Lucretius: DE RERVM NATVRA LIBRI SEX

Aeneadum genetrix, hominum divomque voluptas,
alma Venus, caeli subter labentia signa
quae mare navigerum, quae terras frugiferentis
concelebras, per te quoniam genus omne animantum
concipitur visitque exortum lumina solis:

Mother of the Aeneads, the delight of men and gods,
nourishing Venus, beneath the gliding signs of the sky
you who the ship-bearing sea, who the fruit-bearing lands
you make populous, since through you every genus of animate beings
is conceived and, having arisen, visits the lights of the sun:

te, dea, te fugiunt venti, te nubila caeli
adventumque tuum, tibi suavis daedala tellus
summittit flores, tibi rident aequora ponti
placatumque nitet diffuso lumine caelum.
nam simul ac species patefactast verna diei

you, goddess, you the winds flee, you the clouds of heaven
and at your advent, for you the sweet Daedalan earth
puts forth flowers; for you the level surfaces of the sea smile,
and the appeased sky shines with diffused light.
for as soon as the vernal aspect of day has been laid open

et reserata viget genitabilis aura favoni,
aeriae primum volucris te, diva, tuumque
significant initum perculsae corda tua vi.
inde ferae pecudes persultant pabula laeta

and, the generative breeze of Favonius unlocked, thrives,
the birds of the air first, goddess, proclaim you and your advent,
their hearts smitten by your force.
then wild beasts and flocks bound across the gladsome pastures

et rapidos tranant amnis: ita capta lepore

and they swim across the rapid rivers: thus captured by charm

te sequitur cupide quo quamque inducere pergis. 16
denique per maria ac montis fluviosque rapacis
frondiferasque domos avium camposque virentis
omnibus incutiens blandum per pectora amorem
efficis ut cupide generatim saecla propagent.

eagerly each follows you wherever you proceed to lead it. 16
finally through the seas and the mountains and the rapacious rivers
and the frondiferous homes of birds and the verdant fields
instilling into all a blandishing love through their breasts
you effect that, eagerly, by genera, the generations propagate.

quae quoniam rerum naturam sola gubernas
nec sine te quicquam dias in luminis oras
exoritur neque fit laetum neque amabile quicquam,
te sociam studeo scribendis versibus esse,
quos ego de rerum natura pangere conor

since you alone govern the nature of things,
and without you nothing arises to the divine shores of light,
nor does anything become joyful nor lovable,
I am eager to have you as a companion for the verses to be written,
which I am trying to compose about the nature of things.

Memmiadae nostro, quem tu, dea, tempore in omni
omnibus ornatum voluisti excellere rebus.
quo magis aeternum da dictis, diva, leporem.
effice ut interea fera moenera militiai
per maria ac terras omnis sopita quiescant;

to our Memmiad, whom you, goddess, at every time
have willed, adorned with all things, to excel.
wherefore all the more grant to my words, goddess, eternal charm.
bring it about that meanwhile the savage works of militia
across the seas and all the lands, sopited, may rest;

nam tu sola potes tranquilla pace iuvare
mortalis, quoniam belli fera moenera Mavors
armipotens regit, in gremium qui saepe tuum se
reiicit aeterno devictus vulnere amoris,
atque ita suspiciens tereti cervice reposta

for you alone can with tranquil peace aid
mortals, since Mavors, armipotent, governs the savage works of war,
who often throws himself into your lap,
cast down by the eternal wound of love,
and thus, looking up with his rounded neck laid back

pascit amore avidos inhians in te, dea, visus
eque tuo pendet resupini spiritus ore.
hunc tu, diva, tuo recubantem corpore sancto
circum fusa super, suavis ex ore loquellas
funde petens placidam Romanis, incluta, pacem;

feeds with love his avid, gaping gazes upon you, goddess,
and the spirit of the resupine one hangs from your mouth.
this man, goddess, recumbent upon your sacred body,
you, poured around him from above, sweet little words from your mouth
pour forth, seeking for the Romans a placid peace, illustrious one;

nam neque nos agere hoc patriai tempore iniquo
possumus aequo animo nec Memmi clara propago
talibus in rebus communi desse saluti.
omnis enim per se divum natura necessest
immortali aevo summa cum pace fruatur

for neither can we carry this on with equanimity in this unjust time for the fatherland, nor can the illustrious progeny of Memmius fail the common salvation in such matters.
for the nature of the gods, in and of itself, must enjoy immortal age with the highest peace

semota ab nostris rebus seiunctaque longe;
nam privata dolore omni, privata periclis,
ipsa suis pollens opibus, nihil indiga nostri,
nec bene promeritis capitur nec tangitur ira.
Humana ante oculos foede cum vita iaceret

removed from our affairs and sundered far away;
for deprived of all pain, deprived of perils,
she herself, powerful in her own resources, needing nothing of ours,
nor is she captured by well-deserved services nor touched by wrath.
When human life lay foully before the eyes

in terris oppressa gravi sub religione,
quae caput a caeli regionibus ostendebat
horribili super aspectu mortalibus instans,

on earth oppressed under a heavy Religion,
which was showing its head from the regions of the sky,
looming over mortals from above with a horrible aspect,

primum Graius homo mortalis tollere contra
est oculos ausus primusque obsistere contra;
quem neque fama deum nec fulmina nec minitanti
murmure compressit caelum, sed eo magis acrem
inritat animi virtutem, effringere ut arta

first a Graecian mortal man dared to raise his eyes against
and was the first to stand in opposition;
whom neither the rumor of the gods nor the thunderbolts nor the sky,
with threatening murmur, held down, but all the more it stirred the keen
valor of his spirit, so as to break open the tight barriers

naturae primus portarum claustra cupiret.
ergo vivida vis animi pervicit et extra
processit longe flammantia moenia mundi
atque omne immensum peragravit mente animoque,
unde refert nobis victor quid possit oriri,

he first desired to burst the bars of nature’s gates.
therefore the vivid force of his mind prevailed and beyond
he advanced far past the flaming ramparts of the world
and traversed the whole immeasurable with mind and spirit,
whence, as victor, he brings back to us what can arise,

quid nequeat, finita potestas denique cuique
qua nam sit ratione atque alte terminus haerens.
quare religio pedibus subiecta vicissim
opteritur, nos exaequat victoria caelo.
Illud in his rebus vereor, ne forte rearis

what it cannot, and what bounded power, finally, there is for each,
by what reasoning, and what deep-set limit holds fast.
wherefore religion, subjected beneath the feet, in turn
is trampled down; victory makes us equal to heaven.
that one thing in these matters I fear, lest by chance you suppose

impia te rationis inire elementa viamque
indugredi sceleris. quod contra saepius illa
religio peperit scelerosa atque impia facta.
Aulide quo pacto Triviai virginis aram
Iphianassai turparunt sanguine foede

that you are entering the impious elements of reason and stepping upon the way of crime; whereas, on the contrary, that religion has more often engendered criminal and impious deeds. At Aulis, in what manner they defiled the altar of the Virgin of Trivia with the foul blood of Iphianassa

ductores Danaum delecti, prima virorum.
cui simul infula virgineos circum data comptus
ex utraque pari malarum parte profusast,
et maestum simul ante aras adstare parentem
sensit et hunc propter ferrum celare ministros

the chosen leaders of the Danaans, the foremost of men.
for whom, as soon as the fillet, maidenly, was set around her coiffure,
had flowed down equally from either side of her cheeks,
and at the same time she sensed her mournful parent standing before the altars
and that the ministers hid the iron beside him.

aspectuque suo lacrimas effundere civis,
muta metu terram genibus summissa petebat.
nec miserae prodesse in tali tempore quibat,
quod patrio princeps donarat nomine regem;
nam sublata virum manibus tremibundaque ad aras

and by her very sight to make the citizens pour forth tears,
mute with fear, lowered, she sought the earth with her knees.
nor could it profit the wretched one in such a time,
that, as princess, she had endowed the king with the paternal name;
for, lifted up by the hands of men and trembling, to the altars

deductast, non ut sollemni more sacrorum
perfecto posset claro comitari Hymenaeo,
sed casta inceste nubendi tempore in ipso
hostia concideret mactatu maesta parentis,
exitus ut classi felix faustusque daretur.

she was conducted, not so that by the solemn custom of the rites
when perfected she might be accompanied by the bright Hymenaeus,
but, chaste, unchastely, at the very time of nuptials,
as a victim she might fall by the slaughter of her sorrowing parent,
so that a departure for the fleet might be felicitous and auspicious.

100

tantum religio potuit suadere malorum.
Tutemet a nobis iam quovis tempore vatum
terriloquis victus dictis desciscere quaeres.
quippe etenim quam multa tibi iam fingere possunt
somnia, quae vitae rationes vertere possint

so much could religion persuade of evils.
You yourself now, at any time,
overcome by the terriloquent sayings of vatic seers, will seek to secede from us.
for indeed how many things dreams can already fashion for you,
dreams which could overturn the rational accounts of life

105

fortunasque tuas omnis turbare timore!
et merito; nam si certam finem esse viderent
aerumnarum homines, aliqua ratione valerent
religionibus atque minis obsistere vatum.
nunc ratio nulla est restandi, nulla facultas,

and to trouble all your fortunes with fear!
and deservedly; for if men saw that there is a fixed end
of hardships, by some reason they would be able
to oppose religion and the menaces of prophets.
now there is no reason for standing fast, no faculty,

110

aeternas quoniam poenas in morte timendum.
ignoratur enim quae sit natura animai,
nata sit an contra nascentibus insinuetur
et simul intereat nobiscum morte dirempta
an tenebras Orci visat vastasque lacunas

since eternal punishments are to be feared in death.
for it is unknown what the nature of the soul is,
whether it is born or, on the contrary, insinuated into those being born,
and whether it perishes together with us when death has sundered us,
or visits the darknesses of Orcus and the vast hollows

115

an pecudes alias divinitus insinuet se,
Ennius ut noster cecinit, qui primus amoeno
detulit ex Helicone perenni fronde coronam,
per gentis Italas hominum quae clara clueret;
etsi praeterea tamen esse Acherusia templa

or whether into other cattle it divinely insinuates itself,
as our Ennius sang, who first from pleasant
Helicon brought down a crown with evergreen frondage,
which would be illustrious, by repute, among the Italian peoples of men;
and yet that there are besides Acherusian temples

120

Ennius aeternis exponit versibus edens,
quo neque permaneant animae neque corpora nostra,
sed quaedam simulacra modis pallentia miris;
unde sibi exortam semper florentis Homeri
commemorat speciem lacrimas effundere salsas

Ennius, publishing, sets forth in eternal verses,
in which neither souls nor our bodies remain,
but certain simulacra, pale in wondrous modes;
whence he recounts that to himself the appearance of ever-flourishing Homer
arose to pour out salty tears.

125

coepisse et rerum naturam expandere dictis.
qua propter bene cum superis de rebus habenda
nobis est ratio, solis lunaeque meatus
qua fiant ratione, et qua vi quaeque gerantur
in terris, tunc cum primis ratione sagaci

to have begun and to unfold the nature of things in words.
wherefore a good ration is to be held by us concerning the things above,
by what reason the courses of the sun and moon come to be,
and by what force each thing is carried on upon the earth,
then, before all, with sagacious reason

130

unde anima atque animi constet natura videndum,
et quae res nobis vigilantibus obvia mentes
terrificet morbo adfectis somnoque sepultis,
cernere uti videamur eos audireque coram,
morte obita quorum tellus amplectitur ossa.

whence the nature of the soul and of the mind is constituted must be examined,
and what thing, encountering us while we are awake, terrifies minds,
when we are afflicted by sickness and buried in sleep,
so that we seem to discern them and to hear them in person,
those whose bones the earth embraces once death has been undergone.

135

Quod super est, vacuas auris animumque sagacem

What remains, attend with unoccupied ears and a sagacious mind

semotum a curis adhibe veram ad rationem,
ne mea dona tibi studio disposta fideli,
intellecta prius quam sint, contempta relinquas.
nam tibi de summa caeli ratione deumque
disserere incipiam et rerum primordia pandam,

set apart from cares, bring a mind to true reason,
lest my gifts, set forth for you with faithful zeal,
you leave behind, despised, before they have been understood.
for to you I shall begin to discourse about the supreme rationale of heaven and of the gods
and lay open the first-beginnings of things,

unde omnis natura creet res, auctet alatque,
quove eadem rursum natura perempta resolvat,
quae nos materiem et genitalia corpora rebus
reddunda in ratione vocare et semina rerum
appellare suemus et haec eadem usurpare

from which all nature creates things, augments and nourishes them,
and into which the same nature, once destroyed, dissolves them again,
which we are accustomed in our account to call matter and generative bodies for things,
and to name the seeds of things,
and to employ these same as well

corpora prima, quod ex illis sunt omnia primis.
Nec me animi fallit Graiorum obscura reperta

first bodies, since from those first ones all things are.
Nor am I unaware of the Greeks’ obscure discoveries

136

difficile inlustrare Latinis versibus esse,
multa novis verbis praesertim cum sit agendum
propter egestatem linguae et rerum novitatem;
sed tua me virtus tamen et sperata voluptas

that it is difficult to illustrate in Latin verses,
especially since much must be handled with new words
because of the indigence of the language and the novelty of the things;
but nevertheless your virtue and the hoped-for pleasure

140

suavis amicitiae quemvis efferre laborem
suadet et inducit noctes vigilare serenas
quaerentem dictis quibus et quo carmine demum
clara tuae possim praepandere lumina menti,
res quibus occultas penitus convisere possis.

the sweetness of friendship persuades and induces anyone to bear any labor
and to keep vigil through serene nights,
seeking with what words and with what song at last
I might be able to spread out bright lights before your mind,
by which you may be able to survey occult things in their inmost depths.

145

hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necessest
non radii solis neque lucida tela diei
discutiant, sed naturae species ratioque.
Principium cuius hinc nobis exordia sumet,
nullam rem e nihilo gigni divinitus umquam.

therefore this terror of the mind and the darkness must
not the rays of the sun nor the lucid shafts of day
disperse, but nature’s aspect and reason.
The Principle of which will from here take its exordium for us,
that no thing is ever begotten out of nothing by divine agency.

150

quippe ita formido mortalis continet omnis,
quod multa in terris fieri caeloque tuentur,
quorum operum causas nulla ratione videre
possunt ac fieri divino numine rentur.
quas ob res ubi viderimus nil posse creari

for thus dread holds all mortals in check,
because they behold many things happening on earth and in the sky,
the causes of which works they can by no reasoning see,
and they suppose they are brought about by divine numen.
for which reasons, when we shall have seen that nothing can be created

156

de nihilo, tum quod sequimur iam rectius inde
perspiciemus, et unde queat res quaeque creari
et quo quaeque modo fiant opera sine divom.

from nothing; then what we pursue we shall now more rightly discern from there
and whence each thing can be created
and in what way each work is done without the gods.

155

Nam si de nihilo fierent, ex omnibus rebus

For if things were made from nothing, from all things

159

omne genus nasci posset, nil semine egeret.
e mare primum homines, e terra posset oriri
squamigerum genus et volucres erumpere caelo;
armenta atque aliae pecudes, genus omne ferarum,
incerto partu culta ac deserta tenerent.
nec fructus idem arboribus constare solerent,

every kind could be born, nothing would be in need of seed.
from the sea men first, from the earth could arise
the scaly kind and birds could burst forth from the sky;
herds and other flocks, every kind of wild beasts,
with uncertain birth would hold the tilled and the waste.
nor would the same fruits be wont to remain constant on trees,

165

sed mutarentur, ferre omnes omnia possent.
quippe ubi non essent genitalia corpora cuique,
qui posset mater rebus consistere certa?
at nunc seminibus quia certis quaeque creantur,
inde enascitur atque oras in luminis exit,

but they would be changed; all could bear all things.
for indeed, where there were not generative bodies for each thing,
what fixed mother for things could stand fast?
but now, because each thing is created from certain seeds,
from that it is born and goes forth to the borders of light,

170

materies ubi inest cuiusque et corpora prima;
atque hac re nequeunt ex omnibus omnia gigni,
quod certis in rebus inest secreta facultas.
Praeterea cur vere rosam, frumenta calore,
vites autumno fundi suadente videmus,

where the matter of each thing and the first bodies are present;
and for this reason not everything can be generated from everything,
because in certain things there is a secret faculty.
Moreover, why do we see in spring the rose, the grains by heat,
the vines, with autumn persuading, to be poured forth,

175

si non, certa suo quia tempore semina rerum
cum confluxerunt, patefit quod cumque creatur,
dum tempestates adsunt et vivida tellus
tuto res teneras effert in luminis oras?
quod si de nihilo fierent, subito exorerentur

if not, because the seeds of things, at their own fixed time,
when they have flowed together, whatever is created is laid open,
while the seasons are present and the living earth
safely brings forth tender things to the shores of light?
but if they were made from nothing, they would arise suddenly

180

incerto spatio atque alienis partibus anni,
quippe ubi nulla forent primordia, quae genitali
concilio possent arceri tempore iniquo.
Nec porro augendis rebus spatio foret usus
seminis ad coitum, si e nilo crescere possent;

in an uncertain interval and in foreign parts of the year,
since there would be no first-beginnings which could be warded off
by a generative concourse from an iniquitous time.
Nor moreover, for augmenting things, would there be use of a span
for the seed for coition, if they could grow out of nothing;

185

nam fierent iuvenes subito ex infantibus parvis
e terraque exorta repente arbusta salirent.
quorum nil fieri manifestum est, omnia quando
paulatim crescunt, ut par est semine certo,
crescentesque genus servant; ut noscere possis

for youths would suddenly be made out of little infants
and from the earth arboreta, arisen suddenly, would leap up.
of which none comes to be, it is manifest, since all things
grow little by little, as is fitting from a certain seed,
and, as they grow, they preserve the genus; so that you may be able to know

190

quicque sua de materia grandescere alique.
Huc accedit uti sine certis imbribus anni
laetificos nequeat fetus submittere tellus
nec porro secreta cibo natura animantum
propagare genus possit vitamque tueri;

and that each thing grows great from its own matter.
To this is added that, without the fixed rains of the year,
the earth could not put forth gladdening fruits,
nor, furthermore, could the hidden nature of living beings with food
propagate their kind and protect life;

195

ut potius multis communia corpora rebus
multa putes esse, ut verbis elementa videmus,
quam sine principiis ullam rem existere posse.
Denique cur homines tantos natura parare
non potuit, pedibus qui pontum per vada possent

so that rather you would think that there are many bodies common to many things,
as we see elements for words,
than that any thing can exist without principles.
Finally, why was nature not able to produce men so great
who could with their feet pass through the sea by the shallows

200

transire et magnos manibus divellere montis
multaque vivendo vitalia vincere saecla,
si non, materies quia rebus reddita certast
gignundis, e qua constat quid possit oriri?
nil igitur fieri de nilo posse fatendumst,

to cross and with hands tear asunder great mountains
and by living conquer many vital ages,
if not, because matter has been assigned to things for begettings,
from which it is agreed what can arise?
therefore it must be confessed that nothing can be made from nothing,

205

semine quando opus est rebus, quo quaeque creatae
aeris in teneras possint proferrier auras.
Postremo quoniam incultis praestare videmus
culta loca et manibus melioris reddere fetus,
esse videlicet in terris primordia rerum

since seed is required for things, by which each one created
may be able to be brought forth into the tender breezes of the air.
Lastly, since we see cultivated places to excel the uncultivated
and by hands to render better produce,
it is evident, namely, that there are first-beginnings of things in the earth

210

quae nos fecundas vertentes vomere glebas
terraique solum subigentes cimus ad ortus;
quod si nulla forent, nostro sine quaeque labore
sponte sua multo fieri meliora videres.
Huc accedit uti quicque in sua corpora rursum

which we, turning with the ploughshare the fecund clods
and subduing the soil of the earth, set in motion toward growths;
but if there were none, you would see each thing without our labor
become much better of its own accord.
To this is added that whatever back into its own bodies

215

dissoluat natura neque ad nihilum interemat res.
nam siquid mortale e cunctis partibus esset,
ex oculis res quaeque repente erepta periret;
nulla vi foret usus enim, quae partibus eius
discidium parere et nexus exsolvere posset.

that nature dissolves and does not annihilate things to nothing.
for if anything were mortal in all its parts,
each thing, once snatched from the eyes, would suddenly perish;
for no force would be of use that could upon its parts
beget scission and unloose the nexus.

220

quod nunc, aeterno quia constant semine quaeque,
donec vis obiit, quae res diverberet ictu
aut intus penetret per inania dissoluatque,
nullius exitium patitur natura videri.
Praeterea quae cumque vetustate amovet aetas,

which now, because each thing consists of eternal seed,
until a force has come which would cleave things apart with a blow,
or would penetrate within through the voids and dissolve them,
nature suffers the destruction of nothing to be seen.
Moreover, whatever things age removes by oldness,

225

si penitus peremit consumens materiem omnem,
unde animale genus generatim in lumina vitae
redducit Venus, aut redductum daedala tellus
unde alit atque auget generatim pabula praebens?
unde mare ingenuei fontes externaque longe

if it utterly destroys, consuming all matter,
whence does Venus lead the animal race, by kinds, back into the lights of life,
or whence does the daedal earth nourish and increase the brought-back, providing fodders by kinds?
whence do the sea, the native springs, and far external things

230

flumina suppeditant? unde aether sidera pascit?
omnia enim debet, mortali corpore quae sunt,
infinita aetas consumpse ante acta diesque.
quod si in eo spatio atque ante acta aetate fuere
e quibus haec rerum consistit summa refecta,

do the rivers supply? whence does the aether feed the stars?
for all things, which are with a mortal body,
an infinite age and the days gone by have consumed.
but if in that span and in the time gone by there were
those from which this totality of things stands restored,

235

inmortali sunt natura praedita certe.
haud igitur possunt ad nilum quaeque reverti.
Denique res omnis eadem vis causaque volgo
conficeret, nisi materies aeterna teneret,
inter se nexus minus aut magis indupedita;

are surely endowed with an immortal nature.
therefore they cannot by any means revert to nothing.
Finally, the same force and cause would commonly
bring everything to pass, unless eternal matter were keeping
the nexus among themselves more or less entangled;

240

tactus enim leti satis esset causa profecto,
quippe ubi nulla forent aeterno corpore, quorum
contextum vis deberet dissolvere quaeque.
at nunc, inter se quia nexus principiorum
dissimiles constant aeternaque materies est,

for indeed the touch of death would be a sufficient cause, assuredly,
since there would be none with an eternal body, whose contexture each and every force would have to dissolve.
but now, because the nexus of the first-beginnings is dissimilar among themselves and the matter is eternal,

245

incolumi remanent res corpore, dum satis acris
vis obeat pro textura cuiusque reperta.
haud igitur redit ad nihilum res ulla, sed omnes
discidio redeunt in corpora materiai.
postremo pereunt imbres, ubi eos pater aether

things remain with the body intact, so long as a force sufficiently keen meets in proportion to the texture of each as found.
thus not at all does any thing return to nothing, but all return by sundering into the bodies of matter.
lastly, the rains perish, when father aether

250

in gremium matris terrai praecipitavit;
at nitidae surgunt fruges ramique virescunt
arboribus, crescunt ipsae fetuque gravantur.
hinc alitur porro nostrum genus atque ferarum,
hinc laetas urbes pueris florere videmus

into the lap of mother earth he has precipitated;
but bright crops arise and the branches grow green
on the trees, they themselves grow and are weighed down with offspring;
hence further is nourished our race and that of wild beasts,
hence we see joyous cities flourish with children

255

frondiferasque novis avibus canere undique silvas,
hinc fessae pecudes pinguis per pabula laeta
corpora deponunt et candens lacteus umor
uberibus manat distentis, hinc nova proles
artubus infirmis teneras lasciva per herbas

and the leafy woods sing on all sides with new birds,
hence the weary flocks lay down their bodies throughout the rich, glad pastures,
and the gleaming milky moisture
flows from distended udders, hence the new progeny
with feeble limbs, frolicsome, through the tender grasses

260

ludit lacte mero mentes perculsa novellas.
haud igitur penitus pereunt quaecumque videntur,
quando alit ex alio reficit natura nec ullam
rem gigni patitur nisi morte adiuta aliena.
Nunc age, res quoniam docui non posse creari

it plays, their fresh minds smitten by pure milk.
therefore not at all do the things that are seen utterly perish,
since nature nourishes and refashions one thing from another, nor does she suffer any
thing to be begotten unless aided by another’s death.
Now come, since I have taught that things cannot be created

265

de nihilo neque item genitas ad nil revocari,
ne qua forte tamen coeptes diffidere dictis,
quod nequeunt oculis rerum primordia cerni,
accipe praeterea quae corpora tute necessest
confiteare esse in rebus nec posse videri.

from nothing, nor likewise are things begotten recalled to nothing,
lest by chance you begin to distrust my words,
because the first-beginnings of things cannot be discerned by the eyes,
receive furthermore what bodies you yourself must confess
to exist among things and yet not be able to be seen.

270

Principio venti vis verberat incita corpus
ingentisque ruit navis et nubila differt,
inter dum rapido percurrens turbine campos
arboribus magnis sternit montisque supremos
silvifragis vexat flabris: ita perfurit acri

To begin with, the force of the winds, incited, whips the body,
and it hurls down huge ships and disperses the clouds,
sometimes, running across the plains with a rapid whirlwind,
it lays low great trees and vexes the mountain-tops
with wood-breaking blasts: thus it rages through with sharp fury.

275

cum fremitu saevitque minaci murmure pontus.
sunt igitur venti ni mirum corpora caeca,
quae mare, quae terras, quae denique nubila caeli
verrunt ac subito vexantia turbine raptant,
nec ratione fluunt alia stragemque propagant

while with a roar and a menacing murmur the sea rages.
therefore, no doubt, the winds are blind bodies,
which sweep the sea, the lands, and finally the clouds of heaven,
and suddenly, harrying, snatch them with a whirlwind,
nor do they flow by any other rationale, and they propagate havoc.

280

et cum mollis aquae fertur natura repente
flumine abundanti, quam largis imbribus auget
montibus ex altis magnus decursus aquai
fragmina coniciens silvarum arbustaque tota,
nec validi possunt pontes venientis aquai

and when the soft nature of water is borne suddenly
in an abundant river, which the great down-rush of water
from high mountains augments with lavish showers,
hurling fragments of forests and whole orchards,
nor can sturdy bridges [withstand] the oncoming water

285

vim subitam tolerare: ita magno turbidus imbri
molibus incurrit validis cum viribus amnis,
dat sonitu magno stragem volvitque sub undis
grandia saxa, ruit qua quidquid fluctibus obstat.
sic igitur debent venti quoque flamina ferri,

to endure sudden violence: thus, turbid with a great rainstorm,
the river rushes upon sturdy moles with strong forces,
deals devastation with great sound and rolls beneath the waves
huge rocks; it topples whatever obstructs the billows where it rushes.
thus therefore the blasts of the winds ought likewise to be borne,

290

quae vel uti validum cum flumen procubuere
quam libet in partem, trudunt res ante ruuntque
impetibus crebris, inter dum vertice torto
corripiunt rapidique rotanti turbine portant.
quare etiam atque etiam sunt venti corpora caeca,

which, even as when a strong river has fallen forward
in whatever direction it pleases, push things before them and rush them down
with frequent impetuses; sometimes with a twisted vertex
they seize [things] and, swift, carry [them] in a rotating turbine.
wherefore again and again the winds are blind bodies,

295

quandoquidem factis et moribus aemula magnis
amnibus inveniuntur, aperto corpore qui sunt.
Tum porro varios rerum sentimus odores
nec tamen ad naris venientis cernimus umquam
nec calidos aestus tuimur nec frigora quimus

since they are found emulous in deeds and in manners of great
rivers, which are with open body.
Then furthermore we perceive the various odors of things,
and yet we never discern those coming to the nostrils,
nor do we behold the hot heats nor are we able [to behold] the colds.

300

usurpare oculis nec voces cernere suemus;
quae tamen omnia corporea constare necessest
natura, quoniam sensus inpellere possunt;
tangere enim et tangi, nisi corpus, nulla potest res.
Denique fluctifrago suspensae in litore vestis

nor are we accustomed to make use of with the eyes nor to discern voices;
yet all these things must needs consist of a corporeal nature,
since they are able to impel the senses;
for to touch and to be touched, unless it be a body, nothing can.
Finally, a garment hung up on the surf-beaten shore

305

uvescunt, eaedem dispansae in sole serescunt.
at neque quo pacto persederit umor aquai
visumst nec rursum quo pacto fugerit aestu.
in parvas igitur partis dispergitur umor,
quas oculi nulla possunt ratione videre.

they grow moist; the same, spread out in the sun, grow dry.
but neither has it been seen by what way the moisture of water settled in, nor again by what way it fled by the heat.
therefore the moisture is dispersed into small parts,
which the eyes by no method are able to see.

310

quin etiam multis solis redeuntibus annis
anulus in digito subter tenuatur habendo,
stilicidi casus lapidem cavat, uncus aratri
ferreus occulte decrescit vomer in arvis,
strataque iam volgi pedibus detrita viarum

nay even, with many suns returning through the years,
a ring on the finger is made thin underneath by being worn,
the fall of dripping water hollows the stone, the hook of the plow,
the iron ploughshare, decreases secretly in the fields,
and the pavements of roads are now worn away by the feet of the crowd

315

saxea conspicimus; tum portas propter aena
signa manus dextras ostendunt adtenuari
saepe salutantum tactu praeterque meantum.
haec igitur minui, cum sint detrita, videmus.
sed quae corpora decedant in tempore quoque,

saxea we behold; then the brazen statues near the gates show their right hands to be attenuated by the touch of those often saluting and of those passing by. therefore we see these things are diminished, since they are worn away. but what bodies depart over time as well,

320

invida praeclusit speciem natura videndi.
Postremo quae cumque dies naturaque rebus
paulatim tribuit moderatim crescere cogens,
nulla potest oculorum acies contenta tueri,
nec porro quae cumque aevo macieque senescunt,

envious nature has precluded the spectacle of seeing.
Finally, whatever things day and nature have allotted to things, compelling them to grow gradually and moderately,
no sharpness of the eyes, however intent, can behold,
nor, furthermore, whatever things with age and emaciation grow old,

325

nec, mare quae impendent, vesco sale saxa peresa
quid quoque amittant in tempore cernere possis.
corporibus caecis igitur natura gerit res.
Nec tamen undique corporea stipata tenentur
omnia natura; namque est in rebus inane.

nor the rocks which overhang the sea, gnawed by nibbling salt,
nor can you discern what each also loses in time.
therefore nature carries on things by unseen bodies.
Nor yet on every side are all things in nature held packed by the corporeal;
for there is in things the void.

330

quod tibi cognosse in multis erit utile rebus
nec sinet errantem dubitare et quaerere semper
de summa rerum et nostris diffidere dictis.
qua propter locus est intactus inane vacansque.
quod si non esset, nulla ratione moveri

which to have known will be useful to you in many matters
and will not allow you, wandering, to doubt and always to inquire
about the sum of things and to distrust our dicta.
wherefore there is a place, untouched, the void and vacant.
and if this were not, in no way could things be moved

335

res possent; namque officium quod corporis exstat,
officere atque obstare, id in omni tempore adesset
omnibus; haud igitur quicquam procedere posset,
principium quoniam cedendi nulla daret res.
at nunc per maria ac terras sublimaque caeli

things could be moved; for the office of the body that exists,
to oppose and to stand in the way, would be present at every time to all;
thus nothing could proceed,
since no thing would give a principle of yielding.
but now through the seas and the lands and the sublime heights of the sky

340

multa modis multis varia ratione moveri
cernimus ante oculos, quae, si non esset inane,
non tam sollicito motu privata carerent
quam genita omnino nulla ratione fuissent,
undique materies quoniam stipata quiesset.

we discern before our eyes many things moved in many modes by various reason,
which, if the void did not exist,
would not so much be deprived, bereft of their agitated motion,
as that things engendered would in no way at all have been,
since matter on every side would have been packed and quiescent.

345

Praeterea quamvis solidae res esse putentur,
hinc tamen esse licet raro cum corpore cernas.
in saxis ac speluncis permanat aquarum
liquidus umor et uberibus flent omnia guttis.
dissipat in corpus sese cibus omne animantum;

Moreover, although things are thought to be solid,
yet from this it is permitted that you discern that there is emptiness along with body.
Through rocks and caverns the liquid moisture of waters percolates,
and all things weep with copious drops.
All food of living beings dissipates itself into the body;

350

crescunt arbusta et fetus in tempore fundunt,
quod cibus in totas usque ab radicibus imis
per truncos ac per ramos diffunditur omnis.
inter saepta meant voces et clausa domorum
transvolitant, rigidum permanat frigus ad ossa.

arboreta grow and in season pour forth their fruits,
because all nourishment, from the lowest roots on,
is diffused through the trunks and through the branches into the whole.
voices pass among partitions and fly across the closed rooms of houses,
rigid cold permeates to the bones.

355

quod nisi inania sint, qua possent corpora quaeque
transire, haud ulla fieri ratione videres.
Denique cur alias aliis praestare videmus
pondere res rebus nihilo maiore figura?
nam si tantundemst in lanae glomere quantum

but unless there are voids, through which each of the bodies could pass,
you would see that they could not happen by any method at all.
finally, why do we see some things surpass others
in weight, with figure no greater at all?
for if there is just as much in a ball of wool as

360

corporis in plumbo est, tantundem pendere par est,
corporis officiumst quoniam premere omnia deorsum,
contra autem natura manet sine pondere inanis.
ergo quod magnumst aeque leviusque videtur,
ni mirum plus esse sibi declarat inanis;

if there is just as much body in lead, it is proper that it weigh just as much,
since it is the office of body to press all things downward,
whereas, on the contrary, the nature of void remains without weight.
therefore that which is large and yet seems lighter,
doubtless declares that it has more void in itself;

365

at contra gravius plus in se corporis esse
dedicat et multo vacui minus intus habere.
est igitur ni mirum id quod ratione sagaci
quaerimus, admixtum rebus, quod inane vocamus.
Illud in his rebus ne te deducere vero

but on the contrary, the heavier declares that it has more of body in itself and much less of void within.
therefore, no wonder, that which by sagacious reason we seek is admixed with things, which we call void.
Do not let that, in these matters, draw you down from the truth

370

possit, quod quidam fingunt, praecurrere cogor.
cedere squamigeris latices nitentibus aiunt
et liquidas aperire vias, quia post loca pisces
linquant, quo possint cedentes confluere undae;
sic alias quoque res inter se posse moveri

Lest in these matters that which some feign might be able to lead you away from the truth, I am compelled to anticipate:
they say that the waters yield to shining scale-bearers
and open liquid ways, because the fishes leave places behind
into which the waves, yielding, can flow together;
thus other things also are able to move among themselves

375

et mutare locum, quamvis sint omnia plena.
scilicet id falsa totum ratione receptumst.
nam quo squamigeri poterunt procedere tandem,
ni spatium dederint latices?

and to change place, although all things are full.
surely that has been accepted wholly by false reason.
for whither will the scale-bearers be able at length to proceed,
unless the liquids have given space?

concedere porro
quo poterunt undae, cum pisces ire nequibunt?

to withdraw, furthermore,
whither will the waves be able to go, when the fishes will be unable to go?

380

aut igitur motu privandumst corpora quaeque
aut esse admixtum dicundumst rebus inane,
unde initum primum capiat res quaeque movendi.
Postremo duo de concursu corpora lata
si cita dissiliant, nempe aer omne necessest,

either, therefore, each body must be deprived of motion
or it must be said that void is admixed to things,
whence each thing takes its first inception of moving.
Lastly, if two bodies, borne from a concourse,
if they swiftly spring apart, surely all the air must,

385

inter corpora quod fiat, possidat inane.
is porro quamvis circum celerantibus auris
confluat, haud poterit tamen uno tempore totum
compleri spatium; nam primum quemque necessest
occupet ille locum, deinde omnia possideantur.

what comes to be between bodies, the void must possess.
this, moreover, although it flows together around with speeding airs,
yet will not be able at one time to have the whole space filled;
for it is necessary that it first occupy each place in turn,
then that the whole be possessed.

390

quod si forte aliquis, cum corpora dissiluere,
tum putat id fieri quia se condenseat aer,
errat; nam vacuum tum fit quod non fuit ante
et repletur item vacuum quod constitit ante,
nec tali ratione potest denserier aer

but if by chance someone, when the bodies have burst asunder,
then thinks that this happens because the air condenses itself,
he errs; for a vacuum then comes to be which was not before,
and likewise the vacuum which stood before is refilled,
nor by such a reasoning can the air be made denser

395

nec, si iam posset, sine inani posset, opinor,
ipse in se trahere et partis conducere in unum.
Qua propter, quamvis causando multa moreris,
esse in rebus inane tamen fateare necessest.
multaque praeterea tibi possum commemorando

nor, even if it could now, could it, I suppose, without the void,
draw into itself and bring its parts together into one.
Wherefore, although you linger much by arguing,
nevertheless you must confess that there is void in things.
and many things besides I can recount to you by recalling

400

argumenta fidem dictis conradere nostris.
verum animo satis haec vestigia parva sagaci
sunt, per quae possis cognoscere cetera tute.
namque canes ut montivagae persaepe ferai
naribus inveniunt intectas fronde quietes,

to conjoin faith to our sayings by arguments.
but for a sagacious mind these small footprints are enough
by which you can recognize the rest yourself.
for as dogs very often of a mountain-wandering wild-beast
by their nostrils find lairs veiled with frondage,

405

cum semel institerunt vestigia certa viai,
sic alid ex alio per te tute ipse videre
talibus in rebus poteris caecasque latebras
insinuare omnis et verum protrahere inde.
quod si pigraris paulumve recesseris ab re,

when once they have set foot upon the sure tracks of the way,
thus, one thing from another, by yourself, you yourself will be able to see
in such matters, and insinuate yourself into all the blind hiding-places
and drag the truth out from there.
but if you grow sluggish or withdraw a little from the matter,

410

hoc tibi de plano possum promittere, Memmi:
usque adeo largos haustus e fontibus magnis
lingua meo suavis diti de pectore fundet,
ut verear ne tarda prius per membra senectus
serpat et in nobis vitai claustra resolvat,

this I can promise you plainly, Memmius:
to such a degree will broad draughts from great fountains
my sweet tongue pour forth from my rich breast,
that I fear lest slow old age sooner through my limbs
creep, and in us unbar the gates of life,

415

quam tibi de quavis una re versibus omnis
argumentorum sit copia missa per auris.
Sed nunc ut repetam coeptum pertexere dictis,
omnis ut est igitur per se natura duabus
constitit in rebus; nam corpora sunt et inane,

than that, for you, on any single matter, by verses the whole abundance of arguments be sent through the ears.
But now, that I may resume to weave to completion with words what I began,
as it is, therefore, nature in itself has consisted in two things; for there are bodies and the void,

420

haec in quo sita sunt et qua diversa moventur.
corpus enim per se communis dedicat esse
sensus; cui nisi prima fides fundata valebit,
haut erit occultis de rebus quo referentes
confirmare animi quicquam ratione queamus.

these, in what they are set, and by what diverse ways they are moved.
for the common sense declares that body exists per se;
to which, unless a primary trust, founded, shall prevail,
there will not be, for hidden things, to which by referring back
we may be able to confirm anything in the mind by reason.

425

tum porro locus ac spatium, quod inane vocamus,
si nullum foret, haut usquam sita corpora possent
esse neque omnino quoquam diversa meare;
id quod iam supera tibi paulo ostendimus ante.
praeterea nihil est quod possis dicere ab omni

then furthermore place and space, which we call the void,
if none existed, nowhere could situated bodies
be, nor at all could separate things pass anywhere;
a fact which a little above we have already shown you before.
moreover there is nothing which you can say from all

430

corpore seiunctum secretumque esse ab inani,
quod quasi tertia sit numero natura reperta.
nam quod cumque erit, esse aliquid debebit id ipsum
augmine vel grandi vel parvo denique, dum sit;
cui si tactus erit quamvis levis exiguusque,

to be severed from body and set apart from the void,
as though a third nature has been found in number.
for whatever it will be, that very thing must be something,
with augment either great or small, at least, so long as it is;
to which, if there shall be a touch however light and slight,

435

corporis augebit numerum summamque sequetur;
sin intactile erit, nulla de parte quod ullam
rem prohibere queat per se transire meantem,
scilicet hoc id erit, vacuum quod inane vocamus.
Praeterea per se quod cumque erit, aut faciet quid

it will augment the number of the body and will follow the total;
but if it will be intangible, such that from no part it could
prevent any thing, by itself, from passing through as it goes,
surely this will be that, the vacuum which we call the void.
Moreover, whatever will be by itself, will either do something

440

aut aliis fungi debebit agentibus ipsum
aut erit ut possint in eo res esse gerique.
at facere et fungi sine corpore nulla potest res
nec praebere locum porro nisi inane vacansque.
ergo praeter inane et corpora tertia per se

or it will itself have to function for others acting,
or it will be such that things can be in it and be carried on.
but to do and to function without body no thing can,
nor, furthermore, to afford place unless it be the void and vacant.
therefore, apart from the void and bodies, a third thing by itself

445

nulla potest rerum in numero natura relinqui,
nec quae sub sensus cadat ullo tempore nostros
nec ratione animi quam quisquam possit apisci.
Nam quae cumque cluent, aut his coniuncta duabus
rebus ea invenies aut horum eventa videbis.

no nature can be left out of the number of things,
nor what falls under our senses at any time,
nor what anyone can acquire by the reason of the mind.
for whatever things are known, you will find them either conjoined with these two
things or you will see them to be the events of these.

450

coniunctum est id quod nusquam sine permitiali
discidio potis est seiungi seque gregari,
pondus uti saxis, calor ignis, liquor aquai,
tactus corporibus cunctis, intactus inani.
servitium contra paupertas divitiaeque,

Conjoined is that which can nowhere without a pernicious discision
be sundered and segregated from itself,
as weight with stones, heat of fire, the liquidity of water,
touch to all bodies, untouched in the void.
slavery, on the contrary, with poverty and with riches,

455

libertas bellum concordia cetera quorum
adventu manet incolumis natura abituque,
haec soliti sumus, ut par est, eventa vocare.
tempus item per se non est, sed rebus ab ipsis
consequitur sensus, transactum quid sit in aevo,

liberty, war, concord, and the other things at whose
advent and departure nature remains unharmed,
we are wont, as is fitting, to call these events.
likewise time is not in itself, but from the things themselves
perception follows, what has been transacted in the age,

460

tum quae res instet, quid porro deinde sequatur;
nec per se quemquam tempus sentire fatendumst
semotum ab rerum motu placidaque quiete.
denique Tyndaridem raptam belloque subactas
Troiiugenas gentis cum dicunt esse, videndumst

then what matter presses, what furthermore thereafter follows;
nor does anyone perceive time by itself, it must be confessed,
separated from the motion of things and from placid quiet.
finally, when they say that the Tyndarid was snatched and by war were subdued
the Trojan-born peoples, it must be considered

465

ne forte haec per se cogant nos esse fateri,
quando ea saecla hominum, quorum haec eventa fuerunt,
inrevocabilis abstulerit iam praeterita aetas;
namque aliud terris, aliud regionibus ipsis
eventum dici poterit quod cumque erit actum. 470
denique materies si rerum nulla fuisset
nec locus ac spatium, res in quo quaeque geruntur,
numquam Tyndaridis forma conflatus amore
ignis Alexandri Phrygio sub pectore gliscens
clara accendisset saevi certamina belli

lest perhaps these things by themselves compel us to admit this,
since those ages of men, in whose time these events occurred,
the irrecoverable bygone age has now carried away;
for one outcome can be said of the lands, another of the regions themselves,
whatever shall have been done. 470
finally, if there had been no matter of things,
nor place and space, in which each thing is carried on,
never would the fire of Alexander, inflamed by love for the form of the Tyndarid,
growing beneath his Phrygian breast,
have kindled the famous contests of a savage war

475

nec clam durateus Troiianis Pergama partu
inflammasset equos nocturno Graiiugenarum;
perspicere ut possis res gestas funditus omnis
non ita uti corpus per se constare neque esse
nec ratione cluere eadem qua constet inane,

nor, in secret, would Pergama for the Trojans by a wooden birth
have been set ablaze by the nocturnal horses of the Greek-born;
so that you may be able to perceive clearly all deeds done from the foundation
not to consist nor to be by themselves in the way a body does,
nor to be accounted by the same rationale by which the inane consists,

480

sed magis ut merito possis eventa vocare
corporis atque loci, res in quo quaeque gerantur.
Corpora sunt porro partim primordia rerum,
partim concilio quae constant principiorum.
sed quae sunt rerum primordia, nulla potest vis

but rather, that you may deservedly be able to call them the events of body and of the place
in which each thing is carried on.
Bodies are furthermore partly the first-beginnings of things,
partly those which consist by the combination of principles.
but those which are the first-beginnings of things, no force can

485

stinguere; nam solido vincunt ea corpore demum.
etsi difficile esse videtur credere quicquam
in rebus solido reperiri corpore posse.
transit enim fulmen caeli per saepta domorum
clamor ut ac voces, ferrum candescit in igni

to extinguish; for by a solid body at last they overcome.
and yet it seems difficult to believe that anything
among things can be found with a solid body.
for the thunderbolt of the sky passes through the partitions of houses,
as do clamor and voices; iron grows white-hot in the fire

490

dissiliuntque fero ferventi saxa vapore;
cum labefactatus rigor auri solvitur aestu,
tum glacies aeris flamma devicta liquescit;
permanat calor argentum penetraleque frigus,
quando utrumque manu retinentes pocula rite

and stones burst asunder by fierce, seething vapor;
when the loosened rigidity of gold is dissolved by heat,
then the ice of bronze, vanquished by flame, melts;
heat percolates through silver, and the penetrant cold,
when, duly holding the cups in hand, both of them

495

sensimus infuso lympharum rore superne.
usque adeo in rebus solidi nihil esse videtur.
sed quia vera tamen ratio naturaque rerum
cogit, ades, paucis dum versibus expediamus
esse ea quae solido atque aeterno corpore constent,                500
semina quae rerum primordiaque esse docemus,
unde omnis rerum nunc constet summa creata.
     Principio quoniam duplex natura duarum
dissimilis rerum longe constare repertast,
corporis atque loci, res in quo quaeque geruntur,

we have felt with the dew of waters poured in from above.
to such a degree nothing of solid seems to exist in things.
but because true reason and the nature of things compel, come, while in a few verses let us set forth
that there are those things which consist of a solid and eternal body,                500
the seeds of things and the first-beginnings which we teach to exist,
whence the whole sum of things now created consists.
     To begin with, since a double nature of two far dissimilar things
has been found to consist—of body and of place, the place in which each thing is carried on,

505

esse utramque sibi per se puramque necessest.
nam qua cumque vacat spatium, quod inane vocamus,
corpus ea non est; qua porro cumque tenet se
corpus, ea vacuum nequaquam constat inane.
sunt igitur solida ac sine inani corpora prima.

it is necessary that each of the two be by itself and pure.
for whatever space is empty, which we call the inane,
that is not body; and wherever in turn body holds itself,
that is by no means the empty vacuum.
therefore the prime bodies are solid and without the inane.

510

Praeterea quoniam genitis in rebus inanest,
materiem circum solidam constare necessest;
nec res ulla potest vera ratione probari
corpore inane suo celare atque intus habere,
si non, quod cohibet, solidum constare relinquas.

Moreover, since in things begotten there is void,
it is necessary that solid matter consist around it;
nor can any thing be proved by true reason
to hide void within its body and have it inside,
unless you allow that what contains it consists solid.

515

id porro nihil esse potest nisi materiai
concilium, quod inane queat rerum cohibere.
materies igitur, solido quae corpore constat,
esse aeterna potest, cum cetera dissoluantur.
Tum porro si nil esset quod inane vocaret,

this, moreover, can be nothing except a concourse of matter,
which can cohibit the void from things.
therefore matter, which consists in a solid body,
can be eternal, while the rest are dissolved.
Then furthermore, if there were nothing which one would call void,

520

omne foret solidum; nisi contra corpora certa
essent quae loca complerent quae cumque tenerent
omne quod est spatium, vacuum constaret inane.
alternis igitur ni mirum corpus inani
distinctum, quoniam nec plenum naviter extat

everything would be solid; unless, on the contrary, there were certain bodies
to fill the places, whatever they might hold,
all the space that exists would consist of empty vacuum.
therefore, no wonder, body is in alternation distinguished by the void,
since neither does a plenum exist outright

525

nec porro vacuum; sunt ergo corpora certa,
quae spatium pleno possint distinguere inane.
haec neque dissolui plagis extrinsecus icta
possunt nec porro penitus penetrata retexi
nec ratione queunt alia temptata labare; 530
id quod iam supra tibi paulo ostendimus ante.
nam neque conlidi sine inani posse videtur
quicquam nec frangi nec findi in bina secando
nec capere umorem neque item manabile frigus
nec penetralem ignem, quibus omnia conficiuntur.

nor moreover void; therefore there are definite bodies,
which can distinguish the void within the full space.
these neither can be dissolved, when smitten by extrinsic blows,
nor, when penetrated through and through, be unraveled,
nor by any other method, when tested, are they able to totter; 530
that which a little before above we have shown to you.
for neither does it seem that anything can be collided without void,
nor be broken, nor be split into two by cutting,
nor take in moisture, nor likewise seeping cold,
nor the penetrating fire, whereby all things are consumed.

535

et quo quaeque magis cohibet res intus inane,
tam magis his rebus penitus temptata labascit.
ergo si solida ac sine inani corpora prima
sunt ita uti docui, sint haec aeterna necessest.
Praeterea nisi materies aeterna fuisset,

and the more each thing holds in check the void within,
so much the more, in such things, when probed deep, it gives way.
therefore, if the first bodies are solid and without void
as I have taught, it is necessary that these be eternal.
Moreover, unless matter had been eternal,

540

antehac ad nihilum penitus res quaeque redissent
de nihiloque renata forent quae cumque videmus.
at quoniam supra docui nil posse creari
de nihilo neque quod genitumst ad nil revocari,
esse inmortali primordia corpore debent,

before now each thing would have returned utterly to nothing,
and from nothing whatever things we see would have been reborn.
but since above I have taught that nothing can be created
from nothing, nor can what has been begotten be called back to nothing,
the first-beginnings must be of an immortal body,

545

dissolui quo quaeque supremo tempore possint,
materies ut subpeditet rebus reparandis.
sunt igitur solida primordia simplicitate
nec ratione queunt alia servata per aevom
ex infinito iam tempore res reparare.

for which reason each thing can be dissolved at its last time,
so that matter may supply for things to be repaired.
therefore the first-beginnings are solid in simplicity,
nor by any other reasoning can they, being preserved through the aeon,
restore things from time without limit.

550

denique si nullam finem natura parasset
frangendis rebus, iam corpora materiai
usque redacta forent aevo frangente priore,
ut nihil ex illis a certo tempore posset
conceptum summum aetatis pervadere finem.

finally, if nature had prepared no limit for the breaking of things,
the bodies of matter would by now have been reduced completely by the prior age that breaks,
so that nothing from them, once conceived from a fixed time,
could make its way to the utmost end of age.

555

nam quidvis citius dissolvi posse videmus
quam rursus refici; qua propter longa diei
infinita aetas ante acti temporis omnis
quod fregisset adhuc disturbans dissoluensque,
numquam relicuo reparari tempore posset.

for we see that anything whatsoever can be dissolved more quickly than rebuilt; wherefore the long infinite age of days, of all the time before now, whatever it had broken, disturbing and dissolving, could never be repaired in the time remaining.

560

at nunc ni mirum frangendi reddita finis
certa manet, quoniam refici rem quamque videmus
et finita simul generatim tempora rebus
stare, quibus possint aevi contingere florem.
Huc accedit uti, solidissima materiai

but now, no doubt, a given, fixed limit of breaking remains,
since we see each thing repaired,
and, likewise, finite times, by kind, stand for things,
within which they can attain the flower of age.
To this is added that the most solid of matter

565

corpora cum constant, possint tamen omnia reddi,
mollia quae fiunt, aer aqua terra vapores,
quo pacto fiant et qua vi quaeque gerantur,
admixtum quoniam semel est in rebus inane.
at contra si mollia sint primordia rerum,

since bodies stand firm, yet all things can be rendered soft—air, water, earth, vapors—how they come to be and by what force each is carried on, since void has once for all been admixed in things. but, on the contrary, if the first-beginnings (primordia) of things are soft,

570

unde queant validi silices ferrumque creari,
non poterit ratio reddi; nam funditus omnis
principio fundamenti natura carebit.
sunt igitur solida pollentia simplicitate,
quorum condenso magis omnia conciliatu

whence strong flints and iron might be created,
no reason can be rendered; for, utterly, from the very bottom,
nature will lack the foundation of a beginning.
therefore there are solids, powerful in simplicity,
by whose more condensed conjunction all things are more brought together

575

artari possunt validasque ostendere viris.
porro si nullast frangendis reddita finis
corporibus, tamen ex aeterno tempore quaeque
nunc etiam superare necessest corpora rebus,
quae non dum clueant ullo temptata periclo.

they can be compressed and display powerful forces.
furthermore, if no limit has been assigned for the breaking of bodies,
yet from eternal time it is necessary that certain bodies even now survive for things,
which are not yet known to have been tried by any peril.

580

at quoniam fragili natura praedita constant,
discrepat aeternum tempus potuisse manere
innumerabilibus plagis vexata per aevom.
Denique iam quoniam generatim reddita finis
crescendi rebus constat vitamque tenendi,

but since they consist as endowed with a fragile nature,
it is discrepant that they could have remained for eternal time,
vexed by innumerable blows throughout the aeon.
Finally, now, since by kinds a limit assigned is established
for things, both for growing and for holding life,

585

et quid quaeque queant per foedera naturai,
quid porro nequeant, sancitum quando quidem extat,
nec commutatur quicquam, quin omnia constant
usque adeo, variae volucres ut in ordine cunctae
ostendant maculas generalis corpore inesse, 590
inmutabilis materiae quoque corpus habere
debent ni mirum; nam si primordia rerum
commutari aliqua possent ratione revicta,
incertum quoque iam constet quid possit oriri,
quid nequeat, finita potestas denique cuique

and what each can do through the covenants of nature,
and what moreover they cannot, since it stands sanctioned,
nor is anything transmuted, but that all stand constant
to such a degree that the various birds, all in their order,
display that generic spots are present in the body, 590
they must doubtless have a body of immutable matter as well;
for if the first-beginnings of things could be changed,
their nature overcome by some method,
it would also now be uncertain what could arise,
what could not, and the finite power, finally, for each

595

qua nam sit ratione atque alte terminus haerens,
nec totiens possent generatim saecla referre
naturam mores victum motusque parentum.
Tum porro quoniam est extremum quodque cacumen
corporis illius, quod nostri cernere sensus

by what reasoning, and with a boundary clinging deep,
nor could the generations so often, by kind, reproduce
the nature, morals, diet, and motions of their parents.
Then moreover, since every utmost summit
of that body, which our senses can discern

600

iam nequeunt, id ni mirum sine partibus extat
et minima constat natura nec fuit umquam
per se secretum neque post hac esse valebit,
alterius quoniamst ipsum pars primaque et una,
inde aliae atque aliae similes ex ordine partes

now they cannot, since, no wonder, it exists without parts
and consists of minimal nature, nor was it ever
separated by itself, nor will it be able to be hereafter,
since it itself is the first and single part of another,
then other and other similar parts in order

605

agmine condenso naturam corporis explent;
quae quoniam per se nequeunt constare, necessest
haerere unde queant nulla ratione revelli.
sunt igitur solida primordia simplicitate,
quae minimis stipata cohaerent partibus arte.

in a condensed array they fill out the nature of the body;
which, since they cannot subsist by themselves, it is necessary
that they cling where they can by no method be torn away.
there are therefore solid first-beginnings in simplicity,
which, packed with the least parts, cohere by an artful fit.

610

non ex illorum conventu conciliata,
sed magis aeterna pollentia simplicitate,
unde neque avelli quicquam neque deminui iam
concedit natura reservans semina rebus.
Praeterea nisi erit minimum, parvissima quaeque

not assembled from their convention,
but rather by an eternal potency in simplicity,
whence nature, reserving the seeds for things, now permits
nothing to be torn away nor diminished.
Moreover, unless there shall be a minimum, each most tiny thing

615

corpora constabunt ex partibus infinitis,
quippe ubi dimidiae partis pars semper habebit
dimidiam partem nec res praefiniet ulla.
ergo rerum inter summam minimamque quod escit,
nil erit ut distet; nam quamvis funditus omnis

bodies will consist out of infinite parts,
indeed, where a part of a half will always have
a half part, and no thing will set a boundary.
therefore, between the sum and the least of things, whatever there is,
there will be nothing to make a difference; for although from the bottom all

620

summa sit infinita, tamen, parvissima quae sunt,
ex infinitis constabunt partibus aeque.
quod quoniam ratio reclamat vera negatque
credere posse animum, victus fateare necessest
esse ea quae nullis iam praedita partibus extent

though the sum be infinite, nevertheless the very smallest things,
will consist equally of infinite parts.
since true reason cries out against this and denies
that the mind is able to believe it, overcome, you must confess
that there are things which, endowed with no parts, exist.

625

et minima constent natura. quae quoniam sunt,
illa quoque esse tibi solida atque aeterna fatendum.
Denique si minimas in partis cuncta resolvi
cogere consuesset rerum natura creatrix,
iam nihil ex illis eadem reparare valeret

and that the least things consist by nature. Since these exist,
you must also admit that those are solid and eternal.
Finally, if the creating nature of things were accustomed to force all things to be resolved
into the least parts, then now from those same it would be able to repair nothing

630

propterea quia, quae nullis sunt partibus aucta,
non possunt ea quae debet genitalis habere
materies, varios conexus pondera plagas
concursus motus, per quas res quaeque geruntur.
Quapropter qui materiem rerum esse putarunt

for this reason, because those things which are augmented by no parts
cannot possess those things which generative matter ought to have—
various connections, weights, blows, concourses, motions—
through which each thing is carried on;
Wherefore those who thought the matter of things to be

635

ignem atque ex igni summam consistere solo,
magno opere a vera lapsi ratione videntur.
Heraclitus init quorum dux proelia primus,
clarus <ob> obscuram linguam magis inter inanis
quamde gravis inter Graios, qui vera requirunt;

fire, and that from fire alone the totality stands fast,
they seem to have slipped greatly from true reasoning.
Heraclitus, the leader of whom, first enters the battles,
famous on account of an obscure tongue rather among the empty
than weighty among the Greeks, who seek the true;

640

omnia enim stolidi magis admirantur amantque,
inversis quae sub verbis latitantia cernunt,
veraque constituunt quae belle tangere possunt
auris et lepido quae sunt fucata sonore.
Nam cur tam variae res possent esse, requiro,

for fools admire and love more all things which they discern as lurking beneath inverted words, and they establish as true those things which can nicely touch the ears and which are painted with a charming sound.
for why things could be so various, I inquire,

645

ex uno si sunt igni puroque creatae?
nil prodesset enim calidum denserier ignem
nec rare fieri, si partes ignis eandem
naturam quam totus habet super ignis haberent.
acrior ardor enim conductis partibus esset,

if they are from one fire and created from pure fire?
for nothing would profit for the hot fire to be made denser
nor to be made rare, if the parts of fire had the same
nature which the whole fire on high has.
for a keener ardor would be, with the parts brought together,

650

languidior porro disiectis <dis>que supatis.
amplius hoc fieri nihil est quod posse rearis
talibus in causis, ne dum variantia rerum
tanta queat densis rarisque ex ignibus esse.
Id quoque: si faciant admixtum rebus inane,

and, moreover, more languid when the parts are disjected and beaten down.
beyond this there is nothing which you could suppose can be brought about
in such causes; let alone that the variations of things
could be so great from fires that are dense and rare.
This too: if they make the void admixed with things,

655

denseri poterunt ignes rarique relinqui;
sed quia multa sibi cernunt contraria quae sint
et fugitant in rebus inane relinquere purum,
ardua dum metuunt, amittunt vera viai
nec rursum cernunt exempto rebus inane

the fires can be made dense and the rare left behind;
but because they perceive for themselves that there are many things contrary,
and they shun leaving pure void in things,
while they fear the arduous, they lose the true way
nor again do they perceive, with the void removed from things

660

omnia denseri fierique ex omnibus unum
corpus, nil ab se quod possit mittere raptim,
aestifer ignis uti lumen iacit atque vaporem,
ut videas non e stipatis partibus esse.
Quod si forte alia credunt ratione potesse

that all things be condensed and from all things one body be made,
able to send nothing rapidly from itself,
as heat-bearing fire casts light and vapor,
so that you may see it is not from packed parts.
But if perchance they believe it can by another reason

665

ignis in coetu stingui mutareque corpus,
scilicet ex nulla facere id si parte reparcent,
occidet ad nihilum ni mirum funditus ardor
omnis et <e> nihilo fient quae cumque creantur;
nam quod cumque suis mutatum finibus exit,

that fire in combination is quenched and changes its body,
scilicet, if they will spare it in no part in doing this,
the ardor entire will perish down to nothing—no marvel—utterly,
and from nothing will be made whatever things are created;
for whatever, having been changed, goes out from its own boundaries,

670

continuo hoc mors est illius quod fuit ante.
proinde aliquid superare necesse est incolume ollis,
ne tibi res redeant ad nilum funditus omnes
de nihiloque renata vigescat copia rerum.
Nunc igitur quoniam certissima corpora quaedam

immediately this is the death of that which was before.
therefore it is necessary that something survive intact for them,
lest for you all things return utterly to nothing,
and from nothing the abundance of things, reborn, should thrive.
Now therefore, since certain most certain bodies

675

sunt, quae conservant naturam semper eandem,
quorum abitu aut aditu mutatoque ordine mutant
naturam res et convertunt corpora sese,
scire licet non esse haec ignea corpora rerum.
nil referret enim quaedam decedere, abire

there are certain things which preserve the nature ever the same,
by whose departure or entrance and by a changed order things change their nature and their bodies turn themselves,
one may know that these are not the igneous bodies of things.
for it would make no difference that certain things withdraw, depart

680

atque alia adtribui mutarique ordine quaedam,
si tamen ardoris naturam cuncta tenerent;
ignis enim foret omnimodis quod cumque crearet.
verum, ut opinor, itast: sunt quaedam corpora, quorum
concursus motus ordo positura figurae

and that other things be attributed and certain things be changed in order,
if, however, all things held the nature of heat;
for whatever it created would in every way be fire.
but, as I suppose, so it is: there are certain bodies, whose
concourse, motion, order, position, figures

685

efficiunt ignis mutatoque ordine mutant
naturam neque sunt igni simulata neque ulli
praeterea rei quae corpora mittere possit
sensibus et nostros adiectu tangere tactus.
dicere porro ignem res omnis esse neque ullam

they produce fire, and with the order changed they mutate
nature, nor are they simulations of fire nor, besides, of any
other thing which could send bodies to the senses and, by adjunction,
touch our sense of touch.
moreover, to say that every thing is fire and that no

690

rem veram in numero rerum constare nisi ignem,
quod facit hic idem, perdelirum esse videtur.
nam contra sensus ab sensibus ipse repugnat
et labefactat eos, unde omnia credita pendent,
unde hic cognitus est ipsi quem nominat ignem;

that a true thing in the number of things consists of nothing but fire,
which this same man asserts, seems very delirious.
for he himself opposes the senses by means of the senses
and undermines those, on which all beliefs hang,
whence this fire itself which he names has been known to him.

695

credit enim sensus ignem cognoscere vere,
cetera non credit, quae nilo clara minus sunt.
quod mihi cum vanum tum delirum esse videtur;
quo referemus enim? quid nobis certius ipsis
sensibus esse potest, qui vera ac falsa notemus?

for he believes that the senses truly recognize fire,
the rest he does not believe, which are by nothing less clear.
which seems to me both vain and delirious;
to what shall we refer, then? what can be more certain for us than the senses themselves,
by which we note the true and the false?

700

Praeterea quare quisquam magis omnia tollat
et velit ardoris naturam linquere solam,
quam neget esse ignis, <aliam> tamen esse relinquat?
aequa videtur enim dementia dicere utrumque.
Quapropter qui materiem rerum esse putarunt

Moreover, why should anyone rather remove all things
and wish to leave the nature of ardor alone,
than deny that there is fire, yet leave that does exist?
for an equal dementia seems to say either of the two.
Wherefore those who thought that the matter of things exists

705

ignem atque ex igni summam consistere posse,
et qui principium gignundis aera rebus
constituere aut umorem qui cumque putarunt
fingere res ipsum per se terramve creare
omnia et in rerum naturas vertier omnis,

that fire and that from fire the sum-total can consist,
and who have established air as the principle for things to be begotten,
or whoever have thought moisture
to fashion things by itself, or earth to create
all things, and for all to be turned into the natures of things,

710

magno opere a vero longe derrasse videntur.
adde etiam qui conduplicant primordia rerum
aera iungentes igni terramque liquori,
et qui quattuor ex rebus posse omnia rentur
ex igni terra atque anima procrescere et imbri.

they seem to have wandered far from the truth, in great measure.
add also those who double the first-beginnings of things,
joining air to fire and earth to the liquid,
and those who reckon that all things can be out of four things,
to grow forth from fire, earth, and breath (air), and from rain.

715

quorum Acragantinus cum primis Empedocles est,
insula quem triquetris terrarum gessit in oris,
quam fluitans circum magnis anfractibus aequor
Ionium glaucis aspargit virus ab undis
angustoque fretu rapidum mare dividit undis

among whom the Acragantine Empedocles is among the foremost,
whom an island bore on the three-cornered shores of the lands,
which the flowing sea encircles around with great meanders,
the Ionian sprinkles with brine from glaucous waves,
and with a narrow strait divides the rapid sea with its waves

720

Aeoliae terrarum oras a finibus eius.
hic est vasta Charybdis et hic Aetnaea minantur
murmura flammarum rursum se colligere iras,
faucibus eruptos iterum vis ut vomat ignis
ad caelumque ferat flammai fulgura rursum.

Aeolian shores of the lands from its borders.
here is the vast Charybdis, and here the Aetnean murmurs
of flames threaten to gather their rages again,
so that the force of fire may again vomit what has burst from its jaws
and bear again the fulgurations of flame to the sky.

725

quae cum magna modis multis miranda videtur
gentibus humanis regio visendaque fertur
rebus opima bonis, multa munita virum vi,
nil tamen hoc habuisse viro praeclarius in se
nec sanctum magis et mirum carumque videtur.

which, although it seems a great marvel to be admired in many ways,
to human peoples the region is reported to be worth seeing,
rich in good things, in many ways fortified by the strength of men,
yet it seems to have had nothing in itself more illustrious than this man,
nor does anything seem more sacred and wondrous and dear.

730

carmina quin etiam divini pectoris eius
vociferantur et exponunt praeclara reperta,
ut vix humana videatur stirpe creatus.
     Hic tamen et supra quos diximus inferiores
partibus egregie multis multoque minores,                735
quamquam multa bene ac divinitus invenientes
ex adyto tam quam cordis responsa dedere
sanctius et multo certa ratione magis quam
Pythia quae tripodi a Phoebi lauroque profatur,
principiis tamen in rerum fecere ruinas

nay moreover the songs of his divine breast vociferate and expound illustrious discoveries, so that he seems scarcely created from human stock.
Yet this man too, and those whom we said above are inferior, are in very many parts outstandingly and by much the lesser, 735
although discovering many things well and divinely, they gave responses as from the adytum of the heart, more sacredly and by much more certain in reason than the Pythia who professes from the tripod and laurel of Phoebus; yet in the first principles of things they made ruins.

740

et graviter magni magno cecidere ibi casu.
Primum quod motus exempto rebus inani
constituunt et res mollis rarasque relinquunt
aera solem ignem terras animalia frugis
nec tamen admiscent in eorum corpus inane;

and grievously the great fell there by a great fall.
First, because they set up motions with the void removed from things
and leave things soft and rare—
air, the sun, fire, earth, animals, produce—
nor yet do they admit void into their body;

745

deinde quod omnino finem non esse secandis
corporibus facient neque pausam stare fragori
nec prorsum in rebus minimum consistere qui<cquam>,
cum videamus id extremum cuiusque cacumen
esse quod ad sensus nostros minimum esse videtur,

then that they would be positing that there is absolutely no end to the cutting of bodies,
nor that a pause stands for the shattering,
nor, in fact, that anything minimal in things holds its ground,
since we see that the extremity, the summit of each,
is that which to our senses seems to be minimal,

750

conicere ut possis ex hoc, quae cernere non quis
extremum quod habent, minimum consistere <rerum>.
Huc accedit item, quoniam primordia rerum
mollia constituunt, quae nos nativa videmus
esse et mortali cum corpore, funditus ut qui

so that you may be able to conjecture from this, that for those things whose
extreme which they have one cannot discern, a minimum of does consist.
In addition to this there comes also, since the primordial beginnings of things
constitute soft things, which we see to be native-born
to be and with a mortal body, so that from the very foundations those who

755

debeat ad nihilum iam rerum summa reverti
de nihiloque renata vigescere copia rerum;
quorum utrumque quid a vero iam distet habebis.
Deinde inimica modis multis sunt atque veneno
ipsa sibi inter se; quare aut congressa peribunt

the sum of things ought now to return to nothing,
and from nothing the abundance of things, reborn, to flourish;
of which two you will now have how far each differs from the truth.
Then they are hostile in many modes and with venom
to themselves among themselves; wherefore either, having come together, they will perish

760

aut ita diffugient, ut tempestate coacta
fulmina diffugere atque imbris ventosque videmus.
Denique quattuor ex rebus si cuncta creantur
atque in eas rursum res omnia dissoluuntur,
qui magis illa queunt rerum primordia dici

or thus will they scatter, as, when by a tempest constrained,
we see thunderbolts and showers and winds scatter apart.
Finally, if all things are created out of four things,
and into them again all things are dissolved,
how more can those be called the first-beginnings (primordia) of things

765

quam contra res illorum retroque putari?
alternis gignuntur enim mutantque colorem
et totam inter se naturam tempore ab omni.
[fulmina diffugere atque imbris ventosque videmus.]
sin ita forte putas ignis terraeque coire

than, on the contrary, that things be thought theirs and turned backward?
for alternately they are generated and change color,
and their whole nature among themselves at every time.
[we see lightning scatter and rains and winds.]
but if by chance you think thus that fire and earth coalesce

770

corpus et aerias auras roremque liquoris,
nil in concilio naturam ut mutet eorum,
nulla tibi ex illis poterit res esse creata,
non animans, non exanimo cum corpore, ut arbos;
quippe suam quicque in coetu variantis acervi

the solid body and the aerial auras and the dew of liquid,
so that nothing in their council may change the nature of them,
no thing out of them will be able to be created for you,
not a living being, nor a thing with lifeless body, like a tree;
for indeed each keeps its own in the concourse of the varying heap

775

naturam ostendet mixtusque videbitur aer
cum terra simul et quodam cum rore manere.
at primordia gignundis in rebus oportet
naturam clandestinam caecamque adhibere,
emineat ne quid, quod contra pugnet et obstet

will show its nature, and the air, mixed, will seem to remain together with the earth and with a certain dew.
but in things being begotten it is proper to employ for the first-beginnings a clandestine and blind nature,
lest anything stand out which fights against and obstructs.

780

quo minus esse queat proprie quodcumque creatur.
Quin etiam repetunt a caelo atque ignibus eius
et primum faciunt ignem se vertere in auras
aeris, hinc imbrem gigni terramque creari
ex imbri retroque a terra cuncta reverti,

whereby whatever is created may be less able to be properly itself.
Nay even they derive back from the sky and its fires
and first make fire turn itself into the breezes
of air, from this the rain to be begotten and the earth to be created,
from the rain, and back from the earth all things to revert,

785

umorem primum, post aera, deinde calorem,
nec cessare haec inter se mutare, meare
a caelo ad terram, de terra ad sidera mundi.
quod facere haud ullo debent primordia pacto.
immutabile enim quiddam superare necessest,

moisture first, then air, then heat,
nor do these cease to change among themselves, to pass
from sky to earth, from earth to the stars of the world.
which the first-beginnings ought in no way to do.
for some immutable thing must survive,

790

ne res ad nihilum redigantur funditus omnes;
nam quod cumque suis mutatum finibus exit,
continuo hoc mors est illius quod fuit ante.
quapropter quoniam quae paulo diximus ante
in commutatum veniunt, constare necessest

lest all things be reduced to nothing utterly;
for whatever, changed, goes forth beyond its own boundaries,
forthwith this is the death of that which it was before.
wherefore, since the things which we said a little before
come into commutation, it is necessary that they stand fast

795

ex aliis ea, quae nequeant convertier usquam,
ne tibi res redeant ad nilum funditus omnis;
quin potius tali natura praedita quaedam
corpora constituas, ignem si forte crearint,
posse eadem demptis paucis paucisque tributis,

from other things those which cannot be converted anywhere,
lest all things return for you to nothing utterly;
but rather you should establish that certain bodies,
endowed with such a nature, if perchance they have created fire,
the same are able, with a few things taken away and a few added,

800

ordine mutato et motu, facere aeris auras,
sic alias aliis rebus mutarier omnis?
'At manifesta palam res indicat' inquis 'in auras
aeris e terra res omnis crescere alique;
et nisi tempestas indulget tempore fausto

with order and motion changed, to make the breezes of the air,
thus that all things likewise be changed, some into others?
'But a manifest matter plainly indicates,' you say, 'that into the breezes
of the air every thing grows and is nourished out of the earth;
and unless the weather indulges at a favorable time

805

imbribus, ut tabe nimborum arbusta vacillent,
solque sua pro parte fovet tribuitque calorem,
crescere non possint fruges arbusta animantis.'
scilicet et nisi nos cibus aridus et tener umor
adiuvet, amisso iam corpore vita quoque omnis

with rains, so that by the decay of the storm-clouds the arboreta vacillate,
and the sun for its own part fosters and bestows heat,
the crops, the arboreta, and animate beings cannot grow.'
surely, unless dry food and tender moisture
should aid us, with the body already lost, all life as well

810

omnibus e nervis atque ossibus exsoluatur;
adiutamur enim dubio procul atque alimur nos
certis ab rebus, certis aliae atque aliae res.
ni mirum quia multa modis communia multis
multarum rerum in rebus primordia mixta

would be released from all the nerves and bones;
for we, beyond doubt, are aided and are nourished
by certain things, and certain other things by certain other things.
no marvel, since many, in many modes common to many,
the primordials of many things are mingled in things

815

sunt, ideo variis variae res rebus aluntur.
atque eadem magni refert primordia saepe
cum quibus et quali positura contineantur
et quos inter se dent motus accipiantque;
namque eadem caelum mare terras flumina solem

are, therefore varied things are nourished by various things.
and the same often matters greatly: what first-beginnings
with which, and in what placement, they are held together,
and what motions they give and receive among themselves;
for the same [first-beginnings] make sky, sea, lands, rivers, sun

820

constituunt, eadem fruges arbusta animantis,
verum aliis alioque modo commixta moventur.
quin etiam passim nostris in versibus ipsis
multa elementa vides multis communia verbis,
cum tamen inter se versus ac verba necessest

they constitute, the same, the crops, the arboreta, living beings,
but mixed with others and in another mode they are moved.
nay even everywhere in our very verses themselves
you see many elements common to many words,
although nevertheless among themselves the verses and the words must

825

confiteare et re et sonitu distare sonanti.
tantum elementa queunt permutato ordine solo;
at rerum quae sunt primordia, plura adhibere
possunt unde queant variae res quaeque creari.
Nunc et Anaxagorae scrutemur homoeomerian

you will confess that both in reality and in sonorous sound they differ.
only so much can the elements do by a mere change of order;
but the primordia of things can bring in more,
whence the various things, each one, can be created.
Now let us also scrutinize Anaxagoras’s homoeomeria

830

quam Grai memorant nec nostra dicere lingua
concedit nobis patrii sermonis egestas,
sed tamen ipsam rem facilest exponere verbis.
principio, rerum quam dicit homoeomerian,
ossa videlicet e pauxillis atque minutis

which the Greeks mention, and our tongue does not permit us to say
by reason of the poverty of our native speech,
but yet it is easiest to expound the very thing in words.
first, what he calls the homoeomeria of things,
bones, namely, out of tiny and minute [parts]

835

ossibus hic et de pauxillis atque minutis
visceribus viscus gigni sanguenque creari
sanguinis inter se multis coeuntibus guttis
ex aurique putat micis consistere posse
aurum et de terris terram concrescere parvis,

from bones here, and from very small and minute
viscera, a viscus is begotten and blood is created,
as many drops of blood coalesce among themselves,
and he thinks that gold can consist from motes of gold,
and that earth can grow together from small earths,

840

ignibus ex ignis, umorem umoribus esse,
cetera consimili fingit ratione putatque.
nec tamen esse ulla de parte in rebus inane
concedit neque corporibus finem esse secandis.
quare in utraque mihi pariter ratione videtur

fires from fire, moisture from moistures to be,
he fashions the rest by similar reason and supposes it;
nor yet does he concede that there is void in things in any part,
nor that there is any limit to bodies being cut up.
wherefore in both accounts alike it seems to me

845

errare atque illi, supra quos diximus ante.
Adde quod inbecilla nimis primordia fingit;
si primordia sunt, simili quae praedita constant
natura atque ipsae res sunt aequeque laborant
et pereunt, neque ab exitio res ulla refrenat.

and those too err, whom we mentioned above before.
Add that he fashions first-beginnings too feeble;
if they are first-beginnings, which, endowed with a similar nature
to that of the things themselves, stand fast and equally suffer,
and they perish, nor does any thing rein them back from destruction.

850

nam quid in oppressu valido durabit eorum,
ut mortem effugiat, leti sub dentibus ipsis?
ignis an umor an aura? quid horum?

for what of them will endure in a strong crush,
so as to escape death, beneath the very teeth of death?
fire or humor or aura? which of these?

sanguen an ossa?
nil ut opinor, ubi ex aequo res funditus omnis
tam mortalis erit quam quae manifesta videmus

blood or bones?
nothing, as I opine, when equally the whole matter from the very foundation
will be as mortal as the things we behold manifest

855

ex oculis nostris aliqua vi victa perire.
at neque reccidere ad nihilum res posse neque autem
crescere de nihilo testor res ante probatas.
Praeterea quoniam cibus auget corpus alitque,
scire licet nobis venas et sanguen et ossa

to perish from our eyes, overcome by some force.
but I testify, by matters previously proved, that things can neither fall back to nothing nor yet
grow from nothing.
Moreover, since food augments and nourishes the body,
it is permitted for us to know the veins and blood and bones

860

* * * 860a
sive cibos omnis commixto corpore dicent
esse et habere in se nervorum corpora parva
ossaque et omnino venas partisque cruoris,
fiet uti cibus omnis et aridus et liquor ipse
ex alienigenis rebus constare putetur,

* * * 860a
or if they say that all foods are of a commixed body
and that they have within themselves small bodies of nerves,
and bones, and in general the veins and portions of blood,
it will come about that all food, both dry and the liquid itself,
is thought to consist of alien-born things,

865

ossibus et nervis sanieque et sanguine mixto.
Praeterea quae cumque e terra corpora crescunt,
si sunt in terris, terram constare necessest
ex alienigenis, quae terris exoriuntur.
transfer item, totidem verbis utare licebit:

with bones and sinews and sanies and mingled blood.
Moreover, whatever bodies grow out of the earth,
if they are on the lands, it is necessary that the earth consist
of alien-born things which arise on the lands.
transfer likewise; you may use the same number of words:

870

in lignis si flamma latet fumusque cinisque,
ex alienigenis consistant ligna necessest,
[praeterea tellus quae corpora cumque alit auget]
ex alienigenis, quae lignis <ex>oriuntur.
Linquitur hic quaedam latitandi copia tenvis,

if in woods the flame lies hidden and the smoke and the ash,
it is necessary that the woods consist of alien-born elements,
[besides, the earth, whatever bodies it nourishes and augments,]
from alien-born elements, which <ex>arise from woods.
There is left here a certain slender resource for hiding,

875

id quod Anaxagoras sibi sumit, ut omnibus omnis
res putet inmixtas rebus latitare, sed illud
apparere unum, cuius sint plurima mixta
et magis in promptu primaque in fronte locata.
quod tamen a vera longe ratione repulsumst;

the thing which Anaxagoras assumes for himself, that in all things all
things, he thinks, lie hidden, unmingled, in things; but that the one
appears, of which there are the most mixed,
and more in prompt view and set first in the front.
which, however, has been repulsed far from true reason;

880

conveniebat enim fruges quoque saepe, minaci
robore cum in saxi franguntur, mittere signum
sanguinis aut aliquid, nostro quae corpore aluntur.
cum lapidi in lapidem terimus, manare cruorem
consimili ratione herbis quoque saepe decebat,

for it would be appropriate that the fruits too, often, when with menacing
strength they are broken on rock, should send forth a token
of blood, or something of the things that are nourished by our body.
when we grind stone on stone, blood to ooze
by a similar reasoning it ought often also from herbs,

885

et latices dulcis guttas similique sapore
mittere, lanigerae quali sunt ubere lactis,
scilicet et glebis terrarum saepe friatis
herbarum genera et fruges frondesque videri
dispertita inter terram latitare minute,

and to send sweet drops of liquids with a like savor
such as is the milk in the udder of the wool-bearer,
and of course, in the often-crumbled clods of earth
the kinds of herbs and crops and leaves to be seen
apportioned among the soil, lurking minutely,

890

postremo in lignis cinerem fumumque videri,
cum praefracta forent, ignisque latere minutos.
quorum nil fieri quoniam manifesta docet res,
scire licet non esse in rebus res ita mixtas,
verum semina multimodis inmixta latere

lastly, in wood ash and smoke seem to be seen,
when they had been broken beforehand, and minute fires to lie hidden.
since manifest fact teaches that none of these comes to be,
it is permitted to know that things are not thus mixed in things,
but that seeds, in many modes in-mixed, lie hidden

895

multarum rerum in rebus communia debent.
     'At saepe in magnis fit montibus' inquis 'ut altis
arboribus vicina cacumina summa terantur
inter se validis facere id cogentibus austris,
donec flammai fulserunt flore coorto.'                900
scilicet et non est lignis tamen insitus ignis,
verum semina sunt ardoris multa, terendo
quae cum confluxere, creant incendia silvis.
quod si facta foret silvis abscondita flamma,
non possent ullum tempus celarier ignes,

common elements of many things must be present in things.
     'But often,' you say, 'it happens on great mountains that the highest
tree-tops standing near are rubbed together,
as the strong south winds compel this to be done,
until they have flashed with the blossom of flame arisen.'                900
of course; and yet fire is not implanted in the woods,
but there are many seeds of ardor, which, by rubbing
when they have flowed together, create conflagrations in the forests.
but if flame had been hidden in the woods,
the fires could not be concealed at any time,

905

conficerent volgo silvas, arbusta cremarent.
iamne vides igitur, paulo quod diximus ante,
permagni referre eadem primordia saepe
cum quibus et quali positura contineantur
et quos inter se dent motus accipiantque,

they would be destroying forests everywhere, they would be burning orchards.
now do you see therefore, what we said a little before,
that it matters enormously, for the same first-beginnings, often,
with what things and in what kind of position they are held together,
and what motions they give and receive among themselves,

910

atque eadem paulo inter se mutata creare
ignes et lignum? quo pacto verba quoque ipsa
inter se paulo mutatis sunt elementis,
cum ligna atque ignes distincta voce notemus.
Denique iam quae cumque in rebus cernis apertis

and that the same things, slightly altered among themselves, create fires and wood? In what way are the words themselves too, with their elements slightly altered among themselves—since we denote wood and fires with a distinct voice?
Finally now whatever things you discern in manifest realities

915

si fieri non posse putas, quin materiai
corpora consimili natura praedita fingas,
hac ratione tibi pereunt primordia rerum:
fiet uti risu tremulo concussa cachinnent
et lacrimis salsis umectent ora genasque.

if you think it cannot be done, unless you suppose that the bodies of matter are endowed with a similar nature,
by this reasoning the first-beginnings of things perish for you:
it will come to pass that, shaken with tremulous laughter, they cachinnate
and with salty tears they moisten mouth and cheeks.

920

Nunc age, quod super est, cognosce et clarius audi.
nec me animi fallit quam sint obscura; sed acri
percussit thyrso laudis spes magna meum cor
et simul incussit suavem mi in pectus amorem
Musarum, quo nunc instinctus mente vigenti

Now come, learn what remains, and hear more clearly.
nor does it escape my mind how obscure they are; but with a sharp
thyrsus a great hope of praise has struck my heart,
and at the same time has driven into my breast a sweet love
of the Muses, by which now instigated with a vigorous mind

925

avia Pieridum peragro loca nullius ante
trita solo. iuvat integros accedere fontis
atque haurire iuvatque novos decerpere flores
insignemque meo capiti petere inde coronam,
unde prius nulli velarint tempora Musae; 930
primum quod magnis doceo de rebus et artis
religionum animum nodis exsolvere pergo,
deinde quod obscura de re tam lucida pango
carmina musaeo contingens cuncta lepore.
id quoque enim non ab nulla ratione videtur;

I traverse the trackless places of the Pierides, ground trodden by no one before.
it delights me to approach untouched springs and to draw them, and it delights to pluck new flowers
and from there to seek a notable crown for my own head,
whence the Muses have before veiled the temples of no one; 930
first, because I teach about great matters and proceed by art to unloose the mind from the knots of religions,
then, because on a matter obscure I compose such bright songs,
touching all things with muse-born charm.
for this too seems not without some reason.

935

sed vel uti pueris absinthia taetra medentes
cum dare conantur, prius oras pocula circum
contingunt mellis dulci flavoque liquore,
ut puerorum aetas inprovida ludificetur
labrorum tenus, interea perpotet amarum

but just as when physicians try to give grim absinthe to boys,
when they attempt to administer it, first they touch the rims of the cups around
with the sweet honey and golden liquor,
so that the unwary age of the boys may be beguiled up to the lips,
meanwhile he drains the bitter to the full

940

absinthi laticem deceptaque non capiatur,
sed potius tali facto recreata valescat,
sic ego nunc, quoniam haec ratio plerumque videtur
tristior esse quibus non est tractata, retroque
volgus abhorret ab hac, volui tibi suaviloquenti

the liquid of absinthe, and, though deceived, not be ensnared,
but rather, by such a doing, restored, may grow strong,
so I now, since this reasoning for the most part seems
sadder to those by whom it has not been handled, and backward
the common crowd shrinks from this, I have wished for you sweet-speaking

945

carmine Pierio rationem exponere nostram
et quasi musaeo dulci contingere melle,
si tibi forte animum tali ratione tenere
versibus in nostris possem, dum perspicis omnem
naturam rerum, qua constet compta figura.

to expound our reason in Pierian song
and, as if with Musean sweet honey, to touch it,
if by such a method perchance I could hold your spirit
within our verses, while you see through the whole
nature of things, with what adorned figure it consists.

950

Sed quoniam docui solidissima materiai
corpora perpetuo volitare invicta per aevom,
nunc age, summai quaedam sit finis eorum
nec<ne> sit, evolvamus; item quod inane repertumst
seu locus ac spatium, res in quo quaeque gerantur,

But since I have taught that the most solid bodies of matter flit, unconquered, perpetually through the aeon,
let us now, come, unroll whether there is some boundary of the sum of them or not; likewise, that the void has been discovered,
or the place and the space, in which each thing is carried on,

955

pervideamus utrum finitum funditus omne
constet an immensum pateat vasteque profundum.
Omne quod est igitur nulla regione viarum
finitumst; namque extremum debebat habere.
extremum porro nullius posse videtur

let us thoroughly survey whether the All stands constituted finite from the bottom up,
or whether it lies open immense and vastly profound.
Therefore everything that is is finite in no region of the ways;
for it would have had to have an extremity.
furthermore, no extremity of anything seems able

960

esse, nisi ultra sit quod finiat, ut videatur
quo non longius haec sensus natura sequatur.
nunc extra summam quoniam nihil esse fatendum,
non habet extremum, caret ergo fine modoque.
nec refert quibus adsistas regionibus eius;

to be, unless there is something beyond to finish it, so that it may seem
the point beyond which this nature of sense does not follow farther.
now, since it must be confessed that nothing exists outside the sum,
it has no extremity; therefore it lacks end and measure.
nor does it matter in which regions of it you take your stand;

965

usque adeo, quem quisque locum possedit, in omnis
tantundem partis infinitum omne relinquit.
Praeterea si iam finitum constituatur
omne quod est spatium, si quis procurrat ad oras
ultimus extremas iaciatque volatile telum,

so much so that whatever place each one has possessed, in all
directions he leaves an equal portion of the whole infinite remaining.
moreover, if now all that is space be established as finite,
if someone should run forward to the borders
the furthest outermost and hurl a flying missile,

970

id validis utrum contortum viribus ire
quo fuerit missum mavis longeque volare,
an prohibere aliquid censes obstareque posse?
alterutrum fatearis enim sumasque necessest.
quorum utrumque tibi effugium praecludit et omne

would you prefer that, when it has been hurled with strong forces, it go
to where it has been sent and fly far,
or do you deem that something could prohibit and be able to stand in the way?
for you must admit one or the other and take it on.
each of which shuts off for you every escape and all

975

cogit ut exempta concedas fine patere.
nam sive est aliquid quod probeat efficiatque
quo minus quo missum est veniat finique locet se,
sive foras fertur, non est a fine profectum.
hoc pacto sequar atque, oras ubi cumque locaris

it compels you to concede that, with the limit removed, it lies open.
for whether there is something which may prohibit and effect
that it not come to where it was sent and set itself at the limit,
or whether it is carried outward, it has not set out from a limit.
in this fashion I will follow, and wherever you place the borders

980

extremas, quaeram: quid telo denique fiet?
fiet uti nusquam possit consistere finis
effugiumque fugae prolatet copia semper.
Praeterea spatium summai totius omne
undique si inclusum certis consisteret oris

at the furthest edges, I will ask: what, in the end, will befall the missile?
it will come about that nowhere can a boundary stand,
and that opportunity will always prolong an escape for flight.
moreover, if the space of the sum-total whole entire
on every side were enclosed and would stand fast by fixed borders

985

finitumque foret, iam copia materiai
undique ponderibus solidis confluxet ad imum
nec res ulla geri sub caeli tegmine posset
nec foret omnino caelum neque lumina solis,
quippe ubi materies omnis cumulata iaceret

and were it finite, by now the supply of matter
from every side, by its solid weights, would have flowed together to the bottom,
nor could anything be done beneath the covering of the sky,
nor would there be at all a sky nor the lights of the sun,
since where all the matter would lie heaped up

990

ex infinito iam tempore subsidendo.
at nunc ni mirum requies data principiorum
corporibus nullast, quia nil est funditus imum,
quo quasi confluere et sedes ubi ponere possint.
semper in adsiduo motu res quaeque geruntur

from infinite time already by sinking down.
but now, no wonder, no rest is given to the bodies of the first-beginnings,
because there is nothing lowest down at the foundation,
where they could, as it were, flow together and set down their seats.
always in continual motion every thing is carried on

995

partibus <in> cunctis, infernaque suppeditantur
ex infinito cita corpora materiai.
Postremo ante oculos res rem finire videtur;
aer dissaepit collis atque aera montes,
terra mare et contra mare terras terminat omnis;

in all parts, and from the nether regions are supplied out of the infinite the swift bodies of matter.
Finally, before our eyes a thing seems to define a thing;
the air dissevers the hills, and the mountains the air,
the earth terminates the sea, and, contrariwise, the sea terminates all lands;

1000

omne quidem vero nihil est quod finiat extra.
est igitur natura loci spatiumque profundi,
quod neque clara suo percurrere fulmina cursu
perpetuo possint aevi labentia tractu
nec prorsum facere ut restet minus ire meando;

indeed, there is nothing outside to set a limit to the All.
there is therefore the nature of place and the expanse of the deep,
which neither the bright bolts can run through in their own course,
gliding along in the perpetual tract of time,
nor in the least effect that there remains less to go by their going;

1005

usque adeo passim patet ingens copia rebus
finibus exemptis in cunctas undique partis.
Ipsa modum porro sibi rerum summa parare
ne possit, natura tenet, quae corpus inane
et quod inane autem est finiri corpore cogit,

to such an extent there lies open everywhere immense room for things
with boundaries removed into all directions on every side.
Moreover, that the sum of things cannot set a measure for itself,
nature maintains, which compels body to be bounded by void,
and, on the other hand, what is void to be bounded by body.

1010

ut sic alternis infinita omnia reddat,
aut etiam alterutrum, nisi terminet alterum eorum,
simplice natura pateat tamen inmoderatum,
nec mare nec tellus neque caeli lucida templa
nec mortale genus nec divum corpora sancta 1015
exiguum possent horai sistere tempus;
nam dispulsa suo de coetu materiai
copia ferretur magnum per inane soluta,
sive adeo potius numquam concreta creasset
ullam rem, quoniam cogi disiecta nequisset.

so that thus by alternations it would render all things infinite,
or even either one of them, unless the one should terminate the other,
by its simple nature would nevertheless lie unbounded,
neither the sea nor the earth nor the bright temples of heaven
nor the mortal race nor the sacred bodies of the gods 1015
could stay even a scant span of an hour;
for, driven apart from its own assembly, the supply
of matter would be borne, loosened, through the great void,
or rather it would never have created things concreted at all,
any thing, since, being scattered, it could not have been compelled.

1020

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 mutata per omne
ex infinito vexantur percita plagis,

for surely neither by counsel have the first-beginnings of things,
each with a sagacious mind, placed themselves in their own order,
nor did they indeed stipulate <what motions each should impart>;
but because many, mutated in many modes in many ways through the whole,
out of the infinite are harried, goaded when struck by blows,

1025

omne genus motus et coetus experiundo
tandem deveniunt in talis disposituras,
qualibus haec rerum consistit summa creata,
et multos etiam magnos servata per annos
ut semel in motus coniectast convenientis,

all kinds of motions and gatherings, by experimenting, at length come into such dispositions,
by which this created sum of things consists,
and, preserved even for many great years,
once it has been cast into fitting motions,

1030

efficit ut largis avidum mare fluminis undis
integrent amnes et solis terra vapore
fota novet fetus summissaque gens animantum
floreat et vivant labentis aetheris ignes.
quod nullo facerent pacto, nisi materiai

it brings it about that the greedy sea the rivers integrate with the bounteous waves of the river,
and that the earth, fostered by the sun’s vapor,
renews her offspring, and the lowly race of living creatures
may flourish, and the fires of the gliding aether live.
which they would accomplish in no way, unless of matter

1035

ex infinito suboriri copia posset,
unde amissa solent reparare in tempore quaeque.
nam vel uti privata cibo natura animantum
diffluit amittens corpus, sic omnia debent
dissolui simul ac defecit suppeditare

from the infinite a supply could arise,
whence each thing is wont to repair in time what was lost.
for just as the nature of living beings, deprived of food,
flows away, losing the body, so all things ought
to be dissolved as soon as it has failed to furnish supply

1040

materies aliqua ratione aversa viai.
nec plagae possunt extrinsecus undique summam
conservare omnem, quae cumque est conciliata.
cudere enim crebro possunt partemque morari,
dum veniant aliae ac suppleri summa queatur; 1045
inter dum resilire tamen coguntur et una
principiis rerum spatium tempusque fugai
largiri, ut possint a coetu libera ferri.
quare etiam atque etiam suboriri multa necessest,
et tamen ut plagae quoque possint suppetere ipsae,

the material, by some reason turned away from the way.
nor can blows from without on all sides conserve the whole sum,
whatever has been brought together.
for they can hammer repeatedly and delay a part,
until others come and the sum may be able to be replenished; 1045
yet sometimes they are compelled to rebound and at once
to grant to the first-beginnings of things space and time for flight,
so that they can be borne free from the assembly.
wherefore again and again many things must arise,
and yet so that the blows themselves also may be able to be in supply,

1050

infinita opus est vis undique materiai.
Illud in his rebus longe fuge credere, Memmi,
in medium summae quod dicunt omnia niti
atque ideo mundi naturam stare sine ullis
ictibus externis neque quoquam posse resolvi

an infinite force of matter is needed from every side.
In these matters, by far shun believing this, Memmius,
that all things are said to lean upon the middle of the sum,
and on that account the nature of the world stands without any
external blows and can nowhere be dissolved.

1055

summa atque ima, quod in medium sint omnia nixa,
ipsum si quicquam posse in se sistere credis,
et quae pondera sunt sub terris omnia sursum
nitier in terraque retro requiescere posta,
ut per aquas quae nunc rerum simulacra videmus;

the highest and the lowest, since all things are leaned upon the middle—if you believe that anything at all can set itself to stand in itself—and that all the weights which are beneath the earth strive upward and come to rest with the earth set behind, as through the waters we now see the simulacra of things;

1060

et simili ratione animalia suppa vagari
contendunt neque posse e terris in loca caeli
reccidere inferiora magis quam corpora nostra
sponte sua possint in caeli templa volare;
illi cum videant solem, nos sidera noctis

and by a similar reasoning they contend that animals wander beneath,
and that they cannot from the lands fall back into the places of the sky
lower any more than our bodies could of their own accord fly
into the temples of the sky; while they behold the sun, we the stars of night

1065

cernere et alternis nobiscum tempora caeli
dividere et noctes parilis agitare diebus.
sed vanus stolidis haec * * *
amplexi quod habent perv * * *
nam medium nihil esse potest * * *

to discern and, in alternation with us, to divide the periods of the sky,
and to spend nights equal with days.
but empty to the stolid are these * * *
having embraced what they hold perv * * *
for a middle thing can be nothing * * *

1070

infinita; neque omnino, si iam <medium sit>,
possit ibi quicquam consistere * * *
quam quavis alia longe ratione * * *
omnis enim locus ac spatium, quod in<ane vocamus>,
per medium, per non medium, concedere <debet>

infinite; nor at all, if now <there be a middle>,
could anything settle there * * *
than by any other reasoning by far * * *
for every place and space, which we <call the void>,
through the middle, through the not-middle, to concede <it ought>

1075

aeque ponderibus, motus qua cumque feruntur.
nec quisquam locus est, quo corpora cum venerunt,
ponderis amissa vi possint stare <in> inani;
nec quod inane autem est ulli subsistere debet,
quin, sua quod natura petit, concedere pergat.

equally to weights, in whatever ways motions are borne.
nor is there any place where, when bodies have come,
with the force of weight lost, they can stand in the void;
nor, moreover, ought what is void to subsist for anything,
but to go on conceding what its own nature seeks.

1080

haud igitur possunt tali ratione teneri
res in concilium medii cuppedine victae.
Praeterea quoniam non omnia corpora fingunt
in medium niti, sed terrarum atque liquoris
umorem ponti magnasque e montibus undas,

not, therefore, can things be held by such a rationale,
things, conquered by cupidity for the concourse of the middle.
Moreover, since they do not fashion all bodies
to strive toward the middle, but the moisture of the lands and of the liquid
of the sea, and the great waves from the mountains,

1086

et quasi terreno quae corpore contineantur,

and as if the things which are contained by a terrene body,

1085

at contra tenuis exponunt aeris auras

but on the contrary they expose to the thin breezes of the air

1087

et calidos simul a medio differrier ignis,
atque ideo totum circum tremere aethera signis
et solis flammam per caeli caerula pasci,

and that hot fires at the same time are diffused from the midst,
and for that reason the whole aether around quivers with the signs,
and the flame of the sun is nourished through the cerulean of the sky,

1090

quod calor a medio fugiens se ibi conligat omnis,
nec prorsum arboribus summos frondescere ramos
posse, nisi a terris paulatim cuique cibatum
* * * 1094-1101
ne volucri ritu flammarum moenia mundi

because the heat, fleeing from the middle, there gathers itself all together,
and that trees are not at all able to put forth foliage on their topmost branches,
unless to each from the earth nourishment gradually [comes] * * * 1094-1101
lest in the swift manner of flames the walls of the world

1102

diffugiant subito magnum per inane soluta
et ne cetera consimili ratione sequantur
neve ruant caeli tonitralia templa superne

may they scatter suddenly, loosed, through the great void
and lest the rest follow by similar reason
nor let the thunder-resounding temples of the sky collapse from above

1105

terraque se pedibus raptim subducat et omnis
inter permixtas rerum caelique ruinas
corpora solventes abeat per inane profundum,
temporis ut puncto nihil extet reliquiarum
desertum praeter spatium et primordia caeca.

and let the earth swiftly withdraw itself from underfoot, and all
amid the intermingled ruins of things and of the sky
their bodies unloosing, depart through the deep void,
so that in a point of time nothing of remains exists,
left deserted except for space and blind primordial first-beginnings.

1110

nam qua cumque prius de parti corpora desse
constitues, haec rebus erit pars ianua leti,
hac se turba foras dabit omnis materiai.
Haec sic pernosces parva perductus opella;
namque alid ex alio clarescet nec tibi caeca

for wherever you shall first determine that bodies are lacking from a part,
this part will be for things the doorway of death,
through this the whole throng of matter will give itself outward.
thus you will thoroughly come to know these things, led through by small effort;
for one thing will grow clear from another, nor will there be to you things unseen.

1115

nox iter eripiet, quin ultima naturai
pervideas: ita res accendent lumina rebus.

night will snatch away the journey, before you thoroughly survey the ultimate things of nature:
thus things will kindle lights for things.