Lucretius
De Rerum Natura — Epicurean physics as poetry
The poet of atoms. De Rerum Natura sets out the entire Epicurean physics — atoms falling through the void, the mortality of the soul, the indifference of the gods — in hexameter verse of astonishing power. Its rediscovery in 1417 by Poggio Bracciolini helped ignite the Renaissance.
Key works
- De Rerum Natura~55 BC— On the Nature of Things — the universe explained in verse