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The Swerve

[How the World Became Modern]
Sep 08, 2014LibraryUser53 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The focus is the first century BC work of Lucretius Carus titled "The Nature of Things". Lucretius -- seemingly prescient of what would be discovered by 20th century modern science -- describes an earth and universe composed of atoms moving about at random. And besides the atoms, empty space. He refers to it as "the void". The implication is that whatever happens is due to the random nature of the atoms, rather than divine intervention. As might be expected, the powerful in medieval Europe preferred this subject remain un-discussed. Which -- until 1417 -- wasn't a problem, as the work was thought to be lost forever to the vagaries of time. How the last remaining manuscript was re-discovered and rescued from certain oblivion by the classics book-hunter Poggio Bracciolini is the main theme of this book. Well researched by the author, and well narrated; it's definitely worth a listen, especially for those interested in ancient philosophies.