If one attempts to research the historical uses of the elder plant, one will see that most texts point to the historical book natural history by pliny the elder, a roman author and naval commander who lived until 79 a. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37 volume work naturalis historia or natural history. Plinys ordered natural landscape is a coherent whole, offering the reader a. Many of his works have been lost to history, but his main work the historia naturalis natural history remains almost complete. Although only one of his works, natural history, has survived, pliny the elder became famous for that work. Pliny the elder died in ad 79, while attempting the rescue, by ship, of a friend and his family, in stabiae, from the eruption of mount vesuvius, which already had destroyed the cities of pompeii and herculaneum. 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. Spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an encyclopedic work, natural history naturalis historia, which became a model for many subsequent encyclopedic texts. After much research in beer books, brainstorming, and deliberation, we came up with pliny the elder.
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 s natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. 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 was a naturalist and a philosopher, a soldier and an admiral, and a tireless. Ancient uses of the elder plant in natural history by. 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. 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.
Publication date 184749 topics natural history publisher london printed for the club by g. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Plinys natural history in thirtyseven books london. Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book, so that. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. Pliny s natural history in thirtyseven books london.
Pliny the elder died in 79 ce, while attempting the rescue, by ship, of a friend and his family, in stabiae, from the eruption of mount vesuvius, which already had destroyed the cities of pompeii and herculaneum. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. He is best known for his work plinys natural history which was in. Pompeii hero pliny the elder may have been found 2,000 years later. Pliny the elder is also the uncle of pliny the younger, whose letters are definitely worth a read, and outline the tragic and incredible nature of pliny the. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. Pliny the younger refers to tacituss reliance upon his uncles book, the history of the german wars. Hese books, containing the history of nature, which a few days since i. The natural history of pliny translated by john bostock and henry t. 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.
His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Barclay, 184749, also by philemon holland and wernerian club page images at hathitrust pliny, the elder. He is always noble and serious, full of the love of justice and virtue. Delphis ancient classics series provides ereaders with the wisdom of the classical world, with both english translations and the original latin texts. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. The roman naturalist pliny the elders encyclopaedic natural history, composed in 37 books, remains an unrivalled compendium of roman knowledge.
The first book is a catalogue of sources, which is followed by two. Natural history was a 37 volume encyclopedia that covered topics ranging from anthropology, astronomy, and mineralogy to geography, botany, and zoology. 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 elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. The work is divided into 37 books, organised into ten volumes. But over the centuries these mistakes have revealed more about plinys world than the accuracies. A multifaceted personality, he was also an author, naturalist, and a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Plinys 37 book naturalis historia is a stupor mundi, an encyclopedia of everything there was to knowwhether it was worth knowing or notin. Plinys natural history, either directly or indirectly through quotes by later authors, greatly influenced the development of the bestiary and other medieval beast literature. Ancient uses of the elder plant in natural history by pliny. For my own part, i look upon the whole of these statements as untrue, and i do not believe that in our time there has ever been a precious stone seen with such a. Selections from the history of the world, commonly called the natural history of c.
Natural history is an account that can only be given by a. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman. But the country people, and, indeed, some whole nations offer milk to the gods. 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. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny the elder. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. Pliny the elder was a roman natural philosopher who lived during the 1st century. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Seeing the elder plinys maniacal working habits, one starts to understand. Natural history, volume x, books 36 37 loeb classical library no. Book i summarizes the entire contents of the work, listing the authors and.
He is best known for his work pliny s natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world. Natural historypage from an italian edition of natural history by. 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, vol i. His greatest and only surviving work, the natural history, has been called one of the most influential books ever written in latin. Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. This book is a gem for many reasons, as it is the single largest written text to have survived the roman empire. 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.
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, which was dedicated to titus in 77, was. It is divided into 37 books across 10 volumes, and was intended to cover the breadth of ancient knowledge. 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. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read natural history. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. Complete works of pliny the elder by pliny the elder. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ran. Pliny, the man, lived in the first century 23 to 79 a.
The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Sep 24, 2018 if one attempts to research the historical uses of the elder plant, one will see that most texts point to the historical book natural history by pliny the elder, a roman author and naval commander who lived until 79 a. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Vinnie had made a double ipa at blind pig brewing co. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. Pliny the elder born gaius plinius secundus, ad 2379 was a roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, a naval and army commander of the early roman empire, and friend of 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. Pliny the elder biography facts, childhood, family life.
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