Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the elder. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. He wrote a number of books, but the natural history is the only one that survives. Internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books.
Then again, i like to flatter myself you are right, for it is my wish that people should think my last book is always the most perfect, and for that reason i even now prefer in comparison with the book i sent you the speech which i lately published, and which i shall send on to you as soon as i find a trustworthy messenger. Pliny the elders natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. Pliny devised a summarium, or list of contents, at the beginning of the work that was later interpreted by modern printers as a table of contents.
The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6, by pliny the elder this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the united states and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. 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 project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. In thirtyseven books internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Book i summarizes the entire contents of the work, listing the authors and sometimes the titles of the books many of which are now lost from which pliny derived. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Drawn entirely by zelinsky and derived from pliny the elders celebrated natural history, this book tells the tale of lion and stoatthe two greatest artists who ever livedwho compete for immortality. More information about this seller contact this seller 16. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history.
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. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. Pliny devised a summarium, or list of contents, at the beginning of the work that was later interpreted by modern. 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 project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny volume 2 of 6, by pliny the elder this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the united states and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. 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. 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.
A marshy soil was selected for its site, in order that it might not suffer from earthquakes, or the chasms which they produce. 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. You are doing quite right to get together materials for a history of the dacian war. 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. Buy plinys natural history in thirtyseven books on. Upon this occasion we must not omit to mention the.
Museums oldest natural history book now accessible online. We find in the books written by pliny the elder and vitruvius, where. Pliny the elder has 280 books on goodreads with 3761 ratings. 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 elder pliny on the human animal mary beagon oxford. Pliny the elders sister, plinia, married a man named caecilius, from the northern italian town of. During its history, the temple of artemis was completely rebuilt several times before its final destruction 2,3. He served as cavalry officer in germany and governor procurator in spain, and at the. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the.
The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. This volume has margins with some fews cuts, the quality of the images are very high, and the volume has not any watermark of the sponsor. 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. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. The older man, gaius plinius secundus, is called pliny the elder. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone.
In sum there are in this book of histories and observations four. This is a fascinating book, yet is only a selection and a small one at that of plinys great work. Questia read the fulltext online edition of natural history of pliny vol. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book, so that the text of all the books is quite good already. No wonder, then, that an encyclopedia of natural history dating from the early roman empire was extraordinarily popular, not only in its own time but during and well after the renaissance. 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. 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. Upon this occasion we must not omit to mention the admiration that is lavished upon this plant by the gauls. 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 in his natural history described pozzolana too, but also. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library.
For what subject is more fresh or affords more abundant materials and scope, or, in a word, is more fitted for poetic treatment. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. 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. Plinius secundus nouocomensis equestribus militiis industrie functus by. Naturalis historia natural history pliny natural history is the most common title for this work in english. In thirtyseven books internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. 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. Volume 9, books 3335, natural history loeb classical. In addition, however, it provides valuable insight into the extraordinary complex of ideas and beliefs current in plinys era, many of which have resonances for other eras and cultures. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. Let us start with what pliny is telling in his natural history 4. 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.
Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. 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 work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. Both pliny the elder and vitruvius report some discussion on the building of the temple and on the technologies used during the work. Internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. Natural history pliny currently redirects to naturalis historia, the result of a recent page move. Its author is roman philosopher and scholar gaius plinius secundus, commonly known as pliny the elder ad 2379. As a detailed study of the human animal, described by its author as the raison detre of nature, book seven of the elder plinys natural history is crucial to the understanding of the work as a whole. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans. Life born into the municipal aristocracy of comum, pliny plihnee the elder followed an equestrian career.
Its an encyclopedia of what passed for scientific information in that time. This topic is currently marked as dormantthe last message is more than 90 days old. American museum of natural history handbook series no. The biodiversity heritage library works collaboratively to make biodiversity literature openly available to the world as part of a global biodiversity community.
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