On the Nature of Things

Translated by William Ellery Leonard

On the Nature of Things (De rerum natura) is a first century
BC epic poem by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius with the goal of
explaining Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, written in
dactylic hexameter, is divided into six books, and concentrates heavily on
Epicurean physics. It deals with the principles of atomism; the nature of the
mind and soul; explanations of sensation and thought; the development of the
world and its phenomena; and explains a variety of celestial and terrestrial
phenomena. The poem grandly proclaims the reality of our role in a universe
which is ruled by chance, with no interference from gods. It is a statement of
personal responsibility in a world in which everyone is driven by hungers and
passions with which they were born and do not understand.

— Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.