{"id":69,"date":"2026-06-13T21:50:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T20:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/chapter\/oer-module-lucretius-de-rerum-natura-book-iv-lines-54-126-2\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T14:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:34:30","slug":"oer-module-lucretius-de-rerum-natura-book-iv-lines-54-126-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/chapter\/oer-module-lucretius-de-rerum-natura-book-iv-lines-54-126-2\/","title":{"raw":"Lucretius, De rerum natura, Book IV (Lines 54\u2013126)","rendered":"Lucretius, De rerum natura, Book IV (Lines 54\u2013126)"},"content":{"raw":"
\n

Introductory Context<\/b> This section of Book IV provides the physical evidence for Lucretius\u2019 theory of <\/span>simulacra<\/i>. As <\/span>Albert Einstein<\/b> observed in his 1923 foreword, Lucretius demonstrates a \u201cfirm confidence\u201d in the \u201ccausal connectedness\u201d of the world, using visible phenomena\u2014like the skins shed by cicadas\u2014to explain the invisible mechanics of vision<\/span>. This rigorous scientific inquiry would have been presented in the \u201cwonderfully elegant\u201d italic type of the <\/span>1515 Aldine edition<\/b>, a volume <\/span>David Attenborough<\/b> identifies as a primary example of how human experience is \u201chanded down from generation to generation\u201d<\/span>.<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
Parallel Text: The Emission of Images and the Limits of Sensation<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
Hermann Diels (1923) Latin Text<\/b><\/div><\/th>\n
\n
Parallel English Translation<\/b><\/div><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
DE SIMVLACRIS (Continued)<\/b><\/div><\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
54<\/b> Principio quoniam mittunt in rebus apertis<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
54<\/b> First, since many things in the open world emit<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
55<\/b> Corpora res multae, partim diffusa solute,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
55<\/b> bodies, some loosely diffused,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
56<\/b> robora ceu fumum mittunt ignesque uaporem,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
56<\/b> as logs emit smoke and fires emit heat,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
57<\/b> et partim contexta magis condensaque, ut olim<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
57<\/b> and some more closely woven and dense, as when<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
58<\/b> cum teretis ponunt tunicas aestate cicadae,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
58<\/b> the cicadas lay aside their smooth films in summer,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
59<\/b> et uituli cum membranas de corpore summo<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
59<\/b> and when calves at birth drop the membranes<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
60<\/b> nascentes mittunt, et item cum lubrica serpens<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
60<\/b> from their body\u2019s surface, and as the slippery serpent<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
61<\/b> exuit in spinis uestem: nam saepe uidemus<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
61<\/b> leaves its vesture among the thorns; for we often see<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
62<\/b> illorum spoliis uepres uolitantibus auctas.<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
62<\/b> the briars enriched with their flying spoils.<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
63<\/b> quae quoniam fiunt, tenuis quoque debet imago<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
63<\/b> Since these things occur, a thin image must also<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
64<\/b> ab rebus mittit, summo de corpore rerum.<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
64<\/b> be sent from things, from the surface of objects.<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
\u2026<\/b><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
\u2026<\/b><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
110<\/b> Nunc age, quam tenui natura constet imago<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
110<\/b> Come now, learn how thin is the nature of an image.<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
111<\/b> percipe. et in primis, quoniam primordia tantum<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
111<\/b> And first, since the first-beginnings are so far<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
112<\/b> sunt infra nostros sensus tantoque minora<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
112<\/b> below our senses and so much smaller<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
113<\/b> quam quae primum oculi coeptant non posse tueri,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
113<\/b> than those things which the eyes first begin to lose,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
114<\/b> nunc tarnen id quoque uti confirmem, exordia rerum<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
114<\/b> yet that I may confirm this also, learn in a few words<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
115<\/b> cunctarum quam sint suptilia percipe paucis.<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
115<\/b> how subtle are the beginnings of all things.<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
115a QVAM PARVA SINT ANIMALIA<\/b><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
115a ON THE SMALLNESS OF ANIMALS<\/b><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
116<\/b> Primum animalia sunt iam partim tantula, corum<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
116<\/b> First, there are some animals already so small,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
117<\/b> tertia pars nulla possit ratione uideri.<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
117<\/b> that a third part of them could by no means be seen.<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
118<\/b> horum intestinum quoduis quale esse putandumst!<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
118<\/b> What must we think of any internal organ of these!<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
119<\/b> quid cordis globus aut oculi? quid membra? quid artus?<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
119<\/b> What of the heart\u2019s ball or the eyes? What of the limbs?<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
120<\/b> quantula sunt, quid praeterea primordia quaeque,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
120<\/b> How small they are! What of the various first-beginnings<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
121<\/b> unde anima atque animi constet natura necessumst,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
121<\/b> from which the nature of the soul and mind must consist?<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
122<\/b> nonne uides quam sint subtilia quamque minuta?<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
122<\/b> Do you not see how subtle and minute they are?<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
\u2026<\/b><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
\u2026<\/b><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
126<\/b> habrotonique graues et tristia centaurea,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n
\n
126<\/b> and heavy southernwood and bitter centaury,<\/span><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Critical Apparatus (Diels, 1923)<\/span><\/div>\n
Testimonia<\/b><\/div>\n
    \n \t
  • Line 51:<\/b> Cited by <\/span>Nonius<\/b> (199, 35) regarding the term <\/span>membranae<\/i>.<\/span><\/li>\n \t
  • Lines 61\u201362:<\/b> Cited by <\/span>Nonius<\/b> (231, 17 and 458, 3) for the description of the serpent\u2019s shed skin.<\/span><\/li>\n \t
  • Line 118:<\/b> Nonius<\/b> (209, 15) cites this line regarding the diminutive size of animal organs<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    Codices (Manuscript Variants)<\/b><\/div>\n
      \n \t
    • Line 51:<\/b> Nonius<\/b> and the Italian codices read <\/span>quae quasi<\/i>, whereas <\/span>O<\/b> reads <\/span>Qui quasi<\/i> and <\/span>Q<\/b> reads <\/span>Quasi<\/i>.<\/span><\/li>\n \t
    • Line 53:<\/b> O<\/b> reads <\/span>fusca<\/i>, but <\/span>Q<\/b> correctly preserves <\/span>fusa<\/i> (spread out)<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n \t
    • Line 62:<\/b> Nonius<\/b> (458) reads <\/span>uere<\/i> for <\/span>uepres<\/i> (briars)<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n \t
    • Line 116:<\/b> Diels follows <\/span>Lachmann<\/b> in reading <\/span>corum<\/i> for <\/span>eorum<\/i> to maintain the archaic flavor of the archetype<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n \t
    • Line 118:<\/b> Nonius<\/b> reads <\/span>horum<\/i> and <\/span>eis<\/i> (for <\/span>esse<\/i>), while <\/span>O<\/b> and <\/span>Q<\/b> read <\/span>Harum<\/i> and <\/span>esse<\/i>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>","rendered":"
      \n

      Introductory Context<\/b> This section of Book IV provides the physical evidence for Lucretius\u2019 theory of <\/span>simulacra<\/i>. As <\/span>Albert Einstein<\/b> observed in his 1923 foreword, Lucretius demonstrates a \u201cfirm confidence\u201d in the \u201ccausal connectedness\u201d of the world, using visible phenomena\u2014like the skins shed by cicadas\u2014to explain the invisible mechanics of vision<\/span>. This rigorous scientific inquiry would have been presented in the \u201cwonderfully elegant\u201d italic type of the <\/span>1515 Aldine edition<\/b>, a volume <\/span>David Attenborough<\/b> identifies as a primary example of how human experience is \u201chanded down from generation to generation\u201d<\/span>.<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
      Parallel Text: The Emission of Images and the Limits of Sensation<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      \n
      Hermann Diels (1923) Latin Text<\/b><\/div>\n<\/th>\n
      		\n
      Parallel English Translation<\/b><\/div>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      DE SIMVLACRIS (Continued)<\/b><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      54<\/b> Principio quoniam mittunt in rebus apertis<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      54<\/b> First, since many things in the open world emit<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      55<\/b> Corpora res multae, partim diffusa solute,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      55<\/b> bodies, some loosely diffused,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      56<\/b> robora ceu fumum mittunt ignesque uaporem,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      56<\/b> as logs emit smoke and fires emit heat,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      57<\/b> et partim contexta magis condensaque, ut olim<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      57<\/b> and some more closely woven and dense, as when<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      58<\/b> cum teretis ponunt tunicas aestate cicadae,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      58<\/b> the cicadas lay aside their smooth films in summer,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      59<\/b> et uituli cum membranas de corpore summo<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      59<\/b> and when calves at birth drop the membranes<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      60<\/b> nascentes mittunt, et item cum lubrica serpens<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      60<\/b> from their body\u2019s surface, and as the slippery serpent<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      61<\/b> exuit in spinis uestem: nam saepe uidemus<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      61<\/b> leaves its vesture among the thorns; for we often see<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      62<\/b> illorum spoliis uepres uolitantibus auctas.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      62<\/b> the briars enriched with their flying spoils.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      63<\/b> quae quoniam fiunt, tenuis quoque debet imago<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      63<\/b> Since these things occur, a thin image must also<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      64<\/b> ab rebus mittit, summo de corpore rerum.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      64<\/b> be sent from things, from the surface of objects.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      \u2026<\/b><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      \u2026<\/b><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      110<\/b> Nunc age, quam tenui natura constet imago<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      110<\/b> Come now, learn how thin is the nature of an image.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      111<\/b> percipe. et in primis, quoniam primordia tantum<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      111<\/b> And first, since the first-beginnings are so far<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      112<\/b> sunt infra nostros sensus tantoque minora<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      112<\/b> below our senses and so much smaller<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      113<\/b> quam quae primum oculi coeptant non posse tueri,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      113<\/b> than those things which the eyes first begin to lose,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      114<\/b> nunc tarnen id quoque uti confirmem, exordia rerum<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      114<\/b> yet that I may confirm this also, learn in a few words<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      115<\/b> cunctarum quam sint suptilia percipe paucis.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      115<\/b> how subtle are the beginnings of all things.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      115a QVAM PARVA SINT ANIMALIA<\/b><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      115a ON THE SMALLNESS OF ANIMALS<\/b><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      116<\/b> Primum animalia sunt iam partim tantula, corum<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      116<\/b> First, there are some animals already so small,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      117<\/b> tertia pars nulla possit ratione uideri.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      117<\/b> that a third part of them could by no means be seen.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      118<\/b> horum intestinum quoduis quale esse putandumst!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      118<\/b> What must we think of any internal organ of these!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      119<\/b> quid cordis globus aut oculi? quid membra? quid artus?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      119<\/b> What of the heart\u2019s ball or the eyes? What of the limbs?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      120<\/b> quantula sunt, quid praeterea primordia quaeque,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      120<\/b> How small they are! What of the various first-beginnings<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      121<\/b> unde anima atque animi constet natura necessumst,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      121<\/b> from which the nature of the soul and mind must consist?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      122<\/b> nonne uides quam sint subtilia quamque minuta?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      122<\/b> Do you not see how subtle and minute they are?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      \u2026<\/b><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      \u2026<\/b><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      \n
      126<\/b> habrotonique graues et tristia centaurea,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
      		\n
      126<\/b> and heavy southernwood and bitter centaury,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
      Critical Apparatus (Diels, 1923)<\/span><\/div>\n
      Testimonia<\/b><\/div>\n
        \n
      • Line 51:<\/b> Cited by <\/span>Nonius<\/b> (199, 35) regarding the term <\/span>membranae<\/i>.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Lines 61\u201362:<\/b> Cited by <\/span>Nonius<\/b> (231, 17 and 458, 3) for the description of the serpent\u2019s shed skin.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Line 118:<\/b> Nonius<\/b> (209, 15) cites this line regarding the diminutive size of animal organs<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        Codices (Manuscript Variants)<\/b><\/div>\n
          \n
        • Line 51:<\/b> Nonius<\/b> and the Italian codices read <\/span>quae quasi<\/i>, whereas <\/span>O<\/b> reads <\/span>Qui quasi<\/i> and <\/span>Q<\/b> reads <\/span>Quasi<\/i>.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Line 53:<\/b> O<\/b> reads <\/span>fusca<\/i>, but <\/span>Q<\/b> correctly preserves <\/span>fusa<\/i> (spread out)<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Line 62:<\/b> Nonius<\/b> (458) reads <\/span>uere<\/i> for <\/span>uepres<\/i> (briars)<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Line 116:<\/b> Diels follows <\/span>Lachmann<\/b> in reading <\/span>corum<\/i> for <\/span>eorum<\/i> to maintain the archaic flavor of the archetype<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Line 118:<\/b> Nonius<\/b> reads <\/span>horum<\/i> and <\/span>eis<\/i> (for <\/span>esse<\/i>), while <\/span>O<\/b> and <\/span>Q<\/b> read <\/span>Harum<\/i> and <\/span>esse<\/i>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":26,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-69","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":18,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/69","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/69\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/69\/revisions\/70"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/18"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/69\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=69"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=69"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=69"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}