文档介绍：ANCIENT NATURAL HISTORY
In this fascinating study, Roger French shows how ancient natural history was
the gathering and presentation of historiae, items worthy of note by the
philosopher, populariser or marvel-monger. This book examines the relationship
between the physical world, the gods, Greek philosophy and the purposes of
those who expressed such different notions about ‘nature’. Roger French pays
particular attention to Aristotle’s animals, Theophrastus’ plants and Strabo’s
geography. Pliny’s Natural History is also examined in some detail. One of the
major themes of the book is how natural history was treated differently by
different societies; the Greeks, Romans, Jews and Christians.
The resulting picture is one of surprising diversity of belief and practice.
Rather than a continuity of ‘ideas’, we see each new generation and each
different group using extant writings simply as a resource for their own
interpretative constructions. The same natural-historical material could serve the
purposes of the Greek philosopher looking at nature as well as the purposes of
the Christian allegorist. Roger French argues convincingly that none of these
purposes were scientific; ancient natural history had much more to do with
Macedonian and Roman military expansion than with ‘early science’.
Roger French is Director of the e Unit for the History of Medicine,
University of Cambridge. He has written widely on subjects in the history of
science.
SCIENCES OF ANTIQUITY
Series Editor: Roger French
Director, e Unit for the History of Medicine,
University of Cambridge
Sciences of Antiquity is a series designed to cover the subject matter of what we
call science. The volumes discuss how the ancients saw, interpreted and handled
the natural world, from the elements to the plex of living things. Their
discussions on these matters formed a resource for those who later worked on the
same topics, including scientists. The intention of this series is to