TRANSLATIONS FROM LUCRETIUS _By the same Author._ THE FOOLISHNESS OF SOLOMON 3s. 6d. LUCRETIUS ON DEATH 2s. 6d. THE PTERODAMOZELS 2s. THE NEW PARSIFAL 3s. 6d. THE BRIDE OF DIONYSUS 3s. 6d. SISYPHUS 5s. POLYPHEMUS 7s. 6d. THE BIRTH OF PARSIVAL 3s. 6d. CECILIA GONZAGA 2s. 6d. MALLOW AND ASPHODEL 2s. 6d. THE AJAX OF SOPHOCLES 2s. TRANSLATIONS FROM LUCRETIUS BY R. C. TREVELYAN LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD. RUSKIN HOUSE 40 MUSEUM STREET, W.C. 1 _First published in 1920._ _All rights reserved._ TO G. LOWES DICKINSON TRANSLATIONS FROM LUCRETIUS BOOK I, lines 1-328 Thou mother of the Aenead race, delight Of men and deities, bountiful Venus, thou Who under the sky’s gliding constellations Fillest ship-carrying ocean with thy presence And the corn-bearing lands, since through thy power Each kind of living creature is conceived Then riseth and beholdeth the sun’s light: Before thee and thine advent the winds and clouds Of heaven take flight, O goddess: daedal earth Puts forth sweet-scented flowers beneath thy feet: Beholding thee the smooth deep laughs, the sky Grows calm and shines with wide-outspreading light. For soon as the day’s vernal countenance Has been revealed, and fresh from wintry bonds Blows the birth-giving breeze of the West wind, First do the birds of air give sign of thee, Goddess, and thine approach, as through their hearts Thine influence smites. Next the wild herds of beasts Bound over the rich pastures and swim through The rapid streams, as captured by thy charm Each one with eager longing follows thee Whithersoever thou wouldst lure them on. And thus through seas, mountains and rushing rivers, Through the birds’ leafy homes and the green plains, Striking bland love into the hearts of all, Thou art the cause that following his lust Each should renew his race after his kind. Therefore since thou alone art nature’s mistress, And since without thine aid naught can rise forth Into the glorious regions of the light, Nor aught grow to be gladsome and delectable, Thee would I win to help me while I write These verses, wherein I labour to describe The nature of things in honour of my friend