Lucretius I, 271-289: storm and rain.

It is now the first of December, start of the meteorological winter, the season of storms. With vivid imagination Lucretius describes the power of the wind, which he – rightly – saw as a stream of small particles and the force of swollen rivers. This text is best read in the evening at the fireplace with a glass of wine or whiskey and the windows closed. Preferably when it storms outside and heavy rain is lashing the streets. Better don’t leave your house!

Lucretius, De Rerum Naturae I, 271-289.

Principio venti vis verberat incita pontum

ingentisque ruit navis et nubila differt,

interdum rapido percurrens turbine campos

arboribus magnis sternit montisque supremos

silvifragis vexat flabris: ita perfurit acri               275

cum fremitu saevitque minaci murmure pontus.

sunt igitur venti ni mirum corpora caeca,

quae mare, quae terras, quae denique nubila caeli

verrunt ac subito vexantia turbine raptant,

nec ratione fluunt alia stragemque propagant               280

et cum mollis aquae fertur natura repente

flumine abundanti, quam largis imbribus auget

montibus ex altis magnus decursus aquai

fragmina coniciens silvarum arbustaque tota,

nec validi possunt pontes venientis aquai               285

vim subitam tolerare: ita magno turbidus imbri

molibus incurrit validis cum viribus amnis,

dat sonitu magno stragem volvitque sub undis

grandia saxa, ruit qua quidquid fluctibus obstat.

vis viris (f.): power

verbero (-are): to beat, strike

pontus: sea (some editions have corpus instead of pontum, like the one used for the translation below)

ingens entis: huge, vast

ingentis navis: acc pl! (= ingentes naves)

ruo rui rutum : to cast down with violence

differo distuli dilatum: to disperse, scatter

interdum: meanwhile

turbo turbinis (m.): whirlwind

campus: open country

sterno stravi stratum: to spread, scatter (cf. street)

montis = montes

supremos montes: mountain tops

silvifragus: crushing trees

vexo (-are): to shake

flabra –orum (n.pl.): blasts, winds

perfuro (-ere): to rage furiously

acri cum fremitus = cum acri fremitus

fremitus –us: loud noise

saevio saevii saevitum: to be fierce, rage

minax minacis: menacing

murmur murmeris (n.): murmer, roar

ni mirum: no wonder

venti is nom. pl. in apposition with corpora caeca: unseen particles

verro (-ere): to sweep

rapto (-are): to snatch, seize

nec ratione alia: nor with another intent = in the same way

strages –is (f.): massacre, destruction

propago (-are): to spread (cf. propaganda)

mollis aquae natura: quietly flowing water (aquae natura is water in Lucr.)

fertur: turns into

repente: suddenly

imber imbris (m.): heavy rain

augeo auxi auctum: to increase

decursus –us (m.): downward stream

aquai: old spelling for aquae

fragmen fragminis (n.): broken piece, fragment

coniciens: piling on each other

arbustum: wood

validus: strong

venientis: attacking

sub-eo –ii –itum: to come under

turbidus: disturbed, wild

molibus: against the piles of a bridge

amnis –is (m.): river

qua quidquid: where anything

obsto obstiti (-are) + dat: to oppose,, hinder

Translation by William Ellery Leonard (1916)

The winds infuriate lash our face and frame,

Unseen, and swamp huge ships and rend the clouds,

Or, eddying wildly down, bestrew the plains

With mighty trees, or scour the mountain tops

With forest-crackling blasts. Thus on they rave

With uproar shrill and ominous moan. The winds,

'Tis clear, are sightless bodies sweeping through

The sea, the lands, the clouds along the sky,

Vexing and whirling and seizing all amain;

And forth they flow and pile destruction round,

Even as the water's soft and supple bulk

Becoming a river of abounding floods,

Which a wide downpour from the lofty hills

Swells with big showers, dashes headlong down

Fragments of woodland and whole branching trees;

Nor can the solid bridges bide the shock

As on the waters whelm: the turbulent stream,

Strong with a hundred rains, beats round the piers,

Crashes with havoc, and rolls beneath its waves

Down-toppled masonry and ponderous stone,

Hurling away whatever would oppose.

Lucretius v, 1011-1029: how society began.

Myths about the origin of civilisation can be found all over the world. Sometimes civilisation is brought to mankind by a trickster like Prometheus or by some divine aid. Such an intervention is impossible for Lucretius and he tries to develop a rationalistic explanation.  His reconstruction comes close to what modern anthropologists and sociologists consider as a likely development for a civilization. On the other hand is Lucretius to optimistic and incorporated in his description the notion of a golden age. Modern research has found that primitive societies were violent against each other. Still, one can only admire Lucretius’ attempt to imagine the development of society.

Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, v 1011 - 1027

Inde casas postquam ac pellis ignemque pararunt

et mulier coniuncta viro concessit in unum

*

cognita sunt, prolemque ex se videre creatam,

tum genus humanum primum mollescere coepit.

ignis enim curavit, ut alsia corpora frigus                1015

non ita iam possent caeli sub tegmine ferre,

et Venus inminuit viris puerique parentum

blanditiis facile ingenium fregere superbum.

tunc et amicitiem coeperunt iungere aventes

finitimi inter se nec laedere nec violari,                                   1020

et pueros commendarunt muliebreque saeclum,

vocibus et gestu cum balbe significarent

imbecillorum esse aequum misererier omnis.

nec tamen omnimodis poterat concordia gigni,

sed bona magnaque pars servabat foedera caste;               1025

aut genus humanum iam tum foret omne peremptum

nec potuisset adhuc perducere saecla propago.  

casa: shelter, dwelling-place

pellis (f.): pelt, hide (pellis = pelles (acc. pl.)

* a line is missing with a noun agreeing with unum, for which coniugium is the best option (`they  retired  into a single marriage’ as opposed to the free sex they practised before), a conjunction and a noun agreeing with cognita. Probably the sentence runs `rhe ritired into a single (union and the laws of marriage were learnt.’ Following the suggestion in the edition by Benfield – Reeves)

mollesco: to soften (i.e. to become civilized)

alsius: cold (only found in Lucretius)

frigus frigoris (n.): coldness

caeli sub tegmine: under the vault of heaven

ita iam: as well (as before – because their bodies were softened!)

inminuo inminui inminutum: to lessen, diminish

viris = vires

puerique parentum blanditiis facile ingenium fregere superbum = puerique  facike ingenium superbum (the fierce temperament) parentum blanditiis fregere (= fregerunt)

blanditia blanditiae: flatteries, blandishments

frango fregi fractum: to break (both words come from the common Indo-European root *bhr(e)g)

amicities = amicitia (this form only here)

aveo: to long for (object: amicitiem)

finitimus: neighbour

commendo: to entrust

muliebre saeclum: the female race

vocibus et gestu cum = cum vocibus et gestu

balbe: in a stammering way (as they had not yet discovered language)

imbecillorum esse aequum misererier omnis = aequum esse omnis imbecillorum misererier (= misereri)

aequus: fair, reasonable

omnis = omnes (acc of the aci)

imbecillis: weak

misereor (+ gen.) to have pity with

omnimodis: in every way, wholly

gigno genui genitus: to come forth

servabat foedera caste: kept their treaties pure

foret = esset

perimo peremi peremptum: to destroy

propago propaginis (f.): offspring

perduco perduxi perductum: continue through

Translation by John Selby Watson (1880)

Afterwards, when they procured huts, and skins, and fire,

and the woman, united to the man, came to dwell in the

same place with him; and when the pure and pleasing con-

nexions of undivided love were known, and they saw a pro-

geny sprung from themselves ; then first the human race

began to be softened and civilized. For fire now rendered

their shivering bodies less able to endure the cold under the

canopy of heaven ; and love diminished their strength ; and

children with their blandishments easily subdued the ferocious

tempers of their parents. Then, also, neighbours, feeling a

mutual friendship, began to form agreements not to hurt or

injui'e one another; and they commended, with sounds and

gestures, their children, and the female sex, to each other's

protection ; while they signified, with imperfect speech, that

it is right for every one to have compassion on the weak.

Such concord, however, could not be established universally ;

but the better and greater part kept their faith inviolate, or

the human race would then have been wholly destroyed, and

the species could not have continued its generations to the

present period.

Lucretius 3, 894-911: be not afraid of death.

There are many mediaeval churches built betrween1200 -1400 in the province I live in. They are scattered all over the landscape pointing with their towers like fingers to heaven. Many of these are just surrounded by a few houses and farms and all of them are surrounded by graveyards. Whenever I see such a church I like to walk over the graveyard and read the inscriptions on old gravestones. Sometimes they picture a small drama, like carrying the names of four children having died shortly after birth and the name of the mother who died giving birth to the last one. Or a couple of stones with the names of relatively young people who died between 1918 and 1920: the Spanish flue.

These stones date all from a time when healthcare was still in its infancy and death was around everywhere. This is also true for Roman society and no wonder have reflected on death, as is shown by inscriptions on their gravestones.

In the following extract Lucretius tries to take away fear of death or rather fear of being death, having in mind Epicurus’ famous dictum: `Death is nothing to us. When we exist, death is not; and when death exists, we are not’. He imagines a speech at a funeral of a deceased husband:

De Rerum Natura 3, 894-911

'Iam iam non domus accipiet te laeta neque uxor

optima, nec dulces occurrent oscula nati

praeripere et tacita pectus dulcedine tangent.

non poteris factis florentibus esse tuisque

praesidium. misero misere' aiunt 'omnia ademit

una dies infesta tibi tot praemia vitae.'

illud in his rebus non addunt 'nec tibi earum

iam desiderium rerum super insidet una.'

quod bene si videant animo dictisque sequantur,

dissolvant animi magno se angore metuque.

'tu quidem ut es leto sopitus, sic eris aevi

quod superest cunctis privatus doloribus aegris;

at nos horrifico cinefactum te prope busto

insatiabiliter deflevimus, aeternumque

nulla dies nobis maerorem e pectore demet.'

illud ab hoc igitur quaerendum est, quid sit amari

tanto opere, ad somnum si res redit atque quietem,

cur quisquam aeterno possit tabescere luctu.

iam iam non: now no longer

natus: boy child

oscula praeripere: to snatch away kisses

dulcedo dulcidinis (f.): sweetness

factis florentibus: litt `for flourishing deeds’ i.e. be successful

praesidium: protection

misero…tibi: and misere… ademit

adimo ademi ademptum: to take away

infestus: hostile

desiderium (+ gen.): yearning for

tibi: dative of interest

super (adv.):  more

una (adv.): with (you)

si videant animo dictisque sequantur: would perceive this with the mind and  follow this by words. i.e. speak about this.

dissolvent se: they would free themselves

(ex) animi angore:  from anguish of the mind

letum: death

sopio sopivi sopitum: put to sleep 

aevi quod superest: what is left of time

privatus (+ abl.):  be freed from

horrifico cinefactum te prope busto = prope te cinefactum horrifico busto

cinefactus: turned to ashes

bustum: funeral pyre

maeror maeroris (m.): sadness, grief

demo (de-emo) = ademo

ab hoc: the man holdi8ng the funeral speech

quaero quaesivi quaesitum: to ask

quid sit amari tanto opere: what of bitter is so great = why is there such bitterness

si res redit: if the case (of being dead) goes back to = if the case is bgought down to

tabesco tabui: to waste away

luctus luctus (m.): grief, sorrow

 

Mediaeval church at Fransum (Groningen province)

Translation by William Ellery Leonard  (1916)

  "Thee now no more

The joyful house and best of wives shall welcome,

Nor little sons run up to snatch their kisses

And touch with silent happiness thy heart.

Thou shalt not speed in undertakings more,

Nor be the warder of thine own no more.

Poor wretch," they say, "one hostile hour hath ta'en

Wretchedly from thee all life's many guerdons,"

But add not, "yet no longer unto thee

Remains a remnant of desire for them"

If this they only well perceived with mind

And followed up with maxims, they would free

Their state of man from anguish and from fear.

"O even as here thou art, aslumber in death,

So shalt thou slumber down the rest of time,

Released from every harrying pang. But we,

We have bewept thee with insatiate woe,

Standing beside whilst on the awful pyre

Thou wert made ashes; and no day shall take

For us the eternal sorrow from the breast."

But ask the mourner what's the bitterness

That man should waste in an eternal grief,

If, after all, the thing's but sleep and rest?

For when the soul and frame together are sunk

In slumber, no one then demands his self

Or being. Well, this sleep may be forever,

Without desire of any selfhood more,

For all it matters unto us asleep.