Lucretius III 978-1023 | Dickinson College Commentaries

Atque ea nī mīrum quae cumque Acherunte profundō

prōdita sunt esse, in vītā sunt omnia nōbīs.

nec miser inpendēns magnum timet āëre saxum980

Tantalus, ut fāmāst, cassā formīdine torpēns;

sed magis in vītā dīvom metus urget inānīs

mortālīs cāsumque timent quem cuique ferat fors.

nec Tityōn volucrēs ineunt Acherunte iacentem

nec quod sub magnō scrūtentur pectore quicquam985

perpetuam aetātem possunt reperīre profectō.

quam libet immānī prōiectū corporis exstet,

quī nōn sōla novem dispessīs iūgera membrīs

optineat, sed quī terrāī tōtīus orbem,

nōn tamen aeternum poterit perferre dolōrem990

nec praebēre cibum propriō dē corpore semper.

sed Tityōs nōbīs hīc est, in amōre iacentem

quem volucrēs lacerant atque exēst ānxius angor

aut aliā quāvīs scindunt cuppēdine cūrae.

Sīsyphus in vītā quoque nōbīs ante oculōs est,995

quī petere ā populō fascēs saevāsque secūrēs

imbibit et semper vīctus trīstisque recēdit.

nam petere imperium, quod inānest nec datur umquam,

atque in eō semper dūrum sufferre labōrem,

hoc est adversō nixantem trūdere monte1000

saxum, quod tamen <ē> summō iam vertice rūsum

volvitur et plānī raptim petit aequora campī.

deinde animī ingrātam nātūram pāscere semper

atque explēre bonīs rēbus satiāreque numquam,

quod faciunt nōbīs annōrum tempora, circum1005

cum redeunt fētūsque ferunt variōsque lepōrēs,

nec tamen explēmur vītāī frūctibus umquam,

hoc, ut opīnor, id est, aevō flōrente puellās

quod memorant laticem pertūsum congerere in vās,

quod tamen explērī nūllā ratiōne potestur.1010

Cerberus et Fūriae iam vērō et lūcis egestās,

Tartarus horriferōs ēructāns faucibus aestus!

quī neque sunt usquam nec possunt esse profectō;

sed metus in vītā poenārum prō male factīs

est īnsignibus īnsignis scelerisque luēlā,1015

carcer et horribilis dē saxō iactūs deorsum,

verbera carnificēs rōbur pix lammina taedae;

quae tamen etsī absunt, at mēns sibi cōnscia factīs

praemetuēns adhibet stimulōs torretque flagellīs,

nec videt intereā quī terminus esse malōrum1020

possit nec quae sit poenārum dēnique fīnis,

atque eadem metuit magis haec nē in morte gravēscant.

hīc Acherūsia fit stultōrum dēnique vītā.

notes

978-1023: The torments of the underworld are, in fact, the torments of living people.

978: quae cumque Acherunte profundo / prodita sunt esse is the personal passive construction of indirect discourse, in which the quae is subject of a passive verb of perception, cognition, or utterance (prodita sunt), which in turn authorizes the infinitive esse.

981: Tantalus in Lucr.'s version (also in Pindar Olympian 1), a heavy rock threatens to crush Tantalus at any moment. The extension of cassa to the fear (balanced by metus inanis in line 982) is effective not because Tantalus has no reason to fear, but because there is no fear on offer, given that there is no Tantalus and no underworld.

984: Tityon: Tityos is mentioned in Homer (Odyssey 11. 576–581), and later by Vergil (Aeneid 6.595-600); he was punished as described here for having abused Leto.

985: quod sub magno scrutentur relative clause of characteristic following the indefinite antecedent quicquam.

986: perpetuam aetatem acc. duration of time "for all eternity."

987: quamlibet the adv. modifies the adj. immani while exstet is hortatory "let him extend with however so great a splay of his body". Some have suggested taking quamlibet as "although", but this makes exstet difficult to explain.

988: qui introduces a concessive relative clause.

993: volucres not to be taken literally, of course; the meaning is made clear after atque: "whom vultures tear apart, that is to say whom a gnawing worry or ... ."

995: Sisyphus: Homer describes the punishment of Sisyphus (Odyssey 11. 593–600). In various tellings of the story, he is said to have tricked the gods into granting him a longer life after he should have died. He desires to push a rock up a hill, but is always frustrated, and always trying again, ever in vain.

996: petere is a complementary infinitive authorized by imbibit "eagerly desires to seek ..."

1000: nixantem < nixor (1) is subject of trudere. The sentence as a whole is simply the errare est humanum construction; in this case, petere est trudere.

1003: The antecedent of quod must be extracted from the idea present in the main verbs of line 1002: "to fill up with good things and satisfy."

1008: hoc ... id est ... quod memorant "this is that [thing] which they tell..."; the complement of memorant is quod, and the phrase as a whole authorizes the implied indirect discourse: ... puellas ... laticem ... congerere ... .

1010: potestur; the indicative emphasizes the fact, not just a part of the story; the passive form which is rare and found only with passive complementary infinitives (here expleri) is also known from Ennius.

1011-1023: This segment derives much of its rhetorical force from the heaping up of noun phrases, a feature often called 'congeries'. The first sentence is composed of two parts that are coordinated with elegant parallelism and variation. Highly emotional, each of the first three lines (1011-1013) ends in a breathless pause, the poet starting a new construction in the following line. The enumeration of the horrors of the underworld suggests an imaginary descent: first Cerberus guarding the entry, next, the Furies —underworld deities who torment the living as well— and finally the deepening gloom's becoming absolute blackness. As if struck by the terror of Tartarus itself, Lucr. begins line 1012 with an asyndetic noun phrase (as he will do again after line 1016). Following another pause at the end of the line, the relative clause (1013) intrudes into the syntax as if to jar the reader back to reality. This construction is similar to that with which 1018 begins, although the est in line 1015 provides a complete construction for the noun phrases that are the antecedents of quae. Despite some interesting features in the first few lines, the logic is clear: Cerberus, Furiae, Tartarus non sunt usquam, sed metus poenarum in vita est. The point of 1014-1022 is important: just as we fear punishments that can never be, so we fear punishments that, although possible, are not physically present. The imperative, then, is to place oneself in a position in which he can be free of fear.

1011: Cerberus ... a series of noun phrases, ending in a rhetorically bold anacoluthon after line 12.

1013: qui has as its antecedent all the noun phrases in lines 11 and 12. The qui is natural, as all the referents are animate, with the exception of lucis egestas.

1015: subjects of est are metus poenarum and sceleris luela. insignibus insignis "remarkable fear in return for remarkable evil deeds". luela (f. sg. nom.) "the paying [of a penalty]" is used only by Lucr., probably derived from Lucr. lŭo, Gk. λούω "wash."

1017: an asyndetic series of methods of torture and execution.

1018: conscia factis "aware because of its deeds" (abl. of cause).

1023: hic "here" (adv.) sc. "in life."

vocabulary

nī: if ... not; unless [quid ni? => why not?]

mīrus –a –um: wonderful, strange, remarkable, amazing, surprising, extraordinary

cumque: however, whenever, howsoever, whensoever,

Acherōn –ontis m.: the Acheron, a river of Hades; the lower world

profundō –ere –fūdī –fūsus: to pour forth; pour, shed

980

pendeō pendēre pependī: to hang, hang down

Tantalus –ī m.: Tantalus, a name, e.g., father of Pelops

cassus –a –um: void; deprived of; fruitless, vain

formīdō formīdinis f.: fear

torpeō torpēre: to be numb/lethargic; be struck motionless from fear

urgeō urgēre ursī: to press/squeeze/bear hard/down; tread/traverse continually; push/shove/thrust; spur on, urge; press hard in attack/pursuit, beset, follow hard on heels of; hem in; threaten by proximity; press verbally/argument/point; follow up

inānis inānis ināne: void, empty, hollow; vain; inane; foolish

Tityos –ī m.: Tityos, a giant, son of Jupiter and Elara, who was slain by Apollo for offering violence to Latona

ineō inīre iniī/inīvī initus: to enter

985

scrūtor scrūtārī scrūtātus sum: to ransack, search carefully, examine thoroughly, explore, search, examine

profectō: surely, certainly

immānis immāne: huge, monstrous

prōiciō –icere iēci –iectum: to cast forth, throw out, fling to the ground

exstō or extō –āre –āvī –ātus: to stand forth or out; rise above

novem; nōnus –a –um: 9, 9th

dispando, -pansum, ere: to spread out, to stretch out

iūgerum –ī n.: a Roman acre, about five eighths of the English acre; a iuger, an acre; pl., iugera, um, acres; fields, lands, ground. (rel. to iungo and iugum)

obtineō obtinēre obtinuī obtentus: to get hold of; maintain; obtain; hold fast, occupy, posess; prevail

990

perferō perferre pertulī perlātus: to suffer, endure; report

lacerō lacerāre lacerāvī lacerātus: to tear, mutilate; wound; rend (> lacer)

ānxius –a –um: troubled or troubling, disquieting (> ango)

angor, angoris, m.: a strangling, suffocation, anguish, torment, trouble

quīvīs quaevīs quodvīs or (subst.) quidvīs: who or what thou pleasest; any whatever, any

995

Sīsyphus or –os –ī m.: Sisyphus, son of Æolus, king of Corinth, famous for his cunning and robberies

ā: ah! alas! (lamentation)

populō populāre populāvī populātus: to plunder, devastate

fascis –is m.: a bundle; burden, pl., fasces, ium, the fasces or bundle of rods, a symbol of authority, borne by the lictors before the higher magistrates of Rome, (meton.), civil honors

secūris secūris f.: axe

im-bibō –bibere –bibī –—: to drink in; to imbibe, conceive

ināne –is n.: void space, a void

sufferō –sufferre –sustulī –sublātum: to take up, submit to, undergo, bear, endure, suffer

1000

nīxor –ātus sum intens. (nītor): to lean upon with the idea of effort; struggle forward on

trūdō –ere –sī –sus: to thrust, shove, push

summus –a –um: highest; top (of); last, final

vertex verticis m.: whirlpool, eddy

volvō volvere voluī volūtum: to turn, roll

plānus –ī m.: level ground, a plain

raptim: snatchingly, hastily, suddenly, speedily, hurriedly

pāscō pāscere pāvī pāstum: to nourish, feed

satiō satiāre satiāvī satiātum: to satisfy, sate

1005

circum: about, around; round about, near; in a circle; in attendance; on both sides

fētus –a –um: pregnant, with young; bearing; filled, full, teeming; having brought forth; fruitful.

lepor lepōris m.: pleasantness, agreeableness, attractiveness, charm

opīnor opīnārī opīnātus sum: to suppose, imagine

flōreō flōrēre flōruī: to flourish, blossom, be prosperous; be in one's prime

1010

expleō explēre explēvī explētus: to fill up, fulfil

memorō memorāre memorāvī memorātus: to remember; be mindful of (+ gen./acc.); mention/recount/relate, remind/speak of

latex –icis m.: a liquid; liquor; wine; water

pertundō pertundere pertudī pertūsus: to thrust through, bore through, perforate

congerō –gerere –gessī –gestum: to gather together, collect; pile up

vas vadis m.: one who guarantees court appearance of defendant; surety; bail

Cerberus –ī m.: Cerberus, the three–headed watch–dog of Pluto

furiae –ārum f.: rage, fury, madness, frenzy; vengeance; personif., Furiae, arum, the goddesses of vengeance, the Furies, Allecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone; the Avengers; for the Harpies (> furo)

egestās –ātis f.: poverty, destitution, penury, need, want, personified (> egeo)

Tartarus –ī m. pl. –Tartara –ōrum n.: the lower world, Hades; especially that portion which was set apart for the wicked; Tartarus

horrifer –fera –ferum: fear–bringing; dreadful (> horreo and fero)

ēructō ēructāre ēructāvī ēructātus: to belch out; to vomit, throw forth or out; discharge

faux faucis f.: the throat, gullet; pl. jaws, mouth

aestus aestūs m.: heat; agitation, passion, seething

usquam: anywhere

1015

īnsīgne īnsīgnis n.: medal, decoration

īnsīgnis īnsīgne: conspicuous, manifest, eminent, notable, famous, distinguished, outstanding

luela: an expiation, a punishment

carcer carceris m.: prison, jail

horribilis horribile: dreadful, monstrous

iactus –ūs m.: a cast; leap; shot; reach (> iacio)

deorsum or deorsus: downwards, down

carnifex –icis m.: executioner

rōbur rōboris n.: oak, strength

pix –picis f.: pitch

lamina: a leaf, layer, lamina, plate, thin slice

taeda taedae f.: torch

etsī: although

cōnscius –a –um: having knowledge of, conscious

praemetuō –ere: to fear beforehand, dread

stimulus –ī m.: a prick; spur, (fig.); incentive, sting

torreō –ēre –uī –tostus: to burn, scorch, roast, parch; rush, roll; of a river bank; p., torrens, entis, subst., a torrent, 7.567.

flagellum –ī n.: a scourge or whip; thong (dim. of flagrum, a whip)

1020

intereā: meanwhile

terminus –ī m.: a boundary line; limit, end, destiny

malum malī n.: evil, misfortune, calamity

gravesco, gravescere: to become burdened, grow heavy

Acherusia, -ae f.: A Lake in Epirus, through which the Acheron flows

stultus –a –um: foolish, stupid