De Rerum Natura (Lucretius)

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	De Rerum Natura Author: Lucretius	Translator: William Ellery Leonard
97	At coniectus aquae digitum non altior unum , qui lapides inter sistit per strata viarum , despectum praebet sub terras inpete tanto , a terris quantum caeli patet altus hiatus , nubila despicere et caelum ut videare videre , corpora mirande sub terras abdita caelo . Denique ubi in medio nobis ecus acer obhaesit flumine et in rapidas amnis despeximus undas , stantis equi corpus transversum ferre videtur vis et in adversum flumen contrudere raptim , et quo cumque oculos traiecimus omnia ferri et fluere adsimili nobis ratione videntur . Porticus aequali quamvis est denique ductu stansque in perpetuum paribus suffulta columnis , longa tamen parte ab summa cum tota videtur , paulatim trahit angusti fastigia coni , tecta solo iungens atque omnia dextera laevis donec in obscurum coni conduxit acumen . In pelago nautis ex undis ortus in undis sol fit uti videatur obire et condere lumen ; quippe ubi nil aliud nisi aquam caelumque tuentur ; ne leviter credas labefactari undique sensus . at maris ignaris in portu clauda videntur navigia aplustris fractis obnitier undis . nam quae cumque supra rorem salis edita pars est remorum , recta est , et recta superne guberna ; quae demersa liquore obeunt , refracta videntur omnia converti sursumque supina reverti et reflexa prope in summo fluitare liquore . Raraque per caelum cum venti nubila portant tempore nocturno , tum splendida signa videntur labier adversum nimbos atque ire superne longe aliam in partem ac vera ratione feruntur	A pool of water of but a finger's depth, Which lies between the stones along the pave, Offers a vision downward into earth As far, as from the earth o'erspread on high The gulfs of heaven; that thus thou seemest to view Clouds down below and heavenly bodies plunged Wondrously in heaven under earth. Then too, when in the middle of the stream Sticks fast our dashing horse, and down we gaze Into the river's rapid waves, some force Seems then to bear the body of the horse, Though standing still, reversely from his course, And swiftly push up-stream. And wheresoe'er We cast our eyes across, all objects seem Thus to be onward borne and flow along In the same way as we. A portico, Albeit it stands well propped from end to end On equal columns, parallel and big, Contracts by stages in a narrow cone, When from one end the long, long whole is seen,- Until, conjoining ceiling with the floor, And the whole right side with the left, it draws Together to a cone's nigh-viewless point. To sailors on the main the sun he seems From out the waves to rise, and in the waves To set and bury his light- because indeed They gaze on naught but water and the sky. Again, to gazers ignorant of the sea, Vessels in port seem, as with broken poops, To lean upon the water, quite agog; For any portion of the oars that's raised Above the briny spray is straight, and straight The rudders from above. But other parts, Those sunk, immersed below the water-line, Seem broken all and bended and inclined Sloping to upwards, and turned back to float Almost atop the water. And when the winds Carry the scattered drifts along the sky In the night-time, then seem to glide along The radiant constellations 'gainst the clouds And there on high to take far other course From that whereon in truth they're borne. And then,
98	At si forte oculo manus uni subdita supter pressit eum , quodam sensu fit uti videantur omnia quae tuimur fieri tum bina tuendo , bina lucernarum florentia lumina flammis binaque per totas aedis geminare supellex et duplicis hominum facies et corpora bina . Denique cum suavi devinxit membra sopore somnus et in summa corpus iacet omne quiete , tum vigilare tamen nobis et membra movere nostra videmur , et in noctis caligine caeca cernere censemus solem lumenque diurnum , conclusoque loco caelum mare flumina montis mutare et campos pedibus transire videmur , et sonitus audire , severa silentia noctis undique cum constent , et reddere dicta tacentes . Cetera de genere hoc mirande multa videmus , quae violare fidem quasi sensibus omnia quaerunt , ne quiquam , quoniam pars horum maxima fallit propter opinatus animi , quos addimus ipsi , pro visis ut sint quae non sunt sensibus visa ; nam nihil aegrius est quam res secernere apertas ab dubiis , animus quas ab se protinus addit .	If haply our hand be set beneath one eye And press below thereon, then to our gaze Each object which we gaze on seems to be, By some sensation twain- then twain the lights Of lampions burgeoning in flowers of flame, And twain the furniture in all the house, Two-fold the visages of fellow-men, And twain their bodies. And again, when sleep Has bound our members down in slumber soft And all the body lies in deep repose, Yet then we seem to self to be awake And move our members; and in night's blind gloom We think to mark the daylight and the sun; And, shut within a room, yet still we seem To change our skies, our oceans, rivers, hills, To cross the plains afoot, and hear new sounds, Though still the austere silence of the night Abides around us, and to speak replies, Though voiceless. Other cases of the sort Wondrously many do we see, which all Seek, so to say, to injure faith in sense- In vain, because the largest part of these Deceives through mere opinions of the mind, Which we do add ourselves, feigning to see What by the senses are not seen at all. For naught is harder than to separate Plain facts from dubious, which the mind forthwith Adds by itself.
99	Denique nil sciri siquis putat , id quoque nescit an sciri possit , quoniam nil scire fatetur . hunc igitur contra minuam contendere causam , qui capite ipse suo in statuit vestigia sese . et tamen hoc quoque uti concedam scire , at id ipsum quaeram , cum in rebus veri nil viderit ante , unde sciat quid sit scire et nescire vicissim , notitiam veri quae res falsique crearit et dubium certo quae res differre probarit . invenies primis ab sensibus esse creatam notitiem veri neque sensus posse refelli . nam maiore fide debet reperirier illud , sponte sua veris quod possit vincere falsa . quid maiore fide porro quam sensus haberi debet ? an ab sensu falso ratio orta valebit dicere eos contra , quae tota ab sensibus orta est ? qui nisi sunt veri , ratio quoque falsa fit omnis . An poterunt oculos aures reprehendere , an aures tactus ? an hunc porro tactum sapor arguet oris , an confutabunt nares oculive revincent ? non , ut opinor , ita est . nam seorsum cuique potestas divisast , sua vis cuiquest , ideoque necesse est et quod molle sit et gelidum fervensve videre et seorsum varios rerum sentire colores et quae cumque coloribus sint coniuncta necessest . seorsus item sapor oris habet vim , seorsus odores nascuntur , seorsum sonitus . ideoque necesse est non possint alios alii convincere sensus . nec porro poterunt ipsi reprehendere sese , aequa fides quoniam debebit semper haberi . proinde quod in quoquest his visum tempore , verumst .	Again, if one suppose That naught is known, he knows not whether this Itself is able to be known, since he Confesses naught to know. Therefore with him I waive discussion- who has set his head Even where his feet should be. But let me grant That this he knows,- I question: whence he knows What 'tis to know and not-to-know in turn, And what created concept of the truth, And what device has proved the dubious To differ from the certain?- since in things He's heretofore seen naught of true. Thou'lt find That from the senses first hath been create Concept of truth, nor can the senses be Rebutted. For criterion must be found Worthy of greater trust, which shall defeat Through own authority the false by true; What, then, than these our senses must there be Worthy a greater trust? Shall reason, sprung From some false sense, prevail to contradict Those senses, sprung as reason wholly is From out the senses?- For lest these be true, All reason also then is falsified. Or shall the ears have power to blame the eyes, Or yet the touch the ears? Again, shall taste Accuse this touch or shall the nose confute Or eyes defeat it? Methinks not so it is: For unto each has been divided off Its function quite apart, its power to each; And thus we're still constrained to perceive The soft, the cold, the hot apart, apart All divers hues and whatso things there be Conjoined with hues. Likewise the tasting tongue Has its own power apart, and smells apart And sounds apart are known. And thus it is That no one sense can e'er convict another. Nor shall one sense have power to blame itself, Because it always must be deemed the same, Worthy of equal trust. And therefore what At any time unto these senses showed, The same is true.
100	Et si non poterit ratio dissolvere causam , cur ea quae fuerint iuxtim quadrata , procul sint visa rutunda , tamen praestat rationis egentem reddere mendose causas utriusque figurae , quam manibus manifesta suis emittere quoquam et violare fidem primam et convellere tota fundamenta quibus nixatur vita salusque . non modo enim ratio ruat omnis , vita quoque ipsa concidat extemplo , nisi credere sensibus ausis praecipitisque locos vitare et cetera quae sint in genere hoc fugienda , sequi contraria quae sint . illa tibi est igitur verborum copia cassa omnis , quae contra sensus instructa paratast . Denique ut in fabrica , si pravast regula prima , normaque si fallax rectis regionibus exit , et libella aliqua si ex parti claudicat hilum , omnia mendose fieri atque obstipa necessu est prava cubantia prona supina atque absona tecta , iam ruere ut quaedam videantur velle , ruantque prodita iudiciis fallacibus omnia primis , sic igitur ratio tibi rerum prava necessest falsaque sit , falsis quae cumque ab sensibus ortast .	And if the reason be Unable to unravel us the cause Why objects, which at hand were square, afar Seemed rounded, yet it more availeth us, Lacking the reason, to pretend a cause For each configuration, than to let From out our hands escape the obvious things And injure primal faith in sense, and wreck All those foundations upon which do rest Our life and safety. For not only reason Would topple down; but even our very life Would straightaway collapse, unless we dared To trust our senses and to keep away From headlong heights and places to be shunned Of a like peril, and to seek with speed Their opposites! Again, as in a building, If the first plumb-line be askew, and if The square deceiving swerve from lines exact, And if the level waver but the least In any part, the whole construction then Must turn out faulty- shelving and askew, Leaning to back and front, incongruous, That now some portions seem about to fall, And falls the whole ere long- betrayed indeed By first deceiving estimates: so too Thy calculations in affairs of life Must be askew and false, if sprung for thee From senses false. So all that troop of words Marshalled against the senses is quite vain.
101	Nunc alii sensus quo pacto quisque suam rem sentiat , haud quaquam ratio scruposa relicta est . Principio auditur sonus et vox omnis , in auris insinuata suo pepulere ubi corpore sensum . corpoream quoque enim constare fatendumst et sonitum , quoniam possunt inpellere sensus . Praeterea radit vox fauces saepe facitque asperiora foras gradiens arteria clamor , quippe per angustum turba maiore coorta ire foras ubi coeperunt primordia vocum . scilicet expletis quoque ianua raditur oris . haud igitur dubiumst quin voces verbaque constent corporeis e principiis , ut laedere possint . nec te fallit item quid corporis auferat et quid detrahat ex hominum nervis ac viribus ipsis perpetuus sermo nigrai noctis ad umbram aurorae perductus ab exoriente nitore , praesertim si cum summost clamore profusus . ergo corpoream vocem constare necessest , multa loquens quoniam amittit de corpore partem . Asperitas autem vocis fit ab asperitate principiorum et item levor levore creatur ; nec simili penetrant auris primordia forma , cum tuba depresso graviter sub murmure mugit et reboat raucum retro cita barbita bombum , et Dauliades natae hortis ex Heliconis cum liquidam tollunt lugubri voce querellam .	And now remains to demonstrate with ease How other senses each their things perceive. Firstly, a sound and every voice is heard, When, getting into ears, they strike the sense With their own body. For confess we must Even voice and sound to be corporeal, Because they're able on the sense to strike. Besides voice often scrapes against the throat, And screams in going out do make more rough The wind-pipe- naturally enough, methinks, When, through the narrow exit rising up In larger throng, these primal germs of voice Have thus begun to issue forth. In sooth, Also the door of the mouth is scraped against [By air blown outward] from distended [cheeks]. . . . . . . And thus no doubt there is, that voice and words Consist of elements corporeal, With power to pain. Nor art thou unaware Likewise how much of body's ta'en away, How much from very thews and powers of men May be withdrawn by steady talk, prolonged Even from the rising splendour of the morn To shadows of black evening,- above all If 't be outpoured with most exceeding shouts. Therefore the voice must be corporeal, Since the long talker loses from his frame A part. Moreover, roughness in the sound Comes from the roughness in the primal germs, As a smooth sound from smooth ones is create; Nor have these elements a form the same When the trump rumbles with a hollow roar, As when barbaric Berecynthian pipe Buzzes with raucous boomings, or when swans By night from icy shores of Helicon With wailing voices raise their liquid dirge.
102	Hasce igitur penitus voces cum corpore nostro exprimimus rectoque foras emittimus ore , mobilis articulat nervorum daedala lingua , formaturaque labrorum pro parte figurat . hoc ubi non longum spatiumst unde illa profecta perveniat vox quaeque , necessest verba quoque ipsa plane exaudiri discernique articulatim ; servat enim formaturam servatque figuram . at si inter positum spatium sit longius aequo , aëra per multum confundi verba necessest et conturbari vocem , dum transvolat auras . ergo fit , sonitum ut possis sentire neque illam internoscere , verborum sententia quae sit ; usque adeo confusa venit vox inque pedita . Praeterea verbum saepe unum perciet auris omnibus in populo missum praeconis ab ore . in multas igitur voces vox una repente diffugit , in privas quoniam se dividit auris obsignans formam verbis clarumque sonorem . at quae pars vocum non auris incidit ipsas , praeter lata perit frustra diffusa per auras . pars solidis adlisa locis reiecta sonorem reddit et inter dum frustratur imagine verbi .	Thus, when from deep within our frame we force These voices, and at mouth expel them forth, The mobile tongue, artificer of words, Makes them articulate, and too the lips By their formations share in shaping them. Hence when the space is short from starting-point To where that voice arrives, the very words Must too be plainly heard, distinctly marked. For then the voice conserves its own formation, Conserves its shape. But if the space between Be longer than is fit, the words must be Through the much air confounded, and the voice Disordered in its flight across the winds- And so it haps, that thou canst sound perceive, Yet not determine what the words may mean; To such degree confounded and encumbered The voice approaches us. Again, one word, Sent from the crier's mouth, may rouse all ears Among the populace. And thus one voice Scatters asunder into many voices, Since it divides itself for separate ears, Imprinting form of word and a clear tone. But whatso part of voices fails to hit The ears themselves perishes, borne beyond, Idly diffused among the winds. A part, Beating on solid porticoes, tossed back Returns a sound; and sometimes mocks the ear With a mere phantom of a word.
103	Quae bene cum videas , rationem reddere possis tute tibi atque aliis , quo pacto per loca sola saxa paris formas verborum ex ordine reddant . palantis comites com montis inter opacos quaerimus et magna dispersos voce ciemus . sex etiam aut septem loca vidi reddere vocis , unam cum iaceres : ita colles collibus ipsi verba repulsantes iterabant dicta referri . haec loca capripedes Satyros Nymphasque tenere finitimi fingunt et Faunos esse locuntur , quorum noctivago strepitu ludoque iocanti adfirmant volgo taciturna silentia rumpi chordarumque sonos fieri dulcisque querellas , tibia quas fundit digitis pulsata canentum , et genus agricolum late sentiscere , quom Pan pinea semiferi capitis velamina quassans unco saepe labro calamos percurrit hiantis , fistula silvestrem ne cesset fundere musam . cetera de genere hoc monstra ac portenta loquontur , ne loca deserta ab divis quoque forte putentur sola tenere . ideo iactant miracula dictis aut aliqua ratione alia ducuntur , ut omne humanum genus est avidum nimis auricularum .	When this Thou well hast noted, thou canst render count Unto thyself and others why it is Along the lonely places that the rocks Give back like shapes of words in order like, When search we after comrades wandering Among the shady mountains, and aloud Call unto them, the scattered. I have seen Spots that gave back even voices six or seven For one thrown forth- for so the very hills, Dashing them back against the hills, kept on With their reverberations. And these spots The neighbouring country-side doth feign to be Haunts of the goat-foot satyrs and the nymphs; And tells ye there be fauns, by whose night noise And antic revels yonder they declare The voiceless silences are broken oft, And tones of strings are made and wailings sweet Which the pipe, beat by players' finger-tips, Pours out; and far and wide the farmer-race Begins to hear, when, shaking the garmentings Of pine upon his half-beast head, god-Pan With puckered lip oft runneth o'er and o'er The open reeds,- lest flute should cease to pour The woodland music! Other prodigies And wonders of this ilk they love to tell, Lest they be thought to dwell in lonely spots And even by gods deserted. This is why They boast of marvels in their story-tellings; Or by some other reason are led on- Greedy, as all mankind hath ever been, To prattle fables into ears.
104	Quod super est , non est mirandum qua ratione , per loca quae nequeunt oculi res cernere apertas , haec loca per voces veniant aurisque lacessant , conloquium clausis foribus quoque saepe videmus ; ni mirum quia vox per flexa foramina rerum incolumis transire potest , simulacra renutant ; perscinduntur enim , nisi recta foramina tranant , qualia sunt vitrei , species qua travolat omnis . praeterea partis in cunctas dividitur vox , ex aliis aliae quoniam gignuntur , ubi una dissuluit semel in multas exorta , quasi ignis saepe solet scintilla suos se spargere in ignis . ergo replentur loca vocibus abdita retro , omnia quae circum fervunt sonituque cientur . at simulacra viis derectis omnia tendunt , ut sunt missa semel ; qua propter cernere nemo saepe supra potis est , at voces accipere extra . et tamen ipsa quoque haec , dum transit clausa vox optunditur atque auris confusa penetrat et sonitum potius quam verba audire videmur .	Again, One need not wonder how it comes about That through those places (through which eyes cannot View objects manifest) sounds yet may pass And assail the ears. For often we observe People conversing, though the doors be closed; No marvel either, since all voice unharmed Can wind through bended apertures of things, While idol-films decline to- for they're rent, Unless along straight apertures they swim, Like those in glass, through which all images Do fly across. And yet this voice itself, In passing through shut chambers of a house, Is dulled, and in a jumble enters ears, And sound we seem to hear far more than words. Moreover, a voice is into all directions Divided up, since off from one another New voices are engendered, when one voice Hath once leapt forth, outstarting into many- As oft a spark of fire is wont to sprinkle Itself into its several fires. And so, Voices do fill those places hid behind, Which all are in a hubbub round about, Astir with sound. But idol-films do tend, As once sent forth, in straight directions all; Wherefore one can inside a wall see naught, Yet catch the voices from beyond the same.