"From the heart of the fountain of delight rises a jet of bitterness that tortures us among the very flowers. Even if I knew nothing of the atoms, I would venture to assert on the evidence of the celestial phenomena themselves, supported by many other arguments, that the universe was certainly not created for us by divine power: it is so full of imperfectio. Gods exist, but they did not start the universe, and they have no concern for men. Being mere shifting combinations of atoms, this world and the other worlds are not eternal. The other worlds out there are not controlled by gods any more than this one. But the gods will not hurt you, and death is easy when life is gone. When you are gone, the atoms in your soul and the atoms in your body will still be here making up something else, a rock, a lake, or a flower. In this reason, people are born with two big vulnerabilities for hurt, the fear of gods and the fear of death. Mankind went through a savage beginning, and there has been noticeable improvement in skill and ability, but even this world will pass away. The forms of life in this world and in the other worlds change, increasing in power for a time and then losing power to other forms. We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only begin to fly by embracing one another.”
-Lucretius "On the Nature of Things"