Titus Lucretius Carus

This is regarded as a seminal text of Epicurean science and philosophy. Epicurians discarded both the idea of immortality and the superstitious worship of wilful gods for a life of serene contentment in the available pleasures of nature. Lucretius (c100-c55BC), in elucidating this belief, steers the reader through an extraordinary breadth of subject matter, ranging from the indestructibility of atoms and the discovery of fire to the folly of romantic love and the phenomena of clouds and rainstorms.

"Lucretius was a Roman philosopher and poet of the first century BC whose only known work is The Nature of Things (c.50 BC), a didactic poem in six books that expounds his philosophical beliefs. He followed Epicurean ideas, believing the world to be made up of tiny atoms moving in a void and viewing life in terms of pleasure and pain, representing good and bad. The Nature of Things was to have a huge influence on poets such as Virgil (whose Georgics was written only a generation later) and was to affect the course of western literature as a whole.". "A. E. Stalling's new translation is in rhyming couplets and uses modern terminology to reflect the impact of the original poem. Richard Jenkyns's introduction explores Lucretius' beliefs and his influence on subsequent literature. This edition also includes a preface, suggestions for further reading and notes."--BOOK JACKET.