De Rerum Natura

Lucretius

Lucretius. De Rerum Natura. William Ellery Leonard. E. P. Dutton. 1916.

  1. Now for the rest: copper and gold and iron
  2. Discovered were, and with them silver's weight
  3. And power of lead, when with prodigious heat
  4. The conflagrations burned the forest trees
  5. Among the mighty mountains, by a bolt
  6. Of lightning from the sky, or else because
  7. Men, warring in the woodlands, on their foes
  8. Had hurled fire to frighten and dismay,
  9. Or yet because, by goodness of the soil
  10. Invited, men desired to clear rich fields
  11. And turn the countryside to pasture-lands,
  12. Or slay the wild and thrive upon the spoils.
  13. (For hunting by pit-fall and by fire arose
  14. Before the art of hedging the covert round
  15. With net or stirring it with dogs of chase.)
  16. Howso the fact, and from what cause soever
  17. The flamy heat with awful crack and roar
  18. Had there devoured to their deepest roots
  19. The forest trees and baked the earth with fire,
  20. Then from the boiling veins began to ooze
  21. O rivulets of silver and of gold,
  22. Of lead and copper too, collecting soon
  23. Into the hollow places of the ground.
  24. And when men saw the cooled lumps anon
  25. To shine with splendour-sheen upon the ground,
  26. Much taken with that lustrous smooth delight,
  27. They 'gan to pry them out, and saw how each
  28. Had got a shape like to its earthy mould.
  29. Then would it enter their heads how these same lumps,
  30. If melted by heat, could into any form
  31. Or figure of things be run, and how, again,
  32. If hammered out, they could be nicely drawn
  33. To sharpest points or finest edge, and thus
  34. Yield to the forgers tools and give them power
  35. To chop the forest down, to hew the logs,
  36. To shave the beams and planks, besides to bore
  37. And punch and drill. And men began such work
  38. At first as much with tools of silver and gold
  39. As with the impetuous strength of the stout copper;
  40. But vainly- since their over-mastered power
  41. Would soon give way, unable to endure,
  42. Like copper, such hard labour. In those days
  43. Copper it was that was the thing of price;
  44. And gold lay useless, blunted with dull edge.
  45. Now lies the copper low, and gold hath come
  46. Unto the loftiest honours. Thus it is
  47. That rolling ages change the times of things:
  48. What erst was of a price, becomes at last
  49. A discard of no honour; whilst another
  50. Succeeds to glory, issuing from contempt,
  51. And day by day is sought for more and more,
  52. And, when 'tis found, doth flower in men's praise,
  53. Objects of wondrous honour.