Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. It is distinguished as well by features that encourage readers to understand it. 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. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. 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. For students approaching lucretius this remains the only commentary in english on the entire work in one volume. The spanish poet and harvard philosopher george santayana 18631952 held a. Home collectionstexts perseus catalog research grants open source about help. No one can set about tnnslating lucretius into english. In first place, if the mighty sphere of heaven revolveth round, then needs we must aver that on the upper and the under pole presses a certain air, and from without confines them and encloseth at each end.
Its earliest published translation into any language french did not occur until 1650. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. And that, moreover, another air above streams on athwart the top of the sphere and tends in same direction as are rolled along the glittering. Please click here to go to our dedicated site for lucretius. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. 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. Check our home page for introductory material on epicurus. The poem consists of six untitled books, in dactylic hexameter. The audible version is read by charlton griffin in all of his stentorian awesomeness and. Lucretius simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A bibliography of work on lucretius, 19451972 jstor. Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue. Namely, lucretius explores the principles of atomism.
The poem was lost during the middle ages, rediscovered in 1417, and first printed in 1473. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him selfsufficient. Lucretius on the nature of things by titus lucretius carus. Proem tis sweet, when, down the mighty main, the winds roll up its waste of waters, from the land to watch anothers labouring anguish far, not that we. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c.
In it, he set out to explicate the universe, embracing. The internet classics archive on the nature of things by. At the beginning of book 2 of his poem, the poet compares the prospect of a person. In the present reprint the translation has been adapted.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or. Book 2 contains lucretiuss most explicit reference to the moral theory of epicurus. Only a few more english translations appeared over the next two centuries, but in the 20th century translations began. Book ii deals with the motion and forms of the atoms, and. It is well worth its price, since it contains the original latin text on the left page and the english.
No attempts to translate the text of lucretius are known of before 1530. In first place, if the mighty sphere of heaven revolveth round, then needs we must aver that on the upper and the under pole presses a certain air, and from. I dont have an answer and its been ages since i read lucretius, but i can recommend the encyclopedia of literary translation into english as a possible source for an answer. This elegant new translation at last restores the poetry to one of the greatest and most influential poems in the western tradition. Most translators, influenced by the centuries old free will debate, translate libera. Then throughout seas and mountains and sweeping torrents and the leafy dwellings of birds and verdant plains, striking alluring love into the breasts of all. Lucretius on the nature of things ebook written by titus lucretius carus.
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