Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. The direct links to the latin text of this section of pliny are possible due to the advice of bill thayer at the university of kansas. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. In this book, beagon redresses the balance and illuminates the natural history as the work of an author with an identifiable mode of thinking and a coherent attitude toward his. Page 431 the name which these stones bear, originates, it is said, in the peculiar tint of their brilliancy, which, after closely approaching the colour of wine, passes off into a violet without being fully pronounced. His sources were personal experience, his own prior works such as the work on germania, and extracts from other works. Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher london printed for the club by g. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history.
Gaius plinius secundus 23 ad august 25, 79 ad, better known as pliny the elder, was a roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and personal friend of the emperor vespasian. Pliny the elders sister, plinia, married a man named caecilius, from the northern italian town of. The lists generally follow the order of the subject matter of each book. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to pliny. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. In the year 79, still admiral of the western fleet, pliny noticed a cloud over the city of pompeii.
Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Concentrating on pliny s accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. Unusually, the entire remarkable work it contains over a million words has survived intact it is one of the most substantial ancient works available to modern readers. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the elder.
Even the errors of these authors are a portion of the history of nature, and plinys. Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom he. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Among the whole range of animated beings, the human fe 2151.
Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Natural history, volume ii, books 37 loeb classical library no 352 by pliny abebooks. American museum of natural history handbook series no. Mingling acute observation with often wild speculation, it offers a fascinating view of the world as it was understood in the first century ad, whether describing the danger of diving for sponges, the first waterclock, or the use of asses milk to remove wrinkles. Pliny s natural history has too often been regarded as simply a quarry for quaint storiesa view which has tended to overshadow its overall structure and purpose. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. First posted in awol 2 june 2012, updated 18 apr 2020. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. No wonder, then, that an encyclopedia of natural history dating from the early roman empire was extraordinarily popular, not only in its own time but during and well after the renaissance. Pliny the elder is also the uncle of pliny the younger, whose letters are definitely worth a read, and outline the tragic and incredible nature of pliny the. Pliny was an energetic man, hugely desirous of literary immortality, who wrote his books in the interstices of a full career as a soldier and an administrator. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics.
Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book, so that the text of all the books is quite good already. He was attempting the rescue by ship of a friend and his family from the eruption of mount vesuvius. Comparison of focus and audience between senecas natural questions and plinys.
This has been shown in heinrich brunns disputatio bonn, 1856. The older man, gaius plinius secundus, is called pliny the elder. The world, and this whatever other name men have chosen to designate the sky whose vaulted roof encircles the universe is fitly believed to be a deity, eternal, immeasurable, a being that never began to exist and never will perish. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with the creation of the first scientific encyclopaedia. In thirtyseven books by pliny the elder, 1847, printed for. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans perspective on the world around them. Pliny the elder, latin in full gaius plinius secundus, born 23 ce, novum comum, transpadane gaul now in italydied august 24, 79, stabiae, near mount vesuvius, roman savant and author of the celebrated natural history, an encyclopaedic work of uneven accuracy that was an authority on scientific matters up to the middle ages. Lives of pliny the elder and passienus crispus l039 caesar the civil wars. Pliny s last work, according to his nephew, was the naturalis historia literally natural history, an encyclopedia into which he collected much of the knowledge of his time. Pliny the elders natural history trevor murphy oxford.
Natural history, encyclopaedic scientific work of dubious accuracy by pliny the elder, completed in 77 ce as naturae historiae and conventionally known as naturalis historia. Naturalis historia is a book about the whole of the natural world in latin by pliny the elder, a roman author and naval commander who died in 79 ad. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Plinys natural history has too often been regarded as simply a quarry for quaint storiesa view which has tended to overshadow its overall structure and purpose. Gaius plinius secundus 23 ad 25 august 79 ad, better known as pliny the elder, was a roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and personal friend of the emperor vespasian spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an encyclopedic work. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books. These selections from the natural history are fascinating. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with.
Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free ebook project gutenberg. The natural history of pliny volume 6 digital collections. In 37 books, pliny the eldernot to be confused with his nephew, pliny the youngercovers botany, zoology, astronomy, geology, geography, mineralogy, and how each of these interact with roman life.
Jan 06, 2014 no wonder, then, that an encyclopedia of natural history dating from the early roman empire was extraordinarily popular, not only in its own time but during and well after the renaissance. Its an encyclopedia of what passed for scientific information in that time. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Gallia omnis comata uno nomine appellata in tria populorum genera dividitur, amnibus maxime distincta. Pliny the elder, roman savant and author of the celebrated natural history, an encyclopedic work of uneven accuracy that was an authority on scientific matters up to the middle ages.
As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover all ancient knowledge. This edition can be found on the internet archive, with the exception of books 3337, which are available on. The nature of the animated beings which exist upon it, is hardly in any degree less worthy of our contemplation than its other features. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the. Jul 12, 2018 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. While serving in this position he also found time to write his famous natural history which was published in 77. Natural history 1938 by pliny the elder, translated by h. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Pliny the elders natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. For centuries the natural history served as the western worlds primary source of scientific information and theory book i summarizes the entire contents of the work, listing the authors and sometimes the titles of.
Such then is the present state of the world, and of the countries, nations, more remarkable seas, islands, and cities which it contains. The eruption had just destroyed the cities of pompeii and herculaneum. Pliny the elders sister, plinia, married a man named caecilius, from the northern italian town of comum. Pliny the younger, or gaius plinius caecilius secundus, was the nephew and adopted son of pliny the elder, the author of the famous and importantly influential natural history in thirtyseven. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. Book i summarizes the entire contents of the work, listing the authors and sometimes the titles of the books many of which are now lost from which pliny derived. Comparison of focus and audience between senecas natural. Pliny the elder ad 2379 was a roman natural philosopher who was educated in rome and came into contact with celts during his military service in germany and gaul. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. Pliny the elder was made admiral of the western roman navy. He wrote a number of books, but the natural history is the only one that survives. Covid19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. Pliny read and dictated in a sedan chair as he moved about urban areas. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. As one of the largest and most comprehensive surviving works from the roman empire, pliny the elders natural history offers a rare glimpse into the scholarship of the ancient world. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic.
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