Lucretius and the Didactic Epic by Monica R. Gale (review)

BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS 1°3 ades as "Dionysius." In the Index of volume 3. M. Curtius Peducaeanus (p. 450) should be recipient of letter 14 I. not 14.1: and Iunia Tertia (whose name has been omitted). not Terentia (P.470). the referent in 185 (16.22).1. Rare peccadilloes aside, Shackleton Bailey's new Loeb of Cicero's complete Correspondence. offering reliable text with readable translation at reasonable price, is triply attractive. A.H. MAMOOJEE DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGES LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY THUNDER BAY, ON P7B SEI MONICA R. GALE. Lucretius and the Didactic Epic. London: Bristol Classical Press, 200 I. Pp. viii + 70. ISBN 1-85399-5776 . With this slender volume, Monica Gale offers an introduction to Lucretius suitable for readers who possess little or no knowledge of the Latin language. The sole passage from De Rerum Natura quoted in Latin (32) is from the Invocation to Venus which opens Lucretius' poem. Elsewhere, numerous passages from the DRN are rendered in literal and workman-like translations which allow Lucretius' poetic genius to shine through and illuminate Gale's text. A typical example is Gale's translation of DRN 1.259-261: "hence the new-born young gambol playfully on shaky legs over the tender grass, their young minds drunk on pure milk" (39). In her first chapter. Gale catalogues the scientific content of the DRN: Books I and 2 on theoretical physics. Books 3 and 4 on human physiology, and Books 5 and 6 on cosmology. prehistory and natural phenomena. She then tackles the question of why Lucretius chose to explain the physical nature of reality in a book of poetry. a question which arises primarily because modern readers unfamiliar with the classical tradition expect scientific matters to be discussed in prose. Gale patiently explains that ethics and science were frequently the subjects of didactic poetry in ancient literature. She calls to witness Aristophanes. Plato and Horace as proponents of the classical view that the poet is both entertainer and teacher. To further illustrate her point, Gale summons the misguided argument that modern scholars sometimes refer to Horner as the "Bible of the Greeks" (2). Gale should know that scholars who recklessly compare The Iliad and The Odyssey to the Bible are leading unsuspecting students astray: although Horner was the foremost educator of the Greeks and, as were all poets. was thought to be 104 BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS divinely inspired. his works themselves. unlike the Bible. were never considered as the revealed word of the gods. Retreating to more solid ground. Gale presents a summary of Hesiod 's Works and Days. and claims that Hellenistic poets such as Aratos are precursors of Lucretius because. like the Roman poet. they combine refined poetic artistry with a serious message borrowed from a prose source. She ends her discussion of the DRNs place in the didactic tradition by referring to Lucretius' own explanation of why he has written his work in verse: his hexameters. he says. are the "honey" of the Muses (7). the sugar-coating which makes the bitter pill of Epicurean doctrine easier for the reader to swallow. Since Lucretius' poem has survived in its entirety (albeit by virtue of a single manuscript>. whereas most of Epicurus' prose writings have vanished. it would be logical to conclude that Lucretius' poetic artistry achieved the purpose for which he claims it was designed. Yet no writer can become a poet simply by wishing to be one. however altruistic his motives. To Gale's arguments we should add the following: Lucretius wrote in poetry simply because he was born a poet. Just as a Bacchic reveller smitten by the thyrsus (1.923) must dance. so Lucretius. his heart filled with "love of the Muses" (1.925--6) is compelled to write poetry. Poetic creation. however arduous its undertaking (I. 136-45). is an occupation which brings the skilful practitioner the greatest satisfaction. and even joy (1.922-30: 4.1-10). Gale's second chapter presents an overview of Epicurean ethical and physical theories. Beginning with Epicurus' definition of pleasure as being the highest good and consisting primarily in the absence of pain. Gale warns the reader not to fall prey to...

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