Darab, Ágnes2024-09-242024-09-242024-09-05Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis, Vol. 60 (2024) , 77–95.0418-453Xhttps://hdl.handle.net/2437/380395According to the preface, Pliny’s Natural History belongs to the genre of historia , of which subject is the nature. At the same time, the preface offers other genre classifications as well: encyclios paideia, thaesaurus . Pliny himself points out the novelty of his work: Libros naturalis historiae […] novicium opus (praef. 1.). Regarding Pliny’s peculiar concept of nature, in terms of the genre and literary history, Natural History can be interpreted as a borderline case.Pliny the Elder’s Natural Historyancient encyclopaedic literatureancient natural sciencerhetorical digressionrhetorical exemplumfolyóiratcikkOpen AccessActa Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensishttps://doi.org/10.22315/Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis60Acta Class. Univ. Sci. Debr.2732-3390