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. 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. Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. Dec 09, 2015 but over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies. He is best known for his work plinys natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world.
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. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. 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. 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. Pliny the elders natural history trevor murphy oxford. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. An eagle which precipitated itself on the funeral pile of a girl.
The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the elder. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. Pliny the elder s natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. Pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history.
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. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Natural history by pliny the elder, 97801404441, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Pliny the elder biography facts, childhood, family life. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder.
Natural history, volume 4 loeb classical library natural history, pliny the elder. 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. The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. Utf8 start of this project gutenberg ebook natural history of pliny, vol 1 produced by turgut dincer, brian wilcox. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Pliny the elder, the natural history, book i 79 hacker news. Pliny, the author of the natural history, is called the elder in order to distinguish him from his. 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. 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. He is best known for his work pliny s natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world. During its history, the temple of artemis was completely rebuilt several times before its final destruction 2,3. Vesuvius, roman savant and author of the celebrated natural history, an encyclopaedic work of uneven accuracy that was an authority on scientific matters up to the middle ages. 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 simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books. 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. From antiquity through the middle ages and into the renaissance, plinys massive compilation of knowledge remained. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. 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. 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 wrote in latin, using mostly greek sources and his own observations and vivid imagination. 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. 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.
Pliny in his natural history described pozzolana too, but also other concretes had been known in rome. Pliny the elder wrote about dragons forbidden history. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. But over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. She is mentioned in pliny the elders natural history as an example of. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i.
He spent most of his time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this. 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 eruption had just destroyed the cities of pompeii and herculaneum. Gaius plinius secundas pliny the elder was a roman official and military officer who also wrote as a naturalist, biographer and historian. 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. Pliny, the beer has now become one of our flagship brews. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. A multifaceted personality, he was also an author, naturalist, and a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Pliny the elders natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. Museums oldest natural history book now accessible online.
Gaius plinius secundus 23 ad 25 august 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 spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an. Cheers to the scholar, historian, officer, writer, and roman naturalist pliny the elder. Ad 23, novum comum, transpadane gaul now in italyd. 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 latin in full gaius plinius secundus b. 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. 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. Natural history is an account that can only be given by a roman in the year ad 77, and because. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the natural history of pliny. We find in the books written by pliny the elder and vitruvius, where. 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.
Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book, so that the text of all the books is quite good already. 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. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Pliny the elder was a roman natural philosopher who lived during the 1st century.
Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. 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. Its author is roman philosopher and scholar gaius plinius secundus, commonly known as pliny the elder ad 2379. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. 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 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. When the eagle was first used as the standard of the roman legions. Natural history pliny the elder john healey download. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author.