Lucretius III 288-349 | Dickinson College Commentaries

est etiam calor ille animō, quem sūmit, in īrā

cum fervēscit et ex oculīs micat ācrius ārdor;

est et frīgida multa, comes formīdinis, aura,290

quae ciet horrōrem membrīs et concitat artūs;

est etiam quoque pācātī status āëris ille,

pectore tranquillō fit quī voltūque serēnō.

sed calidī plūs est illīs quibus ācria corda

īrācundaque mēns facile effervēscit in īrā,295

quō genere in prīmīs vīs est violenta leōnum,

pectora quī fremitū rumpunt plērumque gementēs

nec capere īrārum flūctūs in pectore possunt.

at ventōsa magis cervōrum frīgida mēns est

et gelidās citius per vīscera concitat aurās,300

quae tremulum faciunt membrīs existere mōtum.

at nātūra boum placidō magis āëre vīvit

nec nimis īrāī fax umquam subdita percit

fūmida, suffundēns caecae cālīginis umbrā,

nec gelidīs torpet tēlīs perfixa pavōris;305

interutrāsque sitāst cervōs saevōsque leōnēs.

sīc hominum genus est: quamvīs doctrīna polītōs

cōnstituat pariter quōsdam, tamen illa relinquit

nātūrae cuiusque animī vestīgia prīma.

nec rādīcitus ēvellī mala posse putandumst,310

quīn prōclīvius hīc īrās dēcurrat ad ācrīs,

ille metū citius paulō temptētur, at ille

tertius accipiat quaedam clēmentius aequō.

inque aliīs rēbus multīs differre necessest

nātūrās hominum variās mōrēsque sequācīs;315

quōrum ego nunc nequeō caecās expōnere causās

nec reperīre figūrārum tot nōmina quot sunt

prīncipiīs, unde haec oritur variantia rērum.

illud in hīs rēbus videō firmāre potesse,

usque adeō nātūrārum vestīgia linquī320

parvola, quae nequeat ratiō dēpellere nōbīs,

ut nihil inpediat dignam dīs dēgere vītam.

Haec igitur nātūra tenētur corpore ab omnī

ipsaque corporis est cūstōs et causa salūtis;

nam commūnibus inter sē rādīcibus haerent325

nec sine perniciē dīvellī posse videntur.

quod genus ē thūris glaebīs ēvellere odōrem

haud facile est, quīn intereat nātūra quoque eius,

sīc animī atque animae nātūram corpore tōtō

extrahere haut facile est, quīn omnia dissoluantur.330

inplexīs ita prīncipiīs ab orīgine prīmā

inter sē fīunt cōnsortī praedita vīta,

nec sibi quaeque sine alterius vī posse vidētur

corporis atque animī seorsum sentīre potestās,

sed commūnibus inter eās cōnflātur utrimque335

mōtibus accēnsus nōbīs per vīscera sēnsūs.

Praetereā corpus per sē nec gignitur umquam

nec crēscit neque post mortem dūrāre vidētur.

nōn enim, ut ūmor aquae dīmittit saepe vapōrem,

quī datus est, neque eā causā convellitur ipse,340

sed manet incolumīs, nōn, inquam, sīc animāī

discidium possunt artūs perferre relictī,

sed penitus pereunt convulsī cōnque putrēscunt.

ex ineunte aevō sīc corporis atque animāī

mūtua vītālīs discunt contāgia mōtūs,345

māternīs etiam membrīs alvōque reposta,

discidium nequeat fierī sine peste malōque;

ut videās, quoniam coniūnctāst causa salūtis,

coniūnctam quoque nātūram cōnsistere eōrum.

notes

288 - 322: Lucr.explains that the constituents of the anima (except, of course, for the unnamed fourth natura, called the anima animae ("the soul of the soul") at 275) are also present in the animus . The vapor of the anima corresponds to ira in the animus (288); aura to formido (290); aër to a pectus tranquillum (293).

288: anaphora of existential est in 288, 290, 292 emphasises the various elements of the animus that come to the fore in differing moods or in the inclinations of various individuals.

298: capere "get hold of" in the sense of "keep under control.” Lions, stags, and cattle provide memorable images for the various innate natures.

306: sitast = sita est (prodelision < situs, -a, -um + est), feminine with natura (l. 302).

308: pariter is a predicate adverb; doctrina can dispose some people, if educated, such that they live "in balance,” with each of their humors kept in check. The point is not that doctrina can make make men equal to each other, or affect them all equally. illa is doctrina (l. 307).

310: putandumst (= putandum est) the subject is the infinitive posse, whose complement is the infinitive evelli, with subject mala (neut. pl. acc.): "and it must not be thought possible for evils to be pulled out by the root.”

311: quin clause of result AG 559 (contrast with the different use of quin at 3.25 sup.). hic the first in a series of three; the next being ille (312), and the last, ille tertius (313). clementius aequo the final item in the tricolon does not have a positive connotation (although the cow seems Epicurean at first); rather, it describes an excess of a virtue: "more mild than is proper.”

319: At least two parsings are possible for these lines (see l. 322 note for an alternative), of which the more attractive seems to be that video authorizes two constructions in the following lines: (a) the direct object noun phrase illud (which is expanded in apposition by the result clause ut ... impediat (322)), and (b) the indirect discourse (acc. and inf.) construction following the usque adeo ("in the same degree as,” v. L&S adeo (2) I.B.).

320: linqui is infinitive in indirect discourse, having as subject naturarum vestigia ... pervola ("very small traces of (men's various) natures").

321: nequeat subjunctive in clause of characteristic.

322: ut ... impediat substantive clause of result in apposition with illud (319). A slightly different, and to some readers preferable, parsing is to take linqui as being in apposition to illud and ut ... impediat as a clause of result authorized by usque adeo pervola ("to this degree tiny"). dis abl. pl. < deus, abl. following dignam.

323-349 : The corpus, animus and anima together supply the conditions for life. Separated from the animus/anima, the corpus soon decays.

323: haec natura points to the natura of the combined animus (here ~ mens), and anima, along with the four constituent parts of the latter. This fact, made explicit at 329 (sic animi atque animae naturam), is clear as well from the context of this passage in which the relationship of haec natura to the corpus is clarified. Earlier in the book, Lucr. explained that the animus (i.e., the rational part) and the anima (i.e., the life-giving part) are fashioned into una natura (136), which is itself part of a human being, just as are the limbs (for the animus as biological part of a person v. esp. the argument at 94 ff.). Furthermore (228), the natura of the mens/animus is similar to that of the anima, and this natura (231-251) is composed of four parts (each of which is also called a natura). ab expresses agent.

325: haerent the implied subjects are haec natura (323) and corpus (extracted from corpore in line 323).

327: quod genus "just as.” quin introduces a clause of result (AG 559).

331: inplexis ita principiis ab origine prima /inter se is an ablative absolute ("with their atoms thus intertwined amongst themselves from the time that they arise").

332: fiunt (like haerent (326), videntur (326), and dissolvantur (330)) has its subjects (animi atque animae natura) suggested by the context. The predicate noun phrase is consorti praedita vita (sc. "they become a life given to a co-heir"). The language seems to come from law, suggesting that the two give rise, through their close connection, to life, but life that is given only to the pair, not to one or the other.

333-334: An intricate sentence of which the subject is the noun phrase quaeque /corporis atque animi ... potestas ("each power, that of the body and of the mind"), the verb phrase is posse videtur /... sentire ("seem to be able to have sensation") and the adverbial adjuncts are: (1) sibi ("for itself"), (2) sine alterius vi ("without the power of the other"), and (3) seorsum ("separately").

337: per se that is, without the anima.

341: animai archaic genitive singular.

345: mutua . . . contagia i.e., their "shared relationship.” The phrase forms a chiasmus with vitalis . . . motus, a favorite word combination of Lucr. when describing the subtle atomic conditions that bring about life (cp. line 560). In addition to the two uses in book three, Lucr. has four instances of this noun-adjective pair in book two.

346: reposta modifies contagia (345). maternis ... membris alvoque are locative ablatives.

347: ut nequeat follows on the sic of 344, while ut videas (348) sums up the thought of the entire sentence.

349: consistere infinitive in indirect discourse, authorized by videas (348), with subject naturam ... eorum . consistere is here used as the copula (v. L&S consisto II. B. 4) to predicate coniunctam: "so you can see that their nature is conjoined.”

vocabulary

calor –ōris m.: warmth, heat, vital heat (> caleo)

ferveō fervēre ferbuī and fervō fervere fervī: to boil; (fig.), to blaze, be bright; flash; glow; stir, be alive, teeming; move, speed on; rage

micō micāre micuī: to vibrate, dart; flash, glitter, gleam; tremble, quiver

ārdor ārdōris m.: burning, heat, eagerness

290

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

formīdō formīdinis f.: fear

cieō –ēre –cīvī –citus: to cause, to move; stir; agitate, move; excite, kindle, rouse; raise; call upon, invoke; call up, exhibit; of tears, shed

horror –ōris m.: a roughening or bristling; (fig.), a shuddering; terror, dread, horror, dismay; clashing din (> horreo)

concitō concitāre concitāvī concitātus: to arouse, incite

artus artūs m.: limb, leg

pācō pācāre pācāvī pācātus: to render peaceful; to quiet (> pax)

status statūs m.: position, situation, condition; rank; standing, status

tranquillus –a –um: calm, still; subst., tranquillum, i, n., a calm; calm weather

serēnō serēnāre serēnāvī serēnātum: to make clear, brighten, cheer up, soothe

calidus –a –um: warm, hot; fiery, lusty; eager, rash, on the spot; having a warm climate/place

295

īrācundus –a –um : irascible, irritable, passionate, choleric, angry, ireful, easily provoked

effervēscō fervēscere –ferbuī or –fervī —: to boil (up)

violentus –a –um: violent, savage

leō leōnis m.: lion

fremitus –ūs m.: a murmuring, an uproar, din; tumult, shouting; buzzing, humming; neighing (> fremo)

gemō gemere gemuī: to groan, sigh

ventōsus –a –um: windy, stormy; fleeting, unreal, inflated, windy, noisy; empty, vain boasting; fleet as the wind (> ventus)

cervus –ī m.: a stag, deer

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

300

gelidus –a –um: cold, icy

vīscus vīsceris n.: innards, viscera, guts

concitō concitāre concitāvī concitātus: to arouse, incite

tremulus –a –um: shaking, quaking, quivering, trembling, tremulous

exsistō –sistere –stitī: to emerge, appear, be visible, be

mōtus mōtūs m.: motion, movement; disturbance

placidus –a –um: agreeable, pleasant

subdō –ere –didī –ditus: to put under; place or fasten under; bury

percĭĕō percĭēre/īre, percĭĕĭī/īvī, percĭtum: to move or rouse greatly, to stir up, excite.

fūmidus –a –um: smoking; steaming; veiled with smoke (> fumus)

suffundō –ere –fūdī –fūsus: to pour from below; pour through; overspread, suffuse (> sub and fundo)

cālīgō –inis f.: mist, fog; misty, obscurity; darkness, dimness, obscurity; smoke; cloud of dust; blinding dust; soot

305

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

perfīgō perfīgere perfīxī fīxum: pierce through, transfix

pavor pavōris m.: fear, trembling

interutrasque: in between

cervus –ī m.: a stag, deer

leō leōnis m.: lion

doctrīna –ae f.: teaching, doctrine

polītus –a –um: polished, accomplished, refined, cultivated, polite

partier: alike, likewise, at the same time

310

rādīcitus: by, from, or at the roots; roots and all

ē–vellō –ēvellere –ēvellī –ēvulsum: to tear out, pluck out, extract

prōclīvis –e: sloping, steep, going downward, downhill

dēcurrō –ere –cucurrī or currī –cursus: to run down, hasten down; descend; run completely round; sail over, sweep over

tentō tentāre tentāvī tentātus: to try, test

clēmēns –entis: merciful, lenient

315

sequāx –ācis: prone to follow; following, pursuing, swiftly pursuing; darting, lambent; rapid (> sequor)

nequeō nequīre nequiī/nequīvī nequitum: to be unable

expōnō expōnere exposuī expositus: to set/put forth/out; abandon, expose; publish; explain, relate; disembark

figūra figūrae f.: form, shape

quot: how many , as many as (undeclinable)

variō variāre variāvī variātus: to vary, diversify; adorn with various colors

fīrmō fīrmāre fīrmāvī fīrmātus: to strengthen, harden; support; declare; prove, confirm, establish

320

linquō linquere līquī: to leave, relinquish

parvulus –a –um: very little; small, little (> parvus)

nequeō nequīre nequiī/nequīvī nequitum: to be unable

dēpellō dēpellere dēpulī dēpulsus: to drive off, expel

impediō impedīre impedīvī/impediī impedītus: to hinder, impede

dēgō –ere –dēgī: to pass, spend (> de and ago)

325

commūne –nis n.: that which is in common; community, state

rādīx rādīcis f.: root

haereō haerēre haesī haesūrus: to stick to, hang on to

perniciēs perniciēī f.: ruin; disaster; pest, bane; curse; destruction, calamity; mischief

dīvellō –ere –vellī –vulsus: to tear asunder; tear in pieces; tear away; separate, scatter (others, drive away); loosen, uncoil

tūs –tūris n.: incense

glaeba –ae f.: a lump of earth; a clod; soil

ēvellō –ēvellere –ēvellī –ēvulsum: to tear out, pluck out, extract

odor –ōris m.: scent, smell, odor, fragrance; disagreeable odor, stench; foul fumes

intereō interīre interīvī/interiī interitūrus: to perish, die; be ruined; cease

extrahō extrahere extrāxī extractum: to draw out, draw forth, pull out, drag, to withdraw, extricate, release, eradicate

330

dissolvō dissolvere dissolvī dissolūtus: to loosen, dissolve, destroy

implectō implectere implexī implexum: plait, wind, twist into, weave

orīgō –inis f.: origin, source; birth, family; race; ancestry

cōnsors –sortis: having a common lot; participating, a companion

praeditus –a –um: endowed with

sĕorsus –a –um: distinct, separate, away

335

commūne –nis n.: that which is in common; community, state

conflō conflāre conflāvī conflātus: to blow on, arouse, melt, cast

utrimque: on or from either side; on both sides; on every side (> uterque)

mōtus mōtūs m.: motion, movement; disturbance

accendō accendere accendī accēnsus: to set on fire

vīscus vīsceris n.: innards, viscera, guts

dūrō dūrāre dūrāvī dūrātus: to harden; to endure

ūmor –oris m.: moisture

vapor –ōris m.: vapor, steam; heat

340

convellō –ere –vellī –vulsus: to pull violently; pluck, tear, pull up; wrench forth; cut off; p., convulsus, a, um, rent, shattered; convulsed

incolumis incolumis incolume: unharmed, uninjured; alive, safe; unimpaired

discidium –iī n.: splitting; separation

artus artūs m.: limb, leg

perferō perferre pertulī perlātus: to suffer, endure; report

penitus or penitē: inwardly, internally, entirely

convellō –ere –vellī –vulsus: to pull violently; pluck, tear, pull up; wrench forth; cut off; p., convulsus, a, um, rent, shattered; convulsed

con: with (from preposition "cum")

pŭtrēscō putrēscere putrŭī,: rot, mold, decay

ineō inīre iniī/inīvī initus: to enter

345

mūtuus –a –um: interchangeable, reciprocal, mutual; on both sides; per mutua, mutually, to each other (> muto)

vītālis –e: pertaining to life; essential to life, vital (> vita)

contāgiō –ōnis f. or contāgium –ī n.: contact, touching; an infection, pollution, vicious companionship or intercourse, participation, contamination

mōtus mōtūs m.: motion, movement; disturbance

māternus –a –um: maternal

alvus –ī f.: the abdomen, the belly; waist; body; womb

repōnō repōnere reposuī repositus: to put back, set back, replace, restore

discidium –iī n.: splitting; separation

nequeō nequīre nequiī/nequīvī nequitum: to be unable

pestis pestis f.: plague, disaster

coniungō coniungere coniūnxī coniūnctus: to connect, join/yoke together; marry; connect/compound (words) (w/conjunctions); unite (sexually); place/bring side–by–side; juxtapose; share; add; associate