Of the Nature of Things

According to Lucretius's frequent statements in his poem, the main purpose of the work was to free Gaius Memmius's mind of the supernatural and the fear of death. He attempts this by expounding the philosophical system of Epicurus, whom Lucretius glorifies as the hero of his epic poem. Lucretius identifies the supernatural with the notion that the gods/supernatural powers created our world or interfere with its operations in any way.