It is thought to contain at least 30,000 pieces of information, touching upon all knowledge of the natural world during plinys time. This edition replaces the earlier loeb classical library edition by a. 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. The calingae or calingi, according to ancient accounts, were a race of extremely shortlived people in india. Buy plinys natural history in thirtyseven books on. Pliny the elders natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world. An account by a roman of what romans knew and did and valued.
This index in fact constitutes book 1 of the natural history, and it has attracted a. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. This has been viewed as exaggeration, akin to plinys report that the mandi people of india bear children at age seven. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of t. 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 project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6, by pliny the elder this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the united states and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. Natural history, vo lume v, books 1719 loeb classical library no. 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. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. Pliny devised a summarium, or list of contents, at the beginning of the work that was later interpreted by modern printers as a table of contents.
As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. Questia read the fulltext online edition of natural history of pliny vol. 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. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. This is a fascinating book, yet is only a selection and a small one at that of plinys great work. The guinness is a compilation of isolated and insipid facts.
Starting with the index in pliny chapter 2 the roman paratext. It doesnt take long for the reader of plinys natural history to be struck by the authors capacity to be. These selections from the natural history are fascinating. American museum of natural history handbook series no. 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. Internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. More information about this seller contact this seller 16. Delphi complete works of pliny the elder illustrated delphi ancient pliny s oyster. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Compacted from the many volumes of the historia naturalis by loyd haberly. In thirtyseven books internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. In the preface to his natural history, 7, the elder pliny mentions.
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. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Upon this occasion we must not omit to mention the. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Rackham and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. The direct links to the latin text of this section of pliny are possible due to the advice of bill thayer at the university of kansas. 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 project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Plinys is an organic work, as shakespeares crowded plays or montaignes essays are organic. Tales of a traveller tour on the prairies conquests of granada and spain. Pliny was an energetic man, hugely desirous of literary immortality, who wrote his books in the interstices of a full career as a soldier and an administrator.
Pliny the elders natural history trevor murphy oxford. This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. 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. Pliny read and dictated in a sedan chair as he moved about urban areas. The natural history of pliny by pliny and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. He served as cavalry officer in germany and governor procurator in spain, and at the. 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.
The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny volume 2 of 6, by pliny the elder this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the united states and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. Like any great work in human history from plato to galileo, from dante to stephen hawkings plinys natural history is, first of all, a work of imagination. The editing of plinys natural history brepols online. Pliny the elder 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman. Pliny the elder compiled by pliny the elder ad 2379 but published 14 centuries later in 1469, historia naturalis was the first printed book on natural history. 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. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the. 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. According to pliny the elder they had a lifespan of only eight years. Covid19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. Natural history begins with aristotle and other ancient philosophers who analyzed the diversity of the natural world. Natural history was understood by pliny the elder to cover anything that could be found in the world, including living things, geology, astronomy, technology, art and humanity.
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