CLASS 20B Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: De Rerum Natura, Lucretius, Catullus
5/22/18 - Lecture 13
Poets of the Age of Transition
Lucretius, Catallus, Horace, & Ovid
Political Crisis ~ Intellectual Flourishing
- big war destruction
- Political crisis: 88 BC - AD 14
- Cycle of civil wars from Caesar to Augustus: 49-31 BC
- “Golden Age” of Latin literature
- Cicero 106-43 BC
- Lucretius c94 - late 50’s BC (crisis immediately after civil war)
- Sallust c86-35 BC
- Catullus c84-mid-50’s BC
- Virgil 70-19 BC
- Horace 65- 8 BC
- Livy 64? - AD 17
- Ovid 43 BC - AD 17
- Flowering of Latin literature occurring during transition involving decades of civil war,
ongoing national trauma resolved by Augustus but significant changes in landscape
(Republic → empire)
Lucretius “On the Nature of Things”
- De Rerum Natura
- Birth of Venus painting
- Rediscovery of Lucretius & the birth of the modern age
- Emergence of scientific thinking that characterized the end of Middle Age & beginning of
Modern Age
- Lucretius rejects supernatural explanations & insists on observations based on natural
law
- C94-late 50’s BC (during political crisis)
- “Didactic” poetry: Epicurean philosophy in poetry
- Epicureanism: use of reason to conquer fears & anxiety
- Natural rather than supernatural explanation of the world
- “Pleasure is the good”
- Recommended withdrawal from stresses of public life
- Different from the Republic
- Not a philosopher but presenting themes from Epicurean philosopher
- Translating Epicurean philosophy into Latin
- Live life rationally = live life pursuing pleasure
- Alternative ideal to pursue personal advantage, fame, honor, glory, etc
- Poem opens with Lucretius calling on Venus to create this world
- Venus = pleasure, desire, procreative impulse in nature
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Document Summary
Political crisis: 88 bc - ad 14. Cycle of civil wars from caesar to augustus: 49-31 bc. Lucretius c94 - late 50"s bc (crisis immediately after civil war) Flowering of latin literature occurring during transition involving decades of civil war, ongoing national trauma resolved by augustus but significant changes in landscape (republic empire) Rediscovery of lucretius & the birth of the modern age. Emergence of scientific thinking that characterized the end of middle age & beginning of. Lucretius rejects supernatural explanations & insists on observations based on natural law. Epicureanism: use of reason to conquer fears & anxiety. Natural rather than supernatural explanation of the world. Recommended withdrawal from stresses of public life. Not a philosopher but presenting themes from epicurean philosopher. Alternative ideal to pursue personal advantage, fame, honor, glory, etc. Poem opens with lucretius calling on venus to create this world. Venus = pleasure, desire, procreative impulse in nature. Striking sweet love into the breasts of all.
