On Nature (Epicurus)

On Nature (Ancient Greek: Περὶ φύσεως) is the name of a philosophical treatise written by the Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus, which can be considered his main work. The work comprised 37 books and consisted of lectures given by Epicurus.[1][2][3]

For other philosophical literature of the same name see On Nature (disambiguation)

The work has for the most part disappeared, but some excerpts have survived compiled from burnt papyri scrolls found in the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum. Most of the surviving papyri are kept in the National Library of Naples. Important parts of Book II are preserved in the British Museum.[1][2]

Epicurus' Letter to Herodotus appears to be a summary of On Nature, or at least of books I–XIII.[4] Similarly, Lucretius' poem De rerum natura probably follows, in many respects, Epicurus' work.[2]

References
  1. Long, A. A. (1986). Hellenistic Philosophy (2. ed.). University of California Press. p. 18.
  2. "Epicurus" entry by David Konstans in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 16 April 2018
  3. O'Keefe, Tim (2002). "The Reductionist and Compatibilist Argument of Epicurus' On Nature, Book 25". Phronesis. 47 (2): 153–186. doi:10.1163/15685280260028377. JSTOR 4182694.
  4. Sedley, David (1998). "Theophrastus and Epicurean Physics". In van Ophuijsen, J. M.; van Raalte, Marlein (eds.). Theophrastus: Reappraising the sources. Transaction Publishers. p. 346. ISBN 1560003286.

See also


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