Lucretius on Death and Anxiety: Poetry and Philosophy in de Rerum NaturaIn a fresh interpretation of Lucretius's On the Nature of Things, Charles Segal reveals this great poetical account of Epicurean philosophy as an important and profound document for the history of Western attitudes toward death. He shows that this poem, aimed at promoting spiritual tranquillity, confronts two anxieties about death not addressed in Epicurus's abstract treatment the fear of the process of dying and the fear of nothingness. Lucretius,