He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. Natural history 1938 by pliny the elder, translated by h. Pliny the younger refers to tacituss reliance upon his uncles book, the history of the german wars. Pliny the elder quotes 17 science quotes dictionary of. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia. The same author is also of opinion, that the milk of a woman who is giving suck will not become impure, if she should happen to become pregnant again by the same man. Pliny the elder compiled one of the worlds first encyclopedias. Some account of the teeth and some facts concerning infants ib 16 examples of unusual size. In thirtyseven books internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. He is critical of the magi, attacking astrology, and suggesting that magic originated in medicine, creeping in by pretending to offer health. 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. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history.
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. 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. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. This lesson explores pliny s life, his natural history, and the outsized impact pliny had on medieval european thought. Plinys naturalis historia is remarkable for its references to its sources throughout the text. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled. Internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6, by pliny the elder this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the united states and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. I say, was open to the attacks of such as caught at reputation for themselves by.
The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. 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 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. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the. Pliny the elders natural history and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. 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.
In writing natural history, pliny or his assistants extracted roughly 20,000 facts from 2,000 volumes by 100 authors. In thirtyseven books internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. Pliny the elder, natural history english xml header genre. Pliny the elder has 280 books on goodreads with 3768 ratings. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia. 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. 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. Spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an encyclopedic work, natural history naturalis historia, which became a model for many subsequent encyclopedic texts. Pliny the elder 23 79 ce produced in his natural history a va. 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. Life born into the municipal aristocracy of comum, pliny plihnee the elder followed an equestrian career.
The first and thirtythird books of pliny were translated by dr. It was probably the first attempt in western civilization to compile an encyclopedia. Pliny the elder wrote many works of history and biography, but he is best known for his book called natural history which gives moderns a good idea about the thinking of the ancients about biology, science, and medicine. Only 11 of the 16 fragments mention that cato addressed the. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Elephants hunted by troglodytes cavemen, from plinys natural. This is a fascinating book, yet is only a selection and a small one at that of plinys great work. A selection, by pliny the elder translated by john f. Some time in the first century ad, the roman scholar pliny the elder published his naturalis historia, or natural history, an enormous.
This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. Pliny the elder died in 79 ce, while attempting the rescue, by ship, of a friend and his family, in stabiae, from the eruption of mount vesuvius, which already had destroyed the cities of pompeii and herculaneum.
Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. Melvyn bragg and his guests discuss plinys natural history. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Minor defects include small tear at bottom of spine and loosening of front hinge. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an 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 the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to pliny. 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, 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. 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.
Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. Plinius secundus nouocomensis equestribus militiis industrie functus by. He served as cavalry officer in germany and governor procurator in spain, and at the. Click on the l symbols to go to the latin text of each chapter.
Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. On india xxvi 96 but before we go on to a detailed account of these countries, it is suitable to indicate the facts reported by onesicritus after sailing with the fleet of alexander round from india to the interior of farsistan, and quite recently related in detail by juba, and then to state the searoute. Pliny, natural history book 33, sections 194 translated by h. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. The biodiversity heritage library works collaboratively to make biodiversity literature openly available to the world as part of a global biodiversity community. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of.
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 project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. Pliny devised a summarium, or list of contents, at the beginning of the work that was later interpreted by modern printers as a table of contents. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Pliny the elder 23 ad79 ad, ancient roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of naturalis historia plinys natural history pliny the younger died 1, ancient roman statesman, orator, writer, and pliny the elders nephew and adopted son. In science it often happens that scientists say, you know thats a really good argument. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of t. Among the trees already mentioned are included the fruittrees and those which by their mellower juices first added the element of pleasure to food and taught us to mingle relishes with our necessary nutriment, whether they did so. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since.
At the present day, whenever they happen to find a book of recipes, if they. Natural history prelinnean works publisher london, h. 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. 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. American museum of natural history handbook series no. 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. Buy the natural history of pliny on free shipping on qualified orders. With an active marketplace of over 175 million items, use the alibris advanced search page to find any item you are looking for through the advanced search, you can find items by searching specific terms such as title, artist, song title, genre, etc or you can narrow. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. More information about this seller contact this seller 16.
Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. This work, however, xvi is not a natural history in the modern acceptation of the. Internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Besides a grammar book, pliny wrote several books on roman history, but by far his greatest achievement was natural history. The reason why the same planets seem higher or lower at sundry times. Fight between elephants and snakes, from plinys natural history, book 8, ch. 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. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. 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.
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