This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. Book 1 serves as an index to the natural history and he lists the. The towns in the jurisdiction of hispalis are the following. Ancient history encyclopedia receives a small commission for each. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free ebook project gutenberg. 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. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project. Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. American museum of natural history handbook series no. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher. See all 22 formats and editions hide other formats and editions.
Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. Translated, with copious notes and illustrations classic reprint author. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. 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. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the modern day and purports to. The natural history has been translated into english by h. 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. 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. 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. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. Even the errors of these authors are a portion of the history of nature, and.
The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the.
Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. 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. 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. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. The natural history of pliny digital collections national library of. 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 project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. Covid19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. 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. The sources are cataloged in book 1 according to volume and cited throughout the text. Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom he had been. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. An illustration of a computer application window wayback machine an illustration of an open book. Table of contents of the others and of authorities. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. The worlds first natural history book still fascinates 2000 years on. Naturalis historia is an early encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. By purchasing books through this website, you support our nonprofit organization.
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. 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. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. 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. Museums oldest natural history book now accessible online. The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. 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.
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. 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. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder a wikipedia article about this author is available pliny, the elder. 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. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book, so that the text of all the books is quite good already. 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. Natural history, volume ii, books 37 loeb classical library no. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. Natural history pliny the elder john healey download.
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