The Nature of Things

by Lucretius (Author); Stallings, A. E. (Translator); Jenkyns, Richard (Introduction by)

• ISBN13: 9780140447965
• ISBN10: 0140447962
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-12-18
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

Lucretius' poem On the Nature of Things combines a scientific and philosophical treatise with some of the greatest poetry ever written. With intense moral fervour he demonstrates to humanity that in death there is nothing to fear since the soul is mortal, and the world and everything in it is governed by the mechanical laws of nature and not by gods; and that by believing this men can live in peace of mind and happiness. He bases this on the atomic theory expounded by the Greek philosopher Epicurus, and continues with an examination of sensation, sex, cosmology, meteorology, and geology, all of these subjects made more attractive by the poetry with which he illustrates them.

Author Biography

Titus Lucretius Carus (died c. 50 bc) was an Epicurean poet writing in the middle years of first century bc.
A. E. Stallings is an award-winning American poet and classicist.
Richard Jenkyns is a professor of classics at Oxford.

Table of Contents

The nature of things	p. 1
Matter and void	p. 3
The dance of atoms	p. 36
Mortality and the soul	p. 72
The senses	p. 106
Cosmos and civilization	p. 147
Weather and the Earth	p. 196
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.