Roman poet and philosopher (c. 94 - 54/51 BC), of whom very little is known save that he was the author of De rerum natura (On the nature of things), a great didactic poem in six books. In 7415 dactylic hexameters of richly poetic language he systematically expounds elements of atomic theory, cosmology and Epicurean ethics. His principal aim in this work was to help the reader shed superstition and the fear of death.