num_pages: 272
description: The De Rerum Natura of Lucretius is a sustained and impassioned protest against religious superstition and irrationality. The poem takes the form of a detailed exposition of Epicurean physical theory - an extreme materialism designed to remove and discredit popular fears of the gods, death and an afterlife. Book III is generally accepted to be the finest in the whole poem; Lucretius argues there that the soul is as mortal as the body and shows that human response to the fact of mortality and death can be at once rational, dignified and liberating. Professor Kenney's commentary is the first to give proper critical emphasis to the techniques and intentions of Lucretius' poetry; it can be read with profit by all students of Latin from senior school level upwards.
language: English
title: De Rerum Natura
titlecomplete: De Rerum Natura (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)
genres: Classics, Roman, History, Philosophy, Ancient History, Ancient, Science, Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 13176
awards: awardedAt: -31507200000
name: National Book Award Finalist
category: Translation
publisher: Cambridge University Press