De Rerum Natura (Lucretius)

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	De Rerum Natura Author: Lucretius	Translator: William Ellery Leonard
49	Denique uti possint sentire animalia quaeque , principiis si iam est sensus tribuendus eorum , quid , genus humanum propritim de quibus auctumst ? scilicet et risu tremulo concussa cachinnant et lacrimis spargunt rorantibus ora genasque multaque de rerum mixtura dicere callent et sibi proporro quae sint primordia quaerunt ; quando quidem totis mortalibus adsimulata ipsa quoque ex aliis debent constare elementis , inde alia ex aliis , nusquam consistere ut ausis ; quippe sequar , quod cumque loqui ridereque dices et sapere , ex aliis eadem haec facientibus ut sit . quod si delira haec furiosaque cernimus esse et ridere potest non ex ridentibus auctus , et sapere et doctis rationem reddere dictis non ex seminibus sapientibus atque disertis , qui minus esse queant ea quae sentire videmus seminibus permixta carentibus undique sensu ?	Once more, if thus, that every living thing May have sensation, needful 'tis to assign Sense also to its elements, what then Of those fixed elements from which mankind Hath been, by their peculiar virtue, formed? Of verity, they'll laugh aloud, like men, Shaken asunder by a spasm of mirth, Or sprinkle with dewy tear-drops cheeks and chins, And have the cunning hardihood to say Much on the composition of the world, And in their turn inquire what elements They have themselves,- since, thus the same in kind As a whole mortal creature, even they Must also be from other elements, And then those others from others evermore- So that thou darest nowhere make a stop. Oho, I'll follow thee until thou grant The seed (which here thou say'st speaks, laughs, and thinks) Is yet derived out of other seeds Which in their turn are doing just the same. But if we see what raving nonsense this, And that a man may laugh, though not, forsooth, Compounded out of laughing elements, And think and utter reason with learn'd speech, Though not himself compounded, for a fact, Of sapient seeds and eloquent, why, then, Cannot those things which we perceive to have Their own sensation be composed as well Of intermixed seeds quite void of sense?
50	Denique caelesti sumus omnes semine oriundi ; omnibus ille idem pater est , unde alma liquentis umoris guttas mater cum terra recepit , feta parit nitidas fruges arbustaque laeta et genus humanum , parit omnia saecla ferarum , pabula cum praebet , quibus omnes corpora pascunt et dulcem ducunt vitam prolemque propagant ; qua propter merito maternum nomen adepta est . cedit item retro , de terra quod fuit ante , in terras , et quod missumst ex aetheris oris , id rursum caeli rellatum templa receptant . nec sic interemit mors res ut materiai corpora conficiat , sed coetum dissupat ollis ; inde aliis aliud coniungit et efficit , omnis res ut convertant formas mutentque colores et capiant sensus et puncto tempore reddant ; ut noscas referre earum primordia rerum cum quibus et quali positura contineantur et quos inter se dent motus accipiantque , neve putes aeterna penes residere potesse corpora prima quod in summis fluitare videmus rebus et interdum nasci subitoque perire . quin etiam refert nostris in versibus ipsis cum quibus et quali sint ordine quaeque locata ; namque eadem caelum mare terras flumina solem significant , eadem fruges arbusta animantis ; si non omnia sunt , at multo maxima pars est consimilis ; verum positura discrepitant res . sic ipsis in rebus item iam materiai concursus motus ordo positura figurae cum permutantur , mutari res quoque debent . Nunc animum nobis adhibe veram ad rationem . nam tibi vehementer nova res molitur ad auris accedere et nova se species ostendere rerum . sed neque tam facilis res ulla est , quin ea primum difficilis magis ad credendum constet , itemque nil adeo magnum neque tam mirabile quicquam , quod non paulatim minuant mirarier omnes , principio caeli clarum purumque colorem quaeque in se cohibet , palantia sidera passim , lunamque et solis praeclara luce nitorem ; omnia quae nunc si primum mortalibus essent ex improviso si sint obiecta repente , quid magis his rebus poterat mirabile dici , aut minus ante quod auderent fore credere gentes ? nil , ut opinor ; ita haec species miranda fuisset . quam tibi iam nemo fessus satiate videndi , suspicere in caeli dignatur lucida templa . desine qua propter novitate exterritus ipsa expuere ex animo rationem , sed magis acri iudicio perpende , et si tibi vera videntur , dede manus , aut , si falsum est , accingere contra . quaerit enim rationem animus , cum summa loci sit infinita foris haec extra moenia mundi , quid sit ibi porro , quo prospicere usque velit mens atque animi iactus liber quo pervolet ipse .	INFINITE WORLDS Once more, we all from seed celestial spring, To all is that same father, from whom earth, The fostering mother, as she takes the drops Of liquid moisture, pregnant bears her broods- The shining grains, and gladsome shrubs and trees, And bears the human race and of the wild The generations all, the while she yields The foods wherewith all feed their frames and lead The genial life and propagate their kind; Wherefore she owneth that maternal name, By old desert. What was before from earth, The same in earth sinks back, and what was sent From shores of ether, that, returning home, The vaults of sky receive. Nor thus doth death So far annihilate things that she destroys The bodies of matter; but she dissipates Their combinations, and conjoins anew One element with others; and contrives That all things vary forms and change their colours And get sensations and straight give them o'er. And thus may'st know it matters with what others And in what structure the primordial germs Are held together, and what motions they Among themselves do give and get; nor think That aught we see hither and thither afloat Upon the crest of things, and now a birth And straightway now a ruin, inheres at rest Deep in the eternal atoms of the world. Why, even in these our very verses here It matters much with what and in what order Each element is set: the same denote Sky, and the ocean, lands, and streams, and sun; The same, the grains, and trees, and living things. And if not all alike, at least the most- But what distinctions by positions wrought! And thus no less in things themselves, when once Around are changed the intervals between, The paths of matter, its connections, weights, Blows, clashings, motions, order, structure, shapes, The things themselves must likewise changed be. Now to true reason give thy mind for us. Since here strange truth is putting forth its might To hit thee in thine ears, a new aspect Of things to show its front. Yet naught there is So easy that it standeth not at first More hard to credit than it after is; And naught soe'er that's great to such degree, Nor wonderful so far, but all mankind Little by little abandon their surprise. Look upward yonder at the bright clear sky And what it holds- the stars that wander o'er, The moon, the radiance of the splendour-sun: Yet all, if now they first for mortals were, If unforeseen now first asudden shown, What might there be more wonderful to tell, What that the nations would before have dared Less to believe might be?- I fancy, naught- So strange had been the marvel of that sight. The which o'erwearied to behold, to-day None deigns look upward to those lucent realms. Then, spew not reason from thy mind away, Beside thyself because the matter's new, But rather with keen judgment nicely weigh; And if to thee it then appeareth true, Render thy hands, or, if 'tis false at last, Gird thee to combat. For my mind-of-man Now seeks the nature of the vast Beyond There on the other side, that boundless sum Which lies without the ramparts of the world, Toward which the spirit longs to peer afar, Toward which indeed the swift elan of thought Flies unencumbered forth.
51	Principio nobis in cunctas undique partis et latere ex utroque supra supterque per omne nulla est finis ; uti docui , res ipsaque per se vociferatur , et elucet natura profundi . nullo iam pacto veri simile esse putandumst , undique cum vorsum spatium vacet infinitum seminaque innumero numero summaque profunda multimodis volitent aeterno percita motu , hunc unum terrarum orbem caelumque creatum , nil agere illa foris tot corpora materiai ; cum praesertim hic sit natura factus et ipsa sponte sua forte offensando semina rerum multimodis temere in cassum frustraque coacta tandem coluerunt ea quae coniecta repente magnarum rerum fierent exordia semper , terrai maris et caeli generisque animantum . quare etiam atque etiam talis fateare necesse est esse alios alibi congressus materiai , qualis hic est , avido complexu quem tenet aether . Praeterea cum materies est multa parata , cum locus est praesto nec res nec causa moratur ulla , geri debent ni mirum et confieri res . nunc et seminibus si tanta est copia , quantam enumerare aetas animantum non queat omnis , quis eadem natura manet , quae semina rerum conicere in loca quaeque queat simili ratione atque huc sunt coniecta , necesse est confiteare esse alios aliis terrarum in partibus orbis et varias hominum gentis et saecla ferarum . Huc accedit ut in summa res nulla sit una , unica quae gignatur et unica solaque crescat , quin aliquoius siet saecli permultaque eodem sint genere . in primis animalibus indice mente invenies sic montivagum genus esse ferarum , sic hominum geminam prolem , sic denique mutas squamigerum pecudes et corpora cuncta volantum . qua propter caelum simili ratione fatendumst terramque et solem , lunam mare cetera quae sunt , non esse unica , sed numero magis innumerali ; quando quidem vitae depactus terminus alte tam manet haec et tam nativo corpore constant quam genus omne , quod his generatimst rebus abundans . Quae bene cognita si teneas , natura videtur libera continuo , dominis privata superbis , ipsa sua per se sponte omnia dis agere expers . nam pro sancta deum tranquilla pectora pace quae placidum degunt aevom vitamque serenam , quis regere immensi summam , quis habere profundi indu manu validas potis est moderanter habenas , quis pariter caelos omnis convertere et omnis ignibus aetheriis terras suffire feracis , omnibus inve locis esse omni tempore praesto , nubibus ut tenebras faciat caelique serena concutiat sonitu , tum fulmina mittat et aedis saepe suas disturbet et in deserta recedens saeviat exercens telum , quod saepe nocentes praeterit exanimatque indignos inque merentes ?	Firstly, we find, Off to all regions round, on either side, Above, beneath, throughout the universe End is there none- as I have taught, as too The very thing of itself declares aloud, And as from nature of the unbottomed deep Shines clearly forth. Nor can we once suppose In any way 'tis likely, (seeing that space To all sides stretches infinite and free, And seeds, innumerable in number, in sum Bottomless, there in many a manner fly, Bestirred in everlasting motion there), That only this one earth and sky of ours Hath been create and that those bodies of stuff, So many, perform no work outside the same; Seeing, moreover, this world too hath been By nature fashioned, even as seeds of things By innate motion chanced to clash and cling- After they'd been in many a manner driven Together at random, without design, in vain- And as at last those seeds together dwelt, Which, when together of a sudden thrown, Should alway furnish the commencements fit Of mighty things- the earth, the sea, the sky, And race of living creatures. Thus, I say, Again, again, 'tmust be confessed there are Such congregations of matter otherwhere, Like this our world which vasty ether holds In huge embrace. Besides, when matter abundant Is ready there, when space on hand, nor object Nor any cause retards, no marvel 'tis That things are carried on and made complete, Perforce. And now, if store of seeds there is So great that not whole life-times of the living Can count the tale... And if their force and nature abide the same, Able to throw the seeds of things together Into their places, even as here are thrown The seeds together in this world of ours, 'Tmust be confessed in other realms there are Still other worlds, still other breeds of men, And other generations of the wild. Hence too it happens in the sum there is No one thing single of its kind in birth, And single and sole in growth, but rather it is One member of some generated race, Among full many others of like kind. First, cast thy mind abroad upon the living: Thou'lt find the race of mountain-ranging wild Even thus to be, and thus the scions of men To be begot, and lastly the mute flocks Of scaled fish, and winged frames of birds. Wherefore confess we must on grounds the same That earth, sun, moon, and ocean, and all else, Exist not sole and single- rather in number Exceeding number. Since that deeply set Old boundary stone of life remains for them No less, and theirs a body of mortal birth No less, than every kind which here on earth Is so abundant in its members found. Which well perceived if thou hold in mind, Then Nature, delivered from every haughty lord, And forthwith free, is seen to do all things Herself and through herself of own accord, Rid of all gods. For- by their holy hearts Which pass in long tranquillity of peace Untroubled ages and a serene life!- Who hath the power (I ask), who hath the power To rule the sum of the immeasurable, To hold with steady hand the giant reins Of the unfathomed deep? Who hath the power At once to roll a multitude of skies, At once to heat with fires ethereal all The fruitful lands of multitudes of worlds, To be at all times in all places near, To stablish darkness by his clouds, to shake The serene spaces of the sky with sound, And hurl his lightnings,- ha, and whelm how oft In ruins his own temples, and to rave, Retiring to the wildernesses, there At practice with that thunderbolt of his, Which yet how often shoots the guilty by, And slays the honourable blameless ones!
52	Multaque post mundi tempus genitale diemque primigenum maris et terrae solisque coortum addita corpora sunt extrinsecus , addita circum semina , quae magnum iaculando contulit omne , unde mare et terrae possent augescere et unde appareret spatium caeli domus altaque tecta tolleret a terris procul et consurgeret aer . nam sua cuique , locis ex omnibus , omnia plagis corpora distribuuntur et ad sua saecla recedunt , umor ad umorem , terreno corpore terra crescit et ignem ignes procudunt aetheraque aether , donique ad extremum crescendi perfica finem omnia perduxit rerum natura creatrix ; ut fit ubi nihilo iam plus est quod datur intra vitalis venas quam quod fluit atque recedit . omnibus hic aetas debet consistere rebus , hic natura suis refrenat viribus auctum . nam quae cumque vides hilaro grandescere adauctu paulatimque gradus aetatis scandere adultae , plura sibi adsumunt quam de se corpora mittunt , dum facile in venas cibus omnis inditur et dum non ita sunt late dispessa , ut multa remittant et plus dispendi faciant quam vescitur aetas . nam certe fluere atque recedere corpora rebus multa manus dandum est ; sed plura accedere debent , donec alescendi summum tetigere cacumen . inde minutatim vires et robur adultum frangit et in partem peiorem liquitur aetas . quippe etenim quanto est res amplior , augmine adempto , et quo latior est , in cunctas undique partis plura modo dispargit et a se corpora mittit , nec facile in venas cibus omnis diditur ei nec satis est , pro quam largos exaestuat aestus , unde queat tantum suboriri ac subpeditare . iure igitur pereunt , cum rarefacta fluendo sunt et cum externis succumbunt omnia plagis , quando quidem grandi cibus aevo denique defit , nec tuditantia rem cessant extrinsecus ullam corpora conficere et plagis infesta domare .	Ere since the birth-time of the world, ere since The risen first-born day of sea, earth, sun, Have many germs been added from outside, Have many seeds been added round about, Which the great All, the while it flung them on, Brought hither, that from them the sea and lands Could grow more big, and that the house of heaven Might get more room and raise its lofty roofs Far over earth, and air arise around. For bodies all, from out all regions, are Divided by blows, each to its proper thing, And all retire to their own proper kinds: The moist to moist retires; earth gets increase From earthy body; and fires, as on a forge, Beat out new fire; and ether forges ether; Till nature, author and ender of the world, Hath led all things to extreme bound of growth: As haps when that which hath been poured inside The vital veins of life is now no more Than that which ebbs within them and runs off. This is the point where life for each thing ends; This is the point where nature with her powers Curbs all increase. For whatsoe'er thou seest Grow big with glad increase, and step by step Climb upward to ripe age, these to themselves Take in more bodies than they send from selves, Whilst still the food is easily infused Through all the veins, and whilst the things are not So far expanded that they cast away Such numerous atoms as to cause a waste Greater than nutriment whereby they wax. For 'tmust be granted, truly, that from things Many a body ebbeth and runs off; But yet still more must come, until the things Have touched development's top pinnacle; Then old age breaks their powers and ripe strength And falls away into a worser part. For ever the ampler and more wide a thing, As soon as ever its augmentation ends, It scatters abroad forthwith to all sides round More bodies, sending them from out itself. Nor easily now is food disseminate Through all its veins; nor is that food enough To equal with a new supply on hand Those plenteous exhalations it gives off. Thus, fairly, all things perish, when with ebbing They're made less dense and when from blows without They are laid low; since food at last will fail Extremest eld, and bodies from outside Cease not with thumping to undo a thing And overmaster by infesting blows.
53	Sic igitur magni quoque circum moenia mundi expugnata dabunt labem putrisque ruinas ; omnia debet enim cibus integrare novando et fulcire cibus , cibus omnia sustentare , ne quiquam , quoniam nec venae perpetiuntur quod satis est , neque quantum opus est natura ministrat . Iamque adeo fracta est aetas effetaque tellus vix animalia parva creat , quae cuncta creavit saecla deditque ferarum ingentia corpora partu . haud , ut opinor , enim mortalia saecla superne aurea de caelo demisit funis in arva nec mare nec fluctus plangentis saxa crearunt , sed genuit tellus eadem quae nunc alit ex se . praeterea nitidas fruges vinetaque laeta sponte sua primum mortalibus ipsa creavit , ipsa dedit dulcis fetus et pabula laeta ; quae nunc vix nostro grandescunt aucta labore , conterimusque boves et viris agricolarum , conficimus ferrum vix arvis suppeditati : usque adeo parcunt fetus augentque laborem . iamque caput quassans grandis suspirat arator crebrius , in cassum magnos cecidisse labores , et cum tempora temporibus praesentia confert praeteritis , laudat fortunas saepe parentis . tristis item vetulae vitis sator atque vietae temporis incusat momen saeclumque fatigat , et crepat , antiquum genus ut pietate repletum perfacile angustis tolerarit finibus aevom , cum minor esset agri multo modus ante viritim ; nec tenet omnia paulatim tabescere et ire ad capulum spatio aetatis defessa vetusto .	Thus, too, the ramparts of the mighty world On all sides round shall taken be by storm, And tumble to wrack and shivered fragments down. For food it is must keep things whole, renewing; 'Tis food must prop and give support to all,- But to no purpose, since nor veins suffice To hold enough, nor nature ministers As much as needful. And even now 'tis thus: Its age is broken and the earth, outworn With many parturitions, scarce creates The little lives- she who created erst All generations and gave forth at birth Enormous bodies of wild beasts of old. For never, I fancy, did a golden cord From off the firmament above let down The mortal generations to the fields; Nor sea, nor breakers pounding on the rocks Created them; but earth it was who bore- The same to-day who feeds them from herself. Besides, herself of own accord, she first The shining grains and vineyards of all joy Created for mortality; herself Gave the sweet fruitage and the pastures glad, Which now to-day yet scarcely wax in size, Even when aided by our toiling arms. We break the ox, and wear away the strength Of sturdy farm-hands; iron tools to-day Barely avail for tilling of the fields, So niggardly they grudge our harvestings, So much increase our labour. Now to-day The aged ploughman, shaking of his head, Sighs o'er and o'er that labours of his hands Have fallen out in vain, and, as he thinks How present times are not as times of old, Often he praises the fortunes of his sire, And crackles, prating, how the ancient race, Fulfilled with piety, supported life With simple comfort in a narrow plot, Since, man for man, the measure of each field Was smaller far i' the old days. And, again, The gloomy planter of the withered vine Rails at the season's change and wearies heaven, Nor grasps that all of things by sure degrees Are wasting away and going to the tomb, Outworn by venerable length of life.
54	Liber Tertius E tenebris tantis tam clarum extollere lumen qui primus potuisti inlustrans commoda vitae , te sequor , o Graiae gentis decus , inque tuis nunc ficta pedum pono pressis vestigia signis , non ita certandi cupidus quam propter amorem quod te imitari aveo ; quid enim contendat hirundo cycnis , aut quid nam tremulis facere artubus haedi consimile in cursu possint et fortis equi vis ? tu , pater , es rerum inventor , tu patria nobis suppeditas praecepta , tuisque ex , inclute , chartis , floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant , omnia nos itidem depascimur aurea dicta , aurea , perpetua semper dignissima vita . nam simul ac ratio tua coepit vociferari naturam rerum divina mente coorta diffugiunt animi terrores , moenia mundi discedunt . totum video per inane geri res . apparet divum numen sedesque quietae , quas neque concutiunt venti nec nubila nimbis aspergunt neque nix acri concreta pruina cana cadens violat semper innubilus aether integit et large diffuso lumine ridet : omnia suppeditat porro natura neque ulla res animi pacem delibat tempore in ullo . at contra nusquam apparent Acherusia templa , nec tellus obstat quin omnia dispiciantur , sub pedibus quae cumque infra per inane geruntur . his ibi me rebus quaedam divina voluptas percipit atque horror , quod sic natura tua vi tam manifesta patens ex omni parte retecta est . Et quoniam docui , cunctarum exordia rerum qualia sint et quam variis distantia formis sponte sua volitent aeterno percita motu , quove modo possint res ex his quaeque creari , hasce secundum res animi natura videtur atque animae claranda meis iam versibus esse et metus ille foras praeceps Acheruntis agendus , funditus humanam qui vitam turbat ab imo omnia suffundens mortis nigrore neque ullam esse voluptatem liquidam puramque relinquit .	BOOK III PROEM O thou who first uplifted in such dark So clear a torch aloft, who first shed light Upon the profitable ends of man, O thee I follow, glory of the Greeks, And set my footsteps squarely planted now Even in the impress and the marks of thine- Less like one eager to dispute the palm, More as one craving out of very love That I may copy thee!- for how should swallow Contend with swans or what compare could be In a race between young kids with tumbling legs And the strong might of the horse? Our father thou, And finder-out of truth, and thou to us Suppliest a father's precepts; and from out Those scriven leaves of thine, renowned soul (Like bees that sip of all in flowery wolds), We feed upon thy golden sayings all- Golden, and ever worthiest endless life. For soon as ever thy planning thought that sprang From god-like mind begins its loud proclaim Of nature's courses, terrors of the brain Asunder flee, the ramparts of the world Dispart away, and through the void entire I see the movements of the universe. Rises to vision the majesty of gods, And their abodes of everlasting calm Which neither wind may shake nor rain-cloud splash, Nor snow, congealed by sharp frosts, may harm With its white downfall: ever, unclouded sky O'er roofs, and laughs with far-diffused light. And nature gives to them their all, nor aught May ever pluck their peace of mind away. But nowhere to my vision rise no more The vaults of Acheron, though the broad earth Bars me no more from gazing down o'er all Which under our feet is going on below Along the void. O, here in these affairs Some new divine delight and trembling awe Takes hold through me, that thus by power of thine Nature, so plain and manifest at last, Hath been on every side laid bare to man! And since I've taught already of what sort The seeds of all things are, and how, distinct In divers forms, they flit of own accord, Stirred with a motion everlasting on, And in what mode things be from them create, Now, after such matters, should my verse, meseems, Make clear the nature of the mind and soul, And drive that dread of Acheron without, Headlong, which so confounds our human life Unto its deeps, pouring o'er all that is The black of death, nor leaves not anything To prosper- a liquid and unsullied joy.
55	nam quod saepe homines morbos magis esse timendos infamemque ferunt vitam quam Tartara leti et se scire animi naturam sanguinis esse , aut etiam venti , si fert ita forte voluntas , nec prosum quicquam nostrae rationis egere , hinc licet advertas animum magis omnia laudis iactari causa quam quod res ipsa probetur . extorres idem patria longeque fugati conspectu ex hominum , foedati crimine turpi , omnibus aerumnis adfecti denique vivunt , et quo cumque tamen miseri venere parentant et nigras mactant pecudes et manibus divis inferias mittunt multoque in rebus acerbis acrius advertunt animos ad religionem . quo magis in dubiis hominem spectare periclis convenit adversisque in rebus noscere qui sit ; nam verae voces tum demum pectore ab imo eliciuntur eripitur persona amanare . denique avarities et honorum caeca cupido , quae miseros homines cogunt transcendere fines iuris et inter dum socios scelerum atque ministros noctes atque dies niti praestante labore ad summas emergere opes , haec vulnera vitae non minimam partem mortis formidine aluntur . turpis enim ferme contemptus et acris egestas semota ab dulci vita stabilique videtur et quasi iam leti portas cunctarier ante ; unde homines dum se falso terrore coacti effugisse volunt longe longeque remosse , sanguine civili rem conflant divitiasque conduplicant avidi , caedem caede accumulantes , crudeles gaudent in tristi funere fratris et consanguineum mensas odere timentque . consimili ratione ab eodem saepe timore macerat invidia ante oculos illum esse potentem , illum aspectari , claro qui incedit honore , ipsi se in tenebris volvi caenoque queruntur . intereunt partim statuarum et nominis ergo . et saepe usque adeo , mortis formidine , vitae percipit humanos odium lucisque videndae , ut sibi consciscant maerenti pectore letum obliti fontem curarum hunc esse timorem : hunc vexare pudorem , hunc vincula amicitiai rumpere et in summa pietate evertere suadet : nam iam saepe homines patriam carosque parentis prodiderunt vitare Acherusia templa petentes . 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 neque lucida tela diei discutiant , sed naturae species ratioque .	For as to what men sometimes will affirm: That more than Tartarus (the realm of death) They fear diseases and a life of shame, And know the substance of the soul is blood, Or rather wind (if haply thus their whim), And so need naught of this our science, then Thou well may'st note from what's to follow now That more for glory do they braggart forth Than for belief. For mark these very same: Exiles from country, fugitives afar From sight of men, with charges foul attaint, Abased with every wretchedness, they yet Live, and where'er the wretches come, they yet Make the ancestral sacrifices there, Butcher the black sheep, and to gods below Offer the honours, and in bitter case Turn much more keenly to religion. Wherefore, it's surer testing of a man In doubtful perils- mark him as he is Amid adversities; for then alone Are the true voices conjured from his breast, The mask off-stripped, reality behind. And greed, again, and the blind lust of honours Which force poor wretches past the bounds of law, And, oft allies and ministers of crime, To push through nights and days with hugest toil To rise untrammelled to the peaks of power- These wounds of life in no mean part are kept Festering and open by this fright of death. For ever we see fierce Want and foul Disgrace Dislodged afar from secure life and sweet, Like huddling Shapes before the doors of death. And whilst, from these, men wish to scape afar, Driven by false terror, and afar remove, With civic blood a fortune they amass, They double their riches, greedy, heapers-up Of corpse on corpse they have a cruel laugh For the sad burial of a brother-born, And hatred and fear of tables of their kin. Likewise, through this same terror, envy oft Makes them to peak because before their eyes That man is lordly, that man gazed upon Who walks begirt with honour glorious, Whilst they in filth and darkness roll around; Some perish away for statues and a name, And oft to that degree, from fright of death, Will hate of living and beholding light Take hold on humankind that they inflict Their own destruction with a gloomy heart- Forgetful that this fear is font of cares, This fear the plague upon their sense of shame, And this that breaks the ties of comradry And oversets all reverence and faith, Mid direst slaughter. For long ere to-day Often were traitors to country and dear parents Through quest to shun the realms of Acheron. 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 sun disperse, But only nature's aspect and her law.
56	Primum animum dico , mentem quem saepe vocamus , in quo consilium vitae regimenque locatum est , esse hominis partem nihilo minus ac manus et pes atque oculei partes animantis totius extant . ( ... lost text ... ) sensum animi certa non esse in parte locatum , verum habitum quendam vitalem corporis esse , harmoniam Grai quam dicunt , quod faciat nos vivere cum sensu , nulla cum in parte siet mens ; ut bona saepe valetudo cum dicitur esse corporis , et non est tamen haec pars ulla valentis , sic animi sensum non certa parte reponunt ; magno opere in quo mi diversi errare videntur . Saepe itaque , in promptu corpus quod cernitur , aegret , cum tamen ex alia laetamur parte latenti ; et retro fit ubi contra sit saepe vicissim , cum miser ex animo laetatur corpore toto ; non alio pacto quam si , pes cum dolet aegri , in nullo caput interea sit forte dolore . Praeterea molli cum somno dedita membra effusumque iacet sine sensu corpus honustum , est aliud tamen in nobis quod tempore in illo multimodis agitatur et omnis accipit in se laetitiae motus et curas cordis inanis . Nunc animam quoque ut in membris cognoscere possis esse neque harmonia corpus sentire solere , principio fit uti detracto corpore multo saepe tamen nobis in membris vita moretur . Atque eadem rursum , cum corpora pauca caloris diffugere forasque per os est editus aër , deserit extemplo venas atque ossa relinquit ; noscere ut hinc possis non aequas omnia partis corpora habere neque ex aequo fulcire salutem , sed magis haec , venti quae sunt calidique vaporis semina , curare in membris ut vita moretur . est igitur calor ac ventus vitalis in ipso corpore , qui nobis moribundos deserit artus . quapropter quoniam est animi natura reperta atque animae quasi pars hominis , redde harmoniai nomen , ad organicos alto delatum Heliconi , sive aliunde ipsi porro traxere et in illam transtulerunt , proprio quae tum res nomine egebat . quidquid est , habeant : tu cetera percipe dicta .	NATURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE MIND First, then, I say, the mind which oft we call The intellect, wherein is seated life's Counsel and regimen, is part no less Of man than hand and foot and eyes are parts Of one whole breathing creature. [But some hold] That sense of mind is in no fixed part seated, But is of body some one vital state,- Named "harmony" by Greeks, because thereby We live with sense, though intellect be not In any part: as oft the body is said To have good health (when health, however, 's not One part of him who has it), so they place The sense of mind in no fixed part of man. Mightily, diversly, meseems they err. Often the body palpable and seen Sickens, while yet in some invisible part We feel a pleasure; oft the other way, A miserable in mind feels pleasure still Throughout his body- quite the same as when A foot may pain without a pain in head. Besides, when these our limbs are given o'er To gentle sleep and lies the burdened frame At random void of sense, a something else Is yet within us, which upon that time Bestirs itself in many a wise, receiving All motions of joy and phantom cares of heart. Now, for to see that in man's members dwells Also the soul, and body ne'er is wont To feel sensation by a "harmony" Take this in chief: the fact that life remains Oft in our limbs, when much of body's gone; Yet that same life, when particles of heat, Though few, have scattered been, and through the mouth Air has been given forth abroad, forthwith Forever deserts the veins, and leaves the bones. Thus mayst thou know that not all particles Perform like parts, nor in like manner all Are props of weal and safety: rather those- The seeds of wind and exhalations warm- Take care that in our members life remains. Therefore a vital heat and wind there is Within the very body, which at death Deserts our frames. And so, since nature of mind And even of soul is found to be, as 'twere, A part of man, give over "harmony"- Name to musicians brought from Helicon,- Unless themselves they filched it otherwise, To serve for what was lacking name till then. Whate'er it be, they're welcome to it- thou, Hearken my other maxims.