The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. Book 30, medicinal uses of animal products continued. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of th. 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. By the end of the 17th century, the natural history had been rejected by the. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the elder. Pliny the elder, latin in full gaius plinius secundus, born 23 ce, novum comum, transpadane gaul now in italydied august 24, 79, stabiae, near mount 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. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his. Books 1719 loeb classical library volume 5 of natural history, harris rackham the loeb classical library.
Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Selections from the history of the world, commonly called the natural history of c. Most of the wonderful tales related in this chapter may be found in aulus gellius, b. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. 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. Pliny the younger lived from 61 ad to 112 ad he wrote many letters which survive today and have great historical value. Misenu m question 4 0 out of 2 points in the letters, what does pliny the elder do to protect himself from. Plinys natural history in thirtyseven books london. The numbering of the letters in this book has been changed slightly to. Cato on buying a farm, farmhouses, choosing a manager, secrets of. Pliny the elder, the famed author, naturalist, philosopher, and commander, died trying to rescue people stranded on the shores after the eruption of mt.
There is no book so bad that some good can not be got out of it, pliny the elder used to say, and he read everything that he could obtain. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. But it has often been read with some mistaken presuppositions. Psylli to remove two serpents that had been seen in his house. Neither the younger nor the elder pliny mention the names. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia.
Gaius plinius secundus, called pliny the elder, was a roman author, a naturalist and natural philosopher, a naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and a friend of emperor vespasian. Barclay, 184749, also by philemon holland and wernerian club page images at hathitrust pliny, the elder. Cato, that professed enemy of ambition, who took as great contentment in. Having now described what we may call the armoury of.
The excerptor, saying that he speaks from experience, offers the work as a compact resource for travelers in dealing with hucksters who sell worthless drugs at exorbitant prices or with knownothings only interested in profit. The following is the relevant passage from letter 6. 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. See all 22 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. His greatest and only surviving work, the natural history, has been called one of the most influential books ever written in latin. I dont think i ever spent a more delightful time than during my recent visit at spurinnas house. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. Ad 23, novum comum, transpadane gaul now in italyd. I ordered it immediately after finishing the podcast, but i am a nerd, so ymmv. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. While attempting to sail his ship near the shore, burning cinders fell on the ship. Whether magic was ever practised in italy at what period the senate first forbade human sacrifices. The heroic death of pliny the elder today i found out. Solder, lawyer and writer, pliny the elders 23 79 ad research into the natural world formed the basis of scientific authority for centuries to come.
I hand keyed the latin text of pliny from the teubner edition of the text as. The account of the essenes which pliny included in his compendious work natural history 5. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. Imperial historiography in pliny the elders history. We have an account, also, of the arimaspi in solinus, very nearly in the words of pliny. Pliny the younger release information washington beer blog. Pliny the elder names zoroaster as the inventor of magic natural history 30. Bo at question 3 2 out of 2 points in the letters and the video, in what town did pliny the elder live at the time of the eruption. Librivox recording of the natural history volume 4 by pliny the elder. This mirror page excludes some images on the original page pliny the elder.
Plinys belief in magic and superstition helped shape scientific and medical. 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. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Pliny s dates are pinned to the eruption of mount vesuvius in ad 79 and a statement of his nephew that he died in his 56th year, which would put his birth in ad 23 or 24 pliny was the son of an equestrian gaius plinius celer and his wife marcella. The very idea of these vast collections of knowledge can be credited to pliny the elder. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. A multifaceted personality, he was also an author, naturalist, and a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. The present recess from business affords you leisure to give, and me to receive, instruction. Latin authors volume 5 of natural history in ten volumes, cayo plinio cecilio segundo volume 5 of natural history.
Pliny the elder 43 followers 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 elder biography facts, childhood, family life. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 pliny the pliny the elder. It was at this time that pliny became closer to his uncle pliny the elder. The terror and the fascination of pompeii the new yorker. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of t. Grecoroman practices, which, in plinys natural history are named magic deceits. He is best known for his work pliny s natural history which was in. Pliny whose full name was gaius plinius secundus, was born at comum in the region north of the po river and was educated in rome. Naturalis historia is an early encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder 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. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. He was a lawyer and an author in ancient rome and witnessed the eruption of mt.
This paper examines pliny the elders history of magic in book 30 as imperial historiography. The medicina plinii or medical pliny is an anonymous latin compilation of medical remedies dating to the early 4th century ad. However, only the first half of this book is without significant typos. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Here is the little volume which i have constructed on the plan you suggested to me, in order that your friend or rather our friend, for have we not all things in common. 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. Plinys 37book naturalis historia is a stupor mundi, an encyclopedia of everything there was to knowwhether it was worth knowing or notin. 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. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Thinking so pliny conjectures to set an example of calm, he.
The way to read this book is the way in which you read that kind of fantastic literature that gives the illusion of fact. Pliny s natural history in thirtyseven books hardcover august 8, 2015. Vesuvius in 79 ad, which took the life of his uncle. The natural history has been translated into english by h. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled. Pliny the elder was a roman natural philosopher who lived during the 1st century.
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 s most popular book is natural history. Pliny the elder has 297 books on goodreads with 3692 ratings. So the fleet turned toward stabiae, a port nine miles south, and there the elder went ashore, to the house of a friend, pomponianus. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. I handkeyed the latin text of pliny from the teubner edition of the text as. Pliny the elder, roman savant and author of the celebrated natural history. An account of the death of pliny the elder is given in a letter from his nephew, pliny the younger, to the historian tacitus. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. Borges and italo calvino come to mind the first one had plans for making an edition of pliny in spanish, with his prologue, but died before finishing the project you can check the notes of borges selected nonfictions. 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. Jan 09, 2017 pliny the younger was the nephew and adopted son of pliny the elder.
His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him the only time he took from his work was for his bath, and by bath i mean his actual immersion, for while. The natural history, which was dedicated to titus in 77, was. If youre even the least bit curious about the natural history, give it a listen. The letters of pliny the younger is a deserved classic an intimate glimpse of the daily life of an upperclass roman citizen in the late first century a. 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. Miller is joined by daisy dunn to discuss pliny the elder s natural history.
I was introduced to this book via the in our times bbc podcast. The letters of pliny the younger kindle edition by pliny. He having enticed one of them from his hidingplace, caught it in one hand, just below the jawbone, in such a manner as to oblige the. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. 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. I am extremely desirous therefore to know your sentiments concerning spectres, whether you believe they actually exist and have their own proper shapes and a measure of divinity, or are only the false impressions of a terrified imagination. The book dictated astronomy, geography, anthropology, zoology, botany, medicine, magic, and mineralogy, as well as a cornucopia of other topics. The illustrious life of pliny the elder, ancient historian. Pompeii hero pliny the elder may have been found 2,000 years later.
Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Ordinarily studied as an ancient forerunner of the encyclopedia, the. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes. Istria on the internet relevant nonistrians pliny the elder. Pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Pliny the elder grain recipe community beeradvocate. 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. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. It has become quite a common proverb that in wine there is truth. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. Fruit trees and vines and the art of planting them. When pliny the younger was 17 or 18, his uncle pliny the elder died attempting to rescue victims of the vesuvius eruption, and the terms of the elder pliny s will passed his estate to his nephew. 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 sailed into danger when vesuvius erupted, and never returned, but a body found a century ago covered in jewelry like a cabaret ballerina may really have been his.
Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription cil v 1 3442 found in a field in. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans. The death of pliny he pliny the elder was at that time with the fleet under his command at misenum. 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. Jun 21, 2018 a thirtyseven chapter book written in ten volumes, this text utilized all of the experience pliny went through during his travels and the knowledge of his youth to create a compilation of roman life. Pliny the elder latin in full gaius plinius secundus b. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. Pliny s natural history in thirtyseven books by pliny, the elder. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. He is best known for his work pliny s natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world. 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. So who was he, and why does he seem to pop up everywhere from alchemy to zoology.