Virtually nothing is known about the life of lucretius. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. Study science in order to rid yourself of unneccesary fears, especially of the gods and death. I care about clarity and ease of reading more than accuracy or aesthetics.
Despite the jumping around, this commentary provides and excellent amount of grammatical and vocabulary notes accompanied by an excellent supply of references to similar works of philosophy, mythology, and rhetoric provided in order that the reader may compare and contrast the prevalent ancient views on life and death, atomic and. Leonard and smith lucretius university of wisconsin press 1942 richard minadeo, the lyre of science. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him selfsufficient. Read on the nature of things mobi classics by titus lucretius carus,william ellery leonard translator available from rakuten kobo. Heretical and scandalous, it should be required reading across the educational spectrum. However, lucretius poem was seldom read in the middle ages, in part because of the. Titus lucretius carus was probably born in the early first century b. Lucretius on the nature of things ebook written by titus lucretius carus.
Lucretius biggest strength though, meo iudicio, is his powerful, plastic expression that conjures up detailed, color images in front of your minds eye. Mother of aeneas and his race, darling of men and venus, aid me in my work gods, nurturing venus, a who beneath the smoothmoving heavenly signs fill with yourself the sea fullladen with ships, the earth that bears the crops, since through you every kind of living thing is conceived and rising up looks on the light of the sun. Avaliable format in pdf, epub, mobi, kindle, e book and audiobook. The manuscript was sold to the british library by his heirs in the midnineteenth century. Lucretius wrote about 2000 years ago, translating from the works of the greek philosopher, epicurus. Lucretius carus, titus, rouse, william henry denham. Paul friedlander, american journal of philology 1945 titus lucretius carus ca. I have translated from my own text published in the. On the nature of things by titus lucretius carus nook. Easy to read kindle edition this easytoread kindle edition has navigable table of contents so you can easily access all six books of the nature of things. A volume which no student of lucretius, of the classics, of philosophic literature can afford to ignore. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics through poetic language and metaphors.
Lucretius on the nature of things by titus lucretius carus. My main goal is to understand epicurean philosophy, though of course it would be nice if it sounded good too. Smith also adds his own valuable introduction on the life and works of lucretius. On the nature of things, is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius. Then throughout seas and mountains and sweeping torrents and the leafy dwellings of birds and verdant plains, striking alluring love into the breasts of all creatures, you cause them greedily to beget their generations after their kind. Little is known of his life, although two tantalizing bits of gossip were passed on by st.
On the nature of things by lucretius, paperback barnes. On the nature of things titus lucretius carus, lucrece. Apuleius, lucretius, and cicero are especially fond of this word. In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry, he expounds the scientific theories of the greek philosopher epicurus, with the aim of dispelling fear of. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind.
On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c. Many times, after a particularly creative, apt, wellput verse i couldnt help but physically nod in approval. Reissued to accompany stephen greenblatts the swerve. Beautifully illustrated with images relating to lucretius life and works features the complete extant works of lucretius, in both english translation and the original latin concise introduction to the epic poem provides both verse william ellery leonard and prose h. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Lucretius titus lucretius carus lucretius oxford scholarly editions. Lucretius observations of the particularities of the world remain alive across the centuries.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read lucretius on the nature of things. In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry, he expounds the scientific theories of the greek. Lucretian article about lucretian by the free dictionary. This elegant new translation at last restores the poetry to one of the greatest and most influential poems in the western tradition. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. By the way, if youre looking for a good verse translation to read along side this prose work, take a look at the one by a. In it, he set out to explicate the universe, embracing and refuting ideas of the great greek philosophers. This classic work covers an incredibly broad range of fascinating topics as listed below. Literally to such heights of evil has religion been able to drive men.
The phrase is used to describe the way something naturallyintrinsically is for example, in book. On the nature of things by titus lucretius carus nook book. It would take a translator of the calibre of pope to pull off the feat of putting the poem into blank verse our equivalent of lucretiuss hexameter. While caesar, cicero, and vergil have long vied for first place in the classical curriculum, lucretius treatment of universal human matters rightfully earns him a place in their company. Autustine who is also brilliant, we need not agree with his views in order to enjoy his work. Complete works of lucretius delphi classics ebook by. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Lucretius on the nature of things 1908 titus lucretius carus isbn.
Written with the intent of explaining epicurean philosophy to the romans, the original poem was divided into six books and written in dactylic hexameter. Lucretius entire history of civilisation in book 5 10111457 can be read as. These are classics of literary history, reissued and made available to a wide audience. Lucretius is brilliant no one is going to dispute that but, like st. This sumptuous account of a secular cosmos argues that the soul is mortal, that pleasure is the object of life, and that humanity has free will, among other ideas.
How the world became modern, by stephen greenblatt too. Jerome tells how he was driven mad by a love potion and. David butterfield also has a more academic book on it if youre interested in the nitty. Titus lucretius carus was a roman poet and philosopher over 2050 years ago. The translator of lucretius faces a number of editorial choices because the poem. Martin ferguson smith has done a superb job of revising in 1975, with further changes in 1982 and 1992 the version of w.
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