Post by artsykat on Oct 13, 2016 1:19:25 GMT
I found Pliny's Natural History to be very exotic. The writing style, the way of thinking, a very different change from what we've been reading so far. I can't say that I understood all he was trying to convey, but I did understand one thing. We see a clear way of how mankind must have thought all those centuries ago, and of the knowledge they were limited to.
But we also see how much Pliny knew and how much he was able to understand, without any technology or much help from previous ancestors. I think this ties into the greatness of Rome that we were discussing with Livy. This really does demonstrate how advanced they were.
It's also, in terms of astronomy, interesting to see where he went wrong.
"In the midst of these moves the sun, whose magnitude and power are the greatest, and who is the ruler not only of the seasons and of the lands; but even of the stars themselves and of the heaven."
But we also see how much Pliny knew and how much he was able to understand, without any technology or much help from previous ancestors. I think this ties into the greatness of Rome that we were discussing with Livy. This really does demonstrate how advanced they were.
It's also, in terms of astronomy, interesting to see where he went wrong.
"In the midst of these moves the sun, whose magnitude and power are the greatest, and who is the ruler not only of the seasons and of the lands; but even of the stars themselves and of the heaven."