The third book of Lucretius' great poem on the workings of the universe is devoted entirely to expounding the implications of Epicurus' dictum that death does not matter, 'is nothing to us'. The soul is not immortal: it no more exists after the dissolution of the body than it had done before its birth. Only if this fact is accepted can men rid themselves of irrational fears and achieve the state of ataraxia, freedom from mental disturbance, on which the Epicurean definition of pleasure was based. To present this case Lucretius deploys the full range of poetic and rhetorical registers, soberly prohibitive, artfully decorative or passionately emotive as best suits his argument, reinforcing it with vivid and compelling imagery. This new edition has been completely revised, with a considerably enlarged Commentary and a new supplementary introduction taking account of the great amount of new scholarship of the last forty years.
By:
Lucretius Edited by:
E. J. Kenney (University of Cambridge) Imprint: Cambridge University Press Country of Publication: United Kingdom Edition: 2nd Revised edition Dimensions:
Height: 215mm,
Width: 137mm,
Spine: 16mm
Weight: 340g ISBN:9780521173896 ISBN 10: 0521173892 Series:Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics Pages: 268 Publication Date:14 August 2014 Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
