Lucretius III 870-893

870—893: Yet so persistent is this false view of death, that even some men who profess to believe that death ends sensation, are yet distressed at the thought that their dead body may rot or be burned or devoured by beasts. This shows that they do not really believe what they profess to believe, but unconsciously imagine themselves to survive their own death, so as to feel what happens to their dead body; which is, in fact, impossible. Whatever may be the fate of our body after death, it is a matter of indifference to us.

870: indignarier = indignari (< indignor) "is impatient with"

871: It is in these lines that Lucr. turns the thrust of his poetic argument in a new rhetorical direction: the contrast between what people say when they imagine death on the one hand, and the facts of death according to atomic reality on the other. ut aut putescat substantive clause of result authorized by fore (= futurum esse), which is impersonal (~ fieri) "that this will happen after his death: either. . . ." posto = posito.

874: cordi dative with subesse (line 873).

875: se subject of credere.

876: quod promittit et unde = hoc quod prommittit et quomodo prommittit a compound fused relative clause as direct object of dat: "he does not produce that which he is promising or explain [how] he promises it ...."

878: facit "he imagines", i.e., "makes it [thus in his imagination]". esse indirect discourse authorized by facit. sui partitive genitive with the indefinite quiddam, which is subject of esse. super take closely with esse = superesse. inscius (nominative singular masculine) is felt adverbially: "without knowing [he does so]." ipse emphasizes the subject of facit.

879: futurum [esse] authorized by proponit and having as its complement the substantive clause of result uti volucres lacerent ...

881: miseret < misereo (2).

882: illum / se fingit "imagines that he is that person"; the referent of illum is proiecto corpore, but the vir vivus obviously imagines it to be human. proiecto "cast aside", as though it were trash.

883: contaminat object is illum in line 882.

884: hinc the reference is to the thought outlined in the lines above; it is from those thoughts that the man arrives at a state of despair.

885: nullum ... alium se "no other self."

886: qui possit relative clause of characteristic as usual following a negative antecedent. sibi ethical dative with lugere. se subject of peremptum [esse]. lugere, dolere (line 887) complementary infinitives authorized by possit. se peremptum, se lacerari indirect discourse authorized by lugere. uri- complementary infinitive authorized by dolere.

888: malumst = malum est subject is tractari; the errare est humanum construction.

889: quī (archaic ablative) "how"; introduces indirect question.

890-893: these lines describe manners of treating the dead that the rich might considerable desireable. Ancient evidence does not suggest that embalming with honey was a common practice.