5 Lucretius, De rerum natura, Book I, Lines 265–417

1. Introduction: The Enduring Magic of Lucretius

The study of Titus Lucretius Carus represents a unique convergence of ancient atomic theory and the pinnacle of Latin hexameter. As Albert Einstein observed in his 1924 foreword to Hermann Diels’s edition, the “magic” of Lucretius is most potent for the individual who “feels like a spectator” of his contemporaries’ intellectual attitudes. Einstein admired Lucretius as an independent thinker who, equipped with “lively senses and reasoning,” reconstructed the world through the “causal interconnectedness” of natural phenomena, long before the advent of modern empirical science. Einstein specifically lauded the “natural” feel of Diels’s translation, which allows the reader to forget the distance of the two millennia separating the poet from the present.

This aesthetic reverence is echoed by the naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who identifies the 1515 Aldine Lucretius—published by the pioneering Aldus Manutius—as one of his most cherished volumes. Attenborough finds the “wonderfully elegant italic script typeface” of the Aldine press to be a physical manifestation of the poem’s longevity. In the framework of evolutionary biology, he views such books as “memes”—vessels of human experience embedded and handed down outside the biological body.

Thematically, this module explores the transition from the proof of corpora caeca (“hidden bodies”) to the necessity of the inane (“void”). Lucretius argues that the universe is not a solid mass but a composite of matter and empty space, a duality that allows for the very possibility of motion.

2. Reading I: CORPORA QVAE NON VIDEANTVR (Lines 265–333)

Philological Note: Students should attend to Lucretius’s use of onomatopoeia and alliteration. In the section DE VENTO, note how the frequent use of the “v” (u) and “s” sounds mimics the whistling and rushing of the wind.

3. Reading II: DE INANI (Lines 334–417)

Philological Note: Transitioning from materia to inane, observe the logical progression. Lucretius argues that if the universe were “stuffed” (stipata) with matter, motion would be impossible. Look for the hunting metaphor at the end of the section.

4. Critical Apparatus: Testimonia

The historical reception of Lucretius by ancient authors reveals the profound impact of his “grave” and “sublime” style.

• Cicero (ad Quintum fr. II 9,3): The earliest critical judgment (54 BCE), noting that the poem possesses “many lights of genius, yet much art” (multis luminibus ingeni, multae tamen artis).
• Ovid (Amor. I 15, 22): Acknowledges the “sublime Lucretius” and prophesies the poem’s eternity, stating its verses will only perish when the world itself is destroyed.
• Vitruvius (IX Praef. 16): Claims that those who love letters hold the image of Lucretius in their hearts like a god, disputing with him “face to face” (coram) about the nature of things.
• Quintilian (X 1,87): Describes Lucretius as “elegant in his matter” but “difficult” (difficilis). He views him as a crucial predecessor to Virgil.
• Jerome (Chron. Euseb.): Records the tradition that Lucretius was driven to madness by a “love potion” and composed his books during “intervals of insanity” (per interualla insaniae). Jerome famously asserts that Cicero edited the work after the poet’s suicide.

5. Critical Apparatus: Codices and Transmission

The survival of De rerum natura depends upon a narrow but robust manuscript tradition, reconstructed by Hermann Diels in his Praefatio.

The Archetype

All extant manuscripts derive from a single Archetypus Insularis, a 7th-century copy of a 4th-century original. Diels observes that the archetype was prone to “monstrous” errors produced by scribes unfamiliar with ancient capitals, such as writing TRIVIAT for Triuiai or ORALATVM for ornatum. Diels also notes the role of a “rubricator” who used red ink to supply lines and headings omitted by the initial copyist.

Primary Manuscripts

• Codex Oblongus (O): A 9th-century manuscript (Leiden) of 192 leaves. It is the most authoritative witness, written in a beautiful Carolingian minuscule from the school of Alcuin.
• Codex Quadratus (Q): Also 9th-century (Leiden), consisting of 69 leaves. It was formerly held at the Monastery of St. Bertin and contains several displaced sections (schedae) from the archetype.
• Schedae (G, V, U): 9th-century fragments held in Copenhagen (G, Gottorpienses) and Vienna (V and U, Vindobonenses). These fragments provide critical evidence for restoring the text where O and Q are corrupted.

The Humanist Recovery

In 1414, Poggio Bracciolini discovered a Lucretius manuscript (likely at Murbach) and sent a copy to Niccolò Niccoli. This led to the creation of the Italian Renaissance copies, most notably the Laurentianus 35,30 (siglum L). These manuscripts formed the basis for the first printed editions and the eventual aesthetic appreciation celebrated by Attenborough.