Lucretius (99?-55? B.C.), whose full name was Titus Lucretius Carus, was a short-lived Roman poet and philosopher. Inspired by the Greek philosopher Epicurus, Lucretius's only known work, On the Nature of Things, was an attempt to free humanity from the dread of mortality and religious superstition. One story states that he went mad after drinking a love potion, and only wrote when he felt sane.