Lucretius

Lucretius - On the Nature of Things

The Roman poet and philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus better known as Lucretius was born in approximately 99 BCE. Much of the events in his life are unknown.

What is known is that is is the author of one of the great classics of poetry. The epic didactic poem in hexameters, On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura). Within its six books Lucretius makes a bold sweep through the scientific theories of the Greek philosopher Epicurus in poetic form to give man a firm base from which to attain a peace and stability from all of the competing elements in society, life and the heavens.

The poem was a significant influence on the Latin Augustan poets, particularly Virgil (in his Aeneid and Georgics) and Horace. With the fall of the Empire the work disappeared. It was only in 1417 that a copy was re-discovered in a monastery in Germany and it once more became an important influence, this time in the Enlightenment era.

In its scope and breadth it achieves much, both as a purveyor of scientific principles but also as a majestic poetry classic.