The mind, the body and the soul are connected therefore the soul must die with the body, therefore the soul must be mortal, therefore nothing will be experienced after death , so one should not fear death. This is the Super Sparknotes version of Book III of Lucretius On the Nature of Things. It seems so tidy on the page presented like this, but when you break it down and consider it in relation to human nature and existence, it becomes much more complex, as many things often do. things when taken out of the context of academic theory and applied to, for lack of a better term, real life. Lucretius introduces his argument by explaining why death evokes such fear while at the same time assuring that he will eliminate these fears by refuting them. “For just as children who tremble and fear everything / in the dark night, so we are sometimes afraid in the light / of things that need not be feared any more than / of things that children tremble and imagine will happen . » (3.87-89) He begins with "Now I maintain that the spirit and the soul are kept united / with each other and make one nature […] the other part of the soul, spread throughout the body, / obeys. and is moved by the direction and impulse of the spirit” (3.135-3.140). He further explains the connection of the mind, body and soul with "and neither the power of the body nor that of the soul seems capable / of feeling sensations separately for themselves without the energy of the other, / but the sensation is kindled and inflamed.” through our flesh / through shared and interdependent movements on both sides. / Moreover, the body is never created by itself / nor does it grow of itself and does not seem to last after death” (3.333). The most telling line of this passage...... middle of paper ...... after life, is almost necessary to ensure goodness. Lucretius's ideas about the afterlife are as good as any other, while his Epicurean ideology is helpful to some are wonderful, but they are no different from other ideas about the afterlife because they all share the goal of eliminating fear. He writes: “Surely there is an unalterable limit to the life of mortals, / and it is impossible for us to avoid death and not die” (3.1076-1080). In these words, death is inevitable, we must accept it as nothing, not think about it and live life because that is all it has. In truth, death is indeed inevitable, but one must live with curiosity about it, seek solace and motivation in it when necessary, and live life as if that is all one has. Works CitedLucretius, translated by Walter Englert. On the nature of things. Newburyport: Focus Publishing, 2003. Print.