The letters of pliny the younger on the eruption of vesuvius, and more on. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Pliny the younger was born in novum comum como, northern italy around 61 ad, the son of lucius caecilius cilo, born there, and his wife plinia marcella, a sister of pliny the elder. Pliny the elder books list of books by author pliny the elder. Volume i of the natural history of gaius plinius secundus. The natural history of pliny paperback october 14, 2018 by the elder pliny creator 4. See all books authored by pliny the elder, including naturalis historia, and ashen sky. 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. The british library public domain 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. Utf8 start of this project gutenberg ebook natural history of pliny, vol 1 produced by turgut dincer, brian wilcox.
This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. Book 11, insects, their physiology and habits especially bees, silkworms, spiders. 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. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. Naturalis historia is an early encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom. 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. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. 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.
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. Most gracious highness let this title, a supremely true one, be yours, while that of most eminent grows to old age with your sirei have resolved to recount b to you, in a somewhat presumptuous letter, the offspring of my latest travail, my volumes of natural history a novel task for the native. It is a compilation of everything that pliny heard, read or saw, and is a mix of fact and fable. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. Pliny the elder biography facts, childhood, family life. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Naturalis historia naturalis historia, 1669 edition, title page. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. Natural history, volume iii, books 811 loeb classical library no. Naturalis historia is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 latin texts kindle edition by pliny the elder, pliny the, travillian, tyler t download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. 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 was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information.
Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 latin texts by bloomsbury isbn. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. Of the motions of the planets and the general laws of their. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since.
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 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 wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. He is best known for his work plinys natural history which was in. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. In writing it, pliny or his assistants extracted roughly 20,000 facts from 2,000 volumes by 100 authors. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the elder. The loeb classical library edition of natural history is in ten volumes. The only translation of plinys 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. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural. The 37volume history had a table of contents that, when translated into english, required more than 70 pages. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. 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. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output.
Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Pliny the elder books list of books by author pliny the. Preface pliny natural history preface plinius secundus to his dear vespasian a greeting. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free ebook project gutenberg. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Plinys natural history in thirtyseven books internet archive. 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 is an account that can only be given by a. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. Plinys natural history has too often been regarded as simply a quarry for quaint storiesa view which has tended to overshadow its overall structure and purpose.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading pliny the elder. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. Naturalis historia by pliny the elder, 1958, heinemann edition, in english natural history 1958 edition open library. He is best known for his work pliny s natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world. In the present translation, the principal editions of. Pliny the elders natural history and millions of other books are available for. Plinys natural history in thirtyseven books scholars. 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 zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. Natural history by pliny the elder the 1279th greatest. 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.
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. Pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Plinys natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. Natural history, volume iii, books 811 loeb classical library. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. 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. 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. Pliny the elder was a roman natural philosopher who lived during the 1st century. Pliny the elder 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 latin texts. Pliny s natural history in thirtyseven books by pliny, the elder. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone. Plinys 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. 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 natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. I handkeyed the latin text of pliny from the teubner edition of the text. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. He claims to be the only roman ever to have undertaken such a work and prays. A multifaceted personality, he was also an author, naturalist, and a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the natural history of pliny. Pliny the elder library of congress published by salem press, inc. In thirtyseven books by pliny the elder, 1847, printed for the club by g.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Natural history is an account that can only be given by a roman in the year ad 77, and because. Dec 09, 2015 but over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies. 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.
The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. Natural history page from an italian edition of natural history by pliny the elder, c. 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. But over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies. Pliny s natural history has too often been regarded as simply a quarry for quaint storiesa view which has tended to overshadow its overall structure and purpose. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. In this book, beagon redresses the balance and illuminates the natural history as the work of an author with an identifiable mode of thinking and a coherent attitude toward his. Life born into the municipal aristocracy of comum, pliny plihnee the elder followed an equestrian career.
This edition can be found on the internet archive, with the exception of books. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. 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. In the first two books, the text of hardouin, as given in lemaires edition paris. This gave such a blow to the oration, that in the opinion of11 the learned. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing.
American museum of natural history handbook series no. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Pliny the elder, 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.
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