Lucretius III 894-930 | Dickinson College Commentaries

Iam iam nōn domus accipiet tē laeta neque uxor

optima, nec dulcēs occurrent ōscula nātī895

praeripere et tacitā pectus dulcēdine tangent.

nōn poteris factīs flōrentibus esse tuīsque

praesidium. miserō miserē' aiunt 'omnia adēmit

ūna diēs īnfēsta tibī tot praemia vītae.'

illud in hīs rēbus nōn addunt 'nec tibi eārum900

iam dēsīderium rērum super īnsidet ūna.'

quod bene sī videant animō dictīsque sequantur,

dissoluant animī magnō sē angōre metūque.

tū quidem ut es lētō sōpītus, sīc eris aevī

quod super est cūnctīs prīvātus dolōribus aegrīs;905

at nōs horrificō cinefactum tē prope bustō

īnsatiābiliter dēflēvimus, aeternumque

nūlla diēs nōbīs maerōrem ē pectore dēmet.'

illud ab hōc igitur quaerendum est, quid sit amārī

tantō opere, ad somnum sī rēs redit atque quiētem,910

cūr quisquam aeternō possit tābēscere lūctū.

Hoc etiam faciunt ubi discubuēre tenentque

pōcula saepe hominēs et inumbrant ōra corōnīs,

ex animō ut dīcant: 'brevis hīc est frūctus homullīs;

iam fuerit neque post umquam revocāre licēbit.'915

tam quam in morte malī cum prīmīs hoc sit eōrum,

quod sitis exūrat miserōs atque ārida torrat,

aut aliae cuius dēsīderium īnsideat reī.

nec sibi enim quisquam tum sē vītamque requīret,

cum pariter mēns et corpus sōpīta quiēscunt;920

nam licet aeternum per nōs sīc esse sopōrem,

nec dēsīderium nostrī nōs adficit ūllum,

et tamen haud quāquam nostrōs tunc illa per artūs

longē ab sēnsiferīs prīmōrdia mōtibus errant,

cum correptus homō ex somnō sē colligit ipse.925

multō igitur mortem minus ad nōs esse putandumst,

sī minus esse potest quam quod nihil esse vidēmus;

maior enim turbae disiectus māteriāī

cōnsequitur lētō nec quisquam expergitus extat,

frīgida quem semel est vītāī pausa secūta.930

notes

894-930: present imagined interlocutors offering popular opinions about the sadness of death.

896: praeripere infinitive of purpose.

897: factis florentibus ablative of description. tuis- dative of advantage: "nor will you be able to enjoy flourishing business and serve as the protector of your family [members]."

898: misero ... tibi (line 899) dative of disadvantage.

902: quod referent is the statement of the preceding sentence. animo, dictis- (line 903) ablatives of means. videant, sequantur are the verbs of the protasis.

903: angore metuque ablatives of separation.

904: quod is the indefinite adverb here with temporal sense, and aevi is the genitive with an indefinite ("for whatever there will be of time.") The emphasis on the anguish not of the dead, but rather of the bereft is rhetorically effective, for their pain is intense. It is perhaps surprising that Lucr. does not mention the exquisite suffering of those whose enemies have died before revenge could be properly visited upon their deserving heads.

907: deflevimus the tense of the verb presents the image vividly.

911: cur ... luctu: a relative clause of result ( AG 537), anticipated by tanto opere ("so much") in line 910.

914: ut dicant substantive clause of result in apposition to hoc in line 912

915: fuerit. Cp. Romafuit. For the sentiment cp. Eccles. ix. 7—10 "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart... ;for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest " ;with many other passages in the same book. E.g. ii. 24, iii. 13, v. 18, viii. 15, &e. Many expressions in this part of Lucretius recall passages in Ecclesiastes : see notes to 599, 874, 944.

916: ' As if in their death it is to be one of their chiefest
ills that....'

918: aliae for alii. This form is found in Plautus, and
even in Cicero and Livy.

921: per nos ' as far as we are concerned.'

922. nostri i. e. ' our former self.'

924. Cp. 272 and 861.

928: ' For a greater dispersion of the mass of matter comes
to pass at death.'

929: expergltus from expergo—not found elsewhere in
good Latin.

930: est secuta ' has overtaken.'

vocabulary

895

ōsculum –ī n.: kiss

nātus –a –um: born, sprung, descended; w. abl., natus dea, goddess–born (> nascor)

praeripiō praeripere praeripuī praereptum: to snatch, carry off

dulcēdō –inis f.: sweetness; delight, joy (> dulcis)

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

miseror–ārī –ātus sum: to feel or show pity for; be compassionate, pity (> miser)

miserē: wretchedly, desparately

adimō adimere adēmī adēmptus: to withdraw, take away, carry off; castrate; deprive, steal, seize; annul; rescue

ūnā: together, together with; at the same time, along with

900

īnfestus –a –um: hostile, aggressive

dēsīderium dēsīderi(ī) n.: desire

īnsīdō –ere –sēdī –sessus: to sink, take a seat, or settle upon; (w. dat.), alight upon; to be stationed or secreted in; (w. acc.), settle upon

animō animāre: to enliven, quicken, animate; to endow with, to give,

dissolvō dissolvere dissolvī dissolūtus: to loosen, dissolve, destroy

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

lētum letī n.: death

horrificō horrificāre horrificāvī horrificātus: to make rough; make to shudder; terrify (> horrificus)

905

cinefactus, -a, -um: turned to ashes

būstum –ī n.: the mound where the dead have been burned; funeral pile; tomb (cf. comburo)

insatiabiliter: insatiably

dēfleō –ēre –flēvī –flētus: to weep much; weep over, bewail, bemoan, lament

maeror maerōris m.: mourning, grief

dēmō dēmere dēmpsī dēmptus: to remove

tābescō –bescere –bui: to waste away

lūctus lūctūs m.: mourning, grief

discumbō –ere –cubuī –cubitus: to recline separately; recline at table (impers.), discumbitur, they recline

pōculum pōculī n.: cup, bowl, drinking vessel; drink/draught; social drinking (pl.); drink

inumbrō inumbrāre inumbrāvī inumbrātus: to cast a shade upon; overshadow; shade

corolla –ae f.: garland, small wreath (dim. of corona)

fructus, -us: an enjoying, enjoyment, delight, satisfaction

homullus, -i m.: a little man, manikin

910

quiēs quiētis f.: quiet, calm, rest, peace; sleep

915

pariter: alike, likewise, at the same time

liceō licēre licuī: to be for sale, be priced, be valued

malum malī n.: evil, misfortune, calamity

sitis –is f.: thirst

exūrō –ere –ussī –ūstus: to burn out, consume with fire; burn up; dry up, parch; burn out, purge

āridus –a –um: dry, arid, parched

torris –is m.: a firebrand; brand (> torreo)

cuius, -a, -um: to whom? Of whom?

īnsideō –ēre –sēdī –sessus: to sit or be seated on; w. dat., rest, recline upon; settle on; w. acc., occupy, hold (> in and sedeo)

requīrō requīrere requīsīvī requīsītus: to require, seek, ask for; need; miss, pine for

920

sōpiō sōpīre sōpīvī sōpītum: to put to sleep, lull to sleep

sopor –ōris m.: sleep; sound, deep slumber; personified

nostrī –ōrum m.: our friends, kindred, allies, etc. (> noster)

illā : in that way, in that direction, there

artus artūs m.: limb, leg

sensifer, -fera, -ferum: producing sensation

primordius, -a, -um: in the first beginning

mōtus mōtūs m.: motion, movement; disturbance

925

corripiō corripere corripuī correptum: to seize, plunder

multō multāre multāvī multātus: to punish

dīsiciō –ere –iēcī –iectus: to throw, cast asunder; overthrow, demolish; scatter, disperse; cleave (> dis– and iacio)

expergo, -gi, -gitum: to awaken

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

930

frīgidus –a –um: cold, cool, chilly, frigid; lifeless, indifferent, dull

pausa, -ae, f.: a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end