Lucretius, On the Nature of the Universe – Book 3.

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A2 MODULE 5                                    LUCRETIUS, DE RERUM NATURA, BOOK 3

Lucretius, On the Nature of the Universe – Book 3

Nil igitur mors est ad nos neque pertinet hilum,        830

Death is therefore nothing to us, nor does it concern us a bit,


quandoquidem natura animi mortalis habetur.

seeing that the nature of the soul is proved to be mortal.


et vel ut ante acto nihil tempore sensimus aegri,

And just as in time before we felt no ill


ad confligendum venientibus undique Poenis,

when the Carthaginians were coming to fight from all directions,


omnia cum belli trepido concussa tumultu

when everything, shaken by the convulsive commotion of war,


horrida contremuere sub altis aetheris auris,        835

quaked in horror under the high breezes of heaven,

in dubioque fuere utrorum ad regna cadendum

and were in doubt about which of the two kingdoms


omnibus humanis esset terraque marique,

the whole human race must fall to, by land and by sea,


sic, ubi non erimus, cum corporis atque animai

so, when we are no more, when there has been a separation


discidium fuerit, quibus e sumus uniter apti,

of the  body and soul, out of which we were put together as one,


scilicet haud nobis quicquam, qui non erimus tum,        840

obviously nothing at all will be able to happen to us, who will not then exist,

 
accidere omnino poterit sensumque movere,

or to affect our senses,

non si terra mari miscebitur et mare caelo.

not even if the earth is merged with the sea and the sea with the sky.


et si iam nostro sentit de corpore postquam

And even if the nature of the mind and the power of the soul


distractast animi natura animaeque potestas,

has feeling after it has been separated from our body,


nil tamen est ad nos, qui comptu coniugioque        845

it is however nothing to us, who exist joined as one


corporis atque animae consistimus uniter apti.

by the union and marriage of body and soul.


nec, si materiem nostram collegerit aetas

And if time brings together our matter after death

post obitum rursumque redegerit ut sita nunc est,

and puts it together again as it is now arranged,


atque iterum nobis fuerint data lumina vitae,

Join now!

and the light of light is given to us again,


pertineat quicquam tamen ad nos id quoque factum,        850

even that fact would not concern us,


interrupta semel cum sit repetentia nostri.

when once our recollection has been interrupted.


et nunc nil ad nos de nobis attinet, ante

And nothing about us, who existed before, is now relevant to us,


qui fuimus, [neque] iam de illis nos adficit angor.

nor does any pain about them affect us.

nam cum respicias inmensi temporis omne

For when you look back at the whole past extent

praeteritum spatium, tum motus materiai        855

of infinite ...

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