On the Nature of Things: de Rerum Natura

By Lucretius, T. Lucretius Carus, Titus Lucretius Carus, et al.

Book Overview

Titus Lucretius Carus was probably born in the early first century B.C., and died in the year 55. Little is known of his life, although two tantalizing bits of gossip were passed on by St. Jerome: that he was poisoned by a madness-inducing aphrodisiac given him by his wife, and that his great poem On the Nature of Things was posthumously edited by Cicero. For the latter assertion, writes Anthony Esolen in his introduction to the present volume, there is little evidence, and none whatsoever for the former.

What does survive is a masterful poetic work that stands as the greatest exposition of Epicurean philosophy. Writing in the waning days of the Roman Republic--as Rome's politics grew individualistic and treacherous, its high-life wanton, its piety introspective and morbid--Lucretius sets forth a rational and materialistic view of the world which offers a retreat into a quiet community of wisdom and friendship.

Even to modern readers, the sweep of Lucretius's observations is remarkable. A careful observer of nature, he writes with an innocent curiosity into how things are put together--from the oceans, lands, and stars to a mound of poppy seeds, from the "applause" of a rooster's wings to the human mind and soul. Yet Lucretius is no romantic. Nature is what it is--fascinating, purposeless, beautiful, deadly. Once we understand this, we free ourselves of superstitious fears, becoming as human and as godlike as we can be. The poem, then, is about the universe and how human beings ought to live in it. Epicurean physics and morality converge.

Until now, there has been no adequate English verse translation of Lucretius's work. Anthony Esolen fills that gap with a version that reproduces--with remarkable faithfulness--the meaning, pace, and tone of the original Latin.

Here is a book that will introduce a new generation of readers to a thinker whose powers of observation and depth of insight remain fresh to the present day.

"Esolen has the rare gift of being both a fine poet and a lover of languages. His diction is poetic and natural; he has a fine ear for sound, and the translation benefits greatly from being read aloud--as Latin poetry was meant to be. This translation is clear and forceful. It can, and will, be read."--Kenneth J. Reckford, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080185055X
• ISBN13: 9780801850554
• Release Date: June 1995
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.9"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Beautiful

Lucretius's arguments for his atomic theory and the "swerve" are paragons of lucidity. It's a good thing I had physics in school, I was very nearly converted anyway. The section dealing with love is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading elegant ideas beautifully expressed, or beautiful ideas elegantly expressed.

Among the very best of ancient literature

I can only second the opinions presented here. This is great poetry and great philosophy. Lucretius is truly amazing in his presentation of science, much of it the foundations of today's; he was the first and remains the best of popular science writers. The translation is dazzling. For once we are not reading to get an approximation of the original author's intentions, but for sheer excitement. This book should restore faith in the vital interplay of ancient and modern culture and dispel the myth of dualism between art and science.

Lucretius' Nature of Things, or How to Succeed in Life

I took a Roman history class called The Rise of Rome and this book was assigned to shed light upon some insightful details into one of the most popular Hellenistic philosophies, Epicureanism, and although Lucretius was of Roman nationality, this book is the most accessibly popular for students reading about Epicureanism for the first time. Copley's translation is written in meter, but what Lucretius was trying to say was very clear to me. I was actually most impressed by the clarity, although there were many other things that stayed with me after I read this. Although we don't know a lot about him comparatively to other Late-Republic figures like Cicero, Caesar, and Catullus, Lucretius was an interesting fellow (please read T.P. Wiseman's essay The Two Worlds of Titus Lucretius Carus), and he was evidently some sort of Renaissance man, as he was a scholar of everything from biology to philosophy to theology. Lucretius was quite an overachieving sort, as he was able, unlike many during the Roman republic, to find a patron, in this case the Roman politician Memmius, who was able to facilitate his ambitious literary aspirations via monetary funding. The Nature of Things is actually addressed to Memmius, just as the poet Lucan addressed his book on the Civil War between Pompey and Caesar, the Pharsalia, to the Roman emperor Nero a century later. Lucretius' proem in six books is in essence a comprehensive sermon whose message is basically how every man, and especially Memmius, should live his life. The relationship between the princely poet Lucretius and the Machiavellian politician Memmius is quite interesting. Lucretius, from the evidence of his proem, was a man who lived very close to his ideals, whereas Memmius was a crafty "Goodie" who was later indicted of voting fraud by the senate. The Roman poet Catullus, a contemporary of Lucretius, mentions Memmius in one of his 'hate' poems, calling him something quite nasty, because Memmius--when he was holding the office of Praetor in Asia Minor--cheated Catullus and his companions out of some tribute. It's hard to pigeonhole The Nature of Things, as Lucretius covers many topics in the six books, most conspicuously love, sex, and death. But every line serves the purpose of creating a kind of Epicurean manifesto, listing and elaborating upon the principal concepts mothered by Lucretius' Mohammed, the philosopher Epicurus, who lived nearly three hundred years before Lucretius even started working on his great work. Pursuant to Roman literary convention, Lucretius, at the beginning of his book, invokes his celestial muse, the Roman goddess Venus, who like Memmius, was also reputed to possess Trojan heritage, something Memmius was akin to celebrate profusely. This book is easy to take with you on a trip anywhere, and it's inexpensive too, so I recommend it highly. The notes on the bottom of the page are also helpful.