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LUCRETIUS
' moon, day and night and the night's solemn constellations'; and irony in 4.113 2:
pocula crebra, unguenta, coronae serta parantur 'cups in abundance, perfume,
crowns, garlands are made ready' (note in this last example how the mocking tone
is supported by the rhythm: in all six feet there is coincidence of ictus and accent).
But there are hazards in this manner of writing; for amplitude can easily
degenerate into bombast. At first sight lines 93—4 may seem an excessively
ponderous way of making the simple point that earth, sea and sky are three
bodies which differ in appearance and texture. Yet the sentence is not mere
padding; for 'appearance' and 'texture' are key themes in the poem. The
reference to texture in these lines recalls a passage in Book 1 (238—49) in which
Lucretius argues that it is on account of their different textures that the objects
of our experience do not suddenly disintegrate at a single stroke. Here by
contrast a more sinister point is being made: that in the final cataclysm the
varied textures of sea, earth and sky will not prevent their simultaneous destruction.
The emphasis on the complex texture of the world is not, therefore, simply
rhetorical: it is part of the argument itself. This is typical of the best of Lucretius'
writing; his success as a didactic poet lies in his total absorption, both emotionally
and intellectually, in the message of his poem. The passage which we have
been examining is a good example of this capacity to transmute argument into
poetry. Clearly the Epicurean doctrine of the eventual destruction of the world
captured the poet's imagination, as it captured that of Ovid, and inspired him
to a solemn and impressive statement. Such an emphatic manner of writing
would not have suited more tender or commonplace writers, but it was admirable
for Lucretius' purpose. For him the majesty of his theme demanded and
justified an impressive rhetoric. This does not mean that he is uniformly
solemn. He could turn an epic phrase to mock-heroic effect, as when he
describes a goose as Romulidarum arcis seruator candidus anser 'the white
goose, saviour of the citidal of the children of Romulus' (4.683), and he could
stand back and smile at the very force and vigour of his own dialectic (see, e.g.,
1.410-17).
Image and symbol
One important feature of Lucretius' style which has been neglected in this
analysis is his use of imagery. According to Epicurean theory all knowledge is
ultimately based upon the evidence of the senses and what cannot be known
from direct observation must be inferred by analogy from observed fact. This
stress upon die importance of visual experience was grist to Lucretius' mill
and it may help to explain the astonishing richness and vitality of his imagery.
Few Latin poets can rival him in this and none can equal his range. Like
Empedocles, he extended the field of imagery beyond the traditionally ' poetic*
subjects: not only did he borrow from arts and crafts, but also from war,
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