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