Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

Chapter Five. The Curious Eye Of The Elder Pliny

Bibliographic Data

ID20048159
AuthorsMary Beagon (corresponding author)
Year2011
Pages71-88
Publication date2011-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenuePliny the Elder (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/ej.9789004202344.i-248.28
OpenAlexW656254470
ISBN9789004202344
LanguageEN
Citations received3

Curiosity, both in classical antiquity and later, had ambiguous connotations. In investigating the world around them, ancient philosophers, including Seneca, tended to advocate the investigation of celestial over terrestrial matters as the road to philosophical fulfilment. Pliny's focus in his 'Natural History' is, however, on the latter. This paper explores the nuances of this terrestrial curiosity, focussing in particular on the extent to which the key motif of vision assumes distinctive qualities in keeping with the author's wider project. It argues that the individual objects of Pliny's curiosity are highlighted to produce an emotional response very different from that of Seneca's serene contemplation, yet equally valid as an appreciation of nature

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Classical antiquity · Contemplation · Curiosity · Epistemology · Literature · Classical Antiquity Studies · History · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

  • Wonder and the Marvellous from Homer to the Hellenistic World

    Open Access•Jessica Lightfoot•Wonder and the Marvellous from…•2021

  • Aulus Gellius and Roman Reading Culture

    Joseph A Howley•Aulus Gellius and Roman Reading…•2018

  • Man of High Empire

    Roy K Gibson•Man of High Empire•2020

Unique citing works3
Citations per year0.38
Citation span2018 - 2021 (4)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 3

Tools

Open DOILibgen
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae