Lucretius

The philosopher Lucretius is the hero of the story, and Lightman recounts how the Roman’s works played a key role in the development of his own thinking.

This distinction between objective reality and subjective sensation was made by Lucretius.

The “seeds of disease” were almost certainly influenced by Democritean atomism and took inspiration from the Roman poet Lucretius, whose work had been rediscovered in the 15th century.

Set down the creation of the universe as related in Genesis and then add the pagan version outlined by Lucretius and both suddenly invite debate and discussion.

So there he is, among this philosophical elite, who share the rediscovered wisdom of such ancient authors as Plato and Lucretius, recently rediscovered in Florence.