DRN: Overview

A mosaic depicting the Romans gods whose names were used for the planets.Overview: De Rerum Natura

...est rerum omnium magister usus, hominum adhibita sollertia inventum est magno esse usui posse...
Experience is the best master in every thing on which the wit of man is employed.
Caesar, De Bello Civili, II.8
Ne aegri quidem quia non omnes convalescunt, idcirco ars nulla medicina est.
It does not follow that, because not all the sick recover, medicine is a worthless science.
Cicero, De Natura Deorum, II.12

Image note: the image shows a mosaic from The House of the Planetarium in Italica, which is located in Spain. In the center is Venus, and from the bottom going clockwise are Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Luna/Selene (the moon), Sol/Helios (the sun), and Saturn.

Introduction

Science: from the Latin verb scire - to know and its present participle sciens, scientis - knowing. Humans have an enormous drive to learn and to know things. The Romans were no different, and in fact, were highly engaged in the process of trying to figure out how the world works. They sought the essential nature of things (de rerum natura) or the essential nature of the gods (de natura deorum). We would most likely call these Romans scientists - seekers of deeper knowledge - if they lived in the modern world. Two of the most prominent of these writers were Pliny the Elder and Cicero.

In their own time, seekers of knowledge were given another name: philosophers. This word is a Greek construction, made up of philo (love) and soph- (wisdom). The Greek love of wisdom eventually spread to Rome, where it flourished under several different groups, competing to explain the world. 

Science and philosophy - two disciplines seeking truth. Let's explore how the Romans approached this pursuit as we take a look at some of the writings left behind by these Roman scientists. What will we find that we share in common with these ancient seekers of knowledge?

Study Guide

Please download and use the Study Guide Links to an external site. to assist you in your note taking. The study guide can help guide your understanding of the module and provides important practice for the concepts covered on each page. At the end of the module, you can then use the study guide as a tool to help prepare you for the module exam.

Essential Questions

  1. What is a purpose clause?
  2. How is a purpose clause translated?
  3. What is a result clause?
  4. How is a result clause translated?
  5. How did Romans approach the acquisition of knowledge?
  6. What are the similarities and differences between Roman "science" and our modern version?
  7. What is philosophy?
  8. What are the differences between three of the Roman disciplines of philosophy (Stoicism, Epicureanism, Academic Skepticism)?
  9. How do Pliny and Cicero differ in approaching "science"?

Key Terms

  1. Subjunctive Mood - A mood covering possibility, wishes, and various other specialized constructions.
  2. Verb - A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is traditionally defined as a word that conveys an action or state of being. In Latin, a verb is a word that uses endings that indicate five characteristics - person, number, tense, voice and mood. It additionally has non-finite uses (infinitive, participle, gerund).
  3. Person- The point of view of the subject, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person.
  4. Number- Singular or Plural
  5. Tense- The time of action of the verb
  6. Conjugation- A family of verbs
  7. Voice- Active or Passive
  8. Mood- How the verb is used in a sentence: Indicative (used for statements and questions), Imperative (used for commands), Subjunctive (used for wishes, hopes, and potential or possible situations).
  9. Principal parts- The essential forms of a Latin verb that provide verb stems.
  10. Verb stem- The basic form of a verb on which endings will be added. There are two main stems: present and perfect. Stems are obtained from the principal parts.
  11. Present system- System of tenses formed on the present stem. Tenses are present, imperfect, and future.
  12. Perfect system- System of tenses formed on the perfect and the perfect participle stems.  Tenses are perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect.
  13. Sequence of Tenses - The method of determining what tense a subjunctive verb should use in a dependent clause.
  14. Dependent Subjunctive Use - A subjunctive verb used in a dependent clause.
  15. Purpose Clause - Also called a final clause, this dependent subjunctive use expresses the reason for an action occurring.
  16. Result Clause - Also called a consecutive clause, this dependent subjunctive use expresses the consequence of an action occurring.

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Image by Carole Raddato, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.