De Rerum Natura |
Translator: William Ellery Leonard
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Et genus humanum multo fuit illud in arvis durius , ut decuit , tellus quod dura creasset , et maioribus et solidis magis ossibus intus fundatum , validis aptum per viscera nervis , nec facile ex aestu nec frigore quod caperetur nec novitate cibi nec labi corporis ulla . multaque per caelum solis volventia lustra volgivago vitam tractabant more ferarum . nec robustus erat curvi moderator aratri quisquam , nec scibat ferro molirier arva nec nova defodere in terram virgulta neque altis arboribus veteres decidere falcibus ramos . quod sol atque imbres dederant , quod terra crearat sponte sua , satis id placabat pectora donum . glandiferas inter curabant corpora quercus plerumque ; et quae nunc hiberno tempore cernis arbita puniceo fieri matura colore , plurima tum tellus etiam maiora ferebat . multaque praeterea novitas tum florida mundi pabula dura tulit , miseris mortalibus ampla . at sedare sitim fluvii fontesque vocabant , ut nunc montibus e magnis decursus aquai claricitat late sitientia saecla ferarum . denique nota vagis silvestria templa tenebant nympharum , quibus e scibant umore fluenta lubrica proluvie larga lavere umida saxa , umida saxa , super viridi stillantia musco , et partim plano scatere atque erumpere campo . necdum res igni scibant tractare neque uti pellibus et spoliis corpus vestire ferarum , sed nemora atque cavos montis silvasque colebant et frutices inter condebant squalida membra verbera ventorum vitare imbrisque coacti . nec commune bonum poterant spectare neque ullis moribus inter se scibant nec legibus uti . quod cuique obtulerat praedae fortuna , ferebat sponte sua sibi quisque valere et vivere doctus . et Venus in silvis iungebat corpora amantum ; conciliabat enim vel mutua quamque cupido vel violenta viri vis atque inpensa libido vel pretium , glandes atque arbita vel pira lecta . et manuum mira freti virtute pedumque consectabantur silvestria saecla ferarum missilibus saxis et magno pondere clavae . multaque vincebant , vitabant pauca latebris ; saetigerisque pares subus silvestria membra nuda dabant terrae nocturno tempore capti , circum se foliis ac frondibus involventes . nec plangore diem magno solemque per agros quaerebant pavidi palantes noctis in umbris , sed taciti respectabant somnoque sepulti , dum rosea face sol inferret lumina caelo . a parvis quod enim consuerant cernere semper alterno tenebras et lucem tempore gigni , non erat ut fieri posset mirarier umquam nec diffidere , ne terras aeterna teneret nox in perpetuum detracto lumine solis . sed magis illud erat curae , quod saecla ferarum infestam miseris faciebant saepe quietem . eiectique domo fugiebant saxea tecta spumigeri suis adventu validique leonis atque intempesta cedebant nocte paventes hospitibus saevis instrata cubilia fronde .
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ORIGINS AND SAVAGE PERIOD OF MANKIND But mortal man Was then far hardier in the old champaign, As well he should be, since a hardier earth Had him begotten; builded too was he Of bigger and more solid bones within, And knit with stalwart sinews through the flesh, Nor easily seized by either heat or cold, Or alien food or any ail or irk. And whilst so many lustrums of the sun Rolled on across the sky, men led a life After the roving habit of wild beasts. Not then were sturdy guiders of curved ploughs, And none knew then to work the fields with iron, Or plant young shoots in holes of delved loam, Or lop with hooked knives from off high trees The boughs of yester-year. What sun and rains To them had given, what earth of own accord Created then, was boon enough to glad Their simple hearts. Mid acorn-laden oaks Would they refresh their bodies for the nonce; And the wild berries of the arbute-tree, Which now thou seest to ripen purple-red In winter time, the old telluric soil Would bear then more abundant and more big. And many coarse foods, too, in long ago The blooming freshness of the rank young world Produced, enough for those poor wretches there. And rivers and springs would summon them of old To slake the thirst, as now from the great hills The water's down-rush calls aloud and far The thirsty generations of the wild. So, too, they sought the grottos of the Nymphs- The woodland haunts discovered as they ranged- From forth of which they knew that gliding rills With gush and splash abounding laved the rocks, The dripping rocks, and trickled from above Over the verdant moss; and here and there Welled up and burst across the open flats. As yet they knew not to enkindle fire Against the cold, nor hairy pelts to use And clothe their bodies with the spoils of beasts; But huddled in groves, and mountain-caves, and woods, And 'mongst the thickets hid their squalid backs, When driven to flee the lashings of the winds And the big rains. Nor could they then regard The general good, nor did they know to use In common any customs, any laws: Whatever of booty fortune unto each Had proffered, each alone would bear away, By instinct trained for self to thrive and live. And Venus in the forests then would link The lovers' bodies; for the woman yielded Either from mutual flame, or from the man's Impetuous fury and insatiate lust, Or from a bribe- as acorn-nuts, choice pears, Or the wild berries of the arbute-tree. And trusting wondrous strength of hands and legs, They'd chase the forest-wanderers, the beasts; And many they'd conquer, but some few they fled, A-skulk into their hiding-places... . . . . . . With the flung stones and with the ponderous heft Of gnarled branch. And by the time of night O'ertaken, they would throw, like bristly boars, Their wildman's limbs naked upon the earth, Rolling themselves in leaves and fronded boughs. Nor would they call with lamentations loud Around the fields for daylight and the sun, Quaking and wand'ring in shadows of the night; But, silent and buried in a sleep, they'd wait Until the sun with rosy flambeau brought The glory to the sky. From childhood wont Ever to see the dark and day begot In times alternate, never might they be Wildered by wild misgiving, lest a night Eternal should possess the lands, with light Of sun withdrawn forever. But their care Was rather that the clans of savage beasts Would often make their sleep-time horrible For those poor wretches; and, from home y-driven, They'd flee their rocky shelters at approach Of boar, the spumy-lipped, or lion strong, And in the midnight yield with terror up To those fierce guests their beds of out-spread leaves. |
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Nec nimio tum plus quam nunc mortalia saecla dulcia linquebant lamentis lumina vitae . unus enim tum quisque magis deprensus eorum pabula viva feris praebebat , dentibus haustus , et nemora ac montis gemitu silvasque replebat viva videns vivo sepeliri viscera busto . at quos effugium servarat corpore adeso , posterius tremulas super ulcera tetra tenentes palmas horriferis accibant vocibus Orcum , donique eos vita privarant vermina saeva expertis opis , ignaros quid volnera vellent . at non multa virum sub signis milia ducta una dies dabat exitio nec turbida ponti aequora lidebant navis ad saxa virosque . nam temere in cassum frustra mare saepe coortum saevibat leviterque minas ponebat inanis , nec poterat quemquam placidi pellacia ponti subdola pellicere in fraudem ridentibus undis . improba navigii ratio tum caeca iacebat . tum penuria deinde cibi languentia leto membra dabat , contra nunc rerum copia mersat . illi inprudentes ipsi sibi saepe venenum vergebant , nunc dant sollertius ipsi .
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And yet in those days not much more than now Would generations of mortality Leave the sweet light of fading life behind. Indeed, in those days here and there a man, More oftener snatched upon, and gulped by fangs, Afforded the beasts a food that roared alive, Echoing through groves and hills and forest-trees, Even as he viewed his living flesh entombed Within a living grave; whilst those whom flight Had saved, with bone and body bitten, shrieked, Pressing their quivering palms to loathsome sores, With horrible voices for eternal death- Until, forlorn of help, and witless what Might medicine their wounds, the writhing pangs Took them from life. But not in those far times Would one lone day give over unto doom A soldiery in thousands marching on Beneath the battle-banners, nor would then The ramping breakers of the main seas dash Whole argosies and crews upon the rocks. But ocean uprisen would often rave in vain, Without all end or outcome, and give up Its empty menacings as lightly too; Nor soft seductions of a serene sea Could lure by laughing billows any man Out to disaster: for the science bold Of ship-sailing lay dark in those far times. Again, 'twas then that lack of food gave o'er Men's fainting limbs to dissolution: now 'Tis plenty overwhelms. Unwary, they Oft for themselves themselves would then outpour The poison; now, with nicer art, themselves They give the drafts to others. |
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Inde casas postquam ac pellis ignemque pararunt et mulier coniuncta viro concessit in unum cognita sunt , prolemque ex se videre creatam , tum genus humanum primum mollescere coepit . ignis enim curavit , ut alsia corpora frigus non ita iam possent caeli sub tegmine ferre , et Venus inminuit viris puerique parentum blanditiis facile ingenium fregere superbum . tunc et amicitiem coeperunt iungere aventes finitimi inter se nec laedere nec violari , et pueros commendarunt muliebreque saeclum , vocibus et gestu cum balbe significarent imbecillorum esse aequum misererier omnis . nec tamen omnimodis poterat concordia gigni , sed bona magnaque pars servabat foedera caste ; aut genus humanum iam tum foret omne peremptum nec potuisset adhuc perducere saecla propago .
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BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION Afterwards, When huts they had procured and pelts and fire, And when the woman, joined unto the man, Withdrew with him into one dwelling place, . . . . . . Were known; and when they saw an offspring born From out themselves, then first the human race Began to soften. For 'twas now that fire Rendered their shivering frames less staunch to bear, Under the canopy of the sky, the cold; And Love reduced their shaggy hardiness; And children, with the prattle and the kiss, Soon broke the parents' haughty temper down. Then, too, did neighbours 'gin to league as friends, Eager to wrong no more or suffer wrong, And urged for children and the womankind Mercy, of fathers, whilst with cries and gestures They stammered hints how meet it was that all Should have compassion on the weak. And still, Though concord not in every wise could then Begotten be, a good, a goodly part Kept faith inviolate- or else mankind Long since had been unutterably cut off, And propagation never could have brought The species down the ages. |
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At varios linguae sonitus natura subegit mittere et utilitas expressit nomina rerum , non alia longe ratione atque ipsa videtur protrahere ad gestum pueros infantia linguae , cum facit ut digito quae sint praesentia monstrent . sentit enim vim quisque suam quod possit abuti . cornua nata prius vitulo quam frontibus extent , illis iratus petit atque infestus inurget . at catuli pantherarum scymnique leonum unguibus ac pedibus iam tum morsuque repugnant , vix etiam cum sunt dentes unguesque creati . alituum porro genus alis omne videmus fidere et a pennis tremulum petere auxiliatum . proinde putare aliquem tum nomina distribuisse rebus et inde homines didicisse vocabula prima , desiperest . nam cur hic posset cuncta notare vocibus et varios sonitus emittere linguae , tempore eodem alii facere id non quisse putentur ? praeterea si non alii quoque vocibus usi inter se fuerant , unde insita notities est utilitatis et unde data est huic prima potestas , quid vellet facere ut sciret animoque videret ? cogere item pluris unus victosque domare non poterat , rerum ut perdiscere nomina vellent . nec ratione docere ulla suadereque surdis , quid sit opus facto , facilest ; neque enim paterentur nec ratione ulla sibi ferrent amplius auris vocis inauditos sonitus obtundere frustra . postremo quid in hac mirabile tantoperest re , si genus humanum , cui vox et lingua vigeret , pro vario sensu varia res voce notaret ? cum pecudes mutae , cum denique saecla ferarum dissimilis soleant voces variasque ciere , cum metus aut dolor est et cum iam gaudia gliscunt . quippe enim licet id rebus cognoscere apertis . inritata canum cum primum magna Molossum mollia ricta fremunt duros nudantia dentes , longe alio sonitu rabies stricta minatur , et cum iam latrant et vocibus omnia complent ; at catulos blande cum lingua lambere temptant aut ubi eos lactant , pedibus morsuque potentes suspensis teneros imitantur dentibus haustus , longe alio pacto gannitu vocis adulant , et cum deserti baubantur in aedibus , aut cum plorantis fugiunt summisso corpore plagas . denique non hinnitus item differre videtur , inter equas ubi equus florenti aetate iuvencus pinnigeri saevit calcaribus ictus Amoris et fremitum patulis sub naribus edit ad arma , et cum sic alias concussis artibus hinnit ? postremo genus alituum variaeque volucres , accipitres atque ossifragae mergique marinis fluctibus in salso victum vitamque petentes , longe alias alio iaciunt in tempore voces , et quom de victu certant praedaque repugnant . et partim mutant cum tempestatibus una raucisonos cantus , cornicum ut saecla vetusta corvorumque gregis ubi aquam dicuntur et imbris poscere et inter dum ventos aurasque vocare . ergo si varii sensus animalia cogunt , muta tamen cum sint , varias emittere voces , quanto mortalis magis aequumst tum potuisse dissimilis alia atque alia res voce notare !
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But nature 'twas Urged men to utter various sounds of tongue And need and use did mould the names of things, About in same wise as the lack-speech years Compel young children unto gesturings, Making them point with finger here and there At what's before them. For each creature feels By instinct to what use to put his powers. Ere yet the bull-calf's scarce begotten horns Project above his brows, with them he 'gins Enraged to butt and savagely to thrust. But whelps of panthers and the lion's cubs With claws and paws and bites are at the fray Already, when their teeth and claws be scarce As yet engendered. So again, we see All breeds of winged creatures trust to wings And from their fledgling pinions seek to get A fluttering assistance. Thus, to think That in those days some man apportioned round To things their names, and that from him men learned Their first nomenclature, is foolery. For why could he mark everything by words And utter the various sounds of tongue, what time The rest may be supposed powerless To do the same? And, if the rest had not Already one with other used words, Whence was implanted in the teacher, then, Fore-knowledge of their use, and whence was given To him alone primordial faculty To know and see in mind what 'twas he willed? Besides, one only man could scarce subdue An overmastered multitude to choose To get by heart his names of things. A task Not easy 'tis in any wise to teach And to persuade the deaf concerning what 'Tis needful for to do. For ne'er would they Allow, nor ne'er in anywise endure Perpetual vain dingdong in their ears Of spoken sounds unheard before. And what, At last, in this affair so wondrous is, That human race (in whom a voice and tongue Were now in vigour) should by divers words Denote its objects, as each divers sense Might prompt?- since even the speechless herds, aye, since The very generations of wild beasts Are wont dissimilar and divers sounds To rouse from in them, when there's fear or pain, And when they burst with joys. And this, forsooth, 'Tis thine to know from plainest facts: when first Huge flabby jowls of mad Molossian hounds, Baring their hard white teeth, begin to snarl, They threaten, with infuriate lips peeled back, In sounds far other than with which they bark And fill with voices all the regions round. And when with fondling tongue they start to lick Their puppies, or do toss them round with paws, Feigning with gentle bites to gape and snap, They fawn with yelps of voice far other then Than when, alone within the house, they bay, Or whimpering slink with cringing sides from blows. Again the neighing of the horse, is that Not seen to differ likewise, when the stud In buoyant flower of his young years raves, Goaded by winged Love, amongst the mares, And when with widening nostrils out he snorts The call to battle, and when haply he Whinnies at times with terror-quaking limbs? Lastly, the flying race, the dappled birds, Hawks, ospreys, sea-gulls, searching food and life Amid the ocean billows in the brine, Utter at other times far other cries Than when they fight for food, or with their prey Struggle and strain. And birds there are which change With changing weather their own raucous songs- As long-lived generations of the crows Or flocks of rooks, when they be said to cry For rain and water and to call at times For winds and gales. Ergo, if divers moods Compel the brutes, though speechless evermore, To send forth divers sounds, O truly then How much more likely 'twere that mortal men In those days could with many a different sound Denote each separate thing. |
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Illud in his rebus tacitus ne forte requiras , fulmen detulit in terram mortalibus ignem primitus , inde omnis flammarum diditur ardor ; multa videmus enim caelestibus insita flammis fulgere , cum caeli donavit plaga vaporis . et ramosa tamen cum ventis pulsa vacillans aestuat in ramos incumbens arboris arbor , exprimitur validis extritus viribus ignis , emicat inter dum flammai fervidus ardor , mutua dum inter se rami stirpesque teruntur . quorum utrumque dedisse potest mortalibus ignem . inde cibum quoquere ac flammae mollire vapore sol docuit , quoniam mitescere multa videbant verberibus radiorum atque aestu victa per agros .
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Lest, perchance, Concerning these affairs thou ponderest In silent meditation, let me say 'Twas lightning brought primevally to earth The fire for mortals, and from thence hath spread O'er all the lands the flames of heat. For thus Even now we see so many objects, touched By the celestial flames, to flash aglow, When thunderbolt has dowered them with heat. Yet also when a many-branched tree, Beaten by winds, writhes swaying to and fro, Pressing 'gainst branches of a neighbour tree, There by the power of mighty rub and rub Is fire engendered; and at times out-flares The scorching heat of flame, when boughs do chafe Against the trunks. And of these causes, either May well have given to mortal men the fire. Next, food to cook and soften in the flame The sun instructed, since so oft they saw How objects mellowed, when subdued by warmth And by the raining blows of fiery beams, Through all the fields. |
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Inque dies magis hi victum vitamque priorem commutare novis monstrabant rebus et igni , ingenio qui praestabant et corde vigebant . condere coeperunt urbis arcemque locare praesidium reges ipsi sibi perfugiumque , et pecudes et agros divisere atque dedere pro facie cuiusque et viribus ingenioque ; nam facies multum valuit viresque vigebant . posterius res inventast aurumque repertum , quod facile et validis et pulchris dempsit honorem ; divitioris enim sectam plerumque secuntur quam lubet et fortes et pulchro corpore creti . quod siquis vera vitam ratione gubernet , divitiae grandes homini sunt vivere parce aequo animo ; neque enim est umquam penuria parvi . at claros homines voluerunt se atque potentes , ut fundamento stabili fortuna maneret et placidam possent opulenti degere vitam , ne quiquam , quoniam ad summum succedere honorem certantes iter infestum fecere viai , et tamen e summo , quasi fulmen , deicit ictos invidia inter dum contemptim in Tartara taetra ; invidia quoniam ceu fulmine summa vaporant plerumque et quae sunt aliis magis edita cumque ; ut satius multo iam sit parere quietum quam regere imperio res velle et regna tenere . proinde sine in cassum defessi sanguine sudent , angustum per iter luctantes ambitionis ; quandoquidem sapiunt alieno ex ore petuntque res ex auditis potius quam sensibus ipsis , nec magis id nunc est neque erit mox quam fuit ante .
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And more and more each day Would men more strong in sense, more wise in heart, Teach them to change their earlier mode and life By fire and new devices. Kings began Cities to found and citadels to set, As strongholds and asylums for themselves, And flocks and fields to portion for each man After the beauty, strength, and sense of each- For beauty then imported much, and strength Had its own rights supreme. Thereafter, wealth Discovered was, and gold was brought to light, Which soon of honour stripped both strong and fair; For men, however beautiful in form Or valorous, will follow in the main The rich man's party. Yet were man to steer His life by sounder reasoning, he'd own Abounding riches, if with mind content He lived by thrift; for never, as I guess, Is there a lack of little in the world. But men wished glory for themselves and power Even that their fortunes on foundations firm Might rest forever, and that they themselves, The opulent, might pass a quiet life- In vain, in vain; since, in the strife to climb On to the heights of honour, men do make Their pathway terrible; and even when once They reach them, envy like the thunderbolt At times will smite, O hurling headlong down To murkiest Tartarus, in scorn; for, lo, All summits, all regions loftier than the rest, Smoke, blasted as by envy's thunderbolts; So better far in quiet to obey, Than to desire chief mastery of affairs And ownership of empires. Be it so; And let the weary sweat their life-blood out All to no end, battling in hate along The narrow path of man's ambition; Since all their wisdom is from others' lips, And all they seek is known from what they've heard And less from what they've thought. Nor is this folly Greater to-day, nor greater soon to be, Than' twas of old. |
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Ergo regibus occisis subversa iacebat pristina maiestas soliorum et sceptra superba , et capitis summi praeclarum insigne cruentum sub pedibus vulgi magnum lugebat honorem ; nam cupide conculcatur nimis ante metutum . res itaque ad summam faecem turbasque redibat , imperium sibi cum ac summatum quisque petebat . inde magistratum partim docuere creare iuraque constituere , ut vellent legibus uti . nam genus humanum , defessum vi colere aevom , ex inimicitiis languebat ; quo magis ipsum sponte sua cecidit sub leges artaque iura . acrius ex ira quod enim se quisque parabat ulcisci quam nunc concessumst legibus aequis , hanc ob rem est homines pertaesum vi colere aevom . inde metus maculat poenarum praemia vitae . circumretit enim vis atque iniuria quemque atque unde exortast , ad eum plerumque revertit , nec facilest placidam ac pacatam degere vitam qui violat factis communia foedera pacis . etsi fallit enim divom genus humanumque , perpetuo tamen id fore clam diffidere debet ; quippe ubi se multi per somnia saepe loquentes aut morbo delirantes protraxe ferantur et celata in medium et peccata dedisse .
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And therefore kings were slain, And pristine majesty of golden thrones And haughty sceptres lay o'erturned in dust; And crowns, so splendid on the sovereign heads, Soon bloody under the proletarian feet, Groaned for their glories gone- for erst o'er-much Dreaded, thereafter with more greedy zest Trampled beneath the rabble heel. Thus things Down to the vilest lees of brawling mobs Succumbed, whilst each man sought unto himself Dominion and supremacy. So next Some wiser heads instructed men to found The magisterial office, and did frame Codes that they might consent to follow laws. For humankind, o'er wearied with a life Fostered by force, was ailing from its feuds; And so the sooner of its own free will Yielded to laws and strictest codes. For since Each hand made ready in its wrath to take A vengeance fiercer than by man's fair laws Is now conceded, men on this account Loathed the old life fostered by force. 'Tis thence That fear of punishments defiles each prize Of wicked days; for force and fraud ensnare Each man around, and in the main recoil On him from whence they sprung. Not easy 'tis For one who violates by ugly deeds The bonds of common peace to pass a life Composed and tranquil. For albeit he 'scape The race of gods and men, he yet must dread 'Twill not be hid forever- since, indeed, So many, oft babbling on amid their dreams Or raving in sickness, have betrayed themselves (As stories tell) and published at last Old secrets and the sins. |
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Nunc quae causa deum per magnas numina gentis pervulgarit et ararum compleverit urbis suscipiendaque curarit sollemnia sacra , quae nunc in magnis florent sacra rebus locisque , unde etiam nunc est mortalibus insitus horror , qui delubra deum nova toto suscitat orbi terrarum et festis cogit celebrare diebus , non ita difficilest rationem reddere verbis . quippe etenim iam tum divom mortalia saecla egregias animo facies vigilante videbant et magis in somnis mirando corporis auctu . his igitur sensum tribuebant propterea quod membra movere videbantur vocesque superbas mittere pro facie praeclara et viribus amplis . aeternamque dabant vitam , quia semper eorum subpeditabatur facies et forma manebat , et tamen omnino quod tantis viribus auctos non temere ulla vi convinci posse putabant . fortunisque ideo longe praestare putabant , quod mortis timor haut quemquam vexaret eorum , et simul in somnis quia multa et mira videbant efficere et nullum capere ipsos inde laborem . praeterea caeli rationes ordine certo et varia annorum cernebant tempora verti nec poterant quibus id fieret cognoscere causis . ergo perfugium sibi habebant omnia divis tradere et illorum nutu facere omnia flecti . in caeloque deum sedes et templa locarunt , per caelum volvi quia nox et luna videtur , luna dies et nox et noctis signa severa noctivagaeque faces caeli flammaeque volantes , nubila sol imbres nix venti fulmina grando et rapidi fremitus et murmura magna minarum .
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And now what cause Hath spread divinities of gods abroad Through mighty nations, and filled the cities full Of the high altars, and led to practices Of solemn rites in season- rites which still Flourish in midst of great affairs of state And midst great centres of man's civic life, The rites whence still a poor mortality Is grafted that quaking awe which rears aloft Still the new temples of gods from land to land And drives mankind to visit them in throngs On holy days- 'tis not so hard to give Reason thereof in speech. Because, in sooth, Even in those days would the race of man Be seeing excelling visages of gods With mind awake; and in his sleeps, yet more- Bodies of wondrous growth. And, thus, to these Would men attribute sense, because they seemed To move their limbs and speak pronouncements high, Befitting glorious visage and vast powers. And men would give them an eternal life, Because their visages forevermore Were there before them, and their shapes remained, And chiefly, however, because men would not think Beings augmented with such mighty powers Could well by any force o'ermastered be. And men would think them in their happiness Excelling far, because the fear of death Vexed no one of them at all, and since At same time in men's sleeps men saw them do So many wonders, and yet feel therefrom Themselves no weariness. Besides, men marked How in a fixed order rolled around The systems of the sky, and changed times Of annual seasons, nor were able then To know thereof the causes. Therefore 'twas Men would take refuge in consigning all Unto divinities, and in feigning all Was guided by their nod. And in the sky They set the seats and vaults of gods, because Across the sky night and the moon are seen To roll along- moon, day, and night, and night's Old awesome constellations evermore, And the night-wandering fireballs of the sky, And flying flames, clouds, and the sun, the rains, Snow and the winds, the lightnings, and the hail, And the swift rumblings, and the hollow roar Of mighty menacings forevermore. |