De Rerum Natura

Lucretius

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

  1. Now, Memmius,
  2. How nature of iron discovered was, thou mayst
  3. Of thine own self divine. Man's ancient arms
  4. Were hands, and nails and teeth, stones too and boughs-
  5. Breakage of forest trees- and flame and fire,
  6. As soon as known. Thereafter force of iron
  7. And copper discovered was; and copper's use
  8. Was known ere iron's, since more tractable
  9. Its nature is and its abundance more.
  10. With copper men to work the soil began,
  11. With copper to rouse the hurly waves of war,
  12. To straw the monstrous wounds, and seize away
  13. Another's flocks and fields. For unto them,
  14. Thus armed, all things naked of defence
  15. Readily yielded. Then by slow degrees
  16. The sword of iron succeeded, and the shape
  17. Of brazen sickle into scorn was turned:
  18. With iron to cleave the soil of earth they 'gan,
  19. And the contentions of uncertain war
  20. Were rendered equal.
  21. And, lo, man was wont
  22. Armed to mount upon the ribs of horse
  23. And guide him with the rein, and play about
  24. With right hand free, oft times before he tried
  25. Perils of war in yoked chariot;
  26. And yoked pairs abreast came earlier
  27. Than yokes of four, or scythed chariots
  28. Whereinto clomb the men-at-arms. And next
  29. The Punic folk did train the elephants-
  30. Those curst Lucanian oxen, hideous,
  31. The serpent-handed, with turrets on their bulks-
  32. To dure the wounds of war and panic-strike
  33. The mighty troops of Mars. Thus Discord sad
  34. Begat the one Thing after other, to be
  35. The terror of the nations under arms,
  36. And day by day to horrors of old war
  37. She added an increase.