Thus, then, the massy weight of earth stood firmWith now concreted body, when (as 'twere)All of the slime of the world, heavy and gross,Had run together and settled at the bottom,Like lees or bilge. Then ocean, then the air,Then ether herself, the fraught-with-fire, were allLeft with their liquid bodies pure and free,And each more lighter than the next below;And ether, most light and liquid of the three,Floats on above the long aerial winds,Nor with the brawling of the winds of airMingles its liquid body. It doth leaveAll there- those under-realms below her heights-There to be overset in whirlwinds wild,-Doth leave all there to brawl in wayward gusts,Whilst, gliding with a fixed impulse still,Itself it bears its fires along. For, lo,That ether can flow thus steadily on, on,With one unaltered urge, the Pontus proves-That sea which floweth forth with fixed tides,Keeping one onward tenor as it glides.
Sic igitur terrae concreto corpore pondusconstitit atque omnis mundi quasi limus in imumconfluxit gravis et subsedit funditus ut faex;inde mare, inde aër, inde aether ignifer ipsecorporibus liquidis sunt omnia pura relictaet leviora aliis alia, et liquidissimus aetheratque levissimus aërias super influit aurasnec liquidum corpus turbantibus aëris auriscommiscet; sinit haec violentis omnia vertiturbinibus, sinit incertis turbare procellis,ipse suos ignis certo fert impete labens.nam modice fluere atque uno posse aethera nisusignificat Pontos, mare certo quod fluit aestuunum labendi conservans usque tenorem.
Now let us sing what makes the stars to move.In first place, if the mighty sphere of heavenRevolveth round, then needs we must averThat on the upper and the under polePresses a certain air, and from withoutConfines them and encloseth at each end;And that, moreover, another air aboveStreams on athwart the top of the sphere and tendsIn same direction as are rolled alongThe glittering stars of the eternal world;Or that another still streams on belowTo whirl the sphere from under up and onIn opposite direction- as we seeThe rivers turn the wheels and water-scoops.It may be also that the heavens do allRemain at rest, whilst yet are borne alongThe lucid constellations; either becauseSwift tides of ether are by sky enclosed,And whirl around, seeking a passage out,And everywhere make roll the starry firesThrough the Summanian regions of the sky;Or else because some air, streaming alongFrom an eternal quarter off beyond,Whileth the driven fires, or, then, becauseThe fires themselves have power to creep along,Going wherever their food invites and calls,And feeding their flaming bodies everywhereThroughout the sky. Yet which of these is causeIn this our world 'tis hard to say for sure;But what can be throughout the universe,In divers worlds on divers plan create,This only do I show, and follow onTo assign unto the motions of the starsEven several causes which 'tis possibleExist throughout the universal All;Of which yet one must be the cause even hereWhich maketh motion for our constellations.Yet to decide which one of them it beIs not the least the business of a manAdvancing step by cautious step, as I.
Motibus astrorum nunc quae sit causa canamus.principio magnus caeli si vortitur orbis,ex utraque polum parti premere aëra nobisdicendum est extraque tenere et claudere utrimque;inde alium supra fluere atque intendere eodemquo volvenda micant aeterni sidera mundi;aut alium supter, contra qui subvehat orbem,ut fluvios versare rotas atque austra videmus.est etiam quoque uti possit caelum omne manerein statione, tamen cum lucida signa ferantur,sive quod inclusi rapidi sunt aetheris aestusquaerentesque viam circum versantur et ignespassim per caeli volvunt summania templa,sive aliunde fluens alicunde extrinsecus aërversat agens ignis, sive ipsi serpere possunt,quo cuiusque cibus vocat atque invitat euntis,flammea per caelum pascentis corpora passim.nam quid in hoc mundo sit eorum ponere certumdifficilest; sed quid possit fiatque per omnein variis mundis varia ratione creatis,id doceo plurisque sequor disponere causas,motibus astrorum quae possint esse per omne;e quibus una tamen sit et haec quoque causa necessest,quae vegeat motum signis; sed quae sit earumpraecipere haud quaquamst pedetemptim progredientis.
And that the earth may there abide at restIn the mid-region of the world, it needsMust vanish bit by bit in weight and lessen,And have another substance underneath,Conjoined to it from its earliest ageIn linked unison with the vasty world'sRealms of the air in which it roots and lives.On this account, the earth is not a load,Nor presses down on winds of air beneath;Even as unto a man his members beWithout all weight- the head is not a loadUnto the neck; nor do we feel the wholeWeight of the body to centre in the feet.But whatso weights come on us from without,Weights laid upon us, these harass and chafe,Though often far lighter. For to such degreeIt matters always what the innate powersOf any given thing may be. The earthWas, then, no alien substance fetched amain,And from no alien firmament cast downOn alien air; but was conceived, like air,In the first origin of this the world,As a fixed portion of the same, as nowOur members are seen to be a part of us.Besides, the earth, when of a sudden shookBy the big thunder, doth with her motion shakeAll that's above her- which she ne'er could doBy any means, were earth not bounden fastUnto the great world's realms of air and sky:For they cohere together with common roots,Conjoined both, even from their earliest age,In linked unison. Aye, seest thou notThat this most subtle energy of soulSupports our body, though so heavy a weight,-Because, indeed, 'tis with it so conjoinedIn linked unison? What power, in sum,Can raise with agile leap our body aloft,Save energy of mind which steers the limbs?Now seest thou not how powerful may beA subtle nature, when conjoined it isWith heavy body, as air is with the earthConjoined, and energy of mind with us?
Terraque ut in media mundi regione quiescat,evanescere paulatim et decrescere pondusconvenit atque aliam naturam supter habereex ineunte aevo coniunctam atque uniter aptampartibus aëriis mundi, quibus insita vivit.propterea non est oneri neque deprimit auras,ut sua cuique homini nullo sunt pondere membranec caput est oneri collo nec denique totumcorporis in pedibus pondus sentimus inesse;at quae cumque foris veniunt inpostaque nobispondera sunt laedunt, permulto saepe minora.usque adeo magni refert quid quaeque queat res.sic igitur tellus non est aliena repenteallata atque auris aliunde obiecta alienis,sed pariter prima concepta ab origine mundicertaque pars eius, quasi nobis membra videntur.Praeterea grandi tonitru concussa repenteterra supra quae se sunt concutit omnia motu;quod facere haut ulla posset ratione, nisi essetpartibus aëriis mundi caeloque revincta;nam communibus inter se radicibus haerentex ineunte aevo coniuncta atque uniter aucta.Nonne vides etiam quam magno pondere nobissustineat corpus tenuissima vis animai,propterea quia tam coniuncta atque uniter apta est?Denique iam saltu pernici tollere corpusquid potis est nisi vis animae, quae membra gubernat?iamne vides quantum tenuis natura valerepossit, ubi est coniuncta gravi cum corpore, ut aërconiunctus terris et nobis est animi vis?
Nor can the sun's wheel larger be by muchNor its own blaze much less than either seemsUnto our senses. For from whatso spacesFires have the power on us to cast their beamsAnd blow their scorching exhalations forthAgainst our members, those same distancesTake nothing by those intervals awayFrom bulk of flames; and to the sight the fireIs nothing shrunken. Therefore, since the heatAnd the outpoured light of skiey sunArrive our senses and caress our limbs,Form too and bigness of the sun must lookEven here from earth just as they really be,So that thou canst scarce nothing take or add.And whether the journeying moon illuminateThe regions round with bastard beams, or throwFrom off her proper body her own light,-Whichever it be, she journeys with a formNaught larger than the form doth seem to beWhich we with eyes of ours perceive. For allThe far removed objects of our gazeSeem through much air confused in their lookEre minished in their bigness. Wherefore, moon,Since she presents bright look and clear-cut form,May there on high by us on earth be seenJust as she is with extreme bounds defined,And just of the size. And lastly, whatso firesOf ether thou from earth beholdest, theseThou mayst consider as possibly of sizeThe least bit less, or larger by a hairThan they appear- since whatso fires we viewHere in the lands of earth are seen to changeFrom time to time their size to less or moreOnly the least, when more or less away,So long as still they bicker clear, and stillTheir glow's perceived.
Nec nimio solis maior rota nec minor ardoresse potest, nostris quam sensibus esse videtur.nam quibus e spatiis cumque ignes lumina possuntadiicere et calidum membris adflare vaporem,nil magnis intervallis de corpore libantflammarum, nihil ad speciem est contractior ignis.proinde, calor quoniam solis lumenque profusumperveniunt nostros ad sensus et loca fulgent,forma quoque hinc solis debet filumque videri,nil adeo ut possis plus aut minus addere vere.[perveniunt nostros ad sensus et loca fulgent]lunaque sive notho fertur loca lumine lustrans,sive suam proprio iactat de corpore lucem,quidquid id est, nihilo fertur maiore figuraquam, nostris oculis qua cernimus, esse videtur.nam prius omnia, quae longe semota tuemuraëra per multum, specie confusa videnturquam minui filum. quapropter luna necesse est,quandoquidem claram speciem certamque figurampraebet, ut est oris extremis cumque notata,quanta quoquest, tanta hinc nobis videatur in alto.postremo quos cumque vides hinc aetheris ignes,scire licet perquam pauxillo posse minoresesse vel exigua maioris parte brevique.quandoquidem quos cumque in terris cernimus [ignes],dum tremor [et] clarus dum cernitur ardor eorum,perparvom quiddam inter dum mutare videnturalteram utram in partem filum, quo longius absunt.
Nor need there be for menAstonishment that yonder sun so smallCan yet send forth so great a light as fillsOceans and all the lands and sky aflood,And with its fiery exhalations steepsThe world at large. For it may be, indeed,That one vast-flowing well-spring of the wholeWide world from here hath opened and out-gushed,And shot its light abroad; because thuswiseThe elements of fiery exhalationsFrom all the world around together come,And thuswise flow into a bulk so bigThat from one single fountain-head may streamThis heat and light. And seest thou not, indeed,How widely one small water-spring may wetThe meadow-lands at times and flood the fields?'Tis even possible, besides, that heatFrom forth the sun's own fire, albeit that fireBe not a great, may permeate the airWith the fierce hot- if but, perchance, the airBe of condition and so tempered thenAs to be kindled, even when beat uponOnly by little particles of heat-Just as we sometimes see the standing grainOr stubble straw in conflagration allFrom one lone spark. And possibly the sun,Agleam on high with rosy lampion,Possesses about him with invisible heatsA plenteous fire, by no effulgence marked,So that he maketh, he, the Fraught-with-fire,Increase to such degree the force of rays.
Illud item non est mirandum, qua rationetantulus ille queat tantum sol mittere lumen,quod maria ac terras omnis caelumque rigandocompleat et calido perfundat cuncta vapore.[quanta quoquest tanta hinc nobis videatur in alto]nam licet hinc mundi patefactum totius unumlargifluum fontem scatere atque erumpere lumen,ex omni mundo quia sic elementa vaporisundique conveniunt et sic coniectus eorumconfluit, ex uno capite hic ut profluat ardor.nonne vides etiam quam late parvus aquaiprata riget fons inter dum campisque redundet?est etiam quoque uti non magno solis ab igniaëra percipiat calidis fervoribus ardor,opportunus ita est si forte et idoneus aër,ut queat accendi parvis ardoribus ictus;quod genus inter dum segetes stipulamque videmusaccidere ex una scintilla incendia passim.forsitan et rosea sol alte lampade lucenspossideat multum caecis fervoribus ignemcircum se, nullo qui sit fulgore notatus,aestifer ut tantum radiorum exaugeat ictum.
Nor is there one sure cause revealed to menHow the sun journeys from his summer hauntsOn to the mid-most winter turning-pointsIn Capricorn, the thence reverting veersBack to solstitial goals of Cancer; norHow 'tis the moon is seen each month to crossThat very distance which in traversingThe sun consumes the measure of a year.I say, no one clear reason hath been givenFor these affairs. Yet chief in likelihoodSeemeth the doctrine which the holy thoughtOf great Democritus lays down: that everThe nearer the constellations be to earthThe less can they by whirling of the skyBe borne along, because those skiey powersOf speed aloft do vanish and decreaseIn under-regions, and the sun is thusLeft by degrees behind amongst those signsThat follow after, since the sun he liesFar down below the starry signs that blaze;And the moon lags even tardier than the sun:In just so far as is her course removedFrom upper heaven and nigh unto the lands,In just so far she fails to keep the paceWith starry signs above; for just so farAs feebler is the whirl that bears her on,(Being, indeed, still lower than the sun),In just so far do all the starry signs,Circling around, o'ertake her and o'erpass.Therefore it happens that the moon appearsMore swiftly to return to any signAlong the Zodiac, than doth the sun,Because those signs do visit her againMore swiftly than they visit the great sun.It can be also that two streams of airAlternately at fixed periodsBlow out from transverse regions of the world,Of which the one may thrust the sun awayFrom summer-signs to mid-most winter goalsAnd rigors of the cold, and the other thenMay cast him back from icy shades of chillEven to the heat-fraught regions and the signsThat blaze along the Zodiac. So, too,We must suppose the moon and all the stars,Which through the mighty and sidereal yearsRoll round in mighty orbits, may be spedBy streams of air from regions alternate.Seest thou not also how the clouds be spedBy contrary winds to regions contrary,The lower clouds diversely from the upper?Then, why may yonder stars in ether thereAlong their mighty orbits not be borneBy currents opposite the one to other?
Nec ratio solis simplex [et] recta patescit,quo pacto aestivis e partibus aegocerotisbrumalis adeat flexus atque inde revertenscanceris ut vertat metas ad solstitialis,lunaque mensibus id spatium videatur obire,annua sol in quo consumit tempora cursu.non, inquam, simplex his rebus reddita causast.nam fieri vel cum primis id posse videtur,Democriti quod sancta viri sententia ponit,quanto quaeque magis sint terram sidera propter,tanto posse minus cum caeli turbine ferri;evanescere enim rapidas illius et acrisimminui supter viris, ideoque relinquipaulatim solem cum posterioribus signis,inferior multo quod sit quam fervida signa.et magis hoc lunam: quanto demissior eiuscursus abest procul a caelo terrisque propinquat,tanto posse minus cum signis tendere cursum.flaccidiore etiam quanto iam turbine ferturinferior quam sol, tanto magis omnia signahanc adipiscuntur circum praeterque feruntur.propterea fit ut haec ad signum quodque revertimobilius videatur, ad hanc quia signa revisunt.fit quoque ut e mundi transversis partibus aëralternis certo fluere alter tempore possit,qui queat aestivis solem detrudere signisbrumalis usque ad flexus gelidumque rigorem,et qui reiciat gelidis a frigoris umbrisaestiferas usque in partis et fervida signa.et ratione pari lunam stellasque putandumst,quae volvunt magnos in magnis orbibus annos,aëribus posse alternis e partibus ire.nonne vides etiam diversis nubila ventisdiversas ire in partis inferna supernis?qui minus illa queant per magnos aetheris orbisaestibus inter se diversis sidera ferri?
But night o'erwhelms the lands with vasty murkEither when sun, after his diurnal course,Hath walked the ultimate regions of the skyAnd wearily hath panted forth his fires,Shivered by their long journeying and wastedBy traversing the multitudinous air,Or else because the self-same force that draveHis orb along above the lands compelsHim then to turn his course beneath the lands.Matuta also at a fixed hourSpreadeth the roseate morning out alongThe coasts of heaven and deploys the light,Either because the self-same sun, returningUnder the lands, aspires to seize the sky,Striving to set it blazing with his raysEre he himself appear, or else becauseFires then will congregate and many seedsOf heat are wont, even at a fixed time,To stream together- gendering evermoreNew suns and light. Just so the story goesThat from the Idaean mountain-tops are seenDispersed fires upon the break of dayWhich thence combine, as 'twere, into one ballAnd form an orb. Nor yet in these affairsIs aught for wonder that these seeds of fireCan thus together stream at time so fixedAnd shape anew the splendour of the sun.For many facts we see which come to passAt fixed time in all things: burgeon shrubsAt fixed time, and at a fixed timeThey cast their flowers; and Eld commands the teeth,At time as surely fixed, to drop away,And Youth commands the growing boy to bloomWith the soft down and let from both his cheeksThe soft beard fall. And lastly, thunder-bolts,Snow, rains, clouds, winds, at seasons of the yearNowise unfixed, all do come to pass.For where, even from their old primordial startCauses have ever worked in such a way,And where, even from the world's first origin,Thuswise have things befallen, so even nowAfter a fixed order they come roundIn sequence also.
At nox obruit ingenti caligine terras,aut ubi de longo cursu sol ultima caeliimpulit atque suos efflavit languidus ignisconcussos itere et labefactos aëre multo,aut quia sub terras cursum convortere cogitvis eadem, supra quae terras pertulit orbem.Tempore item certo roseam Matuta per orasaetheris auroram differt et lumina pandit,aut quia sol idem, sub terras ille revertens,anticipat caelum radiis accendere temptans,aut quia conveniunt ignes et semina multaconfluere ardoris consuerunt tempore certo,quae faciunt solis nova semper lumina gigni;quod genus Idaeis fama est e montibus altisdispersos ignis orienti lumine cerni,inde coire globum quasi in unum et conficere orbem.nec tamen illud in his rebus mirabile debetesse, quod haec ignis tam certo tempore possintsemina confluere et solis reparare nitorem.multa videmus enim, certo quae tempore fiuntomnibus in rebus. florescunt tempore certoarbusta et certo dimittunt tempore florem.nec minus in certo dentes cadere imperat aetastempore et inpubem molli pubescere vesteet pariter mollem malis demittere barbam.fulmina postremo nix imbres nubila ventinon nimis incertis fiunt in partibus anni.namque ubi sic fuerunt causarum exordia primaatque ita res mundi cecidere ab origine prima,conseque quoque iam redeunt ex ordine certo.
Likewise, days may waxWhilst the nights wane, and daylight minished beWhilst nights do take their augmentations,Either because the self-same sun, coursingUnder the lands and over in two arcs,A longer and a briefer, doth dispartThe coasts of ether and divides in twainHis orbit all unequally, and adds,As round he's borne, unto the one half thereAs much as from the other half he's ta'en,Until he then arrives that sign of heavenWhere the year's node renders the shades of nightEqual unto the periods of light.For when the sun is midway on his courseBetween the blasts of northwind and of south,Heaven keeps his two goals parted equally,By virtue of the fixed position oldOf the whole starry Zodiac, through whichThat sun, in winding onward, takes a year,Illumining the sky and all the landsWith oblique light- as men declare to usWho by their diagrams have charted wellThose regions of the sky which be adornedWith the arranged signs of Zodiac.Or else, because in certain parts the airUnder the lands is denser, the tremulousBright beams of fire do waver tardily,Nor easily can penetrate that airNor yet emerge unto their rising-place:For this it is that nights in winter timeDo linger long, ere comes the many-rayedRound Badge of the day. Or else because, as said,In alternating seasons of the yearFires, now more quick, and now more slow, are wontTo stream together,- the fires which make the sunTo rise in some one spot- therefore it isThat those men seem to speak the truth [who holdA new sun is with each new daybreak born].
Crescere itemque dies licet et tabescere noctes,et minui luces, cum sumant augmina noctis,aut quia sol idem sub terras atque superneimparibus currens amfractibus aetheris oraspartit et in partis non aequas dividit orbem,et quod ab alterutra detraxit parte, reponiteius in adversa tanto plus parte relatus,donec ad id signum caeli pervenit, ubi anninodus nocturnas exaequat lucibus umbras;nam medio cursu flatus aquilonis et austridistinet aequato caelum discrimine metaspropter signiferi posituram totius orbis,annua sol in quo concludit tempora serpens,obliquo terras et caelum lumine lustrans,ut ratio declarat eorum qui loca caeliomnia dispositis signis ornata notarunt.aut quia crassior est certis in partibus aër,sub terris ideo tremulum iubar haesitat ignisnec penetrare potest facile atque emergere ad ortus;propterea noctes hiberno tempore longaecessant, dum veniat radiatum insigne diei.aut etiam, quia sic alternis partibus annitardius et citius consuerunt confluere ignes,qui faciunt solem certa de surgere parte,propterea fit uti videantur dicere verum.
The moon she possibly doth shine becauseStrook by the rays of sun, and day by dayMay turn unto our gaze her light, the moreShe doth recede from orb of sun, until,Facing him opposite across the world,She hath with full effulgence gleamed abroad,And, at her rising as she soars above,Hath there observed his setting; thence likewiseShe needs must hide, as 'twere, her light behindBy slow degrees, the nearer now she glides,Along the circle of the Zodiac,From her far place toward fires of yonder sun,-As those men hold who feign the moon to beJust like a ball and to pursue a courseBetwixt the sun and earth. There is, again,Some reason to suppose that moon may rollWith light her very own, and thus displayThe varied shapes of her resplendence there.For near her is, percase, another body,Invisible, because devoid of light,Borne on and gliding all along with her,Which in three modes may block and blot her disk.Again, she may revolve upon herself,Like to a ball's sphere- if perchance that be-One half of her dyed o'er with glowing light,And by the revolution of that sphereShe may beget for us her varying shapes,Until she turns that fiery part of herFull to the sight and open eyes of men;Thence by slow stages round and back she whirls,Withdrawing thus the luminiferous partOf her sphered mass and ball, as, verily,The Babylonian doctrine of Chaldees,Refuting the art of Greek astrologers,Labours, in opposition, to prove sure-As if, forsooth, the thing for which each fights,Might not alike be true,- or aught there wereWherefore thou mightest risk embracing oneMore than the other notion. Then, again,Why a new moon might not forevermoreCreated be with fixed successions thereOf shapes and with configurations fixed,And why each day that bright created moonMight not miscarry and another be,In its stead and place, engendered anew,'Tis hard to show by reason, or by wordsTo prove absurd- since, lo, so many thingsCan be create with fixed successions:Spring-time and Venus come, and Venus' boy,The winged harbinger, steps on before,And hard on Zephyr's foot-prints Mother Flora,Sprinkling the ways before them, filleth allWith colours and with odours excellent;Whereafter follows arid Heat, and heCompanioned is by Ceres, dusty one,And by the Etesian Breezes of the north;Then cometh Autumn on, and with him stepsLord Bacchus, and then other Seasons tooAnd other Winds do follow- the high roarOf great Volturnus, and the Southwind strongWith thunder-bolts. At last earth's Shortest-DayBears on to men the snows and brings againThe numbing cold. And Winter follows her,His teeth with chills a-chatter. Therefore, 'tisThe less a marvel, if at fixed timeA moon is thus begotten and againAt fixed time destroyed, since things so manyCan come to being thus at fixed time.Likewise, the sun's eclipses and the moon'sFar occultations rightly thou mayst deemAs due to several causes. For, indeed,Why should the moon be able to shut outEarth from the light of sun, and on the sideTo earthward thrust her high head under sun,Opposing dark orb to his glowing beams-And yet, at same time, one suppose the effectCould not result from some one other bodyWhich glides devoid of light forevermore?Again, why could not sun, in weakened state,At fixed time for-lose his fires, and then,When he has passed on along the airBeyond the regions, hostile to his flames,That quench and kill his fires, why could not heRenew his light? And why should earth in turnHave power to rob the moon of light, and there,Herself on high, keep the sun hid beneath,Whilst the moon glideth in her monthly courseAthrough the rigid shadows of the cone?-And yet, at same time, some one other bodyNot have the power to under-pass the moon,Or glide along above the orb of sun,Breaking his rays and outspread light asunder?And still, if moon herself refulgent beWith her own sheen, why could she not at timesIn some one quarter of the mighty worldGrow weak and weary, whilst she passeth throughRegions unfriendly to the beams her own?
Luna potest solis radiis percussa nitereinque dies magis [id] lumen convertere nobisad speciem, quantum solis secedit ab orbi,donique eum contra pleno bene lumine fulsitatque oriens obitus eius super edita vidit;inde minutatim retro quasi condere lumendebet item, quanto propius iam solis ad ignemlabitur ex alia signorum parte per orbem;ut faciunt, lunam qui fingunt esse pilaiconsimilem cursusque viam sub sole tenere.est etiam quare proprio cum lumine possitvolvier et varias splendoris reddere formas;corpus enim licet esse aliud, quod fertur et unalabitur omnimodis occursans officiensque,nec potis est cerni, quia cassum lumine fertur.versarique potest, globus ut, si forte, pilaidimidia ex parti candenti lumine tinctus,versandoque globum variantis edere formas,donique eam partem, quae cumque est ignibus aucta,ad speciem vertit nobis oculosque patentis;inde minutatim retro contorquet et aufertluciferam partem glomeraminis atque pilai;ut Babylonica Chaldaeum doctrina refutansastrologorum artem contra convincere tendit,proinde quasi id fieri nequeat quod pugnat uterqueaut minus hoc illo sit cur amplectier ausis.denique cur nequeat semper nova luna creariordine formarum certo certisque figurisinque dies privos aborisci quaeque creataatque alia illius reparari in parte locoque,difficilest ratione docere et vincere verbis,ordine cum [videas] tam certo multa creari.it Ver et Venus et Veneris praenuntius antepennatus graditur, Zephyri vestigia propterFlora quibus mater praespargens ante viaicuncta coloribus egregiis et odoribus opplet.inde loci sequitur Calor aridus et comes unapulverulenta Ceres [et] etesia flabra aquilonum.inde Autumnus adit, graditur simul Euhius Euan.inde aliae tempestates ventique secuntur,altitonans Volturnus et Auster fulmine pollens.tandem Bruma nives adfert pigrumque rigoremreddit. Hiemps sequitur crepitans hanc dentibus algu.quo minus est mirum, si certo tempore lunagignitur et certo deletur tempore rusus,cum fieri possint tam certo tempore multa.Solis item quoque defectus lunaeque latebraspluribus e causis fieri tibi posse putandumst.nam cur luna queat terram secludere solislumine et a terris altum caput obstruere ei,obiciens caecum radiis ardentibus orbem,tempore eodem aliut facere id non posse puteturcorpus, quod cassum labatur lumine semper?solque suos etiam dimittere languidus ignistempore cur certo nequeat recreareque lumen,cum loca praeteriit flammis infesta per auras,quae faciunt ignis interstingui atque perire?et cur terra queat lunam spoliare vicissimlumine et oppressum solem super ipsa tenere,menstrua dum rigidas coni perlabitur umbras,tempore eodem aliud nequeat succurrere lunaecorpus vel supra solis perlabier orbem,quod radios inter rumpat lumenque profusum?et tamen ipsa suo si fulget luna nitore,cur nequeat certa mundi languescere parte,dum loca luminibus propriis inimica per exit?[menstrua dum rigidas coni perlabitur umbras].
And now to what remains!- Since I've resolvedBy what arrangements all things come to passThrough the blue regions of the mighty world,-How we can know what energy and causeStarted the various courses of the sunAnd the moon's goings, and by what far meansThey can succumb, the while with thwarted light,And veil with shade the unsuspecting lands,When, as it were, they blink, and then againWith open eye survey all regions wide,Resplendent with white radiance- I do nowReturn unto the world's primeval ageAnd tell what first the soft young fields of earthWith earliest parturition had decreedTo raise in air unto the shores of lightAnd to entrust unto the wayward winds.In the beginning, earth gave forth, aroundThe hills and over all the length of plains,The race of grasses and the shining green;The flowery meadows sparkled all aglowWith greening colour, and thereafter, lo,Unto the divers kinds of trees was givenAn emulous impulse mightily to shoot,With a free rein, aloft into the air.As feathers and hairs and bristles are begotThe first on members of the four-foot breedsAnd on the bodies of the strong-y-winged,Thus then the new Earth first of all put forthGrasses and shrubs, and afterward begatThe mortal generations, there upsprung-Innumerable in modes innumerable-After diverging fashions. For from skyThese breathing-creatures never can have dropped,Nor the land-dwellers ever have come upOut of sea-pools of salt. How true remains,How merited is that adopted nameOf earth- "The Mother!"- since from out the earthAre all begotten. And even now ariseFrom out the loams how many living things-Concreted by the rains and heat of the sun.Wherefore 'tis less a marvel, if they sprangIn Long Ago more many, and more big,Matured of those days in the fresh young yearsOf earth and ether. First of all, the raceOf the winged ones and parti-coloured birds,Hatched out in spring-time, left their eggs behind;As now-a-days in summer tree-cricketsDo leave their shiny husks of own accord,Seeking their food and living. Then it wasThis earth of thine first gave unto the dayThe mortal generations; for prevailedAmong the fields abounding hot and wet.And hence, where any fitting spot was given,There 'gan to grow womb-cavities, by rootsAffixed to earth. And when in ripened timeThe age of the young within (that sought the airAnd fled earth's damps) had burst these wombs, O thenWould Nature thither turn the pores of earthAnd make her spurt from open veins a juiceLike unto milk; even as a woman nowIs filled, at child-bearing, with the sweet milk,Because all that swift stream of alimentIs thither turned unto the mother-breasts.There earth would furnish to the children food;Warmth was their swaddling cloth, the grass their bedAbounding in soft down. Earth's newness thenWould rouse no dour spells of the bitter cold,Nor extreme heats nor winds of mighty powers-For all things grow and gather strength through timeIn like proportions; and then earth was young.
Quod superest, quoniam magni per caerula mundiqua fieri quicquid posset ratione resolvi,solis uti varios cursus lunaeque meatusnoscere possemus quae vis et causa cieret,quove modo [possent] offecto lumine obireet neque opinantis tenebris obducere terras,cum quasi conivent et aperto lumine rursumomnia convisunt clara loca candida luce,nunc redeo ad mundi novitatem et mollia terraearva, novo fetu quid primum in luminis orastollere et incertis crerint committere ventis.Principio genus herbarum viridemque nitoremterra dedit circum collis camposque per omnis,florida fulserunt viridanti prata colore,arboribusque datumst variis exinde per aurascrescendi magnum inmissis certamen habenis.ut pluma atque pili primum saetaeque creanturquadripedum membris et corpore pennipotentum,sic nova tum tellus herbas virgultaque primumsustulit, inde loci mortalia saecla creavitmulta modis multis varia ratione coorta.nam neque de caelo cecidisse animalia possunt,nec terrestria de salsis exisse lacunis.linquitur ut merito maternum nomen adeptaterra sit, e terra quoniam sunt cuncta creata.multaque nunc etiam existunt animalia terrisimbribus et calido solis concreta vapore;quo minus est mirum, si tum sunt plura coortaet maiora, nova tellure atque aethere adulta.principio genus alituum variaeque volucresova relinquebant exclusae tempore verno,folliculos ut nunc teretis aestate cicadaelincunt sponte sua victum vitamque petentes.tum tibi terra dedit primum mortalia saecla.multus enim calor atque umor superabat in arvis.hoc ubi quaeque loci regio opportuna dabatur,crescebant uteri terram radicibus apti;quos ubi tempore maturo pate fecerat aetasinfantum, fugiens umorem aurasque petessens,convertebat ibi natura foramina terraeet sucum venis cogebat fundere apertisconsimilem lactis, sicut nunc femina quaequecum peperit, dulci repletur lacte, quod omnisimpetus in mammas convertitur ille alimenti.terra cibum pueris, vestem vapor, herba cubilepraebebat multa et molli lanugine abundans.at novitas mundi nec frigora dura ciebatnec nimios aestus nec magnis viribus auras.omnia enim pariter crescunt et robora sumunt.
Wherefore, again, again, how meritedIs that adopted name of Earth- The Mother!-Since she herself begat the human race,And at one well-nigh fixed time brought forthEach breast that ranges raving round aboutUpon the mighty mountains and all birdsAerial with many a varied shape.But, lo, because her bearing years must end,She ceased, like to a woman worn by eld.For lapsing aeons change the nature ofThe whole wide world, and all things needs must takeOne status after other, nor aught persistsForever like itself. All things depart;Nature she changeth all, compelleth allTo transformation. Lo, this moulders down,A-slack with weary eld, and that, again,Prospers in glory, issuing from contempt.In suchwise, then, the lapsing aeons changeThe nature of the whole wide world, and earthTaketh one status after other. And whatShe bore of old, she now can bear no longer,And what she never bore, she can to-day.In those days also the telluric worldStrove to beget the monsters that upsprungWith their astounding visages and limbs-The Man-woman- a thing betwixt the twain,Yet neither, and from either sex remote-Some gruesome Boggles orphaned of the feet,Some widowed of the hands, dumb Horrors tooWithout a mouth, or blind Ones of no eye,Or Bulks all shackled by their legs and armsCleaving unto the body fore and aft,Thuswise, that never could they do or go,Nor shun disaster, nor take the good they would.And other prodigies and monsters earthWas then begetting of this sort- in vain,Since Nature banned with horror their increase,And powerless were they to reach untoThe coveted flower of fair maturity,Or to find aliment, or to intertwineIn works of Venus. For we see there mustConcur in life conditions manifold,If life is ever by begetting lifeTo forge the generations one by one:First, foods must be; and, next, a path wherebyThe seeds of impregnation in the frameMay ooze, released from the members all;Last, the possession of those instrumentsWhereby the male with female can unite,The one with other in mutual ravishments.
Quare etiam atque etiam maternum nomen adeptaterra tenet merito, quoniam genus ipsa creavithumanum atque animal prope certo tempore fuditomne quod in magnis bacchatur montibus passim,aëriasque simul volucres variantibus formis.sed quia finem aliquam pariendi debet habere,destitit, ut mulier spatio defessa vetusto.mutat enim mundi naturam totius aetasex alioque alius status excipere omnia debetnec manet ulla sui similis res: omnia migrant,omnia commutat natura et vertere cogit.namque aliud putrescit et aevo debile languet,porro aliud [suc]crescit et [e] contemptibus exit.sic igitur mundi naturam totius aetasmutat, et ex alio terram status excipit alter,quod potuit nequeat, possit quod non tulit ante.Multaque tum tellus etiam portenta creareconatast mira facie membrisque coorta,androgynem, interutras necutrumque utrimque remotum,orba pedum partim, manuum viduata vicissim,muta sine ore etiam, sine voltu caeca reperta,vinctaque membrorum per totum corpus adhaesu,nec facere ut possent quicquam nec cedere quoquamnec vitare malum nec sumere quod volet usus.cetera de genere hoc monstra ac portenta creabat,ne quiquam, quoniam natura absterruit auctumnec potuere cupitum aetatis tangere floremnec reperire cibum nec iungi per Veneris res.multa videmus enim rebus concurrere debere,ut propagando possint procudere saecla;pabula primum ut sint, genitalia deinde per artussemina qua possint membris manare remissis,feminaque ut maribus coniungi possit, habere,mutua qui mutent inter se gaudia uterque.
And in the ages after monsters died,Perforce there perished many a stock, unableBy propagation to forge a progeny.For whatsoever creatures thou beholdestBreathing the breath of life, the same have beenEven from their earliest age preserved aliveBy cunning, or by valour, or at leastBy speed of foot or wing. And many a stockRemaineth yet, because of use to man,And so committed to man's guardianship.Valour hath saved alive fierce lion-breedsAnd many another terrorizing race,Cunning the foxes, flight the antlered stags.Light-sleeping dogs with faithful heart in breast,However, and every kind begot from seedOf beasts of draft, as, too, the woolly flocksAnd horned cattle, all, my Memmius,Have been committed to guardianship of men.For anxiously they fled the savage beasts,And peace they sought and their abundant foods,Obtained with never labours of their own,Which we secure to them as fit rewardsFor their good service. But those beasts to whomNature has granted naught of these same things-Beasts quite unfit by own free will to thriveAnd vain for any service unto usIn thanks for which we should permit their kindTo feed and be in our protection safe-Those, of a truth, were wont to be exposed,Enshackled in the gruesome bonds of doom,As prey and booty for the rest, untilNature reduced that stock to utter death.
Multaque tum interiisse animantum saecla necessestnec potuisse propagando procudere prolem.nam quae cumque vides vesci vitalibus auris,aut dolus aut virtus aut denique mobilitas estex ineunte aevo genus id tuta⟨TA⟩ reservans.multaque sunt, nobis ex utilitate sua quaecommendata manent, tutelae tradita nostrae.principio genus acre leonum saevaque saeclatutatast virtus, volpes dolus et fuga cervos.at levisomna canum fido cum pectore corda,et genus omne quod est veterino semine partumlanigeraeque simul pecudes et bucera saeclaomnia sunt hominum tutelae tradita, Memmi;nam cupide fugere feras pacemque secutasunt et larga suo sine pabula parta labore,quae damus utilitatis eorum praemia causa.at quis nil horum tribuit natura, nec ipsasponte sua possent ut vivere nec dare nobisutilitatem aliquam, quare pateremur eorumpraesidio nostro pasci genus esseque tutum,scilicet haec aliis praedae lucroque iacebantindupedita suis fatalibus omnia vinclis,donec ad interitum genus id natura redegit.
But Centaurs ne'er have been, nor can there beCreatures of twofold stock and double frame,Compact of members alien in kind,Yet formed with equal function, equal forceIn every bodily part- a fact thou mayst,However dull thy wits, well learn from this:The horse, when his three years have rolled away,Flowers in his prime of vigour; but the boyNot so, for oft even then he gropes in sleepAfter the milky nipples of the breasts,An infant still. And later, when at lastThe lusty powers of horses and stout limbs,Now weak through lapsing life, do fail with age,Lo, only then doth youth with flowering yearsBegin for boys, and clothe their ruddy cheeksWith the soft down. So never deem, percase,That from a man and from the seed of horse,The beast of draft, can Centaurs be composedOr e'er exist alive, nor Scyllas be-The half-fish bodies girdled with mad dogs-Nor others of this sort, in whom we markMembers discordant each with each; for ne'erAt one same time they reach their flower of ageOr gain and lose full vigour of their frame,And never burn with one same lust of love,And never in their habits they agree,Nor find the same foods equally delightsome-Sooth, as one oft may see the bearded goatsBatten upon the hemlock which to manIs violent poison. Once again, since flameIs wont to scorch and burn the tawny bulksOf the great lions as much as other kindsOf flesh and blood existing in the lands,How could it be that she, Chimaera lone,With triple body- fore, a lion she;And aft, a dragon; and betwixt, a goat-Might at the mouth from out the body belchInfuriate flame? Wherefore, the man who feignsSuch beings could have been engenderedWhen earth was new and the young sky was fresh(Basing his empty argument on new)May babble with like reason many whimsInto our ears: he'll say, perhaps, that thenRivers of gold through every landscape flowed,That trees were wont with precious stones to flower,Or that in those far aeons man was bornWith such gigantic length and lift of limbsAs to be able, based upon his feet,Deep oceans to bestride or with his handsTo whirl the firmament around his head.For though in earth were many seeds of thingsIn the old time when this telluric worldFirst poured the breeds of animals abroad,Still that is nothing of a sign that thenSuch hybrid creatures could have been begotAnd limbs of all beasts heterogeneousHave been together knit; because, indeed,The divers kinds of grasses and the grainsAnd the delightsome trees- which even nowSpring up abounding from within the earth-Can still ne'er be begotten with their stemsBegrafted into one; but each sole thingProceeds according to its proper wontAnd all conserve their own distinctions basedIn nature's fixed decree.
Sed neque Centauri fuerunt nec tempore in ulloesse queunt duplici natura et corpore binoex alienigenis membris compacta, potestashinc illinc partis ut sat par esse potissit.id licet hinc quamvis hebeti cognoscere corde.principio circum tribus actis impiger annisfloret equus, puer haut quaquam; nam saepe etiam nuncubera mammarum in somnis lactantia quaeret.post ubi equum validae vires aetate senectamembraque deficiunt fugienti languida vita,tum demum puerili aevo florenta iuventasofficit et molli vestit lanugine malas;ne forte ex homine et veterino semine equorumconfieri credas Centauros posse neque esse,aut rapidis canibus succinctas semimariniscorporibus Scyllas et cetera de genere horum,inter se quorum discordia membra videmus;quae neque florescunt pariter nec robora sumuntcorporibus neque proiciunt aetate senectanec simili Venere ardescunt nec moribus unisconveniunt neque sunt eadem iucunda per artus.quippe videre licet pinguescere saepe cicutabarbigeras pecudes, homini quae est acre venenum.flamma quidem [vero] cum corpora fulva leonumtam soleat torrere atque urere quam genus omnevisceris in terris quod cumque et sanguinis extet,qui fieri potuit, triplici cum corpore ut una,prima leo, postrema draco, media ipsa, Chimaeraore foras acrem flaret de corpore flammam?quare etiam tellure nova caeloque recentitalia qui fingit potuisse animalia gigni,nixus in hoc uno novitatis nomine inani,multa licet simili ratione effutiat ore,aurea tum dicat per terras flumina vulgofluxisse et gemmis florere arbusta suësseaut hominem tanto membrorum esse impete natum,trans maria alta pedum nisus ut ponere possetet manibus totum circum se vertere caelum.nam quod multa fuere in terris semina rerum,tempore quo primum tellus animalia fudit,nil tamen est signi mixtas potuisse creariinter se pecudes compactaque membra animantum,propterea quia quae de terris nunc quoque abundantherbarum genera ac fruges arbustaque laetanon tamen inter se possunt complexa creari,sed res quaeque suo ritu procedit et omnesfoedere naturae certo discrimina servant.
But mortal manWas then far hardier in the old champaign,As well he should be, since a hardier earthHad him begotten; builded too was heOf bigger and more solid bones within,And knit with stalwart sinews through the flesh,Nor easily seized by either heat or cold,Or alien food or any ail or irk.And whilst so many lustrums of the sunRolled on across the sky, men led a lifeAfter the roving habit of wild beasts.Not then were sturdy guiders of curved ploughs,And none knew then to work the fields with iron,Or plant young shoots in holes of delved loam,Or lop with hooked knives from off high treesThe boughs of yester-year. What sun and rainsTo them had given, what earth of own accordCreated then, was boon enough to gladTheir simple hearts. Mid acorn-laden oaksWould they refresh their bodies for the nonce;And the wild berries of the arbute-tree,Which now thou seest to ripen purple-redIn winter time, the old telluric soilWould bear then more abundant and more big.And many coarse foods, too, in long agoThe blooming freshness of the rank young worldProduced, enough for those poor wretches there.And rivers and springs would summon them of oldTo slake the thirst, as now from the great hillsThe water's down-rush calls aloud and farThe thirsty generations of the wild.So, too, they sought the grottos of the Nymphs-The woodland haunts discovered as they ranged-From forth of which they knew that gliding rillsWith gush and splash abounding laved the rocks,The dripping rocks, and trickled from aboveOver the verdant moss; and here and thereWelled up and burst across the open flats.As yet they knew not to enkindle fireAgainst the cold, nor hairy pelts to useAnd clothe their bodies with the spoils of beasts;But huddled in groves, and mountain-caves, and woods,And 'mongst the thickets hid their squalid backs,When driven to flee the lashings of the windsAnd the big rains. Nor could they then regardThe general good, nor did they know to useIn common any customs, any laws:Whatever of booty fortune unto eachHad proffered, each alone would bear away,By instinct trained for self to thrive and live.And Venus in the forests then would linkThe lovers' bodies; for the woman yieldedEither from mutual flame, or from the man'sImpetuous fury and insatiate lust,Or from a bribe- as acorn-nuts, choice pears,Or the wild berries of the arbute-tree.And trusting wondrous strength of hands and legs,They'd chase the forest-wanderers, the beasts;And many they'd conquer, but some few they fled,A-skulk into their hiding-places.........With the flung stones and with the ponderous heftOf gnarled branch. And by the time of nightO'ertaken, they would throw, like bristly boars,Their wildman's limbs naked upon the earth,Rolling themselves in leaves and fronded boughs.Nor would they call with lamentations loudAround the fields for daylight and the sun,Quaking and wand'ring in shadows of the night;But, silent and buried in a sleep, they'd waitUntil the sun with rosy flambeau broughtThe glory to the sky. From childhood wontEver to see the dark and day begotIn times alternate, never might they beWildered by wild misgiving, lest a nightEternal should possess the lands, with lightOf sun withdrawn forever. But their careWas rather that the clans of savage beastsWould often make their sleep-time horribleFor those poor wretches; and, from home y-driven,They'd flee their rocky shelters at approachOf boar, the spumy-lipped, or lion strong,And in the midnight yield with terror upTo those fierce guests their beds of out-spread leaves.
Et genus humanum multo fuit illud in arvisdurius, ut decuit, tellus quod dura creasset,et maioribus et solidis magis ossibus intusfundatum, validis aptum per viscera nervis,nec facile ex aestu nec frigore quod capereturnec novitate cibi nec labi corporis ulla.multaque per caelum solis volventia lustravolgivago vitam tractabant more ferarum.nec robustus erat curvi moderator aratriquisquam, nec scibat ferro molirier arvanec nova defodere in terram virgulta neque altisarboribus veteres decidere falcibus ramos.quod sol atque imbres dederant, quod terra crearatsponte sua, satis id placabat pectora donum.glandiferas inter curabant corpora quercusplerumque; et quae nunc hiberno tempore cernisarbita puniceo fieri matura colore,plurima tum tellus etiam maiora ferebat.multaque praeterea novitas tum florida mundipabula dura tulit, miseris mortalibus ampla.at sedare sitim fluvii fontesque vocabant,ut nunc montibus e magnis decursus aquaiclaricitat late sitientia saecla ferarum.denique nota vagis silvestria templa tenebantnympharum, quibus e scibant umore fluentalubrica proluvie larga lavere umida saxa,umida saxa, super viridi stillantia musco,et partim plano scatere atque erumpere campo.necdum res igni scibant tractare neque utipellibus et spoliis corpus vestire ferarum,sed nemora atque cavos montis silvasque colebantet frutices inter condebant squalida membraverbera ventorum vitare imbrisque coacti.nec commune bonum poterant spectare neque ullismoribus inter se scibant nec legibus uti.quod cuique obtulerat praedae fortuna, ferebatsponte sua sibi quisque valere et vivere doctus.et Venus in silvis iungebat corpora amantum;conciliabat enim vel mutua quamque cupidovel violenta viri vis atque inpensa libidovel pretium, glandes atque arbita vel pira lecta.et manuum mira freti virtute pedumqueconsectabantur silvestria saecla ferarummissilibus saxis et magno pondere clavae.multaque vincebant, vitabant pauca latebris;saetigerisque pares subus silvestria membranuda dabant terrae nocturno tempore capti,circum se foliis ac frondibus involventes.nec plangore diem magno solemque per agrosquaerebant pavidi palantes noctis in umbris,sed taciti respectabant somnoque sepulti,dum rosea face sol inferret lumina caelo.a parvis quod enim consuerant cernere semperalterno tenebras et lucem tempore gigni,non erat ut fieri posset mirarier umquamnec diffidere, ne terras aeterna teneretnox in perpetuum detracto lumine solis.sed magis illud erat curae, quod saecla feraruminfestam miseris faciebant saepe quietem.eiectique domo fugiebant saxea tectaspumigeri suis adventu validique leonisatque intempesta cedebant nocte paventeshospitibus saevis instrata cubilia fronde.