Natural History: A Selection

by Pliny the Elder, John F. Healey (Translator)

Pliny’s Natural History is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. 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 water-clock, or the use of asses’ milk to remove wrinkles. 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 nature itself’. John F. Healy has made a fascinating and varied selection from the Natural History for this clear, modern translation. In his introduction, he discusses the book and its sources topic by topic. This edition also includes a full index and notes.

Genres: History, Classics, Science, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Nature, Roman

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 77

About the author

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. Spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an encyclopedic work, Naturalis Historia, which became a model for all such works written subsequently. Pliny the Younger, his nephew, wrote of him in a letter to the historian Tacitus:

"For my part I deem those blessed to whom, by favour of the gods, it has been granted either to do what is worth writing of, or to write what is worth reading; above measure blessed those on whom both gifts have been conferred. In the latter number will be my uncle, by virtue of his own and of your compositions."

Pliny the Younger is referring to the fact that Tacitus relied on his uncle's now missing work on the History of the German Wars. Pliny the Elder died on August 25, 79 AD, while attempting the rescue by ship of a friend and his family from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that had just destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The prevailing wind would not allow his ship to leave the shore. His companions attributed his collapse and death to toxic fumes; but they were unaffected by the fumes, suggesting natural causes.

Reviews

[Evan Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pliny’s Natural History was the go-to encyclopedia for over 1,500 years, from its publication around the year 77 until well into the Renaissance. Its frequent digressions into issues of morality and gossipy, occasionally rambling style would certainly not be at home in a modern encyclopedia, but its all-encompassing scope (covering botany, zoology, astronomy, geology, and medicine among other topics) was groundbreaking for its time and provided the model for future works of its kind to emulate.

The Natural History in its entirety is one of the largest extant Roman texts, and the Penguin edition contains selections from 32 of the 37 books (overall, perhaps 25% of the complete work). This is plenty for all readers other than true specialists. Pliny is one of the most important surviving sources for our understanding of Roman knowledge and the Roman world, but his Natural History is mostly of antiquarian interest today. Given that this was written nearly 2,000 years ago, long before the birth of the scientific method, this is not going to provide a lot of accurate knowledge about the natural world. However, readers who are interested in learning what the people of antiquity believed will be well served by this book. Here are some tidbits that struck me as particularly interesting, noteworthy, or just wacky:

• On the Earth: Pliny understood unequivocally that the world was spherical, not flat. Book II.

• On God: “God is man helping man.” Book II.

• On Fortune: “To her is debited all that is spent, and to her is credited all that is received; she alone fills both pages in the ledger of mortals’ accounts.” Book II.

• On the Chinese: “The Chinese are mild in character, but resemble wild animals in that they shun the company of the rest of their fellow men and wait for traders to come to them.” Book VI.

• On Ethiopia: “There are certain reports from the interior, on the eastern side, of races without noses and with completely flat faces; in some cases tribes have no upper lip, in others, no tongue. One group has no mouth and no nostrils; these people breath through a single hole and similarly suck in drink by means of oat straws and also take in grains of wild oat for food. Book VI.

• On Africans: “[The Psylii’s] custom was to expose children at birth to extremely fierce snakes and to use these snakes to test the faithfulness of their wives since snakes do not flee people of adulterous blood” Book VII.

• On Indians: “A tribe of men called the Monocoli [have] only one leg and hop with amazing speed. These people are also called the Umbrella-footed, because when the weather is hot they lie on their backs stretched out on the ground and protect themselves by the shade of their feet. The Monocoli are not far away from the Cave-dwellers, and further to the east of these are some people without necks and with eyes in their shoulders…At the extreme boundaries of India, to the east, near the source of the Ganges, [live] the Astomi who have no mouth and whose body is covered in hair. They dress in cotton wool and live only on the air they breathe and the odor they draw in through their nostrils…Megasthenes says that they can easily be killed by a particularly strong odor.” Book VII.

• On Pregnancy: “Women who eat food that is too salty give birth to children without nails. Sneezing after intercourse can bring on an abortion.” Book VII.

• On Sudden Death: “Sudden deaths (the supreme happiness in life (!!!)) are miraculous and frequent.” Book VII (emphasis added).

• On Parakeets: “It greets its master and repeats words it hears, being especially full of fun when given wine.” Book X.

• On Eyes: “The eyes are the windows of the soul.” Book XI.

• On Beer: “Western people also have their own liquor made from grain soaked in water. Alas, what wonderful ingenuity vice possesses! We have even discovered how to make water intoxicating!” Book XIV.

• On Sex: “Sexual intercourse cures pain in the lower regions, impaired vision, unsoundness of mind and depression.” Book XXVIII.

• On Aphrodisiacs: “Salpe bids one plunge an ass’s penis seven times in hot oil and then rub the appropriate part with this.” Book XXVIII.

• On 1st Century Medicine: “Only a doctor can kill a man with impunity…I have learned that through ignorance of names, red lead is commonly added to medicines instead of Indian cinnabar.” Book XXIX.

• On Magic: “[M]agic is execrable, achieves nothing and is pointless.” Book XXX.

Some of the facts above are obviously erroneous, but a lot of the information in this book is clearly well-researched (by 1st century standards), and Pliny had a real passion for the sciences. He died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius – not because he was present at the initial eruption, but because he crossed the bay to observe the phenomenon at close quarters. This is not the kind of book I’d recommend you sit down and read cover to cover in a handful of sittings; although its style & tone make it more engaging than a modern encyclopedia, it’s still an encyclopedia. But readers who want to learn about the history of knowledge & true Romanophiles will find it interesting. 3 stars.

[Peter Landau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed on almost every page (the description of mining for gold was admittedly a bit dry for my tastes). I'd start a Twitter feed and populate it with his one-liners, but someone has already beaten me to it. And they have more followers than my feed. Recommended for lovers of the "Ripley's Believer It or Not" comic, though the drawings aren't as good. Odd that Pliny was skeptical enough to dismiss rumors of werewolves in Italy considering the other oddities collected. It's Pliny's world, we only read about it. Now, onto the Younger.

[S. Alberto ঌ⁻⁷ (semi-active, always yearning) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Art has always been the handmaid of nature.”

“The only certainty is that nothing is certain, and that nothing is more wretched or more arrogant than man.”

“True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written, in writing what deserves to be read, and in living so as to make the world happier and better for our living in it.”

Pliny the Elder’s Natural History is an impressive window into the worldview of ancient Rome—part science textbook, part encyclopedia, and part philosophical treatise. This selection highlights Pliny’s insatiable curiosity and attempts to catalog everything from astronomy to botany to art and human achievements.

What I loved most about this book is how it captures the sense of wonder and awe that drove Pliny to compile such a monumental work. His observations about nature and humanity are sometimes profound, sometimes amusing, and often thought-provoking. Quotes like “Nature is to be found in her entirety nowhere more than in her smallest creatures” really stayed with me.

That said, Natural History isn’t an easy read. The sheer scope of Pliny’s ambition can be overwhelming, and some sections feel like long lists rather than cohesive narratives. But the moments of insight, humor, and timeless wisdom make it worth the effort.

While it is fascinating and historically significant, it’s not always engaging by modern standards. Still, it’s a remarkable record of ancient knowledge and a testament to Pliny’s determination to understand the world. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in history, science, or the origins of encyclopedic thinking.

[Marcos Augusto · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Natural History, divided into 37 libri, or “books,” was completed, except for finishing touches, in 77 ce. In the preface, dedicated to Titus (who became emperor shortly before Pliny’s death), Pliny justified the title and explained his purpose on utilitarian grounds as the study of “the nature of things, that is, life” (“Preface,” 13). Heretofore, he continued, no one had attempted to bring together the older, scattered material that belonged to “encyclic culture” (enkyklios paideia, the origin of the word encyclopaedia). Disdaining high literary style and political mythology, Pliny adopted a plain style—but one with an unusually rich vocabulary—as best suited to his purpose. A novel feature of the Natural History is the care taken by Pliny in naming his sources, more than 100 of which are mentioned. Book I, in fact, is a summary of the remaining 36 books, listing the authors and sometimes the titles of the books (many of which are now lost) from which Pliny derived his material.

The Natural History properly begins with Book II, which is devoted to cosmology and astronomy. Here, as elsewhere, Pliny demonstrated the extent of his reading, especially of Greek texts. By the same token, however, he was sometimes careless in translating details, with the result that he distorted the meaning of many technical and mathematical passages. In Books III through VI, on the physical and historical geography of the ancient world, he gave much attention to major cities, some of which no longer exist.

Books VII through XI treat zoology, beginning with humans (VII), then mammals and reptiles (VIII), fishes and other marine animals (IX), birds (X), and insects (XI). Pliny derived most of the biological data from Aristotle, while his own contributions were concerned with legendary animals and unsupported folklore.

In Books XII through XIX, on botany, Pliny came closest to making a genuine contribution to science. Although he drew heavily upon Theophrastus, he reported some independent observations, particularly those made during his travels in Germany. Pliny is one of the chief sources of modern knowledge of Roman gardens, early botanical writings, and the introduction into Italy of new horticultural and agricultural species. Book XVIII, on agriculture, is especially important for agricultural techniques such as crop rotation, farm management, and the names of legumes and other crop plants. His description of an ox-driven grain harvester in Gaul, long regarded by scholars as imaginary, was confirmed by the discovery in southern Belgium in 1958 of a 2nd-century stone relief depicting such an implement. Moreover, by recording the Latin synonyms of Greek plant names, he made most of the plants mentioned in earlier Greek writings identifiable.

Books XX through XXXII focus on medicine and drugs. Like many Romans, Pliny criticized luxury on moral and medical grounds. His random comments on diet and on the commercial sources and prices of the ingredients of costly drugs provide valuable evidence relevant to contemporary Roman life. The subjects of Books XXXIII through XXXVII include minerals, precious stones, and metals, especially those used by Roman craftsmen. In describing their uses, he referred to famous artists and their creations and to Roman architectural styles and technology.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern, agnostic insights, fantastical accounts of multiple births and unusual physical formations, a disturbing anecdote about a tragic Roman actor who served song birds for supper, all this and more in the first known encyclopedia Historia Naturalis, aka Pliny’s Natural History. Portions of this text often read like the jaw-dropping entries if a Guinness Book of World Records; other times, Pliny’s remarkable accounts sound like excerpts from a book of urban legends. Moreover, the text relates known knowledge of the time.

Modern people will be amazed by descriptions of industrious people who started fisheries and oyster beds, sound advice for the storage and preservation of fruits, and the benefit of wine for the health of the heart. I was fascinated by the references to the Druids of Gaul and other references to the Gallic people. The description about the sacred ritual of cutting mistletoe from a robur tree (oak) using a golden sickle amazed me. I’ve read Asterix and the Golden Sickle, but it never occurred to me that the premise of the story was based on fact. I was also fascinated to read Pliny’s praise for the Gaul’s invention of a felted wool mattress, which was preferred by the Romans over straw-stuffed sacks.

Most people do not read modern encyclopedias cover to cover or link to link for that matter, and Historia Naturalis is no exception; however, this is one for the den, coffee table or bedside—an intriguing text that you’ll be delighted to revisit time and again for your own edification and amusement.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Greetings, Nature, mother of all creation, show me your favor in that I alone of Rome's citizens have praised you in all of your aspects."

"Undoubtedly the one race of outstanding virtue in the whole world is the Roman."

- Pliny the Elder

I took Pliny's advice, reading those sections of the History that caught my interest, rather than the entire work. The History was not meant to be absorbed in its entirety. Pliny writes that readers "do not need to peruse the whole work, but only have to look for whatever each needs, and they will know in what place to find it" (pg. 7).

Pliny was a passionate lover of nature--someone profoundly attuned to the variety and splendor of the natural world. Nature was extraordinarily "generous" in his view; she offered so much, almost maternal in her generosity. He was also a proud Roman citizen, engaged in the imperial project of sustaining Rome's geopolitical and cultural dominance. It was his admiration for these two forces--Rome and Nature--that provided the impetus for writing this 37-volume Latin encyclopedia, the oldest example of the form to come down to us. Pliny sought to provide what Rome lacked: a comprehensive account of all aspects of the natural world. He saw that, for all its strength, Rome was lamentably weak in the scholarship department. By combining short descriptions on a variety of natural (and non-natural) topics in a single work, by drawing from thousands of writers and marshaling data in a judicious and conscientious manner, Pliny was offering Romans the opportunity for an authoritative knowledge of the natural world. Pliny made a relatively thorough understanding of Nature the birthright of the Roman citizen, and, in doing so, gave Romans the chance for deep intellectual mastery of the natural world.

The book is meant to offer Romans the possibility for clarity of understanding of nature. Pliny despises the ignorance and superstitions of his time and place. Not only was it "embarrassing"; it was dangerous. Pliny despises the way Romans exploited the generous earth in order to indulge their avaricious desires. In this sense, he's one of the first environmentalists. Speaking of "mother earth," he writes:

"She is dumped into the sea, or excavated to provide channels. She is tortured at all hours by water, iron, wood, fire, stone, and crops, and by far more besides to serve our pleasures rather than our needs.... We drag out Earth's entrails ... how many hands are worn by toil so that one hand may shine!" (pg. 31)

I suspect that Pliny thought that the intellectual enlightenment afforded by his work might lead to a kind of moral enlightenment--one that inspires Romans to treat their terrestrial home with greater care and respect.

Some passages are impressively accurate; others are not. Some passages are digressive and idiosyncratic; others are drier and more straightforward. Some passage are concerned with natural phenomena; others, with the "artificial." The entries are a treasure-trove for scholars of the ancient world. For the general reader, Pliny's labor of love--written at night, as his nephew tells us, after returning home from his administrative work with Vespasian--is of major importance in the history of science for the way it dares to assume that nature might be (to some extent) known, understood, deciphered in its sprawling entirety.

[Alex Cotterill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the Varro and Cato book, I have only scanned this as it was purchased for a coursework piece. However, it is a really fascinating account, that is well written, contains many details and is written in a unique way. Maybe in one or two places of the sections I have read, are a little long winded but otherwise gr8!

[Andrew Reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Elder Pliny's 'Naturalis Historia' Is The Ancient Roman First-Century Edition Of 'Poor Richard's Almanack'.

Have you ever contemplated or speculated what people living in ancient times considered to be 'common knowledge'? In modern times, there exists a very tangible boundary which separates the areas of almost-exclusively factual, scientific information from that of religion which is primarily belief-oriented. In ancient Rome, that dividing line was not nearly as defined. Romans had to live according to a set of beliefs that assimilated their faith with their form of government, but as far as their everyday lives were concerned, they possessed a fundamental ideology grounded in science I would conjecture to be somewhat relatable with what most of modern society believes today.

Gaius Plinius Secundus or 'Pliny the Elder' lived in the first century A.D. & was an equestrian born in Novum Comum, now present-day Como, located in an area of the Roman empire known at the time as Transpadene Gaul. The first part of Pliny's career was predominated by his years of military service in the Roman army serving under Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, but he later occupied roles including lawyer, naturalist, philosopher, 'procurator' or 'imperial governor'& most importantly, author.

The records we have from that era in history tell us that Pliny the Elder composed numerous works throughout the course of his literary career, among them : 'De iaculatione equestri' (a treatise on the usage of the javelin as a cavalry weapon), 'De vita Pomponi Secundi' (a biography of Pomponius Secundus), 'Bella Germania' (an account of Rome's wars in Germany), 'Studiosus' (a training manual for rhetoric), 'Dubius sermo' (a treatise on grammar), 'A fine Aufidi Bassi' (A Roman history book starting at the end of Claudius' reign), but only the 'Naturalis Historia', or Natural History, has survived to present day.

The translation work was done by John Healy, whom also has included for the reader a detailed, informative introduction discussing Pliny the Elder's life & his writing style. The 'Natural History' is organized into specific sections such as 'Botany', 'Zoology' & 'The Universe & the World'. The introduction also covers the significant impact of the information in those sections on present-day science which is interesting to read about & is an excellent way for the reader to take note of which subjects Pliny was well-versed in, or familiar with (usually due to first-hand experience with the subject matter) & those he was utilizing second-hand sources for reference material. There's a rather amusing observation Healy makes which pertains to the section on Geography in Books III-VI, where the material being basically interpolated is taken from a geographer, Erastosthenes, who had lived almost 300 years earlier to Pliny's own time. So in essence, Pliny the Elder's geographical data at that point had been outdated for almost 200 years, & he didn't have a problem with it.

Pliny the Elder would be a very interesting fellow to have a conversation with, in the event it were possible to actually meet him in modern times. I'd picture a middle-aged, extremely eccentric scientist similar to Christopher Lloyd's character in 'Back to the Future'. Some people are just addicted to learning & the acquisition of knowledge. One can also see via his writing that Pliny the Elder was very self-confident & satisfied in his own abilities, as he frequently references & cites the work of men like Cato the Younger, Titus Livy, & the poet Virgil in ways I'd consider to be very affectionate. Back then, instead of criticizing & finding fault with the men & women living before their own time, many educated Romans embraced their works & revered the wisdom & insights they gave to their own lives.

While I was reading through 'Naturalis Historia' I noticed that Pliny's love of the curriculum often led to what might be construed today to be organizational errors. He often begins to discuss a particular topic in-depth, & simply branches off onto some tangent totally unrelated to that particular section of the text. Under 'Zoology', there is a sub-section entitled 'Creatures of the Sea' where the subjects of note are in one specific section, 'Cuttlefish, Squid & Octopuses', 'Crabs', followed by 'The decay of morality is caused by the produce of the sea'. I got a kick out of reading Pliny's ranting & raving about 'an extravagant lifestyle' & how it's 'not enough for the produce of the seas to be stuffed down our throats'. In Book XIV, 'Vines & Vitriculture' which is intended to primarily discuss vine-related plant life & the craft of producing wines, the second section, entitled 'The decay of science & the spread of avarice' begins to elucidate on Pliny's criticisms on the way senators & magistrates are chosen. It has nothing at all to do with either vines or vitriculture, yet it's wonderful history nonetheless.

One of the most interesting parts of the book for me was the comprehensive section covering the different grades of paper available in the first century. Terms such as 'Pergamena' (parchment), 'emporitica' (packing paper), & 'macrocola' (18-inch paper devised by the emperor Claudius) were definitely enlightening to learn about. Pliny goes into elaborate detail on manufacturing, materials, & specific types of writing the different paper types were used for. I had no idea there existed such a variety of options available to scribes in that era. But other sections of the 'Natural History' were at times an exercise in tedium to get through.

One important detail I've not yet mentioned is the fact that this is not the complete text of the 'Natural History'. It's a selection, as the title clearly annotates. When leafing through the table of contents it can be seen specifically which books have been omitted, probably due to the Penguin edition not being a scholarly 'version' of the text so as to keep the length of the book at a manageable level. It's around four hundred pages total, & the reading can be somewhat laborious in certain areas. The notes are provided throughout the text as opposed to all in a section at the end of the volume, identical to 'Lives of the Later Caesars' translated by Anthony Birley & 'Letters of the Younger Pliny' by Betty Radice. There's also a list of recommended reading & an index located at the back of the book.

Speaking from my own level of familiarity with the other books available from Pliny's era, I personally would recommend to the reader perhaps giving 'Letters of the Younger Pliny' a read before taking on the 'Natural History'. Pliny the Elder was the uncle to Pliny the Younger, not his father, but reading the younger Pliny's letters is first & foremost much easier to read, the writing is more affable to a casual audience & it provides some background information on Pliny the Elder's life. Or you could read 'Lives of the Twelve Caesars' by Gaius Suetonius. Suetonius was born in 69 A.D., the infamous 'Year of the Four Emperors' & Pliny died in 79, so I suppose he would be considered after Pliny's time, but the information is still very relevant as Pliny refers to numerous Roman emperors such as Claudius, Caligula & Augustus. You don't necessarily have to read these to be able to enjoy the 'Naturalis Historia', I've always disliked reading that something's "required reading" in order to comprehend a particular book, depending on how it's worded it can make the individual reading it feel like they're being viewed in a disparaging or intellectually inferior way. I try as much as I can to maintain a positive & welcoming atmosphere when writing a review, I want to get people excited about the book instead of warding them off.

All in all, I would recommend the 'Natural History' by Pliny the Elder to a reader moderately familiar with Roman history, particularly the Julio-Claudian era in which Pliny lived. It's a fantastic read for a reader seeking a fairly complex & time-consuming challenge to surmount (it's not overly difficult, it just requires some patience & a quiet environment so you can devote the necessary concentration with which to absorb the material). It probably would take a reader at my level of experience in the neighborhood of a week to get through. With the winter months already upon us, & the flu infections forcing many of us to adopt a stay-at-home lifestyle for the time being, the 'Naturalis Historia' would be a wonderful way to spend some time this winter. I hope you enjoyed the review, & maybe learned a bit about Roman history !

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

While reading Pliny, I felt as if I were in an alternative world where he was a reincarnation of Herodotus writing Wikipedia entries. Pliny also reminds me of the bibliographer Thomas Frognall Dibdin, in that his excitement is infectious. Pliny’s breadth and easy writing style soften the blow that at times he’s a little confused and, at other times, flat out wrong. Pliny was not doing original research. He collected broadly from the ideas and writings available to him and added his own analysis. This was a fun romp through one of the original prototype encyclopedias.

I found interesting facts on paper (Book XIII, 68-91), bay leaves (XV, 137), olive trees (XV, 1-11), women painters (XXXV, 147-148), and perfume (XIII, 1-25). I liked reading about mercury (XXXIII, 99), mostly because I liked reading its Latin name argentum vivum, literally living silver. Finally, even in the year 77, women were interested in removing wrinkles and making their skin soft, using the craziest of concoctions, e.g. ass’s milk (XXVIII, 183).

Pliny is still relevant today. He writes how many people are focused on the accumulation of wealth rather than the enrichment of the mind (XIV, 4-5; XXXIII, 8, 48). He calls out doctors for focusing on how much they could charge instead of working to cure and aid their patients (XXIX). He takes joy in calling out the evils of drinking, especially to excess (XIV, 142) and even jokes how that with beer, “We have even discovered how to make water intoxicating” (XIV, 149).

Pliny says that the two greatest crimes against human life were the first person to put gold on his fingers and the first person to introduce coinage (XXXIII, 8, 42-43). In an astute discussion of mining, Pliny writes:

We penetrate her [the Earth’s] inmost parts, digging into her veins of gold and silver and deposits of copper and lead. We search for gems ... by sinking shafts into the depths. We drag out Earth’s entrails; we seek a jewel to wear on a finger. How many hands are worn by toil so that one knuckle may shine! If there were any beings in the nether world, assuredly the tunnelling brought about by greed and luxury would have dug them up. (II, 158)

On the madness of artificial nations and land, he says:

This is the land in which we drive out our neighbours and dig up and steal their turf to add to our own, so that he who has marked his acres most widely and driven off his neighbours may rejoice in possessing an infinitesimal part of the earth. (II 175)

[Acaerounkr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than review I want to make clear a concern of mine with this particular edition. The cover shows a painting from an earlier cover for a reprinted manuscript of the text in the 15th century. I warn prospective readers to not gauge this book by its cover(judge it all you want). But using such a cover, while interesting in its own right, can be misleading for those unaware of the gap in chronological context. I'm worried people who see this cover will be reminded of a time period around Christopher Columbus and therefore assume that Pliny's text was written contemporaneously. This is in fact untrue and misleading, Pliny wrote this work nearly 1,400 years before this cover art was painted.

[T.P. Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fairly amazing. Written in the first century, CE, it contains such a remarkable amount of currently accurate information about astronomy, geography, medicine, cuisine and such, you have to wonder - what happened with the so-called "Dark Ages?" Were they really so "Dark?" And given so much accurate information in the first century, why aren't we more advanced, have more knowledge 2,000 years later? The book contains a lot of misinformation, hearsay, stereotypes similar to other ancient historians (Herodotus comes to mind), which give it a quaint, sometimes unintentionally comic, feel to it. Very quick read, very enjoyable.

[James Violand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pliny was a "scientist" of his day. Although recording natural phenomena - he tied watching the destruction of Pompeii from a ship in its harbor - he also recorded the weird beliefs of the day, such as the weasel being the most destructive of all creatures, so horrific even alligators fear it. (They have a penchant for rushing down the throat when the gator is yawning and eating its way out!) Novel information and an entertaining book.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is classic and foundational. It's a compendium of late Roman knowledge - accurate, erroneous, mythological, naturalistic...there's little that Pliny omits. All things under the sun, as they say. I especially enjoy his descriptions of animals and peoples of the known (or often just heard-of) world.

[John Yelverton · Rating 1 out of 5]

A collection of the most unscientific observations I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Whenever the author is correct, I am forced to shake my head and confirm that, yes, even a blind pig finds an acorn every once in a while.

[Jonathan]

None

[Megan]

Natural History: A Selection (Penguin Classics) by Pliny the Elder (1991)

[Floortje Zwigtman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining Roman wisdom, a pleasantly sceptic world view. To be read in small instalments, and re-read at leisure.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to know what was known (specifically, what Pliny knew) back in the day but otherwise a little mundane.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

kind of a greatest hits from a roman encyclopedia. totally engrossing from cover to cover, especially the zoology section, would like to read the entire thing some day

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book as informative as entertaining and in parts genuinely hilarious.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its always interesting to see what people's perspectives on science and life were in the past.

[Brandon Gehres · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not historically accurate.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

This translation is medium but the presentation of it - the quality and usefulness of the footnotes - is shit.

Throughout the whole thing only a handful of the statements Pliny makes are disputed/commented upon, and those examples seem absolutely random. At one point during the geographical chapters a footnote intercedes that the given length of Sri Lanka is wrong when... bb... all the given dimensions in those chapters are wrong to a greater or lesser extent? The only historical ‘fact’ to be questioned is that of the Athenian tyrannicides killing Hipparchus, to which the footnote snippily and incongruously notes ‘there is no evidence to support this claim’.

The few notes that are included tend to give the modern dates for events, but even in this case the lack of engagement with the actual text makes them less than useful. As an example, in book 31 line 41, Pliny states the Aqua Marcia was built by King Ancus Marcius and later repaired by praetor Quintus Marcius Rex. The editor makes a note here to say QMR built the aqueduct in 144 BC. This begs the question, obviously, of why Pliny thought the aqueduct far pre-dated this and was originally built in the time of the kings? Why was Pliny so incorrect about this point, which we would expect him be to be well informed of considering the dates line up with Cato the censor, a period of Roman history that was documented and Pliny often refers to. The note gives you nothing, not even a starting point of engagement, and just adds a level of unneeded confusion.

In one case, the editor is even flat out wrong by more than 300 years - in book 33 line 16 Pliny references Gaius Marius Jr making off with the treasury, which is noted as occurring in 390 BC. It actually happened in 82 BC during the civil war against Sulla. In academic terms, this is beyond a boo boo and into the realm of ‘stinker’.

Most damningly for the quality of translation, the footnotes almost never comment on the language or grammar used in the original, so it’s hard to get a sense of the Latin or the renowned Pliny ‘roughness’. There are a few places I would have loved to hear the justification for a particular sentence construction, or an explanation for a convoluted mess, but there just never was one.

It seems the same decision to create a ‘selection’ of the book rather than present the whole text (not explained or justified at any point) may have been taken to reduce the footnotes to a bare minimum, which would explain why they are so few and their length/quality is so low, but a better selection could definitely have been made.

Skip this, get a reader to Pliny or something instead.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to read and see the breadth of topics covered by Pliny. I was also surprised at just how much of the world was known to him and his sources - he was aware of places ranging from Bahrain, China, India and Sri Lanka to the Shetland Islands, Orkneys and possibly Iceland (if "Thule" does indeed refer to Iceland).

At times, he appears to contradict himself - variously claiming that gods are made up by humans when we really mean Nature, but then in other chapters he refers to gods as if he does believe in them himself. Perhaps he wanted to be on the safe side in case they were real...

Some of the ideas seem a little daft to modern readers - especially in the chapters about medicines and magic, but at other times he and his sources show that ancient knowledge was quite advanced in certain areas.

There are also times when he gets sidetracked from his main subject matter - e.g. in a section about the types and uses of marble, he complains about Roman citizens wasting money on luxuries such as marble and worrying that such extravagance is bad for morals. He also sometimes wonders about the impact of all of this consumerism on the environment - can we count him as an early environmentalist? Such musings, while they may technically be off-topic, provide a fascinating glimpse into Pliny himself and his attitudes to the world and people around him.

To be honest, the only reason I don't give this book full marks is because it's not the whole thing. The translator's footnotes occasionally refer to sections not included in this "Selection" - which begs the question why it is only a Selection and not the full work? The sections are numbered, so it is easy to spot when sections are missing. With a work of such age, it is understandable if some parts have not survived, but the footnotes imply that the translator has decided to leave out sections that do still exist. Why? Is he concerned that those sections might not interest the modern reader? Or that we might find some parts objectionable for some reason? I would be interested to know his reasons for the omissions.

Overall though, I've really enjoyed this book - and will try and find if there is a more complete edition.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great introduction to what people thought about the world during the Roman Empire, except that it's pretty long and sometimes boring (the last 100 pages or so of this collection, on rocks, were pretty dull). In addition to Roman's understanding of the natural world's plants, animals, rocks, etc., there is also a discussion of humanity's place in the world, Roman understanding of geology and astronomy, and an appreciation of the best arts and architecture of the Roman world.

The author, Pliny the Elder, inserts his commentary in a few places, and it's always welcome. For example, when writing about gold and silver, he includes his comments on how wasteful it is for the Roman Empire to spend so much effort in gilding themselves with rings and other luxuries.

I think the book gets a lot of attention for the stuff that it gets wrong (e.g., Wikipedia's article includes information about sciapods (one-legged people whose foot is so large they can lay on their back and use the foot for shade) and the dog-headed cynocephalus). But he gets a lot right. From the outset, it's clear that the Romans believed the Earth was round. And Pliny has more contempt for some Roman superstitions than we might today (e.g., it annoys Pliny that people say things like "God bless you" after other people sneeze).

There is little about the usual Roman history in here, meaning that there is very little commentary on which emperors were good or bad, etc. That background would add some flavor to the book for those who are familiar with it, but it's not necessary. In a way, it would be nice to read this with a clean slate so you can get to know, e.g., Nero, through the things that Pliny comments about the emperors (e.g., Nero's notable "House of Gold" and why Pliny thinks it's notable).

And of course, if you're interested in the history of how people studied nature, this is essential. It was a major reference book for a long time. Some of the things that Pliny writes about, like the pyramids and the obelisk in New York's Central Park, are wonders that you can still see today!

[Gabriel Gioia Ávila Oliveira · Rating 3 out of 5]

História Natural é a ousada tentativa de Plínio, o Velho de organizar um compêndio de todo o conhecimento humano de seu tempo, algo próximo ao que hoje chamamos de uma enciclopédia. São 37 livros que discutem tudo, com foco ao conhecimento prático, como tratamentos para doenças ou como caçar certas espécies de animais. A maior parte desses livros é sobre botânica, com uma abordagem pseudo-cientifica muito interessante para quem lê sabendo da verdade científica moderna sobre o assunto.

Eu li uma seleção desses textos, que somam cerca de 40 mil páginas, trechos compostos pelos livros I, II, VII e VIII. O primeiro livro é uma breve introdução e dedicatória da obra para o então imperador Tito. O segundo é uma mistura fascinante de mitologia e pseudo-ciência, com algumas proposições impressionantemente próximas ou mesmo corretas em relação à realidade, tratando de astronomia e fenômenos da natureza. O sétimo livro também foi uma leitura interessante, sobre o Homem, o corpo humano e as grandes invenções da humanidade. O oitavo e pior trata do conhecimento acerca dos animais, domésticos e silvestres.

No geral, a leitura é uma demonstração perfeita do pensamento e da fé no império romano do primeiro século. Além disso, mostra o quanto se sabia, ou ao menos se pensava saber, sobre coisas que se imagina precisar de muito mais tecnologia do que tinham para descobrir, como o tamanho do sol, distância das estrelas, ciclos lunares, e meteorologia.

[Joe Hilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute delight. I find classical era science simultaneously fascinating (both in terms of what the ancients got right and how and why they got things wrong) and also very, very, funny, and the actual scientific/observational content here delivers on both fronts. Just within the marine life section, Pliny correctly tells us that sponges and corals are animals rather than plants, but he can also name multiple naval losses and disasters which he thinks were caused by fish pushing ships in the wrong direction. The organisational principles tend to be idiosyncratic, but hint at how the Romans perceived and ordered their world - when he describes land animals for instance he works form from largest (the elephant) to smallest (the bee), and marine animals fall into an entirely separate book. Alongside the encyclopedic content you get anecdotes on whatever bizarre/awe-inspiring/embarrassing people and places Pliny can relate to the topics he's covering, giving you a kind of ultra-sensationalist history of Rome and Greece from the Bronze age to the beginning of the empire. Since this is an abridged version there's naturally things I was left wanting more of (maybe the excluded bits of the zoology book really are boring, but I'd like to be able to make that judgement myself!), but overall this is a brilliant way to find out what people in the 1st century actually thought about their world.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is miraculous to me that manscripts like Natural History survived from Roman times. I am reading a book nearly 2000 years old! Pliny the Elder died at Pompeii!

With my excitement out of the way, Natural History is a fascinating glimpse to the Roman psyche. While not all the facts have held up discussed in the book, there are quite a few we still rely on like Asinius Pollio founding the first library in Rome from the spoils of war. This is the first rendition of what would become the enclyclopedia as no other work until Natural History sought to consolidate information about many topics into 1 series.

It is also an interesting case study on how Pliny viewed mankind and the weakness of man. Nearly every chapter of the book features a 1-liner or full page lamenting the decay of society and how Rome used to be great but is no longer. This sounds exactly like the rhetoric today used by politicians in America. Almost 2000 years later humans are still complaining about the same things.

Natural History is my first foray into Roman literature and I really enjoyed it. I hope to pick up a few more surviving manuscripts as there is a lot of insight to be gleaned from the past, moreso than most modern people want to admit.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Natural History" by Pliny is a nearly 1900 year old encyclopedia, and as such, is not for everyone (or even most people), but I enjoyed it.
As a 1900 year old encyclopedia and the longest complete book to survive from antiquity, I knew this would be no light "beach" read, and I was correct: it took me 2 months of continuous reading to finish this (which is also an abridged version), but just because it took a long time doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. While there are some more technical/obscure parts, the majority was quite interesting. Pliny's work truly is ambitious and covers an incredibly wide-range of material. It is fascinating both to learn what the ancients knew (and they knew quite a bit) and to read about the Roman period in a way that is not a traditional history. Pliny himself is a pretty good writer: passionate, sarcastic at times, interspersed with curious or humorous anecdotes. He does ramble a bit and have tangents, but considering the book hadn't been edited for publication at his death this can hardly be counted against him.
Probably the most useful book from ancient Rome that I've read so far in revealing what life at that time was like.

[Enrique · Rating 3 out of 5]

(NOTA: He leído la edición de Gredos Biblioteca Clásica)

La obra de Plinio, El Viejo, de haberse escrito hoy, hubiera recibido 2 estrellas por mi parte. Toda la sección geográfica y zoológica (aprox. 1000 páginas) se me ha hecho infumable, a pesar de ser 2 temáticas por las que siento interés práctico.

En bastantes momentos me he planteado el abandonar esta obra.

Sin embargo, hay 3 cosas que me han hecho terminarla,
así como darle las 3 estrellas de puntuación:
1) El esfuerzo enciclopédico de Plinio, El Viejo, de recopilar todo el saber de las ciencias naturales de su época, el cual merece todo mi reconocimiento, independientemente de cuán obsoleto pueda estar su contenido a día de hoy.

2) Nada menos que 150 páginas de comentario introductorio.
Formidable trabajo introductorio de Guy Serbat.

3) Los comentarios y notas al pie de la edición de Gredos.
Un trabajo digno de Nobel de Literatura.
Han merecido más mi atención que el propio texto de Plinio.