ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 63 
poem De Rerum Natura. It is by reading this that one 
may get the best insight into the ancient habit of thought 
concerning natural phenomena and the poem can be rec- 
commended to all who are fond of tracing over again an- 
cient by-paths and half-lost tracks. 
I do not purpose in this review to deal critically with 
the philosophy of the poem but rather to note the expla- 
nations offered of the various natural phenomena observ- 
ed. We need not boast of our great knowledge of to-day 
but it becomes more precious to us when we realize how 
painfully and slewly it has been won for us, and how 
through centuries of darkness we have come to clearer 
light. 
A word or two concerning the poem itself and its au- 
thor may not beamiss. Lucretius lived somewhere in the 
last century preceding the birth of Christ and the poem 
was published about the middle of that century. An 
Epicurean in philosophy, and a follower of the atomic 
school of Demokritos, his poem was written as an exposi- 
tion of their systems and in their defence. It was in- 
tended to explain to’ the minds of men the true nature of 
things and free them from ignorance and superstition. 
Perhaps the most striking feature of Lucretius’ poem 
is the deep reverence shown in it for the majesty of 
nature. ‘The greates: minds were those which interpre- 
ted nature ana the divinest faculty possessed by man 
was that through which truth was discovered. Homer 
was to him preeminent among the poets because he was 
near to nature and her great interpreter. 
Prof. Sellars has said of him: 
‘Tt is, however, in his devotion to truth that Lucretius 
more than in any other quality rises clearly above the 
level of his countrymen and his age. He thus combines 
what is greatest in the Greek and Roman mind, the 
Greek order of inquiry and the Roman manliness of 
