LUCRETIUS AND EPICURUS. 439 



€. g., V, 509 sqq. of the motion of the stars thj\'c conjectural ex- 

 planations, with two alternatives for the third ; for the light of 

 the moon 575 ti^'o ; the periodical mutations in the sun's course 

 614 sqq. tzuo ; the problem of night (650), tzvo ; the correlation 

 of day and night 680 sqq. tJircc ; moon's phases 705 sqq. three ; 

 eclipses 750 sqq. two. 



Thunder VI, 96, nine explanations ; lightning (246), four ; 

 waterspouts (423), tivo ; clouds (451), five; rain (495), /c?z/r; 

 earthquakes (535),/^?^^"/ rise of Nile {y 12), four. 



It is a matter of some interest, philologically, to survey the 

 range of expression in which each writer presents the modality 

 of possibility of alternative conjecture; in Diog. L. 10, 93; 

 ^s'^diyczm. . . o(J.o'lco^. . . r^ xal. . . rj '/.at — ; 94 yjj.t bfioico:;., . . ire 

 ok YM.i. . . 67: Ts'ei^oiyezac. . . vjokyzzac oi. . . in 95 ; d'jvazac xai. 

 . . . xaL . . in 107 ; euddy-Tac. . . ycuoizo du. . . 'aTioziXeacv dv 

 hj-H^dvoc. . . in 1 1 1 r^zoc. . . r^zot r^. — in 112; oh fiovov. . . 'a/dd 

 yjjA. . . Yj. . . — xo.t xaz d?.XoiJ^ ok rr/Moua^ zponou^ duvazac. With 

 this compare Lucretius V, 5 1 5 sqq. Aut. . . est etiam quoque 

 uti possit. . . ; 375 sq. sive. . . . sive. . . . ; 637 fit quoque ut ; 

 651 Aut. . . aut. . . quia; also 658, 660, 682, 697; aut etiam 

 quia 701 ; potest 705, est etiam quare 715 ; and 731 sqq. cur 

 nequeat. . . , difficilest ratione docere. . , 753 sqq. cur luna 

 queat. . . non posse putetur. . . 762, cur terra queat. . . 765 

 aliut nequeat. . . and in VI, 97 propterea quia. . . 108 

 etiam. . . 116 fit quoque. . . ut ; 121 hoc etiam pacto. . . 

 videntur ; 132 est etiam ratio. . . ; 137 fit quoque ut. . . 142 

 sunt quoque 156 denique. . . 160 item. — 295 est etiam cum. 



It cannot be my aim to enter into the detail, much less into 

 the scientific merits, of these explanations ; it is curious and 

 noteworthy that Seneca in book VI of his naturales quaestiones 

 dealing with the problem of earthquakes [a theme suggested by 

 the great earthquake of 63 A. D., from which Pompei and all 

 the gulf of Naples suffered] , in reviewing the extant theories on 

 earthquakes, while quoting the Epicurean Metrodorus c. 19; 

 and Epicurus himself does not mention Lucretius, with whom 

 he was familiar. Now Seneca puts Epicurus 6, 20 in the cate- 

 gory of those " qui omnia ista quae retuli in causa esse dixerunt 



