David Halberstam
American writer, journalist, historian
Lucretius
1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem De rerum natura, a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is translated into English as On the Nature of Things–and somewhat less often as On the Nature of the Universe.
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About the Lucretius
Titus Lucretius Caruswas a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem De rerum natura, a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is translated into English as On the Nature of Things–and somewhat less often as On the Nature of the Universe.
Very little is known about Lucretius’s life; the only certainty is that he was either a friend or client of Gaius Memmius, to whom the poem was addressed and dedicated. De rerum natura was a considerable influence on the Augustan poets, particularly Virgiland Horace. The work was almost lost during the Middle Ages, but was rediscovered in 1417 in a monastery in Germany by Poggio Bracciolini and it played an important role both in the development of atomismand the efforts of various figures of the Enlightenment era to construct a new Christian humanism.
21 Quotes by Lucretius
- 1.
We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 2.
Sweet it is, when on the high seas the winds are lashing the waters, to gaze from the land on another’s struggles.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 3.
And life is given to none freehold, but it is leasehold for all.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 4.
What is food to one man is bitter poison to others.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 5.
Pleasant it is, when over a great sea the winds trouble the waters, to gaze from shore upon another’s great tribulation; not because any man’s troubles are a delectable joy, but because to perceive you are free of them yourself is pleasant.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 6.
In the midst of the fountain of wit there arises something bitter, which stings in the very flowers.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 7.
Constant dripping hollows out a stone.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 8.
The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 9.
From the very fountain of enchantment there arises a taste of bitterness to spread anguish amongst the flowers.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 10.
Pleasant it to behold great encounters of warfare arrayed over the plains, with no part of yours in peril.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 11.
From the heart of the fountain of delight rises a jet of bitterness that tortures us among the very flowers.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 12.
The fall of dropping water wears away the Stone.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 13.
So potent was religion in persuading to evil deeds.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 14.
Thus the sum of things is ever being reviewed, and mortals dependent one upon another. Some nations increase, others diminish, and in a short space the generations of living creatures are changed and like runners pass on the torch of life.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 15.
Such are the heights of wickedness to which men are driven by religion.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 16.
Victory puts us on a level with heaven.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 17.
Though the dungeon, the scourge, and the executioner be absent, the guilty mind can apply the goad and scorch with blows.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 18.
The sum of all sums is eternity.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 19.
Life is one long struggle in the dark.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 20.
It is great wealth to a soul to live frugally with a contented mind.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
- 21.
The greatest wealth is to live content with little, for there is never want where the mind is satisfied.
Lucretius1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher