Abstract

This chapter explores the relationship between two themes of this volume, pantheism and ecology, as it is present in Pliny the Elder’s Natural History. Specifically, it examines the influence of Stoicism on Pliny’s cosmology, as he adopts and challenges philosophical positions associated with the Stoa, particularly in his engagement with the view that the entire cosmos is a single living being which governs the variety of natural phenomena in both the heavens and the sublunar world. Additional themes, such as the role of natural teleology and providence are explored, as these provide the intellectual foundation for what I consider to be Pliny’s “environmental ethics.” I argue that Pliny, despite often expressing an anthropocentric outlook toward nature, holds that, in virtue of the divinity of the Earth, there are certain human duties toward maintaining natural order. These are justified both in terms of the benefits they provide for humans as a species, given that the Earth is a source of food and other material goods, but also in terms of harms and benefits for the Earth itself. Recognizing the difference between goods that exist for our sake and that which exists for the benefit of the non-human world is a crucial distinction according to Pliny and one that underlies many of his comments about the duties humanity has toward Nature.