“The Ties that Bind,” takes us in a new direction as we begin to explore Lucretius’ curative efforts toward his male audience. Quite naturally then, we train our focus on the famous honey-rimmed cup of medicine metaphor of 1.921–50 (4.1–25). We find that the verses present a figure denser than the simple doctor-patient-medicine schema. Rather surprisingly, Lucretius has woven into the image a complex set of allusions to mythical female characters. In overlapping ways, Lucretius identifies his authorial voice with Circe, Helen, and the Sirens as he seeks to seduce, drug, and divert his audience away from what they might imagine to be their dearest goals in life. Lucretius reveals that the emasculating web of deceit he spins becomes a safety net to rescue his audience from the trap of self-delusion and superstition in the face of nature’s laws.

The basics of magnets, magnetism, induced magnetism, magnetic fields, and electromagnets are introduced. The force between a magnet and an electromagnet is the basis for speakers, devices that turn electrical signals into sounds, as well as other electromechanical devices. The process works in reverse, in that a sound incident on a speaker can produce an electrical signal. The latter principle is used for some microphones. In general, a time-dependent magnetic field, for example, due to a moving magnet, will tend to induce electrical currents that oppose the change. This is known as Faraday’s law of induction. Several of the principles of magnetism are used together to create an electric guitar pickup. A scheme to use a pair of pickups to cancel out environmental signals, known as a humbucker, is shown. Electrical transformers work based on a time-changing magnetic field from one electromagnet experienced by another, and they are useful for generating electrical signals that better match the destination for the signals—typically an amplifier.