Lucretius

Titus Lucretius Carus (ca. 99 BC-55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His major work is De Rerum Natura, On the Nature of Things, which is considered by some to be the greatest masterpiece of Latin verse - deeper than any other poet; more moving, imaginative than any other philosopher. Stylistically however, most scholars attribute the full blossoming of Latin hexameter to Virgil. The De Rerum Natura however, is of indisputable importance for its influence on Virgil and other later poetry. The main purpose of the work was to free men's minds of superstition and fear of death. It achieves this through the principles of the philosophical system of Epicurus, whom Lucretius immortalizes. The work has several allusions to the tumultuous state of political affairs in Rome and its civil strife. Lucretius treads the steps of his teaching carefully so as not to offend traditional Romans, slowly unfolding the more controversial and revolutionary aspects of his inculcation. De Rerum Natura places more emphasis on ethical goals than did earlier Epicureans, but faithfully transmits their physics and psychology. Lucretius was the first Epicurean to write in Latin.

References

• On the Nature of Things, (1951 verse translation by R. E. Latham), introduction and notes by John Godwin, Penguin revised edition 1994, ISBN 0140446109
• Lucretius (1971). De Rerum Natura Book III. (Latin version of Book III only– 37 pp., with extensive commentary by E. J. Kenney– 171 pp.), Cambridge University Press corrected reprint 1984. ISBN 0521291771