Empedocles Redivivus: Poetry and Analogy in Lucretius

Personification 33
that his technique of using instances of personification and then explaining
them may have influenced Lucretius in presenting Epicurus’ philosophy. 14
In sum, in what follows it will be shown that Lucretius interplays with
Empedocles’ method and ideas in such a cunning way that he eventually
turns personification into an essential tool of communicating to his pupil
the Epicurean truth of freedom and salvation. While so doing, he strives to
clarify his beliefs and ensure his fidelity to Epicurus’ orthodox doctrine.
2.2 PERSONIFICATION OF NATURAL FORCES
AND MINIMAL ENTITIES
Empedocles generally resorts to personification in order to present his
pupil with a comprehensible image of both the motive forces of creation and
destruction and the unchangeable first beginnings of things, i.e. his roots.
Lucretius, too, makes use of similar images in order to sketch the Epicurean
physical system, regulated by self-prompted actions and obscure mechanistic
processes. In this section, it will be argued that Empedocles’ and Lucretius’
systems of personifications overlap in important respects and specific affinities
in their use will be expounded. Moreover, it will be shown that, following
Empedocles’ example, Lucretius applies this literary device in a more
systematic way. Like his predecessor, he does not limit himself to treating
unseen primary elements and natural forces as isolated animate units; rather,
by means of a more articulated imagery that reflects different manifestations
and facets of human relationships, he succeeds in conveying a variety
of philosophical notions as well. As this cannot be a mere coincidence, I will
attempt to answer the question why Empedocles was particularly suitable
for Lucretius as a model in this respect, what obstacles their philosophical
discrepancies pose for Lucretius in this context, and how the Epicurean poet
disentangles himself from the trap of deviating from his master’s doctrine.
Our starting point will be rather basic occurrences of personification
(deification 2.2.1, simple animation 2.2.2). Then, a more complex web of
relationships from which both philosophers draw their imagery will be gradually
sketched, a web that reflects the pyramid of human relations. In other
words, while man himself is always at the centre, as we ascend the stages of
human relations, interrelations may vary ranging from more primitive and
unconscious processes of attraction and repulsion (sexual imagery or images
of friendship and hostility 2.2.3.1) to more complicated and structured associations;
those, depending on the identity and number of persons involved,
necessitate formal legal agreements in order to acquire a certain temporary
coherence (socio-political imagery 2.2.3.2). Conversely, as the equilibrium