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. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder pliny free ebook project gutenberg. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans perspective on the. 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. English translation of pliny the elder, natural history, book 36, 1100, by d. Natural history encyclopedic scientific work by pliny. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the english. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. It is also currently the best served book of the natural history in english, in that. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. 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 natural history has been translated into english by h. Even the errors of these authors are a portion of the history of nature, and.
For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. Natural history with an english translation in ten. An account of the observations that have been made on the heavens by. This extraordinary work was originally composed and. 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 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled. In book iii pliny the elder 2379 cd covers the geography of the iberian peninsula and italy. 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. 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. This is a fascinating book, yet is only a selection and a small one at that of plinys great work. S jones, h rackham published in 1938 in cambridge ma by harvard university press.
Pliny the elders natural history is published in many volumes covering a number of topics, which he differentiates by books. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Its frequent digressions into issues of morality and gossipy, occasionally rambling style would certainly not be at home in a modern encyclopedia, but its allencompassing scope covering botany, zoology, astronomy, geology, and medicine. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. 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. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. This, however, is not tlie fault of pliny, lait the result of imperfect tradition. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Some time in the first century ad, the roman scholar pliny the elder published his naturalis historia, or. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge.
Although pliny did not distinguish between fact, opinion, and speculation in. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Plinys natural history was the goto encyclopedia for over 1,500 years, from its publication around the year 77 until well into the renaissance. Philemon hollands english translation of 1601 has influenced literature ever since. Links to translation of pliny the elder, 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. My ideal natural history would therefore be for penguin to publish all thirtyseven volumes, yet with copious footnotes so as to learn the accuracy of what pliny says and understand those things that he may have taken for granted. Pomponius secundus, in two books, a person by whom he had been. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Melvyn bragg and his guests discuss plinys natural history. The first and thirtythird books of pliny were translated by dr. 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 project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book.
Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. The digital loeb classical library extends the founding mission of james loeb with an interconnected, fully searchable, perpetually growing virtual library of all that is important in greek and latin literature. 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. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by the elder. American museum of natural history handbook series no. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. 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. Books 33 through 35 deal with ancient greece painting and sculpture and the artists who created those works. The purpose of the translation is to assist the reader of the original to understand its meaning. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Contributor university of california libraries language english. Natural history pliny wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Kresilas also created the wounded men and a dying amazon for ephesus in concurrence in a competition with phidias and polykleitos, possibly the model for many copies, one of which is the wounded amazon of kresilas volnerata.
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