Lucretius's scientific poem On the Nature of Things (
c. 60 BC
) has a remarkable description of Brownian motion of dust particles in verses 113–140 from Book II. He uses this as a proof of the existence of atoms.
What does Lucretius say about nature?
On the Nature of Things serves as the basis for our understanding of Epicurean physics and cosmology. The world, according to Lucretius,
is mortal and made up entirely of atoms and void
. All physical things are created out of the chance conjunction of atoms; death is nothing besides the disjunction of these atoms.
Who wrote De Rerum Natura?
Lucretius, in full Titus Lucretius Carus
, (flourished 1st century bce), Latin poet and philosopher known for his single, long poem, De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things).
Why does Lucretius start with an invocation of Venus in his book on the nature of the universe?
This paper addresses the question, ‘Why did Lucretius choose Venus as his Muse? ‘ My answer is twofold: Venus represents both physical and spiritual re- newal. In the first place,
she represents the continual renewal of nature through the creative energy of the atoms
.
When was De Rerum Natura rediscovered?
Lucretius's De rerum natura has become a hot topic in contemporary scholarship. Lost until its rediscovery in
1417
, Lucretius's cosmological poem portraying a universe made up of atoms moving in the void has been the subject of at least a dozen major scholarly works since 2003.
Why did Lucretius write On the Nature of Things as a poem?
This meant that humans had nothing to fear from them. Lucretius's task was to
clearly state
and fully develop these views in an attractive form; his work was an attempt to show through poetry that everything in nature can be explained by natural laws, without the need for the intervention of divine beings.
Was Lucretius an epicurean?
Titus Lucretius Carus (died mid to late 50s BCE) was an
Epicurean poet
of the late Roman republican era.
When was Lucretius on the nature of things written?
Lucretius's scientific poem On the Nature of Things (
c. 60 BC
) has a remarkable description of Brownian motion of dust particles in verses 113–140 from Book II. He uses this as a proof of the existence of atoms.
How long is on the Nature of Things by Lucretius?
LUCRETI CARI DE RERUM NATURA.” “On the Nature of Things,” by Titus Lucretius Carus, is not an easy read.
Totalling seventy-four hundred lines
, it is written in hexameters, the standard unrhymed six-beat lines in which Latin poets like Virgil and Ovid, imitating Homer's Greek, cast their epic poetry.
Did Darwin read Lucretius?
In the 19th century, when Charles Darwin investigated the origin of species,
he no longer had to read Lucretius'
ideas about evolution directly. His grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, had read Lucretius and been influenced by him in his scientific work, and the grandson was much influenced by the grandfather.
Did Lucretius believe free will?
Lucretius (1st century BCE), a strong supporter of Epicurus,
saw the randomness as enabling free will
, even if he could not explain exactly how, beyond the fact that random swerves would break the causal chain of determinism.
What did Lucretius contribute to the atomic theory?
But it is clear, in all his work, that Lucretius conceived two things as quite constant: atoms were neither created nor destroyed, and their motion could neither be created nor destroyed. He believed that
each atom kept its velocity unaltered
.
What was Lucretius goal?
Epicureans were not atheists, but believed that the gods had no interest in humanity or our world. Lucretius' mission is to
explain that physics in beautiful poetry, to make it more understandable and more palatable to his readership than its occasional philosophical obscurity might otherwise be
.
Is Lucretius atheist?
Lucretius follows a materialist philosophy that denies any purpose to the creation of the universe or humanity and asserts that the soul is mortal and there is no afterlife. … But Lucretius is not, at least on paper,
an atheist
, nor is Epicureanism an atheist philosophy.
Who was De Rerum Natura addressed to?
Notes mostly extracted from the text: Lucretius' only extant work, written in dactylic hexameter, addressed to
Gaius Memmius
(who became praetor in 58 BC and failed to be converted) , written c. 59 BC, possibly incomplete and lacking final revision. He faithfully reproduces the doctrines or Epicurus.
What does Lucretius mean by death is nothing to us?
This leads Lucretius to thus conclude that “death is nothing to us” — because it literally will be nothing to us:
there is nothing to experience in death, because the experiencer no longer exists
. … All sensation and consciousness ends with death and therefore in death there is neither pleasure nor pain.”
What is the swerve philosophy?
“The Swerve” refers to
a key conception in the ancient atomistic theories according to which atoms moving through the void are subject to clinamen
: while falling straight through the void, they are sometimes subject to a slight, unpredictable swerve. …
Was Catullus an Epicurean?
Catullus subscribed
to Epicurean philosophy
, and his poetry, in keeping with his Epicurean beliefs, deals rather explicitly with amorous love.
What was Epicurus the victor over?
Epicurus (341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school
of philosophy
. … He advocated that people were best able to pursue philosophy by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends.
Was Lucretius Greek or Roman?
Lucretius (Titus Lucretius Carus) was a
Roman poet
and the author of the philosophical epic De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of the Universe), a comprehensive exposition of the Epicurean world-view. Very little is known of the poet's life, though a sense of his character and personality emerges vividly from his poem.
What is the difference between stoicism and epicureanism?
In summary, a
simple heuristic
to remember the difference between the Stoics and the Epicureans: The Stoics cared about virtuous behavior and living according to nature, while the Epicureans were all about avoiding pain and seeking natural and necessary pleasure.
What did Lucretius say about religion?
According to Lucretius,
religion gives rise to the unreasonable desire, or is born of the desire, to make man at home in what seems to be an uncaring world. It therefore cannot be the path to happiness
.
What is the swerve Lucretius?
‘The Swerve': The Ideas That Rooted The Renaissance Stephen Greenblatt chronicles the unlikely discovery of Lucretius' poem “On the Nature of Things” — by a 15th-century Italian book hunter. The Swerve is
a masterfully written meditation on the fragile inheritance of ideas
.
Is Lucretius worth reading?
Why should you read Lucretius? His poem is
one of the great works of classical Latin poetry
, one which influenced many subsequent Roman poets, notably Virgil. It has the added benefit of laying out Lucretius' remarkable thinking about the invisible workings of nature.
What is the best translation of De Rerum Natura?
Lucretius' single poem, De Rerum Natura, which can be translated ‘
On the Nature of Things' or (as it is here) ‘On the Nature of the Universe
‘, may well be thought the best philosophy in classical Latin, superior to Cicero or Seneca in intellectual seriousness and sustained power of argument.
How does Lucretius view death?
Focus on staying healthy. The fear of
death is irrational
, according to Lucretius, because once people die they will not be sad, judged by gods or pity their family; they will not be anything at all. “Death is nothing to us,” he says. Not fearing death is easier said than done.
What argument does Lucretius give for why nothing can be destroyed?
He proves the principle that he regards as its companion piece,
nothing can ever be destroyed totally into nothing
, in a similar way: if nature permitted total annihilation, any given thing could be wiped away to nothing instantly, with the merest touch required to destroy it; that not being the case, instead it must …
How do you cite Lucretius on the nature of things?
- APA. Lucretius. (2007). The nature of things. Penguin Classics.
- Chicago. Lucretius. 2007. The Nature of Things. London, England: Penguin Classics.
- MLA. Lucretius. The Nature of Things. Penguin Classics, 2007.
How does Lucretius describe death?
Lucretius employs a common dichotomy to organize his case against such fears: death is
either the utter destruction of the person who dies, or it is not and the person survives in some form
. Lucretius argues for two key claims: first, that there is no post-mortem survival and, second, that non-survival is not harmful.
Who founded stoicism?
Stoicism takes its name from the place where its founder,
Zeno of Citium
(Cyprus), customarily lectured—the Stoa Poikile (Painted Colonnade). Zeno, who flourished in the early 3rd century bce, showed in his own doctrines the influence of earlier Greek attitudes, particularly those mentioned above.
Was Lucretius a materialist?
Lucretius was
the first from within this tradition to produce a true and radical materialism of sensation and the body
. However, like Homer, Lucretius also paid the ultimate price for his materialist sins and was largely exiled from the discipline of philosophy.
What is the contribution of Lucretius?
Lucretius was a Roman poet and philosopher who wrote “De rerum natura” (On the Nature of Things), an
epic poem
widely regarded as one of the most influential works in history of literature, philosophy and science.
What did Lucretius call atoms?
When 19th-century physicists talked about large sets of atoms, some called them “
assemblies
.” That was pure Lucretius. He used the Latin word for the Greek citizens' assembly when he talked about aggregate atomic behavior.
How did Antoine Lavoisier contribute to the atomic theory?
A later breakthrough in the discovery of the atomic model came through the work of French chemist Antoine Lavoisier who through a series of experiments found
that the total mass of products and reactants in a chemical reactions is always the same
. This led to the theory of the law of conservation of mass.
What did Dalton contribute to the atom?
Dalton's atomic theory proposed that
all matter was composed of atoms, indivisible and indestructible building blocks
. While all atoms of an element were identical, different elements had atoms of differing size and mass.
