Lucretius on Atomic Motion: A Commentary on De Rerum Natura Book Two lines 1-332

by Don Fowler, P. G. Fowler

Overview

Lucretius' theory of atomic motion is one of the most difficult and technical parts of De rerum natura, and, for that reason, has hitherto been neglected by commentators. This is the first commentary to take account of the remarkable discoveries and re-evaluations in the field of Hellenistic philosophy over the past thirty years, which have been stimulated by the publication of many more Epicurean fragments from Herculaneum.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199243587
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/23/2002
Pages:	536
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Don Fowler was Fellow and Tutor in Classics at Jesus College, Oxford, from 1980 until his death on 15 October 1999

Table of Contents

Text
Commentary
Appendix A: Lucretius on the Clinamen and 'Free Will'
Appendix B: What sort of a Reductionist was Epicurus? The Case of the Swerve
Appendix C: The Feminine Principle: Gender in the De rerum natura

Editorial Reviews

"Indispensable...an essential reference work for everyone who works on the areas of Epicurean philosophy that Lucretius addresses in DRN ii 1-332. ... Fowler's excellent treatment of Lucretius' 'semi-personification' of Nature at DRN ii 168 would be useful for people working on other sections of DRN which contain more elaborate personifications of Nature... [Fowler's] overall approach is highly sympathetic, and I think that this will prove helpful to most readers. ... I would not be surprised if more than fifty-five years pass again before another commentary on this part of the De Rerum Natura appears that improves significantly on it."—Ancient Philosophy

"Fowler produces a commentary on Lucretius like no other. His commentary achieves the status of a meta-commentary.... What makes this commentary claim our attention is the range of texts, both poetic and philosophical, ancient and modern, that Fowler brings to bear in revealing the deep background —and the later fortune—of Lucretius' poem."—Times Literary Supplement

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