The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. 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. The natural history, volume 1, part 1 pliny the elder.
Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Such then is the present state of the world, and of the countries, nations, more remarkable seas, islands, and cities which it contains. 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. Unusually, the entire remarkable work it contains over a million words has survived intact it is one of the most substantial ancient works available to modern readers. As one of the bhls founding institutional members, the museum has digitised its copy of historia naturalis, which in turn will be the bhls oldest digitised book.
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 following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. Naturalis historia is an early encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The treatise consisted of 37 books, with approximately 20,000 facts taken from around 100 authors. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. 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. 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. Plinys natural hist in 30 7 bk the elder pliny, philemon 15521637.
Pliny s is an organic work, as shakespeares crowded plays or montaignes essays are organic. His sources were personal experience, his own prior works such as the work on germania, and extracts from other works. Pliny s last work, according to his nephew, was the naturalis historia literally natural history, an encyclopedia into which he collected much of the knowledge of his time. English translation of pliny the elder, natural history, book 35, 101202, by h. 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. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. Terentii varronis disciplinarum libris commentarius 1877. Utf8 start of this project gutenberg ebook natural history of pliny, vol 1 produced by turgut dincer, brian wilcox. Museums oldest natural history book now accessible online.
The original latin text will include a link to an english version, translated and edited in the nineteenth century by john bostock and h t riley. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. In thirtyseven books internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. With an english translation on opposite pages, notes, introduction, and glossary, by rev. The sources are cataloged in book 1 according to volume and cited. Next there is the cape of carmania, from which it is a passage of five miles to cross to the arabian tribe of the macae on the opposite coast. Internet archive bookreader pliny s natural history. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read plinys natural history. 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.
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. American museum of natural history handbook series no. A major section of the natural history, books xx to xxix, discusses matters related to medicine, especially plants that yield useful drugs. The nature of the animated beings which exist upon it, is hardly in any degree less worthy of our contemplation than its other features. Plinys naturalis historia is remarkable for its references to its sources throughout the. Pliny himself begins the text of his natural history with a detailed list of his. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. After decades of work, pliny finished natural history in ce 77. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. 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. On plinys differences from varro as innovative, see. The second chapter proceeds to comment on ethnography in the naturalis historia. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. Internet archive bookreader plinys natural history.
The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Plinys natural history project gutenberg selfpublishing. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. 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.
Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. Historia naturalis was one of the first manuscripts ever printed and, perhaps more importantly, the first published natural history book. Dec 20, 2016 its author is roman philosopher and scholar gaius plinius secundus, commonly known as pliny the elder ad 2379. In sum there are in this book of histories and observations four. Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher london printed for the club by g. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free ebook project gutenberg. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with. Fox, ma to which is added the anglosaxon version of the metres of boethius, with a free translation by martin f. L our topic now will be metals, and the actual resources employed to pay for commodities resources diligently sought for in the bowels of the earth in a variety of ways. 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, vol i. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469.
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 natural history became a model for later encyclopedias and scholarly works as a result of its breadth of subject matter, its referencing. Click on the l symbols to go to the latin text of each. The natural history of pigeons illustrated by thirtytwo plates coloured, and numerous woodcuts with memoir of pliny by andrew crichton the naturalists library ornithology vol v gallinaceous birds part iii pigeons natural history of pigeons 1st edition 1835. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of.
The 1st book is the preface of the work, dedicated to titus vespasian c. The 2nd is on the world, the elements, and the heavenly bodies 50. On india xxvi 96 but before we go on to a detailed account of these countries, it is suitable to indicate the facts reported by onesicritus after sailing with the fleet of alexander round from india to the interior of. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. Jan 06, 2014 no wonder, then, that an encyclopedia of natural history dating from the early roman empire was extraordinarily popular, not only in its own time but during and well after the renaissance.
Tupper, dcl brands popular antiquities of england, scotland, and ireland. 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. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. Natural history, in thirtyseven books, a work remarkable for its comprehen. The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th books are on geography, in which is contained an account of the situation of the different countries, the inhabitants, the seas, towns, harbours, mountains, rivers, and. Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in his 37volume treatise, he can be credited with the creation of the first scientific encyclopaedia.
For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. Buy plinys natural history in thirtyseven books on. With an appendix of the most remarkable and best authenticated stories of apparitions, dreams, second sight. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. For centuries the natural history served as the western worlds primary source of scientific information and theory book i summarizes the entire contents of the work, listing the authors and sometimes the titles of. May 07, 2020 the natural history, volume 1 by pliny the elder 23 79 00. Click on the l symbols to go to the latin text of each chapter. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. From antiquity through the middle ages and into the renaissance, plinys massive compilation of knowledge remained a. Pliny, natural history book 33, sections 194 translated by h. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of 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. A wonderfully rich, witty, insightful, and wideranging portrait of the two plinys and their world.
The natural history, volume 1, part 1 pliny the elder full. Gaius plinius secundus, 23 79 ce was a roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, a naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and friend of the emperor vespasian. Spending most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, pliny wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which. Suetonius, the second comprises the opening lines of the preface to the historia. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder. Like any great work in human history from plato to galileo, from dante to stephen hawkings pliny s natural history is, first of all, a work of imagination. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. Plinys defense of empire lsu digital commons louisiana state.
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