Reading and Renouncing Lucretius in the Renaissance

• In Event: Renaissance Renunciations

Abstract

Lucy Hutchinson never wanted her translation of Lucretius's De rerum natura (DRN) to reach the public eye. She didn't publish it, and her 1675 dedication to Lord Anglesey vehemently renounces the translation, claiming that only his request for a copy saved it from the flames. “I found I neuer vnderstood him [Lucretius] till I learnt to abhorre him, & dread a wanton dalliance with impious bookes.” This paper focuses on the dedication's sexualized language ("wanton dalliance") to show that Hutchinson's renunciation of Lucretius was not a straightforward religious rejection of an atheistic pagan text. Hutchinson's language reflects Lucretius's erotic tone so that what is framed as revulsion and critique also registers her reading experience and reception of the text. Hutchinson's fusion of religious renunciation and amorous repudiation is characteristic of the period, and an excellent starting point for understanding the role renunciation played in the Renaissance reception of DRN.

Author

• Jessie Hock, Vanderbilt University