Synopses & Reviews
On the Nature of Things (Latin: De rerum natura) is a first century BC epic poem by Lucretius that grandly proclaims the reality of man's role in a universe without a god to help him along. It is a statement of personal responsibility in a world in which everyone is driven by hungers and passions with which they were born and do not understand.
Synopsis
This great poem stands with Virgil's as one of the vital and enduring achievements of Latin literature. Lost for more than a thousand years, its return to circulation in 1417 reintroduced dangerous ideas about the nature and meaning of existence and helped shape the modern world.
Synopsis
Reissued to accompany Stephen Greenblatt's : the epic poem that changed the course of human thought forever.
About the Author
Titus Lucretius Carus--Lucretius--was a Roman poet and philosopher (ca. 99 BC - ca. 55 BC). His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things.Frank O. Copley was a preeminent translator of Latin. His publications include Catallus: The Complete Poetry; Plautus: Menaechmi, Mostellaria, Rudens; Vergil: The Aeneid and Lucretius's On the Nature of Things.