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Dē Nātūrā rērum 1.62-101
Dē Nātūrā rērum 1.62-101
hūmāna ante oculōs foedē cum vīta iacēret
in terrīs oppressa gravī sub Rēligiōne,
quae caput ā caelī regiōnibus ostendēbat
horribilī super aspectū mortālibus instāns, 65
prīmum Grāius homō mortālis tollere contrā
est oculōs ausus prīmusque obsistere contrā;
quem neque fāma deûm nec fūlmina nec minitantī
murmure compressit caelum, sed eō magis acrem
irrītāt animī virtūtem, effringere ut arta 70
nātūrae prīmus portārum claustra cupīret.
ergō vīvida vīs animī pervīcit et extrā
processit longē flammantia moenia mundī
atque omne immēnsum peragrāvit mente animōque,
unde refert nobis victor quid possit orīrī, 75
quid nequeat, fīnīta potestās dēnique cuīque
quānam sit ratiōne atque altē terminus haerēns.
quārē Rēligiō pedibus subiecta vicissim
obteritur, nōs exaequat victoria caelō.
illud in hīs rēbus vereor, nē forte reāris 80
impia tē ratiōnis inīre elementa viamque
indugredī sceleris. quod contrā saepius illa
Rēligiō peperit scelerōsa atque impia facta.
Aulide quō pactō Triviāī virginis āram
Iphianassāī turpārunt sanguine foedē 85
ductōrēs Danaûm dēlectī, prīma virōrum.
cuī simul infula virgineōs circumdata comptūs
ex utrāque parī mālārum parte profūsast,
et maestum simul ante ārās adstare parentem
sēnsit et hunc propter ferrum cēlāre ministrōs 90
aspectūque suō lacrimās effundere cīvēs,
mūta metū terram genibus summissa petēbat.
nec miserae prōdesse in tālī tempore quībat,
quod patriō princeps dōnārat nōmine rēgem;
nam sublāta virûm manibus tremibundaque ad ārās 95
dēductast, nōn ut sollemnī mōre sacrōrum
perfectō posset clārō comitārī Hymenaeō,
sed casta incestē nūbendi tempore in ipsō
hostia concideret mactātū maesta parentis,
exitus ut classī fēlix faustusque darētur. 100
tantum Rēligiō potuit suādēre malōrum.
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Notes
Lucretius (ca. 99-55 BCE) wrote his poem On the Nature of Things to promulgate the philosophy of Epicurus, whom he regarded as liberating humankind from ignorance and superstition. The poet relates the story of Iphigenia as an illustration of the evils of religiō — ‘superstition’. Meter: dactylic hexameters
62 foedē (adv.): “foully”; ante oculōs, i.e., for all to see; obviously63 foppressa is predicative after iacēretreligiō, -iōnis, f.: superstitionLucretius always treats this word as if written relligiō, etc., for metrical purposes; here personified.66 Grāius homō mortālis refers to Epicurus68 deûm = deōrum 69 fminitantī murmure is thunder; the ablative is instrumentaleō magis: “all the more”; eō is ablative of the degree of difference70 irrītāt = irrītāvat, pluperfect, by contraction71 cupīret = cuperet, cupio being construed as a fourth conjugation verb for metrical convenience74 omne is here used as a noun; omne immēnsum: “the vast universe”75 quid possit … – because of the principles of atomic motion, which Epicurus established75-77 contain three indirect questions, depending on refert:quid possit … quid nequeat … quānam ratiōne potestās fīnīta sit … quānam ratiōne = “by what means”, i.e. ‘how’; cuīque = “for each thing”.The idea is that the laws of the physical universe, which Epicurus discovered, narrowly restrict what may come into being.78 vicissim: “in turn”, i.e., from having been victorious she now lies defeated80 illud anticipates the object clause nē …81 impia — transferred epithet, logically modifying ratiōnis, but grammatically with elementa82 indugredī = ingredī, infinitive of ingrediorquod contrā, lit. ‘against which thing’, i.e. ‘to the contrary’84 quō pactō: “as when”, introducing a mythic exemplumTrivius, -a, -um: “of the triple crossroads”, epithet of Diana, the ‘tripartite’ goddess; Triviāī is an archaic genitive85 Iphianassāī, archaic genitive of Iphianassa, an alternate name for Iphigeniaturpārunt, a contracted perfect for turpāvērunt; for foedē, see line 62 above86 Danaûm – genitive plural of Danaus, -a, -um: Danaan, i.e., Greekprīma is neuter plural used as a noun: “the choicest; the foremost (of men)”87 cuī – “for her”, i.e., Iphigeniainfula, -ae, f.: fillets, ceremonial ribbons tied around the head of the priest and the victimsimul = simul ac, “as soon as”circumdata = “tied around”; circum governs the accusative virgineōs comptūscomptūs = crīnēs88 māla, -ae, f.: the cheek or jaw; parī is ablative with parteThe strands of the fillets were even on each sideprōfūsast = prōfūsa est, from prōfundo89 adstō, adstāre = to stand near90 hunc, object of propter: “near him”91 aspectū suō: the ablative expresses cause – “at the sight of her” 92 genibus summissa has reflexive force: “letting herself down …”, i.e., sinking to her knees93 quībat, imperfect of queō, = poterat94 quod …: This clause is the subject of quībat in 93 – ‘the fact that …’dōnārat = dōnāverat, by contraction; patriō nōmine = nōmine patrisprīnceps because she was the eldest of his children95 virûm – genitive plural, = virōrumtremibundus, -a, -um: shaking, trembling, quivering (with fear)96 dēductast = dēducta est97 Hymenaeus, -ī, m.: the wedding hymn; clārus because it is clear soundingcomitārī, though deponent, is here passive in meaning; the bride is accompanied by the hymn98 incestē: impiously, criminally, sinfully99 hostia is predicative: “fell as a …”mactātus, -ūs, m.: butchery, a blow of the sacrificial knife
The Sacrifice of Iphigenia, Roman fresco
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