On the nature of modern thought
A long-lost poem found in a monastic library transmits across a millennium the ideas of an ancient Greek philosopher, changing the course of thought from the Renaissance through the modern age. The story of 15th-century book hunter Poggio Bracciolini and his rediscovery of Lucretius’ “On the Nature of Things” was captured by Cogan University Professor Stephen Greenblatt in his National Book Award-winning account, “The Swerve: How the World Became Modern.” In a discussion with the Gazette, Greenblatt discussed Bracciolini and the poem as a tale about the power of the arts and the role that the humanities play in transmitting vital ideas across generations. GAZETTE: Lucretius’ poem brought ideas from Epicurus into the Renaissance and spread them all the way out to Darwin and Einstein and Jefferson. How did that happen? GREENBLATT: Epicurus was extremely skeptical of – even hostile to – poetry, art, and what we would think of today...