But the important point is his attempt to give an objective analysis of the way things are without resorting to the gods. There really might be flimsy tissues floating around out there. However, even though it may not be convincing, it’s still logical. That’s why mirrors pick up those images instantly, no matter where you’re standing. Therefore, he says, material objects are constantly giving off “flimsy tissues” and these tissues are being emitted in every direction. All his explanations have to somehow rest on this hypothesis. Lucretius needs to defend his theory that everything that exists is composed of atoms. From this you may infer that the surfaces of objects emit a ceaseless stream of flimsy tissues and filmy things.” You may infer all you want, but it would still be wrong. He says “No matter how suddenly or at what time you set any object in front of a mirror, an image appears. For example, how come we see perfect reflections of things instantly in mirrors? Lucretius explains why, though not very convincingly. He starts out by giving scientific answers to some very common questions or problems. Whatever it is, in the fourth book Lucretius clearly steps away from his normal scientific perspective.

Maybe he just wants to set our minds at ease concerning eternal punishment after death. Maybe Lucretius is just opposed to gods who are mean-spirited deities. But in spite of this belief he occasionally slips in a little prayer or hymn to the gods anyway. In Book 4 he sets out to prove once again that the universe is composed only of physical bits of matter called atoms and that gods did not create the cosmos nor do they intervene in human affairs. Throughout the first three books of On the Nature of the Universe Lucretius walks a thin line between philosophy, science and poetry.

The way things are lucretius