Anthony esolen fills that gap with a version that reproduceswith remarkable faithfulnessthe meaning, pace, and tone of the original latin. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. This sumptuous account of a secular cosmos argues that the soul is mortal, that pleasure is the object of life, and that humanity has free will, among other ideas. Mar 09, 2001 martin ferguson smiths work on lucretius is both well known and highly regarded. In it, he set out to explicate the universe, embracing and refuting ideas of the great greek philosophers. Munros lucretius book ii it is sweet, when on the great sea the winds trouble its waters, to behold from land anothers deep distress. By the mid1600s another translation into english by puritan lucy hutchinson was. His greatest success is in persuading the reader to see the poem as a whole, as a single, strange work of. A volume which no student of lucretius, of the classics, of philosophic literature can afford to ignore. What keeps the mind itself from having necessity within it in all actions, and from being as it were mastered and forced to endure and to suffer, is the minute swerving of the firstbeginnings at no fixed place and at no fixed time. The poem offered a vision of the creation of the universe, the origins and goals of human life, and the formation of the state, all without reference to divine intervention. Please click here to go to our dedicated site for lucretius.
Ancient understandings of the cosmos, evolution, atoms, mans place in the animal kingdom, that are spot on. Evelyns partial translation, an essay on the first book of t. Only a few more english translations appeared over the next two centuries. On the nature of the universe is a didactic epic poem. Evelyns complete extant translation lacking book 2 not published until john evelyns translation of titus lucretius carus. Its earliest published translation into any language french did not occur. Have a look at what they say of his concluding passage, the one where hes translating thucydides as a test. Until now, there has been no adequate english verse translation of lucretiuss work. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics through richly poetic language and. This book represents the primary source of modern knowledge on epicurean thought, and it played an important role in the development of atomism.
The poem is the fullest extant statement of the physical theory of the greek philosopher epicurus. Mother of aeneas and his race, darling of men and venus, aid me in my work gods, nurturing venus, a who beneath the smoothmoving heavenly signs fill with yourself the sea fullladen with ships, the earth that bears the crops, since through you every kind of living thing is conceived and rising up looks on the light of the sun. In the present reprint the translation has been adapted. A poetic translation joan palevsky book in classical literature by lucretius. Book, also preserved in the nottinghamshire archives, contains. Pleasant is it also to behold great encounters of warfare arrayed over the. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library.
To watch anothers labouring anguish far, not that we. Borgias vita was prepared while he studied with pontano in 15023. It also alludes to his ethical and logical doctrines life. Humphries admirable and exciting translation makes it easy to grasp the shape and the magnitude of lucretius conception. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. A bibliography of work on lucretius, 19451972 jstor. On the nature of things lucretius, martin ferguson smith. It has been hailed in stephen greenblatts bestselling book, the swerve, as the poem that invented modernity. Book ii deals with the motion and forms of the atoms, and. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. Its earliest published translation into any language french. The latin text of lucretius latin and english edition by lucretius, william ellery leonard, et al. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Pleasant it is, when on the great sea the winds the serene sanctuaries of philosophy. Paul friedlander, american journal of philology 1945 titus lucretius carus ca. I care about clarity and ease of reading more than accuracy or aesthetics. An oldspelling critical edition ed repetzki, peter lang 2000 isbn 9780820443881. Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue. Two sets of triple accents balance out the english linesthe first foot an.
Hypertexte sur lucrece french site dedicated to drn 1. Study science in order to rid yourself of unneccesary fears, especially of the gods and death. As an epic, it begins with an invocation to the muse, in this case, venus. French and latin from an early age, and her ms commonplace.
On the nature of things by lucretius, part of the internet classics archive. In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry, he expounds the scientific theories of the greek philosopher epicurus, with the aim of dispelling fear of the gods and fear of death and so enabling man to attain peace of mind and happiness. Jun 26, 2011 lucretius is a really difficult text and you need a translation that will point out his sources and what hes doing with them. Lucretius catalogus translationum et commentariorum. Wikipedia, lexilogos, larousse dictionary, le robert, oxford, grevisse. Lucretius article about lucretius by the free dictionary. My main goal is to understand epicurean philosophy, though of course it would be nice if it sounded good too. In england, the wealthy diarist john evelyn translated the first book of lucretius poem, and isaac newton declared himself an atomist new yorker. On the nature of things lucretius harvard university press. It is a formidable task to put 7,500 latin hexameter lines into english verse, but mr.
Apart from lucretiuss poem almost nothing is known. This elegant new translation at last restores the poetry to one of the greatest and most influential poems in the western tradition. Book iv of lucretius great philosophical poem deals mainly with the psychology of sensation and thought. Illud in his rebus non est mirabile, quare, omnia cum rerum primordia sint in motu, summa tamen summa videatur stare quiete, 310 praeter quam siquid proprio dat corpore motus. This sumptuous account of a secular cosmos argues that the soul is mortal, that pleasure is the. Humphries easy, varied lines are thoroughly readable. The poem was lost during the middle ages, rediscovered in 1417, and first printed in 1473. On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c. Lucretius carus article about lucretius carus by the free. Reissued to accompany stephen greenblatts the swerve. Lucretius carus article about lucretius carus by the. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. Book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi card.
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