What is the context of the discussion, or how does the passage I’ve selected relate to bigger thematic issues at work in the Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things?

Please submit a short commentary (roughly 3.5 pages long) on the following passage in Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things —

The passage is found in Book Three. The passage begins on pg. 89 of your paperback book (ed. Smith), line 830, “Death, then, is nothing to us…” and continues to pg. 98, line 1093, “… who perished many months and years ago.”

Your commentary should achieve two goals.
One is descriptive. You should tell me what is happening in these paragraphs in simple language. Figure out what the views are and describe them to me. What is the context of the discussion, or how does the passage I’ve selected relate to bigger thematic issues at work in the Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things? Aim to clarify the author’s views in a few short sentences before further describing the structure and content of the passage I’ve selected. Accuracy is important, but so is recognizing when the author is, in fact, developing a valuable aspect of their argument. Your primary aim here is to CLARIFY the selected material. Think about what steps the discussion takes, and why it takes those steps, or ponder its fragmentary presentation. Use sign-posting to make the structure of your paper more salient to your reader. And use AMPLE textual evidence, which you will carefully document.
The second goal is evaluative. You should tell me how strong you think Lucretius’ argument(s) is (or are), and why. Is Lucretius persuasive, cogent? Is the position clear and well-argued? How compelling is the evidence Lucretius provides for his view(s)? Consider possible objections to your own position, and consider how you can stand up to criticisms of your EVALUATION. A good evaluation is INTERNAL to the text. You tell your reader about how you pick out problems the author has run into, and how they may (or may not) have the right philosophical tools, concepts, insights, or arguments to resolve them. Last but not least, think back on the four-sentence paper assignment for ideas about how to give your evaluation structure.
The paper is due for Canvas submission by Monday Dec. 13 at 12pm.

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