LATN 773 Lucretius Syllabus
Fall 2006 T-Th 12:30-1:45 PM, Murphey
221 Jim
O'Hara
Note: be alert for changes, esp. on secondary readings later in the
term; watch for e-mails, and this space
1. Th Aug. 24:
Introduction
Week 2:
Invocation of
Venus,
Memmius,
Iphigenia, Ennius, basic Epicurean principles
2. T Aug. 29 Read in Latin DRN
1-328
- work on meter if the hexameter is not yet
natural to
you (see my meter handouts, online; links at bottom of course home
page)
- Read OCD (3rd ed) on
Lucretius, Epicurus
(now avail. online through Davis!; go to http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/,
then Past Masters, then OCD), but supplement them with the new
argument
of Sedley: to quote the BMCR review (see link on links page),
"the
central thesis of the book that Lucretius is a philosophical
fundamentalist
who adheres closely to Epicurus' teaching in On Nature I-XV but who
derives
his poetic technique largely from Empedocles and does not hesitate to
edit
and re-order his Epicurean source material and so produces a
masterpiece
that transcends Epicurus."
- Read Kenney G&R pamplet on L (x)
- Read Diskin Clay L and E pages
82-110,
212-50
(glance also at texts in Clay's Appendix 1?)
- Optional readings on proem, etc : Elder
"Lucretius 1.1-49,",
Friedlander "The Epicurean Theology of L's First Prooemium...", Asmis
"Lucretius'
Venus and Stoic Zeus," Furley, "L and the Stoics," Furley "Themes from
Empedocles...", "Kleve "Lukrez und Venus", Harrison online on L and
Ennius,
parts of Gale Myth and Poetry in Lucretius; Gale"Etymological Wordplay
and Poetic Succession in Lucretius"
CP 96.2 (2001)
168-72; Sedley article or part of book on proem of L and that
of Empedocles; also Sedley in Atherton, ed.; also now Edmunds on "Mars
as Hellenistic Lover"
- I myself have some little articles on parts of
1-149,
but
they are not very important, and I talk about it in a chapter on L. in
forthcoming Inconsistency
in Romn Epic; I may put the chapter on reserve
- Optional background stuff: this might not be
a
bad time
to peak at the frags. of Ennius on the reading
list, since L. will discuss him in the
assignment, and since L.
imitates
his style to some degree? (soon I'll make the same comment
about
the Presocratics)
3. Th Aug. 31 Read in Latin DRN329-482
- Read in English in the Loeb (with glances at
Greek?)
or online (see Philosophy garden link) Diogenes Laertius Lives of
Eminent
Philosophers Book 10, on Epicurus. Read carefully at least through
his quotation of the "Letter to Herodotus" (through 10.84 in the Loeb
or
section xxv online); for now you may cruise more casually through the
rest.
- Look over my page of Lucretius links,
especially
those
on Epicurus
- Look over the bibliogaphy
(which is a little random)
- Read/skim the whole poem in English sometime
soon; know
how each Latin reading fits into the larger argument
Week 3: the atoms; rival theories, L. on
his
poetic
goals, infinity of the universe
4. T Sept. 5 Read in Latin DRN
483-829
- Read Gale, Myth and Poetry in L, pp. 6-75,
with particular attention to 50-75, "Parmenides
and Empedocles" (Note: for secondary
readings, consult bibliogaphy when
only short title given here.)
5. Th Sept. 7 Read in Latin DRN
829-1117.
- Optional Readings: Gale 138ff. (on
1.921-50),
Furley,
"L and the Stoics," Clay, L&E, 111-45 (philosophical background to
Book 1), Tatum, (1984) "The Presocratics in Book One..."
- Self-timed
honor-code e-mail translation
quiz on
Book
1, due Friday noon.
- Might not be a bad time to peak at the
frags. of
the
Presocratics, esp. Heraclitus, Empedocles, Democritus, on the reading
list
- Report: The history of the text of
Lucretius: Reporter: Ted. Link
for Report Readings
Week 4: Proem on blessings of
philosophy;
atomic
motion (& "swerve"), Magna Mater
6. T Sept. 12 Read in Latin DRN
2.1-477
- Read De Lacy, P.H., "Process and Value...," TAPA
(1957) 114-26, Long "Lucretius on nature and the epicurean
self," pp. 125-39 in Algra (photocopies on reserve), Konstan, Some
Aspects
of Epicurean Psychology pp. 3-34, esp. 3ff. (photocopy and book on
reserve)
- Optional readings: Holtsmark,
"On Lucretius 2.1-19,"Gordon (1998) 'Dido the
Phaeacian: Lost
Pleasures of an Epicurean Intertext' CA
17 : 188-211 (esp. on allusions
to the Phaeacians in the Proem to 2, and the connection between
Phaeacians
and Epicureans made in other authors)
Fowler, Lucretius
on Atomic Motion: A
Commentary on de Rerum Natura 2.1-332. Oxford (his dissertation,
posthumously
published)
- Close reader of 2.20-36: Sarah
7. Th Sept. 14 Read in Latin DRN
2.478-660
- Re-read Gale 26-32 and Clay 228-32 on the
Magna
Mater
passage (598ff.)
- Optional/FYI: West,
Imagery and Poetry 103-14
(Magna
Mater, puns etc.),
Englert, Walter G. 1987. Epicurus on the swerve
and voluntary action. Atlanta, Ga.
Furley, D.J. (1967) Two studies in the Greek
atomists.
Princeton (much on motion)
- Close reader of 2.610-28: Patrick.
Week 5: atoms lack secondary qualities
(color,
sensation); infinite worlds born, die
8. T Sept. 19 Read in Latin DRN
2.661-990
Self-timed honor code
e-mail translation quiz on
2.1-990, due Wed. noon.
9. Th Sept. 21 MENISCUS DAY! no class. Read on your own
in Latin DRN 2.991-1174. It is strongly recommended that you meet
with someone in the class to read Lucretius' Latin hexameter aloud.
Week 6: Praise
of
Epicurus; nature of mind &
soul; soul & body; mortality of soul
10. T Sept. 26 Read in Latin DRN
3.1-349
(chance for brief q's on end of 2)
- Read Fowler, "Philosophy and Literature in
Lucretian
Intertextuality" (which deals esp. with 2.991-1003) (book Roman
Constructions
; photocopies are((yes?)) on reserve)
- Optional Readings: not on Lucretius, but to
get
a sense
of Fowler's approach see the interesting essay "Modern Literary Theory
and Latin Poetry: some Anglo-American Perspectives" online at http://www.cisi.unito.it/arachne/num2/fowler.html
- More optional stuff, FYI: on intertextuality,
see both Fowler's other articles in Roman
Contructions, esp. "On
the Shoulders of Giants", and his intro to the intertextuality section
of Roman Contructions. On intertextuality in gen. see e.g.
Edmunds
(2001) Intertextuality and the reading of Roman poetry; Hinds (1998)
Allusion
and Intertext: Dynamics of Appropriation in Roman Poetry, Thomas (2000)
Reading Virgil and His Texts: Studies in Intertextuality, and the
special
volume on the topic, MD 39 (1997)
11. Th Sept. 28 Read in Latin DRN
3.350-583
- Read TBA
- Optional Readings: Kenney commentary, and...
- Report: Philodemus of
Gadara. Reporter: John. Link
for Report Readings
Week 7: mortality of soul
(cont'd); diatribe
against fear of death
12. T Oct. 3 Read in Latin DRN
3.584-829
- Read Sedley, L and the Transformation....
pp.
62-93, "L the fundamentalist" esp. 68-72, "the location of the mind"
and
82ff. on the Stoics
Close
reader of something in
3.584-829 (maybe 642-56?) : Ted
13. Th Oct. 5 Read in Latin DRN
3.830-1094
- Read Segal, Lucretius on Death and Anxiety,
chapter
eight 171-86 (photocopy on reserve; note that a possible report
will
be on pp. 94-170), and
- Jocelyn, H.D. (1986) "Lucretius, his
Copyists
and the
Horrors of the Underworld (De Rerum Natura 3.978-1023)" Acta Classica
29:
43-56 (copy on reserve)
- Galloway, A. (1986) "Lucretius'
materialist
poetics:
Epicurus and the "flawed" consolatio of book 3" Ramus 15: 52-73 (copy
on
reserve)
- Please skim/flip through/look at Wallach,
Lucretius
and the Diatribe against the Fear of Death: De Rerum Natura III
830-1094.
(Leiden 1976).
- Kenney,
E.J. (1970) "Tityos and the Lover." PCPS n.s. 16 (1970) 44-47, along
with
Jocelyn p. 47
- Optional Readings: Keep using Kenney's comm.
Segal review
by Long, Ancient Philosophy 12 (1992) 493-99
- Report: Cicero and the Epicureans. Reporter: Fred. Link
for Report Readings
Self-timed honor
code e-mail translation quiz on
Book 3, due Friday noon.
Week 8: Proem on L's mission; nature
of simulacra;
vision, sensation & thought
14. T Oct. 10 Read in Latin DRN 4.1-468
- Read Sedley pp. 134-65 (esp. thru 152) and
maybe re-read O'Hara chapter proofs on Book 4
- good optional reading for today or soon
because it deals with simulacra: Downing,
Eric, 'Lucretius
at
the camera: ancient atomism and early photographic theory in Walter
Benjamin's
Berliner Chronik.' The Germanic Review; 1/1/2006
15. Th Oct. 12 Read in Latin DRN 4.469-614
- Read pp. 182-300 of C. Martindale (2005) Latin poetry and the
judgement of taste: an essay in aesthetics. Oxford. (this book was not
listed in the online bibliography)
Week 9: sensation & thought (cont'd);
human
motion, sleep; attack on passion of love
16. T Oct. 17 class
cancelled; adjustments made below; catch up; read aloud; work on term
paper topic
Th Oct. 19 no class,
Fall break
new assignments from here on
17. T Oct. 24 Read in Latin for
today DRN 4.907-1287; read
615-906 in
English (Latin optional).
- Read Nussbaum (1994) "Beyond Obsession
and
Disgust:
Lucretius on the Therapy of Love," pp. 140-91 in The Therapy of Desire:
Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics. Earlier version
in
Apeiron 22 (1989) 1-59.
and look over Brown, Lucretius on Love and Sex:
A Commentary on De Rerum Natura IV, 1030-1287- Optional Readings: Fitzgerald, "Lucretius'
Cure for
Love in the De Rerum Natura," CW 78 (1984) 73-86, Shulman, "Te Quoque
Falle
Tamen: Ovid's Anti-Lucretian Dialectics," CJ 76 (1981) 242-53
18. Th Oct. 26 Read in Latin DRN
5.1-415
- new: read Dalzell, "Lucretius" in CHCL II.2 pp. 33-55
19. T Oct. 31: Read in Latin
5.416-771
- Special discussion topic: teaching Lucretius: see handout/e-mail
on reading reviews of translations
- Optional readings: two of the report readings (Kenney,
Brown) are
in the old course-pack on reserve; Kenney has been quite important, and
is also in Classen, ed., Probleme der Lucrezforschung
- Report: Lucretius as a Hellenistic Poet; Lucretius and
Callimachus.
Reporter: Sarah Link
for Report Readings
Week 11 or so: history of life on earth; development
of human society
20. Th Nov. 2 Read in Latin DRN
5.772-1160
- Read Brooke Holmes, "Daedala
Lingua:
Crafted Speech in De Rerum Natura," AJP 126.4 (2005) 527-85 (note: it's
long!)
Close reader
of 5.953-972:
Fred
21. T Nov. 7 Read in Latin DRN 5.1161-1457
Self-timed honor code e-mail translation quiz on
Book 5, due Wed. noon.
- Read Fowler, "Lucretius and Politics," pp.
120-50 in
M. Griffin and J. Barnes, ed., Philosophia Togata: Essays on Philosophy
and Roman Society (Oxford 1989)
- Read Farrell, 'The
Structure of
Lucretius' "Anthropology"
(DRN 5.771-1457)
- Optional Readings:
- Momigliano, A., "Epicureans in
Revolt,"
(discussed
by Fowler),
- Castner, Prosopography of Roman Epicureans
(on
reserve)
pp. 83-86 on whether Caesar was an Epicurean.
- Fowler (2002-comm) cites Tepedino Guerra,
A.
1991 'Filosofia
e società a Roma' Cron. erc. 21: 125-32 [photocopy on reserve;
see
esp. pp. 129-30] for 'some valuable corrections and disagreements'
of/with
his 1989 article
- Sedley, David "The Ethics of Brutus and
Cassius" JRS
87 (1997) 41-53 [not on reserve???? yet]
- on Book 5: Furley, "Lucretius the
Epicurean on
the History
of Mankind," in Lucrèce, Fondation Hardt, Entretiens sur
l'antiquité
classique XXIV (Geneva 1978) 1-27. Repr. in Furley Cosmic
Problems:
Essays on Greek and Roman Philosophy of Nature (Cambridge 1989) 206-22
(in loose course pack)
Week: 12 or so: Praise of Athens & E.; thunder,
lightning, earthquakes, volcanoes
22. Th Nov. 9 Read in Latin DRN
6.1-422 Possible changes to
today's assignment too????
23. T Nov. 14 : Read in Latin DRN
6.423-702
- new: read Kennedy, "Making a Text of the Universe...."
Week 13 or so: the Nile, magnets, diseases and the Plague
at Athens
24. Th Nov. 16: Read in Latin DRN
6.703-1089
25. T Nov. 21 Read in Latin DRN
6.1090-1286
- Read: Commager on the
plague (in loose
coursepack),
Clay 250-66 (loose photocopy on shelf). Please notice the textual
note in Smith on 6.1246, about moving lines 1247-51 to the end
(discussed
by Bright, P. Fowler)
- Optional readings:
- On plague, reporter's article by D. Bright
is
important
- Gale 208-28 (proem and plague) or just
223-28
(plague);
in retrospect: Gale 191-207 on deification of Epicurus.
- Fowler, Peta G. (1997) 'Lucretian
conclusions'
(discusses
moving 1247-51)
- Optonal: D.
Fowler,
"From epos to cosmos: Lucretius, Ovid, and the poetics of
segmentation",
in D. C. Innes, H. Hine, and C. Pelling edd., Ethics and Rhetoric,
Essays
for Donald Russell on his 75th Birthday (Oxford 1995) 1-18
- late additions: Segal chapter 10
the
treats the
plague, which is naturally important to his topic
- Thucydides' description of the plague
at Athens is available from Perseus as is Vergil's
plague at Noricum in Georgics 3
- For the often-repeated idea that Vergil's plague "is" (?)
anthrax, see here
or here
- Close reader of 6.1225-46:
John
Wed. Nov. 22 Thanksgiving Break
26. T Nov. 28 Term paper
reports: _______ and _________
27. Th Nov. 30 Term paper reports: _______ and _________
28. T Dec. 5 Term paper reports: _______ and _________
Final Exam: Tue. Dec 12 4:00
P.M.
Term paper due: Mon Dec 11, noon