Ancient natural history : histories of nature
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Ancient natural history : histories of nature
(Sciences of antiquity)
Routledge, 1994
- : hbk
- : pbk
Available at 19 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
"Transferred to Digital Printing 2007" -- T.p. verso of hardcover
"Transferred to Digital Printing 2004" -- T.p. verso of paperback
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Ancient Natural History surveys the ways in which people in the ancient world thought about nature. The writings of Aristotle, Theophrastus, Strabo, Pliny are examined, as well as the popular beliefs of their contemporaries. Roger French finds that the same natural-historical material was used to serve the purposes of both the Greek philosopher and the Christian allegorist, or of a taxonomist like Theophrastus and a collector of curiosa like Pliny. He argues convincingly that the motives of ancient writers on nature were rarely `scientific' and, indeed, that there was not really any science at all in the ancient world.
This book will make fascinating reading for students, academics and anyone who is interested in the history of science, or in the ancient history of ideas.
Table of Contents
General Introduction to the Series Introduction to this Volume 1. Aristotle and the Nature of Things 2. Theophrastus, Plants and Elephants 3. Geography and Natural History 4. Greece and Rome 5. The Natural History of Pliny 6. Animals and Parables
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