This is a collection of 19 essays by different authors on Lucretius' poem De Rerum Natura - On the Nature of Things. Lucretius wrote the poem to teach the Romans the philosophy of the Greek Epicurus, the most important feature of which was that the world was made up of atoms.
The essays are split into three categories: the place of Lucretius and his writings among the ancients, themes in Lucretius, and his reception in Mediaeval times, the Renaissance, and since then. There are two main things that stand out as being significant about the De Rerum Natura, it's literary/poetic value, and it's scientific/philosophic value. For this reason, Lucretius is of high interest to the student of the arts, and the student of the sciences, which is not something many writers can claim to be. ( )