Fear Is The Mother Of All

From De Rerum Natura, this line encapsulates the Epicurean and Lucretian explanation for the origin of religion: primitive humans, terrified by thunder, disease, and death they could not explain, invented gods as causal agents behind natural phenomena. For Lucretius, following Epicurus, the remedy for superstition is natural philosophy — understanding that all phenomena have material, atomic causes removes the psychological need for divine intervention. The claim anticipates later Enlightenment critiques of religion, including those of David Hume in The Natural History of Religion.