De Rerum Natura (Lucretius)

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	De Rerum Natura Author: Lucretius	Translator: William Ellery Leonard
113	Sed quibus haec rebus novitas confiat et unde perturbari anima et corpus languescere possit , expediam : tu fac ne ventis verba profundam . Principio externa corpus de parte necessum est , aëriis quoniam vicinum tangitur auris , tundier atque eius crebro pulsarier ictu , proptereaque fere res omnes aut corio sunt aut etiam conchis aut callo aut cortice tectae . interiorem etiam partem spirantibus aër verberat hic idem , cum ducitur atque reflatur . quare utrimque secus cum corpus vapulet et cum perveniant plagae per parva foramina nobis corporis ad primas partis elementaque prima , fit quasi paulatim nobis per membra ruina . conturbantur enim positurae principiorum corporis atque animi . fit uti pars inde animai eliciatur et introrsum pars abdita cedat , pars etiam distracta per artus non queat esse coniuncta inter se neque motu mutua fungi ; inter enim saepit coetus natura viasque . ergo sensus abit mutatis motibus alte . et quoniam non est quasi quod suffulciat artus , debile fit corpus languescuntque omnia membra , bracchia palpebraeque cadunt poplitesque cubanti saepe tamen summittuntur virisque resolvunt . Deinde cibum sequitur somnus , quia , quae facit aër , haec eadem cibus , in venas dum diditur omnis , efficit . et multo sopor ille gravissimus exstat , quem satur aut lassus capias , quia plurima tum se corpora conturbant magno contusa labore . fit ratione eadem coniectus parte animai altior atque foras eiectus largior eius , et divisior inter se ac distractior intus .	By what devices this strange state and new May be occasioned, and by what the soul Can be confounded and the frame grow faint, I will untangle: see to it, thou, that I Pour forth my words not unto empty winds. In first place, body on its outer parts- Since these are touched by neighbouring aery gusts- Must there be thumped and strook by blows of air Repeatedly. And therefore almost all Are covered either with hides, or else with shells, Or with the horny callus, or with bark. Yet this same air lashes their inner parts, When creatures draw a breath or blow it out. Wherefore, since body thus is flogged alike Upon the inside and the out, and blows Come in upon us through the little pores Even inward to our body's primal parts And primal elements, there comes to pass By slow degrees, along our members then, A kind of overthrow; for then confounded Are those arrangements of the primal germs Of body and of mind. It comes to pass That next a part of soul's expelled abroad, A part retreateth in recesses hid, A part, too, scattered all about the frame, Cannot become united nor engage In interchange of motion. Nature now So hedges off approaches and the paths; And thus the sense, its motions all deranged, Retires down deep within; and since there's naught, As 'twere, to prop the frame, the body weakens, And all the members languish, and the arms And eyelids fall, and, as ye lie abed, Even there the houghs will sag and loose their powers. Again, sleep follows after food, because The food produces same result as air, Whilst being scattered round through all the veins; And much the heaviest is that slumber which, Full or fatigued, thou takest; since 'tis then That the most bodies disarrange themselves, Bruised by labours hard. And in same wise, This three-fold change: a forcing of the soul Down deeper, more a casting-forth of it, A moving more divided in its parts And scattered more.
114	Et quo quisque fere studio devinctus adhaeret aut quibus in rebus multum sumus ante morati atque in ea ratione fuit contenta magis mens , in somnis eadem plerumque videmur obire : causidici causas agere et componere leges , induperatores pugnare ac proelia obire , nautae contractum cum ventis degere bellum , nos agere hoc autem et naturam quaerere rerum semper et inventam patriis exponere chartis . cetera sic studia atque artes plerumque videntur in somnis animos hominum frustrata tenere . et qui cumque dies multos ex ordine ludis adsiduas dederunt operas , plerumque videmus , cum iam destiterunt ea sensibus usurpare , relicuas tamen esse vias in mente patentis , qua possint eadem rerum simulacra venire ; per multos itaque illa dies eadem obversantur ante oculos , etiam vigilantes ut videantur cernere saltantis et mollia membra moventis et citharae liquidum carmen chordasque loquentis auribus accipere et consessum cernere eundem scenaique simul varios splendere decores . usque adeo magni refert studium atque voluntas , et quibus in rebus consuerint esse operati non homines solum sed vero animalia cuncta . quippe videbis equos fortis , cum membra iacebunt , in somnis sudare tamen spirareque semper et quasi de palma summas contendere viris aut quasi carceribus patefactis venantumque canes in molli saepe quiete iactant crura tamen subito vocisque repente mittunt et crebro redducunt naribus auras . ut vestigia si teneant inventa ferarum , expergefactique secuntur inania saepe cervorum simulacra , fugae quasi dedita cernant , donec discussis redeant erroribus ad se . at consueta domi catulorum blanda propago discutere et corpus de terra corripere instant , proinde quasi ignotas facies atque ora tuantur . et quo quaeque magis sunt aspera seminiorum , tam magis in somnis eadem saevire necessust . at variae fugiunt volucres pinnisque repente sollicitant divom nocturno tempore lucos , accipitres somno in leni si proelia pugnas edere sunt persectantes visaeque volantes . porro hominum mentes , magnis quae motibus edunt magna , itidem saepe in somnis faciuntque geruntque , reges expugnant , capiuntur , proelia miscent , tollunt clamorem , quasi si iugulentur ibidem . multi depugnant gemitusque doloribus edunt et quasi pantherae morsu saevive leonis mandantur , magnis clamoribus omnia complent . multi de magnis per somnum rebus loquuntur indicioque sui facti persaepe fuere . multi mortem obeunt . multi , de montibus altis ut quasi praecipitent ad terram corpore toto , exterruntur et ex somno quasi mentibus capti vix ad se redeunt permoti corporis aestu . flumen item sitiens aut fontem propter amoenum adsidet et totum prope faucibus occupat amnem . puri saepe lacum propter si ac dolia curta somno devincti credunt se extollere vestem , totius umorem saccatum corporis fundunt , cum Babylonica magnifico splendore rigantur . tum quibus aetatis freta primitus insinuatur semen , ubi ipsa dies membris matura creavit , conveniunt simulacra foris e corpore quoque , nuntia praeclari voltus pulchrique coloris , qui ciet inritans loca turgida semine multo , ut quasi transactis saepe omnibus rebus profundant fluminis ingentis fluctus vestemque cruentent .	And to whate'er pursuit A man most clings absorbed, or what the affairs On which we theretofore have tarried much, And mind hath strained upon the more, we seem In sleep not rarely to go at the same. The lawyers seem to plead and cite decrees, Commanders they to fight and go at frays, Sailors to live in combat with the winds, And we ourselves indeed to make this book, And still to seek the nature of the world And set it down, when once discovered, here In these my country's leaves. Thus all pursuits, All arts in general seem in sleeps to mock And master the minds of men. And whosoever Day after day for long to games have given Attention undivided, still they keep (As oft we note), even when they've ceased to grasp Those games with their own senses, open paths Within the mind wherethrough the idol-films Of just those games can come. And thus it is For many a day thereafter those appear Floating before the eyes, that even awake They think they view the dancers moving round Their supple limbs, and catch with both the ears The liquid song of harp and speaking chords, And view the same assembly on the seats, And manifold bright glories of the stage- So great the influence of pursuit and zest, And of the affairs wherein 'thas been the wont Of men to be engaged-nor only men, But soothly all the animals. Behold, Thou'lt see the sturdy horses, though outstretched, Yet sweating in their sleep, and panting ever, And straining utmost strength, as if for prize, As if, with barriers opened now... And hounds of huntsmen oft in soft repose Yet toss asudden all their legs about, And growl and bark, and with their nostrils sniff The winds again, again, as though indeed They'd caught the scented foot-prints of wild beasts, And, even when wakened, often they pursue The phantom images of stags, as though They did perceive them fleeing on before, Until the illusion's shaken off and dogs Come to themselves again. And fawning breed Of house-bred whelps do feel the sudden urge To shake their bodies and start from off the ground, As if beholding stranger-visages. And ever the fiercer be the stock, the more In sleep the same is ever bound to rage. But flee the divers tribes of birds and vex With sudden wings by night the groves of gods, When in their gentle slumbers they have dreamed Of hawks in chase, aswooping on for fight. Again, the minds of mortals which perform With mighty motions mighty enterprises, Often in sleep will do and dare the same In manner like. Kings take the towns by storm, Succumb to capture, battle on the field, Raise a wild cry as if their throats were cut Even then and there. And many wrestle on And groan with pains, and fill all regions round With mighty cries and wild, as if then gnawed By fangs of panther or of lion fierce. Many amid their slumbers talk about Their mighty enterprises, and have often Enough become the proof of their own crimes. Many meet death; many, as if headlong From lofty mountains tumbling down to earth With all their frame, are frenzied in their fright; And after sleep, as if still mad in mind, They scarce come to, confounded as they are By ferment of their frame. The thirsty man, Likewise, he sits beside delightful spring Or river and gulpeth down with gaping throat Nigh the whole stream. And oft the innocent young, By sleep o'ermastered, think they lift their dress By pail or public jordan and then void The water filtered down their frame entire And drench the Babylonian coverlets, Magnificently bright. Again, those males Into the surging channels of whose years Now first has passed the seed (engendered Within their members by the ripened days) Are in their sleep confronted from without By idol-images of some fair form- Tidings of glorious face and lovely bloom, Which stir and goad the regions turgid now With seed abundant; so that, as it were With all the matter acted duly out, They pour the billows of a potent stream And stain their garment.
115	Sollicitatur id nobis , quod diximus ante , semen , adulta aetas cum primum roborat artus . namque alias aliud res commovet atque lacessit ; ex homine humanum semen ciet una hominis vis . quod simul atque suis eiectum sedibus exit , per membra atque artus decedit corpore toto , in loca conveniens nervorum certa cietque continuo partis genitalis corporis ipsas . inritata tument loca semine fitque voluntas eicere id quo se contendit dira lubido , idque petit corpus , mens unde est saucia amore ; namque omnes plerumque cadunt in vulnus et illam emicat in partem sanguis , unde icimur ictu , et si comminus est , hostem ruber occupat umor . sic igitur Veneris qui telis accipit ictus , sive puer membris muliebribus hunc iaculatur seu mulier toto iactans e corpore amorem , unde feritur , eo tendit gestitque coire et iacere umorem in corpus de corpore ductum ; namque voluptatem praesagit muta cupido .	And as said before, That seed is roused in us when once ripe age Has made our body strong... As divers causes give to divers things Impulse and irritation, so one force In human kind rouses the human seed To spurt from man. As soon as ever it issues, Forced from its first abodes, it passes down In the whole body through the limbs and frame, Meeting in certain regions of our thews, And stirs amain the genitals of man. The goaded regions swell with seed, and then Comes the delight to dart the same at what The mad desire so yearns, and body seeks That object, whence the mind by love is pierced. For well-nigh each man falleth toward his wound, And our blood spurts even toward the spot from whence The stroke wherewith we are strook, and if indeed The foe be close, the red jet reaches him. Thus, one who gets a stroke from Venus' shafts- Whether a boy with limbs effeminate Assault him, or a woman darting love From all her body- that one strains to get Even to the thing whereby he's hit, and longs To join with it and cast into its frame The fluid drawn even from within its own. For the mute craving doth presage delight.
116	Haec Venus est nobis ; hinc autemst nomen Amoris , hinc illaec primum Veneris dulcedinis in cor stillavit gutta et successit frigida cura ; nam si abest quod ames , praesto simulacra tamen sunt illius et nomen dulce obversatur ad auris . sed fugitare decet simulacra et pabula amoris absterrere sibi atque alio convertere mentem et iacere umorem coniectum in corpora quaeque nec retinere semel conversum unius amore et servare sibi curam certumque dolorem ; ulcus enim vivescit et inveterascit alendo inque dies gliscit furor atque aerumna gravescit , si non prima novis conturbes volnera plagis volgivagaque vagus Venere ante recentia cures aut alio possis animi traducere motus .	THE PASSION OF LOVE This craving 'tis that's Venus unto us: From this, engender all the lures of love, From this, O first hath into human hearts Trickled that drop of joyance which ere long Is by chill care succeeded. Since, indeed, Though she thou lovest now be far away, Yet idol-images of her are near And the sweet name is floating in thy ear. But it behooves to flee those images; And scare afar whatever feeds thy love; And turn elsewhere thy mind; and vent the sperm, Within thee gathered, into sundry bodies, Nor, with thy thoughts still busied with one love, Keep it for one delight, and so store up Care for thyself and pain inevitable. For, lo, the ulcer just by nourishing Grows to more life with deep inveteracy, And day by day the fury swells aflame, And the woe waxes heavier day by day- Unless thou dost destroy even by new blows The former wounds of love, and curest them While yet they're fresh, by wandering freely round After the freely-wandering Venus, or Canst lead elsewhere the tumults of thy mind.
117	Nec Veneris fructu caret is qui vitat amorem , sed potius quae sunt sine poena commoda sumit ; nam certe purast sanis magis inde voluptas quam miseris ; etenim potiundi tempore in ipso fluctuat incertis erroribus ardor amantum nec constat quid primum oculis manibusque fruantur . quod petiere , premunt arte faciuntque dolorem corporis et dentes inlidunt saepe labellis osculaque adfigunt , quia non est pura voluptas et stimuli subsunt , qui instigant laedere id ipsum , quod cumque est , rabies unde illaec germina surgunt . sed leviter poenas frangit Venus inter amorem blandaque refrenat morsus admixta voluptas . namque in eo spes est , unde est ardoris origo , restingui quoque posse ab eodem corpore flammam . quod fieri contra totum natura repugnat ; unaque res haec est , cuius quam plurima habemus , tam magis ardescit dira cuppedine pectus . nam cibus atque umor membris adsumitur intus ; quae quoniam certas possunt obsidere partis , hoc facile expletur laticum frugumque cupido . ex hominis vero facie pulchroque colore nil datur in corpus praeter simulacra fruendum tenvia ; quae vento spes raptast saepe misella . ut bibere in somnis sitiens quom quaerit et umor non datur , ardorem qui membris stinguere possit , sed laticum simulacra petit frustraque laborat in medioque sitit torrenti flumine potans , sic in amore Venus simulacris ludit amantis , nec satiare queunt spectando corpora coram nec manibus quicquam teneris abradere membris possunt errantes incerti corpore toto . denique cum membris conlatis flore fruuntur aetatis , iam cum praesagit gaudia corpus atque in eost Venus ut muliebria conserat arva , adfigunt avide corpus iunguntque salivas oris et inspirant pressantes dentibus ora , ne quiquam , quoniam nihil inde abradere possunt nec penetrare et abire in corpus corpore toto ; nam facere inter dum velle et certare videntur . usque adeo cupide in Veneris compagibus haerent , membra voluptatis dum vi labefacta liquescunt . tandem ubi se erupit nervis coniecta cupido , parva fit ardoris violenti pausa parumper . inde redit rabies eadem et furor ille revisit , cum sibi quod cupiant ipsi contingere quaerunt , nec reperire malum id possunt quae machina vincat . usque adeo incerti tabescunt volnere caeco .	Nor doth that man who keeps away from love Yet lack the fruits of Venus; rather takes Those pleasures which are free of penalties. For the delights of Venus, verily, Are more unmixed for mortals sane-of-soul Than for those sick-at-heart with love-pining. Yea, in the very moment of possessing, Surges the heat of lovers to and fro, Restive, uncertain; and they cannot fix On what to first enjoy with eyes and hands. The parts they sought for, those they squeeze so tight, And pain the creature's body, close their teeth Often against her lips, and smite with kiss Mouth into mouth,- because this same delight Is not unmixed; and underneath are stings Which goad a man to hurt the very thing, Whate'er it be, from whence arise for him Those germs of madness. But with gentle touch Venus subdues the pangs in midst of love, And the admixture of a fondling joy Doth curb the bites of passion. For they hope That by the very body whence they caught The heats of love their flames can be put out. But nature protests 'tis all quite otherwise; For this same love it is the one sole thing Of which, the more we have, the fiercer burns The breast with fell desire. For food and drink Are taken within our members; and, since they Can stop up certain parts, thus, easily Desire of water is glutted and of bread. But, lo, from human face and lovely bloom Naught penetrates our frame to be enjoyed Save flimsy idol-images and vain- A sorry hope which oft the winds disperse. As when the thirsty man in slumber seeks To drink, and water ne'er is granted him Wherewith to quench the heat within his members, But after idols of the liquids strives And toils in vain, and thirsts even whilst he gulps In middle of the torrent, thus in love Venus deludes with idol-images The lovers. Nor they cannot sate their lust By merely gazing on the bodies, nor They cannot with their palms and fingers rub Aught from each tender limb, the while they stray Uncertain over all the body. Then, At last, with members intertwined, when they Enjoy the flower of their age, when now Their bodies have sweet presage of keen joys, And Venus is about to sow the fields Of woman, greedily their frames they lock, And mingle the slaver of their mouths, and breathe Into each other, pressing teeth on mouths- Yet to no purpose, since they're powerless To rub off aught, or penetrate and pass With body entire into body- for oft They seem to strive and struggle thus to do; So eagerly they cling in Venus' bonds, Whilst melt away their members, overcome By violence of delight. But when at last Lust, gathered in the thews, hath spent itself, There come a brief pause in the raging heat- But then a madness just the same returns And that old fury visits them again, When once again they seek and crave to reach They know not what, all powerless to find The artifice to subjugate the bane. In such uncertain state they waste away With unseen wound.
118	Adde quod absumunt viris pereuntque labore , adde quod alterius sub nutu degitur aetas , languent officia atque aegrotat fama vacillans . labitur interea res et Babylonia fiunt unguenta et pulchra in pedibus Sicyonia rident , scilicet et grandes viridi cum luce zmaragdi auro includuntur teriturque thalassina vestis adsidue et Veneris sudorem exercita potat . et bene parta patrum fiunt anademata , mitrae , inter dum in pallam atque Alidensia Ciaque vertunt . eximia veste et victu convivia , ludi , pocula crebra , unguenta , coronae , serta parantur , ne quiquam , quoniam medio de fonte leporum surgit amari aliquid , quod in ipsis floribus angat , aut cum conscius ipse animus se forte remordet desidiose agere aetatem lustrisque perire , aut quod in ambiguo verbum iaculata reliquit , quod cupido adfixum cordi vivescit ut ignis , aut nimium iactare oculos aliumve tueri quod putat in voltuque videt vestigia risus .	To which be added too, They squander powers and with the travail wane; Be added too, they spend their futile years Under another's beck and call; their duties Neglected languish and their honest name Reeleth sick, sick; and meantime their estates Are lost in Babylonian tapestries; And unguents and dainty Sicyonian shoes Laugh on her feet; and (as ye may be sure) Big emeralds of green light are set in gold; And rich sea-purple dress by constant wear Grows shabby and all soaked with Venus' sweat; And the well-earned ancestral property Becometh head-bands, coifs, and many a time The cloaks, or garments Alidensian Or of the Cean isle. And banquets, set With rarest cloth and viands, are prepared- And games of chance, and many a drinking cup, And unguents, crowns and garlands. All in vain, Since from amid the well-spring of delights Bubbles some drop of bitter to torment Among the very flowers- when haply mind Gnaws into self, now stricken with remorse For slothful years and ruin in baudels, Or else because she's left him all in doubt By launching some sly word, which still like fire Lives wildly, cleaving to his eager heart; Or else because he thinks she darts her eyes Too much about and gazes at another,- And in her face sees traces of a laugh.
119	Atque in amore mala haec proprio summeque secundo inveniuntur ; in adverso vero atque inopi sunt , prendere quae possis oculorum lumine operto . innumerabilia ; ut melius vigilare sit ante , qua docui ratione , cavereque , ne inliciaris . nam vitare , plagas in amoris ne iaciamur , non ita difficile est quam captum retibus ipsis exire et validos Veneris perrumpere nodos . et tamen implicitus quoque possis inque peditus effugere infestum , nisi tute tibi obvius obstes et praetermittas animi vitia omnia primum aut quae corporis sunt eius , quam praepetis ac vis . nam faciunt homines plerumque cupidine caeci et tribuunt ea quae non sunt his commoda vere . multimodis igitur pravas turpisque videmus esse in deliciis summoque in honore vigere . atque alios alii inrident Veneremque suadent ut placent , quoniam foedo adflictentur amore , nec sua respiciunt miseri mala maxima saepe . nigra melichrus est , inmunda et fetida acosmos , caesia Palladium , nervosa et lignea dorcas , parvula , pumilio , chariton mia , tota merum sal , magna atque inmanis cataplexis plenaque honoris . balba loqui non quit , traulizi , muta pudens est ; at flagrans , odiosa , loquacula Lampadium fit . ischnon eromenion tum fit , cum vivere non quit prae macie ; rhadine verost iam mortua tussi . at nimia et mammosa Ceres est ipsa ab Iaccho , simula Silena ac Saturast , labeosa philema . cetera de genere hoc longum est si dicere coner . sed tamen esto iam quantovis oris honore , cui Veneris membris vis omnibus exoriatur ; nempe aliae quoque sunt ; nempe hac sine viximus ante ; nempe eadem facit et scimus facere omnia turpi et miseram taetris se suffit odoribus ipsa , quam famulae longe fugitant furtimque cachinnant . at lacrimans exclusus amator limina saepe floribus et sertis operit postisque superbos unguit amaracino et foribus miser oscula figit ; quem si iam ammissum venientem offenderit aura una modo , causas abeundi quaerat honestas et meditata diu cadat alte sumpta querella stultitiaque ibi se damnet , tribuisse quod illi plus videat quam mortali concedere par est . nec Veneres nostras hoc fallit ; quo magis ipsae omnia summo opere hos vitae poscaenia celant , quos retinere volunt adstrictosque esse in amore , ne quiquam , quoniam tu animo tamen omnia possis protrahere in lucem atque omnis inquirere risus et , si bello animost et non odiosa , vicissim praetermittere humanis concedere rebus .	These ills are found in prospering love and true; But in crossed love and helpless there be such As through shut eyelids thou canst still take in- Uncounted ills; so that 'tis better far To watch beforehand, in the way I've shown, And guard against enticements. For to shun A fall into the hunting-snares of love Is not so hard, as to get out again, When tangled in the very nets, and burst The stoutly-knotted cords of Aphrodite. Yet even when there enmeshed with tangled feet, Still canst thou scape the danger-lest indeed Thou standest in the way of thine own good, And overlookest first all blemishes Of mind and body of thy much preferred, Desirable dame. For so men do, Eyeless with passion, and assign to them Graces not theirs in fact. And thus we see Creatures in many a wise crooked and ugly The prosperous sweethearts in a high esteem; And lovers gird each other and advise To placate Venus, since their friends are smit With a base passion- miserable dupes Who seldom mark their own worst bane of all. The black-skinned girl is "tawny like the honey"; The filthy and the fetid's "negligee"; The cat-eyed she's "a little Pallas," she; The sinewy and wizened's "a gazelle"; The pudgy and the pigmy is "piquant, One of the Graces sure"; the big and bulky O she's "an Admiration, imposante"; The stuttering and tongue-tied "sweetly lisps"; The mute girl's "modest"; and the garrulous, The spiteful spit-fire, is "a sparkling wit"; And she who scarcely lives for scrawniness Becomes "a slender darling"; "delicate" Is she who's nearly dead of coughing-fit; The pursy female with protuberant breasts She is "like Ceres when the goddess gave Young Bacchus suck"; the pug-nosed lady-love "A Satyress, a feminine Silenus"; The blubber-lipped is "all one luscious kiss"- A weary while it were to tell the whole. But let her face possess what charm ye will, Let Venus' glory rise from all her limbs,- Forsooth there still are others; and forsooth We lived before without her; and forsooth She does the same things- and we know she does- All, as the ugly creature, and she scents, Yes she, her wretched self with vile perfumes; Whom even her handmaids flee and giggle at Behind her back. But he, the lover, in tears Because shut out, covers her threshold o'er Often with flowers and garlands, and anoints Her haughty door-posts with the marjoram, And prints, poor fellow, kisses on the doors- Admitted at last, if haply but one whiff Got to him on approaching, he would seek Decent excuses to go out forthwith; And his lament, long pondered, then would fall Down at his heels; and there he'd damn himself For his fatuity, observing how He had assigned to that same lady more- Than it is proper to concede to mortals. And these our Venuses are 'ware of this. Wherefore the more are they at pains to hide All the-behind-the-scenes of life from those Whom they desire to keep in bonds of love- In vain, since ne'ertheless thou canst by thought Drag all the matter forth into the light And well search out the cause of all these smiles; And if of graceful mind she be and kind, Do thou, in thy turn, overlook the same, And thus allow for poor mortality.
120	Nec mulier semper ficto suspirat amore , quae conplexa viri corpus cum corpore iungit et tenet adsuctis umectans oscula labris ; nam facit ex animo saepe et communia quaerens gaudia sollicitat spatium decurrere amoris . nec ratione alia volucres armenta feraeque et pecudes et equae maribus subsidere possent , si non , ipsa quod illarum subat , ardet abundans natura et Venerem salientum laeta retractat . nonne vides etiam quos mutua saepe voluptas vinxit , ut in vinclis communibus excrucientur , in triviis cum saepe canes discedere aventis divorsi cupide summis ex viribus tendunt , quom interea validis Veneris compagibus haerent ? quod facerent numquam , nisi mutua gaudia nossent , quae iacere in fraudem possent vinctosque tenere . quare etiam atque etiam , ut dico , est communis voluptas .	Nor sighs the woman always with feigned love, Who links her body round man's body locked And holds him fast, making his kisses wet With lips sucked into lips; for oft she acts Even from desire, and, seeking mutual joys, Incites him there to run love's race-course through. Nor otherwise can cattle, birds, wild beasts, And sheep and mares submit unto the males, Except that their own nature is in heat, And burns abounding and with gladness takes Once more the Venus of the mounting males. And seest thou not how those whom mutual pleasure Hath bound are tortured in their common bonds? How often in the cross-roads dogs that pant To get apart strain eagerly asunder With utmost might?- When all the while they're fast In the stout links of Venus. But they'd ne'er So pull, except they knew those mutual joys- So powerful to cast them unto snares And hold them bound. Wherefore again, again, Even as I say, there is a joint delight.