Into beingThe clouds condense, when in this upper spaceOf the high heaven have gathered suddenly,As round they flew, unnumbered particles-World's rougher ones, which can, though interlinkedWith scanty couplings, yet be fastened firm,The one on other caught. These particlesFirst cause small clouds to form; and, thereupon,These catch the one on other and swarm in a flockAnd grow by their conjoining, and by windsAre borne along, along, until collectsThe tempest fury. Happens, too, the nearerThe mountain summits neighbour to the sky,The more unceasingly their far crags smokeWith the thick darkness of swart cloud, becauseWhen first the mists do form, ere ever the eyesCan there behold them (tenuous as they be),The carrier-winds will drive them up and onUnto the topmost summits of the mountain;And then at last it happens, when they beIn vaster throng upgathered, that they canBy this very condensation lie revealed,And that at same time they are seen to surgeFrom very vertex of the mountain upInto far ether. For very fact and feeling,As we up-climb high mountains, proveth clearThat windy are those upward regions free.
Fit quoque ut involvat venti se nubibus ipsevertex conradens ex aeëre semina nubiset quasi demissum caelo prestera imitetur;hic ubi se in terras demisit dissoluitque,turbinis immanem vim provomit atque procellae.sed quia fit raro omnino montisque necessestofficere in terris, apparet crebrius idemprospectu maris in magno caeloque patenti.Nubila concrescunt, ubi corpora multa volandohoc super in caeli spatio coiere repenteasperiora, modis quae possint indupeditaexiguis tamen inter se compressa teneri.haec faciunt primum parvas consistere nubes;inde ea comprendunt inter se conque greganturet coniungendo crescunt ventisque ferunturusque adeo donec tempestas saeva coortast.Fit quoque uti montis vicina cacumina caeloquam sint quoque magis, tanto magis edita fumentadsidue fulvae nubis caligine crassapropterea quia, cum consistunt nubila primum,ante videre oculi quam possint tenvia, ventiportantes cogunt ad summa cacumina montis;hic demum fit uti turba maiore coortaet condensa queant apparere et simul ipsovertice de montis videantur surgere in aethram.nam loca declarat sursum ventosa patereres ipsa et sensus, montis cum ascendimus altos.
Besides, the clothes hung-out along the shore,When in they take the clinging moisture, proveThat nature lifts from over all the seaUnnumbered particles. Whereby the more'Tis manifest that many particlesEven from the salt upheavings of the mainCan rise together to augment the bulkOf massed clouds. For moistures in these twainAre near akin. Besides, from out all rivers,As well as from the land itself, we seeUp-rising mists and steam, which like a breathAre forced out from them and borne aloft,To curtain heaven with their murk, and make,By slow foregathering, the skiey clouds.For, in addition, lo, the heat on highOf constellated ether burdens downUpon them, and by sort of condensationWeaveth beneath the azure firmamentThe reek of darkling cloud. It happens, too,That hither to the skies from the BeyondDo come those particles which make the cloudsAnd flying thunderheads. For I have taughtThat this their number is innumerableAnd infinite the sum of the Abyss,And I have shown with what stupendous speedThose bodies fly and how they're wont to passAmain through incommunicable space.Therefore, 'tis not exceeding strange, if oftIn little time tempest and darkness coverWith bulking thunderheads hanging on highThe oceans and the lands, since everywhereThrough all the narrow tubes of yonder ether,Yea, so to speak, through all the breathing-holesOf the great upper-world encompassing,There be for the primordial elementsExits and entrances.
Praeterea permulta mari quoque tollere totocorpora naturam declarant litore vestissuspensae, cum concipiunt umoris adhaesum.quo magis ad nubis augendas multa videnturposse quoque e salso consurgere momine ponti;nam ratio consanguineast umoribus omnis.Praeterea fluviis ex omnibus et simul ipsasurgere de terra nebulas aestumque videmus,quae vel ut halitus hinc ita sursum expressa feruntursuffunduntque sua caelum caligine et altassufficiunt nubis paulatim conveniundo;urget enim quoque signiferi super aetheris aestuset quasi densendo subtexit caerula nimbis.Fit quoque ut hunc veniant in caelum extrinsecus illacorpora quae faciunt nubis nimbosque volantis;innumerabilem enim numerum summamque profundiesse infinitam docui, quantaque volarentcorpora mobilitate ostendi quamque repenteimmemorabile [per] spatium transire solerent.haut igitur mirumst, si parvo tempore saepetam magnis ventis tempestas atque tenebraecoperiant maria ac terras inpensa superne,undique quandoquidem per caulas aetheris omniset quasi per magni circum spiracula mundiexitus introitusque elementis redditus extat.
Now come, and howThe rainy moisture thickens into beingIn the lofty clouds, and how upon the lands'Tis then discharged in down-pour of large showers,I will unfold. And first triumphantlyWill I persuade thee that up-rise together,With clouds themselves, full many seeds of waterFrom out all things, and that they both increase-Both clouds and water which is in the clouds-In like proportion, as our frames increaseIn like proportion with our blood, as wellAs sweat or any moisture in our members.Besides, the clouds take in from time to timeMuch moisture risen from the broad marine,-Whilst the winds bear them o'er the mighty sea,Like hanging fleeces of white wool. Thuswise,Even from all rivers is there lifted upMoisture into the clouds. And when thereinThe seeds of water so many in many waysHave come together, augmented from all sides,The close-jammed clouds then struggle to dischargeTheir rain-storms for a two-fold reason: lo,The wind's force crowds them, and the very excessOf storm-clouds (massed in a vaster throng)Giveth an urge and pressure from aboveAnd makes the rains out-pour. Besides when, too,The clouds are winnowed by the winds, or scatteredSmitten on top by heat of sun, they sendTheir rainy moisture, and distil their drops,Even as the wax, by fiery warmth on top,Wasteth and liquefies abundantly.But comes the violence of the bigger rainsWhen violently the clouds are weighted downBoth by their cumulated mass and byThe onset of the wind. And rains are wontTo endure awhile and to abide for long,When many seeds of waters are aroused,And clouds on clouds and racks on racks outstreamIn piled layers and are borne alongFrom every quarter, and when all the earthSmoking exhales her moisture. At such a timeWhen sun with beams amid the tempest-murkHath shone against the showers of black rains,Then in the swart clouds there emerges brightThe radiance of the bow.And as to thingsNot mentioned here which of themselves do growOr of themselves are gendered, and all thingsWhich in the clouds condense to being- all,Snow and the winds, hail and the hoar-frosts chill,And freezing, mighty force- of lakes and poolsThe mighty hardener, and mighty checkWhich in the winter curbeth everywhereThe rivers as they go- 'tis easy still,Soon to discover and with mind to seeHow they all happen, whereby gendered,When once thou well hast understood just whatFunctions have been vouchsafed from of oldUnto the procreant atoms of the world.
Nunc age, quo pacto pluvius concrescat in altisnubibus umor et in terras demissus ut imberdecidat, expediam. primum iam semina aquaimulta simul vincam consurgere nubibus ipsisomnibus ex rebus pariterque ita crescere utrumqueet nubis et aquam, quae cumque in nubibus extat,ut pariter nobis corpus cum sanguine crescit,sudor item atque umor qui cumque est denique membris.concipiunt etiam multum quoque saepe marinumumorem, vel uti pendentia vellera lanae,cum supera magnum mare venti nubila portant.consimili ratione ex omnibus amnibus umortollitur in nubis. quo cum bene semina aquarummulta modis multis convenere undique adaucta,confertae nubes umorem mittere certantdupliciter; nam vis venti contrudit et ipsacopia nimborum turba maiore coactaurget et e supero premit ac facit effluere imbris.praeterea cum rarescunt quoque nubila ventisaut dissolvuntur solis super icta calore,mittunt umorem pluvium stillantque, quasi ignicera super calido tabescens multa liquescat.sed vehemens imber fit, ubi vehementer utraquenubila vi cumulata premuntur et impete venti.at retinere diu pluviae longumque morariconsuerunt, ubi multa cientur semina aquarumatque aliis aliae nubes nimbique rigantesinsuper atque omni vulgo de parte feruntur,terraque cum fumans umorem tota redhalat.hic ubi sol radiis tempestatem inter opacamadversa fulsit nimborum aspargine contra,tum color in nigris existit nubibus arqui.Cetera quae sursum crescunt sursumque creantur,et quae concrescunt in nubibus, omnia, prorsumomnia, nix venti grando gelidaeque pruinaeet vis magna geli, magnum duramen aquarum,et mora quae fluvios passim refrenat aventis,perfacilest tamen haec reperire animoque videre,omnia quo pacto fiant quareve creentur,cum bene cognoris elementis reddita quae sint.
Now come, and what the law of earthquakes isHearken, and first of all take care to knowThat the under-earth, like to the earth around us,Is full of windy caverns all about;And many a pool and many a grim abyssShe bears within her bosom, ay, and cliffsAnd jagged scarps; and many a river, hidBeneath her chine, rolls rapidly alongIts billows and plunging boulders. For clear factRequires that earth must be in every partAlike in constitution. Therefore, earth,With these things underneath affixed and set,Trembleth above, jarred by big down-tumblings,When time hath undermined the huge caves,The subterranean. Yea, whole mountains fall,And instantly from spot of that big jarThere quiver the tremors far and wide abroad.And with good reason: since houses on the streetBegin to quake throughout, when jarred by a cartOf no large weight; and, too, the furnitureWithin the house up-bounds, when a paving-blockGives either iron rim of the wheels a jolt.It happens, too, when some prodigious bulkOf age-worn soil is rolled from mountain slopesInto tremendous pools of water dark,That the reeling land itself is rocked aboutBy the water's undulations; as a basinSometimes won't come to rest until the fluidWithin it ceases to be rocked aboutIn random undulations.And besides,When subterranean winds, up-gathered thereIn the hollow deeps, bulk forward from one spot,And press with the big urge of mighty powersAgainst the lofty grottos, then the earthBulks to that quarter whither push amainThe headlong winds. Then all the builded housesAbove ground- and the more, the higher up-rearedUnto the sky- lean ominously, careeningInto the same direction; and the beams,Wrenched forward, over-hang, ready to go.Yet dread men to believe that there awaitsThe nature of the mighty world a timeOf doom and cataclysm, albeit they seeSo great a bulk of lands to bulge and break!And lest the winds blew back again, no forceCould rein things in nor hold from sure careerOn to disaster. But now because those windsBlow back and forth in alternation strong,And, so to say, rallying charge again,And then repulsed retreat, on this accountEarth oftener threatens than she brings to passCollapses dire. For to one side she leans,Then back she sways; and after totteringForward, recovers then her seats of poise.Thus, this is why whole houses rock, the roofsMore than the middle stories, middle moreThan lowest, and the lowest least of all.
Nunc age, quae ratio terrai motibus extetpercipe. et in primis terram fac ut esse rearissupter item ut supera ventosis undique plenamspeluncis multosque lacus multasque lucunasin gremio gerere et rupes deruptaque saxa;multaque sub tergo terrai flumina tectavolvere vi fluctus summersos [cae]ca putandumst;undique enim similem esse sui res postulat ipsa.his igitur rebus subiunctis suppositisqueterra superne tremit magnis concussa ruinis,subter ubi ingentis speluncas subruit aetas;quippe cadunt toti montes magnoque repenteconcussu late disserpunt inde tremores.et merito, quoniam plaustris concussa tremescunttecta viam propter non magno pondere tota,nec minus exultant, si quidvis cumque viaiferratos utrimque rotarum succutit orbes.Fit quoque, ubi in magnas aquae vastasque lucunasgleba vetustate e terra provolvitur ingens,ut iactetur aquae fluctu quoque terra vacillans;ut vas inter [aquas] non quit constare, nisi umordestitit in dubio fluctu iactarier intus.Praeterea ventus cum per loca subcava terraecollectus parte ex una procumbit et urgetobnixus magnis speluncas viribus altas,incumbit tellus quo venti prona premit vis.tum supera terram quae sunt extructa domorumad caelumque magis quanto sunt edita quaeque,inclinata minent in eandem prodita partemprotractaeque trabes inpendent ire paratae.et metuunt magni naturam credere mundiexitiale aliquod tempus clademque manere,cum videant tantam terrarum incumbere molem!quod nisi respirent venti, [vis] nulla refrenetres neque ab exitio possit reprehendere euntis;nunc quia respirant alternis inque gravescuntet quasi collecti redeunt ceduntque repulsi,saepius hanc ob rem minitatur terra ruinasquam facit; inclinatur enim retroque recellitet recipit prolapsa suas in pondere sedes.hac igitur ratione vacillant omnia tecta,summa magis mediis, media imis, ima perhilum.
Arises, too, this same great earth-quaking,When wind and some prodigious force of air,Collected from without or down withinThe old telluric deeps, have hurled themselvesAmain into those caverns sub-terrene,And there at first tumultuously chafeAmong the vasty grottos, borne aboutIn mad rotations, till their lashed forceAroused out-bursts abroad, and then and there,Riving the deep earth, makes a mighty chasm-What once in Syrian Sidon did befall,And once in Peloponnesian Aegium,Twain cities which such out-break of wild airAnd earth's convulsion, following hard upon,O'erthrew of old. And many a walled town,Besides, hath fall'n by such omnipotentConvulsions on the land, and in the seaEngulfed hath sunken many a city downWith all its populace. But if, indeed,They burst not forth, yet is the very rushOf the wild air and fury-force of windThen dissipated, like an ague-fit,Through the innumerable pores of earth,To set her all a-shake- even as a chill,When it hath gone into our marrow-bones,Sets us convulsively, despite ourselves,A-shivering and a-shaking. Therefore, menWith two-fold terror bustle in alarmThrough cities to and fro: they fear the roofsAbove the head; and underfoot they dreadThe caverns, lest the nature of the earthSuddenly rend them open, and she gape,Herself asunder, with tremendous maw,And, all confounded, seek to chock it fullWith her own ruins. Let men, then, go onFeigning at will that heaven and earth shall beInviolable, entrusted evermoreTo an eternal weal: and yet at timesThe very force of danger here at handProds them on some side with this goad of fear-This among others- that the earth, withdrawnAbruptly from under their feet, be hurried down,Down into the abyss, and the Sum-of-ThingsBe following after, utterly fordone,Till be but wrack and wreckage of a world.......In chief, men marvel nature renders notBigger and bigger the bulk of ocean, sinceSo vast the down-rush of the waters be,And every river out of every realmCometh thereto; and add the random rainsAnd flying tempests, which spatter every seaAnd every land bedew; add their own springs:Yet all of these unto the ocean's sumShall be but as the increase of a drop.Wherefore 'tis less a marvel that the sea,The mighty ocean, increaseth not. Besides,Sun with his heat draws off a mighty part:Yea, we behold that sun with burning beamsTo dry our garments dripping all with wet;And many a sea, and far out-spread beneath,Do we behold. Therefore, however slightThe portion of wet that sun on any spotCulls from the level main, he still will takeFrom off the waves in such a wide expanseAbundantly. Then, further, also winds,Sweeping the level waters, can bear offA mighty part of wet, since we beholdOft in a single night the highways driedBy winds, and soft mud crusted o'er at dawn.Again, I've taught thee that the clouds bear offMuch moisture too, up-taken from the reachesOf the mighty main, and sprinkle it aboutO'er all the zones, when rain is on the landsAnd winds convey the aery racks of vapour.Lastly, since earth is porous through her frame,And neighbours on the seas, girdling their shores,The water's wet must seep into the landsFrom briny ocean, as from lands it comesInto the seas. For brine is filtered off,And then the liquid stuff seeps back againAnd all re-poureth at the river-heads,Whence in fresh-water currents it returnsOver the lands, adown the channels whichWere cleft erstwhile and erstwhile bore alongThe liquid-footed floods.
Est haec eiusdem quoque magni causa tremoris.ventus ubi atque animae subito vis maxima quaedamaut extrinsecus aut ipsa tellure coortain loca se cava terrai coniecit ibiquespeluncas inter magnas fremit ante tumultuversabunda⟨QUE⟩ portatur, post incita cum visexagitata foras erumpitur et simul altamdiffindens terram magnum concinnat hiatum.in Syria Sidone quod accidit et fuit Aegiin Peloponneso, quas exitus hic animaidisturbat urbes et terrae motus obortus.multaque praeterea ceciderunt moenia magnismotibus in terris et multae per mare pessumsubsedere suis pariter cum civibus urbes.quod nisi prorumpit, tamen impetus ipse animaiet fera vis venti per crebra foramina terraedispertitur ut horror et incutit inde tremorem;frigus uti nostros penitus cum venit in artus,concutit invitos cogens tremere atque movere.ancipiti trepidant igitur terrore per urbis,tecta superne timent, metuunt inferne cavernasterrai ne dissoluat natura repente,neu distracta suum late dispandat hiatumidque suis confusa velit complere ruinis.proinde licet quamvis caelum terramque reanturincorrupta fore aeternae mandata saluti:et tamen inter dum praesens vis ipsa periclisubdit et hunc stimulum quadam de parte timoris,ne pedibus raptim tellus subtracta feraturin barathrum rerumque sequatur prodita summafunditus et fiat mundi confusa ruina.…Principio mare mirantur non reddere maiusnaturam, quo sit tantus decursus aquarum,omnia quo veniant ex omni flumina parte.adde vagos imbris tempestatesque volantes,omnia quae maria ac terras sparguntque rigantque;adde suos fontis; tamen ad maris omnia summamguttai vix instar erunt unius adaugmen;quo minus est mirum mare non augescere magnum.Praeterea magnam sol partem detrahit aestu.quippe videmus enim vestis umore madentisexsiccare suis radiis ardentibus solem;at pelage multa et late substrata videmus.proinde licet quamvis ex uno quoque loco solumoris parvam delibet ab aequore partem,largiter in tanto spatio tamen auferet undis.Tum porro venti quoque magnam tollere partemumoris possunt verrentes aequora, ventisuna nocte vias quoniam persaepe videmussiccari mollisque luti concrescere crustas.Praeterea docui multum quoque tollere nubesumorem magno conceptum ex aequore pontiet passim toto terrarum spargere in orbi,cum pluit in terris et venti nubila portant.Postremo quoniam raro cum corpore tellusest et coniunctast oras maris undique cingens,debet, ut in mare de terris venit umor aquai,in terras itidem manare ex aequore salso;percolatur enim virus retroque remanatmateries umoris et ad caput amnibus omnisconfluit, inde super terras redit agmine dulciqua via secta semel liquido pede detulit undas.
And now the causeWhereby athrough the throat of Aetna's MountSuch vast tornado-fires out-breathe at times,I will unfold: for with no middling mightOf devastation the flamy tempest roseAnd held dominion in Sicilian fields:Drawing upon itself the upturned facesOf neighbouring clans, what time they saw afarThe skiey vaults a-fume and sparkling all,And filled their bosoms with dread anxietyOf what new thing nature were travailing at.In these affairs it much behooveth theeTo look both wide and deep, and far abroadTo peer to every quarter, that thou maystRemember how boundless is the Sum-of-Things,And mark how infinitely small a partOf the whole Sum is this one sky of ours-O not so large a part as is one manOf the whole earth. And plainly if thou viewestThis cosmic fact, placing it square in front,And plainly understandest, thou wilt leaveWondering at many things. For who of usWondereth if some one gets into his jointsA fever, gathering head with fiery heat,Or any other dolorous diseaseAlong his members? For anon the footGrows blue and bulbous; often the sharp twingeSeizes the teeth, attacks the very eyes;Out-breaks the sacred fire, and, crawling onOver the body, burneth every partIt seizeth on, and works its hideous wayAlong the frame. No marvel this, since, lo,Of things innumerable be seeds enough,And this our earth and sky do bring to usEnough of bane from whence can grow the strengthOf maladies uncounted. Thuswise, then,We must suppose to all the sky and earthAre ever supplied from out the infiniteAll things, O all in stores enough wherebyThe shaken earth can of a sudden move,And fierce typhoons can over sea and landsGo tearing on, and Aetna's fires o'erflow,And heaven become a flame-burst. For that, too,Happens at times, and the celestial vaultsGlow into fire, and rainy tempests riseIn heavier congregation, when, percase,The seeds of water have foregathered thusFrom out the infinite. "Aye, but passing hugeThe fiery turmoil of that conflagration!"So sayst thou; well, huge many a river seemsTo him that erstwhile ne'er a larger saw;Thus, huge seems tree or man; and everythingWhich mortal sees the biggest of each class,That he imagines to be "huge"; though yetAll these, with sky and land and sea to boot,Are all as nothing to the sum entireOf the all-Sum.
Nunc ratio quae sit, per fauces montis ut Aetnaeexpirent ignes inter dum turbine tanto,expediam; neque enim mediocri clade coortaflammae tempestas Siculum dominata per agrosfinitimis ad se convertit gentibus ora,fumida cum caeli scintillare omnia templacernentes pavida complebant pectora cura,quid moliretur rerum natura novarum.Hisce tibi in rebus latest alteque videndumet longe cunctas in partis dispiciendum,ut reminiscaris summam rerum esse profundamet videas caelum summai totius unumquam sit parvula pars et quam multesima constetnec tota pars, homo terrai quota totius unus.quod bene propositum si plane contueareac videas plane, mirari multa relinquas.numquis enim nostrum miratur, siquis in artusaccepit calido febrim fervore coortamaut alium quemvis morbi per membra dolorem?opturgescit enim subito pes, arripit acersaepe dolor dentes, oculos invadit in ipsos,existit sacer ignis et urit corpore serpensquam cumque arripuit partem repitque per artus,ni mirum quia sunt multarum semina rerumet satis haec tellus morbi caelumque mali fert,unde queat vis immensi procrescere morbi.sic igitur toti caelo terraeque putandumstex infinito satis omnia suppeditare,unde repente queat tellus concussa moveriperque mare ac terras rapidus percurrere turbo,ignis abundare Aetnaeus, flammescere caelum;id quoque enim fit et ardescunt caelestia templaet tempestates pluviae graviore coortusunt, ubi forte ita se tetulerunt semina aquarum.'at nimis est ingens incendi turbidus ardor.'scilicet et fluvius qui visus maximus ei,qui non ante aliquem maiorem vidit, et ingensarbor homoque videtur et omnia de genere omnimaxima quae vidit quisque, haec ingentia fingit,cum tamen omnia cum caelo terraque mariquenil sint ad summam summai totius omnem.
But now I will unfoldAt last how yonder suddenly angered flameOut-blows abroad from vasty furnacesAetnaean. First, the mountain's nature isAll under-hollow, propped about, aboutWith caverns of basaltic piers. And, lo,In all its grottos be there wind and air-For wind is made when air hath been uprousedBy violent agitation. When this airIs heated through and through, and, raging round,Hath made the earth and all the rocks it touchesHorribly hot, and hath struck off from themFierce fire of swiftest flame, it lifts itselfAnd hurtles thus straight upwards through its throatInto high heav'n, and thus bears on afarIts burning blasts and scattereth afarIts ashes, and rolls a smoke of pitchy murkAnd heaveth the while boulders of wondrous weight-Leaving no doubt in thee that 'tis the air'sTumultuous power. Besides, in mighty part,The sea there at the roots of that same mountBreaks its old billows and sucks back its surf.And grottos from the sea pass in belowEven to the bottom of the mountain's throat.Herethrough thou must admit there go.........And the conditions force [the water and air]Deeply to penetrate from the open sea,And to out-blow abroad, and to up-bearThereby the flame, and to up-cast from deepsThe boulders, and to rear the clouds of sand.For at the top be "bowls," as people thereAre wont to name what we at Rome do callThe throats and mouths.
Nunc tamen illa modis quibus inritata repenteflamma foras vastis Aetnae fornacibus efflet,expediam. primum totius subcava montisest natura fere silicum suffulta cavernis.omnibus est porro in speluncis ventus et aeër.ventus enim fit, ubi est agitando percitus aeër.hic ubi percaluit cale fecitque omnia circumsaxa furens, qua contingit, terramque et ab ollisexcussit calidum flammis velocibus ignem,tollit se ac rectis ita faucibus eicit alte.fert itaque ardorem longe longeque favillamdiffert et crassa volvit caligine fumumextruditque simul mirando pondere saxa;ne dubites quin haec animai turbida sit vis.praeterea magna ex parti mare montis ad eiusradices frangit fluctus aestumque resolvit.ex hoc usque mari speluncae montis ad altasperveniunt subter fauces. hac ire fatendumst…et penetrare mari penitus res cogit apertoatque efflare foras ideoque extollere flammamsaxaque subiectare et arenae tollere nimbos.in summo sunt vertice enim crateres, ut ipsinominitant, nos quod fauces perhibemus et ora.
There be, besides, some thingOf which 'tis not enough one only causeTo state- but rather several, whereof oneWill be the true: lo, if thou shouldst espyLying afar some fellow's lifeless corse,'Twere meet to name all causes of a death,That cause of his death might thereby be named:For prove thou mayst he perished not by steel,By cold, nor even by poison nor disease,Yet somewhat of this sort hath come to himWe know- And thus we have to say the sameIn divers cases.Toward the summer, NileWaxeth and overfloweth the champaign,Unique in all the landscape, river soleOf the Aegyptians. In mid-season heatsOften and oft he waters Aegypt o'er,Either because in summer against his mouthsCome those northwinds which at that time of yearMen name the Etesian blasts, and, blowing thusUpstream, retard, and, forcing back his waves,Fill him o'erfull and force his flow to stop.For out of doubt these blasts which driven beFrom icy constellations of the poleAre borne straight up the river. Comes that riverFrom forth the sultry places down the south,Rising far up in midmost realm of day,Among black generations of strong menWith sun-baked skins. 'Tis possible, besides,That a big bulk of piled sand may barHis mouths against his onward waves, when sea,Wild in the winds, tumbles the sand to inland;Whereby the river's outlet were less free,Likewise less headlong his descending floods.It may be, too, that in this season rainsAre more abundant at its fountain head,Because the Etesian blasts of those northwindsThen urge all clouds into those inland parts.And, soothly, when they're thus foregathered there,Urged yonder into midmost realm of day,Then, crowded against the lofty mountain sides,They're massed and powerfully pressed. Again,Perchance, his waters wax, O far away,Among the Aethiopians' lofty mountains,When the all-beholding sun with thawing beamsDrives the white snows to flow into the vales.
Sunt aliquot quoque res quarum unam dicere causamnon satis est, verum pluris, unde una tamen sit;corpus ut exanimum siquod procul ipse iacereconspicias hominis, fit ut omnis dicere causasconveniat leti, dicatur ut illius una;nam [ne]que eum ferro nec frigore vincere possisinteriisse neque a morbo neque forte veneno,verum aliquid genere esse ex hoc quod contigit eiscimus. item in multis hoc rebus dicere habemus.Nilus in aestatem crescit campisque redundatunicus in terris, Aegypti totius amnis.is rigat Aegyptum medium per saepe calorem,aut quia sunt aestate aquilones ostia contra,anni tempore eo, qui etesiae esse feruntur,et contra fluvium flantes remorantur et undascogentes sursus replent coguntque manere.nam dubio procul haec adverso flabra ferunturflumine, quae gelidis ab stellis axis aguntur;ille ex aestifera parti venit amnis ab austrointer nigra virum percocto saecla coloreexoriens penitus media ab regione diei.est quoque uti possit magnus congestus harenaefluctibus adversis oppilare ostia contra,cum mare permotum ventis ruit intus harenam;quo fit uti pacto liber minus exitus amniset proclivis item fiat minus impetus undis.fit quoque uti pluviae forsan magis ad caput eitempore eo fiant, quo etesia flabra aquilonumnubila coniciunt in eas tunc omnia partis.scilicet, ad mediam regionem eiecta dieicum convenerunt, ibi ad altos denique montiscontrusae nubes coguntur vique premuntur.forsitan Aethiopum penitus de montibus altiscrescat, ubi in campos albas descendere ninguestabificis subigit radiis sol omnia lustrans.
Now come; and unto thee I will unfold,As to the Birdless spots and Birdless tarns,What sort of nature they are furnished with.First, as to name of "birdless,"- that derivesFrom very fact, because they noxious beUnto all birds. For when above those spotsIn horizontal flight the birds have come,Forgetting to oar with wings, they furl their sails,And, with down-drooping of their delicate necks,Fall headlong into earth, if haply suchThe nature of the spots, or into water,If haply spreads thereunder Birdless tarn.Such spot's at Cumae, where the mountains smoke,Charged with the pungent sulphur, and increasedWith steaming springs. And such a spot there isWithin the walls of Athens, even thereOn summit of Acropolis, besideFane of Tritonian Pallas bountiful,Where never cawing crows can wing their course,Not even when smoke the altars with good gifts,-But evermore they flee- yet not from wrathOf Pallas, grieved at that espial old,As poets of the Greeks have sung the tale;But very nature of the place compels.In Syria also- as men say- a spotIs to be seen, where also four-foot kinds,As soon as ever they've set their steps within,Collapse, o'ercome by its essential power,As if there slaughtered to the under-gods.Lo, all these wonders work by natural law,And from what causes they are brought to passThe origin is manifest; so, haply,Let none believe that in these regions standsThe gate of Orcus, nor us then suppose,Haply, that thence the under-gods draw downSouls to dark shores of Acheron- as stags,The wing-footed, are thought to draw to light,By sniffing nostrils, from their dusky lairsThe wriggling generations of wild snakes.How far removed from true reason is this,Perceive thou straight; for now I'll try to saySomewhat about the very fact.
Nunc age, Averna tibi quae sint loca cumque lacusque,expediam, quali natura praedita constent.principio, quod Averna vocantur nomine, id ab reinpositumst, quia sunt avibus contraria cunctis,e regione ea quod loca cum venere volantes,remigii oblitae pennarum vela remittuntpraecipitesque cadunt molli cervice profusaein terram, si forte ita fert natura locorum,aut in aquam, si forte lacus substratus Averni.is locus est Cumas aput, acri sulpure montisoppleti calidis ubi fumant fontibus aucti.est et Athenaeis in moenibus, arcis in ipsovertice, Palladis ad templum Tritonidis almae,quo numquam pennis appellunt corpora raucaecornices, non cum fumant altaria donis;usque adeo fugitant non iras Palladis acrispervigili causa, Graium ut cecinere poeëtae,sed natura loci opus efficit ipsa suapte.in Syria quoque fertur item locus esse videri,quadripedes quoque quo simul ac vestigia primumintulerint, graviter vis cogat concidere ipsa,manibus ut si sint divis mactata repente.omnia quae naturali ratione geruntur,et quibus e fiant causis apparet origo;ianua ne pote eis Orci regionibus essecredatur, post hinc animas Acheruntis in orasducere forte deos manis inferne reamur,naribus alipedes ut cervi saepe putanturducere de latebris serpentia saecla ferarum.quod procul a vera quam sit ratione repulsumpercipe; nam de re nunc ipsa dicere conor.
And, first,This do I say, as oft I've said before:In earth are atoms of things of every sort;And know, these all thus rise from out the earth-Many life-giving which be good for food,And many which can generate diseaseAnd hasten death, O many primal seedsOf many things in many modes- since earthContains them mingled and gives forth discrete.And we have shown before that certain thingsBe unto certain creatures suited moreFor ends of life, by virtue of a nature,A texture, and primordial shapes, unlikeFor kinds alike. Then too 'tis thine to seeHow many things oppressive be and foulTo man, and to sensation most malign:Many meander miserably through ears;Many in-wind athrough the nostrils too,Malign and harsh when mortal draws a breath;Of not a few must one avoid the touch;Of not a few must one escape the sight;And some there be all loathsome to the taste;And many, besides, relax the languid limbsAlong the frame, and undermine the soulIn its abodes within. To certain treesThere hath been given so dolorous a shadeThat often they gender achings of the head,If one but be beneath, outstretched on the sward.There is, again, on Helicon's high hillsA tree that's wont to kill a man outrightBy fetid odour of its very flower.And when the pungent stench of the night-lamp,Extinguished but a moment since, assailsThe nostrils, then and there it puts to sleepA man afflicted with the falling sicknessAnd foamings at the mouth. A woman, too,At the heavy castor drowses back in chair,And from her delicate fingers slips awayHer gaudy handiwork, if haply sheHath got the whiff at menstruation-time.Once more, if thou delayest in hot baths,When thou art over-full, how readilyFrom stool in middle of the steaming waterThou tumblest in a fit! How readilyThe heavy fumes of charcoal wind their wayInto the brain, unless beforehand weOf water 've drunk. But when a burning fever,O'ermastering man, hath seized upon his limbs,Then odour of wine is like a hammer-blow.And seest thou not how in the very earthSulphur is gendered and bitumen thickensWith noisome stench?- What direful stenches, too,Scaptensula out-breathes from down below,When men pursue the veins of silver and gold,With pick-axe probing round the hidden realmsDeep in the earth?- Or what of deadly baneThe mines of gold exhale? O what a look,And what a ghastly hue they give to men!And seest thou not, or hearest, how they're wontIn little time to perish, and how failThe life-stores in those folk whom mighty powerOf grim necessity confineth thereIn such a task? Thus, this telluric earthOut-streams with all these dread effluviaAnd breathes them out into the open worldAnd into the visible regions under heaven.
Principio hoc dico, quod dixi saepe quoque ante,in terra cuiusque modi rerum esse figuras;multa, cibo quae sunt, vitalia multaque, morbosincutere et mortem quae possint adcelerare.et magis esse aliis alias animantibus aptasres ad vitai rationem ostendimus antepropter dissimilem naturam dissimilisquetexturas inter sese primasque figuras.multa meant inimica per auris, multa per ipsasinsinuant naris infesta atque aspera tactu,nec sunt multa parum tactu vitanda neque autemaspectu fugienda saporeque tristia quae sint.Deinde videre licet quam multae sint homini resacriter infesto sensu spurcaeque gravisque;arboribus primum certis gravis umbra tributausque adeo, capitis faciant ut saepe dolores,siquis eas subter iacuit prostratus in herbis.est etiam magnis Heliconis montibus arbosfloris odore hominem taetro consueta necare.scilicet haec ideo terris ex omnia surgunt,multa modis multis multarum semina rerumquod permixta gerit tellus discretaque tradit.nocturnumque recens extinctum lumen ubi acrinidore offendit nares, consopit ibidem,concidere et spumas qui morbo mittere suevit.castoreoque gravi mulier sopita recumbit,et manibus nitidum teneris opus effluit ei,tempore eo si odoratast quo menstrua solvit.multaque praeterea languentia membra per artussolvunt atque animam labefactant sedibus intus.denique si calidis etiam cunctere lavabrisplenior et lueris, solio ferventis aquaiquam facile in medio fit uti des saepe ruinas!carbonumque gravis vis atque odor insinuaturquam facile in cerebrum, nisi aqua praecepimus ante!at cum membra domans percepit fervida febris,tum fit odor vini plagae mactabilis instar.nonne vides etiam terra quoque sulpur in ipsagignier et taetro concrescere odore bitumen,denique ubi argenti venas aurique secuntur,terrai penitus scrutantes abdita ferro,qualis expiret Scaptensula subter odores?quidve mali fit ut exalent aurata metalla!quas hominum reddunt facies qualisque colores!nonne vides audisve perire in tempore parvoquam soleant et quam vitai copia desit,quos opere in tali cohibet vis magna necessis?hos igitur tellus omnis exaestuat aestusexpiratque foras in apertum promptaque caeli.
Thus, too, those Birdless places must up-sendAn essence bearing death to winged things,Which from the earth rises into the breezesTo poison part of skiey space, and whenThither the winged is on pennons borne,There, seized by the unseen poison, 'tis ensnared,And from the horizontal of its flightDrops to the spot whence sprang the effluvium.And when 'thas there collapsed, then the same powerOf that effluvium takes from all its limbsThe relics of its life. That power first strikesThe creatures with a wildering dizziness,And then thereafter, when they're once down-fallenInto the poison's very fountains, thenLife, too, they vomit out perforce, becauseSo thick the stores of bane around them fume.Again, at times it happens that this power,This exhalation of the Birdless places,Dispels the air betwixt the ground and birds,Leaving well-nigh a void. And thither whenIn horizontal flight the birds have come,Forthwith their buoyancy of pennons limps,All useless, and each effort of both wingsFalls out in vain. Here, when without all powerTo buoy themselves and on their wings to lean,Lo, nature constrains them by their weight to slipDown to the earth, and lying prostrate thereAlong the well-nigh empty void, they spendTheir souls through all the openings of their frame.......Further, the water of wells is colder thenAt summer time, because the earth by heatIs rarefied, and sends abroad in airWhatever seeds it peradventure haveOf its own fiery exhalations.The more, then, the telluric ground is drainedOf heat, the colder grows the water hidWithin the earth. Further, when all the earthIs by the cold compressed, and thus contractsAnd, so to say, concretes, it happens, lo,That by contracting it expresses thenInto the wells what heat it bears itself.'Tis said at Hammon's fane a fountain is,In daylight cold and hot in time of night.This fountain men be-wonder over-much,And think that suddenly it seethes in heatBy intense sun, the subterranean, whenNight with her terrible murk hath cloaked the lands-What's not true reasoning by a long remove:I' faith when sun o'erhead, touching with beamsAn open body of water, had no powerTo render it hot upon its upper side,Though his high light possess such burning glare,How, then, can he, when under the gross earth,Make water boil and glut with fiery heat?-And, specially, since scarcely potent heThrough hedging walls of houses to injectHis exhalations hot, with ardent rays.What, then's, the principle? Why, this, indeed:The earth about that spring is porous moreThan elsewhere the telluric ground, and beMany the seeds of fire hard by the water;On this account, when night with dew-fraught shadesHath whelmed the earth, anon the earth deep downGrows chill, contracts; and thuswise squeezes outInto the spring what seeds she holds of fire(As one might squeeze with fist), which render hotThe touch and steam of the fluid. Next, when sun,Up-risen, with his rays has split the soilAnd rarefied the earth with waxing heat,Again into their ancient abodes returnThe seeds of fire, and all the Hot of waterInto the earth retires; and this is whyThe fountain in the daylight gets so cold.Besides, the water's wet is beat uponBy rays of sun, and, with the dawn, becomesRarer in texture under his pulsing blaze;And, therefore, whatso seeds it holds of fireIt renders up, even as it renders oftThe frost that it contains within itselfAnd thaws its ice and looseneth the knots.
Sic et Averna loca alitibus summittere debentmortiferam vim. de terra quae surgit in auras,ut spatium caeli quadam de parte venenet;quo simul ac primum pennis delata sit ales,impediatur ibi caeco correpta veneno,ut cadat e regione loci, qua derigit aestus.quo cum conruit, hic eadem vis illius aestusreliquias vitae membris ex omnibus aufert.quippe etenim primo quasi quendam conciet aestum;posterius fit uti. cum iam cecidere veneniin fontis ipsos, ibi sit quoque vita vomenda,propterea quod magna mali fit copia circum.Fit quoque ut inter dum vis haec atque aestus Averniaeëra, qui inter avis cumquest terramque locatus.discutiat, prope uti locus hic linquatur inanis.cuius ubi e regione loci venere volantis,claudicat extemplo pinnarum nisus inaniset conamen utrimque alarum proditur omne.hic ubi nixari nequeunt insistereque alis,scilicet in terram delabi pondere cogitnatura, et vacuum prope iam per inane iacentesdispergunt animas per caulas corporis omnis.…frigidior porro in puteis aestate fit umor,arescit quia terra calore et semina si quaforte vaporis habet proprie, dimittit in auras.quo magis est igitur tellus effeta calore,fit quoque frigidior qui in terrast abditus umor.frigore cum premitur porro omnis terra coitqueet quasi concrescit, fit scilicet ut coeundoexprimat in puteos si quem gerit ipsa calorem.Esse apud Hammonis fanum fons luce diurnafrigidus et calidus nocturno tempore fertur.hunc homines fontem nimis admirantur et acrisole putant subter terras fervescere partim,nox ubi terribili terras caligine texit.quod nimis a verast longe ratione remotum.quippe ubi sol nudum contractans corpus aquainon quierit calidum supera de reddere parte,cum superum lumen tanto fervore fruatur,qui queat hic supter tam crasso corpore terramperquoquere umorem et calido focilare vapore?praesertim cum vix possit per saepta domoruminsinuare suum radiis ardentibus aestum.quae ratiost igitur? ni mirum terra magis quodrara tenet circum fontem quam cetera tellusmultaque sunt ignis prope semina corpus aquai.hoc ubi roriferis terram nox obruit undis,extemplo penitus frigescit terra coitque.hac ratione fit ut, tam quam compressa manu sit,exprimat in fontem quae semina cumque habet ignis,quae calidum faciunt laticis tactum atque vaporem.inde ubi sol radiis terram dimovit obortuset rare fecit calido miscente vapore,rursus in antiquas redeunt primordia sedesignis et in terram cedit calor omnis aquai.frigidus hanc ob rem fit fons in luce diurna.praeterea solis radiis iactatur aquaiumor et in lucem tremulo rarescit ab aestu;propterea fit uti quae semina cumque habet ignisdimittat; quasi saepe gelum, quod continet in se,mittit et exsolvit glaciem nodosque relaxat.