O thou who first uplifted in such darkSo clear a torch aloft, who first shed lightUpon the profitable ends of man,O thee I follow, glory of the Greeks,And set my footsteps squarely planted nowEven in the impress and the marks of thine-Less like one eager to dispute the palm,More as one craving out of very loveThat I may copy thee!- for how should swallowContend with swans or what compare could beIn a race between young kids with tumbling legsAnd the strong might of the horse? Our father thou,And finder-out of truth, and thou to usSuppliest a father's precepts; and from outThose scriven leaves of thine, renowned soul(Like bees that sip of all in flowery wolds),We feed upon thy golden sayings all-Golden, and ever worthiest endless life.For soon as ever thy planning thought that sprangFrom god-like mind begins its loud proclaimOf nature's courses, terrors of the brainAsunder flee, the ramparts of the worldDispart away, and through the void entireI see the movements of the universe.Rises to vision the majesty of gods,And their abodes of everlasting calmWhich neither wind may shake nor rain-cloud splash,Nor snow, congealed by sharp frosts, may harmWith its white downfall: ever, unclouded skyO'er roofs, and laughs with far-diffused light.And nature gives to them their all, nor aughtMay ever pluck their peace of mind away.But nowhere to my vision rise no moreThe vaults of Acheron, though the broad earthBars me no more from gazing down o'er allWhich under our feet is going on belowAlong the void. O, here in these affairsSome new divine delight and trembling aweTakes hold through me, that thus by power of thineNature, so plain and manifest at last,Hath been on every side laid bare to man!And since I've taught already of what sortThe seeds of all things are, and how, distinctIn divers forms, they flit of own accord,Stirred with a motion everlasting on,And in what mode things be from them create,Now, after such matters, should my verse, meseems,Make clear the nature of the mind and soul,And drive that dread of Acheron without,Headlong, which so confounds our human lifeUnto its deeps, pouring o'er all that isThe black of death, nor leaves not anythingTo prosper- a liquid and unsullied joy.
E tenebris tantis tam clarum extollere lumenqui primus potuisti inlustrans commoda vitae,te sequor, o Graiae gentis decus, inque tuis nuncficta pedum pono pressis vestigia signis,non ita certandi cupidus quam propter amoremquod te imitari aveo; quid enim contendat hirundocycnis, aut quid nam tremulis facere artubus haediconsimile in cursu possint et fortis equi vis?tu, pater, es rerum inventor, tu patria nobissuppeditas praecepta, tuisque ex, inclute, chartis,floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant,omnia nos itidem depascimur aurea dicta,aurea, perpetua semper dignissima vita.nam simul ac ratio tua coepit vociferarinaturam rerum divina mente coortadiffugiunt animi terrores, moenia mundidiscedunt. totum video per inane geri res.apparet divum numen sedesque quietae,quas neque concutiunt venti nec nubila nimbisaspergunt neque nix acri concreta pruinacana cadens violat semper[que] innubilus aetherintegit et large diffuso lumine ridet:omnia suppeditat porro natura neque ullares animi pacem delibat tempore in ullo.at contra nusquam apparent Acherusia templa,nec tellus obstat quin omnia dispiciantur,sub pedibus quae cumque infra per inane geruntur.his ibi me rebus quaedam divina voluptaspercipit atque horror, quod sic natura tua vitam manifesta patens ex omni parte retecta est.Et quoniam docui, cunctarum exordia rerumqualia sint et quam variis distantia formissponte sua volitent aeterno percita motu,quove modo possint res ex his quaeque creari,hasce secundum res animi natura videturatque animae claranda meis iam versibus esseet metus ille foras praeceps Acheruntis agendus,funditus humanam qui vitam turbat ab imoomnia suffundens mortis nigrore neque ullamesse voluptatem liquidam puramque relinquit.
For as to what men sometimes will affirm:That more than Tartarus (the realm of death)They fear diseases and a life of shame,And know the substance of the soul is blood,Or rather wind (if haply thus their whim),And so need naught of this our science, thenThou well may'st note from what's to follow nowThat more for glory do they braggart forthThan for belief. For mark these very same:Exiles from country, fugitives afarFrom sight of men, with charges foul attaint,Abased with every wretchedness, they yetLive, and where'er the wretches come, they yetMake the ancestral sacrifices there,Butcher the black sheep, and to gods belowOffer the honours, and in bitter caseTurn much more keenly to religion.Wherefore, it's surer testing of a manIn doubtful perils- mark him as he isAmid adversities; for then aloneAre the true voices conjured from his breast,The mask off-stripped, reality behind.And greed, again, and the blind lust of honoursWhich force poor wretches past the bounds of law,And, oft allies and ministers of crime,To push through nights and days with hugest toilTo rise untrammelled to the peaks of power-These wounds of life in no mean part are keptFestering and open by this fright of death.For ever we see fierce Want and foul DisgraceDislodged afar from secure life and sweet,Like huddling Shapes before the doors of death.And whilst, from these, men wish to scape afar,Driven by false terror, and afar remove,With civic blood a fortune they amass,They double their riches, greedy, heapers-upOf corpse on corpse they have a cruel laughFor the sad burial of a brother-born,And hatred and fear of tables of their kin.Likewise, through this same terror, envy oftMakes them to peak because before their eyesThat man is lordly, that man gazed uponWho walks begirt with honour glorious,Whilst they in filth and darkness roll around;Some perish away for statues and a name,And oft to that degree, from fright of death,Will hate of living and beholding lightTake hold on humankind that they inflictTheir own destruction with a gloomy heart-Forgetful that this fear is font of cares,This fear the plague upon their sense of shame,And this that breaks the ties of comradryAnd oversets all reverence and faith,Mid direst slaughter. For long ere to-dayOften were traitors to country and dear parentsThrough quest to shun the realms of Acheron.For just as children tremble and fear allIn the viewless dark, so even we at timesDread in the light so many things that beNo whit more fearsome than what children feign,Shuddering, will be upon them in the dark.This terror, then, this darkness of the mind,Not sunrise with its flaring spokes of light,Nor glittering arrows of morning sun disperse,But only nature's aspect and her law.
nam quod saepe homines morbos magis esse timendosinfamemque ferunt vitam quam Tartara letiet se scire animi naturam sanguinis esse,aut etiam venti, si fert ita forte voluntas,nec prosum quicquam nostrae rationis egere,hinc licet advertas animum magis omnia laudisiactari causa quam quod res ipsa probetur.extorres idem patria longeque fugaticonspectu ex hominum, foedati crimine turpi,omnibus aerumnis adfecti denique vivunt,et quo cumque tamen miseri venere parentantet nigras mactant pecudes et manibus divisinferias mittunt multoque in rebus acerbisacrius advertunt animos ad religionem.quo magis in dubiis hominem spectare periclisconvenit adversisque in rebus noscere qui sit;nam verae voces tum demum pectore ab imoeliciuntur [et] eripitur persona amanare.denique avarities et honorum caeca cupido,quae miseros homines cogunt transcendere finesiuris et inter dum socios scelerum atque ministrosnoctes atque dies niti praestante laboread summas emergere opes, haec vulnera vitaenon minimam partem mortis formidine aluntur.turpis enim ferme contemptus et acris egestassemota ab dulci vita stabilique videturet quasi iam leti portas cunctarier ante;unde homines dum se falso terrore coactieffugisse volunt longe longeque remosse,sanguine civili rem conflant divitiasqueconduplicant avidi, caedem caede accumulantes,crudeles gaudent in tristi funere fratriset consanguineum mensas odere timentque.consimili ratione ab eodem saepe timoremacerat invidia ante oculos illum esse potentem,illum aspectari, claro qui incedit honore,ipsi se in tenebris volvi caenoque queruntur.intereunt partim statuarum et nominis ergo.et saepe usque adeo, mortis formidine, vitaepercipit humanos odium lucisque videndae,ut sibi consciscant maerenti pectore letumobliti fontem curarum hunc esse timorem:hunc vexare pudorem, hunc vincula amicitiairumpere et in summa pietate evertere suadet:nam iam saepe homines patriam carosque parentisprodiderunt vitare Acherusia templa petentes.nam vel uti pueri trepidant atque omnia caecisin tenebris metuunt, sic nos in luce timemusinter dum, nihilo quae sunt metuenda magis quamquae pueri in tenebris pavitant finguntque futura.hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necessestnon radii solis neque lucida tela dieidiscutiant, sed naturae species ratioque.
First, then, I say, the mind which oft we callThe intellect, wherein is seated life'sCounsel and regimen, is part no lessOf man than hand and foot and eyes are partsOf one whole breathing creature. [But some hold]That sense of mind is in no fixed part seated,But is of body some one vital state,-Named "harmony" by Greeks, because therebyWe live with sense, though intellect be notIn any part: as oft the body is saidTo have good health (when health, however, 's notOne part of him who has it), so they placeThe sense of mind in no fixed part of man.Mightily, diversly, meseems they err.Often the body palpable and seenSickens, while yet in some invisible partWe feel a pleasure; oft the other way,A miserable in mind feels pleasure stillThroughout his body- quite the same as whenA foot may pain without a pain in head.Besides, when these our limbs are given o'erTo gentle sleep and lies the burdened frameAt random void of sense, a something elseIs yet within us, which upon that timeBestirs itself in many a wise, receivingAll motions of joy and phantom cares of heart.Now, for to see that in man's members dwellsAlso the soul, and body ne'er is wontTo feel sensation by a "harmony"Take this in chief: the fact that life remainsOft in our limbs, when much of body's gone;Yet that same life, when particles of heat,Though few, have scattered been, and through the mouthAir has been given forth abroad, forthwithForever deserts the veins, and leaves the bones.Thus mayst thou know that not all particlesPerform like parts, nor in like manner allAre props of weal and safety: rather those-The seeds of wind and exhalations warm-Take care that in our members life remains.Therefore a vital heat and wind there isWithin the very body, which at deathDeserts our frames. And so, since nature of mindAnd even of soul is found to be, as 'twere,A part of man, give over "harmony"-Name to musicians brought from Helicon,-Unless themselves they filched it otherwise,To serve for what was lacking name till then.Whate'er it be, they're welcome to it- thou,Hearken my other maxims.
Primum animum dico, mentem quem saepe vocamus,in quo consilium vitae regimenque locatum est,esse hominis partem nihilo minus ac manus et pesatque oculei partes animantis totius extant.…sensum animi certa non esse in parte locatum,verum habitum quendam vitalem corporis esse,harmoniam Grai quam dicunt, quod faciat nosvivere cum sensu, nulla cum in parte siet mens;ut bona saepe valetudo cum dicitur essecorporis, et non est tamen haec pars ulla valentis,sic animi sensum non certa parte reponunt;magno opere in quo mi diversi errare videntur.Saepe itaque, in promptu corpus quod cernitur, aegret,cum tamen ex alia laetamur parte latenti;et retro fit ubi contra sit saepe vicissim,cum miser ex animo laetatur corpore toto;non alio pacto quam si, pes cum dolet aegri,in nullo caput interea sit forte dolore.Praeterea molli cum somno dedita membraeffusumque iacet sine sensu corpus honustum,est aliud tamen in nobis quod tempore in illomultimodis agitatur et omnis accipit in selaetitiae motus et curas cordis inanis.Nunc animam quoque ut in membris cognoscere possisesse neque harmonia corpus sentire solere,principio fit uti detracto corpore multosaepe tamen nobis in membris vita moretur.Atque eadem rursum, cum corpora pauca calorisdiffugere forasque per os est editus aër,deserit extemplo venas atque ossa relinquit;noscere ut hinc possis non aequas omnia partiscorpora habere neque ex aequo fulcire salutem,sed magis haec, venti quae sunt calidique vaporissemina, curare in membris ut vita moretur.est igitur calor ac ventus vitalis in ipsocorpore, qui nobis moribundos deserit artus.quapropter quoniam est animi natura repertaatque animae quasi pars hominis, redde harmoniainomen, ad organicos alto delatum Heliconi,sive aliunde ipsi porro traxere et in illamtranstulerunt, proprio quae tum res nomine egebat.quidquid [id] est, habeant: tu cetera percipe dicta.
Mind and soul,I say, are held conjoined one with other,And form one single nature of themselves;But chief and regnant through the frame entireIs still that counsel which we call the mind,And that cleaves seated in the midmost breast.Here leap dismay and terror; round these hauntsBe blandishments of joys; and therefore hereThe intellect, the mind. The rest of soul,Throughout the body scattered, but obeys-Moved by the nod and motion of the mind.This, for itself, sole through itself, hath thought;This for itself hath mirth, even when the thingThat moves it, moves nor soul nor body at all.And as, when head or eye in us is smitBy assailing pain, we are not tortured thenThrough all the body, so the mind aloneIs sometimes smitten, or livens with a joy,Whilst yet the soul's remainder through the limbsAnd through the frame is stirred by nothing new.But when the mind is moved by shock more fierce,We mark the whole soul suffering all at onceAlong man's members: sweats and pallors spreadOver the body, and the tongue is broken,And fails the voice away, and ring the ears,Mists blind the eyeballs, and the joints collapse,-Aye, men drop dead from terror of the mind.Hence, whoso will can readily remarkThat soul conjoined is with mind, and, when'Tis strook by influence of the mind, forthwithIn turn it hits and drives the body too.And this same argument establishethThat nature of mind and soul corporeal is:For when 'tis seen to drive the members on,To snatch from sleep the body, and to changeThe countenance, and the whole state of manTo rule and turn,- what yet could never beSans contact, and sans body contact fails-Must we not grant that mind and soul consistOf a corporeal nature?- And besidesThou markst that likewise with this body of oursSuffers the mind and with our body feels.If the dire speed of spear that cleaves the bonesAnd bares the inner thews hits not the life,Yet follows a fainting and a foul collapse,And, on the ground, dazed tumult in the mind,And whiles a wavering will to rise afoot.So nature of mind must be corporeal, sinceFrom stroke and spear corporeal 'tis in throes.Now, of what body, what components formedIs this same mind I will go on to tell.First, I aver, 'tis superfine, composedOf tiniest particles- that such the factThou canst perceive, if thou attend, from this:
Nunc animum atque animam dico coniuncta teneriinter se atque unam naturam conficere ex se,sed caput esse quasi et dominari in corpore totoconsilium, quod nos animum mentemque vocamus.idque situm media regione in pectoris haeret.hic exultat enim pavor ac metus, haec loca circumlaetitiae mulcent: hic ergo mens animusquest.cetera pars animae per totum dissita corpusparet et ad numen mentis momenque movetur.idque sibi solum per se sapit et sibi gaudet,cum neque res animam neque corpus commovet una.et quasi, cum caput aut oculus temptante dolorelaeditur in nobis, non omni concruciamurcorpore, sic animus nonnumquam laeditur ipselaetitiaque viget, cum cetera pars animaiper membra atque artus nulla novitate cietur;verum ubi vementi magis est commota metu mens,consentire animam totam per membra videmussudoresque ita palloremque existere totocorpore et infringi linguam vocemque aboriri,caligare oculos, sonere auris, succidere artus,denique concidere ex animi terrore videmussaepe homines; facile ut quivis hinc noscere possitesse animam cum animo coniunctam, quae cum animi [vi]percussa est, exim corpus propellit et icit.Haec eadem ratio naturam animi atque animaicorpoream docet esse; ubi enim propellere membra,corripere ex somno corpus mutareque vultumatque hominem totum regere ac versare videtur,quorum nil fieri sine tactu posse videmusnec tactum porro sine corpore, nonne fatendumstcorporea natura animum constare animamque?praeterea pariter fungi cum corpore et unaconsentire animum nobis in corpore cernis.si minus offendit vitam vis horrida teliossibus ac nervis disclusis intus adacta,at tamen insequitur languor terraeque petitussuavis et in terra mentis qui gignitur aestusinter dumque quasi exsurgendi incerta voluntas.ergo corpoream naturam animi esse necessest,corporeis quoniam telis ictuque laborat.Is tibi nunc animus quali sit corpore et undeconstiterit pergam rationem reddere dictis.principio esse aio persuptilem atque minutisperquam corporibus factum constare. id ita essehinc licet advertas animum, ut pernoscere possis.
Nothing is seen to happen with such speedAs what the mind proposes and begins;Therefore the same bestirs itself more swiftlyThan aught whose nature's palpable to eyes.But what's so agile must of seeds consistMost round, most tiny, that they may be moved,When hit by impulse slight. So water moves,In waves along, at impulse just the least-Being create of little shapes that roll;But, contrariwise, the quality of honeyMore stable is, its liquids more inert,More tardy its flow; for all its stock of matterCleaves more together, since, indeed, 'tis madeOf atoms not so smooth, so fine, and round.For the light breeze that hovers yet can blowHigh heaps of poppy-seed away for theeDownward from off the top; but, contrariwise,A pile of stones or spiny ears of wheatIt can't at all. Thus, in so far as bodiesAre small and smooth, is their mobility;But, contrariwise, the heavier and more rough,The more immovable they prove. Now, then,Since nature of mind is movable so much,Consist it must of seeds exceeding smallAnd smooth and round. Which fact once known to thee,Good friend, will serve thee opportune in else.This also shows the nature of the same,How nice its texture, in how small a space'Twould go, if once compacted as a pellet:When death's unvexed repose gets hold on manAnd mind and soul retire, thou markest thereFrom the whole body nothing ta'en in form,Nothing in weight. Death grants ye everything,But vital sense and exhalation hot.Thus soul entire must be of smallmost seeds,Twined through the veins, the vitals, and the thews,Seeing that, when 'tis from whole body gone,The outward figuration of the limbsIs unimpaired and weight fails not a whit.Just so, when vanished the bouquet of wine,Or when an unguent's perfume delicateInto the winds away departs, or whenFrom any body savour's gone, yet stillThe thing itself seems minished naught to eyes,Thereby, nor aught abstracted from its weight-No marvel, because seeds many and minuteProduce the savours and the redolenceIn the whole body of the things.
Nil adeo fieri celeri ratione videtur,quam si mens fieri proponit et inchoat ipsa;ocius ergo animus quam res se perciet ulla,ante oculos quorum in promptu natura videtur.at quod mobile tanto operest, constare rutundisperquam seminibus debet perquamque minutis,momine uti parvo possint inpulsa moveri.namque movetur aqua et tantillo momine flutat,quippe volubilibus parvisque creata figuris.at contra mellis constantior est naturaet pigri latices magis et cunctantior actus:haeret enim inter se magis omnis materiaicopia, ni mirum quia non tam levibus extatcorporibus neque tam suptilibus atque rutundis.namque papaveris aura potest suspensa levisquecogere ut ab summo tibi diffluat altus acervus,at contra lapidum coniectum spicarumquenoenu potest. igitur parvissima corpora pro quamet levissima sunt, ita mobilitate fruuntur;at contra quae cumque magis cum pondere magnoasperaque inveniuntur, eo stabilita magis sunt.nunc igitur quoniamst animi natura repertamobilis egregie, perquam constare necessestcorporibus parvis et levibus atque rutundis.quae tibi cognita res in multis, o bone, rebusutilis invenietur et opportuna cluebit.Haec quoque res etiam naturam dedicat eius,quam tenui constet textura quamque loco secontineat parvo, si possit conglomerari,quod simul atque hominem leti secura quies estindepta atque animi natura animaeque recessit,nil ibi libatum de toto corpore cernasad speciem, nihil ad pondus: mors omnia praestat,vitalem praeter sensum calidumque vaporem.ergo animam totam perparvis esse necessestseminibus nexam per venas viscera nervos,qua tenus, omnis ubi e toto iam corpore cessit,extima membrorum circumcaesura tamen seincolumem praestat nec defit ponderis hilum.quod genus est, Bacchi cum flos evanuit aut cumspiritus unguenti suavis diffugit in aurasaut aliquo cum iam sucus de corpore cessit;nil oculis tamen esse minor res ipsa videturpropterea neque detractum de pondere quicquam,ni mirum quia multa minutaque semina sucosefficiunt et odorem in toto corpore rerum.
And so,Again, again, nature of mind and soul'Tis thine to know created is of seedsThe tiniest ever, since at flying-forthIt beareth nothing of the weight away.Yet fancy not its nature simple so.For an impalpable aura, mixed with heat,Deserts the dying, and heat draws off the air;And heat there's none, unless commixed with air:For, since the nature of all heat is rare,Athrough it many seeds of air must move.Thus nature of mind is triple; yet those allSuffice not for creating sense- since mindAccepteth not that aught of these can causeSense-bearing motions, and much less the thoughtsA man revolves in mind. So unto theseMust added be a somewhat, and a fourth;That somewhat's altogether void of name;Than which existeth naught more mobile, naughtMore an impalpable, of elementsMore small and smooth and round. That first transmitsSense-bearing motions through the frame, for thatIs roused the first, composed of little shapes;Thence heat and viewless force of wind take upThe motions, and thence air, and thence all thingsAre put in motion; the blood is strook, and thenThe vitals all begin to feel, and lastTo bones and marrow the sensation comes-Pleasure or torment. Nor will pain for naughtEnter so far, nor a sharp ill seep through,But all things be perturbed to that degreeThat room for life will fail, and parts of soulWill scatter through the body's every pore.Yet as a rule, almost upon the skinThese motion aIl are stopped, and this is whyWe have the power to retain our life.Now in my eagerness to tell thee howThey are commixed, through what unions fitThey function so, my country's pauper-speechConstrains me sadly. As I can, however,I'll touch some points and pass.
quare etiam atque etiam mentis naturam animaequescire licet perquam pauxillis esse creatamseminibus, quoniam fugiens nil ponderis aufert.Nec tamen haec simplex nobis natura putanda est.tenvis enim quaedam moribundos deserit auramixta vapore, vapor porro trahit aëra secum;nec calor est quisquam, cui non sit mixtus et aër;rara quod eius enim constat natura, necessestaëris inter eum primordia multa moveri.iam triplex animi est igitur natura reperta;nec tamen haec sat sunt ad sensum cuncta creandum,nil horum quoniam recipit mens posse crearesensiferos motus, quae denique mente volutat.quarta quoque his igitur quaedam natura necessestadtribuatur; east omnino nominis expers;qua neque mobilius quicquam neque tenvius extatnec magis e parvis et levibus ex elementis;sensiferos motus quae didit prima per artus.prima cietur enim, parvis perfecta figuris,inde calor motus et venti caeca potestasaccipit, inde aër, inde omnia mobilitantur:concutitur sanguis, tum viscera persentiscuntomnia, postremis datur ossibus atque medullissive voluptas est sive est contrarius ardor.nec temere huc dolor usque potest penetrare neque acrepermanare malum, quin omnia perturbenturusque adeo [ut] vitae desit locus atque animaidiffugiant partes per caulas corporis omnis.sed plerumque fit in summo quasi corpore finismotibus: hanc ob rem vitam retinere valemus.Nunc ea quo pacto inter sese mixta quibusquecompta modis vigeant rationem reddere aventemabstrahit invitum patrii sermonis egestas;sed tamen, ut potero summatim attingere, tangam.
In such a wiseCourse these primordials 'mongst one anotherWith inter-motions that no one can beFrom other sundered, nor its agencyPerform, if once divided by a space;Like many powers in one body they work.As in the flesh of any creature stillIs odour and savour and a certain warmth,And yet from all of these one bulk of bodyIs made complete, so, viewless force of windAnd warmth and air, commingled, do createOne nature, by that mobile energyAssisted which from out itself to themImparts initial motion, whereby firstSense-bearing motion along the vitals springs.For lurks this essence far and deep and under,Nor in our body is aught more shut from view,And 'tis the very soul of all the soul.And as within our members and whole frameThe energy of mind and power of soulIs mixed and latent, since create it isOf bodies small and few, so lurks this fourth,This essence void of name, composed of small,And seems the very soul of all the soul,And holds dominion o'er the body all.And by like reason wind and air and heatMust function so, commingled through the frame,And now the one subside and now anotherIn interchange of dominance, that thusFrom all of them one nature be produced,Lest heat and wind apart, and air apart,Make sense to perish, by disseverment.
inter enim cursant primordia principiorummotibus inter se, nihil ut secernier unumpossit nec spatio fieri divisa potestas,sed quasi multae vis unius corporis extant.quod genus in quovis animantum viscere volgoest odor et quidam color et sapor, et tamen ex hisomnibus est unum perfectum corporis augmen,sic calor atque aër et venti caeca potestasmixta creant unam naturam et mobilis illavis, initum motus ab se quae dividit ollis,sensifer unde oritur primum per viscera motus.nam penitus prorsum latet haec natura subestquenec magis hac infra quicquam est in corpore nostroatque anima est animae proporro totius ipsa.quod genus in nostris membris et corpore totomixta latens animi vis est animaeque potestas,corporibus quia de parvis paucisque creatast,sic tibi nominis haec expers vis, facta minutiscorporibus, latet atque animae quasi totius ipsaproporrost anima et dominatur corpore toto.consimili ratione necessest ventus et aëret calor inter se vigeant commixta per artusatque aliis aliud subsit magis emineatque,ut quiddam fieri videatur ab omnibus unum,ni calor ac ventus seorsum seorsumque potestasaëris interemant sensum diductaque solvant.
There is indeed in mind that heat it getsWhen seething in rage, and flashes from the eyesMore swiftly fire; there is, again, that wind,Much, and so cold, companion of all dread,Which rouses the shudder in the shaken frame;There is no less that state of air composed,Making the tranquil breast, the serene face.But more of hot have they whose restive hearts,Whose minds of passion quickly seethe in rage-Of which kind chief are fierce abounding lions,Who often with roaring burst the breast o'erwrought,Unable to hold the surging wrath within;But the cold mind of stags has more of wind,And speedier through their inwards rouses upThe icy currents which make their members quake.But more the oxen live by tranquil air,Nor e'er doth smoky torch of wrath applied,O'erspreading with shadows of a darkling murk,Rouse them too far; nor will they stiffen stark,Pierced through by icy javelins of fear;But have their place half-way between the two-Stags and fierce lions. Thus the race of men:Though training make them equally refined,It leaves those pristine vestiges behindOf each mind's nature. Nor may we supposeEvil can e'er be rooted up so farThat one man's not more given to fits of wrath,Another's not more quickly touched by fear,A third not more long-suffering than he should.And needs must differ in many things besidesThe varied natures and resulting habitsOf humankind- of which not now can IExpound the hidden causes, nor find namesEnough for all the divers shapes of thosePrimordials whence this variation springs.But this meseems I'm able to declare:Those vestiges of natures left behindWhich reason cannot quite expel from usAre still so slight that naught prevents a manFrom living a life even worthy of the gods.So then this soul is kept by all the body,Itself the body's guard, and source of weal:For they with common roots cleave each to each,Nor can be torn asunder without death.Not easy 'tis from lumps of frankincenseTo tear their fragrance forth, without its naturePerishing likewise: so, not easy 'tisFrom all the body nature of mind and soulTo draw away, without the whole dissolved.With seeds so intertwined even from birth,They're dowered conjointly with a partner-life;No energy of body or mind, apart,Each of itself without the other's power,Can have sensation; but our sense, enkindledAlong the vitals, to flame is blown by bothWith mutual motions. Besides the body aloneIs nor begot nor grows, nor after deathSeen to endure. For not as water at timesGives off the alien heat, nor is therebyItself destroyed, but unimpaired remains-Not thus, I say, can the deserted frameBear the dissevering of its joined soul,But, rent and ruined, moulders all away.Thus the joint contact of the body and soulLearns from their earliest age the vital motions,Even when still buried in the mother's womb;So no dissevering can hap to them,Without their bane and ill. And thence mayst seeThat, as conjoined is their source of weal,Conjoined also must their nature be.
est etiam calor ille animo, quem sumit, in iracum fervescit et ex oculis micat acrius ardor;est et frigida multa, comes formidinis, aura,quae ciet horrorem membris et concitat artus;est etiam quoque pacati status aëris ille,pectore tranquillo fit qui voltuque sereno.sed calidi plus est illis quibus acria cordairacundaque mens facile effervescit in ira,quo genere in primis vis est violenta leonum,pectora qui fremitu rumpunt plerumque gementesnec capere irarum fluctus in pectore possunt.at ventosa magis cervorum frigida mens estet gelidas citius per viscera concitat auras,quae tremulum faciunt membris existere motum.at natura boum placido magis aëre vivitnec nimis irai fax umquam subdita percitfumida, suffundens caecae caliginis umbra,nec gelidis torpet telis perfixa pavoris;interutrasque sitast cervos saevosque leones.sic hominum genus est: quamvis doctrina politosconstituat pariter quosdam, tamen illa relinquitnaturae cuiusque animi vestigia prima.nec radicitus evelli mala posse putandumst,quin proclivius hic iras decurrat ad acris,ille metu citius paulo temptetur, at illetertius accipiat quaedam clementius aequo.inque aliis rebus multis differre necessestnaturas hominum varias moresque sequacis;quorum ego nunc nequeo caecas exponere causasnec reperire figurarum tot nomina quot suntprincipiis, unde haec oritur variantia rerum.illud in his rebus video firmare potesse,usque adeo naturarum vestigia linquiparvola, quae nequeat ratio depellere nobis,ut nihil inpediat dignam dis degere vitam.Haec igitur natura tenetur corpore ab omniipsaque corporis est custos et causa salutis;nam communibus inter se radicibus haerentnec sine pernicie divelli posse videntur.quod genus e thuris glaebis evellere odoremhaud facile est, quin intereat natura quoque eius,sic animi atque animae naturam corpore totoextrahere haut facile est, quin omnia dissoluantur.inplexis ita principiis ab origine primainter se fiunt consorti praedita vita,nec sibi quaeque sine alterius vi posse videturcorporis atque animi seorsum sentire potestas,sed communibus inter eas conflatur utrimquemotibus accensus nobis per viscera sensus.Praeterea corpus per se nec gignitur umquamnec crescit neque post mortem durare videtur.non enim, ut umor aquae dimittit saepe vaporem,qui datus est, neque ea causa convellitur ipse,sed manet incolumis, non, inquam, sic animaidiscidium possunt artus perferre relicti,sed penitus pereunt convulsi conque putrescunt.ex ineunte aevo sic corporis atque animaimutua vitalis discunt contagia motus,maternis etiam membris alvoque reposta,discidium [ut] nequeat fieri sine peste maloque;ut videas, quoniam coniunctast causa salutis,coniunctam quoque naturam consistere eorum.
If one, moreover, denies that body feel,And holds that soul, through all the body mixed,Takes on this motion which we title "sense,"He battles in vain indubitable facts:For who'll explain what body's feeling is,Except by what the public fact itselfHas given and taught us? "But when soul is parted,Body's without all sense." True!- loses whatWas even in its life-time not its own;And much beside it loses, when soul's drivenForth from that life-time. Or, to say that eyesThemselves can see no thing, but through the sameThe mind looks forth, as out of opened doors,Is- a hard saying; since the feel in eyesSays the reverse. For this itself draws onAnd forces into the pupils of our eyesOur consciousness. And note the case when oftenWe lack the power to see refulgent things,Because our eyes are hampered by their light-With a mere doorway this would happen not;For, since it is our very selves that see,No open portals undertake the toil.Besides, if eyes of ours but act as doors,Methinks that, were our sight removed, the mindOught then still better to behold a thing-When even the door-posts have been cleared away.Herein in these affairs nowise take upWhat honoured sage, Democritus, lays down-That proposition, that primordialsOf body and mind, each super-posed on each,Vary alternately and interweaveThe fabric of our members. For not onlyAre the soul-elements smaller far than thoseWhich this our body and inward parts compose,But also are they in their number less,And scattered sparsely through our frame. And thusThis canst thou guarantee: soul's primal germsMaintain between them intervals as largeAt least as are the smallest bodies, which,When thrown against us, in our body rouseSense-bearing motions.
Quod super est, siquis corpus sentire refutatatque animam credit permixtam corpore totosuscipere hunc motum quem sensum nominitamus,vel manifestas res contra verasque repugnat.quid sit enim corpus sentire quis adferet umquam,si non ipsa palam quod res dedit ac docuit nos?'at dimissa anima corpus caret undique sensu.'perdit enim quod non proprium fuit eius in aevomultaque praeterea perdit quom expellitur aevo.Dicere porro oculos nullam rem cernere posse,sed per eos animum ut foribus spectare reclusis,difficilest, contra cum sensus ducat eorum;sensus enim trahit atque acies detrudit ad ipsas,fulgida praesertim cum cernere saepe nequimus,lumina luminibus quia nobis praepediuntur.quod foribus non fit; neque enim, qua cernimus ipsi,ostia suscipiunt ullum reclusa laborem.praeterea si pro foribus sunt lumina nostra,iam magis exemptis oculis debere videturcernere res animus sublatis postibus ipsis.Illud in his rebus nequaquam sumere possis,Democriti quod sancta viri sententia ponit,corporis atque animi primordia singula primisadposita alternis, variare ac nectere membra.nam cum multo sunt animae elementa minoraquam quibus e corpus nobis et viscera constant,tum numero quoque concedunt et rara per artusdissita sunt, dum taxat ut hoc promittere possis,quantula prima queant nobis iniecta cierecorpora sensiferos motus in corpore, tantaintervalla tenere exordia prima animai.