It may well be assumed that Lucretius was a member of the Roman aristocracy, belonging either to a senatorian or to one of the great equestrian families.
It is not for the loss of liberty and of the senatorian rule that he chafes, but for the loss of the old national manliness and self-respect.
As a man he shows many of the strong qualities of the old Roman plebeian - the aggressive boldness, the intolerance of superiority and privilege, which animated the tribunes in their opposition to the senatorian rule.
The inference that Lucretius belonged to this class is confirmed by the tone in which he addresses Gaius Memmius, a man of an eminent senatorian family, to whom the poem is dedicated.