Besides, since colours cannot be, sans light,And the primordials come not forth to light,'Tis thine to know they are not clothed with colour-Truly, what kind of colour could there beIn the viewless dark? Nay, in the light itselfA colour changes, gleaming variedly,When smote by vertical or slanting ray.Thus in the sunlight shows the down of dovesThat circles, garlanding, the nape and throat:Now it is ruddy with a bright gold-bronze,Now, by a strange sensation it becomesGreen-emerald blended with the coral-red.The peacock's tail, filled with the copious light,Changes its colours likewise, when it turns.Wherefore, since by some blow of light begot,Without such blow these colours can't become.And since the pupil of the eye receivesWithin itself one kind of blow, when saidTo feel a white hue, then another kind,When feeling a black or any other hue,And since it matters nothing with what hueThe things thou touchest be perchance endowed,But rather with what sort of shape equipped,'Tis thine to know the atoms need not colour,But render forth sensations, as of touch,That vary with their varied forms.
Praeterea quoniam nequeunt sine luce coloresesse neque in lucem existunt primordia rerum,scire licet quam sint nullo velata colore;qualis enim caecis poterit color esse tenebris?lumine quin ipso mutatur propterea quodrecta aut obliqua percussus luce refulget;pluma columbarum quo pacto in sole videtur,quae sita cervices circum collumque coronat;namque alias fit uti claro sit rubra pyropo,inter dum quodam sensu fit uti videaturinter caeruleum viridis miscere zmaragdos.caudaque pavonis, larga cum luce repleta est,consimili mutat ratione obversa colores;qui quoniam quodam gignuntur luminis ictu,scire licet, sine eo fieri non posse putandum est.Et quoniam plagae quoddam genus excipit in sepupula, cum sentire colorem dicitur album,atque aliud porro, nigrum cum et cetera sentit,nec refert ea quae tangas quo forte colorepraedita sint, verum quali magis apta figura,scire licet nihil principiis opus esse colore,sed variis formis variantes edere tactus.
Besides,Since special shapes have not a special colour,And all formations of the primal germsCan be of any sheen thou wilt, why, then,Are not those objects which are of them madeSuffused, each kind with colours of every kind?For then 'twere meet that ravens, as they fly,Should dartle from white pinions a white sheen,Or swans turn black from seed of black, or beOf any single varied dye thou wilt.Again, the more an object's rent to bits,The more thou see its colour fade awayLittle by little till 'tis quite extinct;As happens when the gaudy linen's pickedShred after shred away: the purple there,Phoenician red, most brilliant of all dyes,Is lost asunder, ravelled thread by thread;Hence canst perceive the fragments die awayFrom out their colour, long ere they departBack to the old primordials of things.And, last, since thou concedest not all bodiesSend out a voice or smell, it happens thusThat not to all thou givest sounds and smells.So, too, since we behold not all with eyes,'Tis thine to know some things there are as muchOrphaned of colour, as others without smell,And reft of sound; and those the mind alertNo less can apprehend than it can markThe things that lack some other qualities.
Praeterea quoniam non certis certa figurisest natura coloris et omnia principiorumformamenta queunt in quovis esse nitore,cur ea quae constant ex illis non pariter suntomnigenus perfusa coloribus in genere omni?conveniebat enim corvos quoque saepe volantisex albis album pinnis iactare coloremet nigros fieri nigro de semine cycnosaut alio quovis uno varioque colore.Quin etiam quanto in partes res quaeque minutasdistrahitur magis, hoc magis est ut cernere possisevanescere paulatim stinguique colorem;ut fit ubi in parvas partis discerpitur austrum:purpura poeniceusque color clarissimus multo,filatim cum distractum est, disperditur omnis;noscere ut hinc possis prius omnem efflare coloremparticulas, quam discedant ad semina rerum.Postremo quoniam non omnia corpora vocemmittere concedis neque odorem, propterea fitut non omnibus adtribuas sonitus et odores:sic oculis quoniam non omnia cernere quimus,scire licet quaedam tam constare orba colorequam sine odore ullo quaedam sonituque remota,nec minus haec animum cognoscere posse sagacemquam quae sunt aliis rebus privata notare.
But think not haply that the primal bodiesRemain despoiled alone of colour: so,Are they from warmth dissevered and from coldAnd from hot exhalations; and they move,Both sterile of sound and dry of juice; and throwNot any odour from their proper bodies.Just as, when undertaking to prepareA liquid balm of myrrh and marjoram,And flower of nard, which to our nostrils breathesOdour of nectar, first of all behoovesThou seek, as far as find thou may and can,The inodorous olive-oil (which never sendsOne whiff of scent to nostrils), that it mayThe least debauch and ruin with sharp tangThe odorous essence with its body mixedAnd in it seethed. And on the same accountThe primal germs of things must not be thoughtTo furnish colour in begetting things,Nor sound, since pow'rless they to send forth aughtFrom out themselves, nor any flavour, too,Nor cold, nor exhalation hot or warm.......The rest; yet since these things are mortal all-The pliant mortal, with a body soft;The brittle mortal, with a crumbling frame;The hollow with a porous-all must beDisjoined from the primal elements,If still we wish under the world to layImmortal ground-works, whereupon may restThe sum of weal and safety, lest for theeAll things return to nothing utterly.Now, too: whate'er we see possessing senseMust yet confessedly be stablished allFrom elements insensate. And those signs,So clear to all and witnessed out of hand,Do not refute this dictum nor oppose;But rather themselves do lead us by the hand,Compelling belief that living things are bornOf elements insensate, as I say.Sooth, we may see from out the stinking dungLive worms spring up, when, after soaking rains,The drenched earth rots; and all things change the same:Lo, change the rivers, the fronds, the gladsome pasturesInto the cattle, the cattle their nature changeInto our bodies, and from our body, oftGrow strong the powers and bodies of wild beastsAnd mighty-winged birds. Thus nature changesAll foods to living frames, and procreatesFrom them the senses of live creatures all,In manner about as she uncoils in flamesDry logs of wood and turns them all to fire.And seest not, therefore, how it matters muchAfter what order are set the primal germs,And with what other germs they all are mixed,And what the motions that they give and get?
Sed ne forte putes solo spoliata colorecorpora prima manere, etiam secreta teporissunt ac frigoris omnino calidique vaporis,et sonitu sterila et suco ieiuna feruntur,nec iaciunt ullum proprium de corpore odorem.sicut amaracini blandum stactaeque liquoremet nardi florem, nectar qui naribus halat,cum facere instituas, cum primis quaerere par est,quod licet ac possis reperire, inolentis olivinaturam, nullam quae mittat naribus auram,quam minime ut possit mixtos in corpore odoresconcoctosque suo contractans perdere viro,propter eandem ⟨rem⟩ debent primordia rerumnon adhibere suum gignundis rebus odoremnec sonitum, quoniam nihil ab se mittere possunt,nec simili ratione saporem denique quemquamnec frigus neque item calidum tepidumque vaporem,cetera, quae cum ita sunt tamen ut mortalia constent,molli lenta, fragosa putri, cava corpore raro,omnia sint a principiis seiuncta necessest,inmortalia si volumus subiungere rebusfundamenta, quibus nitatur summa salutis;ne tibi res redeant ad nihilum funditus omnes.Nunc ea quae sentire videmus cumque necessestex insensilibus tamen omnia confiteareprincipiis constare. neque id manufesta refutantnec contra pugnant, in promptu cognita quae sunt,sed magis ipsa manu ducunt et credere coguntex insensilibus, quod dico, animalia gigni.quippe videre licet vivos existere vermesstercore de taetro, putorem cum sibi nacta estintempestivis ex imbribus umida tellus.Praeterea cunctas itidem res vertere sese.vertunt se fluvii in frondes et pabula laetain pecudes, vertunt pecudes in corpora nostranaturam, et nostro de corpore saepe ferarumaugescunt vires et corpora pennipotentum.ergo omnes natura cibos in corpora vivavertit et hinc sensus animantum procreat omnes,non alia longe ratione atque arida lignaexplicat in flammas et ⟨in⟩ ignis omnia versat.iamne vides igitur magni primordia rerumreferre in quali sint ordine quaeque locataet commixta quibus dent motus accipiantque?
But now, what is't that strikes thy sceptic mind,Constraining thee to sundry argumentsAgainst belief that from insensate germsThe sensible is gendered?- Verily,'Tis this: that liquids, earth, and wood, though mixed,Are yet unable to gender vital sense.And, therefore, 'twill be well in these affairsThis to remember: that I have not saidSenses are born, under conditions all,From all things absolutely which createObjects that feel; but much it matters hereFirstly, how small the seeds which thus composeThe feeling thing, then, with what shapes endowed,And lastly what they in positions be,In motions, in arrangements. Of which factsNaught we perceive in logs of wood and clods;And yet even these, when sodden by the rains,Give birth to wormy grubs, because the bodiesOf matter, from their old arrangements stirredBy the new factor, then combine anewIn such a way as genders living things.Next, they who deem that feeling objects canFrom feeling objects be create, and these,In turn, from others that are wont to feel......When soft they make them; for all sense is linkedWith flesh, and thews, and veins- and such, we see,Are fashioned soft and of a mortal frame.Yet be't that these can last forever on:They'll have the sense that's proper to a part,Or else be judged to have a sense the sameAs that within live creatures as a whole.But of themselves those parts can never feel,For all the sense in every member backTo something else refers- a severed hand,Or any other member of our frame,Itself alone cannot support sensation.It thus remains they must resemble, then,Live creatures as a whole, to have the powerOf feeling sensation concordant in each partWith the vital sense; and so they're bound to feelThe things we feel exactly as do we.If such the case, how, then, can they be namedThe primal germs of things, and how avoidThe highways of destruction?- since they beMere living things and living things be allOne and the same with mortal. Grant they could,Yet by their meetings and their unions all,Naught would result, indeed, besides a throngAnd hurly-burly all of living things-Precisely as men, and cattle, and wild beasts,By mere conglomeration each with eachCan still beget not anything of new.But if by chance they lose, inside a body,Their own sense and another sense take on,What, then, avails it to assign them thatWhich is withdrawn thereafter? And besides,To touch on proof that we pronounced before,Just as we see the eggs of feathered fowlsTo change to living chicks, and swarming wormsTo bubble forth when from the soaking rainsThe earth is sodden, sure, sensations allCan out of non-sensations be begot.
Tum porro, quid id est, animum quod percutit, ipsum,quod movet et varios sensus expromere cogit,ex insensilibus ne credas sensile gigni?ni mirum lapides et ligna et terra quod unamixta tamen nequeunt vitalem reddere sensum.illud in his igitur rebus meminisse decebit,non ex omnibus omnino, quaecumque creant ressensilia, extemplo me gigni dicere sensus,sed magni referre ea primum quantula constent,sensile quae faciunt, et qua sint praedita forma,motibus ordinibus posituris denique quae sint.quarum nil rerum in lignis glaebisque videmus;et tamen haec, cum sunt quasi putrefacta per imbres,vermiculos pariunt, quia corpora materiaiantiquis ex ordinibus permota nova reconciliantur ita ut debent animalia gigni.Deinde ex sensilibus qui sensile posse creariconstituunt, porro ex aliis sentire sueti* * *mollia cum faciunt; nam sensus iungitur omnisvisceribus nervis venis, quae cumque videmusmollia mortali consistere corpore creta.sed tamen esto iam posse haec aeterna manere;nempe tamen debent aut sensum partis habereaut similis totis animalibus esse putari.at nequeant per se partes sentire necesse est:namque animus sensus membrorum respuit omnis,nec manus a nobis potis est secreta neque ullacorporis omnino sensum pars sola tenere.linquitur ut totis animantibus adsimulentur,vitali ut possint consentire undique sensu.qui poterunt igitur rerum primordia diciet leti vitare vias, animalia cum sint,atque animalia ⟨sint⟩ mortalibus una eademque?quod tamen ut possint, at coetu concilioquenil facient praeter volgum turbamque animantum,scilicet ut nequeant homines armenta feraequeinter sese ullam rem gignere conveniundo.sic itidem quae sentimus sentire necessest.quod si forte suum dimittunt corpore sensumatque alium capiunt, quid opus fuit adtribui id quoddetrahitur? tum praeterea, quod fudimus ante,quatinus in pullos animalis vertier ovacernimus alituum vermisque effervere terra,intempestivos quam putor cepit ob imbris,scire licet gigni posse ex non sensibus sensus.
But if one say that sense can so far riseFrom non-sense by mutation, or becauseBrought forth as by a certain sort of birth,'Twill serve to render plain to him and proveThere is no birth, unless there be beforeSome formed union of the elements,Nor any change, unless they be unite.In first place, senses can't in body beBefore its living nature's been begot,-Since all its stuff, in faith, is held dispersedAbout through rivers, air, and earth, and allThat is from earth created, nor has metIn combination, and, in proper mode,Conjoined into those vital motions whichKindle the all-perceiving senses- theyThat keep and guard each living thing soever.Again, a blow beyond its nature's strengthShatters forthwith each living thing soe'er,And on it goes confounding all the senseOf body and mind. For of the primal germsAre loosed their old arrangements, and, throughout,The vital motions blocked,- until the stuff,Shaken profoundly through the frame entire,Undoes the vital knots of soul from bodyAnd throws that soul, to outward wide-dispersed,Through all the pores. For what may we surmiseA blow inflicted can achieve besidesShaking asunder and loosening all apart?It happens also, when less sharp the blow,The vital motions which are left are wontOft to win out- win out, and stop and stillThe uncouth tumults gendered by the blow,And call each part to its own courses back,And shake away the motion of death which nowBegins its own dominion in the body,And kindle anew the senses almost gone.For by what other means could they the moreCollect their powers of thought and turn againFrom very doorways of destructionBack unto life, rather than pass wheretoThey be already well-nigh sped and soPass quite away?Again, since pain is thereWhere bodies of matter, by some force stirred up,Through vitals and through joints, within their seatsQuiver and quake inside, but soft delight,When they remove unto their place again:'Tis thine to know the primal germs can beAssaulted by no pain, nor from themselvesTake no delight; because indeed they areNot made of any bodies of first things,Under whose strange new motions they might acheOr pluck the fruit of any dear new sweet.And so they must be furnished with no sense.
Quod si forte aliquis dicet, dum taxat oririposse ex non sensu sensus mutabilitate,aut aliquo tamquam partu quod proditur extra,huic satis illud erit planum facere atque probare,non fieri partum nisi concilio ante coacto,nec quicquam commutari sine conciliatu.Principio nequeunt ullius corporis essesensus ante ipsam genitam naturam animantis,ni mirum quia materies disiecta teneturaere fluminibus terris terraque creatis,nec congressa modo vitalis convenientescontulit inter se motus, quibus omnituentesaccensi sensus animantem quamque tuentur.Praeterea quamvis animantem grandior ictus,quam patitur natura, repente adfligit et omniscorporis atque animi pergit confundere sensus.dissoluuntur enim positurae principiorumet penitus motus vitales inpediuntur,donec materies omnis concussa per artusvitalis animae nodos a corpore solvitdispersamque foras per caulas eiecit omnis;nam quid praeterea facere ictum posse reamuroblatum, nisi discutere ac dissolvere quaeque?fit quoque uti soleant minus oblato acriter ictureliqui motus vitalis vincere saepe,vincere et ingentis plagae sedare tumultusinque suos quicquid rursus revocare meatuset quasi iam leti dominantem in corpore motumdiscutere ac paene amissos accendere sensus;nam qua re potius leti iam limine ab ipsoad vitam possint conlecta mente reverti,quam quo decursum prope iam siet ire et abire?Praeterea, quoniam dolor est, ubi materiaicorpora vi quadam per viscera viva per artussollicitata suis trepidant in sedibus intus,inque locum quando remigrant, fit blanda voluptas,scire licet nullo primordia posse doloretemptari nullamque voluptatem capere ex se;quandoquidem non sunt ex ullis principiorumcorporibus, quorum motus novitate laborentaut aliquem fructum capiant dulcedinis almae.haut igitur debent esse ullo praedita sensu.
Once more, if thus, that every living thingMay have sensation, needful 'tis to assignSense also to its elements, what thenOf those fixed elements from which mankindHath been, by their peculiar virtue, formed?Of verity, they'll laugh aloud, like men,Shaken asunder by a spasm of mirth,Or sprinkle with dewy tear-drops cheeks and chins,And have the cunning hardihood to sayMuch on the composition of the world,And in their turn inquire what elementsThey have themselves,- since, thus the same in kindAs a whole mortal creature, even theyMust also be from other elements,And then those others from others evermore-So that thou darest nowhere make a stop.Oho, I'll follow thee until thou grantThe seed (which here thou say'st speaks, laughs, and thinks)Is yet derived out of other seedsWhich in their turn are doing just the same.But if we see what raving nonsense this,And that a man may laugh, though not, forsooth,Compounded out of laughing elements,And think and utter reason with learn'd speech,Though not himself compounded, for a fact,Of sapient seeds and eloquent, why, then,Cannot those things which we perceive to haveTheir own sensation be composed as wellOf intermixed seeds quite void of sense?
Denique uti possint sentire animalia quaeque,principiis si iam est sensus tribuendus eorum,quid, genus humanum propritim de quibus auctumst?scilicet et risu tremulo concussa cachinnantet lacrimis spargunt rorantibus ora genasquemultaque de rerum mixtura dicere callentet sibi proporro quae sint primordia quaerunt;quando quidem totis mortalibus adsimulataipsa quoque ex aliis debent constare elementis,inde alia ex aliis, nusquam consistere ut ausis;quippe sequar, quod cumque loqui ridereque diceset sapere, ex aliis eadem haec facientibus ut sit.quod si delira haec furiosaque cernimus esseet ridere potest non ex ridentibus auctus,et sapere et doctis rationem reddere dictisnon ex seminibus sapientibus atque disertis,qui minus esse queant ea quae sentire videmusseminibus permixta carentibus undique sensu?
Once more, we all from seed celestial spring,To all is that same father, from whom earth,The fostering mother, as she takes the dropsOf liquid moisture, pregnant bears her broods-The shining grains, and gladsome shrubs and trees,And bears the human race and of the wildThe generations all, the while she yieldsThe foods wherewith all feed their frames and leadThe genial life and propagate their kind;Wherefore she owneth that maternal name,By old desert. What was before from earth,The same in earth sinks back, and what was sentFrom shores of ether, that, returning home,The vaults of sky receive. Nor thus doth deathSo far annihilate things that she destroysThe bodies of matter; but she dissipatesTheir combinations, and conjoins anewOne element with others; and contrivesThat all things vary forms and change their coloursAnd get sensations and straight give them o'er.And thus may'st know it matters with what othersAnd in what structure the primordial germsAre held together, and what motions theyAmong themselves do give and get; nor thinkThat aught we see hither and thither afloatUpon the crest of things, and now a birthAnd straightway now a ruin, inheres at restDeep in the eternal atoms of the world.Why, even in these our very verses hereIt matters much with what and in what orderEach element is set: the same denoteSky, and the ocean, lands, and streams, and sun;The same, the grains, and trees, and living things.And if not all alike, at least the most-But what distinctions by positions wrought!And thus no less in things themselves, when onceAround are changed the intervals between,The paths of matter, its connections, weights,Blows, clashings, motions, order, structure, shapes,The things themselves must likewise changed be.Now to true reason give thy mind for us.Since here strange truth is putting forth its mightTo hit thee in thine ears, a new aspectOf things to show its front. Yet naught there isSo easy that it standeth not at firstMore hard to credit than it after is;And naught soe'er that's great to such degree,Nor wonderful so far, but all mankindLittle by little abandon their surprise.Look upward yonder at the bright clear skyAnd what it holds- the stars that wander o'er,The moon, the radiance of the splendour-sun:Yet all, if now they first for mortals were,If unforeseen now first asudden shown,What might there be more wonderful to tell,What that the nations would before have daredLess to believe might be?- I fancy, naught-So strange had been the marvel of that sight.The which o'erwearied to behold, to-dayNone deigns look upward to those lucent realms.Then, spew not reason from thy mind away,Beside thyself because the matter's new,But rather with keen judgment nicely weigh;And if to thee it then appeareth true,Render thy hands, or, if 'tis false at last,Gird thee to combat. For my mind-of-manNow seeks the nature of the vast BeyondThere on the other side, that boundless sumWhich lies without the ramparts of the world,Toward which the spirit longs to peer afar,Toward which indeed the swift elan of thoughtFlies unencumbered forth.
Denique caelesti sumus omnes semine oriundi;omnibus ille idem pater est, unde alma liquentisumoris guttas mater cum terra recepit,feta parit nitidas fruges arbustaque laetaet genus humanum, parit omnia saecla ferarum,pabula cum praebet, quibus omnes corpora pascuntet dulcem ducunt vitam prolemque propagant;qua propter merito maternum nomen adepta est.cedit item retro, de terra quod fuit ante,in terras, et quod missumst ex aetheris oris,id rursum caeli rellatum templa receptant.nec sic interemit mors res ut materiaicorpora conficiat, sed coetum dissupat ollis;inde aliis aliud coniungit et efficit, omnisres ut convertant formas mutentque coloreset capiant sensus et puncto tempore reddant;ut noscas referre earum primordia rerumcum quibus et quali positura contineanturet quos inter se dent motus accipiantque,neve putes aeterna penes residere potessecorpora prima quod in summis fluitare videmusrebus et interdum nasci subitoque perire.quin etiam refert nostris in versibus ipsiscum quibus et quali sint ordine quaeque locata;namque eadem caelum mare terras flumina solemsignificant, eadem fruges arbusta animantis;si non omnia sunt, at multo maxima pars estconsimilis; verum positura discrepitant res.sic ipsis in rebus item iam materiai[intervalla vias conexus pondera plagas]concursus motus ordo positura figuraecum permutantur, mutari res quoque debent.Nunc animum nobis adhibe veram ad rationem.nam tibi vehementer nova res molitur ad aurisaccedere et nova se species ostendere rerum.sed neque tam facilis res ulla est, quin ea primumdifficilis magis ad credendum constet, itemquenil adeo magnum neque tam mirabile quicquam,quod non paulatim minuant mirarier omnes,principio caeli clarum purumque coloremquaeque in se cohibet, palantia sidera passim,lunamque et solis praeclara luce nitorem;omnia quae nunc si primum mortalibus essentex improviso si sint obiecta repente,quid magis his rebus poterat mirabile dici,aut minus ante quod auderent fore credere gentes?nil, ut opinor; ita haec species miranda fuisset.quam tibi iam nemo fessus satiate videndi,suspicere in caeli dignatur lucida templa.desine qua propter novitate exterritus ipsaexpuere ex animo rationem, sed magis acriiudicio perpende, et si tibi vera videntur,dede manus, aut, si falsum est, accingere contra.quaerit enim rationem animus, cum summa loci sitinfinita foris haec extra moenia mundi,quid sit ibi porro, quo prospicere usque velit mensatque animi iactus liber quo pervolet ipse.
Firstly, we find,Off to all regions round, on either side,Above, beneath, throughout the universeEnd is there none- as I have taught, as tooThe very thing of itself declares aloud,And as from nature of the unbottomed deepShines clearly forth. Nor can we once supposeIn any way 'tis likely, (seeing that spaceTo all sides stretches infinite and free,And seeds, innumerable in number, in sumBottomless, there in many a manner fly,Bestirred in everlasting motion there),That only this one earth and sky of oursHath been create and that those bodies of stuff,So many, perform no work outside the same;Seeing, moreover, this world too hath beenBy nature fashioned, even as seeds of thingsBy innate motion chanced to clash and cling-After they'd been in many a manner drivenTogether at random, without design, in vain-And as at last those seeds together dwelt,Which, when together of a sudden thrown,Should alway furnish the commencements fitOf mighty things- the earth, the sea, the sky,And race of living creatures. Thus, I say,Again, again, 'tmust be confessed there areSuch congregations of matter otherwhere,Like this our world which vasty ether holdsIn huge embrace.Besides, when matter abundantIs ready there, when space on hand, nor objectNor any cause retards, no marvel 'tisThat things are carried on and made complete,Perforce. And now, if store of seeds there isSo great that not whole life-times of the livingCan count the tale...And if their force and nature abide the same,Able to throw the seeds of things togetherInto their places, even as here are thrownThe seeds together in this world of ours,'Tmust be confessed in other realms there areStill other worlds, still other breeds of men,And other generations of the wild.Hence too it happens in the sum there isNo one thing single of its kind in birth,And single and sole in growth, but rather it isOne member of some generated race,Among full many others of like kind.First, cast thy mind abroad upon the living:Thou'lt find the race of mountain-ranging wildEven thus to be, and thus the scions of menTo be begot, and lastly the mute flocksOf scaled fish, and winged frames of birds.Wherefore confess we must on grounds the sameThat earth, sun, moon, and ocean, and all else,Exist not sole and single- rather in numberExceeding number. Since that deeply setOld boundary stone of life remains for themNo less, and theirs a body of mortal birthNo less, than every kind which here on earthIs so abundant in its members found.Which well perceived if thou hold in mind,Then Nature, delivered from every haughty lord,And forthwith free, is seen to do all thingsHerself and through herself of own accord,Rid of all gods. For- by their holy heartsWhich pass in long tranquillity of peaceUntroubled ages and a serene life!-Who hath the power (I ask), who hath the powerTo rule the sum of the immeasurable,To hold with steady hand the giant reinsOf the unfathomed deep? Who hath the powerAt once to roll a multitude of skies,At once to heat with fires ethereal allThe fruitful lands of multitudes of worlds,To be at all times in all places near,To stablish darkness by his clouds, to shakeThe serene spaces of the sky with sound,And hurl his lightnings,- ha, and whelm how oftIn ruins his own temples, and to rave,Retiring to the wildernesses, thereAt practice with that thunderbolt of his,Which yet how often shoots the guilty by,And slays the honourable blameless ones!
Principio nobis in cunctas undique partiset latere ex utroque ⟨supra⟩ supterque per omnenulla est finis; uti docui, res ipsaque per sevociferatur, et elucet natura profundi.nullo iam pacto veri simile esse putandumst,undique cum vorsum spatium vacet infinitumseminaque innumero numero summaque profundamultimodis volitent aeterno percita motu,hunc unum terrarum orbem caelumque creatum,nil agere illa foris tot corpora materiai;cum praesertim hic sit natura factus et ipsasponte sua forte offensando semina rerummultimodis temere in cassum frustraque coactatandem coluerunt ea quae coniecta repentemagnarum rerum fierent exordia semper,terrai maris et caeli generisque animantum.quare etiam atque etiam talis fateare necesse estesse alios alibi congressus materiai,qualis hic est, avido complexu quem tenet aether.Praeterea cum materies est multa parata,cum locus est praesto nec res nec causa moraturulla, geri debent ni mirum et confieri res.nunc et seminibus si tanta est copia, quantamenumerare aetas animantum non queat omnis,quis eadem natura manet, quae semina rerumconicere in loca quaeque queat simili rationeatque huc sunt coniecta, necesse est confiteareesse alios aliis terrarum in partibus orbiset varias hominum gentis et saecla ferarum.Huc accedit ut in summa res nulla sit una,unica quae gignatur et unica solaque crescat,quin aliquoius siet saecli permultaque eodemsint genere. in primis animalibus indice menteinvenies sic montivagum genus esse ferarum,sic hominum geminam prolem, sic denique mutassquamigerum pecudes et corpora cuncta volantum.qua propter caelum simili ratione fatendumstterramque et solem, lunam mare cetera quae sunt,non esse unica, sed numero magis innumerali;quando quidem vitae depactus terminus altetam manet haec et tam nativo corpore constantquam genus omne, quod his generatimst rebus abundans.Quae bene cognita si teneas, natura videturlibera continuo, dominis privata superbis,ipsa sua per se sponte omnia dis agere expers.nam pro sancta deum tranquilla pectora pacequae placidum degunt aevom vitamque serenam,quis regere immensi summam, quis habere profundiindu manu validas potis est moderanter habenas,quis pariter caelos omnis convertere et omnisignibus aetheriis terras suffire feracis,omnibus inve locis esse omni tempore praesto,nubibus ut tenebras faciat caelique serenaconcutiat sonitu, tum fulmina mittat et aedissaepe suas disturbet et in deserta recedenssaeviat exercens telum, quod saepe nocentespraeterit exanimatque indignos inque merentes?
Ere since the birth-time of the world, ere sinceThe risen first-born day of sea, earth, sun,Have many germs been added from outside,Have many seeds been added round about,Which the great All, the while it flung them on,Brought hither, that from them the sea and landsCould grow more big, and that the house of heavenMight get more room and raise its lofty roofsFar over earth, and air arise around.For bodies all, from out all regions, areDivided by blows, each to its proper thing,And all retire to their own proper kinds:The moist to moist retires; earth gets increaseFrom earthy body; and fires, as on a forge,Beat out new fire; and ether forges ether;Till nature, author and ender of the world,Hath led all things to extreme bound of growth:As haps when that which hath been poured insideThe vital veins of life is now no moreThan that which ebbs within them and runs off.This is the point where life for each thing ends;This is the point where nature with her powersCurbs all increase. For whatsoe'er thou seestGrow big with glad increase, and step by stepClimb upward to ripe age, these to themselvesTake in more bodies than they send from selves,Whilst still the food is easily infusedThrough all the veins, and whilst the things are notSo far expanded that they cast awaySuch numerous atoms as to cause a wasteGreater than nutriment whereby they wax.For 'tmust be granted, truly, that from thingsMany a body ebbeth and runs off;But yet still more must come, until the thingsHave touched development's top pinnacle;Then old age breaks their powers and ripe strengthAnd falls away into a worser part.For ever the ampler and more wide a thing,As soon as ever its augmentation ends,It scatters abroad forthwith to all sides roundMore bodies, sending them from out itself.Nor easily now is food disseminateThrough all its veins; nor is that food enoughTo equal with a new supply on handThose plenteous exhalations it gives off.Thus, fairly, all things perish, when with ebbingThey're made less dense and when from blows withoutThey are laid low; since food at last will failExtremest eld, and bodies from outsideCease not with thumping to undo a thingAnd overmaster by infesting blows.
Multaque post mundi tempus genitale diemqueprimigenum maris et terrae solisque coortumaddita corpora sunt extrinsecus, addita circumsemina, quae magnum iaculando contulit omne,unde mare et terrae possent augescere et undeappareret spatium caeli domus altaque tectatolleret a terris procul et consurgeret aer.nam sua cuique, locis ex omnibus, omnia plagiscorpora distribuuntur et ad sua saecla recedunt,umor ad umorem, terreno corpore terracrescit et ignem ignes procudunt aetheraque ⟨aether⟩,donique ad extremum crescendi perfica finemomnia perduxit rerum natura creatrix;ut fit ubi nihilo iam plus est quod datur intravitalis venas quam quod fluit atque recedit.omnibus hic aetas debet consistere rebus,hic natura suis refrenat viribus auctum.nam quae cumque vides hilaro grandescere adauctupaulatimque gradus aetatis scandere adultae,plura sibi adsumunt quam de se corpora mittunt,dum facile in venas cibus omnis inditur et dumnon ita sunt late dispessa, ut multa remittantet plus dispendi faciant quam vescitur aetas.nam certe fluere atque recedere corpora rebusmulta manus dandum est; sed plura accedere debent,donec alescendi summum tetigere cacumen.inde minutatim vires et robur adultumfrangit et in partem peiorem liquitur aetas.quippe etenim quanto est res amplior, augmine adempto,et quo latior est, in cunctas undique partisplura modo dispargit et a se corpora mittit,nec facile in venas cibus omnis diditur einec satis est, pro quam largos exaestuat aestus,unde queat tantum suboriri ac subpeditare.iure igitur pereunt, cum rarefacta fluendosunt et cum externis succumbunt omnia plagis,quando quidem grandi cibus aevo denique defit,nec tuditantia rem cessant extrinsecus ullamcorpora conficere et plagis infesta domare.
Thus, too, the ramparts of the mighty worldOn all sides round shall taken be by storm,And tumble to wrack and shivered fragments down.For food it is must keep things whole, renewing;'Tis food must prop and give support to all,-But to no purpose, since nor veins sufficeTo hold enough, nor nature ministersAs much as needful. And even now 'tis thus:Its age is broken and the earth, outwornWith many parturitions, scarce createsThe little lives- she who created erstAll generations and gave forth at birthEnormous bodies of wild beasts of old.For never, I fancy, did a golden cordFrom off the firmament above let downThe mortal generations to the fields;Nor sea, nor breakers pounding on the rocksCreated them; but earth it was who bore-The same to-day who feeds them from herself.Besides, herself of own accord, she firstThe shining grains and vineyards of all joyCreated for mortality; herselfGave the sweet fruitage and the pastures glad,Which now to-day yet scarcely wax in size,Even when aided by our toiling arms.We break the ox, and wear away the strengthOf sturdy farm-hands; iron tools to-dayBarely avail for tilling of the fields,So niggardly they grudge our harvestings,So much increase our labour. Now to-dayThe aged ploughman, shaking of his head,Sighs o'er and o'er that labours of his handsHave fallen out in vain, and, as he thinksHow present times are not as times of old,Often he praises the fortunes of his sire,And crackles, prating, how the ancient race,Fulfilled with piety, supported lifeWith simple comfort in a narrow plot,Since, man for man, the measure of each fieldWas smaller far i' the old days. And, again,The gloomy planter of the withered vineRails at the season's change and wearies heaven,Nor grasps that all of things by sure degreesAre wasting away and going to the tomb,Outworn by venerable length of life.
Sic igitur magni quoque circum moenia mundiexpugnata dabunt labem putrisque ruinas;omnia debet enim cibus integrare novandoet fulcire cibus, ⟨cibus⟩ omnia sustentare,ne quiquam, quoniam nec venae perpetiunturquod satis est, neque quantum opus est natura ministrat.Iamque adeo fracta est aetas effetaque tellusvix animalia parva creat, quae cuncta creavitsaecla deditque ferarum ingentia corpora partu.haud, ut opinor, enim mortalia saecla superneaurea de caelo demisit funis in arvanec mare nec fluctus plangentis saxa crearunt,sed genuit tellus eadem quae nunc alit ex se.praeterea nitidas fruges vinetaque laetasponte sua primum mortalibus ipsa creavit,ipsa dedit dulcis fetus et pabula laeta;quae nunc vix nostro grandescunt aucta labore,conterimusque boves et viris agricolarum,conficimus ferrum vix arvis suppeditati:usque adeo parcunt fetus augentque laborem.iamque caput quassans grandis suspirat aratorcrebrius, in cassum magnos cecidisse labores,et cum tempora temporibus praesentia confertpraeteritis, laudat fortunas saepe parentis.tristis item vetulae vitis sator atque ⟨vietae⟩temporis incusat momen saeclumque fatigat,et crepat, antiquum genus ut pietate repletumperfacile angustis tolerarit finibus aevom,cum minor esset agri multo modus ante viritim;nec tenet omnia paulatim tabescere et iread capulum spatio aetatis defessa vetusto.