De Rerum Natura |
Translator: William Ellery Leonard
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E tenebris tantis tam clarum extollere lumen qui primus potuisti inlustrans commoda vitae , te sequor , o Graiae gentis decus , inque tuis nunc ficta pedum pono pressis vestigia signis , non ita certandi cupidus quam propter amorem quod te imitari aveo ; quid enim contendat hirundo cycnis , aut quid nam tremulis facere artubus haedi consimile in cursu possint et fortis equi vis ? tu , pater , es rerum inventor , tu patria nobis suppeditas 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 vociferari naturam rerum divina mente coorta diffugiunt animi terrores , moenia mundi discedunt . totum video per inane geri res . apparet divum numen sedesque quietae , quas neque concutiunt venti nec nubila nimbis aspergunt neque nix acri concreta pruina cana cadens violat semper innubilus aether integit et large diffuso lumine ridet : omnia suppeditat porro natura neque ulla res 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 voluptas percipit atque horror , quod sic natura tua vi tam manifesta patens ex omni parte retecta est . Et quoniam docui , cunctarum exordia rerum qualia sint et quam variis distantia formis sponte sua volitent aeterno percita motu , quove modo possint res ex his quaeque creari , hasce secundum res animi natura videtur atque animae claranda meis iam versibus esse et metus ille foras praeceps Acheruntis agendus , funditus humanam qui vitam turbat ab imo omnia suffundens mortis nigrore neque ullam esse voluptatem liquidam puramque relinquit .
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PROEM O thou who first uplifted in such dark So clear a torch aloft, who first shed light Upon the profitable ends of man, O thee I follow, glory of the Greeks, And set my footsteps squarely planted now Even in the impress and the marks of thine- Less like one eager to dispute the palm, More as one craving out of very love That I may copy thee!- for how should swallow Contend with swans or what compare could be In a race between young kids with tumbling legs And the strong might of the horse? Our father thou, And finder-out of truth, and thou to us Suppliest a father's precepts; and from out Those 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 sprang From god-like mind begins its loud proclaim Of nature's courses, terrors of the brain Asunder flee, the ramparts of the world Dispart away, and through the void entire I see the movements of the universe. Rises to vision the majesty of gods, And their abodes of everlasting calm Which neither wind may shake nor rain-cloud splash, Nor snow, congealed by sharp frosts, may harm With its white downfall: ever, unclouded sky O'er roofs, and laughs with far-diffused light. And nature gives to them their all, nor aught May ever pluck their peace of mind away. But nowhere to my vision rise no more The vaults of Acheron, though the broad earth Bars me no more from gazing down o'er all Which under our feet is going on below Along the void. O, here in these affairs Some new divine delight and trembling awe Takes hold through me, that thus by power of thine Nature, so plain and manifest at last, Hath been on every side laid bare to man! And since I've taught already of what sort The seeds of all things are, and how, distinct In 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 life Unto its deeps, pouring o'er all that is The black of death, nor leaves not anything To prosper- a liquid and unsullied joy. |
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nam quod saepe homines morbos magis esse timendos infamemque ferunt vitam quam Tartara leti et 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 laudis iactari causa quam quod res ipsa probetur . extorres idem patria longeque fugati conspectu ex hominum , foedati crimine turpi , omnibus aerumnis adfecti denique vivunt , et quo cumque tamen miseri venere parentant et nigras mactant pecudes et manibus divis inferias mittunt multoque in rebus acerbis acrius advertunt animos ad religionem . quo magis in dubiis hominem spectare periclis convenit adversisque in rebus noscere qui sit ; nam verae voces tum demum pectore ab imo eliciuntur eripitur persona amanare . denique avarities et honorum caeca cupido , quae miseros homines cogunt transcendere fines iuris et inter dum socios scelerum atque ministros noctes atque dies niti praestante labore ad summas emergere opes , haec vulnera vitae non minimam partem mortis formidine aluntur . turpis enim ferme contemptus et acris egestas semota ab dulci vita stabilique videtur et quasi iam leti portas cunctarier ante ; unde homines dum se falso terrore coacti effugisse volunt longe longeque remosse , sanguine civili rem conflant divitiasque conduplicant avidi , caedem caede accumulantes , crudeles gaudent in tristi funere fratris et consanguineum mensas odere timentque . consimili ratione ab eodem saepe timore macerat 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 , vitae percipit humanos odium lucisque videndae , ut sibi consciscant maerenti pectore letum obliti fontem curarum hunc esse timorem : hunc vexare pudorem , hunc vincula amicitiai rumpere et in summa pietate evertere suadet : nam iam saepe homines patriam carosque parentis prodiderunt vitare Acherusia templa petentes . nam vel uti pueri trepidant atque omnia caecis in tenebris metuunt , sic nos in luce timemus inter dum , nihilo quae sunt metuenda magis quam quae pueri in tenebris pavitant finguntque futura . hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necessest non radii solis neque lucida tela diei discutiant , sed naturae species ratioque .
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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, then Thou well may'st note from what's to follow now That more for glory do they braggart forth Than for belief. For mark these very same: Exiles from country, fugitives afar From sight of men, with charges foul attaint, Abased with every wretchedness, they yet Live, and where'er the wretches come, they yet Make the ancestral sacrifices there, Butcher the black sheep, and to gods below Offer the honours, and in bitter case Turn much more keenly to religion. Wherefore, it's surer testing of a man In doubtful perils- mark him as he is Amid adversities; for then alone Are the true voices conjured from his breast, The mask off-stripped, reality behind. And greed, again, and the blind lust of honours Which force poor wretches past the bounds of law, And, oft allies and ministers of crime, To push through nights and days with hugest toil To rise untrammelled to the peaks of power- These wounds of life in no mean part are kept Festering and open by this fright of death. For ever we see fierce Want and foul Disgrace Dislodged 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-up Of corpse on corpse they have a cruel laugh For the sad burial of a brother-born, And hatred and fear of tables of their kin. Likewise, through this same terror, envy oft Makes them to peak because before their eyes That man is lordly, that man gazed upon Who 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 light Take hold on humankind that they inflict Their 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 comradry And oversets all reverence and faith, Mid direst slaughter. For long ere to-day Often were traitors to country and dear parents Through quest to shun the realms of Acheron. For just as children tremble and fear all In the viewless dark, so even we at times Dread in the light so many things that be No 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. |
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Primum animum dico , mentem quem saepe vocamus , in quo consilium vitae regimenque locatum est , esse hominis partem nihilo minus ac manus et pes atque 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 nos vivere cum sensu , nulla cum in parte siet mens ; ut bona saepe valetudo cum dicitur esse corporis , 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 membra effusumque iacet sine sensu corpus honustum , est aliud tamen in nobis quod tempore in illo multimodis agitatur et omnis accipit in se laetitiae motus et curas cordis inanis . Nunc animam quoque ut in membris cognoscere possis esse neque harmonia corpus sentire solere , principio fit uti detracto corpore multo saepe tamen nobis in membris vita moretur . Atque eadem rursum , cum corpora pauca caloris diffugere forasque per os est editus aër , deserit extemplo venas atque ossa relinquit ; noscere ut hinc possis non aequas omnia partis corpora habere neque ex aequo fulcire salutem , sed magis haec , venti quae sunt calidique vaporis semina , curare in membris ut vita moretur . est igitur calor ac ventus vitalis in ipso corpore , qui nobis moribundos deserit artus . quapropter quoniam est animi natura reperta atque animae quasi pars hominis , redde harmoniai nomen , ad organicos alto delatum Heliconi , sive aliunde ipsi porro traxere et in illam transtulerunt , proprio quae tum res nomine egebat . quidquid est , habeant : tu cetera percipe dicta .
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NATURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE MIND First, then, I say, the mind which oft we call The intellect, wherein is seated life's Counsel and regimen, is part no less Of man than hand and foot and eyes are parts Of 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 thereby We live with sense, though intellect be not In any part: as oft the body is said To have good health (when health, however, 's not One part of him who has it), so they place The sense of mind in no fixed part of man. Mightily, diversly, meseems they err. Often the body palpable and seen Sickens, while yet in some invisible part We feel a pleasure; oft the other way, A miserable in mind feels pleasure still Throughout his body- quite the same as when A foot may pain without a pain in head. Besides, when these our limbs are given o'er To gentle sleep and lies the burdened frame At random void of sense, a something else Is yet within us, which upon that time Bestirs itself in many a wise, receiving All motions of joy and phantom cares of heart. Now, for to see that in man's members dwells Also the soul, and body ne'er is wont To feel sensation by a "harmony" Take this in chief: the fact that life remains Oft 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 mouth Air has been given forth abroad, forthwith Forever deserts the veins, and leaves the bones. Thus mayst thou know that not all particles Perform like parts, nor in like manner all Are 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 is Within the very body, which at death Deserts our frames. And so, since nature of mind And 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. |
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Nunc animum atque animam dico coniuncta teneri inter se atque unam naturam conficere ex se , sed caput esse quasi et dominari in corpore toto consilium , quod nos animum mentemque vocamus . idque situm media regione in pectoris haeret . hic exultat enim pavor ac metus , haec loca circum laetitiae mulcent : hic ergo mens animusquest . cetera pars animae per totum dissita corpus paret 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 dolore laeditur in nobis , non omni concruciamur corpore , sic animus nonnumquam laeditur ipse laetitiaque viget , cum cetera pars animai per membra atque artus nulla novitate cietur ; verum ubi vementi magis est commota metu mens , consentire animam totam per membra videmus sudoresque ita palloremque existere toto corpore et infringi linguam vocemque aboriri , caligare oculos , sonere auris , succidere artus , denique concidere ex animi terrore videmus saepe homines ; facile ut quivis hinc noscere possit esse animam cum animo coniunctam , quae cum animi percussa est , exim corpus propellit et icit . Haec eadem ratio naturam animi atque animai corpoream docet esse ; ubi enim propellere membra , corripere ex somno corpus mutareque vultum atque hominem totum regere ac versare videtur , quorum nil fieri sine tactu posse videmus nec tactum porro sine corpore , nonne fatendumst corporea natura animum constare animamque ? praeterea pariter fungi cum corpore et una consentire animum nobis in corpore cernis . si minus offendit vitam vis horrida teli ossibus ac nervis disclusis intus adacta , at tamen insequitur languor terraeque petitus suavis et in terra mentis qui gignitur aestus inter dumque quasi exsurgendi incerta voluntas . ergo corpoream naturam animi esse necessest , corporeis quoniam telis ictuque laborat . Is tibi nunc animus quali sit corpore et unde constiterit pergam rationem reddere dictis . principio esse aio persuptilem atque minutis perquam corporibus factum constare . id ita esse hinc licet advertas animum , ut pernoscere possis .
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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 entire Is still that counsel which we call the mind, And that cleaves seated in the midmost breast. Here leap dismay and terror; round these haunts Be blandishments of joys; and therefore here The 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 thing That moves it, moves nor soul nor body at all. And as, when head or eye in us is smit By assailing pain, we are not tortured then Through all the body, so the mind alone Is sometimes smitten, or livens with a joy, Whilst yet the soul's remainder through the limbs And 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 once Along man's members: sweats and pallors spread Over 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 remark That soul conjoined is with mind, and, when 'Tis strook by influence of the mind, forthwith In turn it hits and drives the body too. And this same argument establisheth That nature of mind and soul corporeal is: For when 'tis seen to drive the members on, To snatch from sleep the body, and to change The countenance, and the whole state of man To rule and turn,- what yet could never be Sans contact, and sans body contact fails- Must we not grant that mind and soul consist Of a corporeal nature?- And besides Thou markst that likewise with this body of ours Suffers the mind and with our body feels. If the dire speed of spear that cleaves the bones And 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, since From stroke and spear corporeal 'tis in throes. Now, of what body, what components formed Is this same mind I will go on to tell. First, I aver, 'tis superfine, composed Of tiniest particles- that such the fact Thou canst perceive, if thou attend, from this: |
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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 rutundis perquam 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 natura et pigri latices magis et cunctantior actus : haeret enim inter se magis omnis materiai copia , ni mirum quia non tam levibus extat corporibus neque tam suptilibus atque rutundis . namque papaveris aura potest suspensa levisque cogere ut ab summo tibi diffluat altus acervus , at contra lapidum coniectum spicarumque noenu potest . igitur parvissima corpora pro quam et levissima sunt , ita mobilitate fruuntur ; at contra quae cumque magis cum pondere magno asperaque inveniuntur , eo stabilita magis sunt . nunc igitur quoniamst animi natura reperta mobilis egregie , perquam constare necessest corporibus parvis et levibus atque rutundis . quae tibi cognita res in multis , o bone , rebus utilis invenietur et opportuna cluebit . Haec quoque res etiam naturam dedicat eius , quam tenui constet textura quamque loco se contineat parvo , si possit conglomerari , quod simul atque hominem leti secura quies est indepta atque animi natura animaeque recessit , nil ibi libatum de toto corpore cernas ad speciem , nihil ad pondus : mors omnia praestat , vitalem praeter sensum calidumque vaporem . ergo animam totam perparvis esse necessest seminibus nexam per venas viscera nervos , qua tenus , omnis ubi e toto iam corpore cessit , extima membrorum circumcaesura tamen se incolumem praestat nec defit ponderis hilum . quod genus est , Bacchi cum flos evanuit aut cum spiritus unguenti suavis diffugit in auras aut aliquo cum iam sucus de corpore cessit ; nil oculis tamen esse minor res ipsa videtur propterea neque detractum de pondere quicquam , ni mirum quia multa minutaque semina sucos efficiunt et odorem in toto corpore rerum .
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Nothing is seen to happen with such speed As what the mind proposes and begins; Therefore the same bestirs itself more swiftly Than aught whose nature's palpable to eyes. But what's so agile must of seeds consist Most 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 honey More stable is, its liquids more inert, More tardy its flow; for all its stock of matter Cleaves more together, since, indeed, 'tis made Of atoms not so smooth, so fine, and round. For the light breeze that hovers yet can blow High heaps of poppy-seed away for thee Downward from off the top; but, contrariwise, A pile of stones or spiny ears of wheat It can't at all. Thus, in so far as bodies Are 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 small And 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 man And mind and soul retire, thou markest there From 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 limbs Is unimpaired and weight fails not a whit. Just so, when vanished the bouquet of wine, Or when an unguent's perfume delicate Into the winds away departs, or when From any body savour's gone, yet still The thing itself seems minished naught to eyes, Thereby, nor aught abstracted from its weight- No marvel, because seeds many and minute Produce the savours and the redolence In the whole body of the things. |
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quare etiam atque etiam mentis naturam animaeque scire licet perquam pauxillis esse creatam seminibus , quoniam fugiens nil ponderis aufert . Nec tamen haec simplex nobis natura putanda est . tenvis enim quaedam moribundos deserit aura mixta vapore , vapor porro trahit aëra secum ; nec calor est quisquam , cui non sit mixtus et aër ; rara quod eius enim constat natura , necessest aëris 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 creare sensiferos motus , quae denique mente volutat . quarta quoque his igitur quaedam natura necessest adtribuatur ; east omnino nominis expers ; qua neque mobilius quicquam neque tenvius extat nec 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 potestas accipit , inde aër , inde omnia mobilitantur : concutitur sanguis , tum viscera persentiscunt omnia , postremis datur ossibus atque medullis sive voluptas est sive est contrarius ardor . nec temere huc dolor usque potest penetrare neque acre permanare malum , quin omnia perturbentur usque adeo vitae desit locus atque animai diffugiant partes per caulas corporis omnis . sed plerumque fit in summo quasi corpore finis motibus : hanc ob rem vitam retinere valemus . Nunc ea quo pacto inter sese mixta quibusque compta modis vigeant rationem reddere aventem abstrahit invitum patrii sermonis egestas ; sed tamen , ut potero summatim attingere , tangam .
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And so, Again, again, nature of mind and soul 'Tis thine to know created is of seeds The tiniest ever, since at flying-forth It 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 all Suffice not for creating sense- since mind Accepteth not that aught of these can cause Sense-bearing motions, and much less the thoughts A man revolves in mind. So unto these Must added be a somewhat, and a fourth; That somewhat's altogether void of name; Than which existeth naught more mobile, naught More an impalpable, of elements More small and smooth and round. That first transmits Sense-bearing motions through the frame, for that Is roused the first, composed of little shapes; Thence heat and viewless force of wind take up The motions, and thence air, and thence all things Are put in motion; the blood is strook, and then The vitals all begin to feel, and last To bones and marrow the sensation comes- Pleasure or torment. Nor will pain for naught Enter so far, nor a sharp ill seep through, But all things be perturbed to that degree That room for life will fail, and parts of soul Will scatter through the body's every pore. Yet as a rule, almost upon the skin These motion aIl are stopped, and this is why We have the power to retain our life. Now in my eagerness to tell thee how They are commixed, through what unions fit They function so, my country's pauper-speech Constrains me sadly. As I can, however, I'll touch some points and pass. |
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inter enim cursant primordia principiorum motibus inter se , nihil ut secernier unum possit nec spatio fieri divisa potestas , sed quasi multae vis unius corporis extant . quod genus in quovis animantum viscere volgo est odor et quidam color et sapor , et tamen ex his omnibus est unum perfectum corporis augmen , sic calor atque aër et venti caeca potestas mixta creant unam naturam et mobilis illa vis , initum motus ab se quae dividit ollis , sensifer unde oritur primum per viscera motus . nam penitus prorsum latet haec natura subestque nec magis hac infra quicquam est in corpore nostro atque anima est animae proporro totius ipsa . quod genus in nostris membris et corpore toto mixta latens animi vis est animaeque potestas , corporibus quia de parvis paucisque creatast , sic tibi nominis haec expers vis , facta minutis corporibus , latet atque animae quasi totius ipsa proporrost anima et dominatur corpore toto . consimili ratione necessest ventus et aër et calor inter se vigeant commixta per artus atque aliis aliud subsit magis emineatque , ut quiddam fieri videatur ab omnibus unum , ni calor ac ventus seorsum seorsumque potestas aëris interemant sensum diductaque solvant .
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In such a wise Course these primordials 'mongst one another With inter-motions that no one can be From other sundered, nor its agency Perform, if once divided by a space; Like many powers in one body they work. As in the flesh of any creature still Is odour and savour and a certain warmth, And yet from all of these one bulk of body Is made complete, so, viewless force of wind And warmth and air, commingled, do create One nature, by that mobile energy Assisted which from out itself to them Imparts initial motion, whereby first Sense-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 frame The energy of mind and power of soul Is mixed and latent, since create it is Of 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 heat Must function so, commingled through the frame, And now the one subside and now another In interchange of dominance, that thus From all of them one nature be produced, Lest heat and wind apart, and air apart, Make sense to perish, by disseverment. |
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est etiam calor ille animo , quem sumit , in ira cum 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 corda iracundaque mens facile effervescit in ira , quo genere in primis vis est violenta leonum , pectora qui fremitu rumpunt plerumque gementes nec capere irarum fluctus in pectore possunt . at ventosa magis cervorum frigida mens est et gelidas citius per viscera concitat auras , quae tremulum faciunt membris existere motum . at natura boum placido magis aëre vivit nec nimis irai fax umquam subdita percit fumida , suffundens caecae caliginis umbra , nec gelidis torpet telis perfixa pavoris ; interutrasque sitast cervos saevosque leones . sic hominum genus est : quamvis doctrina politos constituat pariter quosdam , tamen illa relinquit naturae cuiusque animi vestigia prima . nec radicitus evelli mala posse putandumst , quin proclivius hic iras decurrat ad acris , ille metu citius paulo temptetur , at ille tertius accipiat quaedam clementius aequo . inque aliis rebus multis differre necessest naturas hominum varias moresque sequacis ; quorum ego nunc nequeo caecas exponere causas nec reperire figurarum tot nomina quot sunt principiis , unde haec oritur variantia rerum . illud in his rebus video firmare potesse , usque adeo naturarum vestigia linqui parvola , quae nequeat ratio depellere nobis , ut nihil inpediat dignam dis degere vitam . Haec igitur natura tenetur corpore ab omni ipsaque corporis est custos et causa salutis ; nam communibus inter se radicibus haerent nec sine pernicie divelli posse videntur . quod genus e thuris glaebis evellere odorem haud facile est , quin intereat natura quoque eius , sic animi atque animae naturam corpore toto extrahere haut facile est , quin omnia dissoluantur . inplexis ita principiis ab origine prima inter se fiunt consorti praedita vita , nec sibi quaeque sine alterius vi posse videtur corporis atque animi seorsum sentire potestas , sed communibus inter eas conflatur utrimque motibus accensus nobis per viscera sensus . Praeterea corpus per se nec gignitur umquam nec 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 animai discidium possunt artus perferre relicti , sed penitus pereunt convulsi conque putrescunt . ex ineunte aevo sic corporis atque animai mutua vitalis discunt contagia motus , maternis etiam membris alvoque reposta , discidium nequeat fieri sine peste maloque ; ut videas , quoniam coniunctast causa salutis , coniunctam quoque naturam consistere eorum .
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There is indeed in mind that heat it gets When seething in rage, and flashes from the eyes More 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 up The 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 behind Of each mind's nature. Nor may we suppose Evil can e'er be rooted up so far That 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 besides The varied natures and resulting habits Of humankind- of which not now can I Expound the hidden causes, nor find names Enough for all the divers shapes of those Primordials whence this variation springs. But this meseems I'm able to declare: Those vestiges of natures left behind Which reason cannot quite expel from us Are still so slight that naught prevents a man From 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 frankincense To tear their fragrance forth, without its nature Perishing likewise: so, not easy 'tis From all the body nature of mind and soul To 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, enkindled Along the vitals, to flame is blown by both With mutual motions. Besides the body alone Is nor begot nor grows, nor after death Seen to endure. For not as water at times Gives off the alien heat, nor is thereby Itself destroyed, but unimpaired remains- Not thus, I say, can the deserted frame Bear the dissevering of its joined soul, But, rent and ruined, moulders all away. Thus the joint contact of the body and soul Learns 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 see That, as conjoined is their source of weal, Conjoined also must their nature be. |