fe . Sir William Thompson's special work in science occupies him in a region where it is rather difficult for men of merely ordinary culture to follow in his footsteps. The higher departments of elec- trical and magnetic speculation, where scientific explorers of his eminence are engaged, are fields in wliich less advanced students soon lose their way, and grow bewildered. There will, probably, be fow persens outside a limited circle who will be able to realise the importance of those researches in terrestrial magnetism in which he describes Sir Edwaed Sabine as engaged, and in which he touches so nearly on great results. But there is one passage in the present address that will be more readily comprehended, and in which now specida- tions are contributed to a branch of scientific in- vestigation which baa taken a strong hold of late on the popular fancy. Sir William Thompson has out-Darwined Daewin in his conieotures concerning the origin of life on this planet. Peremptorily rejecting all theories of spontaneous generation, the new Pre- sident declares his firm belief that under no cir- cumstances has life been evolved from meteoro- logical conditions of inanimate matter. When the world first settled into shape and cooled down on the surface sufficiently to tolerate vegetable and animal existence, Sir William holds it to have been impossible — in opposition to all scientific knowledge — to suppose that life began of itself. In reading bis speech simple- minded people may begin to glow with the hope that the British Association is about to declare itself in favour of Adam and Eve, but in this expectation they will be disappointod. The new theory is an enlargement of that by which animal life and vegetation may be accounted for in tho case of new volcanic islands emerging from the sea. Seeds and germs of various kinds are supposed to be wafted thither by the winds, or floated thither by the waters from other portions of the animate globe. So when this globe itself was altogether inanimate, it is conjectured that the earliest germs found their way here in consequence of what may be loosely described as cosmical acci- dents. Other worlds may have come into collision, or in some other way have been wrecked in space, and scattered germ-bearing fragments may to some extent have fallen upon the surface of the earth, there by degrees to be developed into plants, zoophytes, animals, gorillas, and, ultimately. Presidents of the British Association. It is a bold theory, the only fault of which is that it merely tlirusts back certain diffi- culties for a stage, and does not clear them up. achievement yet made in moleouhir theory of the properties of matter is the Kinetic theory of gases, shadowed, forth by Lucre lius, detlnitely stateSi by Daniel BetnouJJi, largely he pro- p^F*-^* lameip P[JOU isoni{T} uamy .cRFtving out th^ grand conception of ■Jno.jjan9toos •nO!s.naidi,p„,p'„,„e-„„'/fe'-y «* ■im OJg iini(im 3tn 'nreS» ,ou v nBjd oi euBigoi eq, no isoj '«as oqj vfoqi ?Et]} Bsousnoiosaoo Aiei[i[ oq joii ]iim 00963, SiVm',VS OUT "■'An,"^"' '"" P"' "I'SI »R- , ,„„„, , -o,n.'un rjq" z\ pZi^tut.rr^. '"" ^■''f ijo aq^ [ poa ?" t ^AIUOB ^nidaa^ -["lillK jiiSajf |jnB8g OpoB t BO' ' JO ODBorm '^ f ' ■'" f'nSas aq, o? nuoasnn ja)i| pm a,dLd " \o^:„„nT ,::y%2T pa!«60 eaoM s.a,o„' au/ /a" p"n,' e.l "'" "' 9qi it{ ^Idhisaq, ,0 aaae,un[OA oL\ aq, 'Zl Z^ iZn """ J(ap OT -^^"'«JP «qion^ aq 'prnoM a.aq paX aZ'/^L^ "" '"'^^^r-iifaqTran-^^^-f'-S arajadV. J„ '"^ ^' ^° •'""°<"I n. saoissaoojd ojc p»n9 inods Is» eqii '>q? }o PSOJ ">:" scientific, turn us away from them for a time, '■ they come back upon us with irresistible force, " showing to us, through nature, the influence of a " free will, and teaching us that all living things " depend on one ever-acting Ceeatoe and Rulee." Sir William Thomson is very much to be con- gratulated upon this inaugural address, which was a masterpiece^^ THE LATIN MOTTO IN THE PUMP ROOM. To the Editor of the Bath CuRONictE. Sir, — I do uot wonclnr that "Quondam Paerlagogns" is Iiu/.zled by the verses «f Lucretius, as quoted by him from Korljiyer'a editiou. My references are to Lucretius vi. 'tTfl, f<6S, and 1072, in I'rofessor Munro's edition. And if he will refer to the note of that eminent critic on the first of these passaj;re.s, he will see that itqiiarmn may be pro- n^iunoed as four syllables, the first two short ; from which it follows that the verse in the liath £*ump Koom is, as I said, metrically correct. I do not contend that the first n is louf.', though I do not concede the "impossibility" of its being so. F. A. Paley. Cambridge, February 10, 1873. To the Editor of the Bath Chronicle. Sin, — There can be littlo doubt that " Quondam Preda- gogus" is right in his proposition that the first syllable of (iquainim can by no possibility be regarded as long, though his reference to " Wakefield followed by the l:)est editor Forbiger" is not re-assiu'ing. " Quondam P;edagogus " can hardly be ignorant of the editions of Lucretius by Lachmann and by Mr. Mnnro, scholars and critics, be- tween whom and such men as Wakefield and Forbiger, the distance is simply immeasurable. In the three lines referred to by Mr. Paley (Mr. Paley never refen-ed at all to the No. 2 of " Quondam Pseda- gogus"), Munro, following Lachmann, reads — 1. Fit quoque ubi in luagnas aqUce vastasque lucunas. 2. (.([uie calidum faciuut aqua; taetum atque saporem. 3. \itigeni latices aqiiii fontibiis au J s) PREFACE. HERE is no poem, within the circle of the ancient Classics, more \ entitled to attention, than the " Nature of Thistgs," by Titus til Lucretius Carus. It unfolds to us the rudiments of that philo- sophy which, under the plastic hands of Gassendi and Newton, has, at length, obtained an eternal triumph over every other hypothesis of s^ the Grecian schools ; it is composed in language the most captivating i^ and perspicuous that can result from an equal combination of simpli- \ city and polish, is adorned with episodes the most elegant and im- \^ pressive, and illustrated by all the treasures of natural history. It is the Pierian Spring from which Virgil drew his happiest draughts of -^ inspiration ; and constitutes, as well in point of time, as of excellence, ■^ the first didactic poem of antiquity. In consequence, nevertheless, of the cloud that, for many centuries posterior to the Christian oera, hung over the Epicurean system, which it is the professed object of Lucretius to develop, this exquisite and unrivalled production became generally proscribed and repudiated, till at last it was rarely to be met with, but in the libraries of the learned, or the curious. Having accompanied, however, Epicurus in his fall, it was destined to be a partaker of his rise ; and hence, on the revival of letters in the thirteenth centur}^ when the atomic doc- trine became once more a subject of investigation, the Nature op Vol. I. a ii PR E r A C E. Things was clrags:ed forth from its learned dust, and its beauties re- investigated and unfolded. On the resurrection of science, Italy first threw oft' the mouldy shroud that enveloped her; and here first we behold a restoration of the labours of Lucretius. Brescia has the honour of having, on this occasion, led tiie way, by a folio edition of the original, correctly and sumptuously printed by Ferrandi in 1473 ; Verona, Venice, and Bologna, spfeedily and successfully followed. Earl}' in the ensuing century, various impressions appeared in France and Germany ; and at last, under the superintendence of Creech, in our own country, in 1695. To enter into an examination of the comparative merits of these dif- ferent editions of the original, would be to overstep the bounds of my character as a translator. It is sufficient to observe, that of those which have hitherto appeared, the most approved, and by far the most correct, are Havercamp's and Wakefield's ; the latter of which was only published in 1796, and by the elegance of its typography, the accuracy and re-integra^tion of its text, and -the rich and com- ])rehensive commentary with which it is accompanied, has amply atoned for the tardiness with which the merits of Lucietius^ were acknowledged in Great Britain. The Wakefield edition has since been reprinted b}' M. Eichstadt at Leipsic, or rather is at this time reprinting ; the first volume only having hi- therto made its appearance, which comprises the entire text, and what was certainly much wanted, a new and very copious Index. Its size is octavo, and its date 1801. The remaining rolumes are to contain the notes, together with observations by the learned Editor himself. The popularity of Lucretius, however, has hitherto been more re- tarded by the want of poetic talents in his translators, than from any deficiency of original editions ; and Great Britain, which was latest PREFACE. iii in acknowledging his vernacular merit, possesses, to the present hour, no version that can communicate any adequate idea of it to those unacquainted with Latin ; and is still far behind what has been re- peatedly effected on the Continent. The best version Avhich lias hitherto been otlered to the public, is that, in Italian, of the justly celebrated Alessandro Marchetti, who died in 1714, after having been Professor of Mathematics in the Uni- versity of Pisa during the greater part of his life. Marchetti's transla- tion is in blank verse, and is fully entitled to the high commendation bestowed upon it by his friend Graziani, himself a celebrated poet, as well as chief secretary of state to the duke of Modena. '' You have translated this poem," observes he, in a letter to the Professor, " with great felicity and ease ; unfolding its sublime and scientific materials in a delicate style and elegant manner ; and, what is still more to be admired, your diction seldom runs into a lengthened pa- raphrase, and never without the greatest judgment*." I shall often have occasion to refer to this version as I proceed, and the reader will hence be enabled to form his own opinion of its excellence. Mar- chetti, like Lucretius himself, died beforehis labours were in possession of the public; and, probably in consequence of an interdict from the papal chair, the first edition of his translation was printed in England, by George Pickard, 1717, in 8vo. being three years after the transla- tor's decease. But a much move elegant edition was brought for- wards at Paris, in 17o4, on the fine woven paper of Olanda, and accompanied with engravings from imaginary, but well-executed de- signs by Cochin. Yet the value <;f this splendid edition is much diminished by an almost incalculable number of errors, which have unaccountably been suffered to creep into the text. A new and more * L.'ha poi. V. S. illustrissima tradutto con giain facilita e feliciu ipicgando niateiie altissmic e scliolas- tiche con stile delicate, e con maniere soavi ; e quel chi e piu da amrnirarsi' e stata sulle parole, nc Fe ne c allontanata colla parafrasi, se non rarissime lolta, c con grandissimo «riudizio. a 2 iv PREFACE. correct edition, with similar engravings, was proposed at Paris about ten years ago : but the poUtical troubles in which France has ever since been involved, have prevented it from being carried into execution. The translation of " The Nature of Things," however, forms not the whole of the poetical labours of Marchetti ; for he published, in 1707, a version of the odes of Anacreon in quarto ; and left behind him, in manuscript, a complete translation of the iEneid in ottava riraa, and an unfinished philosophic poem, written in imitation of Lucretius and Empedocles, upon Tn£ Nature of Things, adapted to the lateft discoveries, and the moil approved modern systems. It was to this work he intended to have prefixed the beautiful dedication to Lewis the Great, which the Abbe Arnaud alludes to in his Journal, and conceives to have been designed for his translation of Lucretius. It is much to be regretted, that Marchetti did not live to complete this, which appears to have been his favourite, poem, and upon which he had laboured with close application for many years. It is seldom that so large a share of poetic and mathematical talents concentrate in the same person. Signora Borghini, who had been a diligent pupil of the professor's, and had as successfully followed him in the study of poetry as of the mathematics, pays him the following comphment in one of her Canzonets, a collection of which was afterwards published at Naples, and dedicated to her preceptor himself: Pero che dentro saggj, eccelsi, e santi Carmi, con nuovo stile, e sovrumano. Principj ignoti, e meravigHe ascose Chiari per te vedransi ; e se davanti A te SI dolcemente il gran Romano Scrisse Della Natura deljle Cose, Di piu degne e famose Opre tu rieto andrai, che al vero lume .Sciogli per I'alta via sicure piume. P R P: F A C E. V Thy heavenly verse, sublime, and sage, Propoands, through each unrivall'd page, Truths that, till now, ne'er sprang to birth. The mysteries of heaven and earth. By thee the mighty Roman sings In sweetest strain. The Rise of Things ; But thy own work shall yield thy name A worthier and a wider fame : A firmer plumage shall display, A loftier flight, and brighter day. For translations of Lucretius I have hitherto sought in vain amidst the Hterature of Spain and Portugal ; and I have reason to beHeve, that not one of any reputation exists in either country. Tliis, how- ever, is not a httle extraordinary, since it is a fact which I trust will sufficiently appear in the ensuing attempt, that both Lope and Gar- cilasso de la Vega, Ercilla and Camoens, have been indebted to The Nature of Things, for many of their best and happiest pas- sages ; and Frachetta has written in Spanish a laborious commentary upon it, in a thick quarto volume, entitled, " Breve Spositione di tutta rOpera di Lucretio." This last work I have examined, and shall occasionally refer to. In the German language, a version from the pen of M. F. X. Mayr made its appearance in two volumes octavo, in 1784 and 1785. It was printed at Vienna by Mosle, but I have not been able to obtain a copy. I have, however, seen De Wit's Dutch translation, published in I709, but without being induced to imitate it. The translation is in prose, accompanied with allegorical plates, and strangely subdivides every book into a variety of sections. Of all countries, however, that have attempted to naturalize The Nature of Tuij^gs, France has been most prolific in her exertions. Her earliest effort was a prose version published in 1650 by M. de Marolles, an abbe of Villeloin, and, for some reason that I am not Vi PREFACE. acquainted with, dedicated it to Christiana, queen of S\yeden. The translator makes a boast of having completed his labours in less than four months; but he appears to. have possessed no talents for the un- dertaking, and rapidity is the only boast of which he: can avail him- self. " If the abbe had succeeded," sajs Bayle, " only as well as the English translator Creech, he would have had a better fate ; but he neither understood Latin nor the Epicurean. philosophy *." Yet, for want of a better, this miserable performance Jong continued to be a marketable book : a second edition of it was published in 1659 ; and a third, in l663, in which the author attempted to prove, that he was better acquainted both with the philosophy and history of Epicurus than the world had given him credit for, and hence subfixed a version of the tenth book of Diogenes Laertius : at the same time, dissatisfied with the unsuccess of his first dedication, Jie descended from thrones and sceptres, and addressed it to the president of the Academic Kojjale, which was then just instituted. It is singular to observe, that in 1677 this very translation, hastily as it was professed to have been written, and abounding with errors of every kind, was itself translated into French verse by James Langlois, who hereby unequivocally proved himself to have been totally unacquainted with the language in which the poem he undertook to versify Mas originally composed. It appears to have met with the contempt it deserved ; and the vanity of the ver- sifier seems to have heen solely excited to this absurd effort by a truly metrical translation of detached parts of Lucretius, in which the clas- sical muse of Moliere was well known to have indulged herself about this very time, and the ill fate of which might have served as a sub- ject for one of his own tragedies. The first intention of Moliere was to have versified the entire poem; but finding that he was hereby threatened with a larger portion of labour than he could find time to engage in, he confined his rhymes to its more decorative parts, and * Bayle Diet. Hist. Art. Lucrece. res F. B K E F A C E. vri tfeliveired the rest over -to plain prose, A translation thus strangely and ««couthl^'^ tesselated, had it ever been completed, must have been highly unworthy of the Roman bard ; but it would, nevertheless, at that time, have been no inconsiderable present to the writer's coun- trymeni It must be confessed, moreover, that Molicrc was well qua- lified for the office of an interpreter from the course of his juvenile studies in the college at Clermont. Gassendi, the modern restorer of the doctrine of Epicurus, was, at tliat period, one of its professors : the favourite disciple of Gassendi was Chapelle, who, both xiow, and through the whole of Moliere's life, was his most familiar and intimate friend. With Chapelle, the French dramatist fiequently attended the professor's philosophical lectures ; and though never a convert ta his te- nets, from the literary conversations, which hence ensued between him- self and his fellow-student, not only during their residence at col- lege, but in their subsequent days, he must have been sufficiently initiated into the doctrines of the Epicurean system. Moliere, as he proceeded with his version, uniforn^ly rehearsed it both to Chapelle and Rohaut, who jointly testified their approbation of the performance. But it was predestined to perish abortively, although, at leno-th, brought very nearly to its completion. A servant of the translator, to whom he had committed the care of his dress-wig, being in want of paper to put if into curl, most unluckily laid hold of a loose sheet of the version itself^ ^hicli^v'as immedialtely rent to pieces, and thrown into the fire'"as%o6ri as it had performed its office. Moli6re was an irritable man, and the adc'idertt was too provoking to bd endured : he determined rie'v^r t'o 'translate anothei' page, and flung the whole re- mainder of his version into the flames that had thus consumed a part of it. In 1685 appeared another translation, in French prose, by thebaron des Coiitures, v/ho also published, in the same year, an apologetic treatise, entitled, " Sur la Morale d'Epicurc." To his version of the viii PREFACE. Nature of Things is prefixed a life of its author, drawn up from the materials already furnished him by Ciunta, Le Blanc, Hubert Giffane, Lambine, and other commentators upon the poem : and to every book is appended a small body of notes, many of which show him to have been better acquainted with his subject than de Ma- rolles. As a translator, however, he has succeeded less than as an ex- positor. His version is prolix and paraphrastic, inelegant, and de- void of spirit. It, nevertheless, obtained a second edition in I692 ; and a third in 1708, but Avithout any material alterations in either. De Coutures was succeeded in his attempt by Alexander Deleyre, who is well known as one of the writers of the Encyclopedic, but still more so, as the author of a translation of Lord Verulam's philosophic treatises. Deleyre died in 1797, and left this version among several other inedited works. It has not j^et been published, nor is it much entitled to such a distinction, if not superior to his metrical romances set to music by his friend Jean Jaques Rousseau. Deleyre was, in all probability, well acquainted with the Epicurean hj-^pothesis, but he possessed little of the fire of genuine poetry. He may have been a well-meaning man, but he was, in the early part of his life, a rigid Jesuit, and in the latter, a morose philosopher. Be the merit of the manuscript version of DelejTe, however, what it may, the necessity of its publication is now altogether superseded by the very elegant translation, in French verse, of M. Le Blanc de Guillet, which was neatly printed at Paris in two volumes octavo, in 1788*, and dedicated to M. Dionis du Sejour; and perhaps, by its appearance and intrinsic merit, first of all induced Deleyre to relin- quish his design. The version is accompanied with the original text • I have also seen a work which pretends to be a translation of the Nature of Things, and which was published at Amsterdam, in French prose, about twenty years ago. It is an anonymous performance, and rather an abridgement of the poem than a full version. Its size is small octavo, and it entitles itself Traduction Libre. 7 PREFACE. ix in alternate pages, which, from a casual examinatioTi, 1 believe to be Creech's : it is decorated with plates, illustrated by notes, and in- troduced by a comprehensive preliminary discourse, which contains a biography of the original author, chiefly drawn up from Giffanc, or as he is more generally called, GifFanius, and Creech, and possessing whatever inaccuracies have been accidentally committed by the latter, together with some general observations upon the Epicurean hypo- thesis. In this hypothesis, M. de Guillet does not, however, appear to have been very deeply versed ; and hence, even in the translation itself, he is sometimes incorrect, and still more frequently obscure. It is, nevertheless, upon the whole, a work of great merit, and ranks second amidst the translations of Lucretius which have yet appeared in any nation. Of course, it ranges immediately next to that of Mar- chetti. In our own language, the first attempt to naturalize the poem before us was by Evelyn in 1656 ; upon which occasion, almost every friend of his who could -write in rhj-me seems to have flattered him with com- plimentary verses. Evelyn, however, and it is a proof that he was not altogether deficient in taste, still felt himself unqualified for the task. He had, at this time, only published a small fascicle contain- ing the first book, with an appendix of notes which discover no small degree of general reading and acquaintance with his subject. But conscious, upon actual trial, of his own inability, and trembling at the difficulties which lay before him, he took shelter under a critical remark of Casaubon, and doubted, to adopt his ow^n version of it, " whether it were possible for any traduction to equal the elegancy and excellency of the original ;" at the same time adding, that " he is persuaded, men will rather take the pains to converse the original, than stay till the rest be translated into English." With the first Vol. T. b X PREFACE. book, therefore, closed the labours of Eveljn ; and no one who is ac- quainted with his versio;i, will regret that it did not extend flirther. About twenty years posterior to this unsatisfactory effort, Creech introduced, before the public, his translation of the entire poem; and shortly afterwards published, at the Oxford press, a new and valuable edition of tlie original, with Latin notes. Creech was an admirable scholar, and no contemptible poet ; but he generally wrote with too much rapidity, and hence became alike inaccurate and inelegant. He was, moreover, at all times, more studious to convey a knowledge of the simj^Ie idea of his author, than of the ornamental dress in which it was conveyed. His version of Lucretius, however, is some- times loaded with ideas, and even whole lines which have no foun- dation in the original, and sometimes abruptly curtailed of others that are absolutely necessary to the force and elucidation of the argument. Of such redundancies and defects I shall occasionally have to take notice in the prosecution of the v/ork before me. But after all, it is no small share of praise to Creech, that he completed a task, which Evelyn, in a copy of complimentary verses addressed to the former on the publication of his poem, frankly declares, he was unable to accomplish, and which no one, to the present moment, has since dared to encounter. Dryden was, at this time, a young man ; but though green in years, he was mature in poetic powers ; and equally disgusted with both trans- lators, he was resolved to try the effect of his own talents, and, if possible, to give his countrymen some idea of the real excellencies of the original. For this purpose, he selected a variety of passages, but chiefly of the ornamental kind, as the beginnings and endmgs of the diflerent books; and upon these he bestowed all the polish and elegance PRE r ACE. xi of which he was master. The applause to which he was entitled, he abundantly received ; and had he translated the entire poem with the same felicity and spirit which he has infused into these detached mor- sels, the version of Creech would have been long since forgotten, and that of the ensuing pages, jierliaps, never made its appearance. Yet Dryden has, in general, rather paraphrased than translated ; his lines are often double the number of the original ; and he has, at times, unfortunately attempted to improve his author by ideas of his own creation. To Dryden's specimens succeeded a prose version of the entire poem by Guernier and his colleagues. It was published in 1743, in two vo- lumes octavo, and, like the French version of de Guillet, is accom- panied by Creech's edition of the original in opposite pages. The translator's motive for preferring prose to verse, he thus explains in a brief introduction : " Our language, though copious in compliment and love-expressions, is but very narrow and barren in terms of art, and phrases suited to philosophy; and the technical words we have invented move coarsely and cloudily in verse. For these reasons, the poetical translation of Creech is often more perplexed and harsh than the ori- ginal ; it is, in many places, a wide and rambling paraphrase ; in others, the translator contracts and curtails his author, and is fre- quently guilty of omissions for many lines together. This is no won- der ; for the poet he undertook is not to be confined and shackled by the rules of rhyme ; his verse is nearest, and runs more naturally into prose than any other, Juvenal and Horace only excepted, among all the classics. I have endeavoured, because disencumbered from the fetters of poetry, faithfully to disclose his meaning in his own terms, and to shew him whole and entire *." • Preface, p. 5. b 2 xii PREFACE. But it is impossil)le to shew Lucretius xchole and entire in a prose translation of any kind; and to exhibit him merely as a philosopher^ and not as a poet, is to rob him of by far the greater portion ot his merit, — of that which is peculiarly his own. For, whatever may be the value wc affix to his doctrines and scientific inductions, the splen- dour of his imagery, and the harmony of his numbers are still infi- nitely more valuable. The translator's animadversions upon Creech are, unquestionably, avcU founded; yet the unfavourable opinion he has expressed of the English language, proves him to be but little ac- quainted with its extent or flexibility. Of itself, and without a recur- rence to abstruse or technical terms, it possesses a vocabulary suffi- ciently varied and rich for all the common purposes of science and lite- rature ; yet the present day affords ample proofs that under the plastic hands of a judicious poet, the most recondite terms of the learned lan- o-uao-es may be introduced into it with elegance, perspicuity, and melo- dy ; nor is it possible, perhaps, to instance any modern tongue with which they will so harmoniously amalgamate as our own. In 1799, another effort was made to introduce The Nature of Things in an English dress, by an anonymous author, who presented the first book alone as a specimen of his abilities for this purpose. The sample thus otTered was in Iambic rhyme, and the rest of the poem was to have followed, as soon as the public had testified its approba- tion of the attempt. Without obtrusively depreciating the talents of a contemporary writer, it is sufficient to observe, that nothing farther of this version has been heard of; that the decision of the public was unfavourable ; and that the author appears, in consequence, to have submitted, with suitable modesty, to the tribunal to which he appealed. if results then, from this general survey, that no translation of The Naturr of Things has hitherto been presented to the public 7 PREFACE. xiii by any means worthy, cither of our own language, or of the intrinsic merits of the original. To remedy this defect in English literature, is the object of the present attempt ; an object, unquestionably, accompanied with diffi- culties, and difficulties which no effort has yet been able to sur- mount. I shall not, however, attempt to aggravate them, by dis- ingenuously depreciating the powers of the language in which 1 write, or by atfecting to discover a general obscurity in he original, which, to those who have closely studied its style and design, by no means exists. Contrary to the example afforded by my predecessors, I have pre- ferred blank verse to rhyme; not, however, from any dread of superior labour, but from a persuasion that, in mixed subjects of description and scientific precept, it possesses a decisive advantage over the couplet. It bends more readily to the topics introduced, it exhibits more dignity from its unshackled freedom, and displays more har- mony from its greater variety of cadence. I have also attempted, what ought, indeed, to be the attempt of every translator, to give the manner, as well as the matter, of the original, to catch its characteristic style, and delineate its turns of expression. The translation is accompanied with a perpetual commentary, in the form of subjoined notes, and a correct copy of the Latin text. With respect to the propriety or advantage of the latter, I was for some time doubtful. Mr. Wakefield was the first who proposed it to me ; the plan was afterwards strenuously advised by many other lite- rary friends of the first eminence, and I at length resolved to adopt it. In the choice of an edition, I found no difficulty : the intrinsic excel- lence, and pre-eminence of Mr. Wakefield's own, precluding all liesi- xiv PREFACE. tation upon the subject. I have at present, however, a motive for re- printing this edition, of M-hich, 1 could not, at first, be aware : for al- most all its copies were unfortunately consumed by the fire that, about two years ago, destroyed Mr. Hamilton's Printing-offices. To this edition, nevertheless, I have not, in every instance, adhered in my translation ; on some few occasions preferring the lection of prior ex- positors, and in two or three cases suggesting emendations of my own : yet, not chusing to break in upon the integrity of Mr. Wakefield's text, I have merely pointed out, and defended, such variations in the commentary. This commentary is composed of notes of different descriptions, -which will, in general, be found equally original in their design and materials. It consists of parallel passages, or obvious imitations of Lucretius by other poets, whether Latin, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portugueze, or English ; together with original passages from Greek writers, to which our poet has himself occasionally referred, or from which he has manifestly borrowed. It consists, likewise, of casual observations on the different versions of Lucretius in our own, as well as foreign languages ; and comparisons of the doctrines eluci- dated or animadverted upon in the course of the poem, with others of a similar tendency, which have been advanced or maintained by more modern philosophers. As I chiefly design this publication for the use of the English reader, I have, moreover, been punctilious in sub- fixing translations of all the passages from foreign writers, whose works I have found it necessary to quote. In cases where we have already adequate translations of such works in our own language, I have readily availed myself of such assistance : but in all other instances, as also where the version in common use is not sufficiently close to the original author to answer the purpose of the quotation, I have taken the liberty of giving a version myself This, as will be PREFACE. XV obvious, has largely augmented my labours, but it was a trouble tlial seemed imperiously demanded. In attentively perusing the poem before us, it is impossible to avoid noticing the striking resemblance which exists between many of its most beautiful passages, and various parts of the poetic books of the Scriptures : and the Abbe de St. Pierre, as well as several other Con- tinental writers, have hence conceived Lucretius to have been ac- quainted with them. The idea, it must be confessed, is but little more than a conjecture, but it is a conjecture which may easily be defended. Virgil, who though considerably younger than Lucretius, was contemporary with him, and attained his majority on the very day of our poet's decease, was indisputably acquainted with the pro- phecies of Isaiah ; and Longinus, who flourished during the reign of Aurelian, quotes from the Mosaic writings by name. It is not diffi- cult to account for such an acquaintance ; for different books of the Bible, and especially those of the Pentateuch, appear to have been translated into Greek by the Jews themselves, at least three centuries anterior to the Christian sera, for the use of their brethren, who, at that time, were settled in Egypt, and other Grecian dependencies, and, residing among the Greeks, had adopted the Greek language. The Septuagint itself, moreover, was composed and published about the same period, by the express desire, and under the express patron- age of Ptolemy Philadelphus'; who, convinced of the importance and excellence of the Plebrew Scriptures, was desirous of diffus- ing a knowledge of them among the various classes of men of letters who, at his own invitation, had now thronged to Alexandria from every quarter. Theocritus was at this time among the number, and largely partook of the liberality of the Egyptian monarch ; and Sanctius seems fairly to have established it, that the labours of the Grecian idyllist are deeply imbued with the spirit, and evince xYi PREFACE. manifest imitations of the language of the Song of Songs. Dr. Hodg- son has, indeed, ascended very considerably higher, and even chal- lenges Anacreon with having copied, in a variety of instances, from this inimitable relic of the sacred poetry of Solomon. This accusation may, perhaps, be doubtful; but it would be easy to prove, if the dis- cussion were necessary in the present place, that, during the dynasty of the Ptolemies, not only the Muses of Aonia were indebted to the Muse of Sion, but that the eclectic philosophy, which first raised its monster head within the same period, incorporated many of the wildest tra- ditions of the Jewish rabbis into its chaotic hypothesis. The literary connection which subsisted between Rome and Alexandria is well known; and it is not to be supposed that writings, which appear to have been so highly prized in the one city, would be received with total indifference in the other. Be this, however, as it may; be the parallelisms I advert to, de- signed, or accidental, I trust I shall rather be applauded than con- demned, for thus giving a loose to the habitual inclination of my heart. Grotius, Schultens, Lowth, and Sir William Jones, have set me the example; and, while treading in the steps of such illustrious scholars, I need not be afraid of public censure. Like them, I wish to prove that the sacred pages are as alluring by their language, as they are important in their doctrines ; and that, whatever be the boast of Greece and Rome with respect to poetic attainments, they are often equalled, and occasionally surpassed by the former. The man who, professing the Christian religion, is acquainted with the an- cient Classics, ought, at the same time, to be acquainted with biblical criticism ; he has, otherwise, neglected his truest interest, and lived but for little purpose in the world. I delight in profane literature, but still more do I delight in my Bible : they are lamps, that aiford a mutual assistance to each other. In point of importance, however, PREFACE. xvii I pretend not that they admit of comparison ; and could it once bo demonstrated, that the pursuits are inconsistent with each other, I would slnit up Lucretius for ever, and rejoice in the conflagration of the Alexandrian library. Having thus occasionally extended my researches smd resemblances to the Hebrew, the reader must excuse me, if, from a love of Asiatic poetry, I sometimes lead him into the sister languages of Arabia and Persia : yet, I trust, he will seldom have to repent of his journey, or return without an adequate recompense for its distance and fatigue. To the general work, I have prefixed a biography of our poet. Those, I have hitherto met with, are little more than dry catalogues of dates and names, uninteresting in narrative, barren in facts, and questionable in chronology. I have pursued a different plan, have presented Lucretius, as far as I have been able, in the circle of his connexions, delineated him from his own writings, analysed the doc- trines he professed, and defended him fi'om the attacks of malevolence and ignorance. In a subjoined Appendix, I have given a comparative statement of the rival systems of philosophy that flourished in his own oera : have followed them^ in their ebbs and flows, through succeeding generations, and identified their connexion with various theories of the present day. At the end of the work is added a copious, and, I trust, a useful Index. I have thus put the reader into possession of his bill of fare, and may perhaps be allowed to hope, without vanity, that he will not be dissatisfied with the entertainment provided for him. " A good book," says an elegant writer of our own times, " is a creation ; a good translation, a resurrection *." In the present instance, the creation is indisputable, the resurrection remains yet to be proved. * Marquis de Boufflers. See his Discourse on Literature_ delivered iw^ the Academy of Sciences and Rolite Arts at Berlin, Aug. 9, 1 798. V-'OL. I. C THE LIFE OF L UC RETIU S, i^oNCERNiNG this illimitable poet, and most excellent philosopher, History presents us but with few authentic documents : and hence there are many circumstances of his life upon which writers have not been able to agree. For this dearth of materials, it is not difficult to account. Lucretius lived and died in a period in which the 63^6 of every citizen was directed to public concerns ; Avhen the Roman empire was distracted by the ambition of aspiring demagogues, and the jealousies of contending factions : and when the party that tri- umphed in the morning was often completely defeated by night. Added to which, the life of Lucretius was spent in the shades of philosophy and quiet : a situation, undoubtedly, best calculated for the improvement of the heart, and the cultivation of philosophy or the muses, yet little checquered with those lights and shades, with that perpetual recurrence of incident, and contrast of success and misfortune, which are often to be met with in the lives of the more active ; and which importunately call for the pen of the biographer. XX THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. while tliev afford him abundant materials for his narrative. From the records tliat yet remain, however, and the most plausible conjectures of his editors and annotatorSj I am enal^led to present the reader ■with the following pages. Titus Lucretius Cams was born nt Rome, in the second year of the 171st Olympiad *, the GoSth of the city, and the 90th anterior to the Christian a?ra, during the consulate of Licinius Crassus, and Quintus Mutius Sca;vola ; being one year younger than Caesar, and nine than Cicero. His name imports, that he was a descendant, and he is o-enerallv admitted to have been so, from one of the most ancient and illustrious families of tise commonwealth ; whose collateral branches had successively been elected to the highest offices in the state, and had often evinced the most distinguished abilities in their respective characters of consuls, tribunes, and prajtors. From which of these * I have followed the Chronicle of Eiisebiiis, in fixing the dates both of the birth and death of Lu- cretius • for they so well correspond with the few political facts which are incidentally connected with his Jife as to carry along with them a strong internal proof of precision and veracity. These dates, however, have been disputed by a variety of biographic critics ; and, almost every one of them having offered a dif- ferent ground for his dissent, no man, perhaps, has ever had so many periods fixed, either for his na- tivity or decease. Lambinus asserts, that, upon the calculation of Eusebius, he must have been born under the consulate of Domitius xEnobarbus and Caius Cassius Longinus ; but this would be to fix hi» birth in the first, instead of in the/econcl year of the lysst Olympiad, and of course in the 657th, instead of the 6sSth year of the city. Creech, on the contrary, supposes him to have been born a year later, in- stead of a year sooner than Eustbius has computed. Peter Criniti, a Florentine writer, declares that he was older, and commonly allowed to be older, than Cicero, Terence, or Varro. De Poet. Lat. 1. ii. Des Coutures, in the life of Lucretius, prefixed to bis French version, brings him into the world not less than /'tcelve vcars earlier than Cicero ; and he is countenanced by Giffanius, and Pareus, the editor of the Dau- phin edition. Even Gassendi, whose accuracy is seldom to be impeached, has, upon this point, made a most extraordinary mistake ; and, confounding the day of his decease with that of his birth, asserts that, accoidmg to the Chronicle of Eusebius, Lucretius JW in the 1 7 1st Olympiad, at the age of forty-three j and then, reasoning from the very error into which he had been betrayed, proceeds to contend that he must have been even older than Zeno, the preceptor at Athens, of Cicero, Atticus, Memmius, and our poet himself. De Vita Epic. ii. 6 It is either from, a blind copy, or a similar misapprehension, that our own countryman, P. Blount, assigns him an equal degree of antiquity, and contends that he was born about the year of the city do ; consequently, not less than twenty-seven years anterior to the undisputed nati. vity of Cicero. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xxi branches, however, our poet immediately derived his descent, we have no satisfactory document to iiilorai us : but his prainonien of Titus naturally refers us to the direct line of that warm and excellent patriot, tlic celebrated Titus, son of Spurius Lucretius, memorable from his election to the otfice of inter-rex, on the abolition of the Roman monarchy, and brother of the chaste and virtuous Lucretia, who slew herself upon the vi(jIation of her person by Tarquin the sixth, and hereby produced the expulsion of the Tarquin family from the Roman throne. It was upon this expulsion of the Tarquins, that Spurius Lucretius was mianimously chosen inter-rex, or king for the time being, till the meditated change in the constitution was completed, and the people had decided on the two citizens best qualified to sujiport the new dig- nity of consuls. On this decision, little debate seems to have been necessary, and Junius Brutus, and Tarquinius Collatinus, the widowed husband of Lucretia, were unanimously inducted into the consular ofiice. Upon the death of Brutus, who fell a short time afterwards, fighting gloriously for his countr}', against the combined forces which the Tarquins had mustered up with a vain hope of regaining possession of the Roman throne, Spm'ius Lucretius was elected consul in his stead *. Collatinus had retired from public service to the tran- quillity of a rural life, and the celebrated Valerius, afterwards sur- named Poplicola, divided the consulate with him. Spurius Lucre- tius, however, enjoyed this additional proof of public estimation and gratitude but for a very short period. lie died only a few days after his election to the chief magistracy : and Titus Lucretius, his son, from whom it appears probable our poet immediately descended, was unanimously appointed in his stead. The consulate was a dignity which Titus Lucretius enjoyed repeatedly ; and he had always the * Cic. de Fin. lib. ii. xxii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. additional dignity of possessing Valerius Poplicola for his colleague, the most able general, as well as the most consummate politician of his age. In the assault of Porsenna upon the Koman bridge, in favour of the Tarquins, and which immortalized the gallant Horatius Codes, Titus Lucretius commanded the left wing of the Roman army ; but was under the necessity of retiring from the field of battle, in consequence of a dangerous wound, before Codes had signalized him- self by his desperate resistance. He was likewise consul, and joint commander in chief with Poplicola when, in the year of Rome 247, the Sabines were completely defeated in their first attack upon the Roman state*, after it had assumed the form of a republic. Though it seems to be uniformly admitted that this is the family, and probably the branch of that family, from which our poet sprang, history affords us not a single glimpse of information as to the praeno- men, or profession of his father : the rank he maintained in the repub- lic, or the patrimonial property he was possessed of. Cicero inciden- tally enumerates three citizens of the name of Lucretius, who were contemporaries with Carus, and probably connected by the consangui- nity of brothers, or cousins ; Marcus Lucretius, an acquaintance both of the Roman orator and of Caius Verres f, Quintus Lucretius Vispil- lio, and Lucretius Aphilia, both of whom he has introduced into his book of Celebrated Orators, and whose talents he has discriminated by representing the former as deeply skilled in the law, and admirable as a chamber counsel, and the latter as posscst of abilities better adapted for popular harangues than for legal opinions _\.. He likewise speaks of a Quintus Lucretius, who fled from Sulmo, the birth-place of Ovid, upon the approach of Marc Antony §, and who appears to have been * Plut. in Poplic. t In Verr. lib. i. % Erat in privatis causis Q^ Lucretius Vispillo, et acutus, et jiirisperitus : nam Aphilia (in other copies Afllia, Ofella, OfiUus), aptior concionibus, quam judiciis. § Ad Attic. lib. viii. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xxiii a friend of his own, and his brother Quintus. But it is most probable, that the Quintus Lucretius here mentioned, is the same person as Lu- cretius Vispilho, and who, moreover, according to Cresar, was of se- natorial dignity, and that Cicero has only in this place incidentally omitted his surname. Lucretius Offella, who is highly celebrated in history for his military exploits, and more especially for his able conduct at the siege of Prce- nefte, must have been many years older than our philosopher, and seems to have been rather an uncle, than a relation of any other kind. He fell a sacrifice, in the eighteenth year of the age of Lucretius Cams, to the infamous and arbitrary power of Sylla, who was then perpetual dictator. Offella, presuming on the favour of the people, whom he knew to be generally attached to him, offered himself for the consu- late : Sylla was determined he should not succeed, but, at the same time, fearful of the issue of a fair competition, he procured him to be suddenly murdered by a centurion in the very centre of the comitia. The citizens were highly enraged, but their fury was now become idle. Besides these who were contemporaries of Titus Lucretius, if we ascend about fifty or sixty years anterior to his birth, we meet with three of the same family occupying simultaneously some of the most important offices of the commonwealth : Caius, who, during the war with Perses king of Macedonia, in conjunction with Matienus, was elected naval duumvir *, or lord high admiral, and attacked, with singular success, a variety of fortified posts on the shores of Thessaly, and who was after- wards elected praetor -f, for the services he rendered his country; and Spurius |;, and Marcus, the brother of Caius, who for many years suc- cessively were also either praetors § or tribunes ||. It muft be con- * Liv. lib. xl. cap. z6. f Id. xlii. 56. t ^^' *li»' '■^- § Id. cap. 28, n Id. cap. 19. xxiv TFIE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. fesscd, however, that but little real dignity can attach to our philoso- phic poet from the former of these ancestors : for he was accused be- fore the senate, and at the forum, of having been guilty of the basest misconduct and rapacity during his different pra^torships ; of having made slaves of many families under the immediate protection of the Roman republic ; of having exacted immense contributions for his pri- vate use ; and of having even decorated his sumptuous villa at Antium with paintings plundered from the temple of iEsculapius at Abdera*. Charges of this kind, indeed, were but too frequently exhibited against the praetors of almost every province : like many adventurers to distant colonies in the present day, they too often solicited these high offices for the sole purpose of amassing immense fortunes in a short period of time ; and when once they had obtained their appointments, mo- ral rectitude, and the honour of their country, were completely dis- carded, and every engine was set to work that could contribute to their immediate object in view. Nothing, therefore, could be more wretched than the situation of a province dependant upon the Ro- man power : it had the liberty of complaining by ambassadors extra- ordinarv, it must be confest; nor was the government generally in- different to the accusations alleged ; for the obnoxious viceroy was commonly removed, but he was, at the same time, as commonly succeeded by one as iniquitous as himself. With regard to Caius Lucretius, however, he was not only recalled, and severely repri- manded, but most heavily fined for his rapacity f . Yet nothing of this kind of guilt appears to have sullied the cha- racter of the father of Lucretius Cams. The silence of history respect- in"- him, completely proves that he never possessed any office of great political distinction or dignity : and it is hence highly probable that, like his son, he preferred a life of retirement and study to the pomp * Liv. cap. 43. t I'^' THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xxv and pageanti*}' of public occupations. From the juvenile friendships of our poet, and the liberal education bestowed uj)on him, there can be no doubt, however, of his having lived in a state of considerable respectability and affluence. The period in which Titus Lucretius was born was highly favourable to philosophy ; the Romans having now begun to discover an enthu- siasm for Grecian literature, and to cultivate a polite and classical taste with regard to their own tongue. The disputes of Marius and Sylla had not yet lighted up the torch of civil war throughout the re- public : the elegant writings of Pol3'bius, whom Scipio iEniilianus had not long before attached to the Roman interest, and induced to desert Greece for the metropolis of this aspiring people, were in the hands of every one : and, charmed with the style of the Grecian histo- rian, as well as emulous of his literary fame, Rutilius Rufus, the con- sul, had lately published, in Greek, a history of his own country. The study of the Grecian language had indeed become fashionable from another cause ; for the Achiean hostages, who were sent to Rome, upon the reduction of their own country, towards the close of the preceding century, and whose number was not less than a thousand, were, for the most part, men of taste, and elegant accomplishments, Avhile many of them were scholars of profound and eminent erudition. The whole city became enamoured of the various acquisitions of its new visitants ; and in matters of polite literature, the conquerors soon yielded to the conquered. Hence, schools for the study and exercise of rhetoric and elocpience, superintended by native Greeks, became in a short time so frequent, that scarcely a Roman youth * was to be * Vide Sueton de Clar. Rhet. i. wlio thus nppcala to tlie words of Athaciieus, which unquestianabiir relate to the rhetoricians of Greece : 'PiJ/^aioi oi vm-.u xfto-.nt eJso.i::'..\« -":•: T^'PiXTx; xr,,- 'Pv,ati.-, 4'; o(»'p?-tfo.- ■rai T0D5 »!ou5. Dtipnoioph. 1. xiii. Vol. I. d ,xxvi THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. found, who would engage in any other avocation ; and the whole body ot" philosophers and rhetoricians were expelled by a decree of the senate, during the consulship of Fannivis Strabo, and Valerius Mcssala, in the year of the city 592. A general taste for Grecian literature, nevertheless, still continued to predominate ; and it was considerably augmented towards the beginning of the seventh century oi' the Roman a^ra, by a comparison between the true classical taste which had been uniformly evinced by these unfortunate scholars, and the tribe of Latin sojihists and declaimers, \\ho, in consequence of their exile, sprang up, and began to usurp their place : men who were bloated with conceit, instead of being inspired by wisdom, and who substituted the mere tinsel of verbiage for the sterling gold of argu- ment and fair induction *. With this foppery of learning, also, the Roman government soon became disgusted, and in 661, during the censorship of Crassus, the Latin declaimers shared the fate of the Greek rhetoricians, and v/ere formally banished from Rome -j-. In their own language, therefore, we meet with but few successful speci- mens of prosaic eloquence down to this period ; yet Cato the censor, LkHus, and Scipio, were orators of no inconsiderable powers, and eminently as well as deservedly, esteemed in their day. In poetry, how- ever, the republic had already a right to boast of its productions : for Andronicus, NcDvius, and Ennius, had long delighted their countrymen Avith their dramatic as well as their cpn: labours; Pacuvius, and Accius, Piaatus, ('axilius, and AtVanius, had improved upon the models thus * The first of these latin declaimers was Plotiiis Gallu», who erected his school when Cicero was a hoy ; and as all Rome flocked to hear him, Cicevo was stung with disappointment, because his wiser friends prohibited him from being of the number. He thus relates the transaction in his treatise to Mar- ci;s Titinhius, a treatise now lost, but the present passajje from which, is preserved by Suetonius, and is as follows : Equidem mcmoria teneo, pueris nobis, primum Latine docere coepisse Lucium Plotium quemdam : ad qucm qiium ficret concursus, quod studiosissimus quisque apud eum exerceretnr, dulcbam roihi idem non licere. Cc.itinebar, autem, doctissimorura hominum auctoritate ; qui existimabaut, Gras- cis exercitationibus uli melius ingenia posse. DeClat. Rhet. ii. •j- Aul. Cell, tt SuUun. 1. c. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xxvii ort'ered them in the former department, and Terence had just carried it to its utmost point of perfection. Public museums, libraries, and collections of valuable curiosities from Greece, Syracuse, Spain, and other parts of the world, were, at this period, also becoming frequent and fashionable. Italy was never more emptied of its elegancies and ornaments by Bonaparte, tlian 83^- racuse was bv Marcellus, when slrata2;em and treachery at lenath gave him an admission into this city. In the ibrcible words of Livy, " he left nothing to the wretched inhabitants but their walls and houses *." Spain and Africa were in the same manner ransacked by the elder Scipio; Macedon and LacedaMiion by Flaminius; Carthage by Scipio Africanus, and Corinth by Mummius, But the most important library and museum, which at this period attracted the attention of the Romans, and excited a taste for classical study and the fine arts, were established under the patronage and superintendence of the il- lustrious L. iEmilius Paulus, and consisted of an immense number of volunies, statues, and paintings, which he had imported from Epi- rus, upon the general plunder and destruction of that unfortunate country, in consequence of its adherence to Perses of Macedon, and which had been accumulating ever since the reign of Alexander the Great. This primitive library was founded about fifty years prior to the birth of Lucretius ; it was continually augmented by the accession of other books, presented by men of letters or warriors, into whose hands they occasionally fell, as a part of the public spoil ; but was more indebted to Lucullus, who had studied philosophy under Antiochus the Ascalonite, than to any one else, and who, about the eighteenth year of our poet's age, added to it the whole collection of volumes he had seized from Mithridates, upon his conquest of Pontus. Yet the transplantation into the Roman capital, of the extensive and invaluable , * Nihil praster mcEnia ct tecta Syracusanis rdictum,, 1. xxvi. 30. d 2 xxviii THE LIFE OF LUCFtETIUS. libraries of Aristotle and Theophrastus, contributed perhaps, more than every other circumftance, to inflame the Roman people with a love of Grecian literature. This was effected by the fortunate con- quests of Sylla, and anteceded the public present of Lucullus, who, from bcino' a menial dependent upon, became a legate of the former, by about fifteen years, consequently during the infancy of Lucretius. These unrivalled libraries were the property of Apellicon of Teia, who had accumulated an immense collection of boolss of intrinsic value, at an incredible expence. Apellicon does not appear to have been by any means a scholar; but he was a man of prodigious wealth; and, as it sometimes occurs in the present day, notwithstanding his igno- rance of literature, a library was his hobby-horse, and the greater part of his rental was expended in augmenting it. For this purpose, he ransacked all the public and private collections of books in Asia ; he surpassed, in many instances, the offers even of the emperors Eu- menes and Mithridates, for volumes that were become scarce as well as valuable ; and where he had not an opportunity of purchasing, he fre- quently, by considerable presents, tempted the librarians to steal for him. Durino- the first war, however, between Mithridates king of Pontus and the Roman republic, in which Sylla eventually tri- umphed, and acquired a high degree of personal glory, the city of Athens had unfortunately united itself with the Asiatic prince: and hence, at the conclusion of the war, was left totally at the mercy of the Roman conqueror. Sylla appears to have thrown a most wishful eye upon every thing of intrinsic value that lay within his reach :— and, havino-sacrilcoiously invaded the groves ofAcademus and the Lyceum, the library of Apellicon was one of the next objects that captivated his attention. He was determined to add it to his other treasures ; but force was now become unnecessary; for, at this very moment, the book- worm Apellicon died, and he met with no resistance from his relations*. * Pint, in Sylla, Strab. 1. siii. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xxix SjUa imniediatelv transported this invaluable acquisition to his own palace at Rome, and the ej'c of the public was unifbrml}' directed to its contents. The original manuscripts of Aristotle Avere found to be much injured : Apellicon had purchased them of Nileus of Scepsis, during whose possession of them they had been for a long time buried imder ground, to prevent their falling into the hands of Eumenes king of Pergamus, in his attack upon this city. Tliey had, hence, become in many places mouldy and moth-eaten, and the chasms which were hereby introduced into the text, it was found difficult to fill up. But they had experienced even a greater misfortune still, by the clumsy attempts of Apellicon himself to restore these ruined passages: for the mistakes into which he had fallen had added obscurity to obscu- rity. Sylla pursued a better plan, and, well knowing that he was to- tally incompetent to the undertaking himself, employed first of all Tyrannio, a celebrated grammarian and critic from Pontus, and af- terwards, the still more celebrated Andronicus Rhodius, to make a complete revision of these invaluable writings, and to supply their de- feats from the best collateral copies *. But the literature of Greece was, nevertheless, best to be acquired in Greece itself; and the Romans, though they transplanted books, could not transplant the general taste and spirit that produced them. Athens, although considerably shorn of the glory of her original consti- tution, and dependant upon Rome for protection, had still to boast of her schools, her scholars, and her libraries. Every scene, every edi- fice, every conversation was a living lecture of taste and elegance. Here was the venerable grove, in which Plato had unfolded his sub- lime mysteries to enraptured multitudes: here the awful lyccum, in which Aristotle had anatomised the springs of human intellect and ac- * Pancirol. lib. i. XXX THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. tion : here the porch of Zeno, still erect and stately as its founder : and here, the learned shades and winding Avalks, in which Epicurus had delineated the origin and Nature of Things, and inculcated tranquillity and temperance : and here too was the vast and magnificent library that Pisistratus hrst established, and endowed for the gratuitous use of his countrymen. Here Homer sung, and Apelles painted : hero Sophocles had drawn tears of tenderness, and Demost- henes fired the soul to deeds of heroism and patriotic revenge. The monuments of every thing great or glorious, dignified or refined, vir- tuous or worthy, were still existing at Athens : and she had still philosophers to boast of, who were capable of elucidating the erudi- tion that blazed forth more conspicuously in her earlier ages of inde- pendence. To this celebrated city, therefore, this theatre of universal learning, Lucretius, with a great number of Roman youths of his own age, was sent for education, 'i'hc system of philosophy determined upon for his pursuit, was that of Epicurus : and the Epicurean school, an edi- fice erected and endowed by this profound and indefatigable sage him- self*, was, at the present period, superintended by Pha^drus and Zeno. Till this aera, however, the school of Epicurus had been gra- dually declining ; and, unsupported by public patronage, the neat, but modest mansion which had not been sufficiently provided for by its * The estate consisted of a convenient house and most pleasant garden, in the walks and shades of which Epicurus delivered his instructions to crowded and delighted audiences : the institution was hence denominated " The School of the Garden," as that of Plato was the Academy, that of Aristotle the Lyceum, that of Zeno the Porch, and that of Antisthenes the Cynosargum. The purchase-money paid for it was eighty minx, which, as the mina may be computed at about five pounds sterling in the present day, makes its sterling value about four hundred pounds. Epicurus entrusted it by his will, which has been preserved by Diogenes Laertius, and is a curious and valuable document, to Hermachus of Mitylene, a beloved and confidential disciple, whom he hereby nominated his successor, and expressly charged with the execution of his different beqiiebts. He provided for its perpetuity, upon the death of Hermachus, and left it enriched with an extensive library, and endowed with a moderate revenue from another estate he possessed at Mitylene : the house upon which he gave also to Hermachus as his place of residence. THE LITE OF LUCRETIUS. xxxi philosophic founder, against such a casually, was fallinii; into a state of dilapidation, liut it was not stiHcretl to I'cinaiii in this luiiniliatino; situation long; for it was completely repaired, and even additionally ornamented, by the private nninificence of Lucius Memniius, a Konian citizen of high i-ank and unswerving virtue ; between whose family and that of Lucretius the most intimate friendshij) had subsisted for severed centuries: and who were continually assisting each other, as we learn from liivy *, in obtaining elections either to the consulate, the tribune- sliip, or some provincial prefecture. The son of Lucius ]\lemmius was a fellow-student with young Cams ; and it is probable, that even their fathers had preceded them in the same college, and that its restoration was determined upon from the iutluence of local attachment and ju- venile veneration. In consequence of this well-timed and judicious patronage, the Epicurean school experienced a sudden and brilliant revival ; for it is impossible to reflect on the names of the students, whom we know, from the writings of Cicero, to have been contemporary, at the period we are speaking of, without being astonished at the constellation of real learning and genius they exhibited in the aggregate : Cicero hinj- self, and his two Ijrothers, Lucius and Quintus, the latter of whom was a poet, and as signally distinguislied in the profession (^f arms, as Marcus isi that of elocjuencej 'J'itns Pomponius, from Ids critical knowledge of tiie Greek tongue, surnamed Atticus, but who derives this higher praise from Cornelius Nepos, that " he never deviated from the truth, nor would associate with any one who had done so ;" our own poet Lucretius Cams, his family and bosom-friend Caius Memmius Gemellus, of whose talents ami learning the writings of Cicero offer abundant proofs, and to whon^ he afterwards paid the honour of dedicating his " Natuuk of Things :" L-.icretius Vespilio, * Lib. xlii, xliii. xxxii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. his relation, whom Cicero, as I have already remarked, has enume- rated among the orators of his day ; Marcus Junius Brutus, Caius Cassius, and Caius Velleius, each of whom immortalized himself by ])referring the freedom of his covmtry to the friendship ofCtesar; and hence engaged in the patriotic conspiracy which only terminated with their lives : these we know to have been contemporary stu- dents ; and they may fairly be adduced as a specimen of the very flourishing state of tlie Epicurean school at this period *. The friendshi|)s contracted in 3'outh are the most durable, for they arc the most honest and disinterested ; and it should be remarked to the praise of these illustrious young men, that they never deserted each otlicr in future life; that the warmth of their juvenile attach- ments increased, rather than diminished, with their years; and that in the midst of the misfortunes to which almost every one of them Avas exposed in his turn, each was sure of receiving the utmost commise- ration and assistance from the rest. This too should be observed, in praise of the principles they had imbibed with their studies, and of the * Velleius Pateiciiliis gives us the following catalogue of eminent and accomplished scholars who flou- rished in the present age : " Vidit," says he, " Cictronem, Senemque Crassum, Catonem, Sulpitium, moxque Brutum, Calidinm, Calvum, Ccelium, et proximum Ciceroni Cxsarem, eorumque velut alumnos Corvinum, ac Pollioncm Asinium, xmulumquc Thucydidis Sallustium, avictoresque carminum Varronem ct LucRETii'M, neqiie ullo in suscepti operis siii carmine minorem Catullum," lib. ii. To these he might have added Qviintus Cicero, who was both a poet and a soldier ; Varro Atacinus, who translated into Latin the Argonaiitics of ApoUonius Rhodius, and wrote an heroic poem, " de Bello Sequanico," besides Sa- tires, Eleiries, and Epigrams, 3omc of which appear to have been serviceable to Virgil ; Rabirius, an epic poet, a philosopher, a philologcr, and a critic, esteemed the most learned man of his age, and who com- posed not less than 490 books or treatises on different subjects, enumerated by Cicero or Aulus Gellius ; Quintus Hortensius, the celebrated orator, who was consul in 684 ; M. Marcellus, of equal merit and ta- lents, who was consul in yoi, and whose son, Cains Marcellus, married Octavia, sister to Augustus ; Calpuniius Piso, consul in 605 ; Qviintus Lutatius Catulus, the pott and historian, consul, also, in 651 ; and Atteius, one of the most distinguished characters of his age, who was likewise consul in 713. In the earlier period of his life he was master to Sallust, and Asiiiius Pollio, to the latter of whon; Virgil dedicated his fourth eclowne, and who recommended Atteius to Maecenas. We have here, therefore, a galaxy of ta- lents and learning, which neither the Augustan, nor any other age in the whole history of the Roman republic, can presume to rival. THE' LIFE OF lA'CRETIUS. xxxlii tutors who Iiiui superintendeil them. Of these vorthy colleagues, indeed, Cicero often speaks in terms of high esteem and veneration, although shortly after his return to Rome he abjured the doctrines of E])icurus, into which he had been so sedulously initiated at Athens. Both Zcno and Phaidrus he applauds, for their indefatigable attention to the duties of their office*: bat, of tlie amiable disposition of the latter, he bears the most ample testimony, in more than one of his epistles. " We, formerly," says he, in a letter to Caius Memmius, "when we were boys, knew him as a profound philosopher ; hut we still recollect him as a most kind and worthy man, ever solicitous about our improvement -]-." Cicero, I have said, upon his return to Rome, al)jurcd the philo- sophic doctrines of Epicurus, which he had so warmly embraced in his youth : the sublimity of Plato's mysteries offered a higher gratifi- cation, and seduced him from his first faith. But, in a subsequent visit to Athens, for thfe benefit of his health, in the twentj'-eighth j-ear of his age, he tells us, that both himself and Pomponius Atticus, who accompanied him, were frequent attendants upon their old tutors +. Except Cicero, however, it does not appear, that any of the fellow- students of Lucretius were enticed, or at least altogether enticed, from the philosophic principles of their juvenile days. With Atticus, and his own brothers, the Roman orator often rallies in his epistles, and with the most elegant and good-humoured wit, for their inflexible adherence to their earlier opinions, notwithstanding his attempts to convert them to his new creed. Cassius, Atticus, Memmius, and * De Fin. Bon. et Mai. lib. i. p. 1086. Gronov. f Epist. lib. siii. { Lib. i. de Fin. In a still later period of his life, Cicero seems once more to have fluctuated, though he never altogether deserted the principles of the academy : when his son, however, was old enough to be sent to Atheps, he committed him to the care of Cratippus, a teacher of the Peripatetic philosophy. Vol. L e xxxiv THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Lucretius, it is v.cli known, maintained, throngli the whole of their lives, the entire system they had imbibed at Athens : and, when Brutus Avas alarmed by the appearance of a ghost, while sitting alone in his tent at midnight, and revolving in his own mind the meditated attack upon Anthony and Octavius, Cassius quickly dispelled his apprehen- sions, by recalling to him the opinion of Epicurus, upon phantoms of this description ; which, like the images that appear to us in our dreams, he assured him were nothing more than mere films, or efflu- ences ejected from surrounding objects, and only presented to the mind in a state of extreme quietude and abstraction *. It is not to be supposed, that a body of youths, thus richly en- dowed by nature, and instructed by education, would remain deaf to the voice of ambition, and evince no desire of sharing in those politi- cal honours and emoluments, which the situation of the commonwealth afforded them, at this period, so fair a chance of attaining. For the most part, they plunged deeply into the sti-eam; many of them indeed far be3'ond their depth, — yet to all it proved a boisterous cur- rent, and they were frequently in danger of being overwhelmed. Ambition and self-interest appear, on particular occasions, to have se- duced several of them from the path of political rectitude and inte- ority ; but, upon the whole, they may be uniformly regarded as the brightest ornaments of their country, and the firmest pillars of her rejHiblican constitution. They were a band not easily to be broken ; and the instances are but few, in which they separated from each other, and appeared in opposite parties. Memmius was, on more * Plut. in Brut. See this doctrine elucidated by Lucretius, in b. iv. 33 — 41 of the ensuing poem. Brutus is stated, by some authors, to have imbibtd the entire system of Stoicism ; and there can be no doubt that he did so, with respect to its ethical doctrines. But on poirits of physics and metaphysics, the readiness with which he yielded to these arguments of Cassius, proves obviously, that he was not far from being still an Epicurean at his heart. THE. LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xxxv .. occasions than one, indebted to Cicero, Cicero to Atticus, Brutus to Cassius, and Cassius to Velleius. Lito these perversities of political life, honever, Lucretius never entered. The high road to the first dignities of the state was open to himself, as well as to liis friends ; and from the illustrious antiquity of his family, his own mental endovv-ments, and Ihe support of his fellow- students, had ambition been his ruling passion, he could have gra- tified it to satiety. In this case, from the glowing patriotism, and inextinguishable love of libeity, which are so conspicuous in his poem, and which it was not in the power of the deepest retirement to eradi- cate, there can be no doubt, that he would have united with Brutus in the conspiracy against Caesar : and it would have been highly gra- tifying to the virtuous heart, to have beheld, at a distance of more than four hundred years, the immediate descendants of the two fami- lies, who had stimulated the people to throw off the tyranny of the Tarquins, once more at the head of a plot concerted to rescue their country from the chains of a tyrant possessed of infinitely more ar- tifice and address. But the life of Lucretius did not extend to this period, nor did his bosom pant for the ])ossession of public honours and renown. He saw, in the history of his own family, abundant instances of the instability of that happiness which depends upon the ca- price of the multitude ; and how fatal to the preservation of virtue and serenity of mind, are those temptations, to which the candidate for poli- tical fame is perpetually exposed. These are evils which he not only saw but felt, for he repeatedly adverts to them, and dwells in the most impressive manner, upon their magnitude and fatality. Temperance and tranquillity, he had been taught in every lecture at Athens, were the only foundations of an unshaken felicity — and Epicurus had more attractions in his eye than the forum or the senate. e 2 xxxvi THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. In the neighbourhood of Rome, theivfi«re, he fixed his peaceful abode, and devoted himself altogether to the pure pleasures of philosophy and domestic life. His two most intimate friends appear to have been Cas- sius and Memmius. Cassius, like himself, was a strenuous supporter of the doctrines, as well as defender of the character of Epicurus ; and Cicero h.as expressly noticed the continuance of his attachment to the Lucretii, even after our poet's decease. One of this family, in particular, he still denominates the bosom-friend of Cassius, and proves, that they were in the habit of maintaining a close and intimate correspond- ence when at a distance from each other*. To Memmius our poet de- dicated the work that has immortalized him ; and accompanied him to Bithynia, in conjunction with Catullus, and the celebrated gram- marian Curtius Nicas, upon his appointment to the government of that province -j-. In an early period of life, he married a lady whose name was Lucilia, but with whose family we are not acquainted, though from such name, in conjunction with several other circumstances, it is no improbable conjecture, that she was a sister of Lucius Lucilius, who joined the confederacy against Caesar, and, by personating Bru- tus in his unfortunate engagement v.ith INIarc Anthony, enabled him to escape from the hands of the victorious army. The friendship Avhich, from having commenced in their boyish days, subsisted without interruption, or even diminution, between this extraordinary society of virtuous and accomplished youtiis, extended in many instances to their families and collateral connexions, and laid the foundation for a variety of intermarriages. It was hence, that Quintus Cicero mar- ried Pomponia, the sister of Pomponius Atticus ; and Cassius, Julia, the sister of Marcus Brutus. Lucilius was the bosom-friend of Bru- tus and Cassius; and Cassius the bosom-friend of Lucretius; audit is thus highly probable, that the Lucilia, who was the wife of Lucre- tius, was a sister of the Lucilius in question. * Attic, vii. 24, 25. i Sueton, THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xxxvii In the retired and unmolested shades he had chosen, happy in liis domestic connexions, occupied by tlie studies of philosopiiy, snccess- fullv cultivating the muses, and occasionally enlivened by the resort of his earlv and more ambitious friends, our poet proved how well he. was entitled to the surname of Carus, or tlic Amiabi.f,, and com- posed his unrivalled poem on the Nature or Things: a poem which was read with enthusiasm by the most learn(\l of his own, as well as of the ^Vuoustan age that immediately succeeded, and which will perpetuate his name as long as language of any kind shall live to pronounce it. The composition of this excellent work seems to have alTorded him an uninterrupted source of pleasure ; for there is scarcely a book which does not contain man}' passages testimonial of the delight il produced. Of future fame he was not unambitious, — but it was not the fame of the warrior, whose laurels are crimsoned with blood, or of the rapacious prtetor, whose palace was too generally erected, and beautified with the spoils of the province he was appointed to defend. It was the pure and unsullied fame of the poet and the philosopher ; of the sage, who glows with satisfaction at the thought of havino' la- boured night and day for the benefit of his race ; of the patriot, who weeps over the vices of his country, while he is anxious to instruct the public mind, and correct the public morals. Conscious of being actuated by these honourable motives, he more than once bursts forth into the following exclamation : the thirst of fame Burns all my bosom, and through ev'ry nerve Darts the proud love of letters and the muse. I feel th' inspiring pow'r, and roam refolv'd Through paths Pierian never trod before. Sweet are the springing founts with nectar new. xxxviii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Sweet the new flow'rs that bloom ; but sweeter still Those flow'rs to pluck, and weave a roseat wreath The muses yet to mortals ne'er have deign'd. With joy the subject I pursue — and free The captiv'd mind from superstition's yoke : With joy th' obscure illume ; in liquid verse Graceful and clear, depicting all survey'd *. It is by no means an easy point to ascertain the period in Avhich this poem was written. From the evidence of its introductory address, it was at least commenced, when Memmius was in his zenith of po- litical splendour and influence, and the republic was distracted with internal broils, and foreign wars. Taking this, therefore, as a postulate to compute from, I have no hesitation in referring it to about the year of the city 695. Caius Memmius, who had been proetor in 689, and appointed to the government of Bithynia in 6'91, had at this time re- turned from his prefecture ; Clodius, by his intrigues, had acquired the control of the forum ; and, by the connivance of both Pompey and Gaisar, had succeeded in obtaining a formal decree of banishment against Cicero : the Asiatic war against Mithridates, and his allies, was but just closed, and that Avith the Helvetii was in its midmost vio- lence. Lucretius, at this period, must have been in his thirty-eighth year. It is some proof of the popular influence which was now pos- sessed by Caius Memmius, that Caesar, notwithstanding the glory he had already attained, and was still in the act of attaining by his mar- tial exploits, found himself compelled to drop a public accusation, he had at one time determined to bring forwards against him. The ori- gin of this dispute we know not; but there is little doubt of its having proceeded from the warmth, with which Memmius had espoused the cause of Cicero, and it hence becomes highly creditable to his vir- tue : through life there was the closest attachment between them, and » Book I. V. 984, and Book IV. v. i. THE LIFE OF LL'CRETIUS. xxxix the former, a short time anterior to his decease, adopted a joung and particuhir friend of the hitter as his heir. That this was the real ground of dispute, is rendered still more probable bj' the fact, that on the recal of Cicero to Rome, which was chiefly brought about by tlu; interposi- tion of C'lvsar himself, the two disjiutants were not onlv reconciled, but, from that time, united in the support of each other's interest. The ditlicultics with which Lucretius had to struggle, in the compo- sition of his poem, were great and numerous; and we cannot wonder at his frequently feeling their embarassing effects, and occasionally alluding to them in his progress. The subject he had selected, though the noblest, Avas the most profound, as well as the most comprehen- sive, that can ever engage the attention of the human mind; nor is there any title by which it could be designated so pertinently as that selected by himself, The Nature of Things. It embraces the whole scope of natural, metaphysical, and moral philosophy ; and to execute it with any great degree of success, required a knowledge almost, if not altogether, universal. The first difficulty Lucretius had to surmount, was produced by the Latin language itself. To philosophy it was a total stranger ; and though rich and nervous with respect to subje6ts introduced into the senate, or at the forum, it displayed a dreadful poverty and imbecili- ty in matters of metaphysical science. The only poets, indeed, of any kind, who had ever preceded him in hexameter verse, were Livius An- dronicus, Ennius, and Nasvius ; and of these three, the second alone was worthy of any degree of notice ; who, on this account, though he wrote after Andronicus *, has been justly regarded as the father of Ro- * Horace, in speaking of Livius Andronicus, does not wish for the destruction of his poems, but is surprised that they should ever have been esteemed : Non equidem insector, delendave carmina Livi Effe reor, memini quse plagosum mihi parvo xl THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. man poetry ; and to whom Lucretius, with that native poHteness and suavity of disposition, for which he was so eminently distinguished, pays a high comphmcnt, and proves at the same time how far he was exalted above every low and invidious feeling *. But it does not ap- pear from the tcflimony, either of Virgil, Ovid, or Statins, that the compositions of Eimius had ever enriched the Latin tongue. Virgil thus expresses himself, upon his merits as a writer: He from the mire cf Ennius gather'd gold t- Nor widely different Ovid, who alludes to him under the following description : Ennius in sense acute, but rude in art \. While Statins, in the ensuing couplet, draws, perhaps, a fair compari- son between Ennius and our own poet : Here his rude muse let barbarous Ennius yield. Here learn'd Lucretius drop his rapturous rage ||. The subject, moreover, which Ennius had adopted for his poem, that, I mean, of the second Punic war, was not calculated to augment the lanouao^e with manv phrases that would have been useful to Lucre- & O »-■1 tins, even if he had been more select in his terms, and more profuse of rhetorical imagery. He appears, however, to have been a man of an enlarged underftanding, and deeply versed in the philosophy of the Orbilium dictare ; sed emendata videri, Pulchraque, e: exactis minimum.distantia, miror. Er. II. i. 69. I hate not Livy, nor would e'er destroy Those lines Orbilius taught me when a boy ; But that such lines with numbers e'er could range, Exaft and polish'd, this I own is strange. Book I. 13«. t Aurum ex Ennii stercore coUegit. Cul. \ Ennius ingenio maximus, arte rudis. Trist. II Cedet musa rudis ferocis Enni, Et docti furor arduus Lucreti. Silv. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xli Greeks. The doctrines he had imbibed were those of Pythagoras. He was highly beloved both by Cato and Scipio Africanus, who were his pupils; and the latter of whom, in gratitude for his poem on his own exploits, erected a statue to his memory. Lucretius, therefore, might well assert, as he does in the passage just quoted, and with the strictest degree of veracity, that in writing this poem he was exploring his way Through paths Pierian never trod before. He had, in consequence, to introduce doctrines and ideas into poetrj-, with which poetry was as yet totally unacquainted ; and to bend and modify the language, in which he wrote, to a perspicuous convej'ance of them, or this difhcult}'^ he was fully sensible ; and he thus openly expresses himself upon the subject, to his friend Caius Meramius : Yet not unknown to me how hard the task Such deep obscurities of Greece t' unfold In Latin numbers ; to combine new terms, And strive with all our poverty of tongue. But such thy virtue, and the friendship pure My bosom bears, that arduous task I dare, And yield the sleepless night : in hope to cull Some happy phrase, some well selected verse. Meet for the subject ; to dispel each shade. And bid the mystic doctrine hail the day *. Lucretius, however, has not only occasionally introduced new and appropriate terms, but on particular occasions revived, or given a new sense to antiquated words, which ought never to have sunk into obli- vion. Vocabularies, like all other things of human invention, are subject to dilapidations ; and nothing, perhaps, requires a more delicate taste than to restore the falling edifice, so as to assimilate it to * fook I. V. 153. Vol. J. ■ f xlii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. the fashion of the day, without destroying its genuine order of archi- tecture ; to introduce the hoary stranger into company with his juniors, and to obtain for him that attention to which, by his years, he is en- titled. No poet has ever expressed himself upon this subject with more felicity than Horace, in a passage which I shall take the libert\' of translatino- : Stamp'd is thy taste if, dextrous, thou discern For hackney'd terms some new unhackney'd turn. If themes abstruse, to modern numbers strange. Perplex thy pow'rs, assume an ampler range : Call back to life sounds obsolete and old. The cause demands it, and thou may'st be bold ; Or the fresh stores the Grecian fount supplies. Bent but a little, frequent may suffice. These fearless take : for why should Rome concede A claim to bards, whom now we seldom read, Cecilius, Plautus, that the claffic strain Of Virgil alks, or Varius, but in vain ? Why should myself not glean, if glean I may, In the same fields, unlimited as they. Where Ennius, Cato, cull'd unfading flow'rs, Trimm'd the new growth, and made th' exotics ours ? Yet less approv'd it must be to purloin From foreign mints, than use a native coin. As falls the foliage with the felling year. Yet with the spring new foliage pants t' appear. So perish phrases — so a junior race Spring into birth and fill their parents' place. Man dies himself, and all that man can boaft : E'en the vast bason o'er the Roman coast. Imperial plan ! that bids our navy ride In conscious triumph, and defy the tide ; E'en the broad plain that, late, a drear morass, Now springs productive o'er the wat'ry mass. Bears the stern plough-share, and to cities round Spreads its gay scene, with russet harvests crown'd j THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. ,xliii E'en the canal, that erst our fields o'erflow'd With useless ooze, till taught a happier road — These all shall perish, as from man they thrive ; Nor shall the pomp, the grace of words survive. Yet much that dies shall live, while many a term Now most esteem'd, most durable and firm. Shall sink forgot, if tyrant custom teach : Whence draw we sole the rules, the rights of speech *. No poet, perhaps, has more completely exemplified the true taste and solid judgment of such precepts, than Lucretius ; for no poet has been more delicately or forcibly select, whether in the adoption of his words, or his idioms. Some degree of obscurity may, indeed, be disco- vered occasionally, but it is in every instance chargeable upon the subject, * In verbis etiam tenuis cautusque serendis, Dixeris egregie, notum si callida verbum Reddiderit junctura novum ; si forte necesse est Indiciis monstrare recentibus abdita rerum, Fingere cinctutis non exaudita Cethegis Continget : dabiturque licentia sumpta pudenter. Et nova factaque nuper habebunt verba fidem, si Grasco fonte cadant, parce detorta. Quid autem Caecilio, Plautoque dabit Romanus, ademptum Virgilio, Varioqiie ? ego cur acquirere pauca Si possum, invideor ; cum lingua Catonis et Ennt Sermonem patrium ditaverit, et nova rerum Nomina protulerit ? Licuit, semperque licebit Signatum praesente nota procudcre nomen. Ut silvae foliis pronos mutantur in annos ; Prima cadunt : ita verborum vetus interit sctas, Et juvenum ritu florent modo nata vigentque. Debemur morti nos, nostraque ; sive receptus : Terra Neptunus, classes Aquilonibus arcet, Regis opus ; sterilisve diu palus, aptaque remis, Vicinas urbes alit, et grave sentit aratrum : Seu cursum mutavit iniquum frugibus amnis, Doctus iter melius : mortalia facta ptribunt, Nedum sermonum stet honos, et gratia vivax. Multa renascentur, quae jam ceciderc ; cadentque Qui nunc sunt in honore vocabula, si volet usus. Quern penes arbitrium est, et jus, et norma loquendi. De Art. Post. 46. f2 xliv THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. rather than tij)on the poet; for I hesitate not to assert, that throughout the whole it is impossible for order to be more luminous, for language to be more perspicacious, or for the greater part of the deductions in- troduced to be more consequent and legitimate. There are few prose writers upon mathematical and metaphysical subjects so felicitous in the conveyance of their ideas : — and, as to most of the translators and commentators upon the Latin text, I have often been compelled to turn to the original to discover what they were endeavouring to inter- pret. Added to which, the occasional digressions, in which the poet has indulged himself, flow freely, and to the point; and his episodes are altogether unrivalled. I am not surprised, therefore, at the en- thusiasm which Quintus Cicero, who through life adhered to the sys- tem of Epicurus, evinced for this elaborate poem. It was his travel- lino- companion amidst his wars ; and, like Alexander, with respect to the Iliad, or, as is reported, Bonaparte, with respect to the poems of Ossian — he slept with it under his pillow, and feasted on it whenever he had leisure. Nor did he estimate its merits too highly: for Mar- cus Cicero himself, long after he had abjured the doctrines it is de- signed to elucidate, accedes, in one of his letters to his brother, to his own exalted opinion of it : "I agree with you," says he, " that this poem displays a large and luminous mind, and many masterly touches of the poetic art *." This, however, is not the only instance in which Marcus Cicero testified his high sense of Lucretius as a poet. We shall find, in the prosecution of this narrative, that we are indebted to him for its publication. And when, several years after- Avards, Cytheris recited the Silenus of Virgil before a full audience, Cicero, who was present on the occasion, enraptured with its beauti- ful epitome of the Epicurean philosophy, burst suddenly into an extatic exclamation, that its author was " a second /tope of mighty * Lucretii poemata, ut scribis, ita sunt multis luminibus ingenii ; multa tamen artis. Ep. ad Quint, ii. II. 7 THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xlv Rome*'," esteeming Lucretius the first : as if he had said, " Behold anothtr great genius rising up amongst us, who u ill prove a second Lucretius." 1'he opinion of Cicero was manifestly that of Virgil, as is ohvitnn from his numerous attempts to copy or imitate him through the whole of his various poems: but the delicate compliment before us, he ap- pears to have treasured up with peculiar pleasure, and to have waited with an eager desire to introduce the terms in which it was conveyed with a dexterous felicity of application ; and we at length find, that he has reserved it for the last book of his TEueid, where it is elegantly and successfully employed in a description of the young Ascanius. But Virgil has given a still more pointed instance than the present, of liis high opinion of the poetic talents of Lucretius, in the second book of his Georo-ics. No classical reader can be ionorant of the admirable digression on the pleasures of rural retirement, in conjunction with the study of philosoph3% with which this book concludes. Such was the life, and such the pursuits of our poet; — the thought seems suddenly to have entered the mind of Virgil as he was writing — he instantly drops his general description for an individual portrait; and, imitating the very language of the character he meant to delineate, thus abruptly bursts forth in his praise : Felix ! qui potuit rerum cognoscere caussas, Atque metus omnes et inexorabile fatum Subjecit pedibus, strepitumque Acherontis avari f. * Magna spes altera Roma. It has been generally understood, till of late, that this exclamation of Cicero, instead of referring to Lucretius, referred to himself. For this new interpretation, I am indebted to the critical acumen of Dr. Warton ; and it is at once so ingenious and plausible, and so infinitely supe- rior to the former, that, I apprehend, it will be admitted by every scholar for the future. It equally takes away the vanity, which cannot but attach to Cicero upon the old explanation, and the incongruity neces- sarily resulting from confounding an eminent poet with an eminent orator. I am indebted, also, to the same able expositor for the happy idea of applying to Lucretius the verses in a subsequent passage from the se- cond book of the Georgics. -f How blest the sage ! whose soul could pierce each cause Of changeful Nature, and her wond'rous laws ; xlvi THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. In addition to these illustrious testimonies of the merit of Lucretius, Ovid has boldly declared, that his poem shall only perish with the de- struction of the world *. Gellius -f and Cornelius Nepos '^. affirm, that he was " most excellently endowed with wisdom and eloquence, and ought to be ranked among the most elegant poets that have ever writ- ten ;" while Casaubon has, without qualification, asserted, in more modern times, that " he is the best author of the Latin tongue §." And yet, notwithstanding these decisive sentiments of such very com- petent judges, there have been persons, who, because they were too ignorant to understand him, or too dull to be animated by the fire of his genius, have rashly taken upon them to deny him every kind of merit. To those of a false and turgid taste he has appeared too sim- ple ; to those of a superficial mind, too deep and obscure. Perhaps no critic of modern times has more justly appreciated the style and talents of Lucretius than Mr. Hume, in the following pas- sage : " Pope and Lucretius seem to lie in the two greatest extremes of refinement and simplicity, in which a poet can indulge himself, without being guilty of any blameable excess. All this interval may be filled with poets, who may differ from each other, but may be equal- ly admirable, each in his peculiar style and manner. Corneille and Congreve, who carry their wit and refinement somewhat farther than Mr. Pope, (if po(^ts of so different a kind can be compared together,) and Sophocles and Terence, who are more simple than Lucretius, seem Could trample Fear beneath .his foot, and brave fate, and stern Death, and Hell's resounding wave. Sotheby. The verses in Lucretius, of which these are a manifest imitation, occur in Book I. v. 69, and are there applied to Epicurus. * Carmina sublimis tunc sunt peritura Lucretii, Exitio terras cum dabit una dies. Amor. i. 15, 23. ■\ Poetam ingenio et facundia prxcellentem. J Inter elegantissimos poetas. § Lucretius Latinitatis author optimus. Not. in Johan. c. 5. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xl Vll to have gone out of that medium in which tlie most perfect produc- tions are found, and to be guiltj' of some excess in these opposite cha- racters. Of all the great poets, Virgil and Racine, in n)y opinion, lie nearest the centre, and are the farthest removed from both the ex- tremities *." To this honourable testimony of IVIr. Hume, the reader must excuse my recurring to the equally advantageous opinion of Dr. Warton ; than whom no scholar Avas ever better acquainted with Lucretius, and no critic more competent to decide upon his merits. " I am next," saj's he, " to speak of Lucretius, whose merit, as a poet, has never yet been sufficiently displayed, and who seems to have had more fire spirit, and energy, more of the vivida vis animi, than any of the Roman poets, not excepting Virgil himself. Whoever imagines, with TuIIy 4-, that Lucretius had not a great genius, is desired to cast his eye on two pictures he has given us at the beginning of his poem : the first of Venus with her lover Mars, beautiful to the last degree."]:, and more glowing than any picture painted by Titian ; the second §, of that ter- rible and gigantic figure, the daemon of superstition, Avorthy the ener- getic pencil of Michael Angelo. Neither do I think, that the descrip- tion that immediately follows, of the sacrifice of Iphipenia, Avas excelled by the famous picture of Timanthes on the same subject, of Avhich Pliny speaks so highly, in the thirty-fifth book of his Natural History : especially the minute and moving circumstance of her per- ceiving the grief of her father Agememnon, and of the priest's con- cealing his sacrificing knife, and of the spectators bursting into tears, and her Falling on her knees. Fcav passages, even in Virgil himself, * Essays, \^ol. i. p. 209. \ This was not, in reality, as I have just pointed out, the opi- nion of TuUy, but quite the contrary. Dr. Warton refers to the common, but erroneous reading, and a reading which is now, I believe, universally relinquished for that I have given in p. xliv. X Lib. i. 33 § Lib. i. 63. xlviii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. are so highly finished, contain such Uvely descriptions, or are so harmonious in their versification, as where our poet speaks of the fruitfulness occasioned throughotit all nature, by vernal fliowers*; of the ravages committed by tempestuous winds ; of the difficulty of his undertakino-, where, after mentioning the great obscurity of his subject, he bseaks out into that enthusiastic rapturef : Obscure the subject : but the thirst of fame Burns all my bosom ; and through ev'ry nerve Darts the proud love of letters, and the muse. I feel th' inspiring power ; and roam resolv'd Through paths Pierian never trod before. Sweet are the springing founts with nectar new ; Sweet the new flowers that bloom : but sweeter still Those flowers to pluck, and weave a roseat wreath. The muses yet to mortals ne'er have deign'd. " The second book opens with a subhme description of a true philo- sopher, standing on the top of the temple of wisdom, and looking down with pity and contempt on the busy hum of men. This is followed by a forcible exhortation to temperance of each kind, and by that account of the pleasures of a country life+, which Virgil has exactly copied at the end of his second book of the Georgics. The fears and the cares that infest human life are afterwards personified in the fol- lowing manner § : But if all this be idle, if the cares. The TERRORS still that haunt, and harass man. Dread not the din of arms, — o'er kings and chiefs. Press unabash'd, unaw'd by glittering pomp. The purple robe unheeding — " These images are surely far superior to tliose admired ones of Horace : • Lib. i. 2?!. t Ver. 921. Dr. Warton quotes the original : I have exchanged it for the en- suing version, for the benefit of the English reader. \ Lib. ii. 24. § Lib. ii. 46, 50. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xlix -Nee CuRAS laqueata circum Tecta volantes • Scandit aeratas vitiosa naves CURA. " 1 know not how to resist the temptation of giving the reader the landscape of a distant mountain, with the flocks feeding on the side of it*; and I could wish to have set down the description that immediately follows, of a field of battle-f, or the subsequent one of a cow's lamenting her calf that was sacrificed X- — " In the beginning of the third book, which opens with the praises of Epicurus, is a passage, that of itself, without alleging other in- stances, is sufficient to shew the strength and sublimity of the author's imagination §. " This image always put me mind of that exalted one in Milton, which is so strongly conceived : On heavenly ground they stood, and from the shore They view'd the vast immeasurable abyss. Outrageous as a sea, dark, wasteful, wild. Up from the bottom turn'd by furious winds And surging waves, as mountains to assault Heav'n's height, and with the centre mix the pole |[. " Our poet adds, in lines as finished and as smooth as Virgil's, that he then saw the happy and undisturbed state of the gods. " On a perusal of this passage, can one forbear crying outf with the author ? * Lib. ii. 317. This, and all the ensuing passages referred to, are quoted at large, in Dr. Warton's Dis- sertation. The reference alone is here given, for the sake of brevity : the reader may easily turn to them at his option. f Lib. ii. 323. J Lib. ii. 355. § Lib. iii. 14. H Par. Lost, vii. 210. f I^ib. iii. 228. Vol. I. g THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. -On these vast themes As deep I ponder, a sublime delight, A sacred horror sways me — Nature thus By thy keen skill through all her depths unveil'd. " The description of a person in a deep lethargy *; of the effects of drunkenness -j' ; of the faUing-sickness + ; and the noble prosopopeia||, where Nature is introduced, chiding her ungrateful sons, for their folly and discontent, are equal to any thing in the Roman poesy : as is likewise the conclusion of this book, where the poet allegorizes all the punishments of hell §. " In the fourth book, our author has painted the evils and inconve- niences attending the passion of love, in the liveliest terms. No poet seems to have felt more strongl}^ than Lucretius. — ♦' I know not what apology to make to the reader for such a num- ber of quotations ; but I have always thought, that general criticism, without producing particular passages, was both useless and unentertain- ing. Besides, I look upon the giving him these descriptions, to be like leading him through a gallery, adorned with the most exquisite paintings. I am sure there is no piece by the hand of Guido or the Carracci, that exceeds the following group of allegorical personages f: Spring comes and Venus, and, with foot advanc'd, The light-wing'd Zephyr, harbinger belov'd ; Maternal Flora strewing, ere she treads. O'er ev'ry footstep flowers of choicest hue. And the glad ether loading with perfumes. Then Heat succeeds, the parch'd Etesian breeze, And dust-discolour'd Ceres ; Autumn, then. Follows, and tipsy Bacchus, arm in arm, And Storms, and Tempests j Eurus roars amain, * Lib. iii. 465. t Lib. iii. 475. t Lib. iiJ. 486. f] Lib. iii. 944. § Lib. iii. 991. f Lib. V. 736. THE LIFE OF LUCTvETlUS. U And the red South brews thunders : till, at length. Cold shuts the scene, and Winter's train prevails. Snows, hoary Sleet, and Frost, with chattering teeth. " The fifth book conchides with a description of the uncivilized state * of man, together with the origin and progress of government, arts, and sciences. The poetical beauties it contains are so manv, and so various, that, intending to publish a translation of this part of Lucretius, with critical observations, I wave all farther mention of it at present f-. " The sixth book is the least obscure and abstruse of any, being wholly taken up with describing the appearances of nature, and ac- counting for some seeming prodigies. The plague, with which the Avhole poem concludes, being more known, and perhaps more read than any other part of it, I shall not point out any particular passages." The poverty of the Latin language was not the only evil Lucretius had to struggle with. The foreign and domestic contests in which the republic was involved, rendered the times unfavourable to literary publications of every kind ; — and the philosophy he was about to dis- seminate, struck strongly at the root of every popular prejudice, and even of the established religion itself. The former, however, was an evil of lighter consideration ; for the man who writes for immortality, and feels a triumphant pre-sentiment that his Avorks will for ever survive him, can readily forego the applause of the tleeting hour in which he personally exists : he looks forward to future ages, and expects from posterity that garland of unfading flowers which his misjudging co- evals refuse to his labours on their first appearance. The latter, how- ever, was an evil of more considerable moment ; for, notwithstandinof * Lib. V. 7j6. f Why tliis intention was not complied with, I know not. Every true lover of poetic excellence must regret the cau>ie, be it what it may ; but none more than the present translator. g 2 lii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. the consciousness a man may have of tlie rectitude of his own inten- tion, and the truth of his own tenets, nothing is so difficult as to era- dicate ancient and national prejudices, and, more especially, preju- dices that relate to an established religion which necessarily creates many of the first offices of the government that establishes it. This was precisely the situation of Lucretius, when he first A'entured upon his poem. The popular religion was the grossest and most iniquitous that can be conceived ; and every unbiassed mind must agree v/ith him that it would have been better for the people to have had no re- ligion whatever, than to have been in the belief and profession of one that subserved almost every species of vice, and could be accommo- dated to the purposes of every party, and every plot. This popular religion, moreover, as I have just observed, formed an essential part of the constitution of the republic, as well as proved a source of its most lucrative offices and employments. During the monarchy of Rome, the king himself, in this respect resembling the monarch of our own country, was the pontifex maximus, or supreme head of the church*: and when, upon the expulsion of the Tarquins, this office existed no longer, the people, at the instigation of Junius Brutus, appointed a Rev Sacrorum-f, or lord of religious ceremonies, to be for ever elected from the Patrician order, and to have a supreme control over all the countless ranks of curiones, flamines, flaminicae, vestal virgins, augurs, celeres, salii, and whatever classifications besides were included in the sacred system of Numa. It should be noticed, how- ever, that this economy of the church was at all times kept totally dis- tinct from the civil department of the state ; and that neither the chief pontiff himself, nor the augurs, nor any person possessed of any reli- oious office whatever, was suflered to interfere in the concerns of the latter ; but that each was compelled to devote himself solely to the care of the public worship, and his own peculiar function +. * Plut. in Num. f Dion. Hal. 1. v. Antiq. Liv. 1. vii. % Ibid. THE LIFB OF LUCRETIUS. ]iii Yet, notwithstanding this wise and salutary restriction, it is im- possible to conceive, that any man could, without personal danger» eitcounter the animosity of so numerous and powerful a body as those religious orders must have formed, by the propagation of doctrines, avowedly subversive of their entire constitution. Tlic most violent demagogue never dared attempt it : and consuls, tribunes, praetors, and qunestors, found it equally for their interest, whatever may have been the infidelity of their hearts, to reverence the established system. Lucretius, however, like an honest man, and one who could not look, without contempt, upon the absurd superstitions of his country, hazarded the danger, and was determined to employ, both the force of argument, and the charms of poetic imagery, to convince the re- public of its errors. He tells his countrymen, that they need never be afraid of sound and genuine philosophy : that philosophy can by no means introduce vice and immorality into the world ; but that their own absurd and abominable superstitions might do, and often had done so. And, in proof of this latter assertion, he adverts to, and relates, in a masterly manner, the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, in consequence of the demand of such an oblation, by the pretended goddess Diana*. He informs them, that they need not be afraid of forsaking the altars of their gods, from any idea that these imaginary beings could punish them for apostacy ; for that Epicurus himself, the most undaunted of all the philosophers, and upon whom, had they possessed any power whatever, they would doubtless have wrecked their utmost vengeance, had never sustained any detriment in conse- quence of his religious opinions. No thunder him, no fell revenge pursu'd Of heav'n incens'd, or deities in arms. Urg'd, rather, by such bugbear threats, to press. With firmer spirit, forward through the bounds Of nature, close conceal'd ; the flaming walls * Book I. V. 69. 7 llv THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Of heaven to scale, and dart his dauntless eye, Till the vast whole beneath him stood display'd *. And he frequently observes that, however novel and alarming his tenets may appear, and, however unpropounded, in any popular way prior to his own attempt, nothing can be so absurd, as to reject them solely on this account ; that it is the duty of every wise man to inves- tigate the proofs to which any important doctrine appeals, and fairly to abide by the legitimate consequences of such investigation. Cease, then, alarm'd by aught profound or strange, Right reason to reject : weigh well the proofs Each scheme advances ; if, by truth upheld. Embrace the doctrine ; but if false, abjure f. It is but just to observe, however, that neither Lucretius himself, nor any of his followers or admirers, Avere harassed by the Roman go- vernment for their attachment to the sentiments of Epicurus. Not- withstanding the prejudices of the people, and the power of the priest- hood, the right of private judgment was, at this period, never inter- fered with. Philosophers tolerated philosophers ; the religion of Numa tolerated them all ; and, in the mystery of divine providence, the tre- mendous plague of persecution was reserved for future and more en- lightened generations. Thus pleasantly and profitably glided away the tranquil life of Lu- cretius. Yet it was not against the superstitions of his countrymen alone, that he directed his poetic pen ; but against their ambition, against their rapacity, against their avarice, against the general strife and anxiety that prevailed for public honours, and popular applause : and the unworthy means that were incessantly employed to obtain them. The latter part of his third book is filled with the most just and beautiful reflexions upon these various deviations from morality, and all * Book II, V. 1049. t 2°°^ I- THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Iv virtue: the indignity of the pursuit, and the fallacy of the enjoy- ment. From " the cool, sequestered vale" of Iiis own retirement he fre- quently took a pleasure in looking at the busy, bustling world, at a distance : not, as he expressly observes, that the dangers to which the distracted multitude is exposed, aflbrd us any delight, but that it is highly gratif)'ing to feel secure from such dangers and toils ourselves*: to mount, as it were, some firm and elevated cliff that commands the prospect, and survey the restless scene beneath : To watch the giddy crowd that, deep below, For ever wander in pursuit of bliss ; To mark the strife for honours, and renown. For wit, and wealth insatiate, ceaseless urg'd. Day after day, with labour unrestrain'd f. The whole passage is so strikingly beautiful, that I am not surprised at its having been copied and imitated by poets in every age, and, nearly, in every nation. O ! wretched mortals ! race perverse, and blind ! Through what dread dark, what perilous pursuits Pass ye this round of being ! know ye not Of all ye toil for, Nature nothing asks But, for the body, freedom from disease. And sweet, unanxious quiet for the mind ? — And little claims the body to be sound : But little serves to strew the paths we tread With joys beyond e'en nature's utmost wish. What though the dome be wanting, whose proud walls A thousand lamps irradiate, propt sublime By frolic forms of youths in massy gold, Flinging their splendours o'er the midnight feast ? Though gold and silver blaze not o'er the board, * Book II. V. 3. t Book II, v. 9. Ivi THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Nor music echo round the gaudy roof? Yet listless laid the velvet grass along. Near gliding streams^ by shadow^y trees o'er-arch'd. Such pomps we need not ; such still less when Spring Leads forth her laughing train, and the warm year Paints the green meads with roseat flowers profuse. On down reclin'd, or wrapt in purple robe. The thirsty fever burns with heat as fierce As when its victim on a pallet pants *. Such was the life of wisdom, of simplicity and temperance, that was tauoht and practised both by Epicurus and Lucretius ; a life that, it might have been expected, would have secured them from all misrepre- sentation, or aspersion of character. And yet, strange to relate, or rather, strange it would be. if we did not observe the same thing occur every day in our OAvn age, these very moralists have been accused of ex- cess and gluttony ; and the pure system they equally recommended and practised, has been esteemed the high road to debauchery and the gratification of every illicit passion. I am not surprised, indeed, that such infamous and idle reports should be often believed in the present day, or should, occasionally, have been accredited even among the Christian fathers ; because I know that the writings of many of the Platonic, as well as Peripatetic philosophers, who successively governed the physics and metaphysics of the Christian church in its earlier ages, may be adduced in corroboration of such reports. But I am truly surprised at the envy and wilful perversion of all fact that could alone have engendered such reports at the first, and the readiness with which Plutarch, Seneca, and even Cicero himself, after he had ab- jured his primal faith, countenanced the libels by which the character of Epicurus was unjustly defamed. Intimately acquainted with the tranquil and temperate life of Lucretius, Cicero, at least, must have * Book II. V. 14. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ivii known, that both in his diet and his morality, as well as in his philosophic doctrines, he was a close and undeviating disciple ot" the Grecian sage. Yes, they were lovers of Pleasure — and luxurious at their meals: they both confess the charge. But what was the pleasure of which they were lovers, and the meals in which they indulged so luxu- riously .'' Cassius himself, and in the very words of Epicurus, shall tell us, as he told Cicero in an expostulatory letter he wrote to him, after hav- ing heard that Cicero had favoured the circulation of such aspersions. The declaration of Cassius, moreover, is entitled to the utmost credit, from his having intimately studied the life and doctrines of Epicurus ; and, as I have already related, been first a fellow-student with both Cicero and Lucretius, and afterwards an intimate and confidential friend. " Those," says he, " whom we call lovers of Pleasure, are real lovers of Goodness and Justice : they are men, who practise and cultivate every virtue : for no true pleasure can exist, without a good and virtuous life *. When we assert then, that Pleasure is the chief good, the prime felicity of man, we do not mean the pleasures of the luxurious and the libidinous : the pleasures of the taste, the touch, or any of the grosser senses, as the ignorant, or those who wil- fulhj mistake our opinions, maliciously assert : but what constitutes plea- sure with us is the possession of a body exempt from pain, and a mind devoid of perturbation. It is not the company of the lascivious, nor the luxurious tables of the wealthy, nor an indulgence in any sensual delights, that can make life happy ; but it is a sound and unerring * li qui a nobis ^iJwJovoi vocantur, sunt ^i\oKx\oi xai ^iXoXixaioi, omnesque virtutes et colunt, et retinent : m yap icttiv iSJewj ««u toi/ naXuf n«i Jixaiiij ^m, &c. Malbranche asserted the very same proposition, and was misunderstood in the same manner. " Tout plaisir," said he, " est un bien, et rend actuellement heureux celui qui le goute." Nouveau Systeme de la Nature et de la Grace. This declaration was con- ceived to be impious and immoral ; and it was soon vehemently attacked, in a publication entitled, " Re- flexions Philosophiques, et Theologiques sur le nouveau Systeme," &c. It was necessary, therefore, to explain the meaning of Malbranche ; and we hence find it developed, in almost the words of Cassius, in a periodical publication of much repute in his own day. " Tout plaisir est un bien : niais qui est ce que c'est le plaisir ? — c'cst la vertu, c'est la grace, c'est I'amour de Dieu, ou plutot, c'est Dieu seul qui est notre beatitude." Nouvelles de la llcpublique des Lettres. Mois de Decembre, 16S5. Vol. I. h Iviii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. judgmont, that investigates and developes causes, that informs us what ought reasonably to be desired, and what to be avoided, and which banishes those opinions that disturb the soul with perpetual anxiety -and tumult," With respect to Plutarch and Cicero, it must be confest, however, that the}' not only knew that the popular prejudice against Epicurus was without foundation, but occasionally acknowledged it to be so *. Let him, then, who accuses Epicurus of illicit pleasures, examine the delights in which he indulged ; let him who defames him as a glut- -ton, produce his dishes. Let him enter into his garden, let him sit down at the sumptuous table it exhibits, and when convinced by the banquet itself, let him rise up and pronounce his condemnation -f-. The epistles which E})icurus occasionally addressed to his friends, and which were afterwards collected into one volume, contained a state- ment of his daily regimen. These unfortunately are now no longer:}: * Thus, Plutarch, after asserting as follows, Amtcis carcre, act'iom piivari ; D.um nullum putare, "vo- luptati indulgerc, res omnes ntgligere, ista sunt qua homines omnes, ipsis exceptis, huic seethe atlribuant : immedi- ately subjoins, aJixK,- (fin tij aXKa in-j oofav, ov r aXfOuav o-xottovusj. " Every one knows that this opinion was never deserved bv Epicurus : but we give it as an opinion, and not as a truth." Plut. lib. ii. c. 9. In like manner, Cicero declares of the same philosopher, " Negat quemquam jucunde posse vivere, nisi idem honeste, sapienter, justeque vivat. Nihil gravuis, nihil philosophia dignius : nisi idem hoc ipsura houeste, sapienter, juste, ad voluptatem referret. Quid melius quam fortunara exiguam intervenire sapi. enti ? sed hoc is ne dicit, qui, cum dolorem non modo maximum malum, scd solum malum etiam dixerit, toto corpore opprimi possit doloribus acerrimis, turn cum maxime contra fortunam glorietur ? quod idem nielioribus etiam verbis Metrodorus, occupavi inquit, &c." Tusc. Quxst. 1. v. f I am indebted, for this passage, to Creech. It is a part of his Latin, and learned address to his friend Coddrington, to whom he dedicated his edition of Lucretius. Qui libidinem Epicure objicit, demonstrat illius furta ct delicias : qui gulam, fercula, &c. \ The destruction which has thus attended the works of Epicurus, compel us, in quoting from him, to have recourse to subsequent authors, who, like Diodes and Diogenes Laertius, have preserved certain parts of his writings in their own compositions. These, indeed, are but few, yet sufficiently numerous to prove to us, that Lucretius has been a most faithful expositor of his entire system. It is said, that a complete and original treatise of Epicurus upon his own philosophy has been lately discovered in the ruins of Herculaneum, and that we may soon expect a printed edition of it. This, as a curiosity, will hi truly vfluable, ar.d I am «orry that I cannot avail myself of it at present. Yet, after the very ample THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. lix in existence ; but Diogenes Laeitius, who, in his age, had an oppor- tunity of perusing them, and has preserved several in the course of his biography, tells us, from wliat he had read, that his diet was the most temperate imaginable : that he satisfied liimself with the herbs of his garden intermixed with fruits, and the plainest pottage. " I am perfectly contented," said Epicurus, in one of these epistles, " with bread and water alone; but send me a piece of your Cyprian cheese, that I may indulge myself whenever I feel disposed for a luxurious feast." Such, adds Diogenes, who has preserved the anecdote, was the life of him who declared that his pursuit was pleasure *. And it is observed by Diodes, that his disciples followed the example of their preceptor : that water was their common beverage, and that they never drank more than a small cup of wine. When Demetrius, there- fore, besieged the city of Athens, and the inhabitants were reduced to the utmost extremity, the scholars of Epicurus sustained the common calamity, with less inconvenience than any other citizens : the philo- sopher supported them at his own expence, sharing with them daily a small ration of his beans -j-. " I readily," says Seneca himself, in one of his epistles, " quote the excellent maxims of Epicurus, that I may convince those, who de- ceive themselves as to their object, and expect to find in such maxims a screen for their vices, that, to whatever sect they attach themselves, they must live virtuously. This is the inscription over the garden-gate : " Here, stranger, mayest thou happily take up thine abode ; here plea- manner in which every part of it has been unfolded by Lucretius, it is rather to be welcomed as a curi- osity alone, than as containing any new matter of essential importance. * AiOKXn; Je ev TH TPITH t»; sTrfJfo/xn; ^no-t» ivTcKcrra, tx. kou Aitot»t» JiOTiu/tEMi' kutkXii yi>v¥ (ipiwi») omhav v,pj'.ouvTO' TO OS Trav v^ua rm aUTo»5 'Zotov, — Auto; te ^vxrtv ev TaK iVtrroXxi^f LdxTi jxoyov apxe*(rtf«i, KXt oc^'^ji X»Ti** K%i "rtji4,o» (Aoi TUfou (^risrj) Ki/SpiSlou iv nxy /SeuAi'fio* iroXvTiXia-xtriM, ii/»D/i»i. TtiovTo; »ii o td» ii'i)»w (»cu Ti>j)t 3oy ^«Tjfav. Diog. Laert. x. ii. f PluU in Vit. Demetr. h2 Ix THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. sure is the supreme good : the kind and hospitable owner of this man- sion, will readily receive you, and set before you barley-cakes, and large draughts of water from the spring ;" adding, at the same time, " Is not this fare delicious ?" Nor ^yas the death-bed of Epicurus at variance with the uniform temperance and tranquillity of his life. The disorder to which he fell a victim, was a stone in the bladder : it had, for a long time, been occasionally attended with excruciating pain; but for fourteen days previous to his death, the pain was unin- terrupted. Yet he bore it with admirable composure and patience, propounding the most important and sublime precepts to his students, Avho tenderly surrounded him, and exhorting them, with his last breath, to lead a life of sobriety and virtue. With respect to illicit amours, tliey are crimes Avhich both Epicu- rus * and Lucretius f- were incessantly declaiming against; and even Cicero, notwithstanding all his enmity to their doctrines, acknow- ledges, in many places, that the Epicureans were uniformly worthy men : and that no philosophers were so little addicted to vices of any kind .|. " Wisdom," says Epicurus himself, in his epistle to Menseceus, " is the chief blessing of philosophy, since she gives birth to all other vir- tues, which unite in teaching us that no man can live happily who does not live wisely, conscientiously, and justly ; nor, on the other hand, can he live wisely, conscientiously'^, and justly, without living happily : for virtue is inseparable from a life of happiness, and a life of happiness is equally inseparable from virtue. Be these, then, and similar precepts, the subjects of thy meditation by night and by day, both when alone, and with the friend of thy bosom ; and never, whe- * Gakn in Art. Med. f See, especially, the latter part of Book IV. of the Nature of Things. J Quaest. Tusc. 1. iii. Epist ad Famil. passim. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. - ixi thev asleep or awake^ shalt thou be oppressed with anxiety, but live as a God among mankind *." If then, it be inquired, whence such unjust accusations could have arisen against a sect, that so little deserved them, Du Rondelle, who lias investigated this matter with much critical penetration, shall in- form us. " To hear such a man as Epicurus," says he, " was a plea- sure, not often to be met with. For, instructed in the opinions of all the philosoj^hers, endowed with a quick conception, possessed of great eloquence, nor ever opening his lips without dignity, in a most delightful gaiden, decorated with a variety of fragrant flowers that perfumed the air with their odours, he arrested the attention of every one with more than Herculean chains ; whence Laertius compares him to the Sirens; nor was it possible for an auditor to quit this de- lightful spot, without feeling the bonds of friendship for a host who was equally successful in his researches, and enchanting in his diction. The mode of philosophizing Avhich he adopted, Avas highly approved of. Its report spread over all Athens, and was in the mouth of every one : from every quarter visitors thronged to our philosopher, and were anxious to intermix in his audience ; while the professors of other systems were deserted, and themselves left alone in their schools. " This displeased the philosophers, but more especially the Stoics : and as Diotimus, one of the latter sect, had already discovered impu- dence enough to defame whomsoever he chose, he was applied to, to write against Epicurus. They now burst forth, therefore, Avith fifty lascivious epistles, pretended to have been written by the philosopher * Aio xai (Jii\oa-or, UHV tcu (f foyipw;, xa» xaXw;, x«i ^mcuu;' evSt (ppovi/xiif, xai xaXaij, xnt Jixa;iuf, av.v ^m r,}iaii. ZvuTt- ^uxatri yccf ai apfxai toj ^w rjiw^' xai to ^«v riSiui, Tovrw\> urtu «;(ijpnrTov. — Taura qvv xai ra, touto»; (rvyytm ^t-iKiicc iiairanoi, ^fnfai x.on juxto;, Tpo; o-tauTai, xai wSiTori ov9' izctf SKurocfax^l^, ^ni Si a'j Seos avSposroi;. Diog. . Laert. x. 132. 135. Ixii ' THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. himself. The tale runs that Epicurus, both in the porticos, and pub- lic walks of Athens, at one time indulges himself with Leontius, at another time with Themista : that he wears out the day in sleep, and the night in gambling, drunkenness, or public riots : that he is now guilty of some crime, and now of some impiety : but that, at all times, he is sottish, and unworthy of attention. " To these calumnies Epicurus made no reply. He regarded them as belonging to the class of ephemeral rumours that die away of their own accord as soon as they are found incompetent to their end. The consciousness of his own innocence was sufficient for himself; and the fortitude and tranquillity lie discovered in the midst of such infa- mous aspersions are stronger proofs of the integrity of his life than the testimony of a thousand witnesses. To despise the evil reports that are raised against us, and to confide in the just judgment of unbiassed posterity, is to be revenged upon our enemies in the most splendid manner possible. As to Diotiinus, therefore, Epicurus neither hated, nor was incensed against him : but he pitied, and was sorry for him. He left him quietly, however, to that fate, which was certainly well deserved, but unexpected on his own part ; for the writings of this ca- lumniator were so full of ribaldry, and mere attempts at wit, that Aristophanes, with all his comic powers, could never have excited half so much of the public laughter against any one, as Diotimus at last excited against himself*." *o^ Those, who wish to see a further account of these unjust and iniqui- tous reports, may consult Gassendi's Life of this celebrated philoso- * Rondellius de Vit. et Mor. Epicuri, p. 15. The infamous letters which Diotimus endeavoured to circulate as the writings of Epicurus, and on which he founded his defamations, were proved, in a public court, to be forgeries of his own, and the author was punished accordingly. Laert. x. 3. Athen. xiii- 611. Nothing, indeed, can give us a higher opinion of the innocence and integrity of Epicurus than the fact that his most prying and inveterate adversaries could only attack him by forgeries and fraudulent impositions. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ixiii phcr, where tlie whole is detailed at a still greater length ; and with much critical research : with more, indeed, than Du Rondcllc thinks necessary towards establishing his innocence. Brucker has also suc- cessfully engaged in the same benevolent cause; and his vindication is, in every respect, complete and satisfactory. The virtues and morality of Epicurus were those of Lucretius, his disciple, and ardent admirer, and, for the most part, those of the whole school. We are acquainted with the names of a variety of young Romans who were fellow-students with Cicero and Lucretius ; and to several of whom I have already had occasion to advert. Of these there is scarcely one to be found, who did not prove, in future life, an honour and orna- ment to his country. The examples, indeed, they so uniformly afford us of private friendship and patriotic virtue, in practising the former of which Cicero himself allows them to have been unequalled in the history of mankind *, as well as of clear and cultivated understanding, are truly astonishing, if not altogether unrivalled. From what then, but the me- rest malevolence, or the grossest and most unpardonable ignorance, can the heavy charge of gluttony, voluptuousness, and immorality have been raised against a sect, whose doctrines and discipline were the purest of their age ? and who in themselves, whether regarded collectively or in- dividually, were perpetually exhibiting the most convincing proofs of wisdom, sin)plicity, and virtue? Of all the enemies of Epicurus, the Stoics were the most inveterate ; and I have already observed, that neither falsehoods nor forgeries were neglected by this sect, in order to vilify his character in the opinion of the people. Nor was this to be wondered at, for the doctrines and » De Fin. 1. i. 20. Ixiv THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. morality of Epicurus were levelled more immediately against the Stoics, than against any other philosophers. Zeno had opened his school but a short time anterior to the arrival of Epicurus at Athens. There was, in reality, but little new in what he taught; it was rather a system of eclectism, of general pillage and plunder from existing theories, than the invention of an original philosophy. Yet his dogmas were an- nounced in new and affected terms ; they were intermixed with ab- struse and unintelligible paradoxes, which is too generally conceived in every age to be an unquestionable mark of wisdom and profound research; and these, by the external aid of gravity in speech, in dress and demeanour, obtained, for the inventor, a popularity so consider- able, that the Academy, and almost every other school, Avas deserted for the Porch. The plan proposed by Epicurus, and his own natural disposition, were directly the reverse of such mummery. Affable and cheerful in himself, he saw no reason wh}' man should become mo- rose, in order to become wise ; the paths of wisdom, in his estimation, ouo-ht to be paths of pleasantness, and virtue and happiness to walk arm in arm. In opposition, therefore, to the Porch, he opened an elegant and delightful Garden, and, instead of the grimace of external austerity, exhibited the most captivating urbanity of manners, and facility of ad- dress. He denied the absurd doctrine of fatality, the very pivot of the Stoic machinery, and boldly contended for the free agency of man. The school of Zeno had much, therefore, to dread, from such an adver- sarv ; its adherents beheld the Porch deserted in its turn for the Garden, and, with malicious invention, endeavoured to destroy the fair fame of their adversary by the base means I have already exposed. But it was not with tlie philosophy of the Porch alone that the new school of the Garden interfered.- The dialectics of the Academy and of the Lyceum, and especially those of the former, were daily becom- ing more perplext and mazy, and the search after truth was dwindling THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ixr into a mere display of subtle and logomacliic disputation. The sim- plicity adopted by Epicurus in the selection of terms, and his caution in the assumption of principles, were an indirect attack, as well as a severe reproof, upon this idle and growing fashion. The Academics wore sensible of it from their diminished numbers, and almost empty walls : and they readily conspired, with the Stoics, in their unworthy at- tempt to overthrow so formidable a battery. The animosity whicl» was thus early excited, continued to operate almost as long as Stoicism and Platonism continued to exist ; and the disingenuous plan pursued by their first votaries at Athens was, as I have already observed, too generally had recourse to at Rome even by Cicero and Seneca them- selves. But the Ei)icurcans, it may be said, were atheists: they denied the existence of a God, and of a future state; and some parts of the poem of Lucretius arc expressly written to establish such de- nial. — Let us examine these assertions separately. If, in the first place, it be atheism to den}' the existence of those absurd and vicious deities, who were the sole objects of adoration M-ith the multitude, the Epicureans were certainly guilty of atheism ; for such they did deny. But it is so far from being proveable that they uniformly disbelieved the existence of an eternal First Cause of all things; that it is, perhaps, impossible to produce an Epicurean philosopher of any age against whom such a charge can be legitimately substantiated. The philosophers of this school, on the contrary, have, at all times, as openly avowed the existence of such a deity, and, in many instances, as strenuously contended for the truth of such an avowal, as the dis- ciples of any system whatsoever. Such, in the seventeenth century, were Gassendi, and Cudworth, whose physics are altogether founded upon the atomic hypothesis ; such was Abelard in the twelfth, Alex- ander, who was a conlcmporary with Plutarch, in the first century, and Vol. I. i Ixvi THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. such was Epicurus himself. Thus, in the opening of a letter addressed to a favourite disciple : " Believe, before all things, that God is an im- mortal and blessed being ; as, indeed, common sense should teach us concerning God. Conceive nothing of him that is repugnant to bles- sedness and immortality, and admit every thing that is consistent with these perfections.*" This belief of Epicurus is, indeed, acknowledged by ancient writers in general : Cicero expressly tells us, that he was jjunctilious in the discharge of his religious duties j- ; and Seneca, that he worshiped God on account of his most excellent majesty and su- preme nature alone, without any idea either of future reward or pu- nishment:]:. He admitted, moreover, the existence of orders of intelligences, pos- sessed of superior powers to the human race, whom, like the angels and archangels of the Christian system, he conceived to be immortal from their nature ; to have been created anterior to the formation of the world, to be endowed with far ampler faculties of enjoyment than mankind, to be formed of far purer materials, and to exist in far hap- pier abodes. Tiie chief difference which I have been able to discern between the immortal spirits of the Epicurean system, and of the Chris- tian theologist, is, that while the latter are supjiosed to take an active part in the divine government of the Avorld, the former are represented as having no kind of connexion with it : since it was conceived by Epi- curus that such an interference is absolutely beyond their power, and would be totally subversive of their beatitude §. In the passage immediately subsequent to that I have just quoted, he purposely and obviously discriminates them from the Supreme Be- ing, whom he speaks of in the singular number, and consequently rc- * IIPnTON pEv Tov ©EON ^wov «(fOapTov, &c. Ad Menseceum. Diog. Laert. Ix. j. 123. Edit. West. See the passage quoted at length in p. Ixvii. f De Fin. iii. 6. % De Benef. iv. ig. S Ou yaf (n^n nu ©iot; loyim VTriyfa^-i)' ^nSs» fi>iT; td; ^axapioTrixos ««cixio» avTui vfoaxTrri' ttczv Si to ^uAarxEiv «utou SMctuim» Tti» uiT» KfSafO-iai ^axafioTKTa, Vffi ai^Tov Jo|a^E" ©EOI jj.iv "/ap Ei3-i», svapy»? ^;v ■) ?rp loTi» aurm ri yvutrii' oioi/j J' auToy; oi n-oXXoi »opfov9-iv, oux iicrw 01/ yap (fi/AaTTOi/o-i» ainov; oio'j; vo/xi^oucriv. As-e^u; Ss, ou^ o TOf ; tw> ToWun iiov; Mxt- fm, aXX' rx.i Tti'v iroXXm doja; 9iOi; TfOcraTrToj»" ov ya.^ 7rpoX«4-!i; sitri», aXX' litoXyiifH^ vJ-ttijEii a,i tm itoXKxt iiri/ Ssw» a.Trofaa-ii;. Epicur. ad Meiirec. Vide Diog. Laert. x. 123. t Those enumerated by Diogenes Laertius, who is supposed to have omitted one or two, arc as fol- lows : XaipE^K^of, n Ilfpi 0-11» : Chaeredenuis, or, On the Gods. 'Hynaiam^, n nspi 'Oo-»oti;to; : Hegesianax, or, On Piety, rispi Amaioffpayia.; : On Just Deahngs. ITspi AuaioffKvn,-, «at tw» ccXXm AfiTu> : On Justice, and other Virtues. ITjfi Awpiiv nv.i XapiTaj; On Gifts and Graces. i 2 Ixviii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. recommending the same. With respect to the popular religion, he as- serts : No — it can ne'er be piety, to turn To stocks and stones with deep-veil'd visage ; light O'er every altar incense ; o'er the dust Fall prostrate, and with outstretch'd arms invoke Through every temple every god that reigns ; Soothe them with blood, and lavish vows on vows. This rather thou term piety, to mark With calm untrembling soul each scene ordain'd *. Without this calmness of the soul, this sacred freedom from every gross and ungovernable passion, it is in vain, he asserts, in another place, to expect any benefit from these hallowed and religious seclu- sions, this spiritual quietism and devotion offered up, not at the shrines of the fabulous gods of the people, but in the great temple of " the immense concave of heaven," the pure abode of superior intelligences, Avho are well entitled to the appellation of divinities— being, them- selves the fairest resemblance of the supreme Creator. On this sub- lime subject, he thus expresses himself: For O YE Powers Divine ! whose tranquil lives Flow free from care, with ceaseless sun-shine blest, — Who the vast whole could guide, midst all your ranks r Who grasp the reins that curb th' entire of Things, Turn the broad heavens, and pour through countless worlds Th' ethereal fire that feeds their vital throngs — Felt every moment, felt in every place ? Who form the louring clouds, the lightning dart, And roll the clamorous thunder, oft in twain Rending the concave ? or, full-deep retir'd. Who point in secret the mysterious shaft That, whilst the guilty triumphs, prostrates stern The fairest forms of innocence and worth t i* * Book V. V. jaza. f Book II. v. 1103. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ixix This magnificent and tremendous Being he no where attempts to describe : but, to prove his existence, he adverts, in a variety of phxces, to those arbitrary and mysterious events which are perpetually recurring through all nature, baffling the expectations of the most prudent, and elevating us to the contemplation of a Divinity, supreme, individual, and omnipotent : So, from his awful shades, some Power unseen O'erturns all human greatness ; treads to dust Rods, ensigns, crowns, the proudest pomps of state. And laughs at all the mockery of man *. The unseen, incomprehensible, or mysterious Power, is a phrase not unfrequently applied to the Divinity in most languages, but in none, perhaps, with so much appropriation as the Latin, in which the term Vis, or PowEij, even without an adjunct, is put in apposition with NuMEN, ]\Iens Divina, or the present God, and often used syno- nymously for these appellations. Thus the author of the Panegyric to Constantine Augustus: " O supreme Creator ! whose names are as numerous as thou hast willed there should be lano;ua2:es amono; the nations ; whom, for thou authorisest it to be so said, it is impossible for us to knozi: — dwells not in thee that certain Power, and divine Mind, which is diffused through the whole world f- ?" The writer has selected the very words of Lucretius, Vis quedam, but has, at the same time, omitted his truly elegant and appropriate epithet of ab~ dita, unseen, inscrutable, or mysterious: — Vis abdita qu.edam. Ci- cero, in his Milonian oration, has a passage still more to the point : " Nor can any one," says he, " think otherwise, unless he disbelieve that there exists a Power or divine Energy. But there does, there does exist this Power; nor is it possible that a something, * Book V. V. 1262. -f- Summe Sator ! cujus tot nomina sunt, quot gentium linguas esse voluisti ; quem (enim te ipse dici vclis) icire non ^ossumiis : sive in tetju^DAM Vis, MENSC^ut DIVINA est, qua toto infusus muudo, &c. ]xx THE LIFE OE LUCRETIUS. Vvhich perceives and actuates, should be present in these bodies, even in the midst of their infirmities, and not be present in so grand, so excellent a movement of nature: unless, indeed, such a Power be to l)e denied for the sole reason that it is 7iot seen, or perceived; as though w'c were able to behold this mind of ours by which we de- termine, by Avhich we foresee, by which, at this moment, I mj'self act, and speak, or could plainly ascertain of what it consists, or where it resides. This, this, then, is the Power that has so often favoured this city with an incredible prosperity and happiness *." Let not? therefore, the theism of Lucretius be suspected, because, in conjunction with his countrymen in general, he represents the great author and ar- biter of all things as an un^seen or inscrutable Power. Even in 'the present age of the world, we only know him from his attributes, — from his word and from his works, for no man hath hitherto seen God, or can see him. The sacred scriptures are full of the same representation. Thus, Moses, in the very midst of an intercourse with which he Avas favoured by the Almighty, inquires what is his name, that he might in- form the Israelites of it f-. To the same effect, Zophar, in his inter- view with Job : Canst thou by searching find out God ? Canst thou completely find out the Almighty \ ? With which, the following sublime apostrophe of Job himself is in perfect unison : * Nee vero quisquam aliter arbitrari potest, nisi qui nullam Vim esse ducit, Numente divinum. — Est, est profecto ilia Vis ; neque in his corporibus, atque in hac imbecillitate nostra, inest quiddam, quod vijreat et sentiat, et non inest in hoc tanto nature tarn prxclaro motu ; nisi forte idcirco esse non piitant quia non apparet, nee cernitur ; proinde quasi nostram ipsam mentem, qua sapimus, qua piovidemus, qua hxc ipsa agimus, ae dicimus, videre, aut plane, qualis, aut ubi sit, sentire possumus. Ea Vis, ea igitur ipsa, qua: sspe incredibiles huic urbi felicitates atque opes attulit. Sect. xxx. xxxi. p. 630. Edit. Gronov. t Exod. iii. 13. X Job, xi. 7: KV-t3n mbN "ipnn THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ixxi O that I knew where I might find him : — Behold ! I go forwards, but he is not there ; And backwai-ds, but I cannot perceive him : On the left hand I feel for him, but trace him not, He enshroudeth the right hand, and I cannot see hini *. So, the devout Asaph : In the sea is thy way. And thy path in the deep waters. And thy footsteps are not known f. And hence the Athenians, in future ages, erected an altar to this same inscrutable and mysterious Power, and inscribed it ArNHSTXl GEH, " To THE UNKNOWN GoD," St. Paul remarked the inscription in his visit to this city, and particularly alludes to it in his address to the * Job, xxiii. 3, 8, 9. ; inNVONi 'ny-i' ^n" 'o ijj'M -\hr\ii DTp \n Our common version of ver. 9, of tliis passage, is incorrectly rendered "on the left hand w/iere he doth wori." The verb obviously refers to the speaker, and not to the Creator ; and hence the Septuagint, more accurately, Afiarifa 7roi>;cravT05 aimv. Yet, Toitio-anoj does not give the full meaning of IHti'V^» or rather, VJ^ti'^'^ which more precisely implies t\r,\a^-Kra. av-iov, yi^y.(ic-u.jj.r,i ; and supposes a person to be feeling for an object in total darkness, or with a bandage before his eyes. Reiske is the only com- mentator I have met with, who enters into the complete spirit of the passage, and he renders it, as I have myself given it above, " Ich hasche Ihn, oder, ich greiffe, nach ihm." The Arabians still preserve the Hebrew term in the same sense : -'-'. ? " It is to this passage, and in this explanation of it, St. Paul seems to refer, Acts, xvii. 27. " That they should seek after the Lord, if haply, vi\\i\e feeling after htm, they might find him." Eiapa yi^riXa, Qricnai r/vroi xxi ELpcisv. The latter period of the verse is more emphatically rendered, "he eiishroudeth the right hand," or, " he wrappeth it up in darkness," tiian " he hideth himself," and is a happy continuation of the figure just introduced. The Hebrew term P|UJ,*, in its primary signilication, refers to the garments by which our hmbs are covered or xoncealed, — and hence, secondarily, implies to cloak, muffe, or enshroud. In this instance, the Spanish exposition of Luis de Leon gives us the true sense, though it fails in inter- preting the former member of the verse. " S'l a la i-nqiiierJa, que hare ? no le as'ire ; si ii la derecha vuelvo, le vcre a el. como el original a la letra : /zquierda en obrar suyo, y no Ic okrare ; en cubrir derechoy y lit le vere." t Ps. ixvii. 19. "i^-n c'n cm can ■]''?'a:i''i 6 Ixxii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Athenians : " whom, therefore," says he, " ve ignorantly worship, him declare I unto 3'ou *."• It was about a century before St. Paul's visit to Athens, that Lucretius was studying in the same seat of philosophy and superstition ; and, as there can be little doubt that this altar was at that time in existence, it is no extravagant conjecture that our poet himself had repeatedly noticed it, and had its inscription in his re- collection wlicn composing the passage before us. It is absurd, therefore, to contend, that either T'lpicurus or his dis- ciples Avere systematic atheists, since their precepts and practice, the writino's both of themselves and their antagonists, establish a contrary position. It has again been said that whatever may have been their opinion respecting a Supreme Intelligence, they never believed him to have been concerned in the creation of the universe, which they ex- pressly declared to have sprung irom the fortuitous concurrence of in- sensible atoms, and hence to have been the mere result of blind and brutal chance. Old as is the date of such an assertion, and widely as it has been circulated in every age, it appears to me to wander as remotely from the truth as the defamation I liave just examined. I doubt much whether, if minutely analyzed, this ever were, or ever could be, the opinion of any philosopher, or of any philosophic school in the world. Of all the atomic teachers, Democritus appears to have approached nearest to such a position : yet, even Democritus himself did not con- tend that all atoms were msensiblc, and, consequently, that there was no intelligence whatever manifested in the creation of the world. His elementary corpuscles were divided into two classes, the intelligent and the non-intelligent, the power governing, and the power governed ; and he contended, that it was by the common consultation and re- * Acts, xvii. 33. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ixxiil suit of the former, and the necessary submission of the latter, and not by the contingent effect of chance or fortune, that the universe sprang into existence. The absurdity of thus dividing the intelligent and cre- ative power into parts, is too obvious to be dwelt upon ; yet Democri- tus is not the only philosopher who is chargeable with this extravagant incongruity ; for Aristotle and Plato are both guilty of the same error ; since they both conceived the world, although manifestly a compound and divisible substance, to l)c eternal and intelligent as a whole. Far from coinciding, hov.evcr, in any of these principles, Epicurus, and consequently Lucretius, opposed them with the utmost strength of their reasoning; and while they attempted to prove that matter, taken col- lectively, had no pretensions to sensation or consciousness, they asserted, at the same time, that it was no more capable of sense in its element- ary, than ill its collective state, and that every monad or primordial atouj was alike intriasicail\' unintelligent and insensate. But this was not all: the)' expressi}' denied the existence o^ Chance or Fortune, ei- ther as a deity or a cause of action ; and as positively asserted, that all the pluvnomena of the heavens, the alternation of the seasons, the eclipses of the [)lanets, the return of day and night, are the effects of eternal and immutable laws established at the beginning, in the very origin and creation of all things. " AVhom," says Epicurus, in a letter to Memeceus that has yet survived the ruthless hand of time, " do you believe to be more excellent than he who piously reveres the gods, who feels no dread of death, and rightly estimates the desio-n of nature? Such a man does not, with the multitude, regard CnA\'ci£ as a God, for lie knows that God can never act at random ; nor as a con- tingent cause of events ; nor does he conceive that from any such power flows the good, or the evil, that attempers the real happiiiess of human life*." And in another place, " think not that the different motions * Tim vo^i^!i; £i»«i xfurrova 70V xai n-!pi Gfw» oo-ia lo^v.^wn;, xxt Trjpi SavaTou ^iar«»ro; a^o^uic lymn; xs rM (Pva-m; '.TiXiXiyia-jj'.vov TiXo;,— Tnv is TTXHN, ovts vEov, b.'>- m ■tvoWoi vajxt^oviriv, iiroXajubav»/, ovfljii ya. Vol. L k 'M TO «Tax- 1-.^;-. iv THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. and revolutions of the heavens, the risuig, setting, eclipses, and other phaenomena of the planets, are produced by the hnmediaie control, superintendance, or ministration of him who possesses all immortality and beatitude; it is from immutable laws which they received at the beginning, in the creation of the universe, that they inflexibly fulhl their various circuits*." Fortune, chance, accident, are terms, indeed» which occur in the writings of Epicurean philosophers ; but they oc- cur also in writings the most sacred and unimpeachable ; our esta- blished liturgy, the scriptures themselves, are not free from such ex- pressions. We well know, that in these latter they are to be taken in their popular sense alone ; Epicurus expressly tells us, that they are thus only to be understood under his own system ; and in com- mon justice, as well as common sense, we ought not therefore to un- derstand them otherwise. But it may be said, that Epicurus contended for the eternity of matter. He did so ; yet this is a doctrine which by no means exclu- sively attaches itself to the Epicurean school. Perhaps, if closely in- vestigated, there is not an individual sect of ancient philosophers, against whom the same charge cannot be substantiated. The Tuscans, indeed, are reported to have formed an exception to this universality of opinion ; but we know so little of their cosmological tenets, and the Tii5 ^tui TrpaTTSTai, guts ai?!^aiov «jtikv, outki fi!v yap ayaSov « xaxov ix. TauTu; Tfo; to ^«x*-pin; ^tjv avGfOToi; )jLn h- Jftjflai. Ad Mensec. Diog. Laert. lib. x. p. 659. Ed. West. * E» T015 (xETiupois» ?!t>pav, x»t TpoTTHv, xai £>tXsi4.»v, xxi amnXnt, xai ivcnv, xai tk a-ua-TOi)^(X. toutoij, /ii)TE Xii- TeiipyowTo; Ti>o; Wjni^tiv in yt>ii/i»oupyno-ai »otov t? «/xop^ot/ t/Anj, i^ avOpoTTOvc, ^iJiJaypsfla. Apol. i. lo. II fioTE 'koyu ©£ov !x Til» iToxsijusvwy, xai r:folr!Ku^inm Jia Muio-ewj, yiyiirff^M Toy iravra xocryiov, xai TlXarm KUt 01 TavT« Ktyonc, cu 'uHf s/wtOo/zs)'. Just. Mart. c. lix. p. 78. k 2 Ixxvi THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. thing could 1)C created out of nothing. The Epicureans, and many other schools of philosophers, who borrowed it from them, perpetu- ally appeal to this position. It originated, perhaps, with Democritus, who expressly asserted, according to Diogenes Laertius, " that nothing could spring from nothing, or could ever return to nothing *." Epi- curus echoed the tenet in the following terms : " Know first of all, that nothing can spring from non-entity -j^" It was thus given by Aristo- tle : " To suppose what is created to have been created from no- thing, is to divest it of all power; for it is a dogma of those who thus pretend to think that every thing must still possess its o^vn na- ture J." From the Greeks it passed to the Romans, and appears as follows, in Lucretius : Admit this truth that nought from nothing springs, And all is clear §. And it was thus, long afterwards, recorded by Persius : Nought springs from nought, and can to nought return j|. It IS singular, that the very fame reason is advanced among the Bramins, and is thus urged, in identic terms, in an Upanishad, from the Yajur Veda, in the course of an address to Bremah, or the Su- preme Being : "the ignorant assert, that the universe, in the begin- ning, did not exist in its author, and that it was created out of no- thing. O ye whose hearts arc pure, how could something arise out of nothing ^ ?" * MiJs» (1 Tol/ ixri o»TOf yivscOai, /xuSs ei; to fj.ri ov (pSfifto-Qai. L. ix. 44. -j- 'Oti ov^h yiytTai e>c tou fj-n error. IDioff. Laert. x. 38. !J1 To yi-yvo^ivov m fjLYi ovTwv •y*')'ii(£r9a*, cidi^vtxTOv* CTEpt yap tai^tas Ojuoyvw uovoycrt T.ijf Jofus Ttanti; oi 5r£pi cfiuo-Eaif. Phys. 1. i. 3. J ubi viderimus nihil posse creari De nihilo, turn, quod sequimur, jam rectius inde Perspiciemus. L. i. 157. 11 g'g"> De nihilo nil, in nihilum nil posse reverti. iif. 83. fl I quote from M. Anquetil du Perron's Latin version. The reader may find other similar extracts in Sir Wm. Jones's Works, vol. vi. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ixxvii Let it not be conceived, howcvci-, that I hereby enter into the jus- tification of this tenet. In shewing the degree ol' its universality, I onl}^ mean to contend, that whatever bo its opprobrium with respect to religion, or its inconsequence with respect to ratiocination, the Epi- cureans are not more guilty than the greater part of ancient, and several modern, philosophers. There are three systems which have been alter- nately advanced to avoid the supposed absurdity of the proposition thus nniversally appealed to, " that nothing can proceed from nothing," or, in other words, that the world was produced by an eternal and intelligent power from non-entity ; yet they all, if I mistake not, plunge us into an absurdity ten times more deep and inextricable. The first is that con- tended for by all the old atomic schools, that matter is, in itself, neces- sarily and essentially eternal. But by such a dogma we are put into possession of two co-etemal, co-existent, and independent principles, des- titute of all relative connexion, and common medium of action. The second, which has had even more espousers than the first, asserts, that the universe is an expansion of the essence of the Supreme Creator. But under this belief, the Creator himself becomes material, or in other words, matter itself becomes the Creator, a doctrine not only very gene- ralh' advanced by former philosophers, but lately revived and re-accre- dited on thecontinent*, although far more irrational than theatomiccreed. Tlie third hypothesis is that of the Idealists ; to wit, that there is no such thin<»- as a material or external world : that the existence of man consists of nothing more than impressions and ideas, or of pure incorporeal spi- rit which survey's every thing in the same insubstantial manner as the visions of a dream. Germany has still some advocates for this tenet; the Kantian philosophy, or as the professor at Konigsburg prefers it should be called, the Criticism of Pure Reason, has an obvious inclina- * See note on Book I. v. i68. of the ensuing poem. Ixxviii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. tion to it * ; but its boldest advocates, at least in modern days, were our own countrymen, Berkeley and Hume. But, after all, why is it an absurdity to suppose that something may spring from nothing, when the proposition is applied to omnipotence .'' I may be answered, perhaps, because it is a self-contradiction. But this is only to argue in circulo, for why is it a self-contradiction .'' " It is impossible," said M. Leibnitz, " for a thing to be, and not to be, at the same time." This position I admit, because the contrarj^ would imply a self-contradiction absolute and universal, founded upon the very na- ture of things, and consequently impossible to be perfoimed by Om- nipotence itself. But the position that "nothing can spring from no- thing," is of a very ditferent character : — it is true when applied to man, but it does not follow that it is true when applied to God. In- stead of being absolute and universal, it is relative and limited ; the na- ture of things does not allow us to reason from it when its reference is to the latter; and hence, we have no authority to say that it is im- possible to the Deity, or to maintain that an absolute creation out of nothing is an absurdity and self-contradiction. It is absurd to sup- pose that matter does not exist ; it is absurd to suppose that it does exist eternally and independently of the Creator; it is absurd to sup- pose that it constitutes the Creator himself: but as it is not absurd to suppose its absolute formation out of nothing by the exercise of almighty power, and as one of these four propositions must necessarily be true, reason should induce us to embrace the last with the same promptitude with which we reject the other three. So far, indeed, from intimating any absurdity in the idea, that mat- ter may be created out of nothing by the interposition of an almighty • Critique de la Raison Pure, p. 9. See also, M. Kiesweter's Versuch einer fasslichen paretellung der Wahrheiten der neuern Philosophic, fur Uneingeweyte. Berlin, 1798. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. lxxi.> ilX intelligence, reason seems, on the contrary, rather to point out to us the possibility of an equal creation out of nothing of ten thousand other substances, of which each may be the medium of life and hap- piness to infinite orders of beings, while every one may, at the same time, be as distinct from every one, as the whole may be from matter, or as matter is from what, without knowing any thing farther of, we commonly denominate spirit. Spirit, as generally used among modern metaphysicians, is, to say the most of it, but a mere negative term, employed to express something that is not matter; but there may be ten thousand somethings, and substrata of being, and moral excellence and felicity, which are not matter, none of which, however, Ave can otherwise characterise. Yet wh}^, between all, or any one of these, and matter itself, there should be such an utter opposition and discre- pancy as was contended for by Des Cartes, and has since been main- tained by most metai)hysicians, I cannot possibly conjecture ; nor con- ceive why it should be so universally thought necessary, as it still ap- pears to be thought, that the essence of the eternal Creator himself must indispensably consist of the essence of some one of the orders of beings whom he has created. Why may it not be as distinct from that of an archangel, as from that of a mortal ? from the whole of those va- rious substances, which I have just supposed, and which we cannot otherwise contemplate, or characterise, than by the negative term spi- rit, as it is from matter which is more immediately submitted to our eyes, and constitutes the substratum of our own being and sensa- tions .'' But I return to the subject before me : and repeat it, that my in- tention, instead of defending the erroneous doctrine of Epicurus re- specting the eternity of matter, has been merely to prove that, in err- ing, he only erred with the greater part of the world at large, and upon a point which it would be absurd and dogmatic to affirm is pos- Ixxs THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. scssed of no difficulties whatever. In other respects, the doctrine he in- culcated was perfectly coincident with the creed of almost every mo- dern geologist, whether Plutonic or Neptunian *, and which has been gradually gaining ground from the age of Des Cartes ; I mean, that matter which was originally possessed of the mere qualities of extent and solidity, was endowed, by the Supreme Creator, with such additional properties of motion and gravitation, as enabled it, in j)rocess of time, after a long lapse of intervening ages, and an infinite reiteration of collisions, repulsions, and re-combinations, to produce, by the mere effect of such superadded powers alone, from a rude and undigested chaos, a viral and harmonious world. An examination into the internal structure of the earth demon- strates, that such must have been the fact; and the Neptunian philoso- pher, or he who traces the origin of things from an aqueous, instead of an igneous, or Plutonic chaos, perceives, from the very lineaments of nature herself, the truth of the Mosaic narrative ; he perceives, that the present arrangement and jihaenomena of the chaotic mass were not educed instantaneously, but by a series of separate and creative opera- tions ; that the diflerent fluids of vapour and water were secerned in the first instance ; that the water, for a considerable portion of time, must have covered the entire surface of the globe ; that it at length gradually subsided, and disclosed the summits of our primary, or gra- nitic mountains, which contain no organic remains, and, of course, must have existed anterior to all animal, or even vegetable life. He perceives, from the book of nature, that the waters were first animated with living creatures, the shells and exuviae of marine animals being- traced in immense quantities, even to the present moment, on the summits of the loftiest and most inland primary mountains, whence it is certain that they existed, and in prodigious shoals, even prior to •Werner, La Metlierie, Des Saussures, Hutton, Whitehurst, Kirwan, Playfair. . THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. ixxxi ihe subsidence of the waters, and the disclosure of the dry land. He without difRcult}^ can conceive, still pursuing the order of the sacred historian, which is in every respect analogous with that of the Epicu- rean system *, and he is supported in such conception by the best prin- ciples of ornithology, — that, the summits of the primary mountains be- ing covered with the verdure of the grassy herb, as the waters pro- gressively retreated the atmosphere was next inhabited ; and that the different genera of birds — many of which have long since become extinct, and perhaps existed but for a short period from the date of the general creation, but whose skeletons are still occasionally detected on the surface, or but a little below the surface of our loftiest hills ■ drew their nutriment from the summits of these primary mountains, as soon as they began to be disclosed, and to be furnished with herbaceous food, being the only animals, excepting fishes, which hitherto pos- sessed a habitation. It foiloAvs of necessity, therefore, as stated in the sacred writings, and as is expressly affirmed in the poem before lis f, that terrestrial animals must have had a posterior creation, the surface of the earth now gradually assuming a more solid and exten- sive appearance, and accommodating them with an augmentino- theatre of existence. The Mosaic account, indeed, limits this process to a period in which, if the terms be understood in their strict and literal sense, the existing phenomena of nature seem to evince they could not possibly have occurred ; for it confines the entire work of creation Avithin the compass of six days. In other parts of the sciiptures, how- ever, we have undeniable proofs, that the term day, instead of beino- restrained to a single revolution of the earth around its axis, is used, in a looser and more general sense, for a definite, indeed, but a much more extensive period ; and we have as ample a proof from the book of nature, the existing face of the earth, that the six days or periods of creation referred to, in the Mosaic cosmology, imply epochs of much greater duration than so many diurnal revolutions, as we have, in the * See Nature of Things, Book V. Si 8. f Ibid. 822. Vol. L 1 Ixxxii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. page of human history, that the same terms were employed with the same laxity of meaning by the prophet Daniel. Thus interpreted, scepticism is driven from her last and inmost fortress ; every subterfuge is annihilated, and the word and work of the Deity are in perfect uni- son with each other. That the Creator might have produced the whole by a single and instantaneous eftbrt, is not to be denied ; but, as both revelation and nature concur in asserting that such was not the fact, it is no more derogatory to him, with whom a thousand years are but as one day, and one day as a thousand years, to suppose that he allotted six thousand years to the completion of his design than that he executed it in six days. And, surely, there is something far more magniticent in conceiving the world to have progressively attain- ed form, order, and vitality, from the n>cre operation of powers communi- cated to it in a state of chaos, or unfashioned matter, than in sup- posing the actual and persevering exertions of the Almighty for a de- finite, although a shorter period of time *. That Epicurus and his disciples disbelieved a future state, is a fact that I pretend not to deny. Whence were they to acquire a know- ledge of this important doctrine ? The evidences oftered in its favour by nature, and the reflection of our own minds when directed to mo- ral considerations, arc, at best, but feeble and inconclusive ; and if the Jews themselves, the only people at this period who were favoured with a revelation of any kind, hesitated upon this mysterious subject, and the Sadducees, a large and considerable body of them openly re- jected it ; if Solomon himself, renowned through every eera as the pro- foundest sage of his nation, believed that the wise or righteous man died even as the fool or the wicked f ; that " that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts, even one thing befalleth them ; as the one dieth so dieth the other ; yea, they have all one spirit ; so that a man hath BO pre-eminence above a beast, for all is vanity : all go unto one place ; * See Note on Book I. ver, 168. of the Nature of Things. f Eccles. ii. 16. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ixxxiii all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again *;" it surely can be no im- peachment of the wisdom or virtue of a sect of heathen philosophers, that, after a full and critical examination of this momentous point, they could not bring themselves to accredit what was professedly denied by men who were in possession of an express revelation fi-om heaven. The belief of a future existence can only result from that of a resurrec- tion of the body after its dissolution, or of the survival of the soul as a separate and independent principle. With respect to the former, al- though intermixed with a multitude of the grossest conceits imagin- able, it became an early tenet among the Egyptians, and was strenu- ously contended for by the Pharisaic Jews, it made little or no progress in either Greece or Rome at any time; and hence, when St. Paul, -with inimitable eloquence, asserted this sublime doctrine at the bar of Agrippa's court, Festus accused him of being mad from excess of learn- ing f. " That the dead shall rise, and live again," observes Mr. Locke, *' is beyond the discovery of reason, and is purely a matter of faith :|; :" the knowledge of immortality is alone brought to light by the gospel ; and nothing but the irrefragable proofs we possess of our Saviour's re- surrection can afford us, at the present moment, any full or decisive evidence upon the subject. Of the separate survival of the soul, we know as little from any in- timations afforded by the light of nature, as we do concerning the ro- surrection of the body. And hence, though the former was a tenet far more widely acceded to than the latter, it appears to have been * Eccles. Hi. 19, 20. The belief of a future state among the Hebrews does not, indeed, appear to liave been general even in the days of Hezekiah, whose reign commenced, at least, three centuries after that of Solomon ; for, in his prayer to the Almighty for a prolongation of life, Isai. xxxviii. 18, 19. he ■expressly asserts, that death cannot celebrate Jehovah — that those who go down to the grave, are wUbout hope — and that the living alone can praise him. t Acts, xxvi. 23, 24. X Human Understand, iv. 2. 12 Ixxxiv THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. derived from no common foundation, nor possessed of any uniformity of conception. Generally speaking, moreover, the tenet itself was destroyed by the mode in which it was explained. What was the nature of the soul, ia the opinion of those who contended for its incorruptibi'- lit}' ? An emanation from the divine and universal mind* — a particle of the divine aura -j-, an idea t, an reon §. How Avas it disposed of, up- on its separation from the body ? It transmigrated into some other l)ody ; it remigrated to the soul of the world tj ; it was resorbed by the divine universal Mind. But in cither case, the soul is possessed of no separate entity, and as much ceases to exist per se, or to be what it was before, as if it perished with the body, and returned to the common mass of the material world. We cannot wonder, therefore, that, even amono- the Stoics and Platonists, the doctrine of a post-existence of the soul appeared to be frequently doubtful and undecided. They beheved, and they disbelieved ; they hoped, and they feared ; and liife passed away in a state of perpetual anxiety and agitation. But thi^ was not all : perplcxt, even when they admitted the doctrine, about the will of the Deity, and the mode of securing his favour after death, with their own philosophic speculations they intermixed the religion of the people. They acknowledged the existence of the popular divi- nities ; cloathed them with the attributes of the Eternal himself; and, anxious to obtain their benediction, were punctilious in attending at their temples, and united in the sacrifices that were offered. Such was the conduct of the most worthy and the most enlightened ; of So- crates f and of Plato **, of Cicero ff and Seneca ++. ♦ Ex divina mente universa delibutos animos habemus. Cic. in Cat. Maj. a. , affigit humo divinae particulam aarae. Hor. Sat. ii. 5. ■^ Plut. contr. Gnost. ii. 9. § Jambl. Myst. Egypt, viii. i. 11 Thus Plutarch, in allusion to the destiny of the soul, as maintained both by Pythagoras and Plato, % Xenoph. Mem. 1. >• Diog. Laert. 1. ii. *« De Legib. 1. viii. ft Appjan. Plut. ia Cic. $t Tacit. 1. xv. Suet, in Ner. THE LIFE OF LUCPvETIUS. Ixxxv An incorruptible soul, however, being thus generally conceived to constitute a portion of the human frame, it became, from a very early period, necessary to inquire into the part it was destined to perform while connected with the body. And from its being admitted on all hands, by those who denied, as well as by those who contended for its incorruptibility, to be of a more volatile and attenuate nature than the body properly so called, it ret^uired no great degree of acuteness to appropriate to it, as its peculiar prerogative, the principle of thought and consciousness ; or to maintain consecutively, that thouoht or con- sciousness could not result from pure elementary matter under any combination. It is commonly imagined that this latter tenet was the foundation of the former; but whoever examines the history of man- kind will perceive that the idea of an immortal or incorruptible soul was very generally accredited for ages before the science of metaphy- sics or psychology was heard of, or even conceived ; and the parent is hence transmuted into the offspring. Such was the general belief in the age of Epicurus, and such it con- tinued to be in the time of Lucretius ; and hence it was necessary to reduce the doctrine to the crucible of minute examination and experi- ment, ill order to ascertain its veracity. This each of them appears to have done wi-tli a precision that scarcely leaves a wish ungratified, and the result is, admitting their reasoning to be correct, that the frame of man is simple, uncompounded matter; that matter, in its gross and cruder state, composes the body, and in its more refined or gaseous, the soul or spirit, That rears th' incipient stimulus, and first Darts sentient motion through the quivering frame *. Has modern science added any thing to this discovery, or rests the question as handed down to us in the pages of Lucretius ? The Chris- • Nature of Things, Book iii. ver. aSj. Ixxxvi THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. tian scriptures, I admit, which have brought life, as well as immortalUn, to lio-ht, the present nature of man, as well as \{i?> future destiny, teach us, in my apprehension, most clearly and unequivocally, not only that the body will arise from the grave, but that the soul will exist antecedently to such an event in a state of separation. In this respect, therefore, the Epicurean ^v-ere more estranged from the truth than their opponents, or rather the phcenomena of nature, in which they implicitly confided, afforded them no direct evidence upon the subject, and tended to a contrary conclusion : but so far as relates to the constitution of the entire man, to the materiality of the soul itself, the indications of na- ture, and their own deductions, appear to have been equally correct, and by no means to be contradicted by revelation. To render the soul immortal, why is it necessary that it should be immaterial ? Im- material is a term that does not occur in the scriptures : it has been introduced in aid of reason alone; and it has, unquestionablj-, engen- dered more perplexity than its fondest advocates ever flattered them- selves it would remove. Perception, consciousness, cognition, we con- tinue to be told, are qualities which cannot appertain to matter ; there must hence be a thinking, and an immaterial principle, and man must still be a compound being. Yet why thus degrade matter, the plastic and prolific creature of the Deity, beyond what we are authorised to do ? Why may it not perceive, why not think, why not become conscious ? What eternal and necessary impediment prevents ? or what self-contradiction and absurdity is hereby implied ? Let us examine nature, as she presents herself to us in her most simple and unorganized forms; let us trace her through her gradual and ascending stages of power and perfection. Matter is denominated inert and brutish : as an individual monad or atom, however, and placed at an infinite distance from all other THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ixxxvii atoms, can it alone deserve such an appellation, if it deserve it under any circumstances. Admit the existence of two or more atoms, and whatever be the distance at which they are placed from each other, they will begin to act with reciprocity ; diminish the distance, and the ac- tion will be sensible; the power of gravitation will obviously exert it- self; they will approximate, they will unite. In its simplest form, therefore, matter evinces the desire of reciprocal union, or, as it is commonly called, the attraction of gravitation. Increase its massr arrange it in other modifications, and it immediately evinces other powers or attractions and these will be perpetually, and almost in- finitely, varied, in proportion as we vary its combinations. If arranged,, therefore, in one mode, it discloses the power of magnetism ; in ano- ther, that of electricity, or galvanism ; in a third, that of chemical af- finities ; in a fourth, that of mineral assimilations, of which the very beautiful ^05 ferri affords us a striking example. Pursue its modifica- tions into classes of a more complex, or rather, perhaps, of a more gaseous, or attenuate nature, and it will evince the power of vegetable, or fibrous irritability ; ascend through the classes of vegetables, and you will, at length, reach the strong stimulative perfection, the pal- pable vitality of the mimosa pudica, or the hedysarum gyrans, the former of which shrinks from the touch with the most bashful coy- ness, while the latter perpetually dances beneath the jocund rays of the sun. And when we have thus attained the summit of vegetable powers and vegetable life, it will require, I think, no great stretch of the imagination to conceive, that the fibrous irritability of animals, as well as vegetables, is the mere result of a peculiar arrangement of sim* pie and uniiritable material atoms. But let us not trust to conjecture; let us mark the progress of na- ture through the animal kingdom, as well as through the vegetable, and trace the first doubtful and evanescent symptoms of incipient percep- Ixxxviii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS, tion and spirit. The seeds of plants possess no irritability whatever; yet nothing but an evolution or augmentation, a mere change and increased organization, are sufficient to produce this new and higher power. It is jrrecisely the same with animals. The fecundated egg of a hen, or other bird, when first laid, is as destitute of all irritabi- lity as the acorn of an oak-tree ; the mother nourishes it with heat, and the embryon chick expands in growth, and becomes susceptible of new faculties, till, at length, it bursts its inclosure, and the senseless em- bryon speck is transmuted into an active and perfect animal. The mother, however, after she has deposited her egg, communicates no- thin"" but heat; for the warmth of an oven would have answered the purpose as well as that of her own body ; and, in many countries, the former is preferred to the latter. The same fact occurs with respect to viviparous animals ; for, whatever be the theory of generation we may adopt, the first filaments of the fetus, although formed within the body, are as destitute of sensation as the first fibres that pullulate from the seed or egg after its discharge from the parent stock ; and hence the aphis, and some other animals, are possessed of a double power of propagating their 3'oung according to the season of the year; in the spring-time producing them oviparously, and viviparously in the sum- mer. Hence then, animal sensation, and, hence, necessarily and con- sequently, ideas and a material soul or spirit ; rude and confined in- deed in its first and simplest mode of existence, but like every other production of nature, beautifully and progressively advancing from power to power, from faculty to faculty, from excellence to excellence, till it at length terminate in the perfection of the human mind. Such appears to be the clear indication and gradual progress of na- ture, and such was the doctrine of Epicurus. But such was not the ■whole of his doctrine. He pursued the mind into her inmost recesses ; he analyzed her powers, and endeavoured to develope her very tex- THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Ixxxix {lire, as distinguished from the external and grosser body. To enter minutely into this subject would occupy far too much space, and I refer the reader, therefore, to the following poem, Book III. v. 100 — 265. and the explanatory notes which will be found appended. Let it at present suffice to observe, that the mind was supposed to be the re- sult of a combination of the most volatile and cthcrial auras or oasses, diffused over the whole body, though traced in a more concentrate form in some organs than in others. Nor could any conception be more correct or happy : it is the very philosophy of the present day, boldly predicted and accurately ascertained. Such, from the clearest and most convincing experiments, are the sources of all nervous communica- tion ; and why may not a certain modification of such gasses constitute the mind itself, and form the very texture of that separate state of existence ■which the infallible page of revelation clearly indicates will be ours.? Ana- logy, I admit, points out to us, as it did to Epicurus and his disciples, that such a texture can be no more incorruptible, than the less subtilized body itself, which is avowedly doomed to the grave ; and it may more- over be questioned, whether a frame so attenuate he capable either of organization, or permanent endurance. As the suggestions of ana- logy, however, are erroneous with respect to the body, Ave can place no dependence upon them with regard to the mind, admitting it to be material in its frame. Matter is not necessarily corruptible under any form. Tlie body, which is now mouldering in its grave, Avill hereafter experience a glorious resurrection ; the corruptible Avill put on incor- ruption ; the mortal, immortalit}'. As then the material body is pri- vileged to enjoy incorruptibility in a future period, so may the ma- terial mind be privileged to enjoy it from its birth. Why it should be requisite for that which seems to constitute one harmonious whole to separate, and for the mind to exist by itself in an intermediate state of being, is a mystery which equally attaches to the material and im- material systems. But the power that is capable of giving personality and consciousness to matter in its grosser and more palpable form. Vol. L m . xc THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS, must unquestionably possess a similar power of bestowing the same qualities on matter in its most attenuate and evanescent. This opinion, however, I offer as a speculation to be pursued, ra- ther than as a doctrine to be precipitately accredited *. Yet its ten- dency is by no means idle or unimportant : since, if caj)able of esta- l)]ishment, it will, in a considerable degree, remove the objections which attach to the common systems of materialism, elucidate the Mosaic account of the first creation of the soul from a divine breath or aura infused into the bod}', and give stability to universal tradition, by developing the nature of that evanescent and shadowy texture, un- der which, among all nations, th)s,soul has ever been supposed to exist. Opposed as the two theories of '^ y 'alism (in the manner in which it is commonly professed) and ir'-j^liate'v'" mi are to each other, it is curi- ous to observe how directly .,-.■. *' ally they tend to one common re- sult v/ith respect to a point up- whicii they are supposed to difler diametrically : I mean, an assimilation of the human soul to that of the brute. The materialist, who traces the origin of sensation and thought from a mere modification of matter, refers the perception, cognition, and reflection of brutes, to the very same principle which produces such endowments in man ; and believing that this modifica- tion is equally, in both instances, destroyed by death, maintains like Solomon, that " as the one dieth, so dieth the other; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast :" and his hope of a future exist- ence depends exclusively upon the resurrection of the human body, as positively predicted in the Christian scriptures. The immate- rialist, on the contrary, who conceives that mere matter is inca- pable, under any modification, of producing the eftect of sensation and ideas, is under the necessity of supposing the existence of another and a very different substance in a state of combination with it : a sub- * The subject will be found farther investigated in a new theory of physiology which the author shortly intends to submit to the public. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xci stance not subject to the changes and infirmities of matter, and alto- gether impalpable and incorruptible. But if sensation and ideas can only result from such a substance in man, they can only result from a possession of the same substance by brutes : and hence the level be- tween the two is equally maintained by both parties, the common ma- terialist lowering the man to the brute, and the immaterialist cxaltinir the brute to the man. The immaterialist, however, on the approach of dissolution, finds a difiiculty to which his antagonist is not subject, for he knows not, at that period, how to dispose of the bru- tal soul : he cannot destroy an incorruptible and immaterial sub- stance, and yet he cannot bring himself to a belief that it is immortal. This difficulty is extreme, and nosystem that has hitherto been in- vented has been able to surmdBF ^^j3y some im materialists, and particularly by Vitringa and Grl^ "' ^ '^t^' been conceived, that as something distinct from matter nrll^ Jimmtcd to brutes to account for their powers of perception, maiiRsi^rare in possession of a princi- ple superadded to this, and which alone constitutes their immortal spirit; but such an idea, while it absurdly supposes every man to be created with two immaterial spirits instead of one, leaves us as much as ever in the dark as to the one immaterial, and, consecpiently, in- corruptible soul or principle possessed by brutes. The insufficiency of the solution has not only been felt but acknowledged by other immaterialists, and nothing can silence the objection, but to advance boldly, and den}^ that brutes have a soul or percipient principle of an}' kind ; that they have either thought, perception, or sensation ; and to maintain, in consequence, that they are mere mechanical ma- chines, acted upon by external impulsions alone. Des Cartes was sensible that this was the only alternative ; he, therefore, cut the Gor- dian knot, and strenuously contended for such a theory : and Polignac? who intrepidly follows him, gravely devotes almost a whole book of bis Anti-Lucretius to the elucidation of this doctrine ; maintaining, m 2 xcii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. that tlie bound has no more will of his own in chasing the fox or the hare, ihiiu the Arires of a harpsichord have in the excitation of tones ; and that, as the latter is mechanically thrown into action by the pressure of the fingers upon the keys, so the hound is mechanically driven forwards by the pressure of the stimulating odour that exhales from the body of the fox or hare upon, his nostrils *. Such are the fancies which have been invented, to explain what appears to elude all explanation whatever, and, consequently, to prove that the original theorj' itself is unfounded. Yet the objections that apply to the theory of materialism, as com- monly understood and professed, are still greater. By the denial of an hitermediate state of being between the two periods of death and the resurrection of the body, it opposes what appears to be, not only the o-cneral tenor, but, in some instances, the direct declarations of the Christian Scriptures -f: and by conceiving the entire dissolution and dispersion of the animal machine, of which all the atoms may become afterwards constituent portions of other intelligent beings, it renders a future and resumed personality almost, if not altogether, impossible. The idea I have thrown out seems to avoid the difficulties attached to both systems. It says to the materialist, matter is not necessarilij cor- ruptible : you admit that it is not so, upon your own principle, which strenuously asserts, that the body itself will, hereafter, arise incorrup- tible and immutable. It says to the immaterialist, the term immaterial is the mere creature of system, at the same time that it by no means an- swers the purpose of its creation : it tells him that it is a term not to be found in the scriptures, which, so far from discountenancing a belief that the soul, spirit, or immortal part of man, is a system of gaseous or ethe- rial matter, seem rather to authorize such a conception by expressly * Anti-I^ucr. 1. vi. 640. t Matt. X. 28. Luke, xvi. 22, 23. id. xxiii. 43. Acts, vii. 59. 2 Cor. v. 1. 6. 8, 9. Phil. i. 21—24. 1 Peter, iii. 18. 20. 2 Peter, i. 13, 14. 1 THE LIFE or LUCRETIUS. xciii asserting that it was originally formed from an air- or aura, which was fereathed into the body of Adam, in consequence of which he became a Uving soul, and by presenting it to us under some such modification in every instance in which the dead are stated to have re-appeared. Li reality, the difference between this hypothesis and that of immaterialists, in general, is little more than merely verbal. For, there are few of them who do not conceive that the soul, in its separate state, exists under some such shadowy and evanescent form, and that, if never suffered to make its appearance in the present day, it has thus occasionally, appeared in earlier times, and for particular purposes. Yet, what can in this manner become palpable to material senses must it- self be material in its texture, otherwise it could produce no impression on the external organs, and must for ever remain impalpable and im- perceptible : a similar texture of existence seems, therefore, to be pre- supposed by both systems ; and the only discrepancy between them is, that while the one denominates it material, the other, but I think less accurately, denominates it wwiaterial. From what source univer- sal tradition may have derived the same idea of disembodied spirits I pretend not to ascertain ; the inquiry would, nevertheless, be curious, and might be rendered important : its universality, independently of the sanction afforded to it by revealed religion, is no small presump- tion of its being founded on fact. My only object, in this digression, has been to conciliate discordant opinions, and to connect popular be- lief with philosophy. But to return to the subject before me. I have already observed, that the Epicureans were addicted to religious abstractions, and that the great founder of the sect composed various treatises upon the du- ties of piety and holiness. These, according to Cicero, were possessed xciv THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. of an ardour and enthusiasm which would have become a priest * ; and it has hence been inquired what could be so absurd as to recommend piety, and engage in devotional exercises, if the soul be not immor- tal, if there be no resurrection of the body, and the Deity interfere not with moral actions lest the human will be curtailed in its liberty ? This question has been proposed often ; and the adversaries of Epi- curus have maliciously replied to it, that he was only influenced to such a conduct by a fear of offending the civil power. It is im- possible, however, to form a more false conjecture of his motives, nor can any one give credit to such reply for an instant, who is acquainted Avith the magnanimity he evinced throughout every stage of his life ; the fortitude with which he opposed the prevailing superstitions of the people, and the simplicity of his own religious tenets. " We are ac- customed," observes Gassendi, upon this very point, " to assign two causes Avhy mankind should worship the Deity : the one is, his own excellent and supreme nature ; and the other, the benefits he is con- tinually conferring upon us by restraining us from evil, or vouchsafing to us some positive good f." It was then, by the former, and tlie far purer of these motives, by which Epicurus was actuated. Seneca, in- deed, expressly tells us so : " He worshiped God," says he, "induced by no hope, by no reward, but on account of his most excellent Ma- jesty, and Supreme Nature alone +." " And why should we not," in- quires Bayle, " allow to Epicurus the idea of a worship which our most orthodox theologians recommend as the most legitimate and the most perfect ? For they preach to us, from day to day, that though there should be no paradise to hope for, and no hell to dread, Ave should, nevertheless, be obliged to honour God, and to do Avhatever * De Nat. Deor. 1. i. 41. f Diiplicem solemus assignare causam, quare Dcum homines colant, unam dicimus exccUentem, supremamque Dei naturam ; alteram beneficia, &c. lib. iii. c. 4. % Deum colebat nulla spe, nuUo pretio inductus ; sed propter majestatem ejus esimiam, supremannque ejus naturam. De Benefic, lib. iv. cap. 19. THE LIFE OF LUCPtETIUS. xcv v:c think agreeable to his nature *." But, independently of these considerations, the devotional services of the Epicureans carried a positive and physical benefit along with them. By occasional ab- stractions from the world, all undue attachment to it was diminished, if not totally eradicated ; ayd by confirming themselves, during these periods of retirement, in a calm and confidential resignation to the determined series of events, they obtained a complete victorv over their passions, and gave the truest enjoyment to life. What, then, is there so much worse, so much more impious, in the te- nets of Lucretius and Ej:)icurus, than in those of their contemporaries ? That we of the present day are possessed of more knowledge and illumi- nation, upon the important doctrine of a future life, should be a source of continual thankfulness, — and a stimulus to superior virtue. The ad- vantages they enjoyed, however, they improved as far as they Mere able : let us in this respect, at least, follow their example, — and go and do likewise. But to revert to the life of our poet. In the midst of his retirement, Lucretius did not enjoy all that undisturbed tranquillity which he had fondly painted to his imagination. He had retreated from the storms and tumults of a public life, but he could not become indifferent to the welfare of his counti'y. His eyes seem to have been frequently wandering back to those busy scenes where so many of his ancestors liad signalized themselves for wisdom and patriotic virtue : and the disturbances which the ambition of the triumvirs had introduced into the Senate, and the disputes between Clodius and Milo into the fo- rum ; the venality so flagrantly discovered in elections to every public * Pourquoi ne voudrions nous pas qu'Epiciire ait en I'idee d'un ciilte, que iios theologiens les plus orthodoxes recommandent, conime le plus legitime, ct le plus parfait. lis nous disent tousles jours que quand on n'auioit ni le paradls a esperer, ni IVnifer a craiiidre, I'on seroit pourtant oblige d'honorer Dieu, et de faire tout ce que I'on croiroit lui C-tre agreeable. Art. Epicure. .xcvi THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. office, whether of quaestors, praetors, tribunes, or consuls ; the unprin- cipled and traitorous conduct of Pompey, who maintained an army devoted to his own interest, at the very gates of the city ; tlic general insurrection in Gaul, and the unsuccessful expedition against the Par- thians, are said to have preyed severely upon his heart. While, at the same time, to complete his affliction, his beloved friend, Caius Mem- mius, who, by the advice, and with all the influence of Julius Coesar, had just before offered himself a candidate for the consulate, Init had been obliged to yield to the superior interest and artifices of Pompc}', was attacked with a charge of bribery and corruption, under a law which had lately been proposed by Cato, and sanctioned, with difficulty, in the comitia, and which provided that every one, against whom such a charge could be substantiated, should be banished from the republic for life. That Memmius was guilty upon this occasion can scarcely admit of a doubt : the whale republic was become corrupt, and Cato, whose intention in the proposition of this law was principally directed against Pompey and Caesar, acquired equally the haired of the rich and the poor for his interference. Neither did the law itself, in any re- spect, answer the purpose of its virtuous projector ; for the people and the Senate, instead of being openly and individually bought up as heretofore, were now only bargained for more privately in the lump, through the medium of the existing consuls and tribunes. On the present occasion, the disturbances were unquestionably very great : — the candidates were numerous, the different factions were powerful ■ and the tribunes themselves, not knowing which party to embrace, procrastinated the meeting till the time of the writ was expired, and then dissolved the assembly without any determinate issue. Hence ensued an interregnum which lasted for seven months, during the whole of which period Pompey employed the full extent of his influ- ence and address to be elected into the supreme office of dictator ; THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xcvii but finding that the partly of Memmius, and the other candidates for the still vacant consulate, were too powerful for this utmost gratifica- tion of his ambition, he artfully' lowered his pretensions, and had inte- rest enough to obtain the consulate for two dependents upon him, Do- mitius Calvinus and Valerius Messala. This point being secured, his next object was to glut his vengeance upon those who had precluded him from becoming dictator: Caius Memmius, and various others, were hence arraigned at his instigation before the comitia, upon the charge of bribery I have Just adverted to ; and though little doubt re" mains that Pompey himself was the most corrupt man in the court, Memmius was declared guilty, and sentenced to a banishment into Greece*. Cicero, upon this occasion, returned the friendship he had so lately received, and pleaded with all his aljility for the accused ; but the most splendid talents must prove fruitless where the cause is predetermined. It was, probably, in the power of Cffisar to have turned the balance against the consuls themselves : but Ca?sar never consulted any other interest than his own, and he had indubitably as powerful a motive for coinciding with Pompey at this time, as he had for opposing him in the year preceding. The warm and sympathetic soul of Lucretius, however, was unable to sustain so unexpected a shock, and tlie endearing attentions of his Lucilia were lavished upon him in vain. It threw him into a fever, affected his intellects, and, in a paroxysm of delirium, he destroyed himself-f-. * GifFan. de Gent. Memmiad. t This is the cause generally assigned by his biographers and commentators ; and as Memmius was exiled in the year of the city 701, and towards the close of that year, the date we arc furnished with precisely coincides with that offered by the Chronicle of Eusebius, which states Lucretius to have been forty-four years old at the time of his death. Cicero, as I have already observed, in his letters to Atticus, vii. 24, 25, speaks of a Lucretius, a bosom friend of Cassiiis, who was resident at Capua, at the time when the se- nate fled from it, along with Pompey's army, at the approach of Csesar ; and who repeatedly communicated to Cassius an account of the transactions that occurred. If the Lucretius here referred to were the «ub Vol. I. n xcviii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. He was, at this time, about forty-rour years of age : the date of the city being probably 702, and his poem, though completed, had not jecL of this memoir, he must have been at least four years older at the time of his decease, than Eusebius has allowed ; for the flight of Pompey aad the senate from Capua did not take place till the year of the city 705. Yet the Lucretius here spoken of was rather a relation of the poet, than the poet himself ; for, although from a similarity of years, from mutual connexions, and, more than every thing else, a mutual at- tachment, and open avowal and defence of the Epicurean system, it is in the highest degree probable, and indeed uniformly admitted, that the closest acquaintance and intercourse were maintained between Titus Lucretius and Cassius ; yet the former does not appear to have possessed a roving disposition, much less a disposition to have travelled into a quarter of great political tumult and danger. It is said, that he once accompanied his friend Caius Memmius to his government in Bythinia ; and, had Memmius been at this time alive, and still in a state of exile, it would be much more reasonableto look for Lucretius in Greece, to which place Memmius had been banished, than at Capua, in the midst of civil tumults and contendmg armies. The Chronicle of Eusebius, therefore, continues still unimpeached, and we cannot do better than rely upon it. There is more controversy among the critics, concerning the time when Lucretius died, than when he was born ; for while Eusebius, and consequently St. Jerom, fix him to have been at this period forty- four years old, there are others who will not allow him to have been more than twenty-six ; and, it is cu- rious to observe, in what manner the present and similar mistakes have been copied from writer to writer, and in every copy have exhibited some ingenious addition. Thus, Donatus kills him, or rather makes him kill himself, on the very day in which Virgil took his virile gown. " Decimo septimo anno," says he, " astatis virilem togam cepit, illis consulibus iterum quibus natus erat. Evenitque ut eo ipso die Lucretius poeta discederet." Vit. Virg. P. Briet, whom Bayle has convicted of eight errors in his first eight lines, ac- cords, in this instance, with Donatus. De Poetis Latinis. But Creech, who appears to have met with some such anecdote, yet not to have remembered the story completely, declares, that he died, not on the day of Virgil's majority, but on that of his blrlh ; and immediately adds, that a Pythagorean might hence easily conceive, that tlie soul of Lucretius had instantaneously passed into the body of Virgil, and thus at once inspired him with a truly poetic taste. " Vix," says he, " absoluto opere moritur, eo ipso die quo natus est Virgilius ; et aliquis Pythagoreus credat Lucretii animam in Maronis corpus transiisse, ibique longo usu, et multo studio exercitatam poetam evasisse." In Praef. Lucr. Equally erroneous, too, or, at least equally unfounded, is that report of Eusebius, that the paroxysm of insanity in which Lucretius destroyed himself was produced by philtres, administered to him by Lu- cilia in a fit of jealousy, and with a view of recovering that affection which she was suspicious he had be- stowed on some other object : whence the commentator upon Creech's Enghsh version, and after him Guernier, have advanced a step farther, and, without the smallest authority, thrown out a hint that this lady was perhaps his mistress, and not his wife, although she is expressly denominated his wife by Euse- bius, St. Jerom, and every early writer who has left us any tidings upon the subject. Who does not per- ceive that the whole of this story of philtres and jealousy is a fiction founded upon the double fact of the grief and alienation of our poet's mind, and the fond and assiduous attention which Lucilia bestowed upon him during his illness \ And who does not, at the same time, perceive an attempt to renovate the same charge of voluptuousness, which was so maliciously advanced against Epicurus and his disciples in former ages ? But this is not the whole of the wonderful tale narrated in the Chronicle of Eusebius ; for he did not, as it seems, kill himself upon first becoming insane, but lived many years afterwards, and, like Torquato THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. xcix hitlicrto been made public. Cicero, notwithstanding the enmity he had manifested against Epicurism from the moment of his deserting this system of philosophy, out of regard to the memory of his de- ceased friend, undertook to become his editor, and to revise it in the few places where revision was necessary. This task, it is probable, he executed about a twelvemonth afterwards, during the winter he spent in Cilicia ; the government and protection of which was, at that time, committed to his liands *. ac- Tasso, 01- our own lamented Cowper, tviiK^ed reguhr abernatlons of reason and derangement ; during the intervals of which malady, like these two poets also, he composed the grtatcr part of the work that has immortalized him. That he may have been subject, during his last illness, to some alternating insanity is by no mesns improbable, but not from the riditulous cause of an amorous philtre communicated to him in a fit of jealousy, and especially the sort of philtre employed by mistake upon this occasion, which cording to St. Jcrom, was aconite or monks hood. " J//a sJ>oiile sua," says he, " misciik aconitum : Lud!:, decepta furorcm proplna-vit, pro amoris poculo." That moonks-hood will speedily and effectually poison is I suppose, known to every one, but that it shoiild produce the marvellous effect of a periodic madness, will not be very readily accredited by botanists or physicians. Giffanius has well observed, that the whole story reposes upon no authority, and is entitled to no belief; and he hence attributes the poet's decease with far more probability, to the cause assigned in the text. » There has been a long and idle contest among the critics, whether the six ensuing books of the Nature of Things be the whole of which the poem ever contisted. The qiienion originated from a casual assertion of Vai ro, that a verse, not now to be found in any part of it, formed the beginning of its twen- ty-first book : but Varro does not mention, whether it were the twenty-first book of The Nature of Things, or of some other poem Lucretius may hs supposed to have written, and which Frachctta con- ceives he actually did write. Had this, however, been the fact, it is almost impossible that we should not have been made acquainted with its title, and its object, as well as possessed some other fragments besides this one soUtary verse of Varro, delivered dov.-n to us, either by Priscian, TertuUian, Laclantius Arnobius, or Donatus, who have quoted so largely from all the six books of the Nature of Tiling?. At the same time, it is scarcely possible, upon a iniiuite and critical examination of the Nature of Things to conceive that any additional book could either have preceded or been superadded to those, of which the poem consists in its preserved form, it comprizes a perfect whole as it exists at present ; and no di- dactic poem I am acquainted with, either ancient or inodern, has fairer pretensions to the harmonious com- bination of a beginning, a middle, and an end. Its object is to develop the principles of the philosophy of Epicurus. It commences, therefore, with its first rudiments : it exhibi s and establishes its general doctrines ; and it then applies those doctrines to tiie explanation of all tlie phsnomena of nature : tlic most familiar, as well as the most abstruse. The two last books, indeed, may be regarded as a kind of dra- matic denout;ment or peripcetia of the whole; in which, from the principle» progressively advanced, every event is accounted for, and rendered luminous. The dark curtain of nature is, as it were, undrawji : hei multifarious wheels are at work before us — and the vast and entire machine is presented in all its con- nexions and dependencies. I cannot, therefore, but agree with (iiffa;'JU3 in conceiving, that either Varro^ n '2 c THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. Thus perished, untimely, Titus Lucretius Carus, the immortal au- thor of TfiK Nature of Things, and whom Scaliger, with a feli- citous brevity of character, has denominated " a divine man, and an incomparable poet *." But virtue and talents have no arbitrary con- trol over the mutable enjoj'ments of the present world : and not Lu- cretius alone, but almost every one of those illustrious Romans, whom I have enunjerated as the friends of his youth, may be adduced as forcible examples of the truth of this position. There is, indeed, a similarity of fate and misfortune attendant upon the latter part of their lives, so truly astonishing, if not altogether unparalleled, that I caimot consent to close this biography without taking a brief glance at it. Caius Memmius, who, as I have already observed, was banished, by his countrymen, into Greece, died during his exile. He retired, himself must have written erroneously, when he alluded to a verse in the tweiity-first book of Lucretius, or that some transcriber of VaiTO has equally erred in writing Lucretius for Lucilius, or some other poet whose labours have not descended to the present day. But the author of the Nature of Things appears to have settled the controversy in the completest manner himself, by pointing out to us, in two express passages, the first and last books of which the poem was ever designed to consist. Thus, that the sixth book was to conclude the work, we may collect from the following verses towards •.he commencement of this verj' book itself: Tu mihi supremiT pnrscripta ad Candida calc'ts Currcnti spatium prjemonstra, callida Musa, Calliope ! requies hominum, divomque voluptas : Te duce ut insigni capiam cum laude coronara. Lib. VL v. 91,. Muse most expert, belov'd of gods and men, Calliope ! O aid me as I tread Now the last limit: of ths path prescnh'd. That the bright crown with plaudits I may claim.. v. 94. And that the doctrine of a vacuum constituted the subject of the first book, we learn from the fol- lowing : Nunc omnes repetam quam raro corpore smt res, Coumemorare, quod in prima quoqtu carmine claret. Lib» VL v. 936. This thus premls'd, recal we next to mind How rare the frame of all things, as ere while Conspicuous prov'd we in our earliest strain^ * Lucretius, divinu» vir, atque incomparabilis poeta. In Arist. Hift, Anini THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. ci first of all, to Athens, where he resided for some time ; whence he re- moved to Mvtelene, and, last of all, to Patre, near Corinth. Here, from the suavity of his manners, the inhabitants unanimously conferred upon him the fieedom of their city. He settled, therefore, among them, and adopted, a short time before his death, a particular Iriend of Cice- ro's, of the name of Lvso, who was himself a citizen of Patre. Brutus and Cassius, in the last convulsions of Roman liberty, unable to sur- vive the death-blow the republic had received at Philippi, followed the example which Cato had not long before given them at L^tica, and fell by their own swords. The resolution of Caius Velleius, who was likewise engaged in this fearful battle, did not yet forsake him alto- gether. In conjunction with Lucius and Tiberius Claudius, he mairi- tained the contest a few months longer ; but upon the final triumph of Octavian at Perusia, he fled into Sicily, with a few other virtuous cha- racters who had survived the battle of Philippi, and, in the same man- ner, destroyed himself. The fortune of Lucius Cicero I am unacquainted with : like Lucretius he appears to have abstained from all personal connexion with the government, and to have possessed a large share of the affection of his brother Marcus, Avho, in his familiar letters, is frequently speaking of him in terms of great fraternal tenderness. The unhappy fate of Marcus and Quintus Cicero are too well known to need any detail in this place. They both fell, in consequence of the infamous convention between Lepidus, Octavian, and Antony, by which the confederates agreed to sacrifice to the private vengeance of each other the most esteemed and most virtuous of their friends. The black catalogue was completed, and the names of the two brothers form- ing a part of it, they, with the rest, were proscribed, and condemned to death. Quintus was barbarously beheaded, along with his son, in his own house at Rome, to which he had privily returned for pecu- niary supplies. The circumstances attending his discovery and execu- eii THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. tion are deeply interesting and pathetic, but cannot be dwelt uopn at present. Marcus, as is known to every one, was overtaken and slain at a little farm he possessed at Caieta ; at the time he was searched for, he was concealed amidst the shades of his garden ; but his retreat was pointed out by an ungrateful young man, who had formerly been a slave to Quintus Cicero, and had been emancipated at the particular request of Marcus, whose affection for him had from this time been rather that of a father than of any other relation. His liead and his right hand were immediately severed from his body by a tribune whom his eloquence had not long before saved from the disgrace of a public execution. The fates of Pomponius Atticus, and of Lucretius Vespillio, the two last of the early friends of our poet, of whom 1 shall give any account, were more fortunate, and they are the only persons who can lay claim to any degree of success among the whole of this virtuous and patriotic party. The names of both of them were likewise enrolled in the black catalogue of the proscribed. Yet against Vespillio, who, as I have be- fore observed, had made literature and eloquence his chief pursuit, and had seldom or never interfered in the dangerous politics of the day, no oreat decree of resentment appears to have prevailed among the trium- virs : he was concealed from his pursuers by an ingenious contrivance of his wife ; and after the heat of the pursuit was over, he fled at first to Sulrao, the birth-place of Ovid, and afterwards to Cnaeum*, whence, upon the termination of the civil Avar, he returned to Rome, and perse- vered in his former profession of the law. Titus Pomponius Atticus was a character of more prominence : without forfeiting his reputation for patriotism, he had hitherto pos- sessed sagacity enough to be respected, and sought after by all the con- • Plut. ill loc. THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS. ciii tending factions of his country. He bad been on terms of alliance with Cfesar and Anthony, while the most intimate friend of Cassius and Brutus : — yet Anthony, upon the present occasion, readily resioned him, at tiic solicitation of his two colleagues : and hence his name was also in the list of the proscribed. On the first s-irmise of this villany, that unrivalled presence of mind, for which he had ever been remark- able, proved again of essential service to him. The object of Atticus, who was at this time in Rome, was, like that of the two Ciceros, to reach eitlier Macedonia or Sicily ; but he pursued a different plan to accomplish it : and the stratagem he invented succeeded according to its merit. He attired himself, without loss of time, in the habit o£. a Roman prjietor, and disguised the slaves whom he selected to accom- pany him in the dress of attendant lictors. He left the city with all possible speed, travelled in the most public manner, and invented a story, to give plausibility to his journey, that he was sent by the tri- umvirs themselves to negotiate a peace with young Pompey. In this manner he was received in every city through which he passed with ail possible marks of distinction, accommodated with horses, provi- sions, and every assistance he required — travelled entirely at the pub- lic expence, and arrived at Sicily in perfect safety. In this retreat he continued quiet and unmolested, till the political tempest of his coun- try had discharged itself of its fury. He then returned to Rome, at the particular request of Augustus, and continued in possession of the esteem both of himself, and Agrippa, till his death ; which, neverthe- less, was not long afterwards effected by his own hands: extreme grief, in all probability, for the loss of his earlier companions and friends, having compelled him to a step which was common among the wisest and most virtuous of the heathen world ; and regarded rather as an act of duty and heroism, than of criminality and disgrace. [ civ ] APPENDIX. XjLaving thus amassed together the scattered fragments that relate to the life of Lucretius, added some few memoirs of other illustrious Epi- cureans who were his coevals and friends, and attentively examined the doctrines they professed, I proceed to offer a brief sketch of the alter- nate support and opposition experienced by this celebrated school in subsequent aeras. Jt is once more necessary to observe, that every school of philosophy among the Greeks, whether of Ionic or Italic origin, as well as every ^ect whom they proudly denominated barbarian, whether Chaldean, Egyptian, Persian, or Celtic, pre-supposed the eternal existence of matter: upon the form or mode, however, of its original existence, and the process by which it acquired its present appearance and organiza- tion, they differed very materially ; some maintaining, that every thing has existed from everlasting, as it appears at present; and others, that the visible world has had a beginning. Among the Greeks, Ocellus Lucanus and Aristotle were the chief who contended for the first opinion : the former asserting, that the uni- verse is utterly incapable of generation or corruption, of beginning or end, and that it is of itself perfect, permanent, and eternal ; and the latter, asserting still more expressly, not only that the universe, as to its elementary matter and general configuration, is eternal and unde- rived, but that mankind, and every other species of animals, have sub- sisted by an uninterrupted chain of propagations from all eternity. APPENDIX. cv without origin or first production ; and that the vegetable and mineral kingdoms are of equal, underived, and everlasting duration. I enter not into the more mysterious parts of the peripatetic system, the sacred triad of Form, Privation, and Matter, the Primum Mobile, the EvnXi- X'Oi, or Perfect Energy, by which the Primum Mobile itself was first put into motion, and continued in a state of uninterrupted activity ; I confine my remarks to its more palpable and tangible axioms, and which admit of no disputation : of the rest, much is involved in doubt, and not a little in contradiction. In reality, tlic physics of Aristotle, notwithstanding the authority of his name in other respects, do not appear to have made any great impression upon the world at any time ; they are the weakest part of his philosophy, and rather betray the va- nity of attempting to innovate upon existing systems, than of eluci- dating what was not understood. The espousers of the doctrine that the fortn, though not the mat- ter, of the visible world has had a beginning, divaricate into a variety of ramifications, of which the chief are the Pythagoric, the Platonic or Academic, and the Atomic. In the svstcm of Pythagoras, we trace a sort of mystical triad as clearly as in that of Aristotle ; and it is probable that the former set the example, and even gave the hint both to Aristotle and Plato. The Pythagorean triad was expressed by the Greek numbers, one, two, and three, or monad, duad, and trine. In reality, numbers were all in all with Pythagoras, the very cause of essence to beings *. But to drop his esoteric or concealed institutions, the material universe, upon the Samian philosophy, was itself the supreme and formative Divinitj' ; the eternal or universal Mind, residing in, and animating the mass of matter as a whole, in the same manner that the human mind resides in. * T0115 apiO/xou; «iTiou,- iimi Tijf ouj-i*,-. AiPist. Metapli. i. 6. Alhan.ig. Apol. p. 49. Vol. L o cvi APPENDIX. and animates the grosser body. The mind or soul of human beings» however, as well as of all other animals, was, upon this hypothesis, ca- pable of quitting the external frame upon its dissolution ; yet it was hot capable of an independent existence ; it migrated from body to body, and, after various chyliads, or thousands of years, returned to its original frame, in consequence of its resurrection from the grave. Up- on this theory, the soul of the world gave motion, figure, and phseno- mena to itself; and the earth existed, because it willed to exist, out of its own substance. It was, in the language of Anaxagoras, an sfiT^vxovy or animated system. The theory of Plato was, in many points, derived from Pythagoras ; for Socrates, of whom Plato was one of the most distinguished scholars, was rather a moral and political, than a physical or metaphysical phi- losopher ; and hence his creed was either deficient upon the subject of cosmology, or too simple and irrecondite to satisfy the curiosity of his pupils. Plato, too, had his trine or triad of essences, as well as Py- thaaoras and Aristotle ; but, like that of Aristotle, it was evidently borrowed from Pythagoras. The triad of Plato consisted of an eternal, intelligent, immaterial Deity ; a logos (o Xoyta-f^o? rou ©bov) or Divine Reason, the eternal fountain of ideas, or the exemplars of things; and matter. The logos, or logismus, the fountain of all forms or ideas, was in every respect a parallel principle with the duad of Aris- totle, both being possessed of a similar power, and equally de- pendent upon the Perfect Energy, or Supreme and Eternal Ao'ent. Matter, however, was not thus dependent ; for it was a prin- ciple as eternal, incorruptible, and underived, as the immaterial Deity. It was strangely supposed, however, to be incapable of form or qua- lity *, and hence the necessity of conceiving the existence of a logos, * On this account the terms incorporeal, and immaterial, are not synonymous in Platonic writings j matter itself being incorporeal, or without form or body, till associated with the divine exemplar or logos : » distinction necessary to be attended to in the study of the Academic hypothesis. APPENDIX. cvii or source of all forms and ideas, which, with Plato, are nearly conver- tible terms ; an idea, properly so called, being an intellectual form, and a form, literall}^ so denominated, a visible idea. Prom the union, then, of the logos, or Divine Reason, with matter, proceeded an ani- mated world, and sensible or corporeal existences. The kind of union supposed to subsist between the Divine Reason or exemj)lar, and the Deity itself, it is difficult to explain, or even to conjecture. In some part of his writings, and especially in hisTimanis, Plato seems to regard the former as a being impersonated and distinct from the efficient Cause; but, in general, he speaks of it as a mere medium or instrument employed, and he was thus commonly understood by pliilosophers of contemporary schools. Hence Seneca, in express allusion to this doc- trine, asserts, that " the exemplar is not the efficient cause of reason, but an instrument necessary to the cause * ;" and hence, too, Laertius expressly regards it as nothing more than the mind or reason itself of the immaterial Deity -)-. Be this, howevei', as it may, since nnfashioued matter constitutes the third substance in this triad of creative powers, the trinity of Plato can bear no possible resemblance, in its first and undisguised declaration, to the trinity of the Christian church. AVhat- ever, then, may become of the divine logos or exemplar, it is evident, that Plato conceived the existence of two eternal and independent causes of all things ; the one, that by which all things are created, which is God ; and the other, from which all things are created, which is matter: and, in this respect, he completely assimilated his views with the Epicurean hypothesis. He conceived, however, independently of this tenet, that unfashioned matter had a soul of its own, exclusive of the animating and intelligent energy it received from the supreme Architect; and in this tenet seems to consist the chief absurdity of the Platonic hypothesis ; for he hereby appeai-s, in a great degree, to * Epist. 65. t In Plat. 1. iii. 69—78. o 2 cviii APPENDIX. render the interference of all foreign control unnecessary, if not imper- tinent and tyrannical. The soul of man he conceived to be of a su- perior nature to this soul of the world, to have emanated originally from the Supreme Divinity, and by him to have been planted, for some cause not clearly ascertained, in different stars or planets ; Avhere it is ordained to wait, till a material body is prepared for its reception on earth : on the dissolution of which, the soul, if virtuous, refunds or remigrates to the Divinity itself; if vicious, is sentenced to a material Tartarus, and chastised Avith material punishments. I now proceed to the consideration of the Atomic theory, which, in the hands of Democritus, supposed the existence of matter alone, di- vided into an infinite multitude of primary or elementary particles, of which some were eternally intelligent, and others eternally senseless and incogitative ; and hence incapable of resisting the action of the former, by whose control over them, and union with them, the visible Avorld was produced. Under the plastic hands of Epicurus, however, the atomic philosophy assumed a very different, and much more ra- tional appearance. Matter with him consisted of an infinite multiplicity of elementary corpuscles ; of which the whole were equally unintelligent and senseless, and solely operated upon in the work of creation by an immaterial Divinity *, " possessed of all immortality and beatitude," and through the medium of a system of " immutable laws which they received at the commencement of the universe -f-," and which will con- tinue to act till the universe itself shall be dissolved. In its mere physical contemplation, therefore, the theory of Epicu- rus allows of nothing but matter and space, which are equally infinite and unbounded, which have equally existed from all eternity, and • See the preceding Life of Lucretius, p. Ixxiv. f ^^^^- P- '''''''• APPENDIX. cix from different combinations of which every individual being is created. These existences have no property in common with each otiier ; for, whatever matter is, that space is the reverse of, and whatever space is, matter is the contrary to. The actually solid parts of all bodies, there- fore, are matter ; their actual pores, space, and the parts which are not altogether solid, but an intermixture of solidity and pore, are space and matter combined. Anterior to the formation of the universe, space and matter existed uncombined, or in their pure and elementary state. Space, in its elementary state, is positive and unsoiiil void : matter, in its elementary state, consists of inconceivably minute seeds or atoms — so small that the corpuscles of vapour, light, and heat, are compounds of them ; and so solid that they cannot possibly be broken, or made smaller, by any concussion or violence whatever. The express figure of these primary atoms is various : there are round, square, pointed, jagged, as well as many otlier shapes. These shapes, how- ever, are not diversified to infinity ; but the atoms themselves, of each existent shape, are infinite or innumerable. Every atom is possessed of certain intrinsic powers of motion. Under the old school of De- mocritus, the perpetual motions exhibited were of two kinds : — a de- scending motion, from its own gravity; and a rebounding motion, from mutual concussion. Besides these two motions, and to explain certain phoenomena which the following poem developes, and which were not accounted for under the old system, Epicurus supposed that some atoms were occasionally possessed of a third, by which, in some ver}^ small degree, they descended in an oblique or curvilinear direction, deviating from the common and right line anomalously ; and hence, in this respect, resembling the oscillations of the magnetic needle. These infinitudes of atoms, flying immemorially in such different di- rections, through all the immensity of space, have interchangeably tried and exhibited every possible mode of action, — sometimes repelled ex APPENDIX. from each other by concussion ; and sometimes adhering to each otlier from their own jagged or pointed construction, or from the casual in- terstices which two or more connected atoms must produce, and which may just be adapted to those of other configurations, as globular, oval, or square. Hence the origin of compound bodies ; hence the origin of immense masses of matter; hence, eventually, the origin of the world itself. When these primary atoms are closely compacted together, and but little vacuity or space intervenes, they produce those kinds of sub- stances which we denominate solid, as stones, and metals : when they are loose and disjoined, and a large (piantity of space or vacuity oc- curs between them, they produce the phsenomena of wool, water, va- pour. In one mode of combination, they form earth ; in another, air; and in another, fire. Arranged in one way, they produce vegetation and irritability ; in another way, animal life and perception. — Man hence arises — families are formed — society multiplies, and governments are instituted. The world, thus generated, is perpetually sustained by the application of fresh elementary atoms, flying with inconceivable rapidity through all the infinitude of space, invisible from their minuteness, and occu- pying the posts of all those that are as perpetually flying off. Yet, nothing is eternal and immutable but these elementary seeds or atoms themselves : the compound forms of matter are continually decom- pounding, and dissolving into their original corpuscles : to this there is no exception : — minerals, vegetables, and animals, in this respect all alike, when they lose their present configuration, perishing from ex- istence for ever, and new combinations proceeding from the matter in- to which they dissolve. But the world itself is a compound, though not an organized being ; sustained and nourished like organized beings from the material pabulum that floats through the void of infinity. The world itself must therefore, in the same manner, perish : it had a APPENDIX. cxi beginning, and it will eventually have an end. Its present crasis will be decompounded ; it will return to its original, its elementary atoms ; and new Avorlds will arise from its destruction. Space is infinite, material atoms are infinite, but the world is not infinite. — Tl)is, then, is not the only world, or the only material system that exists. The cause whence this visible system originated is com- petent to produce others ; it has been acting perpetually from all eter- nity ; and there are other worlds and other systems of worlds existin»- around us. In the vast immensity of space, there are also other be- ings than man, possessed of powers of intellect and enjoyment far su- perior to our own : beings Avho existed before the formation of the ■world, and will exist when the world shall perish for ever ; whose hap- piness flows unlimited, and unallayed ; and whom the tumults and passions of gross matter can never agitate. These, the founder of the system denominated gods ; — not that they created the universe, or are possessed of a power of upholding it ; for they are finite and created be- ings themselves, and endowed alone with finite capacities and powers ; — but from the uninterrupted beatitude and tranquillity they enjoy, their everlasting freedom from all anxiety and care. Such is the* system of Epicurus, reduced to a brief outline ; and such the sublime subject of the poem that follows. Those who are conversant Avith modern philosophy will perceive, from this short sketch, a striking resemblance to a great variety of the most important and best established doctrines of the present day. These I pretend not to investigate in this introductory essay, as the different compari- sons may be more advantageously brought forwards in the progress of our pursuit. To the ensuing pages I therefore refer my readers for additional information ; and am much mistaken if, on closing the vo- lumes, they will not coincide with Lambinus in admitting that the phi- cxii APPENDIX. losophy of Epicurus was the most rational, and enforced the best prin- ciples of any system of philosophy recorded by prophane writers. The doctrines of this system, however, were from time to time dis- puted by other schools : and the contest appears for a long while to have been conducted with no small equality between the disciples of Epicurus, Aristotle, Zeno, and Plato ; each sect, in its turn, prevail- ing over the others. The chair of Epicurus was filled upon his death by Hermachus, one of his most confidential friends and followers, whom by his will he ap- pointed his sole executor, and whose intrepidity in defending his mas- ter's tenets against the sophists and dialectics eminently qualified him for this office. The Epicureans of chief estimation besides himself, anterior to the xva. of Lucretius, were, Metrodorus, Polyasnus, Poly- stratus, Dionysius, Basilides, Apollodorus, Protarchus, Phaedrus, and Zeno; of whom the last two, as I have already observed, were joint re- sidents and professors at the Epicurean establishment, Avhen Lucretius, and his co-students, were committed to it for education. 1 have already mentioned the names of a great variety of characters of the first rank and celebrity, who professed Epicurism at the time in which Lucre- tius flourished ; to these may be added, Trebasius, Piso, Albutius, Pansa, and Patro, who was recommended to the protection of Caius Memmius by Cicero himself*. Even at this period, therefore, the Epicurean school appears to have enjoyed a complete triumph at Rome over every rival institute: nor could it fail of doing so, from the conjoint exertions in its favour of such characters and scholars as At- ticus, Cassius, Velleius, Memmius, and Lucretius. Even in the Au- gustan age, it seems still to have retained, if not to have increased, its * Epist. Fam. xiii. i. APPENDIX. cxiii popularity. We are told by Seneca, that not the learned alone, but even the unlettered, reverenced the name of Epicurus ; and Lactantius asserts, that no other sect was, at this time, by any means so flourish- ing. It is to the credit of this sect, moreover, that, notwithstanding its great numbers, it never subdivided into parties ; and that the opi- nions of its institutor were voluntarily submitted to with more implicit confidence, than Pythagoras, even by an express law, could ever ex- act from his 'yv7](riot oy,iXeTXi, or most attached and genuine disciples. It was in consequence of this perfect deference to the doctrines of Epicurus, and the uninterrupted union of his followers, that the school continued to flourish under the Roman emperors, for a Ion»- course of years, as Laertius asserts, after other schools had beo-un to decay. The most celebrated adherents to this system, from the death of Lu- cretius to the establishment of the Christian religion, were Pliny the elder, Celsus, Lucian, and Diogenes Laerlius. Of these, the first, to whom we are indebted for his " Natural History of the World," does not, however, appear to have imbibed the whole of the Epicurean theory, and especially the tenet of a multiplicity of habitable worlds. Celsus is far better known as an Epicurean philosopher, in consequence of the controversy between himself and Origen. His works are totally lost, except detached passages cited by Origen in his reply. It is o-e- nerally conjectured, that he flourished under Adrian and Aurelius An- toninus. Origen, however, mentions two philosophers of this name, both Epicureans ; the former of whom, he tells us, existed in the reign of Nero, while the latter was born in that of Adrian, Avhom he survived *. * Avo h 5rapEiXiT^«/iE» Ki\trov; yfyovttxi Eziaov/uovi' Toy /iS», ■jrfortfm, kxtx Nifmx' tomto» h, yMX Aifixmvf »«T4iTEpa. L. i. contr. Cels. Vol. I. n cxiNT APPENDIX. Lucian is far better known as a severe but humorous satirist than as a pohtician or philosopher, though he lias some pretensions to no- tice in the two last characters. Pie flourished under Aurelius Antoni- nus, by whom he was appointed procurator of Egypt with a liberal salary. Philosophic tenets of every kind seem to have sat but loosely upon him ; yet, in his Dialogues, he always treats his avowed master with respect, and he is almost the only philosopher to whom he is de- cently civil. He unwarrantably misrepresents Socrates, and declares Epicurus to have been the only sage who retained a sound intellect in the midst of madmen and fools. To the writings of Diogenes Laertius I have already had frequent occasion to refer. He lived in the begin- ning of the third century of the Christian ajra, and is well known to the republic of letters as a most diligent biographer. According to Jonssius, he acquired the surname of Laertius iVom having been born at Laertes, a small city of Cilicia * : and he did what every man should do who is in pursuit of truth, and has sufficient leisure for the purpose. With an active and unbiassed mind, he profoundly investigated all the different systems that were proposed to him by the literature of the Greeks ; and having minutely appreciated the pretensions and merits of each, he gave his hearty suffrage in favour of Epicurus, and imme- diately began to collect, into one regular tract, all the scattered frag- ments that yet remained of him relative to his person, his principles, and his practice. Laertius, from many of the idioms he has adopted, appears to have been acquainted with the writings of the Christian fa- thers, and has hence been believed to have been a Christian himself. " But this," says Menage, " is impossible, he could not have been a Christian, foi' he bestows immoderate prunes on Epicurus-^: * Jonss. 1. iii. 12. \ EXE>)(iO(n/y>iv JiJovai, pro eo quod vulgo Gallice dicimus donner raumone, in Aristotelis vita usurpavit ; qui loquendi modus cum Christianorum scriptorum proprius videatur, Laertium Christianum fuisse vir qui- dam doctus suspicatur ; sed frustra, Christianum non fuisse, indicio esse possunt quse Epicure tribuit laudes imraodicx. Observ. 1. i. APPENDIX. cxv It must be confessed, however, that Epicurism, which thus main- tained its sway at Rome, obtained at no time any great degree of fa- vour at Alexandria, where, under the Ptolemies, learning and learned men received the most flattering encouragement; and which continued, under the Roman emperors, to be the chief seat of philosophy and science. For this contempt it is, nevertheless, easy to account. The warm and elevated minds of the Asiatics are possessed of more imagi- nation than judgment ; they are fond of what is marvellous, and pre- fer the splendour of mysticism to the beauties of simplicity. It was from this quarter that Pythagoras derived his system, and much of its aenigmatic involution was artfully transferred into their own doc- trines, both by Plato and Aristotle. The Orientalists were, therefore, hence, prepared for the tenets of the Samian, Academic, and Peripa- tetic schools, while the students of the latter formed a ready alliance not only with the scientific arcana of the magi, gymnosophists, and Egyptian priests, but with the vulgar superstitions and vernacular tra- ditions of the countr3\ Hence, in a century or two after the com- mencement of the Christian eera, there was not a single school in this celebrated mart for learning, whether Grecian or Asiatic, that retained its purity. A change of some kind became necessary, and it was at- tempted ; not, however, as it ought to have been, by a return to first principles, but by a pretended selection, from every system, of that which was conceived to be its essential or most valuable doctrines : whence, a new order of philosophy sprang up, more absurd and hete- rogeneous than any Avhich had preceded it; and this, from the choice which was thus exercised, its advocates denominated Eclectism. Of this confused amalgamation, or rather general plunder of opinions, Potamo is said to have been the inventor; but, as from Platonism at larger share had been stolen than from any other theory, and as the name of Plato still preserved a large portion of its primeval repute and vene- ration, the greater body of the Eclectics continued to denominate them- selves Platonists, notwithstanding their innovation upon his doctrine. p2 cxvi APPENDIX. What considerably added to the confusion of this Babel edifice was, that from the growing reputation of the Christian church, the purity of its principles, and the incontrovertible miracles which had been wrought by many of its earliest professors, Christianity and Ju- daism- had both been studied as pliilosophic sciences, and man\' of their doctrines been suffered to intermingle in the general mass. In conse- quence of which, multitudes of the earlier Christians themselves were induced to frequent Alexandria ; where, in too many instances, they caught the common contagion, and combined the mysteries of mo- dernized Platonism with the simple precepts of their ov/n creed. Hence the writings of Athenao-oras and Clemens Alexandrinus abound with pagan doctrines ; and they themselves, as well as Pantaenus and Am- monius, were all successively instructors in the catachetic school in this metropolis. Ammonius, however, in process of time, apostatised from the Christian faith ; and his immediate followers, Plotinus, Porphy- ry, and Jamblichus, became in succession its most inveterate adver- saries : yet it is probable that their attachment to Christianity would have rendered it more disservice than their enmity ; for though possest of considerable learning, they were all, in the highest degree, mystagogues aiid enthusiasts; Plotinus contending with violence for the doctrine of divine emanation, and, as connected herewith, the worship of gods, daemons, genii, and heroes ; Porphyry, for the purgative exercise of cor- poreal abstinences and mortifications ; and Jamblichus surrendering himself without restraint to all the superstitious practices of divination. The early connection of some parts of the Christian church with Oriental gnosticism, a belief which in many respects approximated that of Platonism, and paved a way for the reception of the latter, shews clearly how liable Christianity was to debasement from its earliest propagation, in consequence of the lawless sway of human passions and opinions, and how much more it would have suffered from the friendship than from the hostility of such hallucinated phi- losophers. APPENDIX, cxvii Into this chaotic mass of opinions, Epicurism, however, was never received. It was founded on physical experiments which could not be sublimated to the airy regions of Platonism, Pythagorism, Cab- balism. Gnosticism, or Eciectism. The dialectics of Aristotle might dazzle by their subtlety and corruscation ; the asseverations of the Stoics might, in some degree, impose by their dogmatism; the indecision of the Sceptics might attract by its indolence and independence, but the system of Epicurus was, in no respect, calculated for the meridian of Alexandria. M. Degerando indeed, observes, that in Rome it disco- vered a disposition to shake hands with the Sceptic school, when on its decay*; but I am acquainted with no fact that can support such an assertion : no philosophy was possessed of more decisive axioms, and no disciples could adhere to them with more inflexibility. He is more correct in observing, as he does shortly afterwards, that " Epicurus, Zeno, and theCyrenaics, contributed no giftto Alexandrian Eciectism;" and, that " their maxims Avere exiled as so many importunate laws, which awakened the spirit, and snatched it from those delicious reveries, in which it loved to lap itself -f-." On this account, also, we may easily perceive, why Epicurism, or the Atomic doctrine, should have acquired but little notice durino- the earlier ages of the Christian church. I have already shewn, that what- ever connection the latter had formed with the Grecian philosophy, was through the medium of the Samian, Platonic, or Peripatetic schools, which appear alternately to have triumphed over each other, and al- * La philosophic Grecque, transplantee a Rome, eprouva bientot, sur les empereurs, les effets de cet 'esprit de combinaison. Les theories de Platon chercherent a s'allier avec la morale des Stdi'ciens • celle d' Epicure parut tendre une main amie au Scepticisme abandonne. Histoire comparee des Systemes de ■Philosophic, vol. i. ch. 8. \ Epicure, Zenon, les Cyrenaiques ne porterent aucun tribut k 1' Eclectisme Alexandrin : leur max- ims furent ecartees comme autant de loix importunes qui en eveillant I'esprit, I'eussent arrache aux douces-> reveries dont il aimoit a se nourir.. Ibid. c;xviii APPENDIX. ternately to have fallen. In effect, both the ethics of the Epicureans, which were only studied in the uncandid and deceitful narratives of hostile writers, and the whole range of their physical system, which denied all particular interference of Providence, the immortality of the soul, and a state of future resurrection, — till considerably explained and modified, were sufficient to excite alarm, and justify indignation. It was, for a similar reason, that Aristotle himself was, for a long pe- riod, anathematized ; his doctrine of the eternity of the world beinsj conceived an essential part of his entire system. Origen, indeed, who beheld in the eclectic chaos an attempt to unite the schools of Aristo- tle and Plato, seems to have conjectured that a similar coalition might advantageously have been produced between Peripatetism and Christianity ; but this conjecture appears rather to have terminated in a simple wish, than in any actual effort*. Hence, Justin Martyr, Tatian, Irena^us, Clemens of Alexandria, Eusebius, and almost all the most learned defenders of the Christian faith, who tiourished during its first six centuries, discover a strange propensity to a variety of Pla- tonic and Pythagoric doctrines, but especially to the former, even while they openly and honestly oppose the grosser absurdities towards which they tended. St. Austin asserts expressly, that he was prepared for the reception of Christianity by a perusal of the writings of the later Platonists f ; and in many of the hymns of Synesius, bishop of Ptolemais, which have yet survived their author, we trace much more of Cabbalism, Gnosticism, Platonism, and Peripatetism, than of the pure precepts of the gospel he professed .j.. Yet, though the school of Aristotle was thus generally abandoned by the learned Fathers of the Christian church, it was by no means * Even so late as the thirteenth century, the writings of Aristotle were prohibited by the synod of Pa- ris, and afterwards under pope Innocent III. by the council of Lateran. Laun. de ForU Ar. 1. c. t Confess. 1. v. 14. De Utilit. Cred. c. 8. tP.312. APPENDIX. cxix abandoned by the heretics ; and the accuracy and legitimacy of rea- soning, which they acquired by the study of the dialectics of this phi- losopher, gave them, in much of the common controversy, a manifest and decided advantap-e. The Christian Fathers were, at lentrth, sensi- ble of this advantage tlicmselves ; and, about the beginning of the eighth century, began to discover an inclination to enlist this part of the Peripatetic philosophy into the banners of their own faith. The attempt was first introduced by Joannes Damascenes, wdio flourished at the period I am adverting to, and retired about the middle of life, from a high station at the Saracen court, to a monastery at St. Abas, that he might enjoy full leisure to prosecute his studies. From this tera, Aristotle began to obtain an ascendancy over his rivals ; nothing Avas heard of but the trivium and quadrivium of the Lyci\?um, or that circle of instruction, into which the liberal arts were at this period di- vided ; the trivium comprising grammar, rhetoric, and dialectics ; and the quadrivium, music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy : and so complete was the trium])h of this school at one time, and so extra- vagant the general attachment to its philosophy, that Melancthon makes it a matter of complaint, that in sacred assemblies the ethics of Aristotle Avere read to the people, instead of the gospel *. Some few and feeble attempts were occasionally made to revive the credit of Plato ; and in one or two instances, and especially under the pen of Rosceline, who flourished in the twelfth century, to introduce the opinions of Zeno, but they were all of contracted limits and temporar\' duration ; whence, till the revival of learning in the fourteenth cen- tury, may the scholastic system be fairly regarded as maintaining a complete sway over the mystic, as well as over every other, by which it was occasionally assaulted. Plato was left in obscurity, the doctrines of Zeno abandoned, and Epicurus known only by name. * Apol. A. C. p. 6;. See also Laun. c. ix. 210, in which a similar complaint is repeated. cxx APPENDIX. It is astonishing, indeed, to observe the ignorance of the school- men, as to the real philosophy of Epicurus, from a short time after the commencement of the Christian sera, to the beginning of the fif- teenth century ; for, excepting a few of the primitive Fathers of the church, Lactantius seems to have been almost the only writer tolerably instructed in its tenets. And, hence, almost every person who differed in his philosophic opinions from the dogmas of the synods and ecumenic councils, was denominated an Epicurean. Alexander, therefore, a Christian, who is supposed to have flourished in the beginning of the second century, was alwa^is looked back to as a disciple of this school, because he maintained, if we may credit Albertus Magnus, that God is matter, or does not exist independently of matter; that all things are essentially God, and that the figures of bodies are all imaginary accidents, and have no real existence*. David de Dinant, a Christian philosopher of the thirteenth century, is reported to have espoused the same tenets, and is imagined by Bayle, to have been an immediate disciple of another Christian philosopher of the same creed, of the name of Amalric, who, in like manner, taught, that " all things are God, and God is all things, both the Creator, and the thing created;" and Avhose body was preposterously dragged out of its grave, many years after it had been quietly inhumed, and sentenced to the flames for heresy -]-. These philosophers were both esteemed Epicureans in their principles, as was also the celebrated Peter xVbelard, who wielded with so much reputation the weapons of polemic divinit}^ about half a century before the oera of Dinant. Giordano Bruno has likewise oc- casionally been ranked in the same catalogue : a bold and fantastic * Dixit Alexander Epicureus Deum esse materiam, vel non esse extra ipsam ; et omnia essentialiter Deura, et formas esse accidentia imaginata, et non habere veram veritatem. Alb. Magn. Phys. Tract, iii. 13. \ Omnia sunt Deus, Deus est omnia ; Creator et creatura idem, &c. Bayle. Diet. Hist, et Crit. Art. Spinoze Res A. Almaric, though the fact is not recorded by Bayle, had, in his life-time, been convened before the second Parisian council, and, on account of his declared errors, fallen under its severe censures. APPENDIX. cxxi philosopher who existed as late as the l6th century, ami was a strong champion for the eternity of matter. The works of Bruno, from which I shall occasionally ofler extracts, were dedicated to our own well-known countryman, Sir Philip Sydney. England, indeed, had afforded him an asylum from the persecutions of bigots and enthusiasts on the Con- tinent ; and, from a variety of complimentarj'^ canzonets, which he composed in praise of the beauty of the ladies of London, for Bruno, it seems, Avas a gallant and a poet, as well as a philosopher, he ac- quired no small degree of the favour of queen Elizabeth herself. But the caprice and imprudence of Bruno prevented him from being sa- tisfied with the polite attentions he received from our fair country- women : he returned to Naples, the city in which he was born, towards the close of the l6th century, and, having engaged in fresh theological disturbances with some of the cardinals of the Roman church, he was condemned, and burnt for heresy. But none of these appear to have been, strictly speaking, of the Epi- curean school; the eternity of matter was, undoubtedly, a tenet main- tained by the founder of this sect, but maintained, as I have already observed, in common with every other philosophic school whatsoever ; while the essential intelligence of matter, or material atoms, was a doctrine totally repugnant to the first principles of their system. These philosophers might, therefore, have been of the school of De- mocritus, who contended for the intelligence of a certain classification of atoms ; or of that of Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, or Aristotle ; but they could not possibly be followers of the system of Epicurus. Indeed, I cannot perceive any great degree of difierence between the doctrines of Abelard, and his inveterate antagonist Champeaux, notwithstandino- the high reputation he acquired in consequence of his triumph over him. Champeaux was accused of believing the Deity material, or, in the language of Bayle, of disguised Spinosism (Spinozeme non de- Vol. I. q csxii APPENDIX. velope *;) and 3'et, whatever may have been the immediate arms with which Abelard encountered this heterodox son of the church, we are told that, on other occasions, he himself never hesitated to assert, that " God is all things, and all things are God ; that he is convertible into all thing's, and all things are convertible into him ; imitatins;, in this respect, the theosophy of Empedocles or Anaxagoras, and distinguish' ing the species of things according to their simple appearance -j^". Abelard was therefore ranked, — and certainly considered as an atomist, with much more reason than many of the rest, whose nameslhave glanced at, — among the scholars of Epicurus : and Arnobius, of whose abilities Du Pin gives us no very favourable opinion :|;, Hierocles, the subtle and celebrated Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and an almost infinite num- ber of other combatants of equal abilit}', were, from age to age, en- gaged in subverting the doctrines of these imaginary Epicureans. Shortly after the revival of letters, however, and especially about the 15th century, notwithstanding the superiority which Aristotle still con- tinued to maintain in the cloisters of monks, and the establishments of professed schools, the doctrines of Epicurus began, once more, to obtain a warm, and, in some measure, a fashionable encouragement. Philelphus, Alexander ab Alexandro, Coelius Rhodigianus, Volater- ranus, Jean Franfois Pic, and many other philosophers of equal repu- * Bayle. Diet. Historique et Critique. Ait. Abelard. Res C. + Deum esse omnia, et omnia esse Deum ; eum in omnia convert!, omnia in eum transmutari asseruit : quia Empedoclea, aut forte Anaxagorica pneventus theosophia, distinguebat species secundum solam ap- parentiam, nempe quia aliquot atomi in uno subjecto erant eductx quce latebant in alio. Caramuel. Phil, Real. 1. iii. s. 3. t Arnobius pretended to have been called to the profession of the Christian faith by his dreams. The bishops obliged him to give some proof of his attachment to their own religion, and he composed a work in seven or eight Books, entitled " Adversus Gentes." This publication I have never had an opportu- nity of perusing ; but Du Pin informs us, that it was written with much haste, and that he appears to have been but little acquainted with the mysteries of the Christian faith. " II attaque," observes he, " avec beaucoup plus d'aJdresse la religion des Paiens qu'il ne defend celle dcs Chretiens. Bibl. des Auth. Eccl. Tom. L p. 204. S APPENDIX. cxxiii tation, had, at this time, the hardihood to intermix the atomic philo- sophy with the tenets of the Christian faith. Sennert, an eminent phy- sician at Wirtemburg, pubUshed an express elucidation and defence of the atomic system, in a work entitled, Ilypomnemata Physica, " Heads of Physics * ;" Vives and Ramus ventured publicly to expose the defects of the Aristotelian philosophy, and Chrysostom Magneni, who pub- lished " A Treatise on the Life and Philosophy of Democritus '\-, at- tempted to reconcile the systems of the Peripatetics and the Atomists ; a vain effort, however, and which he was obliged to relinquish. Mag- neni was an Italian, and the poets of Italy appear to have taken, at the same time, as much pains to restore the atomic system as the philoso- phers themselves. Hence Michele Milani wrote a very long and learned canzone, in Avhich he unequivocally asserts, that it was pur- posely meant to adapt a great part of the atomic hypothesis to the Christian verity +. His example was followed by Baptista Guarini, who also wrote a book in favour of the same school § : and shortly af- terwards by Francisco de Quevedo, a Spanish poet and philosopher ||, and by our own countryman, Sir William Temple ^. But the l?th century presented us with two Epicureans, of far more celebrity than any of these : I mean Gassendi and Du Rondelle ; both natives of France, and both of whom laboured with more assiduity and critical investigation to establish the moral character of the founder of this school, and the truth of his fundamental doctrines, than any of its adherents from the era of Diogenes Laertius. Of these two accurate critics and elaborate scholars, Gassendi has acquired the greater share of reputation : for he not only wrote a bio- * Ed. 1638. Wertemberg. f Lugd. Bat. 1648. J In essa si spiega buona parte della filosophia di Democrito adattata alia verita Christiana. See Cres- cembini's Comentarj Poetici, 1. ii. 10. § Gassendi Physique. Tom. II. 11 This publication was imprinted in 1635, 3"^ entitled " Epicteto Espaiiol en versos consonantes, con el origin de los Estoicos, ysu defensa contra Plutarcho, y defensa de Epi curd contra la opinion commun, f This book I have not seen, but I quote from Gassendi, to whom it appears to have been familiar, q 2 cxxiv APPENDIX. grapliy of Epicurus, in common with Tiis junior countryman Du Ron- delle, but an elaborate commentary on the tenth Book of Laertius, which is itself a life and literary history of the same philosopher, and a complete system of natural and metaphysical philosophy ; in which he endeavoured to improve upon the hypothesis of the Grecian sage in those parts in which it is defective, and to adapt it to his own era. The fame of Gassendi was soon proclaimed through all Europe, and Epicurus began at last to obtain his turn of ascendance in our literary schools and universities. Cudworth, although professedly a Platonist, liad already felt himself compelled to adopt the atomic philosoph^y so far as related to its physics : " An Abridgment of Gassendi's Philoso- phy," together with several other works in favour of the atomic or Epicurean system, was published b}^ Francis Bernier, a learned phy- sician of Montpelier, while our own countryman Walter Charlton, wrote a treatise of a similar tendency in England, entitled " Physiolo- gia Epicuro-Gassendo-Charletouiana;" and another to the same effect by G. B. De Sancto Romano, was produced from the Paris press, un- der the title of Physica e Scholasticis Tricis libcrata : " Physics re- scued from Scholastic Jargon." The progress of modern Epicurism, however, though thus attem- pered and christianized, was not endured without much apprehension, and even a vigorous resistance. Nor was this apprehension, indeed, without some degree of reason : for while Gassendi was amassing and concentrating whatever could be advanced by ancient history, physical facts, and ingenious argumentation, in favour of Epicurus and his opinions, — supported at the same time, as he is reported to have been, by St. Eyremond, — Bayle * was endeavouring to form a coalition be- * Tous les disciples d'Epicure avoient pour sa memoire iin respect profond. Tant que son ecole sub- sista, le jour de sa naissanqe fut celebre comme un jour de fete ; ct dcpuis le rcnouvellement des kttres, sa conduite, et sa morale ont trouve parmi les modernes un grand nombre d'approbateurs. Volaterran, Phi- lelphe, Laurent Valle, Saint-Evremont, le Chevalier Temple, une infinite d'autres que je pourrois nom<. ner» ont signale leur zele en faveur de ce philosophe. A taat de suffirages Bay if, ajoute le sien, et pre- APPENDIX. cxxv tween the atomic philosophy and scepticism ; and Lciijnitz ■]■ and Wolfe between that and Platonism or Pylhagorism. Ilobbes, the intimate friend of Gassendi, attempting to press the atomic system still fartlicr, was reviving the long exploded doctrine of Democritus respecting the necessary intelligence of separate elementary corpuscles ; and Spinosa, with several other heterodox Jews of Spain and Portugal +, were renew- ing the old Eleatic doctrine that the universe, or matter collectively, and not in distinct atoms, was the Deity, and. efficient cause of all things. It is not a little singular, that this last doctrine of Spinosa, or rather of Xenophanes, from whom both himself and the Eleatic sect immediately derived it, that God is the Universe, and the Universe God, not transitively, or with a power of emanation, but imminently and immutably, was now, for the first time, j)retendcd to be discovered as comprising a part of the faith professed by two philosophic frater- nonce qii'il n'y a plus que des ignorans on des entetes qui puissent jiiger mal d'Efricure. Discours Pre- lim, de M. de Bougainville. See his translation of Polignac's Anti-Lucretius into French. •j- The monads of Leibnitz, however, are not precisely the same as those of Epicurus. They were im- mediately derived from the Pythagoric system, and hence have a closer resemblance to the mimlers of the Samian, or the ideas of the Academic philosophy. Monads, under Leibnitz, as under Pythagoras, have no parts, neither extension, figure, nor divisibility ; each, however, is a true atom of nature, and incapa- ble of destruction, except by the power of the Creator. Each monad differs from every other; and each is also possessed of perception and appetite, in which respect each may be said to partake of tlie nature of soul. This -^ovitr oi perception and appetite produces an internal principle of alteration ; and hence the sympathies and affinities, the repulsions and separations, the combinations and forms of bodies. It is to this source, therefore, that we are obviously to look for the foundation of the late Dr. Darwin's philosophy, though I do not remember that he has any where, indicated the. fountain from which he derived it. X A complete edition of the works of Spinosa have been lately published in 8vo. by professor Paulus of Jena. Spinosa was the son of a Portuguese Jew, and born at Amsterdam in 1632. His mode of reasoning is extremely incorrect ; and hence his arguments may, in many instances, be as well adapted by his adversaries as by himself. The following extract may serve as an example of this want of appropria- tion. Propositio. " Idei rci singularis, actu existentis, Deum pro causa habet ; non quateiius infinitus est, sed quatenus alia rei singularis actu existen.is idea aflectus consideratur ; cujus etiam Deus est causa, quatenus aha tertia affectus est, et sic in infinitum." DemonsCratio. " Idea rei singularis, actu existentis, modus singularis cogitandi est, et a reliquis dis- tinctus ; adeoque Deum, quatenus est tantum res cogitans, pro cauca habet. At non, quatenus est res absolute cogitans ; sed quatenus alio cogitandi modo affectus consideratur, et hujus etiam, quatenus alio affectus est, et sic in infinitum. At qui ordo, et connexio idearum idem est ac ordo, et connexio cansarum." ergo unius singularis idex alia idea sive Deus, quatenus alia idea affectus consideratur, est causa, et hujus, stiam, quatenus alia affectus est, ct sic in infinitum." Q^E. D. Ethic. Prop. ix. cxxvi APPENDIX. nities in Japan * and China, of which the latter is denominated Foe Kiao -f. The creed or system of lord Boliugbroke seems to have been an intermixture of that of Spinosa and Leibnitz ; or, to ascend higher, of the Pythagoric or Platonic, and the Eleatic schools ; and hence the celebrated Essay on Man, which was certainly planned by himself, and composed by Mr. Pope, without his having been aware of its tendenc}'', at the direct instigation of his noble patron, discloses, in every page, the doctrines of siifficient reason and a material deity : on which account, on its first appearance, the poem was regarded, and especially on the Continent, as one of the most dangerous productions that had ever issued from the press. In the present day, we allow to it a very liberal extent of poetic licence, and with such allowance it may be perused Avithout mischief; but a few verses alone are suffi- cient to prove its evil tendency, if strictly and literally interpreted. The following distich, for example, discloses the very quintessence of Spinosism : All are but parts of one stupendous whole, "Whose body nature is, and God the soul \. And the general result drawn from the entire passage, which is too long to be quoted, is no less so : In spite of pride, in erring reason's spite, One truth is clear — whatever is, is right. If every thing be right at present, there is no necessity for a day of retribution hereafter ; and the chief argument' afforded by nature, in » Possevin. Biblioth. Select. Tom. I. lib. x. c. 2. f Journal de Leipsic 16S8. p. 357. Ex- trait du Livre de Confucius imprime a Paris, 1687. X To justify such observation, it is only necessary to compare this couplet, and the entire passage which belongs to it, with the following verses of Virgil, who has derived the idea he exemplifies from the very same source as Spinosa : His quidam signis atque hac excmpla secuti. Esse apibus partem divinas mentis, et haustus APPENDIX. cxxvii favour of a future existence, is swept away in a moment. Unite the propositions contained in tliese two distichs, and illustrated through the whole poem, and it follows, that the Universe is God, and God the Universe; that, amidst all the moral evils of life, the sufferings of virtue, and the triumphs of vice, it is in vain to expect any degree of retribution in a future state ; every thing being but an individual part of one stupendous Avhole, which could not possibly subsist otherwise; and that the only consolation wdiich remains for us is, that the general good is superior to the general evil, and that whatever is, is right : If plagues and earthquakes break not heaven's design, Why then a Borjia or a Catiline *. Hence, Pope was generally denominated, on the Continent, the mo- dern Lucretius. As a merely moral poet, he was permitted to be read in Switzerland : but his French translator confesses that he thought it a duty he owed society, to correct, and render less daring, many of the expressions contained in the original work. " This school of phi- losophers," observes M. Bourguet, in a letter to M. de Meuron, state- councillor of the king of Prussia, " takes a pleasure in confounding all ideas : in pretending to develop God, it miserably confounds him ^therios dixere Deum, namque ire per omnes Terrasque tractusque maris, coelumque profundilm. Georg. iv. 220. Led by such wonders, sages have opin'd That bees have portions of a heavenly mind ; That God pervades, and. Me one common soul. Fills, feeds, and animates the i!iti. 'Twas this bereav'd my soul of rest, And rais'd such tumults in my breast ; For while I ga^'d, in transport toss'd. My breath was gone, my voice was lost. It has generally been allowed that the whole of this exquisite invocation is original. St. Pierre is the only critic I have met with who does our poet the injustice to contend, that it is a copy ; and the reader will smile when he is informed that the worthy Abbe suspects him to have been pilfering from the apocry- phal book of Ecclesiasticus. The passage to which he refers is contained in chap. 24, from ver. 5 to ver. 27. Of this sublime delineation he has given a version in French prose, as he has also of the present address of Lucretius, for a companion with each other ; and having finished the former, he thus concludes : " Cette foible traduction est ctUe d'une prose Latine " qui a etc tradiiite clle-mcme du Grec, ccmme le " Grec I'a ete lui-memede I'Hcbreu. On doit done " presumer que la grace de I'original en ont disparu " en partie. Mais telle qu'elle est, elle I'emporte " encore, par I'agrement ct la sublimite des images •' sur les vers de Lucrece qui paroit en avoir empruntS- " ses principales beautes." Etudts de !a Nature, Tom. ii. etud. 8. I freely confess that I have met Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. ^39 And all his soul hangs quiv'ring from thy lips. O ! while thine arms in fond embraces clasp His panting members, sov'reign of the heart ! Ope thy bland voice, and intercede for Rome. For, while th' unsheathed sword is brandish'd, vain And all unequal is the poet's song ; And vain th' attempt to claim his patron's ear. Son of the Memmii ! thou, benignant, too, Freed from all cares, with vacant ear attend ; Nor turn, contemptuous, ere the truths I sing, For thee first harmoniz'd, are full perceiv'd. Lo ! to thy view I spread the rise of things ; 40 45 50 with such frequent parallelisms of expression, of fi- gure and phraseology, in Lucretius, with what oc- cur in the Hebrew Scriptures, of which the reader will find many pointed out to him as he proceeds, that I am myself half-tempted to believe the Roman poet was no stranger, either to their existence, or their bold poetic beauties : yet I can trace no suffi- cient similarity between the passages in question, to render it, in my own opinion, probable that the one is a copy of the other. Let the reader, however, consult for himself. If Lucretius were in reality acquainted with the sacred books of the Jews, it was perhaps by means of some persons of this nation, who were resident at Rome, through which city great numbers of Jews were at this period scattered, as there were also throughout all Greece, and almost every part of the Roman dependencies. It was probably from the same source that Virgil, not long afterwards, de- rived his knowledge of the prophecies of Isaiah ; and Longinus, still later, his acquaintance with the cos- mogony of Moses. It should be remembered also, that the Hebrew Scriptures had been long translated into Greek, by the seventy interpreters, who flourished in the reign of Ptolemy, and executed their version at his express desire. In consequence of which Dr- Warton openly asserts, that Theocritus was well ac- quainted with this version, and copied largely from the Song of Songs into his own Idylls. Dr. Hodgson, in- deed, maintains the same with respect to Anacreon : but it is often difficult to distinguish between original parallelisms and imitations ; and hence the following, from Thomson, may or may not be a copy : who can speak The mingl'd passions that surpris'd his heart, And through his nerves in shiv'ring transport ran .' Autumn, 255. Ver. 43. For, ivhllc th' unsheathed sword is bran- dish'd, — ] For an account of the probable period of time when Lucretius began his poem on the Nature of Things, fee note on ver. i. of this bpok. His address to Venus, for the restoration of permanent peace, was not, however, attended with much suc- cess ; since for more than half a century after the termination of the Jugurthinc war, the republic was still violently and perpetually agitated by the ambi- D2 20 DE RERUM NATURA. Disserere incipiam, et rerum primordia pandam ; Unde omneis natura creet res, auctet, alatque ; Quoqiie eadem rursum natura perempta resolvat : . Q^ i (t^ tins materle m et genitalia corpora rebus , Reddunda in ratione vo care, et semina rerugi " — — -— Adpellare suemus, et base eadem usurpare Corpora prima, quod ex illis sunt omnia primis. [Omnis enim per se divom natura necesse est Inmortali jevo summa cum pace fruatur, Lib. I. 50 55 tious attempts of Sylla and Maiius, of Sertorius, Ca- tiline, and Julius Cassar. Ver. 57. Far, far from mortals. Sec] It is much doubted by some of the best commentators, whether the six lines in the original, answering to the present and five following verses, be not an intei-polation, or, at least, erroneously introduced by transcribers into the present place. They, at least, discover a certain want of connection with both the antecedent and suc- ceeding sentences. They are not, says Mr. Wake- field, to be found in many copies both manuscript and printed ; certainly not in the manuscript at Ve- rona, nor in three other copies which I have collected in this country. Bentlcy regarded them as intro- duced in this place unconnectedly, and without any reference. And in the margin of the Cambridge manuscript, some ancient annotator has written, " These six verses are transposed into this position from Book II. not on the authority of the poet, but from the ignorance of his copyists." It is on this account they are included, in the original, in brackets ; a mark which is here, and in several other places, de- signed to express a doubt. They contain, however, the idea of ease and tran- quillity, which Homer had long before represented as the common inheritance of the popular gods ; al- though, according to the latter, this tranquillity was sometimes interrupted by contests among themselvesr as well as by the daring obstinacy and opposition of mankind : but, excepting in such casual instances of mental commotion, they were ©:o) fsi'a ^mvTi;, Dii tranquilli viventes, or, as Mr. Pope expresses it. Immortals blest with endless ease. B. 6, V. 170- A passage, the Greek of which Milton perhaps had-* in his recollection, when he wrote in his Paradise Lost, Thou wilt bring me soon To that new world of light and bliss, among The gods 'who live at ease. ii. 868. Silius Italicus was impressed with the same idea ;, and hence, in defcribing the deity, says Imperturbata placidus tenet otia mente. Calm is his quiet, undisturb'd his mind. The " immortal gods" of the Epicurean system are, however, of a very different description from those of the Greek and Roman populace, and are no where in the poem before us represented as the crea- tors of the world, or as objects of rehgious worship- They appear, indeed, to be the very same order of 'existences as the " gods" of Milton, created and blessed spirits, endowed with endless duration, and possessed of far superior faculties to man. They are> therefore, as different from the popular deities of Greece and Rome, as these last are from the christian Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 21 Unfold th' immortals, and their blest abodes : How Nature all creates, sustains, matures. And how, at length, dissolves ; what forms the mass, Term'd by the learned, Matter, Seeds of Things, And generative Atoms, or, at times Atoms primordial, as hence all proceeds. Far, far from mortals, and their vain concerns, In peace perpetual dwell th' immortal Gods : Each self-dependent, and from human wants 55 orders of angels and archangels. Respecting the es- sence of these angelic beings Lucretius seems in some measure undetermined. In Book V. 154, he repre- sents them as totally uncompounded of matter, and consequently incapable of either affecting or being affected by material bodies, from the want of some common property. For their immortal nature far remov'd From human sense, from matter gross and dull, Scarce by the mind's pure spirit can be trac'd. * * * « And, thus, th' imm.ortal regions must from ours Wide vary, congruous to their purer frames. Yet in Book vi. 77, h& obviously intimates, that by profound meditation, and abstraction from the world, the sohtary soul may attain some slender knowledge of the essence of these pure spirits ; and imbibe some portion of their tranquillity and happi- ness. He asserts, in various places, consistently with the doctrine of species or effluences developed in Book iv. that effigies of these divinities are perpetually flowing from their persons. In Book v. 1192, he expressly declares that mankind, in the commence- ment of the world, before the mind was distracted by an infinitude of cares and occupations, traced these effigies not unfrequently amidst their solitary musings, and were conscious of their presence in their midnight dreams. And he informs us, in many places, that Epicurus was much accustomed to such religious ab- stractions ; and that by such abstractions he became divinely illuminated. The whole system, indeed, bears the most obvious resemblance, as I have before observed, to that of Milton in his Paradise Lost, ex- cepting that Lucretius, far from assigning to his di- vinities the superintendance of the planets, represents them as totally unaffected by every transaction that occurs. For a farther account of this system, the reader may consult the prefixed hfc of our poet. Epicurus, however, was not the only philosopher of ancient Greece who admitted the existence of such an order of secondary gods as is here referred to. Plato allowed the same, and apparently to a much greater extent in point of number. Like Epicurus, moreover, he conceived that, although they were the production of the supreme and ineffable principle, they were at the same time self-existent, and inde- pendent. Between the two propositions, of creation and self-existence, there seems indeed to be no small degree of discrepancy : but how far the attributes of self-existence and independence may be bestowed on any order of created beings, by the Creator himself, it is not perhaps for our limited capacities to ascer- tain completely. It is sufGcient to observe, on the present occasion, that several of the Greek philoso- phers appear to have imagined that it was not only possible but actual. 22 DE RERI^M NATURA. Lib. I. Semota ab nostris rebus, sejunctaque longe ; Nam, privata dolore omni, privata periclis. Ipsa suis pollens opibus, nihil indiga nostri, Nee bene promeritis capitur, nee tangitur ira.] Humana ante oculos fede quom vitajaceret In terris, obpressa gravi sub Religione ; Quse caput a coell reglonibus obtendebat, Horribili super adspectu mortalibus instans ; Primum Graius homo mortaleis toUere contra Est oculos ausus, primusque obsistere contra : 60 65 Ver. 6 2 . F'ice no revenge, no rapture virtue prompts . ] This verse has given great offence to many of the commentators, who appear to have been incapable of separating the idea of the immortals, vs'hom our poet supposes to exist, hke the angels or archangels of the christian system, in the possession of all felicity, but nevertheless as secondary powers alone, from the idea of one eternal and intelligent First Cause. Lanctantius, therefore, bursts forth into the foUowing'animadver- sion upon what he erroneously conceived to be its tendency : Dissolvitur autem religio si credamus Epi- cure ilia dicenti. De Ir. Dis. 8. " All religion " vanishes from us the moment we credit this pro- " position of Epicurus." But, independently of this conception relative to their blessed or immaterial spirits, the Epicureans never believed that the Deity, or great First Cause himself, at any time, interfered with the moral world ; since such an interference .would, in their opinion, have been at once subversive of .the free-agency of the mind, and have reduced mankind to so many passive machines. Epicurus, says a writu- who was well versed in his system, taught, that whatever relates to moral actions, God never attempts to controul, but pnly v'hat relates to the nature of the physical world : xai EOTKoufo; J: xar" »vioy;, I.; |UE» XjofTovfs-oAAW,- a^oXsiTTJi Seov, 1!? Js !rpo; T>iv ^(T-ivii/^VT^ayf/aTa-ymJafiai;. Sext. Empiric. adv.Matth. 7 p. 319. See also, on this subject, the note on Book ii. v. 661, of this poem, where this same line is re- peated. Ver. 63. the gloomy power 0/' Superstition siuayed, ] The word here translated superstition is in the original religio, and has generally, to the present time, been rendered by the translators of our poet in every language, re- ligion. Even Marchetti has followed the common example. Giacea I'umana vita oppressa e stanca Sotto religion grave e severa. And much odium has been thrown upon the*Roman bard, for the impiety he is here supposed to exhibit. But without minutely entering at present into the theology of the Epicureans, it is obvious, from the instance he shortly afterwards adduces, — that, I mean, of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, — that the religion to which he immediately adverts is the superstitious tenets and practices that were popular among his own countrymen, and the pagan world at large. And surely there could be no impiety in ridiculing such a senseless mass of religion. as this ; since atheism itself must have been far less impious than the doctrines it inculcated. It is but just, however, to observe that Evelyn Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. Estrang'd for ever. There, nor pain pervades, Nor danger threatens ; every passion sleeps ; Vice no revenge, no rapture virtue prompts. 23 60 Not thus Mankind. Them long the tyrant power Of-SuPERSTiTioN sway'd, uplifting proud Her head to heaven, and with horrific limbs Brooding o'er earth ; till he, the man of Greece, Auspicious rose, who first the combat dar'd. And broke in twain the monster's iron rod. 65 Las translated the passage more accurately, and forms the only exception to the remark just made, among the interpreters in our own language. Whilst sometimes human life dejected lay On earth, under gross superstition's sway. The Baron de Coutures, in his French version, has also adopted the term ; and Voltaire, in adverting to the incident which comprises the episode that im- mediately follows, and whose verses the reader will find quoted in the note on ver. 110 of this book, with perhaps more emphasis still, has employed the term fanaticism ; a passion which he correctly per- BOflifies, and represents as the unnatural offspring of religion, the immediate source of every barbarous and inhuman rite. Henriade, chant, v. Ver. 66. till he, the man of Greece, Auspicious rose, ivho first the combat dar'd,'] Epicurus, — the founder of the sect of philosophers who were called by his name, and whose system forms the subject of the present poem. This great and ▼irtuous man has been more unjustly calumniated than perhaps any man that ever existed. The purity of his moral precepts were unexceptionable ; and his own mode of Hving, instead of having led, as it is generally represented, to every species of impiety and debauchery, was uniformly coincident with them, and hence at all times most chaste and temperate. His attachment to his country was most ardent ; and his piety most exemplary. la life, and in death, he was a pattern well worthy the imitation of mankind in every age and country. Epicurus was bom in the 109th olympiad, the 3d year from the death of Plato. He was, as we learn from Diogenes, the son of Neocles and Chcerestrata, of the illustrious family of the Philaides at Athens. At the age of eighteen, he commenced his philosophic studies in this renowned city, about the era of the death of Alexander, and the meridian life and splendour of Xenocrates and Aristotle. Having acquired a high celebrity for in- telligence and profound research, he instituted ?.t Athens, when about the age of thirty, a new school, and propounded to crowded audiences h!s own more simple system. For the great outlines of this he was indebted to Leucippus and Democritus, the oldest philosophers of the atomic class. Many of the principles of these earlier sages, however, he totally discarded ; and added, at the same time, se- veral to the original system. For a farther account of his life, his frugality, and virtue, I refer the reader to the biography of Lucretius prelixed to this poem. Epicurus died of an inflammation from a stone in the bladder, in the 127th olympiad, and the yzd year of his age. 54 DE RERUM NATURA. . Lib. I. Quern neque fana deum, nee fulmina, nee minitanti Murmure compressit coelum ; sed eo magis acrem 70 Inritat animi virtutem, ecfringere ut arta Naturse primus portarum claustra cupiiet. Ergo vivida vis animi pervicit^jet extra Processit longe flammantia moenia mundi ; Atque omne inmensum peragravit mente animoque : 75 Unde refert nobis victor, quid possit oriri, Quid nequeatjj finita potestas denique quoique \Qua nam sit r^tione, atque ake terminus h^erens. Qua re Religio, pedibus subjecta, vicissim Obteritur, nos exasquat victoria coelo. 80 Illud in hiis rebus vereor, ne forte rearis Inpia te rationis inire elementa, viamque Indugredi sceleris ; quod contra s^pius ilia Religio peperit scelerosa atque inpia facta. Aulide quo pacto Trivial virginis aram S^ Iphianassai turpamnt sanguine fede Ductores Danaum delecti, prima virorum : Ver. 73. ihejlaming •walls losophic meaning, however, of this expression, the Ofheav'n to scale, ] It is by this appella- reader may turn to note on ver. 1 1 12 of the present tion our poet beautifully describes the etherial or su- book. Gray has obviously imitated this verse of perior portion of the atmosphere of the mundane Lucretius, in his Progress of Poesy : system, which bounds, as with a sapphire wall, the ^^ ^^^^^^ thejamins bounds of place and time, whole of its vast contents. For a more full and phi- Book L THE NATURE OF THINGS. 25 No thunder him, no fell revenge pursued Of heaven incens'd, or deities in arms. 70 Urg'd rather, hence, with more determin'd soul, To burst through Nature's portals, from the crowd With jealous caution clos'd ; the flaming walls Of heaven to scale, and dart his dauntless eye. Till the vast whole beneath him stood display'd. 75 Hence taught he us, triumphant, what might spring, And what forbear : what powers inherent lurk, And whtre their bounds, and issues. And, hence, we, Triumphant, too, o'er Superstition rise, Contemn her terrors, and unfold the heavens. 80 Nor deem the truths Philosophy reveals Corrupt the mind, or prompt to impious deeds. No : Superstition may, and nought so soon, But Wisdom never. Superstition 'twas Urg'd the fell Grecian Chiefs, with virgin blood, 85 To stain the virgin altar. Barbarous deed ! And fatal to their laurels ! Aulis saw, For there Diana reigns, th' unholy rite. Around she look'd ; the pride of Grecian maids, And Milton, at least equally impressed with its Ver. 89. Around she looPd; the pride of Grecian beauty, has dilated upon it as follows : maids,'] This little episode is well selected, Far off th' empyreal heaven extended wide, ^"^ inimitably related. On the subject it is designed With opal towers, and battlements adorn'd, ^o exemplify, it is altogether to the point. It was a Of living sapphire. story well known to the world, from the time of Pap Lost ii 1047 Homer to Euripedes, from whom Lucretius has bor- VOL. I. -. , . ^y. ^ 26 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Quoi slmul infula, virgineos circumdata comptus, Ex utraque pari malamm parte profusa est ; rowed many of his most delicate touches. But he has given the entire tale a different, and, in my judgment, a more natural action, as well as one more consistent with the narration of the best historians. Instead of painting that sorrow and affliction of mind which our poet has here so correctly delineated, Euripedes gives the unfortunate princess the character of a heroine, voluntarily offering herself as a victim for the good of her country, and of Greece at large. The Greek tragedian has also introduced a dif- ferent termination, and represented the fair victim as removed by a miracle from the sacred grove, at the moment she was on the point of being immolated, and her place supplied by a deer, provided by Diana in her stead : in which latter fiction he has been followed by Ovid, in his Metamorphoses, book xii. This story is generally supposed to be derived from that of Jephtha, so pathetically related in the book of Judges ; and from the resemblance of the names, as also from Jephtha's having lived at the era of the siege of Troy, it is probable both memoirs are derived from one common source. The sacred his- torian, however, coincides in the catastrophe intro- duced by Lucretius, and represents the unhappy victim as actually sacrificed : but he agrees with Euripedes, in attributing to her the heroism of a voluntary surrender. The following is the de- scription of the Grecian dramatist, which, though highly beautiful, is not superior to that of our own poet : E«u yap ixofito-S* tmc Aioj xofnj ApTsju»3of «Aero;, XEi/uctxa; t' «vflji^opous 'I/ riv A^awv avX^oyo^ <7TpaTE0^aT0f, S>i» irons' acyaurit, fuOup Apytiam ojjAos H9po»^s3'. 'b; 5° «rsiJi/ Ayajuf^vai» a»af Em cr: ^nd is an excavation, with one end open for the purpose of receiving air. Ver. 136. tvhere, nor soul Nor body dwells, ] Whenever, among nations of but small refinement and civilization, the idea is credited, that man is a compound being, pos« sessed of a corporeal body or substratum, and a some» thing incorporeal, superadded to the body, and ca- pable of surviving its dissolution, it, in no instance,, occurs to them, that this other substance is itself di* visible, and capable of existing in different places, and in different modes of existence, at the same period of time. Pythagoras, who derived much of his in- struction from the sages of Egypt, never imagined the human constitution, any more than the brute, to be possessed of more than two constituent principles.. It is the common doctrine, if we may credit any of the accounts of travellers and historians, entertained, at this day, among the American Indians, and the inhabitants of New Zealand, and generally among those of the Southern Islands. But this simple divi- sion of man into two parts has not satisfied the caprice of all nations^ or of all philosophers. Brutes, it has been urged by such persons, have a soul and a body ; but man is intrinsically superior to brutes. He must, therefore, possess some essential addition to such a constiti(tion. He must have a reasoning spirit, as well as an animal soul, and a body susceptible of de> Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 37 The various tribes of brutes, with ray divine, To animate and quicken : though the bard, In deathless melody, has elsewhere sung Of AcHERUsiAN temples, where, nor soul Nor body dwells, but images of men, Mysterious shap'd ; in wondrous measure wan. 135 cay. This is language which has long been enter- tained, even among Christian writers and philo- sophers: and in demonstration of its truth, the sacred Scriptures have, not unfrequently, and especially by Grotius and Vitringa, been had recourse to. Yet even here, as in most other concerns which merely depend upon a luxurious imagination, the moderns must decidedly yield to the Greeks ; whose popular creed established, for many ages, the ex- istence of four principles, instead of three, in the multifarious constitution of man. Three, indeed, are here enumerated by Lucretius, who has, never- theless, omitted the umbra, or shade, properly so called, which was supposed to have its constant residence about the tomb or sepulchre, where the body was interred ; and was a principle, or substance, altogether different from the uSuXcn, simu- lacrum, or effigies, which for ever maintained its abode in the lower regions, or, as Ennius has here denomi- nated them^ the Acherusian caves ; whilst the anima, the soul or spirit, was admitted to be a participant in the Elysian fields. In conformity to this complex idea, Homer has represented Ulysses, during his de- scent into Tartarus, as conversing with the iiJwAo», or manes of Hercules ; while, at the same time, he himself, that is, his soul or spirit, was existing among the gods. Tov h just', iirrtmniTct, /Stuv 'Hp*!tXn!i»i», Odyss. a. 600. Now I the strength of Hercules behold, A tow'ring spectre of gigantic mold, A shadoivy form ! for, high in heaven's abodes Himself resides ; a god among the gods. There, in the bright assemblies of the skies, He nectar quaffs, and Hebe crowns his joys. Pope. Virgil has represented the very same fact as taking place with respect to Anchises, whose manes, his son, ^neas, conversed with below, while his soul was re- siding in the upper and blest abodes. Hence the propriety of the following lines, which have been at- tributed to Ovid : Bis duo sunt homini : manes, caro, spiritus, umbra : Quatuor ista loci bis duo suscipiunt. Terra tegit carnem, tumulum circumvolat umbra, Orcus habet manes, spiritus astra petit. Four things are man's — flesh, spirit, ghost, and shade ; And four their final homes : — hell claims the ghost ; The spirit, heaven ; in earth the flesh is laid ; And, hov'ring o'er it, seeks the shade its post. For a farther elucidation of this subject, see note on book iii. verse 100. Ver. 137. images of men,'] The original is highly picturesque and impressive : " — simulacra, modis pallentia miris." And Virgil has not hesi- tated to copy the entire verse. simulacra modis pallentia rairis Visa sub obscurum noctis. Georg. i. 477. Shapes, wondrous pale, by night were seen to rove. SoTHEBY, 38 DE FxERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Conmemorat speciem lacrumas ecfundere salsas Ccepisse, et rerum naturam expandere dictis. Quapropter, bene quom superls de rebus habenda Nobis est ratio ; solis luneeque meatus Qua fiant ratione, et qua vi qusque gerantur In terris ; tunc, cum primis, ratione sagaci, Unde anima atque animi constet natura, videndum : Et qu^ res, nobis vigilantibus obvia, menteis Terrificet, morbo adfectis, somnoque sepultis ; 130 Ver. 149. Whence spring those shadomiy forms, which, e'en In hours Wakeful and cahn, but chief tuhen dreams molest^ This part of the duty incumbent on the philosopher, our poet endeavours to perform in book iv. where the subject is resumed, and discussed in a truly scientific and masterly manner, — consistently, I mean, with the system he has adopted. He there ingeni- ously assigns the cause why the existence of spectres, ghosts, and apparitions, has been so generally ac- credited in all ages, and nearly among all nations, as history informs us it has been ; and why the night has commonly been the season of their supposed ap- pearance and operation, rather than the day. Thus the ghost in Hamlet : I am thy father's spirit, Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day conJirCd. In the superstitions of all the Northern nations, the same idea is to be traced, so far as relates to the time of apparition. Milton, therefore, with much appropriate beauty, has compared the demon of death to the «,^/;/-hag. riding through the air she comes, Lur'd with the smell of infant-blood, to dance With Lapland witches, while the lab' ring moon Eclipses at their charms. Par. Lost, b. ii. The rule, indeed, seems to be common to all countries, as well as to all periods ; to the East and West, as well as to the North ; to the sacred writ- ings, as well as to heathen mythology. It is, hence, the same season of doubt and terror that the sublime author of the book of Job has made choice of, for the appearance of that fearful spectre, which is so inimitably described in chap. iv. of this unrivalled drama, and which has been so often adverted to by men of taste and discernment. Our common transla- tion does not give all the beauties which are con- tained in the original ; and the reader will, therefore, excuse me for offering him a new version, which, at least, has the merit of accuracy, as, I trust, he will find, on comparing it with the following arrangement of the Hebrew : Book I. THE NATURE OF TFIINGS. 39 140 Here Homer's spectre roam'd, of endless fame Possest : his briny tears the bard survey'd, And drank the dulcet precepts from his lips. Such are the various creeds of men. And hence The philosophic sage is call'd t' explain, Not the mere phases of the heavens alone, The sun's bright path, the moon's perpetual change, And pow'rs of earth productive, but to point. In terms appropriate, the dissev'ring lines 'Twixt mind and brutal life ; and prove precise Whence spring those shadowy forms, which, e'en in hours Wakeful and calm, but chief when dreams molest, 150 145 :nji>n niytt' naon 'Twas midnight deep ; the world was hush'd to rest, And airy visions every brain posscss'd ; O'er all my frame a horror crept severe, An ice that shiver'd every bone with fear ; Before my face a spirit saw I swim — Erect uprose my hair o'er every limb : It stood — the spectre stood — to sight display'd ; Yet trac'd I not the image I survey'd. 'Twas silence dead — no breath the torpor broke, When thus, in hollow voice, the vision spoke. No criticism is here necessary. Every one who reads the description must perceive, in every line, some peculiar and appropriate beauty. But the im- possibility of tracing or distinguishing the form of the apparition, even whilst it stood motionless before the narrator, and compelled his attention, together with the erection of the hair of the whole body, con- vey a boldness and originality of thought superlatively impressive. From this fearful picture, Ariosto, Spenser, and Otway, have drawn many of their best and finest paintings. They have all. of them, like- wise, made choice of solitude and the midnight sea- son for the introduction of their supernatural imagery. But there are some occasions in which a masterly poet, regardless of the trammels of example, may be justified in introducing such scenery at any hour, and even in the presence of the most brilhant or convivial companies. Thus, in the tragedy of Macbeth, the ghost of Banquo suddenly arises in the midst of the entertainment given to the noble thanes ; and which, though by Shakspeare denominated a supper, would, in the present day, be regarded as an. early dinner, since seven is the hour at which the lords were in- vited to absemble. The incident is too well known, and its effect too striking, to need any comm.ent. There is one description of a similar incident, how- ever, by which even this of Shakspeare is much ex- 40 DE RERUM NATURA. Cernere uti videamur eos, audlreque coram, Morte obita quorum tellus amplectitur ossa. Nee me animi fallit, Graiorum obscura reperta Difficile inlustrare Latinis versibus esse ; Multa novis verbis prsesertim quom sit agundum Propter egestatem linguae, et rerum novitatem ; Sed tua me virtus tamen, et sperata voluptas Suavis amicitias, quemvis ecferre laborem Suadet, et inducit nocteis vigilare serenas, Lib. I 135 140 ceeded, and whence, perhaps, he took the idea ;— the apparition, I mean, of the fingers of a man's hand writing mystical characters upon the wall, in the palace of Belshazzar, in the midst of the banquet he was giving to all the nobles of his empire, and their ladies. The whole is related with inimitable excel- lence in the book of Daniel, and comprizes almost every striking circumstance, and every solemn touch, that can render a story impressive. The splendour of the scene, the high rank and number of the com- pany present, the gross impiety and sacrilege they were guilty of, the abruptness of the apparition, the extreme terror and perturbation of the king, and the undaunted probity and resolution of the prophet in decyphering the occult symbols, are all of them most interesting parts of the picture, and harmoniously combine in producing dramatic effect. The popular mythologies that have most indulged in prseternatural appearances of this sort, are those of Odin and Fingal : the fomier constituting an early creed of the Northern countries on the continent; and the latter, of the inhabitants of Ireland and the High- lands of Scotland. Each of these systems of super- stition are possessed of a sublimity and terrible gran- deur, far beyond what the mythology of Greece can lay claim to : but there is a savage ferocity attendant upon the former, which is repressive to all the feelings of a cultivated mind. The spirits of the departed, that assemble in the aerial hall of the Scandinavian deity, are represented as fighting and massacring each other for amusement, and as drinking a spirituous beverage out of the hollow skuOs of their enemies • — while the spirits of the Celtic warriors, on the con- trary, are dehneated as regaUng themselves with the hymns of their bards, attuned in praise of love, friendship, or heroism. Often, too, these latter are supposed to be flying on the wings of the winds, to warn those whom they esteem on earth of future dan- gers, or to protect them beneath the pressure of im- mediate calamities. Nothing is, therefore, more common than the belief of such benignant appari- tions ; nothing more frequent than their introduction in the subhme poems of Ossian : and in the utmost regions of the Highlands, and the Hebrides, the same idea is still interwoven with the profession of the Christian religion, at the present moment. Fin- gal, however, admitted no supernatural agency into his Celtic creed. It is probable the superstition which he systematized, he originally deduced from the Druids ; but he rejected all their barbarities, and only retained their sacred order of bards, to whom was paid the utmost degree of reverence. The spirit of the Fingahan, immediately upon his decease, took its flight involuntarily to the banks of the river Loda: if virtuous, or heroic, it was there instantaneously met by the ghosts of its forefathers, and conveyed with rapidity to the great hall of the founder of the race, and claiin-d its seat among the blest ; but if it 7 Book I. TPIE NATURE OF THINGS. 41 Or dire disease, we see, or think we see, Though the dank grave have long their bones inhum'd. Yet not unknown to me how hard the task Such deep obscurities of Greece t' unfold In Latin numbers ; to combine new terms, And strive with all our poverty of tongue. — But such thy virtue, and the friendship pure My bosom bears, that arduous task I dare ; And yield the sleepless night, in hope to cull ^55 liad been wicked, or a coward, it was suffered to hover for ever on the wretched banlis of the Loda, or was condemned to wander on all the winds of heaven; often perversely misleading the way-worn and benighted traveller, in the shape of an ignis fatuus. Respecting the ghosts of the Celtic superstition, there was one remarkable fact, which I cannot avoid noticing in this place. While other religions have often conceived such a kind of etherial spirit as se- parately existing, immediately after the decease of the body, — the system of Fingal assumed, that the hero had a separate shade or spirit attending him some short time prior to his death, counterfeiting his figure, and appearing to different persons, with the most mournful shrieks, and in the attitude in which he was about to die. " The account given to this " day, among the vulgar," observes Mr. Macpher- son, " of this extraordinary matter, is very poetical. " The ghost comes mounted on a meteor, and sur- ♦' rounds twice or thrice the place destined for the " person to die in ; and then goes along the road " through which the funeral is to pass, shrieking at " intervals : at last, the meteor and the ghost dis- " appear above the burial place." Ver. 158. — that arduous tash I dare ; And yield the sleepless night, — ~\ There is a passage in the Abbe Delille's very beautiful, and, in the French language, unrivalled didactic poem of Vol. I. Les Jardins, in the composition of which the poet seems to have had his eye directed to this elegant ad- dress of Lucretius. He exhorts his horticultural pupils not to rest satisfied, in their attempts to form a fountain, if, at first, and even for a long time af- terwards, they should be disappointed in the flow of water : he advises them to dig deeper and deeper, since probably the earnestly-desired fluid is just at hand. And he then proceeds : Ainsi d'un long effort moi-meme rebute, Quand j'ai d'un froid detail maudit I'aridite, Soudain un trait heureux jaillit d'un fond sterile, Et mon vers ranime coule enfin plus facile. So when, myself, o'erwearied with the past. Curse some dry subject still before me cast ; I too, at times, some happy turn explore. And my rous'd verse flows brisker than before. But the style and imagery of Mason, in his English Garden, exhibits a copy of Lucretius far closer still ; and especially in the following passage : Ingrateful sure, When such the theme, becomes the poet's task : Yet must he try, by modulation meet Of varied cadence, and selected phrase, Exact yet free, without inflation bold. To dignify that theme ; must try to form Such magic sympatiiy cf sense with sound. As pictures all it sings : while Grace awakes 42 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Qucerentem, dictis quibus, et quo carmine, demum Clara tuee possim praepandere lumina menti, 145 Res quibus obcultas penitus convisere possis. Hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necesse est Non radiei solis neque lucida tela diei Discutiant, sed Natural species, Ratioque : Quoius principium hinc nobis exordia sumet ; i^o NULLAM REM E NIHILO GIGNI DIVINITUS UMaUAM. At each blest touch, and, on the lowliest things. Scatters her rain-bow hues. B. ii. 250. Havintr thus had occasion to introduce into the same note the names of my two friends, Mason and Dehlle, I cannot avoid adverting to the extraordinary coinci- dence of taste, time, and subject, which subsists be- tween their respective and exquisite didactic poems. The period in which they wrote was during the Ame- rican war : to this they both allude, and inchne to the same side of politics. The subject of their poetry is Picturesque Gard'ening : the title chosen by each is precisely similar. Their taste appears to have been formed from the same models, and directed to the same ends ; and they both speak in the most rap- turous terms of Poussin, Milton, and Kent. Ma- son's poem, 1 believe, preceded that of the Abbe only about a twelvemonth ; but there is no reason to conceive that the latter, though acquainted with the Enghsh language, was by any means apprised of such a publication, when he announced his own jfardins. Ver. 165. — the day's bright javelins. — ] " Lucida tela diei." This elegant metaphor is frequently em- ployed by Lucretius, in the prosecution of his poem. Ausonius has borrowed it from htm. Mosel. 269. Exultant udse super arida saxa rapins, Luciferlque pavent letalia tela diet. O'er the sere rock the juicy rape exults, And dreads the deadly arrows of the day. Polignac has made a fuller copy still. Anti-Lucr. b. vi. 1414. lUae nee solis radios, nee tela diei Lucida ferre queunt. Not these the sun's pure beams, nor javelins bright, Can bear of noon-tide. Mason, who, as I have just remarked, is a close and classical imitator of our poet, has not failed to employ this bold and beautiful figure, also, in his English Garden. Soon thy sturdy axe, Amid its intertwisted foliage driven, Shall open all his glades, and ingress give To the bright darts of day. B. ii. 15 1. In Dr. Darwin's Loves of the Plants, we meet with the same idea, which is introduced with much beauty and sublimity. He is speaking of the hu- mane Howard. The spirits of the good, who bend from high, Wide o'er these earthly scenes, their partial eye. Saw round his brows a sun-hke glory blaze, In arrowy circles of unwearied rays. The whole description forms a bold and elevated imagery ; for which, however, if I be not much mis- taken, he is indebted to Ariosto. The passage I Book I. THE NATUrxE OF THINGS. 43 Some happy phrase, some well selected verse, i6o Meet for the subject ; to dispel each shade, And bid the mystic doctrine hail the day. For shades there are, and terrors of the soul, The day can ne'er disperse, though blazing strong With all the sun's bright javelins. These alone 165 To Nature yield, and Reason ; and, combin'd. This is the precept they for ever teach, That NOUGHT FROM NOUGHT BY POw'r DIVINE HAS RIs'n. refer to is that in which the Italian bard describes the descent of Michael the archangel from heaven, to the Christian camp, at the command of the Al- mighty. Dovunque drizza Michel angel I'ale Fugon le nubi, e torno il ciel serene, Cli g'ira intorno un aureo cerchto ; quale Veggiam di notte lampeggiar baleno. Orl. Fur. C. xlv. Where'er his course the radiant envoy steers, The clouds disperse, the troubled ether clears ; yind round him plays a circling blaze of light. Such as when meteors stream through dusky night. HooLE. TertuUian, as Mr. Wakefield observes, has intro- duced this same metaphor of Lucretius into his sec- tion on Chastity. " Quibus exquirendis," observes he, " non lucerne spiculo, lumine sed totius soHs lanced, opus est." Cap. 7. " In the investigation of which " it behoves us to employ, not the mere shafts of a " candle, but the arrowy light of the whole sun." There is also an introduction of the same elegant figure in a beautiful and tender passage of Jortin ; the whole of which the reader will find trans- cribed, on another occasion, in the note on Book iii. V. 1 136. Sidera, purpurei telis exUncta diei Rursus nocte vigent. Kill'd by the arrows of the purple day. The stars at night revisit us. The use of this metaphor, in the description of a severe frost, is scarcely so bold, and is much more common. Dyer, however, has introduced it, with much picturesque effect, in his dehneation of a Lap- land winter. -the horrid rage Of winter irresistible o'erwhelms The Hyperborean tracts ; his arrowy frosts. That pierce through flinty rocks, the Lappian flies. Fleece, B. i. In a similar manner, Milton, in his Paradise Re- gained : How quick they wheel'd ; and, flying, behind them shot Sharp sleet of arrowy shower. Whence Gray, in his Descent of Odin : Iron sleet of arrowy shower Hurtles in the darken'd air. Ver. 168. TVjfl/ NOUGHT from nought by pow'r DIVINE HAS ris'n.] This maxim, Originated by Democritus, is frequently referred to by Aristotle, and many other philosophers among the ancients, who were not immediately of the Epicurean school. It is thus repeated by Diogenes Laertius, ix. 44. MjiJsh Gz 44 DE RErxUM NATURA. Lib. I. Quippe ita formido mortaleis continet omneis, Quod multa in terris fieri coeloque tuentur, Quorum operum caussas nulla ratione videre !x rev /x?) ovTo; y»v!cr9ai, fxriSt £i; to jj,n ov (f^EifEtrSai. ♦' That nothing has been produced from non-ex- " istence, and to non-existence can never degenerate." It forms the key-stone of the philosophy in the poem before us ; and is, therefore, constantly reverted to by Lucretius. By ^oat/fr (/mnf we must understand, if we understand any thing at all, either the divinity of the world itself, — in which case he directs his dogma against the Platonists and Pythagoreans, or else the divinity of the popular gods, — and then he is opposing the multitude : since the idea of an eternal intelligent being, at whose mere will and command all Nature sprang into, and is still supported in, her present system of beauty, harmony, and order, constituted, as I have observed in the prefixed life of Lucretius, an avowed article of the Epi- curean creed ; while various passages of the poem before us, and particularly in the fifth book, prove obviously that Lucretius no more rejected this dogma of Epicurism than he did any other. The real doc- trine of Epicurus, upon this subject, appears to be as follows : In common with the philosophers of every school, he believed in the eternity of matter ; for they all equally conceived it an absurdity to suppose that the Deity himself could create any thing out : of no- thing : but that though matter existed from all eter- nity, there was a time when it was first endowed by the inteUigent eternal Cause with powers of motion, and a consequent capability of organization and order. From this moment, motion commenced ; atoms be- gan to unite with atoms ; concrete substances to be produced ; affinities to multiply ; and the universe to assume form : but an incalculable number of ap- parently different motions were essayed, and of years exhausted, before that form was finally completed. This theory of cosmogony is detailed most beauti- fully, and at full length, by Lucretius, in his fifth book ; and this, and this alone, explains the declara- tions of Epicurus, that the world entirely proceeded from the will and command of him who possesses all immortality, and all beatitude. It completely re- moves the impiety with which this doctrine of ap- parent chance has been perpetually loaded. It formed, for the most part, the actual opinion of Dinant, Abelard, and other christian Epicureans, but more especially of Gassendi ; and very closely corresponds with the system of Des Cartes, which is founded entirely upon such a supposition. " There " is nothing," says he, " contradictory to the ra- " tional faculties of man, in conceiving that the Deity " did no more than create the original chaos of all " things ; enduing it with certain laws, and leaving " it to the gradual operation of those laws — to pro- " duce order from confusion, to separate element " from element, and form the vast varieties of animals " and vegetables that exist over the whole earth, and " are nourished from its bosom." See Baker's Re- flections on Learning, chap. vii. ; Des Cartes Me- thod. Philos. ; Gassendi de Exortu Mundi. And this indeed, with the exception of the eternity of matter alone, is the avowed doctrine of La Metherie, De Luc, Hutton, Whitehurst, Kirwan, and almost all our modern cosmologists. Nor could it be other- wise, than upon such an interpretation, that several learned poets of Italy have attempted to reconcile the principles of Epicurus, or Democritus, with those of the Chriotian religion ; and, among others, Gio. Michele Milani, who, in 1698, printed, as we are told by Crescembiai, a very lo:;g and learned canzone on light, extendi: g to net less than eighty-three stanzas; much ut which was devoted to this very subject. " In essa," says he, " si spiega buona parte " della filosop^ia di Democrito adattata alia verita " Cristiana." Comentarj Poetici, 1. ii. c. 10. If indeed iVe were to examine the opinions of many of the most celebrated fathers of the Christian churchj Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 45 But the blind fear, the superstition vain Of mortals uninform'd, when spring, perchance, In heav'n above, or earth's sublunar scene, Events to them impervious, instant deem 170 as well as of the ancient Jews, we should make an approach much nearer still to the cosmology of Epi- curus : for several of them not only believed in the gradual evolution of the world, but in the eternity of matter itself; conceiving that matter was necessarily co-eternal with God, as the solar rays are coeval with the sun. Philo appears to have be^n altogtther a Platonist upon this subject. See his Cosmog. vol. i. p. 5. nov. ed. ; asid Justin Martyr, Apol. 59, af- firms, that the doctrine, of Plato, with respect to the creation of the world, is the very doctrine of Moses ; and from Moses was borrowed, Iva h xai Trafx tu-v IJ/ZETEpofV di^OOUTKOCKiilV XabOVT» TOV TlXxTWVOC jUayJlTE TO EiTTEiV, t\m «.[AOf^ov (TTpE^^avTa, Koa-^ov woiEuai, ccKova-xrs Tuiv K.VToXi^a lifrifjum» Jia Mwo-Einf, x. t. X. The vXriv Ufiofipoy, or unfash'ioned matter here referred to, out of which the world was created by the Deity, and which was supposed to have been co-eternal with him- self, is indeed expressly made mention of by the writer of the book of Wisdom, chap. xi. 17 ;. and he has also been supposed, in consequence, to have been attached to the whole of this opinion. In reality, it is not easy to extricate him from the charge ; and Origen, who enters expressly into an examination of the passage, feels himself compelled to remark, that this book is not received ly all as canonical Scripture. Ff v, however, besides Maimonides, have chosen to con- tend, that the Hebrew {^{'l^ created, in Gen. i. i. necessarily implies an absolute creation out of nothing. It has been of late very generally believed on the continent, and probably with a view of reconciling the apparent incongruity of the origin of matter out of nothing, upon Christian principles, that the world is an emnnation of the substaiiCe of the Supreme Being. Mr. Kant is supposed to favour this belief. It has been professedly brou';!it forwards and sup- ported by M. Isnard, in his work " iSur I'lmmor- talite de rAme," printed at Paris in 1 8oz ; and is approved of by M. Anquetil du Perron, the learned translator of the Oiipnek'-hat, or abridgement of the Veids. The difficulty, however, does not appear to be m any great degree diminished by such a conjec- ture ; for, if matter be an emanation from the sub- stance of the Deity, then is the Deity himself ma- terial, and matter becomes not only eternal, but the Eternal God, the very essence of the Divine Being : a doctrine far exceeding the impiety of the atomic hypothesis, and infinitely more absurd. It is, more- over, a m-re revivification of the wildest dogmas of Plato and Pythagoras, obviously derived from India, and still existing in the Braminic Veids. It is thus stated in M. Perron's version of the Oupnek'-hat, to which I have just referred : « The whole universe is " the Creator, proceeds from the Creator, subsists " in him, and returns to him. The ignorant assert " that the universe, in the beginning, did not exist " in its author, and that it was created out of no- " thing.— O ye, whos- hearts are purcj how could " something arise out of nothing * This first Being, " alone, and without likeness, was the all in the « beginning : he could multiply himself under dif- " ferent forms : he created lire from his essence, " which is light, &c." The whole of this doctrine of the Epicurean school is thus fully detailed, by the cardinal Polignac : Ex nihilo nil fit : lex inviolabilis esto : Nil ruit in iiihilum, clamat tota schola Epicuri. Ergo si qus sunt, seterna fuere ; nee unquam Cessatura manent. Intermoriuntur ubique Corpora, materies autem qucE corpora fundat Semper erit, fuit, est : finemque ignorat et ortum. Anti-Llcr. ix. 471. Nought springs from nought : be this th' eternal law: . To nought nought tends, shouts all th' atomic- school. . 46 DE REUUM NATURA. Lib. I. Possunt; ac fieri divino numine rentur. 155 Quas ob res, ubi viderimus nihil posse creari De nihilo, turn, quod sequimur, jam rectius inde Perspiciemus ; et unde queat res quseque creari, Et quo quseque modo fiant opera sine divom. Nam, si de nihilo fierent, ex omnibus rebus 160 Omne genus nasci posset : nihil semine egeret. E mare primum homines, e terra posset oriri Squamigerum genus, et volucres : erumpere coelo Armenta ; atque aliae pecudes, genus omne ferarum, Incerto partu, culta ac deserta tenerent : 165 Nee fructus iidem arboribus constare solerent, Sed mutarentur ; ferre omnes omnia possent. Quippe, ubi non essent genitalia corpora quoique, Qui posset mater rebus consistere certa ? At nunc, semmibus quia certis qu^que creantur, 170 Hence what exists, was ever ; nor can once which, but especially in the second and fourth, there Yield to destruction : forms concrete may die, is an equal combination of logical precision and pic- But the firm atoms, whence such forms uprose, turesque imagery. If created existences could arise Are, were, and will be void of birth or end. from nothing, if there were no definite and unchange- able law of origin, — then every thing might spring from every thing ; every effect from every cause ; Ver. 1 79. Could things from nought proceed, then the season of appearance would be indeterminate ; •whence the use"] The poet, having advanced the hour of perfection incalculable ; the mode of in- his grand proposition, endeavours to establish it by crease irregular ; the powers possest uncertain ; and six different arguments ; throughout the whole of all moral agency nugatory, and in vain. These ar- Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 4? Some power supernal present, and employ'd. — Admit this truth, that nought from nothing springs, And all is clear. Develop'd, then, we trace, 175 Through Nature's boundless realm, the rise of things, Their modes, and pow'rs innate ; nor need from heav'n Some god's descent to rule each rising fact. Could things from nought proceed, then whence the use Of generative atoms, binding strong 180 Kinds to their kinds perpetual ? Man himself Might spring from ocean ; from promiscuous earth The finny race, or feath'ry tribes of heaven : Prone down the skies the bellowing herds might bound. Or frisk from cloud to cloud: while flocks, and beasts 1S5 Fierce and most savage, undefin'd in birth, The field or forest might alike display. Each tree, inconstant to our hopes, would bend With foreign fruit : and all things all things yield. Whence but from elemental seeds that act 190 With truth, and power precise, can causes sprmg guments, as will readily be perceived, extend from Sir Richard Blackmore, in his Creation, booki.; a verse 178 to verse 246. production, which, although admitted by Johnson into his own arrangement of English Poems, probably Ver. 184. Prone down the dies the bellowlng herds °" account of its religious and moral tendency, is but might iound,^ ^^^Y sparing indeed in true poetic spirit and em- ,,,, J , , , ,. bellishment. There are many passages in it, however, ' Why do not beasts that move, or stones that he ,., , ■ i , , ,r ? , T .1. /• ,j , , ,• ■ « , which are obviously deduced from Lucretius ; whose Jocose on the field, through distant regions fly ? ,-, , ■ ., . ,- r , ° o ' philosophy it was the grand object of the worthy So, imitating this passage of Lucretius, inquires knight to subvert, as far as he was able. 48 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Inde enascitur, atque oras in luminis exit, Materies ubi inest quoi usque, et corpora prima : Atque hac re nequeunt ex omnibus omnia gigni, Quod certis in rebus inest secreta facultas. PrcEterea, quur vere rosam, frumenta calore, 175 Viteis auctumno fundi suadente videmus ; Si non, certa suo quia tempore semina rerum Quom confluxerunt, patefit quodcumque creatur, Dum tempestates adsunt, et vivida tellus Tuto res teneras ecfert in luminis oras ? 180 Quod, si de nihilo fierent, subito exorerentur Incerto spatio, atque alienis partibus anni : Quippe ubi nulla forent primordia, quas genitali Concilio possent arceri tempore iniquo. Nee porro augendis rebus spatio foret usus 185 Seminis ad coitum, e nihilo si crescere possenL Nam fierent juvenes subito ex infantibus parvis, E terraque, exorta repente, arbusta salirent : Quorum nihil fieri manifestum est, omnia quando Paullatim crescunt, ut par est, semine certo ; 190 Crescentesque genus servant : ut noscere possis Quidque sua de materia grandescere, alique. Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 49 Powerful and true themselves ? But grant such seeds, And all, as now, through Nature's wide domain, In time predicted, and predicted place, Must meet the day concordant ; must assume 195 The form innately stampt, and prove alone Why all from all things never can proceed. Whence does the balmy rose possess the spring ? The yellow grain the summer ? or, the vine With purple clusters, cheer th' autumnal hours ? 200 Whence, true to time, if such primordial seeds Act not harmonious, can aught here survey'd, Aught in its season, rear its tender form. And the glad earth protrude it to the day ? But, if from nought things rise, then each alike, 205 In every spot, at every varying month. Must spring discordant ; void of primal seeds To check all union till th' allotted hour. Nor space for growth would then be needful : all Springing from nought, and still from nought supply 'd. 210 The puny babe would start abrupt to man ; And trees umbrageous, crown'd with fruit mature, Burst, instant, from the greensward. But such facts Each day opposes ; and, opposing, proves That all things gradual swell from seeds defin'd, '"215 Of race and rank observant, and intent T' evince th' appropriate matter whence they thrive. ' Vol. I. . ■ H 50 DE RERUM NATTJRA. Lib. L Hue adcedit, uti sine certis imbribus anni Lcetificos nequeat fetus submittere tellus ; Nee porro, secreta cibo, natura animantum Propagare genus possit, vitamque tueri : Ut potius multis conmunia corpora rebus Multa putes esse, ut verbis elementa videmus, Quam sine principiis ullam rem existere posse» 195 Denique, quur homines tantos natura parare Non potuitj pedibus quei pontum per vada possent Transire, et magnos manibus divellere monteis> 200 Ver. 220. The timely shottPr from heaii'n must add benign Its injluence too, — ] The author of the book of Job, the sublimest drama that was ever composed by any writer, whether sacred or profane, dtnomi- nates, with inimitable elegance, chap, xxxviii. 31. these refreshincr and seasonable showers " the sweet influences of Chimah ;" or, as it is rendered ill the Septuagint, and thence borrowed into our English version, " of the Pleiades." The constella- tion Chimah (n-D'j) answers to the more modern 6ign Taurus, as Chesil C^D^) does to Capricorn; and the alternate seasons of spring and winter, the revival and destruction of the world, are hence beauti- fully alluded to : Mazaroth (rilTIO) is, in all pro- bability, the zodiac at large ; and Aish (JJ?') Arc- turus, one of the most remarkable stars in the northern liemisphere, — and hence, by an elegant synecdoche, employed for the northern hemisphere itself. See this subject more minutely examined in the note on book ii. verse 1 1 05 of the present poem. The Greek translators, however, not being positive as to the term Mazaroth have, in this instance, and in this alone, re- tained the Hebrew lection ; in which conduct they have also been followed by the translators of the Eng- lish version. I cannot avoid noticing, in this place, the absurd argument of that bibHcal blunderer Thomas Paine, deduced from these two verses, to prove the invalidity and spuriousness of the whole book of Job. Finding these Grcei terms in the Enghsh version, and apprehending, from his gross ignorance of the original, that the same Greek terms occurred in the Hebrew, he has ventured to assert that this book could never have been written originally in Hebrew ; that it must have been first of all compiled, in a much later period than is generally contended for, by some romance-writer of Greece, aiM afterwards translated from the Greek into the Hebrew tongue, from Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 51 But matter thus appropriate, or e'en space For growth mature, form not the whole requir'd. The timely shower from heav'n must add benign 220 Its influence too, ere yet the teeming earth Emit her joyous produce ; or, the ranks Of man and reptile, thence alone sustain'd, May spring to life, and propagate their kinds. Say rather, then, in much that meets the view, 225 That various powers combine, concordant all, Common and elemental, as in words Such elemental letters, — than contend, That void of genial atoms, aught exists. Why form'd not Nature man with ample pow'rs 230 To fathom, with his feet, th' unbottom'd main ? To root up mountains with his mighty hands ? which, as an original publication in this latter Ian- prejudices and stories ; and his uniform aim is to re- guage, we have received it into Enghsh. This, lease the mind from their undue influence. He however, is but one blunder among a thousand that treats, therefore, in these lines, as unauthentic fables might easily be selected from this unrivalled specimen the wonderful relations of Polyphemus, and the of sober and classical criticism. giants. Of the former of vfhom, we learn from Vir- In allusion to this elegant description in the boolc gil, what was the popular belief as to his stature : of Job, Milton, who indefatigably examined the ffraditurque per xquor Scriptures, as well for their poetic ornaments as im- Jam medium necdum fluctus latera ardua tinxit. portant doctrines, thus paints the first production and jEn. iii. 564. appearance of this constellation before its Creator: , , , 1 .-i •^^ through deepest seas he strides, —The Pleiades before him danc'd, -^hiie scarce the topmost billows touch his sides. Shedding sweet influence. Dsiyden. Par. Lost, vii. 370. Qf the latter, this is his description in a different Ver. 231. To fathom, with his feet, ih' untotiom'd '^ „^^\„ p Ter sunt conati imponere Pclio Ossam To root up mountains -with his mighty hands .?] Scilicet et Ossse frondosum involvere Olympum. As a philosopher, Lucretius was superior to all vulgar (jEORG. i. 2ob. H 2 52 DE RERUM NATURA. ' Lib. I, Multaque vivendo vitalia vincere seek ; Si non, materies quia rebus reddita certa est Gignundis, e qua constat quid possit oriri ? 205 Nihil igitur fieri de nihilo posse fatendum est ; Semine quando opus est rebus, quo quasque creatas Aeris in teneras possent proferrier auras. Postremo, quoniam incultis prsestare videmus Culta loca, et manibus meliores reddere fetus, 210 Esse videlicet in terris primordia rerum ; Qu^ nos, fecundas vortentes vomere glebas, Terraique solum subigentes, cimus ad ortus. Quod, si nulla forent, nostro sine qu^que labore, Sponte sua, multo fieri meliora videres. 215 Hue adcedit, uti quidque in sua corpora rursum Dissolvat natura, neque ad nihilum interimat res. On Pelion Ossa thrice they strove to raise, of Magog to the infernal assembly, convened by On Ossa vast Olympus, crown'd with bays. S^^an on h.s return from earth. — Die meere zerflossen in lange gebirge,. The magnitude of the pagan giants or Titans, j^^ ^^j^ kommender fusb die schwarzen fluten zer- however, is nothing to that fabltd, either by the theilte. Mohammedans, or the Talmudists, of our first pa- jet^o^ jaerdas trockne betrat,da warf erverwiistend, r.-nts ; who, by the former, are said to have been as j^^^^j^ ^^^ gj;ng„ gebirgen ein ganzes gestad' in den tall as a high palm tree ;— and, by the latter, to have abgrund. Messias, b. ii., measured nine hundred cubits ; and to have waded _^,^ mountains heav'd the main, from Paradise, after their expulsion, through the As its black waves h.s forward footsteps press'd :- ocean to the eastern extremity of Europe. See Bar- ^.j,^ ^^.^.^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^, ^^^^^^^^ ^^ore he hurl'd, toloz. Bibl. Rabin i. 65, and Yahya, Comment, m ^.^^ ^jj .^^ ^^^j^^^ ^^^p ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Kc-ran. Klopstock appears obviously to have imitated these Ver. 247. ^nd as from nought ibe genial seeds ofthingsj verses of Lucretius, in his description of the approach Having elucidated his first position, " that nothing Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 53 Or live o'er lapsing ages victor still ? Why, but because primordial matter, fixt And limited in act, to all is dealt 235 Of things created, whence their forms expand. And hence again we learn, and prove express. Nought springs from nought, and that, from seeds precise, Whate'er is form'd must meet th' etherial day. Mark how the cultur'd soil the soil excells 240 Uncultur'd, richer in autumnal fruits. Here, too, the latent principles of things, Freed by the plough, the fertile glebe that turns And subjugates the sod, exert their power. And swell the harvest : else, spontaneous, all 245 Would still ascend by labour unimprov'd. And as from nought the genial seeds of things Can never rise, so Nature that dissolves Their varying forms, to nought can ne'er reduce. ean spring from nothing," our philosophic poet no regular return of anterior productions ; — produc- now ventures to advance a second, and maintains tions which have been exhibited at definite intervals, that " nothing can ever be annihilated, or reduced and without any variation, through an incalculable to nothing." This axiom he supports by four argu- series of years, and which must, therefore, for aught ments, which extend to verse 306. According to that appears to the contrary, on the first view of such the constitution of Nature, not a single substance productions, continue to be exhibited for ever. can be dissolved, or even change its texture, without Were not this a fact, — were all things perishable, and the interposition of some foreign and superior force, equally perishable, a similar degree of sudden and But if all things were perishable throughout, and external force would divide their contexture, and all subject to utter annihilation, no such foreign force would equally vanish in a moment : nor could would be necessary ; and we should, in a variety of we trace, in that c; ^e, the uniform interchange instances, be eye-witnesses of the sudden evanescence of substance into substance ; follow up its dis- of substances we had falsely deemed solid. Thus, junction or dissolution ; and predict in v/hat form, too, if, upon the gradual or ultimate decay of things, and at what definite period, it would next appear every atom were completely destroyed, there could be before us. 54> DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Nam, si quid mortale e cunctis partibus esset, Ex oculis res quseque repente erepta periret; Nulla vi foret usus enim, quse partibus ejus 220 Discidium parere, et nexus exsolvere, posset. Quod nunc, «terno quia constant semine quseque, Donee vis obiit, quae res diverberet ictu, Aut intus penetret per inania, dissoluatque, Nullius exitium patitur Natura videri. 225 Prsterea, qu^quomque vetustate amovet ^tas, Si penitus perimit consumens materiem omnem, Unde animale genus generatim in lumina vitee Reducit Venus ; et reductum dccdala tellus Unde alit, atque auget, generatim pabula praebens ? 230 Unde mare, ingenuei funtes, seternaque longe Flumina, subpeditant ? unde aether sidera pascit ? Ver. 265. —or, ether fee J the stars ?"] The Stoics, A more full and philosophic account of this an- Epicureans, and ahuost all the schools of ancient cient opinion may be collected from our author's philosophy, conceived that the stars, and even the system of the origin of the world, as inimitably de- sun itselfi were fires that required continual pabulum, lineated in the fifth book of this poem. In total Con- or fuel, in consequence of continual exhaustion, sonance herewith, Pliny tells us in plain prose, Nat. This pabulum, as they imagined, consisted of exhala- Hist. 1. ii. c. 9. " Sidera vero haud dubio humore tions of the finest texture, perpetually, but insensibly, «' terreno pasci." — " That the stars arc doubtless ascending from the earth and seas, and, when con- « fed by exhalations from the earth." And hence verted into ether, directing their course through the Virgil, in a passage I will quote, with an emen- skies for this purpose. Hence Callimachus, Hym. dation strenuously contended for by Mr. Wake- Del. 175. field: ——I icrafifl/io; In fleta dum fluvii current, dum montibus umbrse, Lustra dabunt convexa, polus dum sidera pascef, numerous as stars Semper honos, nomenque tuum, laudesque mane- That feed on air, and wander round the pole. bunt, Mif. i. 611. Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 55 Were things destructible throughout, then all 250 Abrupt would perish, passing from the sight ; Nor foreign force be wanting to disjoin Then' vital pirts, or break th' essential bond. But since, from seeds eternal all things rise, Till force like this prevail, with sudden stroke zgs Crushing the living substance, or within Deep entering each interstice, to dissolve All active, Nature no destruction views. Were time the total to destroy of all By age decay'd, — say whence could Venus' self 260 The ranks renew of animated life ? Or, if renew'd, whence earth's dedalian power Draw the meet foods to nurture, and mature ? Whence springs and rivers, with perpetual course, The deep supply ? or, ether feed the stars ? 265 Sir Isaac Newton supposes an ether surrounding the imaginary fifth element of the Chinese and Hin- the atmosphere of planets, and subtile enough to dus. Hydrogen is determined by Mr. Cavendish, penetrate the pores of all bodies whatever ; most of to be ten times lighter than common air : according the phenomena of which he imagines to depend upon to the laws of gravitation, it must, therefore, be con- its powers. In consequence of which, he denomi- tinually ascending through it, and resting above it ; nates it a subtile or etherial medium. Des Cartes, for there is no more reason for supposing it should in hke manner, admits a species of ether, which he be restrained, or combined with it in its passao-e, calls " materia subtilis ;" and which, consistently than for supposing that air must be restrained or with his doctrine of an universal plenum, he conceives combined in its passage through water. Thus dis- not only adequate to pervade, but actually filling all engaged, and freed from all pressure, this volatile the vacuities of bodies. But the ether of the ancient gas necessarily then expands to inconceivable tenuity ; poets and philosophers much more nearly resembles and accumulating, as from its own levity, snd the the congregation of hydrogen or inflammable air of motion of the earth, it must do, principally over the modern chemists ; and which, almost to a certainty, poles, it is probably the cause of fire-balls, northern according to some late chemical experiments, floats on lights, and many other phenomena which are ex.- tlie aeVjal atmosphere of the globe, and seems to realize hibited in the superior regions,- &6 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Omnia enim debet, mortall corpore quee sunt, Infinlta ^tas consumpse ante acta, diesque. Quod, si in eo spatio atque ante acta eetate fuere, 235 E quibus h^c rerum consistit summa refecta ; Inmortali sunt natura prsedita certe : Haud igitur possunt ad niliilum quseque revorti. Denique, res omneis eadem vis caussaque volgo Conficeret, nisi materies asterna teneret 240 Inter se nexu, minus aut magis indupedita ; Tactus enim leti satis esset caussa profecto ; Quippe, ubi nulla forent sterno corpore ; quorum Contextum vis deberet dissolvere quseque. At nunc, inter se quia nexus principiorum 245 Dissimiles constant, aeternaque materies est, Incolomi remanent res corpore, dum satis acris Vis obeat pro textura quoiusque reperta. Haud igitur redit ad nihilum res ulla, sed omnes Discidio redeunt in corpore material. 250 Ver. 266. — e-ver-Juring time,'] " Infinita astas." scenes throughout Ever-duiing, infinite, eternal time, are phrases often 'Twere vain t^ expect from all-eternal time, adopted by our poet, to express a period that sur- ^^^^^ ^^^ Marchetti : " Dopo un cterno tempo." passes comprehension. Thus, without going beyond the present book, we meet, in verse 559 of the ori- It is a phraseology that has been imitated, or at ginal, with dies infinita, and shortly afterwards, in least adopted, by many of our own poets. Glover verse 634, with ex etenio tempore ; and so, in verse is particularly attached to it. Thus m book v. of J 1 26 of the translation : his Leonidas : Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 57 Whate'er could perish, ever-during time, And rolling ages, must have long destroy'd. But if, through rolling ages, and the lapse Of ever-during time, still firm at base. Material things have stood, then must that base 270 Exist immortal, and the fates defy. Thus, too, the same efficient force apply'd Alike must all things rupture, if, within. No substance dwelled eternal to maintain In close, and closer, links their varying bonds. 275 E'en the least touch, — for every cause alike Must break their textures, equal in effect, If no imperishable power oppos'd, — E'en touch were then irrevocable death. But since, with varying strength, the seeds within 280 Adhere, of form precise, and prove express Their origin eternal, — free from ill. And undivided must those forms endure, Till some superior force the compact cleave. Thus things to nought dissolve not ; but, subdu'd, 285 Alone return to elemental seeds. Time with his own eternal lip shall singj In hke manner, in the sacred writings we meet with Ver. 38. the phrase, " eternal or everlasting hiUs." Tlius, . , ..,,..., Habak. iii. 6. "JV Hin lyVSHM And agam, m book vn. of the same poem : i-f i n i !>> a j< i i 'Virtue shall enrol your names He beheld and. scatter'd the nations ; In Time's eternal records. The everlasting mountains were dispers'd; Ver. 361. The perpetual hills bowed down. Vol. I. I 58 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. r Postremo, pereunt imbres, ubi eos pater JEthex In gremium matris Terrai przecipitavit : At nitidse surgunt fruges, rameique virescunt Arboribus ; crescunt ipsse, fetuque gravantur. Hinc aliter porro nosfrum genus, atque ferarum : Hinc Isetas urbeis puerum florere videmus, Frundiferasque novis avibus canere undique sylvas : Hinc, fessse pecudes, pingues per pabula l^eta, Corpora deponunt ; et candens lacteus humor Uberibus manat distentis ; hinc nova proles 255 260 Ver. 287. IVhetit on the hosom of maternal Earth-, His showers redundant genial Ether />oarj,] The beauty of this passage needs not be pointed out to any one. In the personification of the poets, ether has always been allotted a mascuhne, as the earth has a feminine gender ; and the productions of nature have been regarded as the fruits of their con- nubial embraces. Virgil has imitated our poet, Georg. ii. 325 ; and " he strives hard," observes Dr. Warton, " to excel him ; but I am afraid it can- *♦ not be said that he has done it." Turn pater omnipotens foecundis imbribus ^ther Conjugis in gremium Isetse descendit, et omnes Magnus alit, niagno commixtus corpore, fetus. Ether, great .lord of life, his wings extends. And on the bosom of his bride descends. With showers prolific feeds the vast embrace, That fills all nature, and renews her race. SoTHEBY. The idea is common among the Greek poets ; and it is more than probable that if Virgil borrowed the above fjtom Lucretius, Lucretius himself had a re- 7 ference to the following verses, in a fragment oF Euripedes : Ej)K fj.vi OjjiS^ov Val oT at fiijjov TEsoy, Epa d w CTE^voj 0:/pavof, 'zXvifOVjj.tvQ; OjxSfov, TrstTE»» Eij Tcaav, Aipfo^iTu; i/Vos- *Ot' ay .5e O'Ujw/ii;^9>iT0J» Etf tocvtov di/o, TixTouo-iy y.jjirj Trccncc xaxTps^ou;' ajua, OSi» BfOTUot ^n T£, xai ^aXKa, ysyof.. Earth loves the shower, when, parch'd with sum- mer-heat. Her barren womb no genial moisture knows ; And genial Ether loves, with showers distent. On her soft lap to fall in dalliance sweet. From the fond union that creates, at once. And nurtures all things, man himself proceeds. Augments and ripens. Tasso has unquestionably an allusion to this passage of our poet, in his Jerusalem Delivered ; and his de- scription is highly beautiful. La terra, che dianzi afflitta ed egra Di fessure k membra avca ripiene. Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 59 When, on the bosom of maternal Earth, His showers redundant genial Ether pours, The dulcet drops seem lost : but harvests rise, Jocund and lovely ; and, with foliage fresh, Smiles every tree, and bends beneath its fruit. Hence man and beast are nourish'd : hence o'erflow Our joyous streets with crowds of frolic youth ; And with fresh songs th' umbrageous groves resound. Hence the herds fatten, and repose at ease. O'er the gay meadows, their unwieldy forms ; While from each full-distended udder drops The candid milk spontaneous ; and hence, too, With tottering footsteps, o'er the tender grass. 290 295 La pioggia in se raccoglie, e si rintegra, E la comparte alle piu interne vene : E largamente i nutritivi urao.ri Alle piante ministra, all' erbe, ai fiori, &c. Cant. xiii. Earth that late her gaping rifts disclos'd, And fainting lay to parching heat expos'd, Receives and ministers the vital show'rs To fading herbs, to plants, to trees, and flow'rs : Her fever thus allay'd, new health returns, No more the flame within her bosom burns ; Again new beauties grace her gladden'd soil. Again renew'd, her hills and valleys smile. HOOLE. Long as this note is, and numerous as are its re- ferences, I cannot conclude it without instancing a parallel passage of Hebrew poetry, which, in point of sublimity and elegance, surpasses even Lucretius himself. The reader will find it in Psalm Ixv. 9. 13. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it ; Thou abundantly enrichest it With the ' dewy' stream of God, replete with vi'ater. Thou preparest, and fittest it for com : Thou drcnchest its furrows ; its clods thou dis- solvest ; Thou mellowest it with showers ; thou blessest its increase ; And with thy bounty thou crownest the year. Thy footsteps drop fatness ; they drop on the pas- tures of the desert, And the hillocks are begirt with exultation. The pastures are clothed with flocks, the vales are covered with corn ; They all shout and sing aloud for joy. Ver. 299. With tottering footsteps, — ] Thedescrip- tion here given us of the lamb just dropped into the world is not more beautiful than accurate. Dyer who, to the advantage of much original genius, added a strict attention to the various phenomena of nature, has a picture of the same subject in his Fleecj!. 60 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Artubus infirmis teneras lasciva per herbas Ludit, lacte mero menteis perculsa novellas. Haud igitur penitus pereunt qucequomque videntur ; Quando alid ex alio reficit Natura, nee ullam Rem gigni patitur, nisi morte ajuta aliena. 265 Nunc age sis, quoniam docui nihil posse creari De nihilo, neque item genita ad nihilum revocari ; Ne qua forte tamen coeptes diffidere dictis, Quod nequeunt oculis rerum primordia cerni ; Adcipe prseterea, quae corpora tute necesse est 270 which will by most readers be regarded as a copy. It is thus he addresses the shepherd : But spread around thy tenderest diligence Injlotvery spring-time 'when the netu-dropt lamb. Tottering with iveainess, by his mother's side Feels the fresh world about him. It is not a little extraordinary that this most cha- racteristic trait in our poet's inimitable picture,, the tottering footstep, (artubus infirmis) of the new-born lamb, should have been entirely omitted, not only by Creech, but even in the prose version of Guernier. The French translation of Couture is likewise as lit- tle to the purpose : but Marchetti, who is always beautiful, and nearly always just, and by far the most elegant translator that has ever attempted to give Lu- cretius into any modern language, has not suffered this part of the description to pass unnoticed ; Quindi per i lieti paschi i grassi armenti Posan le membra affaticate stanche, E dalle piene mamme in bianche stille Gronda sovente il nutrivo umore Onde i novi lor parti ebri e lascivi Con non lenfermopii scherzan per I'erbe. Evelyn, hkewise, though in feeble poetrj', has pre- seiTed something of the idea in the following hn^s : Hence pure milk from distended teats distils. And late-fall'n young warm'd with sweet suckit fills ; AVho, frisking o'er the meadows, as they pass, Frolic their feeble limbs on tender grass. The delineation both of the bleating lamb, and the unweildy ox, is imitated in Les Jardins of Delille : but he has entirely omitted this delicate and pictu- resque touch ; nor does his introduction of the 'war- rior horse into the group, which is not found in Lu- cretius, altogether atone for its absence : La, du sommet lontain des roches buissonneuses, Je vois le chevre pendre. Ici de mille agneaux L'echo porte les cris de coteaux en coteaux. Dans ces pres abreuves des eaux de la colUne, Couche sur ses genoux, le boeuf pesant rumine ; Tandis qu' impetueux, fier, inquiet, ardent, Cet animal gucrrier qu' enfanta le trident, Deploie, en se jouant, dans un gras paturage Sa vigueur indomtee et sa grace sauvagc. Chant i. There hangs the wild goat o'er the bushy steep, Here o'er the hills a thousand echoes leap Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. Gambol their wanton young, each Httle heart Quivering beneath the genuine nectar quaff 'd. So nought can perish, that the sight surveys, With utter death ; but Nature still renews Each from the other, nor can form afresh One substance, till another be destroy'd. But come, my friend, and, since the muse has sung Things cannot spring from, or return to nought. Lest thou should'st urge, still sceptic, that no eye Their generative atoms e'er has trac'd ; Mark in what scenes thyself must own, perforce, 61 300 305 310 From flocks shrill bleating. In yon mead the steer Bends his huge bulk by rivulets cool and clear ; While bold, impetuous, fierce, and fiU'd with pride The warrior beast, that issu'd from the tide, Displays, as o'er the fattening glebe he fiiims His dauntless force, and savage grace of limbs. Ver. 302. Nature all renews Each from the other, Iffc. — J The discoveries of modern chemistry have estabUshed the truth of this doctrine beyond the possibility of controversy. Every thing is produced from, and nourished by, every thing ; by the recombination of the particles of one body, when decompounded, a second body is gene- rated, from this second a third, from this third a fourth, and in the same manner to infinity. " The corruption of one substance," observed Aristotle, many ages ago, " is the generation of another: and " the generation of one substance is the corruption " of another." It would form an admirable motto to the Lavoisierian system. 'H tou^e (fOoja, aA^ol; 7»- »so-i; >j TQVii yiv!<7ic aXXov $605». There is hence much appropriate beauty in that part of the heathen mythology which represents Sa- turn, or Chronus, the origin of all things, the father of gods and men, as devouring the children he had generated ; and hence, too, the strict propriety, as well as elegance, of the following hne addressed to him in one of the hymns of Orpheus : Thou all-consuming, all-renewing power ! Ver. 306. But come, my friend, (sfc. — ] The poet is not content with having logically established the truth of his position ; he is anxious to remove every doubt which can possibly be urged in opposition to it. And the only argument which he conceives capable of producing doubt at all is, that no such eternal and unchangeable principles or seeds are discoverable in bodies by ocular perception. The force of such ar- gument or observation, however, he completely frus- trates by proving, in a variety of elegant and appo- site instances, that we unanimously admit the exist- ence of bodies even where, as in the case in question, the eye is possest of no power of decision ; and a different tribunal is appealed to. The illustration ef this assertion is continued to verse 373. 62 DE RERUM NATURA, Lib. I. Confiteare esse in rebus, nee posse videri. Principio, venti vis verberat incita pontum, Ingenteisque ruit naveis, et nubila difFert ; Interdum, rapido percurrens turbine, campos Arboribus magnis sternit, monteisque supremos Sylvifragis vexat flabris : ita perfurit acri Cum fremitu, s^vitque minaci murmure, pontus. Sunt igitur venti nimirum corpora cceca, Qu^ mare, quse terras, quas denique nubila coeli, Verrunt, ac subito vexantia turbine raptant. 275 280 Ver. 3 1 2. th' excited tu'tnd torments the deep ;] Virgil has several beautiful descriptions of a storm of wind in his different poems : and in most of them he has been indebted to Lucretius, though I do not know that he has excelled him in any. The follow- ing is bold and picturesque : Qualis hyperboreis Aquilo cum densus ab oris Incubuit, Scythiaeque hyeraes atque arida difFert Nubila, tum segetes alias campique nutantes Lenibus horrescunt flabris, summasque sonorem Dant sylvae, longique urgent ad littora flactus : Ille volat, simul arva fuga, simul aequora verrens. Georg. iii. 196. So Boreas in his race, when rushing forth, Sweeps the dark skies, and clears the cloudy North : The waving harvests bend beneath his blast, The forest shakes, the groves their honours cast. He flies aloft, and, with impetuous roar, Pursues the foaming surges to the shore. Dryden. Lucretius, in his turn, has been indebted to Homer. The storm of wind he has here so admirably described, and the storm of water to which he immediately after- wards compares it, both probably owe their origin to the following simile, introduced to illustrate the rage and activity of Tydicles : ©•jv£ yap «juTTsJisi', 9roT«(-iii ttXhSovt» eoixu;, Xsi^appiu, Of t' wkb ftmv iKi^ctaai ysipvfaj, &C. II. E. 87. Thus from high hills the torrents swift and strong Deluge whole fields, and sweep the trees along ; Thro' ruined moles the rushing wave resounds, C erwhelms the bridge, and bursts the lofty bounds: The yellow harvests of the ripen'd year. And flatted vineyards one sad waste appear ; While Jove descends in sluicy sheets of rain, And all the labours of mankind are vain. Po?E. It is from Homer or Lucretius Ariosto has copied his description of the same phenomenon. The de- struction of the incumbent bridge, with several other circumstances, occur alike in each of them. Orl. Fur. C.ix. alhora gonfio, e bianco gia di spume Per nieve sciolta, e per montane piove, E I'impeto dc I'aqua havea disciolto, E tratto seco il ponte, e il passo tolto. Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. es Still atoms dwell, tho' viewless still to sense. And, first, th' excited wind torments the deep ; Wrecks the tough bark, and tears the shivering clouds : Now, with wide whirlwind, prostrating alike O'er the waste champian, trees, and bending blade; 315 And now, perchance, with forest-rending force, Rocking the mighty mountains on their base. So vast its fiiry ! — But that fury flows Alone from viewless atoms, that, combin'd. Thus form the fi.erce tornado, raging wild 320 O'er heav'n, and earth, and ocean's dread domain. the waters swelled with heavy rains. And melted snows, had deluged all the plains ; And, loudly foaming, with resistless force. Had iorne the bridge before them in their course. HoOLE. Thomson, in his description of an autumnal flood; has forgotten to introduce th's piece of imagery, but m other respects he is minutely picturesque, and pos- sest of considerable merit. Red from the hills innumerable streams Tumultuous roar ; and high above its banks The river lift : before whose rushing tide Herds, flocks, and harvests, cottages and swains, Roll mingled down — all that the winds had spar'd [n one wild moment ruin'd. Autumn, 1. 337. But the bold and energetic muse of the Spanish poet Eicilla, has far surpassed both the Italian and the English. To this admirable bard, as well as gallant soldier, I have already adverted, and shall have frequent occasion to refer. A variety of his dehneatioiis prove him to have been well acquainted with Lucretius, and well worthy of imitating him. The passage I now allude to occurs in the ninth canto of his Araucana near the commencement, and comprises the opening of the tempest that announced the visible appproach of the Indian dsemon Epona- mon : Subito comenco el ayre a turbarse, Y de prodigios tristes se espessava : Nuves con nuves vienen a cerrarse, Turbulento rumor se levantava. Que con ayrados impitus violentos Monstravan su furor los quatro vientos. Agua rezia, granizo, piedra espessa Las intrica das nuves despendian Rayos, huenos, relampagos, apriessa Rompen los cielos y la tierra abrian. The air grew troubl'd with portentous sound, And mournful omens multiplied around : With furious shock the elements engage, jind all the winds contend in all their rage. From clashing clouds their mingled torrents gush. And rain, and hail, tuith rival fury rush : Bolts of loud thunder, floods of lightning rend The opening skies, and into earth descend. Haylex. 64> DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Nee ratlone fluunt alia, stragemque propagant, Ac quom mollis aquse fertur natura repente Flumine abundant! ; quern largis imbribus auget Montibus ex altis magnus decursus aquai, Fragmina conjiciens sylvarum, arbustaque tota; 285 Nee validei possunt pontes venientis aquai Vim subitam tolerare ; ita, magno turbidus imbri, Molibus incurrit, validis cum viribus, amnis ; Dat sonitu magno stragem ; volvitque sub undis Grandia saxa ; ruit qua quidquam fluctibus obstat. 290 Sic igitur debent venti quoque flamina ferri : Quas, veluti validum quom flumen procubuere Quam libet in partem, trudunt res ante, ruuntque Inpetibus crebris ; interdum vortice torto Conripiunt, rapideique rotanti turbine portant. 295 Qua re etiam atque etiam sunt venti corpora cceca ; Quandoquidem factis, et moribus, semula magnis Amnibus inveniuntur, aperto corpore quei sunt. Tum porro varios rerum sentimus odores ; Nee tamen ad nareis venienteis cernimus umquam; 300 Nee validos £estus tuimur, nee frigora quimus Usurpare oculis ; nee voces cernere suemus : Ver. 342. Or sound thro' etier^eeting — ] One of of the ancient philosophers, was this : " Is sound a the questions, observes Aulus Gellius, Noct. Att. v. " substance, or incorporeal ?" But substance, con- 15, perpetually agitated amongst the most celebrated tinues he, is that which eit/jer acts or suffers; or, a? Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 65 As when a river, down its verdant banks Soft-gliding, sudden from the mountains round Swells with the rushing rain — the placid stream All limit loses; and, with furious force, 325 In its resistless tide, bears down, at once, Shrubs, shatter'd trees, and bridges, weak alike Before the tumbling torrent : such its power ! — ■ Loud roars the raging flood, and triumphs still. O'er rocks, and mounds, and all that else contends. 330 So roars th' enraged wind : so, like a flood, Where'er it aims, before its mighty tide, Sweeps all created things : or round, and round. In its vast vortex curls their tortur'd forms. — Tho' viewless, then, the matter thus that acts, 335 Still there is matter : and, to reason's ken. Conspicuous as the visual texture trac'd In the wild wave that emulates its strength. Next, what keen eye e'er follow'd, in their course, The light-wing'd odours ? or develop'd clear 340 The mystic forms of cold, or heat intense ? Or sound thro' ether fleeting ? —yet, tho' far the Greeks define it, either the agent or patient : Nought can touch whicli definition, he observes, Lucretius has endea- But matter ; or, in turn, be touched itself, toured to express in these terras : This was an especial doctrine of the sect of Epi- VoL. I, K 66 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. h Qua; tameii omnia corporea. constare nacesse est Natura ; quoniam sensus inpellere possunt : Tangere enim, aut tangl, nisi corpus, nulla potest res. 305 Denique, fluctifrago subpensas in litore, vestes Uvescunt ; ejEclem, dispessse in sole, serescunt : At neque, quo pacto persederit humor aquai, Visum est, nee rursum quo pacto fugerit ^stu. In parvas igitur parteis disspargitur humor, 310 Quas oculei nulla possunt ratione videre. Quin etiam, multis solis redeuntibus annis, ' Annulus in digito subter tenuatur habendo : Sfillicidii casus lapidera cavat : uncus aratri Ferreus obculte decrescit vomer in arvis : 315 curus. Aristotle -observes, that " they believed what- " wear away the stones." But it is from Bion, in all ever can be touched to be a body, s-a^a oionai umi van probability, that Lucretius has immediately derived awTo»." And Laertius states it from Epicurus, as an 't ; of whom the hand of time has yet spared us the opposite principle, that void, the precise converse of following fragment: BODY, is possessed of a nature free from touch, lib. lo. ^ « n , . . txtfafiivnf faUccfiiyyo;, oxiuf Aoyov, «isv loicraf, The philosophy of the senses, however, is given with v> , n so much beauty and precision in the fourth book of this poem, that no commentary is necessary to him By ceaseless drops, like eloquence, that flow, who attentively peruses it. The rigid stone is hollowed. Ver. 356. The dropping shono-'r ^" g^°"^'' I'owever, Lucretius has been rather Scoops the rough rocL-^ The instances ""''^^^^'^ '^^" ^" \mxX.^Xou Thus Sulpicms : adduced by Lucretius are beautifully selected ; and Decidens scabrum cavat unda tophum ; nearly all of them, for any thing we know to the Ferreus vomer tenuatur agris contrary, original. The present elucidation, how- Splendet adtrito, digitos honorans, ever, is as old as the book of Job, in which the atten- Annulus auro. tive author observes, cap. siv. 19. " The rivulets Authol. Lat. Bunn, iii. 97. Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 67 From human sight remov'd, by all confess'd Alike material ; since alike the sense They touch impulsive; and since nought can touch 345 But matter ; or, in turn, be touch'd itself. Thus, too, the garment that along the shore, Lash'd by the main, imbibes the briny dew, Dries in the sun-beam : but, alike unseen, Falls the moist ether, or again flies off 35^ Entire, abhorrent of the red-ey'd noon. So fine th' attenuated spray that floats In the pure breeze ; so fugitive to sight. A thousand proofs spring up. The ring that decks The fair one's finger, by revolving years, 355 Wastes imperceptibly. The dropping show'r Scoops the rough rock. The plough's attemper'd share The tumbling torrent scoops the rugged rock ; poem, entitled Crombe Ellen, by the Rev. M. Bowles, The stern steel plough-share wastes beneath its toil; who has often favoured the world with proofs of And the gold ring the finger that adorns truly poetic inspiration. Lessens by friction. rp, . c- -j^jtz-v-j Scenes of retir'd sublimity that fill 1 he same series ot images is adopted by Ovid, _.,.., ' . -.I „ ,. -a- • • f,u J With fearful extacy, and holy trance, with a trinmg inversion or the order : . . The pausing mind ! — we leave your awful gloom. Gutta cavat lapidem, consumitur annulus usu ^„j i„ , ^^e footway plank that leads acros. Et tentur pressa vomer aduncus humo. ^he narrow torrent, foaming thro' the chasm Below; the rtigged stones are luash'd and qvom Drops scoop the stone, much use the ring consumes, Into a thousand shapes, and hollo-ws, scoop' d And the curved share attenuates in the glebe. By long attrition of the ceaseless surge. Of these examples, that of Bion's is by far the most Smooth, deep, and polish'd as the marble urn, beautiful, as containing a moral reference. On which I" ^^^^ hard forms. Here let us sit and watch account, also, the following, which is the production The struggHng current burst its headlong way, of a poet of the present day, cannot be perused with- Hearing the noise it makes, and musing much out a strong feeling of intrinsic merit. It occurs in a O" ^^ strange changes of this nethpr world, &c. K 2 >• 68 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Strataque jam volgi pedibus detrita viarum Saxea conspicimus : turn, portas propter, ahena Signa manus dextras obtendunt adtenuari Saspe salutantum tactu, prccterque meantum. HcEc igitur minui, quom sint detrita, videmus ; 320 • Sed, quje corpora decedant in tempore quoque, Invida prceclusit speciem natura videndi. Postremo, qu^quomque dies naturaque rebus Paullatim tribuit, moderatim crescere cogens, Nulla potest oculorum acies contenta tueri ; 325 Nee porro qusequomque sevo macieque senescunt : Nee, mare qu« inpendent, vesco sale saxa peresa Quid quoque amittant in tempore, cernere possis. Corporibus ceecis igitur natura gerit res. Nee tamen undique corporea stipata tenentur 330 Ver. 360. E^en the gigantic forms of solid hrass,'\ Thus Juvenal, Sat. xiv. 219: These were statues of the tutelar divinities of parti- cular cities, some part of which, but more especially ' Kerens tangens aramque, pedemque. the right hand, every passenger was accustomed to The altar touching, and the foot of Ceres, touch, and even at times to kiss, to ensure his pros- perity. " There is a temple of Hercules," observes Nothing, therefore, can be more obvious than the Cictro, (Oral, ad Verr.) " erected by the Agrigen- meaning of our poet, or form a more picturesque il- « tines, not far from their pubhc forum, held in such lustration of the docrine he is enforcing. " esteem and veneration, that both the mouth and " chin of the statue, are considerably worn away by turn portus propter ahena " the frequency with which they have approached it S'tgna manus dextras obtendunt adtenuari «' with kisses as well as religious homage." Ssepe salutantum tactu, pi-seterque meantum. 7 Book I. THE NATUPxE OF THINGS. 69 Decays : and the thick pressure of the crowd, Incessant passhig, wears the stone-pav'd street. E'en the gigantic forms of sohd brass, 360 Plac'd at our portals, from the frequent touch Of devotees and strangers, now display The right hand lessen'd of its proper bulk. — All lose, we view, by friction, their extent ; But, in what time, what particles they lose, 365 This envious nature from our view conceals. Thus, too, both time and nature give to things A gradual growth : but never yet the sight That gradual growth explor'd ; nor raark'd their fall. Still gradual too, by age, or sure decay : 370 Nor trac'd what portions of incumbent rock. Loaded with brine, the caustic wave dissolves. — So fine the particles that form the world. Yet not corporeal is the whole produc'd And yet the Baron de Coutures is not satisfied with same city at the present moment : the object of reli- this common interpretation ; and, in the true spirit gious veneration alone having been changed. For the of French gallantry, translates it thus : " and even bronze statue of St. Peter, in the celebrated church " the brass kn .ckers affixed to the gates of our gran- thac bears his nax.e, has at this hour, its advanced « dees are worn by the hands of those vsho pass by, foot under which the pope daily places his head, ob- " or who enter to pay them their respects." Et les viously marked and worn bright from the frcqur;ncy martcaux d'airain qui sont aux portes des grands, se of the kisses impressed upon it by the mukitudts of trouvent entin usez par les mains de ceux qui passent devotees who throng towards it, from all quarters, ou qui viennent faire Icur cour. for a benediction. The same superstitious affection Superstition, as to iti more prominent features, is was evinced towards the statue of Serapis ; and still the same in all ages : and whnt Lucretius records as contiiiues to be exhibited by the Siamese, in the wor- the practice of Rome in his era, is the practice in the ship of their chief idol. ^70 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Omnia natura ; namque est in rebus inane : Quod tibi cognosse in multis erit utile rebus ; Nee sinet errantem dubitare, et queerere semper De summa rerum, et nostris difEdere dictis. [Quapropter locus est intactus inane, vacansque.] Quod, si non esset, nulla ratione moveri Res possent ; namque, obficium quod corporis exstat, Obficere atque obstare, id in omni tempore adesset 335 Ver.376. Siarch where thou -jj'ih, an incorporeal VOID.] The poet, in these verses, advances an- other axiom or principle of the Epicurean school. He has already estabhshed the existence and imperishabi- lity of jo/;V/ bodies ; and he now endeavours to demon- strate the existence of a void or space in which such bodies interact. These terms, space and void, and sometimes region, are, therefore, used in the prose- cution of his observations, synonymously, and to gra- tify the ear with a rich interchange of expressions. This existence in the physical world, observes Em- piricus, is denominated a void or vacuum, because it is destitute of l/ody ; a space, because it contains bodies ; and a regi'W, because bodies are moved ia it. The principle here advanced, the poet endeavours to establish by four beautiful and cogent illustrations; and which, with his casual reply to objections that had frequently been urged by other writers, extend to verse 479. — If there be no vacuum, or incorporeal space, the univei se would be all and equally solid — and nothing could possibly move, because nothing could possibly give way to admit of motion. But even the common appearances of things convince us, in a vast variety of instances, that substances deemed the most solid and compact, are, nevertheless, posses- sed of some degree of vacuum. Were this not a fact, were all bodies equally solid and compact, every thing would be possessed of an equal weight. And with whatever speed the space, existing between the parts of bodies separated abruptly and by force, may be filled with air, prior to the arrival of such air there must have been a complete vacuum. The Cardinal Polignac, who was a strong adherent to evei-y doctrine of the Cartesian school, excepting, indeed, its vortices, has devoted almost the whole of the second book of his Anti-Lucretius to the con- sideration of this subject, and to the entire denial of all vacuum whatever. The arguments of Lucretius, as well as those of more modern philosophers, as Spinosa, Gassendi, and Newton, pass in rexnew before him, and he contro- verts them with no small dexterity ; whilst he ad- vances opposite arguments to support the Cartesian system of a plenum. Space, he observes, from the properties attributed to it by Lucretius, is, in reality, a God. For, if space be immutable and infinite, there is no reason why it should not be intelligent and al- mighty. — If, moreover, it be divisible, and by such division, admit bodies to pass through it, it cannot be infinite. — In this case, too, it must be composed of parts, and consequently corporeal. But that which is pure vacuum cannot be corporeal. Vacant space, therefore, is a mere chimera of the imagination ; a thing that can have no real existence. But 1 must refer the reader, for further information, to the poem itself; as I must also to the works of Bayle, Euler, and other Anti-Cartesians, for the ratiocination by which this specious mode of arguing has been com- pletely subverted. Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 71 By nature. In created things exists, 375 Search where thou wilt, an incorporeal void. This mark, and half philosophy is thine. Doubtful no longer shalt thou wander : taught Th' entire of things, and by our verse convinc'd. And know this void is space untouch'd and pure. 380 Were space like this vouchsaf'd not, nought could move: Corporeal forms would still resist, and strive Space, or void, is, in the present day, I believe, universally assented to ; and seems to be demonstrated by the best chemical experiments. M. de la Place has long asserted, that the molecules of bodies are infinitely larger than the diameter of these mole- cules ; and, among other demonstrations, has appealed to the extreme facility with which the rays of light penetrate transparent substances in every direction. And M. Haiiy, who espouses the same doctrine, has advanced proofs still more decisive, from the symmetrical arrangement of the molecules of various natural bodies in a state of crystalization. See his Traite Elementaire de Physique, lately published at Paris ; a work well worth consulting by every one who is attached to the science of natural philosophy. Ver.380. Andknoiu this void // space untouch'd and PURE. 3 The original of this verse, which is certainly unnecessary, and in the original strangely unconnected, has been condemned in strong terms by Bentley and Wakefield. The latter has, therefore, as will be found in the opposite page, in- cluded it in brackets ; and advanced a conjecture, that it was at first nothing more than a mere marginal re- ference of an ancient transcriber, which, at length, forced its uncouth way into the text itself. Ver.381. Were sv A.c^ Me this vouchsaf'd not, nought could move .•] It was not the Epicureans alone, but the Pythagoreans, and many other sects of phi- losophers, who contended for the existence of a va- cuum : a dogma first introduced among men of let- ters, either by Democritus or Leucippus, the founders of the atomic school. Laertius, therefore, speaking of the former of these philosophers, asserts, Sox.i cam ToSt af^ai iifou Titia oXw» «TOjUotij x«i xevov : " It appeared to him, that atoms, and a vacuum, were the principles of all things." Epicurus, however, improved upon the doctrine of Democritus ; and though he allowed and contended strenuously for the existence of a void, he did not admit that void to be a principle of things, maintaining it to afford nothing more than a mere place for the principles of things, which were solid, to exist in. He hkewise added the property of weight to those of magnitude and figure : and, conceiving that the vortices, or regular routines of motion, in which, according to Democritus, all material atoms proceeded, constituted a necessity fatal to all moral liberty, and indispensably reduced the human soul to a mere machine, he discarded them from his creed ; and, to the perpendicular and reflexive motions al- lowed by atomic philosophers in general, he intro- duced a third ; and supposed that atoms, or the seeds of things, had an extraordinary power of declining from a right hne, and moving spontaneously, and without collision or impetus, in an oblique or curvili- near direction. From which alteration, as will be more fully explained in the second book of this pr em, he ima- gined he obtained a foundation for moral tkctioii. 72 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Omnibus : haud igitur quidquam procedere possent, Principium quoniam cedendi nulla daret res. 340 At nunc per maria, ac terras, sublimaque coeli, Multa modis multis varia ratione moveri Cernimus ante oculos : quje, si non esset inane, Non tam solicito motu privata carerent, Quam genita omnino nulla ratione fuissent : 345 Undique materies quoniam stipata quiesset. Prseterea, quamvis solidce res esse putentur, Hmc tamen esse licet raro cum corpore cernas. In saxis, ac speluncis, permanat aquarum Liquidus humor, et uberibus flent omnia guttis : 350 Dissupat in corpus sese cibus omne animantum : Crescunt arbusta, et fetus in tempore fundunt : Quod cibus in totas, usque ab radicibus imis, Per truncos ac per ramos difRmditur omneis : Inter ssepta meant voces, et clusa domorum 355 Transvolitant : rigidum permanat frigus ad ossa. Quod, nisi inania sint, qua possent corpora quoeque Transire, haud ulla fieri ratione videres. Denique, quur alias aliis praestare videmus Pondere res rebus, nihilo majore figura ? 360 Nam, si tantumdem est in lanee glomere, quantum Corporis in plumbo est, tantumdem pendere par est ; Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 73 With forms corporeal, nor consent to yield ; While the great progress of creation ceas'd. But what more clear in earth or heav'n sublime, 385- Or the vast ocean, than, in various modes, That various matter moves ? which, but for space, 'Twere vain t' expect : and vainer yet to look For procreative power, educing still Kinds from their kinds through all revolving time. 390 True, things are solid deem'd : but know that those Deem'd so the most are rare and unconjoin'd. From rocks, and caves, translucent lymph distils, And, from the tough bark, drops the healing balm. The genial meal, with mystic power, pervades 395 Each avenue of life ; and the grove swells. And yields its various fruit, sustain'd alone From the pure food propell'd thro' root and branch. Sound pierces marble ; through reclusest walls The bosom-tale transmits : and the keen frost 400 E'en to the marrow winds its sinuous way. — Destroy all vacuum, then, close ev'ry pore, And, if thou canst, for such events account. Say, why of equal bulk, in equal scale. Are things oft found unequal in their poise ? 405 O'er the light wool the grosser lead prevails With giant force. But were th' amount alike Vol, I. L 74 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Corporis obficium est quoniam premere omnia deorsum : Contra autem natura manet sine pondere inanis. Ergo, quod magnum est seque, leviusque videtur, 365 Nimirum plus esse sibi declarat inanis ; Ut contra gravius plus in se corporis esse Dedicat, et multo vacuum minus intus habere. Est igitur nimirum id, quod ratione sagaci Qu^rimus, admixtum rebus ; quod inane vocamus. Illud, in hiis rebus ne te deducere vero Possit, quod queidam fingunt, prsecurrere cogor. 370 Ver. 418. But tome there are such doctrines who denv .•] In the progress of this poem, we shall have abundant illustrations of the general truth of that ajjophthegm of Solomon, that " there " is nothing new under the sun." The arguments adduced in favour of a vacuum, and which have the appearance of being unanswerable, by Democritus and Epicurus, were, nevertheless, controverted by Zeno and Aristotle ; who contended that all nature was full of matter, and there was no vacuity in any point of creation. Lucretius, and other pupils of the Epicurean school, adhered to, and continued to advance the same doctrine at Rome : they were, opposed by Cicero and Seneca. The same argu- ments were adduced, and the same objections re- torted. The world grew tired of the contest, and it subsided. At length Des Cartes and Newton arose, and the contest was revived : a material plenum was contended for by the former, and a vacuum as strenuously asserted by the latter. Like the reviv- al of an old fashion, the dispute was once more new to the world ; and all were anxious to become ontologists and mathematicians. Sir Isaac had, un- doubtedly, the advantage of his adversary. His ar- guments, or rather those which had been formerly advanced, and were now advanced again, were by far the most cogent ; and his proselytes the most nume- rous. But the world was not fully convinced on the death of both of them. The defence of a plenum was entailed on Leibnitz, and that of a vacuum on Euler. The same demonstrations were mutually ad- vanced, and the same objeftions mutually urged. Am I doing injustice to the ingenuity of the moderns ? Let, then, two or three examples sufHce. More might easily be selected, but I will not so far tres- pass on the reader's time. " All bodies about the earth," observes Sir Isaac Newton, in answer to the doctrine of Des Cartes, " gravitate towards the earth ; and the weights of " all bodies, equally distant from the earth's centre, are as the quantities of matter in those bodies," &e. Princip. lib. ii. I Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 75 Of matter each contain'd, alike the weight Would prove perpetual : for, from matter sole, Flows weight, and moment, ever prone to earth : While vacant space nor weight nor moment knows. Where things surpoise, then, though of equal bulk. There matter most resides : but v/here ascends The beam sublime, the rising substance holds A smaller share, and larger leaves the void. Hence draws the sage his creed : in all produc'd Finds vacuum still, and calls that vacuum space. But some there are such doctrines who deny : And urge in proof, deceptive, that the wave 410 415 Compare this axiom with that proposed by Lu- cretius, commencing with an interrogation at verse 403, and continued to verse 420. Say why of equal bulk, in equal scale, Are things oft found unequal in their poise ? O'er the light wool the grosser lead prevails With giant force, &c. For other instances, see the note that immediately follows; that on v. 510, v. 536, and v. 1028. Ver. 419, And urge in proof, deceptive, that the •wave, l^cl There may be a plenum, ob- serves Des Cartes, but motion may, nevertheless, com- mence and continue : " every part of matter that is moved (to copy from the abstract of his doctrine on this subject, as given by the late ingenious Adam Smith) thrusting some other out of its place, and that some other still, and so on. But, [to avoid an infinite progress, and harmonize with his own vor- tices, he supposed that the matter which any body pushed before it, rolled immediately backwards to supply the place of that matter which flowed in be- hind it : as nue may observe in the stuimming of a Jish, that the water, which it pushes before it, immediately rolls backwards to supply the placCi of what flows in be- hind it ; and thus forms a small circle, or vortex, round the body of the Jish." Essays on Philosophical Sub- jefts. Whether or not Des Cartes knew at the time he adopted this illustration of his doctrine, he was only repeating what had been long advanced before, and what, in the verses in question, is admirably refuted by Lucretius, I cannot tell. But the Cardinal Po- lignac, notwithstanding this refutation of our poet, still chose to continue the same plausible, but un- founded, illustration, in his Anti-Lucretius, though he waswell acquainted with the reply that was already prepared for him. Anti-Lucr. hb. ii. 673. Rem res dum pellit, quxris quo pulsa rccedit, &c. Sir Richard Blackmore has borrowed the same image from our poet ; but in opposition to the phi- losophy of Aristotle. Creation, b. i. Nor could thefish divide the stiffened floods. L 2 7(5 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Cedere squamigeris latices nitentibus aiunt, Et liquidas aperire vias, quia post loca pisces Linquant, quo possint cedentes confluere undse : 375 Sic alias quoque res inter se posse moveri, Et mutare locum, quamvis sint omnia plena. Scilicet id falsa totum ratione receptum est. Nam, quo squamigeri poterunt procedere tandem, Ni spatium dederint latices ? Concedere porro 380 Quo poterunt undie, quom pisces ire nequibunt ? Aut igitur motu privandum est corpora quseque, Aut esse admixtum dicundum est rebus inane ; Unde initum primum capiat res quaeque movendi. Postremo, duo de concurso corpora lata 385 Si cita dissiliant, nempe aer omne necesse est, Inter corpora quod fiat, possidat inane. Is porro quamvis, circum celerantibus auris, Confluat, baud poterit tamen uno tempore totum Conpleri spatium: nam primum quemque necesse est 390 Obcupet ille locum, deinde omnia possideantur. Quod, si forte aliquis, quom corpora dissiluere, Tum putat id fieri, quia se condenseat aer, Ver, 433. IVhcn force mechanic seven, Iffc. — ] 1 I am sure there is not in the original ; and I have am very much mistaken if there be any thing con- endeavoured there should not be in the translation fused or obscure in the verbiage of this proposition. It is obvious, however, that Creech did not enter Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 77 Not through imagin'd pores admits the race 420 With ghtt'ring scales — but yields at once, and opes The liquid path ; and occupies, in turn, The space behind the aureat fish deserts. Thus, too, that all things act : the spot possess'd Exchanging sole, whilst each continues full. 425 Believe them not. If nought of space the wave Give to its gilded tenants, how, resolve, Feel they the power t' advance ? and if t' advance They know not, how can, next, the wave thus yield ? — Or matter ne'er can move, then, or within 430 Some VOID must mix through all its varying forms, Whence springs alone the pow'r of motion first. When force mechanic severs, and, abrupt. Drives two broad bodies distant, quick between Flows the light air, and fills the vacuum form'd. 435 But ne'er so rapid can the light air flow As to forbid all void ; since, step by step. It still must rush till the whole space be clos'd. Nor credit those who urge such bodies sole Can part because the liquid air, compress'd 440 To closer texture, gives the needed space. into the idea the poet meaned to convey, when he pose, that his annotator, to whom he is much in- reached this passr.je : and his version of it is, hence, debted, has thought it necessary to explain the tran- so incorrect, so confused, and foreign from the pur- slation itself, by a commentary of three pages, 7 78 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Errat : nam vacuum tum fit, quod non fuit ante, Et repletur item, vacuum quod constitit ante; 395 Nee tali ratione potest denserier aer : Nee, si jam posset, sine inani posset, opinor, Ipse in se trahere, et parteis conducere in unum. Quapropter, quamvis caussando multa moreris, Esse in rebus inane tamen fateare necesse est. 400 Multaque pr^terea tibi possunt conmemorando Argumenta fidem dictis conradere nostris : Verum animo satis hasc vestigia parva sagaci Sunt, per qu£e possis cognoscere castera tute. Namque canes, ut montivagse pers^pe ferai 405 Naribus inveniunt, injectis frunde, quietes, Quom semel institerunt vestigia certa viai ; Sic alid ex alio per te tute ipse videre Talibus in rebus poteris, Ccccasque latebras Insinuare omneis, et verum protrahere inde. 410 Quod, si pigraris, paullumve recesseris abs re, Hoc tibi de piano possum promittere, Memmi ; Ver. 453. For as the hound, Ufc. — ] The same It is impossible to read either of these passages, simile is adopted by Sophocles, in the opening of without being reminded of Homer's lively descrip- his Ajax Flagellifer. It is thus Minerva addresses tion of the faithful Argus that died partly of years, Ulysses: and panly of joy, on the sudden return of Ulysses to wh ova.ru x£»/x£»o; t(rx,t» Sagacious, do'st thou trace him, nor in vain. Ajyos OWtmos raXas-iif fovo;, &c. Franklih. Ooyjs. lib. xvii. Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 79 Such feeble reas'ners, in opposing void, A double VOID confess : for, first, perforce, A void they own, where void was none before, Betwixt the substance sever'd ; and bring next 445 A proof surmountless that the air itself Throng'd with a prior void : else how, to bounds Of closer texture, could it e'er contract ? A thousand facts crowd round me : to the same Converging all. But liniple these, I ween, 450 Though but the footsteps of the mighty whole, To fix thy faith, and guide thee to the rest. For as the hound, when once the tainted dew His nostrils taste, pursues the vagrant fox O'er hills, and dales, and drags him from his lair; 455 So may'st thou trace from fact associate fact. Through ev'ry maze, through ev'ry doubtful shade, Till Truth's bright form, at length, thy labours crown. Nor tardy be the toil, for much remains. So oft, O Memmius ! from the sacred fount 460 With him the youth pursu'd the goat or fawn, We recognise our own poet, however, in the fol- Or trac'd the mazy lev'ret o'er the lawn. — lowing of his antagonist. Him no fell savage on the plain withstood, tt^ • i^ i • j j j „ , ,_ • , Ut cants occultam sylvis deprendere damam Mone 'scap'd him bosom'd in the Eloomy ,, . .... '^ o V Nare sagax, et OQore sequi vestigia prasdx „. .' ■ . ,,. , Venari docuit. ANTi~LucR.vi.co, rlis eye now piercmg, and his scent how true. To wind the vapour in the tainted dew. Thus learn we from the hound to hunt, of nose Keen to pursue through tangled woods the deer. Pope's Odyssey, b. xvii. Skulking from sight, and track his tainted steps. 80 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Usque adeo largos haustus de fontibus amnis Lingua meo suavis diti de pectore fundet, Ut verear, ne tarda prius per membra senectus 415 Serpat, et in nobis vital claustra resolvat, Quam tibi de qua vis una re versibus omnis Argumentorum sit copia missa par aureis. Sed nunc, ut repetam coeptum pertexere dictis. Omnis, ut est, igitur, per se, natura duabus 420 Constitit in rebus : nam corpora sunt, et inane ; Hccc in quo sita sunt, et qua divorsa moventur. Corpus enim per se conmunis dedicat esse Sensus : quoi nisi prima fides fundata valebit, Haud erit, obcultis de rebus quo referentes 425 Connrmare animos quidquam ratione queamus. Turn porro locus, ac spatium, quod inane vocamus, Ver. 467. Know, then, tV entire of nature of matter, or an event or accident flowing from its sole consists operations. This is more fully elucidated from verse Of SPACE and body:] Thus Epicurus, in 500 to 509, and developes another principle of the his Epistle to Herodotus j to vm i "> ^^' >- >^'- "'-'- "••>- Hence I shall ne er with common minds prevail, on verse c^c of this book, and verse 4.88 of book iv. . , ■ l . . • • 1 iv r .1 /•'^ ' ^ And gam but trivial credit for niv tale. as also the Appendix to the prefixed life of Lucretius. ' Hoole. Vol. I. • M 82 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. L Si nullum foret, baud quaquam sita corpora possent Esse, neque omnino quoquam divorsa meare : Id, quod jam supra tibi paullo obtendimus ante. 430 PrjEterea, nibil est, quod possis dicere ab omni Corpore sejunctum, secretumque esse ab inani ; Quoi quasi tertia sit numero natura reperta. . Nam, quodquomque erit, esse aliquid debebit id ipsum Augmine vel grandi, vel parvo denique, dum sit ; 435 Quoi si tactus erit quam vis levis, exiguusque. Corporis augebit numerum, summamque sequetur : Sin intactile erit, nulla de parte quod ullam Rem prohibere queat per se transire meantem ; Scilicet hocc' id erit vacuum, quod inane vocamus. 440 Prseterea, per se quodquomque erit, aut faciet quid, Aut aliis fungi debebit agentibus ipsum, Aut eritj ut possunt in eo res esse, gerique : At facere, et fungi, sine corpore nulla potest res ; Nee prsbere locum porro, nisi inane vacansque, 445 Ergo prseter inane, et corpora, tertia per se Nulla potest rerum in numero natura relinqui ; I Nee, quje sub sensus cadat ullo tempore nostros, Nee ratione animi quam quisquam possit apisci. Nam, qucequomque cluent, aut hiis conjuncta duabus 450 Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 83 And were not space, were vacuum not allow'd, 475 In nought could bodies, then, their poM^ers display Of various action : each compressing each To motion fatal, as already sung. Nor is there aught such vacant space besides, And MATTER close-embodied, can be trac'd 480 A substance forming discrepant from each. Search where thou wilt, whate'er occurs to view, Of bulk minute, or large, tho' e'en its form Change with the hour, if tangible it prove, This stamps it matter, and forbids all doubt. 485 But if intangible, throughout if still To matter pervious, act where'er it may, 'Tis, then, void space, and can be nought besides. All things, moreo'er, a substance must evince Acting, or suffering act ; or, form the sphere 490 In which to act or suffer. But to act Or suffer action, must be matter's sole ; While SPACE alone that needed sphere admits. Nought then, 'twixt space and matter can subsist Of INTERMEDIATE SUBSTANCE : uought bc trac'd 495 By keenest efforts of th' external sense. Or by the meditating mind deduc'd. All else we meet with, or conceive but these Are mere conjunctions, or events attach'd. M 2 84 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Rebus ea invenies, aut horum eventa videbis. Conjunctum est id, quod numquam sine perniciali Discidio potis est sejungi, seque gregari : Pondus utei saxi est, calor ignis, liquor aquai, Tactus corporibus cunctis, intactus inani. 455 Servitium contra, paupertas, diviticeque, Libertas, bellum, concordia, c^etera, quorum Adventu manet incolomis natura, abituque ; Hsec solitei sumus, ut par est, eventa vocare. Tempus item per se non est, sed rebus ab ipsis 460 Consequitur sensus, transactum quid sit in jevo ; Turn, qu£e res instet, quid porro deinde sequatur : Nee per se quemquam tempus sentire fatendum est Semotum ab rerum motu, placidaque quiete. Denique Tyndaridem raptam, belloque subactas 465 Troiugenas genteis quom dicunt esse, videndum est. Ver. 510. E'en time, ihat measures all things, — ] and is altogether consentaneous with the opinion of Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and some other philosophers, Mr. Locke: " To understand time and eternity contended that Time was a substance ; but the Stoics aright," says this first of modern philosophers, " we believed it to be insubstantial, though not precisely ought, with attention, to consider what idea it is we in the same manner as the Epicureans. The express have of ^ura/;on, and how we came by it. 'Tis evident dogma of Epicurus himself is thus rehearsed by Gas- to one who will but observe what passes in his own mind, sendi : " Time is merely an event of the imagination, that there is a train of ideas which constantly succeed or an attribute given to tilings by the mind, while one another in his understanding as long as he is contemplating them either as enduring, or ceasing ; awake. Reflection on these appearances of several as possessing a longer or a shorter existence ; as en- ideas, one after another in our minds, is that which joying such existence, as having enjoyed it, or as furnishes us with the idea of succession : and the dist- being about to enjoy it." It is a definition which, ance between the appearance of any two ideas in our foraccuracy,maychallengethatofanyof the moderns; minds, is that which we call iv twv oKuv to TVf. EX B'Upo; yaf Ta iratTo, yivso-Ga», xai eif 7ri/p 5r«»T« Ts^Eumv, Xtyouo-». " Heraclitus, and Hippasus of Metapontus, maintained that the principle of all things was fire : that from fire every thing proceeded, and to it would finally return." And that his writ- ings were obscure and diiBcult to be understood, as likewise that he purposely aimed at such abstruse- ness of style, we are informed by Cicero, de Fin. lib. 2. De industria, says he, et consuho, occulte dixit. On this account he was generally denominat- ed o5, obscure. And Menage informs us, that he affected this obscurity of diction in imitation of nature herself; ad Laert. vit. Heracl. (fwrij yap xkt' Ver. 700. For such til' obscure apphiud ; delighted most With systems dark, i^c,'} To the same effect, Beattie, in his inimitable Minstrel : And mucli they grope for truth, but never hit, Still deeming darkness light, and their vain blun- ders wit. i. 51. So, Thomson : The fond, sequacious herd, to mystic faith, And blind amazement prone. Summer. Hence the propriety of the advice given by Vida, Verborum inprimis tenebros fuge, nubilaque atra ; Nam neque (si tantum fas credere) defuit olim, Qui lumen jucundum ultro, lucemque perosus, Obscuro nebulas se circumfudit amictu : Tantus amor noctis, latebrse tarn dira cupido. Poetic, iii. 15. In chief, avoid obscurity, nor shroud Your thoughts and dark conceptions in a cloud ; For some we know aftect to lose the light Lost in forc'd figures, and involv'd in night ; Studious and bent to shun the common way, Theyskulkindarknes3,andabhor the day. Pitt. Ver. 701. and most beHeving true The silver sounds that charm th' enchanted ear. j D'Avenant has imitated this verse of Lucretius, or has otherwise- exhibited a singular parallelism botl) of idea and verbiage, in his description of tlie school men : With terms thev charm the weak, and pose the wise. P 2 108 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Veraque constltuunt, quae belle tangere possunt Aureis, et lepido quae sunt fucata sonore. 645 Nam, quur tarn varije res possent esse, require. Ex uno si sunt igni, puroque, creatse. ' Nihil prodesset enim calidum denserier ignem, Nee rarefieri, si partes ignis eamdem Naturam, quam totus habet super ignis, haberent. 650 Acrior ardor enim conductis partibus esset ; Languidior porro disjectis, disque supatis. Amplius hoc fieri nihil est quod posse rearis Talibus in caussis ; ne dum variantia rerum Tanta queat densis, rarisque, ex ignibus esse. 6^^ Id quoque, si faciant admixtum rebus inane, Denseri poterunt ignes, rarique relinqui : Sed, quia raulta sibi cernunt contraria inesse, The birth-place of Hcraclitus was Ephesus. He splendourof a palace, or the bustle of the busy worliT. flourished in the reign of the last Darius, about the He hved in total seclusion from mankind ; and died 6Qth Olympiad, and in the 5th century before the in the 60th year of his age of a dropsy, said to have commencement of the Christian era. He is reported been produced by his subsisting upon a vegetable to have been much addicted to the study of philoso- diet alone, phy, and frequently to have wept over the miseries and follies of mank'nd. He composed several philo- Ver. 703. But nvhence, J aii,i^c.'} Our poet pro- sophic treatises, of which that on Nature was the most ceeds to demonstrate, that fire could not be either esteemed, though, like his other works, it was la- the origin of things, or the only substance employed boured with much intentional obscurity of style. Of Jn their production. In support of this denial, he tliis essay Euripides sent a copy to Socrates, who advances five arguments. — Fire is a substance uniform declared, with great liberality of mind, that what he and homogeneous, but the phaenomena of nature are oould comprehend of it was excellent, and he doubted various and opposite. Fire may indeed produce oc- not that the rest, which he could not comprehend, casional changes in the appearance of things by rare- was equally so. Darius, after having perused this fying some bodies more than others ; but if the parts work, invited him to the Persian court ; but the of a dense body recede, and become rare, a vacuum philosopher preferred the quiet of retirement to the must, of course, exist between the parts so receding ; Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 109 The silver sounds that charm th' enchanted ear^ But whence, I ask, if all from fire proceed Unmix'd and simple, spring created things So various in their natures ? Urge not here 705 That fire condenses now, and now expands ; For if the same, divided or entire, Its parts condens'd a heat can only prove More fierce ; and less when rarefied, and thin. Still all is FIRE. Nor canst thou e'er conceive 710 From fire that aught can spring but fire itself. Much less, in fire made dense alone, or rare, Trace the vast variance of created things. Dense too, and rare a vacuum must imply. As urg'd already : yet full well convinc'd 715 What straits surround them if a void exist, yet Heraclitus, and his followers, deny a vacuum, our senses ; our mental conjectures to those organs, d therefore ought to deny the possibility of rare- whence all knowledge of facts and events must of ne- an faction, for which they contend. If, however, it cessity flow : nor is there any superior reason for a could be imagined that the particles of fire change denial of the existence of other supposed elements in their very nature by uniting together, when once a favour of fire, rather than for a denial of fire in fa- change of any kind has taken place, and the original vour of the existence of other supposed elements, nature of the substance is hereby destroyed, it must continue to change, it must persevere in wasting, till Ver. 705. Z/rg-f not here at length it perish altogether. Undoubtedly, there Thatjire condenses now, and now expands ;] are substances in nature which are perfectly immuta- Diogenes Laertius, in his life of Heraclitus, informs ble, the essential seeds of whatever exists, and a us of the order by which the adherents to this hypo- change in the quantity or arrangement of which pro- thesis imagined all things were produced from fire, duces that variety which surrounds us; but it is certain Fire, says he, according to their opinion, when con- that these primal seeds or substances cannot be fire, densed, becomes moist, and thus is changed to air ; for then every thing would be fire, and there could air, by compression, becomes water : and water, be no variety whatever : while, to maintain such a when condensed, becomes earth. See note on ver, theory, moreover, would be to oppose our system to 846, where the same tenet is more minutely discussed. 7 ilO ^ DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Et fugitant in rebus inane relinquere pumm ; Ardua dum metuunt, amittunt vera, viai ; 660 Nee rursum cernunt exemptum rebus inane, Omnia denseri, fierique ex omnibus unum Corpus, nihil ab se quod possit mittere raptim^ ^stifer ignis utei lumen jacit, atque vaporem ; Ut videas non e stipatis partibus esse. 665 Quod, si forte ulla. credunt ratione potesse Igneis in coetus stingui, mutareque corpus ; Scilicet ex nulla facere id si parte reparcent, Obcidet ad nihilum nimirum funditus ardor Omnis, et ex nihilo fient queequomque creantur. 670 Nam, quodquomque suis mutatum finibus exit, Continuo hoc mors est illius, quod fuit ante : Proinde aliquid superare necesse est incolome ollis, Ne tibi res redeant ad nihilum funditus omnes, De nihiloque renata virescat copia re rum. 675 Nunc igitur, quoniam certissima corpora quasdam Sunt, quce conservant naturam semper eamdem, Quorum abitu, aut aditu, mutatoque ordine, mutant Naturam res, et convortunt corpora sese ; Scire licet, non esse hjec ignea corpora rerum. 680 Nihil referret enim, qusdam decedere, abire, Atque alio adtribui, mutarique ordine, qucedam, Si tamen ardoris naturam cuncta tenerent : Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. Ill Such sages doubt, but, doubting, still deny : Fearful of danger, yet averse from truth. Such, too, reflect not that from things create. Should void withdraw, the whole at once were dense, 720 One solid substance all, and unempower'd Aught from itself t' eject, as light, and smoke Flies from the purple flame ; evincing clear Its parts unsolid, and commixt with void. But should it still, perchance, be urg'd, that fires 725 Perish by junction, and their substance change. Then must that changing substance waste to nought ; And thus from nought th' entire of nature spring. For what once changes, by the change alone Subverts immediate its anterior life. 730 But still, victorious, something must exist. Or all to nought would perish ; and, in turn. From nought regerminate to growth mature. Yet though most certain things there are exist That never change, the seeds of all survey 'd, 735 Whose presence, absence, or arrangement new That ALL new models, certain 'tis, alike. Those seeds can ne'er be fire. For what avails Such absence, presence, or arrangement new Of igneous matter, if the whole throughout 740 Alike be igneous ? Change howe'er it may, 112 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Ignis enim foret omnimodis, quodquomque crearet. Verum, ut opinor, itaest: sunt quasdam corpora, quorum 685 Concursus motus, ordo, positura, figura^, Ecliciunt igneis, mutatoque ordine mutant Naturam : neque sunt igni similata, neque ullas - Pr^terea rei, quas corpora mittere possit Sensibus, et nostros adjectu tangere tactus. 690 Dicere porro ignem res omncis esse, neque ullam Rem veram in numero rerum constare, nisi ignem, Quod facit hicc' idem, perdelirum esse videtur. Nam contra sensus ab sensibus ipse repugnat, Et labefactat eos, unde omnia credita pendent ; 695 Unde hie cognitus est ipsi, quem nominat ignem. Credit enim sensus ignem cognoscere vere ; Cetera non credit, quee nihilo clara minus sunt : Quod mihi quom vanum, tum delirum, esse videtur. Quo referemus enim ? quid nobis certius ipsis 700 Sensibus esse potest ? qui vera, ac falsa, notemus ? Ver. 743. Ash'stfbou luhencejire proceeds then? JifcJ every instance produced by commotion of the minute The sentiment of Lucretius respecting fire is pre- particles of the heated body. Thislattertenet,together cisely that of Boerhaave, Homberg, Crawford, and with the general philosophy of Aristotle, descended most of the modern chemists. He contends strenu- to a very late period of European learning ; and ously, that it is a substance sui generis, reared from formed a part of the creed of Bacon, Boyle, Ues a definite combination of primordial atoms, like any Cartes and Newton, A more accurate chemical other simple substance. This tenet of the Epicurean knowledge, however, has now almost entirely ba- philosophy is supposed to have been derived from nished the peripatetic doctrine from the schools of Democritus. It was controverted by Aristotle and Europe, and restored to general belief the doctrine the Peripatetics, who maintained, that there was no of semina ignis, or elementary fire, so forcibly con- such thing as elementary fire, but that heat was in tended for by our poet in this place, but described Book I. THE NATURE OF TPIINGS. US Through every variance all must still be flame. — Ask'st thou whence fire proceeds then ? As I deem From certain seeds to certain motions urg'd, Or forms, or combinations ; which, when changed, 745 Change too their nature ; and, though yielding fire, Not fire resembling, or aught else perceiv'd By human sense, or tangible to touch. To hold, moreo'er, as Heraclitus held, That all is fire, and nought besides exists 750 Through nature's boundless fabric, is to rave. T' oppose the mental sense, erroneous oft. To sense external whence all knowledge flows ; And whence himself first trac'd that flame exists. To sense he trusts, when sense discloses fire, 755 And yet distrusts in things disclos'd as clear. Can there, in man, be conduct more absurd ! — Where shall we turn us ? Where, if thus we fly Those senses chief that sever true from false ? — and defined more, still moretninutely, in b. iii. V. 240, standing the general inclination of the philosophert and following, where he proves that it is a constitu- of the present day to the Epicurean doctrine of the ent part of the matter of life. This elementary fire, separate existence of elementary heat, count Rum- or caloric of the Epicureans, extended, as it is ad- ford and Mr. Davy seem to be labouring with all mitted to do in the present day, through every possible their ingenuity, but perhaps without intending it, to substance, but only became sensible in a concrete rebuild the hypothesis of Aristotle, that there is no state, or when its particles were collected together. such thing as elementary heat, upon the ruins of the In the cycle of human science, however, there atomic philosophy, seems to be but few theories advanced which do not in turn yield to others, and which again are not sue- Ver. 753. — tense external 'whence all knowledgt cessively restored to popular notice. Thus, notwith- Jloius :] See note on ver. 471. Vol. 1. Q, 114 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Pra;terea, qua re quisquam magis omnia tollat, Et velit ardoris naturam linquere solam, Quam neget esse igneis, siimmam tamen esse relinquat ? ^qua videtur enim dementia dicere utrumque. Quapropter, quei materiem rerum esse putarunt Ignem, atque ex igni summam consistere posse ; Et quei principium gignundis aera rebus Constituere ; aut humorem queiquomque putarunt 705 Ver. 765. — those /or Ais. ivho strive^ The same arguments urged against fire, as the principle of all things, will apply with equal force against every other simple and individual substance whatever. For one unigenous substance can produce but one uni- genous substance, and not a diversity. Anaxi- menes, however, a philosopher contemporary with Alexander the Great, and who on his decease wrote his liibtor)', a work that has been long lost to the world, conceived differently. And since Heraclitus had entered the lists as champion for fire, Anaximenes threw down the gauntlet in favour of air ; asserting, after the reasoning of the former philosopher, that all things were generated by a successive condensa- tion and rarefaction of this element : and that the world was animated and held together by its opera- tion, in the same manner as the body is animated and held together by the soul ; which last substance he likewise conceived to be of aerial origin. Air, too, or ether, upon the same principle as fire, has had its mythologic as well as its philosophic supporters, with respect to its being the common origin of all things. Hence, Jupiter himself is generally repre- sented by the poets under the symbol of this ele- ment : and the following language, figuratively em- ployed by Lucretius on another occasion, is by them adopted in its hteral sense : All springs from heaven etherial, all that lives. The sire of all is ether. B. ii. 1000. Nat. OF Things. Hence Coelum or Oi(«,io;, in the chronology of Hesiod, is in like manner represented as the common father of all things, impregnating the earth by his embraces. Our author reverts to this opinion, and again opposes it in b. ii. 1 167 ; to the note on which I refer the reader. Air, according to the belief of Boerhaave, is not the origin of all things ; but that in which all things are contained. It is the universal chaos or coUuvies of created matters. Whatever fire can volatilize, the magnetic and electric fluid, and that which is ejected from the heavenly bodies, all, in his conception, combine in the composition of air. In the Memoirs of the French Royal Academy, 1703, is a paper of M. Amontons, in which, after observing that air may be compressed so as to be ren- dered heavier than gold, platina, or any other sub- stance we are acquainted with : after conjecturing, moreover, that the body of the earth is composed of sti-ata of substances of different gravities, progres- sively taking their stations according to their grada- tion of weight, he asserts, that the centre of the earth, containing a sphere of 6451,538 fathoms dia- meter, is composed of air, thus compressed to a den- sity greater than that of any known substance besides : and from such elastic air, expanded by the heat of subterraneous fires, he deduces all the earthquakes that have ever agitated the globe. Although it does not appear, then, that all things, in the opinion of M. Amontons, originated from air, yet by far the greater part is air, and nothing else. Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. Why, rather, too, should all that else exists Be thus denied, and fire alone maintain'd. Than fire denied, and all maintain'd besides ? Tenets alike preposterous and wild. Hence those, in fire, who trace the rise of things, And nought but fire ; or those for air who strive As source of all ; or those the dimpling stream Who fondly fancy ; or the pond'rous earth. 115 760 765 The system, however, most consentaneous with this of Anaximenes, of any I have met with in mo- dern times, is that of M. Humboldt, a German che- mist, of no mean reputation, as detailed in a treatise published in 1801, entitled " Versuche liber die Che- mische Zerlegung des Luftkreises." In this pubh- cation, the author supposes the solid parts of the earth to have been precipitated from a kind of gross and feculent atmosphere during the existence of a chaos. This idea is, indeed, fanciful; but the au- thor's chemical facts and experiments are entitled to serious attention ; and particularly those which relate to the quantity of carbon contained in common at- mospheric air, here calculated at three-twentieths of the whole, and which seem to support the doctrine of the oxygeneity of light. Ver. 766. those the dlmplhig stream Who family fancy s"] Such was the opinion of many philosophers, but particularly of Tiiaks of Mi- letus, the contemporary and intimate friend of Solon, and who consequently flourished about five centuries before the commencement of the Christian era. He was the founder of the Ionic school, and the first who attempted to calculate eclipses. His hypothesis of tlie origin of all things from water, has been adopted by some men of letters in every age, but particularly among the earlier of the German chemists, as Para- celsus, and Van Helmont. It was the general belief among the Hebrew sages, in consequence of the Mosaic assertion, " that the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," (the only substance inti- mated to exist) when engaged in the work of crea- tion. Aod for the same reason it has formed a part of the creed of Basil Valentine, and many of the fa- thers of the Christian churcli in later periods . Thales, however, in all probability, drew his hypothesis from observing how very large a portion of even the hardest and most solid substances is composed of water ; and from the cohesion which is produced in the driest and most subtile earths and powders of every de- scription upon its introduction. Mythology has also adopted the element of wa- ter as the great source and origin of all things, as well as philosophy ; and the espousers of tliis mytho- logic tenet have been very numerous and plausible. It is repeatedly admitted by Homer : and is, proba- bly, in consequence hereof, again controverted by our poet in b. ii. 1169. AUegorically, indeed, Lu. cretins himself, in the opening of the present book, addresses Venus as the common parent of all things : but the origin of Venus, or Dea- Mater (Ar?^>iT»ip), ac- cording to the avowed dictates of all ancient tradi- tion, was from the main ; and it is highly probable that Mr. Bryant is correct in considering her as a mere type of the ark that floated over tlie immense surface of water that covered the whole earth during the general deluge, and contained within its womb the radicals of all future animal and vegetable exist- ence. See this idea enlarged upon in the note on b. ii. vcr. 1 167. 116 DE RERUM NATURA. Fiiigere res ipsum per se ; terramve creare Omnia, et in rerum naturas vortier omneis ; Magno opere a vero longei deerrasse videntur. Adde etiam, quei conduplicant primordia rerum, Aera jungentes igni, terramque liquori ; Et quei quatuor ex rebus posse omnia rentur, Ex igni, terra, atque anima, procrescere, et imbri ; Lib. r. 710 715 Ver. 767. thf pond'rous earth,] Pherecydes, the tutor of Pythagoras, is said to have taught the existence of three eternal beings, Jupiter, Time, and Earth ; and to have believed that all material exist- ences were derived from the last. Hesiod, however, conceived Earth to be the only eternal substance and clement, and that Jupiter himself, as well as all the other gods, and the whole family of mortals, were produced by Earth, and out of its own primitive sub- stance. Barnardin, Telesius, and some other philo- sophers of later periods, have indulged conjectures not very dissimilar. Employing the term generally as a vphole, and not singly as an element, our poet liimsclf regards the earth as the source of all being, animate and inanimate : thus a few hnes further, he asserts, Maternal, hence, is earth most justly named : and the same observation is repeatedly made in b. v. where the doctrine of cosmology is discussed at full kngth. But in none of these instances does he re- gard the earth as a separate element ; consequently, Jie deviates essentially from those writers, whether philosophers or raythologists, who contend for such an element, and trace the origin of all things from this individual element alone. It was from earth, as an element of this kind, that the Titans or giants of an- cient tradition were conceived to have arisen. Thus Herodotus, fAV^oKoyovnon S' it Tiyaym Vnyifug ycyonyxt, iu» Triv u7^t()bo^r,v tou xara Ttxrw^cc ^EyiQcvf, *' X hey as- serted in their fables, that the giants were produced from the earth, on account of the excessive dimen- sions of their bodies." And it is obvious that the terms, Tiyx; and Tir/sviif, Giant and Earth-born, are nearly equivalent ; the former having probably origi- nated from the latter. In consequence of this prodi- gious size, they were compared to mountains or ele- vations, on which the sun first threw his earliest beams ; and the term Titans, by which they were denominated, has no other meaning. Hence Mr. AUwood contends, but I think unwarrantably, that the Titans were mere temples or mountains dedicated to the sun, and never had any real existence. Ver. 770. Nor •wanders less the sage nvho air 'with fire] As the individual elements have occasionally found supporters among the Greek phi- losophers, so have they at times in every variety of combination. CEnopides pretended to trace the rise of all things from an union of air and Ive ; Xeno- phanes, from an union of earth and water ; Parmeni- des, from that of earth and fire ; and Hippo of Rhe- gium, from that of fire and water ; whilst Onomacri- tus, and, since h's era, Descartes, and his disciples, admit three out of the four vulgar elements, the for- mer rejecting air, and the latter fire. Whilst I am upon this subject, I ought not to pass over the theory of that learned and acute geologist, the late Mr. Whitehurst, which has again been brought forwards and improved upon by Mr. Kir- wan. Mr, Whitehurst supposes the whole planetary system to have been formed at the same instant ; and that the earth, as well as the rest of the planets, was originally a large undivided pulp or chaos, uniformly suspended in this fluid state. He supposes, more- Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. For each has arm'd its champions in its turn, Ahke wide wander from unerring truth. Nor wanders less the sage who air with fire Would fain commix, ordimpid stream with earth ; Or those the whole who join, fire, ether, earth, And pregnant showers, and thence the world deduce. 770 over, that the first efforts of this chaos, towards the production of order and harmony, consisted in the gradual separation of element from element, accord- ing to its comparative gravity : that air would therefore be superior in the scale of ascent, next water, and then earth. He again supposes, that this separation of element from element, was the work of a vast series of time, and that, consequently, no short period must have. elapsed before the forma- tion of animals or vegetables destined to inhabit the dry and continental parts of the earth. But as this was not necessary with respect to marine animals, he conceives these latter to have been the first race of beings pro- duced in the order of creation : and he hence accounts for the frequency with which we meet with exuvies of such animals as also with fossil shells, and other marine relics on the highest mountains, and in a va- riety of places where we should not expect them. The operation of the sun and moon upon the agitated chaotic mass, by drawing the waters away from one part towards another, would allow, between every tide, a sufficient period for the upper points of land, not hurried away by the stream, to harden and resist the tide's return, or rise superior to its influx. These points or summits, which would be constantly in. creasing, would at length become proper habitations for man and beast, and vegetables ; and to these ele- vations of land he gives the appellation of Primitive Islands. — This theory does not explain the origin of craggy rocks, profound vallies, and volcanic lavas. But, to account for such later phenomena, the inge- nious author refers us to the universal deluge ; which he conceives to have been produced by the expansive operation of a large body of subterranean fire, which, bursting the solid contents of the globe to its surface, admitted, through a vast variety of chasms, immense quantities of water from the general bed of the ocean, which, rarefied, in its turn, by the subterranean heat to which it was exposed, concurred, by its elastic force, in the production of all the diversities of height and depth, of rough and smooth, that are exhibited in the variegated face of nature. M. de Saussure appears to have entertained very similar ideas. He was, therefore, in the language of the French philosophers, a Neptunian : and it was his intention at one time to have dehvered his opinions upon the primitive state of the earth, in a full and explicit manner. But, notwithstanding all his geolo- gic knowledge, and profound investigations, the more he meditated upon this subject, the more difficult, he declared, it appeared to him, to form a decided opi- nion ; and he died without having accomplished the object he had in view. Ver.772. Or those the ivhole ivhojoin, fire, ether, EARTH, Andpregnant showers, ^ The popular dog- ma, that all things are constituted of four elements, is derived from Ocellus Lucanus, a philosopher who flourished in the looth Olympiad, about nine centu- ries anterior to the Christian era ; from whom it ap- pears to have descended in a direct line to Pythago- ras, Hippocrates, and Aristotle. — This doctrine, how- ever, as I have already had occasion to observe, hav 118 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Quorum Agragantinus cum primis Empedocles est : (Insula quem triquetris terrarum gessit in oris ; been often opposed in every age ; yet, upon the whole, it has ever been tiie most popular of any among men of letters, till about the middle of the last century, or rather later ; since which time, che- misti-y has been gradually assuming a scientific form, and with a daring, but steady eye, and an unsuspected success, has probed into the origin, not only of na- tural phasnomena, but of nature herself. And what after all, is the result ? Is the world produced from different elements or principles, or from one and the same infinite mass of indivisible, indestructible, and homogeneous atoms ? From the system of Epicurus, corroborated by the weighty assent of Sir Isaac Newton, or from some one of the various opinions of other philosophers, who have radiated from this point in almost every possible direction ? To begin with the element of fire, caloric, or latent heat. Were this a substance distinct from the par- ticles of a heated body ; a something superadded to it, and nota mere re-arrangement and new modification of those particles ; the greater the degree of heat, the greater we should necessarily expect to find the gra- vity of such body ; and both Margraff and Lewis have brought forwards a few experiments ostensibly favour- able tosuch afact. These,however,areeasily accounted for, upon the principle of calcination, and the ab- sorption of carbonic acid gas ; while others, of greater accuracy and precision, have concurred in determining either that there is no difference between the weight of a body heated to redness, and what it possessed when cold, or that the body in a cold temperature exhibits rather a greater degree of gravity than when j-ed.hot. For further information on this subject, I refer the reader to the experiments of Mr. White- hurst and Dr. Roebuck, as stated in the Philosophi- cal Transactions, Vol. LXVI, part ii. What then must necessarily be the result of such experiments and observations, but that, according to the opinion of our sagacious and philosophic poet, fire is not a primary material substance, but a mere motion, or new and peculiar arrangement of primary particles themselves ? Yet other elements have been canvassed as scrupu- lously as fire, and the same doctrine applies to each of them. Earth, it appears, is the production of water, and water of air : while air is, unques- tionably, a compound, and perhaps a compound of compounds; for we know not, nor have any reason to believe that the gasses which form it, are any of them simple and unigenous : a few facts will be suffi- cient to illustrate this opinion. — It has long been suspected by philosophers, that there is not at pre- sent so much water in the world as there was for- merly ; while the quantity of earth, and consequently of continents and islands, has been increasing in an inverse ratio : it has hence been conceived, that wa- ter is continually converting into earth ; and some experiments have very considerably favoured such an hypothesis. There is no water so pure and uncom- pounded, that it will not, if kept for three or four years, make an earthy deposit : rain water, distilled water, and snow, have all been tried for this purpose; but the same deposit, or transmutation into earth, has uniformly taken place. This phenomenon was long ago observed by Boerhaave, who declared, in consequence hereof, that there was no such thing as pure water to be obtained any where, or by any means. — The seeds of plants likewise, as the white- mustard seed, and some aquatic animals, as leeches, are known to increase in solid substance by the sus- tenance of water alone ; or, at least, without the in- termixture of earth, properly so called. Earth, then, is the production of water, and not an original ele- ment ; and hence we reduce the four elements, com- monly so called, to two alone ; to wit, water and air. There are few persons of a liberal education, but are acquainted with some of the experiments upon water, of Mr. Cavendish, and the late M. Lavoisier. From these experiments, it should seem that water is no more a radical substance than earth ; or, at least, that it is producible from a due intermixture of in- flammable and dephlogisticated airs ; or, according to the new, and more accurate nomenclature, of Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 119 Thus sung Empedocles, in honest fame First of his sect; whom Agrigentum bore 775 oxygen and hydrogen. And, indeed, at the late aerostatic institute at Meudon, the balloons were all filled from hydiogeo alone, obtained from the simple decomposition of water by means of an easy, andunex- pensive process, discovered by M. Conti, for whom the truly scientific GuytonMorveau obtained the director- ship of this establishment. These experiments then Strike out air from the list of simple indestructible Fub- stances, as those I have just adverted to strike out earth and fire. It is much doubted, however, by some philosophers, since water and air are convertible substances, whe- ther water be not the radix of air, instead of air be- ing that of water. Water, in its natural state, dis- covers but a small degree of elasticity ; but when ra- refied into vapour in an eolipilc, it will exhibit all the characters of genuine air, and stream out like a blast of rapid wind. Yet air, if not a composition of wa- ter, is, as already observed, a compound of various gasses, of which, it is probable, that every gas is a compound in itself. Boerhaave regarded cold as an element, believing it to possess an existence sitl generis ; Linneus oil ; the Chinese philosophers, and Indian bramins, the ether, or materia subtihs, which the Cartesians sup- pose to exist throughout the immensity of space, or, at least a substance of a similar description, and which, among Oriental philosophers, constitutes their fifth element. See note on b. i. 846. But if a rigid ad- herence to an apparent homogeneity of structure, a stern inflexible defiance of all the powers of chemical ingenuity to produce a decomposition, be the test and criterion of elementary bodies, the acid and natron, or soda, which constitute the basis of common salt have a better title to such an appellation than any substance whatever ; for as yet we know of no pro- cess, whether of art or nature, by which either of them can be formed, or decomposed. And yet no one doubts that these are compound bodies, although they have hitherto eluded every analytic attempt. The magnetic aura has long been considered as no- thing more than a modification of the electric ; but the electric itself is a compound : and Dr. Gren, professor at Halle, has written an able treatise upon this subject, which has deservedly passed through, at least, three editions ; in which he clearly proves that the electric aura is a combination of light and caloric, or elementary heat ; that it may be com- pounded and decompounded in bodies, and actually is so in the various processes of smelting, combus- tion, and evaporation. See his Grundriss der Na- tur. 8vo. printed at Halle 1797. The opinion of M. Haliy is not very different : he conceives the piijenomena, both of magnetism and electri- city, to be produced by the simultaneous action of two distinct fluids. See his very valuable Traite Elementaire de Physique. There are various animals endowed with organs, that seem to possess a power of secreting these auras, and perhaps there are no living animals altogether destitute of such organs : although in the torpedo, gymnotus electricus, and such do- mestic animals as cats and rats, this extraordinary power appears to exist in a greater degree than in others. It seems probable, moreover, that the elec- tric fluidis secreted from a certain set of glands dis persed over the bodies of such animals, or from the brain itself. The secretion of'a gas of any kind has not indeed been hitherto fairly detected ; but air has been frequently found so largely combined with se- creted substances, as to render it probable that the air itself has formed a part of the secretion. And if this be a fact with respect to air, it will equally ap- ply with respect to the gasses of which air is a com- pound. The torpedo is endowed with organs which have a close resemblance to the voltaic pile ; and if this structure be injured by the division of its nerves, the torpefying efiect is lost. The galvanic and electric auras appear to be the same ; at least, the difference is so minute as to elude all detection : it is almost re- duced to a certainty, moreover, that this common aura constitutes the nervous fluid ; and in man at least it should seem therefore to be secreted from the brain, and hence diffused over the body by the course of the nerves. In passing through different organs, how- 120 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Quam fluitans circum magnis amfractibus jequor Ionium glaucis adspargit virus ab undis, Angustoque fretu rapidum, mare dividit undis ^"Eolise terrarum oras a finibus ejus. Heic est vasta Charybdis, et heic JEtnd^a. minantur 720 ever, it submits to a variety of changes, which proves obviously that such organs possess, of themselves, a considerable power over it. While some parts of the body abound with electricity, others are deficient in proportion to their capacity. The experiments of Buniva prove that the electricity of the blood is posi- tive, — of the excrementitious fluids, negative ; and these have been since fully confirmed by M. Vassali- Eandi. It is, perhaps, by a similar economy, that the luminous matter exhibited in a concrete state by the glow-worm and fire-fly, (lampyris Italica) is se- parated from their food, or the atmosphere that sur- rounds them. In the latter of these, it has been sufficiently ascertained by M. Carradori (See Brug- natelli's Annali di Chimica), that the phosphorescent fomes, when separated and collected, resides in the cells of the abdomen between the rings ; and that the appearance and disappearance of the light, con- sidered as voluntary, depend on the insect's power of opening and closing tliose cells. If this solution be admitted, with respect to the secretion or separation of light in hving animals, we may easily extend the conjecture, and account, upon a similar principle, for its separation and effiux from putrescent animal and vegetable substances, sea-wa- ter, and rotten timbers. Upon the whole, it should seem then, consistently with the doctrine developed in the poem before us, that all things proceed from the same primary ele- mental seeds, or atoms, and are convertible into all things ; and that the modification or arrangement of such atoms alone, produces the difference between substances and substances ; or, to adopt the language of Lucretius, that > in alternate course Each flows from each, th' alternate form is seiz'd Th' alternate nature through perennial time. i. 828. And from whom did Sir Isaac Newton derive his hypothesis, but from the same school, when he as- serted that it is probable God, in the beginning» formed matter in solid, massive, hard, impenetrable» and moveable particles, of such siaes andjigures, and with such other properties as were best proportioned to the end they were to produce ? and that the changes of corporeal things are to be placed only to the various separations, and new associations, and mo- tions of those original and permanent particles ? — See on this subject our poet's observations in ver. 980, and following. Ver. 774. Thus sung Em? EDOCLEs, £3*^.] Empedo- cles was the scholar both of Pythagoras and Anaxa- goras. He was, likewise, contemporary with Euri- pides the poet, and of course flourished in the 84th Olympiad, about four hundred years before the Christian era. That he had imbibed the sentiments here attributed to him, in common indeed with Py. thagoras, and Ocellus Lucanus, Ovid informs us in his Metamorphoses, Quatuor astemus genitaha corpora mundus Continet. For this eternal world is said of old But four prolific principles to hold. xv. 239. Plutarch, however, has more fully recognised him still. E^TTiJoxXs; Mtroroj Ayfocyavrmoc, T!<7i7!fa /x£» Xtyji c"Toi;^=ia, tffup, aEpa, vduipy ynv' tivu 6e af^w^di Jt/xa^Eij, ^iXia» T£ \a.i v!ixof, u't n jj-m eo-ti» syoTixn, to Si lix.pETixo». de Plac. Phil. i. 3. " Empedocles of Agrigentum maintained, that all things are pro- duced from the principles of fire, air, water and earth ; into which they are all again eventually resolved." To these he added two other powers. Love and Dis- cord ; the former harmonizing and uniting, the latter disjoining, and repelling. Empedocles is reported Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 121 In cloud-capt Sicily. Its sinuous shores Th' Ionian main, with hoarse, unwearied wave, Surrounds, and sprinkles, with its briny dew : And, from the fair ^olian fields, divides With narrow frith that spurns th' impetuous surge. 780 to have perished by a fall down the dreadful opening on the top of Mount JEtm, as the elder Pliny died fcy a fall into Vesuvius. Ver. 776. In eloud-capt Sicily.] This description of Sicily is as geographically accurate, as it is poeti- cally beautiful. The Ionian, or Mediterranean sea, by which it is principally surrounded, derives its appella- tion, according to Pliny, from lonius, the son of Dyr- ribachius, who was slain by Hercules, and thrown into the Mediterranean, to perpetuate his memory. The frith, which the poet justly denominates narrow, is at present known by the name of the Straits of Messina. Its breadth between Italy and Sicily is not more than about half a league. The two countries, indeed, ori- ginally united, but were separated, according to Fa- ber, about the era of the Hebrew chief Joshua, by a most violent hurricane and earthquake. Ver.781. Here •Dijri Charybdis raves :"] Charybdis, according to the latitude in which the term is used by Thucydides, means the entire Straits of Messina ; but in a more Hmited and common acceptation, it is a gulf, or vortex, on the immediate coast of Sicily, now denominated Calefaro, from the continual effer- vescence of its waters, and directly opposite the Scigla, Scylla, or pointed rock that rises off the pro- montory of Coenis on the Italian side of the strait. The impetuosity of the current between Sicily and the rock Scigla, together with the force of the whirl- pool of Calefaro, has been supposed to render this passage at all times dangerous to mariners. In stormy weather, indeed, there is still no small degree of ha- zard ; but, at other periods, the natives of either country pass and repass with little apprehension, and very few accidents. It afforded the poets of Greece and Rome, however, aii inexhaustible fund of pic- VOL. I. turesque and sublime imagery ; and their descriptions of this impetuous passage arc often grand and terri- ble. Thus Homer : AXX or av«fepi>|i£ ^xXiiuri» J' iSo(;iEv, ^EnrwyTE; oPiE^poii, &c. Odvssey, M. Now, all at once, tremendous scenes unfold ; Thunder'd the deeps, the smoking billow* roU'd ! Tumultuous waves embroil'd the bellowing flood: All trembling, deafen'd, and aghast we stood ! No more the vessel plough'd the dreadful wave ; Fear seiz'd the mighty, and unnerv'd the brave. Pope. It is worth while to compare this passage with the beginning of that quoted from Camoens, in the note to ver. 149 of this book. Many of the hnes in that extract are a close copy. The parallel passage in Virgil is more : it is a translation. Turn procul e fluctu Trinacria cernitur ^tna : Et gemitum ingentem pelagi, pulsataque saxa Audimus longe, fractasque ad litora voces ; Exultantque vada, atque xstu miscentur arenae, &c. JEn, lib. 3. Mount jEtna thence we spy. Known by the smoky flames which cloud the sky. Far off we hear the waves, with surly sound Invade the rocks ; the rocks their groans resound • The billows break upon the sounding strand. And roll the rising tide, impure with sand. Dryden. R 122 DE RERUM NATURE. Lib. I Murinura, flammarum mrsum se conligere iras, Faucibus eruptos iterum ut vis evomat igneis, 725 Ad coelumque ferat flammai fulgura mrsum. Quce, quom magna modis multis miranda videtur Gentibus humanis regio, visundaque fertur, Rebus opima bonis, multa munita virum vi ; Nihil tamen hoc habuisse viro przeclarius in se, 736 Nee sanctum magis, et mirum, carumque, videtur. Carmina quin etiam divini pectoris ejus Vociferantur, et exponunt prasclara reperta ; Ut vix humana videatur stirpe creatus) Hie tamen, et, supra quos diximus, inferiores 735 Partibus egregie multis, multoque minores ; Quamquam, multa bene ac divinitus invenientes, Ex adyto tamquam cordis, responsa dedere Sanctius, et multo certa ratione magis, quam Pythia, qu^e tripode ex Phoebi lauroque profatur ; . 740 Principiis tamen in return fecere ruinas, Ver. 7S1. here JEtsa rears der the immense weight of the mountain, and vo- His infant thunders,'] Of this celebrated moun- miting forth their revenge in flames against the tain, known alike to ancients and moderns, from the gods, dreadful effects of its volcanic eruptions, our poet treats more fully and philosophically, in his sixth Vet» 790. 'whose song divine. Sec] Ari- book ; to the notes on which passage I refer the stotle ascribes to Empedocles the invention of rhe- reader for further information : observing only that toric : and the general beauty and elegance of his Creech, in his translation of this description, has poem on the Nature of Things, now unfortunately, thought proper, without finding it in the original, or except in a few scattered fragments, lost to the reflecting that Lucretius was superior to the vulgar world, were so considerable, that the critics of superstitions of his time, and laboured to destroy ancient times were incapable of determining whe- them, to introduce the fable of the giapts buried ;:n- ther he ought to be ranked among the nuaiber 0? Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. __i 123 Here vast Charybdis raves: here ^Etna rears His infant thunders, his dread jaws unlocks, And heav'n, and earth with fiery ruin threats. Here many a wonder, many a scene subhme, As on he journeys, checks the traveller's steps; 785 And shows, at once, a land in harvests rich, And rich in sages of illustrious fame. But nought so wond'rous, so illustrious nought, So fair, so pure, so lovely, can it boast, Empedocles, as thou ! whose song divine, 790 By all rehears'd, so clears each mystic lore, That scarce mankind believ'd thee born of man. Yet e'en Empedocles, and those above Already sung, of far inferior fame. Though doctrines frequent from their bosoms flow'd 795 Like inspiration, sager and more true Than e'er the Pythian maid, with laurels crown'd, Spoke from the tripod at Apollo's shrine ; their poets or of their philosophers. It is thus he nominated Pythia, from mtSamc-Bai, to consult or is described by the peripatetic chief: 'O/nsptxo! Eji*- advise upon a subject. She pronounced the oracle iriSoKXnf, xai Simoi Tfp» $p«o-jv yEyovE, jUEtaifopixo; te m, from a low stool or table supported by three feet, xeu Toi; aX^ois tois vtfi Toir)Tj)tiiv f7rtTay(.iaer» ;(fWjusyo?. which was, in consequence, termed a tripod ; and Some few verses of this renowned sage, that have as the laurel was a tree consecrated to Apollo, escaped the ravages of time, will be found oc- her hair was usually braided with a bandeau of its icasionally scattered in the prosecution of this work. leaves. The Delphic tripod was supported by an elegant and serpentine column, vchich, according Ver. 797, Thane^ertheFYTmAH maUfWitblaureh to Mr. Dallaway, k even now in existence, and croivn'd, adorns, among other Grecian re- .ains, the area of Spoiefi-om the tripoJ at AroLLo's shrine ;2 The the Hippodrome at Constantinople, pnestess of Apollo at Delphos was commonly de- Vide his Constant, ancient and modern R 2 124 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Et gravlter magnei magno cecidere ibi casu : Primum, quod motus, exempto rebus inani, Constituunt, et res molleis rarasque relinquunt, Aera, solem, Ignem, terras, animalia, fruges ; 745 Nee tamen admiscent in eorum corpus inane : Deinde, quod omnino finem non esse secandis Corporibus faciunt, neque pausam stare fragori : Nee prorsum in rebus minumum consistere quidquam : Quom videamus id extremum quoiusque cacumen 75a Esse, quod ad sensus nostros minimum esse videtur ; Conjicere ut possis ex hoc, quod cernere non quis Extremum quod habent, minumum consistere rebus. Hue adcedit item, quoniam primordia rerum Mollia constituunt, qu^ nos nativa videmus 755 Esse, et mortali cum corpore funditus : atqui Ver. 800. ^nd greatly wander'd In attempt so them possessed of much elegant force and logical great.'[ The iteration of the word ^ri'a/ occurs precision. They denied the existence of a vacuum, in the original in the same manner as in the trans- while they contended, that bodies might have mo- lation : tion, and dilate or contract in a perfect plenum : Etgraviterm3^«i»!a,-«5 cecidere ibi casu. ^" absurdity already sufficiently commented upon _,, . , p , p , - r Jn ver. 420, and foUowintr. They contended for an Ihis playiul recurrence or words forms a ra- . . . , ,. . 1 . • , , ... , , p -11 infinite divisibility or matter, and denied the possi- vounte ngure with our poet, who has otten ennched ,. ^ . . . , . , . . , . , , . . r. bility of Its ever separating mto ultimate and es- his verses with an indulgence m it. oee note on ' _,..,,, . . - treme atoms. They maintained, that the origin of things, instead of being impenetrably solid, are soft Ver. 801. And. first, they deemed. Sec. ] He and pliable: the fallacy of all which has been suf- opposes the hypothesis of the Ionic school, or the ficiently detected and exposed already. It cannot four elements, by six different arguments, each of but be remarked, moreover, that the principles or Book L THE NATURE OF THINGS. 125 E'en these mistook the principles of things, And greatly wander'd in attempt so great. 800 And, first, they deem'd that motion might exist From VOID exempt : that things might still be rare, Still soften, as earth, ether, fire, or fruits, Or e'en the ranks of animated life, Though VOID commix'd not with their varying frames. 805 Then, too, they held no final term ordain 'd To comminuting atoms : which, through time. Still crumbled on, and never could be least. Though from such points as sense itself surveys, Extreme and least, conjecture we may form 810 Of points extreme, impalpable to sight, Least in themselves, that never can divide. With them, moreo'er, the seeds of things were form'd Soft, and unsolid : but whate'er is soft, Whate'er unsolid, as at first they spring 815 elements of things for which Empedocles contended, another. But if the elemental atoms of Nature are substances, in their very nature, hostile and op- could be separated and combined afresh ; if their posite to each other ; and of course, whenever they solidity could be once destroyed, from the change meet, must reciprocally annihilate each other, or in the motion or arrangement of which, every sub- else be irregularly scattered abroad by a mutual stance takes its different form and appearance : if repulsive force. If, however, things could be ere- these could be to-day pure elemental fire, to-mor- ated from the junction of such jarring and discor- row water equally unmixed and simple, then must dant elements, why should fire, water, earth, and they long since have completely perished, and dis- air, be termed principles of other substances, rather appeared : for eveiy substance must inevitably waste, than other substances principles of these ? Every and eventually perish, that is liable to change, thing is constantly changing into every thing, and And it is to the solidity of primal seeds, or atoms arising from every thing : and there is no more pro- alone, that Nature is indebted for the unvaried priety in denominating one thing an element than regularity of her powers and phsencmcna. im DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Debeat ad nihilum jam rerum summa revorti, De nlhiloque renata vigescere copia rerum ; Quorum utrumque quid a vero jam distet, habebas. Deinde, inimica modis multis sunt, atque venena 760 Ipsa, sibi inter se ; qua re, aut congressa peribunt, Aut ita diffugient, ut tempestate coacta, Fulmina difRigere, atque imbreis, ventosque, videmus. Denique, quatuor ex rebus si cuncta creantur, Atque in eas rursum res omnia dissoluuntur : 7^5 Qui magis ilia queunt rerum primordia dici, Quam contra res illorum, retroque putari ? Alternis gignuntur enim, mutantque colorem, Et totam mter se naturam, tempore ab omni. Sin ita forte putas ignis terr^que coire 770 Corpus, et aerias auras, roremque liquorum, Nihil m concilio naturam ut mutet eorum ; Nulla tibi ex illis potent res esse creata, Non animans, non exanimo cum corpore, ut arbos : Quippe suam quidque in coetu variantis acervi 775 Naturam obtendet, mixtusque videbitur aer Ver. 828. in alternate form, Thus Dr. Darwin, with equal elegance and ac- Eachjlonus from each, &c. ] curacy : Book I, THE NATURE OF THINGS. m From other substance, must perforce decay. So all to nought would perish, and again From nought regerminate to growth mature : Doctrines the muse already has disprov'd. Such seeds, too, must be foes ; created each 820 To each adverse ; and hence can never meet But sure perdidon waits : or, chance, they part, Disperst abrupt, as, in contending storms, Wmd, rain, and thunder scatter, and are lost. But, from such four-fold foes, could all things spring, 825 And, sprung, to such dissolve — why rather term Those jarring powers the primal seeds of things Than things of them ? since, in alternate course, Each flows from each : th' alternate form is seiz'd, Th' alternate nature, through perennial time. 830 Yet could'st thou deem such powers adverse might blend, And earth with fire, with ether lymph commix, And still retain their natures unimpair'd ; Whilst thus retained, no living form could rise Trac'd through creation, animate, or void, 835 As springs the verdant shrub, of reasoning soul. , For each its nature, through the varying mass, Would still evince, and earth with air commix, Organic forms with chemic changes strive, Live but to die, and die but to revive ; 7 Immortal matter braves the transient storm, Mounts in the wreck, unchanging but in form. Temp, of Nat. ii. 42. 128 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Cum terra simul, et quodam cum rore, manere : At primordia gignundis in rebus oportet Naturam clandestinam, csecamque, adhibere ; Emlneat ne quid, quod contra pugnet, et obstet, Quo minus esse queat proprie, quodquomque creatur. 780 Quin etiam repetunt a coelo, atque ignibus ejus ; Et primum faciunt ignem se vortere in auras Aeris : hinc imbrem gigni, terramque creari Ex imbri ; retroque a terra cuncta revorti, Humorem primum, post aera, deinde calorem : Nee cessare hsec inter se mutare, meare A coelo ad terram, de terra ad sidera mundi : Quod facere baud ullo debent primordia facto. Inmutabile enim quiddam superare necesse est ; 78s 790 Ver. 846. thai fire draiun hence Converts to ether, &c. ] The order of creation, which was introduced by Heraclitus, was adhered to, with little alteration, by every other teacher of philosophy. From fire, when moist, is produced air ; from condensed air, water ; from water contracting and concreting, earth ; from earth rarefying and diffused, water ; from rarefied water, air ; from air highly expanded, fire. Thus Laer- tius : Tlvx.mfi.iioi TO vvf fluypawo-Qat, x«i aspa yiy!a-9«» ; cvyicajtxEvov «Epot yivio-9a.i 'ud&jp* ^uxvo^fyov TO uoojp EiC ynv TpETTEcrSat, xat ravrm oJo> eir» 10 y^tt.ii) sivat" IlaXi» Si «UTn» tm ym xdcrSai, if 'tij to ilaip yivEtrOai* eh 0» tou/tou T« XoiTra ofLOi'ji^' avrm Je Eivat Ton ayw oSoy. This coniimon system and opinion of the elemen- tary philosophers was intimately known to many of the poets as well. Hence the following verses of Ovid : resolutaque tellus In liquidas rorescit aquas : tenuatus in auras Aeraque humor abit : demto quoque pondere rursus In superos aer tenuissimus emicat ignes : Inde retro redeunt ; idemque retexitur ordo ; Ignis enim densum spissatus in aera transit ; Hie in aquas; tellus glomerata cogitur aqua. Metamor. XV. 246. Earth rarefies to dew : expanded more The subtile dew in air begins to soar ; Spreads as she flies, and weary of her name Extenuates still, and changes into flame. Thus having, by degrees, perfection won, Restless, they soon untwist the web they spun ; And fire begins to lose h«r radiant hue, Mixt with gross air, and air descends to dew ; Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 129 In ceaseless strife, — and fire with crystal lymph. But primal seeds, whene'er the form of things 840 Mutual they gender, must, perforce, assume An unobtrusive nature, close conceal'd. Lest aught superior rise, of power adverse, And thus th' harmonious union be destroy 'd. Such sages, too, from heav'n, and heaven's bright fires Maintain that all proceeds : that fire drawn hence 846 Converts to ether, ether into showers, And showers benign to earth : and hence again, That all from earth returns : first liquid dew, Then air, and heat conclusive ; changing thus, 850 In ceaseless revolution, changing thus From heav'n to earth, from earth to heav'n sublime : A change primordial seeds could ne'er sustain. And dew condensing does her form forego, in the order of successive generation. Bremah was And sinks a heavy lump of earth below. the productive principle of the soul, and created Drvben. (13) the heaven, or that vast expansion between The whole of which opinion appears to have been heaven and earth which makes up the fifth element, derived from the Hindus, probably through the °^ '^ rather the receptacle of the other four ; and medium of Egypt ; but with this difference, and seems, as already observed, to be a species of ostensible advantage on the part of the Greeks, ^^^e ether of the ancients, or the materia sub- that the Hindus instead of deriving air from fire, tihs of Des Cartes : (14) the heaven or ether begat and water from air, derive water from fire, and fire the air: (15) the air begat the fire: (16) the fire from air. The cosmogony of the Hindus is as fol- begat the water : (17) the water begat the earth- lows : They first suppose a Supreme Deity or Be- Lettres Curieuses et Edifiantes, Tom. iv. Se? ing of beings ; then, that this Divinity created Eter- ^Iso Asiatic Researches, Vol. iv. Art. ii., in which nity ; that Eternity brought forth Tchiwen ; Tshi- the above fifth element is denominated, by Sir Wil- wen, Tchaddy ; and in this manner, that a regular ham Jones, a subtle spirit, and is said to be so succession of divinities was created, till at length, styled both in the Vedas, and the works of the we arrive at Bnima, or Bremah, being the twelfth ^''"^s. Vol. I. S 130 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Ne res ad nlhilum redigantur funditus omnes. Nam, quodquomque suis mutatum finibus exit, Continuo hoc mors est illius, quod fuit ante. Quapropter, quoniam quce pauUo diximus ante, In conmutatum veniunt, constare necesse est 795 Ex aliis ea, qu^ nequeant convortier usquam : Ne tibi res redeant ad nihilr.m funditus omnes. Quin potius, tali natura praedita, queedam Corpora constituas ; ignem si forte crearint. Posse eadem, demptis paucis, paucisque tributis, 800 Ordine mutato, et mofcu, facere aeris auram : Sic alias aliis rebus mutarier omneis. At manifesta palam res indicat, inquis, in auram Aerit e terra res omneis crescere, alique : Et, nisi tempestas indulget tempore fausto 80$ Imbribus, et tabe nimborum arbusta vacillant ; Solque sua pro parte fovet, tribuitque calorem ; Crescere non possint fruges, arbusta, animantes. Scilicet ; et, nisi nos cibus aridus, et tener humor, Adjuvat, amisso jam corpore, vita quoque omnis 810 Omnibus e nervis atque ossibus exsoluatur. Adjutamur enim dubio procul, atque alimur, nos Certis ab rebus, certis ali^ atque alis res : Nimirum, quia multimodis conmunia multis <^ Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. So something still must, void of change, exist ; Or all would perish, all to nought return ; 855 For what once changes, by the change alone Subverts immediate its anterior life. Since, then, as sung above, these all commute Each into each, some seeds must still be own'd That ne'er can change, or all to nought would waste. 860 Hold rather, then, such seeds exist, endow'd With powers so curious that, as now combin'd, If fire they form, combine them but anew, Add, or deduct, give motion, or subtract, And all is air; and changing thus, and chang'd 865 That things from things perpetual take their rise. Nor urge, still sceptic, that each hour display? All life protruded from the genial earth : Fed by the balmy air ; by heaven's own fire Matur'd; and sav'd from pestilence, and death 870 Alone by showers benignant : and that hence Man, beast, and herbs alike exist, and thrive. The fact we own : we own from solid food. And crystal streams, man draws his daily breath, Of nerve, of bone, of being else depriv'd : 875 But, owning, add, the compounds meet for man, For brute, for herbage, differ in their kinds, By different tastes discern'd : and differ thus, S 2 152 DE RERUM NATURA. Multariim rerum in rebus primordia multa Sunt ; ideo variis varice res rebus aluntur. Lib. I. 815 Ver. 877. • differ In their hinds. By differ etit tastes discern' d ; and differ thus, &c.] The anaphora, or playful iteration adopted in this translation is still fuller in the original : multimodis conmunia multis Multarum rerum in rebus primordia multa Sunt ; ideo variis varise res rebus aluntur. Of this sportive figure Lucretius appears to have been extremely fond, and it is hence frequently to be traced in the course of his poem. Our EngUfh in» terpreters, however, have none of them attempted to preserve it in their versions ; but it would be an injustice to the labours of Marchetti not to men- tion that, as usual, he has been more attentive to this characteristic mark of Lucretian versification : Ch' essendo raolti primi semi e molti Communi in molti modi a molti corpi Mescolati fra lor : forz' e ch' il vitto Da varie cose varie cose prendano. In the same manner, a few lines only above, we meet with a passage which I have endeavoured as faithfully to translate. in alternate course Each flows from each, th' alternate form is seiz'd, Th' alternate nature. Ver. 828. Dr. Johnson, if I rightly remember, in his life of Gray, strenuously objects to the use of alliterations of every kind, as stiff, cumbersome, and mechani- cal. But it fhould be recollected, that all metre is mechanism ; and that even the style of all prose writers, who have acquired any degree of celebrity and especially that of Johnson himself, is mecha- nism reduced to habit. The Double, double toil and trouble, therefore, of which, parodying upon a line of Shake- spear, he accuses all poets who indulge in this spe- cies of ornament, will apply to all reputable prose writers as well ; but to none more, or even perhaps so largely as to the accuser. Much true taste, however, and nice discrimination, I am ready to allow, is peculiarly requisite in the use of the anaphora ; ^nd it certainly has, occasionally, been most grossly abused in the hands of poetasters and punning epi- grammatists. At the same time, all ages and all nations afford us instances of its adoption by poets the most classical and refined. In our own language it is well known to be a decoration so common in the writings of Gray, that to quote him would be altogether an act of superfluity : Mason, who was his intimate friend and copyist, and who approaches, perhaps, more nearly to the elegant and impressive simplicity of Lucretius than any other didactic poet of whom we can boast, has also introduced this ornament, as he has many other decorations of the Roman bard, and even the contour of those decorations into his English Garden with no unsparing hand. Thus in a passage where the author is proving the frequent necessity of calling in mechanic siill to our assistance in improving the plan we have decided upon ; And where we bid her move, with engine huge, Each ponderous trunk, the ponderous trunk there move. A work of difficulty, and danger tried. Nor oft successful found. But if it fail Thy axe must do its office. Cruel task. Yet needful. Trust me, tho' / bid thee strike, Reluctantly / lid thee ; for my soul Holds dear an ancient oak, nothing more dear. It is an ancient friend. B. i. v. 328. Thus in a similar manner, Spenser : Glad of such luck, the lucky luckless maid A long time with that savage people staid. In the following passage of Milton, as well as in a vast variety of other places, we meet with an in- stance of both hteral and verbal alhteration : and Lucretius was equally attached to each. So man, as is most just. Shall satisfy for man, be judged and die. And dying rise, and, rising, with him raise His brethren ransomed. Fas. Lost. iii. 294. I Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 133 And only thus, as form'd from various seeds, To all things common, but in various modes 880 The glittering poetry of Dr. Darwin affords nu- merous instances of the same decoration ; pursued, in some cases, to excess. The following couplet, and I have no room for more, offers us an elegant and un- exceptionahle example : Organic forms with chemic changes strive. Live lul to die, and die but to revive. Tem». of Nat. ii. 48. Perhaps nopoet, hov^evfr, of real talents, in our own language, has carried this figure to so blan-euble an excess, as Dr. Young in his Niglit Thoughts, where it certain!- maices its appearance too frequently, and is pursui-d, in most instances, too far. Let > ~ now examine a few foreign poets of ac- knowk-igcd ability, both ancient and modern, in confirmation of the taste of the poet before us. And lirst, the eclogues of Virgil are full of the anaphora, — full, I mean, without producing dis- gust. Let us take an example from his Pollio : Pan etiaTTi, Arcadia mecum si judice certet, Pan etiam, Arcadia dicat se judice victum. To this passage the judicious Vida has referred, as a proof of the beauty of the iterative figure, and its employment by poets of unrivalled reputation. These are his words, and this his own imitation of this very couplet : Quid sequar ulterius quanta dulcedine captue Detineant aures, vocem cum rursus eandem Ingeminant, modo non verborum cogat egestas ? Pan etiam Arcadia neget hoc si judice prsesens, Pan, etiam Arcadia dicam te judice vanum. Poet. iii. 142. But now to mention farther 1 forbear With what strong charms they captivate tlie ear ; When the same terms they happily repeal. The same repeated seem more soft and sweet. This, were Arcadia judge, if Pan withstood. Pan's judge, Arcadia, would condemn her god. Pitt, Homer himself furnishes us with almost as many instances as Virgil. Let the following suffice : *f«|a»TEj Irifv SoufU, /saxo; ^axii trfO^iXvfiitu' Acrm; af owjrid EOTii'=, xopn; xofov, av.fn. ^ avijp. II. N. 130. This passage has been happily imitated by Sta- tius, and without swelling the present note unne- cessarily, with quotations from the poets of Greece and Rome, I will confine myself to this instance alone : Jam clypeus clypeis, umbone repellitur umbo, Ense rainax ensis, pede pes, et cuspide cuspis. Theb. viii. Pope has been equally fortunate in his version of the above passage in Homer, and it will serve as a translation of either extract : An iron scene gleams dreadful o'er the fields. Armour in armour lock'd, and shields in shields ; Spears lean on spears, on targets targets throng, Helm sticks to helm, and man drives man along. In an Ode on Painting, by Frederic Staiidhn, a German poet of no small merit of the present day, the same description and figure is so precisely in- troduced as to require no additional translation. Hier, wie im grausen sciilachtgefild An panzer panzer hallt, Und helm an helm, und schild an schild, Und dampf von leichen walk. An alhteration of the same kind is to be met with in the twelfth Canto of the Jerusalem Dehvered : L' onta irrita lo sdegno alia vendetta ; E la vendetta poi 1' onta rinnova : Onde sempre al ferir, sempre alia fretta Stimol novo s' aggiunge, e cagion nova. Alternate furies either breast inflame. Alternate vengeance, and alternate shame j No pause, no rest th' impatient warriors know. But rage to rage, and blow succeeds to blow. HooLE. Sir John Fanshaw has introduced a beautiful alli- teration into his version of the second canto of the 134 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Atque eadem magni refert primordia ssepe Cum quibus, et quali positura, contineantur ; Et quos inter se dent motus, adcipiantque. Namque eadem coelum, mare, terras, flumina, solem, Constituunt ; eadem fruges, arbusta, animanteis : Verum, alils alioque modo conmixta, moventur. Quin etiam passim nostris in versibus ipsis Multa elementa vides, multis conmunia verbis ; Quom tamen inter se versus, ac verba, necesse est Confiteare, et re, et sonitu distare sonanti : Tantum elementa queunt, permutato ordine solo ! 820 825 Lusiad of Camoe'ns ; which, indeed, does not exist in the Portugueze, and is, therefore, entitled to the additional merit of originality. Speaking of the altar, he says : On it the picture of that shape he plac'd. In which the holy Spirit did alight ; The picture of the dove, so vih'ite, so chaste. On the blest virgin's head, so chaste, so tvhite. Camoe'ns, however, was by no means inattentive to this figure, although it does not form the basis of the above translation. In the sixth canto, we meet with the following instance of it : eu desejo Ha muito ja de andar terras estranhas, Por ver mais agoas que as do Douro, e Tejo, Var'tas gentes, e leis, e varias manhas. Long have I hop'd thro* foreign climes to stray, Where others treams than Douro wind their way ; To note what various shares of bliss and woe From 'various laws, and various customs flow. MiCKLE. See also extract from the same poet in note on book ii. ver. 606. But even prose writers, and pubhc oi-ators, have not always neglected the cultivation of this rhetori. cal flower. It would be easy to select instances from Demosthenes and Cicero, were it necessary. Passing these, I shall merely oberve, that St. Paul himself has adopted it, 2 Cor. ix. 8. iva ti iraurt •km- roTc "TTo^scv oiVTCtfK'Accv Ejj^ovTE? iTtpKjo'svmi Elf TTav ctyaSoK : " that, having an all sufficiency at all times in all things, ye may abound in a// that is good." It would swell this note to an unnecessary length to cite in- stances of the same kind from the Hebrew poets. I refer the reader therefore to note on B. iv, v. I. where the subject is resumed. Ver. 887. Thus, though the lines, ] This comparison is exquisitely apposite and illustrative ; and our poet recurs to it, and makes a still ampler use of it in ver. 971 of the prescHt book, which see, as likewise the note on ver. 974. In the second, and some of the succeeding books, he also introduces the same illustration. The argument itself is founded on strict and phi- losophic fact : and our modern metaphysicians have often availed themselves of it. Thus Dr. Clarke, al- most in the words of our poet : " Every thing by composition, division, or motion, is nothing else but the very same it was before, taken either in whole or 7 Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 135 Combin'd, and fitted to each rising want. Nor small of import are the modes diverse In which those seeds approach, recede, or blend : Since heaven, and earth, and suns, and seas immense, Herbs, instinct, reason, all are hence deriv'd : The mode but chang'd, the matter still the same. Thus, though the lines, these doctrines that recite, Flow from the same fixt elemental types, Yet line from hne, in sense, in sound compar'd, Egregious differs. Re-arranged alone, Such the vast power by graphic types possest ! 885 890 by parts, or in different place or order. When two triangles, being put together, make a square, that square is still nothing but two triangles : or when a square cut in half makes two triangles, those two triangles are still only the two halves of a square ; or when a mixture of blue and yellow powder makes a green, that green is still nothing but blue and yel- low intermixed, as is plainly visible by the help of microscopes." Demonstration of the Being, &c. of God, 8vo. edit. p. 58. Nothing can afford a stronger proof of the very ex- traordinary manner in which the same substance, un- der one arrangement or modification of iis primary particles, may differ from the same substance when under another, than some late experiments of Mr. Chevenix, upon a supposed new metal, entitled Pal- ladium ; in the course of which he discovered that platina, whose specific gravity is more than 22, com- bined with mercury, whose specific gravity is nearly 14, produced a mass whose gravity was not more than about 11. These experiments are stated in a paper inserted in the Philosophical Transactions for 1803 ; and they lead to an additional remark, which is too much in point to be omitted : " A no less ex- traordinarj- degree of irregular density is daily before our eyes ; yet it has not so much as attracted our at- tention. It is true that it is taken from among the gases. But, if we suppose that we have attained ac- curacy in experiments upon these subjects, I see no reason to refuse their evidence in this instance. The density of oxygen gas to that of water is as i to 740 ; and the density of hydrogen gas, as I to 9792. The mean density of that proportion of oxygen and hy- drogen gases which constitutes water, is to that of water as i to 2098 ; or, in other words, water is 2098 times heavier than the mean density of its ele- ments in the gaseous state. But water is only 1200 times heavier than steam, or water in the state of va- pour. Therefore there is a variation in -j-, of 898, or nearly half, between the density of water and its elements, when both are in the aeriform state. This fact, however, regards bodies only as they remain in -the same state, whether of solidity, hquidity, or flui- dity. The anomaly is much greater, if we contem- plate them as they pass from one of these states to the other. Yet we must not omit the consideration of such a change, in the instance of mercury alloyed with platina ; for the former metal, before hquid, becomes solid as it enters into the new combina- tion." 136 DE RERUM NATURA. Lie. I. At, rerum qu^ sunt primordia, plura adhibere Possunt, unde queant varlas res quseque creari. Nunc et Anaxagorse scrutemur Si/,oiofA,e^eMv, 830 Quam Graii memorant, nee nostra dicere lingua Concedit nobis patrii sermonis egestas : Sed tamen ipsam rem facile est exponere verbis, Principium rerum, quam dicit ofioiofjie^etav' Ossa videlicet e pauxillis atque minutis 835 Ossibus, sic et de pauxillis atque minutis Visceribus viscus, gigni ; sanguenque creari Sanguinis inter se multis coeuntibus guttis : Ex aursque putat micis consistere posse Auram, et de terris terram concrescere parvis ; 840 Ignibus ex igneis, humorem humoribus, esse, Csetera consimili fingit, ratione, putatque ; Nee tamen esse ulla parte idem in rebus inane Concedit, neque corporibus finem esse secandis. Ver. 897. From salient Ati AX AGot.As,'} Thisphi- book. Plato introduces Socrates as speaking in high losopher, concerning whose origin there is some dis- commendation of a work written by Anaxagoras on pute among the critics, was a native of Clazomenx Physiology ; and it is probable, that the tenets here in Ionia. Metaphysics, and natural philosophy, attributed to him were first communicated to the were the continual subjects of his studies ; and he world in that publication, and that it was hence our travelled far with a view of benefiting himself by the poet imbibed a knowledge of his hypothesis. Plu- observations of others. He died at the age of 62, tarch, however, 1. i. 13, has informed us, that he was about three centuries and a half before the Christian also the author of a book on Tie Nature of Thhigs, sera, at Lampsacus ; to which place he was banished which opens with an assertion, that the divine mind by the Athenians, in consequence of the aberration had produced and arranged every phenomenon in of his philosophic opinions from the popular creed nature at one and the same time. 'Ojxov n-avT» xi^'""-'"^ of the day. His chief preceptors were Anaximenes vi, kv; S" aurt; JinfE xai 5iExo5jLir,mfolded to view at definite times, and according to definite arrangements. Perrault appears, completely, therefore, to have imbibed the old philosophy of Anaxagoras, without knowing it ; or, if he knew it, at least, without acknowledg- ing it. Whilst upon this subject, I cannot avoid noticing the resemblance of this opinion of Perrault with that of the primordial egg of the Bramins, of which the Ordmances of Menu give us the following account, as translated from the original Sanscrit by Sir Wm. Jones. " He whom the mind alone can perceive, having willed to produce various being? from his own divine substance, first, with a thought, created the waters, and placed in them a productive seed. That seed became an egg bright as gold, blazing like the luminary, with a thousand beams ; and in that egg he was born himself, in the form of Brahma, the great forefather of all spirits. In that egg the great power sat inactive a whole year of the creator, at the close of which, by his thought alone, he caused the egg to divide itself; and from its two divisions he framed the heaven above, and the earths beneath ; and in the midst he placed the subtile ether, the eight regions, and the permanent recep- tacle of waters." Vol. iii. p. 66. Much of this doctrine was afterwards introduced into Greece, probably by Orpheus, through the medium of Egypt, and was, for many centuries, regarded as sa- cred and indisputable. Among modern theories of generation, that of Dr. Darvrin has lately excited the greatest degree of attention. It supposes the human frame to ema- nate from a fibril of the male, uniting with seminal mole- cules of the female. But his view of the origin of plants appears to be different, and bears a closer approximation to the theory of Ruysch and De Graaf. If my memory fail me not, he has asserted, both in his Botanic Garden, and his Phytologia, that the seeds of all plants contain in their substance, Upt only the germ or rudiment of the future plant, but the whole of its leaves and branches ; as does, likewise, the bud of the pedicularis and hepatica ; and the hybernacle of the hyacinth, and most other plants propagated from bulbous roots. The very accurate Spalanzani has indeed disco, vered in these bulbous roots different races of the same plant to the fourth generation ; and has traced the same appearance in a variety of animals as well as vegetables. In the female volvox, an insect found chiefly in infusions of hemp-seed and tremella, and the putrid water of dunghills, some naturalists of his acquaintance, he tells us, observed the future fetus in the womb extending to the fifth generation. He has himself traced it to the third, even through Tz 140 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. L Adde, quod inbecilla nimis primordia fingit ; Si primordia sunt, simili quse prsedita constant Natura atque ipsas res sunt ; ^queque laborant, Et pereunt; neque ab exitio res ulla refrcenat. 850 Nam quid in obpressu valido durabit eorum, Ut mortem ecfugiat, leti sub dentibus ipsis ? Ignis ? an humor ? an aura ? quid horum ? sanguis an ? anne os ? Nihil, ut opinor ; ubi ex cequo res funditus omnis Tarn mortahs erit, quam quce manifesta videmus 855 Ex ocuhs nostris, ahqua vi functa, perire. At neque recidere ad nihilum res posse, neque autem Crescere de nihilo, tester res ante probatas. Pr^terea, quoniam cibus auget corpus, ahtque ; Scire licet, nobis venas, et sanguen, et ossa, 860 'Et nervos, alienigenis ex partibus esse : Sive cibos omneis conmixto corpore dicent Esse, et habere in se nervorum corpora parva,, ■ Ossaque, et omnino venas, parteisque cruoris ; Fiet, utei cibus omnis et aridus et liquor ipse 865 Ex alienigenis rebus constare putentur, Ossibus, et nervis, venisque, et sanguine, mixta. the diaplionous membrane of the mother ; and when like manner, the butterfly is included in the shell of isolated, he has descried a regular series to the thir- the chrysalis, and the chrysalis in the skin of the ca- teenth generation : and perhaps, as he observes, even terpillar. this, was not the last. In many other instances, says The theories founded upon these appearances he, we have found one egg within another, and some are all of them so many approximations towards osseous part of a fetus within another fetus. In the Homceomeria of Anaxagoras. The generative Book t. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 141 Too feeble, too, the rudiments he chose, If ruduiients they be, that hold, at once, The powers of things, and fomi the things themselves. All toil alike, and perish void of aid : For, when the hour of dissolution draws, 915 Say, which can baffle the dread fangs of death ? Can ether, lymph, or fire ? can nerve, or bones ? In each the strife were vain : since all produc'd, Survey'd, or viewless, impotent alike. Must yield to fate, and perish unredeem'd. 920 But things produc'd to nought can never fall, Or fall'n, regerminate, as prov'd above. Food rears the body, and its growth sustains : But well we know its tendons, nerves, and blood. Hence all matur'd, are foreign and unlike. 925 If, then, each food be compound, if commixt With miniatures of all, of blood and nerve. Of bone, and veins ; each food compact, or moist, Of parts unlike must then itself consist ; Of bone, of blood, of tendon, vein, and nerve. 930 system of Buffon has an equal assimilation. It sup- parent bodies, which arrange themselves in . the poses an intermixture of the seminal fluid of both formation of the fetus into the same limbs and sexes in the uterus necessary to produce the future organs as those from which they were secerned, fetus ; and asserts, that this fluid consists of organic See a further account of this theory in note on molecules, secreted from every limb and organ of the b. iv. 1264. 7 142 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Pr^terea, qusequomque e terra corpora crescunt, Si sunt in terris, tenam constare necesse est Ex alienigenis, quae terris exoriuntur. 870 Transfer item, totidem verbis utare licebit : In lignis si flamma latet, fumusque, cinisque, Ex alienigenis consistant ligna, necesse est ; Ex alienigenis, quee lignis exoriuntur. Linquitur heic qusedam latitandi copia tenuis, 875 Id, quod Anaxagoras sibi sumit ; ut omnibus omneis Res putet inmixtas rebus latitare, sed illud Adparere unum, quoius sint plurima mixta, £t magis in promptu, primaque in fronte, locata : Quod tamen a vera longe ratione repulsum est. 880 Conveniebat enim fruges quoque siepe, minaci Robore quom in saxi franguntur, mittere signum Sanguinis, aut aliquid, nostro quse corpore aluntur : Quom lapidem in lapidem terimus, manare cruorem : Consimili ratione herbis quoque, sjepe decebat Et laticis dulceis guttas, similique sapore 885 Mittere, lanigercc quales sunt ubere lactis : Scilicet ; et glebis terrarum scepe friatis Ver.giJ. But here, the ready answfr,/ram'Jof yore,"] misfiira maxime abundat. Non enim esse totum This reply of Anaxagoras and his disciples has been pure aut album, aut nigrum, aut dulce, aut carnem, noticed by Aristotle, in the following observation, as aut os ; cujus autem amplius unumquodque habet, translated by Gassendi : Rtsetapparereet denominari earn talis rei naturam videri : "they contend, that jnvicem diiferentes aiunt, ab eo quod in infinitorum things actually appear, and derive their different de- Book L THE NATURE OF THINGS. 143 Thus all things spring from earth : but if in earth All lurk invelop'd, earth of forms consists Strange, and discordant, panting for the day. Change still the picture, and the same still flows : In timbers, thus, if smoke, flame, ashes blend, 935 Then, too, those timbers hostile parts comprise. But, here, the ready answer, fram'd of yore, By him, the founder of the system, springs : That, though in all things all things lurk commixt, What most prevails, what boasts the largest share, 940 Lies superficial, and is notic'd chief. Fruitless remark, unsolid, and untrue. For still, at times, when crush'd to dust minute Beneath the pond'rous mill-stone's mighty orb The crumbling corn with human blood must weep, 945 Or aught besides of fluid found in man, And stain with hues obscene : and still, at times. Each herb unfold the balmy milk so sweet, That swells the fleecy flock, or odorous kine. The furrow'd glebe, the lab'ring plough beneath, 950 nominations from those atomswhich principally abound name of those properties it seems principally en- in the general mass. For the entire substance is titled to." never universally either white, or black, or sweet, or To this observation, Lucretius replies with much flesh, or bone ; but which properties soever of these logical force and precision. His argument is clear it possesses in the largest degree, the nature and and demonstrative, and requires no comment. 144 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Herbarum genera, et fruges, frundeisque videri, Dispartita, ac in terram latitare minute : Postremo, in lignis cinerem fumumque videri, 890 Quom pr^fracta forent, igneisque latere minutos. Quorum nihil fieri quoniam manifesta docet res, Scire licet, non esse in rebus res ita mixtas ; Verum semina multimodis inmixta latere Multarum rerum in rebus conmunia debent. 305 At, s^pe in magnis fit montibus, inquis, ut altis Arboribus vicina cacumina summa terantur Inter se, validis facere id cogentibus austfis, Donee flammai fulserunt flore coorto : Scilicet ; et non est lignis tamen insitus ignis ; 900 Verum semina sunt ardoris multa, terendo Ver. 958. But shouItTst thou urge, &c.] This phe- those fires. Some have attributed them to the rays nomenon, of the tops of forests suddenly taking fire of the sun, which continue so long above the hori- from the violent collision of branch against branch, son; — but this is fabulous, and unworthy of notice." has been adverted to by Thucydides, and many later He then, generally, ascribes them to two common historians. They are still frequent in the immense causes: the peasants smoking their pipes as they forests of Finland, and are noticed, but differently travel through the woods, together with their cook- accounted for, by M. Acerbi, in his journey from ing their food as they proceed ; and a right granted Yervendale to Wasa. " Partial fires," says he, " con- to them by their pohtical constitution, of cutting flagrations and tempests had committed frightful ra- down and carrying away from the crown lands all vages in the bosom of this forest, which presented trees and fragments of trees that have been injured us, here and there, with exhibitions highly surpris- by fires : to obtain which privilege they often pur- ing and impressive. Every body has heard of the con- posely excite them. " 1 saw," continues he, " in this flagrations so frequent in Sweden, and in the coun- forest, the disastrous wreck of one of those confla- tries of the North in general. Entire mountains, grations which had devoured the wood through an and tracts of several miles, covered with woods, are extent of six or seven miles, and which exhibited a liable to be devoured by flames. Much has been most dismal spectacle. You not only saw trunks said, and written, in order to explain the origin of and large remains of trees lying iu confusion on the Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 145 Must, too, develope, in its secret womb, Plants, fruits, and foliage, oft dispers'd, and hid : And, to the woodman, the cleft stock disclose With ashes smoke, and smoke commixt with fire. These, facts deny: in things things ne'er exist ; 955 But seeds of things, in various modes arrang'd, Various themselves : whence rises all survey'd. But should'st thou urge that oft beneath the storm, When rubb'd by many a repercussion rude. Branch against branch, the forest's topmost height 960 Has blaz'd from tree to tree ; the fact we grant: Not, with each trunk, that native fires combine ; But that perpetual friction quick collects Their seeds dispers'd ; hence gathering ten-fold force. ground, and reduced to the state of charcoal, but Correptis subito mediis, extenditur una also trees standing upright, which, though they had Horrida per latos acies Vulcania campos : escaped destruction, had yet been miserably scorched : lUe sedens victor flammas despectat ovantes. others black, and bending down to one side, whilst, L. x. 40J. in the midst of the ruins of trunk and branches, ap- As when, in summer, welcome winds arise, peared a group of young trees rising to replace the The watchful shepherd to the forest flies, former generation ; and, full of vigour and vegetable And fires the midmost shrubs; contagion spreads, life, seemed to be deriving their nourishment from And rushing flames infest the neighb'ring heads : the ashes of their parents." Acerbi's Travels, I. p. Around the forest flies the burning blast, 229. 231. And all the leafy nation sinks at last. And Vulcan rides in triumph o'er the waste. Ver. 960. the forest's topmost height The pastor, pleas'd with his dire victory, Has blaz'd ] The description of the forest Beholds the satiate flames in sheets ascend the sky. in flames, in the iEneid, is not widely different from Dryden. the present, in several of its bearings. „ , ^, . , ,. , , , mi „ j r *^ ^ Ver, 964. Their seeds Jisfers'tl i—^ The " seeds of Ac vclut optato, ventis estate coortis, g,.^^„ ^,. „ ^^^^^„ -^ 3 j.„j„„„„ expression among the D.spersa .mm.tt.t sylvis incendia pastor : ^,,, ^ Vol. I. U 146 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Qu^ quom confluxere, creant incendia sylvis. Quod, si facta foret sylvis abscondita flamma, Non possent uUum tempus celarier ignes: Confacerent volgo sylvas, arbusta cremarent. 905 Jamne vides igitur, paullo quod diximus ante, Permagni referre, eadem primordia sjepe Cum quibus, et quali positura, contingantur ; Et quos inter se dent motus, adcipiantque ? Atque eadem, paullo inter se mutata, creare 910 Igneis e lignis? quo pacto verba quoque ipsa Inter se paullo mutatis sunt dementis, Quom ligna atque igneis distincta voce notemus. Denique, jam qu^quomque in rebus cernis apertis, Si fieri non posse putas, quin material 915 Corpora consimili natura pr^edita fingas, Zircfiia. wupo,- o-a^oiv Odyss. E. 490. Sunt autem cunctis permixti partibus ignes j The seeds of fire preserving Ac silice in dura, viridigve in cortice, sedem Inveniunt, cum syha, siii coU'ua crematur : So Pindar, m his Olympics, Ignibus usque adeo natura est omnis abundans. • EX'"''ffi i. 854. Stedu' avEtav (^Xoyo^ ov Vll. o'J* _ ... t n. Fire lurks, commixt, in all things : — the tough flmt Untended by the seeds of fire, /->.,. ,. j > \i, j . u i ' Grants it a seat ; and e en the verdant bark, Still to the temple pressed they. ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^.^^ j,^^^^^ _. Hence Virgil, From scene to scene so nature swells with fire. semina flammx Abstrusa in venis silicis .£neid. vi. C „ . . ^ , j.- Ver. 974. As TLVZ and fuel, terrm of different the seeds of flame sound,'] The mode of reasoning adopted by Hid in the harsh flint's veins ^^r ^^^^ j„ ^g^se 887 is here recurred to ; and it is But the following, from Manilius, is a copy from sufficiently strong and apposite, to vi'arrant a repe- onr own poet, tition. The terms employed in the original are Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 147 And flame engend'ring. For could fire itself 965 A part constituent of the forest form, No hour could hide the mischief ; ev'ry tree AVould blaze, and burn till boundless ruin reign'd. See, then, as earlier sung, how much imports Th' arrangement, motion, magnitude, and form 970 Of primal seeds combin'd : and how the same, Transpos'd but little, fuel quick convert ' To flame, bright blazing up the swarthy flue : As FLUE and fuel, terms of different sound, Of different sense, their letters but transpos'd, 97^ Each into each converts with magic speed. But should'st thou urge that all things still may flow , From primal seeds, and yet those seeds possess The form, the nature of the things themselves; ligna and igne'is, or wood and fire ; but as these, in our own language, by no means convey the poet's orthographic illustration, I have found it necessary to introduce a slight change, which, in every re- spect, answers and elucidates his intention. The version of Evelyn and Creech, as well as that of Guernier, who has followed the two former, retain the Latin terms lignum and ignis, but with extreme awkwardness in lines that pretend to give a trans- Jation. Marchetti has endeavoured to avoid this evil ; but, in his escape,, has introduced one quite as considerable, by the adoption of terms, which, though orthographically expressive of our poet's in- tent ion, have no kind of connexion with his metaphors. E puono gh stessi variati alquanto Far le legne e lejiatnme appunto come Puongli gli elementi variati alquanto Formare ed arme ed orme e rame e rome. Coutures has been more unhappy than any of the translators ; for vifithout daring, hke Marchetti, to introduce new terms, he has given those of the ori- ginal literally translated into his own language, where they make a more awkward, and inapposite appearance than even the Latin terms preserved in the three English versions. Rendered by Coutures, the Latin lignum and ignis become bois artd Jiu ; but by what means these words, which have not a single letter in common, can be orthographically transposed into each other, or how they can pos- sibly explain the poet's meaning, it is not easy to determine. . ^ U2 148 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Hac ratlone tibi pereunt primordia rerum : Fiet, utei risu tremulo concussa cachinnent, Et lacrumis salsis humectent ora, genasque. Nunc age, quod super est, cognosce, et clarius audi : 920 Nee me animi fallit, quam sint obscura ; sed acri Percussit thyrso laudis spes magna meum cor, Et simul incussit suavem mi in pectus amorem Musarum : quo nunc instinctus, mente vigenti Avia Pieridum peragro loca, nullius ante ^25 Trita solo : juvat integros adcedere fiinteis, Ver. 980. The scheme falls self-destroy' J. ] Nothing can be more ridiculous than to suppose the possession of opposite qualities in compound sub- stances, derived from the possession of such opposite qualities in the elemental atoms of nature. And yet, if the system of Anaxagoras be true, this absurdity must be true likewise ; and as in the case of sudden joy, or violent agony, persons of irritable habits, when thrown into an hysteric paroxysm, are ac- customed, not unfrequently, to laugh and weep at the same moment ; the same extravagant effects ought to be exhibited, with equal frequency, in many of the atoms of which the human frame is composed. Ver. 983. Come, noiv, ntid mark perspicuous -what remnins.'l The whole of this apostrophe to Memmius is beautiful beyond expression ; and has been imitated, in almost every line, by a variety of the most elegant and accomplished of ancient and modern poets. Thus Virgil, in his address to his patron : Nee sum animi dubius, verbis ea vincere magnum Quam sit, et angustis hunc addere rebus honorem. Sed me Parnassi deserta per ardua dulcis Raptat amor : juvat ire jugis, qua nulla priorum Castaliam moUi devertitur orbita clivo. Geo. iii. 289. I, conscious of the toil, will strive to raise The lowly theme, and grace with labour'd lays: Tranc'd by sweet love o'er unfrequented heights. Where no smooth trace to Castaly invites, I pierce the wild by mortal foot untrod. And lonely commune vtith th' Aonian god. SoTHEBY, Thus also Akenside : but the love Of nature and the muses bids explore Through secret paths, erewhile untrod by roan. The fair poetic region, to detect Untasted springs, to drink inspiring draughts, And shade my temples with unfading flowers, CuU'd from the laureat vale's profound recess, Where never poet gain'd a wreath before. Pleas, of Imag. i. Thus too, the abbe De Lille, alluding to our poet by name, in the following address to his muse : Toi done, qui, mariant la grace et la vigueur Sais du chant didactique animer la langueur, O Muse ! si jadis, dans les vers de LucatCE Des austeres legons tu polls la rudesse, — Viens orner un sujet plus riche, plus fertile, Dont le charme autrefois avoit tente Virgile. Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 149 The scheme falls self-destroy 'd. — For then, must seeds 980 Hold pow'rs adverse ; and laugh, and shake their sides. While tears of anguish down their cheeks distil. Come, now, and mark perspicuous what remains. Obscure the subject : but the thirst of fame Burns all my bosom ; and through ev'ry nerve 985 Darts the proud love of letters, and the muse. I feel th' inspiring power ; and roam resolv'd Through paths Pierian never trod before. Sweet are the springing founts with nectar new ; N^empruntons point ic't d'ornement et ranger ; f^ieni, de mes propres Jleurs man front •oas'omlrager. Les Jardins, Chant i. Thou, wLo, to vigour marrying sprightly grace, In nervous verse didatic truth canst trace, O Muse ! of yore who, when Lucretius sung Didst smooth his subject, and sublime his tongue. Now o'er a richer theme exert thy pride, A theme by Maro's magic numbers tried : Come, let no borrow' d ornaments be mine. With my otvn Jlo-wers my shadowy brows entwine. Horace has a passage in his Epistles so extremely in point with this of Lucretius, that it is either a designed imitation, or affords a striking parallel : Libera per vacuum posui vestigia princeps : Non aliena meo pressi pede. 1. i. ep. 19. I my free footsteps in a path untried, First fix, and tread in regions all my own. Manihus has a few verses to the same effect : Aggredior, primusque novis Helicona movere Cantibus, et viridi mutantes vertice sylvas ; Hospita sacra ferens, nuUi raemorata priorum. The Heliconian streams, and nodding groves I iirst approach, with numbers unessay'd, Oblations bearing, borne till now by none. Lambinus has recorded the foUovring verses from 7 Oppian, as bearing a striking resemblance to a part of our poet's address : Tti» jjiifoirm ov iru tij Ins EiraTritr^v ooiJaij. v. 20. Come, let us tread the rugged path. By poet never trod before. Nor can we be otherwise than reminded of Milton's elegant address to the heavenly muse, in the opening of liis first book of Paradise Lost, which most of his annotators refer to this common source : I thence Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song. That, with no middle flight, intends to soar Above th' Aonian mount, while it pursues Things unattempted yet in prose or rhime. He had before read an address of the same kind, in Cowley's Davideis : Guide my bold steps In these untrodden paths to sacred fame. Thus also Armstrong, Art of preserving Health, book ii. Come now, ye Naiads, to the fountains lead ! Now let me wander thro' your gelid reign : I turn to view th' enthusiastic wilds, By mortal else untiod. 150 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I, Atque haurire ; juvatque novos decerpere floras, Insignemque meo capiti petere inde coronam, Unde prius nulli velarint tempora Musse. Piimum, quod magnis doceo de rebus, et artis Religionum animum nodis exsolvere pergo : Deinde, quod obscura de re tarn lucida pango Carmina, Musseo contlngens cuncta lepore : Id quoque enim non ab nulla ratione videtur ; 930 Ver. 991. Those jloiu'rs til pluck, and weave a ro- seat wreath,'] The translation of Creech has metamorphosed this flowery wreath of our poet in- to a chaplet of laurel : none of all the mighty tuneful Nine Shall grace a head with laurels like to mine. His commentator on this passage, however, can- didly observes, that in the original no mention is made of laurel ; and that garlands and wreaths of ivy seem to have been the first ornament of poets, and other learned men, and laurel the decoration of conquerors. Thus Horace : " Me doctarum Hedem: prscmia frontium Dis miscent superis." Yet it is very uncertain whether the me in this ad- dress of Horace ought not to be te, and refer to Maecenas, the poet's patron, agreeably to the in- genious conjecture of Rutgers, who has since been followed by a variety of able critics of all countries. Be this, however, as it may, it is obvious, that Lu- cretius has no allusion either to the ivy or the laurel in the passage before us, for he expressly employs the X.t'cm Jlores, ox Jlowers, which will not conveni- ently apply to either of them : juvatque novos decerpere flores, Insignemque meo capiti petere inde coronam. Sweet the new flowers that bloom, but sweeter still These flowers to pluck, and weave a roseat wreath. The custom of adorning with crowns, or chaplets of flowers interwoven with foliage, those who had pecuharly distinguished themselves in the arts of war, of music, or of poetry, is "almost as ancient as those arts themselves. It was occasionally forbid- den, under severe penalties, by the more zealous of the Roman emperors, after their conversion to Chris- tianity, as being supposed to partake of the super- stitions of paganism. Petrarc, however, to a cer- tainty, even so late as the middle of the fourteenth cen- tury, was fortunate enough to enjoy this honour of poetic coronation, conferred with every possible de- gree of publicity and splendour, and attended upon by the senators, and many of the council, at the Roman capitol : a detailed account of which trans- action is inserted in Tiraboschi's Storia della Lite- ratura Italiana. There is great reason also to be- lieve, notwithstanding the doubts which have been entertained on the subject by some persons, that Ariosto, a full centuryafterwards, was admitted to a similar distinction, and was even crowned by the hands of the emperor Charles V. Such, at least, is the decla- ration of the monument now in existence in the church of the Benedictines at Florence, erected to his memory in the year 1612, by Ludovico Ariosto, a collateral branch of his family. Of all the Grecian poets, Anacreon is the most frequent in his reference to this custom of decorating the temples with flowery chaplets ; and his flower is, Book 1. THE NATURE OF THINGS, Sweet the new flowers that bloom : but sweeter still Those flow'rs to pluck, and weave a roseat wreath, The muses yet to mortals ne'er have deign'd. With joy the subject I pursue ; and free The captiv'd mind from superstition's yoke. With joy th' obscure illume ; in liquid verse, Graceful, and clear, depicting all survey 'd : By reason guided. For as oft, benign. The sapient nurse, when anxious to enforce 151 990 995 on almost every occasion, the rose, edit. Barnes: Oir juoi jueXei Tvyao Toy ^afSiuv avax.ro-: Eji^oi jueXei foSoiari K«T«crT!$£i» >iafma I care not for the idle state Of Persia's king, the rich, the great ! But oh ! be mine the rosy braid. The fervour of my brows to shade. Moore. The custom was probably of Asiatic origin, yet the Persian poets seem to have been fonder of strew- ing roses around them, than of entwining them in their hair ; at least, the latter fashion is by no means so frequently referred to as the former. Thus, Hafiz, in one of his most beautiful gazels : Come, jovial, to the garden lead. Let noise, and mirth, and madness vie ; Like nightingales, from anguish freed, In nests of roses let us lie. Thus, Od, XV. In like manner, the sentimental Sadi, in his Gu- listan 'Tis not the nightingale alone That, seated mid the resets sweets. Talks of her charms in tenderest tone ; For every thorn the theme repeats. Ver. 998. For as oft, benign, The sapient nurse, when anxious to enforce'] This simile, as well as many others which will appear as we proceed, has been closely copied by Tasso in his Jerusalem Delivered. 1 cannot, however, agree with his commentator Nardius, that the copy is superior to the original : " dum semulatur," says he of Tor- quato, " palmam auctori eripuit." Let the reader compare them : Sai che la corve il mondo ove piu versi Di sue dolcezze il lusinghier Parnasso ; E che il vero condito in molli versi, I piu schivi allettando ha persuaso. Cosi all' egro fanciul porgiamo aspersi Di soave licor gU orli del vaso : Succhi anftri ingannato intanto ei beve, E dall' inganno sua vita riceve. Cant. i. 152 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Sed, velutei pueris absinthia tetra medentes 935 Quom dare conantur, prius oras, pocula ciicum, Contingunt mellis dulci flavoque liquore, Ut puerorum setas inprovida ludificetur Labrorum tenus ; interea perpotet amarum Absinthii laticem, deceptaque non capiatur, 940 Sed potius, tali facto recreata, valescat : Sic ego nunc, quoniam hsec ratio plerumque videtur Tristior esse, quibus non est tractata, retroque Volgus abhorret ab hac ; volui tibi suaviloquenti Carmine Pierio rationem exponere nostram, 945 Et quasi Museeo dulci contingere melle ; Si tibi forte animum tali ratione tenere Versibus in nostris possem, dum perspicis omnem Naturam rerum, qua constet compta figura. Sed, quoniam docui, solidissima material 950 Corpora perpetuo volitare, invicta per sevom ; Thou know'st the world with eager transport swelling this note unnecessarily, by citing it, the throng reader may find it, if he please, by turning to that Where sweet Parnassus breathes the tuneful addressed ad Nicomedienses. song; That truth can oft, in pleasing strains convey'd, Ver. 1005. /n honey' d phrase. Allure the fancy, and the mind persuade. Tun'd by the muses, "} Our poet, in this Thus, the sick infant's taste disguised to meet, verse, appears to have had his eye turned to the fol- We tinge the vessel's brim vfith juices sweet ; lowing passage of Pindar, which I copy. I will give Meantime the bitter draught his lip receives ; it with an emendation approved by Mr. Wake- He drinks deceiv'd, and so deceiv'd, he lives. field : HoOLE. Tl» S" «Jufirtis T! Avf», A copy of this same passage is, likewise, to be rxuxu< r auAc« ANA- aaet with in the orations of Themistius. Without riAlIEl x^-f'»* fx»»'^» ^ '"P" *'•"'> Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS, 153 On the pale boy, the wormwood's bitter draught, With luscious honey tints the goblet's edge, looo Deceiving thus, while yet un-us'd to guile, His unsuspecting lip ; till deep he drinks. And gathers vigour from the venial cheat : So I, since dull the subject, and the world Abash'd recoils, would fain, in honey'd phrase, ioo< Tun'd by the muses, to thine ear recite Its vast concerns ; if haply I may hope To fix thine audience, while the flowing verse Unfolds the nature, and the forms of things. Taught, then, already that material seeds . lOio Are solid, and o'er time triumphant live, Kopai ITiepiJe; A104-. I too, fond youth ! with rapture gtowing, Eyu ^E, avsi^avrojj.ims o-TToi/Ja, Will pour thy praise thro' every ear. K^UTOv e6vo5 Aoxfon «fi^ETTEirov, MEAITI r Ei/a,o|,« ^oXiv KaTcct^f^x^,, ^a.J' f Ver. loio. Taug/jt, thin, alrtady that material seeds'^ parov r' AfXEo-TfaTou «.m^x. Ol. X. 1 1 3. Qur scientific poet, in the following verses, proceeds The dulcet reed thy glory sings, to develope another principle of Epicurean philo- The soft-tun'd lyre responsive rings ; sophy, and endeavours to demonstrate, that the Uni- And all th' Aonian maids renown'd verse is not, as was maintained by many of the dis- Spread through the world, th' exulting sound. ciples of Zeno, bounded either as to its vacuum or its I, too, amidst the festive strains matter, but uniformly immense, and infinite. Many That glad the fam'd, the Locrian plains, of his arguments are forcible ; and if they do not pro- Plains with liquid honey flowing, duce conviction, must at least be admitted to be Luscious draughts to Locrians dear, — ' highly ingenious. Vol. I. X 1.54 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Nunc, age, summai qusedam sit finis eorum, Necne sit, evolvamus : item, quod inane repertum est, Seu locus, ac spatium, res in quo quseque gerantur, Pervideamus, utrum finitum funditus omne 955 Constat, an inmensum pateat, vasteque profundum. Omne quod est, igitur, nulla regione viarum Finitum est ; namque extremum debebat habere : Extremum porro nullius posse videtur Esse, nisi ultra sit quod finiat ; ut videatur, 960 Quo non longius hsec sensus natura sequatur. Nunc, extra summam quoniam nihil esse fatendum, Non habet extremum ; caret ergo fine, modoque ; Nee refert, quibus adsistas regionibus ejus : Usque adeo, quem quisque locum possedit, in omneis 965 Tantumdem parteis infinitum omne relinquit. Preeterea, si jam finitum constituatur Omne, quod est, spatium, si quis procurrat ad oras Ultimus extremas, jaciatque volatile telum, Ver. 1017. Tli' tTAtit.t. of things, then, bounds can he added not less than eight-and-twenty new ones, never tnozv ;] This first argument of Lucre- offering in the whole, a most redoubtable phalanx of tius is a verbal copy from Epicurus, as contained in opposition to every antagonist who chose to take up his Epistle to Herodotus : AA>.a psv to s-a» aTsipov the gauntlet he thus threw down. It is in this man- !OTi, &c. Cicero has likewise adopted and illus. ner he concludes, with no small portion of self-confi- trated it in his Second Book on Divination ; nor has dence : che non si puo negare il spazio infinito se jt escaped the notice of modern metaphysicians and non con la voce, come fanno gli pertinaci, &c. "that philosophers. Bruno, who wrote a treatise, Dell' it is impossible for the infinitude of space to be dc- Infinito Universe, towards the close of the seven- nied by any but those who are wantonly perverse, teenth century, enriched it with the entire catalogue and will not attend to the innumerable proofs that of the arguments here offered by Lucretius, to which are adduced in its favour." Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. • 155 Attend, benignant, while we next decide Their number, or if infinite ; and tell, Since VOID throughout exists, assigning space For place and motion, if th' entire of things 1015 Be bounded, or unfathom'd, and immense. Th' ENTIRE of things, then, bounds can never know : Else parts possest of farthest and extreme. But parts can only be extreme, beyond Where other substance springs, those parts extreme 1620 Binding, though sense the limit ne'er can trace. If, then, some other substance rise, the first Forms not th' entire of things. Whate'er it be That other substance still must part compose. Vain too is distance: the vast whole alike 1025 To all extends, embracing, and embrac'd. Yet grant th' entire of things of bound possest. Say, to what point shall yon keen archer, plac'd E'en on its utmost verge, his dart direct ? Ver. 1028. Say, to tvhat point shall yon lecn archer, placed E''cn on Us utmost verge, his dart direct ?"] This perplexing appeal of our poet has been immediately noticed by the Cardinal Poligac in his antagonist poem. The following is his copy of it, and his reply : At si materiam claudunt circumundique fines lUam ultra, qusris, quo sit ventura sagitta Quam bonus arcitenens valido contorserit arcu. Ex errore tuo dubium tibi nascitur illud. Ultra materiem nihil est : mittesne sagittam In nihilum ? nihilo non est locus : ergo resistet. Nee poterit telum vctitos erumpere fines, Et vires frustra efFusas mirabitur arcus. Anti-Lucr. lib. 3. Here should'st thou ask, if matter still have bounds. Where shall yon arrow, on those bounds extreme, I.oos'd from the tortur'd bow, direct its flight ? The question springs from error : for beyond Lies nothing : into nothing wouldst thou urge X 2 ' 156 DE RERUM NATURA. Id validis utmm contortum virlbus ire, Quo fuerit missum, mavis, longeque volare ; An prohibere aliquid censes, obstareque, posse ? Alterutrum fatearis enim, sumasque, necesse est ; Quorum utrumque tibi ecfugium pr^cludit, et omne Cogit ut exempta concedas fine patere. Nam, sive est aliquid, quod prohibeat, ecficiatque, Quo minus, quo missum est, veniat, finique locet se ; Sive foras fertur, non est a fine profectum. Hoc pacto sequar ; atque, oras ubiquomque locaris Extremas, quseram quid telo denique fiat. Fiet, utei nusquam possit consistere finis ; Ecfugiumque fugce prolatet copia semper. Lib. I. 970 975 980 Th' adventurous dart ? those bounds nrould still resist, And the keen arrow urge its force in vain. But if nothing he beyond this bounded material sys- tem, then it is bounded by nothing ; and if it be bounded by nothing then, again, has it no bounds whatever; and of course there would be nothing: to resist the farther flight of the arrow. So that the force of our poet's appeal still remains uninvalidated. The learned Bruno, indeed, in his first Dialogue, Dell' Infinito Universo, to which I have just referred, introduces this argument as altogether irrefragable. In reality, there seems to be no more impiety in at- taching the idea of immensity to space, than of end- less duration to eternity ; and, according to Mr. Locke, we acquire both ideas in the same manner, and at the same time. Whilst I am appealing to this ce- lebrated philosopher, I cannot avoid quoting an il- lustration of his own in confirmation of this very doc- trine ; and which has such a strange coincidence with his example of an archer placed on the imaginary con- fines of creation, that it is difficult to avoid conceiving Mr. Locke had Lucretius in his recollection at the time of writing it. " If body, observes he, be not supposed infinite, which I think no one will affirm, I would ask, whether, if God placed a man at the extremity of corporeal beings, he could not stretch his hand beyond his body ? If he could, then he would put his arm where there was before space with- out lorly : and if there he spread his fingers, there would be still space between them without body. If he could not stretch out his hand, it must be because of some external hindrance : and then I ask, whether that which hinders his hand from moving outwards be substance, or accident, something, or nothing ?" Hum. Und. b. ii. ch. 13. M. Cabanis, however, is a bolder man than any of the philosophers I have yet adverted to. He derives his idea of every species of existence from self-motion ; and he is not afraid of Mr. Locke's question, if in- deed, which I much doubt, he ever met with it. '.' That which opposes me," says he, " when I move, I Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. Shall aught obstruct it, or the path be clear ? Take which thou wilt : some substance chuse, possest Of pow'r t' impede, and check its rapid race : Or let it fly unconquer'd, nor restraint E'en once encounter : thou must still confess Th' ENTIRE of nature nought of limit knows. Throughout the dart I'll chase ; and when, at length, Th' acceded bound is gain'd, I'll still demand What yet obstructs it; still new proofs adduce That the vast whole is boundless ; and that flight Still beyond flight for ever might be urg'd. 157 1030 1035 1040 denominate an obstacle, a body. If this body, or obstacle, did not exist, I should be able to persevere in my motion. Hence, from that which does not prevent me from moving, and from that which does, from nothing., and from body, I derive the idea of space. I call it void if I find nothing, and full if I meet with bodies. It is therefore impossible to know whether space be a substance or a quality ; for it is not, strictly speaking, either the one or the other : it is an abstract idea, compounded of those of body and non-entity, considered Vv-ith relation to my sense of motion. If any one inquire of me, whether space exist beyond the bounds of the Universe, I reply, that beyond the bounds of the •whole, there exists no- thing ; and that, if I were there, I should certainly not be incommoded in moving." Mem.de I'Instit. Nat. Phys. et Mor. I. M. Cabanis is, however, in as great a dilemma as the cardinal : to move into no- thing, is precisely the same thing as not to move at all. How is he to know that he moves, or what is to mea- sure his progress ? How would he, as a human being at least, derive a support for his feet, or air for his lungs ? I may safely say, that he would not move far. It is highly probable, Virgil had his eye directed to this passage of our poet in composing the verses that follow, although I do not find that the resem- blance has been hitherto noticed by any of the com- mentators on either poet. Admitting the imitation, the passage, I think, will assume a new beauty, and acquire an illustration that it wants. Quid referam ■ quos oceano propior gerit India lucos, Extremi sinus orbis ? ubi aera vincere summum Arboris haud uUae jactu potuere sagitts ? Georg. ii. 118. Say, shall I mark what woods gigantic wave O'er Indian seas, that earth's last bound'ry lave, Where the spent shaft, from skilful Indians sped. Turns e'er it strikes the tree's aerial head ? SOTHEBY. 158 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Prieterea, spatium summai totius omne Undique si inclusum certis consisteret oris, Finitumque foret ; jam copia material 985 Undique ponderibus solidis confluxet ad imum ; Nee res ulla geri sub coeli tegmine posset ; Nee foret omnino coelum, neque lumina solis : Quippe, ubi materies omnis cumulata jaceret Ex infinito jam tempore, subsidendo. 990 At nunc nimirum requies data principiorum Corporibus nulla est ;■ quia nihil est funditus imum, Quo quasi confluere, et sedes ubi ponere, possint ; Semper in adsiduo motu res qu^eque geruntur Partibus in cunctis, infernaque subpeditantur, 995 Ex infinito cita, corpora materia'i. Postremo, ante oculos res rem finire videtur : Aer disszepit colleis, atque aera montes ; Terra mare, et contra mare terras terminat omneis : Omne quidem vero nihil est quod finiat extra. 1000 Est igitur natura loci, spatiumque profundi, Quod neque clara suo percurrere flumina cursu Ver. 1061. From age to age resplendent lightnings readings. Mr. Wakefield has chosen the first : this I urge,"^ The whole passage is inimitably beauti- have rejected, however, for the second, which is that ful, both as to sublimity of thought, and splendour of adopted by Havercamp, from an old Gottenburg diction. The context will apply with equal propriety fragment of much celebrity among the critics ; and Xajlumina, fulmina, or lumina, " rivers, lightnings, or is supported by a Cambridge copy, and one of the light :" and different editions give us each of ^hese codices preserved in the British Musaeum. It affords, Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 159 Were, too, th' entire of nature thus confin'd, Thus circumscrib'd precise, from its own weight Long since, all matter to th' extremest depth Had sunk supine : nor aught, the skies beneath, Nor skies themselves, with countless stars adorn'd i045 And sun's unsuffering splendour, had remain'd. Down, down th' accumulated mass had fall'n From earliest time, devoid of power to rise. But nought of rest supine material seeds Evince through nature; since no depth exists 1050 Extreme, and fathomable where those seeds Might fix collected in inert repose. All, all is action : the vast whole alike Moves in each part ; and, from material seeds. Draws, undiminish'd, its eternal food. ^^55 Things, to the sense, are circumscrib'd by things. Air bounds the hills, and hills the liquid air : Earth ocean, ocean earth : but the vast whole What fancied scene can bound ? O'er its broad realm, Immeasur'd, and immeasurably spread, 1060 From age to age resplendent lightnings urge, moreover, by far the sublimest idea of any of the the immensity of space, are infinite. Huygens, that lections. Creech, in his Enghsh version, has adopted there may be fixed stars at such a distance from our the same rendering ; but in his edition of the original, solar system, as that their light should not have had has exchanged it for the more feeble expression time to reach us even from the creation of the world Jlumina, or rivers. Bruno long ago conjectured, that to the present period. Our own picturesque and the planets, and systems of planets, dispersed through elegant bard, Akenside, in his Pleasures of Imagina- tffo DE RERUIM NATURA. Lib. I. Perpetuo possint xv'i labentia tractu ; Nee proisum facere, ut restet minus ire, meando : Usque adeo passim patet ingens copia rebus, 1005 Finibus exemptis, in cunctas undique parteis. Ipsa modum porro sibi rerum summa parare Ne possit, natura tenet : quia corpus inani, Et, quod inane autem est, iiniri corpore cogit ; Ut sic alternis infinita omnia reddat. loio Aut etiam, alterutrum nisi terminet alteram eorum Simplice natura, ut pateat tamen immoderatum ; Nee mare, nee tellus, neque coeli lucida templa, Nee mortale genus, nee divom corpora sancta, Exiguum possent horai sistere tempus. 1015 Nam, dispuisa suo de coctu, material tion, has a sublime and beautiful passage, founded, In vain, its flight perpetual ; distant still as he tells us himself, upon this opinion of Huygens : And ever distant from the verge of things. but which, I should otherwise have thought, de- Cowley has a strong and sublime idea, in some duced immediately from Lucretius ; and that he had measure approaching this of Lucretius and Akenside, been acquainted with the reading of the Leyden in his Davideis ; and which Johnson has inserted in copy, which gives lumhia, " hght," and had pur- his Life, as an instance of vigorous conception, posely employed it. From Huygens he supposes j^^ j^ descanting on the kingdom of the Messiah : that there may exist, b. i. Round the whole world his dreaded name shall fields of radiance, whose unfading light, sound, Has travell'd the profound six thousand p^^^ ^^^^.^ to worhls that must not yet bi found. yeai^S) Such are the casual resemblances, the parallel scin- Nor yet arriv'd in sight of mortal things. tillations of men of bold and energetic genius. Lucretius, admitting the lection of the Leyden copy, tells us, on the subject of space, that y^^^ j^^g^ Void must perforce bound matter, o'er its broad realms matter void ;] This additional argument ad- Immeasured, and immeasurably spread, ducedagainsttheStoics,whodenied themfinityof mat- - From age to age resplendent light propels, ter, although theyallowed the infinity of space inwhich Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS. l6l In vain their flight perpetual ; distant, still, And ever distant from the verge of things. So vast the space on opening space that swells, Through every part so infinite alike. 1065 Ask thy own reason. It will prove at once Th' ENTIRE of nature never can have bounds. Void must perforce bound matter, matter void ; Thus, mutual, one illimitable whole Forming for ever. For were each of each 1070 Free and unshackl'd, uncombin'd, and pure In their own essence, not one short-liv'd houj Could earth, or ocean, the refulgent fane Of heav'n sublime, or mortal fbyms, or those The gods themselves inhabit, then subsist. ^0 75 Freed from all order, disarrang'd, and rude. matter moves, is entirely copied from the writings of on Creech's translation intimates, that in these verses, Epicurus ; and occurs in his Epistle to Herodotus : which relate to the deities, Lucretius subverts h IS E«TE yap w TO KEKW airtipo», -rak Ep!To icaTO TO «iTEipoj xEvov JiEs- dissolution with othcr componciit and material va.fjj.iva, ovK xypna, la, UTTEftiJovT», te (TEXXovTa xaxa tcc; bodies. «mxon-a. This is an obvious mistake. Our poet uniformly Ver. 1073. the refulgent fane contends fur their immortality. Like Milton, he Of heav'n sublime ] Thus Polignac : endows them with a vehicle and figure of existence ; ■ coeli fulgentia templa. but maintains, that they are freed from the law of Anti-Lucr. v. 1331. dissolution, which prevails throughout, every terrene The term fane, or temple, as I have before ob. substance. He attributes to them also tlie properties served, (seenote on v. 136,) is applied by our poet to of solidity as well as figure. But were it possible, any species of excavation in nature, but more gene- says he, for substances essentially possessed of these rally to the great concavity of heaven. Milton, in properties to be for one moment destitute of them, the same manner, in Par. Lost, ix. 667, uses the ex- then even the gods themselves could subsist no hunger, pression " aerial hall." but must submit to the common fate of inferior and Ver. 1074. or mortal forms, or those material beings. The gods themselves liJ:abit,'\ The commentator Vol. I. Y 162 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Copia ferretur magnum per inane, soluta ; Sive adeo potius numquam concreta creasset UUam rem, quoniam cogi disjecta nequisset. Nam certe neque consilio primordia rerum I020 Vcr. 1080. Fer never, doubtless, from result of thought,'] It 18 «urprising to perceive how excessively mistaken all the critics and commentators upon this passage have hitherto been, while nothing, if they had really understood our poet, can be more obvious. All the Grecian schools of philosophy alike maintained the eternity of matter : but they differed as to the mode in which motion, and the present appearances of things first began. Anaximander maintained, that the in- finite and primary matter, whence even the gods themselves were formed, was the first intelligent source of all things. The Stoics, not in any respect more philosophic, represented the world as in itseEf a rational being ; and pretended that by the operation of an interior soul or spirit, it had produced and con- tinued to sustain the beauty and order universally exhibited. Such also, with little variation, was the opinion of Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, and Trisme- gistus : and Virgil has given us their creed, as the quintessence of wisdom and truth. It is thus Anchi- stz actresses his son : Principio ccelum, ac terras, camposque liquertes, lAicentemque globum Luna», Titaniaque astra Spiriuis intus alit, totamque infusa per a-.lus Mens agitat molem et magno se corpore miscet. jEneid vi. 7^4. Know, first, that heavenandearth'scompacted frame. And flowing waters, and the starry frame. And both the radiant lights, one common soul Inspires ; and feeds, and animates the whole. This active rnind, infus'd through all the space. Unites, and mingles with the mighty mass. Dr vdek. Plato, indeed, endeavoured, in some measure, to avoid the absurdity which, in a large degree at- taches to the rest, but more especially to the Cyre- naics, by supposing, that there was another divinity besides the world itself, by v;hom the divinity of the world was first put into motion : by conceiving this extrinsic divinity to be both eternal and supreme, and by asserting that the souls of all intelligent and rational beings are created by him, from slips or particles of the divinity of the world, and continue scattered, like cuttings, or seeds of vegetables, through the sun, moon, and planets, ready to unite themselves with the young embryon on its first evincing a principle of vitality. Democritus, how- ever, advanced farther than any of these sects : he not only supposed the world, in its congregate state, to be an animated being, but that many of the ele- mentary atoms themselves were intelligent and per- cipient in their own simple and uncompounded state ; and that the sublime work of creation was produced from the joint counsel and determination of this or- der, when assembled in a kind of synod ; a doctrine which, in modern times, appears, in some measure, to have been supported by Leibnitz and Hobbes, with this simple difference, that whereas Democri- tus divided his elemental atoms into a percipient and an impercipient class, Hobbes maintained, that no argument could disprove ilvx all the atoms of mat- ter were not only endowed with figure, and a ca- pacity of motion, but also with an actual sense or perception ; and that they merely require the or- gans and memory of animals to express their sen- sations. Scio fuisse philosophos quosdam, eosdem- que vires doctcs, qui corpora omnia sensu prjedita esse sustinuerunt ; nee video, si natura sensionis in reactione sola collocarentur, quomodo refutart possint, &e. Physic, c. xxv. 1. 5. Against all these absurd doctrines and hypotheses, our poet is here entering his rational protest. He tells us, that they are equally made up of incon- gruities, if not of contradictions : For, never, doubtless, from result of thought, Book I. THE NATURE OF THINGS 163 Through boundless vacuum the drear mass of things Would quick be borne : or, rather, nought had ris'n From the crude chaos, joyless, and inert. For never, doubtless, from result of thought, Or mutual compact, could primordial seeds 1080 Or mutual compact, could primordial seeds I'irst harmonize, or move with powers precise. Who is there, indeed, in the present day, that can suppose they could thus harmonize? And yet, strange to relate ! this very passage, including se- veral of the verses that follow, has been adduced againstLucretius, as a proof of unpardonable impiety : and Lactaiitius has chosen to assert, that " he has hereby reached the utmost point of insanity, and could not possibly go beyond." Implevit, says he, numerum perfectas insanise, nt nihil ulterins ad- jici possit. Dc Ira. Such are the unmerited scan- ) yn, kva O OTPANOS xai Toiro? ovx ivfih avroi.;. " And I S3.\v Er ruhet Hoch auf Tabor, und halt den tiefer zitternden erdkreis ... , , . , ,. Dass der staub nicht vor ihm m das Unermesshche a great white throne, and him that sat on it ; from .. , _ , , t , , , ■ , , stanbe. Gesck. v. 'Whose presence toe earth and the heavens niamshea away, and no place could be found for ihem." High rested he o'er Tabor, and the globe An idea not foreign from either of the above, but Deep-tremblhig, held \ or all its mighty mass more immediately parallel with ver. 1165, and Had crumbled at the sight through space profound. J 74 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. I. Terraque se pedibus raptim subducat ; et omnes, Inter permixtas rerum coelique ruinas, iioo Corpora solventes, abeant per inane profundum ; Temporis ut puncto nihil exstet reliquiarum, Desertum praster spatium, et primordia ceeca. Nam, quaquomque prius de parti corpora deesse Constitues, ha^c rebus erit pars janua Iseti : 1105 Hac se turba foras dabit omnis materiaY. Hcec si pernosces, parva perductus opella ; Namque alid ex alio clarescet ; nee tibi C£eca Nox iter eripiet, quin ultima natural Pervideas : ita res adcendent lumina rebus. mo Ver. 1 1 70. the doors of death are ope,"] the door of Death stands open. Thus Virgil : So in the tremendously grand, and highly figu- patet isti janua leto. rative address of the Almighty to the patriarch Job, iEN. ii. 661. xxxviii. 17. Book L THE NATURE OF THINGS. 175 And loose, and lifeless, man's dissev'ring frame, Mixt with the rushing wreck of earth, and skies, 1165 Waste tlirough all space profound ; till nought remain, Nought, in a moment, of all now survey'd. But one blank void, one mass of seeds inert. For once to act, when primal atoms fail, Fail where they may, the doors of death are ope, ^170 And the vast whole unbounded ruin whelms. These subjects if, with trivial toil, thou scan, Each, each illuming, midnight shall no more Thy path obstruct ; but nature's utmost depths Shine as the day : so things irradiate things. - 1175" miO nyty *lS l'7Jl3n Have the doors of Death been disclosed to thee ? nXin mD*?^ nVjyi The doors of the shadow of Death hast thou beheld ? THE NATURE OF THINGS. BOOK THE SECOND. Vol. I, A a ARGUMENT. A HE Poet describes the pleasures that result from the study of philosophy, and a mind satisfied with a little, and estranged from the passions and pursuits of the busy world. He then resumes his subject, and attempts to prove a perpetual motion in primordial atoms j and that this motion is of various kinds, direct, curvilinear, and repercussive. He asserts, that primordial atoms are not all of the same figure ; some being globular, others polygonal, and others jagged : that these figures vary not to infinitude ; but that the atoms under every separate figure are infinite in number. The formation of compound bodies from the combination of atoms of different figures, and the variation of their solidity or fluidity, their roughness or rotundity, from the different atoms of which they are compounded ; and the degree of force and affinity, or connexion with which they adhere to each other. Prismatic hues, and their origin ; refraction of colours, and its cause. Neither these, nor any other qualities of bodies, reside in primordial atoms themselves, but only in their peculiar arrangements and combinations. The origin of irritability, sensation, and apprehension : the immensity of creation, from the immensity of its materials — and, consequently, the existence of other systems, and systems of systems of worlds. No compound material being eternal — whence no system of material atoms can be eternal ; and whence, again, the progression, senescence, and decay of every existing world, the ruins, or disorganised corpuscles of which will be employed in the generation and maturity of other worlds. Proofs, that the earth is already in a state of decline and comparative infertility ; and hence, that it must, eventually, perish from senility alone. A a 2 DE RE RUM NATURA. LIBER SECUNDUS. OuAVE, mari magno turbantibus jequora ventis, E teiTa magnum alterius spectare laborem : Non, quia vexari quemquam est jocunda voluptas, Sed, quibus ipse malis careas^ quia cernere suave est. Per campos instructa, tua sine parte pericli, Ver. I. Hoiu sweet to sland, 'when tempests tear the main,'] Nothing tnily valuable is to be ac- quired without severe application and labour. The pursuit of riches, honours, or fame, demands inces- sant exertion, and is accompanied with perpetual anxiety ; an anxiety that frequently poisons every enjoyment, and too dearly purchases the object of our toils, even if it be purchased at last. But the pursuit of knowledge differs essentially from every other exertion : it, too, has its difficulties and its labours, its briars to clear away, and its precipices to surmount : but its path is free from anxiety and disappointment ; and the man who gains possession of its summit, feels himself elevated above the world, and may well look with pity on the crowds that are struggling below him. Impressed with this senti- ment, our poet opens the book before us : and the beauty and elegance of his imagery have produced a host of imitators ; not one of whom, however, to the best of my knowledge, has, by any means, equalled himself. For the idea contained in the first two verses Lucretius, however, seems, in some measure, to have been indebted to Isidorus. " Nothing is more pleasant," says this writer, «' than to sit at ease in the harbour, and behold the shipwreck of others :" Pelus. Lib. ii. Ep. 240. The following description of Akenside will here perhaps arise in the mind of every reader ;. and it is not unlikely that Lucretius was the original from which he drew : we have al- ready traced him occasionally turning his eye to the poem before us : ask the crowd Which flies impatient from the village walk. To climb the neighb'ring cliffs, when far below The cruel winds have hurl'd upon the coast Some hapless bark : while sacred Pity melts The general eye, or Terror's icy hand Smites their distorted limbs, and horrent hair : While every mother closer to her breast THE NATURE OF THINGS. BOOK THE SECOND. irlow sweet to stand, when tempests tear the main, On the firm chff, and mark the seaman's toil ! Not that another's danger soothes the squI, But from such toil how sweet to feel secure ! How sweet, at distance firom the strife, to view Catches her child ; and pointing where the waves Foam through the shatter'd vessel, shrieks aloud. Pleas, of Imag. Whether, however, this picture were, or were not, derived from the Nature of Things, there can be little doubt that Dryden, who was much better acquainted with Lucretius than Akenside, and had translated a variety of detached parts of his work, intended the following as an express copy : No happiness can be where is no rest : Th' unknown, untalk'd-of man is only blest : He, as in some safe cell, his cliff does keep. From thence he views the bbours of the deep : The gold-fraught vessel, which mad tempests beat. He sees how vainly make to his retreat : And when from far the tenth wave does appear Shrinks up in silent joy that he's not there. Tyran. Love. Beattie has caught the same idea, and introduced it, with his accustomed elegance, into his Minstrel : And oft the craggy cliffht lov'd to cUmb, When all in mist the world below was lost. What dreadful pleasure ! there to stand sublime, Like shipwreck'd mariner on desert coast. And view th' enormous waste of water tost In billows length'ning to th' horizon round. Now scoop'd in gulfs, with mountains now em- bos&'d. B. i. 21. But perhaps the figure is nowhere better pre- served than in the following lines from an old song, quoted by B. Johnson in " Every one out of Hu- mour :" I wander not to seek for more : In greatest storm I sit on shore. And laugh at those that toil in vain To get what must be lost again. Ver. 5. How sweet, at distance from the strife, to view'] Nothing was more common, before the invention of the science of artillery, than for persons 182 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. II. Suave etiam belli certamina magna tueri : Sed nihil dulcius est, bene quam munita tenere, Edita doctrina sapientum, templa serena ; Despicere unde queas alios, passimque videre Errare, atque viam palanteis quaerere vitse ; Certare ingenio, contendere nobilitate, Nocteis atque dies niti prasstante labore Ad summas emergere opes, rerumque potiri. O miseras hominum menteis ! o pectora c^ca ! lO who, from the importance of their station, were not allowed to be actively engaged in the battle, to mark its progress from the summit of some neighbouring hill ; a post, however, which, from the nature of modern tactics, would be no longer free from dan- ger, nor, from the volumes of smoke with which the combatants are covered, competent to a survey of what is transacting. It was from a windmill, on Such an eminence as this, that Edward III. surveyed the heroic exploits of the Black Prince in the cele- brated battle of Crescy : and Seneca, in his Troas, lias a reference to a similar fact : Est una magna turns e Troja super Adsueta Priamo ; cujus e fastigio Summisque/>/«niV, arbiter belli sedens Regebat acies : lurre in hac, blando sinu Fovens nepotem, cum metu, versos, gravi, Danaos fugaret Hector et ferro et face, Paterna puero bella monstralat senex. Sought oft by Priam, swells a spacious tower High from the Trojan walls ; o'er whose bold cope Whose ramparts seated, arbiter of fate, He rul'd the fight : here to his fost'ring breast Straining his grandson, while with fire and sword Victorious Hector chas'd th' affrighted Greeks He show'd the boy where former fields were fought. Not widely different, Cicero in the following pas- sage to Atticus : Nunc vero, cum cogar exire de navi, non abjectis, sed receptis gubernaculis, cupio istorum naufragia ex terra intueri ; cupio ut ait amicus tuus So- phocles, riujcva? axouEiw ^J^EKaJoj eu5oU(Tii ^pev», Ep. 1- 11. 7' " But now that I am compelled to quit the vessel not with lost, but recovered tackle, I wish to be- hold these shipwrecks from the strand ; I wish, as says thy friend Sophocles, from a chff to hear The dashing spray swell ficquent o'er the soul. Ver. 7. But siveeter far on Wiidom'i heights serene. To watch the giddy crowd that, deep below. For ever wander. Sec. ] Ovid is under many obligations to Lucretius ; and the following extract, borrowed from the passage before us, is an instance in point : juvat ire per alta Astra : juvat, tcrris et incrti sede relictis, Nube vehi, validique humeris insistere Atlantis ; Palentesque animos passim, ac rationis egentes, Despectare procul. Met. xv. 147. 'Tis pleasant mid the stars to soar sublime ; Pleasant, from earth, and earth's gross region freed, Book II. THE NATURE OF THINGS. 18.'3 Contending hosts, and hear the clash of war ! But sweeter far on Wisdom's heights serene, Upheld by Truth, to fix our firm abode ; To watch the giddy crowd that, deep below, For ever wander in pursuit of bliss ; To mark the strife for honours, and renown. For wit and wealth, insatiate, ceaseless urg'd. Day after day, with labour unrestrain'd. O wretched mortals ! — race perverse and blind ! lO Wrapt in a cloud, on Atlas propt secure. To watch far off, the busy throng that toil, Bereft of reason. To the same effect, and from the same source, the pensive Muse of Cowper : 'Tis pleasant through the loop-holes of retreat To peep at such a world. To see the stir Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd. To hear the roar she sends through all her gates At a safe distance, where the dying sound Falls a soft murmur on th' uninjur'd ear. Thus sitting, and surveying thus at ease. The globe and its concerns, / seem advanc'd To some secure, and more than mortal height. Task. Statius has, therefore, compared to the sage him- self this secure and elevated cliff, on which Lucre- tius and Cowper represent him as seated : Stat sublimis apex, ventosque imbresque serenus Despicit. Theb. ii. 35. Firm stands its brow sublime, and winds and showers Despises, fearless. It is highly probable that from this passage of Sta- tius Goldsmith derived his beautiful and parallel simile ; which, in reality, is httle more than a free translation : As some tall chff that lifts its awful form. Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm, 7 Though round its head the rolling clouds are spread, Eternal sun-shine settles on its head. Deserted Village. Mr. Sotheby, in his version of Wieland's Oberon, has given us the same idea, almost in the same words : Subhmely rais'd to Heaven, his brow appears The shrine of peace ; and like a sun-gilt height, Where never earthly mist obscur'd the light. Above the stormy world, its tranquil summit rears. Cant. viii. The beauty of this description is, however, the translator's own : for the rendering is so wide of the original that it is barely possible to trace the clue. In Wieland it occurs as follows : verschlossen der begier. Von keiner furcht, von keinem schmerz betroffen, 1st nur dem wahrem noch die heitre seele offen, Nur offen der natur, und reingestimmt zu ihr. Ver. II. To mark the strife for honours, and renown. For nvit and -wealth, insatiate ] In a simi- lar manner, Denham describes the various pursuits of our own metropohs, from the brow of Cooper's Hill : Its state and wealth, its business and its crowd, Seem, at this distance, but a darker cloud ; And is, to him who rightly things esteems, No other in effect than what it seems. 184 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. II. Qualibus in tenebris vitse, quantisque pencils, Degitur hocc' sevi, quodquomque est ! Nonne videre est, Nihil aliud sibi naturam latrare, nisi ut, quoi Corpore sejunctus dolor absit, mente fruatur Jocundo sensu, cura semota, metuque ? Ergo corpoream ad naturam pauca videmus Esse opus omnino, quae demant quomque dolorem ; IS 20 Ver. 16. inow ye not Of all ye toil for nature nothing asks'\ Never have the practice or the precepts of any philosopher been more misrepresented and libelled than those of Epicurus. Indolence, and mere animal gratification, have been generally supposed to constitute the re- sult of all his lessons, and the characteristic of all his philosophy, A life of indolence, however, could never have given either Epicurus, or Lucretius, that truly vvfonderful extent of knowledge, that deep re- search into the most curious phsenomena of nature, and that power of argumentatively elucidating their own doctrines from facts, and, for the most part, from facts alone, which are to be traced in almost every page of this inimitable poem. And as to their corporeal pleasures let the passage before us speak, a passage perfectly consonant with the general pre- cepts and practice of their system, and in which we meet with a rigid, and almost anchorite abjuration of every thing the world calls gratification or indul- gence. In reality, the pleasures pursued and re- commended '.by Epicurus were entirely of the nega- tive kind : pleasures easily procured, and almost in every instance devoid of mutability. Solomon him- self was never more convinced of the vanity of all earthly pursuits and enjoyments than the Grecian moralist ; nor does the Christian system inculcate a greater purity of life and manners. " Happiness," observes the philosopher, and it is to this passage Lucretius refers, " is the end of our being : but to be happy, we must be free from all pain of body ; and from all trouble and vexation of mind : every thing actually required by nature is easily obtained, and that only is obtained with difficulty which is beyond her wants : we hence call competency our chief good." HJomv Ti\o; iTrafXti»' — to pwrs »^7El» to (Toi/x» /i»iT( T«f«TTsa9«k Tuv ^'''X'"'' — ""^ h^* ^wmm irav fUvopwTiw toT», TO Je tfvMi Ji/OTroftiTTOv'— T))» «vtctfxum I agree with Mr. Hume that Tasso had the ex- ordium of the present Book strongly in his eye when he composed the fascinating address of the fair phan- tom, in Armida's garden, to Rinaldo ; but I cannot, with him, admit that this Address contains all the spirit of the Epicurean system. The passage is as follows : O giovinetti, mentrc Aprili, e Maggio V ammantan di fiorite, e verde spoglie ; Di gloria o di virtu fallace raggio La tenerella mente ah non v' invoglie. Solo chi segue cio, che piace e saggio, E in sua stagion degli anni il frutto coglie, Questo grida natura ; or dunque voi Indurerete I'alma ai detti suoi ? FoUi perche gettate il caro dono, Che breve e si, di vostra eta novella ? Nomi senza foggetto, idoli sono Cio che pregio, e valore il mondo appella. La fama, che invaghisce a un dolce suono Voi superbi mortal!, e par si bella, E* un eco, un sogno, anzi del sogno un' ombra, Ch' ad ogni vento si dilegna, e sgombra. Goda il corpo sicuro, e in lieti oggetti L' alma tranquilla appaghi i sensi frali ; Book II. THE NATURE OF THINGS. Through what dread dark, what perilous pursuits Pass ye this round of being ! — know ye not Of all ye toil for nature nothing asks But for the body freedom from disease, And sweet, unanxious quiet, for the mind ? And little claims the body to be sound : But little serves to strew the paths we tread 185 15 20 Oblii le noje andate, e non afFretti Le sue miserie in aspettando i mali. Nulla curi, se'l cicl tuoni o saetti ; Minacci egli a sua voglia, e infiammi strali. Questo e saper, qucsta e felice vita : Si I'insegna natura, e si 1' addita. Cant. xiv. 62. O happy man ! when youlh reigns o'er your hours. And strews the paths of life with smiling flow- ers. Ah ! let not virtue, with fallacious ray. Or glory lead your tender mind astray. Who learns the fruits, each season yields, to prize, Who follows pleasure, he alone is wise. Know, this is Nature's voice ! will you with- stand Her sacred laws, and slight her high command ? Insensate he who wastes his bloomy prime. Nor tastes the transient gifts of fleeting time. Whate'er the world may worth or valour deem, Is but a phantom, and delusive dream : Say what is fame, that idol of the brave ! Whose charms caa thus dcceiv'd mankind en- slave ? An echo — or a shade — to none confin'd, A shifting cloud dispers'd with ev'ry wind ! Then rest secure ; in every ofier'd joy Indulge your senses, and your soul employ. Past woes forget ; nor antedate your doom By vain presage of evils yet to come. Vol. I. Let thunders roll, and nimble light'nings fly ; ' Yet heed not you the threat'nings of the sky. This, this is wisdom ; hence each blessing flows : This Nature bids, and this the path she shows. HooLE. Ver. 20. And little claims the hotlf to be sound : But little serves ] Hence perhaps Youug in his Night Thoughts : Man wants but little, nor that little long. An idea obviously caught by Goldsmith, and transplanted, in the form of the following couplet, into his Edwin and Angelina : Man wants but little here below, Nor wants that little long. No man more fully exemplified this axiom of tem- perate philosophy than Epicurus himself, as I have already remarked in the piefixed life of our poet ; and hence the following epigram of Athenxus: AttAjicttov vukuiv ap;^ETE KXi T&A£Lta.-v ; Taf ^uo-io,- d' ttAohto,- of» Tii« /3a:io» nriirp^ii Ai h. JCEvat Hpta"(Es, ray «TrapavTOv c^ov' Tovro NiOKXrio; Tru'jTov tehoj, vt ttxox Mcva''j:v Ey.XtJiii, ti TlvOovi eJ I'ipi'v rpuroJi». DioG. L.iEax. X. O why this impious toil ! this lust of gain That ever teems with turbulence and smart ! The little Nature needs we soon obtain, But nought can glut the avaricious heart. This, first of sages, Epicurus taught, Fu-'d by the Muse, or from the tripod fraui^'l;; Bb 185 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. II. Delicias quoque utei multas substernere possint ; Gratius interdum neque Natura ipsa requirit : A similar remark recurs in many other parts of the present poem, but particularly in b. v. v. 1139. Yet truest riches — would mankind their breasts Bend to the study, in a little lie, With mind well pois'd : here want can never come. The idea is indeed common to moralists in every age and nation. Thus Horace : Jure perhorrui Late ccnspicuum toUere verticem — Bene est, cui Deus obtulit Parca, q>'.od satis est, manu. Well have I shunn'd to rear my brows Mid scenes of pomp and care : For happiest he whom God allows Enough, though nought to spare. So the Hebrew sage, Prov, xxx. 8. ♦pn en':' ':D''\Dr\ Give me neither poverty nor riches ; Vced me with food conven;tf;it for me. V'er. 23. IF/jal, though the dome he tuar.t'mg, -whose proud 'walls'} The description is as true to historic fact, as it is exquibite in poetic embellish- ment. The Roman Patricians, in the magnificence of their palaces, were at this time exhibiting all the ppl-.ndour of the East. Their vaulted ceilings, and i;i many cases, the whole interior of their walls, were tither overlaid with gold or ivory, or inlaid with a mosaic of both. Even the outermost courts or vestibules in Cleopatra's palace, as we learn from l.ucan, were lined with the latter, Phars. x. 119; while Nero, as Suetonius informs us, (in Nerone, c. 31) preferred the form.er, and overlaid his palace with sheet -gold aloHe. It is to the mosaic, or al- ternate inlay of the two, that Horace refers, in the tullowing verses : Non liiir, neque aureum Mr.^ reiiidet in domo laiunar. ii- i". Nor ivory, nor golden dome Blazes around my humble home. The palace of Menelaus is represented by Homer as having been more curiously tesselated still, and having been equally irradiated, Od. a. 72. With amber, silver, ivoiy, and gold. To these the luxurious Orientalists added sap- phires, beryls, and other precious stones, of which the sapphire appears to have been most in favour ; and was intended, in the swelling vault of the ceiling, to imitate, by the introduction of silver stars, the ap- pearance of the heavens at midnight. The Hebrews were accustomed to this magnificent architecture; and the superb and splendid descriptions of the throne of the Almighty, in Ezekiel and the Apocalypse, obvi- ously allude to it. In like manner we are told, Exod. xxiv. 10, that when God visibly manifested himself to Moses and the elders of Israel, " they saw, as it were, under his feet a paved (or tessalated) work of sapphire stones, and the clear azure vault of the heavens." Thus, the Persian poet Sadi, in his book of apophthegms, describing the sky itself : mO (mv!tV Li>-^ A-aj J^. J. (^ oOJ )j^ (^' V-r^ J J^ Behold th-is dome, with gold profusely vein'd ! This massy roof ■with pillars iinsustaiii'd ! This vast pavilUon of the rolling sphere ! These azure lamps, that burn for ever clear ! The description before us is, however, in all pro- Book II. THE NATURE OE THINGS. 187 With joys beyond e'en Nature's utmost wish. What, though the dome be wanting, whose proud walls bability, taken immediately from Homer's picture of the palace of Alcinous, beginning Xpl/a"!)» J* «fX, XOl-fOl, £uS^«T4I» ETTl ffuiUUV, &C. Od. H. V. 100. The front appear'd, with radiant splendors gay, Bright as the lamp of night, or orb of day. The walls were massy brass : the cornice high Blue metals crown'd in colours of the sky ; — Refulgent pedestals the walls surround. Which boys of gold, with flaming torches, crown'd. The polish'd ore, reflecting every ray, Blaz'd on the banquets with a double day. Pope. Yet the philosophic moral, in which consists the chief beauty of the description, is altogether our poet's own : and Virgil has not been inattentive to so rich a treasure. In the second book of his Geor- gics, he has therefore introduced a passage, obviously referring to this of Lucretius, and extending to a length too considerable for insertion in this note. It begine at ver. 461. Si non ingentem foribus domus alta superbis Mane salutantum tolls vomit sedibus undam — At secura quies, et nescia fallere vita. Dives opum variarum ; at lath otiafundis, Spelunca, iimque lacus ; at frigida Tempe, &c. Thomson is under an equal and similar obligation to our poet : though the parallel passage in Thom- son is rather a more exact transcript of Virgil than of Lucretius. I refer to his description of the happiness of a rural life in his Autumn, in which we find the following lines ; What, tho' the dome be wanting, whose proud gate Each morning vomits out the sneaking crowd Of courtiers false, and in their turn abus'd \ Vile intercourse ! What, tho' the glitt'ring robe Of every hue reflected light can give — The pride and gaze of fools oppress him not \ — Sure peacf is his : a sohd life estrang'd To disappointment, and fallacious hope — These are not wanting— nor the chide of streams And hum of bees, inviting sleep sincere Into the guiltless breast, beneath the shade. Sec. ver. 1267. Mr. Roscoe, in his life of Lorenzo de Medici, has favoured us with some verses of this highly -gifted sage, which are obviously drawn from the same exu- berant fountain, and are at least equal to any of those I have already quoted. Cerchi chi vuol, le pompi e gh alte honori Le piazze, e tempii, e gh edilicii magni, Le delicie, il tesor, qual accompagni Mille duri pensier, mille dolori : Un verde praticel pien di bei fiori, Un rivolo, che I'herba intorno bagni, Un augcUetto, che d'amor si lagni, Acquetta molto meglio i nostro ardori : L'ombrose selve, i sassi, e gli alti monti, * Gli antri oscuri e le fere fugitivi, Qu^ivi veggo io con pensier vaghi ; **•♦»** Qui mc le toglie hor una, hor altra cosa. Seek he who will in grandeur to be blest. Place in proud halls, and splendid courts hisjoy ; For pleasure or for gold his arts employ. Whilst all his hours unnumber'd cares molest. A little field in native flow'rets drest, A riv'let ill soft murmurs ghding by, A bird, whose love-sick note salutes the sky. With sweeter magic lull my cares to rest. And shadowy woods, and rocks, and tow'ring hill?. And caves obscure, and nature's frte-born train ******* Each in my mind some gentle thought iiislils ; ******* Ah gentle thoughts ! soon lost the city care? among. RoscoE. Ver. 23. ichose proud tvalls A thousand lamps irradiate, propt sublime'] These, and the two ensuing verses, cannot but re- mind us of that exquisite painting of Milton : Bb 2 188 DE RERUM NATURA. Lib. II. Si non aurea sunt juvenum simulacra per asdeis, Lampadas igniferas manibus retinentia dextris, Lumina nocturnis epulis ut subpeditentur ; Nee domus argento fulget, auroque renidet, Nee citharse reboant laqueata aurataque templa ; Quom tamen inter se, prostratei in gramine molli, Propter aquas rivum, sub ramis arboris altee, Non magnis opibus jocunde corpora curant : Prsesertim, quom tempestas adridet, et anni Tempora conspargunt viridanteis floribus herbas : Nee calid^e citius decedunt corpore febres, Textilibus si in picturis, ostroque rubenti, 25 30 35 From the arched roof Pendent by subtle magic, many a row Of starry lamps, and blazing cressets, fed With naphtha, and asphaltus, yielded light As from a sky. Ver. 29. Tet listless laid the vehet grass along'] Hence, perhaps, Mr. Gray, in a passage admirably picturesque, and exquisite : Where'er the oak's thick branches stretch A broader, browner sliade, Where'er the rude and moss-^rown beech O'ercanopies the glade, Deside some water's rUshy brink With me the muse shall sit and think At ease reclin'd. - In a beautiful Asiatic poem, entitled Moha Mud- gara, or, A Remedy for Distraction of Mind, tran- slated by Sir William Jones, we have a passage so consentaneous with the present, that I cannot avoid transcribing it. Here, however, the writer is a devo- tee, as well as a poet : " To dv.-ell under the man- sion of the high gods, at the foot of a tree ; to have the ground for a couch, and a hide for vesture ; to renounce all extrinsic enjoyments, whom doth not such ;devotion fill with delight ?" Jones's Works, i. 212. Ver. 34. On down reclined, or lurapp'd in purple robe The thirsty fever burns luith heat as fierce, &C.J Towards this passage, we observe Horace turning his eye, in the first book of his Epistles : Non domus et fundus, non asris acervus et auri TRgroto domini deduxit corpore feores Non animo curas. Epist. ii. Nor splendid house, nor spacious land, Nor wealth with wealth combin'd, Can fevers from the flesh command. Or troubles from the mind. As he does also to the passage beginning at ver. 48, relating to cares and terrors. We meet with it the second book of his odes : Non enira gazK, neque consularis Summovet lictor miseros tumultus Mentis, et curas laqueata circum Tecta volantos 1 Book II. THE NATURE OF THINGS. :|89 A thousand lamps irradiate, propt sublime By frolic forms of youths in massy gold, 25 Flinging their splendours o'er the midnight feast : Though gold and silver blaze not o'er the board, Nor music echo round the gaudy roof ? Yet listless laid the velvet grass along Near gliding streams, by shadowy trees o'er-arch'd, 30 Such pomps we need not ; such still less when spring Leads forth her laughing train, and the warm year Paints the green meads with roseat flowers profuse. On down reclin'd, or wrapp'd in purple robe The thirsty fever burns with heat as fierce 35 Nor glittering pomp, nor guards of state tnula arborum folia gratninosique luc't. Tuns potiis aqua Can soothe the sighing heart, crysla//in