Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. Pliny speaks of being himself an eyewitness to the settling of meteors on the military spears. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. Book 6 an account of countries, nations, seas, towns, havens, mountains, rivers, distances, and peoples who now exist or formerly existed book 7 man, his birth, his organization and the invention of the arts book 8 the nature of the terrestrial animals book 9 the natural history of fishes book 10 the natural history of birds. Appendix on other viviparous species, passing on to animals in general their methods of reproduction, senses, nutrition, friendship and hostility between different species, sleep. Pliny the elder has 280 books on goodreads with 3761 ratings. 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. As one of the largest and most comprehensive surviving works from the roman empire, pliny the elder s natural history offers a rare glimpse into the scholarship of the ancient world.
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. Pliny the elder s most popular book is natural history. Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn. The natural history and antiquities of selborne wikipedia. Natural history was understood by pliny the elder to cover anything that could be found in the world, including living things, geology, astronomy, technology, art and humanity. 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 zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the source. The natural history volume 4 pliny the elder audiobook. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans. The natural history of pliny paperback june 5, 2011. Healy has produced an excellent selection of plinys works in a very readable translation with helpful, but not cumbersome, notes. Pliny the elders natural history quotations the gold scales. A voyage to the cape of good hope, towards the antarctic polar circle, and round the world. 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. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled. Aug 07, 20 excerpt from michio kakus hyperspace shakespeare the literary genius penned 37 major plays. The roman pliny the elder 2379 ce was a roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, a naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and friend of emperor vespasian.
The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. Aug 08, 2015 buy plinys natural history in thirtyseven books on free shipping on qualified orders. Sir william jardine, 7th baronet of applegarth frs frse fls fsa 23 february 1800 21 november 1874 was a scottish naturalist. He is best known for his historia naturalis natural history a 37volume encyclopedia covering such topics as.
It was first published in 1789 by his brother benjamin. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Srinivasa ramanujan the math genius published 37 papers. Naturalis historia is an early encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. 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 natural history and antiquities of selborne, or just the natural history of selborne is a book by english naturalist and ornithologist gilbert white. Plinys natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. Pliny the elders natural history trevor murphy oxford. Aristotles style and precision can be seen in the passage where he discusses the behaviour and anatomy of the cephalopods, mentioning the use of ink against predators, camouflage, and signalling. In 37 books, pliny the elder not to be confused with his nephew, pliny the youngercovers botany, zoology, astronomy, geology, geography, mineralogy, and how each of these interact with roman life. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library.
Summary from wikipedia this fourth volume includes books sixteen to twenty, covering the following subjects. Pliny the elder by whalley, joyce irene and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Riley 18161878 and john bostock 17731846, first published 1855, text from the perseus project, licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. The history of animals contains a large number of eyewitness observations, in particular of marine biology, in sharp contrast to platos symbolic zoology. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. Pliny the elder was a prominent roman writer who lived in the first century a. Pliny the elder wrote many works of history and biography, but he is best known for his book called natural history which gives moderns a good idea about the thinking of the ancients about biology, science, and medicine. Pliny may refer either to 1 pliny the elder gaius plinius secundus, author of the natural history, or to his nephew and adoptive son 2 pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus, a writer of letters. It was written for the common herd, the mob of farmers and of artizans, and after them for students who have nothing else to occupy their time. Pliny elder historia naturalis abebooks passion for books. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. Topics included are the mathematics and metrology of the.
He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. Pliny the elder s natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Pliny the elder gaius plinius secondus, called pliny the elder to distinguish him from his nephew, known as pliny the younger, was born in 23 ce in como northern italy. The natural history volume 2 pliny the elder audiobook. Natural history, volume iii, books 811 loeb classical library. 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 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 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 perspective on the world around them.
Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The natural history, volume 2 by pliny the elder free at. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. 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. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. There survive, however, a few fragments of his earlier writings on grammar, a biography of pomponius secundus, a history of rome, a study of the roman campaigns in germany, and a book on hurling the lance. Dec 09, 2015 natural history is an account that can only be given by a roman in the year ad 77, and because of that we can truly know ad 77. 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. Book 11, insects, their physiology and habits especially bees, silkworms, spiders. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. 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.
Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. Pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. 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. Pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to. The elder pliny on the human animal mary beagon oxford.
Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. Natural history begins with aristotle and other ancient philosophers who analyzed the diversity of the natural world. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the modern day and purports to. 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. It is therefore at once crucial to the understanding of plinys enterprise as a whole but also relatively selfcontained. Pliny studied at rome before serving in the roman military in germany, eventually commanding a cavalry squadron. Pliny the elder, the natural history books 1237, translated by henry t.
Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. 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. 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. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes. Of the motions of the planets and the general laws of their aspects ib. Beyond the scythian cannibals, in a certain large valley in the himalayas, there is a region called abarimon where some forestdwellers live who have their feet turned back behind their legs. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. Pliny also set out to write a natural history in 37 books. Pliny the elders natural history provides the reader with an excellent overview of what life was seen as during his time. Natural history books is the premier source for rare and hard to find books in all areas of natural history. Light of, perhaps, the same nature, is sometimes seen on the ears of animals, as the horse, when tra velling in stormy weather. Next to these came his three books entitled the student11, divided.
The description of metals and minerals is particularly detailed, and valuable for the history of science as being the most extensive compilation still available from the ancient world. Pliny the elder, the natural history, books 1 11, translated by henry t. 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 book vii with book viii by pliny the pliny the elder available from rakuten kobo. Pliny the elder 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman knowledge. It has been continuously in print since then, with nearly 300 editions up to 2007. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world.
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