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Which natural events does Book VI of De rerum natura explain?
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Lucretius
Lucretius, engraving of a bust.
In Book VI of his poem De rerum natura, the Latin poet and philosopher Lucretius provides naturalistic explanations for various remarkable phenomena of the earth and sky.12
Specifically, the book focuses on:
- Atmospheric and celestial phenomena: It offers explanations for events such as thunder and lightning.12
- Terrestrial events: It addresses other notable occurrences related to the earth.12
- The plague at Athens: The poem concludes with a detailed description of this historical epidemic, which serves as a somber contrast to the themes of birth and spring presented in the work's opening invocation to Venus.12