1 Matter and Void

72-74, on Epicurus:

Of his intelligence prevailed, and he advanced his course Far past the blazing bulwarks of the world, and roamed the whole Immeasurable Cosmos in his mind and in his soul.

78-79:

Therefore it is the turn of Superstition to lie prone, Trod underfoot, while by his victory we reach the heavens.

82-84, on the evils of organized religion:

And that the path you enter is the avenue to sin. More often, on the contrary, it is Religion breeds Wickedness and that has given rise to wrongful deeds[…]

148-150:

But by observing Nature and her laws. And this will lay The warp out for us - her first principle: that nothing’s brought Forth by any supernatural power out of naught.

248-249:

Therefore nothing turns to nothing. All things decompose Back to the elemental particles from which they rose.

266-269:

Just in case you start to think this theory is a lie Because these atoms can’t be made out by the naked eye, You yourself have to admit that there are particles Which are but which cannot be seen. […]

323:

The steady drip of water causes stone to hollow and yield.

487-496:

And yet it’s hard to believe that anything of solid mass Exists in all the universe. For bolts of lightning pass Through walls of houses, just as noises and as voices do. Iron glows white in fire, stones with fierce heat are split in two. Warmth loosens up and melts down the frigidity of gold. And the ‘ice’ of bronze is thawed in fire. Heat and biting cold Trickle through silver - something anybody understands Who’s ever held a silver cup of vintage in his hands When sparkling water’s poured in. […]

1115-1118:

And thus you will gain knowledge, guided by a little labour, For one thing will illuminate the next, and blinding night Won’t steal your way; all secrets will be opened to your sight, One truth illuminate another, as light kindles light.

2 The Dance of Atoms

123-125, on the value of analogies:

For to a certain extent, it’s possible for us to trace Greater things from trivial examples, and discern In them the trail of knowledge. […]

216-220, theory of the atomic swerve:

Another basic principle you need to have a sound Understanding of: when bodies fall through empty space Straight down, under their own weight, at a random time and place, They swerve a little. Just enough of a swerve for you to call It a change of course. Unless inclined to swerve, all things would fall

230-239, air resistance, free fall:

Why? Whatever falls through water or thin air, the rate Of speed at which it falls must be related to its weight, Because the substance of water and the nature of thin air Do not resist all object equally, but give way faster To heavier objects, overcome, while on the other hand Empty void cannot at any part or time withstand Any object, but it must continually heed Its nature and give way, so all things fall at equal speed Even though of differing weights, through the still void.

250-262

Again, if every motion is connected, and we hold New motions that arise, arise in due course from the old, And atoms do not serve a little and initiate The kind of motion which in turn shatters the law of fate, But leave effect to follow cause inexorably forever, Where does that freewill come from that exists in every creature The world over? Where do we get that freewill, wrenched away From the fates, by which we each proceed to follow pleasure’s sway, So that we swerve our motions not at a designated spot And fixed time, but the very place we will it in our thought? Without a doubt these motions have their beginning in the whims Of each, and from that Will these motions trickle into the limbs.

375-379:

And seeing atoms are not manufactured from one mould, But are a product of Nature, I declare as I have told Before - it’s a conclusion from which there is no escape - The atoms of things that flit about must come in many a shape.

480:

The number of the different shapes of atoms has a limit

523-529, Lucretius is convinced that there’s an infinite supply of atoms in the universe:

Atoms similar in shape have no end to their numbers. Indeed, since there’s a limited amount of different figures, Those similar in shape must needs to be numberless, or else The sum of matter would be finite, which I’ve proven false While showing in my poem that the universe abides Because of the supply of atoms raining from all sides In endless tandems blows out of the void.

583:

Nothing that’s composed of atoms of a single kind.

1023-1029:

Now I need your full attention here – A revolutionary thing strives hard to reach your ear, A new side of the universe struggles to come to light – For no fact is so simple de believe it at first sight, And there is nothing that exists so great or marvellous That over time mankind does not admire it less and less.

1046-1047:

The mind seeks explanation. Since the universe extends Forever out beyond those ramparts at which our world ends, The mind forever yearns to peer into infinity, To project beyond and outside of itself, and there soar free.

3 Mortality and the Soul

830:

Then Death is nothing to us; it concerns us not a jot

4 The Senses

5 Cosmos and Civilization

561 - 564:

There is a limit fixed to breaking down, because we see Each things is made anew, and each thing at its given time, According to its breed, attains the flower of its prime.