But over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies. Next to these came his three books entitled the student11, divided. He is best known for his work pliny s natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world. Natural history is an account that can only be given by a roman in the year ad 77, and because. From antiquity through the middle ages and into the renaissance, plinys massive compilation of knowledge remained a. Pliny the elder was made admiral of the western roman navy. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. Cheers to the scholar, historian, officer, writer, and roman naturalist pliny the elder. Pliny the elder 23 79, translated by henry thomas riley 1816 1878 naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 latin texts. Pliny the elder was a roman natural philosopher who lived during the 1st century. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. 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. Preface pliny natural history preface plinius secundus to his dear vespasian a greeting.
He was attempting the rescue by ship of a friend and his family from the eruption of mount vesuvius. Start reading pliny the elder on your kindle in under a minute. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey isbn. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Start reading pliny the elders natural history on your kindle in under a minute. He spent most of his time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. Pliny, the beer has now become one of our flagship brews. 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 has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. American museum of natural history handbook series no. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.
Theres a famous story relayed by pliny the elder in his natural history that cleopatra drank the largest pearls in the world dissolved in vinegar on a bet with marc antony. Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher london. Natural history 1938 by pliny the elder, translated by h. Listen to natural history volume 1 by pliny the elder at. Cleopatra, the last of the queens of egypt, was in possession of them both, they having come to her by descent from the kings of. Pliny the elder wrote about dragons forbidden history. Seeing the elder plinys maniacal working habits, one starts to. The seventh booke of plinies naturall history sir thomas browne. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books.
The next generation added eight others, but this was too refined and minute a. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. The natural history which is actually a sort of encyclopedia of roman wisdom and prejudices has probably fallen out of favour because the first two books are surprisingly tedious. The only translation of plinys 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.
The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Listen to natural history volume 3 by pliny the elder at. 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. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. In so much, as it is hard to iudge, whether in so doing, she hath done the part of a kind. Pliny the elders natural history and millions of other books are available for. The first book is a catalogue of sources, which is followed by two. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Gaius plinius secundus, better known as pliny the elder, was an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher as well as a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Dec 09, 2015 but over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies.
Pliny the elder biography facts, childhood, family life. Back book vi, home, pliny in latin latin, forward book viii. 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. Theres a famous story relayed by pliny the elder in his natural history that cleopatra drank the largest pearls in the world dissolved in vinegar on a bet with marc antony there were formerly two pearls, the largest that had been ever seen in the whole world. There remain some creatures of immeasurably minute structure cm fact. 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.
The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth. Pliny the elder, the natural history, book i 79 hacker news. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. Utf8 start of this project gutenberg ebook natural history of pliny, vol 1 produced by turgut dincer, brian wilcox. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. 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.
His greatest and only surviving work was his naturalis historia of natural history. 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. 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. There were formerly two pearls, the largest that had been ever seen in the whole world. Plinys natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. The nature of the earth what diseases are attended with the greatest pain gaius plinius secundus, known as pliny the elder to differentiate him from his nephew pliny the younger 621 q. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. Cleopatras pearls dissolved in vinegar the history blog. A multifaceted personality, he was also an author, naturalist, and a naval and army commander of the early roman empire.
Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. Of course, pliny referred to the first book and others in writing his natural history, but it ended up as a sort of dummys guide to natural history, trying to compose a really wide subject matter into a few books over 2 years, and obviously getting a lot wrong in the process. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. 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. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. Nov 09, 2017 of course, pliny referred to the first book and others in writing his natural history, but it ended up as a sort of dummys guide to natural history, trying to compose a really wide subject matter into a few books over 2 years, and obviously getting a lot wrong in the process. The natural history, which was dedicated to titus in 77, was. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. Plinys 37book naturalis historia is a stupor mundi, an encyclopedia of everything there was to knowwhether it was worth knowing or notin. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. Most gracious highness let this title, a supremely true one, be yours, while that of most eminent grows to old age with your sirei have resolved to recount b to you, in a somewhat presumptuous letter, the offspring of my latest travail, my volumes of natural history a novel task for the native. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. In thirtyseven books internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. While serving in this position he also found time to write his famous natural history which was published in 77. Natural history is an account that can only be given by a. 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. Nonficbotany natural history, volume 5, by pliny the. A selection classics on your kindle in under a minute. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. Pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. In the year 79, still admiral of the western fleet, pliny noticed a cloud over the city of pompeii.
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. Pliny the elder s natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. Internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. The eruption had just destroyed the cities of pompeii and herculaneum. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Cleopatra, the last of the queens of egypt, was in possession of them both, they.
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