Lucretius and his sources : a study of Lucretius, "De rerum natura" I 635-920 / / Francesco Montarese

• Record Nr.: UNINA9911092841303321
• Autore: Montarese Francesco
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Berlin, : De Gruyter, 2012
• ISBN: 9781283857468; 1283857464; 9783110218817; 311021881X; 9783111731247; 3111731243
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (328 p.)
• Collana: Sozomena, , 1869-6368 ; ; v. 12
• Disciplina: 871/.01
• Soggetti: PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front matter -- Foreword -- Table of contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Lucretius drew the Critique from an earlier Epicurean polemic -- Chapter 2. Books XIV and XV of Epicurus’ ΠΦ -- Chapter 3. Lucretius’ use of sources in DRN I -- Chapter 4. Lucretius in the Critique -- Appendix (A). Two stages of composition? -- Appendix (B) The format of PHerc. 1148 (ΠΦ XIV) and PHerc. 1151 (ΠΦ XV) -- Appendix (C) Do Epicurus’ Ad Herodotum and Ad Pythoclem reflect continuous books of ΠΦ? -- Abbreviations -- Bibliography -- Indices
• Sommario/riassunto: This book discusses Lucretius’ refutation of Heraclitus, Empedocles, Anaxagoras and other, unnamed thinkers in De Rerum Natura 1, 635-920. Chapter 1 argues that in DRN I 635-920 Lucretius was following an Epicurean source, which in turn depended on Theophrastean doxography. Chapter 2 shows that books 14 and 15 of Epicurus’ On Nature were not Lucretius’ source-text. Chapter 3 discusses how lines 635-920 fit in the structure of book 1 and whether Lucretius’ source is more likely to have been Epicurus himself or a neo-Epicurean. Chapter 4 focuses on Lucretius’ own additions to the material he derived from his sources and on his poetical and rhetorical contributions, which were ; extensive. Lucretius shows an understanding of philosophical points by adapting his poetical devices to the philosophical arguments. Chapter 4 also argues that Lucretius anticipates philosophical points in what have often been regarded as the ‘purple passages’ of his poem - e.g. the invocation of Venus in the proem, and the description of Sicily and Aetna - so that he could take them up later on in his narrative and provide an adequate explanation of reality.