De Rerum Natura (Lucretius)

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	De Rerum Natura Author: Lucretius	Translator: William Ellery Leonard
137	Praeterea quae cumque manent aeterna necessust aut , quia sunt solido cum corpore , respuere ictus nec penetrare pati sibi quicquam quod queat artas dissociare intus partis , ut materiai corpora sunt , quorum naturam ostendimus ante , aut ideo durare aetatem posse per omnem , plagarum quia sunt expertia , sicut inane est , quod manet intactum neque ab ictu fungitur hilum , aut etiam quia nulla loci sit copia circum , quo quasi res possint discedere dissoluique , sicut summarum summa est aeterna , neque extra qui locus est quo dissiliant neque corpora sunt quae possint incidere et valida dissolvere plaga . at neque , uti docui , solido cum corpore mundi naturast , quoniam admixtumst in rebus inane , nec tamen est ut inane , neque autem corpora desunt , ex infinito quae possint forte coorta corruere hanc rerum violento turbine summam aut aliam quamvis cladem inportare pericli , nec porro natura loci spatiumque profundi deficit , exspargi quo possint moenia mundi , aut alia quavis possunt vi pulsa perire . haut igitur leti praeclusa est ianua caelo nec soli terraeque neque altis aequoris undis , sed patet immani et vasto respectat hiatu . quare etiam nativa necessumst confiteare haec eadem ; neque enim , mortali corpore quae sunt , ex infinito iam tempore adhuc potuissent inmensi validas aevi contemnere vires .	Again, Whatever abides eternal must indeed Either repel all strokes, because 'tis made Of solid body, and permit no entrance Of aught with power to sunder from within The parts compact- as are those seeds of stuff Whose nature we've exhibited before; Or else be able to endure through time For this: because they are from blows exempt, As is the void, the which abides untouched, Unsmit by any stroke; or else because There is no room around, whereto things can, As 'twere, depart in dissolution all,- Even as the sum of sums eternal is, Without or place beyond whereto things may Asunder fly, or bodies which can smite, And thus dissolve them by the blows of might. But not of solid body, as I've shown, Exists the nature of the world, because In things is intermingled there a void; Nor is the world yet as the void, nor are, Moreover, bodies lacking which, percase, Rising from out the infinite, can fell With fury-whirlwinds all this sum of things, Or bring upon them other cataclysm Of peril strange; and yonder, too, abides The infinite space and the profound abyss- Whereinto, lo, the ramparts of the world Can yet be shivered. Or some other power Can pound upon them till they perish all. Thus is the door of doom, O nowise barred Against the sky, against the sun and earth And deep-sea waters, but wide open stands And gloats upon them, monstrous and agape. Wherefore, again, 'tis needful to confess That these same things are born in time; for things Which are of mortal body could indeed Never from infinite past until to-day Have spurned the multitudinous assaults Of the immeasurable aeons old.
138	Denique tantopere inter se cum maxima mundi pugnent membra , pio nequaquam concita bello , nonne vides aliquam longi certaminis ollis posse dari finem , vel cum sol et vapor omnis omnibus epotis umoribus exsuperarint ? quod facere intendunt , neque adhuc conata patrantur ; tantum suppeditant amnes ultraque minantur omnia diluviare ex alto gurgite ponti : ne quiquam , quoniam verrentes aequora venti deminuunt radiisque retexens aetherius sol , et siccare prius confidunt omnia posse quam liquor incepti possit contingere finem . tantum spirantes aequo certamine bellum magnis de rebus cernere certant , cum semel interea fuerit superantior ignis et semel , ut fama est , umor regnarit in arvis . ignis enim superavit et ambiens multa perussit , avia cum Phaethonta rapax vis solis equorum aethere raptavit toto terrasque per omnis . at pater omnipotens ira tum percitus acri magnanimum Phaethonta repenti fulminis ictu deturbavit equis in terram , Solque cadenti obvius aeternam succepit lampada mundi disiectosque redegit equos iunxitque trementis , inde suum per iter recreavit cuncta gubernans , scilicet ut veteres Graium cecinere poëtae . quod procul a vera nimis est ratione repulsum . ignis enim superare potest ubi materiai ex infinito sunt corpora plura coorta ; inde cadunt vires aliqua ratione revictae , aut pereunt res exustae torrentibus auris . umor item quondam coepit superare coortus , ut fama est , hominum vitas quando obruit undis ; inde ubi vis aliqua ratione aversa recessit , ex infinito fuerat quae cumque coorta , constiterunt imbres et flumina vim minuerunt .	Again, since battle so fiercely one with other The four most mighty members the world, Aroused in an all unholy war, Seest not that there may be for them an end Of the long strife?- Or when the skiey sun And all the heat have won dominion o'er The sucked-up waters all?- And this they try Still to accomplish, though as yet they fail,- For so aboundingly the streams supply New store of waters that 'tis rather they Who menace the world with inundations vast From forth the unplumbed chasms of the sea. But vain- since winds (that over-sweep amain) And skiey sun (that with his rays dissolves) Do minish the level seas and trust their power To dry up all, before the waters can Arrive at the end of their endeavouring. Breathing such vasty warfare, they contend In balanced strife the one with other still Concerning mighty issues,- though indeed The fire was once the more victorious, And once- as goes the tale- the water won A kingdom in the fields. For fire o'ermastered And licked up many things and burnt away, What time the impetuous horses of the Sun Snatched Phaethon headlong from his skiey road Down the whole ether and over all the lands. But the omnipotent Father in keen wrath Then with the sudden smite of thunderbolt Did hurl the mighty-minded hero off Those horses to the earth. And Sol, his sire, Meeting him as he fell, caught up in hand The ever-blazing lampion of the world, And drave together the pell-mell horses there And yoked them all a-tremble, and amain, Steering them over along their own old road, Restored the cosmos,- as forsooth we hear From songs of ancient poets of the Greeks- A tale too far away from truth, meseems. For fire can win when from the infinite Has risen a larger throng of particles Of fiery stuff; and then its powers succumb, Somehow subdued again, or else at last It shrivels in torrid atmospheres the world. And whilom water too began to win- As goes the story- when it overwhelmed The lives of men with billows; and thereafter, When all that force of water-stuff which forth From out the infinite had risen up Did now retire, as somehow turned aside, The rain-storms stopped, and streams their fury checked.
139	Sed quibus ille modis coniectus materiai fundarit terram et caelum pontique profunda , solis lunai cursus , ex ordine ponam . nam certe neque consilio primordia rerum ordine se suo quaeque sagaci mente locarunt nec quos quaeque darent motus pepigere profecto ; sed quia multa modis multis primordia rerum ex infinito iam tempore percita plagis ponderibusque suis consuerunt concita ferri omnimodisque coire atque omnia pertemptare , quae cumque inter se possent congressa creare , propterea fit uti magnum volgata per aevom omnigenus coetus et motus experiundo tandem conveniant ea quae coniecta repente magnarum rerum fiunt exordia saepe , terrai maris et caeli generisque animantum .	FORMATION OF THE WORLD AND ASTRONOMICAL QUESTIONS But in what modes that conflux of first-stuff Did found the multitudinous universe Of earth, and sky, and the unfathomed deeps Of ocean, and courses of the sun and moon, I'll now in order tell. For of a truth Neither by counsel did the primal germs 'Stablish themselves, as by keen act of mind, Each in its proper place; nor did they make, Forsooth, a compact how each germ should move; But, lo, because primordials of things, Many in many modes, astir by blows From immemorial aeons, in motion too By their own weights, have evermore been wont To be so borne along and in all modes To meet together and to try all sorts Which, by combining one with other, they Are powerful to create: because of this It comes to pass that those primordials, Diffused far and wide through mighty aeons, The while they unions try, and motions too, Of every kind, meet at the last amain, And so become oft the commencements fit Of mighty things- earth, sea, and sky, and race Of living creatures.
140	Hic neque tum solis rota cerni lumine largo altivolans poterat nec magni sidera mundi nec mare nec caelum nec denique terra neque aër nec similis nostris rebus res ulla videri , sed nova tempestas quaedam molesque coorta . diffugere inde loci partes coepere paresque cum paribus iungi res et discludere mundum membraque dividere et magnas disponere partes omnigenis e principiis , discordia quorum intervalla vias conexus pondera plagas concursus motus turbabat proelia miscens propter dissimilis formas variasque figuras , quod non omnia sic poterant coniuncta manere nec motus inter sese dare convenientis , hoc est , a terris altum secernere caelum , et sorsum mare , uti secreto umore pateret , seorsus item puri secretique aetheris ignes .	In that long-ago The wheel of the sun could nowhere be discerned Flying far up with its abounding blaze, Nor constellations of the mighty world, Nor ocean, nor heaven, nor even earth nor air. Nor aught of things like unto things of ours Could then be seen- but only some strange storm And a prodigious hurly-burly mass Compounded of all kinds of primal germs, Whose battling discords in disorder kept Interstices, and paths, coherencies, And weights, and blows, encounterings, and motions, Because, by reason of their forms unlike And varied shapes, they could not all thuswise Remain conjoined nor harmoniously Have interplay of movements. But from there Portions began to fly asunder, and like With like to join, and to block out a world, And to divide its members and dispose Its mightier parts- that is, to set secure The lofty heavens from the lands, and cause The sea to spread with waters separate, And fires of ether separate and pure Likewise to congregate apart.
141	Quippe etenim primum terrai corpora quaeque , propterea quod erant gravia et perplexa , coibant in medio atque imas capiebant omnia sedes ; quae quanto magis inter se perplexa coibant , tam magis expressere ea quae mare sidera solem lunamque efficerent et magni moenia mundi ; omnia enim magis haec e levibus atque rutundis seminibus multoque minoribus sunt elementis quam tellus . ideo per rara foramina terrae partibus erumpens primus se sustulit aether ignifer et multos secum levis abstulit ignis , non alia longe ratione ac saepe videmus , aurea cum primum gemmantis rore per herbas matutina rubent radiati lumina solis exhalantque lacus nebulam fluviique perennes ipsaque ut inter dum tellus fumare videtur ; omnia quae sursum cum conciliantur , in alto corpore concreto subtexunt nubila caelum . sic igitur tum se levis ac diffusilis aether corpore concreto circum datus undique saepsit et late diffusus in omnis undique partis omnia sic avido complexu cetera saepsit . hunc exordia sunt solis lunaeque secuta , interutrasque globi quorum vertuntur in auris ; quae neque terra sibi adscivit nec maximus aether , quod neque tam fuerunt gravia ut depressa sederent , nec levia ut possent per summas labier oras , et tamen interutrasque ita sunt , ut corpora viva versent et partes ut mundi totius extent ; quod genus in nobis quaedam licet in statione membra manere , tamen cum sint ea quae moveantur . his igitur rebus retractis terra repente , maxuma qua nunc se ponti plaga caerula tendit , succidit et salso suffudit gurgite fossas . inque dies quanto circum magis aetheris aestus et radii solis cogebant undique terram verberibus crebris extrema ad limina fartam in medio ut propulsa suo condensa coiret , tam magis expressus salsus de corpore sudor augebat mare manando camposque natantis , et tanto magis illa foras elapsa volabant corpora multa vaporis et aëris altaque caeli densabant procul a terris fulgentia templa . sidebant campi , crescebant montibus altis ascensus ; neque enim poterant subsidere saxa nec pariter tantundem omnes succumbere partis .	For, lo, First came together the earthy particles (As being heavy and intertangled) there In the mid-region, and all began to take The lowest abodes; and ever the more they got One with another intertangled, the more They pressed from out their mass those particles Which were to form the sea, the stars, the sun, And moon, and ramparts of the mighty world- For these consist of seeds more smooth and round And of much smaller elements than earth. And thus it was that ether, fraught with fire, First broke away from out the earthen parts, Athrough the innumerable pores of earth, And raised itself aloft, and with itself Bore lightly off the many starry fires; And not far otherwise we often see . . . . . . And the still lakes and the perennial streams Exhale a mist, and even as earth herself Is seen at times to smoke, when first at dawn The light of the sun, the many-rayed, begins To redden into gold, over the grass Begemmed with dew. When all of these are brought Together overhead, the clouds on high With now concreted body weave a cover Beneath the heavens. And thuswise ether too, Light and diffusive, with concreted body On all sides spread, on all sides bent itself Into a dome, and, far and wide diffused On unto every region on all sides, Thus hedged all else within its greedy clasp. Hard upon ether came the origins Of sun and moon, whose globes revolve in air Midway between the earth and mightiest ether,- For neither took them, since they weighed too little To sink and settle, but too much to glide Along the upmost shores; and yet they are In such a wise midway between the twain As ever to whirl their living bodies round, And ever to dure as parts of the wide Whole; In the same fashion as certain members may In us remain at rest, whilst others move. When, then, these substances had been withdrawn, Amain the earth, where now extend the vast Cerulean zones of all the level seas, Caved in, and down along the hollows poured The whirlpools of her brine; and day by day The more the tides of ether and rays of sun On every side constrained into one mass The earth by lashing it again, again, Upon its outer edges (so that then, Being thus beat upon, 'twas all condensed About its proper centre), ever the more The salty sweat, from out its body squeezed, Augmented ocean and the fields of foam By seeping through its frame, and all the more Those many particles of heat and air Escaping, began to fly aloft, and form, By condensation there afar from earth, The high refulgent circuits of the heavens. The plains began to sink, and windy slopes Of the high mountains to increase; for rocks Could not subside, nor all the parts of ground Settle alike to one same level there.
142	Sic igitur terrae concreto corpore pondus constitit atque omnis mundi quasi limus in imum confluxit gravis et subsedit funditus ut faex ; inde mare , inde aër , inde aether ignifer ipse corporibus liquidis sunt omnia pura relicta et leviora aliis alia , et liquidissimus aether atque levissimus aërias super influit auras nec liquidum corpus turbantibus aëris auris commiscet ; sinit haec violentis omnia verti turbinibus , sinit incertis turbare procellis , ipse suos ignis certo fert impete labens . nam modice fluere atque uno posse aethera nisu significat Pontos , mare certo quod fluit aestu unum labendi conservans usque tenorem .	Thus, then, the massy weight of earth stood firm With now concreted body, when (as 'twere) All of the slime of the world, heavy and gross, Had run together and settled at the bottom, Like lees or bilge. Then ocean, then the air, Then ether herself, the fraught-with-fire, were all Left with their liquid bodies pure and free, And each more lighter than the next below; And ether, most light and liquid of the three, Floats on above the long aerial winds, Nor with the brawling of the winds of air Mingles its liquid body. It doth leave All there- those under-realms below her heights- There to be overset in whirlwinds wild,- Doth leave all there to brawl in wayward gusts, Whilst, gliding with a fixed impulse still, Itself it bears its fires along. For, lo, That ether can flow thus steadily on, on, With one unaltered urge, the Pontus proves- That sea which floweth forth with fixed tides, Keeping one onward tenor as it glides.
143	Motibus astrorum nunc quae sit causa canamus . principio magnus caeli si vortitur orbis , ex utraque polum parti premere aëra nobis dicendum est extraque tenere et claudere utrimque ; inde alium supra fluere atque intendere eodem quo volvenda micant aeterni sidera mundi ; aut alium supter , contra qui subvehat orbem , ut fluvios versare rotas atque austra videmus . est etiam quoque uti possit caelum omne manere in statione , tamen cum lucida signa ferantur , sive quod inclusi rapidi sunt aetheris aestus quaerentesque viam circum versantur et ignes passim per caeli volvunt summania templa , sive aliunde fluens alicunde extrinsecus aër versat agens ignis , sive ipsi serpere possunt , quo cuiusque cibus vocat atque invitat euntis , flammea per caelum pascentis corpora passim . nam quid in hoc mundo sit eorum ponere certum difficilest ; sed quid possit fiatque per omne in variis mundis varia ratione creatis , id doceo plurisque sequor disponere causas , motibus astrorum quae possint esse per omne ; e quibus una tamen sit et haec quoque causa necessest , quae vegeat motum signis ; sed quae sit earum praecipere haud quaquamst pedetemptim progredientis .	Now let us sing what makes the stars to move. In first place, if the mighty sphere of heaven Revolveth round, then needs we must aver That on the upper and the under pole Presses a certain air, and from without Confines them and encloseth at each end; And that, moreover, another air above Streams on athwart the top of the sphere and tends In same direction as are rolled along The glittering stars of the eternal world; Or that another still streams on below To whirl the sphere from under up and on In opposite direction- as we see The rivers turn the wheels and water-scoops. It may be also that the heavens do all Remain at rest, whilst yet are borne along The lucid constellations; either because Swift tides of ether are by sky enclosed, And whirl around, seeking a passage out, And everywhere make roll the starry fires Through the Summanian regions of the sky; Or else because some air, streaming along From an eternal quarter off beyond, Whileth the driven fires, or, then, because The fires themselves have power to creep along, Going wherever their food invites and calls, And feeding their flaming bodies everywhere Throughout the sky. Yet which of these is cause In this our world 'tis hard to say for sure; But what can be throughout the universe, In divers worlds on divers plan create, This only do I show, and follow on To assign unto the motions of the stars Even several causes which 'tis possible Exist throughout the universal All; Of which yet one must be the cause even here Which maketh motion for our constellations. Yet to decide which one of them it be Is not the least the business of a man Advancing step by cautious step, as I.
144	Terraque ut in media mundi regione quiescat , evanescere paulatim et decrescere pondus convenit atque aliam naturam supter habere ex ineunte aevo coniunctam atque uniter aptam partibus aëriis mundi , quibus insita vivit . propterea non est oneri neque deprimit auras , ut sua cuique homini nullo sunt pondere membra nec caput est oneri collo nec denique totum corporis in pedibus pondus sentimus inesse ; at quae cumque foris veniunt inpostaque nobis pondera sunt laedunt , permulto saepe minora . usque adeo magni refert quid quaeque queat res . sic igitur tellus non est aliena repente allata atque auris aliunde obiecta alienis , sed pariter prima concepta ab origine mundi certaque pars eius , quasi nobis membra videntur . Praeterea grandi tonitru concussa repente terra supra quae se sunt concutit omnia motu ; quod facere haut ulla posset ratione , nisi esset partibus aëriis mundi caeloque revincta ; nam communibus inter se radicibus haerent ex ineunte aevo coniuncta atque uniter aucta . Nonne vides etiam quam magno pondere nobis sustineat corpus tenuissima vis animai , propterea quia tam coniuncta atque uniter apta est ? Denique iam saltu pernici tollere corpus quid potis est nisi vis animae , quae membra gubernat ? iamne vides quantum tenuis natura valere possit , ubi est coniuncta gravi cum corpore , ut aër coniunctus terris et nobis est animi vis ?	And that the earth may there abide at rest In the mid-region of the world, it needs Must vanish bit by bit in weight and lessen, And have another substance underneath, Conjoined to it from its earliest age In linked unison with the vasty world's Realms of the air in which it roots and lives. On this account, the earth is not a load, Nor presses down on winds of air beneath; Even as unto a man his members be Without all weight- the head is not a load Unto the neck; nor do we feel the whole Weight of the body to centre in the feet. But whatso weights come on us from without, Weights laid upon us, these harass and chafe, Though often far lighter. For to such degree It matters always what the innate powers Of any given thing may be. The earth Was, then, no alien substance fetched amain, And from no alien firmament cast down On alien air; but was conceived, like air, In the first origin of this the world, As a fixed portion of the same, as now Our members are seen to be a part of us. Besides, the earth, when of a sudden shook By the big thunder, doth with her motion shake All that's above her- which she ne'er could do By any means, were earth not bounden fast Unto the great world's realms of air and sky: For they cohere together with common roots, Conjoined both, even from their earliest age, In linked unison. Aye, seest thou not That this most subtle energy of soul Supports our body, though so heavy a weight,- Because, indeed, 'tis with it so conjoined In linked unison? What power, in sum, Can raise with agile leap our body aloft, Save energy of mind which steers the limbs? Now seest thou not how powerful may be A subtle nature, when conjoined it is With heavy body, as air is with the earth Conjoined, and energy of mind with us?