Full Idea
The author of the atomic theory, Democritus, preferred to accept the view that all events are caused by necessity, rather than to deprive the atoms of their natural motions.
Gist of Idea
Democritus said atoms only move by their natural motions, which are therefore necessary
Source
report of Democritus (fragments/reports [c.431 BCE]) by M. Tullius Cicero - On Fate ('De fato') 10.23
Book Reference
Cicero: 'On Fate, Stoic Paradoxes, Oratory', ed/tr. Rackham,H. [Harvard Loeb 1942], p.219
A Reaction
The 'deprivation' would have to be caused by mind, or by the later 'swerve' of Epicurus.
Related Idea
Idea 21669 Atoms don't swerve by being struck, because they move in parallel, so the swerve is uncaused [Cicero on Epicurus]