The natural history of pliny, volume 2 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. 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. 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 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. 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.
In 1141 robert of cricklade wrote the defloratio historiae naturalis plinii secundi consisting of nine books of selections taken from an. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free 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. Plinius arrangierte darin traditionelles naturwissenschaftliches wissen griechischer autoren wie aristoteles. But the moon162, which is the last of the stars, and the one the most. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The natural history, which was dedicated to titus in 77, was, according to the. 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. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified.
In the first two books, the text of hardouin, as given in lemaires edition paris, 1827. Volume 9, books 3335, natural history loeb classical. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Book 9, aquatic species, including nereids, tritons and the seaserpent. 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. In 1141 robert of cricklade wrote the defloratio historiae naturalis plinii secundi consisting of nine books of selections taken from an ancient. Pliny the elder, the natural history, book i 79 hacker news. Contents of pliny s natural history divided into thirtyseven books preface. Hese books, containing the history of nature, which a few days since i brought. 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. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. More information about this seller contact this seller 16. In these years, pliny wrote a second book, a life of pomponius secundus.
Pliny s natural history in thirtyseven books london. 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. Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features. 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. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn. Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher london printed for the club by g. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. 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.
I find in the books of the lore of tuscany that once a vast and portentous earthquake occurred in the district of modena. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. 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 23 79 ce produced in his natural history a va. 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. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. Selections from the history of the world, commonly called the natural history of c. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read pliny the elder.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. On pliny the elder and the monstrous natural history of. 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 zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the.
Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Two mountains ran together with a mighty crash, leaping forward and. 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. 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. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. 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.
His sources were personal experience, his own prior works such as the work on germania, and extracts from other works. 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. 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. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading natural history. A selection classics kindle edition by pliny, gaius, healey, john, healey, john. Barclay, 184749, also by philemon holland and wernerian club page images at hathitrust pliny, the elder. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. This is a fascinating book, yet is only a selection and a small one at that of pliny s great work. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science.
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. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the us or from the uk, depending on stock availability. 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. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. Ssternerfan bone ticket of admission to the amphitheatre, found at pompeii the first book natural history by c. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled.
The name coracinus has been applied to more than, one fish of a sooty colour. 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. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 ebook written by pliny the pliny the elder. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. American museum of natural history handbook series no. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. Pliny the elder has 280 books on goodreads with 3768 ratings. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol.
The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. Pliny the elder livius articles on ancient history. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. It is very kind of you to press me to write to you as many letters as possible, and as long as possible.
Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of t. While the monster is seldom described except for it being a large fish, there is still enough evidence to easily apply theses 5. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read natural history. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. 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. 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. 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. Natural history 1938 by pliny the elder, translated by h.
Mathematical and metrological survey of the universe. The extreme promontory of africa, which projects into the ocean, is called ampelusia 4 by the greeks. 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. Table of contents of the others and of authorities.
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