This elegant new translation at last restores the poetry to one of the greatest and most influential poems in the Western tradition. "De Rerum Natura" is Lucretius' majestic elaboration of Greek Epicurean physics and psychology in an epic that unfolds over the course of six books. 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. Renowned author, translator, and poet David R. Slavitt has captured Lucretius' elegance as well as his philosophical profundity in this highly readable translation of a poem that is crucial to the history of ancient thought.
- ISBN10 0520254252
- ISBN13 9780520254251
- Publish Date 6 August 2008
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 13 August 2013
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of California Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 320
- Language English