In the De rerum natura the song of Epicurean faith is translated into a poem that has strong visual impact, which presents a very complex topic to the reader through direct images, thus compensating for the lack of an adequate philosophical vocabulary in the Latin of its time. In this study I shall deal with the sense of nature in Lucretius, or rather I will try to highlight the sensitivity that he demonstrates in his poem towards the various aspects of the natural environment. Having underlined how in the Latin translation of the Greek term atomoi, expressions are favored that – aimed at emphasizing their generative force – position atoms as the creators of reality, I shall examine how the principal Lucretian poetic models, primarily Empedocles and Ennius, positioned themselves in relation to the spectacle of nature. Thus it will be seen that the absolute originality that characterizes the descriptions of nature in the poem is based mostly on a constant use of the poetic technique of amplification. Through a skillful choice of words, the poem highlights images of strength and greatness, in an essentially antinomic view of reality achieved through a continuous clash between elements in constant movement. Scenes such as those of the wind which rages through the forest, tearing up tall trees from their deepest roots, or rivers which, swollen by the rains, launch themselves at the pillars of bridges, overwhelming them and carrying them along in their run, will thus reveal themselves in their proper perspective. The atomic theory itself, on which these images are based, will be seen to have determined this descriptive mode, in an intimate union between the proposition to be demonstrated and the images that demonstrate it, thus indicating the inseparability of poetry and philosophy in Lucretius, beyond the now outdated definition of Croce.
