“ Lucretius Whole”: Waller’s “Unlimited Praise for the Philosophy of Epicurus”

Abstract: As a close reading of Waller’s encomium to Evelyn reveals, this neglected poem houses several points of interest. Most notably, it establishes Waller’s boundless enthusiasm for Lucretian Epicureanism, a body of thought regarded by most of his contemporaries as synonymous with atheism and on a par for its overall toxicity with the philosophy of Hobbes. Given how Waller greatly admired that body of thought as well, his reputation for intellectual daring ought to stand much higher than it does.