Hese books, containing the history of nature, which a few days since i brought. Pliny the elder 23 79 ce produced in his natural history a va. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading natural history. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. The name coracinus has been applied to more than, one fish of a sooty colour. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the. Table of contents of the others and of authorities. 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, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. 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.
This is in the form of a covering letter from pliny, to accompany the gift of his treatise on natural history to his friend vespasian caesar i. 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. It is the only work by pliny to have survived, and the last that he published, lacking a final revision at his sudden and unexpected death in the ad 79 eruption of vesuvius. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled.
Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. There are two english translations of pliny online. Plinius arrangierte darin traditionelles naturwissenschaftliches wissen griechischer autoren wie aristoteles. 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 digital loeb classical library extends the founding mission of james loeb with an interconnected, fully searchable, perpetually growing virtual library of all that is important in greek and latin literature. 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. 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. 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. Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. 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.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read 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. My ideal natural history would therefore be for penguin to publish all thirtyseven volumes, yet with copious footnotes so as to learn the accuracy of what pliny says and understand those things that he may have taken for granted. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. On pliny the elder and the monstrous natural history of. His sources were personal experience, his own prior works such as the work on germania, and extracts from other works. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. More information about this seller contact this seller 16. While the monster is seldom described except for it being a large fish, there is still enough evidence to easily apply theses 5. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the us or from the uk, depending on stock availability. 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 the elder has 280 books on goodreads with 3768 ratings. 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 himself died while investigating the volcanic eruption that destroyed pompeii in ad 79, and the natural curiosity that brought about his death is also very much evident in the natural history a book that proved highly influential right up until the renaissance and that his nephew, pliny the younger, described as full of variety as. In 1141 robert of cricklade wrote the defloratio historiae naturalis plinii secundi consisting of nine books of selections taken from an. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic.
Pliny the elder, the natural history, book i 79 hacker news. The natural history, which was dedicated to titus in 77, was, according to the. Drawn entirely by zelinsky and derived from pliny the elders celebrated natural history, this book tells the tale of lion and stoatthe two greatest artists who ever livedwho compete for immortality. Pliny s natural history in thirtyseven books london. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science.
The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. 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. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia. The natural history of pliny, volume 2 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley.
In these years, pliny wrote a second book, a life of pomponius secundus. Book 9, aquatic species, including nereids, tritons and the seaserpent. Two mountains ran together with a mighty crash, leaping forward and. 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. In 1141 robert of cricklade wrote the defloratio historiae naturalis plinii secundi consisting of nine books of selections taken from an ancient. Mathematical and metrological survey of the universe. I have been chary in so doing, partly because i was afraid you were very busy, and partly because i myself have been kept going with dull, dreary work, which not only. 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. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. The extreme promontory of africa, which projects into the ocean, is called ampelusia 4 by the greeks. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Pliny the elder livius articles on ancient history. Barclay, 184749, also by philemon holland and wernerian club page images at hathitrust pliny, the elder. Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher london printed for the club by g.
Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. The author of the natural history was impressed by the operations, which had been carried out in darkness. Volume 9, books 3335, natural history loeb classical. Selections from the history of the world, commonly called the natural history of c. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 ebook written by pliny the pliny the elder. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c.
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. Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. American museum of natural history handbook series no. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. But the moon162, which is the last of the stars, and the one the most. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia. The silurus of pliny is perhaps a species of cuviers genus schilbe, although true siluri are found in the nile. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. Natural history 1938 by pliny the elder, translated by h.
Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the. In the first two books, the text of hardouin, as given in lemaires edition paris, 1827. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. I find in the books of the lore of tuscany that once a vast and portentous earthquake occurred in the district of modena. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. Contents of pliny s natural history divided into thirtyseven books preface. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read natural history.
278 27 821 1443 979 51 1306 1496 1297 1484 186 236 1372 372 209 972 205 1151 1309 919 905 137 226 826 186 907 721 731 782 918 1489 1115 839 173 35 229 660 931 884 828 1011 694 1295 1039