Lucretian article about lucretian by the free dictionary. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. Lucretius on the nature of things by titus lucretius carus. The translator of lucretius faces a number of editorial choices because the poem. Titus lucretius carus was a roman poet and philosopher over 2050 years ago. I care about clarity and ease of reading more than accuracy or aesthetics. On the nature of things by titus lucretius carus nook.
Lucretius carus, titus, rouse, william henry denham. In it, he set out to explicate the universe, embracing and refuting ideas of the great greek philosophers. Leonard and smith lucretius university of wisconsin press 1942 richard minadeo, the lyre of science. My main goal is to understand epicurean philosophy, though of course it would be nice if it sounded good too. Autustine who is also brilliant, we need not agree with his views in order to enjoy his work. Lucretius on the nature of things 1908 titus lucretius carus isbn.
Little is known of his life, although two tantalizing bits of gossip were passed on by st. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics through poetic language and metaphors. Virtually nothing is known about the life of lucretius. On the nature of things titus lucretius carus, lucrece. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. 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. The manuscript was sold to the british library by his heirs in the midnineteenth century.
In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry. Many times, after a particularly creative, apt, wellput verse i couldnt help but physically nod in approval. Lucretius biggest strength though, meo iudicio, is his powerful, plastic expression that conjures up detailed, color images in front of your minds eye. 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. 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.
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. In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry, he expounds the scientific theories of the greek. 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. On the nature of things by lucretius, paperback barnes. Lucretius observations of the particularities of the world remain alive across the centuries. The practice of religion leads people to practise evil. 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. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him selfsufficient. Literally to such heights of evil has religion been able to drive men. 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.
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. Lucretius is brilliant no one is going to dispute that but, like st. This elegant new translation at last restores the poetry to one of the greatest and most influential poems in the western tradition. This sumptuous account of a secular cosmos argues that the soul is mortal, that pleasure is the object of life, and. 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. On the nature of things mobi classics rakuten kobo. Avaliable format in pdf, epub, mobi, kindle, e book and audiobook.
Titus lucretius carus was probably born in the early first century b. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. Study science in order to rid yourself of unneccesary fears, especially of the gods and death. The phrase is used to describe the way something naturallyintrinsically is for example, in book. Lucretius entire history of civilisation in book 5 10111457 can be read as. Epicurus, cicero, lucretius, hicks, robert drew, temple, william. Lucretius titus lucretius carus lucretius oxford scholarly editions.
Paul friedlander, american journal of philology 1945 titus lucretius carus ca. Jerome tells how he was driven mad by a love potion and. 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. 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. I have translated from my own text published in the. Theres a really wellknown pulitzerprizewinning novel about it called the swerve. 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.
Read on the nature of things mobi classics by titus lucretius carus,william ellery leonard translator available from rakuten kobo. Lucretius wrote about 2000 years ago, translating from the works of the greek philosopher, epicurus. How the world became modern, by stephen greenblatt too. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read lucretius on the nature of things. Lucretius on the nature of things ebook written by titus lucretius carus. A volume which no student of lucretius, of the classics, of philosophic literature can afford to ignore. Complete works of lucretius delphi classics ebook by. Apuleius, lucretius, and cicero are especially fond of this word. On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c. David butterfield also has a more academic book on it if youre interested in the nitty.
On the nature of things, is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius. Heretical and scandalous, it should be required reading across the educational spectrum. Smith also adds his own valuable introduction on the life and works of lucretius. This classic work covers an incredibly broad range of fascinating topics as listed below. Reissued to accompany stephen greenblatts the swerve. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app.
Martin ferguson smith has done a superb job of revising in 1975, with further changes in 1982 and 1992 the version of w. However, lucretius poem was seldom read in the middle ages, in part because of the. Written with the intent of explaining epicurean philosophy to the romans, the original poem was divided into six books and written in dactylic hexameter. Book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi card.
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