29 
WEDNESDAY, MAY orn. 
Patural Science at Rome at the time 
of Ohrist. 
RARY HORA, B.A, B.Sc, &c 
R. Hora pointed out, first, that in any country, schools of 
philosophical thought prevalent in any age, are the product 
mainly of the political and social condition of the people. 
Secondly, he gave a picture of the horrible condition of 
Rome about B.c. 40 as it emerged from its old republican soil to 
spread abroad as a vast military Empire. Roman Natural 
Philosophy was mainly built up from the débris of the fast 
decaying Greek philosophical schools. Hence we see flourishing 
at Rome three main schools: (1) Academic—modified (one might 
almost say degraded) from the pure Idealism of Plato to a 
Sceptical Materialism. (2) Stoic School, which did not concern 
itself much with Natural Philosophy, its ethical system appealing 
so strongly to those who cherised the rigid, almost brutal, traditions 
of Rome’s earlier heroes. (3) he Epicurean School—of which 
we know most at the present time, since a complete exposition of 
its tenets by one of its most cultured adherents has come down to 
us, viz., Lucretius’ magnificent poem, De Rerum Nature. With 
all its glaring absurdities, its contempt for religion and its many 
contradictions, the outline of its philosophy resembles very much 
our modern notion of evolution. It was exceedingly popular at 
Rome and included in its folds such literary men as Virgil, 
Horace, Ovid and Lucretius. He pointed out how much and yet 
how little these schools did for modern thought. Want of 
instruments of precision, of a science of chemistry, of algebraical 
geometry, and of a systematic experimental study of Nature 
instead of mere speculation unaccompanied by experiment, account 
for its slow progress. 
Lastly, Mr. Hora pointed out that in a measure the same 
problems confront us now as they did the Romans at the time of 
Christ—the nature and origin of the Universe, God, and morality. 

