Book Iii - Part 05 - Cerberus And Furies, And That Lack Of Light Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEDFGHDIJKLMDNDHO PQQRDJQSJBMDDDTUUVWX UDDYUEUQUUGDKUUDUXUZ JUDUA2UDUDUVWB2DC2JJ UZDWUUUUQUDZUBDDXJQU XKD2WC2VC2VBB| Tartarus out belching from his mouth the surge | A |
| Of horrible heat the which are nowhere nor | B |
| Indeed can be but in this life is fear | C |
| Of retributions just and expiations | D |
| For evil acts the dungeon and the leap | E |
| From that dread rock of infamy the stripes | D |
| The executioners the oaken rack | F |
| The iron plates bitumen and the torch | G |
| And even though these are absent yet the mind | H |
| With a fore fearing conscience plies its goads | D |
| And burns beneath the lash nor sees meanwhile | I |
| What terminus of ills what end of pine | J |
| Can ever be and feareth lest the same | K |
| But grow more heavy after death Of truth | L |
| The life of fools is Acheron on earth | M |
| This also to thy very self sometimes | D |
| Repeat thou mayst Lo even good Ancus left | N |
| The sunshine with his eyes in divers things | D |
| A better man than thou O worthless hind | H |
| And many other kings and lords of rule | O |
| Thereafter have gone under once who swayed | P |
| O'er mighty peoples And he also he | Q |
| Who whilom paved a highway down the sea | Q |
| And gave his legionaries thoroughfare | R |
| Along the deep and taught them how to cross | D |
| The pools of brine afoot and did contemn | J |
| Trampling upon it with his cavalry | Q |
| The bellowings of ocean poured his soul | S |
| From dying body as his light was ta'en | J |
| And Scipio's son the thunderbolt of war | B |
| Horror of Carthage gave his bones to earth | M |
| Like to the lowliest villein in the house | D |
| Add finders out of sciences and arts | D |
| Add comrades of the Heliconian dames | D |
| Among whom Homer sceptered o'er them all | T |
| Now lies in slumber sunken with the rest | U |
| Then too Democritus when ripened eld | U |
| Admonished him his memory waned away | V |
| Of own accord offered his head to death | W |
| Even Epicurus went his light of life | X |
| Run out the man in genius who o'er topped | U |
| The human race extinguishing all others | D |
| As sun in ether arisen all the stars | D |
| Wilt thou then dally thou complain to go | Y |
| For whom already life's as good as dead | U |
| Whilst yet thou livest and lookest who in sleep | E |
| Wastest thy life time's major part and snorest | U |
| Even when awake and ceasest not to see | Q |
| The stuff of dreams and bearest a mind beset | U |
| By baseless terror nor discoverest oft | U |
| What's wrong with thee when like a sotted wretch | G |
| Thou'rt jostled along by many crowding cares | D |
| And wanderest reeling round with mind aswim | K |
| If men in that same way as on the mind | U |
| They feel the load that wearies with its weight | U |
| Could also know the causes whence it comes | D |
| And why so great the heap of ill on heart | U |
| O not in this sort would they live their life | X |
| As now so much we see them knowing not | U |
| What 'tis they want and seeking ever and ever | Z |
| A change of place as if to drop the burden | J |
| The man who sickens of his home goes out | U |
| Forth from his splendid halls and straight returns | D |
| Feeling i'faith no better off abroad | U |
| He races driving his Gallic ponies along | A2 |
| Down to his villa madly as in haste | U |
| To hurry help to a house afire At once | D |
| He yawns as soon as foot has touched the threshold | U |
| Or drowsily goes off in sleep and seeks | D |
| Forgetfulness or maybe bustles about | U |
| And makes for town again In such a way | V |
| Each human flees himself a self in sooth | W |
| As happens he by no means can escape | B2 |
| And willy nilly he cleaves to it and loathes | D |
| Sick sick and guessing not the cause of ail | C2 |
| Yet should he see but that O chiefly then | J |
| Leaving all else he'd study to divine | J |
| The nature of things since here is in debate | U |
| Eternal time and not the single hour | Z |
| Mortal's estate in whatsoever remains | D |
| After great death | W |
| And too when all is said | U |
| What evil lust of life is this so great | U |
| Subdues us to live so dreadfully distraught | U |
| In perils and alarms one fixed end | U |
| Of life abideth for mortality | Q |
| Death's not to shun and we must go to meet | U |
| Besides we're busied with the same devices | D |
| Ever and ever and we are at them ever | Z |
| And there's no new delight that may be forged | U |
| By living on But whilst the thing we long for | B |
| Is lacking that seems good above all else | D |
| Thereafter when we've touched it something else | D |
| We long for ever one equal thirst of life | X |
| Grips us agape And doubtful 'tis what fortune | J |
| The future times may carry or what be | Q |
| That chance may bring or what the issue next | U |
| Awaiting us Nor by prolonging life | X |
| Take we the least away from death's own time | K |
| Nor can we pluck one moment off whereby | D2 |
| To minish the aeons of our state of death | W |
| Therefore O man by living on fulfil | C2 |
| As many generations as thou may | V |
| Eternal death shall there be waiting still | C2 |
| And he who died with light of yesterday | V |
| Shall be no briefer time in death's No more | B |
| Than he who perished months or years before | B |
Lucretius
(1)
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