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Academic Year 2000/2001

Lucretius
LAT 222 FA

"Imagine there's no heaven..." This course offers close reading in Latin of extensive selections of the DE RERUM NATURA, the remarkable poem in which Lucretius argues that the world is made up of atoms, that the soul dies with the body, that the gods never help or punish human beings, and that mortals should live their lives in search of the peace of mind of Epicurean philosophy. We will try to understand Lucretius' Latin, which we will hope to read with increasing ease and accuracy to relate fully t o his rhetorical and poetic techniques and to the literary, philosophical, historical and cultural background of this unusual and fascinating poem.

MAJOR READINGS

DE RERUM NATURA--selections in Latin, the rest in English. Selected articles on Lucretius and Epicureanism.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly reading assignments in the text, with associated critical material. Two short take-home translation exams, a short paper due at midterm and a longer paper at the end of term.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Students should be ready to translate and discuss any section of the assignment in class each week. Freshmen or others who have not taken a Latin class at Wesleyan should consult the professor of this course or LAT 201 to see which course they should take.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA CLAS    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-26-2001

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