The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. Neither the younger nor the elder pliny mention the names. 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 46, at about age 23, pliny entered the army as a junior officer, as was the custom for young men of equestrian rank. The numbering of the letters in this book has been changed slightly to bring it into line with the most recent editions. Pliny the elder 23 79, translated by henry thomas riley 1816 1878 naturalis historia latin for natural history is an encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage library. 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. Jan 06, 2014 in the last pages of book 36, pliny introduces the subject of glass by describing the relatively recent decorative technique of tiling vaulted ceilings with glass mosaics.
Pliny the younger was born in novum comum como, northern italy around 61 ad, the son of lucius caecilius cilo, born there, and his wife plinia marcella, a sister of pliny the elder. Plinys dates are pinned to the eruption of mount vesuvius in 79 and a statement of his nephew that he died in his 56th year, which would put his birth in ad 23 or 24 pliny was the son of an equestrian, gaius plinius celer, and his wife, marcella. Pliny the elder, who died during the eruption of vesuvius in 79 a. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of.
Pliny the elder was an author, philosopher, and commander in the roman empire in the 1st century ce. Pliny the elder pliny, the elder the online books page. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. He was the grandson of senator and landowner gaius caecilius, revered his uncle, pliny the elder who at this time was extremely famous around the roman empire. What we didnt know was that members of the american homebrewers association feel that its the best beer, in general, in america. 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. This book is available with additional data at biodiversity heritage.
Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history. Pliny the elder, latin in full gaius plinius secundus, born 23 ce, novum comum, transpadane gaul now in italydied august 24, 79, stabiae, near mount vesuvius, roman savant and author of the celebrated natural history, an encyclopaedic work of uneven accuracy that was an authority on scientific matters up to the middle ages. The division of human knowledge into different fieldsbiology, history, mathematics, medicine, and so onis a relatively new invention. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. 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. Read more about the sites features pliny the elder 2379 ce, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled. Pliny s dates are pinned to the eruption of mount vesuvius in ad 79 and a statement of his nephew that he died in his 56th year, which would put his birth in ad 23 or 24 pliny was the son of an equestrian gaius plinius celer and his wife marcella. Mar 12, 2019 pliny the elder was an author, philosopher, and commander in the roman empire in the 1st century ce. Plinys dates are pinned to the eruption of mount vesuvius in ad 79 and a statement of his nephew that he died in his 56th year, which would put his birth in ad 23 or 24 pliny was the son of an equestrian gaius plinius celer and his wife marcella. He was the grandson of senator and landowner gaius caecilius, revered his uncle, pliny the elder who at this time was extremely famous around the roman empire, and provided sketches of how his uncle worked on. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world. Jun 12, 2014 vespasian rewarded pliny with the position of imperial procurator in spain, gaul, and belgium, where he was responsible for the finances of each province. 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. Pliny the elder books list of books by author pliny the.
Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription cil v 1 3442 found in a field in. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. See all books authored by pliny the elder, including naturalis historia, and ashen sky. Throughout his life, pliny the elder wrote an encyclopedic work, the natural history, that was often referred to even up to the modern periodindeed, it became the editorial model for encyclopedias. Pliny the younger neffae, later adoptit son parents. Pliny the elder 2379 ce produced in his natural history a vast compendium of roman knowledge. Table of contents of the others and of authorities. Barclay, 184749, also by philemon holland and wernerian club page images at hathitrust pliny, the elder. Pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world.
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, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. His campaigns in germany bear fruit at the beginning of book 16 in his vivid description of north sea fisherfolk living precariously on their artificial. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia. Plinys natural history is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Pliny the elder, as imagined by a 19thcentury artist. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy. In the last pages of book 36, pliny introduces the subject of glass by describing the relatively recent decorative technique of tiling vaulted ceilings with glass mosaics. 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. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. The natural history has been translated into english by h. 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 project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
A multifaceted personality, he was also an author, naturalist, and a naval and army commander of the early roman empire. Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free. Pliny the youngers depiction of pliny the elder for ocr gcse latin. Then he recounts a fablelike tale about the discovery of glass, which takes place on the glistening sands along the belus river near mt. Selections from the history of the world, commonly called the natural history of c. Pliny the elder russian river brewing company beeradvocate. Pliny, the beer has now become one of our flagship brews. 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. You have adopted the proper course, my dear pliny, in examining into the cases of those who have been denounced to you as christians, for no hard and fast rule can be laid down to meet a question of such wide extent. 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. In comparing various authors with one another, i have discovered that some of the gravest and latest writers have transcribed, word for word, from former works, without making acknowledgment. The complete latin text of book xxxvi of the historia naturalis of c.
Lacuscurtius pliny the elders natural history book 36. No contemporary depiction of pliny is known to survive. Plinys natural history in thirtyseven books london. Pliny the elder was a roman natural philosopher who lived during the 1st century. Pliny the younger refers to tacituss reliance upon his uncles book, the history of the german wars. The world, and whatever that be which we call the heavens, by.
Pliny the elder simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 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. 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. He cultivated a friendship with the roman emperor vespasian, reached social. Pliny the elder biography facts, childhood, family life. Natural history, volume x, books 3637 loeb classical library no.
As a result of his fathers wealth, pliny the elder. 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 encyclopedic work. Weve known for a long time now that pliny the elder is one of the best double ipas available in, well, the world. 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. Mathematical and metrological survey of the universe. Publication date 1938 topics natural history publisher.
Pliny the elder, natural history loeb classical library. He has published extensively on augustan poetry, and is coeditor with ruth morello of reimagining pliny the younger arethusa 36. This edition can be found on the internet archive, with the exception of books 3337. It was during this time that he continued to gather the facts that he would later use in his writings, especially his most famous work begun around 77 ce the 37 book ten volumes. Natural history, volume x, books 3637 loeb classical. Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription found in a field in verona and recorded by the 16thcentury augustinian monk onofrio panvinio at verona. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of th. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. Pliny the elder is a american imperial ipa style beer brewed by russian river brewing company in santa rosa, ca.
Pliny the elder books list of books by author pliny the elder. 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. Cheers to the scholar, historian, officer, writer, and roman naturalist pliny the elder. The letters of pliny the younger on the eruption of vesuvius, and more on. The same word hetaeriae is used in relation to a guild of firemen, in letter 34 of this book. Gaius plinius secundus ad 23 august 25, ad 79, 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. Plinys preoccupation with his public status is evident in the digression on the history of the equestrian order in book 33 secs. Topics included are the mathematics and metrology of the.
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