[Lucretius] Bailey, Cyril.
Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press), 2001 (reprint of 1947 edition).
Book Number 26276
In this his great didactic poem, Titus Lucretius Carus sought to release mankind from the fear of death and tyranny of religion. He begins with the basic metaphysical premises of Epicurean atomic theory in Books I and II; deals with the nature of the human soul, mortality, and psychological phenomena in Books III and IV; and in Books V and VI provides a rationalist account of the natural world, including his famous description of the rise of human civilization. Bailey's edition includes a substantial prolegomena dealing with the poem's sources, structure, manuscripts and editions, meter and style. The Latin text with a literal English translation and commentary are also included.