Sonnet on Atoms and Ideas

Sonnet on Atoms and Ideas
Hedonism of Philodemos
Surazeus

Philodemus to Lucretius:
"Atoms form into things that exist first,
conscious creatures who rise from swirling lakes,
so wise creatures survive to reproduce
while creatures who make mistakes are destroyed.
Once we wake from dream of our transformation
we perceive existing things with our minds,
then devise ideas based on standard forms
that atoms assume in struggle to live.
Strong forms of our bodies develop first
then our minds invent patterns of ideas
and assign sounds as words to signify
objects that match forms of each named idea.
Humans exist first who perceive world of things,
then we design ideas to explain perceptions."

Hermead Epic of Philosophers
http://tinyurl.com/HermeadEditions