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Metaphor and Argumentation in Lucretius

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Metaphor and Argumentation in Lucretius 1 Metaphor and Argumentation in Lucretius Matthew Simon Paul Johncock Royal Holloway, University of London PhD Classics 2 Declaration of Authorship I, Matthew Simon Paul Johncock, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: Date: 3 Abstract This thesis argues that Lucretius employs five coherent groups of imagery in his De Rerum Natura to explain the fundamental laws and processes of his materialist philosophy. These groups, embedded in human experience, guide Lucretius’ reader through the difficult, and at times unpalatable, doctrines of Epicureanism. Inspired by Lucretius’ weaving metaphors for argumentation, and the way in which these groups of imagery intertwine to form the expository fabric of the DRN, I have labelled them ‘conceptual threads’. Part 1 applies this framework to the Book 1 prologue, and creates new readings for several key passages (not least the hymn to Venus), while enhancing the coherence of the prologue as a whole. Lucretius introduces the conceptual threads prominently here, to ensure his reader comprehends them before they are expanded throughout the DRN. From this foundation, Part 2 individually maps the development and principal applications of each thread, and explores how Lucretius applies each consistently to depict a fundamental law or process, and the more specific laws and processes relying on these. The broad variety of contexts in which the threads occur emphasises that the fundamental tenets of Lucretius’ philosophy are universal. Part 3 considers how the threads intertwine to express more complex theories, and uncovers deeper meaning in Lucretius’ most important doctrines – of creation, the soul, sensation, cosmology and ethics. To comprehend these, the reader must employ their understanding of the individual threads as they have been consistently developed in the epic, and often apply new knowledge retrospectively to gain deeper understanding of earlier theories. The Epilogue considers how the conceptual threads depict Lucretius’ methodology of composition, and how they enhance the consolatory aspects of the DRN, especially in the doctrine that ‘death is nothing to us’ in Book 3, and the harrowing plague scene at the end of Book 6. 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements p.5 Introduction p.6 Part 1: Setting the Threads on the Loom: Metaphor in Lucretius’ Prologue p.17 Part 2: Tracking the Individual Threads p.46 Section A: The LIFE-CYCLE Thread p.48 Section B: The WEAVING Thread p.68 Section C: The LIQUIDS Thread p.93 Section D: The BOUNDARIES Thread p.109 Section E: The PLEASURE Thread p.125 Part 3: Intertwining the Threads p.132 Section A: Creation and Destruction p.133 Section B: Essential Processes p.169 Section C: Sensation p.177 Section D: The Body and the Soul p.183 Section E: The World, the Body and the Soul p.199 Section F: The Phenomena of Book 6 p.207 Section G: Moral Philosophy p.216 Epilogue: The Broader Application of Lucretius’ Threads p.222 Abbreviations & Bibliography p.236 5 Acknowledgements This thesis, part-funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, was forged in the inspiring environment of the Classics Department at Royal Holloway, University of London. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my supervisor Prof. Jonathan Powell, whose support convinced me that I was capable of success. He granted me autonomy to let my argument grow organically, while reining me in when necessary. Working with him has been a great pleasure. I am also indebted to my advisor Prof. Anne Sheppard for her frequent insight into the thornier philosophical matters of my research. I am grateful for Dr Nick Lowe’s suggestions, especially in the final stages of my write-up, and for his support before, and accurate note-taking during, my examination. The feedback I received from papers delivered at the Institute of Classical Studies, the Centre for Textile Research at the University of Copenhagen, and Royal Holloway helped me to shape and perfect several key arguments in my thesis. The late Prof. David West provided characteristically brilliant comments on an early draft of Chapter 1. Jonathan Baldwin in Royal Holloway’s History Department helped me to declutter my mind and verbalise my thoughts on a daily basis. The inhabitants of the Classics Department PG room, in particular Aaron Turner and Emma Ramsey, played no small part in making the whole process more enjoyable. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their unwavering support, and the many friends who have provided all manner of help and welcome relief from research throughout the last four years. To the unnamed, you know who you are, and should be certain of my gratitude. Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to thank Jen, without whom this thesis would neither have been undertaken nor seen through to completion. Faultlessly and above all others she provided space and support in equal measure: sperata voluptas / suavis amicitiae quemvis efferre laborem / suadet. Matthew 6 Introduction The status quaestionis This thesis considers how persistent, coherent patterns of imagery explain the fundamental laws and processes of Lucretius’ science and philosophy. It will show how these patterns, taken from human experience, serve to guide the reader through the difficult, and at times unpalatable, doctrines of Epicureanism. Frequently they take the form of metaphors explaining scientific realities, but often they are employed literally, which in turn strengthens their metaphorical application. Inspired by Lucretius’ weaving metaphors for argumentation, and the complex web these images form, I have labelled them ‘conceptual threads’. This term expresses how they develop and intertwine as the epic progresses. The present work builds on existing scholarship which has established the importance of imagery to Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura (DRN) and its interpretation, but the coherence of the patterns of imagery across the whole poem has not hitherto been appreciated. In 1949 Stella Pope wrote as follows: ‘It is possible that some of the problems in Lucretius will be resolved by a consideration of his imagery in its richness and variety, the reality which it gives to theoretic processes, and the clarity with which abstractions are realized. In this may lie the explanation of the passionate invocation to Venus at the outset of the poem attacking orthodox religion, and the emotional fervour which pervades Lucretius’ exposition of his scientific philosophy. Certainly when one has tried to understand his imagery the rigid cleavage which some have seen between scientific and poetic parts of the De Rerum Natura no longer seems to exist.’1 Pope’s approach to unpacking Lucretius’ imagery is pertinent and convincing, yet, being restricted to a ten-page paper, it provides only a cursory analysis of a handful of recurrent metaphors.2 A full treatment did not appear until 20 years later. In 1969 the first monograph on Lucretian imagery was published: David West’s seminal The Imagery and Poetry of 1 Pope (1949) 79. The concluding line of Pope’s observation in fact recalls Hohler (1926) 282, who describes Lucretius’ similes as ‘a peculiar harmonizing of the poetical and scientific imagination, which causes the fortuitous elegance and the vividness of his illustrations of the familiar by the familiar, the unseen by the seen, to be felt by the reader as proofs rather than as mere decorative imagery.’ 2 Light/dark vs birth/death; movement; water/rivers; feeding; weaving; building; the leges and concilium of atomic union. 7 Lucretius.3 In this book, which is obviously the starting point for anyone else undertaking research in this area, West tackles the apparent contradiction of setting forth Epicurean doctrine in verse, arguing convincingly that, far from being a mere adornment, Lucretius’ poetry is central to his argument. West investigates short passages in depth to explain how images, many previously overlooked, strengthen the concurrent arguments. He argues, with typical forthright fervour, that a failure to translate Lucretius’ rich images is by turns ‘destructive’, ‘monstrous’, even ‘murder’.4 Inflammatory language aside, it is difficult to disagree that we are doing Lucretius a great disservice by misunderstanding his imagery and, in turn, his scientific argument. Since then there have been some briefer studies of Lucretius’ use of particular imagery to explain certain scientific theories. Snyder (1983) briefly addresses the weaving metaphors used to describe Lucretius’ atoms and his poetic composition. Cabisius (1984) considers the socio-political metaphors for atomic union.5 Mayer (1990) discusses military imagery principally as a kind of stamp of the heroic epic form on the DRN. Gale (1994), although mainly concerned with Lucretius’ use of science to debunk myth, also considers various images at length, in particular those of Venus and voluptas. Gale (2000), ch. 7, building on Mayer’s work, addresses Lucretius’ military imagery and its reception in Virgil’s Georgics. A brief chapter in Clay (1998) focuses not on the types of metaphors employed by Lucretius, but rather his techniques and inspirations for them.6 The commentaries provide further insight into Lucretian metaphor, in particular P. M. Brown (1984) and (1997), D. Fowler (2002) and Gale (2009). The most comprehensive approach to recurrent imagery in Lucretius so far is Garani (2007), who makes significant progress in the understanding of this topic. She spots and unpacks several previously overlooked recurrent images, and offers an insightful interpretation of Lucretius’ use of arguments by analogy. However, Garani’s principal concern is with drawing comparisons with Empedocles, which narrows the field of images 3 Perhaps most surprisingly, it seems West had not read, or at least was unaware of, Pope’s article. Rather, he refers to the earlier article by Davies (1931). 4 We might see something of Lucretius’ self-assurance in West’s assertions. These all occur in one page of the opening chapter; West (1969) 3.
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