This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. Fully, the historie of the world, commonly called the naturall historie of c. The work is dedicated to the emperor titus, son of plinys close friend, the emperor vespasian, in the first year of tituss reign. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge.
I will be applying it to the dragon mentioned in pliny the elders natural history. Table of contents of the others and of authorities. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans. This specific dragon is mentioned in book 8 chapter 22. 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. 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. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Pliny the elder 2 livius articles on ancient history. His greatest and only surviving work, the natural history, has been called one of the most influential books ever written in latin pliny whose full name was gaius plinius secundus, was born at comum in the. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled.
It includes a table of contents of the other books and authorities, as well as pliny s mathematical and metrological survey of the universe. The largest land animal is the elephant, and it is the nearest to man in intelligence. Price new from used from hardcover, may 1, 1962 please retry. Pliny the elder 2 pliny the elder or gaius plinius secundus 2379. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. Jan 22, 2020 i will be using number vi, fear of the monster is a kind of desire from monster culture seven theses. Its frequent digressions into issues of morality and gossipy, occasionally rambling style would certainly not be at home in a modern encyclopedia, but its allencompassing scope covering botany, zoology, astronomy, geology, and medicine among other. The natural history, which was dedicated to titus in 77, was. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. The continuation of the history of aufidius bassus must have dealt with the years after 47 the year in which pliny had taken part in the campaign against the chauci, and left unfinished when nero died. The natural history of pliny, volume 2 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history.
Feb 12, 2019 contents of pliny s natural history divided into thirtyseven books preface. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the. Though employed in writing aviii continuation of the roman history of. This is a fascinating book, yet is only a selection and a small one at that of pliny s great work. 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. Pliny the younger, latin in full gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born 6162 ce, comum italydied c. The latin title historia naturalis could best be translated as. Plinys natural history was the goto encyclopedia for over 1,500 years, from its publication around the year 77 until well into the renaissance.
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. Cambridge, mass wikipedia citation please see wikipedias template documentation for further citation fields that may be required. Leonicenos attack on pliny did not focus exclusively on translation issues. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the source. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia.
The natural history became a model for later encyclopedias and scholarly works as a result of its breadth of subject matter, its referencing of original authors, and its index. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 c. 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. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Even on that poiiit he contradicts himself in the next book. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Plinius arrangierte darin traditionelles naturwissenschaftliches wissen griechischer autoren. 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. Let us pass to the rest of the animals, and first those that live on land.
In pliny s eyes, mankind for whose sake nature was created, represents the basis for which the natural world was founded and structured. 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. This is in the form of a covering letter from pliny, to accompany the gift of his treatise on natural history to his friend vespasian caesar i. Prime members enjoy free twoday delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, tv shows, original audio series, and kindle books. 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. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. It is the only work by pliny to have survived, and the last that he published, lacking a final revision at his sudden and unexpected death in the ad 79 eruption of vesuvius.
Bostock, who contemplated a translation of the entire work. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. 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. 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. Mathematical and metrological survey of the universe. Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn.
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. This volume contains harris rackhams english translation of pliny the elders preface, as well as books one and two of natural history. Natural history, volume i, books 12 loeb classical library no. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. I hand keyed the latin text of pliny from the teubner edition of the text as. 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. In philemon hollands translation hardcover may 1, 1962. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. 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.
Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. 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 roman naturalist pliny the elders encyclopaedic natural history, composed in 37 books, remains an unrivalled compendium of roman knowledge.
The silurus of pliny is perhaps a species of cuviers genus schilbe, although true siluri are found in the nile. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia. 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. There is no book so bad that some good cannot be got out of it, pliny the. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free.
Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is crucial to understanding the work as a whole. In previous chapters of the book snakes or serpents are called dragons. The first and thirtythird books of pliny were translated by dr. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics.
The history of the world by pliny the elder, translated by. S jones, h rackham published in 1938 in cambridge ma by harvard university press. Delphis ancient classics series provides ereaders with the wisdom of the classical world, with both english translations and the original latin texts. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the english language is that by philemon holland, published in the latter part of the reign of elizabeth. 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. He also cited a section of book 2 of pliny s natural history in which pliny stated that the moon was larger than the earth. There are two english translations of pliny online. The name coracinus has been applied to more than, one fish of a sooty colour. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. The natural history there is no book so bad that some good cannot be got out of it, pliny the elder used to say, and he read everything that he could obtain. Selections from the history of the world, commonly called the natural history of c. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol.
Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the english. A major section of the natural history, books xx to xxix, discusses matters related to medicine. On pliny the elder and the monstrous natural history of the. I handkeyed the latin text of pliny from the teubner edition of the text as. The only translation of pliny s natural history which has hitherto appeared in the english language is that by philemon holland, published in the latter part of the reign of elizabeth. Pliny s natural history in thirtyseven books london. Healy has produced an excellent selection of pliny s works in a very readable translation with helpful, but not cumbersome, notes. Barclay, 184749, also by philemon holland and wernerian club page images at hathitrust pliny, the elder. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. On pliny the elder and the monstrous natural history of.
Rackham and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read natural history. The history of the world wikisource, the free online library. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. I will be using number vi, fear of the monster is a kind of desire from monster culture seven theses. Pliny the elders natural history provides the reader with an excellent overview of what life was seen as during his time. Plinys uncle, pliny the elder, helped raise and educate him. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i.
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