Lucretius' On the Nature of the Universe Bk 1 was written around
55BCE, towards the end of the Roman Republic. Lucretius was unusual,
though not alone, in his startlingly modern world view which encompassed
Epicurean philosophy, a knowledge of physics and a belief that religion
was intrinsically evil and an instrument of social control. The
translation of Book 1 of his magnum opus is equally modern - Emma Gee
plays with the Latin, retaining its linguistic and sonic effects whilst
drastically re-orientating the poem towards modernity. Translated with
the first-time reader in mind, this version of Lucretius will captivate
and astound those with no experience of Latin or of poetry, and bring
Lucretius and his ideas to life.