For in his sleep he thought that the figure of drusus nero10 stood by. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. 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. 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. From antiquity through the middle ages and into the renaissance, plinys massive compilation of knowledge remained. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. 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.
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. Pliny the elder, the natural history, book i 79 hacker news. Plinys natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. He is best known for his work pliny s natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world. Pliny finished writing natural history around 77 and published 10 of the 37 volumes before he accepted an official position as commander of a fleet in the bay of naples in 79. 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. For centuries the natural history served as the western worlds primary source of scientific information and theory book i summarizes the entire contents of the work, listing the authors and sometimes the titles of.
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 s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. It is encyclopedic in scope, but its structure is not like that of a modern encyclopedia. Pliny, the beer has now become one of our flagship brews. 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. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. The natural history, volume 1 by pliny the elder 23 79 11. Pliny the youngers depiction of pliny the elder for ocr. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. Pliny the elder was a roman natural philosopher who lived during the 1st century. This ancient roman may have been an author, statesman and military commander, but hes become a household name among. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia.
Pliny the elder was a devotee of all things fermented, namely wine and beer. 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. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. It is the only work by pliny to have survived, and the last tha. Jun 12, 2014 the long history of the roman empire is no different, for it can boast of the celebrated works of such men as ovid, virgil, suetonius, and tacitus. 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. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. Pliny the elder biography facts, childhood, family life. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. On the west side of the dead sea, but out of range of the noxious exhalations of the coast, is the solitary tribe of the essenes, which is remarkable beyond all the other tribes in the whole world, as it has no women and. 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.
Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with the creation of the first scientific encyclopaedia. But it was this, says lord bacon natural history, 10th century, which did. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans perspective on the. Pliny the elder 1st century ce natural history, book 10, 50. Divine speaker and that from this circumstance originated the proverb of. Natural history 5 volumes hardcover january 1, 2012 by pliny the elder author 5. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.
Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn. He is best known for his work plinys natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world. On the west side of the dead sea, but out of range of the noxious exhalations of the coast, is the solitary tribe of the essenes, which is remarkable beyond all the other tribes in the whole world, as it has no women and has renounced all sexual desire, has no money, and has only palmtrees for company. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Natural history pliny the elder john healey download. A multifaceted personality, he was also an author, naturalist, and a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. 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. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. 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. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. 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. American museum of natural history handbook series no. However, one individual often unrecognized by presentday readers surpasses all others history simply remembers him as pliny the elder.
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. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. 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 himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. More than just an author, he was a successful administrator. 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. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. 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.
Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. Plinys 37book naturalis historia is a stupor mundi, an encyclopedia of everything there was to knowwhether it was worth knowing or notin. The natural history, volume 1, part 2 pliny the elder. 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. He published the first 10 books in ad 77, but had not made a final revision of the remainder at the time of his death during the ad 79 eruption of. There is a bird of arabia called the cinnamolgus which makes its nest out of cinnamon twigs. Pliny the elder, the first wine critic and why he still.
The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. 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. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h.
Although his charge was to employ the fleet in the suppression of piracy, pliny became sidetracked by the eruption of mount vesuvius. 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. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. As part of a new direction in classical scholarship, this book reads the work not just for the information it contains, but to understand how and why pliny collects and presents information. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. 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. The most important surviving encyclopaedia from the ancient world, pliny the elders natural history is unparalleled as a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in 1stcentury rome.
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