At worst, this is a good introduction to ancient western philosophy, enough to stir interest in some of those old Greek and Roman stories you've managed to catch here and there.

Middle ground for why you might read this is simply for love of history.

I loved it for the above two reasons and because I am a little bit of a book snob, much like the main character, Poggio -a Humanist of the fifteenth century, was. Loved the hunt, the repercussions, the drama with religion and how, compared to when "On The Nature Of Things" was written, the theory of atoms in the mainstream seem to be so very recent.

Not a good choice if this is the first book you've read in years.