The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. The loeb classical library edition of pliny the younger is in two volumes. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. Plinys natural history project gutenberg selfpublishing. 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. Gaius plinius secundus 23 ad august 25, 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. The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. 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. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher. 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.
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. Even on that poiiit he contradicts himself in the next book. Since much of plinys geography is catalogued listings of places, translation is. Pliny has a gift for description and a versatile prose style, and more than any of his contemporaries he gives an unprejudiced picture of rome as he knew it. They are set out in the original text order of pliny the elder, and are then sequentially analysed. Search the history of over 439 billion web pages on the internet. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Editing a single book of the natural history as a single volume has the notable.
Natural history, volume x, books 3637 loeb classical library no. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. 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. Latin and english parallel text throughout, with introductions, notes and indices. Naturalis historia is an early encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c.
Theophrastuss enquiry into plants or historia plantarum greek. But it has often been read with some mistaken presuppositions. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. The first and thirtythird books of pliny were translated by dr. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. Naturalis historia is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Natural history, volume ii, books 37 loeb classical library no. With an english translation on opposite pages, notes, introduction, and glossary, by rev. Pliny the elder 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman knowledge. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library.
Nov 17, 2019 a translation of plinys natural history. American museum of natural history handbook series no. Bostock, who contemplated a translation of the entire work. Natural history 1938 by pliny the elder, translated by h. A division of the earth by climates, lines parallel, and equal shadows. Fox, ma to which is added the anglosaxon version of the metres of boethius, with a free translation by martin f.
Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and the only book by him to have survived. 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 project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. The natural history has been translated into english by h. 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. This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Let us pass to the rest of the animals, and first those that live on land. Pliny s natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. The account of the essenes which pliny included in his compendious work natural history 5.
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. 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. The natural history book vii with book viii 4 latin texts by bloomsbury isbn. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the natural history of pliny. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. Synopsis each of the 37 38 books comprising the natural history 1 have been studied and the more important geographical facts extracted. Topics included are the mathematics and metrology of the universe. Cambridge, mass wikipedia citation please see wikipedias template documentation for further citation fields that may be required. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a.
Book vii of the natural history provides a detailed examination of the human animal and is. 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. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia. 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. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.
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. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. At any rate, the latin text and the holland translation have each been. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history.
Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Tupper, dcl brands popular antiquities of england, scotland, and ireland. Zehnacker marshals to good effect parallel texts from pomponius mela. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history.
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