Man and the Gods
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23720373 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mary Beagon (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1992 |
| Pages | 92-123 |
| Publication date | 1992-06-04 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Roman nature (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Oxford University PressOxford (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/oso/9780198147268.003.0004 |
| OpenAlex | W4388390236 |
| ISBN | 9780198147268 |
| Language | EN |
The only form of deity acceptable to Pliny is divina Natura, the spirit of the universe, an all-embracing unity. Traditional ideas of a multiplicity of gods and goddesses as in the Olympic pantheon are merely examples of imbecillitas humana (2. 14). The diversity of religious ideas only obscures the search for God (2. 22). Some men slavishly worship monstra with externa sacra, while others believe in nothing at all (2. 21). Some invent a deity between these two concepts, Fortuna; others again adopt the fatalism of astrology. Pliny concludes that ‘naturae potentia ... est quod deum vocemus’ (2. 27).
Ancient history · Art · Astrology · Chariot · Epistemology · Fatalism · Literature · Nothing · Theology · Worship · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
|---|