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. The sources are cataloged in book 1 according to volume and cited. Natural history, volume x, books 3637 loeb classical library no. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. This extraordinary work was originally composed and written in classical latin around ad 70, and was divided into thirtyseven books.
His greatest and only surviving work, the natural history, has been called one of the most influential books ever written in latin. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. The natural history book vii with book viii 1 34 pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic.
Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. 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. Aug 23, 2019 author of naturalis historia, pliny, historia naturalis, c. This is the first general introduction to plinys letters published in any language, combining close readings with broader context and adopting a fresh and innovative approach to reading the letters as an artistically structured collection. The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th books are on geography, in which is contained an account of the situation of the different countries, the inhabitants, the seas, towns, harbours, mountains, rivers, and. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Historical traditions at wells, 1464, 1470, 1497 pdf. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. 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. Translated into english by philemon holland doctor of physicke. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. Search the history of over 436 billion web pages on the internet. 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.
Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Book title plinius secundus nouocomensis equestribus militiis industrie functus. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. Ancient roman text by plinius, describing his views of the natural world. Plini secundi naturalis historiae libri xxxvii, the historie of the vvorld. Mari opere et nomine insignes, stagnum mastromela, oppidum maritima aviaticorum, superque campi lapidei, herculis proeliorum memoria, regio anatiliorum et intus dexivatium cavarumque. American museum of natural history handbook series no. Plinius naturalis historia 36 the natural history latin. Plinys natural history in thirtyseven books london. 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 natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author.
Plinys 37book naturalis historia is a stupor mundi, an encyclopedia of everything there was to knowwhether it was worth knowing or notin. Gaius plinius secundus ad 23 august 25, ad 79, 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 spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an encyclopedic. In thirtyseven books by pliny the elder, 1847, printed for the club by g. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. 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. Pliny the elder project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. 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. Plinius a natural history free ebook download as pdf file. Plinius arrangierte darin traditionelles naturwissenschaftliches wissen griechischer autoren wie. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.
A major section of the natural history, books xx to xxix, discusses matters related to. Gaius plinius secundus ad 23 august 25, ad 79, 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. Even the errors of these authors are a portion of the history of nature, and. 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. Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. The natural history has been translated into english by h. This edition can be found on the internet archive, with the exception of books. The first and thirtythird books of pliny were translated by dr. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. In thirtyseven books by pliny the elder, 1847, printed for. 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. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output.
Pdf pliny the elder is a unique phenomenon in the history of the literary transmission of antique texts. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Author of a military treatise as well as works on grammar, rhetoric, biography, and history none extant, he is best known for his encyclopedia of natural history, naturalis historia 77 c. Barclay, 184749, also by philemon holland and wernerian club page images at hathitrust pliny, the elder. Kupferhaltige, eisenhaltige, bleihaltige metalle 915. 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. It is very broad in scope and includes all sorts of facts, observations and myths. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book. The natural history book vii with book viii 1 34 latin texts pliny the elder, pliny the.
Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. Page 189 this table being first inclined, the leaves of papyrus are laid upon it lengthwise, as long, indeed, as the papyrus will admit of, the jagged edges being cut off at either end. 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.
The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. Selections from the history of the world, commonly called the natural history of c. Life born into the municipal aristocracy of comum, pliny plihnee the elder followed an equestrian career. Pliny the elder on the melting and corrosion of silver with. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. Plini secundi naturalis historiae libri xxxvii, the. Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. 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 all ancient knowledge.
He also captured spoils 34 times, had bestowed upon him 18 spearshafts, 25 breastbadges, 83 necklets, 160 bracelets, 26 crowns including 14 civic crowns, eight of gold, three mural crowns, one siegerescue. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. He served as cavalry officer in germany and governor procurator in spain, and at the. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. The 34th on copper and lead, and the workers of copper. Pliny natural history, book 12 free ebook download as pdf file. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the. When this is done, the leaves are pressed close together, and then dried in the sun. Pliny the elder on the melting and corrosion of silver. The 2nd is on the world, the elements, and the heavenly bodies 50. 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. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history.
Author of naturalis historia, pliny, historia naturalis, c. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. As he also states in the introduction of this book xxi, french thinks science in the modern sense of the word a term applicable neither to pliny nor to any other ancient thinkers. The 1st book is the preface of the work, dedicated to titus vespasian c.
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