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On the Nature of Things, by Lucretius
PDF Ebook On the Nature of Things, by Lucretius
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Martin Ferguson Smith's work on Lucretius is both well known and highly regarded. However, his 1969 translation of De Rerum Natura--long out of print--is virtually unknown. Readers will share our excitement in the discovery of this accurate and fluent prose rendering. For this edition, Professor Smith provides a revised translation, new Introduction, headnotes and bibliography.
- Sales Rank: #96450 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Hackett Publishing Co.
- Published on: 2001-09-01
- Original language: Latin
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.25" h x 5.50" w x .50" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 224 pages
Features
Review
Martin Ferguson Smith has for many years been one of the leading Lucretian scholars in the world. . . . We should expect from the beginning then that we are in the hands of a wise and learned guide as soon as we open his Lucretius, and this expectation is certainly borne out by the quality of this sensitive and thoughtful edition. . . . The Introduction . . . is excellent. Smith outlines in a highly accessible manner what little is known of Lucretius' life and times, the poem's position and status in the Epic and Didactic tradition, and the philosophy of Epicurus that Lucretius puts forward, but also manages to include some of the most up to date research, including recent scholarship on the Herculaneum papyri. . . . But of course, the translation is the most important part of the work . . . [and] it is streets ahead of the competition. . . . I can recommend this book unreservedly. --Gordon Campbell, Hermathena
The translation is accurate, clear, readable, and vigorous. The introduction is excellent. It provides the basic information to the non-specialist reader without overburdening him or her with excessive details. The background on what is known of Lucretius' life, contemporary events, and Epicureanism is all very helpful. Smith has incorporated the most recent research, including the new discoveries of Epicurean materials from Herculaneum. --Charles Segal, Harvard University
For anyone concerned to understand the Epicurean philosophical tradition from the inside, the republication, in an updated version, of Martin Ferguson Smith's little-known translation of Lucretius is welcome news. Meticulous, judicious and reader-friendly in equal measure, it embodies the fruits of a lifetime's study of Lucretius' poetic masterpiece. --David Sedley, Christ's College, University of Cambridge
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin
About the Author
Martin Ferguson Smith is Prof. of Classics Emeritus, Univ. of Durham, United Kingdom. Among his scholarly achievements are his revisions of the Rouse translation of De Rerum Natura for the Loeb Classical Library.
Most helpful customer reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
smoothest translation of a thorny path
By drollere
the reader has a basic choice between prose and verse translations of lucretius's poem: i recommend this prose version, or the rouse translation in the loeb classical library, as the best choices. the difficulty with verse translations is that they are forced to become paraphrases or liberal interpretations in order to satisfy the prosody. prose brings out most accurately lucretius's choice of terms, unwinds his obscure expressions and intricate syntax, and reduces the distance between author and reader.
ferguson smith's edition is beautifully conceived, with outline headnotes to each "book" or chapter, an excellent introduction and footnotes, and a clean typeface. the translation tactfully smooths out some of the thorniest lucretian passages, but rises to the poetry of the original through apt and economical turns of phrase. it's a pleasure to read.
lucretius was a roman aristocrat during the reigns of tiberius, caligula and claudius. one should read suetonius or tacitus, and lucian's "alexander the false prophet" from a later era, to grasp the appalling and degrading mixture of tyranny, paranoia, superstition, depravity, rumor and random brutality under which the roman elite lived. tacitus affirms that many prominent men and women from influential families committed suicide rather than cloak their fear in flattery; cults of conjurers and magicians thrived, and the most preposterous rumors or superstitions were believed as fact.
the ambition of lucretius's poem was to remedy that. it is not so much a "scientific" essay as an attempt to use empirical or materialistic explanations of the world as a bulwark against "religion" -- superstition, false gods, belief in magic, fear of death, and anxiety about the future. religion is not attacked because it is false, but because it nurtures fear and ignorance:
"This terror then and darkness of mind must be dispelled not by the rays of the sun and glittering shafts of day, but by the aspect and the law of nature."
the gods are not denied, but described as impassive and remote, too blissful to bother with human affairs; the reader need not fear their meddling or punishment. at the same time, the goddess venus is evoked in the opening lines as a symbol of the world's abundance in beautiful and good things, the blessings that bring us closest to the divine.
in place of ritual and magic, human reason and trust in the fundamentally lawful fabric of the world provide the path to "ataraxia" or robust calm. great stress is put on finding benign or naturalistic explanations for events that might arouse fear. these alternate with passages of sensual, vivid or fanciful poetry that celebrate the beautiful "aspect" of the world -- the starry sky, a calm sea, a verdant landscape, the act of love, a summer "f�te champ�tre", a grazing flock, the peace of philosophy. even the eventual passing of all things, from individual death to the destruction of the earth itself, are cast as part of the natural process of the world, "the way things are."
the claim that lucretius was indifferent to social morality is a bit misplaced: several times he mentions war as the greatest evil, and the poem abruptly ends with a passage deploring the social upheavals caused by an athenian plague, perhaps to prepare the description of a just and peaceful society that was never finished. in any case, lucretius believed that dispelling anxious beliefs was a better way to encourage individual right thinking than was preaching moral codes about right conduct. (when this happened, with epictetus, the moral precepts were presented as a careful student's notes.)
there are many "scientific" howlers and wild conjectures in lucretius, amusing to read today, but there are also many passages where logic, analogy or observation are turned to some astonishingly perceptive insights about the world -- including a concise rebuttal of "intelligent design" in the universe. the remarkable ambition of this poem dispels easy ridicule, and provides a fascinating window into the earliest forms of scientific reasoning. in every line lucretius seeks to replace superstition with reason, and encourage a naturalistic outlook to overcome the depravity of a superstitious spirit.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
lucretius /On Nature of Things
By Toro Seduto
Excellent, clarified translation makes for enjoyable reading, easily absorbed almost as a fiction novel. Read this after reading "The Swerve" and other excellent books from Amazon on Roman history.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Great prose translation
By Steve L
I wanted to read "On the Nature of Things" but when I tried reading the verse version it felt hopeless. Then I heard about this prose translation, and gave it a shot. It's fantastic. It reads super-clearly, and flows really well. (Don't be put off by the prayer to Venus on the first couple of pages!) Smith's introduction is really good too -- I highly recommend reading it before you read the actual text.
One additional thing: some might claim that reading this work in prose is "cheating." But Lucretius' stated purpose in writing this in verse is to make it an easier, more pleasurable read for the average reader. Thus, given that nowadays we're more used to prose than verse, I think Lucretius would highly approve of us reading a prose translation. The key for Lucretius is that we understand the ideas, however they're presented.
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