The rhetoric of explanation in Lucretius' De rerum natura / by Daniel Marković.

• Superior document: Mnemosyne. Supplements, v. 294
• Author: Marković, Daniel.
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum ; 294.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (190 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Materials /; Introduction - From Epicurus To Lucretius /; Chapter One. Epos And Physis /; Chapter Two. A Linear Universe /; Chapter Three. Arguments And Ornaments /; Outlook - The Rhetoric Of Explanation In DRN /; Bibliography /; Indices /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (p. [149]-162) and indexes.
• ISBN: 1283061031; 9786613061034; 9047433661
• ISSN: 0169-8958
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by Daniel Marković.

Alleged incompatibility of Epicurus’ philosophy with rhetoric has led modern scholars to isolate rhetorical procedures in Lucretius’ De rerum natura and regard them as non-Epicurean, accessory features. This study of Lucretius’ rhetorical procedures is based on a wider understanding of the term rhetoric, not limited to the genre of oratory. In a fresh discussion of the questions of provenance and the role of the most important formal procedures of exposition in De rerum natura the author argues that instead of injecting rhetorical strategies from non-Epicurean sources, Lucretius in fact intensified rhetorical elements already present in the work of Epicurus. These elements are used for the purpose of explanation, and function as cognitive and mnemonic aids for the reader.