Titus lucretius carus was a roman poet and philosopher over 2050 years ago. I have translated from my own text published in the. This elegant new translation at last restores the poetry to one of the greatest and most influential poems in the western tradition. The translator of lucretius faces a number of editorial choices because the poem. Epicurus, cicero, lucretius, hicks, robert drew, temple, william. This classic work covers an incredibly broad range of fascinating topics as listed below. Jerome tells how he was driven mad by a love potion and. On the nature of things, is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius. Little is known of his life, although two tantalizing bits of gossip were passed on by st. In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry, he expounds the scientific theories of the greek.
Apuleius, lucretius, and cicero are especially fond of this word. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. The phrase is used to describe the way something naturallyintrinsically is for example, in book. Theres a really wellknown pulitzerprizewinning novel about it called the swerve.
A volume which no student of lucretius, of the classics, of philosophic literature can afford to ignore. Lucretius on the nature of things ebook written by titus lucretius carus. Literally to such heights of evil has religion been able to drive men. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. Poggios chance finding lay what greenblatt, following lucretius himself, terms a historic swerve of massive proportions, propagated by such seminal and often heretical truth tellers as. Avaliable format in pdf, epub, mobi, kindle, e book and audiobook.
Smith also adds his own valuable introduction on the life and works of lucretius. Heretical and scandalous, it should be required reading across the educational spectrum. 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. 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. Autustine who is also brilliant, we need not agree with his views in order to enjoy his work. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him selfsufficient. Reissued to accompany stephen greenblatts the swerve. On the nature of things mobi classics rakuten kobo. These are classics of literary history, reissued and made available to a wide audience. On the nature of things by titus lucretius carus nook book. Many times, after a particularly creative, apt, wellput verse i couldnt help but physically nod in approval.
Study science in order to rid yourself of unneccesary fears, especially of the gods and death. Lucretian article about lucretian by the free dictionary. 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. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The practice of religion leads people to practise evil. On the nature of things by titus lucretius carus nook. Lucretius carus, titus, rouse, william henry denham. Lucretius titus lucretius carus lucretius oxford scholarly editions. Titus lucretius carus was probably born in the early first century b. Lucretius entire history of civilisation in book 5 10111457 can be read as. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Written with the intent of explaining epicurean philosophy to the romans, the original poem was divided into six books and written in dactylic hexameter. Read on the nature of things mobi classics by titus lucretius carus,william ellery leonard translator available from rakuten kobo. On the nature of things by lucretius, paperback barnes.
Lucretius is brilliant no one is going to dispute that but, like st. However, lucretius poem was seldom read in the middle ages, in part because of the. On the nature of things titus lucretius carus, lucrece. In it, he set out to explicate the universe, embracing and refuting ideas of the great greek philosophers. 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. 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. 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. Complete works of lucretius delphi classics ebook by. I care about clarity and ease of reading more than accuracy or aesthetics. Lucretius wrote about 2000 years ago, translating from the works of the greek philosopher, epicurus.
Lucretius biggest strength though, meo iudicio, is his powerful, plastic expression that conjures up detailed, color images in front of your minds eye. In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read lucretius on the nature of things. Lucretius on the nature of things 1908 titus lucretius carus isbn. Lucretius observations of the particularities of the world remain alive across the centuries. Virtually nothing is known about the life of lucretius.
How the world became modern, by stephen greenblatt too. David butterfield also has a more academic book on it if youre interested in the nitty. My main goal is to understand epicurean philosophy, though of course it would be nice if it sounded good too. This sumptuous account of a secular cosmos argues that the soul is mortal, that pleasure is the object of life, and. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics through poetic language and metaphors. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. The manuscript was sold to the british library by his heirs in the midnineteenth century. Martin ferguson smith has done a superb job of revising in 1975, with further changes in 1982 and 1992 the version of w. 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. 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. Leonard and smith lucretius university of wisconsin press 1942 richard minadeo, the lyre of science. On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c. 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. Lucretius on the nature of things by titus lucretius carus.
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