The Sense of Nature: Pliny the Elder

Presenters

Anna Anguissola, University of Pisa

Abstract

The paper engages with the narrative strategies and concepts that guide Pliny the Elder’s account of the natural world by exploring a small set of paragraphs at the turn of the encyclopedia’s final two books. Book 36’s final paragraphs summarize three key points developed in the treatise: the role of human ingenuity, the ability of senses to classify the natural world, and the relationship between human morals and natural norms. These points are exemplified by the three materials that close the book: glass, obsidian, and fire. The same points are raised again at the start of book 37, where Pliny sets the tone for the conclusion of his journey, reinforcing his main ideas. Pliny arranges the “liminal” materials placed at the turn of his last two books into an intricate network of references based on mutual similarities and differences in appearance, origin, and properties. While highlighting Pliny’s organizing principles, the paper addresses the Natural History’s philosophical premises, historical perspective, and epistemological fabric.