---
product_id: 4143361
title: "On the Nature of Things"
brand: "lucretiusmartin ferguson smith"
price: "€ 39.35"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 12
url: https://www.desertcart.fi/products/4143361-on-the-nature-of-things
store_origin: FI
region: Finland
---

# On the Nature of Things

**Brand:** lucretiusmartin ferguson smith
**Price:** € 39.35
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** On the Nature of Things by lucretiusmartin ferguson smith
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## Description

On the Nature of Things

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    smoothest translation of a thorny path
  

*by D***E on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 24, 2014*

the reader has a basic choice between prose and verse translations of lucretius's poem: i recommend this prose version, or the rouse translation in the loeb classical library, as the best choices. the difficulty with verse translations is that they are forced to become paraphrases or liberal interpretations in order to satisfy the prosody. prose brings out most accurately lucretius's choice of terms, unwinds his obscure expressions and intricate syntax, and reduces the distance between author and reader.ferguson smith's edition is beautifully conceived, with outline headnotes to each "book" or chapter, an excellent introduction and footnotes, and a clean typeface. the translation tactfully smooths out some of the thorniest lucretian passages, but rises to the poetry of the original through apt and economical turns of phrase. it's a pleasure to read.lucretius was a roman aristocrat during the reigns of tiberius, caligula and claudius. one should read suetonius or tacitus, and lucian's "alexander the false prophet" from a later era, to grasp the appalling and degrading mixture of tyranny, paranoia, superstition, depravity, rumor and random brutality under which the roman elite lived. tacitus affirms that many prominent men and women from influential families committed suicide rather than cloak their fear in flattery; cults of conjurers and magicians thrived, and the most preposterous rumors or superstitions were believed as fact.the ambition of lucretius's poem was to remedy that. it is not so much a "scientific" essay as an attempt to use empirical or materialistic explanations of the world as a bulwark against "religion" -- superstition, false gods, belief in magic, fear of death, and anxiety about the future. religion is not attacked because it is false, but because it nurtures fear and ignorance:"This terror then and darkness of mind must be dispelled not by the rays of the sun and glittering shafts of day, but by the aspect and the law of nature."the gods are not denied, but described as impassive and remote, too blissful to bother with human affairs; the reader need not fear their meddling or punishment. at the same time, the goddess venus is evoked in the opening lines as a symbol of the world's abundance in beautiful and good things, the blessings that bring us closest to the divine.in place of ritual and magic, human reason and trust in the fundamentally lawful fabric of the world provide the path to "ataraxia" or robust calm. great stress is put on finding benign or naturalistic explanations for events that might arouse fear. these alternate with passages of sensual, vivid or fanciful poetry that celebrate the beautiful "aspect" of the world -- the starry sky, a calm sea, a verdant landscape, the act of love, a summer "fête champètre", a grazing flock, the peace of philosophy. even the eventual passing of all things, from individual death to the destruction of the earth itself, are cast as part of the natural process of the world, "the way things are."the claim that lucretius was indifferent to social morality is a bit misplaced: several times he mentions war as the greatest evil, and the poem abruptly ends with a passage deploring the social upheavals caused by an athenian plague, perhaps to prepare the description of a just and peaceful society that was never finished. in any case, lucretius believed that dispelling anxious beliefs was a better way to encourage individual right thinking than was preaching moral codes about right conduct. (when this happened, with epictetus, the moral precepts were presented as a careful student's notes.)there are many "scientific" howlers and wild conjectures in lucretius, amusing to read today, but there are also many passages where logic, analogy or observation are turned to some astonishingly perceptive insights about the world -- including a concise rebuttal of "intelligent design" in the universe. the remarkable ambition of this poem dispels easy ridicule, and provides a fascinating window into the earliest forms of scientific reasoning. in every line lucretius seeks to replace superstition with reason, and encourage a naturalistic outlook to overcome the depravity of a superstitious spirit.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    the problem with philosophy
  

*by L***Y on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 10, 2012*

I was shocked to learn in reading 
  
Matter and Mind: A Philosophical Inquiry (Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science)







  
  
     that philosophers disagree about what a 'thing' is. This fact has profound implications for everything else that depends on a person's understanding of things in the world. Introducing a serious error at so basic a level as what a thing really is will naturally distort all that follows. Mario Bunge's body of work taught me exactly what a thing is.Then I turned to study Lucretius, who studied 'things' scientifically over two thousand years ago. For historical context of philosophy, I find his work fascinating.In Smith's translation here, I found what the author says about the philosopher, Epicurus, whom Lucretius admired, very revealing.On page xxiii Smith writes:  "Epicurus despised philosophers who do not make it their busness to improve people's moral condition. 'Vain is the word of a philosopher to whom no human suffering is cured. For just as medicine is of no use if it fails to banish the diseases of the body, so philosophy is of no use if it fails to banish the suffering of the mind' (Usener fr. 221). It is evident that [Epicurus] would have condemned the majority of modern philosophers and scientists."This passage demonstrates the problem with philosophy. Philosophy caught between two warring camps who despise each other has been going on long enough. Philosophy neglecting the moral responsibility to reduce human suffering has been going on long enough.The key to unlocking this internecine impasse is science.Modern philosophers I have found who take science seriously, as well as aim to banish suffering of the mind, include Mario Bunge (see above), Paul Thagard and Ronald de Sousa.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    This is the translation you want
  

*by S***Z on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 29, 2022*

Torturing Lucretius' Latin into rhyming English takes away from the message that is so special and enlightening. This version doesn't bother with the poetical style that nearly every other translation seems to, and thus the message is as clear as a photo-laser. If you live for poetics, perhaps you'd like another translation more, but if you're interested in the pure ideas of Epicurus via Lucretius' pen you should look no further.

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*Last updated: 2026-02-26*