An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. On the nature of things by lucretius, part of the internet classics archive. The history of rome, book 4, summary ab urbe condita, books 34. Titus lucretius carus was a roman poet and philosopher. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. For health reasons he has recently passed the maintenance of the library to someone new who will continue it in the same spirit. If livy is easy and horace is hard, then lucretius is much closer to horace in difficulty. Lucretius on the nature of things online library of. Includes lexica, a morphological database, catalog of hundreds of vases, sculptures, coins, buildings, and architectural sites, an atlas of greece with satellite maps, a historical encyclopedia, works of. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a.
Texts in latin or english of lucretius and related authors. For texts in the original greek or latin, look at the archives of texts first. Lucretius creation, in lines 432508 of book 5, is basically the epicurean idea of how. On the nature of things following closely behind diogenes laertius in significance is the lengthy poem in which lucretius faithfully captures epicurean doctrine, probably as originally written in narrative form in epicurus on nature. Throughout the first three books of on the nature of the universe lucretius walks a thin line between philosophy, science and poetry. Lucretius tells us about an earlier time, when humanity was the.
The perseus digital library has a translation that begins, mother of rome, delight of gods and men, and. Lucretius divided his argument into six books, beginning each with a highly polished introduction. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics through poetic. This massive collection includes important greek and latin classics in their original languages. Professor of latin and head of the department of classics in the university of pittsburgh. Lucretius and epicurean philosophy following democritus atomic theory of the universe argue that nature consists of indivisible and unchanging elements, atoms, whose movements and combinations give rise to the perceived world. On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c. Perseus digital library of classical and other texts, images and reference works. The way things are and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. The latest version of the digital library, perseus 4. Jan 26, 2016 lucretius s optical theory and doctrines of how the senses work seem rather convoluted and bizarre. 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.
Sterility is the consequence of excessively thick or dainty semen in either parent, or basic inconsistency of their. This poem was written for an audience well versed in the details of life and culture in. The poem is the fullest extant statement of the physical theory of the greek philosopher epicurus. Jul 31, 2010 in this book, he sought to dispel the notion of gods governing the universe, and demonstrate the natural causes of all things based on a few premises, from thunderbolts to earthquakes, from the nature of disease to the nature of the mind, from the beginning of the earth to the development of society. Index of primary latin texts classical latin texts the packard humanities institute bibliotheca augustana intratext literature. Greek text available at the perseus digital library.
Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. Perseus digital library a library of materials pertaining to ancient greece, which is expanding to include resources on ancient rome. So if the info on the perseus digital library is correct, what is being sold as humphries translation is actually leonards translation. And whosoever day after day for long to games have given attention undivided, still they keep. Oct 28, 2020 open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Lucretius then addresses memmius and lays out what he hopes to cover in this work. Lucretius s scientific poem on the nature of things c. On the nature of things by lucretius the internet classics archive. Perseus is a nonprofit enterprise, located in the department of the classics, tufts university. Works by lucretius at perseus project internet encyclopedia of philosophy entry by.
Book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi card. Publius ovidius naso, metamorphoses translated by brookes more 18591942. Digital latin library publishes new critical editions of l. The perseus digital library at tufts university will host a twoday workshop that provides an overview of a sample, practical digital editions creation workflow. On the nature of things book 4 summary freebooksummary. Jul 22, 2017 the following document presents a request for proposals rfp for the scaife digital library viewer. The perseus digital library has a translation that begins, mother of rome.
Lucretius dispatches rapidly into his logical contentions, clarifying that the feeling of vision is made conceivable by pictures, frames whose surface is fine to such an extent that they cant be seen independently book iv, line 89. Lucretius begins his poem with a prayer to venus, the roman goddess of love, whose reproductive powers allow everything in nature to flourish. In the closing sections of books 3 and 4 lucretius brilliantly deploys his poetical genius, his command of rhetoric, his satirical power, and his missionary fervor to deliver with maximum effect physicsbased ethical messages. The perseus digital library is pleased to acknowledge the recent contributions of the center for hellenic studies chs 2019 digital humanities summer interns and research team on the corpus of plutarchs moralia. The release is, of course, a first step, but this first step changes the world in at least two fundamental ways. The perseus project version 4 also known as perseus hopper is a digital library project of tufts university, which assembles digital collections of humanities resources. Greek and latin grammars and commentaries are also included. Latina corpus scriptorum latinorum bibliotheca latina white trash scriptorium the philological museum pomoerium. On the nature of things work by lucretius britannica. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics through poetic language and metaphors. Subject page for greek and latin university of oslo library. Text in latin at the latin library full latin text of drn drn in latin german website with a summary of drn in latin, plus latin text of the poem.
For more than twenty years, the latin library has been a labor of love for its maintainer, william l. Lucretius has 122 books on goodreads with 83073 ratings. This is a developing project, so check again later for further details as they. He asks her to bring charm to his words that will help them to endure. In books i and ii lucretius presents the principles of atomism. The internet classics archive on the nature of things by. Books i and ii establish the main principles of the atomic universe, refute the rival theories of the presocratic cosmic philosophers heracleitus, empedocles, and anaxagoras, and covertly attack the stoics, a school of moralists rivaling that of epicurus. The initial version of the scaife digital library viewer must support searching and reading of the open greek and latin collection within a new version of perseus perseus 5. This is where we have an opportunity with the perseus digital library.
Lucretius then addresses memmius and lays out what he hopes to cover in. On the nature of things was rediscovered in a monastic library in 1417 by poggio. In book 4 he sets out to prove once again that the universe is composed only of physical bits of matter called atoms and that gods did not create the cosmos nor do they intervene in human affairs. I, alice lillian albarda, grant permission to the university librarian at acadia university. As such, it is unique in latin literature, as the later roman reception of greek philosophy was heavily influenced by ciceros rejection of epicureanism. Suave, mari magno turbantibus aequora ventis, e terra magnum alterius spectare laborem. Digital editions in practice, a twoday workshop may 31june 1, 2019. Nothing gets lost in translation in the perseus digital library. Lives and opinions of eminent philosophers, chapter xii this work is the most important remaining source of information about epicurean philosophy, and it contains a number of letters represented to have been written by epicurus himself c. Many comments have been posted about on the nature of things. The perseus digital library has a translation that begins, mother of rome, delight of gods and men, and indicates the. Lucretius also tells us in this prayer that he is writing this work for his friend, memmius. So, if you know a little latin, but youre not really great at it, this compact volume with the latin on the lefthand page and the english on the right, is the book for you.
The perseus project is funded by the digital libraries initiative phase 2, the national endowment for the humanities, the national science foundation, the institute of museum and library services, private donations, and tufts university. Namely, lucretius explores the principles of atomism. The problem is to do that, you had to go to a library with an elaborate print infrastructure. Lucretius outlines the flaws as he sees them in ancient religion, that the souls of. On the nature of things by lucretius nemos library. Writing four centuries after lucretiuss death, he enters under the 171st. See reference page for directories of online books, etc. Lucretius closes this book with a short exchange of heredity. The project is mirrored by the max planck society in berlin, germany, as well as by the university of chicago. The two people have semen, he accepts, and whichever accomplices seed overwhelms the others will figure out which accomplice their youngster will most take after. The perseus digital library is a partner and supporter of open greek and latin, an international collaboration committed to creating an open educational resource featuring a corpus of digital texts, deepreading tools, and opensource software.
It also alludes to his ethical and logical doctrines life. Perseus digital library updates news and announcements from. The perseus digital library has a translation that begins, mother of rome, delight of gods and men, and indicates the translation is by william ellery leonard. Consider the whole discussion of how the rooster emits certain particles which stab the pupils of the lion 4. And we ourselves indeed to make this book, and still to seek the nature of the world and set it down, when once discovered, here in these my countrys leaves. On the nature of the universe book 4 throughout the first three books of on the nature of the universe lucretius walks a thin line between philosophy, science and poetry. The first section of book 1 can be viewed by clicking here, you can then use the. Still, lucretius lays out some of his principles in their strongest form. Apart from lucretius s poem almost nothing is known about him. For the latin text i used the online edition at the perseus digital library and the loeb edition, carus t.
Preface no one can set about tnnslating lucretius into english without finding his head full of the great work of h. Thus all pursuits, all arts in general seem in sleeps to mock and master the minds of men. You have a book, and you read the book, and you get immersed into it. Lucretius most famous passage is his argument in book iii that one. You had to have a lot of time to run around, look the books up. Lucretius s on the nature of things is not easy latin. Lucretius s most popular book is the way things are.
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