Both factors made it eminently suitable for scholarly analysis. Plinys uncle, pliny the elder, helped raise and educate him. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in. 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. On the ninth7 day before the calends of september, at about the seventh hour. Nirankari rajmata discourses eei curriculum unit grade 8. It is entirely devoted to a survey of the human race, for whose sake, in plinys words, nature appears to have created everything else. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Naturalis historia naturalis historia, 1669 edition, title page. This extraordinary work was originally composed and written in classical latin around ad 70, and was divided into thirtyseven books. There are two english translations of pliny online. Pliny, the elder h rackham pliny, the elder, gaius plinius secundus ad 2379, a roman of equestrian rank of transpadane gaul n. This is a fascinating book, yet is only a selection and a small one at that of plinys great work.
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. Pliny wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 latin texts by bloomsbury isbn. 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 only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the.
The mere titles of the works which have been written on the subject would fill a volume. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. 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. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. Feb 12, 2019 contents of plinys natural history divided into thirtyseven books preface. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Book 7, the human race its biology, physiology and psychology. Volume i of the natural history of gaius plinius secundus. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form.
The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. 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. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Gaius plinius secundus 23 ad august 25, 79 ad, better known as pliny the elder, was a roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher. The letters of pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus are presented here in the english translation by j. The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. The epistles of pliny as translated by william melmoth.
Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the. It is very broad in scope and includes all sorts of facts, observations and myths. 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. Plinys 37book naturalis historia is a stupor mundi, an encyclopedia of everything there was to knowwhether it was worth knowing or notin. 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. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, usually known as pliny the younger, was born at como in 62 a. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. The natural history has been translated into english by h. Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. 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. 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.
Eichholz in their loeb edition, with the latin text on facing pages. Plinius secundus nouocomensis equestribus militiis industrie functus by. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of t. Ungar, 1957, also by loyd ed haberly page images at hathitrust 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. Natural history, volume ii, books 3 7 loeb classical library no. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. Contents of plinys natural history divided into thirtyseven books preface. Of the 37 books of plinys monumental natural history, book 7 is pivotal.
Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom. He was only eight years old when his father caecilius died, and he was adopted by his uncle, the elder pliny, author of the natural history. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Author pliny the elder country ancient rome subject natural history, ethnography, art, sculpture, mining, mineralogy genre encyclopaedia, popular science the natural history is a work by pliny the elder. The way to read this book is the way in which you read that kind of fantastic literature that gives the illusion of fact. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. It is also currently the best served book of the natural history in english, in that mary beagon has produced a translation. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. This page was last edited on 7 february 2019, at 12. 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, volume ii, books 37 loeb classical library no. Borges and italo calvino come to mind the first one had plans for making an edition of pliny in spanish, with his prologue, but died before finishing the project you can check the notes of borges selected nonfictions.
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. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 c. Plinys natural history was the goto encyclopedia for over 1,500 years, from its publication around the year 77 until well into the renaissance. 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.
The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. Details plinys natural history in thirtyseven books. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena. May 14, 2019 open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. 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 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. Philemon hollands english translation of 1601 has influenced literature ever. The comments at the bottom of the letters have been added from various sources. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans. Plinys natural history in thirtyseven books related titles. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.
This edition can be found on the internet archive, with the exception of books 3337, which are available on this website. 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. Click download or read online button to get the epistles of pliny as translated by william melmoth book now. It is therefore at once crucial to the understanding of plinys enterprise as a whole but also relatively selfcontained. 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.
1189 813 962 1343 175 574 135 894 1485 1360 766 678 1311 448 578 51 199 1339 1108 564 1480 1184 971 789 199 1358 540 1212 518 903 739 1030 445 478 417 938 92 1210 1166 33