46 Lucretius, De rerum natura, Book VI, 1090–1286
1. Introductory Context: The Persistence of Lucretian Thought
The study of Lucretius’s plague narrative in Book VI remains a cornerstone of classical philology and the history of science, offering a profound look at what Albert Einstein described as the “intelligibility” and “causal connectedness of everything.” In his 1924 foreword to the edition by Hermann Diels, Einstein expressed a “firm confidence” in Lucretius’s presentation of a world governed by the regular motion of immutable atoms. For Einstein, the poem works its “magic” on anyone who feels like a “spectator” of the intellectual attitudes of his contemporaries. He observed that Lucretius was guided by the necessity of an atomistic-mechanical worldview, even when his “practically oriented Roman readers” might have prioritized immediate utility over speculative physics. Einstein notably highlighted Lucretius’s moving reverence for Greek culture and language, which the poet considered vastly superior to the Latin of his own time—a sentiment Einstein found remarkably noble, questioning whether any modern nation would express such humility toward a contemporary neighbor.
This module utilizes the text established by Hermann Diels (1923), an editor who sought to preserve the specific “ancient vigor” of the Lucretian voice. In his Praefatio, Diels famously defended the “rusticity” (subrusticam) of the manuscript tradition. Rather than smoothing over the unpolished or archaic forms to satisfy a preference for Ovidian polish, Diels argued that these linguistic “imperfections” were essential to Lucretius’s character as a man of “ancient vigor and simple simplicity,” a hater of modern elegances. By using the Diels edition, we encounter a Lucretius whose language reflects the raw, foundational nature of the atoms he describes.
This persistence of Lucretian thought is further illustrated by David Attenborough’s appreciation for the 1515 Aldine edition. Attenborough characterizes the printed book as a “meme” in the sense defined by Richard Dawkins—a vehicle for embedding and handing down “human experience” across generations. For over six hundred years, the physical book ensured that Lucretius’s quest to liberate humanity from the “slavish fear” of superstition remained accessible. Before the electronic age, these “memes” were the primary conduits for ancient physics to reach modern scientific minds. By engaging with this module, students participate in this transmission, bridging technical philology with the enduring quest for a rational understanding of nature’s most terrifying phenomena: the dissolution of life and society during a plague.
2. Primary Text: PESTILENTIA (Latin and English)
PESTILENTIA VNDE CREATVR (1089a)
| Line | Latin Text (Hermann Diels, 1923) | English Translation (Scholarly Prose) |
| 1090 | Nunc ratio quae sit morbis, aut vnde repente | Now I shall explain the source of diseases, or from what cause |
| mortiferam possit cladem conflare coorta | the power of pestilence can suddenly arise and gather | |
| morbi vis hominum generi pecudumque catervis, | a death-bearing destruction for the race of men and herds of cattle. | |
| expediam. primum multarum semina rerum | First, I have shown before that there are seeds of many things | |
| 1095 | esse supra docui quae nastro voto saluti, | which support our life, and on the other hand |
| et contra multas revolare nastro vito morbo | many must fly about that bring disease and death. | |
| mortemque adferre. quae cum casu sunt vtais | When these by chance have gathered and disturbed the sky, | |
| forte coorta et perturbarunt caelum, fit morbidus aer. | the air becomes diseased. And all that power of plague | |
| atque ea vis omnis morborum pestilitasque | either comes from without the world through the sky, | |
| 1100 | aut extrinsecus ut nubis nebulaque per autem | like clouds and mists, or else it rises |
| venit, aut ipsa de terra coorta coit, cum | from the earth itself when, soaked with untimely rains, | |
| rore vtais putrorique est vtais vtais vtais | it has contracted a stench, smitten by unseasonable | |
| icta vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais. | wet and suns. | |
| 1105 | nonne vides etiam caeli novitate et aquarum | Do you not see also that those who travel far from home |
| temptari procul a patria domoque quicumque | and country are affected by the strangeness of the climate | |
| adveniunt, ideo quia multum discrepat aer? | and water, because the air differs much from their own? | |
| nam quid Britanni caelum distare putamus | For how do we suppose the sky of the Britons differs | |
| et quod in Aegvpto est, qua mundi axia vtais, | from that in Egypt, where the axis of the world slants, | |
| 1110 | quidve quod in Ponto est, et Gadium tenus usque | or that in Pontus, or again that at Gades and so on |
| usque ad nigra virum percocto saecla colore? | even to the black races of men with their parched color? | |
| quae cum quattuor inter se diversa videmus | As we see these four climates diverse under the four | |
| quattuor a ventis et caeli partibus esse, | winds and quarters of the sky, so the diseases | |
| sic hominum species et vultus discrepare | and looks of men are seen to differ widely | |
| 1115 | et morbi vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais. | and the diseases to vary according to their kind. |
| est elephas morbus, qui propter flumina Nili | There is the elephant disease, which is found by the Nile | |
| gignitur Aegvpto in media neque praeterea usquam. | in the heart of Egypt and nowhere else. | |
| Attica vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais, | In Attica the feet are attacked, in the Achaean lands | |
| Achaeis vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais. | the eyes. And so different places are injurious | |
| 1120 | omnibus membris vtais vtais vtais vtais; | to different members; the air is the cause. |
| quocirca vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Therefore when an atmosphere that is alien to us | |
| proli vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | happens to move, and unwholesome air | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | begins to creep, like a mist or a cloud | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | it little by little moves and disturbs | |
| 1125 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the whole sky, and forces it to change. |
| fit quoque ut, in nastro cum venit denique caelo, | It happens also that when it has finally reached our sky, | |
| corrumpat reddatque sui similem atque alienum. | it corrupts it and makes it like itself and alien to us. | |
| haec igitur subito clades nova pestilitasque | This new destruction and pestilence therefore suddenly | |
| aut in aquas cadit aut fruges persidit in ipsas | either falls upon the waters or settles on the grain | |
| 1130 | aut alios hominum pastus pecudumque cibatus, | or other food of men and fodder of the flocks, |
| aut etiam suspensa tenet vis aere in ipso, | or else its power remains suspended in the air itself, | |
| et cum spirantes mixtas hinc ducimus auras, | and when we draw in the air mixed with it as we breathe, | |
| illa quoque in corpus pariter sorbere necessest. | we must likewise suck those seeds into our body. | |
| consimili ratione venit bubus quoque saepe | In like manner the plague often comes to the cattle also, | |
| 1135 | pestis et in pigris balantibus aegror oritur. | and a murrain to the sluggish bleating sheep. |
| nec refert utrum nos in loca deveniamus | Nor does it matter whether we travel to places | |
| nobis adversa et caeli mutemus amictum, | unfavorable to us and change our cloak of sky, |
DE PESTILENTIA ATHENIENSIVM (1137a)
| Line | Latin Text (Hermann Diels, 1923) | English Translation (Scholarly Prose) |
| 1138 | Haec ratio quondam morborum et mortifer aestus | This fashion of disease and this death-bearing tide |
| finibus in Cecropis funestos reddidit agros | once brought waste to the fields in the borders of Cecrops | |
| 1140 | vastavitque vias, exhausit civibus urbem. | and emptied the streets, and drained the city of citizens. |
| nam penitus veniens Aegvpti finibus ortus, | For coming from the depths of Egypt, where it arose, | |
| aera permensus multum camposque natantis, | it traversed much sky and floating over the sea, | |
| incubuit tandem populo Pandionis omni. | it settled at last upon the whole people of Pandion. | |
| inde catervatim morbo mortique dabantur. | Then in great numbers they were handed over to disease and death. | |
| 1145 | principio caput incensum fervore gerebant | First of all, they had the head burning with heat |
| et duplices oculos suffusa luce rubentis. | and both eyes red with a suffusion of light. | |
| sudabant etiam fauces vtais vtais vtais | The throat, too, sweated black blood within, | |
| sanguine, et ulceribus vocis via saepta coibat, | and the path of the voice was choked and closed with sores, | |
| atque animi interpres manabat lingua cruore | and the tongue, the mind’s interpreter, trickled with blood, | |
| 1150 | debilitata malis, motu gravis, aspera tactu. | weakened by pain, heavy in movement, rough to the touch. |
| inde ubi per fauces pectus complerat et ipsum | Then when the force of the disease, passing through the throat, | |
| morbida vis in cor maestum confluxerat aegris, | had filled the breast and gathered in the heavy heart of the sick, | |
| omnia tum vero vitai claustra lababant. | then indeed all the barriers of life began to give way. | |
| spiritus ore foras taetrum volvebat odorem, | The breath rolled out from the mouth a foul stench, | |
| 1155 | rancida quo perolent proiecta cadavera ritu. | like the smell of rotting corpses left unburied. |
| atque animi prorsum tum vires totius, omne | And then the powers of the whole mind and the whole | |
| corpus edebantur vtais vtais vtais vtais. | body began to fail, now on the very threshold of death. | |
| intolerabilibusque malis erat anxius angor | To these unbearable sufferings was joined anxious anguish | |
| assiduus comes et gemitu commixta querella. | as a constant companion, and lamentation mixed with moans. | |
| 1160 | singultusque frequens noctem per saepe diemque | And frequent sobbing, throughout the night and day, |
| corripere assidue nervos et membra coactans | continually convulsed the nerves and the limbs, | |
| dissolvebat eos, ante lasso fessa iam ante. | breaking them down, weary as they already were. | |
| nec notaries vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais, | Nor could you see the surface of the body | |
| sed magis adhibere vtais vtais vtais vtais | burn with any excessive heat, but rather | |
| 1165 | tepidum manibus vtais vtais vtais vtais. | it offered a lukewarm sensation to the touch. |
| corpore vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais, | At the same time, the body was red with sores, | |
| flagrabat vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | as when the “sacred fire” spreads over the limbs. | |
| intus vero ad ossa vtais vtais vtais vtais | But their inwards burned even to the bones; | |
| ardebat vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais. | a flame burned within the stomach as in a furnace. | |
| 1170 | nil adeo posses vtais vtais vtais vtais | There was nothing so light or thin that you could |
| quod non vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | apply it to the limbs for relief, but only cold and wind. | |
| in fluvios vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Some cast their burning bodies into the cold streams, | |
| 1175 | praecipitarent vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais. | throwing themselves naked into the waters. |
| multi praeterea vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Many besides fell headlong into the water of wells, | |
| lymphis vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | reaching them with mouths wide open. | |
| insatiabilis vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | A parching thirst, beyond all sating, | |
| fluminis vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais. | made a great flood seem like a small drop. | |
| 1180 | nec requies erat vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Nor was there any respite from the pain; |
| defessa vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais. | the bodies lay exhausted. Medicine muttered in | |
| mussabat vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | silent fear, while the victims turned their | |
| lumina vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | burning eyes, wide open and sleepless, upon them. | |
| multa vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | And many signs of death were then given: | |
| 1185 | perturbata vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the mind distracted with sorrow and fear, |
| triste vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the gloomy brow, the fierce and frenzied face, | |
| perturbatae vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the ears troubled and filled with noises, | |
| creber vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the breath quick, or else drawn long and rare, | |
| sudor vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the neck wet with a salt and yellow sweat, | |
| 1190 | tenvia vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais. | and the spittle thin, meager, and yellow with salt. |
| in manibus vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | The nerves in the hands began to twitch, the limbs | |
| tremere vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | to tremble, and from the feet a coldness | |
| non dubitabat vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | did not cease to creep up little by little. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | At the very last, the nostrils grew thin, | |
| 1195 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the tip of the nose pinched, the eyes sunken, |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the temples hollow, the skin cold and hard, | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the forehead tense, and the face distorted. | |
| nec multo vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | And not long after, the limbs grew stiff in death; | |
| octavo vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | usually on the eighth or ninth day of the sun | |
| 1200 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | they would yield up their life. |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | And if anyone escaped the stroke of death, | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | yet afterwards a wasting and destruction | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | would await him from foul ulcers and a black flux. | |
| huc vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | To this was added often a pain in the head | |
| 1205 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | and the loss of the eyes or the feet, |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | and some survived with the loss of their hands. | |
| usque vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | So deep did the fear of death sink into them. | |
| some vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Some were smitten with a loss of memory, | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | and could not even recognize themselves. | |
| 1210 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | And though many bodies lay unburied on the ground, |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | yet the tribes of birds and wild beasts | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | would either leap away to escape the stench, | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | or if they tasted the flesh, they perished. | |
| nec vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Nor indeed in those days did any bird appear, | |
| 1215 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | nor did the gloomy race of wild beasts leave the woods. |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | They were faint with disease and died in numbers. | |
| fidi vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Especially the faithful strength of dogs, | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | gasping out their life in every street. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Meanwhile, the lonely burials were hurried on. | |
| 1220 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Nor was there any certain or common remedy; |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | for what gave one the power to breathe the air | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | was destruction to another and brought death. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | But the most piteous thing in those events | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | was that when anyone saw himself caught, | |
| 1225 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | he would lie down in despair, as if under sentence of death. |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | For at no time did they cease to catch the infection | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | of the greedy plague, like wool-bearing sheep. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | And this above all piled death upon death. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | For those who shunned their own sick kin | |
| 1230 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | were punished later by death through neglect, |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | but those who stayed were caught by contagion | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | and the labor which shame forced them to undergo. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Thus the best of them died in this manner. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | They would place their own kin on the pyres of others | |
| 1235 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | with a great cry, and apply the torch, |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | until they were exhausted with weeping. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | And they would return and take to their beds. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Nor could anyone be found whom neither disease | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | nor death nor mourning had touched in that time. | |
| 1240 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Moreover, the shepherd and the cattle-driver, |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | and the sturdy guider of the curved plough, | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | began to fail, and their bodies were piled | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | in the corners of their narrow huts. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | You might see the dead bodies of parents | |
| 1245 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | lying upon their dead children, or children |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | yielding up their life upon their parents. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | And in no small part that grief flowed | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | into the city from the country, brought by the | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | crowd of plague-stricken farmers from every side. | |
| 1250 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | They filled all the places and all the buildings; |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | and so, in the stifling heat, death piled them | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | in high heaps. Many, prostrate with thirst, | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | rolled their bodies toward the fountains of water. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | And many you might see throughout the streets | |
| 1255 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | lying with limbs drooping from their bodies, |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | covered with rags and dying in filth. | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Furthermore, death had filled all the holy shrines | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | with corpses, and the temples of the gods | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | remained burdened with the bodies of the dead. | |
| 1260 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | For the worship of the gods and their divinity |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | were not held of much account; the present | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | pain was too great. Nor was the old custom | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | of burial observed, for the whole people | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | was distracted and each buried his own as he could. | |
| 1265 | vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | Sudden need and poverty persuaded many |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | to use horrible means; they would place their own | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | kin on the pyres built for others and apply | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | the torch, fighting with much bloodshed | |
| vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais vtais | rather than abandon the bodies of their dead. |
3. Critical Apparatus (Apparatus Criticus)
The following apparatus synthesizes the textual evidence for Book VI, lines 1090–1286, adhering to the Diels (1923) established text and addenda.
Testimonia:
- VI 1173–1282: Contained in Schedae Vindobonenses (U), f. 17r.
- VI 1283–1286: Contained in Schedae Vindobonenses (U), f. 17v.
Apparatus Variants:
4. Philological Sigla Reference Table
The following sigla represent the primary manuscript witnesses used in the Diels edition to reconstruct the Lucretian archetype.
| Siglum | Codex Name | Century/Location |
| O | Codex Leidensis Vossianus Lat. Fol. 30 (Oblongus) | 9th Century; Mainz/Fulda |
| Q | Codex Leidensis Vossianus Quadratus 94 (Quadratus) | 9th/10th Century; St. Bertin |
| G | Schedae Haunienses (Gottorpienses) | 9th Century; Copenhagen |
| V | Schedae Vindobonenses (Prior fragments) | 9th Century; Vienna |
| U | Schedae Vindobonenses (Posterior fragments) | 9th Century; Vienna (Includes VI 1090–1286) |
