Kenney_and_Clausen B.M.W.(eds.) - Get a Free Blog

THE POEM
teaching. The prologues, for example, often draw attention to theological
issues which are subsequently lost sight of or passed over without emphasis in
the text which follows. The opening of Book 4 is particularly revealing. In
the syllabus we are told that one of the main themes of the book will be false
beliefs in the ghosts of the dead. This subject was first announced in die preface
to Book 1 and is recalled near the beginning of Book 5. "With such widespread
advertisement one might imagine that belief in ghosts would occupy a major
section of the poem. In fact, Lucretius devotes to the subject only a single
short paragraph (4.757-67). It is true that these lines could not be understood
if separated from the longer discussion of dreams and visions. But that discussion
is carried on in a purely scientific manner and is not related particularly
to the ghosts of the dead. What this suggests is that in the prologues Lucretius
is deliberately directing the attention of his readers to the theological implications
of his work even when his own interests lay elsewhere. By stressing this
element in Epicurean doctrine, he is guiding and conditioning the reader's
emotional response and giving to his scientific account of the world a farranging
and profound human interest. It was a brilliant solution to the problem
of unity.
Style
Somediing must now be said about style, though in a brief survey it is not
possible to do more than touch on a few of the more important points. We
may begin with the problem of vocabulary. Three times in the poem Lucretius
complains of the poverty of die Latin language, always in relation to the translation
of unfamiliar ideas, and he was clearly aware of his pioneering role in
the development of a philosophical vocabulary. There was no difficulty with
simple concepts like the 'void' which could be turned directly into Latin; but
where there was no obvious Latin equivalent or where a more complex idea
had to be expressed, it was necessary to adapt an existing word to a new context
or invent a new term on the analogy of the Greek original. One solution
which Lucretius rejected was simply to transliterate the Greek term. A few
Greek words for scientific notions are to be found in the poem, particularly in
botanical and astronomical contexts, but it is probable that many of these
had already been naturalized in die Latin language. When it came to translating
unfamiliar concepts, Lucretius almost never used a Greek word: harmorda and
komoeomeria are two exceptions, but bodi are used ironically to dismiss an
opponent's theory. Lucretius is often credited, along with Cicero, with the
invention of a philosophical vocabulary for the Latin language and there is
some truth in the claim. But if we follow the poet's innovations through the
later history of the language, it is surprising how few of them survived. Words
like clinamen (for the Greek TrapfeyKAicris 'swerve') and adopinari (for Trpoofjo-
219
Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008