Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Read more about the sites features pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled. Pliny, the beer has now become one of our flagship brews. 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.
Pliny wrote in latin, using mostly greek sources and his own observations and vivid imagination. He spent most of his time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. John wallis ernest walton james watson james watt alfred wegener john archibald wheeler maurice wilkins thomas willis e. 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. 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. Although he was only fiftysix years old at the time of his death, he left behind a great legacy of political respect and appreciation, as well as a reputation for being one of the strongest ancient roman. 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. Natural history, volume iii, books 811 loeb classical library.
His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him the only time he took from his work was for his bath, and by bath i mean his actual immersion, for while. The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. Pliny the elder 23 79 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman knowledge. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived.
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 the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. 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 elders most popular book is natural history. Gaius plinius secundas pliny the elder was a roman official and military officer who also wrote as a naturalist, biographer and historian. His greatest and only surviving work was his naturalis historia of natural history. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. Pompeii hero pliny the elder may have been found 2,000 years later. But over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies. In his natural history, pliny the elder observes and then explains the planets, among many other topics.
Although he was only fiftysix years old at the time of his death, he left behind a great legacy of political respect and appreciation, as well as a reputation for being one of the strongest ancient roman historians whose work survives. Plinys wideranging natural history, written in the 70s ce. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. The elder plinys chapters on the history of art by the. Natural history, volume ii, books 37 loeb classical library. 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. Apparently pliny the elder isnt good anymore vinepair.
Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. The guinness is a compilation of isolated and insipid facts. The illustrious life of pliny the elder, ancient historian. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. Pliny the elder biography, facts and pictures famous scientists. Librivox recording of the natural history, volume 3, by pliny the elder. He is most known for his only extant work, a 37volume natural history that served as the basis for scientific knowledge for centuries.
Like any great work in human history from plato to galileo, from dante to stephen hawkings pliny s natural history is, first of all, a work of imagination. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Book ii continues with natural meteorological events lower in the sky, including the winds, weather, whirlwinds, lightning, and rainbows. Natural history is an account that can only be given by a roman in the year ad 77, and because.
He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. The direct links to the latin text of this section of pliny are possible due to the advice of bill thayer at the university of kansas. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans perspective on the. Dec 09, 2015 but over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies.
Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Pliny the elders natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. Plinys natural history and the flavian templum pacis jstor. Click to share on facebook opens in new window click to share on twitter opens in new window click to email this to a friend opens in new window.
Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Pliny the elders natural history trevor murphy oxford. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. Plinys 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 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. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. 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. Jun 21, 2018 gaius plinius secundus, better known in history as pliny the elder, was an influential administrator, officer, and author during his life.
She is mentioned in pliny the elders natural history as an example of. 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. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. The eruption had just destroyed the cities of pompeii and herculaneum. 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. Pliny s is an organic work, as shakespeares crowded plays or montaignes essays are organic. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing.
Pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. He was attempting the rescue by ship of a friend and his family from the eruption of mount vesuvius. 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. Buy the elder plinys chapters on the history of art by the elder pliny creator online at alibris. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. Gaius plinius secundus, better known in history as pliny the elder, was an influential administrator, officer, and author during his life. The naturalis historia is one of the largest works to have survived from the roman empire to the modern day. 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. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books. University of california press, 1999, quoting pliny the elder in his natural history. 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. 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. 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 the elder wrote about dragons forbidden history. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Book 11, insects, their physiology and habits especially bees, silkworms, spiders. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Jul 25, 2017 in his natural history, pliny the elder observes and then explains the planets, among many other topics. He manages to do this without saying things like saturn is the best planet right.
Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. 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 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 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. 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. Cheers to the scholar, historian, officer, writer, and roman naturalist pliny the elder. Pliny the elder biography birthday, trivia italian. Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the natural history of pliny. Pliny the elder 23 79, translated by henry thomas riley 1816 1878 naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder.
Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Gaius plinius secundus, better known as pliny the elder, was an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher as well as a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Wheeler alwyne cooper, the life and work of peter artedi, in wheeler alwyne cooper ed. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes. Pliny the elder sailed into danger when vesuvius erupted, and never returned, but a body found a century ago covered in jewelry like a cabaret ballerina may really have been his. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. Topics included are the mathematics and metrology of the universe. Pliny the elder on the silk road the silk road research.
Susan whitfield, life along the silk road berkeley. Pliny the elder, the natural history, book i 79 hacker news. Pliny the elder was immortalized by his nephew, pliny the younger, who wrote about his uncle succumbing to ash and smoke during the eruption of mt. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history.