Occasionally, however, it is employed by both of these writers in the more general sense of celestial regions, in opposition to the earth, as by lucretius, i. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. The natural history, volume 2 by pliny the elder free at. Pliny s natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. 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. The natural history has been translated into english by h. Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Ive taken no pains with the latin to proof it its enough for the purpose of dealing with this myth.
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. Pliny the youngers depiction of pliny the elder for ocr gcse latin. Book 2, cosmology, astronomy, meteorology, geography, geology. Book ii continues with natural meteorological events lower in the sky, including the winds, weather, whirlwinds, lightning, and rainbows.
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. In pliny s eyes, mankind for whose sake nature was created, represents the basis for which the natural world was founded and structured. Pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. The extreme promontory of africa, which projects into the ocean, is called ampelusia 4 by the greeks.
Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom he had been. Volume 2 holland, philemon, pliny, the elder, wernerian club on. See all 22 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Table of contents of the others and of authorities. Preface pliny natural history preface plinius secundus to his dear vespasian a greeting. Natural history 1938 by pliny the elder, translated by h. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the elder. Pliny the elder s natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. 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. 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.
Utf8 start of this project gutenberg ebook natural history of pliny, vol 1 produced by turgut dincer, brian wilcox. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. Pliny the elder 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman knowledge. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Plinys natural history was the goto encyclopedia for over 1,500 years, from its publication around the year 77 until well into the renaissance. Naturalis historia is an early encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder 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.
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, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. Shipping may be from our sydney, nsw warehouse or from our uk or us warehouse, depending on stock availability. Pliny the elder born gaius plinius secundus, ad 2379 was a roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, a naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and friend of emperor vespasian. He was attempting the rescue by ship of a friend and his family from the eruption of mount vesuvius. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. The natural history of pliny, volume 2 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. On our entrance into africa, we find the two mauritanias, which, until the time of caius c. Concentrating on pliny s accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this. Pliny the elder born gaius plinius secundus, ad 2379 was a roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, a naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and friend of emperor vespasian spending most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, pliny wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which.
Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher london printed for the club by g. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge the contents of the books are as follows. Internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. Pliny the elder s natural history provides the reader with an excellent overview of what life was seen as during his time. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is crucial to understanding the work as a whole. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Gaius plinius secundus, 23 79 ce was a roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, a naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and friend of the emperor vespasian.
The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. Pliny the elder 2 livius articles on ancient history. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. 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. Topics included are the mathematics and metrology of the. Spending most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, pliny wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which. See all 23 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Healy has produced an excellent selection of pliny s works in a very readable translation with helpful, but not cumbersome, notes. 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. The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. The eruption had just destroyed the cities of pompeii and herculaneum. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. Its frequent digressions into issues of morality and gossipy, occasionally rambling style would certainly not be at home in a modern encyclopedia, but its allencompassing scope covering botany, zoology, astronomy, geology, and medicine among other. The natural history there is no book so bad that some good cannot be got out of it, pliny the elder used to say, and he read everything that he could obtain. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world.
Mathematical and metrological survey of the universe. Xii through xix, botanyand it is here that pliny made his most. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. The guinness is a compilation of isolated and insipid facts. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled.
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