Poetic Vision

Poetic Vision

Philodemos while musing in the Museum
in the Epicureum, garden in Herculaneum
where he runs the library of Calpurnius Piso:

"We can deceive, we poets who compose
visions with words, therefore we should explore
forms and effective causes of this world
so we can compose rich poems that describe
real world as it exists, with accurate terms,
and visions we spell with words may guide straight
humankind from waste land to paradise.
We can deceive minds with fantastic spells
or we can describe real world that exists
for truth is more beautiful than all lies."

from Hedonism of Philodemos
Hermead Epic of Philosophers
http://tinyurl.com/HermeadEditions