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Loeb Classical Library edition of Natural History
Natural History, Volume I: Books 1-2
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. Book 1: table of contents of the others and of authorities; 2: mathematical and metrological survey of the universe; 3-6: geography and ethnography of the known world; 7: anthropology and the physiology of man; 8-11: zoology; 12-19: botany, agriculture, and horticulture; 20-27: plant products as used in medicine; 28-32: medical zoology; 33-37: minerals (and medicine), the fine arts, and gemstones.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Natural History is in ten volumes.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Natural History is in ten volumes.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1938
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About the author
Pliny the Elder
1,157 books115 followersGaius 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.
"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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 22, 2022
I'm enjoying reading and translating Pliny the Elder's Natural History, along with colleagues in the LatinStudy email list (see https://www.quasillum.com/study/latin...). This first volume of the Loeb edition contains the Latin text of his Preface, which is dedicated to the future emperor Titus; Book I, which is a list of contents for the entire encyclopedic work; and Book II, which is a description of the universe as Pliny understood it. There's a facing English translation which is generally accurate. Pliny compiled his facts with little discrimination, from numerous sources (many of them ill informed), and the result yields a vivid insight into how poorly the Romans must have understood the world around them. He's not a careful writer: he often changes course mid-sentence, and renders himself a challenge to translate. I look forward to tackling the remaining nine volumes.
August 6, 2015
I was introduced to this book via the "In Our Times" BBC podcast. If you're even the least bit curious about the Natural History, give it a listen. I ordered it immediately after finishing the podcast, but I am a nerd, so YMMV.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sxjlz
I thoroughly enjoyed reading books 1 & 2. Can't wait to crack open the next edition and find out long my interest will sustain.
It was fascinating to learn how much information was known or assumed at the time - some spot on and and some wildly incorrect. The coverage of ancient astronomy is really fun to read.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sxjlz
I thoroughly enjoyed reading books 1 & 2. Can't wait to crack open the next edition and find out long my interest will sustain.
It was fascinating to learn how much information was known or assumed at the time - some spot on and and some wildly incorrect. The coverage of ancient astronomy is really fun to read.
March 7, 2014
The original encyclopaedia. Brilliant for its time, but also includes some superstitious idiocy and illogical conclusions.
January 14, 2019
Pliny has always been an incredibly interesting historical figure to me, especially due to his connections to the Roman Imperium and his death at Pompeii. This volume of Naturalis Historia was incredibly interesting to me in trying to understand more fully the culture and "knowledge" during the 1st Century, especially considering how he was so incredibly right about some things while being so wrong about others.
He makes many astounding claims about the world, not only correctly assessing that the world is spherical, but also noting correctly measuring the circumference of the earth and even postulating that there is "another half" of the world which has yet to be discovered because of the "ring of seas" which separates the Eurasian and African Half from the other. He makes an incredible amount of astronomical observations regarding the planets and the moon, especially as they relate to the seasons and Zodiac.
On the other hand, Pliny makes sometimes laughable conclusions that were highly entertaining to me as a 21st Century reader. He claimed that at times, 3 moons may appear at once (as did during certain emperors' reigns, that eclipses are omens (in the case of the ones "caused" by the murder of Julius Caesar and the final victory of Alexander the Great), that rainbows are "clearly" caused by sunlight breaking hollow clouds into colorful pieces representing elements, and that there are 3 kinds of lightning, which all come from different planets.
Overall, an incredibly interesting work that reveals a lot about the mind of a Roman scholar in the 1st Century.
He makes many astounding claims about the world, not only correctly assessing that the world is spherical, but also noting correctly measuring the circumference of the earth and even postulating that there is "another half" of the world which has yet to be discovered because of the "ring of seas" which separates the Eurasian and African Half from the other. He makes an incredible amount of astronomical observations regarding the planets and the moon, especially as they relate to the seasons and Zodiac.
On the other hand, Pliny makes sometimes laughable conclusions that were highly entertaining to me as a 21st Century reader. He claimed that at times, 3 moons may appear at once (as did during certain emperors' reigns, that eclipses are omens (in the case of the ones "caused" by the murder of Julius Caesar and the final victory of Alexander the Great), that rainbows are "clearly" caused by sunlight breaking hollow clouds into colorful pieces representing elements, and that there are 3 kinds of lightning, which all come from different planets.
Overall, an incredibly interesting work that reveals a lot about the mind of a Roman scholar in the 1st Century.
November 20, 2019
Pliny the Elder not the Younger, as in the man not the beer. I only read the original Latin on the left. Not really. The English translation all the way for me. The first book in this volume is an incredibly detailed table of contents for the entire series with exciting teasers such as: date of earliest barbers, cures for rabies, first inventor of fish-ponds, in what months crows are not a bad omen, noteworthy points about animals’ udders… The second book is a survey of the universe consisting of facts and strange notions which almost begin to make perfect sense. Think Encyclopedia Britannica crossed with a dubious tabloid. Very cool
August 26, 2020
The last 10% of the book is the glossary/index
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews