Classical Presences

"Dynamic Reading is an exciting experiment in perspective. Eleven essays by a range of distinguished scholars come at the Epicurean inheritance from radically different angles, from an ancient Roman who starved himself to death to Mark Rothko, from a 'whore's doctrine of pleasure' to the philosophy of Giles Deleuze. The volume bears witness to the haunting ambiguity of Epicureanism and to its continuing vitality."--Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern "This volume represents reception criticism at its best. The contributors combine an expert knowledge of Lucretius and Epicureanism with a thorough mastery of the later texts and contexts in which Epicureanism resurfaced, from a near contemporary of Lucretius on down to the Renaissance and early modern periods, Kant and his contemporaries, and recent thinkers like Foucault, Deleuze, and Leo Strauss. The essays are informed by modern literary theory, and at the same time bring to light little known areas of Epicurean influence, such as digressive notes in an early commentary on Lucretius and unsuspected echoes of Epicureanism in Hölderlin and Mark Rothko. There is something new on virtually every page."-David Konstan, author of Before Forgiveness: The Origins of a Moral Idea