ABSTRACT
Titus Lucretius Carus was an ardent disciple of Epicurus and the author of the De Rerum Natura, one of the greatest poems in Latin. Lucretius burns with devotion to the Greek philosopher Epicurus, whom he regards as the saviour of humanity. The De Rerum Natura is Lucretius’ attempt to spread the gospel of Epicureanism. The De Rerum Natura is an epic poem which tries to establish the truth of the Epicurean atomic hypothesis and show how it can successfully account for all natural phenomena. Lucretius explains his choice of epic poetry as the vehicle to express such arguments by comparing himself to a doctor. Lucretius explicitly claims to be following in the footsteps of Epicurus, and so chances are that little of his argumentation is original. Most of the particulars of the atomic theory that Lucretius expounds have been subsequently disproven.
