Ven asked the Master about this 'prediction' in ideation [70.
"Does one first develop a theory and predicts afterwards Master. I cannot find predictions in Lucretius."
"Cannot you find theories in Lucretius?"
"Indeed, plenty of them Master."
"What else is a theory than a prediction of how matter will behave because it is thought to be such and so Ordened?"
"But is this not a prediction AFTER the theory has been formulated?"
"Very true, indeed, but do not forget that the theory itself
IS a prediction of how Truth will be found to be, once our knowledge has
become sufficiently developed. We speak of a wrong prediction when it turned
out to be not true, we speak of a wrong
theory when (later) it is overcome by a more correct one, a better one. All of
Lucretius' theories were predictions of how truth
would turn out to be in the end. That end, Ven, total knowledge
of Reality, is fortunately not yet near."