The zoology chapters books 8 to 11 are frequently quoted, though pliny is not always acknowledged as the. 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. Pliny the elder, the natural history exploring celtic. Natural history volume 4 by pliny the elder free at. Plinys natural history became a model for later encyclopedias and scholarly works as a result of its breadth of. Pliny the elder, the natural history john bostock, m. Pliny the elder 2379 naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. The following is an adaptation of pliny the elder, the natural history, trans. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge the contents of the books are as follows.
We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Roald dahl, fantastic mr fox, free audio book read by nick martin. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history. Topics included are the mathematics and metrology of the. 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. It eventually became a model for encyclopedias as we know them. 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. The natural history of pliny, volume 4 of 6 by the elder pliny free ebook project gutenberg. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.
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. 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. The natural history, volume 1, part 1 pliny the elder. He is best known for his work plinys natural history which was in latin and explored the natural world. Plinys 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 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman knowledge. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Table of contents of the others and of authorities. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Internet archive bookreader plinys natural history. Pliny the elders natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg.
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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the natural history of pliny. The natural history of pliny, volume 4 of 6 by the elder. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a.
See all 23 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. The museums library and archives has digitised its oldest book, historia. Natural history 5 volumes hardcover january 1, 2012 by pliny the elder author 5. The natural history, volume 1 by pliny the elder 23 79 00. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. 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 the natural history book vii with book viii 1 34. Pdf the natural history of pliny download ebook for free. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. The natural history has been translated into english by h. I ran a first proofreading pass immediately after entering each book. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. Domitius, ut erat vehemens natura, praeterea accensus odio, quod ex aemulatione acidissimum 2 est, graviter increpuit tanti censorem habitare, m. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world.
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. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. The natural history of pliny, volume 4 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. Book 2, cosmology, astronomy, meteorology, geography, geology. Pliny the elder has 277 books on goodreads with 3818 ratings. Buy natural history penguin classics reprint by pliny the elder, john healey, john healey isbn. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history.
Pliny the elder books list of books by author pliny the. Direct observation, informed speculation and common knowledge are combined to present a key snapshot of ancient thought and the romans perspective on the. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. 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 region north of the po river and was educated in rome. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. 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. 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. Download pliny the elder s natural history is a vast encyclopaedia, surveying natural phenomena from cosmology to biology, medicine to magic. Probably, the teacher had died, and the pupil felt he owed this book as a homage. In these years, pliny wrote a second book, a life of pomponius secundus. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Mathematical and metrological survey of the universe. Pliny the elder was a roman natural philosopher who lived during the 1st century. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions.
Pliny the elder biography facts, childhood, family life. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. 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. A multifaceted personality, he was also an author, naturalist, and a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Museums oldest natural history book now accessible online. The author of the natural history was impressed by the operations, which had been carried out in darkness. 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 younger, latin in full gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born 6162 ce, comum italydied c. Pliny was a compiler, a gatherer and recorder of information. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author.
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