Lucretius · Complete work
The Sweet Honey of the Muses
The Sweet Honey of the Muses of 8. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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frangendis rebus, iam corpora materiaiusque redacta forent aevo frangente priore,ut nihil ex illis a certo tempore possetconceptum summum aetatis pervadere finem.nam quidvis citius dissolvi posse videmusquam rursus refici; qua propter longa dieiinfinita aetas ante acti temporis omnisquod fregisset adhuc disturbans dissoluensque,numquam relicuo reparari tempore posset.at nunc ni mirum frangendi reddita finiscerta manet, quoniam refici rem quamque videmuset finita simul generatim tempora rebusstare, quibus possint aevi contingere florem.Huc accedit uti, solidissima materiaicorpora cum constant, possint tamen omnia reddi,mollia quae fiunt, aer aqua terra vapores,quo pacto fiant et qua vi quaeque gerantur,admixtum quoniam semel est in rebus inane.at contra si mollia sint primordia rerum,unde queant validi silices ferrumque creari,non poterit ratio reddi; nam funditus omnisprincipio fundamenti natura carebit.sunt igitur solida pollentia simplicitate,quorum condenso magis omnia conciliatuartari possunt validasque ostendere viris.porro si nullast frangendis reddita finiscorporibus, tamen ex aeterno tempore quaequenunc etiam superare necessest corpora rebus,quae non dum clueant ullo temptata periclo.at quoniam fragili natura praedita constant,discrepat aeternum tempus potuisse manereinnumerabilibus plagis vexata per aevom.Denique iam quoniam generatim reddita finiscrescendi rebus constat vitamque tenendi,et quid quaeque queant per foedera naturai,quid porro nequeant, sancitum quando quidem extat,nec commutatur quicquam, quin omnia constantusque adeo, variae volucres ut in ordine cunctaeostendant maculas generalis corpore inesse,inmutabilis materiae quoque corpus haberedebent ni mirum; nam si primordia rerumcommutari aliqua possent ratione revicta,incertum quoque iam constet quid possit oriri,quid nequeat, finita potestas denique cuiquequa nam sit ratione atque alte terminus haerens,nec totiens possent generatim saecla referrenaturam mores victum motusque parentum.Tum porro quoniam est extremum quodque cacumencorporis illius, quod nostri cernere sensusiam nequeunt, id ni mirum sine partibus extatet minima constat natura nec fuit umquamper se secretum neque post hac esse valebit,alterius quoniamst ipsum pars primaque et una,inde aliae atque aliae similes ex ordine partesagmine condenso naturam corporis explent;quae quoniam per se nequeunt constare, necessesthaerere unde queant nulla ratione revelli.sunt igitur solida primordia simplicitate,quae minimis stipata cohaerent partibus arte.non ex illorum conventu conciliata,sed magis aeterna pollentia simplicitate,unde neque avelli quicquam neque deminui iamconcedit natura reservans semina rebus.Praeterea nisi erit minimum, parvissima quaequecorpora constabunt ex partibus infinitis,quippe ubi dimidiae partis pars semper habebitdimidiam partem nec res praefiniet ulla.ergo rerum inter summam minimamque quod escit,nil erit ut distet; nam quamvis funditus omnissumma sit infinita, tamen, parvissima quae sunt,ex infinitis constabunt partibus aeque.quod quoniam ratio reclamat vera negatquecredere posse animum, victus fateare necessestesse ea quae nullis iam praedita partibus extentet minima constent natura. quae quoniam sunt,illa quoque esse tibi solida atque aeterna fatendum.Denique si minimas in partis cuncta resolvicogere consuesset rerum natura creatrix,iam nihil ex illis eadem reparare valeretpropterea quia, quae nullis sunt partibus aucta,non possunt ea quae debet genitalis haberemateries, varios conexus pondera plagasconcursus motus, per quas res quaeque geruntur.
Mouseia
Mouseia's complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete Latin text of Book 1 as printed by The Latin Library, in flowing prose that preserves the argument's order, images, and force.
Now then: learn what remains, and hear more clearly. Nor does it escape me how dark it is: but the great hope of praise has struck my heart with a sharp thyrsus, and at the same time has struck into my breast the sweet love of the Muses, by which, so quickened, I range with vigorous mind the pathless places of the Pierides, never yet trodden by the foot of man. It is joy to come to untouched springs, and to drink; joy to pluck new flowers, and to seek from there a crown for my head, from where before now the Muses have never veiled the temples of any man. First, because I teach of great things, and strive to loose the mind from the tight knots of religion; then, because on a dark subject I compose verses so full of light, touching all with the charm of the Muse. For this too does not seem without reason: but just as physicians, when they try to give foul wormwood to children, first touch the rim of the cup all around with the sweet and yellow juice of honey, so that the heedless age of childhood is beguiled as far as the lips, and meanwhile drinks up the bitter draught of wormwood, and is not caught by deceit, but rather, refreshed by such a means, recovers strength — so I now, since this doctrine generally seems bitter to those who have not handled it, and the crowd shrinks back from it, have wished to set out our doctrine to you in sweet-speaking Pierian song, and as it were to touch it with the delicious honey of the Muse: if by chance I might hold your mind fast with such verses, while you see through all the nature of things, and what shape it has.
Mouseia
Mouseia's complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same Latin text of Book 1.
Now learn what remains, and hear more clearly. I know how dark the subject is. But the great hope of praise has struck my heart like a sharp thyrsus — and into my breast has struck the sweet love of the Muses. On that strength I wander the pathless places of the Muses' mountain, where no human foot has walked. It's a joy to reach untouched springs and drink; a joy to pick new flowers and weave a crown for my head from a place no poet has ever crowned before. First, because I teach great things, and try to free the mind from the tight knots of religion. Then, because on a dark subject I make verses full of light, touching everything with the Muse's charm.
That's not vanity: doctors, trying to give children nasty wormwood, first brush the rim of the cup with sweet golden honey — so the child, fooled at the lips, drinks the bitter medicine down, and isn't cheated but refreshed, and gets its strength back. Just so, since this philosophy usually seems bitter to people who haven't tried it, and the crowd pulls away — I wanted to set out our doctrine in sweet song for you, to touch it with the Muse's honey: if maybe I could hold your mind with poetry while you take in the whole nature of things, and what shape it has.