Partible Humans and Magical Bodies in Pliny the Elder's Natural History

The article examines the use of human bodily substances in healing, particularly those uses that blur the lines between religion, magic and medicine. Using Pliny the Elder's Natural History as the main evidence base, the article shows that moral anxieties were a significant factor in Pliny's recommendations on the types of bodily substances used, and the ways they were employed. Pliny's conceptualisation of the body is shown to be dividual: substances retain connections to and characteristics of their source person. However, by taking a New Materialist approach, the article moves the discussion beyond symbolic meaning to discuss the importance of physical affordances.