Pliny on the Guiding Force of Nature

[A frosty winter windscreen: taking on a cosmic effect -  Nov 2017]

"The world is sacred, eternal, boundless, self-contained, or, one should say, complete in itself, finite yet resembling the infinite, of all things certain yet resembling the uncertain, embracing in its grasp all things without and within. The world is the work of Nature and, at the same time, the embodiment of Nature herself." 

Pliny The Elder, Natural History, II.2

That'll Do Pig

"Animals of this kind delight in rolling in the mud. The tail is curled. and it has also been remarked, that those are a more acceptable offering to the gods, whose tail is turned to the right than those which have it turned to the left."

[Pliny the Elder, Natural History, VIII.77]

[Some nervous looking piggies that tempted the Emperor in the city of York, Sept 2017] 

Pliny on Man

1. " The nature of living creatures in the world is as important as the study of almost any other, even though the human mind is not able to pursue all aspects of the subject. Pride of place will rightly be given to one for whose benefit Nature apears to have created everything else. Her very many gifts, however, are bestowed as a cruel price, so that we cannot confidently say whether she is a good parent to mankind or a harsh stepmother." 

2. "Man is the only living creature whome nature covers with materials derived from others. To the remainder she gives different kinds of coverings - shell, bark, spines, hides, fur, bristles, hair, down, feathers, scales and fleeces. Even tree-trunks she protects from cold and heat by bark, sometimes in a double layer. But only man is cast forth on the day of his birth naked on the bare earth, to the accompanyment of crying and whimpering. No other creature is more given to tears - and that right at the begining of life. The well-known first smile occurs, at the earliest, only after forty days in any child."

4. "The early promise of strength and the first gift of time make him like a four-footed animal. When does man walk? When does he speak? When is his mouth firm enough for solid food? How long does his fontanelle pulsate - a sign that man is weakest amongst all living creatures? Then there are the diseases to which he is subject,  and the cures devised against these ills that are overcome by new maladies. All other animals know their own natures: some use speed, others swift flight, and yet others swimming. Man, however, knows nothing unless by learning - neither how to speak nor how to walk nor how to eat; in a word, the only thing he knows instinctivley is how to weep. ..."

5."Man alone of living creatures has been given grief, on him alone has luxury been bestowed in countless forms and through every single limb - and likewise ambition, greed and a boundless desire for living, superstitions, anxiety about burial ands even about what there will be after his life ends. No creature's life is more fragile; none has a greater lust for everything; none a more confused sense of fear or a fiercer anger. To sum up, other creatures gather and take thier stand against other species; ... But man, I swear, experiences most ills at the hands of his fellow men."

[Pliny The Elder, Natural History, VII.1-5]

Pliny on the Nature of Exotic Birds

My old acquaintance Pliny the Elder (Uncle of my past Australian travelling companion, The Younger), had much to say on the nature of interesting and exotic bird life.

In book 10 of his encyclopaedic Natural Historia, Pliny notes:

"It followeth that we should speak of the nature of birds, of which the greatest are the Ostriches.* .. They are higher than a man sitting on horseback; and they are also swifter than a horse; their wings being only given them to help them in running; for otherwise they do not fly, nor do they even rise from the ground. It is a wonder in their nature, ... for, high as the rest of their body is, if they hide their head and neck in a bush, they think themselves altogether concealed. The advantages obtained from them are their eggs, that are so big that some use them for vessels; and their feathers adorn the crests and helmets of soldiers."

[Pliny, Natural Historia, X.1]

*Ostriches are part of the Ratite genus of which the Emu is also a close relative.

Pliny on the Shape of the Earth

I recently had cause to consult with that most learned Roman writer, thinker and natural scientist, Pliny the Elder.

The uncle of my current travel mate, Pliny the Younger; Pliny Senior offers a wealth of scientific, botanical, zoological and ethnographic information from the ancient world. His comments concerning the shape of the earth have recently interested me:

160."The shape of the earth is the first fact about which there is general agreement. At any rate we call the earth a sphere and admit that it is included within poles. The form, however, is not that of a perfect sphere, for there are high mountains and widely spreading plains ... But the continuous revolution of the universe around the earth forces her huge globe into the shape of a sphere."

161. "There is a great conflict between the learned and the man in the street at this juncture. Scholars assert that men are spread out all round the earth and stand with their feet pointing towards each other and that the top of the sky is alike for all of them and that their feet point down towards the centre of the earth from wherever they are. An ordinary person, however, enquires why men on the opposite side do not fall off - as if there is not an equally good reason for them wondering why we do not fall off."

[Pliny The Elder, Natural History, Book II]

All I can say on this - writing as I am from Down Under - I don't know how it works, it just does!

Herdwick Sheep

Back in January I came across these special sheep in the Lake District. The local breed is pretty distinctive and they are known as 'Herdwicks'.

There was something about these guys that was so cool. Maybe not the brightest looking sheep, but certainly amongst the most endearing!

For details of the Herdwick see: http://www.herdwick-sheep.com/


Post Script [June 2010]

I take it all back! Who says that sheep are not intelligent?

Recent scientific recognition studies have proven that sheep have developed visual memories and indeed have the capacity to emotionally recognise and remember the specific faces of up to 50 of their woolly companions.

See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1641463.stm

Great uncle Pliny was obviously not aware of this fact when he attributed the ability of facial recognition purely within the capacity of men:

“The human features and countenance, although composed of but some ten parts or little more, are so fashioned that among so many thousands of men there are no two in existence who cannot be distinguished from one another.”

[Pliny, Natural Historia, Book VII.8]


Go Sheep!!!! I will never mock thee again ...