Abstract

A critical approach to the De rerum natura must assume that the poem was not intended as merely a translation of Epicurus' philosophical writings. In the company of current critics of the DRN, I once considered Lucretius' breaks with Epicurean doctrine occasional and easily explained as alterations necessary for the poetic presentation of philosophical exposition. With enough ingenuity it seemed possible to rescue Lucretius from any charge of apostasy. Upon investigation heresies multiplied and provided, instead, clear indications of the poet's desire to transform his material. Hence, I have tried to explore a variety of ways in which Lucretius strays far from the path of Epicurean orthodoxy. The motive for such error, of course, is that Lucretius is a Roman poet, writing for a Roman audience. His aim is not to convert Romans to an alien philosophy but to exploit the similarities between Epicurean ethics and Roman ideals, so that Epicurean philosophy, as presented in the poem, becomes a rhetoric for addressing Roman social, political, and aesthetic issues. If Lucretius does aim to attract his audience to philosophy, it is to a philosophy made compatible, not antithetical, to their social aims and obligations