"The notion of the "swerve" is taken from Lucretius, who lived in the first century B.C. and taught that the world, uncreated but infinite in extent, is composed of nothing but atoms and the void....
"The message of Lucretius' poem was subversive and liberating. Following his master Epicurus, the poet placed the highest value on pleasure (voluptas)...."
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904353504576566621864350318.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
(From a review of a new book, The Swerve, by Stephen Greenblatt).
And yet people today generally refer to people in the distant past as being ignorant. Ironic, hmm?
"The message of Lucretius' poem was subversive and liberating. Following his master Epicurus, the poet placed the highest value on pleasure (voluptas)...."
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904353504576566621864350318.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
(From a review of a new book, The Swerve, by Stephen Greenblatt).
And yet people today generally refer to people in the distant past as being ignorant. Ironic, hmm?
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