There is, moreover, a fountain cold in kindThat makes a bit of tow (above it held)Take fire forthwith and shoot a flame; so, too,A pitch-pine torch will kindle and flare roundAlong its waves, wherever 'tis impelledAfloat before the breeze. No marvel, this:Because full many seeds of heat there beWithin the water; and, from earth itselfOut of the deeps must particles of fireAthrough the entire fountain surge aloft,And speed in exhalations into airForth and abroad (yet not in numbers enowAs to make hot the fountain). And, moreo'er,Some force constrains them, scattered through the water,Forthwith to burst abroad, and to combineIn flame above. Even as a fountain farThere is at Aradus amid the sea,Which bubbles out sweet water and dispartsFrom round itself the salt waves; and, behold,In many another region the broad mainYields to the thirsty mariners timely help,Belching sweet waters forth amid salt waves.Just so, then, can those seeds of fire burst forthAthrough that other fount, and bubble outAbroad against the bit of tow; and whenThey there collect or cleave unto the torch,Forthwith they readily flash aflame, becauseThe tow and torches, also, in themselvesHave many seeds of latent fire. Indeed,And seest thou not, when near the nightly lampsThou bringest a flaxen wick, extinguishedA moment since, it catches fire before'Thas touched the flame, and in same wise a torch?And many another object flashes aflameWhen at a distance, touched by heat alone,Before 'tis steeped in veritable fire.This, then, we must suppose to come to passIn that spring also.
Frigidus est etiam fons, supra quem sita saepestuppa iacit flammam concepto protinus igni,taedaque consimili ratione accensa per undasconlucet, quo cumque natans impellitur auris.ni mirum quia sunt in aqua permulta vaporissemina de terraque necessest funditus ipsaignis corpora per totum consurgere fontemet simul exspirare foras exireque in auras,non ita multa tamen, calidus queat ut fieri fons;praeterea dispersa foras erumpere cogitvis per aquam subito sursumque ea conciliari.quod genus endo marist Aradi fons, dulcis aquaiqui scatit et salsas circum se dimovet undas;et multis aliis praebet regionibus aequorutilitatem opportunam sitientibus nautis,quod dulcis inter salsas intervomit undas.sic igitur per eum possunt erumpere fontemet scatere illa foras; in stuppam semina quae cumconveniunt aut in taedai corpore adhaerent,ardescunt facile extemplo, quia multa quoque in sesemina habent ignis stuppae taedaeque tenentes.nonne vides etiam, nocturna ad lumina linumnuper ubi extinctum admoveas, accendier antequam tetigit flammam, taedamque pari ratione?multaque praeterea prius ipso tacta vaporeeminus ardescunt quam comminus imbuat ignis.hoc igitur fieri quoque in illo fonte putandumst.
Now to other things!And I'll begin to treat by what decreeOf nature it came to pass that iron can beBy that stone drawn which Greeks the magnet callAfter the country's name (its originBeing in country of Magnesian folk).This stone men marvel at; and sure it oftMaketh a chain of rings, depending, lo,From off itself! Nay, thou mayest see at timesFive or yet more in order dangling downAnd swaying in the delicate winds, whilst oneDepends from other, cleaving to under-side,And ilk one feels the stone's own power and bonds-So over-masteringly its power flows down.In things of this sort, much must be made sureEre thou account of the thing itself canst give,And the approaches roundabout must be;Wherefore the more do I exact of theeA mind and ears attent.First, from all thingsWe see soever, evermore must flow,Must be discharged and strewn about, about,Bodies that strike the eyes, awaking sight.From certain things flow odours evermore,As cold from rivers, heat from sun, and sprayFrom waves of ocean, eater-out of wallsAlong the coasts. Nor ever cease to seepThe varied echoings athrough the air.Then, too, there comes into the mouth at timesThe wet of a salt taste, when by the seaWe roam about; and so, whene'er we watchThe wormwood being mixed, its bitter stings.To such degree from all things is each thingBorne streamingly along, and sent aboutTo every region round; and nature grantsNor rest nor respite of the onward flow,Since 'tis incessantly we feeling have,And all the time are suffered to descryAnd smell all things at hand, and hear them sound.
Quod super est, agere incipiam quo foedere fiatnaturae, lapis hic ut ferrum ducere possit,quem Magneta vocant patrio de nomine Grai,Magnetum quia sit patriis in finibus ortus.hunc homines lapidem mirantur; quippe catenamsaepe ex anellis reddit pendentibus ex se.quinque etenim licet inter dum pluresque videreordine demisso levibus iactarier auris,unus ubi ex uno dependet supter adhaerensex alioque alius lapidis vim vinclaque noscit;usque adeo permananter vis pervalet eius.Hoc genus in rebus firmandumst multa prius quamipsius rei rationem reddere possis,et nimium longis ambagibus est adeundum;quo magis attentas auris animumque reposco.Principio omnibus ab rebus, quas cumque videmus,perpetuo fluere ac mitti spargique necessestcorpora quae feriant oculos visumque lacessant.perpetuoque fluunt certis ab rebus odores;frigus ut [a] fluviis, calor a sole, aestus ab undisaequoris, exesor moerorum, litora propter;nec varii cessant sonitus manare per auras;denique in os salsi venit umor saepe saporis,cum mare versamur propter, dilutaque contracum tuimur misceri absinthia, tangit amaror.usque adeo omnibus ab rebus res quaeque fluenterfertur et in cunctas dimittitur undique partisnec mora nec requies interdatur ulla fluendi,perpetuo quoniam sentimus et omnia sempercernere odorari licet et sentire sonare.
Now will I seek again to bring to mindHow porous a body all things have- a factMade manifest in my first canto, too.For, truly, though to know this doth importFor many things, yet for this very thingOn which straightway I'm going to discourse,'Tis needful most of all to make it sureThat naught's at hand but body mixed with void.A first ensample: in grottos, rocks o'erheadSweat moisture and distil the oozy drops;Likewise, from all our body seeps the sweat;There grows the beard, and along our members allAnd along our frame the hairs. Through all our veinsDisseminates the foods, and gives increaseAnd aliment down to the extreme parts,Even to the tiniest finger-nails. Likewise,Through solid bronze the cold and fiery heatWe feel to pass; likewise, we feel them passThrough gold, through silver, when we clasp in handThe brimming goblets. And, again, there flitVoices through houses' hedging walls of stone;Odour seeps through, and cold, and heat of fireThat's wont to penetrate even strength of iron.Again, where corselet of the sky girds round......And at same time, some Influence of bane,When from Beyond 'thas stolen into [our world].And tempests, gathering from the earth and sky,Back to the sky and earth absorbed retire-With reason, since there's naught that's fashioned notWith body porous.
Nunc omnis repetam quam raro corpore sint rescommemorare; quod in primo quoque carmine claret.quippe etenim, quamquam multas hoc pertinet ad resnoscere, cum primis hanc ad rem protinus ipsam,qua de disserere adgredior, firmare necessestnil esse in promptu nisi mixtum corpus inani.principio fit ut in speluncis saxa supernasudent umore et guttis manantibus stillent.manat item nobis e toto corpore sudor,crescit barba pilique per omnia membra, per artus.diditur in venas cibus omnis, auget alitquecorporis extremas quoque partis unguiculosque.frigus item transire per aes calidumque vaporemsentimus, sentimus item transire per aurumatque per argentum, cum pocula plena tenemus.denique per dissaepta domorum saxea vocespervolitant, permanat odor frigusque vaposqueignis, qui ferri quoque vim penetrare sueëvit,denique qua circum caeli lorica coeërcet,morbida visque simul, cum extrinsecus insinuatur;et tempestate in terra caeloque coortain caelum terrasque remotae iure facessunt;quandoquidem nihil est nisi raro corpore nexum.
Furthermore, not allThe particles which be from things thrown offAre furnished with same qualities for sense,Nor be for all things equally adapt.A first ensample: the sun doth bake and parchThe earth; but ice he thaws, and with his beamsCompels the lofty snows, up-reared whiteUpon the lofty hills, to waste away;Then, wax, if set beneath the heat of him,Melts to a liquid. And the fire, likewise,Will melt the copper and will fuse the gold,But hides and flesh it shrivels up and shrinks.The water hardens the iron just off the fire,But hides and flesh (made hard by heat) it softens.The oleaster-tree as much delightsThe bearded she-goats, verily as though'Twere nectar-steeped and shed ambrosia;Than which is naught that burgeons into leafMore bitter food for man. A hog draws backFor marjoram oil, and every unguent fearsFierce poison these unto the bristled hogs,Yet unto us from time to time they seem,As 'twere, to give new life. But, contrariwise,Though unto us the mire be filth most foul,To hogs that mire doth so delightsome seemThat they with wallowing from belly to backAre never cloyed.
Huc accedit uti non omnia, quae iaciunturcorpora cumque ab rebus, eodem praedita sensuatque eodem pacto rebus sint omnibus apta.principio terram sol excoquit et facit are,at glaciem dissolvit et altis montibus altasextructas[que] nives radiis tabescere cogit;denique cera lique fit in eius posta vapore.ignis item liquidum facit aes aurumque resolvit,at coria et carnem trahit et conducit in unum.umor aquae porro ferrum condurat ab igni,at coria et carnem mollit durata calore.barbigeras oleaster eo iuvat usque capellas,effluat ambrosias quasi vero et nectare tinctus;qua nihil est homini quod amarius fronde ac[ida] extet.denique amaracinum fugitat sus et timet omneunguentum; nam saetigeris subus acre venenumst;quod nos inter dum tam quam recreare videtur.at contra nobis caenum taeterrima cum sitspurcities, eadem subus haec iucunda videtur,insatiabiliter toti ut volvantur ibidem.
A point remains, besides,Which best it seems to tell of, ere I goTo telling of the fact at hand itself.Since to the varied things assigned beThe many pores, those pores must be diverseIn nature one from other, and each haveIts very shape, its own direction fixed.And so, indeed, in breathing creatures beThe several senses, of which each takes inUnto itself, in its own fashion ever,Its own peculiar object. For we markHow sounds do into one place penetrate,Into another flavours of all juice,And savour of smell into a third. Moreover,One sort through rocks we see to seep, and, lo,One sort to pass through wood, another stillThrough gold, and others to go out and offThrough silver and through glass. For we do seeThrough some pores form-and-look of things to flow,Through others heat to go, and some things stillTo speedier pass than others through same pores.Of verity, the nature of these same paths,Varying in many modes (as aforesaid)Because of unlike nature and warp and woofOf cosmic things, constrains it so to be.Wherefore, since all these matters now have beenEstablished and settled well for usAs premises prepared, for what remains'Twill not be hard to render clear accountBy means of these, and the whole cause revealWhereby the magnet lures the strength of iron.
Hoc etiam super est, ipsa quam dicere de readgredior, quod dicendum prius esse videtur.multa foramina cum variis sint reddita rebus,dissimili inter se natura praedita debentesse et habere suam naturam quaeque viasque.quippe etenim varii sensus animantibus insunt,quorum quisque suam proprie rem percipit in se;nam penetrare alio sonitus alioque saporemcernimus e sucis, alio nidoris odores.[scilicet id fieri cogit natura viarum][multimodis varians, ut paulo ostendimus ante.]praeterea manare aliud per saxa videtur,atque aliud lignis, aliud transire per aurum,argentoque foras aliud vitroque meare;nam fluere hac species, illac calor ire videtur,atque aliis aliud citius transmittere eadem.scilicet id fieri cogit natura viarummultimodis varians, ut paulo ostendimus ante,propter dissimilem naturam textaque rerum.Qua propter, bene ubi haec confirmata atque locataomnia constiterint nobis praeposta parata,quod super est, facile hinc ratio reddetur et omniscausa pate fiet, quae ferri pelliciat vim.
First, stream there must from off the lode-stone seedsInnumerable, a very tide, which smitesBy blows that air asunder lying betwixtThe stone and iron. And when is emptied outThis space, and a large place between the twoIs made a void, forthwith the primal germsOf iron, headlong slipping, fall conjoinedInto the vacuum, and the ring itselfBy reason thereof doth follow after and goThuswise with all its body. And naught there isThat of its own primordial elementsMore thoroughly knit or tighter linked coheresThan nature and cold roughness of stout iron.Wherefore, 'tis less a marvel what I said,That from such elements no bodies canFrom out the iron collect in larger throngAnd be into the vacuum borne along,Without the ring itself do follow after.And this it does, and followeth on until'Thath reached the stone itself and cleaved to itBy links invisible. Moreover, likewise,The motion's assisted by a thing of aid(Whereby the process easier becomes),-Namely, by this: as soon as rarer growsThat air in front of the ring, and space betweenIs emptied more and made a void, forthwithIt happens all the air that lies behindConveys it onward, pushing from the rear.For ever doth the circumambient airDrub things unmoved, but here it pushes forthThe iron, because upon one side the spaceLies void and thus receives the iron in.This air, whereof I am reminding thee,Winding athrough the iron's abundant poresSo subtly into the tiny parts thereof,Shoves it and pushes, as wind the ship and sails.The same doth happen in all directions forth:From whatso side a space is made a void,Whether from crosswise or above, forthwithThe neighbour particles are borne alongInto the vacuum; for of verity,They're set a-going by poundings from elsewhere,Nor by themselves of own accord can theyRise upwards into the air. Again, all thingsMust in their framework hold some air, becauseThey are of framework porous, and the airEncompasses and borders on all things.Thus, then, this air in iron so deeply storedIs tossed evermore in vexed motion,And therefore drubs upon the ring sans doubtAnd shakes it up inside..........In sooth, that ring is thither borne alongTo where 'thas once plunged headlong- thither, lo,Unto the void whereto it took its start.
Principio fluere e lapide hoc permulta necessestsemina sive aestum, qui discutit aeëra plagis,inter qui lapidem ferrumque est cumque locatus.hoc ubi inanitur spatium multusque vace fitin medio locus, extemplo primordia ferriin vacuum prolapsa cadunt coniuncta, fit utqueanulus ipse sequatur eatque ita corpore toto.nec res ulla magis primoribus ex elementisindupedita suis arte conexa cohaeretquam validi ferri natura et frigidus horror.quo minus est mirum, quod dicitur esse alienum,corpora si nequeunt e ferro plura coortain vacuum ferri, quin anulus ipse sequatur;quod facit et sequitur, donec pervenit ad ipsumiam lapidem caecisque in eo compagibus haesit.hoc fit idem cunctas in partis; unde vace fitcumque locus, sive e transverso sive superne,corpora continuo in vacuum vicina feruntur;quippe agitantur enim plagis aliunde nec ipsasponte sua sursum possunt consurgere in auras.huc accedit item, quare queat id magis esse,haec quoque res adiumento motuque iuvatur,quod, simul a fronte est anelli rarior aeërfactus inanitusque locus magis ac vacuatus,continuo fit uti qui post est cumque locatusaeër a tergo quasi provehat atque propellat.semper enim circum positus res verberat aeër;sed tali fit uti propellat tempore ferrum,parte quod ex una spatium vacat et capit in se.hic, tibi quem memoro, per crebra foramina ferriparvas ad partis subtiliter insinuatustrudit et inpellit, quasi navem velaque ventus.denique res omnes debent in corpore habereaeëra, quandoquidem raro sunt corpore et aeëromnibus est rebus circum datus adpositusque.hic igitur, penitus qui in ferrost abditus aeër,sollicito motu semper iactatur eoqueverberat anellum dubio procul et ciet intus,scilicet illo eodem fertur, quo praecipitavitiam semel et partem in vacuam conamina sumpsit.
It happens, too, at times that nature of ironShrinks from this stone away, accustomedBy turns to flee and follow. Yea, I've seenThose Samothracian iron rings leap up,And iron filings in the brazen bowlsSeethe furiously, when underneath was setThe magnet stone. So strongly iron seemsTo crave to flee that rock. Such discord greatIs gendered by the interposed brass,Because, forsooth, when first the tide of brassHath seized upon and held possession ofThe iron's open passage-ways, thereafterCometh the tide of the stone, and in that ironFindeth all spaces full, nor now hath holesTo swim through, as before. 'Tis thus constrainedWith its own current 'gainst the iron's fabricTo dash and beat; by means whereof it spuesForth from itself- and through the brass stirs up-The things which otherwise without the brassIt sucks into itself. In these affairsMarvel thou not that from this stone the tidePrevails not likewise other things to moveWith its own blows: for some stand firm by weight,As gold; and some cannot be moved forever,Because so porous in their framework theyThat there the tide streams through without a break,Of which sort stuff of wood is seen to be.Therefore, when iron (which lies between the two)Hath taken in some atoms of the brass,Then do the streams of that Magnesian rockMove iron by their smitings.
Fit quoque ut a lapide hoc ferri natura recedatinter dum, fugere atque sequi consueta vicissim.exultare etiam Samothracia ferrea vidiet ramenta simul ferri furere intus ahenisin scaphiis, lapis hic Magnes cum subditus esset;usque adeo fugere a saxo gestire videtur.aere interposito discordia tanta creaturpropterea quia ni mirum prius aestus ubi aerispraecepit ferrique vias possedit apertas,posterior lapidis venit aestus et omnia plenainvenit in ferro neque habet qua tranet ut ante;cogitur offensare igitur pulsareque fluctuferrea texta suo; quo pacto respuit ab seatque per aes agitat, sine eo quod saepe resorbet.Illud in his rebus mirari mitte, quod aestusnon valet e lapide hoc alias impellere item res.pondere enim fretae partim stant, quod genus aurum;at partim raro quia sunt cum corpore, ut aestuspervolet intactus, nequeunt inpellier usquam,lignea materies in quo genere esse videtur.interutrasque igitur ferri natura locataaeris ubi accepit quaedam corpuscula, tum fit,inpellant ut eo Magnesia flumine saxa.
Yet these thingsAre not so alien from others, that IOf this same sort am ill prepared to nameEnsamples still of things exclusivelyTo one another adapt. Thou seest, first,How lime alone cementeth stones: how woodOnly by glue-of-bull with wood is joined-So firmly too that oftener the boardsCrack open along the weakness of the grainEre ever those taurine bonds will lax their hold.The vine-born juices with the water-springsAre bold to mix, though not the heavy pitchWith the light oil-of-olive. And purple dyeOf shell-fish so uniteth with the wool'sBody alone that it cannot be ta'enAway forever- nay, though thou gavest toilTo restore the same with the Neptunian flood,Nay, though all ocean willed to wash it outWith all its waves. Again, gold unto goldDoth not one substance bind, and only one?And is not brass by tin joined unto brass?And other ensamples how many might one find!What then? Nor is there unto thee a needOf such long ways and roundabout, nor boots itFor me much toil on this to spend. More fitIt is in few words briefly to embraceThings many: things whose textures fall togetherSo mutually adapt, that cavitiesTo solids correspond, these cavitiesOf this thing to the solid parts of that,And those of that to solid parts of this-Such joinings are the best. Again, some thingsCan be the one with other coupled and held,Linked by hooks and eyes, as 'twere; and thisSeems more the fact with iron and this stone.
nec tamen haec ita sunt aliarum rerum aliena,ut mihi multa parum genere ex hoc suppeditentur,quae memorare queam inter se singlariter apta.saxa vides primum sola colescere calce.glutine materies taurino iungitur una,ut vitio venae tabularum saepius hiscantquam laxare queant compages taurea vincla.vitigeni latices aquai fontibus audentmisceri, cum pix nequeat gravis et leve olivom.purpureusque colos conchyli iungitur unocorpore cum lanae, dirimi qui non queat usquam,non si Neptuni fluctu renovare operam des,non mare si totum velit eluere omnibus undis.denique res auro non aurum copulat una,aerique [aes] plumbo fit uti iungatur ab albo?cetera iam quam multa licet reperire! quid ergo?nec tibi tam longis opus est ambagibus usquamnec me tam multam hic operam consumere par est,sed breviter paucis praestat comprendere multa.quorum ita texturae ceciderunt mutua contra,ut cava conveniant plenis haec illius illahuiusque inter se, iunctura haec optima constat.est etiam, quasi ut anellis hamisque plicatainter se quaedam possint coplata teneri;quod magis in lapide hoc fieri ferroque videtur.
Now, of diseases what the law, and whenceThe Influence of bane upgathering canUpon the race of man and herds of cattleKindle a devastation fraught with death,I will unfold. And, first, I've taught aboveThat seeds there be of many things to usLife-giving, and that, contrariwise, there mustFly many round bringing disease and death.When these have, haply, chanced to collectAnd to derange the atmosphere of earth,The air becometh baneful. And, lo, allThat Influence of bane, that pestilence,Or from Beyond down through our atmosphere,Like clouds and mists, descends, or else collectsFrom earth herself and rises, when, a-soakAnd beat by rains unseasonable and suns,Our earth hath then contracted stench and rot.Seest thou not, also, that whoso arriveIn region far from fatherland and homeAre by the strangeness of the clime and watersDistempered?- since conditions vary much.For in what else may we suppose the climeAmong the Britons to differ from Aegypt's own(Where totters awry the axis of the world),Or in what else to differ Pontic climeFrom Gades' and from climes adown the south,On to black generations of strong menWith sun-baked skins? Even as we thus do seeFour climes diverse under the four main-windsAnd under the four main-regions of the sky,So, too, are seen the colour and face of menVastly to disagree, and fixed diseasesTo seize the generations, kind by kind:There is the elephant-disease which downIn midmost Aegypt, hard by streams of Nile,Engendered is- and never otherwhere.In Attica the feet are oft attacked,And in Achaean lands the eyes. And soThe divers spots to divers parts and limbsAre noxious; 'tis a variable airThat causes this. Thus when an atmosphere,Alien by chance to us, begins to heave,And noxious airs begin to crawl along,They creep and wind like unto mist and cloud,Slowly, and everything upon their wayThey disarrange and force to change its state.It happens, too, that when they've come at lastInto this atmosphere of ours, they taintAnd make it like themselves and alien.Therefore, asudden this devastation strange,This pestilence, upon the waters falls,Or settles on the very crops of grainOr other meat of men and feed of flocks.Or it remains a subtle force, suspenseIn the atmosphere itself; and when therefromWe draw our inhalations of mixed air,Into our body equally its baneAlso we must suck in. In manner like,Oft comes the pestilence upon the kine,And sickness, too, upon the sluggish sheep.Nor aught it matters whether journey weTo regions adverse to ourselves and changeThe atmospheric cloak, or whether natureHerself import a tainted atmosphereTo us or something strange to our own useWhich can attack us soon as ever it come.
Nunc ratio quae sit morbis aut unde repentemortiferam possit cladem conflare coortamorbida vis hominum generi pecudumque catervis,expediam, primum multarum semina rerumesse supra docui quae sint vitalia nobis,et contra quae sint morbo mortique necessestmulta volare; ea cum casu sunt forte coortaet perturbarunt caelum, fit morbidus aeër.atque ea vis omnis morborum pestilitasqueaut extrinsecus ut nubes nebulaeque superneper caelum veniunt aut ipsa saepe coortade terra surgunt, ubi putorem umida nactastintempestivis pluviisque et solibus icta.nonne vides etiam caeli novitate et aquarumtemptari procul a patria qui cumque domoqueadveniunt ideo quia longe discrepitant res?nam quid Brittannis caelum differre putamus,et quod in Aegypto est, qua mundi claudicat axis,quidve quod in Ponto est differre et Gadibus atqueusque ad nigra virum percocto saecla colore?quae cum quattuor inter se diversa videmusquattuor a ventis et caeli partibus esse,tum color et facies hominum distare videnturlargiter et morbi generatim saecla tenere.est elephas morbus qui propter flumina Niligignitur Aegypto in media neque praeterea usquam.Atthide temptantur gressus oculique in Achaeisfinibus. inde aliis alius locus est inimicuspartibus ac membris; varius concinnat id aeër.proinde ubi se caelum, quod nobis forte alienum,commovet atque aeër inimicus serpere coepit,ut nebula ac nubes paulatim repit et omnequa graditur conturbat et immutare coactat,fit quoque ut, in nostrum cum venit denique caelum,corrumpat reddatque sui simile atque alienum.haec igitur subito clades nova pestilitasqueaut in aquas cadit aut fruges persidit in ipsasaut alios hominum pastus pecudumque cibatus,aut etiam suspensa manet vis aeëre in ipsoet, cum spirantes mixtas hinc ducimus auras,illa quoque in corpus pariter sorbere necessest.consimili ratione venit bubus quoque saepepestilitas et iam pigris balantibus aegror.nec refert utrum nos in loca deveniamusnobis adversa et caeli mutemus amictum,an caelum nobis ultro natura corumptumdeferat aut aliquid quo non consuevimus uti,quod nos adventu possit temptare recenti.
'Twas such a manner of disease, 'twas suchMortal miasma in Cecropian landsWhilom reduced the plains to dead men's bones,Unpeopled the highways, drained of citizensThe Athenian town. For coming from afar,Rising in lands of Aegypt, traversingReaches of air and floating fields of foam,At last on all Pandion's folk it swooped;Whereat by troops unto disease and deathWere they o'er-given. At first, they'd bear aboutA skull on fire with heat, and eyeballs twainRed with suffusion of blank glare. Their throats,Black on the inside, sweated oozy blood;And the walled pathway of the voice of manWas clogged with ulcers; and the very tongue,The mind's interpreter, would trickle gore,Weakened by torments, tardy, rough to touch.Next when that Influence of bane had chocked,Down through the throat, the breast, and streamed hadE'en into sullen heart of those sick folk,Then, verily, all the fences of man's lifeBegan to topple. From the mouth the breathWould roll a noisome stink, as stink to heavenRotting cadavers flung unburied out.And, lo, thereafter, all the body's strengthAnd every power of mind would languish, nowIn very doorway of destruction.And anxious anguish and ululation (mixedWith many a groan) companioned alwayThe intolerable torments. Night and day,Recurrent spasms of vomiting would rackAlway their thews and members, breaking downWith sheer exhaustion men already spent.And yet on no one's body couldst thou markThe skin with o'er-much heat to burn aglow,But rather the body unto touch of handsWould offer a warmish feeling, and therebyShow red all over, with ulcers, so to say,Inbranded, like the "sacred fires" o'erspreadAlong the members. The inward parts of men,In truth, would blaze unto the very bones;A flame, like flame in furnaces, would blazeWithin the stomach. Nor couldst aught applyUnto their members light enough and thinFor shift of aid- but coolness and a breezeEver and ever. Some would plunge those limbsOn fire with bane into the icy streams,Hurling the body naked into the waves;
Haec ratio quondam morborum et mortifer aestusfinibus in Cecropis funestos reddidit agrosvastavitque vias, exhausit civibus urbem.nam penitus veniens Aegypti finibus ortus,aeëra permensus multum camposque natantis,incubuit tandem populo Pandionis omni.inde catervatim morbo mortique dabantur.principio caput incensum fervore gerebantet duplicis oculos suffusa luce rubentes.sudabant etiam fauces intrinsecus atraesanguine et ulceribus vocis via saepta coibatatque animi interpres manabat lingua cruoredebilitata malis, motu gravis, aspera tactu.inde ubi per fauces pectus complerat et ipsummorbida vis in cor maestum confluxerat aegris,omnia tum vero vitai claustra lababant.spiritus ore foras taetrum volvebat odorem,rancida quo perolent proiecta cadavera ritu.atque animi prorsum [tum] vires totius, omnelanguebat corpus leti iam limine in ipso.intolerabilibusque malis erat anxius angoradsidue comes et gemitu commixta querella,singultusque frequens noctem per saepe diemquecorripere adsidue nervos et membra coactansdissoluebat eos, defessos ante, fatigans.nec nimio cuiquam posses ardore tuericorporis in summo summam fervescere partem,sed potius tepidum manibus proponere tactumet simul ulceribus quasi inustis omne ruberecorpus, ut est per membra sacer dum diditur ignis.intima pars hominum vero flagrabat ad ossa,flagrabat stomacho flamma ut fornacibus intus.nil adeo posses cuiquam leve tenveque membrisvertere in utilitatem, at ventum et frigora semper.in fluvios partim gelidos ardentia morbomembra dabant nudum iacientes corpus in undas.
Many would headlong fling them deeply downThe water-pits, tumbling with eager mouthAlready agape. The insatiable thirstThat whelmed their parched bodies, lo, would makeA goodly shower seem like to scanty drops.Respite of torment was there none. Their framesForspent lay prone. With silent lips of fearWould Medicine mumble low, the while she sawSo many a time men roll their eyeballs round,Staring wide-open, unvisited of sleep,The heralds of old death. And in those monthsWas given many another sign of death:The intellect of mind by sorrow and dreadDeranged, the sad brow, the countenanceFierce and delirious, the tormented earsBeset with ringings, the breath quick and shortOr huge and intermittent, soaking sweatA-glisten on neck, the spittle in fine goutsTainted with colour of crocus and so salt,The cough scarce wheezing through the rattling throat.Aye, and the sinews in the fingered handsWere sure to contract, and sure the jointed frameTo shiver, and up from feet the cold to mountInch after inch: and toward the supreme hourAt last the pinched nostrils, nose's tipA very point, eyes sunken, temples hollow,Skin cold and hard, the shuddering grimace,The pulled and puffy flesh above the brows!-O not long after would their frames lie proneIn rigid death. And by about the eighthResplendent light of sun, or at the mostOn the ninth flaming of his flambeau, theyWould render up the life. If any thenHad 'scaped the doom of that destruction, yetHim there awaited in the after daysA wasting and a death from ulcers vileAnd black discharges of the belly, or elseThrough the clogged nostrils would there ooze alongMuch fouled blood, oft with an aching head:Hither would stream a man's whole strength and flesh.
multi praecipites nymphis putealibus alteinciderunt ipso venientes ore patente:insedabiliter sitis arida corpora mersansaequabat multum parvis umoribus imbrem.nec requies erat ulla mali: defessa iacebantcorpora. mussabat tacito medicina timore,quippe patentia cum totiens ardentia morbislumina versarent oculorum expertia somno.multaque praeterea mortis tum signa dabantur:perturbata animi mens in maerore metuque,triste supercilium, furiosus voltus et acer,sollicitae porro plenaeque sonoribus aures,creber spiritus aut ingens raroque coortus,sudorisque madens per collum splendidus umor,tenvia sputa minuta, croci contacta coloresalsaque per fauces rauca vix edita tussi.in manibus vero nervi trahere et tremere artusa pedibusque minutatim succedere frigusnon dubitabat. item ad supremum denique tempusconpressae nares, nasi primoris acumentenve, cavati oculi, cava tempora, frigida pellisduraque in ore, iacens rictu, frons tenta manebat.nec nimio rigida post artus morte iacebant.octavoque fere candenti lumine solisaut etiam nona reddebant lampade vitam.quorum siquis, ut est, vitarat funera leti,ulceribus taetris et nigra proluvie alviposterius tamen hunc tabes letumque manebat,aut etiam multus capitis cum saepe dolorecorruptus sanguis expletis naribus ibat.huc hominis totae vires corpusque fluebat.
And whoso had survived that virulent flowOf the vile blood, yet into thews of himAnd into his joints and very genitalsWould pass the old disease. And some there were,Dreading the doorways of destructionSo much, lived on, deprived by the knifeOf the male member; not a few, though loppedOf hands and feet, would yet persist in life,And some there were who lost their eyeballs: OSo fierce a fear of death had fallen on them!And some, besides, were by oblivionOf all things seized, that even themselves they knewNo longer. And though corpse on corpse lay piledUnburied on ground, the race of birds and beastsWould or spring back, scurrying to escapeThe virulent stench, or, if they'd tasted there,Would languish in approaching death. But yetHardly at all during those many sunsAppeared a fowl, nor from the woods went forthThe sullen generations of wild beasts-They languished with disease and died and died.In chief, the faithful dogs, in all the streetsOutstretched, would yield their breath distressfullyFor so that Influence of bane would twistLife from their members. Nor was found one sureAnd universal principle of cure:For what to one had given the power to takeThe vital winds of air into his mouth,And to gaze upward at the vaults of sky,The same to others was their death and doom.
profluvium porro qui taetri sanguinis acreexierat, tamen in nervos huic morbus et artusibat et in partis genitalis corporis ipsas.et graviter partim metuentes limina letivivebant ferro privati parte virili,et manibus sine non nulli pedibusque manebantin vita tamen et perdebant lumina partim.usque adeo mortis metus iis incesserat acer.atque etiam quosdam cepere oblivia rerumcunctarum, neque se possent cognoscere ut ipsi.multaque humi cum inhumata iacerent corpora supracorporibus, tamen alituum genus atque ferarumaut procul absiliebat, ut acrem exiret odorem,aut, ubi gustarat, languebat morte propinqua.nec tamen omnino temere illis solibus ullacomparebat avis, nec tristia saecla ferarumexibant silvis. languebant pleraque morboet moriebantur. cum primis fida canum visstrata viis animam ponebat in omnibus aegre;extorquebat enim vitam vis morbida membris.incomitata rapi certabant funera vastanec ratio remedii communis certa dabatur;nam quod ali dederat vitalis aeëris aurasvolvere in ore licere et caeli templa tueri,hoc aliis erat exitio letumque parabat.
In those affairs, O awfullest of all,O pitiable most was this, was this:Whoso once saw himself in that diseaseEntangled, ay, as damned unto death,Would lie in wanhope, with a sullen heart,Would, in fore-vision of his funeral,Give up the ghost, O then and there. For, lo,At no time did they cease one from anotherTo catch contagion of the greedy plague,-As though but woolly flocks and horned herds;And this in chief would heap the dead on dead:For who forbore to look to their own sick,O these (too eager of life, of death afeard)Would then, soon after, slaughtering NeglectVisit with vengeance of evil death and base-Themselves deserted and forlorn of help.But who had stayed at hand would perish thereBy that contagion and the toil which thenA sense of honour and the pleading voiceOf weary watchers, mixed with voice of wailOf dying folk, forced them to undergo.This kind of death each nobler soul would meet.The funerals, uncompanioned, forsaken,Like rivals contended to be hurried through.......And men contending to ensepulchrePile upon pile the throng of their own dead:And weary with woe and weeping wandered home;And then the most would take to bed from grief.Nor could be found not one, whom nor diseaseNor death, nor woe had not in those dread timesAttacked.
Illud in his rebus miserandum magnopere unumaerumnabile erat, quod ubi se quisque videbatimplicitum morbo, morti damnatus ut esset,deficiens animo maesto cum corde iacebat,funera respectans animam amittebat ibidem.quippe etenim nullo cessabant tempore apisciex aliis alios avidi contagia morbi,lanigeras tam quam pecudes et bucera saecla,idque vel in primis cumulabat funere funusnam qui cumque suos fugitabant visere ad aegros,vitai nimium cupidos mortisque timentispoenibat paulo post turpi morte malaque,desertos, opis expertis, incuria mactans.qui fuerant autem praesto, contagibus ibantatque labore, pudor quem tum cogebat obireblandaque lassorum vox mixta voce querellae.optimus hoc leti genus ergo quisque subibat.
By now the shepherds and neatherds all,Yea, even the sturdy guiders of curved ploughs,Began to sicken, and their bodies would lieHuddled within back-corners of their huts,Delivered by squalor and disease to death.O often and often couldst thou then have seenOn lifeless children lifeless parents prone,Or offspring on their fathers', mothers' corpseYielding the life. And into the city pouredO not in least part from the countrysideThat tribulation, which the peasantrySick, sick, brought thither, thronging from every quarter,Plague-stricken mob. All places would they crowd,All buildings too; whereby the more would deathUp-pile a-heap the folk so crammed in town.Ah, many a body thirst had dragged and rolledAlong the highways there was lying strewnBesides Silenus-headed water-fountains,-The life-breath choked from that too dear desireOf pleasant waters. Ah, everywhere alongThe open places of the populace,And along the highways, O thou mightest seeOf many a half-dead body the sagged limbs,Rough with squalor, wrapped around with rags,Perish from very nastiness, with naughtBut skin upon the bones, well-nigh alreadyBuried- in ulcers vile and obscene filth.All holy temples, too, of deitiesHad Death becrammed with the carcasses;And stood each fane of the Celestial OnesLaden with stark cadavers everywhere-Places which warders of the shrines had crowdedWith many a guest. For now no longer menDid mightily esteem the old Divine,The worship of the gods: the woe at handDid over-master. Nor in the city thenRemained those rites of sepulture, with whichThat pious folk had evermore been wontTo buried be. For it was wildered allIn wild alarms, and each and every oneWith sullen sorrow would bury his own dead,As present shift allowed. And sudden stressAnd poverty to many an awful actImpelled; and with a monstrous screaming theyWould, on the frames of alien funeral pyres,Place their own kin, and thrust the torch beneathOft brawling with much bloodshed round aboutRather than quit dead bodies loved in life.
Praeterea iam pastor et armentarius omniset robustus item curvi moderator aratrilanguebat, penitusque casa contrusa iacebantcorpora paupertate et morbo dedita morti.exanimis pueris super exanimata parentumcorpora non numquam posses retroque viderematribus et patribus natos super edere vitam.nec minimam partem ex agris maeror is in urbemconfluxit, languens quem contulit agricolarumcopia conveniens ex omni morbida parte.omnia conplebant loca tectaque quo magis aestu,confertos ita acervatim mors accumulabat.multa siti prostrata viam per proque volutacorpora silanos ad aquarum strata iacebantinterclusa anima nimia ab dulcedine aquarum,multaque per populi passim loca prompta viasquelanguida semanimo cum corpore membra videreshorrida paedore et pannis cooperta perire,corporis inluvie, pelli super ossibus una,ulceribus taetris prope iam sordeque sepulta.omnia denique sancta deum delubra repleratcorporibus mors exanimis onerataque passimcuncta cadaveribus caelestum templa manebant,hospitibus loca quae complerant aedituentes.nec iam religio divom nec numina magnipendebantur enim: praesens dolor exsuperabat.nec mos ille sepulturae remanebat in urbe,quo prius hic populus semper consuerat humari;perturbatus enim totus trepidabat et unusquisque suum pro re [cognatum] maestus humabat.multaque [res] subita et paupertas horrida suasit;namque suos consanguineos aliena rogoruminsuper extructa ingenti clamore locabantsubdebantque faces, multo cum sanguine saeperixantes, potius quam corpora desererentur,inque aliis alium populum sepelire suorumcertantes; lacrimis lassi luctuque redibant;inde bonam partem in lectum maerore dabantur;nec poterat quisquam reperiri, quem neque morbusnec mors nec luctus temptaret tempore tali.