Mother of Rome, delight of Gods and men,Dear Venus that beneath the gliding starsMakest to teem the many-voyaged mainAnd fruitful lands- for all of living thingsThrough thee alone are evermore conceived,Through thee are risen to visit the great sun-Before thee, Goddess, and thy coming on,Flee stormy wind and massy cloud away,For thee the daedal Earth bears scented flowers,For thee waters of the unvexed deepSmile, and the hollows of the serene skyGlow with diffused radiance for thee!For soon as comes the springtime face of day,And procreant gales blow from the West unbarred,First fowls of air, smit to the heart by thee,Foretoken thy approach, O thou Divine,And leap the wild herds round the happy fieldsOr swim the bounding torrents. Thus amain,Seized with the spell, all creatures follow theeWhithersoever thou walkest forth to lead,And thence through seas and mountains and swift streams,Through leafy homes of birds and greening plains,Kindling the lure of love in every breast,Thou bringest the eternal generations forth,Kind after kind. And since 'tis thou aloneGuidest the Cosmos, and without thee naughtIs risen to reach the shining shores of light,Nor aught of joyful or of lovely born,Thee do I crave co-partner in that verseWhich I presume on Nature to composeFor Memmius mine, whom thou hast willed to bePeerless in every grace at every hour-Wherefore indeed, Divine one, give my wordsImmortal charm. Lull to a timely restO'er sea and land the savage works of war,For thou alone hast power with public peaceTo aid mortality; since he who rulesThe savage works of battle, puissant Mars,How often to thy bosom flings his strengthO'ermastered by the eternal wound of love-And there, with eyes and full throat backward thrown,Gazing, my Goddess, open-mouthed at thee,Pastures on love his greedy sight, his breathHanging upon thy lips. Him thus reclinedFill with thy holy body, round, above!Pour from those lips soft syllables to winPeace for the Romans, glorious Lady, peace!For in a season troublous to the stateNeither may I attend this task of mineWith thought untroubled, nor mid such eventsThe illustrious scion of the Memmian houseNeglect the civic cause.
Aeneadum genetrix, hominum divomque voluptas,alma Venus, caeli subter labentia signaquae mare navigerum, quae terras frugiferentisconcelebras, per te quoniam genus omne animantumconcipitur visitque exortum lumina solis:te, dea, te fugiunt venti, te nubila caeliadventumque tuum, tibi suavis daedala tellussummittit flores, tibi rident aequora pontiplacatumque nitet diffuso lumine caelum.nam simul ac species patefactast verna dieiet reserata viget genitabilis aura favoni,aeriae primum volucris te, diva, tuumquesignificant initum perculsae corda tua vi.inde ferae pecudes persultant pabula laetaet rapidos tranant amnis: ita capta leporete sequitur cupide quo quamque inducere pergis.denique per maria ac montis fluviosque rapacisfrondiferasque domos avium camposque virentisomnibus incutiens blandum per pectora amoremefficis ut cupide generatim saecla propagent.quae quoniam rerum naturam sola gubernasnec sine te quicquam dias in luminis orasexoritur neque fit laetum neque amabile quicquam,te sociam studeo scribendis versibus esse,quos ego de rerum natura pangere conorMemmiadae nostro, quem tu, dea, tempore in omniomnibus ornatum voluisti excellere rebus.quo magis aeternum da dictis, diva, leporem.effice ut interea fera moenera militiaiper maria ac terras omnis sopita quiescant;nam tu sola potes tranquilla pace iuvaremortalis, quoniam belli fera moenera Mavorsarmipotens regit, in gremium qui saepe tuum sereiicit aeterno devictus vulnere amoris,atque ita suspiciens tereti cervice repostapascit amore avidos inhians in te, dea, visuseque tuo pendet resupini spiritus ore.hunc tu, diva, tuo recubantem corpore sanctocircum fusa super, suavis ex ore loquellasfunde petens placidam Romanis, incluta, pacem;nam neque nos agere hoc patriai tempore iniquopossumus aequo animo nec Memmi clara propagotalibus in rebus communi desse saluti.omnis enim per se divum natura necessestimmortali aevo summa cum pace fruatursemota 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.
And for the rest, summon to judgments true,Unbusied ears and singleness of mindWithdrawn from cares; lest these my gifts, arrangedFor thee with eager service, thou disdainBefore thou comprehendest: since for theeI prove the supreme law of Gods and sky,And the primordial germs of things unfold,Whence Nature all creates, and multipliesAnd fosters all, and whither she resolvesEach in the end when each is overthrown.This ultimate stock we have devised to nameProcreant atoms, matter, seeds of things,Or primal bodies, as primal to the world.
Quod super est, vacuas auris animumque sagacemsemotum 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 deumquedisserere incipiam et rerum primordia pandam,unde omnis natura creet res, auctet alatque,quove eadem rursum natura perempta resolvat,quae nos materiem et genitalia corpora rebusreddunda in ratione vocare et semina rerumappellare suemus et haec eadem usurparecorpora prima, quod ex illis sunt omnia primis.
Whilst human kindThroughout the lands lay miserably crushedBefore all eyes beneath Religion- whoWould show her head along the region skies,Glowering on mortals with her hideous face-A Greek it was who first opposing daredRaise mortal eyes that terror to withstand,Whom nor the fame of Gods nor lightning's strokeNor threatening thunder of the ominous skyAbashed; but rather chafed to angry zestHis dauntless heart to be the first to rendThe crossbars at the gates of Nature old.And thus his will and hardy wisdom won;And forward thus he fared afar, beyondThe flaming ramparts of the world, untilHe wandered the unmeasurable All.Whence he to us, a conqueror, reportsWhat things can rise to being, what cannot,And by what law to each its scope prescribed,Its boundary stone that clings so deep in Time.Wherefore Religion now is under foot,And us his victory now exalts to heaven.
Humana ante oculos foede cum vita iaceretin terris oppressa gravi sub religione,quae caput a caeli regionibus ostendebathorribili super aspectu mortalibus instans,primum Graius homo mortalis tollere contraest oculos ausus primusque obsistere contra;quem neque fama deum nec fulmina nec minitantimurmure compressit caelum, sed eo magis acreminritat animi virtutem, effringere ut artanaturae primus portarum claustra cupiret.ergo vivida vis animi pervicit et extraprocessit longe flammantia moenia mundiatque omne immensum peragravit mente animoque,unde refert nobis victor quid possit oriri,quid nequeat, finita potestas denique cuiquequa nam sit ratione atque alte terminus haerens.quare religio pedibus subiecta vicissimopteritur, nos exaequat victoria caelo.
I fear perhaps thou deemest that we fareAn impious road to realms of thought profane;But 'tis that same religion oftener farHath bred the foul impieties of men:As once at Aulis, the elected chiefs,Foremost of heroes, Danaan counsellors,Defiled Diana's altar, virgin queen,With Agamemnon's daughter, foully slain.She felt the chaplet round her maiden locksAnd fillets, fluttering down on either cheek,And at the altar marked her grieving sire,The priests beside him who concealed the knife,And all the folk in tears at sight of her.With a dumb terror and a sinking kneeShe dropped; nor might avail her now that first'Twas she who gave the king a father's name.They raised her up, they bore the trembling girlOn to the altar- hither led not nowWith solemn rites and hymeneal choir,But sinless woman, sinfully foredone,A parent felled her on her bridal day,Making his child a sacrificial beastTo give the ships auspicious winds for Troy:Such are the crimes to which Religion leads.
Illud in his rebus vereor, ne forte rearisimpia te rationis inire elementa viamqueindugredi sceleris. quod contra saepius illareligio peperit scelerosa atque impia facta.Aulide quo pacto Triviai virginis aramIphianassai turparunt sanguine foedeductores Danaum delecti, prima virorum.cui simul infula virgineos circum data comptusex utraque pari malarum parte profusast,et maestum simul ante aras adstare parentemsensit et hunc propter ferrum celare ministrosaspectuque 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 arasdeductast, non ut sollemni more sacrorumperfecto posset claro comitari Hymenaeo,sed casta inceste nubendi tempore in ipsohostia concideret mactatu maesta parentis,exitus ut classi felix faustusque daretur.tantum religio potuit suadere malorum.
And there shall come the time when even thou,Forced by the soothsayer's terror-tales, shalt seekTo break from us. Ah, many a dream even nowCan they concoct to rout thy plans of life,And trouble all thy fortunes with base fears.I own with reason: for, if men but knewSome fixed end to ills, they would be strongBy some device unconquered to withstandReligions and the menacings of seers.But now nor skill nor instrument is theirs,Since men must dread eternal pains in death.For what the soul may be they do not know,Whether 'tis born, or enter in at birth,And whether, snatched by death, it die with us,Or visit the shadows and the vasty cavesOf Orcus, or by some divine decreeEnter the brute herds, as our Ennius sang,Who first from lovely Helicon brought downA laurel wreath of bright perennial leaves,Renowned forever among the Italian clans.Yet Ennius too in everlasting verseProclaims those vaults of Acheron to be,Though thence, he said, nor souls nor bodies fare,But only phantom figures, strangely wan,And tells how once from out those regions roseOld Homer's ghost to him and shed salt tearsAnd with his words unfolded Nature's source.Then be it ours with steady mind to claspThe purport of the skies- the law behindThe wandering courses of the sun and moon;To scan the powers that speed all life below;But most to see with reasonable eyesOf what the mind, of what the soul is made,And what it is so terrible that breaksOn us asleep, or waking in disease,Until we seem to mark and hear at handDead men whose bones earth bosomed long ago.
Tutemet a nobis iam quovis tempore vatumterriloquis victus dictis desciscere quaeres.quippe etenim quam multa tibi iam fingere possuntsomnia, quae vitae rationes vertere possintfortunasque tuas omnis turbare timore!et merito; nam si certam finem esse viderentaerumnarum homines, aliqua ratione valerentreligionibus atque minis obsistere vatum.nunc ratio nulla est restandi, nulla facultas,aeternas quoniam poenas in morte timendum.ignoratur enim quae sit natura animai,nata sit an contra nascentibus insinueturet simul intereat nobiscum morte diremptaan tenebras Orci visat vastasque lacunasan pecudes alias divinitus insinuet se,Ennius ut noster cecinit, qui primus amoenodetulit ex Helicone perenni fronde coronam,per gentis Italas hominum quae clara clueret;etsi praeterea tamen esse Acherusia templaEnnius aeternis exponit versibus edens,quo neque permaneant animae neque corpora nostra,sed quaedam simulacra modis pallentia miris;unde sibi exortam semper florentis Homericommemorat speciem lacrimas effundere salsascoepisse et rerum naturam expandere dictis.qua propter bene cum superis de rebus habendanobis est ratio, solis lunaeque meatusqua fiant ratione, et qua vi quaeque geranturin terris, tunc cum primis ratione sagaciunde anima atque animi constet natura videndum,et quae res nobis vigilantibus obvia mentesterrificet morbo adfectis somnoque sepultis,cernere uti videamur eos audireque coram,morte obita quorum tellus amplectitur ossa.
I know how hard it is in Latian verseTo tell the dark discoveries of the Greeks,Chiefly because our pauper-speech must findStrange terms to fit the strangeness of the thing;Yet worth of thine and the expected joyOf thy sweet friendship do persuade me onTo bear all toil and wake the clear nights through,Seeking with what of words and what of songI may at last most gloriously uncloudFor thee the light beyond, wherewith to viewThe core of being at the centre hid.
Nec me animi fallit Graiorum obscura repertadifficile inlustrare Latinis versibus esse,multa novis verbis praesertim cum sit agendumpropter egestatem linguae et rerum novitatem;sed tua me virtus tamen et sperata voluptassuavis amicitiae quemvis efferre laboremsuadet et inducit noctes vigilare serenasquaerentem dictis quibus et quo carmine demumclara tuae possim praepandere lumina menti,res quibus occultas penitus convisere possis.
This terror, then, this darkness of the mind,Not sunrise with its flaring spokes of light,Nor glittering arrows of morning can disperse,But only Nature's aspect and her law,Which, teaching us, hath this exordium:Nothing from nothing ever yet was born.Fear holds dominion over mortalityOnly because, seeing in land and skySo much the cause whereof no wise they know,Men think Divinities are working there.Meantime, when once we know from nothing stillNothing can be create, we shall divineMore clearly what we seek: those elementsFrom which alone all things created are,And how accomplished by no tool of Gods.Suppose all sprang from all things: any kindMight take its origin from any thing,No fixed seed required. Men from the seaMight rise, and from the land the scaly breed,And, fowl full fledged come bursting from the sky;The horned cattle, the herds and all the wildWould haunt with varying offspring tilth and waste;Nor would the same fruits keep their olden trees,But each might grow from any stock or limbBy chance and change. Indeed, and were there notFor each its procreant atoms, could things haveEach its unalterable mother old?But, since produced from fixed seeds are all,Each birth goes forth upon the shores of lightFrom its own stuff, from its own primal bodies.And all from all cannot become, becauseIn each resides a secret power its own.Again, why see we lavished o'er the landsAt spring the rose, at summer heat the corn,The vines that mellow when the autumn lures,If not because the fixed seeds of thingsAt their own season must together stream,And new creations only be revealedWhen the due times arrive and pregnant earthSafely may give unto the shores of lightHer tender progenies? But if from naughtWere their becoming, they would spring abroadSuddenly, unforeseen, in alien months,With no primordial germs, to be preservedFrom procreant unions at an adverse hour.
hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necessestnon radii solis neque lucida tela dieidiscutiant, sed naturae species ratioque.Principium cuius hinc nobis exordia sumet,nullam rem e nihilo gigni divinitus umquam.quippe ita formido mortalis continet omnis,quod multa in terris fieri caeloque tuentur,quorum operum causas nulla ratione viderepossunt ac fieri divino numine rentur.quas ob res ubi viderimus nil posse crearide nihilo, tum quod sequimur iam rectius indeperspiciemus, et unde queat res quaeque creariet quo quaeque modo fiant opera sine divom.Nam si de nihilo fierent, ex omnibus rebusomne genus nasci posset, nil semine egeret.e mare primum homines, e terra posset oririsquamigerum genus et volucres erumpere caelo;armenta atque aliae pecudes, genus omne ferarum,incerto partu culta ac deserta tenerent.nec fructus idem arboribus constare solerent,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,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,si non, certa suo quia tempore semina rerumcum confluxerunt, patefit quod cumque creatur,dum tempestates adsunt et vivida tellustuto res teneras effert in luminis oras?quod si de nihilo fierent, subito exorerenturincerto spatio atque alienis partibus anni,quippe ubi nulla forent primordia, quae genitaliconcilio possent arceri tempore iniquo.
Nor on the mingling of the living seedsWould space be needed for the growth of thingsWere life an increment of nothing: thenThe tiny babe forthwith would walk a man,And from the turf would leap a branching tree-Wonders unheard of; for, by Nature, eachSlowly increases from its lawful seed,And through that increase shall conserve its kind.Whence take the proof that things enlarge and feedFrom out their proper matter. Thus it comesThat earth, without her seasons of fixed rains,Could bear no produce such as makes us glad,And whatsoever lives, if shut from food,Prolongs its kind and guards its life no more.Thus easier 'tis to hold that many thingsHave primal bodies in common (as we seeThe single letters common to many words)Than aught exists without its origins.Moreover, why should Nature not prepareMen of a bulk to ford the seas afoot,Or rend the mighty mountains with their hands,Or conquer Time with length of days, if notBecause for all begotten things abidesThe changeless stuff, and what from that may springIs fixed forevermore? Lastly we seeHow far the tilled surpass the fields untilledAnd to the labour of our hands returnTheir more abounding crops; there are indeedWithin the earth primordial germs of things,Which, as the ploughshare turns the fruitful clodsAnd kneads the mould, we quicken into birth.Else would ye mark, without all toil of ours,Spontaneous generations, fairer forms.
Nec porro augendis rebus spatio foret ususseminis ad coitum, si e nilo crescere possent;nam fierent iuvenes subito ex infantibus parvise terraque exorta repente arbusta salirent.quorum nil fieri manifestum est, omnia quandopaulatim crescunt, ut par est semine certo,crescentesque genus servant; ut noscere possisquicque sua de materia grandescere alique.Huc accedit uti sine certis imbribus annilaetificos nequeat fetus submittere tellusnec porro secreta cibo natura animantumpropagare genus possit vitamque tueri;ut potius multis communia corpora rebusmulta putes esse, ut verbis elementa videmus,quam sine principiis ullam rem existere posse.Denique cur homines tantos natura pararenon potuit, pedibus qui pontum per vada possenttransire et magnos manibus divellere montismultaque vivendo vitalia vincere saecla,si non, materies quia rebus reddita certastgignundis, e qua constat quid possit oriri?
Confess then, naught from nothing can become,Since all must have their seeds, wherefrom to grow,Wherefrom to reach the gentle fields of air.Hence too it comes that Nature all dissolvesInto their primal bodies again, and naughtPerishes ever to annihilation.For, were aught mortal in its every part,Before our eyes it might be snatched awayUnto destruction; since no force were neededTo sunder its members and undo its bands.Whereas, of truth, because all things exist,With seed imperishable, Nature allowsDestruction nor collapse of aught, untilSome outward force may shatter by a blow,Or inward craft, entering its hollow cells,Dissolve it down. And more than this, if Time,That wastes with eld the works along the world,Destroy entire, consuming matter all,Whence then may Venus back to light of lifeRestore the generations kind by kind?Or how, when thus restored, may daedal EarthFoster and plenish with her ancient food,Which, kind by kind, she offers unto each?Whence may the water-springs, beneath the sea,Or inland rivers, far and wide away,Keep the unfathomable ocean full?And out of what does Ether feed the stars?For lapsed years and infinite age must elseHave eat all shapes of mortal stock away:But be it the Long Ago contained those germs,By which this sum of things recruited lives,Those same infallibly can never die,Nor nothing to nothing evermore return.
nil igitur fieri de nilo posse fatendumst,semine quando opus est rebus, quo quaeque creataeaeris in teneras possint proferrier auras.Postremo quoniam incultis praestare videmusculta loca et manibus melioris reddere fetus,esse videlicet in terris primordia rerumquae nos fecundas vertentes vomere glebasterraique solum subigentes cimus ad ortus;quod si nulla forent, nostro sine quaeque laboresponte sua multo fieri meliora videres.Huc accedit uti quicque in sua corpora rursumdissoluat 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 eiusdiscidium parere et nexus exsolvere posset.quod nunc, aeterno quia constant semine quaeque,donec vis obiit, quae res diverberet ictuaut intus penetret per inania dissoluatque,nullius exitium patitur natura videri.Praeterea quae cumque vetustate amovet aetas,si penitus peremit consumens materiem omnem,unde animale genus generatim in lumina vitaeredducit Venus, aut redductum daedala tellusunde alit atque auget generatim pabula praebens?unde mare ingenuei fontes externaque longeflumina 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 fueree quibus haec rerum consistit summa refecta,inmortali sunt natura praedita certe.haud igitur possunt ad nilum quaeque reverti.
And, too, the selfsame power might end alikeAll things, were they not still together heldBy matter eternal, shackled through its parts,Now more, now less. A touch might be enoughTo cause destruction. For the slightest forceWould loose the weft of things wherein no partWere of imperishable stock. But nowBecause the fastenings of primordial partsAre put together diversely and stuffIs everlasting, things abide the sameUnhurt and sure, until some power comes onStrong to destroy the warp and woof of each:Nothing returns to naught; but all returnAt their collapse to primal forms of stuff.Lo, the rains perish which Ether-father throwsDown to the bosom of Earth-mother; but thenUpsprings the shining grain, and boughs are greenAmid the trees, and trees themselves wax bigAnd lade themselves with fruits; and hence in turnThe race of man and all the wild are fed;Hence joyful cities thrive with boys and girls;And leafy woodlands echo with new birds;Hence cattle, fat and drowsy, lay their bulkAlong the joyous pastures whilst the dropsOf white ooze trickle from distended bags;Hence the young scamper on their weakling jointsAlong the tender herbs, fresh hearts afriskWith warm new milk. Thus naught of what so seemsPerishes utterly, since Nature everUpbuilds one thing from other, suffering naughtTo come to birth but through some other's death.......And now, since I have taught that things cannotBe born from nothing, nor the same, when born,To nothing be recalled, doubt not my words,Because our eyes no primal germs perceive;For mark those bodies which, though known to beIn this our world, are yet invisible:The winds infuriate lash our face and frame,Unseen, and swamp huge ships and rend the clouds,Or, eddying wildly down, bestrew the plainsWith mighty trees, or scour the mountain topsWith forest-crackling blasts. Thus on they raveWith uproar shrill and ominous moan. The winds,'Tis clear, are sightless bodies sweeping throughThe sea, the lands, the clouds along the sky,Vexing and whirling and seizing all amain;And forth they flow and pile destruction round,Even as the water's soft and supple bulkBecoming a river of abounding floods,Which a wide downpour from the lofty hillsSwells with big showers, dashes headlong downFragments of woodland and whole branching trees;Nor can the solid bridges bide the shockAs on the waters whelm: the turbulent stream,Strong with a hundred rains, beats round the piers,Crashes with havoc, and rolls beneath its wavesDown-toppled masonry and ponderous stone,Hurling away whatever would oppose.Even so must move the blasts of all the winds,Which, when they spread, like to a mighty flood,Hither or thither, drive things on beforeAnd hurl to ground with still renewed assault,Or sometimes in their circling vortex seizeAnd bear in cones of whirlwind down the world:The winds are sightless bodies and naught else-Since both in works and ways they rival wellThe mighty rivers, the visible in form.Then too we know the varied smells of thingsYet never to our nostrils see them come;With eyes we view not burning heats, nor cold,Nor are we wont men's voices to behold.Yet these must be corporeal at the base,Since thus they smite the senses: naught there isSave body, having property of touch.And raiment, hung by surf-beat shore, grows moist,The same, spread out before the sun, will dry;Yet no one saw how sank the moisture in,Nor how by heat off-driven. Thus we know,That moisture is dispersed about in bitsToo small for eyes to see. Another case:A ring upon the finger thins awayAlong the under side, with years and suns;The drippings from the eaves will scoop the stone;The hooked ploughshare, though of iron, wastesAmid the fields insidiously. We viewThe rock-paved highways worn by many feet;And at the gates the brazen statues showTheir right hands leaner from the frequent touchOf wayfarers innumerable who greet.We see how wearing-down hath minished these,But just what motes depart at any time,The envious nature of vision bars our sight.Lastly whatever days and nature addLittle by little, constraining things to growIn due proportion, no gaze however keenOf these our eyes hath watched and known. No moreCan we observe what's lost at any time,When things wax old with eld and foul decay,Or when salt seas eat under beetling crags.Thus Nature ever by unseen bodies works.
Denique res omnis eadem vis causaque volgoconficeret, nisi materies aeterna teneret,inter se nexus minus aut magis indupedita;tactus enim leti satis esset causa profecto,quippe ubi nulla forent aeterno corpore, quorumcontextum vis deberet dissolvere quaeque.at nunc, inter se quia nexus principiorumdissimiles constant aeternaque materies est,incolumi remanent res corpore, dum satis acrisvis obeat pro textura cuiusque reperta.haud igitur redit ad nihilum res ulla, sed omnesdiscidio redeunt in corpora materiai.postremo pereunt imbres, ubi eos pater aetherin gremium matris terrai praecipitavit;at nitidae surgunt fruges ramique virescuntarboribus, crescunt ipsae fetuque gravantur.hinc alitur porro nostrum genus atque ferarum,hinc laetas urbes pueris florere videmusfrondiferasque novis avibus canere undique silvas,hinc fessae pecudes pinguis per pabula laetacorpora deponunt et candens lacteus umoruberibus manat distentis, hinc nova prolesartubus infirmis teneras lasciva per herbasludit lacte mero mentes perculsa novellas.haud igitur penitus pereunt quaecumque videntur,quando alit ex alio reficit natura nec ullamrem gigni patitur nisi morte adiuta aliena.Nunc age, res quoniam docui non posse crearide 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 necessestconfiteare esse in rebus nec posse videri.Principio venti vis verberat incita corpusingentisque ruit navis et nubila differt,inter dum rapido percurrens turbine camposarboribus magnis sternit montisque supremossilvifragis vexat flabris: ita perfurit acricum fremitu saevitque minaci murmure pontus.sunt igitur venti ni mirum corpora caeca,quae mare, quae terras, quae denique nubila caeliverrunt ac subito vexantia turbine raptant,nec ratione fluunt alia stragemque propagantet cum mollis aquae fertur natura repenteflumine abundanti, quam largis imbribus augetmontibus ex altis magnus decursus aquaifragmina coniciens silvarum arbustaque tota,nec validi possunt pontes venientis aquaivim subitam tolerare: ita magno turbidus imbrimolibus incurrit validis cum viribus amnis,dat sonitu magno stragem volvitque sub undisgrandia saxa, ruit qua quidquid fluctibus obstat.sic igitur debent venti quoque flamina ferri,quae vel uti validum cum flumen procubuerequam libet in partem, trudunt res ante ruuntqueimpetibus crebris, inter dum vertice tortocorripiunt rapidique rotanti turbine portant.quare etiam atque etiam sunt venti corpora caeca,quandoquidem factis et moribus aemula magnisamnibus inveniuntur, aperto corpore qui sunt.Tum porro varios rerum sentimus odoresnec tamen ad naris venientis cernimus umquamnec calidos aestus tuimur nec frigora quimususurpare oculis nec voces cernere suemus;quae tamen omnia corporea constare necessestnatura, quoniam sensus inpellere possunt;tangere enim et tangi, nisi corpus, nulla potest res.Denique fluctifrago suspensae in litore vestisuvescunt, eaedem dispansae in sole serescunt.at neque quo pacto persederit umor aquaivisumst nec rursum quo pacto fugerit aestu.in parvas igitur partis dispergitur umor,quas oculi nulla possunt ratione videre.quin etiam multis solis redeuntibus annisanulus in digito subter tenuatur habendo,stilicidi casus lapidem cavat, uncus aratriferreus occulte decrescit vomer in arvis,strataque iam volgi pedibus detrita viarumsaxea conspicimus; tum portas propter aenasigna manus dextras ostendunt adtenuarisaepe salutantum tactu praeterque meantum.haec igitur minui, cum sint detrita, videmus.sed quae corpora decedant in tempore quoque,invida praeclusit speciem natura videndi.Postremo quae cumque dies naturaque rebuspaulatim tribuit moderatim crescere cogens,nulla potest oculorum acies contenta tueri,nec porro quae cumque aevo macieque senescunt,nec, mare quae impendent, vesco sale saxa peresaquid quoque amittant in tempore cernere possis.corporibus caecis igitur natura gerit res.
But yet creation's neither crammed nor blockedAbout by body: there's in things a void-Which to have known will serve thee many a turn,Nor will not leave thee wandering in doubt,Forever searching in the sum of all,And losing faith in these pronouncements mine.There's place intangible, a void and room.For were it not, things could in nowise move;Since body's property to block and checkWould work on all and at an times the same.Thus naught could evermore push forth and go,Since naught elsewhere would yield a starting place.But now through oceans, lands, and heights of heaven,By divers causes and in divers modes,Before our eyes we mark how much may move,Which, finding not a void, would fail deprivedOf stir and motion; nay, would then have beenNowise begot at all, since matter, then,Had staid at rest, its parts together crammed.Then too, however solid objects seem,They yet are formed of matter mixed with void:In rocks and caves the watery moisture seeps,And beady drops stand out like plenteous tears;And food finds way through every frame that lives;The trees increase and yield the season's fruitBecause their food throughout the whole is poured,Even from the deepest roots, through trunks and boughs;And voices pass the solid walls and flyReverberant through shut doorways of a house;And stiffening frost seeps inward to our bones.Which but for voids for bodies to go through'Tis clear could happen in nowise at all.Again, why see we among objects someOf heavier weight, but of no bulkier size?Indeed, if in a ball of wool there beAs much of body as in lump of lead,The two should weigh alike, since body tendsTo load things downward, while the void abides,By contrary nature, the imponderable.Therefore, an object just as large but lighterDeclares infallibly its more of void;Even as the heavier more of matter shows,And how much less of vacant room inside.That which we're seeking with sagacious questExists, infallibly, commixed with things-The void, the invisible inane.
Nec tamen undique corporea stipata tenenturomnia natura; namque est in rebus inane.quod tibi cognosse in multis erit utile rebusnec sinet errantem dubitare et quaerere semperde summa rerum et nostris diffidere dictis.qua propter locus est intactus inane vacansque.quod si non esset, nulla ratione moverires possent; namque officium quod corporis exstat,officere atque obstare, id in omni tempore adessetomnibus; haud igitur quicquam procedere posset,principium quoniam cedendi nulla daret res.at nunc per maria ac terras sublimaque caelimulta modis multis varia ratione movericernimus ante oculos, quae, si non esset inane,non tam sollicito motu privata carerentquam genita omnino nulla ratione fuissent,undique materies quoniam stipata quiesset.Praeterea quamvis solidae res esse putentur,hinc tamen esse licet raro cum corpore cernas.in saxis ac speluncis permanat aquarumliquidus umor et uberibus flent omnia guttis.dissipat in corpus sese cibus omne animantum;crescunt arbusta et fetus in tempore fundunt,quod cibus in totas usque ab radicibus imisper truncos ac per ramos diffunditur omnis.inter saepta meant voces et clausa domorumtransvolitant, rigidum permanat frigus ad ossa.quod nisi inania sint, qua possent corpora quaequetransire, haud ulla fieri ratione videres.Denique cur alias aliis praestare videmuspondere res rebus nihilo maiore figura?nam si tantundemst in lanae glomere quantumcorporis 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;at contra gravius plus in se corporis essededicat et multo vacui minus intus habere.est igitur ni mirum id quod ratione sagaciquaerimus, admixtum rebus, quod inane vocamus.
Right hereI am compelled a question to expound,Forestalling something certain folk suppose,Lest it avail to lead thee off from truth:Waters (they say) before the shining breedOf the swift scaly creatures somehow give,And straightway open sudden liquid paths,Because the fishes leave behind them roomTo which at once the yielding billows stream.Thus things among themselves can yet be moved,And change their place, however full the Sum-Received opinion, wholly false forsooth.For where can scaly creatures forward dart,Save where the waters give them room? Again,Where can the billows yield a way, so longAs ever the fish are powerless to go?Thus either all bodies of motion are deprived,Or things contain admixture of a voidWhere each thing gets its start in moving on.Lastly, where after impact two broad bodiesSuddenly spring apart, the air must crowdThe whole new void between those bodies formed;But air, however it stream with hastening gusts,Can yet not fill the gap at once- for firstIt makes for one place, ere diffused through all.And then, if haply any think this comes,When bodies spring apart, because the airSomehow condenses, wander they from truth:For then a void is formed, where none before;And, too, a void is filled which was before.Nor can air be condensed in such a wise;Nor, granting it could, without a void, I hold,It still could not contract upon itselfAnd draw its parts together into one.Wherefore, despite demur and counter-speech,Confess thou must there is a void in things.And still I might by many an argumentHere scrape together credence for my words.But for the keen eye these mere footprints serve,Whereby thou mayest know the rest thyself.As dogs full oft with noses on the ground,Find out the silent lairs, though hid in brush,Of beasts, the mountain-rangers, when but onceThey scent the certain footsteps of the way,Thus thou thyself in themes like these aloneCan hunt from thought to thought, and keenly windAlong even onward to the secret placesAnd drag out truth. But, if thou loiter lothOr veer, however little, from the point,This I can promise, Memmius, for a fact:Such copious drafts my singing tongue shall pourFrom the large well-springs of my plenished breastThat much I dread slow age will steal and coilAlong our members, and unloose the gatesOf life within us, ere for thee my verseHath put within thine ears the stores of proofsAt hand for one soever question broached.
Illud in his rebus ne te deducere veropossit, quod quidam fingunt, praecurrere cogor.cedere squamigeris latices nitentibus aiuntet liquidas aperire vias, quia post loca pisceslinquant, quo possint cedentes confluere undae;sic alias quoque res inter se posse moveriet mutare locum, quamvis sint omnia plena.scilicet id falsa totum ratione receptumst.nam quo squamigeri poterunt procedere tandem,ni spatium dederint latices? concedere porroquo poterunt undae, cum pisces ire nequibunt?aut igitur motu privandumst corpora quaequeaut esse admixtum dicundumst rebus inane,unde initum primum capiat res quaeque movendi.Postremo duo de concursu corpora latasi cita dissiliant, nempe aer omne necessest,inter corpora quod fiat, possidat inane.is porro quamvis circum celerantibus aurisconfluat, haud poterit tamen uno tempore totumcompleri spatium; nam primum quemque necessestoccupet ille locum, deinde omnia possideantur.quod si forte aliquis, cum corpora dissiluere,tum putat id fieri quia se condenseat aer,errat; nam vacuum tum fit quod non fuit anteet repletur item vacuum quod constitit ante,nec tali ratione potest denserier aernec, 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 commemorandoargumenta fidem dictis conradere nostris.verum animo satis haec vestigia parva sagacisunt, per quae possis cognoscere cetera tute.namque canes ut montivagae persaepe ferainaribus inveniunt intectas fronde quietes,cum semel institerunt vestigia certa viai,sic alid ex alio per te tute ipse videretalibus in rebus poteris caecasque latebrasinsinuare omnis et verum protrahere inde.quod si pigraris paulumve recesseris ab re,hoc tibi de plano possum promittere, Memmi:usque adeo largos haustus e fontibus magnislingua meo suavis diti de pectore fundet,ut verear ne tarda prius per membra senectusserpat et in nobis vitai claustra resolvat,quam tibi de quavis una re versibus omnisargumentorum sit copia missa per auris.