Of all the works written by pliny, one only, the historia naturalis has 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. Reviewed in the united states on august 2, 2015 pliny the elder wrote historia naturalis 2000 years ago in the first century. Gaius plinius secundus ad 23 august 25, ad 79, better kent as pliny the elder, wis a roman author, naituralist, an naitural filosopher, as well as naval an army commander o. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. Natural history wikisource, the free online library. The encyclopedia, who is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to this day, covers numerous subjects such as astronomy, mathematics, geography, zoology, botany, physiology, sculpture and painting. 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.
The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. 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. Pliny and the encyclopaedic addressee ruth morello 10. Comical podcast a comedy show all about comic books. Libros naturalis historiae, novicium camenis quiritium tuorum opus, natos apud me proxima fetura licentiore epistula narrare 1 constitui tibi, iucundissime imperatorsit enim haec tui praefatio, verissima, dum maximi consenescit in patre. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field.
For naturalis historia, the natural history by pliny the elder see natural history pliny. 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. Pliny the elder, in his historia naturalis, repeats aristotles observations. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Naturalis historia pliny, the elder natural history illustration. Pliny the elder in danish, translation, englishdanish dictionary.
Naturalis historia or plinys natural history was plinys last work, as well the most important work of his life. Pliny was the son of an equestrian, gaius plinius celer, and his wife, marcella. Pliny the elder article about pliny the elder by the. Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. Its rare when news headlines concern someone who died nearly 2,000 years ago, but thats what happened last month, when a scientific team in italy reported results of their study finding that the skull in a rome museum really is that of pliny the elder, the immortal naturalist of the ancient roman world. His one major surviving work, it covers a vast range of subjects, although it is an uncritical mixture of fact and fiction. Ungar, 1957, also by loyd ed haberly page images at hathitrust. The following translation may be regarded as that of dr. There are two english translations of pliny online. Pliny the elder, naturalis historia, book preface, chapter 1. Jun 12, 2014 because of his parents connections in rome, the city where he would complete his education, pliny was able to obtain a military command, leaving the comforts of rome in 47 ce to do battle in germany, serving as an officer cadet on the rhine, and eventually rising to function as the prefect of the auxiliary infantry and later commander of a. Pliny the elder translation spanish englishspanish. The history of the world translated by philemon holland 1847.
Encylcopaedic exemplarity in pliny the elder clemence schultze 11. Pliny the elder in danish, translation, englishdanish. Mellon foundation contributor oise university of toronto language latin volume 1. Author pliny the elder country ancient rome subject natural history, ethnography, art, sculpture, mining, mineralogy genre encyclopaedia, popular science the natural history is a work by pliny the elder. I waited a couple of years, then decided that a bird in the hand is worth an annotated inflectionsearchable sacred chicken in a bush, and did it myself.
It is an encyclopedic work, designed to illustrate a philosophical belief in a benign providence, and to assimilate greek knowledge for the roman world. The natural history of pliny translated by john bostock and henry t. Pliny the elder in latin, translation, englishlatin dictionary. The natural history has been translated into english by h. He is the sole authority for some curious facts in natural history. The natural history is an early encyclopedia in latin by pliny the elder, who died in. Pliny the elder in latin, translation, englishlatin. Luxury and the creation of a good consumer eugenia lao 4.
Neither the younger nor the elder pliny mention the names. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. When i got on the net in 1995, i heard all kinds of rumors of various projects out there supposedly putting pliny on the web. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 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. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher. The historia naturalis is the first encyclopedia, a compilation covering every aspect of the world as known to an intelligent roman of the first century. Buy a cheap copy of naturalis historia book by pliny the elder. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. 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. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Pliny the elder biography facts, childhood, family life. May 14, 2019 the elder pliny s chapters on the history of art 1982, ares publishers in multiple languages revised reprint i.
Plinys historia naturalis natural history is a vast encyclopaedic work and. Pliny the elders attitude to warfare rhiannon ash 2. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. 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. The natural history is an early encyclopedia in latin by pliny the elder, who died in 79 ad. Plinys dates are pinned to the eruption of vesuvius in august, 4 79, and a statement of his nephew that he died in his 56th year, which would make his birth in 23 ad. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. Mar 10, 2020 its rare when news headlines concern someone who died nearly 2,000 years ago, but thats what happened last month, when a scientific team in italy reported results of their study finding that the skull in a rome museum really is that of pliny the elder, the immortal naturalist of the ancient roman world. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the.
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. Bostock, john, 17731846, translator riley, henry t. Pliny the elder publishes the first ten books of naturalis historia. Pliny the elder translation in englishdanish dictionary. 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.
Healy has produced an excellent selection of plinys works in a very readable translation with helpful, but not cumbersome, notes. The natural history of pliny digital collections national. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. Philemon hollands english translation of 1601 has influenced literature ever since. Apr, 2020 english language translations of historia naturalis include. Pliny the elder, historia naturalis book, 1982 worldcat.
He was also a naval and army commander of the early roman empire and personal friend of the emperor vespasian. 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. Of all the works written by pliny, one only, tlic itistoria. The science and aesthetics of names in the naturalis historia aude doody 8. 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. Pliny wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Eichholz in their loeb edition, with the latin text on facing pages. He wrote the encyclopedic naturalis historia natural history, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Pytheas says that the gutones, a people of germany, inhabit the shores of an estuary of the ocean called mentonomon, their territory extending a distance of six thousand stadia.
Pliny the elders natural history provides the reader with an excellent overview of what life was seen as during his time. 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. In ad 77, pliny published his famous 37volume work naturalis historia or natural history. Naturalis historia by pliny the elder, was dedicated to the emperor titus in 77 ce, and published posthumously, following plinys death while observing the eruption of vesuvius in 79 ce. Healy has produced an excellent selection of pliny s works in a very readable translation with helpful, but not cumbersome, notes. The elder plinys chapters on the history of art 1982, ares publishers in multiple languages revised reprint i. Ad 23 august 25, ad 79, commonly known by his anglicized name, pliny the elder, was a roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher. Pliny the elder translation in english latin dictionary. Naturalis historia naturalis historia, 1669 edition, title page. Pliny the elder translation in english danish dictionary. 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. Pliny the elder s natural history provides the reader with an excellent overview of what life was seen as during his time. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.
Compacted from the many volumes of the historia naturalis by loyd haberly. Gaius plinius secundus ad 23 august 25, ad 79, better kent as pliny the elder, wis a roman author, naituralist, an naitural filosopher, as well as naval an army commander o the early roman empire, an personal friend o the emperor vespasian. The latin title historia naturalis could best be translated as research of the creation. Englishlanguage translations of historia naturalis include. Pliny offers all kinds of information critically, mentions his sources, and often sees the fun of certain things. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Pliny the elder from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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. Volume i of the natural history of gaius plinius secundus. This treatise on natural history, a novel work in roman literature, which i have just completed, i have taken the liberty to dedicate to you, most gracious 1 emperor, an appellation peculiarly suitable to you, while, on account of his age, that of great is more appropriate to your father. Printed by adam islip, 1634, also by philemon holland html at eebo tcp pliny, the elder. Pliny the younger neffae, later adoptit son parents. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder a wikipedia article about this author is available pliny, the elder. Philosophy and science in the elder plinys naturalis historia ernesto.
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