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. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him selfsufficient. Mourners, the elderly, nature and memmius raise their voices to debate the issue of mortality. Many comments have been posted about on the nature of things. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics. This sumptuous account of a secular cosmos argues that the soul is mortal, that pleasure is the object of life, and. Reissued to accompany stephen greenblatts the swerve. Home collectionstexts perseus catalog research grants open source about help. Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue. A useful recent translation of lucretius on the nature of. The poem explores lucretius belief about the gods, humanity, the senses, the world, and the universe, all through the philosophical framework of epicurus. In the present reprint the translation has been adapted. Latham, introduction and notes by john godwin, penguin revised edition 1994, isbn 0140446109.
On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c. On the nature of things by lucretius, part of the internet classics archive. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. On the nature of things lucretius harvard university press. A useful recent translation of lucretius on the nature of things by cassius amicus published october, 2012 introductory material, lucretius, texts on epicurus until today i was unaware of a 2010 edition of on the nature of things produced by ian johnston and available at the website linked here. Study science in order to rid yourself of unneccesary fears, especially of the gods and death. An oldspelling critical edition ed repetzki, peter lang 2000 isbn 9780820443881. 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. Only a few more english translations appeared over the next two centuries, but in the 20th century translations began. My main goal is to understand epicurean philosophy, though of course it would be nice if it sounded good too. On the nature of things by lucretius the internet classics archive.
Lucretius progressive revelation of nature in drn 1. 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. The improbable story of how it reemerged, and how the mindset it advocated informs our present, is the subject of the swerve. This elegant new translation at last restores the poetry to one of the greatest and most influential poems in the western tradition. In england, the wealthy diarist john evelyn translated the first book of lucretius poem, and isaac newton declared himself an atomist new yorker.
On the nature of things watson translation by carus, titus. This abridged presentation of lucretius famous sixbook poem on nature focuses mostly on those passages essential to epicureanism based on translations by. On the nature of things, 1951 prose translation by r. Book ii deals with the motion and forms of the atoms, and. Proem mother of rome, delight of gods and men, dear venus that beneath the gliding stars makest to teem the manyvoyaged main and fruitful lands for all of living things through thee alone are evermore conceived. Evelyns complete extant translation lacking book 2 not published until john evelyns translation of titus lucretius carus. On the nature of things leonard translation by titus. Book i 94k book ii 106k book iii 95k book iv 117k book v 9k book vi 122k download. The internet classics archive on the nature of things by. I care about clarity and ease of reading more than accuracy or aesthetics. Illud in his rebus non est mirabile, quare, omnia cum rerum primordia sint in motu, summa tamen summa videatur stare quiete, 310 praeter quam siquid proprio dat corpore motus. This translation is based primarily upon the latin text of h. Thanks to the accidental survival in lucretius book 4 of two alternative programmatic. University of california press, 2008 the joan palevsky imprint in classical literature.
On the nature of things has been divided into the following sections. Comprehensive commentary by cyril bailey, oxford university press 1947. In book 2 he explains atomic movement, the variety of atomic shapes, and. The version read here is an english verse translation written by william. Google this is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library. The poem is divided into six books or sections and. Little is known of his life, although two tantalizing bits of gossip were passed on by st. By the mid1600s another translation into english by puritan lucy hutchinson was. Lucretius was the first writer known to introduce roman readers to epicurean philosophy. In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry, he expounds the scientific theories of the greek.
Book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi card. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. Quis potis est dignum pollenti pectore carmen condere pro rerum maiestate hisque repertis. Please click here to go to our dedicated site for lucretius. How the world became modern norton, a new book by cogan university professor and noted shakespeare scholar stephen greenblatt, to be published in september.
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