An Introduction To The Nature Of Things

By Cassius Amicus

This ebook is devoted to the epic poem composed in 50 BC by Titus Lucretius Carus, entitled in Latin "De Rerum Natura." This poem is devoted to explaining how to live a happy life through Epicurean philosophy. The primary feature of this ebook is the complete nineteenth century translation by H.A.J. Munro, one of the foremost classical scholars of his time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cassius Amicus
• Release date: Aug 13, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466157941

Cassius Amicus

My goal is to study and promote the philosophy of Epicurus. If you would like to participate in this work, don't hesitate to contact me at [e-mail]. I'd love to hear from you!Peace and Safety!

Book preview

An Introduction To

THE NATURE OF THINGS

By Titus Lucretius Carus

Cassius Amicus

Published by Cassius Amicus.

Copyright 2011 Cassius Amicus

This ebook may be copied, distributed, reposted, reprinted and shared, provided it appears in its entirety without alteration, and the reader is not charged to access it.

Smashwords Edition 2011.08.15

ISBN 978-1-4661-5794-1

For more information on the material presented in this book see

www.NewEpicurean.com.

On the cover and at left is an unlabeled engraving based on an object found at Herculaneum. On the right is an ancient ring design, placed by H. A. J. Munro at the front of his translation of De Rerum Natura, on which the current volume is based. Both capture the spirit of Lucretius, with eyes wide open, looking straight ahead, and with an expression of cheerful expectancy.

We must laugh and philosophize at the same time that we do our household duties and employ our other faculties, all the while never ceasing to proclaim the sayings of the true philosophy.

Epicurus – Vatican Saying 41

Contents

Introduction

Section I – An Introduction To The Nature of Things

Book I – The Central Insights of Epicurus

Book II – A Life of Happiness is Possible

Book III – The Nature of Our Mortal Souls

Book IV – The Evidence-Based Life

Book V – The Natural Universe

Book VI – The Completion of the Epicurean Journey

Section II – The Translation of H. A. J. Munro

Book I

Book II

Book III

Book IV

Book V

Book VI

Introduction

Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura – On The Nature of Things – is the most detailed exposition of Epicurean thought remaining from the ancient world, and it is one of the most important works of Western civilization.

But despite its widely-acknowledged significance, De Rerum Natura has largely been lost to the reader for whom it was written: the ordinary man who seeks a basic understanding of the world and his place in it.

Most English editions, especially those that seek to preserve the poetic form, are very difficult reading for those who are not already familiar with Epicurean philosophy. Lucretius started with a difficult subject and rendered it into poetry with an eye on beauty of speech rather than on ease of understanding. It is also true that our poem was composed in a language that has fallen into such disuse that few can translate it with ease.

But there is an even greater chasm between Lucretius and the modern reader. The common understandings of the average Roman citizen of 50 BC have been wiped away by centuries of competing philosophies and religious views. Thus readers today often become hopelessly befuddled when Lucretius immediately launches into the details of his argument without providing the foundational context that he took for granted in his own time.

The problem of context was expressed very well by another admirer of Epicurus, Lucian, in his dialogue Hermotimus, or The Rival Philosophies. Lucian expressed the issue as follows:

There is a story that some sculptor, Phidias, I think, who, seeing a single claw, calculated from it the size of the lion, if it were modeled proportionally. So, if some one were to let you see a man's hand, keeping the rest of his body concealed, you would know at once that what was behind was a man, without seeing his whole body.

But tell me; when Phidias saw the claw, would he ever have known it for a lion’s if he had never seen a lion? Could you have said the hand was a man's, if you had never known or seen a man? Why are you dumb? Let me make the only possible answer for you—that you could not; I am afraid Phidias has modeled his lion all for nothing; for it proves to be neither here nor there. What resemblance is there? What enabled you and Phidias to recognize the parts was just your knowledge of the wholes—the lion and the man. But in philosophy—the Stoic, for instance—how will the part reveal the other parts to you, or how can you conclude that they are beautiful? You do not know the whole to which the parts belong.

Lucian – from Hermotimus, Or, The Rival Philosophies

As a small step toward dealing with the problem of context, this book has been prepared for the new student who has never grasped the whole of Epicureanism.

I have sought to address the problem of context by dividing the material here into two sections, both based on the monumental work of H. A. J. Munro (1819-1885), professor of classics at Trinity College, Cambridge, England.

The introductory version of the poem presented in Section I provides newly-composed narrative material as a bridge between the limited knowledge of the new reader and the full translation of the Munro version. Section I is not a new translation, nor should it be considered an attempt to improve the Munro version. It is largely a simplified reformulation of excerpts from Munro’s text, chosen to emphasize the fundamental concepts of Epicureanism, and supplemented with original material –clearly indicated in italics – which provides background and context for the beginning student of the poem.

To repeat for emphasis, neither the chapter titles nor any text included in italics were a part of the original work of Lucretius or Munro’s translation. While these additions have been composed to conform fully with Epicurean doctrine and the spirit of the poem, the italicized text has no parallel in the original work of Lucretius.

The complete English translation prepared by Munro is included as Section II of this volume. The reader should be aware that unlike other editions of Munro which preserve his somewhat unusual punctuation and occasional obscurities, I have modernized spellings (for example, showed rather than shewed), and altered punctuation to conform better to current usage. I have also separated long paragraphs into their component sentences, which I find more suitable for reading in digital format. The reader is urged to crosscheck all questions arising from the text in Section I against the full translation in Section II, and even this section should be verified against Munro’s Latin text and extensive notes which are freely available at Google Books.

The effort required to perform adequately the task undertaken here would consume a lifetime, and the deficiencies of the current volume are plainly apparent. Many of the topics of De Rerum Natura have been completely omitted from the introductory Section I, and those that remain are often highly compressed. However, my plan is to continue revising this work and issuing future editions over time, and I hope to correct as many of these omissions as possible. Suggestions for future editions will be warmly appreciated.

The study of Nature is an activity that brings pleasure as it proceeds, and it is with great pleasure that I make this work available to others, even in its present form. I hope this work will be some assistance to some who might not otherwise pursue their own study of the Nature of Things, and that others will produce vastly superior works on this subject, just as Lucretius heeded the lessons of Epicurus and left to us the most important poem ever composed.

Cassius Amicus, August, 2011

Section I

An Introduction to the Nature of Things

Book I – The Central Insights of Epicurus

I am an Epicurean, a Roman, and a poet. I look around me and I see the happiness that is possible to those who live in harmony with Nature as Epicurus taught. Yet I also see many hearts in darkness who are trapped in misery by false fears of death and of the wrath of the gods.

As an Epicurean, I have learned the lesson that there exists in the universe not only other races of men, but also gods. I have learned that the gods are perfect, and that they live in unbroken calmness and happiness, so they need nothing from me, nor do they feel either gratitude or anger toward any man, and they pose no threat to my living happily.

As a Roman, I also honor the tradition of my fathers – that Venus, goddess of the morning star, herald of spring, and symbol of Nature herself, was the divine mother of our people. I know that it does me no harm to honor this tradition, and indeed it brings me great benefit to contemplate the divine image of Venus and her image of the joy of life. But never do I allow my mind to be polluted by the impious ideas of the multitudes, for I know that neither Venus nor any other god troubles herself to meddle in the affairs of men.

And so it is my great pleasure as a poet to bring you the wisdom I have learned from our father Epicurus. I do not call out to Venus that she write this poem for me, for it is vain to ask of a god what a man is capable of supplying for himself. Yet it is not impious for me to ask that Venus bless us with the image of her calmness and her happiness, and I in turn will embrace that vision, and I will show how you may achieve the same joy in your own life.

VENUS, mother of Aeneas and of the Roman people, beloved of men and gods: Beneath the stars of heaven it is you who fills the ship-carrying sea and the corn-bearing land with your presence!

Through you, every kind of living thing is conceived, rises up, and beholds the light of the sun, and before you the winds and the clouds of heaven are driven on their ways.

For you the Earth sends forth sweet-smelling flowers, for you the waves of the sea laugh, and for you the heavens shine with outspread light.

Throughout seas, mountains, rivers, and plains, it is you who strikes fond love into the hearts of all living things, and you who inspires them with desire to continue their races.

Since you alone are the mistress of the Nature of things, and since without you nothing rises up into the light, and nothing grows to be glad or lovely, I ask that your same spirit infuse these verses that I write here.

And now I turn to the purpose of this work, and to you, my reader.

As you hear what follows, withdraw from other cares, and with undistracted ear and keen mind employ true reasoning so that you will not abandon with disdain the gifts I set out for you before you understand them.

For I am about to explain to you the ultimate system of the universe, and the nature of the gods, and I will explain to you the nature of the elements – those first beginnings out of which Nature creates and nourishes all things, and into which all things are once again dissolved after their destruction.

These first beginnings we call matter or the seeds of things or the first beginnings or atoms – because from these elements all things are made.

But before we proceed let me remind you of the greatness of the man – Epicurus – who first discovered the truths about which I write.

Once there was a time when – before the eyes of all – human life lay forlorn and prostrate upon the earth, crushed down under the weight of Religion, which from the skies scowled down with a hideous glare upon mortal men below.

But there then arose one man – a Greek – who was the first to dare to lift up his mortal eyes, and who first stood up face-to-face against Religion.

This man could not be quashed – not by fearful legends about the gods, not by thunderbolts, and not even by the deafening roar of Hell.

Those terrors did not discourage him, but instead spurred on the eager courage of his soul, filling him with desire to be the first to burst through the strong bars which separated him from Nature.

And so it was that the living force of this man’s soul won the day! On he passed, far beyond the flaming walls of the world, spanning – with his mind and with his spirit – the immeasurable universe.

And from that journey he returned to us – like a conqueror – to relate to us the truth about those things that can be, and those things that cannot be, and on what principles and deep-set boundary-marks Nature has established all things.

By means of the knowledge he has brought back to us, Religion is thrown down and trampled underfoot, and by his victory we are raised equal with the skies!

Yet there is one thing that concerns me: I fear that you may imagine that you are entering onto unholy ground, and that you are treading the path of sin.

On the contrary, it is Religion itself that very often gives birth to the most sinful and unholy deeds.

Recall for a moment the example of the leaders of the Danai, that most illustrious of tribes, who foully polluted the altar of the gods with the blood of the king’s daughter.

Recall how the innocent princess saw her father standing sorrowful before the altar, while beside him the priests hid the sacrificial knife. Recall how the princess saw her countrymen shed tears at her plight.

Speechless in terror, she dropped down on her knees and sank to the ground, and it was not even any help to her at that moment that she was the king’s first-borne child.

For it was by the hands of the priests that she was lifted up, shivering, to the altar! And lifted up she was – not to the bridal rites which suited her age, but as a human sacrifice, murdered by her own father, who had allowed the priests to convince him that in this way he might purchase from the gods a prosperous departure for his fleet!

So great is the power of Religion to persuade men to commit evil deeds!

Even you, yourself, overcome by the terrible tales of the priests, may at some point be tempted to fall away from the truths I am about to teach you.

For indeed, how many fantasies the priests concoct for you – more than enough to upset all the calculations you make for how to live your life, and to poison your affairs with fear!

But you must come to see that the priests invent these fantasies for good reason. If men were ever to realize that there is a fixed limit to the woes with which the priests threaten them, they would be able to withstand the terrors of religion.

But – as it is – men think they have no means of resisting the priests, since men believe that they must fear the torment of everlasting punishment after death!

Men fall for the fear of eternal punishment because they do not understand the nature of their souls. They fall because they do not know whether their souls were born at the same time as their bodies, or whether their souls found their way into their bodies at birth from somewhere else.

And what is even more important, men fall because they do not understand whether their souls perish with them when their bodies die, or whether their souls live on to visit the punishment of Hell or the reward of Heaven.

In order to defeat these fears, we must firmly grasp the principles by which Nature operates. We must grasp how it is that the sun and moon proceed in their courses (do the gods direct them?), and we must grasp the forces which govern those things we see here on earth occur.

But most of all, we must search out by means of the evidence and our keenest reason the true nature of our souls and of our minds.

We must also search out explanations for those visions that we sometimes see when we are under the influence of disease, or when we are buried in sleep. For in those times we may sometimes think that we see to see, face to face, and hear speaking to our own ears, men who are long dead and buried.

In short, the terror and darkness which plagues our minds must be dispelled – but not by rays of sun and glittering shafts of daylight. Our terror and darkness of mind can only be dispelled by the insight which comes from the study of Nature.

I shall now explain to you how you must proceed in this study. I will show you the method by which you may come to understand that it is Nature, not the gods, not Fate, and not Chance, which governs the Universe.

As we proceed, I will point out for you a principle which Epicurus has identified, and then I will ask you to observe for yourself the proof of its truthfulness. You will quickly learn the essence of this method, and you will learn how to search out the truth for yourself by grasping the evidence that Nature provides you through your own senses. By this you will come to see that your grasp the truth does not come by faith in Epicurus, nor by faith in me, nor by faith in the gods, nor by faith in the reasoning power of your own mind. Rather, your grasp of truth can come only by the most firm and certain means possible to a man – by grasping for yourself the evidence that Nature provides to you through your senses. Let us begin:

We shall start with this first principle: Nothing ever comes from nothing, neither by divine power nor by any other means.

It is true that fears trouble all men when they see things on earth and in the sky which they cannot explain. At such times, failing to grasp the truth, men may come to believe that those seemingly mysterious things are done by divine power.

Once we understand that nothing can be produced from nothing, we shall then begin to understand the explanation for all these strange sights.

We will see that these mysteries are produced from Nature’s elements, and we will see how these things occur by Nature’s laws – without the involvement of the hand of any god.

And so we proceed:

We know that nothing can be produced from nothing, because if things did come from nothing, any thing might be born from anything, for nothing would require a seed.

Men, for example, might instantly rise out of the sea, fish rise out of the earth, and birds out of the sky.

Nor would the same fruits always grow from the same trees, but the growth might change over time, and any tree might bear any fruit.

For if there were not first-beginning elemental seeds for each, how could things have a fixed and unvarying origin?

But in fact we see that all things are produced from fixed seeds, and each thing is born and grows according to the nature of its own seeds.

It is for this reason that all things cannot be gotten out of all things, because within each particular thing resides distinct powers and characteristics.

Why do we see the rose bloom in the spring, the corn flower in the summer, and the vines put forth grapes in the autumn, if not because it is the nature of their own fixed seeds to spring forth at the proper time?

But if things could come from nothing, we would see roses and corn and vines rise up suddenly at uncertain and unsuitable times of the year, and there would be no need for the seeds which keep them from bursting forth in an unwelcome season.

Also, if things could grow from nothing, no passing of time would be required for them to grow after their seeds had come together.

Little babies could grow in an instant into men, and trees could spring out of the ground in a moment!

But we see plainly before our eyes that none of these events ever comes to pass. We see that all things grow step by step, at a fixed rate, as is natural, and this is because all things grow from fixed seed which follows its own nature.

In the same way, without fixed seasons of rain, the earth is unable to put forth its produce. Nor can any living thing sustain its own life if it is unable to obtain its own food.

Thus you may hold with conviction that distinct basic elements make up the composition of the many things that we see, in the same way that we see distinct letters of the alphabet composing many different words.

Again, why do we not see Nature producing men of such size and strength as to be able to wade on foot across the sea, or tear apart great mountains with their hands, or outlive many generations of men?

The reason we never see such things is that unchanging first-beginnings have been assigned by Nature for all that exists, and the nature of all things that arise from these first-beginnings is fixed.

We must admit therefore that nothing can come from nothing, since all things require seed before they can be born.

Just as we see that fields which are tilled surpass those that are untilled, we may infer that there are in the soil first-beginnings which we stimulate to rise by our labor. If these first-beginnings did not exist, you would see all sorts of things arise from the fields spontaneously, and in greater perfection, without the need of our labors!

Now that you understand that nothing can come from nothing – for you have seen that this does not happen by the will of the gods, nor by accident, nor by any other means – let us turn to our second fundamental principle.

Next, we observe that over time Nature dissolves everything back into its own elemental bodies, but that Nature does not totally annihilate anything.

If things were made up of parts which could be destroyed entirely, we would see things snatched away to destruction in an instant from before our eyes.

No force would be needed to disrupt the parts of things and to undo their fastenings.

In fact, however, all things consist of imperishable elements, and we see before our own eyes that Nature destroys nothing unless a thing encounters a force sufficient to dash it to pieces by blows, or by being pierced and broken up from within.

If time utterly destroyed things when they age, and ate up all their elements to nothing, out of what would Venus bring back into the light of life all living things, each after its own kind?

If all things could be utterly destroyed, out of what would the Earth give nourishment to those things that are brought back to life?

Out of what would the Earth’s fountains and rivers produce water to keep full the sea?

Out of what would Nature feed the stars?

Infinite time has gone by already! The passing of infinite time would necessarily have consumed all things to nothing if things were composed of elements that were mortal and could be completely destroyed.

Therefore, if all those things that we see today continue to exist despite the eternity of time that has already gone by, then those things that we see around us are no doubt composed of immortal elements which cannot pass away to nothing.

And so I have shown you that nothing can be created from nothing, and nothing can be destroyed to nothing, by which you can now see that the fundamental elements from which the universe is made are eternal. These fundamental elements – call them atoms, matter, first-beginnings, or whatever you wish – have neither been created, nor can they be destroyed, by any gods. This is the answer to those who cannot imagine that the elements of the universe cannot always have existed, and who therefore insist to you that the universe must have been created at some point in time by some meddling god or by some other means.

Let us discuss how these fundamental elements move and come together to form the things that we see around us.

Now to proceed with the thread of my design:

All nature is composed of two things: (1) material bodies and (2) void. Void is the empty space in which the material bodies exist, and through which the bodies move about.

The existence of material things is established by the senses that all men share. Unless, at the very first, we find firm ground on which to establish our convictions about those material things that we perceive directly, we will have nothing to which to appeal to establish our convictions about anything by the reasoning of the mind, and we will find it hopeless to attempt to reach any convictions about those things which we only perceive indirectly.

Note this point well! Our convictions about the universe are grounded on those things which we see clearly before our own eyes, which we touch with our own hands, which we smell with our own noses, which we hear with our own ears, and which we taste with our own tongues. These things which are directly in front of us, and which we can grasp with clarity, are the first things in this universe about which we can be certain.

Do you see that – if you doubt those things which are clearly and directly in front of you – that you then have no hope of grasping anything which is further from you? For those things which are further from you, and which you can only grasp indirectly, you will always have less evidence about than those things which are right in front of you!

Apply this lesson to our first principles – that nothing comes from nothing and nothing goes to nothing – and test it against those things that are directly before you. This is what Epicurus meant when he taught us to study nature, for it is only in this way that you may grasp the truth, and only in this way may you proceed with confidence to more difficult issues.

Let us continue with the application of our first principles.

In the same way, we must acknowledge that if void and empty space did not exist, material bodies would have no place to exist, or to move about in any direction. But we see that material bodies do move, and thus we know that void must exist.

Moreover, there is nothing which you can affirm to exist except matter and void. There is nothing for which you can find any proof which would constitute a third kind of nature.

Stop and understand this clearly: no matter what you consider, even if you have never seen such a thing before, if you can find proof of its existence through any sense whatsoever, then that thing must consist of matter and void.

Whatever exists as an entity must itself be composed of these two things – matter and void. If a thing exists at all and can be touched in however slight a way, no matter how large or small it may be, it must be counted as a part of the total sum of material things.

But if a thing is intangible and unable to hinder anything from passing through it on any side, then this is what we call void. Whatever exists as an entity will either do something itself or will allow other things that exist to do things to it.

But nothing can do or allow things to be done to it unless it has a material existence, and nothing can furnish room in which material things can act except void.

Thus – besides void and material things – no third nature can exist, because no third nature can at any time be observed by our senses or conceived by our reasoning minds.

No third nature can exist! Do you understand the implication of this? Unless a thing be composed of a combination of matter and void, it does not and cannot exist! Do not be confused and think that I am saying that all things are composed of simple dirt! The matter of which I speak is not dirt – matter is simply the name which I give to the fundamental elements, whatever they are, and those elements have many and varied properties and powers.

Do not be concerned by the argument of some that the elements are weak and beggarly and therefore matter is incapable of forming the wonders of the universe. That is a trap that will be set for you by false philosophies and religions. My point is simply that all that really exists is composed of matter and void. Any thing which is not composed of matter and void – such as those forms or spirits which some submit to you as the true reality, but which exist only in their minds – such things have no real existence!

Let us now continue, and let us examine the error of those who believe that the universe is not composed of atoms and void.

To say as one philosopher does that all things are made up of fire, and that nothing really exists except fire, is sheer insanity.

For this man takes his stand on the side of the senses at the same time that he fights against the senses. His argument challenges the authority of the senses, upon which rests all our convictions – even his own conviction about this fire (as he calls it) that is known only to himself.

For what he is saying is that he believes that the senses can truly perceive fire, but he does not believe they can perceive all other things, which are not a bit less clear! Now this is as false as it is foolish, for to what shall we appeal to resolve the question?

What more certain test can we apply but that of the senses to judge truth and falsehood?

Why should anyone choose to abolish all other things that we see and choose to leave only fire?

Why not abolish fire, and hold that all nature is composed of all other things besides fire?

It would be equal madness to affirm either one or the other of these positions.

Consider this error closely, because you will constantly encounter it in the non-Epicurean world. Heraclitus, the philosopher to which I refer, convinced himself that all the universe is composed of fire because he argued –strangely enough! – that his senses