Translations were something of a novelty in the seventeenth century, when many Greek and Roman classics were still being reissued in their original form. Though his name does not appear on the title page, this verse translation of Lucretius was done by the emminent scholar and translator Thomas Creech (1659-1700). Born into a working class family, Creech received assistance from family friends and in 1675 was admitted as a commoner into Wadham College, Oxford. He took his B.A. in 1680, M.A. in 1683, and B. D. in 1696. Hearne wrote that Creech achieved a great reputation at Oxford, "...which was highly raised by his incomparable translation into English verse of Lucretius [in 1682]." Over time this translation of Lucretius vied in popularity with Dryden's Virgil and Pope's Homer. A friend is reported to have said that this translation was made in Creech's daily walk around the parks in Oxford in sets of fifty lines, which he would afterwards write down in his room and correct at leisure. He also authored important translations of Horace, Theocritus, Plutarch, and Ovid.[DNB]