The Way Things Are: The De Rerum Natura

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Still the best edition for the general reader.......2002-07-12

A number of other English translations, in prose or verse, have emerged since this book was first published in 1968. While most have their good points, this one stands out for its clarity, unforced feel, and the sheer beauty of its poetry. (It doesn't hurt that it is reasonably priced!) In this Lucretius, the poet and philosopher are inextricably mixed and cannot be put asunder.

The naturalistic view of a beautiful but cold, and unfeeling universe is limned brilliantly and passionately. The gods appear, but only as a literary conceit, or as a faint concession to the possibility of higher realms of being. We are left "all alone", but not "all afraid". The light of understanding banishes dark terrors: Nothing; no horrors await us in death. Our lives here remain what we make them. Far from leading to nihilism and despair, this knowledge renews our sense of purpose. Play your part well; there is no second act.

I can only hint at the excitement that awaits the interested reader within these pages. If anything written here has failed to convey the pleasure of this book, or has proven off-putting, then I apologize. "Tole et lege!"

Among the very best of ancient literature.......2000-03-13

I can only second the opinions presented here. This is great poetry and great philosophy. Lucretius is truly amazing in his presentation of science, much of it the foundations of today's; he was the first and remains the best of popular science writers. The translation is dazzling. For once we are not reading to get an approximation of the original author's intentions, but for sheer excitement. This book should restore faith in the vital interplay of ancient and modern culture and dispel the myth of dualism between art and science.

Wonderful.......1998-11-03

I ordered this with some trepidation: Lucretius was difficult enough to understand in prose, never mind poetry. It turns out that this translation is the CLEAREST and MOST READABLE Lucretius I have ever seen. Lucretius is an author I read regularly. He has accomnpanied me through my life for years. This is now the translation which I will turn to. This is a book to study, memorize sections from, enjoy, and be dazzled by. I want to thank the author for his evident love for the material to turn out such an excellent translation.

The ONLY Lucretius translation.......1998-02-19

Lovers of quality literature should be grateful that Rolfe Humphries, finest Latin-English translator to ever live, employed his formidable talents in a translation of the monumental De Rerum Natura. The poem itself is an undisputed masterpiece, a philosophical tour de force that has influenced writers across 2000 years of time, from Vergil to Robert Frost. Yet Lucretius is most often translated into prose, causing De Rerum Natura to be viewed as more philosophy than poetry. Humphries' fine translation not only breathes fresh life into a great work, but also reminds us that, though he was a didactic Epicurean philosopher, Titus Lucretius Carus was, first and foremost, a poet. Apart from reading the Latin, there is no better way to experience De Rerum Natura than through Humphries' rendering.

Humphries' Lucretius.......1997-12-28

This is a wonderful book. Rolfe Humphries did a magnificent job of making this philosophical poet relevant to us in the 20th. The translation is eminently readable and at times reaches heights of beauty that does the great Roman Epicurean justice. I discovered Humphries' Lucretius 20 years ago. I've found no other translation to be as accessible or as beautiful. It's been a consolation to me often in the last two decades and I'm sure it will continue to be in the future. Lucretius has much to say to us and we owe Rolfe Humphries a lot for giving him to us in a translation that manages to be both profound and charming at the same time.

The Poetics of Latin Didactic: Lucretius, Vergil, Ovid, Manilius

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very useful

The Poetics of Latin Didactic: Lucretius, Vergil, Ovid, Manilius
Katharina Volk
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0199245509

Book Description

Some of the most famous literary works from antiquity are so-called didactic poems. Even the Greeks and Romans found it difficult to gain a theoretical understanding of this genre, and modern readers often avoid such texts, which they perceive as dry and overly technical. Volk offers a new theoretical look at this genre, discussing the characteristics that make a poem 'didactic' from the points of view of both theory and literary history, and tracing its history from Hesiod to Roman times. This discussion leads into detailed interpretations of four great Latin didactic poems: Lucretius' De rerum natura, Vergil's Georgics, Ovid's Ars Amatoria, and Manilius' Astronomica. Volk cocludes that didactic poems, though belonging to a genre often regarded as unpoetic, typically present themselves self-consciously as poetry and give particular attention to discussions of poetics.

Customer Reviews:

very useful.......2007-03-05

Very learned and also easy to read. You'll find lots of information on the genre of didactic poetry as a whole, and you'll also find useful close analyses of the individual authors. Volk's book is crucial for anyone interested in any aspect of Lucretius, Virgil, Ovid or Manilius.

Lucretius: De Rerum Natura Iv/Latin (Classical Texts)

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Lucretius: De Rerum Natura Iv/Latin (Classical Texts)
John Godwin
Manufacturer: Aris & Phillips
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lucretius: selections from the De rerum natura

ASIN: 0856683094

The Criticism of Didactic Poetry: Essays on Lucretius, Virgil, and Ovid (Robson Classical Lectures)

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The Criticism of Didactic Poetry: Essays on Lucretius, Virgil, and Ovid (Robson Classical Lectures)
Alexander Dalzell
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0802008224

Book Description

Shelley thought all didactic poetry an 'abhorrence,' and most of the Romantics agreed with this judgment. Critics in this century have been less dismissive of the genre, but seem puzzled by it. There has been a tendency to treat a didactic poem as though it were a kind of lyric, in which the focus of interest lies in the emotions and feelings of the writer. But didactic poetry has a purpose, history, and character of its own. This original and important book asks the question, 'What can the practising critic usefully say about a didactic poem?'

This is not primarily a book about theory, but a guide to practical criticism combined with a fresh reading of the chosen texts. Through a close analysis of three of the major didactic poems in the classical canon, the De rerum natura of Lucretius, the Georgics of Virgil, and the Ars amatoria of Ovid, Dalzell's aim is to consider these poems as a genre and to ascertain what tools are available to the critic for their understanding. He raises questions about the limits of genre criticism, the relationship of poetry and knowledge, reader-response, and historical reception. Can there be a poetry of statement? Is all genuine poetry necessarily fictive in some sense? To what extent is a serious didactic intent compatible with poetry?

Book Description

Titus Lucretius Carus was probably born in the early first century B.C., and died in the year 55. Little is known of his life, although two tantalizing bits of gossip were passed on by St. Jerome: that he was poisoned by a madness-inducing aphrodisiac given him by his wife, and that his great poem On the Nature of Things was posthumously edited by Cicero. For the latter assertion, writes Anthony Esolen in his introduction to the present volume, there is little evidence, and none whatsoever for the former.

What does survive is a masterful poetic work that stands as the greatest exposition of Epicurean philosophy. Writing in the waning days of the Roman Republic--as Rome's politics grew individualistic and treacherous, its high-life wanton, its piety introspective and morbid--Lucretius sets forth a rational and materialistic view of the world which offers a retreat into a quiet community of wisdom and friendship.

Even to modern readers, the sweep of Lucretius's observations is remarkable. A careful observer of nature, he writes with an innocent curiosity into how things are put together--from the oceans, lands, and stars to a mound of poppy seeds, from the "applause" of a rooster's wings to the human mind and soul. Yet Lucretius is no romantic. Nature is what it is--fascinating,purposeless, beautiful, deadly. Once we understand this, we free ourselves of superstitious fears, becoming as human and as godlike as we can be. The poem, then, is about the universe and how human beings ought to live in it. Epicurean physics and morality converge.

Until now, there has been no adequate English verse translation of Lucretius's work. Anthony Esolen fills that gap with a version that reproduces--with remarkable faithfulness--the meaning, pace, and tone of the original Latin.

Here is a book that will introduce a new generation of readers to a thinker whose powers of observation and depth of insight remain fresh to the present day.

"Esolen has the rare gift of being both a fine poet and a lover of languages. His diction is poetic and natural; he has a fine ear for sound, and the translation benefits greatly from being read aloud--as Latin poetry was meant to be. This translation is clear and forceful. It can, and will, be read."--Kenneth J. Reckford, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Customer Reviews:

Poetic philosophy.......2000-07-02

How incredible it is to read a poet and philosopher from 60 B.C. writing on the philosophical derivation of the idea that atoms must exist, that they have some spin on them, and that there is conservation of matter in nature! These thoughts about "atomism" would have been lost except for the fact that Lucretius presented them in a very good Latin poem. Although credit is given to Leucippus and Democritus for starting the idea of atomism, Epicurius and Lucretius were strong exponents of these ideas. The poem utilizes common observations to illustrate that the world about us is simply a combination of atoms and void. This had strong implications not only for the demise of the Roman and Greek gods and goddesses but also for how humans should live in the real world, and how they largely create their own misery. Lucretius loves life, looks straightly at it, speaks strongly against the fear of death, and promotes a rational calm life in which friendship is very important. The poetry is wonderful and powerful in itself. Two quotes (I,62 and I, 140) in the early part of the poem speak clearly to the modern reader: "When before our eyes man's life lay groveling, prostrate, crushed to dust under the burden of Religion (which thrust its head from heaven, its horrible face glowering over mankind born to die) one man, a Greek, was the first mortal who dared oppose his eyes, the first to stand firm in defiance. Not the fables of the gods, nor lightning, nor the menacing rumble of heaven could daunt him, but all the more they whetted his keen mind with longing to be first to smash open the tight-barred gates of Nature"..."And yet your virtue and the hoped-for pleasure of a delightful friendship urge me to persevere in my work, to watch through the calm nights, seeking choice words, the song by which at last I can open to your mind such dazzling light that you may see deep into hidden things." This is a great and astonishing poem, powerfully translated by Anthony Esolen. Lucretius did not conceive of the idea that parts of atoms, i.e. electrons, might spread rapidly through the body, so his poem gets more labored in Book III where he deals with the relationship between the body, mind, soul, and spirit. However he did think the soul had to be made up of the very smallest atoms that could pass quickly to all parts of the body. If the modern reader substitutes "electrons" where he mentions "atoms" in reference to the soul, then Lucretius is not far off the mark. The book has a 21 page introduction and 49 pages of notes at the end to help the reader understand the place of this poem in the history of ideas. It should be required reading for biological scientists and physicians.

Poetic philosophy.......2000-06-26

How incredible it is to read a poet and philosopher from 60 B.C. writing on the derivation of the idea that atoms must exist and that there is conservation of matter in nature! These thoughts about "atomism" might have been lost except for their inclusion in a very good Latin poem. Although credit is given to Leucippus and Democritus for starting the idea of atomism, Epicurius and Lucretius were strong exponents of these ideas. This poem utilizes common observations to illustrate that the world about us is simply a combination of atoms and void. This had strong implications not only for the demise of the Roman and Greek gods and goddesses but also for how humans should live in the real world, and how they largely create their own misery. Lucretius loved life, speaks strongly against the fear of death, and promotes a rational calm life in which friendship is very important. The poetry is wonderful and powerful in itself. Two quotes from the early part of the poem speak clearly and dramatically to the modern reader: "When before our eyes man's life lay groveling, prostrate, crushed to dust under the burden of Religion (which thrust its head from heaven, its horrible face glowering over mankind born to die), one man, a Greek, was the first mortal who dared oppose his eyes, the first to stand firm in defiance. Not the fables of the gods, nor lightning, nor the menacing rumble of heaven could daunt him, but all the more whetted his keen mind with longing to be first to smash open the tight-barred gates of Nature....And yet your virtue and the hoped-for pleasure of a delightful friendship urge me to persevere in my work, to watch through the calm nights, seeking choice words, the song by which at last I can open to your mind such dazzling light that you may see deep into hidden things." This is a great and astonishing poem, translated powerfully by Esolen. The book has a 21 page introduction at the beginning and 49 pages of notes at the end to help the reader understand the place of this poem in the history of ideas.

Lucretius Book III: De Rerum Natura (Classical Texts Series)

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Lucretius Book III: De Rerum Natura (Classical Texts Series)
P. Michael Brown
Manufacturer: Aris & Phillips
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0856686956

Lucretius: De Rerum Natura VI (de Rerum Natura)

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Lucretius: De Rerum Natura VI (de Rerum Natura)
John Godwin
Manufacturer: Aris & Phillips
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0856684996

Lucretius : Selections from De Rerum Natura

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Endeavors into Latin

Lucretius : Selections from De Rerum Natura
Titus Lucretius Carus
Manufacturer: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0865163995

Book Description

There are few ancient authors as compelling as Lucretius: scientist, poet, philosopher, passionate observer of nature. While Caesar, Cicero and Vergil have long vied for first place in the classical curriculum, Lucretius' treatment of universal human matters rightfully earns him a place in their company.

Catto's text of Lucretius provides 53 passages in 1294 lines, spanning all 6 books of the epic. Each section features a short introduction, discussion questions, vocabulary and extensive line-by-line notes on facing pages and a wide variety of illustrative quotations from both ancient and modern sources.

Customer Reviews:

Endeavors into Latin.......2005-01-01

If you want a book which will give you a decent introduction into the work of Lucretius (in the original Latin, of course), as well as plenty of help with deciphering the lines, this is the perfect book. Check the dimensions on this book, it was quite a bit larger than what I expected when it came in the mail: it is the size of a 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper, with very clear font on the actual Latin lines, with complete glosses for almost every word on the facing page. Lucretius brings up the Epicuranean aspects of existence in his work--through beautiful language. This book makes that accessible to almost anyone. (It is also meant to function as a follow-up to Ecce Romani I and II. This may give you insight to the difficulty of the language: it is AP, or Latin III material, but can also--in conjunction with other texts--can serve as a great college text.)

Lucretius on Love and Sex: A Commentary on De Rerum Natura Iv, 1030-1287, With Prolegomena, Text, and Translation (Columbia Studies in the Classical)

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Lucretius on Love and Sex: A Commentary on De Rerum Natura Iv, 1030-1287, With Prolegomena, Text, and Translation (Columbia Studies in the Classical)
Robert D. Brown
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 9004085122

On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura) (Philosophical Classics)

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On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura) (Philosophical Classics)
Titus Lucretius Carus
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 048643446X

Book Description

The Roman philosopher's didactic poem in 6 parts, De Rerum Natura

— On the Nature of Things — theorizes that natural causes are the forces behind earthly phenomena and dismisses divine intervention. Derived from the philosophical materialism of the Greeks, Lucretius' work remains the primary source for contemporary knowledge of Epicurean thought.

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But yet creation's neither crammed nor blocked About by body: there's in things a void- Which to have known will serve thee many a turn, Nor will not leave thee wandering in doubt, Forever searching in the sum of all.

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