Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. Lucretius simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 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. This study guide consists of approximately 68 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of on the nature of things. At six books and some 7,400 lines of latin, laden with allusion. Lucretius begins by invoking the name of venus as a creative force, appealing to memmius to whom the. Mathematical and scientific and miscalculations in lucretius. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. I will begin to examine for you the highest nature of the heavens and gods and unravel the beginning of things, from where nature creates all things and increases and nourishes them, and into which the same nature reduces again what has been destroyed, which we are accustomed to call matter and the generative body of things and to name them the seeds of things and speak. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. This is the best available introductory textbook for the study of lucretius.
Lucretius has been credited with originating the concept. How the world became modern norton, a new book by cogan university professor and noted shakespeare scholar stephen greenblatt, to be published in september. Now available in paperback, this annotated scholarly edition of the latin text ofde rerum naturahas long been hailed as one of. On the nature of the universe is a didactic epic poem. From this desire first trickles into the heart a drop of venus honeyed joy, succeeded soon by chilly. The poem, written in dactylic hexameter, is divided into six books, and concentrates heavily on epicurean physics. This elegant new translation at last restores the poetry to one of the greatest and most influential poems in the western tradition.
I have found other editions to be either too abridged, or too advanced in their expectations of the students ability with latin. Martin ferguson smiths work on lucretius is both well known and highly regarded. Lucretius on human history this world is the product of nature, things colliding into. Study science in order to rid yourself of unneccesary fears, especially of the gods and death. It is an epic philosophical work about the beliefs of epicureanism there are not any details about his life. His birth date is not certain, and little is known of his parentage or birthplace. It is sweet, when winds trouble the waters on the great sea, to behold from land the distress of others, not because it is a pleasure that any should be afflicted, but because it is sweet to see from what evils you are yourself exempt. But of course i admire lucretius and his predecessor, epicurus and his predecessor because he really buckled down and looked out at the world, and inside himself, and showed in his logic the possible fortitude of the human mind. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue.
On the nature of things lucretius, martin ferguson smith. Drawing upon this materialist philosophy, lucretius cites the fear of death as the cause of mans ills, and shows the way to freedom from that fear. Its entries compare different translations, and there appears to be an entry for lucretius. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make.
The poem takes the form of a detailed exposition of epicurean physical theory an extreme materialism designed to remove and discredit popular fears of the gods, death and an afterlife. On the nature of things work by lucretius britannica. The introduction itself is for the most part unchanged updates appear in three notes but the section. I have translated from my own text published in the bibliotheca oxoniensi. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. Lucretius, lucretius and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. I dont have an answer and its been ages since i read lucretius, but i can recommend the encyclopedia of literary translation into english as a possible source for an answer.
The title of lucretiuss work translates that of the chief work of epicurus, peri physeos on nature. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him selfsufficient. The third book of lucretius great poem on the workings of the universe is devoted entirely to expounding the implications of epicurus dictum that death does not matter, is nothing to us. The poem explores lucretius belief about the gods, humanity, the senses, the world, and the universe, all through the philosophical framework of epicurus. Home collectionstexts perseus catalog research grants open source about help. Paul friedlander, american journal of philology 1945. Book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi card.
The improbable story of how it reemerged, and how the mindset it advocated informs our present, is the subject of the swerve. For this edition, professor smith provides a revised translation, new introduction, headnotes and. Saint jerome tells of how he became insane because of a love potion and wrote his poetry in between fits of insanity. O you who first amid so great a darkness were able to address to epicurus raise aloft a light so clear, illumining the blessings of life, you i follow, o glory of the grecian race, a and now on the marks you have left i plant my own footsteps firm, not so much desiring to be your rival, as for love, because i yearn to copy you. 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 the gods and fear of death and so enabling man to attain peace of mind and happiness. Lucretius on human history this world is the product of nature. This book is the 449th greatest fiction book of all time as determined by. These set the stage for his explanation of the diversity of bodies. 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. Mar 09, 2001 martin ferguson smiths work on lucretius is both well known and highly regarded. Mathematical and scientific and miscalculations in.