Lucretius Books
Lucretius was a Roman poet and philosopher of the 1st century BCE, a follower of Epicurus. His only known work, On the Nature of Things, is one of the most influential pieces of Latin literature and ancient philosophy.
Known for: On the Nature of Things
Books by Lucretius
On the Nature of Things
On the Nature of Things is a philosophical poem in six books by the Roman poet Lucretius, written in the 1st century BCE. The work presents Epicurean philosophy, explaining the nature of the universe, matter, the soul, and the gods, with the aim of freeing humans from the fear of death and superstition.
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Invocation to Venus and the Purpose of the Poem
At the poem’s threshold, I raise my voice to Venus, the mother of Aeneas and emblem of creative power, to adorn the beginning with beauty. She embodies nature’s generative principle—the force that brings motion, fertility, and harmony to all living things. Yet my prayer to her is not spiritual submi...
From On the Nature of Things
Atomic Theory: The Foundations of All Things
Now we turn to the first pillar of understanding—atoms and the void. I teach that everything which exists is composed of indivisible particles, eternal and unchanging. These atoms move through empty space, combining and separating according to their forms and motions. Nothing can come from nothing, ...
From On the Nature of Things
About Lucretius
Lucretius was a Roman poet and philosopher of the 1st century BCE, a follower of Epicurus. His only known work, On the Nature of Things, is one of the most influential pieces of Latin literature and ancient philosophy.
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Lucretius was a Roman poet and philosopher of the 1st century BCE, a follower of Epicurus. His only known work, On the Nature of Things, is one of the most influential pieces of Latin literature and ancient philosophy.
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