Lucretius de rerum natura book 2 translation english to italian

Lucretius only extant work, written in dactylic hexameter, addressed to gaius memmius who became praetor in 58 bc and failed to be converted. By the mid1600s another translation into english by puritan lucy hutchinson was. Proem tis sweet, when, down the mighty main, the winds roll up its waste of waters, from the land to watch anothers labouring anguish far, not that we joyously delight that man should thus be smitten, but because tis sweet. Lucretius carus first edition lucretius bauman rare. Lucretius catalogus translationum et commentariorum. Titus lucretius carus was probably born in the early first century b. This long didactic poem in six books almost completely preserved was composed in the first century b. Anthony esolen fills that gap with a version that reproduceswith remarkable faithfulnessthe meaning, pace, and tone of the original latin. I dont have an answer and its been ages since i read lucretius, but i can recommend the encyclopedia of literary translation into english as a possible source for an answer. Its entries compare different translations, and there appears to be an entry for lucretius. It is an epic philosophical work about the beliefs of epicureanism.

Lucretiuss on the nature of things is not easy latin. The latin text of lucretius latin and english edition by lucretius, william ellery leonard, et al. 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. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him selfsufficient.

Latin, remained unread and unloved in the englishspeaking world and exer cised no. On the nature of things by lucretius, part of the internet classics archive. Lucretius and the early modern edited by david norbrook, stephen harrison, and philip hardie classical presences. This elegant new translation at last restores the poetry to one of the greatest and most influential poems in the western tradition. Book ii deals with the motion and forms of the atoms, and. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. The most complete text of epicurus writings, with italian translation and notes.

In england, the wealthy diarist john evelyn translated the first book of lucretius poem, and isaac newton declared himself an atomist new yorker. Jun 26, 2011 lucretius is a really difficult text and you need a translation that will point out his sources and what hes doing with them. Leonard and smith lucretius university of wisconsin press 1942. Lucretius refers to memmius by name four times in the first book, three times in the.

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 the gods and fear of death and so enabling man to attain peace of mind and happiness. Study science in order to rid yourself of unneccesary fears, especially of the gods and death. I have translated from my own text published in the bibliotheca oxoniensi. Proem mother of rome, delight of gods and men, dear venus that beneath the gliding stars makest to teem the manyvoyaged main and fruitful lands for all of living things through thee alone are evermore conceived, through thee are risen to visit the great sunbefore thee, goddess, and thy coming on, flee stormy wind and massy cloud away, for thee the daedal earth bears scented flowers, for. Quae quoniam rerum naturam sola gubernas, nec sine te quicquam dias in luminis oras exoritur neque fit laetum neque amabile quicquam, te. Have a look at what they say of his concluding passage, the one where hes translating thucydides as a test. Diogenes biography of epicurus, with the letters and principal doctrines, is in book 10. 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.

Please click here to go to our dedicated site for lucretius. English to english translation of lucretius titus lucretius carus. Jerome tells how he was driven mad by a love potion and. A bibliography of work on lucretius, 19451972 jstor. In it, he set out to explicate the universe, embracing and refuting ideas of the great greek philosophers. 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. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position.

Mother of aeneas and his race, darling of men and venus, aid me in my work gods, nurturing venus, a who beneath the smoothmoving heavenly signs fill with yourself the sea fullladen with ships, the earth that bears the crops, since through you every kind of living thing is conceived and rising up looks on the light of the sun. On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c. Lucretius simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Presents a wide selection of case studies which explore how different readers have responded. Prepared from the sphere library book, translated martin ferguson smith 1969. This sumptuous account of a secular cosmos argues that the soul is mortal, that pleasure is the object of life, and. Little is known of his life, although two tantalizing bits of gossip were passed on by st. At the beginning of book 2 of his poem, the poet compares the prospect of a person. Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this book to your organisations collection. The cambridge companion to lucretius edited by stuart gillespie. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics through richly poetic language and metaphors.

Saint jerome tells of how he became insane because of a love potion and wrote his poetry in between fits of insanity. Villa i tatti harvard university center for italian renaissance studies, and the. Introduction to lucretius on the nature of things cyril baley o. Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue. Until now, there has been no adequate english verse translation of lucretiuss work. Home collectionstexts perseus catalog research grants open source about help. This is an interesting work to read, useful for promoting understanding of classical epicureanism notes mostly extracted from the text. The cambridge companion to lucretius edited by stuart. Preface no one can set about tnnslating lucretius into english without finding his head full of the great work of h.

Book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi card. The internet classics archive on the nature of things by. A volume which no student of lucretius, of the classics, of philosophic literature can afford to ignore. No one can set about tnnslating lucretius into english. If livy is easy and horace is hard, then lucretius is much closer to horace in difficulty. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. Its earliest published translation into any language french. No one can set about translating lucretius into english without finding his head full of the great work of h. It is an epic philosophical work about the beliefs of epicureanism there are not any details about his life. The poem, written in dactylic hexameter, is divided into six books, and concentrates heavily on epicurean physics. Henri bergson, the philosophy of poetry, the genius of lucretius translated and edited by wade.