Lucretius's Poetic Enlightenment: A Reading of De rerum natura

Liu Xiaofeng

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art ›› 2012, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (1) : 36-43.

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Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art ›› 2012, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (1) : 36-43.
Issue in Focus: Literature and Intellectual History

Lucretius's Poetic Enlightenment: A Reading of De rerum natura

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Abstract

Besides being the most important philosophical work during the era of the Republic of Rome, De rerum natura [On the Nature of Things] is also the earliest extant long poem in Latin. While its author Lucretius is not only accredited as the most important philosopher in Latin, he is also known as a major poet in ancient Rome. In De rerum natura, Lucretius illustrates obscure philosophical reasonings in lucid and euphonic poetical lines. Thus, it not only renders the sophiticated atomic materialism in a more approachable way, but also initiates a literary form for enlightenment. Based on a close reading of Book 3 of De rerum natura, this paper undertakes to illustrate the importance of Lucretius in the western intellectual history.

Key words

Lucretius / mythology / religion / philosophy / poet

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LIU Xiao-Feng. Lucretius's Poetic Enlightenment: A Reading of De rerum natura[J]. Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, 2012, 32(1): 36-43

References

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