Having never been present at any trials of the christians, i am unacquainted with the method and limits to be observed either in. Mar 01, 2019 peter fanesaunders pliny the elder and the emergence of renaissance architecture new york. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny. While plinys monumental book is a recognized source text for artistic culture, 1 for vasaris lifewriting project, and for the later philosophicalcritical tradition founded in the writings of kant and hegel, its influence, as a work of world building and as a potential model for addressing the pictorial arts of renaissance italy, has yet. If we are generally careful to have our faces taken by the best artists, ought we not to desire that our actions may be celebrated by an author like. Neither the younger nor the elder pliny mention the names. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him the only time he took from his work was for his bath, and by bath i mean his actual immersion, for while. Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription cil v 1 3442 found in a field in.
His letters are arranged in ten books, of which the tenth consists entirely of letters to and from the emperor trajan. Pliny the younger pliny, the younger an online book about this author is available, as is a wikipedia article pliny, the younger. 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. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history attalus. This post begins a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. Note on the text the text of books i to ix of the letters rests on three manuscript traditions, the 9 book, the 10 book and the 8 book, known as. You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that i may have written. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, usually known as pliny the younger, was born at como in 62 a. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. The comments at the bottom of the letters have been added from various sources. Links to translation of pliny the elder, natural history, by h. Pliny the younger pliny, the younger the online books page.
These posts are part of a book project that intends to understand the scholarly and popular reception of those letters. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. William melmoth in harvard classics series introductory note. This was the disaster that buried pompeii, herculaneum, and other sites. The project gutenberg ebook of letters of pliny, by pliny this ebook is for the use of. He was only eight years old when his father, caecilius, died, and he was adopted by his.
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. 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 natural history became a model for later encyclopedias and scholarly works as a result of its breadth of subject matter, its referencing. The italian author italo calvino, in his 1991 book why read the classics. 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. Consequently if you are tired of your italian estates, now is the real good time to sell them and buy others in the. 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. They were on the shores of lake como in northern italy. Franz lidz, new york times if you were writing a biography of gaius plinius caecilius secundus.
The extra piece came from the 8book family, and marks the italian copies of f. Nihil novum nihil varium, nihil quod non semel spectasse sufficiat. I strongly presage and i am persuaded not falsely that your histories will be immortal. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. A letter from pliny to tacitus about the eruption of mt vesuvius terms in this set 22 1 petis ut tibi avunculi mei exitum scribam, quo verius tradere posteris possis. From antiquity through the middle ages and into the renaissance, plinys massive compilation of knowledge remained a. This italian translation of pliny was published in a rather large edition of 1025 copies. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. For the original article on pliny see dsb, see vol. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such. He is a native of brixia, one of those provinces in italy which still retain much of.
He was only eight years old when his father caecilius died, and he was adopted by his uncle, the elder pliny, author of the natural history. The shadow of vesuvius is the definitive guide to plinydom. 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. 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. Landino professor of rhetoric and poetry at the academy founded in florence by his sovereign and is best known for his commentaries. The first word file below gives the text of the extracts in wheelocks latin reader from pliny the youngers letters, with interlinear glossing in english and some notes and illustrations added. This post belongs to a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caecilius of comum como and the elder plinys sister.
At any rate, the latin text and the holland translation have each been. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the english language is that by philemon holland, published in the latter part of the reign of elizabeth. The natural history of pliny, volume 6 bohns classical library the natural history of pliny, henry thomas riley. 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. The edition of 1,025 copies was printed in venice by nicolaus jenson, mostly on paper. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us.
Artistic exchange and cultural translation in the italian renaissance city by stephen j. Pliny to cornelius tacitus thank you for asking me to send you a description of my uncles death so that you can leave an accurate account of it for posterity1. He was only eight years old when his father, caecilius, died, and he was adopted by his uncle, the elder pliny, author of the natural history. It is no disparagement to hollands merits, as a diligent and generally faithful translator, to say that his work is unsuited to the requirements of the nineteenth century.
I know that immortal fame awaits him if his death is recorded by you. The letters of pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus are presented here in the english translation by j. Pliny the younger, latin in full gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born 6162 ce, comum italydied c. The panegyricus is an expanded, published version of plinys oration of thanks to the emperor trajan in 100 ce. Plinys comedy and tragedy villas simple english wikipedia. The extra piece came from the 8 book family, and marks the italian copies of f. But just as then, when we wished to explain the meaning and bearing of our bounty. Book vi 396 book vii 484 map of central and northern italy 565 volume ii. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. Thank you for asking me to send you a description of my uncles death so that you can leave an accurate account of it for posterity1. The first translation of pliny the elders natural history into italian was published by the strozzi family of florence in 1476. The homepage for plinys natural history the historia naturalis of c. Dear acilius, 1 a terrible thing, worthy of more than just a letter, has been suffered at the hands of his slaves by larcius macedo, a man of praetorian rank, a haughty and savage master who remembered too little or rather too well that his own father had been a slave.
Page 431 the name which these stones bear, originates, it is said, in the peculiar tint of their brilliancy, which, after closely approaching the colour of wine, passes off into a violet without being fully pronounced. Naturalis historia is an early encyclopedia published circa ad 7779 by pliny the elder. This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a. Arrived in italy in the renaissance and was owned by coluccio salutati, whose hand made the addition. At the very end of the book, pliny gives his list of best of categories. I ingenuously own therefore, i so much the more covet a place in them. It is no disparagement to hollands merits, as a diligent and generally faithful translator, to say that his work is unsuited to the requirements of the. The natural history was one of the first ancient european texts to be printed, in venice in 1469. Nov 26, 2012 dramatis personae this post belongs to a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him.
His native place is brixia, a part of that italy of ours which still retains and. Nonfiction harvard classics pliny the younger letters. Mynors 1963, in the bibliotheca augustana pliny was born in comum in 61 or 62 a. 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. It is true that he perished in a catastrophe which. Cornelius paifus is plinys meaning here is uncertain, ference to book ii. Philemon hollands english translation of 1605 has influenced literature ever since. Exlibrary, with library markings limited to ghost of label to foot of spine, property stamp to topedge of textblock, property stamp canceled to front pastedown, barcode label marked out to rear pastedown. Jan 16, 2006 dear acilius, 1 a terrible thing, worthy of more than just a letter, has been suffered at the hands of his slaves by larcius macedo, a man of praetorian rank, a haughty and savage master who remembered too little or rather too well that his own father had been a slave. The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics. Plinys natural history is an extraordinarily important document in the history of western science. The text of books i to ix of the letters rests on three manuscript traditions, the 9book, the 10book and the 8book, known as. The work, which was largely complete by 77 ce, is divided into 37 books and covers such subjects as botany, zoology, and astronomy.
Florence, italy, 1504 italian humanist philosopher and latin poet. Circenses erant, quo genere spectaculi ne levissime quidem teneor. 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. It is a rule, sir, which i inviolably observe, to refer myself to you in all my doubts. 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. Peter fanesaunders pliny the elder and the emergence of renaissance architecture new york.
Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. What happens in each of the 24 books of the iliad by homer. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. He wrote to his friend voconius romanus that the comedy villa and the tragedy villa were his two favorites. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. Pliny s work again became widely available with the advent of printing. An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit.
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