The new title is longer, less easy for editors to guess, does not name the author, and has no precedent in common usage, so it might be thought not much of an improvement. 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 37volume history had a table of contents that, when translated into english, required more than 70 pages. Aug 22, 2020 this was a major concern in antiquity, and latin authors such as pliny the elder and varro noted different storage practices, claiming that unprocessed grain could be stored in sealed pits for as long as fifty years pliny natural history 18. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. 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. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. 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. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m.
The natural history which is actually a sort of encyclopedia of roman wisdom and prejudices has probably fallen out of favour because the first two books are surprisingly tedious. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. Click on the l symbols to go to the latin text of each chapter. 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. Natural history books 3335 9 0674994337, 9780674994331. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 ebook written by pliny the elder. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder a wikipedia article about this author is available pliny, the elder.
The following table contains links to the individual books in the translation. 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. The natural history of pliny digital collections national. Elders natural history into german, together with a commentary. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. Mathematical and metrological survey of the universe.
Pliny the elder has 287 books on goodreads with 4494 ratings. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. Pliny the elder wrote the natural history, an encyclopaedic work of uneven accuracy that was an authority on scientific matters up to the middle ages. Jul 24, 2018 on pliny s negotiation of his relationship to titus in the preface, see mary beagon, the elder pliny on the human animal. Plinys influence is based on his ability to methodically assemble previously unrelated facts, his perceptiveness, and his readable stories, but his work contains unsupported claims, fables, and exaggerations.
Pliny scorns the more scientific grrek medicine, because many doctors would be quacks, and. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Goddard and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Pliny, a roman scholar, intended the natural history as an encyclopedia of all the knowledge of the classical world. Pdf an insular copy of plinys naturalis historia leiden.
Pliny s natural history, in thirtyseven books 3 volumes in 1, covering first ten books. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. Pliny s work was the first scientific book issued using the newlyinvented printing press, in 1469. American museum of natural history handbook series no. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. In this web version, many of the place names have been altered to reproduce the latin spellings for instance, massilia instead of marseilles. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. In the preface, dedicated to titus who became emperor shortly before pliny s death, pliny justified the title and explained his purpose on utilitarian grounds as the study of the nature of things, that is, life preface. Managing food storage in the roman empire sciencedirect. Plinys natural history project gutenberg selfpublishing. But despite its apparent singularity, and despite pliny s rhetorical insistence on its originality in his preface, there has been very little speculation as to where the natural history might fit in the landscape of roman. 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. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 the elder pliny 882 downloads the natural history of pliny, volume 6 of 6 the elder pliny 173 downloads the natural history of pliny, volume 2 of 6 the elder pliny 166 downloads. In pliny s 37 volumes of natural history, volume 1 mostly summarized the remaining 36 books.
Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivale. Book pdf ocr text metadata dublin core this volume is part of a multivolume set. 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. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469.
The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. 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. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled. Utf8 start of this project gutenberg ebook natural history of pliny, vol 1 produced by turgut dincer, brian wilcox and the online distributed proofreading team at this file was produced from images generously made available by the internet archive. Pliny the elder was the uncle to pliny the younger, not his father, but reading the younger pliny s letters is first. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Grain would optimally be stored in an environment with moisture content at 15% or less c. The natural history, divided into 37 libri, or books, was completed, except for finishing touches, in ad 77. In writing natural history, pliny or his assistants extracted roughly 20,000 facts from 2,000 volumes by 100 authors. In these subjects he could give consummate pleasure, selling them for more than other artists received for their large pictures natural history, book xxxv.
Natural history, volume ii, books 37 loeb classical library no. Mar 17, 2021 contents of pliny s natural history divided into thirtyseven books preface. Table of contents of the others and of authorities. Hese books, containing the history of nature, which a few days since i. According to pliny, he painted barbers shops, cobblers stalls, asses, eatables and similar subjects, earning for himself the name of rhyparographos painter of dirtlow things. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the. 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 s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Books by pliny, the elder sorted by popularity project. Pliny s natural history in thirtyseven books volume 2 1851hardcover pliny, philemon holland. The 37 books of the natural history cover astronomy, geography, zoology, botany, mineralogy, and contemporary technology.
Morello, pliny and the encyclopaedic addressee, 150151. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. Explicit nomenclature and classification in plinys natural. Speaking from my own level of familiarity with the other books available from pliny s era, i personally would recommend to the reader perhaps giving letters of the younger pliny a read before taking on the natural history. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes. The natural history of pliny volume 6 digital collections. 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 natural history has been translated into english by h. 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 natural history of pliny volume 6 uniform titles.
The scope of its subject matter and the strangeness of its organising principles are almost unique in surviving latin literature. An insular copy of pliny s naturalis historia leiden ub vlf 4 fol 433 writing in context. The appendix note puts the whole thing into perspective. In thirtyseven books, volumes pliny s natural history. Download citation pliny the elders natural history.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read pliny the elder. How the water is connected with the earth of the naviga tion of the sea and the. English translation of pliny the elder, natural history, book 2, 1101, by h. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. 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. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. Cnidus 86, cos 25, samos 100, chios 94, mitylene 65, tenedos 49, cape sigeum 12, bosphorus 312, cape carambis 350, mouth of lake maeotis. 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. This summarium takes up all of book one of the natural history, listing. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the us or from the uk, depending on stock availability.
Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. The natural history of pliny, volume 5 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. Pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Sep 01, 20 on the problem of using categories of modern sciences as regards ancient natural history and pliny in particular, see french 1994, p.
Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. 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. 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. Volume 78 of bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. This edition of book 31 and 37 is part of the first modern translation of pliny the. 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.
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