Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project. Pliny the elder naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. In the year 79, still admiral of the western fleet, pliny noticed a cloud over the city of pompeii. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher.
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 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. Pliny the elder was made admiral of the western roman navy. Pliny the elders natural history trevor murphy oxford. 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. Excerpts by pliny the elder, 9780900000485, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of th. The natural history by pliny the elder free at loyal books. Book overview pliny the elder 23 79 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman knowledge. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free. The elder pliny on the human animal mary beagon oxford. 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. The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley.
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 encyclopedic work. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the natural history of pliny. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. 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. Ergo a faucibus bospori est amnis rebas, quem aliqui rhesum dixerunt. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. 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. Pliny the elders natural history, from firstcentury rome, is the most important surviving encyclopedia of the ancient world.
The complete latin text of book vi of the historia naturalis of c. In addition, however, it provides valuable insight into the extraordinary complex of ideas and beliefs current in plinys era, many of which have resonances for other eras and cultures. Utf8 start of this project gutenberg ebook natural history of pliny, vol 1 produced by turgut dincer, brian wilcox. He spent most of his time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Pliny the elder 23 79, translated by henry thomas riley 1816 1878 naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny. Pliny the elder gaius plinius secondus, called pliny the elder to distinguish him from his nephew, known as pliny the younger, was born in 23 ce in como northern italy.
I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book. The natural history of pliny, volume 5 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, pliny the elder. While serving in this position he also found time to write his famous natural history which was published in 77. 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. See all 23 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. The natural history of pliny volume 6 digital collections. As a detailed study of the human animal, described by its author as the raison detre of nature, book seven of the elder plinys natural history is crucial to the understanding of the work as a whole. As a guide to the cultural meanings of everyday things in ancient rome it is unparalleled.
Lacuscurtius pliny the elders natural history book 6. All of this was research for what was to be his final work, historia naturalis natural history, published in 77 a. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth. Concentrating on plinys accounts of foreign lands and peoples, monsters, and barbarians, trevor murphy demonstrates the political significance of this reference book as a. It was probably the first attempt in western civilization to compile an encyclopedia. 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 natural history, volume 2 by pliny the elder free at. 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. 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. Pliny the elder wrote about dragons forbidden history.
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. American museum of natural history handbook series no. 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 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 wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. In thirtyseven books by pliny the elder, 1847, printed for the club by g. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c.
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. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. In writing natural history, pliny or his assistants extracted roughly 20,000 facts from 2,000 volumes by 100 authors. Pliny studied at rome before serving in the roman military in germany, eventually commanding a.
Sing it songbird podcast natural living for a happy and healthy family coffee with friends liberando mentes podcast. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free.
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 of flax and an account of various garden plants. Besides a grammar book, pliny wrote several books on roman history, but by far his greatest achievement was natural history. Book v looks at africa and asia, while book vi looks eastwards to the black sea, india and the far east. Topics included are the mathematics and metrology of the universe. This publication was produced from a professional scan of an original edition of the book, which can include imperfections from the original book or through the scanning process, and has been created from an edition which we consider to be of the best possible quality available. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Contact us natural history books 1025 keokuk street iowa city, ia 52240 voice. The natural history of pliny, volume 6 by pliny, the elder is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. Listen to natural history volume 4 by pliny the elder at. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the modern day and purports to. Gaius plinius secundus, better known as pliny the elder, was an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher as well as a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
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