Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. It is no disparagement to hollands merits, as a diligent and generally faithful translator, to say that his work is unsuited to the requirements of the nineteenth century. 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 elders most popular book is natural history. Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. An illustration of a computer application window wayback machine an illustration of an open book. 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.
Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. 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. The natural history of pliny digital collections national library of. 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. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. 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. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book, so that the text of all the books is quite good already. 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 was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information.
The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny. Plinys natural history was the goto encyclopedia for over 1,500 years, from its publication around the year 77 until well into the renaissance. The original latin text will include a link to an english version, translated and edited in the nineteenth century by john bostock and h t riley. 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. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project. P l i n y t h e e l d e r s n a tu r a l h i s t or y this page intentionally left blank pliny the elders natura. Table of contents of the others and of authorities. 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 the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. The sources are cataloged in book 1 according to volume and cited throughout the text. Natural history pliny the elder john healey download. The towns in the jurisdiction of hispalis are the following.
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 natural history became a model for later encyclopedias and scholarly works as a result of its breadth of subject matter, its referencing. Naturalis historia is an early encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Ancient history encyclopedia receives a small commission for each. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. This extraordinary work was originally composed and.
Book 1 serves as an index to the natural history and he lists the. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free. On india xxvi 96 but before we go on to a detailed account of these countries, it is suitable to indicate the facts reported by onesicritus after sailing with the fleet of alexander round from india to the interior of farsistan, and quite recently related in detail by juba, and. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. 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. 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 pdf proved highly influential right up until the renaissance and that his nephew, pliny the younger, described as full of variety. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. As one of the bhls founding institutional members, the museum has digitised its copy of historia naturalis, which in turn will be the bhls oldest digitised book. Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher. 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.
Translated, with copious notes and illustrations classic reprint author. Even the errors of these authors are a portion of the history of nature, and. Covid19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. The only translation of pliny s natural history which has hitherto appeared in the english language is that by philemon holland, published in the latter part of the reign of elizabeth. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. Natural history, volume ii, books 37 loeb classical library no. Museums oldest natural history book now accessible online. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free ebook project gutenberg. By purchasing books through this website, you support our nonprofit organization.
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 of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder a wikipedia article about this author is available pliny, the elder. Its frequent digressions into issues of morality and gossipy, occasionally rambling style would certainly not be at home in a modern encyclopedia, but its allencompassing scope covering botany, zoology, astronomy, geology, and medicine among other. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. 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 zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom he had been.
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