Lucretius

Almost nothing is known about Titus Lucretius Carus beyond what can be inferred from his poem. He was born around 99 BCE and died around 55 BCE, during the turbulent final decades of the Roman Republic. A later tradition, originating with St. Jerome, claims that he was driven mad by a love potion and composed his poem in lucid intervals before dying by his own hand—a story most modern scholars regard as Christian slander against a materialist philosopher. Cicero is said to have edited the poem after Lucretius's death, suggesting the author moved in Rome's educated circles. This author hub collects 1 work in the Canon Compass ranking, led by De Rerum Natura.