De Rerum Natura |
Translator: William Ellery Leonard
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At specimen sationis et insitionis origo ipsa fuit rerum primum natura creatrix , arboribus quoniam bacae glandesque caducae tempestiva dabant pullorum examina supter ; unde etiam libitumst stirpis committere ramis et nova defodere in terram virgulta per agros . inde aliam atque aliam culturam dulcis agelli temptabant fructusque feros mansuescere terra cernebant indulgendo blandeque colendo . inque dies magis in montem succedere silvas cogebant infraque locum concedere cultis , prata lacus rivos segetes vinetaque laeta collibus et campis ut haberent , atque olearum caerula distinguens inter plaga currere posset per tumulos et convallis camposque profusa ; ut nunc esse vides vario distincta lepore omnia , quae pomis intersita dulcibus ornant arbustisque tenent felicibus opsita circum .
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But nature herself, Mother of things, was the first seed-sower And primal grafter; since the berries and acorns, Dropping from off the trees, would there beneath Put forth in season swarms of little shoots; Hence too men's fondness for ingrafting slips Upon the boughs and setting out in holes The young shrubs o'er the fields. Then would they try Ever new modes of tilling their loved crofts, And mark they would how earth improved the taste Of the wild fruits by fond and fostering care. And day by day they'd force the woods to move Still higher up the mountain, and to yield The place below for tilth, that there they might, On plains and uplands, have their meadow-plats, Cisterns and runnels, crops of standing grain, And happy vineyards, and that all along O'er hillocks, intervales, and plains might run The silvery-green belt of olive-trees, Marking the plotted landscape; even as now Thou seest so marked with varied loveliness All the terrain which men adorn and plant With rows of goodly fruit-trees and hedge round With thriving shrubberies sown. |
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At liquidas avium voces imitarier ore ante fuit multo quam levia carmina cantu concelebrare homines possent aurisque iuvare . et zephyri cava per calamorum sibila primum agrestis docuere cavas inflare cicutas . inde minutatim dulcis didicere querellas , tibia quas fundit digitis pulsata canentum , avia per nemora ac silvas saltusque reperta , per loca pastorum deserta atque otia dia . haec animos ollis mulcebant atque iuvabant cum satiate cibi ; nam tum sunt omnia cordi . saepe itaque inter se prostrati in gramine molli propter aquae rivom sub ramis arboris altae . non magnis opibus iucunde corpora habebant , praesertim cum tempestas ridebat et anni tempora pingebant viridantis floribus herbas . tum ioca , tum sermo , tum dulces esse cachinni consuerant ; agrestis enim tum musa vigebat . tum caput atque umeros plexis redimire coronis floribus et foliis lascivia laeta movebat , atque extra numerum procedere membra moventes duriter et duro terram pede pellere matrem ; unde oriebantur risus dulcesque cachinni , omnia quod nova tum magis haec et mira vigebant . et vigilantibus hinc aderant solacia somno ducere multimodis voces et flectere cantus et supera calamos unco percurrere labro ; unde etiam vigiles nunc haec accepta tuentur . et numerum servare genus didicere , neque hilo maiore interea capiunt dulcedine fructum quam silvestre genus capiebat terrigenarum . nam quod adest praesto , nisi quid cognovimus ante suavius , in primis placet et pollere videtur , posteriorque fere melior res illa reperta perdit et immutat sensus ad pristina quaeque .
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But by the mouth To imitate the liquid notes of birds Was earlier far 'mongst men than power to make, By measured song, melodious verse and give Delight to ears. And whistlings of the wind Athrough the hollows of the reeds first taught The peasantry to blow into the stalks Of hollow hemlock-herb. Then bit by bit They learned sweet plainings, such as pipe out-pours, Beaten by finger-tips of singing men, When heard through unpathed groves and forest deeps And woodsy meadows, through the untrod haunts Of shepherd folk and spots divinely still. Thus time draws forward each and everything Little by little unto the midst of men, And reason uplifts it to the shores of light. These tunes would soothe and glad the minds of mortals When sated with food,- for songs are welcome then. And often, lounging with friends in the soft grass Beside a river of water, underneath A big tree's branches, merrily they'd refresh Their frames, with no vast outlay- most of all If the weather were smiling and the times of the year Were painting the green of the grass around with flowers. Then jokes, then talk, then peals of jollity Would circle round; for then the rustic muse Was in her glory; then would antic Mirth Prompt them to garland head and shoulders about With chaplets of intertwined flowers and leaves, And to dance onward, out of tune, with limbs Clownishly swaying, and with clownish foot To beat our mother earth- from whence arose Laughter and peals of jollity, for, lo, Such frolic acts were in their glory then, Being more new and strange. And wakeful men Found solaces for their unsleeping hours In drawing forth variety of notes, In modulating melodies, in running With puckered lips along the tuned reeds, Whence, even in our day do the watchmen guard These old traditions, and have learned well To keep true measure. And yet they no whit Do get a larger fruit of gladsomeness Than got the woodland aborigines In olden times. For what we have at hand- If theretofore naught sweeter we have known- That chiefly pleases and seems best of all; But then some later, likely better, find Destroys its worth and changes our desires Regarding good of yesterday. |
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sic odium coepit glandis , sic illa relicta strata cubilia sunt herbis et frondibus aucta . pellis item cecidit vestis contempta ferina ; quam reor invidia tali tunc esse repertam , ut letum insidiis qui gessit primus obiret , et tamen inter eos distractam sanguine multo disperiise neque in fructum convertere quisse . tunc igitur pelles , nunc aurum et purpura curis exercent hominum vitam belloque fatigant ; quo magis in nobis , ut opinor , culpa resedit . frigus enim nudos sine pellibus excruciabat terrigenas ; at nos nil laedit veste carere purpurea atque auro signisque ingentibus apta , dum plebeia tamen sit , quae defendere possit . Ergo hominum genus in cassum frustraque laborat semper et curis consumit inanibus aevom , ni mirum quia non cognovit quae sit habendi finis et omnino quoad crescat vera voluptas ; idque minutatim vitam provexit in altum et belli magnos commovit funditus aestus .
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And thus Began the loathing of the acorn; thus Abandoned were those beds with grasses strewn And with the leaves beladen. Thus, again, Fell into new contempt the pelts of beasts- Erstwhile a robe of honour, which, I guess, Aroused in those days envy so malign That the first wearer went to woeful death By ambuscades,- and yet that hairy prize, Rent into rags by greedy foemen there And splashed by blood, was ruined utterly Beyond all use or vantage. Thus of old 'Twas pelts, and of to-day 'tis purple and gold That cark men's lives with cares and weary with war. Wherefore, methinks, resides the greater blame With us vain men to-day: for cold would rack, Without their pelts, the naked sons of earth; But us it nothing hurts to do without The purple vestment, broidered with gold And with imposing figures, if we still Make shift with some mean garment of the Plebs. So man in vain futilities toils on Forever and wastes in idle cares his years- Because, of very truth, he hath not learnt What the true end of getting is, nor yet At all how far true pleasure may increase. And 'tis desire for better and for more Hath carried by degrees mortality Out onward to the deep, and roused up From the far bottom mighty waves of war. |
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at vigiles mundi magnum versatile templum sol et luna suo lustrantes lumine circum perdocuere homines annorum tempora verti et certa ratione geri rem atque ordine certo . Iam validis saepti degebant turribus aevom , et divisa colebatur discretaque tellus , tum mare velivolis florebat navibus ponti , auxilia ac socios iam pacto foedere habebant , carminibus cum res gestas coepere poëtae tradere ; nec multo prius sunt elementa reperta . propterea quid sit prius actum respicere aetas nostra nequit , nisi qua ratio vestigia monstrat . Navigia atque agri culturas moenia leges arma vias vestes cetera de genere horum , praemia , delicias quoque vitae funditus omnis , carmina , picturas et daedala signa polita usus et impigrae simul experientia mentis paulatim docuit pedetemptim progredientis . sic unum quicquid paulatim protrahit aetas in medium ratioque in luminis erigit oras ; namque alid ex alio clarescere corde videbant , artibus ad summum donec venere cacumen .
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But sun and moon, those watchmen of the world, With their own lanterns traversing around The mighty, the revolving vault, have taught Unto mankind that seasons of the years Return again, and that the Thing takes place After a fixed plan and order fixed. Already would they pass their life, hedged round By the strong towers; and cultivate an earth All portioned out and boundaried; already Would the sea flower and sail-winged ships; Already men had, under treaty pacts, Confederates and allies, when poets began To hand heroic actions down in verse; Nor long ere this had letters been devised- Hence is our age unable to look back On what has gone before, except where reason Shows us a footprint. Sailings on the seas, Tillings of fields, walls, laws, and arms, and roads, Dress and the like, all prizes, all delights Of finer life, poems, pictures, chiselled shapes Of polished sculptures- all these arts were learned By practice and the mind's experience, As men walked forward step by eager step. Thus time draws forward each and everything Little by little into the midst of men, And reason uplifts it to the shores of light. For one thing after other did men see Grow clear by intellect, till with their arts They've now achieved the supreme pinnacle. |
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Liber Sextus Primae frugiparos fetus mortalibus aegris dididerunt quondam praeclaro nomine Athenae et recreaverunt vitam legesque rogarunt et primae dederunt solacia dulcia vitae , cum genuere virum tali cum corde repertum , omnia veridico qui quondam ex ore profudit ; cuius et extincti propter divina reperta divolgata vetus iam ad caelum gloria fertur . nam cum vidit hic ad victum quae flagitat usus omnia iam ferme mortalibus esse parata et , pro quam possent , vitam consistere tutam , divitiis homines et honore et laude potentis affluere atque bona gnatorum excellere fama , nec minus esse domi cuiquam tamen anxia cordi , atque animi ingratis vitam vexare sine ulla pausa atque infestis cogi saevire querellis , intellegit ibi vitium vas efficere ipsum omniaque illius vitio corrumpier intus , quae conlata foris et commoda cumque venirent ; partim quod fluxum pertusumque esse videbat , ut nulla posset ratione explerier umquam , partim quod taetro quasi conspurcare sapore omnia cernebat , quae cumque receperat , intus . veridicis igitur purgavit pectora dictis et finem statuit cuppedinis atque timoris exposuitque bonum summum , quo tendimus omnes , quid foret , atque viam monstravit , tramite parvo qua possemus ad id recto contendere cursu , quidve mali foret in rebus mortalibus passim , quod fieret naturali varieque volaret seu casu seu vi , quod sic natura parasset , et quibus e portis occurri cuique deceret , et genus humanum frustra plerumque probavit volvere curarum tristis in pectore fluctus . nam vel uti pueri trepidant atque omnia caecis in tenebris metuunt , sic nos in luce timemus inter dum , nihilo quae sunt metuenda magis quam quae pueri in tenebris pavitant finguntque futura . hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necessest non radii solis nec lucida tela diei discutiant , sed naturae species ratioque . quo magis inceptum pergam pertexere dictis .
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BOOK VI PROEM 'Twas Athens first, the glorious in name, That whilom gave to hapless sons of men The sheaves of harvest, and re-ordered life, And decreed laws; and she the first that gave Life its sweet solaces, when she begat A man of heart so wise, who whilom poured All wisdom forth from his truth-speaking mouth; The glory of whom, though dead, is yet to-day, Because of those discoveries divine Renowned of old, exalted to the sky. For when saw he that well-nigh everything Which needs of man most urgently require Was ready to hand for mortals, and that life, As far as might be, was established safe, That men were lords in riches, honour, praise, And eminent in goodly fame of sons, And that they yet, O yet, within the home, Still had the anxious heart which vexed life Unpausingly with torments of the mind, And raved perforce with angry plaints, then he, Then he, the master, did perceive that 'twas The vessel itself which worked the bane, and all, However wholesome, which from here or there Was gathered into it, was by that bane Spoilt from within,- in part, because he saw The vessel so cracked and leaky that nowise 'T could ever be filled to brim; in part because He marked how it polluted with foul taste Whate'er it got within itself. So he, The master, then by his truth-speaking words, Purged the breasts of men, and set the bounds Of lust and terror, and exhibited The supreme good whither we all endeavour, And showed the path whereby we might arrive Thereunto by a little cross-cut straight, And what of ills in all affairs of mortals Upsprang and flitted deviously about (Whether by chance or force), since nature thus Had destined; and from out what gates a man Should sally to each combat. And he proved That mostly vainly doth the human race Roll in its bosom the grim waves of care. For just as children tremble and fear all In the viewless dark, so even we at times Dread in the light so many things that be No whit more fearsome than what children feign, Shuddering, will be upon them in the dark. This terror then, this darkness of the mind, Not sunrise with its flaring spokes of light, Nor glittering arrows of morning can disperse, But only nature's aspect and her law. Wherefore the more will I go on to weave In verses this my undertaken task. |
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Et quoniam docui mundi mortalia templa esse nativo consistere corpore caelum , et quae cumque in eo fiunt fierique necessest pleraque dissolui , qui restant percipe porro , quandoquidem semel insignem conscendere currum ( ... lost text ... ) tu mihi supremae praescripta ad candida callis currenti spatium praemonstra , callida musa Calliope , requies hominum divomque voluptas , te duce ut insigni capiam cum laude coronam . ( ... lost text ... ) ventorum existant , placentur omnia rursum ( ... lost text ... ) quae fuerint , sint placato conversa furore . cetera quae fieri in terris caeloque tuentur mortales , pavidis cum pendent mentibus saepe et faciunt animos humilis formidine divom depressosque premunt ad terram propterea quod ignorantia causarum conferre deorum cogit ad imperium res et concedere regnum . nam bene qui didicere deos securum agere aevom , si tamen interea mirantur qua ratione quaeque geri possint , praesertim rebus in illis quae supera caput aetheriis cernuntur in oris , rursus in antiquas referuntur religionis et dominos acris adsciscunt , omnia posse quos miseri credunt , ignari quid queat esse , quid nequeat , finita potestas denique cuique qua nam sit ratione atque alte terminus haerens ; quo magis errantes caeca ratione feruntur . quae nisi respuis ex animo longeque remittis dis indigna putare alienaque pacis eorum , delibata deum per te tibi numina sancta saepe oberunt ; non quo violari summa deum vis possit , ut ex ira poenas petere inbibat acris , sed quia tute tibi placida cum pace quietos constitues magnos irarum volvere fluctus , nec delubra deum placido cum pectore adibis , nec de corpore quae sancto simulacra feruntur in mentes hominum divinae nuntia formae , suscipere haec animi tranquilla pace valebis . inde videre licet qualis iam vita sequatur . quam quidem ut a nobis ratio verissima longe reiciat , quamquam sunt a me multa profecta , multa tamen restant et sunt ornanda politis versibus ; est ratio caeli QUE ignisque tenenda , sunt tempestates et fulmina clara canenda , quid faciant et qua de causa cumque ferantur ; ne trepides caeli divisis partibus amens , unde volans ignis pervenerit aut in utram se verterit hinc partim , quo pacto per loca saepta insinuarit , et hinc dominatus ut extulerit se .
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And since I've taught thee that the world's great vaults Are mortal and that sky is fashioned Of frame e'en born in time, and whatsoe'er Therein go on and must perforce go on . . . . . . The most I have unravelled; what remains Do thou take in, besides; since once for all To climb into that chariot' renowned . . . . . . Of winds arise; and they appeased are So that all things again... . . . . . . Which were, are changed now, with fury stilled; All other movements through the earth and sky Which mortals gaze upon (O anxious oft In quaking thoughts!), and which abase their minds With dread of deities and press them crushed Down to the earth, because their ignorance Of cosmic causes forces them to yield All things unto the empery of gods And to concede the kingly rule to them. For even those men who have learned full well That godheads lead a long life free of care, If yet meanwhile they wonder by what plan Things can go on (and chiefly yon high things Observed o'erhead on the ethereal coasts), Again are hurried back unto the fears Of old religion and adopt again Harsh masters, deemed almighty,- wretched men, Unwitting what can be and what cannot, And by what law to each its scope prescribed, Its boundary stone that clings so deep in Time. Wherefore the more are they borne wandering on By blindfold reason. And, Memmius, unless From out thy mind thou spuest all of this And casteth far from thee all thoughts which be Unworthy gods and alien to their peace, Then often will the holy majesties Of the high gods be harmful unto thee, As by thy thought degraded,- not, indeed, That essence supreme of gods could be by this So outraged as in wrath to thirst to seek Revenges keen; but even because thyself Thou plaguest with the notion that the gods, Even they, the Calm Ones in serene repose, Do roll the mighty waves of wrath on wrath; Nor wilt thou enter with a serene breast Shrines of the gods; nor wilt thou able be In tranquil peace of mind to take and know Those images which from their holy bodies Are carried into intellects of men, As the announcers of their form divine. What sort of life will follow after this 'Tis thine to see. But that afar from us Veriest reason may drive such life away, Much yet remains to be embellished yet In polished verses, albeit hath issued forth So much from me already; lo, there is The law and aspect of the sky to be By reason grasped; there are the tempest times And the bright lightnings to be hymned now- Even what they do and from what cause soe'er They're borne along- that thou mayst tremble not, Marking off regions of prophetic skies For auguries, O foolishly distraught Even as to whence the flying flame hath come, Or to which half of heaven it turns, or how Through walled places it hath wound its way, Or, after proving its dominion there, How it hath speeded forth from thence amain- Whereof nowise the causes do men know, And think divinities are working there. Do thou, Calliope, ingenious Muse, Solace of mortals and delight of gods, Point out the course before me, as I race On to the white line of the utmost goal, That I may get with signal praise the crown, With thee my guide! |
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Principio tonitru quatiuntur caerula caeli propterea quia concurrunt sublime volantes aetheriae nubes contra pugnantibus ventis . nec fit enim sonitus caeli de parte serena , verum ubi cumque magis denso sunt agmine nubes , tam magis hinc magno fremitus fit murmure saepe . praeterea neque tam condenso corpore nubes esse queunt quam sunt lapides ac ligna , neque autem tam tenues quam sunt nebulae fumique volantes ; nam cadere aut bruto deberent pondere pressae ut lapides , aut ut fumus constare nequirent nec cohibere nives gelidas et grandinis imbris . Dant etiam sonitum patuli super aequora mundi , carbasus ut quondam magnis intenta theatris dat crepitum malos inter iactata trabesque , inter dum perscissa furit petulantibus auris et fragilis chartarum commeditatur ; id quoque enim genus in tonitru cognoscere possis , aut ubi suspensam vestem chartasque volantis verberibus venti versant planguntque per auras . fit quoque enim inter dum non tam concurrere nubes frontibus adversis possint quam de latere ire diverso motu radentes corpora tractim , aridus unde auris terget sonus ille diuque ducitur , exierunt donec regionibus artis .
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GREAT METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA, ETC. And so in first place, then, With thunder are shaken the blue deeps of heaven, Because the ethereal clouds, scudding aloft, Together clash, what time 'gainst one another The winds are battling. For never a sound there comes From out the serene regions of the sky; But wheresoever in a host more dense The clouds foregather, thence more often comes A crash with mighty rumbling. And, again, Clouds cannot be of so condensed a frame As stones and timbers, nor again so fine As mists and flying smoke; for then perforce They'd either fall, borne down by their brute weight, Like stones, or, like the smoke, they'd powerless be To keep their mass, or to retain within Frore snows and storms of hail. And they give forth O'er skiey levels of the spreading world A sound on high, as linen-awning, stretched O'er mighty theatres, gives forth at times A cracking roar, when much 'tis beaten about Betwixt the poles and cross-beams. Sometimes, too, Asunder rent by wanton gusts, it raves And imitates the tearing sound of sheets Of paper- even this kind of noise thou mayst In thunder hear- or sound as when winds whirl With lashings and do buffet about in air A hanging cloth and flying paper-sheets. For sometimes, too, it chances that the clouds Cannot together crash head-on, but rather Move side-wise and with motions contrary Graze each the other's body without speed, From whence that dry sound grateth on our ears, So long drawn-out, until the clouds have passed From out their close positions. |
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Hoc etiam pacto tonitru concussa videntur omnia saepe gravi tremere et divolsa repente maxima dissiluisse capacis moenia mundi , cum subito validi venti conlecta procella nubibus intorsit sese conclusaque ibidem turbine versanti magis ac magis undique nubem cogit uti fiat spisso cava corpore circum , post ubi conminuit vis eius et impetus acer , tum perterricrepo sonitu dat scissa fragorem . nec mirum , cum plena animae vensicula parva saepe haud dat parvum sonitum displosa repente . Est etiam ratio , cum venti nubila perflant , ut sonitus faciant ; etenim ramosa videmus nubila saepe modis multis atque aspera ferri ; scilicet ut , crebram silvam cum flamina cauri perflant , dant sonitum frondes ramique fragorem . Fit quoque ut inter dum validi vis incita venti perscindat nubem perfringens impete recto ; nam quid possit ibi flatus manifesta docet res , hic , ubi lenior est , in terra cum tamen alta arbusta evolvens radicibus haurit ab imis . sunt etiam fluctus per nubila , qui quasi murmur dant in frangendo graviter ; quod item fit in altis fluminibus magnoque mari , cum frangitur aestus . Fit quoque , ubi e nubi in nubem vis incidit ardens fulminis ; haec multo si forte umore recepit ignem , continuo magno clamore trucidat ; ut calidis candens ferrum e fornacibus olim stridit , ubi in gelidum propter demersimus imbrem . Aridior porro si nubes accipit ignem , uritur ingenti sonitu succensa repente , lauricomos ut si per montis flamma vagetur turbine ventorum comburens impete magno ; nec res ulla magis quam Phoebi Delphica laurus terribili sonitu flamma crepitante crematur . Denique saepe geli multus fragor atque ruina grandinis in magnis sonitum dat nubibus alte ; ventus enim cum confercit , franguntur in artum concreti montes nimborum et grandine mixti .
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And, again, In following wise all things seem oft to quake At shock of heavy thunder, and mightiest walls Of the wide reaches of the upper world There on the instant to have sprung apart, Riven asunder, what time a gathered blast Of the fierce hurricane hath all at once Twisted its way into a mass of clouds, And, there enclosed, ever more and more Compelleth by its spinning whirl the cloud To grow all hollow with a thickened crust Surrounding; for thereafter, when the force And the keen onset of the wind have weakened That crust, lo, then the cloud, to-split in twain, Gives forth a hideous crash with bang and boom. No marvel this; since oft a bladder small, Filled up with air, will, when of sudden burst, Give forth a like large sound. There's reason, too, Why clouds make sounds, as through them blow the winds: We see, borne down the sky, oft shapes of clouds Rough-edged or branched many forky ways; And 'tis the same, as when the sudden flaws Of north-west wind through the dense forest blow, Making the leaves to sough and limbs to crash. It happens too at times that roused force Of the fierce hurricane to-rends the cloud, Breaking right through it by a front assault; For what a blast of wind may do up there Is manifest from facts when here on earth A blast more gentle yet uptwists tall trees And sucks them madly from their deepest roots. Besides, among the clouds are waves, and these Give, as they roughly break, a rumbling roar; As when along deep streams or the great sea Breaks the loud surf. It happens, too, whenever Out from one cloud into another falls The fiery energy of thunderbolt, That straightaway the cloud, if full of wet, Extinguishes the fire with mighty noise; As iron, white from the hot furnaces, Sizzles, when speedily we've plunged its glow Down the cold water. Further, if a cloud More dry receive the fire, 'twill suddenly Kindle to flame and burn with monstrous sound, As if a flame with whirl of winds should range Along the laurel-tressed mountains far, Upburning with its vast assault those trees; Nor is there aught that in the crackling flame Consumes with sound more terrible to man Than Delphic laurel of Apollo lord. Oft, too, the multitudinous crash of ice And down-pour of swift hail gives forth a sound Among the mighty clouds on high; for when The wind hath packed them close, each mountain mass Of rain-cloud, there congealed utterly And mixed with hail-stones, breaks and booms... . . . . . . |