How writing technology shaped classical thinking
(PHYSorg.com Archaeology & Fossils)

The Roman poet Lucretius` epic work `De rerum natura,` or `On the Nature of Things,` is the oldest surviving scientific treatise written in Latin. Composed around 55 B.C.E., the text is a lengthy piece of contrarianism. Lucreutius was in the Epicurean school of philosophy: He wanted an account of the world rooted in earthly matter, rather than explanations based on the Gods and religion.