Again, if one supposeThat naught is known, he knows not whether thisItself is able to be known, since heConfesses naught to know. Therefore with himI waive discussion- who has set his headEven where his feet should be. But let me grantThat this he knows,- I question: whence he knowsWhat 'tis to know and not-to-know in turn,And what created concept of the truth,And what device has proved the dubiousTo differ from the certain?- since in thingsHe's heretofore seen naught of true. Thou'lt findThat from the senses first hath been createConcept of truth, nor can the senses beRebutted. For criterion must be foundWorthy of greater trust, which shall defeatThrough own authority the false by true;What, then, than these our senses must there beWorthy a greater trust? Shall reason, sprungFrom some false sense, prevail to contradictThose senses, sprung as reason wholly isFrom out the senses?- For lest these be true,All reason also then is falsified.Or shall the ears have power to blame the eyes,Or yet the touch the ears? Again, shall tasteAccuse this touch or shall the nose confuteOr eyes defeat it? Methinks not so it is:For unto each has been divided offIts function quite apart, its power to each;And thus we're still constrained to perceiveThe soft, the cold, the hot apart, apartAll divers hues and whatso things there beConjoined with hues. Likewise the tasting tongueHas its own power apart, and smells apartAnd sounds apart are known. And thus it isThat no one sense can e'er convict another.Nor shall one sense have power to blame itself,Because it always must be deemed the same,Worthy of equal trust. And therefore whatAt any time unto these senses showed,The same is true.
Denique nil sciri siquis putat, id quoque nescitan sciri possit, quoniam nil scire fatetur.hunc igitur contra minuam contendere causam,qui capite ipse suo in statuit vestigia sese.et tamen hoc quoque uti concedam scire, at id ipsumquaeram, cum in rebus veri nil viderit ante,unde sciat quid sit scire et nescire vicissim,notitiam veri quae res falsique crearitet dubium certo quae res differre probarit.invenies primis ab sensibus esse creatamnotitiem veri neque sensus posse refelli.nam maiore fide debet reperirier illud,sponte sua veris quod possit vincere falsa.quid maiore fide porro quam sensus haberidebet? an ab sensu falso ratio orta valebitdicere eos contra, quae tota ab sensibus orta est?qui nisi sunt veri, ratio quoque falsa fit omnis.An poterunt oculos aures reprehendere, an aurestactus? an hunc porro tactum sapor arguet oris,an confutabunt nares oculive revincent?non, ut opinor, ita est. nam seorsum cuique potestasdivisast, sua vis cuiquest, ideoque necesse estet quod molle sit et gelidum fervensve videreet seorsum varios rerum sentire coloreset quae cumque coloribus sint coniuncta necessest.seorsus item sapor oris habet vim, seorsus odoresnascuntur, seorsum sonitus. ideoque necesse estnon possint alios alii convincere sensus.nec porro poterunt ipsi reprehendere sese,aequa fides quoniam debebit semper haberi.proinde quod in quoquest his visum tempore, verumst.
And if the reason beUnable to unravel us the causeWhy objects, which at hand were square, afarSeemed rounded, yet it more availeth us,Lacking the reason, to pretend a causeFor each configuration, than to letFrom out our hands escape the obvious thingsAnd injure primal faith in sense, and wreckAll those foundations upon which do restOur life and safety. For not only reasonWould topple down; but even our very lifeWould straightaway collapse, unless we daredTo trust our senses and to keep awayFrom headlong heights and places to be shunnedOf a like peril, and to seek with speedTheir opposites! Again, as in a building,If the first plumb-line be askew, and ifThe square deceiving swerve from lines exact,And if the level waver but the leastIn any part, the whole construction thenMust turn out faulty- shelving and askew,Leaning to back and front, incongruous,That now some portions seem about to fall,And falls the whole ere long- betrayed indeedBy first deceiving estimates: so tooThy calculations in affairs of lifeMust be askew and false, if sprung for theeFrom senses false. So all that troop of wordsMarshalled against the senses is quite vain.
Et si non poterit ratio dissolvere causam,cur ea quae fuerint iuxtim quadrata, procul sintvisa rutunda, tamen praestat rationis egentemreddere mendose causas utriusque figurae,quam manibus manifesta suis emittere quoquamet violare fidem primam et convellere totafundamenta quibus nixatur vita salusque.non modo enim ratio ruat omnis, vita quoque ipsaconcidat extemplo, nisi credere sensibus ausispraecipitisque locos vitare et cetera quae sintin genere hoc fugienda, sequi contraria quae sint.illa tibi est igitur verborum copia cassaomnis, quae contra sensus instructa paratast.Denique ut in fabrica, si pravast regula prima,normaque si fallax rectis regionibus exit,et libella aliqua si ex parti claudicat hilum,omnia mendose fieri atque obstipa necessu estprava cubantia prona supina atque absona tecta,iam ruere ut quaedam videantur velle, ruantqueprodita iudiciis fallacibus omnia primis,sic igitur ratio tibi rerum prava necessestfalsaque sit, falsis quae cumque ab sensibus ortast.
And now remains to demonstrate with easeHow other senses each their things perceive.Firstly, a sound and every voice is heard,When, getting into ears, they strike the senseWith their own body. For confess we mustEven voice and sound to be corporeal,Because they're able on the sense to strike.Besides voice often scrapes against the throat,And screams in going out do make more roughThe wind-pipe- naturally enough, methinks,When, through the narrow exit rising upIn larger throng, these primal germs of voiceHave thus begun to issue forth. In sooth,Also the door of the mouth is scraped against[By air blown outward] from distended [cheeks].......And thus no doubt there is, that voice and wordsConsist of elements corporeal,With power to pain. Nor art thou unawareLikewise how much of body's ta'en away,How much from very thews and powers of menMay be withdrawn by steady talk, prolongedEven from the rising splendour of the mornTo shadows of black evening,- above allIf 't be outpoured with most exceeding shouts.Therefore the voice must be corporeal,Since the long talker loses from his frameA part.Moreover, roughness in the soundComes from the roughness in the primal germs,As a smooth sound from smooth ones is create;Nor have these elements a form the sameWhen the trump rumbles with a hollow roar,As when barbaric Berecynthian pipeBuzzes with raucous boomings, or when swansBy night from icy shores of HeliconWith wailing voices raise their liquid dirge.
Nunc alii sensus quo pacto quisque suam remsentiat, haud quaquam ratio scruposa relicta est.Principio auditur sonus et vox omnis, in aurisinsinuata suo pepulere ubi corpore sensum.corpoream quoque enim [vocem] constare fatendumstet sonitum, quoniam possunt inpellere sensus.Praeterea radit vox fauces saepe facitqueasperiora foras gradiens arteria clamor,quippe per angustum turba maiore coortaire foras ubi coeperunt primordia vocum.scilicet expletis quoque ianua raditur oris.haud igitur dubiumst quin voces verbaque constentcorporeis e principiis, ut laedere possint.nec te fallit item quid corporis auferat et quiddetrahat ex hominum nervis ac viribus ipsisperpetuus sermo nigrai noctis ad umbramaurorae perductus ab exoriente nitore,praesertim si cum summost clamore profusus.ergo corpoream vocem constare necessest,multa loquens quoniam amittit de corpore partem.Asperitas autem vocis fit ab asperitateprincipiorum et item levor levore creatur;nec simili penetrant auris primordia forma,cum tuba depresso graviter sub murmure mugitet reboat raucum retro cita barbita bombum,et [iam] Dauliades natae hortis ex Heliconiscum liquidam tollunt lugubri voce querellam.
Thus, when from deep within our frame we forceThese voices, and at mouth expel them forth,The mobile tongue, artificer of words,Makes them articulate, and too the lipsBy their formations share in shaping them.Hence when the space is short from starting-pointTo where that voice arrives, the very wordsMust too be plainly heard, distinctly marked.For then the voice conserves its own formation,Conserves its shape. But if the space betweenBe longer than is fit, the words must beThrough the much air confounded, and the voiceDisordered in its flight across the winds-And so it haps, that thou canst sound perceive,Yet not determine what the words may mean;To such degree confounded and encumberedThe voice approaches us. Again, one word,Sent from the crier's mouth, may rouse all earsAmong the populace. And thus one voiceScatters asunder into many voices,Since it divides itself for separate ears,Imprinting form of word and a clear tone.But whatso part of voices fails to hitThe ears themselves perishes, borne beyond,Idly diffused among the winds. A part,Beating on solid porticoes, tossed backReturns a sound; and sometimes mocks the earWith a mere phantom of a word.
Hasce igitur penitus voces cum corpore nostroexprimimus rectoque foras emittimus ore,mobilis articulat nervorum daedala lingua,formaturaque labrorum pro parte figurat.hoc ubi non longum spatiumst unde illa profectaperveniat vox quaeque, necessest verba quoque ipsaplane exaudiri discernique articulatim;servat enim formaturam servatque figuram.at si inter positum spatium sit longius aequo,aëra per multum confundi verba necessestet conturbari vocem, dum transvolat auras.ergo fit, sonitum ut possis sentire neque illaminternoscere, verborum sententia quae sit;usque adeo confusa venit vox inque pedita.Praeterea verbum saepe unum perciet aurisomnibus in populo missum praeconis ab ore.in multas igitur voces vox una repentediffugit, in privas quoniam se dividit aurisobsignans formam verbis clarumque sonorem.at quae pars vocum non auris incidit ipsas,praeter lata perit frustra diffusa per auras.pars solidis adlisa locis reiecta sonoremreddit et inter dum frustratur imagine verbi.
When thisThou well hast noted, thou canst render countUnto thyself and others why it isAlong the lonely places that the rocksGive back like shapes of words in order like,When search we after comrades wanderingAmong the shady mountains, and aloudCall unto them, the scattered. I have seenSpots that gave back even voices six or sevenFor one thrown forth- for so the very hills,Dashing them back against the hills, kept onWith their reverberations. And these spotsThe neighbouring country-side doth feign to beHaunts of the goat-foot satyrs and the nymphs;And tells ye there be fauns, by whose night noiseAnd antic revels yonder they declareThe voiceless silences are broken oft,And tones of strings are made and wailings sweetWhich the pipe, beat by players' finger-tips,Pours out; and far and wide the farmer-raceBegins to hear, when, shaking the garmentingsOf pine upon his half-beast head, god-PanWith puckered lip oft runneth o'er and o'erThe open reeds,- lest flute should cease to pourThe woodland music! Other prodigiesAnd wonders of this ilk they love to tell,Lest they be thought to dwell in lonely spotsAnd even by gods deserted. This is whyThey boast of marvels in their story-tellings;Or by some other reason are led on-Greedy, as all mankind hath ever been,To prattle fables into ears.
Quae bene cum videas, rationem reddere possistute tibi atque aliis, quo pacto per loca solasaxa paris formas verborum ex ordine reddant.palantis comites com montis inter opacosquaerimus et magna dispersos voce ciemus.sex etiam aut septem loca vidi reddere vocis,unam cum iaceres: ita colles collibus ipsiverba repulsantes iterabant dicta referri.haec loca capripedes Satyros Nymphasque tenerefinitimi fingunt et Faunos esse locuntur,quorum noctivago strepitu ludoque iocantiadfirmant volgo taciturna silentia rumpichordarumque sonos fieri dulcisque querellas,tibia quas fundit digitis pulsata canentum,et genus agricolum late sentiscere, quom Panpinea semiferi capitis velamina quassansunco saepe labro calamos percurrit hiantis,fistula silvestrem ne cesset fundere musam.cetera de genere hoc monstra ac portenta loquontur,ne loca deserta ab divis quoque forte putentursola tenere. ideo iactant miracula dictisaut aliqua ratione alia ducuntur, ut omnehumanum genus est avidum nimis auricularum.
Again,One need not wonder how it comes aboutThat through those places (through which eyes cannotView objects manifest) sounds yet may passAnd assail the ears. For often we observePeople conversing, though the doors be closed;No marvel either, since all voice unharmedCan wind through bended apertures of things,While idol-films decline to- for they're rent,Unless along straight apertures they swim,Like those in glass, through which all imagesDo fly across. And yet this voice itself,In passing through shut chambers of a house,Is dulled, and in a jumble enters ears,And sound we seem to hear far more than words.Moreover, a voice is into all directionsDivided up, since off from one anotherNew voices are engendered, when one voiceHath once leapt forth, outstarting into many-As oft a spark of fire is wont to sprinkleItself into its several fires. And so,Voices do fill those places hid behind,Which all are in a hubbub round about,Astir with sound. But idol-films do tend,As once sent forth, in straight directions all;Wherefore one can inside a wall see naught,Yet catch the voices from beyond the same.
Quod super est, non est mirandum qua ratione,per loca quae nequeunt oculi res cernere apertas,haec loca per voces veniant aurisque lacessant,conloquium clausis foribus quoque saepe videmus;ni mirum quia vox per flexa foramina rerumincolumis transire potest, simulacra renutant;perscinduntur enim, nisi recta foramina tranant,qualia sunt vitrei, species qua travolat omnis.praeterea partis in cunctas dividitur vox,ex aliis aliae quoniam gignuntur, ubi unadissuluit semel in multas exorta, quasi ignissaepe solet scintilla suos se spargere in ignis.ergo replentur loca vocibus abdita retro,omnia quae circum fervunt sonituque cientur.at simulacra viis derectis omnia tendunt,ut sunt missa semel; qua propter cernere nemosaepe supra potis est, at voces accipere extra.et tamen ipsa quoque haec, dum transit clausa [domorum]vox optunditur atque auris confusa penetratet sonitum potius quam verba audire videmur.
Nor tongue and palate, whereby we flavour feel,Present more problems for more work of thought.Firstly, we feel a flavour in the mouth,When forth we squeeze it, in chewing up our food,-As any one perchance begins to squeezeWith hand and dry a sponge with water soaked.Next, all which forth we squeeze is spread aboutAlong the pores and intertwined pathsOf the loose-textured tongue. And so, when smoothThe bodies of the oozy flavour, thenDelightfully they touch, delightfullyThey treat all spots, around the wet and tricklingEnclosures of the tongue. And contrariwise,They sting and pain the sense with their assault,According as with roughness they're supplied.Next, only up to palate is the pleasureComing from flavour; for in truth when down'Thas plunged along the throat, no pleasure is,Whilst into all the frame it spreads around;Nor aught it matters with what food is fedThe body, if only what thou take thou canstDistribute well digested to the frameAnd keep the stomach in a moist career.Now, how it is we see some food for some,Others for others..........I will unfold, or wherefore what to someIs foul and bitter, yet the same to othersCan seem delectable to eat,- why hereSo great the distance and the difference isThat what is food to one to some becomesFierce poison, as a certain snake there isWhich, touched by spittle of a man, will wasteAnd end itself by gnawing up its coil.Again, fierce poison is the helleboreTo us, but puts the fat on goats and quails.That thou mayst know by what devices thisIs brought about, in chief thou must recallWhat we have said before, that seeds are keptCommixed in things in divers modes. Again,As all the breathing creatures which take foodAre outwardly unlike, and outer cutAnd contour of their members bounds them round,Each differing kind by kind, they thus consistOf seeds of varying shape. And furthermore,Since seeds do differ, divers too must beThe interstices and paths (which we do callThe apertures) in all the members, evenIn mouth and palate too. Thus some must beMore small or yet more large, three-cornered someAnd others squared, and many others round,And certain of them many-angled tooIn many modes. For, as the combinationAnd motion of their divers shapes demand,The shapes of apertures must be diverseAnd paths must vary according to their wallsThat bound them. Hence when what is sweet to some,Becomes to others bitter, for him to whom'Tis sweet, the smoothest particles must needsHave entered caressingly the palate's pores.And, contrariwise, with those to whom that sweetIs sour within the mouth, beyond a doubtThe rough and barbed particles have gotInto the narrows of the apertures.Now easy it is from these affairs to knowWhatever.........Indeed, where one from o'er-abundant bileIs stricken with fever, or in other wiseFeels the roused violence of some malady,There the whole frame is now upset, and thereAll the positions of the seeds are changed,-So that the bodies which before were fitTo cause the savour, now are fit no more,And now more apt are others which be ableTo get within the pores and gender sour.Both sorts, in sooth, are intermixed in honey-What oft we've proved above to thee before.
Hoc, qui sentimus sucum, lingua atque palatumplusculum habent in se rationis, plus operai.principio sucum sentimus in ore, cibum cummandendo exprimimus, ceu plenam spongiam aquaisiquis forte manu premere ac siccare coëpit.inde quod exprimimus per caulas omne palatididitur et rarae per flexa foramina linguae,hoc ubi levia sunt manantis corpora suci,suaviter attingunt et suaviter omnia tractantumida linguai circum sudantia templa;at contra pungunt sensum lacerantque coorta,quanto quaeque magis sunt asperitate repleta.deinde voluptas est e suco fine palati;cum vero deorsum per fauces praecipitavit,nulla voluptas est, dum diditur omnis in artus;nec refert quicquam quo victu corpus alatur,dum modo quod capias concoctum didere possisartubus et stomachi tumidum servare tenorem.Nunc aliis alius qui sit cibus ut videamus,expediam, quareve, aliis quod triste et amarumst,hoc tamen esse aliis possit perdulce videri,tantaque [in] his rebus distantia differitasque est,ut quod aliis cibus est aliis fuat acre venenum;est itaque ut serpens, hominis quae tacta salivisdisperit ac sese mandendo conficit ipsa.praeterea nobis veratrum est acre venenum,at capris adipes et cocturnicibus auget.id quibus ut fiat rebus cognoscere possis,principio meminisse decet quae diximus ante,semina multimodis in rebus mixta teneri.porro omnes quae cumque cibum capiunt animantes,ut sunt dissimiles extrinsecus et generatimextima membrorum circumcaesura coërcet,proinde et seminibus constant variantque figura.semina cum porro distent, differre necessestintervalla viasque, foramina quae perhibemus,omnibus in membris et in ore ipsoque palato.esse minora igitur quaedam maioraque debent,esse triquetra aliis, aliis quadrata necessest,multa rutunda, modis multis multangula quaedam.namque figurarum ratio ut motusque reposcunt,proinde foraminibus debent differe figuraeet variare viae proinde ac textura coërcet.hoc ubi quod suave est aliis aliis fit amarum,illi, cui suave est, levissima corpora debentcontractabiliter caulas intrare palati,at contra quibus est eadem res intus acerba,aspera ni mirum penetrant hamataque fauces.nunc facile est ex his rebus cognoscere quaeque.quippe ubi cui febris bili superante coorta estaut alia ratione aliquast vis excita morbi,perturbatur ibi iam totum corpus et omnescommutantur ibi positurae principiorum;fit prius ad sensum [ut] quae corpora conveniebantnunc non conveniant, et cetera sint magis apta,quae penetrata queunt sensum progignere acerbum;utraque enim sunt in mellis commixta sapore;id quod iam supera tibi saepe ostendimus ante.
Now come, and I will indicate what wiseImpact of odour on the nostrils touches.And first, 'tis needful there be many thingsFrom whence the streaming flow of varied odoursMay roll along, and we're constrained to thinkThey stream and dart and sprinkle themselves aboutImpartially. But for some breathing creaturesOne odour is more apt, to others another-Because of differing forms of seeds and pores.Thus on and on along the zephyrs beesAre led by odour of honey, vultures tooBy carcasses. Again, the forward powerOf scent in dogs doth lead the hunter onWhithersoever the splay-foot of wild beastHath hastened its career; and the white goose,The saviour of the Roman citadel,Forescents afar the odour of mankind.Thus, diversly to divers ones is givenPeculiar smell that leadeth each alongTo his own food or makes him start abackFrom loathsome poison, and in this wise areThe generations of the wild preserved.Yet is this pungence not alone in odoursOr in the class of flavours; but, likewise,The look of things and hues agree not allSo well with senses unto all, but thatSome unto some will be, to gaze upon,More keen and painful. Lo, the raving lions,They dare not face and gaze upon the cockWho's wont with wings to flap away the nightFrom off the stage, and call the beaming mornWith clarion voice- and lions straightway thusBethink themselves of flight, because, ye see,Within the body of the cocks there beSome certain seeds, which, into lions' eyesInjected, bore into the pupils deepAnd yield such piercing pain they can't hold outAgainst the cocks, however fierce they be-Whilst yet these seeds can't hurt our gaze the least,Either because they do not penetrate,Or since they have free exit from the eyesAs soon as penetrating, so that thusThey cannot hurt our eyes in any partBy there remaining.To speak once more of odour;Whatever assail the nostrils, some can travelA longer way than others. None of them,However, 's borne so far as sound or voice-While I omit all mention of such thingsAs hit the eyesight and assail the vision.For slowly on a wandering course it comesAnd perishes sooner, by degrees absorbedEasily into all the winds of air;-And first, because from deep inside the thingIt is discharged with labour (for the factThat every object, when 'tis shivered, ground,Or crumbled by the fire, will smell the strongerIs sign that odours flow and part awayFrom inner regions of the things). And next,Thou mayest see that odour is createOf larger primal germs than voice, becauseIt enters not through stony walls, wherethroughUnfailingly the voice and sound are borne;Wherefore, besides, thou wilt observe 'tis notSo easy to trace out in whatso placeThe smelling object is. For, dallying onAlong the winds, the particles cool off,And then the scurrying messengers of thingsArrive our senses, when no longer hot.So dogs oft wander astray, and hunt the scent.
Nunc age, quo pacto naris adiectus odoristangat agam. primum res multas esse necessestunde fluens volvat varius se fluctus odorum,et fluere et mitti volgo spargique putandumst;verum aliis alius magis est animantibus aptus,dissimilis propter formas. ideoque per aurasmellis apes quamvis longe ducuntur odore,volturiique cadaveribus; tum fissa ferarumungula quo tulerit gressum promissa canum visducit, et humanum longe praesentit odoremRomulidarum arcis servator, candidus anser.sic aliis alius nidor datus ad sua quemquepabula ducit et a taetro resilire venenocogit, eoque modo servantur saecla ferarum.Hic odor ipse igitur, naris qui cumque lacessit,est alio ut possit permitti longius alter;sed tamen haud quisquam tam longe fertur eorumquam sonitus, quam vox, mitto iam dicere quam resquae feriunt oculorum acies visumque lacessunt.errabundus enim tarde venit ac perit antepaulatim facilis distractus in aëris auras;ex alto primum quia vix emittitur ex re;nam penitus fluere atque recedere rebus odoressignificat quod fracta magis redolere videnturomnia, quod contrita, quod igni conlabefacta.deinde videre licet maioribus esse creatumprincipiis quam vox, quoniam per saxea saeptanon penetrat, qua vox volgo sonitusque feruntur.quare etiam quod olet non tam facile esse videbisinvestigare in qua sit regione locatum;refrigescit enim cunctando plaga per aurasnec calida ad sensum decurrunt nuntia rerum.errant saepe canes itaque et vestigia quaerunt.Nec tamen hoc solis in odoribus atque saporumin generest, sed item species rerum atque coloresnon ita conveniunt ad sensus omnibus omnes,ut non sint aliis quaedam magis acria visu.quin etiam gallum noctem explaudentibus alisauroram clara consuetum voce vocare,noenu queunt rapidi contra constare leonesinque tueri: ita continuo meminere fugai.ni mirum quia sunt gallorum in corpore quaedamsemina, quae cum sunt oculis inmissa leonum,pupillas interfodiunt acremque dolorempraebent, ut nequeant contra durare feroces,cum tamen haec nostras acies nil laedere possint,aut quia non penetrant aut quod penetrantibus illisexitus ex oculis liber datur, in remorandolaedere ne possint ex ulla lumina parte.
Now mark, and hear what objects move the mind,And learn, in few, whence unto intellectDo come what come. And first I tell thee this:That many images of objects roveIn many modes to every region round-So thin that easily the one with other,When once they meet, uniteth in mid-air,Like gossamer or gold-leaf. For, indeed,Far thinner are they in their fabric thanThose images which take a hold on eyesAnd smite the vision, since through body's poresThey penetrate, and inwardly stir upThe subtle nature of mind and smite the sense.Thus, Centaurs and the limbs of Scyllas, thusThe Cerberus-visages of dogs we see,And images of people gone before-Dead men whose bones earth bosomed long ago;Because the images of every kindAre everywhere about us borne- in partThose which are gendered in the very airOf own accord, in part those others whichFrom divers things do part away, and thoseWhich are compounded, made from out their shapes.For soothly from no living Centaur isThat phantom gendered, since no breed of beastLike him was ever; but, when imagesOf horse and man by chance have come together,They easily cohere, as aforesaid,At once, through subtle nature and fabric thin.In the same fashion others of this ilkCreated are. And when they're quickly borneIn their exceeding lightness, easily(As earlier I showed) one subtle image,Compounded, moves by its one blow the mind,Itself so subtle and so strangely quick.That these things come to pass as I record,From this thou easily canst understand:So far as one is unto other like,Seeing with mind as well as with the eyesMust come to pass in fashion not unlike.Well, now, since I have shown that I perceiveHaply a lion through those idol-filmsSuch as assail my eyes, 'tis thine to knowAlso the mind is in like manner moved,And sees, nor more nor less than eyes do see(Except that it perceives more subtle films)The lion and aught else through idol-films.And when the sleep has overset our frame,The mind's intelligence is now awake,Still for no other reason, save that these-The self-same films as when we are awake-Assail our minds, to such degree indeedThat we do seem to see for sure the manWhom, void of life, now death and earth have gainedDominion over. And nature forces thisTo come to pass because the body's sensesAre resting, thwarted through the members all,Unable now to conquer false with true;And memory lies prone and languishesIn slumber, nor protests that he, the manWhom the mind feigns to see alive, long sinceHath been the gain of death and dissolution.And further, 'tis no marvel idols moveAnd toss their arms and other members roundIn rhythmic time- and often in men's sleepsIt haps an image this is seen to do;In sooth, when perishes the former image,And other is gendered of another pose,That former seemeth to have changed its gestures.Of course the change must be conceived as speedy;So great the swiftness and so great the storeOf idol-things, and (in an instant briefAs mind can mark) so great, again, the storeOf separate idol-parts to bring supplies.It happens also that there is suppliedSometimes an image not of kind the same;But what before was woman, now at handIs seen to stand there, altered into male;Or other visage, other age succeeds;But slumber and oblivion take careThat we shall feel no wonder at the thing.
Nunc age, quae moveant animum res accipe, et undequae veniunt veniant in mentem percipe paucis.principio hoc dico, rerum simulacra vagarimulta modis multis in cunctas undique partistenvia, quae facile inter se iunguntur in auris,obvia cum veniunt, ut aranea bratteaque auri.quippe etenim multo magis haec sunt tenvia textuquam quae percipiunt oculos visumque lacessunt,corporis haec quoniam penetrant per rara cientquetenvem animi naturam intus sensumque lacessunt.Centauros itaque et Scyllarum membra videmusCerbereasque canum facies simulacraque eorumquorum morte obita tellus amplectitur ossa;omnigenus quoniam passim simulacra feruntur,partim sponte sua quae fiunt aëre in ipso,partim quae variis ab rebus cumque receduntet quae confiunt ex horum facta figuris.nam certe ex vivo Centauri non fit imago,nulla fuit quoniam talis natura animata;verum ubi equi atque hominis casu convenit imago,haerescit facile extemplo, quod diximus ante,propter subtilem naturam et tenvia texta.cetera de genere hoc eadem ratione creantur.quae cum mobiliter summa levitate feruntur,ut prius ostendi, facile uno commovet ictuquae libet una animum nobis subtilis imago;tenvis enim mens est et mire mobilis ipsa.haec fieri ut memoro, facile hinc cognoscere possis.quatinus hoc simile est illi, quod mente videmusatque oculis, simili fieri ratione necessest.Nunc igitur docui quoniam me forte leonumcernere per simulacra, oculos quae cumque lacessunt,scire licet mentem simili ratione moveriper simulacra leonum [et] cetera quae videt aequenec minus atque oculi, nisi quod mage tenvia cernit.nec ratione alia, cum somnus membra profudit,mens animi vigilat, nisi quod simulacra lacessunthaec eadem nostros animos quae cum vigilamus,usque adeo, certe ut videamur cernere eum quemrellicta vita iam mors et terra potitast.hoc ideo fieri cogit natura, quod omnescorporis offecti sensus per membra quiescuntnec possunt falsum veris convincere rebus.praeterea meminisse iacet languetque sopore,nec dissentit eum mortis letique potitumiam pridem, quem mens vivom se cernere credit.quod super est, non est mirum simulacra moveribracchiaque in numerum iactare et cetera membra;nam fit ut in somnis facere hoc videatur imago.quippe, ubi prima perit alioque est altera natainde statu, prior hic gestum mutasse videtur.scilicet id fieri celeri ratione putandumst:tanta est mobilitas et rerum copia tantatantaque sensibili quovis est tempore in unocopia particularum, ut possit suppeditare.
And much in these affairs demands inquiry,And much, illumination- if we craveWith plainness to exhibit facts. And first,Why doth the mind of one to whom the whimTo think has come behold forthwith that thing?Or do the idols watch upon our will,And doth an image unto us occur,Directly we desire- if heart preferThe sea, the land, or after all the sky?Assemblies of the citizens, parades,Banquets, and battles, these and all doth she,Nature, create and furnish at our word?-Maugre the fact that in same place and spotAnother's mind is meditating thingsAll far unlike. And what, again, of this:When we in sleep behold the idols step,In measure, forward, moving supple limbs,Whilst forth they put each supple arm in turnWith speedy motion, and with eyeing headsRepeat the movement, as the foot keeps time?Forsooth, the idols they are steeped in art,And wander to and fro well taught indeed,-Thus to be able in the time of nightTo make such games! Or will the truth be this:Because in one least moment that we mark-That is, the uttering of a single sound-There lurk yet many moments, which the reasonDiscovers to exist, therefore it comesThat, in a moment how so brief ye will,The divers idols are hard by, and readyEach in its place diverse? So great the swiftness,So great, again, the store of idol-things,And so, when perishes the former image,And other is gendered of another pose,The former seemeth to have changed its gestures.And since they be so tenuous, mind can markSharply alone the ones it strains to see;And thus the rest do perish one and all,Save those for which the mind prepares itself.Further, it doth prepare itself indeed,And hopes to see what follows after each-Hence this result. For hast thou not observedHow eyes, essaying to perceive the fine,Will strain in preparation, otherwiseUnable sharply to perceive at all?Yet know thou canst that, even in objects plain,If thou attendest not, 'tis just the sameAs if 'twere all the time removed and far.What marvel, then, that mind doth lose the rest,Save those to which 'thas given up itself?So 'tis that we conjecture from small signsThings wide and weighty, and involve ourselvesIn snarls of self-deceit.
Multaque in his rebus quaeruntur multaque nobisclarandumst, plane si res exponere avemus.quaeritur in primis quare, quod cuique libidovenerit, extemplo mens cogitet eius id ipsum.anne voluntatem nostram simulacra tuenturet simul ac volumus nobis occurrit imago,si mare, si terram cordist, si denique caelum?conventus hominum, pompam, convivia, pugnas,omnia sub verbone creat natura paratque?cum praesertim aliis eadem in regione locoquelonge dissimilis animus res cogitet omnis.quid porro, in numerum procedere cum simulacracernimus in somnis et mollia membra movere,mollia mobiliter cum alternis bracchia mittuntet repetunt oculis gestum pede convenienti?scilicet arte madent simulacra et docta vagantur,nocturno facere ut possint in tempore ludos.an magis illud erit verum? quia tempore in uno,cum sentimus, id est cum vox emittitur una,tempora multa latent, ratio quae comperit esse,propterea fit uti quovis in tempore quaequepraesto sint simulacra locis in quisque parata.tanta est mobilitas et rerum copia tanta.hoc ubi prima perit alioque est altera natainde statu, prior hic gestum mutasse videtur.et quia tenvia sunt, nisi quae contendit, acutecernere non potis est animus; proinde omnia quae suntpraeterea pereunt, nisi quae ex se[se] ipse paravit.ipse parat sese porro speratque futurumut videat quod consequitur rem quamque: fit ergo.nonne vides oculos etiam, cum tenvia quae sunt[praeterea pereunt, nisi quae ex se ipse paravit]cernere coeperunt, contendere se atque parare,nec sine eo fieri posse ut cernamus acute?et tamen in rebus quoque apertis noscere possis,si non advertas animum, proinde esse quasi omnitempore semotum fuerit longeque remotum.cur igitur mirumst, animus si cetera perditpraeter quam quibus est in rebus deditus ipse?deinde adopinamur de signis maxima parvisac nos in fraudem induimus frustraminis ipsi.Fit quoque ut inter dum non suppeditetur imagoeiusdem generis, sed femina quae fuit ante,in manibus vir uti factus videatur adesse,aut alia ex alia facies aetasque sequatur.quod ne miremur sopor atque oblivia curant.
In these affairsWe crave that thou wilt passionately fleeThe one offence, and anxiously wilt shunThe error of presuming the clear lightsOf eyes created were that we might see;Or thighs and knees, aprop upon the feet,Thuswise can bended be, that we might stepWith goodly strides ahead; or forearms joinedUnto the sturdy uppers, or serving handsOn either side were given, that we might doLife's own demands. All such interpretationIs aft-for-fore with inverse reasoning,Since naught is born in body so that weMay use the same, but birth engenders use:No seeing ere the lights of eyes were born,No speaking ere the tongue created was;But origin of tongue came long beforeDiscourse of words, and ears created wereMuch earlier than any sound was heard;And all the members, so meseems, were thereBefore they got their use: and therefore, theyCould not be gendered for the sake of use.But contrariwise, contending in the fightWith hand to hand, and rending of the joints,And fouling of the limbs with gore, was there,O long before the gleaming spears ere flew;And nature prompted man to shun a wound,Before the left arm by the aid of artOpposed the shielding targe. And, verily,Yielding the weary body to repose,Far ancienter than cushions of soft beds,And quenching thirst is earlier than cups.These objects, therefore, which for use and lifeHave been devised, can be conceived as foundFor sake of using. But apart from suchAre all which first were born and afterwardsGave knowledge of their own utility-Chief in which sort we note the senses, limbs:Wherefore, again, 'tis quite beyond thy powerTo hold that these could thus have been createFor office of utility.
Illud in his rebus vitium vehementer äinesseeffugere errorem vitareque praemetuenter,lumina ne facias oculorum clara creata,prospicere ut possimus, et ut proferre queamusproceros passus, ideo fastigia possesurarum ac feminum pedibus fundata plicari,bracchia tum porro validis ex apta lacertisesse manusque datas utraque [ex] parte ministras,ut facere ad vitam possemus quae foret usus.cetera de genere hoc inter quae cumque pretantur,omnia perversa praepostera sunt ratione,nil ideo quoniam natumst in corpore ut utipossemus, sed quod natumst id procreat usum.nec fuit ante videre oculorum lumina nata,nec dictis orare prius quam lingua creatast,sed potius longe linguae praecessit origosermonem multoque creatae sunt prius auresquam sonus est auditus, et omnia denique membraante fuere, ut opinor, eorum quam foret usus;haud igitur potuere utendi crescere causa.at contra conferre manu certamina pugnaeet lacerare artus foedareque membra cruoreante fuit multo quam lucida tela volarent,et volnus vitare prius natura coëgitquam daret obiectum parmai laeva per artem.scilicet et fessum corpus mandare quietimulto antiquius est quam lecti mollia strata,et sedare sitim prius est quam pocula natum.haec igitur possunt utendi cognita causacredier, ex usu quae sunt vitaque reperta.illa quidem seorsum sunt omnia, quae prius ipsanata dedere suae post notitiam utilitatis.quo genere in primis sensus et membra videmus;quare etiam atque etiam procul est ut credere possisutilitatis ob officium potuisse creari.
Likewise,'Tis nothing strange that all the breathing creaturesSeek, even by nature of their frame, their food.Yes, since I've taught thee that from off the thingsStream and depart innumerable bodiesIn modes innumerable too; but mostMust be the bodies streaming from the living-Which bodies, vexed by motion evermore,Are through the mouth exhaled innumerable,When weary creatures pant, or through the sweatSqueezed forth innumerable from deep within.Thus body rarefies, so underminedIn all its nature, and pain attends its state.And so the food is taken to underpropThe tottering joints, and by its interfusionTo re-create their powers, and there stop upThe longing, open-mouthed through limbs and veins,For eating. And the moist no less departsInto all regions that demand the moist;And many heaped-up particles of hot,Which cause such burnings in these bellies of ours,The liquid on arriving dissipatesAnd quenches like a fire, that parching heatNo longer now can scorch the frame. And so,Thou seest how panting thirst is washed awayFrom off our body, how the hunger-pangIt, too, appeased.
Illud item non est mirandum, corporis ipsaquod natura cibum quaerit cuiusque animantis.quippe etenim fluere atque recedere corpora rebusmulta modis multis docui, sed plurima debentex animalibus; [quae] quia sunt exercita motu,multa per os exhalantur, cum languida anhelant,multaque per sudorem ex alto pressa feruntur.his igitur rebus rarescit corpus et omnissubruitur natura, dolor quam consequitur rem.propterea capitur cibus, ut suffulciat artuset recreet vires inter datus, atque patentemper membra ac venas ut amorem opturet edendi.umor item discedit in omnia quae loca cumqueposcunt umorem; glomerataque multa vaporiscorpora, quae stomacho praebent incendia nostro,dissupat adveniens liquor ac restinguit ut ignem,urere ne possit calor amplius aridus artus.sic igitur tibi anhela sitis de corpore nostroabluitur, sic expletur ieiuna cupido.