On The Nature Of Things by Lucretius

Translator: William Ellery Leonard

Description:

Lucretius was a Roman poet and philosopher who lived during the first century BCE. His great poetic work “On the Nature of Things” outlined the philosophical system of Epicureanism through didactic verse.

Central to Lucretius’ Epicurean worldview was the idea that the universe was solely comprised of tiny physical particles called atoms moving through empty void. He felt that superstitions arose from humanity’s fear of various unfathomable phenomena like earthquakes and disease. By explaining natural events through rational principles like atomic theory, Lucretius sought to liberate people from such irrational fears. His poetic language brought philosophical concepts like atomic motion and void to vivid life in a way that appealed to both intellectuals and a wider Latin-reading audience.

Through six books of compelling poetic argumentation, Lucretius discussed physics, human psychology, ethics, and more through an Epicurean lens. He covered topics like sensation and thought, the formation of the world and humans, death and the soul, magnets and lightning, sex, dreams, disease and its cure. The work was both a lengthy didactic poem promoting Epicurean philosophy, as well as a breathtaking evocation of how an atomic universe according to natural principles could beautifully give rise to our world and everything in it. Centuries later, “On the Nature of Things” remains one of the most influential literary works ever written about science, religion, and philosophy.

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