I wander afield, thriving in sturdy thought,Through unpathed haunts of the Pierides,Trodden by step of none before. I joyTo come on undefiled fountains there,To drain them deep; I joy to pluck new flowers,To seek for this my head a signal crownFrom regions where the Muses never yetHave garlanded the temples of a man:First, since I teach concerning mighty things,And go right on to loose from round the mindThe tightened coils of dread religion;Next, since, concerning themes so dark, I frameSong so pellucid, touching all throughoutEven with the Muses' charm- which, as 'twould seem,Is not without a reasonable ground:For as physicians, when they seek to giveYoung boys the nauseous wormwood, first do touchThe brim around the cup with the sweet juiceAnd yellow of the honey, in order thatThe thoughtless age of boyhood be cajoledAs far as the lips, and meanwhile swallow downThe wormwood's bitter draught, and, though befooled,Be yet not merely duped, but rather thusGrow strong again with recreated health:So now I too (since this my doctrine seemsIn general somewhat woeful unto thoseWho've had it not in hand, and since the crowdStarts back from it in horror) have desiredTo expound our doctrine unto thee in songSoft-speaking and Pierian, and, as 'twere,To touch it with sweet honey of the Muse-If by such method haply I might holdThe mind of thee upon these lines of ours,Till thou dost learn the nature of all thingsAnd understandest their utility.
Avia Pieridum peragro loca nullius antetrita solo. iuvat integros accedere fontisatque haurire, iuvatque novos decerpere floresinsignemque meo capiti petere inde coronam,unde prius nulli velarint tempora musae;primum quod magnis doceo de rebus et artisreligionum animum nodis exsolvere pergo,deinde quod obscura de re tam lucida pangocarmina musaeo contingens cuncta lepore.id quoque enim non ab nulla ratione videtur;nam vel uti pueris absinthia taetra medentescum dare conantur, prius oras pocula circumcontingunt mellis dulci flavoque liquore,ut puerorum aetas inprovida ludificeturlabrorum tenus, interea perpotet amarumabsinthi laticem deceptaque non capiatur,sed potius tali facto recreata valescat,sic ego nunc, quoniam haec ratio plerumque videturtristior esse quibus non est tractata, retroquevolgus abhorret ab hac, volui tibi suaviloquenticarmine Pierio rationem exponere nostramet quasi musaeo dulci contingere melle;si tibi forte animum tali ratione tenereversibus in nostris possem, dum percipis omnemnaturam rerum ac persentis utilitatem.
But since I've taught already of what sortThe seeds of all things are, and how distinctIn divers forms they flit of own accord,Stirred with a motion everlasting on,And in what mode things be from them create,And since I've taught what the mind's nature is,And of what things 'tis with the body knitAnd thrives in strength, and by what mode uptornThat mind returns to its primordials,Now will I undertake an argument-One for these matters of supreme concern-That there exist those somewhats which we callThe images of things: these, like to filmsScaled off the utmost outside of the things,Flit hither and thither through the atmosphere,And the same terrify our intellects,Coming upon us waking or in sleep,When oft we peer at wonderful strange shapesAnd images of people lorn of light,Which oft have horribly roused us when we layIn slumber- that haply nevermore may weSuppose that souls get loose from Acheron,Or shades go floating in among the living,Or aught of us is left behind at death,When body and mind, destroyed together, eachBack to its own primordials goes away.And thus I say that effigies of things,And tenuous shapes from off the things are sent,From off the utmost outside of the things,Which are like films or may be named a rind,Because the image bears like look and formWith whatso body has shed it fluttering forth-A fact thou mayst, however dull thy wits,Well learn from this: mainly, because we seeEven 'mongst visible objects many beThat send forth bodies, loosely some diffused-Like smoke from oaken logs and heat from fires-And some more interwoven and condensed-As when the locusts in the summertimePut off their glossy tunics, or when calvesAt birth drop membranes from their body's surface,Or when, again, the slippery serpent doffsIts vestments 'mongst the thorns- for oft we seeThe breres augmented with their flying spoils:Since such takes place, 'tis likewise certain tooThat tenuous images from things are sent,From off the utmost outside of the things.For why those kinds should drop and part from things,Rather than others tenuous and thin,No power has man to open mouth to tell;Especially, since on outsides of thingsAre bodies many and minute which could,In the same order which they had before,And with the figure of their form preserved,Be thrown abroad, and much more swiftly too,Being less subject to impediments,As few in number and placed along the front.For truly many things we see dischargeTheir stuff at large, not only from their coresDeep-set within, as we have said above,But from their surfaces at times no less-Their very colours too. And commonlyThe awnings, saffron, red and dusky blue,Stretched overhead in mighty theatres,Upon their poles and cross-beams fluttering,Have such an action quite; for there they dyeAnd make to undulate with their every hueThe circled throng below, and all the stage,And rich attire in the patrician seats.And ever the more the theatre's dark wallsAround them shut, the more all things withinLaugh in the bright suffusion of strange glints,The daylight being withdrawn. And therefore, sinceThe canvas hangings thus discharge their dyeFrom off their surface, things in general mustLikewise their tenuous effigies discharge,Because in either case they are off-thrownFrom off the surface. So there are indeedSuch certain prints and vestiges of formsWhich flit around, of subtlest texture made,Invisible, when separate, each and one.
Sed quoniam docui cunctarum exordia rerumqualia sint et quam variis distantia formissponte sua volitent aeterno percita motuquoque modo possit res ex his quaeque creari,[nunc agere incipiam tibi quod vehementer ad has res][attinet esse ea quae rerum simulacra vocamus,][quae quasi membranae vel cortex nominitandast,]atque animi quoniam docui natura quid essetet quibus e rebus cum corpore compta vigeretquove modo distracta rediret in ordia prima,nunc agere incipiam tibi, quod vehementer ad has resattinet esse ea quae rerum simulacra vocamus,quod speciem ac formam similem gerit eius imago,cuius cumque cluet de corpore fusa vagari;quae quasi membranae summo de corpore rerumdereptae volitant ultroque citroque per auras,atque eadem nobis vigilantibus obvia mentesterrificant atque in somnis, cum saepe figurascontuimur miras simulacraque luce carentum,quae nos horrifice languentis saepe soporeexcierunt ne forte animas Acherunte reamureffugere aut umbras inter vivos volitareneve aliquid nostri post mortem posse relinqui,cum corpus simul atque animi natura peremptain sua discessum dederint primordia quaeque.dico igitur rerum effigias tenuisque figurasmittier ab rebus summo de cortice eorum;id licet hinc quamvis hebeti cognoscere corde.Principio quoniam mittunt in rebus apertiscorpora res multae, partim diffusa solute,robora ceu fumum mittunt ignesque vaporem,et partim contexta magis condensaque, ut olimcum teretis ponunt tunicas aestate cicadae,et vituli cum membranas de corpore summonascentes mittunt, et item cum lubrica serpensexuit in spinis vestem; nam saepe videmusillorum spoliis vepres volitantibus auctas.quae quoniam fiunt, tenuis quoque debet imagoab rebus mitti summo de corpore rerum.nam cur illa cadant magis ab rebusque recedantquam quae tenvia sunt, hiscendist nulla potestas;praesertim cum sint in summis corpora rebusmulta minuta, iaci quae possint ordine eodemquo fuerint et formai servare figuram,et multo citius, quanto minus indupediripauca queunt et [quae] sunt prima fronte locata.nam certe iacere ac largiri multa videmus,non solum ex alto penitusque, ut diximus ante,verum de summis ipsum quoque saepe colorem.et volgo faciunt id lutea russaque velaet ferrugina, cum magnis intenta theatrisper malos volgata trabesque trementia flutant;namque ibi consessum caveai supter et omnemscaenai speciem patrum matrumque deorsuminficiunt coguntque suo fluitare colore.et quanto circum mage sunt inclusa theatrimoenia, tam magis haec intus perfusa leporeomnia conrident correpta luce diei.ergo lintea de summo cum corpore fucummittunt, effigias quoque debent mittere tenvisres quaeque, ex summo quoniam iaculantur utraque.sunt igitur iam formarum vestigia certa,quae volgo volitant subtili praedita filonec singillatim possunt secreta videri.
Again, all odour, smoke, and heat, and suchStreams out of things diffusedly, because,Whilst coming from the deeps of body forthAnd rising out, along their bending pathThey're torn asunder, nor have gateways straightWherethrough to mass themselves and struggle abroad.But contrariwise, when such a tenuous filmOf outside colour is thrown off, there's naughtCan rend it, since 'tis placed along the frontReady to hand. Lastly those imagesWhich to our eyes in mirrors do appear,In water, or in any shining surface,Must be, since furnished with like look of things,Fashioned from images of things sent out.There are, then, tenuous effigies of forms,Like unto them, which no one can divineWhen taken singly, which do yet give back,When by continued and recurrent dischargeExpelled, a picture from the mirrors' plane.Nor otherwise, it seems, can they be keptSo well conserved that thus be given backFigures so like each object.
Praeterea omnis odor fumus vapor atque aliae resconsimiles ideo diffusae rebus abundant,ex alto quia dum veniunt extrinsecus ortaescinduntur per iter flexum, nec recta viarumostia sunt, qua contendant exire coortae.at contra tenuis summi membrana coloriscum iacitur, nihil est quod eam discerpere possit,in promptu quoniam est in prima fronte locata.Postremo speculis in aqua splendoreque in omniquae cumque apparent nobis simulacra, necessest,quandoquidem simili specie sunt praedita rerum,exin imaginibus missis consistere eorum.[nam cur illa cadant magis ab rebusque recedant][quam quae tenuia sunt, hiscendist nulla potestas.]sunt igitur tenues formarum illis similesqueeffigiae, singillatim quas cernere nemocum possit, tamen adsiduo crebroque repulsureiectae reddunt speculorum ex aequore visum,nec ratione alia servari posse videntur,tanto opere ut similes reddantur cuique figurae.
Now then, learnHow tenuous is the nature of an image.And in the first place, since primordials beSo far beneath our senses, and much lessE'en than those objects which begin to growToo small for eyes to note, learn now in fewHow nice are the beginnings of all things-That this, too, I may yet confirm in proof:First, living creatures are sometimes so smallThat even their third part can nowise be seen;Judge, then, the size of any inward organ-What of their sphered heart, their eyes, their limbs,The skeleton?- How tiny thus they are!And what besides of those first particlesWhence soul and mind must fashioned be?- Seest notHow nice and how minute? Besides, whateverExhales from out its body a sharp smell-The nauseous absinth, or the panacea,Strong southernwood, or bitter centaury-If never so lightly with thy [fingers] twainPerchance [thou touch] a one of them......Then why not rather know that imagesFlit hither and thither, many, in many modes,Bodiless and invisible?But lestHaply thou holdest that those imagesWhich come from objects are the sole that flit,Others indeed there be of own accordBegot, self-formed in earth's aery skies,Which, moulded to innumerable shapes,Are borne aloft, and, fluid as they are,Cease not to change appearance and to turnInto new outlines of all sorts of forms;As we behold the clouds grow thick on highAnd smirch the serene vision of the world,Stroking the air with motions. For oft are seenThe giants' faces flying far alongAnd trailing a spread of shadow; and at timesThe mighty mountains and mountain-sundered rocksGoing before and crossing on the sun,Whereafter a monstrous beast dragging amainAnd leading in the other thunderheads.
Nunc age, quam tenui natura constet imagopercipe. et in primis, quoniam primordia tantumsunt infra nostros sensus tantoque minoraquam quae primum oculi coeptant non posse tueri,nunc tamen id quoque uti confirmem, exordia rerumcunctarum quam sint subtilia percipe paucis.primum animalia sunt iam partim tantula, corumtertia pars nulla possit ratione videri.horum intestinum quodvis quale esse putandumst!quid cordis globus aut oculi? quid membra? quid artus?quantula sunt! quid praeterea primordia quaeque,unde anima atque animi constet natura necessumst,nonne vides quam sint subtilia quamque minuta?praeterea quaecumque suo de corpore odoremexpirant acrem, panaces absinthia taetrahabrotonique graves et tristia centaurea,quorum unum quidvis leviter si forte duobus…quin potius noscas rerum simulacra vagarimulta modis multis, nulla vi cassaque sensu?Sed ne forte putes ea demum sola vagari,quae cumque ab rebus rerum simulacra recedunt,sunt etiam quae sponte sua gignuntur et ipsaconstituuntur in hoc caelo, qui dicitur aer,quae multis formata modis sublime feruntur,ut nubes facile inter dum concrescere in altocernimus et mundi speciem violare serenamaëra mulcentes motu; nam saepe Gigantumora volare videntur et umbram ducere late,inter dum magni montes avolsaque saxamontibus ante ire et solem succedere praeter,inde alios trahere atque inducere belua nimbos.nec speciem mutare suam liquentia cessantet cuiusque modi formarum vertere in oras.
Now [hear] how easy and how swift they beEngendered, and perpetually flow offFrom things and gliding pass away..........For ever every outside streams awayFrom off all objects, since discharge they may;And when this outside reaches other things,As chiefly glass, it passes through; but whereIt reaches the rough rocks or stuff of wood,There 'tis so rent that it cannot give backAn image. But when gleaming objects dense,As chiefly mirrors, have been set before it,Nothing of this sort happens. For it can'tGo, as through glass, nor yet be rent- its safety,By virtue of that smoothness, being sure.'Tis therefore that from them the imagesStream back to us; and howso suddenlyThou place, at any instant, anythingBefore a mirror, there an image shows;Proving that ever from a body's surfaceFlow off thin textures and thin shapes of things.Thus many images in little timeAre gendered; so their origin is namedRightly a speedy. And even as the sunMust send below, in little time, to earthSo many beams to keep all things so fullOf light incessant; thus, on grounds the same,From things there must be borne, in many modes,To every quarter round, upon the moment,The many images of things; becauseUnto whatever face of things we turnThe mirror, things of form and hue the sameRespond. Besides, though but a moment sinceSerenest was the weather of the sky,So fiercely sudden is it foully thickThat ye might think that round about all murkHad parted forth from Acheron and filledThe mighty vaults of sky- so grievously,As gathers thus the storm-clouds' gruesome night,Do faces of black horror hang on high-Of which how small a part an image isThere's none to tell or reckon out in words.
Nunc ea quam facili et celeri ratione genanturperpetuoque fluant ab rebus lapsaque cedant…semper enim summum quicquid de rebus abundat,quod iaculentur. et hoc alias cum pervenit in res,transit, ut in primis vestem; sed ubi aspera saxaaut in materiam ligni pervenit, ibi iamscinditur, ut nullum simulacrum reddere possit.at cum splendida quae constant opposta fueruntdensaque, ut in primis speculum est, nihil accidit horum;nam neque, uti vestem, possunt transire, neque autemscindi; quam meminit levor praestare salutem.qua propter fit ut hinc nobis simulacra redundent.et quamvis subito quovis in tempore quamquerem contra speculum ponas, apparet imago;perpetuo fluere ut noscas e corpore summotexturas rerum tenuis tenuisque figuras.ergo multa brevi spatio simulacra genuntur,ut merito celer his rebus dicatur origo.et quasi multa brevi spatio summittere debetlumina sol, ut perpetuo sint omnia plena,sic ab rebus item simili ratione necessesttemporis in puncto rerum simulacra feranturmulta modis multis in cunctas undique partis;quandoquidem speculum quo cumque obvertimus oris,res ibi respondent simili forma atque colore.Praeterea modo cum fuerit liquidissima caelitempestas, perquam subito fit turbida foede,undique uti tenebras omnis Acherunta rearisliquisse et magnas caeli complesse cavernas.usque adeo taetra nimborum nocte coortainpendent atrae Formidinis ora superne;quorum quantula pars sit imago dicere nemostqui possit neque eam rationem reddere dictis.
Now come; with what swift motion they are borne,These images, and what the speed assignedTo them across the breezes swimming on-So that o'er lengths of space a little hourAlone is wasted, toward whatever regionEach with its divers impulse tends- I'll tellIn verses sweeter than they many are;Even as the swan's slight note is better farThan that dispersed clamour of the cranesAmong the southwind's aery clouds. And first,One oft may see that objects which are lightAnd made of tiny bodies are the swift;In which class is the sun's light and his heat,Since made from small primordial elementsWhich, as it were, are forward knocked alongAnd through the interspaces of the airTo pass delay not, urged by blows behind;For light by light is instantly suppliedAnd gleam by following gleam is spurred and driven.Thus likewise must the images have powerThrough unimaginable space to speedWithin a point of time,- first, since a causeExceeding small there is, which at their backFar forward drives them and propels, where, too,They're carried with such winged lightness on;And, secondly, since furnished, when sent off,With texture of such rareness that they canThrough objects whatsoever penetrateAnd ooze, as 'twere, through intervening air.
Nunc age, quam celeri motu simulacra ferantur,et quae mobilitas ollis tranantibus aurasreddita sit, longo spatio ut brevis hora teratur,in quem quaeque locum diverso numine tendunt,suavidicis potius quam multis versibus edam;parvus ut est cycni melior canor, ille gruum quamclamor in aetheriis dispersus nubibus austri.Principio persaepe levis res atque minutiscorporibus factas celeris licet esse videre.in quo iam genere est solis lux et vapor eius,propterea quia sunt e primis facta minutis,quae quasi cuduntur perque aëris intervallumnon dubitant transire sequenti concita plaga;suppeditatur enim confestim lumine lumenet quasi protelo stimulatur fulgere fulgur.qua propter simulacra pari ratione necessestinmemorabile per spatium transcurrere possetemporis in puncto, primum quod parvola causaest procul a tergo quae provehat atque propellat,quod super est, ubi tam volucri levitate ferantur,deinde quod usque adeo textura praedita raramittuntur, facile ut quasvis penetrare queant reset quasi permanare per aëris intervallum.
Besides, if those fine particles of thingsWhich from so deep within are sent abroad,As light and heat of sun, are seen to glideAnd spread themselves through all the space of heavenUpon one instant of the day, and flyO'er sea and lands and flood the heaven, what thenOf those which on the outside stand prepared,When they're hurled off with not a thing to checkTheir going out? Dost thou not see indeedHow swifter and how farther must they goAnd speed through manifold the length of spaceIn time the same that from the sun the raysO'erspread the heaven? This also seems to beExample chief and true with what swift speedThe images of things are borne about:That soon as ever under open skiesIs spread the shining water, all at once,If stars be out in heaven, upgleam from earth,Serene and radiant in the water there,The constellations of the universe-Now seest thou not in what a point of timeAn image from the shores of ether fallsUnto the shores of earth? Wherefore, again,And yet again, 'tis needful to confessWith wondrous.........Bodies that strike the eyes, awaking sight.From certain things flow odours evermore,As cold from rivers, heat from sun, and sprayFrom waves of ocean, eater-out of wallsAround the coasts. Nor ever cease to flitThe varied voices, sounds athrough the air.Then too there comes into the mouth at timesThe wet of a salt taste, when by the seaWe roam about; and so, whene'er we watchThe wormword being mixed, its bitter stings.To such degree from all things is each thingBorne streamingly along, and sent aboutTo every region round; and nature grantsNor rest nor respite of the onward flow,Since 'tis incessantly we feeling have,And all the time are suffered to descryAnd smell all things at hand, and hear them sound.
Praeterea si quae penitus corpuscula rerumex altoque foras mittuntur, solis uti luxac vapor, haec puncto cernuntur lapsa dieiper totum caeli spatium diffundere seseperque volare mare ac terras caelumque rigare.quid quae sunt igitur iam prima fronte parata,cum iaciuntur et emissum res nulla moratur?quone vides citius debere et longius iremultiplexque loci spatium transcurrere eodemtempore quo solis pervolgant lumina caelum?Hoc etiam in primis specimen verum esse videtur,quam celeri motu rerum simulacra ferantur,quod simul ac primum sub diu splendor aquaiponitur, extemplo caelo stellante serenasidera respondent in aqua radiantia mundi.iamne vides igitur quam puncto tempore imagoaetheris ex oris in terrarum accidat oras?quare etiam atque etiam mitti fateare necessestcorpora quae feriant oculos visumque lacessant.perpetuoque fluunt certis ab rebus odores,frigus ut a fluviis, calor ab sole, aestus ab undisaequoris, exesor moerorum litora circum,nec variae cessant voces volitare per auras.denique in os salsi venit umor saepe saporis,cum mare versamur propter, dilutaque contracum tuimur misceri absinthia, tangit amaror.usque adeo omnibus ab rebus res quaeque fluenterfertur et in cunctas dimittitur undique partisnec mora nec requies interdatur ulla fluendi,perpetuo quoniam sentimus et omnia sempercernere odorari licet et sentire sonare.
Besides, since shape examined by our handsWithin the dark is known to be the sameAs that by eyes perceived within the lightAnd lustrous day, both touch and sight must beBy one like cause aroused. So, if we testA square and get its stimulus on usWithin the dark, within the light what squareCan fall upon our sight, except a squareThat images the things? Wherefore it seemsThe source of seeing is in images,Nor without these can anything be viewed.Now these same films I name are borne aboutAnd tossed and scattered into regions all.But since we do perceive alone through eyes,It follows hence that whitherso we turnOur sight, all things do strike against it thereWith form and hue. And just how far from usEach thing may be away, the image yieldsTo us the power to see and chance to tell:For when 'tis sent, at once it shoves aheadAnd drives along the air that's in the spaceBetwixt it and our eyes. And thus this airAll glides athrough our eyeballs, and, as 'twere,Brushes athrough our pupils and thuswisePasses across. Therefore it comes we seeHow far from us each thing may be away,And the more air there be that's driven before,And too the longer be the brushing breezeAgainst our eyes, the farther off removedEach thing is seen to be: forsooth, this workWith mightily swift order all goes on,So that upon one instant we may seeWhat kind the object and how far away.Nor over-marvellous must this be deemedIn these affairs that, though the films which strikeUpon the eyes cannot be singly seen,The things themselves may be perceived. For thusWhen the wind beats upon us stroke by strokeAnd when the sharp cold streams, 'tis not our wontTo feel each private particle of windOr of that cold, but rather all at once;And so we see how blows affect our body,As if one thing were beating on the sameAnd giving us the feel of its own bodyOutside of us. Again, whene'er we thumpWith finger-tip upon a stone, we touchBut the rock's surface and the outer hue,Nor feel that hue by contact- rather feelThe very hardness deep within the rock.
Praeterea quoniam manibus tractata figurain tenebris quaedam cognoscitur esse eadem quaecernitur in luce et claro candore, necessestconsimili causa tactum visumque moveri.nunc igitur si quadratum temptamus et id noscommovet in tenebris, in luci quae poterit resaccidere ad speciem quadrata, nisi eius imago?esse in imaginibus qua propter causa videturcernundi neque posse sine his res ulla videri.Nunc ea quae dico rerum simulacra ferunturundique et in cunctas iaciuntur didita partis;verum nos oculis quia solis cernere quimus,propterea fit uti, speciem quo vertimus, omnesres ibi eam contra feriant forma atque colore.et quantum quaeque ab nobis res absit, imagoefficit ut videamus et internoscere curat;nam cum mittitur, extemplo protrudit agitqueaëra qui inter se cumque est oculosque locatus,isque ita per nostras acies perlabitur omniset quasi perterget pupillas atque ita transit.propterea fit uti videamus quam procul absitres quaeque. et quanto plus aëris ante agitaturet nostros oculos perterget longior aura,tam procul esse magis res quaeque remota videtur.scilicet haec summe celeri ratione geruntur,quale sit ut videamus, et una quam procul absit.Illud in his rebus minime mirabile habendumst,cur, ea quae feriant oculos simulacra viderisingula cum nequeant, res ipsae perspiciantur.ventus enim quoque paulatim cum verberat et cumacre fluit frigus, non privam quamque solemusparticulam venti sentire et frigoris eius,sed magis unorsum, fierique perinde videmuscorpore tum plagas in nostro tam quam aliquae resverberet atque sui det sensum corporis extra.praeterea lapidem digito cum tundimus, ipsumtangimus extremum saxi summumque coloremnec sentimus eum tactu, verum magis ipsamduritiem penitus saxi sentimus in alto.
Now come, and why beyond a looking-glassAn image may be seen, perceive. For seenIt soothly is, removed far within.'Tis the same sort as objects peered uponOutside in their true shape, whene'er a doorYields through itself an open peering-place,And lets us see so many things outsideBeyond the house. Also that sight is madeBy a twofold twin air: for first is seenThe air inside the door-posts; next the doors,The twain to left and right; and afterwardsA light beyond comes brushing through our eyes,Then other air, then objects peered uponOutside in their true shape. And thus, when firstThe image of the glass projects itself,As to our gaze it comes, it shoves aheadAnd drives along the air that's in the spaceBetwixt it and our eyes, and brings to passThat we perceive the air ere yet the glass.But when we've also seen the glass itself,Forthwith that image which from us is borneReaches the glass, and there thrown back againComes back unto our eyes, and driving rollsAhead of itself another air, that then'Tis this we see before itself, and thusIt looks so far removed behind the glass.Wherefore again, again, there's naught for wonder......In those which render from the mirror's planeA vision back, since each thing comes to passBy means of the two airs. Now, in the glassThe right part of our members is observedUpon the left, because, when comes the imageHitting against the level of the glass,'Tis not returned unshifted; but forced offBackwards in line direct and not oblique,-Exactly as whoso his plaster-maskShould dash, before 'twere dry, on post or beam,And it should straightway keep, at clinging there,Its shape, reversed, facing him who threw,And so remould the features it gives back:It comes that now the right eye is the left,The left the right.
Nunc age, cur ultra speculum videatur imagopercipe: nam certe penitus remmota videtur.quod genus illa foris quae vere transpiciuntur,ianua cum per se transpectum praebet apertum,multa facitque foris ex aedibus ut videantur;is quoque enim duplici geminoque fit aëre visus.primus enim citra postes tum cernitur aër,inde fores ipsae dextra laevaque secuntur,post extraria lux oculos perterget et aëralter, et illa foris quae vere transpiciuntur.sic ubi se primum speculi proiecit imago,dum venit ad nostras acies, protrudit agitqueaëra qui inter se cumquest oculosque locatus,et facit, ut prius hunc omnem sentire queamusquam speculum; sed ubi [in] speculum quoque sensimus ipsum,continuo a nobis in eum quae fertur imagopervenit, et nostros oculos reiecta revisitatque alium prae se propellens aëra volvit,et facit ut prius hunc quam se videamus, eoquedistare ab speculo tantum semota videtur.quare etiam atque etiam minime mirarier est par…illis quae reddunt speculorum ex aequore visum,aëribus binis quoniam res confit utraque.Nunc ea quae nobis membrorum dextera pars est,in speculis fit ut in laeva videatur eo quodplanitiem ad speculi veniens cum offendit imago,non convertitur incolumis, sed recta retrorsumsic eliditur, ut siquis, prius arida quam sitcretea persona, adlidat pilaeve trabive,atque ea continuo rectam si fronte figuramservet et elisam retro sese exprimat ipsa.fiet ut, ante oculus fuerit qui dexter, ut idemnunc sit laevus et e laevo sit mutua dexter.
An image too may beFrom mirror into mirror handed on,Until of idol-films even five or sixHave thus been gendered. For whatever thingsShall hide back yonder in the house, the same,However far removed in twisting ways,May still be all brought forth through bending pathsAnd by these several mirrors seen to beWithin the house, since nature so compelsAll things to be borne backward and spring offAt equal angles from all other things.To such degree the image gleams acrossFrom mirror unto mirror; where 'twas leftIt comes to be the right, and then againReturns and changes round unto the left.Again, those little sides of mirrors curvedProportionate to the bulge of our own flankSend back to us their idols with the rightUpon the right; and this is so becauseEither the image is passed on alongFrom mirror unto mirror, and thereafter,When twice dashed off, flies back unto ourselves;Or else the image wheels itself around,When once unto the mirror it has come,Since the curved surface teaches it to turnTo usward. Further, thou might'st well believeThat these film-idols step along with usAnd set their feet in unison with oursAnd imitate our carriage, since from thatPart of a mirror whence thou hast withdrawnStraightway no images can be returned.Further, our eye-balls tend to flee the brightAnd shun to gaze thereon; the sun even blinds,If thou goest on to strain them unto him,Because his strength is mighty, and the filmsHeavily downward from on high are borneThrough the pure ether and the viewless winds,And strike the eyes, disordering their joints.So piecing lustre often burns the eyes,Because it holdeth many seeds of fireWhich, working into eyes, engender pain.Again, whatever jaundiced people viewBecomes wan-yellow, since from out their bodiesFlow many seeds wan-yellow forth to meetThe films of things, and many too are mixedWithin their eye, which by contagion paintAll things with sallowness.
Fit quoque de speculo in speculum ut tradatur imago,quinque etiam [aut] sex ut fieri simulacra suërint.nam quae cumque retro parte interiore latebunt,inde tamen, quamvis torte penitusque remota,omnia per flexos aditus educta licebitpluribus haec speculis videantur in aedibus esse.usque adeo speculo in speculum translucet imago,et cum laeva data est, fit rusum ut dextera fiat,inde retro rursum redit et convertit eodem.Quin etiam quae cumque latuscula sunt speculorumadsimili lateris flexura praedita nostri,dextera ea propter nobis simulacra remittunt,aut quia de speculo in speculum transfertur imago,inde ad nos elisa bis advolat, aut etiam quodcircum agitur, cum venit, imago propterea quodflexa figura docet speculi convertier ad nos.Indugredi porro pariter simulacra pedemqueponere nobiscum credas gestumque imitaripropterea quia, de speculi qua parte recedas,continuo nequeunt illinc simulacra reverti;omnia quandoquidem cogit natura referriac resilire ab rebus ad aequos reddita flexus.Splendida porro oculi fugitant vitantque tueri.sol etiam caecat, contra si tendere pergas,propterea quia vis magnast ipsius et alteaëra per purum simulacra ferunturet feriunt oculos turbantia composituras.Praeterea splendor qui cumque est acer aduritsaepe oculos ideo quod semina possidet ignismulta, dolorem oculis quae gignunt insinuando.lurida praeterea fiunt quae cumque tuenturarquati, quia luroris de corpore eorumsemina multa fluunt simulacris obvia rerum,multaque sunt oculis in eorum denique mixta,quae contage sua palloribus omnia pingunt.
Again, we viewFrom dark recesses things that stand in light,Because, when first has entered and possessedThe open eyes this nearer darkling air,Swiftly the shining air and luminousFolloweth in, which purges then the eyesAnd scatters asunder of that other airThe sable shadows, for in large degreesThis air is nimbler, nicer, and more strong.And soon as ever 'thas filled and oped with lightThe pathways of the eyeballs, which beforeBlack air had blocked, there follow straightawayThose films of things out-standing in the light,Provoking vision- what we cannot doFrom out the light with objects in the dark,Because that denser darkling air behindFolloweth in, and fills each apertureAnd thus blockades the pathways of the eyesThat there no images of any thingsCan be thrown in and agitate the eyes.And when from far away we do beholdThe squared towers of a city, oftRounded they seem,- on this account becauseEach distant angle is perceived obtuse,Or rather it is not perceived at all;And perishes its blow nor to our gazeArrives its stroke, since through such length of airAre borne along the idols that the airMakes blunt the idol of the angle's pointBy numerous collidings. When thuswiseThe angles of the tower each and allHave quite escaped the sense, the stones appearAs rubbed and rounded on a turner's wheel-Yet not like objects near and truly round,But with a semblance to them, shadowily.Likewise, our shadow in the sun appearsTo move along and follow our own stepsAnd imitate our carriage- if thou thinkestAir that is thus bereft of light can walk,Following the gait and motion of mankind.For what we use to name a shadow, sureIs naught but air deprived of light. No marvel:Because the earth from spot to spot is reftProgressively of light of sun, wheneverIn moving round we get within its way,While any spot of earth by us abandonedIs filled with light again, on this accountIt comes to pass that what was body's shadowSeems still the same to follow after usIn one straight course. Since, evermore pour inNew lights of rays, and perish then the old,Just like the wool that's drawn into the flame.Therefore the earth is easily spoiled of lightAnd easily refilled and from herselfWasheth the black shadows quite away.
E tenebris autem quae sunt in luce tuemurpropterea quia, cum propior caliginis aërater init oculos prior et possedit apertos,insequitur candens confestim lucidus aër,qui quasi purgat eos ac nigras discutit umbrasaëris illius; nam multis partibus hic estmobilior multisque minutior et mage pollens.qui simul atque vias oculorum luce replevitatque pate fecit, quas ante obsederat aër⟨ATER⟩, continuo rerum simulacra secuntur,quae sita sunt in luce, lacessuntque ut videamus.quod contra facere in tenebris e luce nequimuspropterea quia posterior caliginis aërcrassior insequitur, qui cuncta foramina completobsiditque vias oculorum, ne simulacrapossint ullarum rerum coniecta moveri.Quadratasque procul turris cum cernimus urbis,propterea fit uti videantur saepe rutundae,angulus optusus quia longe cernitur omnissive etiam potius non cernitur ac perit eiusplaga nec ad nostras acies perlabitur ictus,aëra per multum quia dum simulacra feruntur,cogit hebescere eum crebris offensibus aër.hoc ubi suffugit sensum simul angulus omnis.fit quasi ut ad turnum saxorum structa tuantur;non tamen ut coram quae sunt vereque rutunda,sed quasi adumbratim paulum simulata videntur.Umbra videtur item nobis in sole moveriet vestigia nostra sequi gestumque imitari,aëra si credis privatum lumine posseindugredi, motus hominum gestumque sequentem;nam nihil esse potest aliud nisi lumine cassusaër id quod nos umbram perhibere suëmus.ni mirum, quia terra locis ex ordine certislumine privatur solis qua cumque meantesofficimus, repletur item quod liquimus eius,propterea fit uti videatur, quae fuit umbracorporis, e regione eadem nos usque secuta.semper enim nova se radiorum lumina funduntprimaque dispereunt, quasi in ignem lana trahatur.propterea facile et spoliatur lumine terraet repletur item nigrasque sibi abluit umbras.
And yet in this we don't at all concedeThat eyes be cheated. For their task it isTo note in whatsoever place be light,In what be shadow: whether or no the gleamsBe still the same, and whether the shadow whichJust now was here is that one passing thither,Or whether the facts be what we said above,'Tis after all the reasoning of mindThat must decide; nor can our eyeballs knowThe nature of reality. And soAttach thou not this fault of mind to eyes,Nor lightly think our senses everywhereAre tottering. The ship in which we sailIs borne along, although it seems to stand;The ship that bides in roadstead is supposedThere to be passing by. And hills and fieldsSeem fleeing fast astern, past which we urgeThe ship and fly under the bellying sails.The stars, each one, do seem to pause, affixedTo the ethereal caverns, though they allForever are in motion, rising outAnd thence revisiting their far descentsWhen they have measured with their bodies brightThe span of heaven. And likewise sun and moonSeem biding in a roadstead,- objects which,As plain fact proves, are really borne along.Between two mountains far away aloftFrom midst the whirl of waters open liesA gaping exit for the fleet, and yetThey seem conjoined in a single isle.When boys themselves have stopped their spinning round,The halls still seem to whirl and posts to reel,Until they now must almost think the roofsThreaten to ruin down upon their heads.And now, when nature begins to lift on highThe sun's red splendour and the tremulous fires,And raise him o'er the mountain-tops, those mountains-O'er which he seemeth then to thee to be,His glowing self hard by atingeing themWith his own fire- are yet away from usScarcely two thousand arrow-shots, indeedOft scarce five hundred courses of a dart;Although between those mountains and the sunLie the huge plains of ocean spread beneathThe vasty shores of ether, and interveneA thousand lands, possessed by many a folkAnd generations of wild beasts. Again,A pool of water of but a finger's depth,Which lies between the stones along the pave,Offers a vision downward into earthAs far, as from the earth o'erspread on highThe gulfs of heaven; that thus thou seemest to viewClouds down below and heavenly bodies plungedWondrously in heaven under earth.Then too, when in the middle of the streamSticks fast our dashing horse, and down we gazeInto the river's rapid waves, some forceSeems then to bear the body of the horse,Though standing still, reversely from his course,And swiftly push up-stream. And wheresoe'erWe cast our eyes across, all objects seemThus to be onward borne and flow alongIn the same way as we. A portico,Albeit it stands well propped from end to endOn equal columns, parallel and big,Contracts by stages in a narrow cone,When from one end the long, long whole is seen,-Until, conjoining ceiling with the floor,And the whole right side with the left, it drawsTogether to a cone's nigh-viewless point.To sailors on the main the sun he seemsFrom out the waves to rise, and in the wavesTo set and bury his light- because indeedThey gaze on naught but water and the sky.Again, to gazers ignorant of the sea,Vessels in port seem, as with broken poops,To lean upon the water, quite agog;For any portion of the oars that's raisedAbove the briny spray is straight, and straightThe rudders from above. But other parts,Those sunk, immersed below the water-line,Seem broken all and bended and inclinedSloping to upwards, and turned back to floatAlmost atop the water. And when the windsCarry the scattered drifts along the skyIn the night-time, then seem to glide alongThe radiant constellations 'gainst the cloudsAnd there on high to take far other courseFrom that whereon in truth they're borne. And then,If haply our hand be set beneath one eyeAnd press below thereon, then to our gazeEach object which we gaze on seems to be,By some sensation twain- then twain the lightsOf lampions burgeoning in flowers of flame,And twain the furniture in all the house,Two-fold the visages of fellow-men,And twain their bodies. And again, when sleepHas bound our members down in slumber softAnd all the body lies in deep repose,Yet then we seem to self to be awakeAnd move our members; and in night's blind gloomWe think to mark the daylight and the sun;And, shut within a room, yet still we seemTo change our skies, our oceans, rivers, hills,To cross the plains afoot, and hear new sounds,Though still the austere silence of the nightAbides around us, and to speak replies,Though voiceless. Other cases of the sortWondrously many do we see, which allSeek, so to say, to injure faith in sense-In vain, because the largest part of theseDeceives through mere opinions of the mind,Which we do add ourselves, feigning to seeWhat by the senses are not seen at all.For naught is harder than to separatePlain facts from dubious, which the mind forthwithAdds by itself.
Nec tamen hic oculos falli concedimus hilum.nam quo cumque loco sit lux atque umbra tueriillorum est; eadem vero sint lumina necne,umbraque quae fuit hic eadem nunc transeat illuc,an potius fiat paulo quod diximus ante,hoc animi demum ratio discernere debet,nec possunt oculi naturam noscere rerum.proinde animi vitium hoc oculis adfingere noli.Qua vehimur navi, fertur, cum stare videtur;quae manet in statione, ea praeter creditur ire.et fugere ad puppim colles campique videntur,quos agimus praeter navem velisque volamus.Sidera cessare aetheriis adfixa caverniscuncta videntur, et adsiduo sunt omnia motu,quandoquidem longos obitus exorta revisunt,cum permensa suo sunt caelum corpore claro.solque pari ratione manere et luna videturin statione, ea quae ferri res indicat ipsa.Exstantisque procul medio de gurgite montisclassibus inter quos liber patet exitus ingens,insula coniunctis tamen ex his una videtur.atria versari et circum cursare columnaeusque adeo fit uti pueris videantur, ubi ipsidesierunt verti, vix ut iam credere possintnon supra sese ruere omnia tecta minari.Iamque rubrum tremulis iubar ignibus erigere altecum coeptat natura supraque extollere montes,quos tibi tum supra sol montis esse videturcomminus ipse suo contingens fervidus igni,vix absunt nobis missus bis mille sagittae,vix etiam cursus quingentos saepe veruti;inter eos solemque iacent immania pontiaequora substrata aetheriis ingentibus oris,interiectaque sunt terrarum milia multa,quae variae retinent gentes et saecla ferarum.At coniectus aquae digitum non altior unum,qui lapides inter sistit per strata viarum,despectum praebet sub terras inpete tanto,a terris quantum caeli patet altus hiatus,nubila despicere et caelum ut videare videre,corpora mirande sub terras abdita caelo.Denique ubi in medio nobis ecus acer obhaesitflumine et in rapidas amnis despeximus undas,stantis equi corpus transversum ferre videturvis et in adversum flumen contrudere raptim,et quo cumque oculos traiecimus omnia ferriet fluere adsimili nobis ratione videntur.Porticus aequali quamvis est denique ductustansque in perpetuum paribus suffulta columnis,longa tamen parte ab summa cum tota videtur,paulatim trahit angusti fastigia coni,tecta solo iungens atque omnia dextera laevisdonec in obscurum coni conduxit acumen.In pelago nautis ex undis ortus in undissol fit uti videatur obire et condere lumen;quippe ubi nil aliud nisi aquam caelumque tuentur;ne leviter credas labefactari undique sensus.at maris ignaris in portu clauda videnturnavigia aplustris fractis obnitier undis.nam quae cumque supra rorem salis edita pars estremorum, recta est, et recta superne guberna;quae demersa liquore obeunt, refracta videnturomnia converti sursumque supina revertiet reflexa prope in summo fluitare liquore.Raraque per caelum cum venti nubila portanttempore nocturno, tum splendida signa videnturlabier adversum nimbos atque ire supernelonge aliam in partem ac vera ratione ferunturAt si forte oculo manus uni subdita supterpressit eum, quodam sensu fit uti videanturomnia quae tuimur fieri tum bina tuendo,bina lucernarum florentia lumina flammisbinaque per totas aedis geminare supellexet duplicis hominum facies et corpora bina.Denique cum suavi devinxit membra soporesomnus et in summa corpus iacet omne quiete,tum vigilare tamen nobis et membra moverenostra videmur, et in noctis caligine caecacernere censemus solem lumenque diurnum,conclusoque loco caelum mare flumina montismutare et campos pedibus transire videmur,et sonitus audire, severa silentia noctisundique cum constent, et reddere dicta tacentes.Cetera de genere hoc mirande multa videmus,quae violare fidem quasi sensibus omnia quaerunt,ne quiquam, quoniam pars horum maxima fallitpropter opinatus animi, quos addimus ipsi,pro visis ut sint quae non sunt sensibus visa;nam nihil aegrius est quam res secernere apertasab dubiis, animus quas ab se protinus addit.