De Rerum Natura

Lucretius's Epicurean universe in six books of verse: atoms, the soul's mortality, and the serenity of knowledge.

Specifications & Metrics

author

Lucretius

type

Didactic epic poem

era

Late Republican Rome (c. 50 BC)

language

Latin

verse form

Dactylic hexameter

cantos count

6

Core Principles & Analysis

• Six books present Epicurus's physics and ethics for a Roman patron, Memmius.
• Its rediscovery in 1417 shook Renaissance science and literature.
• The plague of Athens closes it — as the Black Death opened Boccaccio's frame.

Sources

• Wikipedia: De rerum natura