This page intentionally left blank LU C R E T I U S A N D T H E T R A N S F O R M AT I O N O F GREEK WISDOM This book is designed to appeal both to those interested in Roman poetry and to specialists in ancient philosophy In it David Sedley explores Lucretius’ complex relationship with Greek culture, in particular with Empedocles, whose poetry was the model for his own, with Epicurus, the source of his philosophical inspiration, and with the Greek language itself He includes a detailed reconstruction of Epicurus’ great treatise On nature, and seeks to show how Lucretius worked with this as his sole philosophical source, but gradually emancipated himself from its structure, transforming its raw contents into something radically new By pursuing these themes, the book uncovers many unrecognised aspects of Lucretius’ methods and achievements as a poetic craftsman David Sedley is Professor of Ancient Philosophy, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Christ’s College He is the author, with A A Long, of The Hellenistic Philosophers () LU C R E T I U S A N D T H E T R A N S F O R M AT I O N O F GREEK WISDOM DAV I D S E D L E Y The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org © David N Sedley 2004 First published in printed format 1998 ISBN 0-511-02083-X eBook (netLibrary) ISBN 0-521-57032-8 hardback ISBN 0-521-54214-6 paperback For Tony Long Contents Preface Introduction page xi xv The Empedoclean opening Cicero’s letter Empedocles’ two poems The provenance of Empedocles Lucretius and Empedocles The enigma of Lucretius’ proem Furley’s thesis Empedocles as literary forebear Empedocles’ proem Conclusion Two languages, two worlds Lucretius the fundamentalist Linguistic poverty The technicalities of physics Atomic vocabulary Simulacra Prose and verse contrasted Distorted reasoning The price of failure Bailey’s complaint Evoking Greece Magnets in Samothrace The familiar and the exotic The swallow and the swan The resolution Appendix Philosophy in Italy The school of Philodemus The location of the mind vii Contents viii Philosophical opponents Creationism Geocentrism Contemporary Stoicism Scepticism Berosus Fundamentalism Epicurus, On nature The discovery The papyri Favourite books? Length Style Reconstructing the contents Books – Books – Books – Books – Books – Chronology Conclusions Lucretius’ plan and its execution The thesis Lucretius’ source The structure of De rerum natura Books – Book Book Lucretius’ method Book The imprint of Theophrastus Theophrastus and the world’s destructibility The fourth argument The third argument The first and second arguments The provenance of Theophrastus fr Meteorology Theophrastus, Epicurus and Lucretius The transformation of book The contents DRN and On nature – Seeds (cont.) ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ (and scholion) (and scholia) ‒ Letter to Menoeceus Letter to Pythocles ‒ ‒ ‒ (and scholion) scholion ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ On nature book .. Arr. ..‒ Arr. .‒ Arr. .‒ Arr. . Arr. ..‒. Arr. ..‒. Arr. book Arr. book ..‒ Arr. ..‒ Arr. . Arr. book (ed G Leone) col cols ‒ col ‒ cols ‒ subscriptio book Index locorum , ‒, , n n n ‒, , n, , , n , n , , n n, n, n n n n n n n n n, n n , ‒ n n , fr fr fr fr fr fr fr fr Q subscriptio book P Herc , Long/Sedley ‒ Long/Sedley Long/Sedley Long/Sedley ..‒ Arr. line , Laursen () lines ‒, Laursen () book (ed D Sedley) ‒ inf – sup inf – sup sup ff ‒ sup subscriptio book Arr. unnumbered books Arr. . Arr. Sententiae Vaticanae ‒ , n n , n ‒ n , ‒ n, ‒n (ed H Diels, W Kranz) ‒, s.v Μαγνη4 τι fragments (ed A Nauck, R Kannicht) n ‒n n n Commentarii ad Homeri Odysseam .ff n On the doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato . n n Index locorum . . n . .‒ n n (ed H Diels, W Kranz) n n () Allegoriae . n (ed H von Staden) frr ‒ Works and days ‒ Refutatio omnium haeresium . .‒ Iliad Odyssey ‒ ‒ n n Ars poetica ‒ n Divinae institutiones ‒ n . n Pseudologista n (ed F Marx) fr , ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ , ‒ ‒ , n, ‒, n ‒ n n , , ‒, ‒ n n n n n n, n n n, n n n n, n n n, n n n (cont.) ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ff ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ff ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ff ‒ Index locorum n n n n n, n n n n n ‒ , , n n n n n n ‒ n , ‒ , n n ff ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ n n, , , , , n, , ‒ n , n n n n n n n n n n, , n n n n n n n n n, n Index locorum ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ n n n n ‒ n n n n n ‒ n n n n , ‒ n n , ‒, ‒ ‒ , ‒, n n, n n n n , n ‒ n n n n n n n n, ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ff ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ , ‒ n n n n n n n ‒ n n n n n n n n n , n, n n n n n, n , ‒ n ‒ n, n , n , n (cont.) ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ Index locorum n n n n n , , n ‒ n n n n n n , , n n n n n n n, n n n n ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ n n , n n n n n n ‒ , , n ‒ ‒ ‒ n n Saturnalia . n . n (ed H Diels, W Kranz) . n (ed H Diels, W Kranz) ‒ (ed H Diels, W Kranz) (ed H Diels, W Kranz) Tristia .‒ n . .‒ n . fr .‒ n, , n De aeternitate mundi Index locorum ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ De pietate (ed D Obbink) ‒ ‒ ff ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ De signis ‒ ‒ De Stoicis ‒ ‒ Adversus [ ] (P.Herc ) ‒ fr Apology b‒ Gorgias c‒ c‒ Laws d n n n n n n n ‒ n n n n n, ‒ n n n n n n n n b Phaedo e–a Philebus b‒ Republic e–a Theaetetus a Timaeus c a b–d b e–c b–c a–b b–c b‒b c b–a a–a b–e a ff e e‒a a‒ b‒ e‒ Naturalis historia . fragments (ed F H Sandbach) Adversus Colotem ‒ ff De defectu oraculorum ‒ De exilio De facie quae in orbe lunae apparet De genio Socratis De Iside et Osiride ‒ De poetis audiendis , n n n n n n n n n n, n n n n n n n n n Index locorum (cont.) De Pythiae oraculis Life of Cicero Life of Crassus Non posse secundum Epicurum suaviter vivi Quaestiones convivales [] Epitome .‒ fragments (ed M Gigante) (ed A Tepedino Guerra) fr De abstinentia (ed L Edelstein, I G Kidd) ‒ n n n n n n n n n n Institutio oratoria . . n n Adversus mathematicos ‒ Outlines of Pyrrhonism STOICORUM VETERUM FRAGMENTA Arnim) Diog Diog SUDA In Platonis Timaeum . Letters . Naturales quaestiones . In Aristotelis Physica .‒ n n n n n n s.v Empedocles ‒ .‒ n (ed H von n n n n n n, n fragments (ed W W Fortenbaugh, P M Huby, R W Sharples, D Gutas) ‒, n, ‒ ‒ n Characters . De causis plantarum n De sensibus ‒ n ‒ n Historia plantarum . Metaphysics a‒ Metarsiologica (ed H Daiber) .‒ .‒ .‒ ‒ ‒ . . . Aeneid n Index locorum VITA PHILONIDIS inf . (ed I Gallo) n n Memorabilia General index Academics, ‒, , n, ‒, ‒, n, n, n, Aenesidemus, n, n, ‒, aether, n, , Aetius, ‒ allegory, ‒ Amafinius, analogy argument by , , ‒, alphabetic, , n, ‒, Anaxagoras, , ‒, ‒, ‒, , Anaximander, , n, n, Anaximenes, Andronicus, Antikythera mechanism, Antiochus, ‒, ‒, n, n, n Antipater, n Apollonius of Rhodes, Aratus, , n Arcesilaus, ‒, n Archimedes, , Aristarchus, Aristion, Epicurean tyrant, Aristotle, , , ‒ re-emergence at Rome, ‒ on teleology, influence on doxography, , ‒, , n school treatises little known in Hellenistic period, , ‒, ‒ Physics , on location of mind, De philosophia, n Asclepiades, n, n Athenodorus, ‒ Athens Lucretius on, , ‒, as philosophical centre, ‒, , ‒ atoms, Latin vocabulary for, , ‒, ‒, Atticus, friend of Cicero, Atticus, Platonist philosopher, Aurispa, G., had copy of Empedocles’ Katharmoi, authority, philosophical, , , ‒, ‒ Berosus, ‒ Boethus, Bolos, n Brutus, Caesar, Julius, n, ‒ Calcidius, n Calliope, , Carneades, n, n Cassius, , Catius, , , Cato the Younger, Chrysippus, ‒, Cicero, xvii, n, , letter about Lucretius, ‒, , philosophical works, ‒, ‒, , ‒, , and translation of Greek philosophical terms, ‒, , ‒, philosophical position and contacts, ‒ Cleanthes, n Cleomedes, , n Colotes, n, n, n compound adjectives, ‒, , n, Crantor, n, n Crassus, Cratippus, creation, ‒, ‒, ‒, Critias, Cyzicus, mathematical school of, Demetrius of Laconia, , n Democritus, as forerunner of scepticism, ‒ General index attitudes of Epicurus and Lucretius to, , , , ‒, n Diagoras, Dicaearchus, n, n Diogenes of Apollonia, , Diogenes of Babylon, n Diogenes of Oenoanda, , n elements theory of four, , , ‒, ‒, , , n, ‒, ‒, ‒, n, ‒, , ‒ Epicurean critique of rival theories of, , ‒, ‒, , ‒ see also aether, sky Empedocles, ‒, n model for Lucretius, xv, , ‒, ‒, , ‒, ‒ Roman interest in, ‒, Katharmoi, ‒, n, , On nature, ‒, , ‒, , n, , , ‒, ‒ Strasbourg papyrus, , ‒n, , ‒ evolutionary theory, ‒ criticised by Lucretius, ‒, , ‒ Ennius influence on Lucretius, , , ‒, , , n influence of Empedocles on, n, n Epicureanism, , as universal philosophy, xv, in Italy, ‒ ethics, , , , , ‒ evolutionary theory, ‒ on world’s destructibility, ‒ Epicurus foundation of schools, ‒, On nature, xvi, n, , , , , , ‒, ‒, n, ‒, , , epitomes, , , , ‒, ‒ Letter to Herodotus, , n, , ‒, , , ‒, ‒, ‒, , ‒, , n Letter to Pythocles, , n, , ‒, , ‒, n, , Letter to Menoeceus, Great epitome, , n, , , ‒, Kyriai doxai, Against Theophrastus, deathbed letter, other writings, , , n methodology, , , , ‒, , , , Lucretius’ debts to, xvi, , , , ‒, ‒, , ‒, , , ‒, ‒ Lucretius’ praise of, ‒, , ‒, ‒, n, , , Epimenides, Erasistratus, , n Eratosthenes, Eudoxus, ‒ euhemerism, Galen, geocentrism, ‒, n, , gods, Epicurean, , ‒, n, , ‒, , , , , Gorgias, , n Graecisms, , ‒ harmonia, , n, n heavenly bodies size of, , ‒, ‒, n see also moon, sun Heracles, n Heraclitus, , obscurity, ‒, fire doctrine, ‒, , Herculaneum papyri, ‒, discovery of, ‒ Hermarchus, n, Herophilus, Hesiod, , , , n Hipparchus, Homer, , , , , , influence on Empedocles, images (simulacra, eido¯la), ‒, ‒, ‒, ‒, ‒, n Jerome, St, xvii katharmoi meaning of term, ‒ see also Empedocles Lampsacus, ‒ language philosophy of , limitations of, ‒, , ‒, origin of, , , Greek and Latin, xv, ‒ Lucilius, Lucretius life and character, xvii, ‒, , isolation from contemporary Epicureanism, ‒, General index Lucretius (cont.) ignorance of recent science, xv, ‒, ‒ ignorance of recent philosophy, xv–xvi, ‒ Lucullus, magnets, ‒, n, , Melissus, Memmius, , , Metrodorus of Chios, ‒ Metrodorus of Lampsacus, , ‒, , mind, see soul and mind moon Berosus on, ‒ halo of, ‒ see also heavenly bodies, size of Musaeus, nature (natura, physis), , ‒, , n, personified, , ‒ Nausiphanes, , n Nigidius Figulus, nutrition, n, omissions by Lucretius, , , n, , n, , , , , ‒, ‒, oracles, ‒, ‒, n Orpheus, n Ovid, n, Palaephatus, n Panaetius, Parmenides, , Paul, St, Pausanias, dedicatee of Empedocles’ On nature, , , ‒, Peripatetics, ‒, , , , n, ‒ phenomena, cosmic, , ‒, , ‒ Philo of Alexandria, ‒, n, Philo of Larissa, ‒ Philodemus, ‒, , n, On signs, ‒, ‒, n On music, On piety, , n library, , , ‒, Philonides, biography of, n, , n physics, Greek and Latin names for, ‒ physis, see nature Piso, L Calpurnius Caesoninus, ‒ Piso, M Pupinius, ‒ plague passage, xvii, , , ‒, Plato on soul, ‒ on Socrates, Republic, Theaetetus, Timaeus, , n, ‒, ‒, , , ‒, , ‒ criticised by Epicureans, , ‒, ‒, , ‒, Platonists influence in second century , , n see also Academics, creatonism, geocentrism Plutarch on Empedocles’ proem, ‒ interpreter of Plato, pneuma, , n, Polemo, ‒, , Polyaenus, Posidonius, , ‒, ‒ Praxagoras, pre¯ste¯r, n, n, ‒, Prodicus, proems to DRN, n, , , ‒, ‒, to book , ‒, , , , , , to book , ‒ to book , , , , to book , ‒, ‒, ‒, ‒, to book , , , ‒ to book , , , to Empedocles’ On nature, ‒, ‒ prose and verse, ‒, ‒, ‒, Pyrrho, n Pythagoras, ‒, , n Pythagoreanism, n, n, , , n, n Pythocles, religion, criticised by Lucretius, , , , , , , , ‒, ‒ Rome, as philosophical centre, ‒ Sallustius, , , n Samothrace, ‒ Satyrus, scepticism, ‒, ‒ scholia, on Epicurus, n, , , , ‒, , , ‒, n self-refutation, ‒, ‒ Sextus Empiricus, ‒ Sicily, Lucretius on, ‒, n simile, multiple-correspondence, simulacra, see images Siro, sky, symbolising air, ‒, General index Socrates, ‒, , n soul and mind, , , n, ‒, , , ‒ location of mind, ‒ Speusippus, n, ‒ Staseas, Stoicism, n, , terminology, ‒, debates with Epicureans, , , , ‒ on location of mind, ‒ on elements and principles, ‒, ‒ ignored by Lucretius, ‒, ‒, on creation and destruction of world, ‒, on arrangement of cosmos, ‒ structure of DRN, xvi-xvii, ‒, , ‒, , , sun distance illusion, n, ‒ as source of light, , n see also heavenly bodies, size of swerve, atomic, , teleology, ‒, ‒, n, ‒, ‒, ‒, n, see also creation terminology, technical, ‒, , ‒ tetrapharmakos, ‒ Thales, , Theophrastus Characters, imprint on Lucretius, xvii, n, , n, n, ‒, ‒, doxography, n, , n, ‒, ‒, n, n, ‒, ‒, Cicero’s study of, n Thucydides Lucretius’ source on the plague, , , ‒, book length in, thunderbolts, , n, ‒ time, , , ‒ Timocrates, tmesis, ‒ transmigration, , , ‒ transpositions by Lucretius, xvii, , ‒, ‒, , , ‒, , , ‒, ‒ Varro, ‒, Venus, in Lucretius’ proem, ‒, ‒ Virgil, , , , world, destructibility of, ‒, ‒, ‒ Xenocrates, n, ‒ Xenophanes, Xenophon, on Socrates, , Zeno of Citium founder of Stoicism, ‒, on location of mind, ‒ Republic, n on fire, n and Theophrastus fr , ‒, n Zeno of Sidon, , , Index of modern scholars Adams, J N., n André, J M., n Angeli, A., n, n, n Arnim, H von, , n, ‒n Arrighetti, G., n, n, ‒, n, n, n, , n, n, n, n Asmis, E., n, n, n, n, n, n, ‒n, n, n, n Auvray-Assayas, C., n Avotins, I., n Courtney, E., n Crönert, W., n, n Daiber, H., n, n, ‒, n De Lacy, P H., n, n; and E A De Lacy, n Delattre, D., n Diano, C., n Diels, H., , n, n, n, n; and W Kranz, n, n, n Dillon, J M., n, n, n Dodds, E R., Dorandi, T., n, n, n, n, n Drexler, F., n Düring, I., n Bailey, C., n, n, n, n, ‒, , , ‒, n, n, n, n Baltes, M., n Barigazzi, A., n, n Barnes, J., n, , n, n, n, n Ben, N van der, n, , n, n Bergsträsser, G., n Bignone, E., n, n, n, n, n Bloch, H., n Bockemüller, F, n Bollack, J., n, n, n Boyancé, P., n, n, n Brieger, A., n Bright, D F., n, n, n Brunschwig, J., n, n, Buffière, F., n Burkert, W., n Burnyeat, M., , n, n Edelstein, L., n Edwards, M J., n Erler, M., n, n, n, , n Ernout, A., and L Robin, n, n, n Farrell, J., n Ferrari, W., n, n Ferrary, J.-L., n Fortenbaugh, W W., n, n Fowler, D P, n; and P G Fowler, n, n, n Furley, D J., n, n, ‒, , , ‒, n, , n, n Caizzi, F Decleva, n Campos Daroca, J., n Capasso, M., n, n, n Casson, L., n Castner, C J, n, n Cavallo, G., n, n, n, n, n, n Cavini, W., n Clay, D., n, n, n, n, ‒, n, n, n, , n, n, n, n, n Commager, H S., n, n Comparetti, D., and G De Petra, n Gale, M., n, n, n, n, n, n Gallo, I., n, n Giancotti, F., n Gigante, M., n, n, n, n, n Gilbert, W., Giussani, C., n, n Glucker, J., n, n Godwin, J., n, n Görler, W., n, n Gottschalk, H., n, ‒ Goulet, R., n, n Index of modern scholars Graeser, A., n Graham, D W., n Griffin, M., n, n, n Grilli, A., n Gutas, D., n Guthrie, W K C., n Habicht, C., n Hadot, P., n Hardie, P R., n, n, n Hartung, H J., n Hayter, J., ‒ Henrichs, A., n Hinds, S E., n Hölscher, U., n House, D K., n Huby, P M., n Inwood, B., n, n, n, n Jobst, F., n Jocelyn, H D., n Kahn, C H., n, n Kenney, E J., n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n Kerschensteiner, J., n Kidd, I G., n, n Kingsley, P., n, n, n, ‒n, n, n, n Kirk, G S., n Kleve, K., n, , n, n, n Koenen, M., n Kollman, E D., n, n Kranz, W., n; see also Diels, H Kuhrt, A., n Lachmann, K., Lackenbacher, H., n, n Laks, A., n Langslow, D., n Lapidge, M., n Laursen, S., n, n, n, n Leone, G., n, n, n, n, , n Lévêque, P., n Lévy, C., n, n, n Lewis, N., n Lloyd, G E R., n, n Locke, J., n Long, A A., n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, ; and D N Sedley, n, n, n, n, n, , n, n, n, n, n, n Longo Auricchio, F., n, n Lorenz, H., n Lück, W., n Maas, P., n McDiarmid, J B., n MacKay, L., n Mansfeld, J., , n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, , , n, n Martin, A., ‒nn, n, ‒n Marullus, n Mayer, R., n Mewaldt, J., ‒n Milanese, G., n, n Millot, C., n, n, n, n Moraux, P., n Muehll, P von der, , , n Munro, H A J., n Norden, E., n Obbink, D., n, n, n, ‒nn, , n, n, ‒n, n O’Brien, D., n, n, Osborne, C., , n, n, n Owen, G E L., n Panchenko, D., n Parker, R., n, n, n Pearson, A C., Pease, A S., n Philippson, R., n Piaggio, A., ‒ Pigeaud, J.-M., n, n Pizzani, U., n Powell, J G F., n Price, D de Solla, n Primavesi, O., ‒nn, n, ‒n Puglia, E., n, n Radl, A., n Rawson, E., n, n Reiley, K C., n, n, n Reitzenstein, E., , n Robin, L., see Ernout, A Romeo, C., n Rösler, W., n, n, n Runia, D., n, n, n, n, n, Sambursky, S., n Sandbach, F H., n, n, n Schmalzriedt, E., n Schmid, W., n, Schmidt, J., n, ‒, , n Schofield, M., Schrijvers, P H., n, n, n, ‒, n Seele, A., n Segal, C., n, n Index of modern scholars Sharples, R W., n, n, n Skutsch, O, n, n Smith, M F., ‒n, n, n, n, n Snyder, J M., n Solmsen, F., n, n, , n, n Steckel, H., n, n Steinmetz, P., n Striker, G., n Tatum, W J., n, n, n Townend, G B., n Tyrrell, R Y., n Usener, H., n, , n Vallance, J T., n Vander Waerdt, P A., n, n, ‒nn Vlastos, G., n Vogliano, A., ‒, n, n, n, n, n, n Wallace, R., n, n Wardy, R, n Waszink, J H., n Weise, F O., n Wellmann, M., n West, D., , , n, n Wiersma, W., n Winckelmann, J J., Woltjer, J., n Woolf, G., n Wright, M R., n, n, n, n, n, n, n Zeller, E., ‒, ... destructibility The fourth argument The third argument The first and second arguments The provenance of Theophrastus fr Meteorology Theophrastus, Epicurus and Lucretius The transformation of book The. .. the Oxford Philological Society, the British Academy, the University of Leiden, the University of Durham, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Preface xiii Arts and Sciences, and the University of. .. the sea, the sea spits it out onto the threshold of land, the earth sends it into the rays of the gleaming sun, and the sun hurls it into the whirling aether One receives it from another, and all