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-- A brief biography of Lucretius -- History of materialist theory of the universe -- Detailed discussion of Lucretian originality and style -- Section on meter -- Bibliography The text includes 53 passages (1291 lines total) spanning the entire

Lucretius’ philosophical epic De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things) is a lengthy didactic and narrative celebration of the universe and, in particular, the world of nature and creation in which humanity finds its abode. This earliest surviving full scale epic poem from ancient Rome was of immense influence and significance to the development of the Latin epic tradition, and continues to challenge and haunt its readers to the present day. A Reading of Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura offers a comprehensive commentary on this great work of Roman poetry and philosophy. Lee Fratantuono reveals Lucretius to be a poet with deep and abiding interest in the nature of the Roman identity as the children of both Venus (through Aeneas) and Mars (through Romulus); the consequences (both positive and negative) of descent from the immortal powers of love and war are explored in vivid epic narrative, as the poet progresses from his invocation to the mother of the children of Aeneas through to the burning funeral pyres of the plague at Athens. Lucretius’ epic offers the possibility of serenity and peaceful reflection on the mysteries of the nature of the world, even as it shatters any hope of immortality through its bleak vision of post mortem oblivion. And in the process of defining what it means both to be human and Roman, Lucretius offers a horrifying vision of the perils of excessive devotion both to the gods and our fellow men, a commentary on the nature of pietas that would serve as a warning for Virgil in his later depiction of the Trojan Aeneas.

Lucretius' account of the origin of life, the origin of species, and human prehistory is the longest and most detailed account extant from the ancient world. It gives an anti-teleological mechanistic theory of zoogony and the origin of species that does away with the need for any divine aidor design in the process, and accordingly it has been seen as a forerunner of Darwin's theory of evolution. This commentary locates Lucretius in both the ancient and modern contexts, and treats Lucretius' ideas as very much alive rather than as historical concepts. The recent revival of creationismmakes this study particularly relevant to contemporary debate, and indeed, many of the central questions posed by creationists are those Lucretius attempts to answer.

A detailed philological and interpretative reading of Ovid's most neglected poem, the Remedia Amoris. In her immersive, creatively interpretative guide to the poem, Victoria Rimell's commentary resets critical perspectives by reading the Remedia as distinctive and original, and as a pivotal text within Ovid's oeuvre.

Takes stock of existing approaches in the interpretation of Lucretius, innovates within these, and advances in new directions.

Augustan love elegy represents one of the most important and most distinctive Roman contributions to European and world literature. This volume presents the first detailed commentary in any language on Ovid's Amores Book 3, the last collection of love poems composed in the Augustan age. Aimed at both students and scholars, the commentary has been written to be as accessible to as many readers as possible, with all quotations from ancient Greek and modern languages being translated. It includes an Introduction for the general reader which pays particular attention not only to the book's poetic design and the distinctive features of Ovid's style, but the relationship of the whole three-book collection to earlier love elegy and its handling of political and social questions. It offers an edition of the text of Book 3 based on printed editions together with a translation designed to clarify the surface meaning of the Latin. P. J. Davis's commentary focuses on topics including Ovid's engagement with the works of earlier poets, his use of rhetoric and wit, his employment of verbal and metrical patterns, textual difficulties, and, of course, the elucidation of linguistic problems. Amores Book 3 takes love elegy in new directions giving us, for example, a dream-vision poem, a dutiful husband's account of a religious pilgrimage, and the speech of a pickup artist trying to seduce a girl at the races. Perhaps its most striking feature is its shift away from obsession with a single mistress to reflection on the poet's place in the tradition of Latin love poetry, with poems explicitly devoted to issues raised by Catullus, Tibullus, and Propertius.