Naturales quaestiones (Natural Questions) is a Latin work of natural philosophy written by Seneca around AD 65. It is not a systematic encyclopedia like the Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder, though with Pliny's work it represents one of the few Roman works dedicated to investigating the natural world. Seneca's investigation takes place mainly through the consideration of the views of other thinkers, both Greek and Roman, though it is not without original thought. One of the most unusual features of the work is Seneca's articulation of the natural philosophy with moralising episodes that seem to have little to do with the investigation. Much of the recent scholarship on the Naturales Quaestiones has been dedicated to explaining this feature of the work. It is often suggested that the purpose of this combination of ethics and philosophical 'physics' is to demonstrate the close connection between these two parts of philosophy, in line with the thought of Stoicism.

Date The earliest date (terminus post quem) for writing is AD 60,J. Tracy cross-references Hine (2006) in and it is generally thought to have been written around AD 62 to 64.

Contents The Naturales Quaestiones is addressed to Lucilius Junior:

The work originally had eight books, but the book on the Nile (book 4a) is missing the second part, whereas the book concerning Hail and Snow (book 4b) is missing the first half. These two books have been joined by tradition to become book 4.

The contents of these seven books are as follows:

meteors, halos, rainbows, mock suns, etc. thunder and lightning. (theory of thunderstorms Posidonius, Ian Gray Kidd - Posidonius: The commentary. Vol.2 (p.503) (Cambridge University Press, 1988) [Retrieved 2015-3-18]) water; this book also contains the description of the Roman heat exchangers, which were called "dracones", or "miliaria"; and a description of the deluge. the Nile (4a); hail, snow, and ice (4b). (theory of hail Ian Gray Kidd - p.510 [Retrieved 2015-3-18]) winds. earthquakes and the sources of the Nile. comets.

The original order of the books is a matter of scholarly disagreement.Limburg, F. J. G., 2007, Doctoral thesis, p. 10-11. Leiden UniversityM von Albrecht - A History of Roman Literature: From Livius Andronicus to Boethius : with Special Regard to Its Influence on World Literature (p.1193) Editor GL Schmeling (BRILL, 1997) [Retrieved 2015-3-17] Several scholars consider an original order, as used by Harry M. Hine, being Book 3 (firstly), then Book 4a, 4b, Books 5-7 then Books 1, and finally Book 2.Open Library at The Internet Archive - (shows) Table of Contents of Natural questions translated by Harry M. Hine Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2010 [Retrieved 2015-3-16]

Themes The work is a study on questions of physics and meteorology.J Sellars - Stoicism (Routledge, 5 Dec 2014) [Retrieved 2015-3-16] It is one of the few Roman works which deals with scientific matters. It is not a systematic work, but a collection of facts of nature from various writers, Greek and Roman, many of which are curiosities. Moral remarks are scattered through the work; and indeed the design of the whole appears to be to find a foundation for ethics in the knowledge of nature. There is an incontrovertible intertwinement of an ethical concern with the questions of nature (physics) in the work.Limburg, F. J. G., 2007, Doctoral thesis, p. 1-2. Leiden University

Stoics from early in their history considered the telos (goal) of their efforts to be kata physin (according to nature). Thus for Seneca, virtue in a human was dependent on behaving in a natural way. The highest good or virtue is to live "according to one's own nature" (secundum naturam suam vivere in Ep. 41:9, Ep. 121:3); referring to both nature in general and one's own innate nature.

Seneca had been the imperial advisor during the early part of Nero's reign before falling out of favour, and Seneca compliments Nero four times in Naturales quaestiones. A more indirect allusion to his former role can be found in book 2 when during a discussion of lightning bolts (Book 2.43), Seneca breaks off to urge rulers to always take counsel from their advisors. Seneca thought that promoting an active interest in science to Nero would be beneficial to the emperor's morality.

Contemplation of nature for Seneca "unchains the mind" enabling a person to transcend evil, and by experiencing the totality (totum) of nature, develop a consciousness and being more compatible with direct experience of God, by elevating one's moral nature.

God is in all things natural (is intramundaneM Vassányi - Bayle's identification of Spinozism with the World-Soul theory (3rd paragraph of p.219) in Anima Mundi: The Rise of the World Soul Theory in Modern German Philosophy: The Rise of the World Soul Theory in Modern German Philosophy (Springer Science & Business Media, 16 Nov 2010) (Volume 202 of International Archives of the History of Ideas) [Retrieved 2015-3-18]), for Seneca:G Reydams-Schils - Seneca's Platonism (in) Ancient Models of Mind: Studies in Human and Divine Rationality (p.205) (edited by A. Nightingale, D. Sedley) Cambridge University Press, 11 Nov 2010 [Retrieved 2015-3-18]

Achieving an existence in keeping with the correct manner of living (that is being ethical) depends on a person fulfilling that existence in accordance with the principles of the natural law or ius naturae (p. 258 ) of the divine universal order (Seneca - Ep 76.23 as shown at p. 84-5 ), inherent in the totality of nature. To make one in agreement with nature (όμολογουμένως τῇ φύσει).J Wildberger - Brill's Companion to Seneca: Philosopher and Dramatist (p.315) Brill's Companions in Classical Studies (edited by Andreas Heil, Gregor Damschen) BRILL, 13 Dec 2013 [Retrieved 2015-3-18]

Later history The known history of the text begins in the 12th century. Erasmus of Rotterdam once owned a copy of the work, which had previously belonged to the 15th century humanist Rodolphus Agricola.J Sperna Weiland, W Th. M. Frijhoff - Erasmus of Rotterdam: The Man and the Scholar : Proceedings of the Symposium Held at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam, 9-11 November 1986, Volumes 9-11 (p.159) (Brill Archive, 1988) [Retrieved 2015-3-17]

The first edition (editio princeps) was published in Venice in 1490. English language editions include that published in 1972-73 by the Loeb Classical Library.HM Hine - Studies in the Text of Seneca's "Naturales Quaestiones" - Bibliography (Walter de Gruyter, 1 Jan 1996) [Retrieved 2015-3-16]

Recent commentaries have been published by Nikolaus Gross (1989), Francesca Romana Berno (2003), Bardo Maria Gauly (2004), and Gareth D. Williams (2012).

See also Natural History (Pliny) Albert Einstein who expressed the sense of being a part of the universe as a whole as a: "cosmic religious feeling"R Hoffmann, I Boyd Whyte - Beyond the Finite: The Sublime in Art and Science (p.122) (Oxford University Press, 14 Sep 2011) [Retrieved 2015-3-18] Nature Gaia (mythology)

References

Further reading Seneca, Naturales Quaestiones: Bks. I-III, v. 1. Loeb Classical Library Seneca, Naturales Quaestiones: Bks. IV-VII, v. 2. Loeb Classical Library Seneca, "Ricerche sulla Natura", a cura di Piergiorgio Parroni, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, a recent (2010) edition with a fine comment. Nikolaus Groß (1989), Senecas Naturales Quaestiones. Komposition, naturphilosophische Aussagen und ihre Quellen. Franz Steiner. Harry M. Hine (2010), Seneca: Natural questions. University of Chicago Press.

External links

Naturales Quaestiones web texts Physical science in the time of Nero; being a translation of the Quaestiones naturales of Seneca, (1910). Translated by John Clarke, with notes by Archibald Geikie, at the Internet Archive.