The Living in Lucretius’ De rerum natura. Animals’ ataraxia and Humans’ Distress

Abstract

In trying to comprehend the human role among other living beings from an antispeciesist point of view it is possible to look back to those thinkers who, far before our times, had already considered other living beings from a non-anthropocentric perspective. In this sense, a dialogue with the Ancients could be a useful way to identify a more solid ground on which to build a new relationship with the world of nature. For this reason in the following pages I suggest reading Lucretius’ De rerum natura giving emphasis to the role of animals in order to understand the poet’s pluralistic view. In the first part of my paper I will briefly focus on the poet’s own Epicureanism while, in the second part, I will address two notable passages of Lucretius’ poem – those of Iphigenia’s sacrifice and of the bereaved cow – where it emerges both the guilt of human beings, who are compromised by an impious religion (religio), and the correct devotion (the true pietas) of animals to the laws of nature. Eventually, as I will try to outline, Lucretius presents animals as models for human serenity and, as I will point out, he suggests that our opportunity to find happiness also depends upon them.