Naturales quaestiones
Naturales quaestiones (Natural Questions) is a Latin work of natural philosophy written by Seneca around 65 AD. 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, and it is generally thought to have been written around 62 to 64 AD. 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 ) 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 ) winds. earthquakes and the sources of the Nile. comets. The original order of the books is a matter of scholarly disagreement. 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. Themes The work is a study on questions of physics and meteorology. 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. 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