Lucretius (99 BC - 55 BC)

Lucretius

Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman Epicurean poet and philosopher.

Lucretius is considered one of the most prominent adherents of atomistic materialism, a follower of the teachings of Epicurus. He is the author of a six-book Latin didactic poem on Epicurean physics, De rerum natura ("The Nature of Things" or "On the Nature of the Universe").

This poem is an extended exposition of the Epicurean worldview, a naturalistic explanation of the physical origin, structure, and destiny of the universe. It includes theories of the atomic structure of matter and the origin and evolution of life forms - ideas that eventually became the most important foundation and framework for the development of Western science. In addition to his literary and scientific influence, Lucretius served as an inspiration to a number of modern philosophers, including Gassendi, Bergson, Spencer, Whitehead, and Teilhard de Chardin.