- In full:
- Titus Lucretius Carus
- Flourished:
- 1st century bce
- Flourished:
- c.100 BCE - c.1 BCE
- Notable Works:
- âOn the Nature of Thingsâ
- Movement / Style:
- Ciceronian period
- Golden Age
- Subjects Of Study:
- Epicureanism
Lucretius
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Who was Lucretius?
Lucretius (1st century BCE) was a Roman poet and philosopher, known for De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things), a long poem in which he set forth the physical theory of the Greek philosopher Epicurus.
Divided into six books, On the Nature of Things elucidates the principles of the atomic universe, refutes rival theories, and assails the Stoics. It delves into the soul's mortality, sense perception, and the world's creation, ending with a depiction of the plague at Athens. Lucretius's linguistic style is remarkable for rendering Epicurus's Greek prose into Latin hexameters, coining words and employing poetic devices.
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What language did Lucretius write in?
Lucretius, a Roman poet and philosopher, wrote De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) in Latin. His aim was to translate Epicurus's Greek prose into Latin hexameters, at a time when Latin lacked a philosophical vocabulary. He achieved this by adapting common words for technical use and even inventing new ones.
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What is the name of Lucretiusâs most famous poem?
Lucretius, a Latin poet and philosopher from the 1st century BCE, is best known for his poem, De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things). This poem, written in Latin, is a comprehensive exposition of the physical theory of the Greek philosopher Epicurus.
De rerum natura is divided into six books that explore the principles of the atomic universe, the mortality of the soul, sense perception, and the evolution of life and human society. Lucretius also delves into various natural phenomena, such as thunder and lightning.
Lucretius's work aimed to translate Epicurus's Greek prose into Latin hexameters, creating philosophical vocabulary by applying common words to technical uses and even inventing new terms when necessary.
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What main ideas or topics did Lucretius discuss in his writings?
Lucretius, a Roman poet and philosopher of the 1st century BCE, is known for De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things), a long poem elucidating the physical theories of Epicurus.
Lucretius's poem is divided into six books that touch on a variety of topics:
* The first two books establish the principles of the atomic universe.
* Book three focuses on the atomic structure and mortality of the soul.
* Book four describes sense perception, thought, bodily functions, and condemns sexual passion.
* Book five details the creation of the world and celestial bodies, as well as the evolution of life and human society.
* Book six explains phenomena of the earth and sky, such as thunder and lightning, and concludes with a description of the plague at Athens.2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Lucretius explain the nature of the world and the universe?
Lucretius, a Roman poet and philosopher, is known for De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things), a poem that explains the physical theory of the Greek philosopher Epicurus. Lucretius divides his argument into six books, each with an introduction.
In the De rerum natura, Lucretius establishes the principles of the atomic universe, refutes rival theories of pre-Socratic philosophers, and covertly critiques the Stoics. He elucidates the atomic structure and mortality of the soul, the mechanics of sense perception, and the creation and operation of the world and celestial bodies. The poem concludes with a depiction of the plague at Athens.
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Why is Lucretius important in the history of philosophy and science?
Lucretius (flourished 1st century bce) was a Latin poet and philosopher known for his poem De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things), a comprehensive account of Epicurean physical theory, ethics, and logic.
Lucretius's poem presents the principles of the atomic universe, refuting rival theories and attacking the Stoics. He aimed to translate Epicurus's Greek prose into Latin hexameters, creating a philosophical vocabulary. Lucretius's influence on Virgil is evident, with Virgil acknowledging the importance of understanding the causes of things. Lucretius expressed compassion for humanity, gratitude to Epicurus, and animosity toward those who instilled religious fears.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Lucretius (flourished 1st century bce) was a Latin poet and philosopher known for his single, long poem, De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things). The poem is the fullest extant statement of the physical theory of the Greek philosopher Epicurus. It also alludes to his ethical and logical doctrines.
Life
Apart from Lucretiusâs poem almost nothing is known about him. The little evidence available is quite inconclusive. Jerome, a leading Latin Church Father, in his chronicle for the year 94 bce (or possibly 96 or 93 bce), stated that Lucretius was born in that year and that years afterward a love potion drove him insane. Having written some books in lucid intervals, which Cicero afterward emended, he killed himself in his 44th year (51 or 50 bce). In his Life of Virgil, Aelius Donatus, a grammarian and teacher of rhetoric, noted that Virgil put on the toga virilis (the toga of an adult) in his 17th year, on his birthday (i.e., 54 or 53 bce), and that Lucretius died that same day. But Donatus contradicted himself by stating that the consuls that year were the same as in the year of Virgilâs birth (i.e., Crassus and Pompey, in 55 bce). This last date seems partly confirmed by a sentence in Ciceroâs reply to his brother in 54 bce (Ad Quintum fratrem 2, 9, 3), which suggests that Lucretius was already dead and also that Cicero may have been involved in the publication of his poem: âThe poems of Lucretius are as you write in your letterâthey have many highlights of genius, yet also much artistry.â Excepting the single mention in Cicero, the only contemporary who named Lucretius was a Roman historian, Cornelius Nepos (Atticus 12, 4), in the phrase âafter the death of Lucretius and Catullus.â The only contemporary whom Lucretius named was one Memmius, to whom he dedicated his poem, probably Gaius Memmius (son-in-law of Sulla, praetor of 58 bce, and patron of Catullus and Gaius Helvius Cinna), for whose friendship Lucretius âhopes.â
De rerum natura
The title of Lucretiusâs work translates that of the chief work of Epicurus, Peri physeĆs (On Nature), as also of the didactic epic of Empedocles, a pluralist philosopher of nature, of whom Lucretius spoke with admiration only less than that with which he praised his master Epicurus.
Lucretius distributed his argument into six books, beginning each with a highly polished introduction. Books I and II establish the main principles of the atomic universe, refute the rival theories of the pre-Socratic cosmic philosophers Heracleitus, Empedocles, and Anaxagoras, and covertly attack the Stoics, a school of moralists rivaling that of Epicurus. Book III demonstrates the atomic structure and mortality of the soul and ends with a triumphant sermon on the theme âDeath is nothing to us.â Book IV describes the mechanics of sense perception, thought, and certain bodily functions and condemns sexual passion. Book V describes the creation and working of this world and the celestial bodies and the evolution of life and human society. Book VI explains remarkable phenomena of the earth and skyâin particular, thunder and lightning. The poem ends with a description of the plague at Athens, a sombre picture of death contrasting with that of spring and birth in the invocation to Venus, with which it opens.
Argument of the poem
The argument in outline is as follows:
1. No thing is either created out of or reducible to nothing. The universe has an infinite extent of empty space (or void) and an infinite number of irreducible particles of matter (or atoms)âthough their kinds are finite (see atomism). Atoms differ only in shape, size, and weight and are impenetrably hard, changeless, everlasting, the limit of physical division. They are made up of inseparable minimal parts, or units. Larger atoms have more such parts, but even the larger are minute. All atoms would have moved everlastingly downward in infinite space and never have collided to form atomic systems had they not swerved at times to a minimal degree. To these indeterminate swerves is due the creation of an infinite plurality of worlds; they also interrupt the causal chain and so make room for free will. All things are ultimately systems of moving atoms, separated by greater or smaller intervals of void, which cohere more or less according to their shapes. All systems are divisible and therefore perishable (except the gods), and all change is explainable in terms of the addition, subtraction, or rearrangement of changeless atoms.
2. The soul is made of exceedingly fine atoms and has two connected parts: the anima distributed throughout the body, which is the cause of sensation, and the animus in the breast, the central consciousness. The soul is born and grows with the body, and at death it is dissipated like âsmoke.â
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3. Though the gods exist, they neither made nor manipulate the world. As systems of exceedingly fine atoms, they live remotely, unconcerned with human affairs, examples to humans of the ideal life of perfect happiness (absence of mental fear, emotional turmoil, and bodily pain).
4. Humans know by sense perception and argue by reason according to certain rules. Though the senses are infallible, reason can make false inferences. Objects can be seen because they discharge from their surface representative films, which strike the eye just as smells strike the nose. Separate atoms are in principle imperceptible, having no dischargeable parts. The senses perceive the properties and accidents of bodies; reason infers the atoms and the void, the latter of which exists to explain the perceived movement of bodies.
5. Humans naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain. Their aim should be so to conduct their lives that they get, on balance, the maximum of pleasure and the minimum of pain. They will succeed in this only if they are able, through philosophy, to overcome the fear of death and of the gods.