Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 3.995

T. Lucrētius Cārus, Dē Rērum Nātūrā 3.995–1023 (selections)

Lucretius argues that the punishments traditionally located in the underworld are not awaiting us after death but are already at work in this life. Drawing on figures from Greek myth — Sisyphus, the leaking jar, Cerberus, and the Furies — he reads each as an allegory for the torments of human ambition, dissatisfaction, and guilty conscience.

Tier 1

Sīsyphus etiam in hāc vītā ante oculōs nostrōs est. Sīsyphus est ille quī honōrēs ā populō petit. semper victus, semper trīstis, recēdit. nam quī imperium petit, rem inānem petit. nēmō enim hoc imperium semper habēre potest. quī tamen hoc imperium petunt, semper labōrant. hōc modō saxum sub adversō monte pellunt. saxum tamen ē summō monte semper redit, et celeriter ad campum cadit.

aliī animum suum semper pāscunt, sed numquam satiant. aliī rēs bonās semper quaerunt, sed numquam habent quantum cupiunt. annī enim nōbīs rēs bonās dant, sed eāsdem rēs nōbīs auferunt.

aliī dīcunt: "hominēs malī aquam in vāsa portant; sed vāsa plēna esse numquam possunt, quia rīmās habent." ita animus noster bonīs rēbus satiārī numquam potest.

aliī dē Cerberō et Furiīs et tenebrīs sub terrā loquuntur. sed haec vēra nōn sunt. Cerberus nōn est. Furiae nōn sunt. tenebrae sub terrā nōn sunt. sed metus poenae in hāc vītā vērus est. māgna scelera māgnās poenās afferunt. parva scelera parvās poenās afferunt.

etiamsī tālēs poenae absunt, animus tamen factōrum suōrum cōnscius est. animus malus sē ipsum metū vexat, sē ipsum quasi flagellīs torquet.

itaque stultī iam nunc, in hāc vītā, poenās suās patiuntur. ipsī sibi sunt sub terrā.

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4 - Carmen Ipsum

Tier 4 - Carmen Ipsum (AP Core Vocabulary)

Sīsyphus in vītā quoque nōbīs ante oculōs est,
quī petere ā populō fascēs saevāsque secūrēs
imbibit et semper victus trīstisque recēdit.

AP Core Vocabulary

quoque=also, too

ante=+ acc. before, in front of

oculus, -ī (m.)=eye

sum, esse, fuī=to be

quī, quae, quod=who, which

petō, -ere, -īvī (-iī), -ītum=to seek, ask for, attack

ā, ab, abs=+ abl. from, by

populus, -ī (m.)=people

saevus, -a, -um=cruel, fierce, savage

-que=and (enclitic)

vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum=to conquer, defeat; victus, defeated

trīstis, -e=sad, gloomy

nam petere imperium, quod inānest nec datur umquam,
atque in eō semper dūrum sufferre labōrem,
hoc est adversō nīxantem trūdere monte
saxum, quod tamen ē summō iam vertice rūsum
volvitur et plānī raptim petit aequora campī.

nam (or namque)=for

petō, -ere, -īvī (-iī), -ītum=to seek, head for, make for

imperium, -ī (n.)=command, power, political office

quī, quae, quod=who, which, that

sum, esse, fuī=to be; inānest = ināne est, is empty

nec (or neque)=and not, nor

dō, dare, dedī, datum=to give, grant

umquam=ever, at any time

atque, ac=and, and also

semper=always

dūrus, -a, -um=hard, harsh

ferō, ferre, tulī, lātum=to bear, carry; sufferō, to endure, undergo

labor, -ōris (m.)=work, toil, hardship

hic, haec, hoc=this

adversus, -a, -um=turned toward, facing, opposite

mōns, montis (m.)=mountain

saxum, -ī (n.)=rock, stone, boulder

tamen=nevertheless, however

summus, -a, -um=highest, topmost; ē summō vertice, from the very top

rursus (rursum, rūsum)=back, again, in turn

volvō, -ere, volvī, volūtum=to roll, turn, revolve

aequor, -oris (n.)=level surface, plain; sea

campus, -ī (m.)=field, plain, open ground

deinde animī ingrātam nātūram pāscere semper
atque explēre bonīs rēbus satiāreque numquam,
quod faciunt nōbīs annōrum tempora,...

deinde (dein)=then, next, thereafter

anima, -ae (f.)=breath, soul, spirit; animī, of the mind

nātūra, -ae (f.)=nature, character

semper=always

atque, ac=and, and also

bonus, -a, -um=good; bonīs rēbus, with good things

rēs, reī (f.)=thing, matter, affair

-que=and (enclitic)

numquam=never

quī, quae, quod=who, which, that

faciō, -ere, fēcī, factum=to make, do

annus, -ī (m.)=year

tempus, -oris (n.)=time, occasion; annōrum tempora, the seasons of the years

quod memorant laticem pertūsum congerere in vās,
quod tamen explērī nūllā ratiōne potestur.
Cerberus et Furiae iam vērō et lūcis egestās,

quī, quae, quod=who, which, that; quod, as for the fact that

tamen=nevertheless, however

nūllus, -a, -um=no, none, not any

ratiō, -ōnis (f.)=reason, method, way; nūllā ratiōne, by no means

possum, posse, potuī=to be able; potestur, archaic passive = potest, it can

vērō=in truth, indeed; moreover

lūx, lūcis (f.)=light; lūcis egestās, deprivation of light

quī neque sunt usquam nec possunt esse profectō;
sed metus in vītā poenārum prō male factīs
est īnsignibus īnsignis scelerisque luēla.

quī, quae, quod=who, which

nec (or neque)=and not, nor; neque ... nec, neither ... nor

sum, esse, fuī=to be

possum, posse, potuī=to be able, can

sed=but

metus, -ūs (m.)=fear, dread

vīta, -ae (f.)=life

poena, -ae (f.)=penalty, punishment

prō=+ abl. for, on behalf of, in return for

malus, -a, -um=bad, evil; male, badly, wickedly

faciō, -ere, fēcī, factum=to make, do; factīs, deeds (n. pl.)

scelus, -eris (n.)=crime, wicked deed

-que=and (enclitic)

quae tamen etsī absunt, at mēns sibi cōnscia factīs
praemetuēns adhibet stimulōs torretque flagellīs.

quī, quae, quod=who, which

tamen=nevertheless, however

absum, abesse, āfuī=to be away, be absent

at=but, yet

mēns, mentis (f.)=mind

faciō, -ere, fēcī, factum=to make, do; factīs, for its deeds (dat. of reference)

metuō, -ere, -uī=to fear; praemetuō, to dread in advance

-que=and (enclitic)

hīc Acherūsia fit stultōrum dēnique vīta.

hīc=adv. here, in this place

fīō, fierī, factus sum=to become, be made

vīta, -ae (f.)=life

T. Lucrētius Cārus, Dē Rērum Nātūrā 3.995–1023 (selections)

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4 - Carmen Ipsum

Tier 4 - Carmen Ipsum (AP Core Vocabulary)

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