Lucretius
I found it fascinating the thought that every living thing is birth from the earth and through this process earth gains the name of Mother. Viewing creation from a non-religious context presence a new and refreshing outlook on things seen from different perspectives. The way in which things came to be from this perspective invites pondering. the notion that living creatures spring to life from the sun and the rain sounds beautiful; "The earth, you see, first produced animals at that time because there was a great abundance of warmth and moisture in the ground"(Smith 158-1590). The earth didn't just create but clothe and nurtured its creations. The earth made humans tough and resourceful, they use animal skin to clothe themselves they use the grass as their beds. They didn't have many worries and they didn't have fear. Then there is this shift of men losing their toughness by having children and making fire.
I thought this was also interesting about the sounds men would make to communicate and how these sounds are part of our instincts; As for the various sounds of speech, it was nature that prompted human beings to utter them and it was utility that coined the names of things"(smith 164). This suggests that nature is the ultimate contributor to our happiness. Later in the text, it talks about once we get away from these earthly pleasures we start taking for granted what the earth provided. Humans start to live and want the unnecessary and unnatural vs the natural and necessary. I enjoyed Lucretius' views it provided me with an internal look at myself and the things that are really important.