Date Presented:

19 November

摘要:

This paper discusses the importance of a passage in book 5 of Lucretius’s De rerum natura (DRN) in relation to known Epicurean teachings during the Principate, and the significance of this disjunct between the Epicurean epic and the Epicurean teachings in the Roman world. Discussions on Lucretius' DRN 5.1011-1027 often focus on the Hobbesian reading, with particular interest in Lucretius' theoretical contribution that begins with an "original condition" of mankind to the arrival of the social contract and the formation of society. Another common strand of discussion evolves around the question whether Lucretius "had more of Epicurus' works to follow than we do," as David Sedley and Campbell assumes. Yet, as Brook Holmes pointed out, DRN 5.1011-1027 have often been used to "shore up reconstructions of Epicurean views on the nature of social relationships, about which we know relatively little." Sedley's attempt to reconstruct the Epicurea "without" using Lucretius as guide, for instance, chose to leave out our focus passage altogether, for it did not fit into any existing account of Epicurus' writings. While the relationship between our focus passage and Epicurus' own writings remain uncertain, there are two aspects that inform us of how to approach the significance of the focus passage with Roman society. The first is Arrian's account of the Stoic Epictetus, whose mockery of Epicurean positions regarding marriage and offspring illustrates a clear if not biased social perception of Epicurean views on topics of the family. The second is that some of the fragments in the Herculaneum papyri include passages showing some Epicureans discussing such topics concerning marriage, offspring, and parental affinity. This paper examines the two sets of data and consider Lucretius' account in social context. This paper takes the view that Lucretius was providing an innovative account of Epicureanist creation story that was tailored for an elite Roman audience, and the "familial topics," presented not only at DRN 5.1011-1027, but in other sections of his work as well, show a clear intention to introduce Epicureanism as a form of social discourse compatible with the circle of the Roman elite that placed emphasis on "familial topics."