Reading Lucretius in the Renaissance

After its rediscovery in 1417, Lucretius's Epicurean poem De Rerum Natura offered a powerful challenge to Christian thought, providing a sophisticated system to explain natural phenomena without divine intervention. Ada Palmer explores how Renaissance readers like Machiavelli and Montaigne engaged with and spread Lucretius's ideas, transforming modern thought in the process. She reveals how concepts of emergent order and natural selection became embedded in Europe's intellectual landscape through the quiet work of scholars in classrooms, libraries, and bookshops.