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. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. 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 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. Plinys natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. Natural history, volume iii, books 811 loeb classical library. Istria on the internet relevant nonistrians pliny the elder. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. It is a compilation of everything that pliny heard, read or saw, and is a mix of fact and fable. Preface pliny natural history preface plinius secundus to his dear vespasian a greeting. 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.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the natural history of pliny. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. Pliny the elder, latin in full gaius plinius secundus, born 23 ce, novum comum, transpadane gaul now in italydied august 24, 79, stabiae, near mount vesuvius, roman savant and author of the celebrated natural history, an encyclopaedic work of uneven accuracy that was an authority on scientific matters up to the middle ages. Apparently pliny the elder isnt good anymore vinepair. 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. Pompeii hero pliny the elder may have been found 2,000 years later. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history.
Click to share on facebook opens in new window click to share on twitter opens in new window click to email this to a friend opens in new window. But over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies. The numbers below refer to the book roman number and paragraph arabic number. 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. He was a roman author and natural philosopher who wrote naturalis historia or natural history. 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. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. 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. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. In writing it, pliny or his assistants extracted roughly 20,000 facts from 2,000 volumes by 100 authors. Susan whitfield, life along the silk road berkeley.
The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. Pliny s is an organic work, as shakespeares crowded plays or montaignes essays are organic. 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 guinness is a compilation of isolated and insipid facts. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder.
Pliny the elder was immortalized by his nephew, pliny the younger, who wrote about his uncle succumbing to ash and smoke during the eruption of mt. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder, was a roman author, a naturalist and natural philosopher, a naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and a friend of emperor vespasian. Pliny the elder wrote about dragons forbidden history. Cheers to the scholar, historian, officer, writer, and roman naturalist pliny the elder. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c.
Pliny the elder on the silk road the silk road research. Pliny the elder 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium. 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. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. 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 wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. 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.
Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3804 ratings. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. 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. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.
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. Book 11, insects, their physiology and habits especially bees, silkworms, spiders. Internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the elder. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. In the year 79, still admiral of the western fleet, pliny noticed a cloud over the city of pompeii.
His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Jun 21, 2018 gaius plinius secundus, better known in history as pliny the elder, was an influential administrator, officer, and author during his life. Pliny the elder biography birthday, trivia italian. Pliny the elder, the natural history, book i 79 hacker news. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. Pliny studied at rome before serving in the roman military in germany, eventually commanding a cavalry squadron. 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. Pliny, the beer has now become one of our flagship brews. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic.
Pliny the elder sailed into danger when vesuvius erupted, and never returned, but a body found a century ago covered in jewelry like a cabaret ballerina may really have been his. Like any great work in human history from plato to galileo, from dante to stephen hawkings pliny s natural history is, first of all, a work of imagination. 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. Xii through xix, botanyand it is here that pliny made his most. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. The two letters, as translated by professor cynthia damon of amherst college and are part of her web site for classics 36 pompeii and herculaneum. In his natural history, pliny the elder observes and then explains the planets, among many other topics. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. This was an encyclopaedia of 37 books which covered the natural world. Gaius plinius secondus, called pliny the elder to distinguish him from his nephew, known as pliny the younger, was born in 23 ce in como northern italy.
While serving in this position he also found time to write his famous natural history which was published in 77. He spent most of his time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. The 37volume history had a table of contents that, when translated into english, required more than 70 pages. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Although he was only fiftysix years old at the time of his death, he left behind a great legacy of political respect and appreciation, as well as a reputation for being one of the strongest ancient roman. 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 his natural history pliny the elder had described pompeii as follows. 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. Although he was only fiftysix years old at the time of his death, he left behind a great legacy of political respect and appreciation, as well as a reputation for being one of the strongest ancient roman historians whose work survives.
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. University of california press, 1999, quoting pliny the elder in his natural history. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and. Book ii continues with natural meteorological events lower in the sky, including the winds, weather, whirlwinds, lightning, and rainbows. Dec 09, 2015 but over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books. Gaius plinius secundus, better known in history as pliny the elder, was an influential administrator, officer, and author during his life. The illustrious life of pliny the elder, ancient historian. Gaius plinius secundas pliny the elder was a roman official and military officer who also wrote as a naturalist, biographer and historian. Natural history is an account that can only be given by a roman in the year ad 77, and because. 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. 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. Apr 16, 2014 pliny the elder on the silk road we have come now to seejourneys made to seres china to obtain cloth, the abysses of the red sea explored for pearls, and the depths of the earth scoured for emeralds. 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.
Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans perspective on the. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. Natural history, volume ii, books 37 loeb classical library. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. Pliny the elder was made admiral of the western roman navy. He is most known for his only extant work, a 37volume natural history that served as the basis for scientific knowledge for centuries. Pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. 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. The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley.
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