On the Nature of Things by Titus Lucretius Carus, William Ellery Leonard — Bibliomancer edition cover

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Fiction · about 50 BC

On the Nature of Things

Titus Lucretius Carus · translated by William Ellery Leonard

Reading time
about 5.5 h
Length
73,915 words · 196 pages
Structure
25 sections · 7 front-matter sections
Language
English (translated from Latin)
Era
Ancient

On the Nature of Things, first published in about 50 BC, has been pulled into the Bibliomancer archive: the complete text, carefully cleaned and typeset, free to read online. Its editorial introduction is still being prepared.

Contents

  1. Book I
  2. Proem
  3. Substance Is Eternal
  4. The Void
  5. Nothing Exists Per Se Except Atoms and the Void
  6. Character of the Atoms
  7. Confutation of Other Philosophers
  8. The Infinity of the Universe
  9. Book II
  10. Proem
  11. Atomic Motions
  12. Atomic Forms and Their Combinations
  13. Absence of Secondary Qualities
  14. Infinite Worlds
  15. Book III
  16. Proem
  17. Nature and Composition of the Mind
  18. The Soul Is Mortal
  19. Folly of the Fear of Death
  20. Book IV
  21. Proem
  22. Existence and Character of the Images
  23. The Senses and Mental Pictures
  24. Some Vital Functions
  25. The Passion of Love
  26. Book V
  27. Proem
  28. Argument of the Book and New Proem
  29. The World Is Not Eternal
  30. Formation of the World and Astronomical Questions
  31. Origins of Vegetable and Animal Life
  32. Origins and Savage Period of Mankind
  33. Beginnings of Civilization
  34. Book VI
  35. Proem
  36. Great Meteorological Phenomena, Etc
  37. Extraordinary and Paradoxical Telluric Phenomena
  38. The Plague Athens

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About this edition

The text is free of copyright. This edition was prepared from an authoritative digitisation, processed by Bibliomancer under its own review protocol; every automated correction is recorded in its transformation log. Rights assessed for CA, EU, GB, US.

Part of Ancient Thought.

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