Salve!

Ok so here are my thoughts on de rerum natura:

Challenges of translation for me as usual were figuring out word order and different grammar constructions I was re-familiarizing with after the summer vacation. Additionally some of the vocab was very abstract due to the fact that it was on the topic of philosophy involving particles.

I was able to draw paralells between the style of Homer in the Illiad and Lucretius in De rerum. This made sense to me as they were both epics. I noticed that Lucretius used comparisons, similes and even extended metaphors when explaining or describing things. This made it easier for me to understand the concepts, which reminded me of all the comparisons and mental pictures in Homers Illiad last year.

I thought it was interesting subject matter and well written.

Lucretius This Week

Good work, Alex, on the background for Lucretius!

Now, vos tres puellae, since you should be at the end of the readings, here is what I want you to do:

1. Each of you post on the blog about the following: What did you like and what did you not like about De Rerum Natura? What was the most challenging aspect of translating these selections, and why? Pick one other Latin author and discuss how Lucretius's writing is similar and/or different, thinking about such things as grammar, vocabulary, and style.
2. Prepare a 3-5 page paper (typed, double-spaced), due Friday, September 3 (the same day as your Latin Club dues), in which you address the two numbered items in my first post, which you can access here. There are several items to consider in each of those sections, so be sure to addresss everything. You should cite Latin, with your own translations, to support your points.

Ok so here is what I found about Lucretius:

He was a client/friend of Gaius Memmius

Parts of the poem suggest that it was published without revision: most speculate this was due to his untimely death

De rerum natura was his only work

The purpose of de rerum natura is to free people from superstition and fear of death

And as magister P said it is an epic poem about philosophy

I was able to log in! Magister P I will probably finish up the translation of lucretius by monday or tuesday and now that I can see the questions on the blog I will be able to address them in my work.

Thanks for the help!

Opening Thoughts

Okay, so you have your text for Lucretius. As you will see to the right of this page, there is a link to the online Latin dictionary, so that should be of some help. There are various translations of Lucretius around. If you find something good, post it here.

Pace yourselves so that you are finished with the text I gave you in the next two to three weeks. Along the way, feel free to post questions here, and I will respond.

As you translate, please post any discussions that you have together. I would love to know what you think of Lucretius and/or his poetry and/or his subject matter as you translate.

There are two standing questions I want to post at the outset. Please respond to these along the way. You may not be able to answer them right away, and you may need to answer them more than once as you work your way through the material.

1. How does what Lucretius says fit with the law of conservation of matter? Discuss the law of matter conservation, how it came to be, etc.

2. What kind of reasoning does Lucretius use? What examples can you find of his reasoning from a part to a whole? How effective is this kind of reasoning? Where else do you see this kind of reasoning used?

One last thing...work together to post here a little background on Lucretius. Who was he? Where was he from? What do we know of his life, his poetry, his philosophy? Put something together in summary. You can use the Internet, but give links to anything you use.

Valete!