De Rerum Natura

Titus Lucretius Carus (ca. 9955 b.c.) is known primarily as the Roman author of the long didactic poemDe Rerum Natura(On the Nature of Things). In it, he set out to explicate the universe, embracing and refuting ideas of the great Greek philosophers. Now available in paperback, this annotated scholarly edition of the Latin text ofDe Rerum Naturahas long been hailed as one of the finest editions of this monumental work. It features an introduction to Lucretiusrs"s life and work by William Ellery Leonard, an introduction to and commentary on the poem by Stanley Barney Smith, the complete Latin text with detailed annotations, and an index of ancient sources.

William Ellery Leonard (1876–1944) was a poet andprofessor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he taught from 1906 until his death. Stanley Barney Smith (1895–1962) was a professor of classics at Bowdoin College, 1927–1946. He also taught at the Ohio State University and the University of Illinois during his distinguished career.