THE RELIGION OF LUCRETIUS

SHIRLEY JACKSON CASE

Universityof Chicago

The Epicurean school of philosophy, which flourished within

the Greco-Roman world from about 300 B.C. until the fourth
century A.D., is still interesting because of its many analogies with
modern modes of thinking. In its emphasis upon a strictly
empirical method of acquiring knowledge it anticipated, in spirit
at least, the scientific scholarship of today. Furthermore, its
outright rejection of supernaturalism, its attempt to discover
nature's secrets within nature itself, its materialistic explanation
of the universe, and its application of pragmatic tests in the deter-
mination of moral and religious values-all these features are
strikinglysimilar,at least outwardly,to many prominenttendencies
in present-day thinking.
To the student of religion,Epicureanismis particularlyinterest-
ing. It represents the greatest and most persistent protest made
in that ancient world against the burdens which popular super-
stition, in the name of religion, imposed upon mankind. Apart
from Judaism it was the most vigorous and consistent opponent
of contemporary paganism for more than three hundred years
before Christianityarose; and even then it continued, side by side
with Christianity, its fight against the baneful influencesof pagan
superstition. Owing to the wide extent and popularity of Epi-
cureanismbefore the beginning of the Christian era, it must have
constituted an important item in the early Christian preachers'
world. In its criticism of paganism it may have done much to
prepare the Greeks and Romans to heed the similar protest of
Christian missionaries, even though the latter in many respects
were wholly out of sympathy with the Epicureans. But since in
matters of religion the criticism of popular superstition was the
dominant note in Epicureanism, Christianity may quite possibly
have appealed to some members of this school; and when the
92
 THE RELIGIONOF LUCRETIUS 93

Christian preachers, in their world-wide propaganda, made con-

verts from Epicurean circles, the virtues which the school had
inculcated-contentment with one's lot in life, loving participation
in the blessingsof the fraternalcommunity, and unswervingloyalty
to the teachings of the founder-were at once rebaptized with the
Christianname and became an integralpart of the new movement's
expandinglife.
With the exception of Epicurus himself, Lucretius is today
probably the best-known representative of Epicureanism. Con-
sequently he may quite properly be made the point of departure
for a general estimate of the school's significance,particularly on
its religious side. He lived at Rome in the first half of the first
century B.C.,and was one of the earliest and most important advo-
cates of this philosophy among the Romans.
Lucretius' memory is perpetuated chiefly by means of his
well-known poem, On the Nature of Things.' The poem is men-
tioned by Cicero in a letter to his brother Quintus' written early in
the year 54 B.C., and Jerome is authority for the questionable
traditionthat Ciceroedited the workwhich had been left unfinished
by the poet's untimely death.
IThere is a recent edition of the Latin by C. Bailey in the "Oxford Classical
Texts," and an English rendering by the same hand in the "Oxford Translations."
H. A. J. Monro's text and translation are still standard, and several other editions
and renderings are current. Further information about Epicureanism, from its ancient
representatives, may be found in Diogenes Laertius, book v; the fragments of Metro-
dorus (edited by A. K6rte, Leipzig, 890o); the writings of Philodemus (see Herculanen-
sium voluminum,Oxford, 1824 and 1861; various treatises have been edited by different
scholars), and the inscription of Diogenes of Oenoanda (edited by J. William, Leipzig,
1907). Opponents of the school often give a somewhat full exposition of its principles,
e.g., the pseudo-Platonic Axiochus; Cicero Definibus and De natura deorum (passim);
and Plutarch Contra Epicuri beatitudinem and Adversus Coloten. The most complete
collection of the sources is Usener's Epicurea (Leipzig, 1887). Good modern interpre-
tations are to be found in W. Wallace, Epicureanism (London, 188o); J. Masson,
The Atomic Theory of Lucretius (London, 1884); E. Clodd, Lucretius and the Atomists
(London, 1909); R. D. Hicks, Stoic and Epicurean (New York, I9Io); C. Martha,
Les moralistes sous l'empire romain (Paris, 1864, 18812); J. M. Guyau, La morale
d'Epicure et ses rapports avec les doctrines contemporaines (Paris, 1878, 18812); M.
Renault, Epicure (Paris, 19o3); E. Zeller, Die Philosophie der Griechen, 4. Aufl.
(Leipzig, 1909), III, i, 373-494, English tr., Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics (London,
1892), pp. 404-513; G. Trezza, Epicuro e l'Epicureismo (Florenz, 1877, Milano,
1885').
2 ii.
9. 13.
94 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

It comprises six books of about equal length. The first book

is taken up with a statement of the fundamentalprinciples of the
author's natural philosophy. He posits two original constituent
elements out of which the entire universehas been evolved. These
are primal matter and empty space. All other phenomena are
held to be either propertiesor accidents of these originalexistences.
As we see nature, matter and space are mingled together; but
at the outset matter was pure, a heterogeneous mass of "first
bodies" (primordia)which we commonly term atoms. Space is
said to be illimitable, and the atoms are believed to be infinite in
number though exceedingly small in size.
Book ii is devoted to a more minute study of the atoms.
Originallythey all moved downwardwith equal velocity and uni-
form direction, but slight swerve in their downwardcourse caused
interaction and resulted in a mixture of the elemental substances,
thus producing the varied phenomenaof our world. This variety
is due to the different interminglingsof many differently shaped
atoms. While the number of shapes is limited, the number of
atoms in each species is infinite. Atoms themselves do not con-
tain any secondary qualities, such as color, cold, heat, sound,
moisture, odor, sensation. These result solely from the mixing
of atoms. Since infinite numbers of these "first bodies" are in
constant motion throughout limitless space, there must be an
infinite number of worlds, and the process of creation and dissolu-
tion must be going on perpetually.
Book iii applies this atomic theory more specificallyto a defini-
tion of the soul's constitution. Both soul and body are composed
of atoms, but soul-atoms are so fine and light that the departure
of the soul causes no perceptible diminution in the weight of the
body. Owing to its exceedingly rarefiedconstitution the soul no
longer holds together after leaving the body, consequently it is
mortaland is dissolvedinto its primalatoms when man dies. While
in the body, of which it is the vitalizing force, it is fourfold in its
constitution. One part is airy, anotheris fiery, a third is vaporous,
and the fourth, which is made of the finest, smallest, and smoothest
particles, cannot be named on the analogy of any other known
substance. This last part is the sentient division of the soul and
 THE RELIGIONOF LUCRETIUS 95

residesin the breast, but the other parts are diffusedover the whole
body, of which they consitute the vital principle. Since the soul-
particles are dispersedimmediately on leaving the body, and since
the body itself immediately begins the process of dissolution at
death, there is no such thing as individual immortality. Con-
sequently it is sheer folly to fear death and the terrors of a future
life which have been created by the fancy of popular superstition.
Book iv deals pwithpsychological activities and emotions from
the atomic point of view. All sensation is traced to the activity
of atoms. All bodies are continually throwing off from their sur-
face fine atomic particles which constitute a kind of shell or image
of the original object. These images float off into space in rapid
succession, moving forward with great celerity and producing
sensationwhen they impingeupon the soul-atomsof sentient beings.
In the process of transmission they sometimes become distorted
throughcontact with other objects, or they blend with other images,
thus producing ideas in the mind which have no real objective
existence apart from these distorted atomic images. Even in
sleep the motion of the atoms continues, and the impressions
received are recordedin dreams. The soul is stimulated, through
the activity of these sensation-producingparticles, to will and
action, and from this independent motion of the soul the whole
complex of opinions results. Thus our entire mental machinery
is explained on the principle of atomic interactions, supplemented
by the notion of the will's absolute freedom-a doctrine which
Lucretius can allow even in his mechanical system because he has
admitted that atoms may on occasion capriciously swerve from
their regular course.
In book v the poet describes the creation of the world, various
phenomena of the heavens, the origin of life upon earth, and the
beginnings of civilization. All of these things are accounted for
in a purely naturalistic fashion, as the result of perpetual inter-
action and experiment. In the course of their downwarddescent
the original atoms, slightly swerving, struck each other, the lighter
ones bounded upward, and the contact produced a rotary motion
causing the atoms to form in clusters which ultimately constituted
worlds. Our world, which is thought to be a comparativelyrecent
96 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

formation, has been produced by a process of atomic segregation

in which the heavier particles have become massed together to
form earth, thereby squeezing out from among themselves those
lighter particles which subsequently united to form water, stars,
sun, moon, and air. Then the earth began to produce plants in
great abundance; after a time animal life also appeared,spontane-
ously springingfrom the earth; and ultimately, by the operation
of a law of the survival of the fittest, the present order of things
came into being. Men at first were uncouth as the beasts, they
were perpetually at war, and knew nothing of the arts of civiliza-
tion. But with the discovery of fire the process of social evolution
began. Graduallythey learned to construct habitations, to make
clothing out of skins, to establish domestic relationships, to com-
municate with one another by means of language, and to cultivate
the arts of living and thinking.
Book vi discusses a number of isolated phenomena, such as
thunder, lightning, waterspouts, clouds, rain, earthquakes, vol-
canoes, the magnet, and pestilences, closing with an account,
taken from Thucydides, of the plague at Athens. These miscel-
laneousitems serve to emphasizethe author'smain contention, that
all events, no matter how seemingly exceptional, happen according
to strictly natural laws.
Such, in brief outline, is the content of Lucretius' famous poem;
and we may well ask whether there is really any place for religion
in his system of thinking. Ouranswerto this question will depend
very largely upon what is understoodby the term "religion."
Even in ancient times the meaningof this word varied according
to changing circumstances and conditions of life. At an early
stage in his experience man consciously differentiated between
himself and the objective world about him, and he immediately
sought some means of adjusting this relationship for his own
advantage. Since the outer world impressedhim with its superi-
ority, he personalized the forces of nature and devised ways and
means by which he could appease or supplicate these superior
powers,whichhe termedgods. Belief in these deities, togetherwith
the rites employed in their worship, constituted religion in the
primitive sense of the term.
 THE RELIGIONOF LUCRETIUS 97

Religion, thus defined, is rejected outright by Lucretius. In

fact, it is his chief aim to abolish forever from the life of mankind
all popular superstition,which has foully prostrated men upon the
earth and crushed them down under a burden of fear. He highly
praises Epicurus, whose teaching he is expounding in this poem,
for having opened up to mankind a way of deliverancefrom these
terrors. To quote from the opening part of the first book:
When human life to view lay foully prostrate upon earth crushed down
under the weight of religion, who showed her head from the quarters of heaven
with hideous aspect lowering upon mortals, a man of Greece [Epicurus] ven-
tured first to lift up his mortal eyes to her face and first to withstand her to
her face. Him neither story of gods, nor thunderbolts, nor heaven with
threatening roar could quell. They only chafed the more the eager courage
of his soul, filling him with desire to be the first to burst the fast bars of nature's
portals. Therefore the living force of his soul gained the day. On he passed
far beyond the flaming walls of the world and traversed throughout in mind
and spirit the immeasurable universe whence he returns a conqueror to tell
us what can and what cannot come into being-in short, on what principle
each thing has its powers defined, its deep-set boundary mark. Therefore
religion is put under foot and trampled upon in turn; us his victory brings level
with the heaven.,
Lucretiuswould abolish all fear of the traditionalgods by deny-
ing their existence and assigning to matter itself full responsibility
for nature's activities. By showing how "nature can do all things
of herself without the aid of meddling deities" he robbed the gods
of their prey and delivered humanity from the thraldom of gross
superstition. Nor does man need to fear anything after death,
since the soul perishes immediately on leaving the body.
Lucretius' feeling of repulsion for "religion" will perhaps be
better appreciatedif we note more particularly the state of affairs
against which he revolted. The life of the Romans, both private
and public, was pretty generally dominated by belief in divination
and fear of offending the arbitrary will of the gods. Polybius
commends the Romans for their credulity in matters of religion
and their practice of inculcating the terrors of superstition as a
means of insuring virtuous conduct in both public and private
life." Othersinsist upon the benefits which have been derived from
the maintenance of superstitious practices. Livy3 reports Appius
'Book i, lines 62-79 (Monro'str.). 2 PolybiusHist. vi. 56. 3 vi. 41.
98 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

Claudius Crassusto have said: "Who is there who does not know
that this city IRome]was built by auspices during war and peace
at home and abroad?" While Appius admits that to some people
it may seem a trifling thing if the sacred chickens do not feed, if
they come out too leisurely from the coop, or if a bird chant an
unfavorablenote, yet he affirmsthat "by not despisingthese trifling
matters our ancestorshave raisedthis state to the highesteminence."
Superstitionwas rampant also in the daily life of the populace.
Plutarch, though he lived in the latter part of the first, and early
in the second century A.D., describes a situation true, at least in
part, for Lucretius' day and environment. In depicting the life
of the superstitiousman, Plutarch deploresthe fear with which the
deities are worshiped. To many persons the chapels and shrines
of the gods are regardedas "the dens of bears, the holes of dragons,
the lurking-placesof the monsters of the deep." All life was filled
with imaginary terrors, and even in sleep "terrific phantoms,
monstrous apparitions, and tortures of all kinds" occupied the
minds of these superstitiousmortals. Nor were they content with
making themselves utterly miserable in this life. They added to
their present terrorghastly picturesof the future "crammedwith all
manner of evil things." Plutarch had no sympathy with Lucre-
tius' radical method of eradicating the disease of "religion," but
he admitted the accuracy of Lucretius' diagnosis.
Many persons in that ancient world deplored the distressing
conditions into which man had been brought through his credulity,
and they attempted solutions of the problemless drastic than that
offered by Lucretius. The more educated classes had gradually
outgrown the primitive conception of objective reality which
deified and dreaded the crude forces of nature. A developing
sense of mental supremacy gave men a feeling of superiority over
nature. It was now subject to them; they analyzed its powers,
they read the story of its life, and they interpretedits significance
in terms of their own intellectual attainments. In short, they
became philosophers,and so reareda world of thought to transcend
the world of sense. Having arisen above the objective world of
sense, man no longer shared his ancestors' fear of nature nor did
he picture the deities in terms of its arbitrary forces. He might
 THE RELIGIONOF LUCRETIUS 99

nevertheless continue to be religious, even in the original sense

of the word, for out of his own idealistic thinkinghe could construct
a new deific imagery which placed his gods in the secret depths
of the world, or outside of it, and thus enabled him still to think
them worthy of his worshipand capable of answeringhis petitions.
Indeed, he might believe that his ability to rise to the heights of
intellectual attainment had been insured through divine help;
he attained to this wonderful knowledge of God because he was
himself in some sense divine. Here we have religionist and phi-
losopher in one.
Lucretius was familiar with this way of thinking. It was
essentially this type of solution which the Platonic philosophers
of his day were offering for the religious problems of the Greco-
Roman world. But their remedy was not proving eminently
successful, for, in the first place, only the philosophercould attain
to their ideal-those who were being saved were necessarily few
in number. And, secondly, this solution did not relieve the com-
mon man from the burdens of religion, since all rites were to be
scrupulously observed in traditional fashion. Plutarch, in his
criticismof Epicureanism,states the Platonic view sympathetically.
He divides humanity into three classes: First, there are the
criminals, who will inevitably dread the gods and look to the
future with terror; but it is well that religion should inculcate
these fears for the sake of the public good. Secondly, there are
large numbers of people whose thought of gods mingles fear and
pleasure. They are sufficiently fearful to observe the rites of
religion carefully, and so their fear results in the end to their ad-
vantage; but they also derive great pleasure from attending upon
the ceremonies of worship, feeling themselves in the presence of
wise and friendly powers. Lastly, there is a small group of true
philosopherswho have lost the last vestiges of fear, knowing that
God is the author of nothing but goodness.' On the other hand,
Lucretius, and the Epicureans generally, sought to deliver, not
the favored few, but all humanity, from the terrors of religion.
In this they were more sincere, so they felt, than their Platonic
opponents, and the practical advantages which the latter would
I Plutarch Contra Epic. beat., 21 f.
I00 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

gain by allowing the populace to remain deluded the Epicureans

would conserve by supplying a new criterion for conduct. They
would be honest at all hazards, implicitly abiding by the conse-
quencesof their honesty and giving to all men an equal opportunity
of obtaining the highest good in life.
Another phase of Greco-Roman philosophy also estimated
religion in terms of man's mental supremacy, but it did not assign
to its intellectual gods a transcendentalposition. The force which
drives the universeand regulatesthe affairsof men was not thought
to be something from without, but was held to be a latent power
within matter. Man was intelligent because he shared in an espe-
cial measure this ultimate world-intelligence. Yet he was also
"religious,"for he worshipedand receivedhelp fromthis permeating
divine force. He might even come to terms with traditional
superstition, since by means of allegoricalinterpretation he could
read his own meaning into the traditional concepts. If, for
example, he did not believe the myth about the binding and libera-
tion of Zeus, he might still talk as if he did, because he meant by
"binding and liberating" that the order of the world rested upon
the balance of the elements-and so on through the whole range
of mythology ad infinitum. This was Stoic teaching, and Stoicism
was a most vigorous rival of Epicureanism in Lucretius' day.
While these systems had much in common, there were two features
of Stoicism to which the Epicurean was strenuously opposed.
He could not tolerate the allegorical device for playing fast and
loose with traditional mythology, and he objected to the doctrine
of an inexorable necessity-a thing which the Stoic, to be sure,
praised as a divine providence, but which seemed to the Epicurean
a disastrous denial of man's free-will.
Having comparedLucretius' attitude on "religion" with other
attitudes prevalent in his world, we may now proceed to note more
particularly the constructive elements in his system. His poem
is mainly concernedwith "physics," but he reproduceswith remark-
able accuracy traditional Epicurean views, and so we may easily
fill out from our knowledge of that school's tenets such features
as may be vague or missing in Lucretius' exposition.
Whether or not we are to credit Lucretius with possessing
"religion" is merely a question of terminology. He would not
 THE RELIGIONOF LUCRETIUS IOI

have laid any claim to being religious in the popular sense of the
word, but if a truly religious man is not simply one who unthink-
ingly observes stated rites, but rather one who, true to his own
conscience and with all sincerity, strives to teach men how they
may realize the best and noblest ends of existence,Lucretius must
be classed among the most religious men of that age. In this
sense of the word he attaches real "religious" worth to his phi-
losophy. His one purpose is to release mankind from the terrors
of popular superstition,substituting for these false notions a proper
understanding of the nature of things and thereby rendering all
men truly happy and intelligent, and capable of realizing to the
full the highest ends of their being. A high estimate of the prac-
tical value of philosophy was characteristicof the whole Epicurean
school,which traced its teaching on this subjectback to its founder,
who was reported to have said that "you must become a slave to
philosophy if you would gain true freedom," that "by love of phi-
losophy every troublesome and painful desire is destroyed," and
that "vain is the discourseof that philosopherby which no human
sufferingis healed." Lucretius was manifestly in full accord with
these sentiments and sought to convince Memmius-for whose
instruction he composedhis verses-that this teaching offeredmen
the only sure way of attaining the summumbonumof their exist-
ence. This was the all-sufficient and only means by which they
could be "saved."
This Epicurean "religion," if we may call it such, was con-
structed on the basis of immediatecontact with reality. Accepting
the world of sense at its face value, Lucretius aimed to effect an
absolutely natural interpretationof life's values; and in doing this
he accurately representedthe school to which he belonged. Hence
the evaluation of experiencewas not phrased in terms of man's
relation to the activity of supposed supernaturalagencies but in
terms of his own conduct. Since the interests of all men were
taken into account, it was necessary to select a standard of value
that could be applied with equal fitness in the case of every indi-
vidual. This criterion was found in the universal experience of
pain and pleasure, the two opposite poles of universal desire.
Hence pleasure was made the supremegood and pain the supreme
evil.
102 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

But pleasure was not identified with mere sensuality. The

highest pleasures were mental, though a body free from pain was
an important secondary factor. Nor was one to seek merely
immediate happiness; all choices were to be made with reference
to ultimate consequences. As Epicurus expressedit:
We do not choose every pleasure,but there are times when we pass by
many pleasuressince their consequenceswould bring us inconvenience;and
we choosemanypainsratherthanpleasureswhena greaterpleasureultimately
follows the enduranceof pain. Every pleasureis good by nature, but not
every pleasureis to be chosen; also every pain is an evil but not every pain
is to be alwaysavoided.'

Epicurus distinguishes three classes of pleasures. To the first

belong all those which are both natural and necessary, such as
eating when one is hungry; those which are natural but not really
necessary,such as varieties of foods, form a second class; and to the
third belong pleasures which are neither natural nor necessary,
as, for instance, the desire of receiving praise. The wise man will
abhor pleasures of the third class, he will indulge in those of the
second only on occasion and will school himself to rise above them,
but the first he will enjoy to the full. In fact, it is his supremeduty
to live true to the demands of unperverted nature. "With a
loaf of barley-bread and water," said Epicurus, "I am ready to
dispute the prize of happiness even with Zeus."'•
Although the Epicureanphilosophy thus started with a valua-
tion of real life, still it had its speculative side, as the poem of
Lucretius amply demonstrates. Explicit answers were given to
the two standard queries of the philosopher, namely, How do we
know anything ? and What do we know ? By making the physical
senses the absolutely final test of reality the Epicureans greatly
simplified the problem of epistemology. Every sensation was
assumed to have its correspondingreality in fact, and difference
of opinion among different persons was not due to the activity
of some supersensuous rational processes but to the fusion or
distortion of the images of things in the course of transmission
from the object to the sentient part of man's soul. Consequently
the idealistic philosopher'scontention, that true knowledge could
T
Usener,Epicurea,p. 63. 2 Usener, op. cit., p. 339.
 THE RELIGIONOF LUCRETIUS 103

be acquired only by a process of mental reaction upon the data

of sense perception, could be dismissed without further ado; and
the religionist'sidea, that the most important items of knowledge
were to be acquired through the art of divination, the experience
of ecstasy, the consultation of sacred books, and other forms of
revelation, could also be ignored, since the Epicurean world-view
allowed no place for revelation of any sort. By a simple mechani-
cal process of nature's own creating man acquired all attainable
knowledge through the exercise of the physical senses. The laws
of reasoning, as expounded in the "logic" of the contemporary
schools, were largely ignored, yet some simple rules were laid down
for determining what inferences were to be drawn from certain
observations and whether a particular sensation was the result of
a true image or of a distorted one. The important thing about
a sensation was that it should be distinct, for then we may suppose
that it was caused by the impact of an image which had retained
its integrity in the course of transmission,while vague sensations
are likely to result from distorted and mixed images. So the pre-
notion (irp6Xbh&s), or intuition, of which so much was made by the
Epicureans, when very distinct may safely be assumedto correspond
with actual reality. Thus sensation is the ultimate epistemological
unit, all reasoningis secondary,since it is founded upon sensation,
and revelationas a means of acquiringknowledgeis to be absolutely
rejected.
What, then, do we actually know ? Regarding nature, our
knowledge is complete and final. The Epicurean believed that
he had penetrated into the utmost recessesof the universe and had
discovered the laws by which all things came into being. The
hypothesis about atoms and the void, as we have observed above
in noting the content of Lucretius' poem, furnished the solution
of the whole ontological problem. Matter itself being eternal,
there can be no question raised regardingits origin, and one who
knows how matter acts understandsall the mysteries of the uni-
verse. In the words of Lucretius, we "clearly perceive the whole
nature of things, its shape and frame."' We know how the world
came into being, the stages of development through which it has
I i. 949
f.
Io4 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

passed, the way in which the arts of civilization have arisen,

the laws which govern all nature's forces, and the full coursewhich
the future evolution of the world will follow. All these answers
are given in terms of the eternity of matter and the supremacy
of natural law.
Man takes his place in this scheme simply as one unit in the
whole. No exceptional ontological theory is needed to account
either for his present constitution or for his future career. He
is composed solely of material atoms, and his creation is the result
of a perfectly normal phase of atomic activity. Even his superior
intelligence is accounted for in an entirely natural way. His
sentient powers, his volitional faculty, and his entire mental life
are due to atomic fusions and interactions. Both the body and
the quadri-partite soul which animates it are simply agglomera-
tions of atoms, which combine to form an organism, which main-
tain this relationshipduring the period of the organism'slife, and
which are at last disseminated, once more falling back into the
boundless atomic sea. Thus man's career ends as it began; his
origin, his temporal existence, and his ultimate dissolution are all
clearly perceived by one who understands nature's orderly pro-
cedure.
A third form of being, the gods, are also an integral part of this
eternal material order. At first sight one might suppose that there
was no room for gods in the Epicurean system, but they are there
in infinite numbers. They do not, however, have anything to
do with our world, but dwell in eternal serenity in the interstices
between the innumerableworlds which compose the universe. As
Lucretius pursues his divine philosophy,
the walls of the worldpart asunder,I see things in operationthroughoutthe
whole void. The divinity of the gods is revealedand their tranquilabodes
which neitherwinds do shake, nor clouds drenchwith rains, nor snow, con-
gealedby sharpfrosts,harmswith hoaryfall. An ever-cloudlessethero'ercan-
opiesthem,and they laughwith light shedlargelyround. Naturetoo supplies
all theirwants and nothingever impairstheirpeaceof mind."'
The gods were the concrete embodiment of the Epicureans'
ideal man. They were free from all care, perfectly happy, and
enjoyed perpetually a life of delightful fellowshipwith one another.
I iii. 16-24.
 THE RELIGIONOF LUCRETIUS 105

Moreover, they were immortal, although they were composed of

atomic particles subject to the uniform law governing all nature.
Their immortality was not due to uniqueness of constitution but
to the conditions underwhich they lived. They were, indeed, com-
posed of the finest kind of atoms, but they existed in human form
and probablywould have suffereddissolutionhad not their environ-
ment been so congenial as to provide no contrary forces whose
action would cause the disintegration of their bodies. Were they
to mingle in the affairsof our world it would mean the loss of their
happinessand their temporalruin-they would no longerbe "gods."
It was essential to the very idea of gods, accordingto the Epicurean
philosophy, that they should be absolutely free from any entan-
gling relations with our world, or with any other environment in
which matter was subject to the same sort of friction and conflict.
Hence they must dwell in the calm spaces which intervene between
the innumerable whirling worlds.
If the gods are thus removed from the world, how does man
know of their existence? This difficulty is met by the doctrine
of the "pre-notion." Belief in divine beings is found to be a
universalphenomenonand to be very "distinct," thereforeit must
be the result of actual physical sensation. That is, atomic images
of the gods must have penetrated to the sentient part of every
human soul in order to produce this universal conviction. In
the language of Lucretius, these images emanate from the holy
body of the gods as heralds of their divine form entering into the
minds of men.' In these gods the Epicureans found real signifi-
cance, and so made them objects of worship. They were not to
be feared, nor did the worshiperhope to procure their interference
on his behalf, but they constituted for him that ideal form of
being which he reverenced supremely and strove in a measure to
realize in his own life. While criticizing popular notions of deity
and affirmingthat they were merely human idealizations of men's
fears of the powers of nature, the Epicureandeified his own ideals,
thus furnishing another example of man's disposition to make his
gods in his own image.
Epicureanism, which was from the outset practical in its
emphasis, had many attractive features, and ministered to many
'vi. 76 f.
io6 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

immediate needs of that age. There is a genuinely altruistic note

in its continually expressed desire to help humanity to a saner,
happier view of life. For example, Diogenes of Oenoanda,when
he is growing too old to continue the active work of teaching,
inscribesan epitome of his philosophy on the walls of the market-
place in order that his words may instruct posterity:
If it wereone or two or threeor fouror fiveor six or as many as you like
of such,but not too many,who werein evil plight, I might have visited each
individuallyand tenderedthem the best advice as far as in me lay. But
the vast majorityof men sufferfromthe plagueof falseopinionsand the num-
ber of victims increases-for in mutual emulationthey catch the contagion
one fromanother,like sheep. Moreover,it is right to succorthose who shall
come afterus, for they too belongto us, thoughas yet unborn; and it is also
a dictate of humanityto help the strangerswho sojournamongus. Since,
then, the succorof an inscribedwritingreachesa greaternumber,I wish to
makeuse of this porticoto exhibitin a publicplace the remedywhichbrings
salvation. For thus I banish the vain terrorswhich hold us in subjection,
eradicatingsomepainsaltogetherandconfiningsuchas aredueto naturewithin
very moderateboundsand reducingthem to the smallestdimensions.'
The practical side of the Epicurean movement is seen again
in its exponents' manner of life. Although commonly called a
school of philosophy, they were primarily a company of persons
banded together by attachment to a rule of life rather than to a
system of abstract speculation. Foremost in their consideration
was love for the brethren, and they were united in their loyalty
to a personal founder, who was admired more for his message of
deliverance than for the formulationof an elaborate philosophical
system. They held regularmonthly love feasts and exercised the
greatest of care for the needy individuals connected with their
community. Furthermore,there was an attractive stability about
their school due to the unquestioned supremacy assigned to the
teachings of their founder. They gave his instructions a position
of canonical sanctity and often prided themselves on reading no
other literature except that produced by him or by his genuine
successors. But perhaps the feature of their teaching which made
the strongest appeal was their open repudiation of traditional
mythology and their merciless condemnation of the superstitious
practices and beliefs inculcated by popular religion.
I Cited by Hicks, Stoic and Epicurean, p. 3io.
 THE RELIGIONOF LUCRETIUS 107

In several respects the Epicureans responded to the same needs

which Christians later recognized and sought to meet. In some
instances the two movements were not dissimilar, but Epicureanism
lacked Christianity's other-worldly outlook. Christianity pro-
posed, not only to deliver men from the terrors of paganism, giving
them the blessings of a new brotherhood while still upon earth,
but it offered them the assurance of a blessed immortality. Hence
its stronger appeal. Yet the real significance of Epicureanism
should not be ignored. Its salutary effect is attested by various
writers, even of opposing schools. The Stoic Seneca calls the rules
of Epicurus "virtuous and right," and Lucian praises Epicureans
and Christians alike for their vigorous opposition to superstition.
When the charlatan Alexander was exposed by an Epicurean he
publicly burned a copy of Epicurus' Catechism, the most sacred
portion of the Epicurean bible. In recounting the incident
Lucian remarks:
The fellowhad no conceptionof the blessingsconferredby that bookupon
its readers,of the peace, tranquillity,and independenceof mind it produces,
of the protectionit gives againstterrors,phantoms,and marvels,vain hopes
and inordinatedesires,of the judgmentand candorthat it fosters, or of its
true purgingof the spirit, not with torches and squills and such rubbish,
but with rightreason,truth, and frankness.'
Such was the boon which the advocates of this teaching sought
to confer upon needy humanity in that age.
I Alex., 47 (Oxfordtr.).