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THE POEM
from earlier parts of the poem. The function of these repetitions has been much
discussed.' What is right may well be said twice', wrote Empedocles (DK i 322,
B 25), and doubtless part of Lucretius' purpose was to drive home his message
with repeated emphasis. This explanation will account for the repetition of such
key passages as that on the conservation of matter, which appears four times
in the poem (1.670—1 ~ 792—3, 2.753—4, 3.519—20). But it will not explain die
repetition of unimportant and incomplete sentences or of decorative passages
which have no significance for the argument. The longest of all the repeated
passages in the poem is die brilliant prologue to Book 4 which first appears in
an almost identical form at the end of Book r (926—50). Editors generally
suppose that one of diese two passages would have been removed in die final
revision and diey are probably right; but with Lucretius one cannot be certain
because of his willingness to repeat passages of memorable poetry. Pedagogical
considerations may have been a factor in die poet's use of repeated phrases,
but die main explanation is almost certainly stylistic. The nearest parallels are in
Homer and Empedocles and diese are among the poet's principal literary models.
Every reader of the De rerwn natura is aware of a considerable difference in
the level of poetic excitement between die great set pieces and die passages of
technical argument. The former contain some of die finest poetry in Latin,
while the latter are marked by a deliberate prosiness which serves to underline
die didactic purpose. The existence of such contrasts has given rise to the
doctrine of'two styles' in Lucretius, but perhaps it would be better to tiiink of
'differences of tone' radier dian 'differences of style', since die disparity which
die reader feels is less the result of any significant change in die basic ingredients
of Lucretius' language dian in die intensification of emotion and die
concentration of imagery. In fact it would be impossible to draw a sharp line
between what is poetic in die poem and what is expository. Lucretius' aim is
to 'touch all widi die charm of die Muses' (1.934), and when he describes his
poetry as honey on the lip of die cup, he is not dunking of the purple patches
only. It is a mistake, therefore, in attempting to understand die poet, to concentrate
too much upon the 'poetic' passages; for die total effect of die De
rerum natura depends upon die balance of its lyrical and expository elements.
For die same reason it is difficult to demonstrate Lucretius' quality as a writer
from a single extract; but perhaps die following lines, which fall somewhere
between die grand manner of die prologues and die austere writing of die more
technical sections, will illustrate some of die points which have already been
made about die poet's style.
quod superest, ne te in promissis plura moremur,
principio maria ac terras caelumque tuere;
quorum naturam triplicem, tria corpora, Memmi,
tris species tarn dissimilis, tria talia texta,
221
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