Dēnique sī vōcem rērum nātūra repente.
mittat et hoc alicui nostrum sīc increpet ipsa:
quid tibi tantō operest, mortālīs, quod nimis aegrīs
lūctibus indulgēs? quid mortem congemis ac flēs?
nam
et nōn omnia pertūsum congesta quasi in vās
commoda perflūxēre atque ingrāta interiēre;
cūr nōn ut plēnus vītae convīva recēdis
aequō animōque capis sēcūram, stulte, quiētem?
sīn ea quae frūctūs cumque es periēre profūsa940
vītaque in offēnsōst, cūr amplius addere quaeris,
rūrsum quod pereat male et ingrātum occidat omne,
nōn potius vītae fīnem facis atque labōris?
nam tibi praetereā quod māchiner inveniamque,
quod placeat, nihil est; eadem sunt omnia semper.945
sī tibi nōn annīs corpus iam marcet et artūs
cōnfectī languent, eadem tamen omnia restant,
omnia sī pergēs vīvendō vincere saecla,
atque etiam potius, sī numquam sīs moritūrus',
quid respondēmus, nisi iūstam intendere lītem950
nātūram et vēram verbīs expōnere causam?
grandior hic vērō sī iam seniorque querātur955
atque obitum lāmentētur miser amplius aequō,952
nōn meritō inclāmet magis et vōce increpet ācrī:
aufer abhinc lacrimās, baratre, et compesce querellās.
omnia perfūnctus vītāī praemia marcēs;956
sed quia semper avēs quod abest, praesentia temnis,
inperfecta tibi ēlāpsāst ingrātaque vītā,
et nec opīnantī mors ad caput adstitit ante
quam satur ac plēnus possīs discēdere rērum.960
nunc aliēna tuā tamen aetāte omnia mitte
aequō animōque, age dum, magnīs concēde necessis?'
iūre, ut opīnor, agat, iūre increpet incīletque;
cēdit enim rērum novitāte extrūsa vetustās
semper, et ex aliīs aliud reparāre necessest.965
Nec quisquam in baratrum nec Tartara dēditur ātra;
māteriēs opus est, ut crēscant postera saecla;
quae tamen omnia tē vītā perfūncta sequentur;
nec minus ergō ante haec quam tū cecidēre cadentque.
sīc alid ex aliō numquam dēsistet orīrī970
vītaque mancipiō nūllī datur, omnibus ūsū.
respice item quam nīl ad nōs ante ācta vetustās
temporis aeternī fuerit, quam nāscimur ante.
hoc igitur speculum nōbīs nātūra futūrī
temporis expōnit post mortem dēnique nostram.975
numquid ibi horribile appāret, num trīste vidētur
quicquam, nōn omnī somnō sēcūrius exstat?
notes
931–951: In response to the laments of the interlocutors above, Lucr. now gives voice to Natura herself.
931: the conditional si ... mittat (932) ... quid respondemus (950) frames Natura's speech.
933: quid "why?"
940: ea subject of periere. quae ... cumque in tmesis is (acc.) object of fructus ... es, as often in Lucr.
941: in offenso to be taken as an adjective phrase "troublesome".
942: quod pereat ... occidat relative clause of characteristic.
945:The construction is an elaboration of nihil quod machinari possim tibi placeat, but derives a certain elegant force from the serial relative clauses that precede the main assertion of the sentence: nihil est. The postponed nihil is the antecedent of the relative clause (characteristic) quod machiner inveniamque, while the entire noun phrase nihil quod machiner inveniamque is antecedent of the relative clause (characteristic) quod placeat, and thus the subject of est is the noun phrase [[nihil (quod machiner inveniamque)] (quod tibi placeat)].
952: to make sense of the non, a question mark is necessary at the end of this line.
955: balatro (vocative) < baltro, -onis (m.) a term of abuse (see below) is probably the best reading, although the manuscripts read baratre (= barathre), which is possible. Ancient evidence suggests the two words were sometimes confused. Classical sources, especially scholiasts, are not in agreement about the origins of balatro; it may have originally been an onomatopoetic word suggesting the bleating of sheep (balatus), or it may have been derived from barathrum ("pit", from which is derived barathrus, the other possible reading here, cf. 966), which sometimes denotes a pit (in Greek practice) into which criminals were hurled. The frequent application of balatro in contexts in which "country bumpkins" or "idle chatterers" is appropriate make it seem a fitting term of abuse for Natura to employ here.
956: omnia ... vitai praemia accusative object of perfunctus, as often in Lucr. (cf. line 940).
966: baratrum (=barathrum, v. sup. 955) here conveys the deep pit of the underworld. Tartara < Tartara, -ōrum, (n.) "the underworld".
967–977: There are no torments after death; one's atoms are simply reused to build new things.
967: materies opus est "material is needed" (see opus est under opus in L&S, ad loc. III.A).
968: vita perfuncta (abl. abs.) "when they [sc. poster saecla] have finished their lives".
971: mancipio ("by sale") ... usu ("as rental"), ablatives of manner; both words are legal terms.
974: speculum the mirror image is justifiably famous; Natura allows the viewer to see in front of his face all the time that is behind him, placing the viewer amidst an infinite visual stream of time.