A didactic poem expounding Epicurean atomism to free humanity from fear of gods and death. Lucretius's astonishing scientific epic.
Books that mention On the Nature of Things (2)
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell: “I turn to my place in Lucretius's De Rerum Natura, but my thoughts, if not my soul, are still a mile or two to the west.”
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie: “'Question of mutability of the essence of the self,' he began, awkwardly, 'has long been subject of profound debate. For example, great Lucretius tells us, in De Rerum Natura, this following thing: quodcumque suis mutatum finibus exit, continuo hoc mors est illius quod fuit ante.'”