Lucretius: De Rerum Natura: Book IV (Aris and Phillips Classical Texts) (Bk. 4)

Book IV of Lucretius' great philosophical poem deals mainly with the psychology of sensation ad thought. The heart of this book is a new text, incorporating the latest scholarship on the text of Lucretius, with a clear prose facing translation. The commentary concentrates on the thought of the text (relating it to other philosophers beside Epicurus) and the poetry of the Latin, placing the text in relation to Roman literature in general, and attempting to demonstrate the poetic genius of Lucretius. The introduction deals with the didactic tradition in ancient literature and Lucretius' place in it, the structure of De Rerum Natura, the salient features of the philosophy of Epicurus and the transmission of the text. Book IV of Lucretius'great philosophical poem deals mainly with the psychology of sensation and thought. The heart of this book is a new text, incorporating the latest scholarship on the text of Lucretius, with a clear prose facing translation. The commentary concentrates on the thought of the text (relating it to other philosophers beside Epicurus) and the poetry of the Latin, placing the text in relation to Roman literature in general, and attempting to demonstrate the poetic genius of Lucretius. The introduction deals with the didactic tradition in ancient literature and Lucretius'place in it, the structure of De Rerum Natura, the salient features of the philosophy of Epicurus and the transmission of the text. The purpose of this edition is to demonstrate the quality and interest of book VI: the intellectual curiosity of the analyst of earthquakes, volcanoes and marvellous phenomena, the rhetorical and philosophical powers of a thinker who wants to make his interpretation of Epicureanism both cogent and vivid, the deep humane compassion of the ... Cover 1 Title Page 2 Copyright Page 3 Contents 4 Preface 6 Bibliography & Abbreviations 8 Introduction 14 Lucretius: Poet and Philosopher 14 The Structure of Book IV 20 The Transmission of the Text 22 Notes to Introduction 23 De Rerum Natura IV 24 Text and Translation 24 Commentary 96 Edited With Translation And Commentary By John Godwin. English And Latin. Bibliography: P. Vii-xii.