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. 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. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Such then is the present state of the world, and of the countries, nations, more remarkable seas, islands, and cities which it contains. Pliny natural history vi, books xxxxiii in latin with english translation on facing pages by w. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Ive thought about ordering it but am curious as to someof the details. Natural history, volume x, books 3637 loeb classical. 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. The new title is longer, less easy for editors to guess, does not name the author, and has no precedent in common usage, so it might be thought not much of an improvement. The natural history, volume 2 by pliny the elder free at.
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. 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. Pliny the elders natural history trevor murphy oxford. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Id love to see some photos if anyone would care to post. Rackham and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. A major section of the natural history, books xx to xxix, discusses matters related to medicine, especially plants that yield useful drugs. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. Covid19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. To modern eyes, plinys mode of conducting his x preface. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of t. 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.
Pliny natural history with an english translation volume iii libri viiixi rackham, h published by william heinemann ltd harvard university press, london and cambridge, massachusetts 1940. Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. One of the earliest surviving examples of such illustrated. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this pliny the elder study guide and get. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with.
The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Book vii is of particular interest, as pliny observes at the start. 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. Mar 26, 2012 has anyone purchased and received pliny s natural history. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the natural history of pliny.
Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. 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 the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to pliny. 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.
Plinys 37book naturalis historia is a stupor mundi, an encyclopedia of everything there was to knowwhether it was worth knowing or notin rome of the 1st c ad. The nature of the animated beings which exist upon it, is hardly in any degree less worthy of our contemplation than its other features. Volume i of the natural history of gaius plinius secundus. 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. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. The illustrated herbal is a genre of pharmacological book known in graecoroman antiquity from at least the first century bce. Naturalis historia naturalis historia, 1669 edition, title page. The natural history of pliny volume 6 digital collections. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. More information about this seller contact this seller 15. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge the contents of the books are as follows.
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. Among the whole range of animated beings, the human fe 2151. No one else seems to publish all of pliny s natural history any longer, but only excerptsunless, of course, you have several hundred dollars to spare for a very dear edition. Natural history pliny folio society devotees librarything. Natural history prelinnean works publisher london, h. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Hese books, containing the history of nature, which a few days since i. American museum of natural history handbook series no.
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. 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. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the. May 10, 2016 plinys 37book naturalis historia is a stupor mundi, an encyclopedia of everything there was to knowwhether it was worth knowing or notin rome of the 1st c ad. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge.
This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom he had been. 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. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. 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. The encyclopaedist pliny the elder natural history 25. In thirtyseven books by pliny the elder, 1847, printed for the club by g. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. 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. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified.
So far our subject has covered the world and its lands, peoples, seas, notable rivers, islands and. 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. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The artist aristonidas, wishing to express the fury of athamas subsiding into repentance, after he had thrown. Pliny the elders natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. Natural history, volume x, books 3637 loeb classical library no. If you are generating a pdf of a journal article or book chapter, please. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the.
Buy plinys natural history in thirtyseven books on. 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. Nielsen book data summary 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. 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. 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.
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