The Heights of Philosophy: Some Thoughts on Lucretius 2.7–13

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In this article I argue against the view that the templa serena in Lucr. 2.7-13 should be exclusively interpreted as a reference to mental realms. Instead, I suggest that Lucretius is intertwining the concept of templa serena as mental sanctuaries with the symbolical image of an 'elevated temple of Epicurean philosophy'. We should take into account both the cognitive and the symbolical meaning of Lucretius' imagery. I point to parallels in the Epicurean tradition, in order to demonstrate that the concept of an elevated sanctuary of philosophy as a spatial entity, rather than a mental realm, may have been a popular topos within Italy's Epicurean circles.