On the Nature of Things

Lucretius

ISBN 10: 1935238760 / ISBN 13: 9781935238768

Published by Richer Resources Publications, 2010

About this Item

Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.

Seller Inventory # 19283510-6

Bibliographic Details

• Title: On the Nature of Things
• Publisher: Richer Resources Publications
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1935238760
• ISBN 13: 9781935238768
• Binding: Soft cover
• Illustrator: Ian Crowe
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 0.946 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

On the Nature of Things by Titus Lucretius Carus (written around 60 BC) has for centuries been one of the most popular and influential works from our classical past. The poem is a long, impassioned plea for a materialistic understanding of the universe and of human life, without reference to divine creativity or benevolence or to a future life. Only such a view, Lucretius claims, can liberate human beings from religious superstitions, irrational fears, and false ambitions and thus enable us to live successfully. Long celebrated as the greatest expression of faith in Epicurean philosophy, the poem has exercised a decisive influence on the development of Western scientific thought since the Renaissance and is a vitally important part of our humanist traditions. Ian Johnston s new poetic translation brings out the full emotional range of this great work and captures the restless and intense urgency of the original text. The English is an accurate rendition of Lucretius in a fluent modern idiom, so that it makes this important vision of the world accessible to the modern reader. The translation includes notes to assist the reader who is encountering Lucretius for the first time.

About the Authors

Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher of the first century BC, best known for his didactic masterpiece On the Nature of Things, a work that outlines Epicurean philosophy and argues for a materialistic understanding of the universe. His poem has been a foundational influence on scientific and humanistic thought for centuries.

Ian Johnston, Translator, was born in Valaparaiso, Chile, and educated in Canada and England. He has a BSc from McGill in Geology and Chemistry, a BA from Bristol in English and Greek, and an MA from Toronto in English. For many years he taught as a college and university-college instructor in British Columbia teaching English, Classics and Liberal Studies. He is the author of The Ironies of War: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. His translation of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey have recently been published in both book and audiobook form. He is now retired and living in Nanaimo, British Columbia.