 3. 13 s i t mih1 toga quaedefendere frigusquamvis cra ssaqueat ’

.

1430. incas sum fru s traque. Cf. 1002 ‘ temere incassum frustra ’

1432. quae fini s : see note on 1. 826 : object ’ ; l im i t .’1433. quoad : monosyllab i c ; cf. note on 1. 1033

° ‘up to what

point genu ine pleasure cont inues to increase ’

14344. i. e. th is m i sconcept ion of pleasure has launched thevessel of

1

man’

5 l ife into a sea of troub le.

in altum : there i s a s im ilar metaphor in Aesch . P . V. 7468v0'

xe1'

pepdv ye 7ré7\a -

yo9 cirqpfis‘ 813179, and aga in in 563 Xa pa g’dpevov,

w i th troubles tempest - tost.’ So in Shakespea re a sea of troubles

1435. Cf. l . 1289 bel l i miscebant fluctus1436. vi g iles to be taken w i th sol et lun a .

m ag num vers atile for thea syndeton see note on 1 1064.

tem p lum : as in l . 1 188, where see note ; the vaul t or spaceof heaven ’

. So a lso‘

in 11. 1204—5.

1437 . circum adverb see note on suéter, l. 1324. Not ice thel iquid 1 a l l i terat ion of the l ine.

1438. p erdocuere. Aeschylus gives us a s im i lar descript ion of

the gradual acquis it ion of theknow ledge of the stars”

and sea sonsin P . V. 454 1711 8 0118611 av1

'

019 ovre xeip aro9 ‘

re'

xpap ovr’

0116611038ov9

npa9 ovre xapqpov Ge'

povs‘ Be

’

Ba tov, ahk’

urep yvcbs 7 0 71811 errpa a oov,core 86 dvroha9 ( yd) a o rpa w e8e1§a re 8v<rxpi

°

rov9 8110 619.

1439. rem ,

‘ s ’ystem 7 8 7 21771 naturam .

63

LUCRETIUS V . 1439-

56

1439. ordinecerto : theknow ledge tha t everything occurredm i tsproper order gavemen a start ing point on wh ich they might basethei r ca lculat ions about the seasons.1441 . divi sa di scretaque pleonastic, port ioned offandmarked

out by boundar ies .’

1442. floreb a t . The Greeks used the same metaphor, Aesch .

Ag . 659 0pri mer"avdovv ”61 07 09Arro tou vexpow av8pwu’Axa 1wv110117 111 019

r e’

pe17r1'

019 : Eur. [fi/z. Taur 300 aquampoy 11171 117 09 35111161 111 cho

os‘

,‘was studded w i th .

’In th i s passagetheverb no doubt also conta ins

an idea of the prosper ity of the sea trade.

pupp ibus ; urbes i s Munro’s correction forpropteroa’ores inthe MSS.,

a reading wh ich makes no sense.

1443. Men begano

to real i ze that peace w i th thei r neighbours waspreferable to war.

1444. res g es ta s , the deeds of men,’

101611 dv8paw, songs of thefea t?)of heroes

,w i th wh ich the h istory of most nat ions begins

(Du1445

- 8. Cf. 11. 324-

31 , where theargument i s as follow s I f therehad been no beginn ing to the world , why does h istory begin onlyw i th the wars of Thebes and Troy How does it happen that theachievements of somany heroes are buried m silence ? Surely thenei ther the world i s young or i t s h i story and civi l i za t ion havesuffered frequent interrupt ions and occas ional annih i lat ion, onlyhowever to spring up aga in.

mul to : ablat ive of difference as 11170,elementa the letters of the a lphabet .

1447. ves tig i a : traces of ancient c ivil izat ion, i . e. from prehistori cbui ld ings or from figures drawn and scratched on rocks beforew ri t ing was invented or partly from ora l t radit ion that seems wel lfounded and logica l .1448

—9. Not ice theasyndeton and cf. 11. 1336, 1372. In these two

l ines we have a l is t of the useful a rts .1450

—1 . Here follow the finer a rt s wh i ch are the t rue luxuriesof l ife

, p raemi a .

fundi tu s,w i thout exception.

’

daedala ,-wel l w rought , used in a pass ive sense as in Verg .

Georg . iv. 179 daeda la fingere tecta’

p olire : substant iva l infini t ive.

1452. u su s ,‘

pract ice.

1453. p edetemp tim p rog redi enti s : as in‘

pedetemptim

prog redientis’.

1454 unumquicqui d = unumquiutgue ‘each separate th ing

so in P laut. Tr m i v. 2. 39‘unumquicquid percontabere ’ For ll .

1454 5 see note on l. 1387 .

p rotrahi t in medium . Cf. l . 1 158‘

protraxe in medium .

alid : for alma'

,as in l. 1305 ‘

one after another, i . e. one

developed from another.cordi

’ depends on artzba s,by the invent ions of their m ind

cor i s used of the intel lect, wh ich theRomans imagined was sea tedin the heart .

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INDEX

fulgere, 1095.

fun is aurea , 793.

g enitive, archa ic, 946, 1099, 1 1 24 ;

part it ive, 791 , 807, 918 .

g erund r pres . partic. , 1 276 ; genit ive of g erund w ith geni tive of

noun, 1 225 .

g liscunt, 106 1.

g ods of Epicurus and Lucretius,1 1 56, 1 1 70, 1 188, Introd. pp . 6—7 .

habenis imm issis,metaphor, 787 .

hauribant, 1324.

haustus, 991 , 1069.

hendiadys , 1428.

heter. plura l , 1064.

hexameter of Lucretius,Introd. pp .

5—6.

hi lo , 1409.

hoc= ‘ therefore 807 .

hypermeter, 849.

immissis habenis, 787.

imperfects in - ibam, 934, 949, 953 ,

impersona l verbs , 795, 1 206, 1 262.

indicative of frequency, 1 257, 1394.

indupedita , 876 .

induperatorem, 1 2 27.

inerma inerm ia , 1 292 .

infini tive,archa ic in - ier, 934, 979,

1023, 1 199, 1 250, 1 298, 1 3 1 2

1379 ; for noun, 1 297 ; aftervocabant, 945.

ins ig ne, 1 138.

insilia,1 35 1 , 1 353.

intempesta nocte, 986.

interpolat ion, 1341 - 6.

interutrasque, 839.

invidia , 1 1 26 .

iam/ap ta , 832.

iura,10 1 2.

invenous,1074.

l in a l l itera tion, 949, 989, 1437 .

lacuna , a suspected , 108 1 .

laeta , 921 , 1372.

languag e, orig in of, 1028.

lap idem, of g ods, 1 199.

lavere for lavare, 949.

levisomna , 864.

lidebant, 100 1 .

long syl lable in ars is, 1049.

66

lucas boves, 1302.

Lucret ius, l ife of, Introd. p . 5 ; styleof

, Introd. pp. 5—6 ; hexameter

of, Introd. pp. 5—6 ; and Epi

cureanism, Introd . pp. 6—7.

m in a l l itera tion, 792, 1 193, 1 220 .

mactae,1339.

mage, 1 203.

mansuescere, trans ,1 368.

manus elephanti , 1303.

materiem (for - iam ) , 1 267.

Memmius , 867, 1 1 1 7.

metaphor, 850 .

metutum , pass ive, 1 140 .

Moloss i , 1063.

mortalia saecla, 791 , 805 .

mutua as adverb , 1 100.

ne fol lowed by neque, 890.

nec utr um neutrum , 839.

night , fear of eternal , 972.

n imio plus , 988.

notities ( for 1047 .

o l l is,1 291 , 1390 .

opus est, 1 053.

orba , w ith gen it ive, 840 .

Orcum , 996.

order of w ords , 929, 1414.

orig in of cloth ing, 1418 ; fire, 953,10 1 5 l iterature, 1444; speech ,1 028 ; w ar, 1028, 1 283.

p in a l l iterat ion, 850 , 856, 1004,

pandere, 1 200 ; metaphor, 1 248.

part iciple, present, used intrans931

partim= nonnulli, 13 10 ; cf. 1 143.

part itive gen it ive, see g en it ive.

pa sci , 874.perforate, 1 268.

periphras is, 794, 827, 886, 914,1 242, 1 28 1 , 1 286, 1 294.

pertundere, 1 268.

pet it , intrans ,1035 .

p leonasm ,1 002

,1062, 1 169, 141 2.

poenarum solvendi,1 225 .

po isoning ,1 0 10 .

potiss it, 881 .

praes idium ,1 109.

prepos i t ions used as adverbs , 972,1324.

1364, 1371 . 1378. 1437

INDEX

prgcudere, metaphor, 850.

prépag ando ,850, 856.

proper names used as common

nouns , 848, 897.

protraxe, 1 1 58 .

quanti ty , differences of, 839, 850,856, 878. 952, 970 , 10 27. 1033,1049, 1095 , 1 163 , 1 213, 1 337,14071 1433.

que attached to e, 874, 1021 , 1052,1 289.

qui =quomodo, 904.

quietem. 983

quoad, long monosyl lab le, I O331

rad11,

ricta , 1064.

ritua l of Romans, 1 199.

ruebant, trans ,1 325 .

s in a l l iterat ion, 949.

s dropped, 824, 825, 936,

sacra sacra, 1 163—4.

saecla , 791 , 805 .

sang uine sudent, 1 1 31 .

scap i ’ 135 7 1scatere, 952.

501123 1, 9341 949: 959sci l i cet , 875 .

sciret,1049.

Scyl la , 892.

sic, 1077 ; = sicut erant, 970 .

sollemnia,1 163.

solvendi poenarum, 1 225 .

spontaneous g enerat ion , 798.

subjunctive of reported reason ,1 180 .

subus, 970.

summatum ,1 142.

surviva l of the fittest , 871 , 876.

11 in a l l iterat ion, 949—50.

unis , plura l , 897.

usus est, 844.

utor, w ith accusative, 1033.

weav ing , 135 1 seq.

tautology, 801 , 1025, 1078 , 1079,

tela,1 35 1 .

templa , 1 188, 1 205 , 1436.

tempore eodem ,1045 .

terebrare, 1 268.

term ini , 1 199.

tmesis , 883, 1 128, 1 268 , 1374.

v in a l l i teration, 857, 957, 993.

vaporant, 1 1 27 .

Veneris , 848, 897.

verm ina , 997.

vertere, intrans , 83 1 .

vertier ad lap idem,1 199.

veterino, 865 , 890 .

viduata,w ith g enit ive, 840 .

v ig i les , 1408.

vis fo1° vires , 1033.

visceris =flesh, 903, 993.

vocabant , w ith infin. ins tead of

945voluerunt se claros

,1 1 20 .

volventia , intrans , 931 .

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