On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura)

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Titus Lucretius

Translated by Frank Olin Copley

W. W. Norton, New York, 2011; originally published In English translation from Latin, 15th cent.

Poetry

ISBN: 9780393341362

Epic philosophical poem written in the waning days of the Roman Republic, in which the poet Lucretius (c. 99 B.C.–c. 55 B.C.) lays out the beliefs of Epicureanism.

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Emilio Ambasz

On Emilio Ambasz’s Book List

On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura) is a first-century B.C. epic poem by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius. It deals with the principles of atomism; the nature of the mind; explanations of sensation and thought; the development of the world and its phenomena; and explains a variety of celestial and terrestrial phenomena. The poem grandly proclaims the reality of our role in a universe that is ruled by chance, with no interference from gods. It is a statement of personal responsibility in a world in which everyone is driven by hungers and passions with which they were born and do not understand.

Temple St. Clair

On Temple St. Clair’s Book List

This is another classic that I keep nearby. The modernity of this 200-year-old text is astounding.

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