Pliny the elder 23 ad79 ad, ancient roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of naturalis historia plinys natural history natural history pliny. When i got on the net in 1995, i heard all kinds of rumors of various projects out there supposedly putting. Pliny the elder reported that elephants are scared by the smallest squeal of the hog pliny. An illustration of a computer application window wayback machine an illustration of an open book. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. Natural history is dying, and we are all the losers. The natural history of pliny digital collections national library of. Natural history is an account that can only be given by a roman in the year ad 77, and because of that we can truly know ad 77. In pliny s 37 volumes of natural history, volume 1 mostly summarized the remaining 36 books.
May 14, 2019 the elder pliny s chapters on the history of art translated by k. It is entirely devoted to a survey of the human race, for whose sake, in plinys words, nature appears to have created everything else. Sellers, and additional notes contributed by heinrich ludwig urlichs. Of the 37 books of pliny s monumental natural history, book 7 is pivotal. Covid19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes. The natural history of pliny, volume 3 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley.
Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. It is therefore at once crucial to the understanding of pliny s enterprise as a whole but also relatively selfcontained. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. 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. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Metallorum, quibus opes constant, adgnascentiumque iis natura indicata propemodum est, ita conexis rebus, ut immensa medicinae silva officinarumque tenebrae et morosa caelandi fingendique ac tinguendi subtilitas simul dicerentur. 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. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. 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 the elder mentions in its vicinity a river canaius, which is not noticed by any other writer. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher london. Life born into the municipal aristocracy of comum, pliny plihnee the elder followed an equestrian career. The natural history of pliny, volume 5 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, 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. Jun 20, 2014 natural history did not flourish, however, until the 18th and 19th centuries, when linnaeus, darwin, and even u. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Browse our selection of nature books, geography books, astronomy books, dinosaur books, and much more. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life.
The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Both factors made it eminently suitable for scholarly analysis. The 37volume history had a table of contents that, when translated into english, required more than 70 pages. 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. Details natural history biodiversity heritage library.
In plinys 37 volumes of natural history, volume 1 mostly summarized the remaining 36 books. Sep 15, 2014 welcome to our natural history books page. 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. 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. Pliny the elders natural history trevor murphy oxford.
Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher london printed for the club by g. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. The only translation of pliny s natural history which has hitherto appeared in the english language is that by philemon holland, published in the latter part of the reign of elizabeth. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. 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. In writing natural history, pliny or his assistants extracted roughly 20,000 facts from 2,000 volumes by 100 authors.
Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. In addition, however, it provides valuable insight into the extraordinary complex of ideas and beliefs current in pliny s era, many of which have resonances for other eras and cultures. P l i n y t h e e l d e r s n a tu r a l h i s t or y this page intentionally left blank pliny the elders natura. Even the errors of these authors are a portion of the history of nature, and plinys record of them becomes valuable, where otherwise his narrative tempts only.
In addition, however, it provides valuable insight into the extraordinary complex of ideas and beliefs current in plinys era, many of which have resonances for other eras and cultures. Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3804 ratings. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. Natural history did not flourish, however, until the 18th and 19th centuries, when linnaeus, darwin, and even u. Book 16 the natural history of the forest trees book 17 the natural history of the cultivated trees book 18 the natural history of grain book 19 the nature and cultivation of flax and an account of various garden plants. It is therefore at once crucial to the understanding of plinys enterprise as a whole but also relatively selfcontained. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. 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. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. 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.
Of the 37 books of plinys monumental natural history, book 7 is pivotal. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Presidents washington, jefferson and theodore roosevelt were avid and avowed. Excerpts by pliny the elder, 9780900000485, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Ita distinctis celeberrimorum aetatibus insignes raptim transcurram, reliqua multitudine passim dispersa. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. Pliny the elders natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. 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. It is no disparagement to hollands merits, as a diligent and generally faithful translator, to say that his work is unsuited to the requirements of the nineteenth century. 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. As a detailed study of the human animal, described by its author as the raison detre of nature, book seven of the elder pliny s natural history is crucial to the understanding of the work as a whole. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. The elder plinys chapters on the history of art translated by k.
Pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Pdf the natural history of pliny download ebook for free. Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. Summary from wikipedia this second volume includes books six to ten, covering the.
It is entirely devoted to a survey of the human race, for whose sake, in pliny s words, nature appears to have created everything else. The elder pliny on the human animal mary beagon oxford. 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. The natural history, volume 2 by pliny the elder free at. The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. 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. As a detailed study of the human animal, described by its author as the raison detre of nature, book seven of the elder plinys natural history is crucial to the understanding of the work as a whole. Pliny the elder library of congress published by salem press, inc. Pliny the elder and mans unnatural history cambridge core. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Evidence reported by ian frederickrothwell for item plinysnaturalhis00plinrich on february 22, 2007. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. Pliny the elder s natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world.
572 157 853 1243 595 1168 882 1449 185 939 45 940 229 1131 515 81 653 1428 702 1011 1495 1345 245 923 705 136 935 857 249 1233 1205 960 740 488 1465 1245