This is a fine piece of work, which fits authoritatively in the renewed interest shown by scholars towards the Naturales quaestiones. The ten essays explore wide-ranging literary, philosophical and scientific aspects of Seneca's text, and include an extensive and valuable review of the reception of QNat., from antiquity to the twentieth century.
B., ‘Il concetto di legge naturale in Lucrezio e Seneca’, explains how the notion of natural law, born with Plato and Aristotle, was resumed by the Stoics who supported the idea of a law imposed by divinity, or rather identified with it. Lucretius, instead, reintroduces the Epicurean debate against the Stoic cosmos and replaces the concept of a heaven-sent law with that of a foedus, immanent to the movement of atoms, which does not exclude an order, but which does not consider it as a product of an external will. QNat. often uses the expression ‘natural law’ both to express the Stoic providential nature and to indicate the rational knowability of natural phenomena, seemingly prodigious or disquieting; these different notions of law formed the basis of modern inquiry into the regulative principles of the universe.
P. Parroni, ‘Il linguaggio “drammatico” di Seneca scienziato’, shows how the language used in QNat. is not different from that used in Seneca's moral works, since the goal of science is to make man morally better, not more learned. The language may therefore be defined as dramatic, as it is imbued with passion and it aims at involving the reader at an emotional as well as a rational level. The many poetic quotations, especially from Lucretius and Ovid, highlight ‘l'espressività poetica nascosta nel linguaggio della scienza’ (p. 29).
H.M. Hine, ‘Originality and Independence in Seneca Natural Questions Book 2’, examines some aspects of Book 2 in which there is ‘a distinctively Roman or Italian stamp’ (p. 34): the discussion about divining by lightning, referring to the relevant Etruscan doctrine; the analysis of the Latin vocabulary concerning lightning; the general structure of the book which does not offer a systematic–deductive handling, but which starts from specific phenomena to get to the basic constituents of the physical world. Seneca's subject alternates the discussion on opinions expressed by other researchers with his own theses: he does not care about absolute originality, but he wants a theory to be accepted only after it has been thoroughly examined, and the reader is implicitly taught to reject Seneca's ideas, unless he is convinced. Finally, the second book shows the importance of thinking about problems autonomously and accepting explanations on the basis of evidence and arguments and not on the authority of others.
F.R. Berno, ‘Non solo acqua. Elementi per un diluvio universale nel terzo libro delle Naturales quaestiones’, discusses the doctrine of mutual transformation of each of the four elements into any other, in connection with the theme of the Flood, treated in the last part of the book: a decisive contribution is made by the transformation of the earth into water, a fact that is not present in other ancient theories about the dynamics of the Flood. The doctrine of mutual transformation of elements originates from Aristotle, but it comes to Seneca through Cicero's De natura deorum and especially through Ovid's Metamorphoses: in particular Seneca makes use of two passages from Ovid's work, the tale of the Flood in the first book, which he questions, and Pythagoras' discussion of the ceaseless transformation of everything in the last book, a theory which Seneca uses to support his thesis.
P. Rossi, ‘Le piene del Nilo nelle Naturales quaestiones di Seneca’ (with an appendix by D. Pellacani ‘Le piene del Nilo. Nota bibliografica’) treats the Senecan discussion of the main opinions proposed in earlier times about the phenomenon; the loss of the final part of Book 4a prevents us from following the development of this research, but Seneca would probably have been in favour of the inexplicability of the flooding of the Nile.
A. De Vivo, ‘Seneca e i terremoti (Questioni naturali, libro vi)’, examines the structure and the contents of Book 6: the philosophical framework, the central section, in which Seneca discusses the different theories on the origin of earthquakes, and above all the two excursus concerning Alexander the Great's and Nero's attempts to discover the sources of the Nile, pointing out how the negative view of the Macedonian king casts its shadow even on the apparent praise of the emperor.
C., ‘L'opzione della scienza. A proposito di Seneca, De otio 4,2’, examines the expression mari ac terris inserta contained in De otio; on the basis of Dionigi, C. proposes to interpret it as ‘waters included within lands’ and ‘lands included in waters’. This interpretation is consistent with the description of the ecumene present in QNat. and in other Senecan texts.
H. Hirai, ‘Seneca's Naturales quaestiones in Justus Lipsius’ Physiologia stoicorum: the World-Soul, Providence and Eschatology', opens the section dedicated to the reception of Senecan scientific work. Hirai recalls Lipsius' contribution to Seneca's popularity with the publication of the opera omnia in 1605. In Physiologia stoicorum, which appeared in 1604, Lipsius tries to harmonise Stoic theses and Christian doctrines; it contains 53 quotations from QNat. which Hirai examines analytically and quotes in extenso in the appendix (pp. 134ff.). Finally, Hirai notes that a wide use of the preface to Book 1 of QNat. is found in Lipsius; a continuous use of Chapter 2.45, in order to identify the World-Soul with the Christian God; and the importance of the passages of QNat. 3 about the end of the world, whose gloomy atmosphere is connected with the times of religious conflict in which Lipsius lived. Seneca therefore teaches the modern humanist ‘a wise way of living like a Christian Stoic’ (p. 134).
B.M. Gauly, ‘Aliquid veritati et posteri conferant: Seneca und die Kometentheorie der frühen Neuzeit’, proposes a comparison between the Senecan theory on the comets and those developed in the following centuries. Seneca's reflections on the subject matter concern the nature of comets and their value as a manifestation of the divine will; Seneca opposes Aristotelian and Stoic theories considering comets as heavenly bodies that move along fixed routes, but are impossible to define, in a far away atmosphere, beyond the moon. Neglected in the Middle Ages, QNat. is read and appreciated from the twelfth century; in particular, scholars like Newton, Goethe and Leopardi praise Seneca for his theories on comets. Finally, Gauly introduces the theories of Tycho Brahe, Galileo, Kepler and Fromondo, comparing them with Aristotelian and Senecan doctrines.
The last section contains an extensive essay, ‘Per una rassegna sulla fortuna delle Naturales quaestiones’, by F. Nanni and D. Pellacani (followed by a large bibliography): it is a wider study dedicated to the reception of QNat., from antiquity to the twentieth century. The wealth of data and information makes it impossible to summarise; but the ample space given to the scientific and technical reception of QNat. should be noted, alongside the philosophical, literary and religious reception.
The volume ends with an index of names and of the Senecan passages cited.
The volume is an important contribution to the study of QNat. The wealth of Seneca's work and the multiplicity of its reading levels are adequately reflected in the numerous approaches gathered together in the book. The concluding essay shows the breadth of its reception. The internationality of contributors is a sign of openness and a guarantee of scientific seriousness. QNat. takes its place at the crossroads of literary, philosophical and scientific interests; at the same time, it is a link between Graeco-Roman science and medieval and modern science. The book takes both these aspects into consideration and therefore constitutes a model of analysis of an ancient literary text.
