Read Ebook: Translations from Lucretius by Lucretius Carus Titus BCE BCE Trevelyan R C Robert Calverley Translator

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In the beginning the Earth brought forth all kinds Of plants and growing verdure on hillsides And over all the plains: the flowering meadows Shone with green colour: next to the various trees Was given a mighty emulous impulse To shoot up into the air with unchecked growth. As feathers, hairs and bristles first are born On limbs of quadrupeds and on the bodies Of winged fowl, so the new Earth then put forth Grasses and brushwood first, and afterwards Gave birth to all the breeds of mortal things, That sprang up many in number, in many modes And divers fashions. For no animals Can have dropped from the sky, nor can land-creatures Have issued from the salt pools. Hence it is That with good reason the Earth has won the name Of Mother, since from the Earth all things are born. And many living creatures even now Rise from the soil, formed by rains, and the sun's Fierce heat. Therefore the less strange it appears If then they arose more numerous and more large Fostered by a new earth and atmosphere. So first of all the varied families And tribes of birds would leave their eggs, hatched out In the spring season, as now the cicadas In summer-time leave of their own accord Their filmy skins in search of food and life. Then was the time when first the Earth produced The race of mortal men. For in the fields Plenteous heat and moisture would abound, So that wherever a fit place occurred, Wombs would grow, fastened to the earth by roots: And when the warmth of the infants in due time, Avoiding moisture and demanding air, Had broken these wombs open, then would Nature Turn to that place the porous ducts of the Earth, Compelling it to exude through open veins A milk-like liquid, just as nowadays After child-bearing every woman is filled With sweet milk; for with her too the whole flow Of nutriment sets streaming towards her breasts. Earth to these children furnished food, the heat Clothing, the grass a bed, well lined with rich Luxuriance of soft down. Moreover then The world in its fresh newness would give rise Neither to rigorous cold nor extreme heat, Nor violent storms of wind, for in a like Proportion all things grow and gather strength.

Therefore again and yet again I say That with good reason the Earth has won and keeps The name of Mother, since she of herself Gave birth to humankind, and at a period Well nigh determined shed forth every beast That roams o'er the great mountains far and wide, Likewise the birds of air, many in shape. But because she must have some limit set To her time of bearing, she ceased, like a woman Worn out by lapse of years. For Time transforms The whole world's nature, and all things must pass From one condition to another: nothing Continues like itself. All is in flux: Nature is ever changing and compelling All that exists to alter. For one thing Moulders and wastes away grown weak with age, And then another comes forth into light, Issuing from obscurity. So thus Time Changes the whole world's nature, and the Earth Passes from one condition to another: So that what once it bore it can no longer, And now can bear what it did not before.

And many monsters too did the Earth essay To produce in those days, creatures arising With marvellous face and limbs, the Hermaphrodite, A thing of neither sex, between the two, Differing from both: some things deprived of feet; Others again with no hands; others dumb Without mouths, or else blind for lack of eyes, Or bound by limbs that everywhere adhered Fast to their bodies, so that they could perform No function, nor go anywhere, nor shun Danger, nor take what their need might require. Many such monstrous prodigies did Earth Produce, in vain, since Nature banned their increase, Nor could they reach the coveted flower of age, Nor find food, nor be joined in bonds of love. For we see numerous conditions first Must meet together, before living things Can beget and perpetuate their kind. First they must have food, then a means by which The seeds of birth may stream throughout the frame From the relaxed limbs; also that the male And female may unite, they must have that Whereby each may exchange mutual joys.

And many breeds of creatures in those days Must have died out, being powerless to beget And perpetuate their kind. For those which now You see breathing the breath of life, 'tis craft, Or courage, or else speed, that from its origin Must have protected and preserved each race. Moreover many by their usefulness Commended to us, continue to exist Favoured by our protection. The fierce breed Of lions first, and the other savage beasts, Their courage has preserved, foxes their craft, Stags their swift flight. But the light-slumbering hearts Of faithful dogs, and the whole family Born from the seed of burden-bearing beasts, Also the woolly flocks and horned herds, All these by man's protection are preserved. For their desire has always been to shun Wild beasts and to live peaceably, supplied Without toil of their own with food in plenty, Which to reward their services we give them. But those whom Nature has not thus endowed With power either to live by their own means Or else to render us such useful service That in return we allow their race to feed And dwell in safety beneath our guardianship, All these, 'tis plain, would lie exposed a prey To others, trammelled in their own fatal bonds, Till Nature had extinguished that whole kind.

Afterwards, when they had learnt the use of huts, And skins, and fire; when woman, joined with man In wedlock, dwelt apart in one abode, And they saw offspring born out of themselves, Then first the human race began to soften. For fire made their chilly bodies now Less able to endure the cold beneath The roof of heaven: Venus impaired their strength: And children easily by their blandishments Broke down the haughty temper of their parents. Then too neighbours began to join in bonds Of friendship, wishing neither to inflict Nor suffer violence: and for womankind And children they would claim kind treatment, pleading With cries and gestures inarticulately That all men ought to have pity on the weak. And though harmony could not everywhere Be established, yet the most part faithfully Observed their covenants, or man's whole race Would even then have perished, nor till now Could propagation have preserved their kind.

Kings therefore being slain, the ancient majesty Of thrones and haughty sceptres was laid low. The glorious symbol of the sovereign head, Trodden bloodstained beneath the people's feet, Mourned its proud honour lost; for that is greedily Trampled down which before was too much feared. Thus to the very lees of anarchy The whole state was reduced, while each man grasped At lordship and dominion for himself. Then some among them taught how to create Magistrates, and established codes, that all Might learn to obey laws. For now mankind, Utterly wearied of a violent life, Lay languishing by reason of its feuds. Therefore the sooner of its own free will Did it submit to laws and stringent codes. For seeing that each, when anger prompted him, Strove more severely to avenge himself Than just laws now permit, for this cause men Grew tired of a life of violence. Thenceforward fear of punishment infects The enjoyment of life's prizes: for the nets Of violence and wrong entangle all those Who inflict them, and most often they recoil On such as used them first: nor is it easy For him to pass a quiet and peaceful life, Whose deeds transgress the bonds of public peace. For though he should elude both gods and men, Yet he must needs mistrust whether his guilt Will remain veiled for ever, since 'tis said That many often by talking in their dreams, Or in delirious sickness have betrayed Their secrets, and revealed long-hidden crimes. Now what may be the cause that has spread wide The cult of deities over mighty nations, And filled cities with altars, and prescribed The observance of such sacred rites as now At solemn times and places are performed, Whence even now is implanted in men's minds Religious awe, that over the whole earth Raises new temples to the gods, and prompts Worshippers to frequent them on feast-days-- Why this should be, 'tis easy to explain. For in those early times mortals would see With waking mind the glorious images Of deities and behold them in their sleep Of size yet more gigantic. To these then They would attribute sense, because they seemed To move their limbs and utter stately speech Worthy of their noble aspect and great powers. Also they deemed eternal life was theirs, Because their images continually Would reappear, and their form did not change, But most because they could not well conceive How beings who seemed gifted with such powers Could lightly be subdued by any force. And they believed that their felicity Must be beyond compare, since none of them Was ever troubled by the fear of death, Because moreover in sleep they beheld them Performing without effort many miracles. Again they saw how the orderings of heaven And the year's varying seasons would return According to fixed law, yet could they not Discover from what causes this took place. Therefore they found a refuge from such doubts In handing all things over to the deities And deeming all to be guided by their nod. The abodes of their divinities they placed In heaven, because they saw night and the moon Progressing through the sky, moon day and night, The severe constellations of the night, The sky's night-wandering meteors and gliding fires, Clouds sun and snow, lightning and winds and hail, Thunder's swift crash and mightily threatening murmurs.

O unhappy race of men, that could assign Such functions to the deities, and thereto Add cruel wrath! What groans then for themselves Did they beget, what wounds for us, what tears For our children's children! 'Tis no piety To be seen often with veiled head to turn Towards a stone, visiting every altar, Nor to fall grovelling with outspread palms Prostrate before the temples of the gods, Nor sprinkling altars with much blood of beasts To add to votive offering votive offering; But this rather is piety, to have power To survey all things with a tranquil mind. For when we lift our eyes to the celestial Temples of the great universe, and the aether Studded with glittering stars, and contemplate The paths of sun and moon, then in our breasts, Burdened with other evils, this fear too Begins to lift its reawakened head, Lest perchance it be true that with the gods Resides a boundless power, which can move Upon their various courses the bright stars. For ignorance of cause troubles the mind, So that it doubts whether there ever was A birth-time and beginning for the world, And likewise whether there shall be an end; How far the world's walls can endure this strain Of restless motion, or whether by the gods With eternal stability endowed They may glide on through endless lapse of time, Defying the strong powers of infinite age. Again whose mind shrinks not with awe of gods, Whose limbs creep not for terror, when beneath The appalling stroke of thunder the parched earth Shudders, and mutterings run through the vast sky? Do not the peoples and the nations quake, And proud kings, stricken with religious dread Sit quailing, lest for any wicked deed Or overweening word, the heavy time Of reckoning and punishment be ripe? Also when the full violence of a wind Raging across the sea, sweeps o'er the waves The high commander of a fleet, with all His powerful legions and his elephants, Does he not supplicate the gods with vows For mercy, and with craven prayers entreat them To lull the storm and grant propitious gales? But all in vain; since often none the less, Seized by the violent hurricane, he is whirled Onto the shoals of death. Thus evermore Some hidden power treads human grandeur down, And seems to make its sport of the proud rods And cruel axes, crushed beneath its heel. Lastly, when the whole earth rocks under them, And cities tumble with the shock, or stand In doubt, threatening to fall, what wonder is it That mortal creatures should abase themselves, Assigning vast dominion to the gods, And wondrous powers to govern all below?

Now, Memmius, you will easily of yourself Understand in what way were first discovered The properties of iron. Man's earliest weapons Were hands nails teeth and stones, and boughs torn off From forest trees, and flame and fire, as each Became known. Afterwards the force of iron And copper was discovered. And the use Of copper was known earlier than of iron, Since it was easier to be worked, and found More copiously. With copper they would till The soil of earth, with copper they stirred up The waves of war, and dealt wide-gaping wounds, And seized on lands and cattle: for all else, Being naked and unarmed, would yield to those Who carried weapons. Then by slow degrees The sword of iron made progress, while the type Of the copper sickle came to be despised. With iron they began to cleave the soil, And through its use wavering war's conflicts Were rendered equal. Earlier was the custom Of mounting armed upon a horse's back And guiding it with reins, and dealing blows With the right arm, long before men dared tempt The risks of battle in the two-horsed car. And they would learn the art to yoke two steeds Earlier than to yoke four, or to mount armed Upon scythed chariots. Next the Poeni taught The uncouth Lucanian kine, with towered backs And snake-like hands, to endure the wounds of war, And rout great troops of martial chivalry. Thus miserable discord brought to birth One thing after another, to appal Mankind's embattled nations, every day Making addition to war's frightfulness.

But Nature, the creatress, herself first Taught men to sow and prompted them to graft. For berries and acorns dropping from the trees Would put forth in due season underneath Swarms of seedlings: and hence the fancy came To insert grafts upon the boughs, and plant Young saplings in the soil about the fields. Next they would try another and yet another Method of tilling their loved piece of land, And so could watch how kindly fostering culture Helped the earth to improve its own wild fruits. And they would force the forests day by day To retreat higher up the mountain-sides And yield the ground below to husbandry, That so meadows and ponds, rivulets, crops, And glad vineyards might cover hill and plain, While grey-green boundary strips of olive trees Might run between the fields, stretching far out O'er hillock, valley and plain; as now we see Whole countrysides glowing with varied beauty, Adorned with rows of sweet fruit-bearing trees, And enclosed round about with joyous groves.

But the art of imitating with their mouths The liquid notes of birds, came long before Men could delight their ears by singing words To smooth tunes; and the whistlings of the zephyr In hollow reeds first taught the husbandman To blow through hollow stalks. Then by degrees They learnt those sweet sad ditties, which the pipe, Touched by the fingers of the melodist, Pours forth, such as are heard 'mid pathless woods, Forests and glades, or in the lonely haunts Of shepherds, and the abodes of magic calm. Thus would they soothe and gratify their minds, When satiate with food; for all such things Give pleasure then. So often, couched together On the soft grass, beside a waterbrook Beneath a tall tree's boughs, at no great cost They would regale their bodies joyously, At those times chiefly when the weather smiled, And the year's seasons painted the green herbage With flowers. Then went round the jest, the tale, The merry laugh, for then the rustic muse Was in full force: then frolick jollity Would prompt them to enwreathe their heads and shoulders With plaited garlands woven of flowers and leaves, Or dancing out of measure to move their limbs Clumsily, and with clumsy foot to beat Their mother earth; whence smiles and jovial laughter Would rise; since the more novel then and strange All such sports seemed, the more they were admired. And they would find a salve for wakefulness In giving voice to many varied tones Of winding melody, running with curved lip Over the reed-pipes: and from them this custom Is handed down to watchmen nowadays, Who, though they have better learnt to observe time, Yet not one whit more pleasure do they enjoy Than once that silvan race of earth-born men. For what is present, if we have never known Anything more delightful, gives us pleasure Beyond all else, and seems to be the best; But if some better thing be afterwards Discovered, this will often spoil for us all That pleased us once, and change our feelings towards it. Thus it was acorns came to be disliked: Thus were abandoned those beds of strewn grass And heaped leaves: the dress too of wild beast's skin Fell thus into contempt. Yet I suppose That when it was invented it would rouse Such envy, that the man who wore it first Would be waylaid and slain: yet after all It would be torn to pieces among the thieves And with much bloodshed utterly destroyed, So that it never could be turned to use. Therefore skins then, now gold and purple vex Men's lives with cares and wear them out with war. And here, I think, the greater guilt is ours; For the cold would torment these earth-born men Naked without their skins; but us no harm Whatever can it cause to go without A purple robe broidered with large designs In gold thread, so we have but on our backs A plain plebeian cloak to keep us warm. Therefore mankind is always toiling vainly, Fruitlessly wasting life in empty cares, Doubtless because they will not recognise The limits of possession, nor the bounds Beyond which no true pleasure can increase. And so by slow degrees this ignorance Has carried life out into the deep seas, And from the bottom stirred up war's huge waves.

But those vigilant watchers, sun and moon, That circling round illumine with their light The vast revolving temple of the sky, Taught mankind how the seasons of the year Return, and how all things are brought to pass According to fixed system and fixed law.

Shipping and agriculture, city-walls, Laws, arms, roads, robes and other suchlike things, Moreover all life's prizes and refinements, Poems and pictures, and the chiselling Of fine-wrought statues, every one of these Long practice and the untiring mind's experience Taught men by slow degrees, as they progressed Step after step. Thus time little by little Brings forth each several thing, and reason lifts it Into the borders of the light; for first One thing and then another must in turn Rise from obscurity, until each art Attains its highest pitch of excellence.

BOOK VI, lines 1-95

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THE LIFE OF THE BEE. Translated by Alfred Sutro.

THE TREASURE OF THE HUMBLE. Translated by Alfred Sutro.

WISDOM AND DESTINY. Translated by Alfred Sutro.

THE BURIED TEMPLE. Translated by Alfred Sutro.

THE DOUBLE GARDEN. Translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos.

LIFE AND FLOWERS. Translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos.

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MONNA VANNA. Translated by Alfred Sutro.

AGLAVAINE AND SELYSETTE. Translated by Alfred Sutro.

JOYZELLE. Translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos.

SISTER BEATRICE, AND ARDIANE AND BARBE BLEUE. Translated by Bernard Miall.

PELLEAS AND MELISANDA AND THE SIGHTLESS. Translated by Laurence Alma Tadema.

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THE LIFE OF THE BEE HOURS OF GLADNESS

GILBERT MURRAY'S

Translations of the Plays of EURIPIDES, ARISTOPHANES and SOPHOCLES

Translated into English Rhyming Verse, with Commentaries and Explanatory Notes. Cr. 8vo. Cloth, 2s. 6d. net each. Paper, 1s. 6d. net each.

EURIPIDES

ALCESTIS I BACCHAE II ELECTRA I HIPPOLYTUS II IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS II MEDEA RHESUS I TROJAN WOMEN

ARISTOPHANES

FROGS

SOPHOCLES

OEDIPUS, KING OF THEBES

FOOTNOTES:

A few lines seem to have been lost here.

Epicurus.

The aether.

Colour, sensation, etc.

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