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. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. 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. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. Roald dahl, fantastic mr fox, free audio book read by nick martin. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. Pliny the elder 2379 naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. 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. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world.
Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn. 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. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. A multifaceted personality, he was also an author, naturalist, and a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Gaius plinius secundus 23 ad 25 august 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 spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic.
Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Pliny the elder books list of books by author pliny the. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. 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. Domitius, ut erat vehemens natura, praeterea accensus odio, quod ex aemulatione acidissimum 2 est, graviter increpuit tanti censorem habitare, m. 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. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book. The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. 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.
In these years, pliny wrote a second book, a life of pomponius secundus. The natural history which is actually a sort of encyclopedia of roman wisdom and prejudices has probably fallen out of favour because the first two books are surprisingly tedious. 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. Internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. 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. Museums oldest natural history book now accessible online. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. The natural history of pliny, volume 4 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley.
Mathematical and metrological survey of the universe. Pliny the elder the natural history book vii with book viii 1 34. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans perspective on the. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. Pliny the elder 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman knowledge. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. He is best known for his work plinys natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output.
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. See all 23 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. The natural history of pliny, volume 4 of 6 by the elder pliny free ebook project gutenberg. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Probably, the teacher had died, and the pupil felt he owed this book as a homage.
It eventually became a model for encyclopedias as we know them. Pliny the elder was a roman natural philosopher who lived during the 1st century. Table of contents of the others and of authorities. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the natural history of pliny. Topics included are the mathematics and metrology of the. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Book 2, cosmology, astronomy, meteorology, geography, geology. Gaius plinius secundus, commonly known as pliny the elder ad 2379. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia.
Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural. 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. Pdf the natural history of pliny download ebook for free. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. 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.
Book 16 the natural history of the forest trees book 17 the natural history of the cultivated trees book 18 the natural history of grain book 19 the nature and cultivation. 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. The museums library and archives has digitised its oldest book, historia. The natural history of pliny, volume 4 of 6 by the elder. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. Natural history volume 4 by pliny the elder free at. The natural history has been translated into english by h. The natural history, volume 1, part 1 pliny the elder. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy.
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 region north of the po river and was educated in rome. Pliny the elder biography facts, childhood, family life. The author of the natural history was impressed by the operations, which had been carried out in darkness. The natural history, volume 1 by pliny the elder 23 79 00. Natural history 5 volumes hardcover january 1, 2012 by pliny the elder author 5. Pliny the younger, latin in full gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born 6162 ce, comum italydied c. 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. Plinys natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. Download pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic.
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