De mirabilibus auscultationibus 16-22 and Theophrastus’ lost On Honey
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Date
2024
Authors
Oikonomopoulou, Katerina
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Publisher
Routledge
Abstract
This chapter examines sections 16-22 of De mirabilibus auscultationibus, whose subject is honey, in terms of its relationship to Theophrastus’ lost treatise On Honey. The chapter looks closely at the structure, vocabulary and main scientific concepts sections 16-22 employ in order to highlight the miraculous properties of certain regional varieties of honey. Key parallels in historiographical works (especially Xenophon), extant Peripatetic sources (Aristotle’s zoological treatises and Theophrastus’ botanical works), as well as in Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia and later medical and zoological writings, suggest that the collection of Mir. engages with a broad scientific background for its treatment of the subject. Theophrastus’ lost treatise On Honey almost certainly formed part of this background, although the present state of the sources and testimonies does not permit secure conclusions about the extent to which the Mir. relies on its content. The chapter concludes by offering a tentative reconstruction of the lost Theophrastean work’s structure, topics, and method of scientific argumentation, based on the testimony of the Mir. and other scientific sources.
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Keywords
Mirabilia, Aristotle, Peripatetics, Peripatetic Science, Theophrastus, Honey