Nothing is sweeter than to dwell in the serene temples of the wise.
Genuine
Yes. In On the Nature of Things (55 BC), Book II, lines 7–10; Leonard, Book II, opening.
Found word for word by program in the Latin original and in William Ellery Leonard’s English translation (1916).
The wording people share comes from a later translation; Leonard’s words are underlined below.
- Work
- On the Nature of Things (De rerum natura), 55 BC
- Where
- Book II, lines 7–10; Leonard, Book II, opening
- Found at
- Paragraph 30 of the Latin text, 54 of the English
- Translation
- William Ellery Leonard, 1916
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
For one thing after other will grow clear, Nor shall the blind night rob thee of the road, To hinder thy gaze on nature’s Farthest-forth. Thus things for things shall kindle torches new.
[…] Haec sic pernosces parva perductus opella; namque alid ex alio clarescet nec tibi caeca nox iter eripiet, quin ultima naturai pervideas: ita res accendent lumina rebus.
‘Tis sweet, when, down the mighty main, the winds Roll up its waste of waters, from the land To watch another’s labouring anguish far, Not that we joyously delight that man Should thus be smitten, but because ‘tis sweet To mark what evils we ourselves be spared; ‘Tis sweet, again, to view the mighty strife Of armies embattled yonder o’er the plains, Ourselves no sharers in the peril; but naught There is more goodly than to hold the high Serene plateaus, well fortressed by the wise, Whence thou may’st look below on other men And see them ev’rywhere wand’ring, all dispersed In their lone seeking for the road of life;1 Rivals in genius, or emulous in rank, Pressing through days and nights with hugest toil For summits of power and mastery of the world. O wretched minds of men! O blinded hearts! […]
Suave, mari magno turbantibus aequora ventis e terra magnum alterius spectare laborem; non quia vexari quemquamst iucunda voluptas, sed quibus ipse malis careas quia cernere suavest. suave etiam belli certamina magna tueri per campos instructa tua sine parte pericli; sed nihil dulcius est, bene quam munita tenere edita doctrina sapientum templa serena, despicere unde queas alios passimque videre errare atque viam palantis quaerere vitae, certare ingenio, contendere nobilitate, noctes atque dies niti praestante labore ad summas emergere opes rerumque potiri. o miseras hominum mentes, o pectora caeca! qualibus in tenebris vitae quantisque periclis degitur hoc aevi quod cumquest! nonne videre nihil aliud sibi naturam latrare, nisi ut qui corpore seiunctus dolor absit, mente fruatur iucundo sensu cura semota metuque? ergo corpoream ad naturam pauca videmus esse opus omnino: quae demant cumque dolorem, delicias quoque uti multas substernere possint gratius inter dum, neque natura ipsa requirit, si non aurea sunt iuvenum simulacra per aedes lampadas igniferas manibus retinentia dextris, lumina nocturnis epulis ut suppeditentur, nec domus argento fulget auroque renidet nec citharae reboant laqueata aurataque templa, cum tamen inter se prostrati in gramine molli propter aquae rivum sub ramis arboris altae non magnis opibus iucunde corpora curant, praesertim cum tempestas adridet et anni tempora conspergunt viridantis floribus herbas. nec calidae citius decedunt corpore febres, textilibus si in picturis ostroque rubenti iacteris, quam si in plebeia veste cubandum est. quapropter quoniam nihil nostro in corpore gazae proficiunt neque nobilitas nec gloria regni, quod super est, animo quoque nil prodesse putandum; si non forte tuas legiones per loca campi fervere cum videas belli simulacra cientis, subsidiis magnis et opum vi constabilitas, ornatas armis stlattas pariterque animatas, his tibi tum rebus timefactae religiones effugiunt animo pavidae mortisque timores tum vacuum pectus lincunt curaque solutum. quod si ridicula haec ludibriaque esse videmus, re veraque metus hominum curaeque sequaces nec metuunt sonitus armorum nec fera tela audacterque inter reges rerumque potentis versantur neque fulgorem reverentur ab auro nec clarum vestis splendorem purpureai, quid dubitas quin omnis sit haec rationis potestas, omnis cum in tenebris praesertim vita laboret? nam vel uti pueri trepidant atque omnia caecis in tenebris metuunt, sic nos in luce timemus inter dum, nihilo quae sunt metuenda magis quam quae pueri in tenebris pavitant finguntque futura. hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necessest non radii solis neque lucida tela diei discutiant, sed naturae species ratioque.
Nunc age, quo motu genitalia materiai corpora res varias gignant genitasque resolvant et qua vi facere id cogantur quaeque sit ollis reddita mobilitas magnum per inane meandi, expediam: tu te dictis praebere memento. nam certe non inter se stipata cohaeret materies, quoniam minui rem quamque videmus et quasi longinquo fluere omnia cernimus aevo ex oculisque vetustatem subducere nostris, cum tamen incolumis videatur summa manere propterea quia, quae decedunt corpora cuique, unde abeunt minuunt, quo venere augmine donant. illa senescere, at haec contra florescere cogunt, nec remorantur ibi. sic rerum summa novatur semper, et inter se mortales mutua vivunt. augescunt aliae gentes, aliae minuuntur, inque brevi spatio mutantur saecla animantum et quasi cursores vitai lampada tradunt.
Si cessare putas rerum primordia posse cessandoque novos rerum progignere motus, avius a vera longe ratione vagaris. nam quoniam per inane vagantur, cuncta necessest aut gravitate sua ferri primordia rerum aut ictu forte alterius. nam cum cita saepe obvia conflixere, fit ut diversa repente dissiliant; neque enim mirum, durissima quae sint ponderibus solidis neque quicquam a tergibus obstet. et quo iactari magis omnia materiai corpora pervideas, reminiscere totius imum nil esse in summa, neque habere ubi corpora prima consistant, quoniam spatium sine fine modoquest inmensumque patere in cunctas undique partis pluribus ostendi et certa ratione probatumst. quod quoniam constat, ni mirum nulla quies est reddita corporibus primis per inane profundum, sed magis adsiduo varioque exercita motu partim intervallis magnis confulta resultant, pars etiam brevibus spatiis vexantur ab ictu. et quae cumque magis condenso conciliatu exiguis intervallis convecta resultant, indupedita suis perplexis ipsa figuris, haec validas saxi radices et fera ferri corpora constituunt et cetera de genere horum. paucula quae porro magnum per inane vagantur, cetera dissiliunt longe longeque recursant in magnis intervallis; haec aera rarum sufficiunt nobis et splendida lumina solis. multaque praeterea magnum per inane vagantur, conciliis rerum quae sunt reiecta nec usquam consociare etiam motus potuere recepta. […]
The scene
The second half of the proem to Book II, right after the shipwreck and battle images. The ‘temples’ (templa serena) are the heights of Epicurean teaching, from which one sees other people competing for rank and wealth, and the next lines cry ‘O wretched minds of men! O blinded hearts!’ because nature asks only that pain be kept off and the mind be free of fear.
What it means
The highest pleasure is the settled calm that philosophy gives, from which the restless pursuits of others look futile.
Often misread
Read as a boast of superiority or a withdrawal from the world. The passage is the poet’s claim that understanding frees the mind, and it is followed at once by pity (‘O wretched minds’) and an argument that people need little to be content. ‘Serene temples’ is a metaphor; Leonard’s ‘plateaus’ is a loose rendering of templa.
Topics
Related quotes
- It is sweet, when the winds stir the sea, to watch another’s great trouble from the land.
- we are enquiring not merely that we may know what virtue is but that we may become virtuous Aristotle
- Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. (paraphrase) Aristotle
- Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want. Naval Ravikant
- From the very fountain of delights rises something bitter that troubles us amid the flowers.
Sources
Cite it
Lucretius, On the Nature of Things (55 BC), Book II, lines 7–10; Leonard, Book II, opening, translated by William Ellery Leonard (1916). Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/serene-temples-of-the-wise/ (31 October 2026).
Have a different wording, or a source we missed? Check it or submit it.
Do you hold the rights to anything on this page? Tell us.
Checked by people
People who checked this entry against its source, under their own names. Their checks do not change the verdict: an editor reviews every entry.
Comments