Lucretius

Wisconsin Bookwatch, April, 2005

Lucretius

John Godwin

Bristol Classical Press/Duckworth

c/o International Publishers Marketing

22841 Quicksilver Dr., Dulles, VA 20166

www.ducknet.co.uk

1853996718 $20.00 1-800-758-3756

Lucretius is a biography of the Roman poet Lucretius, who lived in the first century BC and composed an epic poem, De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things) meant to motivate people to change how they lived their lives, abandon fear of the gods and death, and work toward obtaining true happiness. Examining the particulate nature of the world and human's role in it, De Rerum Natura is a philosophical masterpiece; expert translator and Shrewsbury School Head of Classics John Godwin discusses the nuances of its work, both in the context of its era and in its transcendental message about positive change. By gathering all that is known of Lucretius, the fullness of his poem can best be framed against the background of the visionary who wrote it and the world he lived in. A highly recommended to both classical literature and biography shelves.