Titus Lucretius Carus “On the Nature of Things”, Book 4

1-25

I walk in the remote untrodden region
Of the Pierides, quite happy in reaching
The virgin sources, drinking there, and picking
New flowers for my signal coronation.
For never were the Muses known to adorn
With wreaths the temples of one from woman born;
First because I teach important things and strive
To drive superstition’s knots, intricate and timeworn,
Away from the mind; then because it’s on such
An obscure subject matter that I contrive
To grace my bright lines with a poetic touch.
This doesn’t seem to be without foundation though,
For when doctors try to give children the crude
Absinthe, in the first place they have the narrow
Rim of the cup with sweet, blond honey bestrewed,
So that the children’s green age can be baited
Up to the lips, while drinking the sour liquid
Of absinthe to the full. But the deception
Causes no harm and is on the contrary
The tonic which leads to a recovery;
Now - as this is a theory, whose perception
Mostly seems to be too severe for those who
Have not studied it, and which the crowds seem to
Shun – I’ve resolved to explain it to you in
A melodious Pierid carmen, as if to
Sprinkle it with the scented honey akin
To rhymes, in the case I could by chance get
Through to your soul and keep it in a net
Until you’ve taken hold, intellectually,
Of the things’ nature and its utility.

Avia Pieridum peragro loca nullius ante
trita solo. iuvat integros accedere fontis
atque haurire, iuvatque novos decerpere flores
insignemque meo capiti petere inde coronam,
unde prius nulli velarint tempora musae;
primum quod magnis doceo de rebus et artis
religionum animum nodis exsolvere pergo,
deinde quod obscura de re tam lucida pango
carmina musaeo contingens cuncta lepore.
id quoque enim non ab nulla ratione videtur;
nam vel uti pueris absinthia taetra medentes
cum dare conantur, prius oras pocula circum
contingunt mellis dulci flavoque liquore,
ut puerorum aetas inprovida ludificetur
labrorum tenus, interea perpotet amarum
absinthi laticem deceptaque non capiatur,
sed potius tali facto recreata valescat,
sic ego nunc, quoniam haec ratio plerumque videtur
tristior esse quibus non est tractata, retroque
volgus abhorret ab hac, volui tibi suaviloquenti
carmine Pierio rationem exponere nostram
et quasi musaeo dulci contingere melle;
si tibi forte animum tali ratione tenere
versibus in nostris possem, dum percipis omnem
naturam rerum ac persentis utilitatem.

26-44

And seeing that I have explained what the nature
Of the soul is, and by what substance it lives
Together with the body, and the motives
Which guide, after its departure,
Its return to the pristine first beginnings,
I’ll now show you that what strictly conforms to
This assertion are the effigies of things,
As we call them, which like membranes torn away
From the surface of the bodies keep flying to
And fro in the air, and spook us, coming
Near our mind while we are awake or sleeping;
Often appearing as weird figures and then
As lightless shadows that often awaken
Us with a start from a drowsy sleep, scaring
Us stiff; let us not think, therefore, that souls flee
From Acheron or that shadows keep on flying
In the midst of the living or that, maybe,
A part of us, after death, is left behind
When the body and the soul’s nature, combined,
Having been destroyed return to their first things.
I consequently say that the effigies,
That is the faint images of the bodies,
Proceed from the outer layer of such beings,
And according to what I’m going to tell you
The dullest minds will understand these facts, too.

Sed quoniam docui cunctarum exordia rerum
qualia sint et quam variis distantia formis
sponte sua volitent aeterno percita motu
quoque modo possit res ex his quaeque creari,
[nunc agere incipiam tibi quod vehementer ad has res
attinet esse ea quae rerum simulacra vocamus,
quae quasi membranae vel cortex nominitandast,]
atque animi quoniam docui natura quid esset
et quibus e rebus cum corpore compta vigeret
quove modo distracta rediret in ordia prima,
nunc agere incipiam tibi, quod vehementer ad has res
attinet esse ea quae rerum simulacra vocamus,
quod speciem ac formam similem gerit eius imago,
cuius cumque cluet de corpore fusa vagari;
quae quasi membranae summo de corpore rerum
dereptae volitant ultroque citroque per auras,
atque eadem nobis vigilantibus obvia mentes
terrificant atque in somnis, cum saepe figuras
contuimur miras simulacraque luce carentum,
quae nos horrifice languentis saepe sopore
excierunt ne forte animas Acherunte reamur
effugere aut umbras inter vivos volitare
neve aliquid nostri post mortem posse relinqui,
cum corpus simul atque animi natura perempta
in sua discessum dederint primordia quaeque.
dico igitur rerum effigias tenuisque figuras
mittier ab rebus summo de cortice eorum;
id licet hinc quamvis hebeti cognoscere corde.

45-53

But, as I have explained the first things’ nature
By now, and how, diverse in form and structure,
They keep flitting about quite spontaneously
Stirred by an eternal motion, as it were,
And how they can mould every single body,
I’ll now start showing you that those things tightly
Attached to these bodies, and by us defined
Effigies, are shaped with a sheath or a rind.
Though dissolved and roaming, these effigies
Preserve the same traits and forms of their species.

Sed quoniam docui cunctarum exordia rerum
qualia sint et quam variis distantia formis
sponte sua volitent aeterno percita motu
quoque modo possit res ex his quaeque creari,
[nunc agere incipiam tibi quod vehementer ad has res
attinet esse ea quae rerum simulacra vocamus,
quae quasi membranae vel cortex nominitandast,]
atque animi quoniam docui natura quid esset
et quibus e rebus cum corpore compta vigeret
quove modo distracta rediret in ordia prima,
nunc agere incipiam tibi, quod vehementer ad has res
attinet esse ea quae rerum simulacra vocamus,
quod speciem ac formam similem gerit eius imago,
cuius cumque cluet de corpore fusa vagari;

54-109

As, first and foremost, many manifest things
Emit bodies in part ground into thin air -
Like firewood with all its smoky outpourings
Or flames with heat – and gnarled and plaited, in part,
Like when cicadas, in the Summer’s full glare,
On occasion doff their polished coverings,
And when calves also, after their birth, depart
From the sheath covering their body’s surface,
And likewise when the slippery serpent thus
Loses its skin among the thorns. For often we
See in bushes a lace of their dangling slough;
For this to occur the faint glint of some stuff
Must be cast by the surface of a body.
As one shouldn’t wonder, with the mouth wide open,
Why it’s those feeble membranes which fall and fly
Off and not the others, especially when
On the bodies’ surface many first things lie
Which can be hurled up in the same order they
Had before, in the same arrangement also,
And much faster when nothing stands in the way.
They are small in numbers and in the first row.
For we surely see bodies throw and bestow
Many first things not only from deep inside,
As we explained before, but from the outside
Of their skin, and oft from their same colour, too.
And all this is what customarily do
The awnings, yellow, red and iron-grey, when,
Unfolded over vast theatres, on poles and beams,
Flap and wave, changing the colour of the men
In the seating sections, of the senators,
Of the matrons, of the stage, with their dyed streams.
And the narrower the enclosure the more
All the things inside show enchanted ardours,
Having soaked up the bright light of day before-
Hand. Therefore, since linen cloths can irradiate
Colours all the other bodies must filtrate
Dim effigies, too, for, in either event,
They are projected from the outside. And there
Are certain traces of forms out of fragment-
Ted threads which keep flitting about everywhere,
Nor are they to be seen in isolation,
One by one. Each smell, smoke, heat, in addition,
And other similar things also, issue
From the bodies pell-mell, for on the snaky
Progress from the depths of the bodies they split
And find no straight openings in order to
Force their way out. But when, on the contrary,
It’s the thin outer coloured sheath they emit
Nothing at all can tear it in pieces though,
Because it stands by right there in the first row.
Finally, all those effigies which appear
On mirrors, in the water, in crystal-clear
Bodies undoubtedly must - showing also
The same bodily characteristics - be
Made of the effigies sent successively.
Therefore, thin effigies of the forms occur
And akin to them, which though singularly
Not discernible under a backward shove,
Frequent and rather continuous, as it were,
Projects the vision of the image above
The mirrors’ surface. Hard to see then how they
Could mirror figures in any other way.

Principio quoniam mittunt in rebus apertis
corpora res multae, partim diffusa solute,
robora ceu fumum mittunt ignesque vaporem,
et partim contexta magis condensaque, ut olim
cum teretis ponunt tunicas aestate cicadae,
et vituli cum membranas de corpore summo
nascentes mittunt, et item cum lubrica serpens
exuit in spinis vestem; nam saepe videmus
illorum spoliis vepres volitantibus auctas.
quae quoniam fiunt, tenuis quoque debet imago
ab rebus mitti summo de corpore rerum.
nam cur illa cadant magis ab rebusque recedant
quam quae tenvia sunt, hiscendist nulla potestas;
praesertim cum sint in summis corpora rebus
multa minuta, iaci quae possint ordine eodem
quo fuerint et formai servare figuram,
et multo citius, quanto minus indupediri
pauca queunt et [quae] sunt prima fronte locata.
nam certe iacere ac largiri multa videmus,
non solum ex alto penitusque, ut diximus ante,
verum de summis ipsum quoque saepe colorem.
et volgo faciunt id lutea russaque vela
et ferrugina, cum magnis intenta theatris
per malos volgata trabesque trementia flutant;
namque ibi consessum caveai supter et omnem
scaenai speciem patrum matrumque deorsum
inficiunt coguntque suo fluitare colore.
et quanto circum mage sunt inclusa theatri
moenia, tam magis haec intus perfusa lepore
omnia conrident correpta luce diei.
ergo lintea de summo cum corpore fucum
mittunt, effigias quoque debent mittere tenvis
res quaeque, ex summo quoniam iaculantur utraque.
sunt igitur iam formarum vestigia certa,
quae volgo volitant subtili praedita filo
nec singillatim possunt secreta videri.
Praeterea omnis odor fumus vapor atque aliae res
consimiles ideo diffusae rebus abundant,
ex alto quia dum veniunt extrinsecus ortae
scinduntur per iter flexum, nec recta viarum
ostia sunt, qua contendant exire coortae.
at contra tenuis summi membrana coloris
cum iacitur, nihil est quod eam discerpere possit,
in promptu quoniam est in prima fronte locata.
Postremo speculis in aqua splendoreque in omni
quae cumque apparent nobis simulacra, necessest,
quandoquidem simili specie sunt praedita rerum,
exin imaginibus missis consistere eorum.
[nam cur illa cadant magis ab rebusque recedant
quam quae tenuia sunt, hiscendist nulla potestas.]
sunt igitur tenues formarum illis similesque
effigiae, singillatim quas cernere nemo
cum possit, tamen adsiduo crebroque repulsu
reiectae reddunt speculorum ex aequore visum,
nec ratione alia servari posse videntur,
tanto opere ut similes reddantur cuique figurae.

110-128

Come now and fathom an image’s flimsy
Nature. Especially as first things are so
Far below our senses and so much smaller
Than those seeds our eyes fail to see already;
Now, in order to make this point clear also,
Imagine, in a nutshell, the full picture
Of the smallness of all bodies of matter.
First of all, some animals are so little
That a third part of their figure can’t be spied
By any means. And what any internal
Organ of theirs is then comparable to?
And what about the heart’s globe or the round-eyed
Organs or the upper and lower limbs, too?
How small they are! What will the single first seeds
Be like, of which the soul’s mind and nature must needs
Consist? Don’t you see they are so thin and so
Minute? Besides, all plants which exhale pungent
Smells like panacea, or the astringent
Absinthe, the fetid abrotanum, the low-
Spirited centaurea, no matter which you
Accidentally triturate between two
Fingers …

* * *

And won’t you rather admit an effigy
May roam to and fro in multiple ways, too,
Quite powerless and without any savvy?

Nunc age, quam tenui natura constet imago
percipe. et in primis, quoniam primordia tantum
sunt infra nostros sensus tantoque minora
quam quae primum oculi coeptant non posse tueri,
nunc tamen id quoque uti confirmem, exordia rerum
cunctarum quam sint subtilia percipe paucis.
primum animalia sunt iam partim tantula, corum
tertia pars nulla possit ratione videri.
horum intestinum quodvis quale esse putandumst!
quid cordis globus aut oculi? quid membra? quid artus?
quantula sunt! quid praeterea primordia quaeque,
unde anima atque animi constet natura necessumst,
nonne vides quam sint subtilia quamque minuta?
praeterea quaecumque suo de corpore odorem
expirant acrem, panaces absinthia taetra
habrotonique graves et tristia centaurea,
quorum unum quidvis leviter si forte duobus

* * *

quin potius noscas rerum simulacra vagari
multa modis multis, nulla vi cassaque sensu?

129-142

But so that you may not accidentally
Think only those effigies roam which detach
Themselves from the bodies, I shall let you see
There are indeed others which start from scratch
And acquire consistency in that section
Of the sky called air and which, turned aplenty
Into different forms, move upwards, as we
Sometimes see the lazy cloudy formations
Which spoil the serene look of the universe
Daintily touch the breezes with their motions.
They are often like giants’ faces which traverse
The blue, casting shadows over expanses;
And at times we also see huge mountains, plus
The boulders dislodged from them, proceed before
The Sun. Then, there comes a kind of minotaur
Dragging and bringing in other storm clouds. Nor
Do they stop changing, and so their figure
Melts into forms of an assorted nature.

Sed ne forte putes ea demum sola vagari,
quae cumque ab rebus rerum simulacra recedunt,
sunt etiam quae sponte sua gignuntur et ipsa
constituuntur in hoc caelo, qui dicitur aer,
quae multis formata modis sublime feruntur,
ut nubes facile inter dum concrescere in alto
cernimus et mundi speciem violare serenam
aëra mulcentes motu; nam saepe Gigantum
ora volare videntur et umbram ducere late,
inter dum magni montes avolsaque saxa
montibus ante ire et solem succedere praeter,
inde alios trahere atque inducere belua nimbos.
nec speciem mutare suam liquentia cessant
et cuiusque modi formarum vertere in oras.

143-175

Now, how fast and freely do these effigies
Originate and then continuously squeeze
Their flowing way well away from their bodies.
……………………………………………………………………….

Always, for certain, anything which lies on
Top of the bodies overflows, ready to
Be ejected, and when its destination
Is another body, it firstly gets through
Glass, but once it reaches hard rocks or wooden
Materials it’s torn asunder there and then,
Unable to send back an effigy. When
It bumps into thick, bright bodies though,
Such as a mirror, nothing’s going to happen;
For it can neither go through them as through
Glass nor, on the other hand, can it well split:
Its very smoothness is programmed to give it
Safety. Therefore the effigies happen to
Be reflected to us from there. And then, no
Matter how unexpectedly and where you
May place something in front of a mirror, there
Appears its likeness, in order that you know
How, from the outside, there’s a continuous flow
Of flimsy effigies of things, as it were.
Many effigies originate in no
Time, therefore, and celerity is their right
Designation. And as the Sun must cast quite
A slew of beams in brief intervals also,
So that every space may continuously be
Filled up, it’s similarly necessary
For many effigies in mixed ways to flow,
Immediately, from each direction; For no
Matter what things we turn towards the mirror,
It reflects things of the same form and colour.
Besides, the aspect of the sky, which was clear
Just now, at once turns exceedingly ugly,
Making you think a marching obscurity
Had left Acheron only to appear
In the cyclopean caverns of the sky:
To such a point, in the dark night riddled by
Rain clouds, large looms the hideous face of fear,
And no one can say in what small part and why
Those effigies create that scene in the sky.

Nunc ea quam facili et celeri ratione genantur
perpetuoque fluant ab rebus lapsaque cedant

……………………………………………..

semper enim summum quicquid de rebus abundat,
quod iaculentur. et hoc alias cum pervenit in res,
transit, ut in primis vestem; sed ubi aspera saxa
aut in materiam ligni pervenit, ibi iam
scinditur, ut nullum simulacrum reddere possit.
at cum splendida quae constant opposta fuerunt
densaque, ut in primis speculum est, nihil accidit horum;
nam neque, uti vestem, possunt transire, neque autem
scindi; quam meminit levor praestare salutem.
qua propter fit ut hinc nobis simulacra redundent.
et quamvis subito quovis in tempore quamque
rem contra speculum ponas, apparet imago;
perpetuo fluere ut noscas e corpore summo
texturas rerum tenuis tenuisque figuras.
ergo multa brevi spatio simulacra genuntur,
ut merito celer his rebus dicatur origo.
et quasi multa brevi spatio summittere debet
lumina sol, ut perpetuo sint omnia plena,
sic ab rebus item simili ratione necessest
temporis in puncto rerum simulacra ferantur
multa modis multis in cunctas undique partis;
quandoquidem speculum quo cumque obvertimus oris,
res ibi respondent simili forma atque colore.

Praeterea modo cum fuerit liquidissima caeli
tempestas, perquam subito fit turbida foede,
undique uti tenebras omnis Acherunta rearis
liquisse et magnas caeli complesse cavernas.
usque adeo taetra nimborum nocte coorta
inpendent atrae Formidinis ora superne;
quorum quantula pars sit imago dicere nemost
qui possit neque eam rationem reddere dictis.

176-215

Well now, how rapid the effigies’ motion
Is, and how swiftly they plough through the air to
Arrive at the place of their common venue,
Each with a particular motivation,
Covering a long distance in a short time, too,
I’ll make clear with lines sweet rather than copious;
For the swan’s brief song surpasses the crane’s
Rattling call, lost in the ethereal breezes
Of the South wind. First of all, one ascertains,
And quite often, too, how light things - of puny
Bodies made - are fast, and the light of the Sun
And its vapour, are likewise made of very tiny
Bodies of matter which, as it were, strike one
Another and never stop going through the gaps in
The air, spurred by the next blow; the light therein
Is furnished by another light right away
And each beam is driven, in succession,
By another beam, and that is the reason
Why effigies are, it is needless to say,
Able to cover a distance beyond words in no
Time, firstly as, being gently pushed a long way
From behind, they are driven forward and, after
All, they move on with winged levity also,
Because they are released with a texture so
Thin as to be able to easily pierce any
Thing and almost flow through the gaps in the air.
Besides, if the first things inside a body
Rise from the bottom and bring up from down there
The light and heat of the Sun, and one can see
Them spread all over the regions of the sky,
Ploughing over the breezy expanses and fly
Over the sea and the earthly domains, in a jiffy,
What is the speed of those in the foremost row
When nothing hinders their thrust after the throw?
Don’t you see they have to travel faster and farther
And cover a stretch of space many times as large
At the same time in which the sunbeams scatter
Across the sky? Besides this is, above all,
The true evidence of the high-speed discharge
Of effigies; for whenever a bright river
Lies under a starry sky, gleaming beams fall
In, at once reflected by the water.
Don’t you see how an ethereal effigy
Cascades over the earth instantaneously?

Nunc age, quam celeri motu simulacra ferantur,
et quae mobilitas ollis tranantibus auras
reddita sit, longo spatio ut brevis hora teratur,
in quem quaeque locum diverso numine tendunt,
suavidicis potius quam multis versibus edam;
parvus ut est cycni melior canor, ille gruum quam
clamor in aetheriis dispersus nubibus austri.

Principio persaepe levis res atque minutis
corporibus factas celeris licet esse videre.
in quo iam genere est solis lux et vapor eius,
propterea quia sunt e primis facta minutis,
quae quasi cuduntur perque aëris intervallum
non dubitant transire sequenti concita plaga;
suppeditatur enim confestim lumine lumen
et quasi protelo stimulatur fulgere fulgur.
qua propter simulacra pari ratione necessest
inmemorabile per spatium transcurrere posse
temporis in puncto, primum quod parvola causa
est procul a tergo quae provehat atque propellat,
quod super est, ubi tam volucri levitate ferantur,
deinde quod usque adeo textura praedita rara
mittuntur, facile ut quasvis penetrare queant res
et quasi permanare per aëris intervallum.

Praeterea si quae penitus corpuscula rerum
ex altoque foras mittuntur, solis uti lux
ac vapor, haec puncto cernuntur lapsa diei
per totum caeli spatium diffundere sese
perque volare mare ac terras caelumque rigare.
quid quae sunt igitur iam prima fronte parata,
cum iaciuntur et emissum res nulla moratur?
quone vides citius debere et longius ire
multiplexque loci spatium transcurrere eodem
tempore quo solis pervolgant lumina caelum?

Hoc etiam in primis specimen verum esse videtur,
quam celeri motu rerum simulacra ferantur,
quod simul ac primum sub diu splendor aquai
ponitur, extemplo caelo stellante serena
sidera respondent in aqua radiantia mundi.
iamne vides igitur quam puncto tempore imago
aetheris ex oris in terrarum accidat oras?

216-238

Even more, you must then own that with comely
………………………………………………………………………………

Bodies that strike the eyes and excite vision.
From certain things odours flow continuously,
Like coolness from rivers, heat from the Sun, and
Humid vapours from the billows of the sea
Which undermine the walls built along a strand,
Nor do varied voices stop flying in the breeze,
And a moist sour taste invades our mouth, lastly,
When we walk by the sea. On the contrary,
Whenever we do behold somebody tease
An absinthe infusion, we feel a bitter sting.
In this fashion from all things each single thing
Flows and goes from each part to each direction
With no remission or procrastination
In its efflux, because we continuously
Feel and are also always allowed to see
That all things emit smells and sounds.
Besides, as a certain shape touched with the hands
In the dark or seen instead in broad daylight
Is the same, one naturally understands
How both touch and smell have a corresponding
Cause. Consequently, if we touch a square thing
Which feels like a square in the dark what other
Square thing could in broad daylight be appearing
Before us but its own image, as it were?
The cause of vision is obviously due to
Effigies without which it can’t happen, too.

quare etiam atque etiam mitti fateare necessest
………………………………………………………………………….
corpora quae feriant oculos visumque lacessant.
perpetuoque fluunt certis ab rebus odores,
frigus ut a fluviis, calor ab sole, aestus ab undis
aequoris, exesor moerorum litora circum,
nec variae cessant voces volitare per auras.
denique in os salsi venit umor saepe saporis,
cum mare versamur propter, dilutaque contra
cum tuimur misceri absinthia, tangit amaror.
usque adeo omnibus ab rebus res quaeque fluenter
fertur et in cunctas dimittitur undique partis
nec mora nec requies interdatur ulla fluendi,
perpetuo quoniam sentimus et omnia semper
cernere odorari licet et sentire sonare.

Praeterea quoniam manibus tractata figura
in tenebris quaedam cognoscitur esse eadem quae
cernitur in luce et claro candore, necessest
consimili causa tactum visumque moveri.
nunc igitur si quadratum temptamus et id nos
commovet in tenebris, in luci quae poterit res
accidere ad speciem quadrata, nisi eius imago?
esse in imaginibus qua propter causa videtur
cernundi neque posse sine his res ulla videri.

239-268

Now then, such body effigies I’m talking
About wander from all sides to be blown
And spread round to all parts. Yet, as we’re only
Able to see with our eyes, once we’re looking
Around, as it happens, we are overthrown
By the vision of the forms and colours of each
Thing; and how far away it may be from us
Its effigy enables us to tell which
Is the one and which the other instead. Thus
Once it is dispatched, it thrusts forward with no
Delay and puts in motion all the air flow
Between itself and our eyes; in this manner
All of it slips through our eyes as a blotter
For our pupils, so to speak, and then moves on.
And therefore we can perceive how far away
Each thing lies from us; and the more air is drawn
And the longer a breeze wipes dry our vision
The farther away every thing seems to stay
But one must of course be aware the display
Of all these things is extremely fast, so much
So that we see together the thing as such,
And how far it really lies. And considering
All these things, we marvel at a well-known
Fact: why is it that the effigies striking
Our eyes can’t be seen while distinctly shown
Are the things themselves? In fact when the gale
Slowly lashes us in the bitter cold we
Rarely feel each snippet of the windy, cold flail,
But rather all of them, and similarly
We feel blows on our body as if something
Whipped us with a kind of sensation coming
From without. We touch, on fingering a stone,
Just its surface and outer colour tone,
Which we can’t feel though: what we feel is akin
To the hardness of the stone core lying within.

Nunc ea quae dico rerum simulacra feruntur
undique et in cunctas iaciuntur didita partis;
verum nos oculis quia solis cernere quimus,
propterea fit uti, speciem quo vertimus, omnes
res ibi eam contra feriant forma atque colore.
et quantum quaeque ab nobis res absit, imago
efficit ut videamus et internoscere curat;
nam cum mittitur, extemplo protrudit agitque
aëra qui inter se cumque est oculosque locatus,
isque ita per nostras acies perlabitur omnis
et quasi perterget pupillas atque ita transit.
propterea fit uti videamus quam procul absit
res quaeque. et quanto plus aëris ante agitatur
et nostros oculos perterget longior aura,
tam procul esse magis res quaeque remota videtur.
scilicet haec summe celeri ratione geruntur,
quale sit ut videamus, et una quam procul absit.

Illud in his rebus minime mirabile habendumst,
cur, ea quae feriant oculos simulacra videri
singula cum nequeant, res ipsae perspiciantur.
ventus enim quoque paulatim cum verberat et cum
acre fluit frigus, non privam quamque solemus
particulam venti sentire et frigoris eius,
sed magis unorsum, fierique perinde videmus
corpore tum plagas in nostro tam quam aliquae res
verberet atque sui det sensum corporis extra.
praeterea lapidem digito cum tundimus, ipsum
tangimus extremum saxi summumque colorem
nec sentimus eum tactu, verum magis ipsam
duritiem penitus saxi sentimus in alto.

269-299

Now therefore, do learn why an image can be
Seen beyond a looking-glass, for certainly
It appears far within. That is likewise true
For things that from the outside come into sight
Through a gaping house door which permits us to
Perceive many things externally. Also
This sight takes place by means of a bipartite
Air flow. Firstly one sees the air on this side
Of the posts, next the airy intermezzo
Of the same posts on the left and on the right,
Then the eyes are wiped dry by the light outside,
And by another light; lastly one goes on
Watching the things beyond, within one’s vision.
So as soon as the image of the looking-
Glass projects itself, reaching our eyes, it
Thrusts forward and drives all the air lingering
Between it and our eyes, and therefore makes it
Possible for us to see all this air before the looking-
Glass. But when we have seen the looking-glass, too,
At once the effigy which goes from us to
It is reflected to our own eyes sending
And pushing ahead more air and enabling
Us to see it before itself. That is why
Effigies so far remote appear to lie
From mirrors. Why should that be so amazing?
……………………………………………………………………….

Those which reflect things from a mirror’s surface
Are in either case caused by the twin progress
Of an air flow. The body part on the right
Now finds itself on the left of the looking-
Glass, for the reason that the image on reaching
The plate hits it, doesn’t turn around, stops outright
And returns in a perpendicular way,
As if before the drying of a mask of clay
One crushed it against a beam or a pillar
And it maintained a straight spearheaded figure
With its back looking as crushed as a frappe.

Nunc age, cur ultra speculum videatur imago
percipe: nam certe penitus remmota videtur.
quod genus illa foris quae vere transpiciuntur,
ianua cum per se transpectum praebet apertum,
multa facitque foris ex aedibus ut videantur;
is quoque enim duplici geminoque fit aëre visus.
primus enim citra postes tum cernitur aër,
inde fores ipsae dextra laevaque secuntur,
post extraria lux oculos perterget et aër
alter, et illa foris quae vere transpiciuntur.
sic ubi se primum speculi proiecit imago,
dum venit ad nostras acies, protrudit agitque
aëra qui inter se cumquest oculosque locatus,
et facit, ut prius hunc omnem sentire queamus
quam speculum; sed ubi [in] speculum quoque sensimus ipsum,
continuo a nobis in eum quae fertur imago
pervenit, et nostros oculos reiecta revisit
atque alium prae se propellens aëra volvit,
et facit ut prius hunc quam se videamus, eoque
distare ab speculo tantum semota videtur.
quare etiam atque etiam minime mirarier est par
illis quae reddunt speculorum ex aequore visum,
aëribus binis quoniam res confit utraque.

Nunc ea quae nobis membrorum dextera pars est,
in speculis fit ut in laeva videatur eo quod
planitiem ad speculi veniens cum offendit imago,
non convertitur incolumis, sed recta retrorsum
sic eliditur, ut siquis, prius arida quam sit
cretea persona, adlidat pilaeve trabive,
atque ea continuo rectam si fronte figuram
servet et elisam retro sese exprimat ipsa.

300-323

As a result the eye that was on the right
Before will be on the left and the left eye
Will be on the right in turn. It will come to
Pass that an image’s self-reflecting flight
From looking-glass to looking-glass will thereby
Generate five or six counterparts, too.
For all the things which lie hidden at the rear,
In the innermost part of a house, even
Though most intricately placed far within, will then
Through tortuous pathways nevertheless appear
Via many mirrors. To such a degree
An image is reflected from mirror to
Mirror and when a left hand protrudes it
Happens to become, on the contrary,
A right hand, which again manages to flit
Backwards and be reflected, too, from there
To the same place. And indeed all the little sides
Of a mirror, as incurved as our own sides,
Send back the right hand effigies, as it were,
In a proper way; so an image will pass
Either from looking-glass onto looking-glass
And from there will fly to us twice pushed out or
As an image also arriving before
The looking-glass aptly bouncing around us.
You might then believe that effigies would go
And set foot along with us, mimicking thus
Our own gestures. Because, from whichever side
Of a looking-glass you may walk away, no
More reflections could effigies be sending:
Nature calls for reflections in every thing.

fiet ut, ante oculus fuerit qui dexter, ut idem
nunc sit laevus et e laevo sit mutua dexter.

Fit quoque de speculo in speculum ut tradatur imago,
quinque etiam [aut] sex ut fieri simulacra suërint.
nam quae cumque retro parte interiore latebunt,
inde tamen, quamvis torte penitusque remota,
omnia per flexos aditus educta licebit
pluribus haec speculis videantur in aedibus esse.
usque adeo speculo in speculum translucet imago,
et cum laeva data est, fit rusum ut dextera fiat,
inde retro rursum redit et convertit eodem.

Quin etiam quae cumque latuscula sunt speculorum
adsimili lateris flexura praedita nostri,
dextera ea propter nobis simulacra remittunt,
aut quia de speculo in speculum transfertur imago,
inde ad nos elisa bis advolat, aut etiam quod
circum agitur, cum venit, imago propterea quod
flexa figura docet speculi convertier ad nos.

Indugredi porro pariter simulacra pedemque
ponere nobiscum credas gestumque imitari
propterea quia, de speculi qua parte recedas,
continuo nequeunt illinc simulacra reverti;
omnia quandoquidem cogit natura referri
ac resilire ab rebus ad aequos reddita flexus.

324-336

Besides, our eyes usually avoid, namely shun,
Dazzling things. If you to try to gaze at the Sun
It will even blind you, as great is its might,
And its effigies, from high above, heavily
Fall through the pure air and hurt the eyes, breaking
Up their structure. Furthermore any sharp light
Often burns the eyes as it contains plenty
Of fiery first things which by penetrating
Into the eyes hurt them. Besides, anything
Jaundiced people gaze at becomes yellowish,
As many of the first beginnings flow to
The things’ effigies and many yellowing
First things, so many of them, at last squish
Within their eyes with an infectious wan hue.

Splendida porro oculi fugitant vitantque tueri.
sol etiam caecat, contra si tendere pergas,
propterea quia vis magnast ipsius et alte
aëra per purum simulacra feruntur
et feriunt oculos turbantia composituras.

Praeterea splendor qui cumque est acer adurit
saepe oculos ideo quod semina possidet ignis
multa, dolorem oculis quae gignunt insinuando.
lurida praeterea fiunt quae cumque tuentur
arquati, quia luroris de corpore eorum
semina multa fluunt simulacris obvia rerum,
multaque sunt oculis in eorum denique mixta,
quae contage sua palloribus omnia pingunt.

337-352

Out of the darkness we can see things in the light,
As when the caliginous near air first
Finds its way into our open eyes and takes care
Of them, there follows, right behind, an airburst
Radiant and bright which purifies and dispels,
So to speak, the gloomy shadows of that air,
Which being made up of innumerable cells
Is therefore faster, thinner and stronger, too.
And once it has filled up the ocular route
With light, clearing the spots that air as black as soot
Was obstructing, instantly come into view
The effigies of things in broad daylight, so
That sight is possible. On the contrary
We can’t compel the light of day to follow
Darkness, for the caliginous, denser air
Comes behind filling up all the openings
And obstructs the eye routes existing there,
Which thwart the cast effigies of all things.

E tenebris autem quae sunt in luce tuemur
propterea quia, cum propior caliginis aër
ater init oculos prior et possedit apertos,
insequitur candens confestim lucidus aër,
qui quasi purgat eos ac nigras discutit umbras
aëris illius; nam multis partibus hic est
mobilior multisque minutior et mage pollens.
qui simul atque vias oculorum luce replevit
atque pate fecit, quas ante obsederat aër
, continuo rerum simulacra secuntur,
quae sita sunt in luce, lacessuntque ut videamus.
quod contra facere in tenebris e luce nequimus
propterea quia posterior caliginis aër
crassior insequitur, qui cuncta foramina complet
obsiditque vias oculorum, ne simulacra
possint ullarum rerum coniecta moveri.

353-363

It often happens that when from afar we
Catch sight of the square towers of a city,
They often seem round to us as every
Angle, from a long way off, appears to be
Obtuse or quite indistinct, too; and its blow
Abates, nor can its thrust glide along as far
As our eyes, for those airborne effigies go
Across ample stretches of air whose strikes are
Able to wear it out. Stone buildings look as though
A turner had shaped them and simultaneously
Every angle escapes our senses, but not really
Like the real round towers which look like pseudo
Ones to us and a bit warped and shadowy.

Quadratasque procul turris cum cernimus urbis,
propterea fit uti videantur saepe rutundae,
angulus optusus quia longe cernitur omnis
sive etiam potius non cernitur ac perit eius
plaga nec ad nostras acies perlabitur ictus,
aëra per multum quia dum simulacra feruntur,
cogit hebescere eum crebris offensibus aër.
hoc ubi suffugit sensum simul angulus omnis.
fit quasi ut ad turnum saxorum structa tuantur;
non tamen ut coram quae sunt vereque rutunda,
sed quasi adumbratim paulum simulata videntur.

364-378

Similarly, it seems to us, a shadow
In the Sun moves along following our steps
and mimicking our gestures, provided though
You think the lightless air walks and intercepts
Men’s gestures and motions. It’s but air, you know,
Devoid of light, we’re wont to call a shadow.
No wonder! As the ground, wherever we go,
Receives no sunlight, at various successive
Stages when we’re in the way, and when we leave
It gets illuminated again. Therefore
It seems that what only a moment before
Was the shadow of a body, the selfsame
Has continuously run after us. Ever
New sunbeams pour out, and the first slaughter
Themselves like wool spun on an open flame.
And that’s why the Earth easily sheds its light
To put on, likewise, the black colour of night.

Umbra videtur item nobis in sole moveri
et vestigia nostra sequi gestumque imitari,
aëra si credis privatum lumine posse
indugredi, motus hominum gestumque sequentem;
nam nihil esse potest aliud nisi lumine cassus
aër id quod nos umbram perhibere suëmus.
ni mirum, quia terra locis ex ordine certis
lumine privatur solis qua cumque meantes
officimus, repletur item quod liquimus eius,
propterea fit uti videatur, quae fuit umbra
corporis, e regione eadem nos usque secuta.
semper enim nova se radiorum lumina fundunt
primaque dispereunt, quasi in ignem lana trahatur.
propterea facile et spoliatur lumine terra
et repletur item nigrasque sibi abluit umbras.

379-386

Here however we don’t allow our eyes
To be misled, for it’s no task of theirs to
Pay attention to where the light lies,
And the shadow as well, but whether it’s true
That the light is exactly the same or not,
And whether the very shadow which was here
Has just now moved across to another spot,
Or what I said before would just as soon not
Come to pass. All this will really be made clear
By our sound mind; nor can the nature of things
Be perceived by our eyes. Reason’s shortcomings
Are never to be imputed to the seer.

Nec tamen hic oculos falli concedimus hilum.
nam quo cumque loco sit lux atque umbra tueri
illorum est; eadem vero sint lumina necne,
umbraque quae fuit hic eadem nunc transeat illuc,
an potius fiat paulo quod diximus ante,
hoc animi demum ratio discernere debet,
nec possunt oculi naturam noscere rerum.
proinde animi vitium hoc oculis adfingere noli.

387-396

The ship which carries us moves but seems to be
Stationary, the one which is fixed firmly
Seems to pass by instead. And, in the same way,
Astern seem to slip hills and plains past which we
Push the ship and under full sail fly away.
Immoveable and affixed apparently
To the sky’s caves, all the stars continuously
Move around and after rising see again
The distant sunsets having, with their bright body,
Ridden across the whole planetary pen.
Both the sun and the moon, which visibly prove
To be standing still, instead are on the move.

Qua vehimur navi, fertur, cum stare videtur;
quae manet in statione, ea praeter creditur ire.
et fugere ad puppim colles campique videntur,
quos agimus praeter navem velisque volamus.

Sidera cessare aetheriis adfixa cavernis
cuncta videntur, et adsiduo sunt omnia motu,
quandoquidem longos obitus exorta revisunt,
cum permensa suo sunt caelum corpore claro.
solque pari ratione manere et luna videtur
in statione, ea quae ferri res indicat ipsa.

397-413

Mountains springing from amid a far-off sea,
Between which a spacious strait allows the free
Passage of marine fleets, so it comes to pass
That they appear as a single island mass.
That is what happens when children stop reeling
Around and halls and columns keep turning
Around themselves, so that they can almost sense
The house falling on them as a consequence.
And lo! When Nature begins to raise the Sun’s
crimson radiance with its tremulous beacons
above the mountains, it seems the heavenly
body looms over them with its smouldering fire,
At a distance to cover which would require
Scarcely two thousand arrow-shots or even
About five hundred throws of a javelin.
From them to the Sun, immense sea stretches
Lie beneath the sky’s massive arches,
And in between extend thousands of regions
Peopled by humans and beasts by the dozens.

Exstantisque procul medio de gurgite montis
classibus inter quos liber patet exitus ingens,
insula coniunctis tamen ex his una videtur.
atria versari et circum cursare columnae
usque adeo fit uti pueris videantur, ubi ipsi
desierunt verti, vix ut iam credere possint
non supra sese ruere omnia tecta minari.

Iamque rubrum tremulis iubar ignibus erigere alte
cum coeptat natura supraque extollere montes,
quos tibi tum supra sol montis esse videtur
comminus ipse suo contingens fervidus igni,
vix absunt nobis missus bis mille sagittae,
vix etiam cursus quingentos saepe veruti;
inter eos solemque iacent immania ponti
aequora substrata aetheriis ingentibus oris,
interiectaque sunt terrarum milia multa,
quae variae retinent gentes et saecla ferarum.

414-419

But a puddle, not deeper than a finger’s
Length, between the blocks of a street offers
As fathomless a subterranean view
As the soaring sky’s expanse which opens to
The earth, and so much so that you seem to see
The sky and the clouds down there and bodies, too,
hidden under the ground most amazingly.

At coniectus aquae digitum non altior unum,
qui lapides inter sistit per strata viarum,
despectum praebet sub terras inpete tanto,
a terris quantum caeli patet altus hiatus,
nubila despicere et caelum ut videare videre,
corpora mirande sub terras abdita caelo.

420-425

If a highly spirited horse finally
Stops right in the middle of a river and we
Look down on the fierce waves below us, it seems
That the current carries away transversely
The body of the horse against the mainstream’s
Rush, and wherever we look all seem to go
In like manner and in like manner to flow.

Denique ubi in medio nobis ecus acer obhaesit
flumine et in rapidas amnis despeximus undas,
stantis equi corpus transversum ferre videtur
vis et in adversum flumen contrudere raptim,
et quo cumque oculos traiecimus omnia ferri
et fluere adsimili nobis ratione videntur.

426-431

At last, a portico although constructed
Symmetrically and although underpropped
By equal columns, with no interruption,
Looks like the narrow top of a cone. If we
Keep observing it from one extremity,
It joins roof, floor, every right-hand side section
To the section on the left attaining to
An indistinctly pointed conical view.

Porticus aequali quamvis est denique ductu
stansque in perpetuum paribus suffulta columnis,
longa tamen parte ab summa cum tota videtur,
paulatim trahit angusti fastigia coni,
tecta solo iungens atque omnia dextera laevis
donec in obscurum coni conduxit acumen.

432-442

It happens that to mariners on the sea
The Sun seems to rise from the waves and set there,
Hiding its brilliancy; for everywhere
The sky and water is just all they can see,
And regardless of this you should not futilely
Believe that senses waver on every side.
Instead, those who have no experience at sea
Seem to be convinced that the vessels which ride
On the port waves look warped, with the apluster
All broken up. To be sure the oar section
Above the sea waves is straight, and the rudder
Also; but the immersed parts, by reflection,
Come instead into view horizontally,
Almost caressing the surface of the sea.

In pelago nautis ex undis ortus in undis
sol fit uti videatur obire et condere lumen;
quippe ubi nil aliud nisi aquam caelumque tuentur;
ne leviter credas labefactari undique sensus.
at maris ignaris in portu clauda videntur
navigia aplustris fractis obnitier undis.
nam quae cumque supra rorem salis edita pars est
remorum, recta est, et recta superne guberna;
quae demersa liquore obeunt, refracta videntur
omnia converti sursumque supina reverti
et reflexa prope in summo fluitare liquore.

443-446

And whenever winds convey unravelled clouds through
The nocturnal sky, shining stars appear to
Glide by nimbi at a great elevation
And on a course far from their real direction.

Raraque per caelum cum venti nubila portant
tempore nocturno, tum splendida signa videntur
labier adversum nimbos atque ire superne
longe aliam in partem ac vera ratione feruntur

447-452

If a hand placed on an eye, by accident,
Presses it, it happens that by a certain
Sensation all things we behold become twain:
The flames of the oil lamps bifold luminescent,
Bifold the household furniture and again
Bifold the frame and countenance of men.

At si forte oculo manus uni subdita supter
pressit eum, quodam sensu fit uti videantur
omnia quae tuimur fieri tum bina tuendo,
bina lucernarum florentia lumina flammis
binaque per totas aedis geminare supellex
et duplicis hominum facies et corpora bina.

453-461

And at last when sleeps drowns our limbs in its sweetest
Torpor and the body lies in the deepest
Quietude, we seem to be awake and move, too,
Our limbs, seeing, we think, the Sun and the daylight
In the caliginous blindness of the night;
And even in an enclosed space we seem to
See the sky, the sea, rivers, mountains and go
Across fields and perceive sounds in the thorough
Night’s silence with mute verbal exchanges, too.

Denique cum suavi devinxit membra sopore
somnus et in summa corpus iacet omne quiete,
tum vigilare tamen nobis et membra movere
nostra videmur, et in noctis caligine caeca
cernere censemus solem lumenque diurnum,
conclusoque loco caelum mare flumina montis
mutare et campos pedibus transire videmur,
et sonitus audire, severa silentia noctis
undique cum constent, et reddere dicta tacentes.

462-468

We see many such wondrous things, as it were,
And all try to shake our faith in the senses,
But in vain, for most of them lead to error
On account of the opinions of the mind
We ourselves throw in, so that things the senses
Have never seen before are instead consigned
To our visual perception. For nothing
Is certainly more difficult than telling
Open things from those concocted in the mind
And which the mind is continuously adding.

Cetera de genere hoc mirande multa videmus,
quae violare fidem quasi sensibus omnia quaerunt,
ne quiquam, quoniam pars horum maxima fallit
propter opinatus animi, quos addimus ipsi,
pro visis ut sint quae non sunt sensibus visa;
nam nihil aegrius est quam res secernere apertas
ab dubiis, animus quas ab se protinus addit.

469-521

Lastly, if one maintains nothing can be known,
An utterance of which he, ready to own
His lack of knowledge, can’t at all be certain,
I won’t therefore be arguing with him again,
As he uses his feet in place of his head;
And yet in order to let him know this, too,
I’ll ask him – for he experienced nothing true
Beforehand – what knowledge is and what instead
The absence of it, and what occurrence led
Him to separate doubt from certainty.
You’ll find his idea of what is true firstly
Created from his senses whose evidence
Can’t be refuted. For something certainly
More capable to overcome fraudulence
must be truly found, per se. And what then must
Be considered more certain than sense? May
Be reason, issuing from senses which are biased;
Or perhaps the ears might blame the eyes and, say,
Touch might arraign the ears. Or will, in sequence,
Taste’s sense betray the touch, or will the nostrils
Confute it, or will the eyes belie it? That’s not
The case, I think. For a certain force settles
In every sense, on its own, and therefore what
Is soft or cold or hot is severally
To be perceived, and also, separately,
Things in all the hues a palette can allot,
And all that has a colour-like connection.
The sense of taste, too, has a distinct function,
Like smells and sounds which are produced distinctly.
There cannot be a mutual confutation
Of the senses nor indeed can they singly
Confute themselves as they’re to be relied on
For good. What has appeared to them at any
Time is thus true. And if reason can’t say why
Things which seemed to be square when they stood close by,
Look round from a distance, it’s notwithstanding
Better – when a proven argument’s lacking –
To render an erroneous explanation
Rather than let what is evident slip through
The fingers in every direction,
Betraying the first trust and the foundation, too,
On which are established life and salvation.
For it wouldn’t only be reason to collapse
But life itself to fall with violence if you
Didn’t dare to put confidence in the senses
And stay away from the precipitous traps
Of all kinds and seek their contrary courses.
So you have no use for all that wordy pile
Ready and mustered up against the senses.
As in building - when from the very beginning
The ruler is somewhat inaccurate while
A fallacious stonemason’s square is edging
Off the right place and the level is limping
A little off the sides here and there – it’s really
Inevitable that the whole house will be
Built in a faulty way, misshapen and bent
Downwards or upwards and unharmonious, too,
So that certain parts look like they were intent
Upon falling down and going to ruin, due to
The errors of the original measurement:
All reasonings should likewise warped and false be
If stemming from sensations of fallacy.

Denique nil sciri siquis putat, id quoque nescit
an sciri possit, quoniam nil scire fatetur.
hunc igitur contra minuam contendere causam,
qui capite ipse suo in statuit vestigia sese.
et tamen hoc quoque uti concedam scire, at id ipsum
quaeram, cum in rebus veri nil viderit ante,
unde sciat quid sit scire et nescire vicissim,
notitiam veri quae res falsique crearit
et dubium certo quae res differre probarit.
invenies primis ab sensibus esse creatam
notitiem veri neque sensus posse refelli.
nam maiore fide debet reperirier illud,
sponte sua veris quod possit vincere falsa.
quid maiore fide porro quam sensus haberi
debet? an ab sensu falso ratio orta valebit
dicere eos contra, quae tota ab sensibus orta est?
qui nisi sunt veri, ratio quoque falsa fit omnis.
An poterunt oculos aures reprehendere, an aures
tactus? an hunc porro tactum sapor arguet oris,
an confutabunt nares oculive revincent?
non, ut opinor, ita est. nam seorsum cuique potestas
divisast, sua vis cuiquest, ideoque necesse est
et quod molle sit et gelidum fervensve videre
et seorsum varios rerum sentire colores
et quae cumque coloribus sint coniuncta necessest.
seorsus item sapor oris habet vim, seorsus odores
nascuntur, seorsum sonitus. ideoque necesse est
non possint alios alii convincere sensus.
nec porro poterunt ipsi reprehendere sese,
aequa fides quoniam debebit semper haberi.
proinde quod in quoquest his visum tempore, verumst.
Et si non poterit ratio dissolvere causam,
cur ea quae fuerint iuxtim quadrata, procul sint
visa rutunda, tamen praestat rationis egentem
reddere mendose causas utriusque figurae,
quam manibus manifesta suis emittere quoquam
et violare fidem primam et convellere tota
fundamenta quibus nixatur vita salusque.
non modo enim ratio ruat omnis, vita quoque ipsa
concidat extemplo, nisi credere sensibus ausis
praecipitisque locos vitare et cetera quae sint
in genere hoc fugienda, sequi contraria quae sint.
illa tibi est igitur verborum copia cassa
omnis, quae contra sensus instructa paratast.
Denique ut in fabrica, si pravast regula prima,
normaque si fallax rectis regionibus exit,
et libella aliqua si ex parti claudicat hilum,
omnia mendose fieri atque obstipa necessu est
prava cubantia prona supina atque absona tecta,
iam ruere ut quaedam videantur velle, ruantque
prodita iudiciis fallacibus omnia primis,
sic igitur ratio tibi rerum prava necessest
falsaque sit, falsis quae cumque ab sensibus ortast.

522-548

Now how the other senses feel each its own
Thing is a question which has been left behind,
And not at all hard: sounds and voices combined,
Force their way into the ears, each with its tone
Whose corporeity is sense-affecting. One
Must indeed acknowledge that the action
Of sound and voice is corporal because
It manages to strike the senses and then
Frequently scratches the throat and also draws
A cry which irritates the windpipe just when
The voice’s first things having been pushed in great
Bulk upwards start coming out through the throat’s strait,
And having filled up the margins, the door, too,
Gets scratched, of course. No doubt, then, voices and words
Are made of corporal first things able to
Cause damage. And, likewise, let not get past you
The quantity of man’s strength, nerves and innards
That’s taken away by a conversation
Which keeps going on from the rising daylight
To the ebony-like shadows of the night,
Especially if the voice modulation
Is far too high. It’s therefore necessary
For the voice to possess a corporeity,
Because he who talks for a long duration
Of time loses a portion of his body.
Again, the hoarseness of the voice depends on
The harshness of first beginnings and likewise
Its softness is due to their delicacy;
Nor do bodies of matter of the same size
Penetrate the ears just as, ponderously,
Roars the trumpet with its low sound and when
The throbbing lyre leaves a shrieking buzz behind,
And from the Helicon’s gardens the birds, whose mind
Is Daulian, intone a chant of ill omen.

Nunc alii sensus quo pacto quisque suam rem
sentiat, haud quaquam ratio scruposa relicta est.

Principio auditur sonus et vox omnis, in auris
insinuata suo pepulere ubi corpore sensum.
corpoream quoque enim [vocem] constare fatendumst
et sonitum, quoniam possunt inpellere sensus.

Praeterea radit vox fauces saepe facitque
asperiora foras gradiens arteria clamor,
quippe per angustum turba maiore coorta
ire foras ubi coeperunt primordia vocum.
scilicet expletis quoque ianua raditur oris.
haud igitur dubiumst quin voces verbaque constent
corporeis e principiis, ut laedere possint.
nec te fallit item quid corporis auferat et quid
detrahat ex hominum nervis ac viribus ipsis
perpetuus sermo nigrai noctis ad umbram
aurorae perductus ab exoriente nitore,
praesertim si cum summost clamore profusus.
ergo corpoream vocem constare necessest,
multa loquens quoniam amittit de corpore partem.

Asperitas autem vocis fit ab asperitate
principiorum et item levor levore creatur;
nec simili penetrant auris primordia forma,
cum tuba depresso graviter sub murmure mugit
et reboat raucum retro cita barbita bombum,
et [iam] Dauliades natae hortis ex Heliconis
cum liquidam tollunt lugubri voce querellam.

549-594

And therefore when from deep inside our body
We emit these voices and then directly
Utter them from the mouth, it’s the word-
rich tongue which articulates them and the arch
Of the lips which shapes them. If the voice’s march
Is not too long from the place where it first stirred,
It’s necessary for the same words to be
Nicely heard and perceived articulately.
For each voice preserves its own form and structure,
But if the interposed distance is longer
Than it should, the words must necessarily
Get confused traversing such a great airy
Stretch, and the voice, flying through the breezes, gets warped.
So it happens that you can hear the sound but
The meaning of the words is unclearly marked,
To the point that, blurred and inarticulate,
The voice can hardly be heard. And quite often,
too, a single word issuing from the crier’s mouth hits
The ears of a whole crowd: a single voice which
Divides into so many voices and then
Reaches the single ears impressing to its
Words both form and sound with a crystal clear pitch.
But the part of the voices that does not strike
The ears dies out and is wasted in the air, unlike
The part that, having struck solid spots returns
The sound, sometimes by way of voicing-patterns
Which deceive us. If you duly scrutinize
All these events, and others, you’ll certainly realize
How and when, among the sombre mountains, we
Look for our wandering friends and call those who
Got lost in a loud voice, while the rocks, likewise,
Return the very same words, one by one, through
Those solitary places. I’ve seen certain
Spots which sent back even six or seven cries
While you had sent out one. The very hillsides
Repel the words thrust upon them and besides
Compel them to bounce back. The neighbouring
People imagine satyrs with cloven feet
And nymphs dwelling there with fauns. They nightly meet,
They say, adding that it’s their playful yelling
Which breaks the calm silence. Sounds of lyres and sweet
Wails, too, are produced by playing fingers beating
On the flutes; and those who work on the land hear
From afar, when, shaking his piny headgear,
Semi-ferine god Pan moves his curved lips pushing
On the pierced reeds and thus lets the pipe pour
Out a sylvan melody. They speak of all
The other wonders and portents of this kind,
So that one may not think they dwell on a shore
Whose remoteness would the very gods appal.
That’s why there’s a miraculous air behind
What they tell, and if the cause is different
That may be due to mankind’s credulous bent.

Hasce igitur penitus voces cum corpore nostro
exprimimus rectoque foras emittimus ore,
mobilis articulat nervorum daedala lingua,
formaturaque labrorum pro parte figurat.
hoc ubi non longum spatiumst unde illa profecta
perveniat vox quaeque, necessest verba quoque ipsa
plane exaudiri discernique articulatim;
servat enim formaturam servatque figuram.
at si inter positum spatium sit longius aequo,
aëra per multum confundi verba necessest
et conturbari vocem, dum transvolat auras.
ergo fit, sonitum ut possis sentire neque illam
internoscere, verborum sententia quae sit;
usque adeo confusa venit vox inque pedita.

Praeterea verbum saepe unum perciet auris
omnibus in populo missum praeconis ab ore.
in multas igitur voces vox una repente
diffugit, in privas quoniam se dividit auris
obsignans formam verbis clarumque sonorem.
at quae pars vocum non auris incidit ipsas,
praeter lata perit frustra diffusa per auras.
pars solidis adlisa locis reiecta sonorem
reddit et inter dum frustratur imagine verbi.

Quae bene cum videas, rationem reddere possis
tute tibi atque aliis, quo pacto per loca sola
saxa paris formas verborum ex ordine reddant.
palantis comites com montis inter opacos
quaerimus et magna dispersos voce ciemus.
sex etiam aut septem loca vidi reddere vocis,
unam cum iaceres: ita colles collibus ipsi
verba repulsantes iterabant dicta referri.
haec loca capripedes Satyros Nymphasque tenere
finitimi fingunt et Faunos esse locuntur,
quorum noctivago strepitu ludoque iocanti
adfirmant volgo taciturna silentia rumpi
chordarumque sonos fieri dulcisque querellas,
tibia quas fundit digitis pulsata canentum,
et genus agricolum late sentiscere, quom Pan
pinea semiferi capitis velamina quassans
unco saepe labro calamos percurrit hiantis,
fistula silvestrem ne cesset fundere musam.
cetera de genere hoc monstra ac portenta loquontur,
ne loca deserta ab divis quoque forte putentur
sola tenere. ideo iactant miracula dictis
aut aliqua ratione alia ducuntur, ut omne
humanum genus est avidum nimis auricularum.

595-614

Next, no wonder how a voice manages to
Enter and stimulate the ears, passing through
The places where things are beyond the eyes’ reach:
We often perceive, behind closed doors, a speech,
As a voice can pass, undamaged, through the bent
Apertures of things, which isn’t possible to
Effigies, on the contrary. They are rent
Asunder, indeed, if they don’t travel through
Straight fissures, like those in a pane, where every
Image flies across. The itinerary
Of a voice, besides, is divided into
All directions, since from one another, too,
Are voices engendered, and one, once has come
Out, breaks up into many pieces, like when
A spark will split into many a fiery crumb.
The remotest places are also filled, then,
With voices and all things around are glowing
With stirring sounds. But effigies, instead, call,
Once they get started, for a straight roadway, all
Of them; no one can see beyond a screening,
But voices can be heard from without. And yet
The voice also, on passing through the house walls,
Grows weak and into our ears confusedly falls,
And we seem to hear more noise than alphabet.

Quod super est, non est mirandum qua ratione,
per loca quae nequeunt oculi res cernere apertas,
haec loca per voces veniant aurisque lacessant,
conloquium clausis foribus quoque saepe videmus;
ni mirum quia vox per flexa foramina rerum
incolumis transire potest, simulacra renutant;
perscinduntur enim, nisi recta foramina tranant,
qualia sunt vitrei, species qua travolat omnis.
praeterea partis in cunctas dividitur vox,
ex aliis aliae quoniam gignuntur, ubi una
dissuluit semel in multas exorta, quasi ignis
saepe solet scintilla suos se spargere in ignis.
ergo replentur loca vocibus abdita retro,
omnia quae circum fervunt sonituque cientur.
at simulacra viis derectis omnia tendunt,
ut sunt missa semel; qua propter cernere nemo
saepe supra potis est, at voces accipere extra.
et tamen ipsa quoque haec, dum transit clausa [domorum>
vox optunditur atque auris confusa penetrat
et sonitum potius quam verba audire videmur.

615-632

Neither tongue nor palate, through which we taste things,
Require in themselves much longer reasonings
And efforts. First of all, we taste a flavour
Inside the mouth when, in chewing, we crunch our
Food, as if, by chance, one set about squeezing
A sponge full of water with his hand, and drying
It up. What we’ve squeezed from there spreads through the pores
Of the palate and through the thin tongue’s curved doors.
That is why when the dripping first beginnings
Of the juice are smooth they sweetly touch all things
And sweetly caress them, too, in the moist cave
Of the tongue, oozing around; but, conversely,
They prick the sense of taste, and raspingly shave
It, the more they are full of asperity.
Besides, the pleasure one derives from the juice
Stays within the palate, but when it’s let loose
Down the throat the pleasure ends while it spills down
The limbs, nor would anybody at all frown
On the kind of food the body feeds on, so
Long as you pass to them what you gobble down
Well digested, and keep a trim humid maw.

Hoc, qui sentimus sucum, lingua atque palatum
plusculum habent in se rationis, plus operai.
principio sucum sentimus in ore, cibum cum
mandendo exprimimus, ceu plenam spongiam aquai
siquis forte manu premere ac siccare coëpit.
inde quod exprimimus per caulas omne palati
diditur et rarae per flexa foramina linguae,
hoc ubi levia sunt manantis corpora suci,
suaviter attingunt et suaviter omnia tractant
umida linguai circum sudantia templa;
at contra pungunt sensum lacerantque coorta,
quanto quaeque magis sunt asperitate repleta.
deinde voluptas est e suco fine palati;
cum vero deorsum per fauces praecipitavit,
nulla voluptas est, dum diditur omnis in artus;
nec refert quicquam quo victu corpus alatur,
dum modo quod capias concoctum didere possis
artubus et stomachi tumidum servare tenorem.

633-672

I’ll now explain and clarify the reason
Why food tastes differently to different
People, and why is it that the nutrition
That some find nauseating and astringent
May seem extremely sweet to others instead.
In point of fact, so great, in this connection,
Is the contrastingly different question
That what is for some food turns into a dread
Poison for others. In this wise, a serpent
Once touched by human saliva is done for
And bites itself to death. A malevolent
Poison, besides, is for us the hellebore
Which conversely boosts the adipose tissue
Of goats and quails. In order that you
May know how this happens, what we said before
Should be brought to your attention above all,
Namely that, mixed with the bodies, first things crawl
In many ways. And again, all living beings
That take food are different on the outside,
In line with the limbs’ outer underpinnings
And with their species, as they’re made of first things
With different shapes. If first things on one side
Are different, the spaces and the paths which we
Have called pores must necessarily vary
In all the limbs, in the mouth, in the palate
Itself; thus some must be smaller, and bigger
Some others, some square, and some triangular,
Many round-shaped, some multi-angulate
And varied. For, as the diverse arrangement
And motion of the figures require, the shapes
Of the pores, furthermore, must be different
And vary along with the structural capes
Supporting them. Therefore, when what tastes sweet to
Some tastes acerbic to others, to those who
Have a sweet tooth, polished first things must gently
Enter their palate pores, instead, to those who find
The same food sour inside them, evidently
Thirst things go down their throat hooked and unrefined.
Now, from these circumstances, it is easy
To learn all. Indeed, when by a bile excess
Fever attacks somebody, or for any
Other reason there appears a fierce illness
Which immediately affects the whole body,
The first beginnings’ positions undergo
A general adjustment, as a result, so
That the seeds of matter, which had formerly
Aptly assisted the sense of taste, are no
More suited, while others are much apter to
Penetrate and more able to bitterly
Affect the senses; in the taste of honey,
Both kinds of bodies of matter are mixed; for
We show you what we often showed before.

Nunc aliis alius qui sit cibus ut videamus,
expediam, quareve, aliis quod triste et amarumst,
hoc tamen esse aliis possit perdulce videri,
tantaque [in] his rebus distantia differitasque est,
ut quod aliis cibus est aliis fuat acre venenum;
est itaque ut serpens, hominis quae tacta salivis
disperit ac sese mandendo conficit ipsa.
praeterea nobis veratrum est acre venenum,
at capris adipes et cocturnicibus auget.
id quibus ut fiat rebus cognoscere possis,
principio meminisse decet quae diximus ante,
semina multimodis in rebus mixta teneri.
porro omnes quae cumque cibum capiunt animantes,
ut sunt dissimiles extrinsecus et generatim
extima membrorum circumcaesura coërcet,
proinde et seminibus constant variantque figura.
semina cum porro distent, differre necessest
intervalla viasque, foramina quae perhibemus,
omnibus in membris et in ore ipsoque palato.
esse minora igitur quaedam maioraque debent,
esse triquetra aliis, aliis quadrata necessest,
multa rutunda, modis multis multangula quaedam.
namque figurarum ratio ut motusque reposcunt,
proinde foraminibus debent differe figurae
et variare viae proinde ac textura coërcet.
hoc ubi quod suave est aliis aliis fit amarum,
illi, cui suave est, levissima corpora debent
contractabiliter caulas intrare palati,
at contra quibus est eadem res intus acerba,
aspera ni mirum penetrant hamataque fauces.
nunc facile est ex his rebus cognoscere quaeque.
quippe ubi cui febris bili superante coorta est
aut alia ratione aliquast vis excita morbi,
perturbatur ibi iam totum corpus et omnes
commutantur ibi positurae principiorum;
fit prius ad sensum [ut] quae corpora conveniebant
nunc non conveniant, et cetera sint magis apta,
quae penetrata queunt sensum progignere acerbum;
utraque enim sunt in mellis commixta sapore;
id quod iam supera tibi saepe ostendimus ante.

673-686

Now I’m going to explain in what way the smell’s
Effusion touches the nostrils. First of all
Numerous bodies must exist from whose cells
Some multifarious odours gush forth and flow,
And we’re compelled to think they cascade and sprawl
Everywhere; but a scent befits some living
Beings more than others in particular, though,
As a result of the diverse structuring
Of the forms. Therefore bees, from afar even,
Are attracted to the honey-scented air
And carrions are the vultures’ foul-smelling share;
The dogs’ heated onrush leads to the cloven
Hoof’s mark on the wild beasts’ trail, and the pure white
Goose, preserver of the barricaded site
Of Romulus’ scions, catches the whiff of men.
In this manner, a different scent, given
To each being, attracts each to its sustenance
Away from foul poisons. In this way is then
Preserved the wild animal breeds’ permanence.

Nunc age, quo pacto naris adiectus odoris
tangat agam. primum res multas esse necessest
unde fluens volvat varius se fluctus odorum,
et fluere et mitti volgo spargique putandumst;
verum aliis alius magis est animantibus aptus,
dissimilis propter formas. ideoque per auras
mellis apes quamvis longe ducuntur odore,
volturiique cadaveribus; tum fissa ferarum
ungula quo tulerit gressum promissa canum vis
ducit, et humanum longe praesentit odorem
Romulidarum arcis servator, candidus anser.
sic aliis alius nidor datus ad sua quemque
pabula ducit et a taetro resilire veneno
cogit, eoque modo servantur saecla ferarum.

687-705

Therefore, a scent among those which titillate
Our nostrils can go farther than another,
But none of them can nevertheless dilate
As far as voices, sounds and, needless to say,
The corpuscles which, striking the eyes, usher
Vision. An odour slowly makes a headway,
Wanders and gradually vanishes into
The breaths of air, first as it strenuously
Flows from the body’s depth. For odours seem to
Gush forth and proceed from that profundity,
And this is indeed proved by the fact that all things
Split, broken, liquefied by fire appear to
Have a more intense smell. It’s first beginnings,
Bigger than those of the voice, which, as you can
See, produce odours, since they do not go through
Walls, which are no barriers for the voice of man
And sounds, as a rule. That’s the reason why you
Won’t find it easy to guess the place where
Lies the thing which emits a smell, since its flow
Cools down as it keeps lingering in the air,
Nor are the things’ messages still aglow
When they reach the senses. Thus dogs often go
Astray searching for footprints both here and there.

Hic odor ipse igitur, naris qui cumque lacessit,
est alio ut possit permitti longius alter;
sed tamen haud quisquam tam longe fertur eorum
quam sonitus, quam vox, mitto iam dicere quam res
quae feriunt oculorum acies visumque lacessunt.
errabundus enim tarde venit ac perit ante
paulatim facilis distractus in aëris auras;
ex alto primum quia vix emittitur ex re;
nam penitus fluere atque recedere rebus odores
significat quod fracta magis redolere videntur
omnia, quod contrita, quod igni conlabefacta.
deinde videre licet maioribus esse creatum
principiis quam vox, quoniam per saxea saepta
non penetrat, qua vox volgo sonitusque feruntur.
quare etiam quod olet non tam facile esse videbis
investigare in qua sit regione locatum;
refrigescit enim cunctando plaga per auras
nec calida ad sensum decurrunt nuntia rerum.
errant saepe canes itaque et vestigia quaerunt.

706-721

However this does not occur only to
Odours and to the species of flavoured things,
As not all classes and all colourings, too,
Are suitable for all senses and all beings,
So that some of them are not a sight for sore
Eyes. As indeed a cock - which, mornings,
Clamours for daylight having beaten his wings
To chase away the night – is a real pain for
The gaze of furious lions who only wish to
Take to flight, certainly because the first things
In a rooster’s body, by getting through
Their beastly eyes, pierce the pupils inflicting
A pain that the savage brutes cannot bear; but
Those aforesaid first things cannot disarray
Our gaze at all for, either the path is shut
Or because, on penetrating the eyes, they
Find a way out with no harm in the delay.

Nec tamen hoc solis in odoribus atque saporum
in generest, sed item species rerum atque colores
non ita conveniunt ad sensus omnibus omnes,
ut non sint aliis quaedam magis acria visu.
quin etiam gallum noctem explaudentibus alis
auroram clara consuetum voce vocare,
noenu queunt rapidi contra constare leones
inque tueri: ita continuo meminere fugai.
ni mirum quia sunt gallorum in corpore quaedam
semina, quae cum sunt oculis inmissa leonum,
pupillas interfodiunt acremque dolorem
praebent, ut nequeant contra durare feroces,
cum tamen haec nostras acies nil laedere possint,
aut quia non penetrant aut quod penetrantibus illis
exitus ex oculis liber datur, in remorando
laedere ne possint ex ulla lumina parte.

722-748

Hear, now, what things stir the soul in order to
Learn, in a nutshell, how what reaches the mind
Manages to get there. First of all, I say
This: that from all directions and in a slew
Of ways many thin effigies are inclined
To divagate to and fro and interplay
In the air when, like webs and gold leaves, they
Meet. For these effigies are structurally
Much more transparent than those which entirely
Seize the eyes and excite vision. For they get
Through the thinner parts of the body and fret
The delicate structure of the mind, waking
Up its sense. Thus we see the Scyllas’ bodies,
Centaurs, Cerberus’ canine face, effigies
Of people stiff and buried under the wing
Of death; because all kinds of effigies move
Here and there: some are those which prove
Capable of forming themselves in the same
Air or those which always break off from the frame
Of various bodies, taking their shapes. Really,
The likeness of a centaur was ne’er begot
From a living creature, and is known not
To have existed; but when fortuitously
The likeness of men and horses meet, they stick
At once to one another, effortlessly,
As we said before, due to the thin fabric
Of their nature and structure. In the same way
Are conceived other images of this kind,
And while they are rushing on, as I outlined
Before, each single thin image finds the way
Of kicking our imagination astray,
So threadlike and so quick-thinking is our mind.

Nunc age, quae moveant animum res accipe, et unde
quae veniunt veniant in mentem percipe paucis.
principio hoc dico, rerum simulacra vagari
multa modis multis in cunctas undique partis
tenvia, quae facile inter se iunguntur in auris,
obvia cum veniunt, ut aranea bratteaque auri.
quippe etenim multo magis haec sunt tenvia textu
quam quae percipiunt oculos visumque lacessunt,
corporis haec quoniam penetrant per rara cientque
tenvem animi naturam intus sensumque lacessunt.
Centauros itaque et Scyllarum membra videmus
Cerbereasque canum facies simulacraque eorum
quorum morte obita tellus amplectitur ossa;
omnigenus quoniam passim simulacra feruntur,
partim sponte sua quae fiunt aëre in ipso,
partim quae variis ab rebus cumque recedunt
et quae confiunt ex horum facta figuris.
nam certe ex vivo Centauri non fit imago,
nulla fuit quoniam talis natura animata;
verum ubi equi atque hominis casu convenit imago,
haerescit facile extemplo, quod diximus ante,
propter subtilem naturam et tenvia texta.
cetera de genere hoc eadem ratione creantur.
quae cum mobiliter summa levitate feruntur,
ut prius ostendi, facile uno commovet ictu
quae libet una animum nobis subtilis imago;
tenvis enim mens est et mire mobilis ipsa.

749-776

That these things are done as I say, you will find
Out from this without difficulty, because
What we perceive with the eye and the mind
Is one, and thus similar must be its cause.
Now, as, for example, I proved that I see
Lions through the effigies which excite my eyes,
It can be deduced that my mind is likewise
Excited by means of a lion’s effigy
And sees other things neither more nor less than
The eyes; but also thinner effigies can
It see. For no other reason our mind stays
Awake, while sleep has occupied our limbs, but
For the selfsame effigies which set ablaze
Our soul when we are wakeful, to the extent
That we seem to clearly see someone shut
Up in a tomb, his life having been rent
Asunder already. Therefore, this is what
Nature wants to happen, as all the body’s
Senses lie restrained in the limbs and cannot
By way of true facts refute all forgeries.
Furthermore, memory languidly lies in
Slumber, nor does it object that has long been
The prey of death and annihilation he
Whom very much alive the mind deems to be.
It’s no wonder, then, that effigies duly
Move and toss rhythmically their arms and limbs;
Indeed, that’s how they behave in their sleep and
As soon as the effigy right up front dims
Another turns up from a different stand
By the looks of it. And it’s to be believed
That all this is ordinarily achieved
In a fast way: so great is the quantity
And speediness of the effigies, and so
Great the aggregation of the effigy-
Snippets instantly available also.

haec fieri ut memoro, facile hinc cognoscere possis.
quatinus hoc simile est illi, quod mente videmus
atque oculis, simili fieri ratione necessest.

Nunc igitur docui quoniam me forte leonum
cernere per simulacra, oculos quae cumque lacessunt,
scire licet mentem simili ratione moveri
per simulacra leonum [et] cetera quae videt aeque
nec minus atque oculi, nisi quod mage tenvia cernit.
nec ratione alia, cum somnus membra profudit,
mens animi vigilat, nisi quod simulacra lacessunt
haec eadem nostros animos quae cum vigilamus,
usque adeo, certe ut videamur cernere eum quem
rellicta vita iam mors et terra potitast.
hoc ideo fieri cogit natura, quod omnes
corporis offecti sensus per membra quiescunt
nec possunt falsum veris convincere rebus.
praeterea meminisse iacet languetque sopore,
nec dissentit eum mortis letique potitum
iam pridem, quem mens vivom se cernere credit.
quod super est, non est mirum simulacra moveri
bracchiaque in numerum iactare et cetera membra;
nam fit ut in somnis facere hoc videatur imago.
quippe, ubi prima perit alioque est altera nata
inde statu, prior hic gestum mutasse videtur.
scilicet id fieri celeri ratione putandumst:
tanta est mobilitas et rerum copia tanta
tantaque sensibili quovis est tempore in uno
copia particularum, ut possit suppeditare.

777-817

These matters raise many questions and many
Are the things we must make clear if we want to
Explain how matters really are. Especially
Why, when one feels like doing something, the mind
Immediately conjures up the same wish, too?
Perhaps our will is by effigies divined
And, as soon as we fancy something, up to
Us runs its image, whether we want the sea
Or the Earth or if we insist on heaven,
Even? Does nature create and get ready,
Processions, battles, feasts, gatherings of men,
And all else? Especially as what the minds
Of other people cogitate, there and then,
May present marked differences of all kinds.
And again, what about when, in sleep, we see
Effigies proceed dancing and gracefully
Move their limbs, swiftly tossing about their arms,
One after the other, repeating with the eye
A movement capable to aptly comply
With the foot’s time? Effigies full of smart charms
Certainly wander staging nocturnal shows.
Or, rather, another is the truth for, when
A single sound is voiced, in it lie hidden
Many moments, but not hidden to reason,
And that’s why all effigies are ready on
Demand, then and there: such is the effigies’
Great mobility, such their immense number.
So, when one dies and generates another
In a different posture, it looks as if, of these
Two, the first has changed. But the mind only sees
Well the effigies it strains to see; therefore
All the others die but those it formed before
By itself. The mind gets ready and hopes to
Observe, moreover, what follows each thing, for
The likely end. Don’t you see that the eyes, too,
When they start to stare at minute things must strain
Otherwise we can’t really bring things into
Focus? However, even with things in plain
View, you might well realize that if you don’t pay
Attention to them, it’s as if an object were
Removed from you all the time and sent away.
So why wonder if it should really occur
That the mind loses all its figures but those
On which it concentrates? From small signs, therefore,
We’re able to imagine those which are more
Important, swathed in fraud’s illusory clothes.

Multaque in his rebus quaeruntur multaque nobis
clarandumst, plane si res exponere avemus.
quaeritur in primis quare, quod cuique libido
venerit, extemplo mens cogitet eius id ipsum.
anne voluntatem nostram simulacra tuentur
et simul ac volumus nobis occurrit imago,
si mare, si terram cordist, si denique caelum?
conventus hominum, pompam, convivia, pugnas,
omnia sub verbone creat natura paratque?
cum praesertim aliis eadem in regione locoque
longe dissimilis animus res cogitet omnis.
quid porro, in numerum procedere cum simulacra
cernimus in somnis et mollia membra movere,
mollia mobiliter cum alternis bracchia mittunt
et repetunt oculis gestum pede convenienti?
scilicet arte madent simulacra et docta vagantur,
nocturno facere ut possint in tempore ludos.
an magis illud erit verum? quia tempore in uno,
cum sentimus, id est cum vox emittitur una,
tempora multa latent, ratio quae comperit esse,
propterea fit uti quovis in tempore quaeque
praesto sint simulacra locis in quisque parata.
tanta est mobilitas et rerum copia tanta.
hoc ubi prima perit alioque est altera nata
inde statu, prior hic gestum mutasse videtur.
et quia tenvia sunt, nisi quae contendit, acute
cernere non potis est animus; proinde omnia quae sunt
praeterea pereunt, nisi quae ex se[se] ipse paravit.
ipse parat sese porro speratque futurum
ut videat quod consequitur rem quamque: fit ergo.
nonne vides oculos etiam, cum tenvia quae sunt
[praeterea pereunt, nisi quae ex se ipse paravit]
cernere coeperunt, contendere se atque parare,
nec sine eo fieri posse ut cernamus acute?
et tamen in rebus quoque apertis noscere possis,
si non advertas animum, proinde esse quasi omni
tempore semotum fuerit longeque remotum.
cur igitur mirumst, animus si cetera perdit
praeter quam quibus est in rebus deditus ipse?
deinde adopinamur de signis maxima parvis
ac nos in fraudem induimus frustraminis ipsi.

818-822

It happens, too, that sometimes what is consigned
Is an effigy quite different in kind:
A woman that becomes a man before us
Or a change in looks and age made with no fuss,
While oblivious sleep takes care of our mind.

Fit quoque ut inter dum non suppeditetur imago
eiusdem generis, sed femina quae fuit ante,
in manibus vir uti factus videatur adesse,
aut alia ex alia facies aetasque sequatur.
quod ne miremur sopor atque oblivia curant.

823-857

This is the offence you should absolutely
Give a wide berth to in these matters, and
Prudently avert the mistake of thinking
That the eyes’ pupils were made for us to see,
And the upper calves and thighs, which stand
On the feet, can effortlessly be bending,
And then that the upper limbs are attached to
The robust forearms and an assisting hand
Is jointed at either end to let us do
What is needed for life. The many other
Interpretations of these concepts are all
Turned upside down, and quite in reverse order,
As a result of a faulty argument.
For naught is born in the body, therewithal,
For our own use; indeed all that is nascent
Generates use. Nor seeing existed before
The pupils of the eyes were brought to life, nor
Articulate speech was born previous to
Language, but the birth of language came before
Speech by a long shot, and ears much earlier, too,
Were created than sound was heard, and lastly
All organs were in existence already
Before their use and couldn’t therefore grow through
The same. On the contrary fighting hand-to-
Hand in an engagement, limb mutilation
And defiling bodies with blood were known well
Before bright spears flew, and nature bore hard on
Men to dodge a wound, before the left arm gave,
By way of its experience, a shieldlike shell;
And handing over sleep to a tired body
Is of course a lot older than soft concave
Beddings, and quenching the thirst came in before
Cups. These things, found out through life’s practice, therefore
May be deemed to have been known for everyday
Use. All those things themselves, born beforehand,
Which later gave proof of their utility,
Must instead be considered separately.
We notice that first and foremost limbs and
Senses are of this kind: only in dreamland
They exist for the task of utility.

Illud in his rebus vitium vehementer Äinesse
effugere errorem vitareque praemetuenter,
lumina ne facias oculorum clara creata,
prospicere ut possimus, et ut proferre queamus
proceros passus, ideo fastigia posse
surarum ac feminum pedibus fundata plicari,
bracchia tum porro validis ex apta lacertis
esse manusque datas utraque [ex] parte ministras,
ut facere ad vitam possemus quae foret usus.
cetera de genere hoc inter quae cumque pretantur,
omnia perversa praepostera sunt ratione,
nil ideo quoniam natumst in corpore ut uti
possemus, sed quod natumst id procreat usum.
nec fuit ante videre oculorum lumina nata,
nec dictis orare prius quam lingua creatast,
sed potius longe linguae praecessit origo
sermonem multoque creatae sunt prius aures
quam sonus est auditus, et omnia denique membra
ante fuere, ut opinor, eorum quam foret usus;
haud igitur potuere utendi crescere causa.
at contra conferre manu certamina pugnae
et lacerare artus foedareque membra cruore
ante fuit multo quam lucida tela volarent,
et volnus vitare prius natura coëgit
quam daret obiectum parmai laeva per artem.
scilicet et fessum corpus mandare quieti
multo antiquius est quam lecti mollia strata,
et sedare sitim prius est quam pocula natum.
haec igitur possunt utendi cognita causa

858-876

No wonder then that the nature of every
Living being’s body, likewise, searches for food;
And actually I have explained that many
First beginnings are from many things bestrewed,
And from living beings very many are spewed,
Because, since motion wearies first things, and they
Exhale in great quantity through the mouth when
They laboriously pant, large numbers, driven
From the lower regions manage to make way
Through sweat. Because of these motives the body
Rarefies and its whole structure gets all broken
Up, after which pain follows. Thus food is taken
For this reason, so that, once inside, it may
Support the limbs, revive strength and also
Stop up, along the limbs and veins, the open
Urge to eat. The liquid runs, in the same way,
Into all the parts needing an aqueous flow
Which on arriving dissipates the many
Gathered first things of heat giving our belly
A burning feeling and putting them out, so
That the parching vapor can no longer sear
Our limbs. That’s how things work to clear
With water the panting thirst of our body;
This is how fast is turned into satiety.

Illud item non est mirandum, corporis ipsa
quod natura cibum quaerit cuiusque animantis.
quippe etenim fluere atque recedere corpora rebus
multa modis multis docui, sed plurima debent
ex animalibus; [quae] quia sunt exercita motu,
multa per os exhalantur, cum languida anhelant,
multaque per sudorem ex alto pressa feruntur.
his igitur rebus rarescit corpus et omnis
subruitur natura, dolor quam consequitur rem.
propterea capitur cibus, ut suffulciat artus
et recreet vires inter datus, atque patentem
per membra ac venas ut amorem opturet edendi.
umor item discedit in omnia quae loca cumque
poscunt umorem; glomerataque multa vaporis
corpora, quae stomacho praebent incendia nostro,
dissupat adveniens liquor ac restinguit ut ignem,
urere ne possit calor amplius aridus artus.
sic igitur tibi anhela sitis de corpore nostro
abluitur, sic expletur ieiuna cupido.

877-906

Now I’ll explain in what manner we can move
The feet, when we feel like it, and why we can
Propel our limbs, and what force can mostly prove
Capable of pushing our body’s great weight.
First of all I say - just try my words to scan -
The effigies of motion reach our soul and,
As I have implied before, stimulate
The mind. Then it’s the will’s turn to command.
Nor, sure enough, does anybody start doing
Anything before the mind foresees what it
Wants. Indeed, what really appears is the thing
The mind has predicted, and consequently
When the mind gets going in order to hit
The road, it instantly fires the energy
Of the soul, scattered all over the body,
The limbs and the joints, and this is easily
Done, since the mind is closely linked to the soul
Which then, in turn, hits the body and, gently,
The body itself is pushed and made to roll
Forward. Besides, the body gets thin and also
The air, ever lithe, as of course it should be,
Penetrates every passage and every hole
In very impressive quantities, and so
It spreads into the single parts of the body.
Thusly by these two forces, separately,
The body is driven, like a ship, by wind
And sails. Nor yet it’s so extraordinary
That such small fragments can move such a thick-skinned,
Hefty body and turn back our entire weight;
For the wind due to its thin frame can truly
Push a big ship and have it navigate,
And one hand guides it in spite of its great
Speed and one rudder directs it to all points,
And a hoisting machine, too, with all its joints
Removes and bears aloft objects of great weight.

Nunc qui fiat uti passus proferre queamus,
cum volumus, quareque datum sit membra movere
et quae res tantum hoc oneris protrudere nostri
corporis insuerit, dicam: tu percipe dicta.
dico animo nostro primum simulacra meandi
accidere atque animum pulsare, ut diximus ante.
inde voluntas fit; neque enim facere incipit ullam
rem quisquam, [quam] mens providit quid velit ante.
id quod providet, illius rei constat imago,
ergo animus cum sese ita commovet ut velit ire
inque gredi, ferit extemplo quae in corpore toto
per membra atque artus animai dissita vis est;
et facilest factu, quoniam coniuncta tenetur.
inde ea proporro corpus ferit, atque ita tota
paulatim moles protruditur atque movetur.
praeterea tum rarescit quoque corpus et aër,
scilicet ut debet qui semper mobilis extat,
per patefacta venit penetratque foramina largus,
et dispargitur ad partis ita quasque minutas
corporis. hic igitur rebus fit utrimque duabus,
corpus ut ac navis velis ventoque feratur.
nec tamen illud in his rebus mirabile constat,
tantula quod tantum corpus corpuscula possunt
contorquere et onus totum convertere nostrum;
quippe etenim ventus subtili corpore tenvis
trudit agens magnam magno molimine navem
et manus una regit quanto vis impete euntem
atque gubernaclum contorquet quo libet unum,
multaque per trocleas et tympana pondere magno
commovet atque levi sustollit machina nisu.

907-928

With lines sweet rather than copious I’ll now sing,
- For the brief swan’s song is better than the cranes’
Racket strewn over Austrus’ aethereal plains -
In what way or manner can sleep keep spreading
Stillness into the limbs, setting the breast free
From cares. Lend me sharp ears and a sagacious
Mind so that you do not continue denying
All that I say may happen, and do not flee
From true words in the back of your mind and thus
Find yourself at fault without realizing
It. First and foremost sleep occurs when the soul’s
Force has spread to the limbs while, after being
Thrown out, a part recedes, and another rolls
To the bottom; for just then the limbs loosen
Up and fall down. Doubtlessly, this sense lies then
In us thanks to the soul. Once sleep has rendered
It dull, one must think the soul is much altered
And not wholly evicted or, diversely,
Immersed in cold death for all eternity
Would the body lie. Naturally, if no part
Of the soul hides in the limbs like the embers
Dormant beneath the ash, how could this sense start
At once, like a flame which from a dead fire stirs?

Nunc quibus ille modis somnus per membra quietem
inriget atque animi curas e pectore solvat,
suavidicis potius quom multis versibus edam,
parvus ut est cycni melior canor, ille gruum quam
clamor in aetheriis dispersus nubibus austri.
tu mihi da tenuis auris animumque sagacem,
ne fieri negites quae dicam posse retroque
vera repulsanti discedas pectore dicta,
tutemet in culpa cum sis neque cernere possis.

Principio somnus fit ubi est distracta per artus
vis animae partimque foras eiecta recessit
et partim contrusa magis concessit in altum;
dissoluuntur enim tum demum membra fluuntque.
nam dubium non est, animai quin opera sit
sensus hic in nobis, quem cum sopor inpedit esse,
tum nobis animam perturbatam esse putandumst
eiectamque foras, non omnem; namque iaceret
aeterno corpus perfusum frigore leti.
quippe ubi nulla latens animai pars remaneret
in membris, cinere ut multa latet obrutus ignis,
unde reconflari sensus per membra repente
possit, ut ex igni caeco consurgere flamma?

929-961

But I’m going to explain the reason why
This strangeness is brought about and how is it
The soul worries and the body gets weak. As for my
Words, you make certain they’re not compelled to flit
To the winds. First of all it’s necessary
That the body, touched at such close quarters by
Breaths of air, be buffeted repeatedly
Or rather hammered from without, and that’s why
All bodies are covered, ordinarily,
Either with hide or also with shells or thick
Skin or with bark. And during all the rhythmic
Breathing in and out, this same air lashes, too,
The inner part. Since the body is, therefore,
Badly flogged inside and outside, and since through
Tiny holes the blows arrive at its fore-
Most parts, that is each minuscule body pore,
There takes place in us a kind of impairment,
By degrees. That is to say the arrangement
Of the body’s and the soul’s first beginnings
Is upset. A part of the soul is cast away,
While another part instead withdraws and clings
To the inner recesses, and again a part,
Spreading into the limbs, can no longer stay
United within itself, nor mutually
Make use of motion. Indeed nature can’t chart
Unions and roadmaps. Therefore, owing to
A change in the movements, sense crumbles fully
Down, and since, as it were, there is nothing to
Prop up the limbs the body grows weak and all
The joints languish, the arms and the eyelids fall
And the legs of one lying on a bed, too,
Often bend and lose power. And sleepiness,
Besides, comes right after food which, similar to
Air, spreads into all the blood vessel and thus
Has the selfsame effect. And the drowsiness
Assailing you when you’re sated or weary
Is much heavier indeed, since the first things,
Exhausted for the great effort, greatly
Alter. Part of the soul crumbles down, deeply,
And, having more loose and thin inner linings,
Is indeed driven outside abundantly.

Sed quibus haec rebus novitas confiat et unde
perturbari anima et corpus languescere possit,
expediam: tu fac ne ventis verba profundam.

Principio externa corpus de parte necessum est,
aëriis quoniam vicinum tangitur auris,
tundier atque eius crebro pulsarier ictu,
proptereaque fere res omnes aut corio sunt
aut etiam conchis aut callo aut cortice tectae.
interiorem etiam partem spirantibus aër
verberat hic idem, cum ducitur atque reflatur.
quare utrimque secus cum corpus vapulet et cum
perveniant plagae per parva foramina nobis
corporis ad primas partis elementaque prima,
fit quasi paulatim nobis per membra ruina.
conturbantur enim positurae principiorum
corporis atque animi. fit uti pars inde animai
eliciatur et introrsum pars abdita cedat,
pars etiam distracta per artus non queat esse
coniuncta inter se neque motu mutua fungi;
inter enim saepit coetus natura viasque.
ergo sensus abit mutatis motibus alte.
et quoniam non est quasi quod suffulciat artus,
debile fit corpus languescuntque omnia membra,
bracchia palpebraeque cadunt poplitesque cubanti
saepe tamen summittuntur virisque resolvunt.

Deinde cibum sequitur somnus, quia, quae facit aër,
haec eadem cibus, in venas dum diditur omnis,
efficit. et multo sopor ille gravissimus exstat,
quem satur aut lassus capias, quia plurima tum se
corpora conturbant magno contusa labore.
fit ratione eadem coniectus parte animai
altior atque foras eiectus largior eius,
et divisior inter se ac distractior intus.

962-983

And usually, the special interests to
Which one is attached and enslaved or the things
Which previously we were wont to pursue
Keeping our mind busy in such reasonings,
Seem to us to be the same stuff we mostly
Meet in sleep: lawyers deal with cases and pass
Laws, persons-at-arms fight and face battles, sea
Captains carry on the struggle to outclass
Winds, we who treat this theme and continuously
Examine the nature of things and, having
Found it, set it forth in our fathers’ writing.
So other interests and arts often seem
To keep the soul in an illusory dream.
As for those who for many days in a row
Kept watching the games, we realize that when
They stop taking pleasure in them with their
Senses, still have in their mind open paths though;
And the picture of those games will linger then
Before their eyes for many days, and they’ll stare
(fully awake, in their imagination)
At dancers softly setting their limbs in motion,
(their ears full of the fluid strains of the cithern’s
Strings which seem to be talking), at the same men’s
Mass in front of them, and simultaneously
At the splendid colours of the scenery.

Et quo quisque fere studio devinctus adhaeret
aut quibus in rebus multum sumus ante morati
atque in ea ratione fuit contenta magis mens,
in somnis eadem plerumque videmur obire:
causidici causas agere et componere leges,
induperatores pugnare ac proelia obire,
nautae contractum cum ventis degere bellum,
nos agere hoc autem et naturam quaerere rerum
semper et inventam patriis exponere chartis.
cetera sic studia atque artes plerumque videntur
in somnis animos hominum frustrata tenere.
et qui cumque dies multos ex ordine ludis
adsiduas dederunt operas, plerumque videmus,
cum iam destiterunt ea sensibus usurpare,
relicuas tamen esse vias in mente patentis,
qua possint eadem rerum simulacra venire;
per multos itaque illa dies eadem obversantur
ante oculos, etiam vigilantes ut videantur
cernere saltantis et mollia membra moventis
et citharae liquidum carmen chordasque loquentis
auribus accipere et consessum cernere eundem
scenaique simul varios splendere decores.

984-1010

Of great import are, up to this point, the zest,
The impulse and the things to which not only
Men but all animals, too, are wont to be
Engaged in. Strong horses whose limbs, at rest
In sleep, yet perspire and pant continuously
Striving really hard, I’d say, for victory,
Or as (some corrupt and damaged words here) they,
At the opening of the barriers would neigh;
And during their soft sleep hunting dogs often
Stretch out their paws and bark all of a sudden
As if on finding some wild beasts’ footprints they
Repeatedly sniff the air and, having woken
Up, often chase stags’ effigies flying away,
Till they come to their senses having
Realized their error. The gentle offspring
Of whelps accustomed to home life shake instead,
Their frames off the ground as if looking ahead
They saw forms and faces unknown. and the more
Truculent a single breed’s trait is the more
It crops up in sleep. The coloured birds instead
If in their sweet slumber seem to see hawks fight
And chase them around, wing away with clamour
Disturbing the sacred groves’ nocturnal quiet.

usque adeo magni refert studium atque voluntas,
et quibus in rebus consuerint esse operati
non homines solum sed vero animalia cuncta.
quippe videbis equos fortis, cum membra iacebunt,
in somnis sudare tamen spirareque semper
et quasi de palma summas contendere viris
aut quasi carceribus patefactis [edere voces>
venantumque canes in molli saepe quiete
iactant crura tamen subito vocisque repente
mittunt et crebro redducunt naribus auras.
ut vestigia si teneant inventa ferarum,
expergefactique secuntur inania saepe
cervorum simulacra, fugae quasi dedita cernant,
donec discussis redeant erroribus ad se.
at consueta domi catulorum blanda propago
discutere et corpus de terra corripere instant,
[iactant crura tamen subito vocisque repente
mittunt et crebro redducunt naribus auras
ut vestigia si teneant inventa ferarum
expergefactique secuntur inania saepe]
proinde quasi ignotas facies atque ora tuantur.
et quo quaeque magis sunt aspera seminiorum,
tam magis in somnis eadem saevire necessust.
at variae fugiunt volucres pinnisque repente
sollicitant divom nocturno tempore lucos,
accipitres somno in leni si proelia pugnas
edere sunt persectantes visaeque volantes.

1011-1036

And the mind of mortals whose mighty motions
Again can give rise to paramount visions
Often acts in the same manner in sleep: kings
Conquer, are taken in captivity, fight
And utter shouts as if they were strangled right
There. Many struggle amid painful groanings
Chewed up by a panther or by a fierce lion
And scream all over the place. Many go on
Talking in their sleep about important things
Often giving proof of their own crime. Many
Go to meet death. Many, as if bodily
Falling to earth from tall mountains are badly
Scared and having woken up barely come to
Their senses roused by the heat of their body.
A thirsty man likewise stops by a river
Or by a delightful spring swallowing through
His fauces a good deal of all the water.
Often worthy persons fast asleep think they
Pull up their dress before a lavatory
Or a little pot into which to convey
The filtered fluid from their entire body.
In the meantime all soaked up get the beddings
With their glorious Babylonian colourings.
Then, in our young days, when semen comes into
Our limbs for the first time and is mature, too,
From an ordinary body there come in
The effigies of a handsome face whose skin
Is lovely. All that rouses and stimulates
The areas turgid with semen so that, as
If coitus had been accomplished, their floodgates
Open letting copious spurts of liquid flow
And besmirches the dress. (The semen that has
Been mentioned before, gets into our marrow
When adolescence arrives).

porro hominum mentes, magnis quae motibus edunt
magna, itidem saepe in somnis faciuntque geruntque,
reges expugnant, capiuntur, proelia miscent,
tollunt clamorem, quasi si iugulentur ibidem.
multi depugnant gemitusque doloribus edunt
et quasi pantherae morsu saevive leonis
mandantur, magnis clamoribus omnia complent.
multi de magnis per somnum rebus loquuntur
indicioque sui facti persaepe fuere.
multi mortem obeunt. multi, de montibus altis
ut quasi praecipitent ad terram corpore toto,
exterruntur et ex somno quasi mentibus capti
vix ad se redeunt permoti corporis aestu.
flumen item sitiens aut fontem propter amoenum
adsidet et totum prope faucibus occupat amnem.
puri saepe lacum propter si ac dolia curta
somno devincti credunt se extollere vestem,
totius umorem saccatum corporis fundunt,
cum Babylonica magnifico splendore rigantur.
tum quibus aetatis freta primitus insinuatur
semen, ubi ipsa dies membris matura creavit,
conveniunt simulacra foris e corpore quoque,
nuntia praeclari voltus pulchrique coloris,
qui ciet inritans loca turgida semine multo,
ut quasi transactis saepe omnibus rebus profundant
fluminis ingentis fluctus vestemque cruentent.

1037-1057

(And besmirches the dress). The semen that has
Been mentioned before, gets into our marrow
When adolescence arrives. For different
Impulses stir and arouse things divergent,
But only man’s influence, issuing from man,
Arouses human semen which, soon after
Its discharge, bursts out of its own spaces
And, leaving the body through joints and limbs, can
Assemble in certain nervous braids and stir
All at once the body’s genital places.
The roused spots being rife with semen, it so
Happens that a man itches to let it go
Where the quivering ecstasy is stretched while
The mind wants the body which, in a penile
Manner, stirred love. Indeed all men mostly
Fall on their wound and blood springs forth to that part
Where the blow hits us, and if the enemy
Is near the blood stains him. Thus he whom the dart
Of Venus attains, either shot by a child
With womanish limbs or by a female who
Radiates love from all her body, repairs to
The position in which he was first beguiled,
And is consumed by the urge to know her carnally
And throw his body fluid into her body.
For ecstasy is the mute desire’s brainchild.

Sollicitatur id [in] nobis, quod diximus ante,
semen, adulta aetas cum primum roborat artus.
namque alias aliud res commovet atque lacessit;
ex homine humanum semen ciet una hominis vis.
quod simul atque suis eiectum sedibus exit,
per membra atque artus decedit corpore toto,
in loca conveniens nervorum certa cietque
continuo partis genitalis corporis ipsas.
inritata tument loca semine fitque voluntas
eicere id quo se contendit dira lubido,
[incitat inritans loca turgida semine multo]
idque petit corpus, mens unde est saucia amore;
namque omnes plerumque cadunt in vulnus et illam
emicat in partem sanguis, unde icimur ictu,
et si comminus est, hostem ruber occupat umor.
sic igitur Veneris qui telis accipit ictus,
sive puer membris muliebribus hunc iaculatur
seu mulier toto iactans e corpore amorem,
unde feritur, eo tendit gestitque coire
t iacere umorem in corpus de corpore ductum;
namque voluptatem praesagit muta cupido.

1058-1072

That’s Venus for us; hence the name for love, too;
From here certain drops of Venus’ sweetness first
Trickled, followed by chilling pains. For if you
Are far from your love, her effigies are near,
And her gentle name is in your ears immersed.
But it is fitting to shun effigies, though;
Keeping off love’s pastures and turning the mind
Elsewhere, discharging the garnered fluid, also,
Into anybody’s body, not confined
For ever to one love, and therefore maintain
For yourself a sure trouble with a sure pain.
For an ulcer will grow and turn putrescent
By feeding, and toil and fury grow amain
Day by day, unless you displace with new blows
The early wounds and first heal the more recent
Ones, and then redirect your soul’s love arrows
Walking to some Venus strolling by a lane.

Haec Venus est nobis; hinc autemst nomen Amoris,
hinc illaec primum Veneris dulcedinis in cor
stillavit gutta et successit frigida cura;
nam si abest quod ames, praesto simulacra tamen sunt
illius et nomen dulce obversatur ad auris.
sed fugitare decet simulacra et pabula amoris
absterrere sibi atque alio convertere mentem
et iacere umorem coniectum in corpora quaeque
nec retinere semel conversum unius amore
et servare sibi curam certumque dolorem;
ulcus enim vivescit et inveterascit alendo
inque dies gliscit furor atque aerumna gravescit,
si non prima novis conturbes volnera plagis
volgivagaque vagus Venere ante recentia cures
aut alio possis animi traducere motus.

1073-1120

Nor is without the fruit of Venus he who
Shuns love but has to its painless joys access,
For pleasure comes more naturally to
Healthy people than to people in distress.
Indeed when lovers seem to fully possess
One another their passion fluctuates amongst
Uncertain errors, and they cannot fancy
Where with hands and eyes to give rein to lust first.
What they hunger for they squeeze and bodily
Harm and often sink their teeth into the lips
While kissing as pleasure is a thing accursed
With an underlying obscure impulse that rips
The person from whom those very offshoots
Of fury rise. Venus lightly contributes
To lessen the pains during the intercourse,
And pleasure, mixed with cuddles, reins in the force
Of bites. There is hope that the corporeal flame
May indeed be extinguished by the same
Body which kindled it. Nature can’t endorse
That anyhow. And love is the only thing
Of which the more we have the more a raging
Passion burns in our breast. For food and drink get
Absorbed by our limbs, occupy fixed parts and let
With no difficulty appease the desire
Of brew and bread. But of the outer aspect
And lovely complexion of a human being
Nothing enjoyable at all can affect
A body but thin effigies; a vain hope
Lost in the wind. As when a man tries to quench
His thirst, in a dream, and finds no water to
Put out his limbs’ fire and therefore tries to cope
By seeking liquid effigies in the drench
Of a seething river but can’t get a drink
And likewise Venus manages to hoodwink
Lovers with love effigies, and they can’t be
Satiated even watching personally
A body; nor can they scrape a single thing
Away from the tender limbs by groping,
Tentatively, the entire body. At last,
When they just enjoy the youth’s flower, with their
Limbs entwined and their flesh anticipating
Sexual satisfaction, while Venus is fast
Filling the woman’s land fit for the ploughshare,
They enmesh their bodies mixing their spittle,
Breathing and biting hard the mouth with little
Or no result, since they can’t take anything
Away nor penetrate into the body
And be immersed in it. For they seem to be
Locked to such an extent in a carnal fray,
While sapped by wild lust their limbs melt away.
When the desire collected in the nerves at
Last erupts, the uncontrollable combat
Stops for a short time, but the same rage returns
And again the identical fury burns.
No remedy for the pain can they thus find,
Uncertainly wrecked by a wound which is blind.

Nec Veneris fructu caret is qui vitat amorem,
sed potius quae sunt sine poena commoda sumit;
nam certe purast sanis magis inde voluptas
quam miseris; etenim potiundi tempore in ipso
fluctuat incertis erroribus ardor amantum
nec constat quid primum oculis manibusque fruantur.
quod petiere, premunt arte faciuntque dolorem
corporis et dentes inlidunt saepe labellis
osculaque adfigunt, quia non est pura voluptas
et stimuli subsunt, qui instigant laedere id ipsum,
quod cumque est, rabies unde illaec germina surgunt.
sed leviter poenas frangit Venus inter amorem
blandaque refrenat morsus admixta voluptas.
namque in eo spes est, unde est ardoris origo,
restingui quoque posse ab eodem corpore flammam.
quod fieri contra totum natura repugnat;
unaque res haec est, cuius quam plurima habemus,
tam magis ardescit dira cuppedine pectus.
nam cibus atque umor membris adsumitur intus;
quae quoniam certas possunt obsidere partis,
hoc facile expletur laticum frugumque cupido.
ex hominis vero facie pulchroque colore
nil datur in corpus praeter simulacra fruendum
tenvia; quae vento spes raptast saepe misella.
ut bibere in somnis sitiens quom quaerit et umor
non datur, ardorem qui membris stinguere possit,
sed laticum simulacra petit frustraque laborat
in medioque sitit torrenti flumine potans,
sic in amore Venus simulacris ludit amantis,
nec satiare queunt spectando corpora coram
nec manibus quicquam teneris abradere membris
possunt errantes incerti corpore toto.
denique cum membris conlatis flore fruuntur
aetatis, iam cum praesagit gaudia corpus
atque in eost Venus ut muliebria conserat arva,
adfigunt avide corpus iunguntque salivas
oris et inspirant pressantes dentibus ora,
ne quiquam, quoniam nihil inde abradere possunt
nec penetrare et abire in corpus corpore toto;
nam facere inter dum velle et certare videntur.
usque adeo cupide in Veneris compagibus haerent,
membra voluptatis dum vi labefacta liquescunt.
tandem ubi se erupit nervis coniecta cupido,
parva fit ardoris violenti pausa parumper.
inde redit rabies eadem et furor ille revisit,
cum sibi quod cupiant ipsi contingere quaerunt,
nec reperire malum id possunt quae machina vincat.
usque adeo incerti tabescunt volnere caeco.

1121-1140

Add to this that they waste their strength in toilsome
Labour, that their life unfolds under the thumb
Of another person, that their duties are
Neglected, that their dignity vacillates
And languishes. All that, meanwhile, consummates
Their possessions, and their money reservoir
Turns into Babylonian garments, ointments,
Merry Sicyonian extremity vestments -
Of course – and big emeralds, with their green light,
Set in gold, and their Thalassic dress - whose blight
Is constant wear - which once it’s worn drinks Venus’
Sweat, and the possessions, with honest foresight
Heaped up by their forefathers, are thus
Turned into headbands, coifs and sometimes also
Mantles and fabrics from Alinda and Ceos.
Banquets are prepared with a splendid show
Of choice foods on finespun tablecloths, with games,
Rounds of drinks, ointments, crowns, coiled floral frames.
All in vain, since from within the source of glee
Something sour arises among the very
Flowers or when, by accident, the conscience
Frets about spending the days in indolence
And orgies or because his loved one’s hasty
Hint, piercing his smitten heart, burns like embers
Or because her roving eyes smile on others.

Adde quod absumunt viris pereuntque labore,
adde quod alterius sub nutu degitur aetas,
languent officia atque aegrotat fama vacillans.
labitur interea res et Babylonia fiunt
unguenta et pulchra in pedibus Sicyonia rident,
scilicet et grandes viridi cum luce zmaragdi
auro includuntur teriturque thalassina vestis
adsidue et Veneris sudorem exercita potat.
et bene parta patrum fiunt anademata, mitrae,
inter dum in pallam atque Alidensia Ciaque vertunt.
eximia veste et victu convivia, ludi,
pocula crebra, unguenta, coronae, serta parantur,
ne quiquam, quoniam medio de fonte leporum
surgit amari aliquid, quod in ipsis floribus angat,
aut cum conscius ipse animus se forte remordet
desidiose agere aetatem lustrisque perire,
aut quod in ambiguo verbum iaculata reliquit,
quod cupido adfixum cordi vivescit ut ignis,
aut nimium iactare oculos aliumve tueri
quod putat in voltuque videt vestigia risus.

1141-1170

And these are the tribulations to be found
In a love special and true. In a star-crossed
And impossible love story you are bound
To perceive, with eyes closed, an infinite host
Of woes, so it’s better to watch out before-
hand, as I explained, since trying not to be caught
Up by the treacherous snares of an amour
Is a lot easier than untying Venus’ knot.
Even when enmeshed and hampered, however,
You might still give a wide berth to such danger
If you didn’t play against yourself and ignored
First of all the defects of mind and body
Of the woman so coveted and adored.
For that’s what men blinded by lust mostly
Do when the merits they imagine are poured
On their sweethearts. That’s the reason why we see,
In many ways, vile women with a foul face,
Intensely loved, who are given pride of place.
And the ones deride the others and invite
Each other to appease the goddess Venus
As they cannot escape their amorous plight.
Those fools are unaware of their great woes. Thus
A dark skinned maiden is honey-coloured; quite
Modest is a female of a fetid smell;
A blue-eyed woman resembles a Pallas;
A skinny and nervous lass is a gazelle;
A tiny lady, a dwarf practically,
Is one of the many Charites, really
The source of wit; a sleek bit of a Juno
Is a marvel and invaluable also;
The inarticulate stutterer is sweet
Lipped; but a mute woman is, instead, discreet;
The passionate, aggravating gossip is
Described as a living flame; furthermore this
Creature freakishly scrawny becomes a neat
Cherub; and one who almost coughs herself to
Death is a reed; but a wench curvy and tru-
ly well-stacked is Ceres in person when she
Breastfed Bacchus. A snub nosed girl is a fe-
male old Silenus and a satyress, too;
One with thick lips invites to osculation.
Wrapping up this list would be a long session.

Atque in amore mala haec proprio summeque secundo
inveniuntur; in adverso vero atque inopi sunt,
prendere quae possis oculorum lumine operto.
innumerabilia; ut melius vigilare sit ante,
qua docui ratione, cavereque, ne inliciaris.
nam vitare, plagas in amoris ne iaciamur,
non ita difficile est quam captum retibus ipsis
exire et validos Veneris perrumpere nodos.
et tamen implicitus quoque possis inque peditus
effugere infestum, nisi tute tibi obvius obstes
et praetermittas animi vitia omnia primum
aut quae corporis sunt eius, quam praepetis ac vis.
nam faciunt homines plerumque cupidine caeci
et tribuunt ea quae non sunt his commoda vere.
multimodis igitur pravas turpisque videmus
esse in deliciis summoque in honore vigere.
atque alios alii inrident Veneremque suadent
ut placent, quoniam foedo adflictentur amore,
nec sua respiciunt miseri mala maxima saepe.
nigra melichrus est, inmunda et fetida acosmos,
caesia Palladium, nervosa et lignea dorcas,
parvula, pumilio, chariton mia, tota merum sal,
magna atque inmanis cataplexis plenaque honoris.
balba loqui non quit, traulizi, muta pudens est;
at flagrans, odiosa, loquacula Lampadium fit.
ischnon eromenion tum fit, cum vivere non quit
prae macie; rhadine verost iam mortua tussi.
at nimia et mammosa Ceres est ipsa ab Iaccho,
simula Silena ac Saturast, labeosa philema.
cetera de genere hoc longum est si dicere coner.

1171-1191

Let as beautiful as you wish be the face
Of her whose limbs send off Venus’ mighty grace.
The sea is full of fish indeed, and before
Now we lived quite well without her. Naturally,
As we know, she does the same things an ugly
Woman does and gives off a foul smell, too, poor
Thing; at the same time her handmaids furtively
Sneer at her and flee away. But, in tears, a snubbed
Beau has often bedecked with wreath and posy
Her threshold and has the stately door-posts rubbed
With marjoram, the idiot, while imprinting
Kisses on the door, him who if he entered
Would be overwhelmed by just one foul-smelling
Effusion and would only seek the chance to
Graciously pull out while his lasting, brewing
Love tribulations would fall down and he, too,
Would blame himself for his injudiciousness
In treating a mere mortal like a goddess.
Our Venuses know that only too well, so
They hide with utmost care what goes on behind
The scenes of their life from those they want to bind
To themselves as an amorous prey. To no
Avail, as in thought you might notwithstanding
Draw forth into the light every single thing.
And if she’s a kind soul, not at all nasty,
You could forgive and forget her mind’s frailty.

sed tamen esto iam quantovis oris honore,
cui Veneris membris vis omnibus exoriatur;
nempe aliae quoque sunt; nempe hac sine viximus ante;
nempe eadem facit et scimus facere omnia turpi
et miseram taetris se suffit odoribus ipsa,
quam famulae longe fugitant furtimque cachinnant.
at lacrimans exclusus amator limina saepe
floribus et sertis operit postisque superbos
unguit amaracino et foribus miser oscula figit;
quem si iam ammissum venientem offenderit aura
una modo, causas abeundi quaerat honestas
et meditata diu cadat alte sumpta querella
stultitiaque ibi se damnet, tribuisse quod illi
plus videat quam mortali concedere par est.
nec Veneres nostras hoc fallit; quo magis ipsae
omnia summo opere hos vitae poscaenia celant,
quos retinere volunt adstrictosque esse in amore,
ne quiquam, quoniam tu animo tamen omnia possis
protrahere in lucem atque omnis inquirere risus
et, si bello animost et non odiosa, vicissim
praetermittere [et] humanis concedere rebus.

1192-1208

Nor does a woman always feigns love’s breathing
When she’s closely coiled to her lover, clasping
Him fast, sucking his lips with many kisses.
For she often does it in a sincere way
As she tries to attain mutual happiness
In the arena of amatory play.
And for no other reason would cattle, mares,
Wild beasts and sheep mate with their males if not
Because their very nature, once in heat, flares
Up and vivaciously reciprocates what
They get from their partner. Don’t you chance to see
That those under pleasure’s mutual lock and key
Mutually bear the pleasure shackles’ torture?
How often in the crossroads a canine pair,
Straining to separate themselves and go their
Own way, are tied by Venus’ strong ligature;
Something they would never do if unaware
Of the mutual enjoyment which can ensnare
Them. For this reason, as I repeatedly
Maintain, pleasure is shared reciprocally.

Nec mulier semper ficto suspirat amore,
quae conplexa viri corpus cum corpore iungit
et tenet adsuctis umectans oscula labris;
nam facit ex animo saepe et communia quaerens
gaudia sollicitat spatium decurrere amoris.
nec ratione alia volucres armenta feraeque
et pecudes et equae maribus subsidere possent,
si non, ipsa quod illarum subat, ardet abundans
natura et Venerem salientum laeta retractat.
nonne vides etiam quos mutua saepe voluptas
vinxit, ut in vinclis communibus excrucientur,
in triviis cum saepe canes discedere aventis
divorsi cupide summis ex viribus tendunt,
quom interea validis Veneris compagibus haerent?
quod facerent numquam, nisi mutua gaudia nossent,
quae iacere in fraudem possent vinctosque tenere.
quare etiam atque etiam, ut dico, est communis voluptas.

1209-1232

When in the mingling of seeds, fortuitously,
The woman has got the jump on the man’s strength
By a sudden flight, snatching it fast at length,
Children are born akin to the motherly
Seed, just like it happens with the father’s seed.
But those who look like the two parents, indeed
Come into being with the father’s body and
With the mother’s blood every time that the fanned
Mutual flame has mingled, in the limbs, Venus’
Seeds and neither of those was the winner. Thus
It may also happen that sometimes children
Are born resembling their grandparents and often
Their great-grandparents. Because in their body
Fathers and mothers often conceal many
First things, in many ways mixed up, which define
From father to father their family line.
From there Venus produces in various ways
The figures and brings back the voice, the gaze
And the forebears’ hair, considering that indeed
These come into being from a prearranged seed
No less than the face, the limbs and the body
Created within ourselves. And thus women
Are born from a father’s seed and males are then
Brought into life from the womb of a mother,
Constantly. A parturition, as it were,
Consists of a twin seed, and according to
The prevalent likeness of one of the two
Seeds, both from the mother and from the father,
The offspring takes after one or the other.

Et commiscendo quom semine forte virilem
femina vim vicit subita vi corripuitque,
tum similes matrum materno semine fiunt,
ut patribus patrio. sed quos utriusque figurae
esse vides, iuxtim miscentes vulta parentum,
corpore de patrio et materno sanguine crescunt,
semina cum Veneris stimulis excita per artus
obvia conflixit conspirans mutuus ardor,
et neque utrum superavit eorum nec superatumst.
fit quoque ut inter dum similes existere avorum
possint et referant proavorum saepe figuras,
propterea quia multa modis primordia multis
mixta suo celant in corpore saepe parentis,
quae patribus patres tradunt a stirpe profecta.
inde Venus varia producit sorte figuras,
maiorumque refert voltus vocesque comasque;
quandoquidem nihilo magis haec [de] semine certo
fiunt quam facies et corpora membraque nobis.
et muliebre oritur patrio de semine saeclum
maternoque mares existunt corpore creti;
semper enim partus duplici de semine constat,
atque utri similest magis id quod cumque creatur,
eius habet plus parte aequa; quod cernere possis,
sive virum suboles sivest muliebris origo.

1233-1277

Nor does the power of the gods take away
Anyone’s generative capacity,
So that his darling children will never say
The word father to him, letting his life go
Through passions attended by sterility.
This is what men mostly believe, and sadly
Soak sacred tables with much blood and also
Let wisps of smoke rise from their offerings on
The altars to impregnate their wives with a spawn
Of their own seed. By so doing they pointlessly
Tire gods and oracles. For some are partly
Sterile owing to their seed’s thickness, some on
The contrary as it’s much more watery
And thin than usual. That thin seed isn’t able to
Remain attached in one place and instantly
Withdraws turning into an infertile goo.
Again, the denser seed, thanks to a thicker
Ejaculation than needed and rushing
Out with lesser force, can’t let the seed filter
Into the proper spots or once inside them the male
And female seeds find the amalgamating
Very toilsome. For there is many a scale
In Venus’ harmonies. And some make some more
Pregnant, others get with child without fail
With others. Many had been married before
Several times but were sterile, too, and then
Sweetly and largely generated children
And raised them. And those whose spouses previously
Couldn’t conceive though fertile, in the home, often
Found a kindred soul with whom to have children
Able to help them in their senility.
It’s of the utmost importance that seeds may
Mingle with seeds designed for procreation,
The thick ones assembling with the watery
Seeds and vice versa. The food that lets us stay
Alive is crucial. The seeds’ condensation
In the limbs is made possible by certain
Things but with others, on the contrary, they
Get much thinner and liquefy. And the way
To obtain that tickling pleasure is again
Very important. For it is commonly
Believed that wives manage to better conceive
As wild beasts or quadrupeds do: with lowly
Breasts and upraised loins, the organs can receive
The seed. And there is no need for a wife to
Make flexible movements. A woman therefore
Inhibits fertilization, even more
So, if she herself takes care of her man’s love
And with the pelvis’ flexuous thrust and shove
Pushes the ploughshare away from the groove’s core
And diverts the seed outflow. Thus, in their best
Interest, whores shun frequent pregnancies lest
They should remain idle, and moreover spice
Up Venus’ toil. But not so hard pressed
Seem to be our spouses, ever free from vice.

Nec divina satum genitalem numina cuiquam
absterrent, pater a gnatis ne dulcibus umquam
appelletur et ut sterili Venere exigat aevom;
quod plerumque putant et multo sanguine maesti
conspergunt aras adolentque altaria donis,
ut gravidas reddant uxores semine largo;
ne quiquam divom numen sortisque fatigant;
nam steriles nimium crasso sunt semine partim,
et liquido praeter iustum tenuique vicissim.
tenve locis quia non potis est adfigere adhaesum,
liquitur extemplo et revocatum cedit abortu.
crassius hinc porro quoniam concretius aequo
mittitur, aut non tam prolixo provolat ictu
aut penetrare locos aeque nequit aut penetratum
aegre admiscetur muliebri semine semen.
nam multum harmoniae Veneris differre videntur.
atque alias alii complent magis ex aliisque
succipiunt aliae pondus magis inque gravescunt.
et multae steriles Hymenaeis ante fuerunt
pluribus et nactae post sunt tamen unde puellos
suscipere et partu possent ditescere dulci.
et quibus ante domi fecundae saepe nequissent
uxoris parere, inventast illis quoque compar
natura, ut possent gnatis munire senectam.
usque adeo magni refert, ut semina possint
seminibus commisceri genitaliter apta
crassaque conveniant liquidis et liquida crassis.
atque in eo refert quo victu vita colatur;
namque aliis rebus concrescunt semina membris
atque aliis extenvantur tabentque vicissim.
et quibus ipsa modis tractetur blanda voluptas.
id quoque permagni refert; nam more ferarum
quadrupedumque magis ritu plerumque putantur
concipere uxores, quia sic loca sumere possunt
pectoribus positis sublatis semina lumbis.
nec molles opus sunt motus uxoribus hilum.
nam mulier prohibet se concipere atque repugnat,
clunibus ipsa viri Venerem si laeta retractat
atque exossato ciet omni pectore fluctus;
eicit enim sulcum recta regione viaque
vomeris atque locis avertit seminis ictum.
idque sua causa consuerunt scorta moveri,
ne complerentur crebro gravidaeque iacerent,
et simul ipsa viris Venus ut concinnior esset;
coniugibus quod nil nostris opus esse videtur.

1278-1287

Neither through god’s will nor through Venus’ arrow
It comes to pass that a man loves a scarecrow,
Sometimes. For such a woman, by her kind stance,
Her demure manners and well-groomed appearance,
Will truly accustom you to spend with her
A lifetime. And custom is, as it were,
What breeds love. Because what is continuously,
Though delicately beaten down, is going to
Be won and left shaking. And then don’t you see
That the drops falling ever so daintily
On a stone will in the course of time bore through?

Nec divinitus inter dum Venerisque sagittis
deteriore fit ut forma muliercula ametur;
nam facit ipsa suis inter dum femina factis
morigerisque modis et munde corpore culto,
ut facile insuescat secum [te] degere vitam.
quod super est, consuetudo concinnat amorem;
nam leviter quamvis quod crebro tunditur ictu,
vincitur in longo spatio tamen atque labascit.
nonne vides etiam guttas in saxa cadentis
umoris longo in spatio pertundere saxa?