The Lexicon · Genealogy · Modern
LUCRETIUS
c. 99–c. 55 BCE
The Clinamen (The Necessary Swerve)
Lucretius: atoms fall in parallel; without the spontaneous swerve, nothing collides and nothing happens. Spin (§3.4.1.4) is the clinamen managed. The Lexicon entry is rotated a quarter-turn; collision occurs; meaning is produced. We do not legislate the swerve. We make institutional space for it. The agenda includes a recurring slot called Swerve. It is the only item without a stated outcome.