Pliny the elders natural history trevor murphy oxford. 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. 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. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. 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. American museum of natural history handbook series no. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. As part of a new direction in classical scholarship, trevor murphy reads the work not just for the information it contains, but to understand how and why pliny collects and presents information as he does. Tupper, dcl brands popular antiquities of england, scotland, and ireland. Pliny the elders sister, plinia, married a man named caecilius, from the northern italian town of. Topics included are the mathematics and metrology of the. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the.
Selections from the history of the world, commonly called the natural history of c. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. 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. In addition, however, it provides valuable insight into the extraordinary complex of ideas and beliefs current in pliny s era, many of which have resonances for other eras and cultures. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. 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. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information.
His sources were personal experience, his own prior works such as the work on germania, and extracts from other works. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. 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. 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 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.
Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. Concentrating on pliny s accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book, so that the text of all the books is quite good already. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. 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. Among the whole range of animated beings, the human fe 2151. The most important surviving encyclopedia from the ancient world, pliny the elders natural history is unparalleled as a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in firstcentury rome. Naturalis historia is a book about the whole of the natural world in latin by pliny the elder, a roman author and naval commander. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. Buy plinys natural history in thirtyseven books on.
Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. 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. Internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. 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. Internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. 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. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this pliny the elder study guide and get. 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 s natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Jan 06, 2014 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.
We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. 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 claimed in his book preface to have drawn upon 100 previous authors, and to have extracted from their works 20,000 noteworthy facts. The older man, gaius plinius secundus, is called pliny the elder.
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. Details plinys natural history in thirtyseven books biodiversity. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. Its an encyclopedia of what passed for scientific information in that time. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher. As a detailed study of the human animal, described by its author as the raison detre of nature, book seven of the elder pliny s natural history is crucial to the understanding of the work as a whole.
Its author is roman philosopher and scholar gaius plinius secundus, commonly known as pliny the elder ad 2379. The natural history of pliny, volume 3 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. The elder pliny on the human animal mary beagon oxford. Fox, ma to which is added the anglosaxon version of the metres of boethius, with a free translation by martin f. 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. Museums oldest natural history book now accessible online. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 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 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman knowledge. Aug 10, 2010 pliny claimed in his book preface to have drawn upon 100 previous authors, and to have extracted from their works 20,000 noteworthy facts. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.
He wrote a number of books, but the natural history is the only one that survives. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Pliny s last work, according to his nephew, was the naturalis historia literally natural history, an encyclopedia into which he collected much of the knowledge of his time. In thirtyseven books by pliny the elder, 1847, printed for. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. 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. With an english translation on opposite pages, notes, introduction, and glossary, by rev. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Pliny the elders natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. Pliny the elders sister, plinia, married a man named caecilius, from the northern italian town of comum.
If thats true, in todays world he would have needed an extra volume just to hold his footnotes and resource credits. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder a wikipedia article about this author is available pliny, the elder. In thirtyseven books internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. Barclay, 184749, also by philemon holland and wernerian club page images at hathitrust pliny, the elder.
Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Plinys natural history in thirtyseven books london. 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. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. 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 natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free ebook project gutenberg.
1364 1031 246 285 442 883 1070 838 610 1198 887 80 570 1181 373 147 512 256 806 1346 402 533 1026 544 283 1066 372 643 376 1509 865 202 996 609 368 1166 345 276 1171 919 115 95 1099 931 415