Editing Natural History (Pliny)

{{Short description|Encyclopedia written by Pliny the Elder}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Natural History
| image             = First page from the Editio Princeps of the Pliny's "Historia Naturalis".jpg
| caption           = First page from the [[editio princeps]] of the {{Lang|la|Naturalis historia}}, printed in 1469 in [[Venice]] by [[Johann and Wendelin of Speyer|Johann of Speyer]]. {{lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}}.
| author            = [[Pliny the Elder]]
| title_orig        = Naturalis historia
| orig_lang_code    = la
| country           = [[Ancient Rome]]
| genre             = [[Encyclopaedia]], [[popular science]]<ref>Healy, 2004. p. xix, citing Pliny's Preface, 6: "It is written for the masses, for the horde of farmers and artisans".</ref>
| native_wikisource = Naturalis Historia
| wikisource        = Naturalis historia
| oclc              = 
| pub_date          = AD 77–79
| dewey             = 508
| congress          = PA6611 .A2
| language          = [[Latin]]
| subject           = [[Natural history]], [[ethnography]], [[art]], [[sculpture]], [[mining]], [[mineralogy]]
}}

The '''''Natural History''''' ({{langx|la|Naturalis historia}}) is a Latin work by [[Pliny the Elder]]. The largest single work to have survived from the [[Roman Empire]] to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. Despite the work's title, its subject area is not limited to what is today understood by [[natural history]]; Pliny himself defines his scope as "the natural world, or life".<ref>''Natural History'' Book II, I.2 ''idemque rerum naturae opus et rerum ipsa natura''.</ref> It is encyclopedic in scope, but its structure is not like that of a modern [[encyclopedia]]. It is the only work by Pliny to have survived, and the last that he published. He published the first 10 books in AD 77, but had not made a final revision of the remainder at the time of [[Pliny the Elder#Death|his death]] during the [[Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD|AD&nbsp;79 eruption of Vesuvius]]. The rest was published posthumously by Pliny's nephew, [[Pliny the Younger]].

The work is divided into 37 books, organised into 10 volumes. These cover topics including [[astronomy]], [[mathematics]], [[geography]], [[ethnography]], [[anthropology]], human [[physiology]], [[zoology]], [[botany]], [[agriculture]], [[horticulture]], [[pharmacology]], [[Mining#Ancient Greece and Rome|mining]], [[mineralogy]], [[sculpture]], [[art]], and [[Engraved gem|precious stones]].

Pliny's ''Natural History'' became a model for later encyclopedias and scholarly works as a result of its breadth of subject matter, its [[Citation|referencing]] of original authors, and its [[Index (publishing)|index]].

==Overview==
[[File:Plinius t y Venezia 1499 IMG 3886.JPG|thumb|Copy of {{Lang|la|Naturalis Historia}} printed by Johannes Alvisius in 1499 in [[Venice]], Italy]]

Pliny's ''Natural History'' was written alongside other substantial works (which have since been [[Lost literary work|lost]]). Pliny (AD 23–79) combined his scholarly activities with a busy career as an imperial administrator for the emperor [[Vespasian]]. Much of his writing was done at night; daytime hours were spent working for the emperor, as he explains in the dedicatory preface addressed to Vespasian's elder son, the future emperor [[Titus]], with whom he had served in the army (and to whom the work is dedicated). As for the nocturnal hours spent writing, these were seen not as a loss of sleep but as an addition to life, for as he states in the preface, ''Vita vigilia est'', "to be alive is to be watchful", in a military metaphor of a sentry keeping watch in the night.<ref name=PlinyDedication>''Natural History''. Dedication to Titus: C. Plinius Secundus to his Friend Titus Vespasian</ref> Pliny claims to be the only Roman ever to have undertaken such a work, in his prayer for the blessing of the universal mother:<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Pliny the Elder |volume=21 |pages=841–844 |first=John Edwin |last=Sandys |author-link=John Sandys (classicist) |inline=1}}</ref><ref>''Natural History''  XXXVII:77</ref>

<blockquote>
Hail to thee, Nature, thou parent of all things! and do thou deign to show thy favour unto me, who, alone of all the citizens of Rome, have, in thy every department, thus made known thy praise.
</blockquote>

The ''Natural History'' is encyclopaedic in scope, but its format is unlike a modern [[encyclopaedia]]. However, it does have structure: Pliny uses [[Aristotle's taxonomy|Aristotle's division of nature]] (animal, vegetable, mineral) to recreate the natural world in literary form.<ref>"Introduction" to ''Natural History'', Bks. I–II, [[Loeb Classical Library]] (rev. ed. 1989), pp. vii-x.</ref> Rather than presenting compartmentalised, stand-alone entries arranged alphabetically, Pliny's ordered natural landscape is a coherent whole, offering the reader a guided tour: "a brief excursion under our direction among the whole of the works of nature&nbsp;..."<ref>''Natural History''  VIII:44 (Loeb)</ref> The work is unified but varied: "My subject is the world of nature&nbsp;... or in other words, life," he tells Titus.<ref name=PlinyDedication/>

[[File:Schedel'sche Weltchronik-Dog head.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Cynocephaly|cynocephalus]], or dog-head, as described by Pliny in his ''Natural History''. From the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'' (''1493'').]]

Nature for Pliny was divine, a [[pantheism|pantheistic]] concept inspired by the [[Stoicism|Stoic]] [[philosophy]], which underlies much of his thought, but the deity in question was a goddess whose main purpose was to serve the human race: "nature, that is life" is human life in a natural landscape. After an initial survey of [[cosmology]] and [[geography]], Pliny starts his treatment of animals with the human race, "for whose sake great Nature appears to have created all other things".<ref>''Natural History''  VII:1 (Rackham et al.)</ref> This [[teleology|teleological]] view of nature was common in antiquity and is crucial to the understanding of the ''Natural History''.<ref>''Natural History'' VII</ref> The components of nature are not just described in and for themselves, but also with a view to their role in human life. Pliny devotes a number of the books to plants, with a focus on their medicinal value; the books on minerals include descriptions of their uses in [[architecture]], [[sculpture]], [[art]], and [[jewellery]]. Pliny's premise is distinct from modern [[ecology|ecological]] theories, reflecting the prevailing sentiment of his time.<ref>"Introduction" to ''Natural History'', Books III-VII, Loeb Classical Library (rev. ed. 1989), pp. xi-xiii.</ref>

[[File:Nuremberg chronicles - Strange People - Umbrella Foot (XIIr).jpg|thumb|A [[sciapod]], described by Pliny in his ''Natural History'', from the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'' (1493)]]

Pliny's work frequently reflects Rome's imperial expansion, which brought new and exciting things to the capital: exotic eastern spices, strange animals to be put on display or herded into the arena, even the alleged [[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]] sent to the emperor [[Claudius]] in AD 47 – although, as Pliny admits, this was generally acknowledged to be a fake. Pliny repeated Aristotle's maxim that [[Africa]] was always producing something new. Nature's variety and versatility were claimed to be infinite: "When I have observed nature she has always induced me to deem no statement about her incredible."<ref>''Natural History''  XI:2 (Rackham et al.)</ref> This led Pliny to recount rumours of strange peoples on the edges of the world.{{efn|Cf. Pliny's consideration of Aristotle, as well as modern criticism of Pliny's work, in Trevor Murphy, ''Pliny the Elder's Natural History: The Empire in the Encyclopedia'', OUP (2004), pp.&nbsp;1–27, 194–215.}} These monstrous races – the [[Cynocephali]] or Dog-Heads, the [[Monopod (creature)|Sciapodae]], whose single foot could act as a sunshade, the mouthless [[Astomi]], who lived on scents – were not strictly new. They had been mentioned in the fifth century BC by Greek historian [[Herodotus]] (whose history was a broad mixture of [[myths]], [[legend]]s, and facts), but Pliny made them better known.<ref>''Natural History'' VII:2</ref>

"As full of variety as nature itself",<ref>[[Pliny the Younger]], ''Letters'',  [http://www.attalus.org/old/pliny3.html#5 3.5]</ref> stated Pliny's nephew, [[Pliny the Younger]], and this verdict largely explains the appeal of the ''Natural History'' since Pliny's death in the [[Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79]]. Pliny had gone to investigate the strange cloud – "shaped like an umbrella pine", according to his nephew – rising from the mountain.<ref>[[Pliny the Younger]], ''Letters'',  [http://www.attalus.org/old/pliny6.html#16 6.16]</ref>

The ''Natural History'' was one of the first ancient European texts to be printed, in [[Venice]] in 1469.<ref name=Healy39>Healy, 2004. Introduction:xxxix</ref> [[Philemon Holland]]'s English translation of 1601 has influenced literature ever since.<ref name=Healy39/>

==Structure==

The ''Natural History'' consists of 37 books. Pliny devised a ''summarium,'' or list of contents, at the beginning of the work that was later interpreted by modern printers as a table of contents.{{sfn|Doody|2010|p=9}} The table below is a summary based on modern names for topics.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! align="center" | Volume
! align="center" | Books
! align="left"   | Contents
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center" | I
| align="center" | 1
| Preface and list of contents, lists of authorities
|-
| align="center" | 2
| [[Astronomy]], [[meteorology]]
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center" | II
| align="center" | 3–6
| [[Geography]] and [[ethnography]]
|-
| align="center" | 7
| [[Anthropology]] and human [[physiology]]
|-
| align="center" | III
| align="center" | 8–11
| [[Zoology]], including [[mammal]]s, [[snake]]s, [[marine biology|marine animals]], [[bird]]s, [[insect]]s
|-
| align="center" | IV–VII
| align="center" | 12–27
| [[Botany]], including [[agriculture]], [[horticulture]], especially of the [[Vitis|vine]] and [[olive]], [[Medicine in ancient Rome|medicine]]
|-
| align="center" | VIII
| align="center" | 28–32
| [[Pharmacology]], [[Magic (paranormal)|magic]], [[water]], aquatic life
|-
| align="center" | IX–X
| align="center" | 33–37
| [[Mining#Ancient Greece and Rome|Mining]] and [[mineralogy]], especially as applied to life and art, work in gold and silver,<ref>''Natural History'' XXXIII:154–751</ref> [[sculpture|statuary]] in [[bronze sculpture|bronze]],<ref>''Natural History'' XXXIV</ref> [[art]],<ref>''Natural History'' XXXV:15–941</ref> modelling,<ref>''Natural History'' XXXV:151–851</ref> [[marble sculpture|sculpture in marble]],<ref>''Natural History'' XXXVI</ref> [[Engraved gem|precious stones and gems]]<ref>''Natural History'' XXXVII</ref>
|}

==Production==

===Purpose===

Pliny's purpose in writing the ''Natural History'' was to cover all learning and art so far as they are connected with nature or draw their materials from nature.<ref name=EB1911/> He says:<ref name=PlinyDedication/><blockquote>My subject is a barren one – the world of nature, or in other words life; and that subject in its least elevated department, and employing either rustic terms or foreign, nay barbarian words that actually have to be introduced with an apology. Moreover, the path is not a beaten highway of authorship, nor one in which the mind is eager to range: there is not one of us who has made the same venture, nor yet one among the Greeks who has tackled single-handed all departments of the subject.</blockquote>

===Sources===

Pliny studied the original authorities on each subject and took care to make excerpts from their pages. His ''indices auctorum'' sometimes list the authorities he actually consulted, though not exhaustively; in other cases, they cover the principal writers on the subject, whose names are borrowed second-hand from his immediate authorities.<ref name=EB1911/> He acknowledges his obligations to his predecessors: "To own up to those who were the means of one's own achievements."<ref>Pliny the Elder. [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/praefatio*.html#21 Praefatio:21]</ref>

In the preface, the author claims to have stated 20,000 facts gathered from some 2,000 books and from 100 select authors.<ref>{{cite book | author=Anderson, Frank J.  | title=An Illustrated History of the Herbals | url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00ande  | url-access=registration  | publisher=Columbia University Press | year=1977 | isbn=0-231-04002-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00ande/page/17 17]}}</ref> The extant lists of his authorities cover more than 400, including 146 Roman and 327 Greek and other sources of information. The lists generally follow the order of the subject matter of each book. This has been shown in [[Heinrich Brunn]]'s ''Disputatio'' ([[Bonn]], 1856).<ref name=EB1911/><ref>Cf. Heinrich Brunn's ''Kleine Schriften Gesammelt Von Hermann Brunn Und Heinrich Bulle...: Bd. Zur Griechischen Kunstgeschichte. Mit 69 Abbildungen Im Text Und Auf Einer Doppeltafel'', 1905 reproduction by Ulan Press (2012).</ref>

One of Pliny's authorities is [[Marcus Terentius Varro]]. In the geographical books, Varro is supplemented by the topographical commentaries of [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa|Agrippa]], which were completed by the emperor [[Augustus]]; for his [[zoology]], he relies largely on Aristotle and on [[Juba II|Juba]], the scholarly [[Mauretania]]n king, ''studiorum claritate memorabilior quam regno'' (v. 16).<ref name=EB1911/> Juba is one of his principal guides in botany;<ref name=EB1911/> [[Theophrastus]] is also named in his Indices, and Pliny had translated Theophrastus's Greek into Latin. Another work by Theophrastus, ''[[On Stones]]'' was cited as a source on [[ores]] and [[mineral]]s. Pliny strove to use all the Greek histories available to him, such as Herodotus and [[Thucydides]], as well as the ''[[Bibliotheca Historica]]'' of [[Diodorus Siculus]].<ref>Cf. Mary Beagon, ''Roman Nature: The Thought of Pliny the Elder'', Clarendon Press (1992), ''s.v.''; Trevor Murphy, ''Pliny the Elder's Natural History: The Empire in the Encyclopedia'', OUP (2004), pp.&nbsp;196–200 and ''passim''.</ref>

===Working method===

His nephew, Pliny the Younger, described the method that Pliny used to write the ''Natural History'':<ref name=letterV>Pliny the Younger. Book 3, Letter V. ''[http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_plinyltrs3.htm To Baebius Macer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201143647/http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_plinyltrs3.htm |date=1 December 2008 }}.'' in "Letters of Pliny the Younger" with introduction by John B. Firth.</ref>

<blockquote>
Does it surprise you that a busy man found time to finish so many volumes, many of which deal with such minute details?... He used to begin to study at night on the [[Volcanalia|Festival of Vulcan]], not for luck but from his love of study, long before dawn; in winter he would commence at the seventh hour... He could sleep at call, and it would come upon him and leave him in the middle of his work. Before daybreak he would go to Vespasian&nbsp;– for he too was a night-worker&nbsp;– and then set about his official duties. On his return home he would again give to study any time that he had free. Often in summer after taking a meal, which with him, as in the old days, was always a simple and light one, he would lie in the sun if he had any time to spare, and a book would be read aloud, from which he would take notes and extracts.</blockquote>

Pliny the Younger told the following anecdote illustrating his uncle's enthusiasm for study:<ref name=letterV/>

<blockquote>
After dinner a book would be read aloud, and he would take notes in a cursory way. I remember that one of his friends, when the reader pronounced a word wrongly, checked him and made him read it again, and my uncle said to him, "Did you not catch the meaning?" When his friend said "yes," he remarked, "Why then did you make him turn back? We have lost more than ten lines through your interruption." So jealous was he of every moment lost.
</blockquote>

===Style===

Pliny's writing style emulates that of [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]].<ref>Cf. Trevor Murphy, ''Pliny the Elder's Natural History: The Empire in the Encyclopedia'', OUP (2004), pp.&nbsp;181–197.</ref> It aims less at clarity and vividness than at [[epigrammatic]] point. It contains many [[antitheses]], questions, exclamations, [[Trope (linguistics)|tropes]], [[metaphor]]s, and other [[mannerism]]s of the [[Silver Age of Latin Literature|Silver Age]].<ref>Cf. P. L. Chambers, ''The Natural Histories of Pliny the Elder: An Advanced Reader and Grammar Review'', University of Oklahoma Press (2012), ''s.v.'', and Latin [[syntax]] in Pliny; see also Roger French & Frank Greenaway, ''Science in the Early Roman Empire: Pliny the Elder, his Sources and Influence'', Croom Helm (1986), pp.&nbsp;23–44.</ref> His sentence structure is often loose and straggling. There is heavy use of the [[ablative absolute]], and [[ablative]] phrases are often appended in a kind of vague "apposition" to express the author's own opinion of an immediately previous statement, e.g.,<ref name="NH XXXV:80">''Natural History'' XXXV:80</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
|+ A sentence illustrating Pliny's writing style
|-
! style="width:  80px;" | &nbsp;
! style="width: 225px;" | First half: description 
! style="width: 225px;" | Second half: Pliny's opinion
|-
! Pliny<ref name="NH XXXV:80"/> 
| {{lang|la|dixit (Apelles)&nbsp;... uno se praestare, quod manum de tabula sciret tollere,}} || {{lang|la|memorabili praecepto nocere saepe nimiam diligentiam.}}
|-
! Grammar 
| [[Active voice|Active sentence]] || [[Ablative absolute]] phrase
|- 
! Translation<ref>Healy, 2004. page 331 (translation of XXXV:80</ref> 
| In one thing Apelles stood out, namely, knowing when he had put enough work into a painting, || a salutary warning that too much effort can be counterproductive.<br/>&nbsp;
|}

==Publication history==

===First publication===

Pliny wrote the first ten books in AD 77, and was engaged on revising the rest during the two remaining years of his life. The work was probably published with little revision by the author's nephew Pliny the Younger, who, when telling the story of a tame dolphin and describing the [[floating island (fiction)|floating islands]] of the [[Lake Vadimo|Vadimonian Lake]] thirty years later,<ref name=EB1911/><ref>[[Pliny the Younger]], ''Letters'', [http://www.attalus.org/old/pliny8.html#20 8.20], [http://www.attalus.org/old/pliny9.html#33 9.33]</ref> has apparently forgotten that both are to be found in his uncle's work.<ref>{{cite book | author=Pliny the Elder | title=Natural History | chapter=II:209, IX:26}}</ref> He describes the {{Lang|la|Naturalis Historia}} as a ''Naturae historia'' and characterises it as a "work that is learned and full of matter, and as varied as nature herself."<ref>[[Pliny the Younger]], ''Letters'', [http://www.attalus.org/old/pliny3.html#5 3.5]; see also ''[http://digilander.libero.it/mmarcoccio/ The True Story of Lake Vadimo]'' {{in lang|it}}.</ref>

The absence of the author's final revision may explain many errors,<ref name=EB1911/> including why the text is as John Healy writes "disjointed, discontinuous and not in a logical order";<ref>Healy, 2004.  Translator's Note:xliii</ref> and as early as 1350, [[Petrarch]] complained about the corrupt state of the text, referring to copying errors made between the ninth and eleventh centuries.<ref>Healy, 2004. Introduction:xxxviii-xxxix</ref>

===Manuscripts===

[[File:Histoire Naturelle Pline l Ancien mid 12th century Abbaye de Saint Vincent Le Mans France.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|The ''Natural History'' of Pliny in a mid-12th-century manuscript from the Abbaye de Saint Vincent, [[Le Mans]], France]]

About the middle of the 3rd century, an abstract of the geographical portions of Pliny's work was produced by [[Gaius Julius Solinus|Solinus]].<ref name=EB1911/> Early in the 8th century, [[Bede]], who admired Pliny's work, had access to a partial manuscript which he used in his "[[De natura rerum (Bede)|De natura rerum]]", especially the sections on [[meteorology]] and [[Gemstone|gems]]. However, Bede updated and corrected Pliny on the [[tides]].<ref>Healy, 2004. Introduction:xxxvi-xxxvii</ref>

There are about 200 extant manuscripts, but the best of the more ancient manuscripts, that at [[Bamberg State Library]], contains only books XXXII–XXXVII. In 1141 [[Robert of Cricklade]] wrote the ''Defloratio Historiae Naturalis Plinii Secundi'' consisting of nine books of selections taken from an ancient manuscript.<ref name=EB1911/><ref>Healy, 2004. Introduction:xxxviii</ref>

There are three independent classes of the [[Textual criticism|stemma]] of the surviving Historia Naturalis manuscripts. These are divided into:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marshall |first=Peter K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJ11AAAAIAAJ |title=Texts and Transmission: A Survey of the Latin Classics |date=1983 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-814456-4 |pages=307–316 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearse |first=Roger |date=2013-06-22 |title=The manuscripts of Pliny the Elder's "Natural History" |url=https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2013/06/22/the-manuscripts-of-pliny-the-elders-natural-history/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Roger Pearse |language=en-GB}}</ref>

# Ancient [[Codex|Codicies]]: 5th-6th centuries. None survive intact; all as [[palimpsest]]s or as recycled book bindings. 
# Medieval:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearse |first=Roger |date=2013-06-27 |title=Detlefsen on the "indices" of Pliny the Elder's "Natural History" |url=https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2013/06/27/detlefsen-on-the-indices-of-pliny-the-elders-natural-history/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Roger Pearse |language=en-GB}}</ref> 
## Vetustiores (older): 8th-9th centuries
## Recentiores (younger): 9th century
# Later Medieval Recentiores: 11th-12th centuries & up to 1469 printed editions.

The [[Textual criticism|textual tradition]]/stemma was established by the German scholars [[Karl Julius Sillig|J. Sillig]], D. Detlefsen, L. von Jan, and K. Rück in the 19th century. Two [[Bibliotheca Teubneriana|Teubner Editions]] were published of 5 volumes; the first by L. von Jan (1856–78; see [[#External links|external links]]) and the second by C. Mayhoff (1892-1906). The most recent [[Textual criticism|critical editions]] were published by [[Collection Budé|Les Belle Letters]] (1950-).

==== Ancient Codices ====

All 5th century:

# M: [https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz002965xw St. Paul in Carinthia, Stiftsbibliothek 3.1] (25.2.36; xxv.a.3) (CLA x.1455) (=codex Moneus)
# N: Rome, Bibl. Naz. Sessor. 55 (''CLA'' iv.421)
# O: Vienna 1a (''CLA'' x.1470)
# P: Paris lat. 9378, folio 26 (''CLA'' v.575)
# Pal. Chat.: Autun 24 + Paris n.a.lat. 1629 (''CLA'' vi.725)

==== Medieval Vetustiores ====

[[File:Pliny the Elder, Leiden, Voss. Lat. F. 4.jpg|thumb|upright|Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'', beginning of Book 4, in ms. Leiden Voss. Lat. F. 4, fol. 20v]]

# Q: Paris lat. 10318 (''CLA'' v.593) ca.800 A.D.
# A: [[Leiden University|Leiden]], Voss. Lat. F.4 (''CLA'' x.1578) 8th century. Written in [[Jarrow]] hand; possibly [[Bede]]'s personal copy mentioned by [[Alcuin]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Codices Vossiani Latini — Brill |url=https://primarysources.brillonline.com/browse/vossiani-latini/vlf-004-fragmentum-homiliarii-plinius-secundus-maior-petrus-pictaviensis |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=primarysources.brillonline.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Manuscript: Leiden Voss.Lat.F.4, fols. 4–33 {{!}} DigiPal |url=https://www.digipal.eu/digipal/manuscripts/1586/ |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=www.digipal.eu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Garrison |first=Mary |title=An Insular Copy of Pliny's Naturalis historia (Leiden UB VLF 4 fol 4-33) |url=https://www.academia.edu/7163012 |journal=Writing in Context: Insular Manuscript Culture 500-1200 (Ed.) Erik Kwakkel (Leiden 2013)}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Meyier |first=K. A. de |title=Descriptio codicum |date=1973-01-01 |work=Codices Vossiani Latini |pages=6–9 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004623903/B9789004623903_s004.xml |access-date=2024-11-28 |publisher=Brill |language=la |doi=10.1163/9789004623903_004 |isbn=978-90-04-62390-3}}</ref>
# B: Bamberg, Class. 42 (M.v.10) 9th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Naturalis historia (lib. 32-37) - Staatsbibliothek Bamberg Msc.Class.42 {{!}} bavarikon |url=https://www.bavarikon.de/object/SBB-KHB-00000SBB00000104?lang=en |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.bavarikon.de |language=de}}</ref>

==== Medieval Recentiores ====

# DGV: Vatican lat. 3861<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manuscript - Vat.lat.3861 |url=https://digi.vatlib.it/mss/detail/Vat.lat.3861}}</ref> + Paris lat. 6796, ff. 52-3<ref>{{Cite web |title=Consultation |url=https://archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cc659234 |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10720864h/f57.item.zoom |title=C. Plinii Secundi historia naturalis à libro decimo quarto ad vigesimum quartum. |date=1001–1100 |language=EN}}</ref> + Leiden, Voss. Lat. F. 61 (''CLA'' x.1580 + Suppl. p.&nbsp;28) ca. A.D. 800.
# Ch: New York, Pierpont Morgan Library M.871 (formerly Phillipps 8297). 9th cent (first half)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-13 |title=[Historia naturalis] |url=https://www.themorgan.org/manuscript/159317 |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=The Morgan Library & Museum |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Pliny |url=http://corsair.themorgan.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=159317 |title=Historia naturalis, libri I-XVII, fragment (MS M.871) |last2=Heber |first2=Richard |last3=Evans |first3=R. H. |last4=Phillipps |first4=Thomas |date=830 |others=St. Nazarius (Abbey : Lorsch, Germany), Tongerloo (Abbey), William H. Robinson, Ltd, Pierpont Morgan Library |location=Worms, Germany}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Maior |first=Plinius |url=https://bibliotheca-laureshamensis-digital.de/view/pml_ms871 |title=New York, The Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.871: Naturalis historia, libb. I-XVII (unvollständig). Hälfte 9. Jh. |location=Lorsch (?) oder Arras (?)}}</ref>
# F: Leiden, Lipsius 7. 9th cent. (first half).
# R: Florence, Bibl. Ricc. 488. 9th cent (second half)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Risultati ricerca manoscritti - Manus Online - OPAC SBN |url=https://manus.iccu.sbn.it/risultati-ricerca-manoscritti/-/manus-search/cnmd/0000249478? |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Manus Online |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Small Library: The Riccardiana Library in Florence and Its Collections |url=https://www.paperinmotion.org/a-small-library-the-riccardiana-library-in-florence-and-its-collections/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Paper in motion :: Information and the Economy of Knowledge in the Early Modern Mediterranean |language=en-GB}}</ref>
# E: Paris lat. 6795, 9-10th century<ref>{{Cite web |title=Consultation |url=https://archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cc65922w |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90769859 |title=C. Plinii Secundi , Veronensis, historiae naturalis libri triginta duo : trigesimi secundi finis et alii quinque integri desiderantur. |date=0801–0900 |language=EN}}</ref>

==== Later Medieval Recentiores ====
Definite descendants of E (Paris lat. 6795):

# h: Berlin (East), Hamilton 517, 11th c.
# X: Luxembourg 138, 12th c.
# Leiden, Voss. Lat. Q.43, 12th c.
# n: Montpellier 473, 12th c.
# Co: Copenhagen Gl.Kgl.S.212 2°, ca. 1200 AD

Possible descendants of E:

# Oxford, Bodl. Auct. T.1.27 + Paris lat. 6798, 12th c.
# C: Le Mans 263, 12th c

Copies of E:

# e: Paris lat. 6796A, 12th c

Cousin of E:

# a: Vienna 234, 12th c.

Independent earlier tradition:

# d: Paris lat. 6797, third quarter of 12th century

===Printed copies===

The work was one of the first classical manuscripts to be [[printed]], at Venice in 1469 by [[Johann and Wendelin of Speyer]], but [[John F. Healy]] described the translation as "distinctly imperfect".<ref name="Healy39"/> A copy printed in 1472 by [[Nicolas Jenson]] of Venice is held in the library at [[Wells Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Church | first=C.M. | title=Historical traditions at Wells, 1464, 1470, 1497. | journal=[[The Archaeological Journal]]| year=1904 | volume=61 | issue=11 | url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-1132-1/dissemination/pdf/061/061_155_180.pdf | pages=155–180| doi=10.1080/00665983.1904.10852967 }}</ref>
<!--Versions were made in 1510, 1516, 1519, 1534, 1538, 1543, 1562, 1573, 1601, 1606, 1613, 1624, 1668, 1724, 1725, 1728, 1729, 1753, 1770, 1771, 1776, 1802.-->

===Translations===
[[Philemon Holland]] made an influential translation of much of the work into English in 1601.<ref name="Healy39"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Holland |first1=Philemon |title=The Historie of the World, Commonly called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus |url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/index.html |publisher=University of Chicago |access-date=28 May 2015 |date=1601}}</ref> [[John Bostock (physician)|John Bostock]] and [[H. T. Riley]] made a complete translation in 1855.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bostock|first1=John|last2=Riley|first2=H. T.|title=Pliny the Elder, The Natural History|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+toc|publisher=Perseus at Tufts|access-date=28 May 2015|date=1855}}</ref> The [[Penguin Books|Penguin]] edition was published in 1991 (reprinted by [[Penguin Classics]] in 2004), an abridged translation with an Introduction and notes by Healy.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Pliny |title=Natural history, a selection |last2=Healy |first2=John F. |date=1991 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-044413-1 |series=Penguin classics |location=London, England ; New York, NY, USA}}</ref>

==Topics==

The ''Natural History'' is generally divided into the organic plants and animals and the inorganic matter, although there are frequent digressions in each section.{{efn|Compare structure at [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/home.html LacusCurtius], with footnotes.}} The encyclopedia also notes the uses made of all of these by the Romans. Its description of metals and minerals is valued for its detail in the [[history of science]], being the most extensive compilation still available from the ancient world.

Book I serves as Pliny's preface, explaining his approach and providing a table of contents.

===Astronomy===
[[File:HipparchusConstruction.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.8|How [[Hipparchus]] found the distances to [[Sun]] and [[Moon]]]]

The first topic covered is Astronomy, in Book II. Pliny starts with the known universe, roundly criticising attempts at cosmology as madness, including the view that there are countless other worlds than the Earth. He concurs with the four (Aristotelian) elements, fire, earth, air and water,<ref>''Natural History'' II:11</ref> and records the seven "planets" including the Sun and Moon.<ref>''Natural History'' II:28-51</ref> The Earth is a sphere, suspended in the middle of space.<ref>''Natural History'' II:5-6, 10</ref> He considers it a weakness to try to find the shape and form of God,<ref>''Natural History'' II:14</ref> or to suppose that such a being would care about human affairs.<ref>''Natural History'' II:20</ref> He mentions eclipses, but considers [[Hipparchus]]'s almanac grandiose for seeming to know how Nature works.<ref>''Natural History'' II:24</ref> He cites [[Posidonius]]'s estimate that the Moon is 230,000 miles away.{{efn|Posidonius's figure was accurate: the [[Lunar distance (astronomy)|distance to the Moon]] varies between 221,500 miles at perigee to 252,700 miles at apogee.}} He describes [[comet]]s, noting that only Aristotle has recorded seeing more than one at once.<ref>''Natural History'' I:89-90</ref>

Book II continues with natural meteorological events lower in the sky, including the winds, weather, whirlwinds, lightning, and rainbows.<ref>''Natural History'' II:119-153</ref> He returns to astronomical facts such as the effect of longitude on time of sunrise and sunset,<ref>''Natural History'' II:181</ref> the variation of the Sun's elevation with latitude (affecting time-telling by sundials),<ref>''Natural History'' II:182</ref> and the variation of day length with latitude.<ref>''Natural History'' II:186-187</ref>

===Geography===

In Books III to VI, Pliny moves to the Earth itself. In Book III he covers the geography of the Iberian peninsula and Italy; Book IV covers Europe; Book V looks at Africa and Asia, while Book VI looks eastwards to the Black Sea, India and the Far East.

===Anthropology===

Book VII discusses the human race, covering [[anthropology]] and [[ethnography]], aspects of human [[physiology]] and assorted matters such as the greatness of [[Julius Caesar]], outstanding people such as [[Hippocrates]] and [[Asclepiades of Bithynia|Asclepiades]], happiness and fortune.

===Zoology===
{{see also|Pliny on mammals}}
[[File:MANA - Bernstein.jpg|thumb|upright=1.45|A collection of Roman [[amber]] from the Archeological Museum of [[Aquileia]]]]

Zoology is discussed in Books VIII to XI. The entries begin with a discussion of terrestrial animals, taken to include mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and an assortment of mythological creatures recognized as real animals (e.g. dragons).<ref>''Natural History'' VIII:261</ref> The [[elephant]], and the [[lion]] are described in detail, with accounts of behaviors, taming, and battles with bestiarii referenced. Other species are listed in relation to their geographic ranges, for example India<ref>''Natural History'' VIII:281</ref> and the far north.<ref>''Natural History'' VIII:264</ref> Domestic dogs, horses, and livestock feature prominently, with elaboration on their uses to humans, for example the types of wool produced by [[sheep]] and the cloth created from them.<ref>''Natural History'' VIII:313-346</ref>

From there, "the natural history of fishes" is outlined.<ref>''Natural History'' IX:359</ref> Pliny identified all aquatic animals as "fishes", making distinctions between those "with red blood" ([[cetaceans]] and traditional [[fishes]]) and those "without blood", the latter classified between "soft fishes" ([[cephalopods]]), those with "thin crusts" (e.g. [[crustaceans]] & [[sea urchins]]), and those enclosed with hard shells (e.g. [[bivalves]] & [[gastropods]]).<ref>''Natural History'' IX:417</ref> As well, jellies are described with "bodies of a third nature" as a mix of animal and plant.<ref>''Natural History'' IX:454</ref> The encyclopedia mentions different sources of purple dye, particularly the [[murex]] snail, the highly prized source of [[Tyrian purple]], as well as the value and origin of the [[pearl]] and the invention of [[fish farming]] and [[oyster farming]]. The keeping of [[aquarium]]s was a popular pastime of the rich, and Pliny provides anecdotes of the problems of owners becoming too closely attached to their fish.

Birds are described next, starting with the [[ostrich]] and the mythical [[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]].<ref>''Natural History'' X:479-481</ref> Much detail is spent with eagles, which are "looked upon as the most noble",<ref>''Natural History'' X:482</ref> followed by the other birds of prey. Pliny classifies birds based on the structure of their feet, noting the connection between their shape and the diet/habitat associated with their owners. He praises the song of the [[nightingale]], and considers the connection between birdsong and omens.<ref>''Natural History'' X:510</ref> [[Bats]] are listed among the other "winged animals" but are recognized as viviparous and nurse their young with milk.<ref>''Natural History'' X:541</ref> This is followed by an extensive overview of animal reproduction, senses, and feeding & resting behaviour.

Finally, insects and other arthropods are listed. Pliny devotes considerable space to [[bee]]s,<ref>''Natural History'' XI:5-23</ref> which he admires for their industry, organisation, and [[honey]], discussing the significance of the [[queen bee]] and the use of smoke by [[beekeepers]] at the hive to collect [[honeycomb]]. As well, the [[silkworm]] and silk production are described, the discovery of which is attributed to a woman named Pamphile (no reference is made to China).<ref>''Natural History'' XI:26-27</ref> The coverage of zoology ends with an account of animal anatomy.

Pliny correctly identifies the origin of [[amber]] as the fossilised [[resin]] of pine trees. Evidence cited includes the fact that some samples exhibit encapsulated insects, a feature readily explained by the presence of a viscous resin. He mentions how it exerts a charge when rubbed.

===Botany===

[[Botany]] is handled in Books XII to XVIII, with Theophrastus as one of Pliny's sources. The manufacture of [[papyrus]] and the various grades of papyrus available to Romans are described. Different types of trees and the properties of their wood are explained in Books XII to XIII. The vine, viticulture and varieties of grape are discussed in Book XIV, while Book XV covers the [[olive]] tree in detail,<ref>''Natural History'' XV:1-34</ref> followed by other trees including the apple and pear,<ref>''Natural History'' XV:47-54</ref> fig,<ref>''Natural History'' XV:68-78</ref> cherry,<ref>''Natural History'' XV:102-104</ref> [[Myrtus|myrtle]] and [[laurus nobilis|laurel]],<ref>''Natural History'' XV:119-138</ref> among others.

Pliny gives special attention to spices, such as [[Black pepper|pepper]], [[ginger]], and [[cane sugar]]. He mentions different varieties of pepper, whose values are comparable with that of gold and silver, while sugar is noted only for its medicinal value.

He is critical of [[perfume]]s: "Perfumes are the most pointless of luxuries, for pearls and jewels are at least passed on to one's heirs, and clothes last for a time, but perfumes lose their fragrance and perish as soon as they are used." He gives a summary of their ingredients, such as [[attar of roses]], which he says is the most widely used base. Other substances added include [[myrrh]], [[cinnamon]], and [[amyris|balsam]] gum.

===Drugs, medicine and magic===

A major section of the ''Natural History'', Books XX to XXIX, discusses matters related to medicine, especially plants that yield useful drugs. Pliny lists over 900 drugs, compared to 600 in [[Dioscorides]]'s {{lang|la|[[De Materia Medica]]}}, 550 in Theophrastus, and 650 in [[Galen]].<ref>Healy, 2004. Introduction:xxix</ref>
The poppy and [[opium]] are mentioned; Pliny notes that opium induces sleep and can be fatal.<ref>''Natural History'' XX:198-200</ref> Diseases and their treatment are covered in book XXVI.

Pliny addresses [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] in Book XXX. He is critical of the Magi, attacking [[astrology]], and suggesting that magic originated in medicine, creeping in by pretending to offer health. He names [[Zoroaster]] of [[Ancient Persia]] as the source of magical ideas. He states that [[Pythagoras]], [[Empedocles]], [[Democritus]] and [[Plato]] all travelled abroad to learn magic, remarking that it was surprising anyone accepted the doctrines they brought back, and that medicine (of Hippocrates) and magic (of Democritus) should have flourished simultaneously at the time of the [[Peloponnesian War]].

===Agriculture===
{{further|Roman agriculture|List of Roman watermills}}
[[File:Mähmaschine.jpg|thumb|right|Detail of a relief depicting a [[Gallo-Roman]] harvesting machine]]<!--NOTE: if reorganizing, note that this image goes with the following section-->

The methods used to cultivate crops are described in Book XVIII. He praises [[Cato the Elder]] and his work ''[[De Agri Cultura]]'', which he uses as a primary source. Pliny's work includes discussion of all known cultivated crops and vegetables, as well as herbs and remedies derived from them. He describes machines used in cultivation and processing the crops. For example, he describes a simple mechanical [[reaper]] that cut the ears of wheat and [[barley]] without the straw and was pushed by oxen (Book XVIII, chapter 72). It is depicted on a [[bas-relief]] found at [[Trier]] from the later Roman period. He also describes how grain is ground using a pestle, a hand-mill, or a mill driven by [[water wheel]]s, as found in [[List of Roman watermills|Roman water mill]]s across the Empire.{{efn|Extant mills found at [[Barbegal]] in southern France use water supplied by the [[Roman aqueducts|aqueduct]] supplying [[Arles]], powering at least sixteen overshot water wheels arranged in two parallel sets of eight down the hillside. It is thought that the wheels were overshot water wheels with the outflow from the top driving the next one down in the set, and so on to the base of the hill. Vertical water mills were known to the Romans, being described by [[Vitruvius]] in his ''[[De Architectura]]'' of 25&nbsp;BC.}}

===Metallurgy===

Pliny extensively discusses metals starting with gold and silver (Book XXXIII), and then the base metals copper, [[mercury (element)|mercury]], lead, [[tin]] and iron, as well as their many alloys such as [[electrum]], [[bronze]], [[pewter]], and steel (Book XXXIV).

He is critical of greed for gold, such as the absurdity of using the metal for coins in the early Republic. He gives examples of the way rulers proclaimed their prowess by exhibiting gold looted from their campaigns, such as that by Claudius after conquering Britain, and tells the stories of [[Midas]] and [[Croesus]]. He discusses why gold is unique in its [[malleability]] and [[ductility]], far greater than any other metal. The examples given are its ability to be beaten into fine [[foil (metal)|foil]] with just one ounce producing 750 leaves four inches square. Fine gold [[wire]] can be woven into cloth, although imperial clothes usually combined it with natural fibres like wool. He once saw [[Agrippina the Younger]], wife of Claudius, at a public show on the [[Fucine Lake]] involving a naval battle, wearing a military cloak made of gold. He rejects Herodotus's claims of [[Gold-digging ant|Indian gold obtained by ants]] or dug up by [[griffin]]s in [[Scythia]].

[[Silver]], he writes, does not occur in native form and has to be mined, usually occurring with lead ores. Spain produced the most silver in his time, many of the mines having been started by [[Hannibal]]. One of the largest had galleries running up to two miles into the mountain, while men worked day and night draining the mine in shifts. Pliny is probably referring to the [[reverse overshot water-wheel]]s operated by treadmill and found in Roman mines. Britain, he says, is very rich in lead, which is found on the surface at many places, and thus very easy to extract; production was so high that a law was passed attempting to restrict mining.

[[File:Rmcoinmolds.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.25<!--size very low image to roughly normal area-->|Roman coins were struck, not cast, so these coin moulds were created for forgery.]]

Fraud and forgery are described in detail; in particular [[coin counterfeiting]] by mixing copper with silver, or even admixture with iron. Tests had been developed for counterfeit coins and proved very popular with the victims, mostly ordinary people. He deals with the liquid metal mercury, also found in [[silver mine]]s. He records that it is toxic, and [[Amalgam (chemistry)|amalgamates]] with gold, so is used for refining and extracting that metal. He says mercury is used for [[gilding]] copper, while [[antimony]] is found in silver mines and is used as an [[eyebrow]] [[Cosmetics|cosmetic]].

The main ore of mercury is [[cinnabar]], long used as a pigment by painters. He says that the colour is similar to ''scolecium'', probably the [[Kermes (dye)|kermes insect]].{{efn|[[John Gerard]]'s influential ''Herball'' (1597) called ''scolecium'' "Maggot berrie" and supposed "Cutchonele" ([[Cochineal]]) to be a form of this. Many later authors have copied Gerard in this error.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Greenfield|first1=Amy Butler|title=A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage and the Quest for the Colour of Desire|date=2011|publisher=Random House|page=351}}</ref>}} The dust is very toxic, so workers handling the material wear face masks of bladder skin. Copper and bronze are, says Pliny, most famous for their use in statues including colossi, gigantic statues as tall as towers, the most famous being the [[Colossus of Rhodes]]. He personally saw the massive statue of [[Nero]] in Rome, which was removed after the emperor's death. The face of the statue was modified shortly after Nero's death during Vespasian's reign, to make it a statue of [[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol]]. [[Hadrian]] moved it, with the help of the architect Decrianus and 24 elephants, to a position next to the [[Flavian Amphitheatre]] (now called the [[Colosseum]]).

Pliny gives a special place to iron, distinguishing the hardness of steel from what is now called [[wrought iron]], a softer grade. He is scathing about the use of iron in warfare.

===Mineralogy===

[[File:Intaglio Nero CdM.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Amethyst]] [[Intaglio (jewellery)|intaglio]] (1st century AD) depicting [[Nero]] as [[Apollo]] playing the lyre ''([[Cabinet des Médailles]])'']]

In the last two books of the work (Books XXXVI and XXXVII), Pliny describes many different [[mineral]]s and [[gemstone]]s, building on works by Theophrastus and other authors. The topic concentrates on the most valuable gemstones, and he criticises the obsession with luxury products such as [[engraved gem]]s and [[hardstone carving]]s. He provides a thorough discussion of the properties of [[fluorspar]], noting that it is carved into vases and other decorative objects.<ref>''Natural History'' XXXVII:18-22</ref> The account of magnetism includes the myth of [[Magnes the shepherd]].

Pliny moves into [[crystallography]] and [[mineralogy]], describing the [[octahedral]] shape of the diamond and recording that diamond dust is used by gem engravers to cut and polish other gems, owing to its great [[hardness]].<ref>''Natural History'' XXXVII:55-60</ref> He states that [[rock crystal]] is valuable for its transparency and hardness, and can be carved into vessels and implements. He relates the story of a woman who owned a ladle made of the mineral, paying the sum of 150,000 [[sesterces]] for the item. Nero deliberately broke two crystal cups when he realised that he was about to be deposed, so denying their use to anyone else.<ref>''Natural History'' XXXVII:23-29</ref>

Pliny returns to the problem of fraud and the detection of false gems using several tests, including the scratch test, where counterfeit gems can be marked by a steel file, and genuine ones not. He refers to using one hard mineral to scratch another, presaging the [[Mohs hardness scale]]. Diamond sits at the top of the series because, Pliny says, it will scratch all other minerals.<ref>''Natural History'' XXXVII:196-200</ref>

===Art history===

{{further|Roman sculpture|Ancient Greek sculpture}}
Pliny's chapters on [[Roman art|Roman]] and [[Greek art]] are especially valuable because his work is virtually the only available classical source of information on the subject.<ref name=Isager16/>

In the [[history of art]], the original Greek authorities are [[Duris of Samos]], [[Xenocrates of Sicyon]], and [[Antigonus of Carystus]]. The anecdotic element has been ascribed to Duris (XXXIV:61); the notices of the successive developments of art and the list of workers in bronze and painters to Xenocrates; and a large amount of miscellaneous information to Antigonus. Both Xenocrates and Antigonus are named in connection with [[Zeuxis and Parrhasius|Parrhasius]] (XXXV:68), while Antigonus is named in the indexes of XXXIII–XXXIV as a writer on the art of embossing metal, or working it in ornamental [[relief]] or [[Intaglio (sculpture)|intaglio]].<ref name=EB1911/>

Greek [[epigram]]s contribute their share in Pliny's descriptions of pictures and statues. One of the minor authorities for books XXXIV–XXXV is [[Heliodorus of Athens]], the author of a work on the monuments of [[Athens]]. In the indices to XXXIII–XXXVI, an important place is assigned to [[Pasiteles]] of Naples, the author of a work in five volumes on famous works of art (XXXVI:40), probably incorporating the substance of the earlier Greek treatises; but Pliny's indebtedness to Pasiteles is denied by [[August Kalkmann|Kalkmann]], who holds that Pliny used the chronological work of [[Apollodorus of Athens]], as well as a current catalogue of artists. Pliny's knowledge of the Greek authorities was probably mainly due to Varro, whom he often quotes (e.g. XXXIV:56, XXXV:113, 156, XXXVI:17, 39, 41).<ref name=EB1911/>

[[File:Laocoön and his sons group.jpg|thumb|''[[Laocoön and his Sons]]'']]

For a number of items relating to works of art near the coast of [[Asia Minor]] and in the adjacent islands, Pliny was indebted to the general, statesman, orator and historian [[Mucianus|Gaius Licinius Mucianus]], who died before 77. Pliny mentions the works of art collected by Vespasian in the [[Temple of Peace, Rome|Temple of Peace]] and in his other galleries (XXXIV:84), but much of his information about the position of such works in Rome is from books, not personal observation. The main merit of his account of ancient art, the only classical work of its kind, is that it is a compilation ultimately founded on the lost textbooks of [[Xenocrates]] and on the biographies of [[Duris of Samos|Duris]] and Antigonus.<ref>On these, compare [http://arthistorians.info/xenocrates ''Dictionary of Art Historians''], ''s.v.'' "Xenocrates"; [[Andrew Dalby|A. Dalby]], "The Curriculum Vitae of Duris of Samos" in ''Classical Quarterly'' new series vol. 41 (1991) pp. 539–541; D. Bowder, "Duris of Samos" in ''Who Was Who in the Greek World'' (Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1982) pp. 101–102; Reinhold Köpke, [https://archive.org/details/deantigonocaryst00kpke ''De Antigono Carystio'' (1862)], in [[Latin language|Latin]], ''Caput'' II.1.26,47.</ref>

In several passages, he gives proof of independent observation (XXXIV:38, 46, 63, XXXV:17, 20, 116 seq.). He prefers the marble ''[[Laocoön and his Sons]]'' in the palace of Titus (widely believed to be the statue that is now in the [[Vatican City|Vatican]]) to all the pictures and bronzes in the world (XXXVI:37).<ref name=EB1911/> The statue is attributed by Pliny to three sculptors from the island of Rhodes: [[Agesander of Rhodes|Agesander]], Athenodoros (possibly son of Agesander) and Polydorus.

In the temple near the [[Flaminian Circus]], Pliny admires the [[Ares]] and the [[Aphrodite]] of [[Scopas]], "which would suffice to give renown to any other spot".<ref name=EB1911/> He adds:

<blockquote>At Rome indeed the works of art are legion; besides, one effaces another from the memory and, however beautiful they may be, we are distracted by the overpowering claims of duty and business; for to admire art we need leisure and profound stillness<ref name=EB1911/> (XXXVI:27).</blockquote>

===Mining===

{{further|Roman mining|Roman aqueduct}}
[[File:Panorámica de Las Médulas.jpg|thumb|The striking landscape of [[Las Médulas]], the most important gold mine in the Roman Empire, resulted from the {{Lang|la|[[Ruina montium|Ruina Montium]]}} mining technique.]]

Pliny provides lucid descriptions of [[Roman mining]]. He describes [[gold mining]] in detail,<ref>''Natural History'' XXXIII:36-81</ref> with large-scale use of water to scour alluvial gold deposits. The description probably refers to mining in Northern Spain, especially at the large [[Las Médulas]] site.{{Efn|It is likely that Pliny, as a [[Promagistrate|Procurator]] in [[Hispania Tarraconensis]], saw the operations of gold extraction himself, since the sections in Book XXXIII read like an [[Witness|eye witness]] report.}}{{efn|Pliny's work supplements the ''[[De Architectura]]'' of [[Vitruvius]], who describes many machines used in mining.}} Pliny describes methods of underground mining, including the use of [[fire-setting]] to attack the gold-bearing rock and so extract the ore. In another part of his work, Pliny describes the use of [[Underground mining#Mining techniques|undermining]]{{efn|See David Bird's analysis of Pliny's use of water power in mining.<ref name=Bird-Arrugia>[http://www.pdmhs.com/PDFs/ScannedBulletinArticles/Bulletin%2015-4&5%20-%20Pliny's%20Arrugia%20-%20Water%20Power%20in%20Roman%20Gold-Mining.pdf "Pliny's Arrugia Water Power in Roman Gold-Mining"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328192743/http://www.pdmhs.com/PDFs/ScannedBulletinArticles/Bulletin%2015-4%265%20-%20Pliny%27s%20Arrugia%20-%20Water%20Power%20in%20Roman%20Gold-Mining.pdf |date=28 March 2012 }}, by David Bird, in ''Mining History'' Vol. 15, Nos. 4/5 (2004).</ref>}} to gain access to the veins.{{efn|This probably refers to opencast rather than underground mining, given the dangers to the miners in confined spaces.}} Pliny was scathing about the search for precious metals and gemstones: "Gangadia or [[quartzite]] is considered the hardest of all things&nbsp;– except for the greed for gold, which is even more stubborn."{{efn|"...est namque terra ex quodam argillae genere glarea mixta – 'gangadiam' vocant – prope inexpugnabilis. cuneis eam ferreis adgrediuntur et isdem malleis nihilque durius putant, nisi quod inter omnia auri fames durissima est [...]"<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/33*.html#21 ''N.H.'' xxi-72].</ref>}}{{efn|See also Bird on mining at Arrugia.<ref name=Bird-Arrugia/>}}

Book XXXIV covers the base metals, their uses and their extraction. Copper mining is mentioned, using a variety of ores including [[copper pyrites]] and [[marcasite]], some of the mining being underground, some on the surface.<ref>''Natural History'' XXXIV:117</ref> Iron mining is covered,<ref>''Natural History'' XXXIII:138-144</ref> followed by lead and tin.<ref>''Natural History'' XXXIII:156-164</ref>

==Reception==
===Medieval and early modern===
[[File:Plinius Secundus - Historia naturalis, nellanno della nativita del nostro signore Iesu Christo MCCCCLXXXIX adi XII di septembre - 2032292.jpg|thumb|upright|''Historia naturalis'' translated into Italian by [[Cristoforo Landino]], 1489 edition]]

The anonymous fourth-century compilation ''[[Medicina Plinii]]'' contains more than 1,100 [[pharmacology|pharmacological]] recipes, the vast majority of them from the ''Historia naturalis''; perhaps because Pliny's name was attached to it, it enjoyed huge popularity in the Middle Ages.<ref name="D.R. Langlow, 2000 p. 64">D.R. Langlow, ''Medical Latin in the Roman Empire'' (Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 64.</ref>

[[Isidore of Seville]]'s ''[[Etymologiae]]'' (''The Etymologies'', {{Circa|600}}–625) quotes from Pliny 45 times in Book XII alone;<ref>{{cite book |title=The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ep502syZv8C | last1=Barney |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Lewis |first2=W. J. |last3=Beach |first3=J. A. |last4=Berghof |first4=O. | publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=2006 | edition=1st | isbn=978-0-511-21969-6}}</ref> Books XII, XIII and XIV are all based largely on the ''Natural History''.<ref name=Lindsay>{{cite book | last=Lindsay |first=Wallace M. |author-link=Wallace Lindsay |title=Isidori Hispalensis Episcopi Etymologiarum Sive Originum Libri XX |publisher=Clarendon Press |date=1911}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Lindsay |first=Wallace M. |author-link=Wallace Lindsay | title=The Editing of Isidore Etymologiae | journal=The Classical Quarterly | volume=5 | issue=1 | date=January 1911 | pages=42–53|doi=10.1017/S0009838800019273 |s2cid=170517611 }}</ref> Through Isidore, [[Vincent of Beauvais]]'s ''[[Speculum Maius]]'' (''The Great Mirror'', c. 1235–1264) also used Pliny as a source for his own work.{{sfn|Doody|2010|page=170}}<ref>{{cite book | last=Franklin-Brown | first=Mary | title=Reading the world : encyclopedic writing in the scholastic age | publisher=The University of Chicago Press | location=Chicago London | year=2012 | isbn=9780226260709|pages=224–225}}</ref> In this regard, Pliny's influence over the medieval period has been argued to be quite extensive. For example, one twentieth-century historian has argued that Pliny's reliance on book-based knowledge, and not direct observation, shaped intellectual life to the degree that it  "stymie[d] the progress of western science".{{sfn|Doody|2010|page=31}} This sentiment can be observed in the early modern period when [[Niccolò Leoniceno]]'s 1509 ''De Erroribus Plinii'' ("On Pliny's Errors") attacked Pliny for lacking a proper scientific method, unlike Theophrastus or Dioscorides, and for lacking knowledge of philosophy or medicine.<ref name="Healy39"/>

Sir [[Thomas Browne]] expressed scepticism about Pliny's dependability in his 1646 ''[[Pseudodoxia Epidemica]]'':<ref>Available at the [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/pseudodoxia/pseudo18.html#b15] University of Chicago site</ref>
{{blockquote|Now what is very strange, there is scarce a popular error passant in our days, which is not either directly expressed, or diductively contained in this Work; which being in the hands of most men, hath proved a powerful occasion of their propagation. Wherein notwithstanding the credulity of the Reader is more condemnable then the curiosity of the Author: for commonly he nameth the Authors from whom he received those accounts, and writes but as he reads, as in his Preface to Vespasian he acknowledgeth.}}

===Modern===

Grundy Steiner of [[Northwestern University]], in a 1955 judgement considered by Thomas R. Laehn to represent the collective opinion of Pliny's critics,<ref>{{cite book | title=Pliny's Defense of Empire | publisher=Routledge | author=Laehn, Thomas R | year=2013 | page=111}}</ref> wrote of Pliny that "He was not an original, creative thinker, nor a pioneer of research to be compared either with Aristotle and Theophrastus or with any of the great moderns. He was, rather, the compiler of a secondary sourcebook."<ref>{{cite journal | title=The Skepticism of the Elder Pliny | author=Steiner, Grundy | journal=Classical Weekly | year=1955 | volume=48 | issue=10 | pages=142| doi=10.2307/4343682 | jstor=4343682 }}</ref>

The Italian author [[Italo Calvino]], in his 1991 book ''Why Read the Classics?'', wrote that while people often consult Pliny's ''Natural History'' for facts and curiosities, he is an author who "deserves an extended read, for the measured movement of his prose, which is enlivened by his admiration for everything that exists and his respect for the infinite diversity of all phenomena".<ref name=Calvino>{{cite book | title=Why Read the Classics? | publisher=Penguin (Modern Classics) | author=Calvino, Italo | year=2009 | pages=37–46 | isbn=978-0-14-118970-3}}(First published as ''Perché leggere i classici'', Mondadori, 1991.</ref> Calvino notes that while Pliny is eclectic, he was not uncritical, though his evaluations of sources are inconsistent and unpredictable. Further, Calvino compares Pliny to [[Immanuel Kant]], in that God is prevented by logic from conflicting with reason, even though (in Calvino's view) Pliny makes a pantheistic identification of God as being immanent in nature. As for destiny, Calvino writes:
{{blockquote|sign=|source=|it is impossible to force that variable which is destiny into the natural history of man: this is the sense of the pages that Pliny devotes to the vicissitudes of fortune, to the unpredictability of the length of any life, to the pointlessness of astrology, to disease and death.<ref name=Calvino/>}}

The art historian Jacob Isager writes in the introduction to his analysis of Pliny's chapters on art in the ''Natural History'' that his intention is:<blockquote>to show how Pliny in his encyclopedic work – which is the result of adaptations from many earlier writers and according to Pliny himself was intended as a reference work – nevertheless throughout expresses a basic attitude to Man and his relationship with Nature; how he understands Man's role as an inventor ("scientist and artist"); and finally his attitude to the use and abuse of Nature's and Man's creations, to progress and decay.<ref name="Isager16">{{cite book | title=Pliny on Art and Society: The Elder Pliny's Chapters on the History of Art | publisher=Routledge | author=Isager, Jacob | year=2013 | page=16}}</ref> </blockquote>More specifically, Isager writes that "the guiding principle in Pliny's treatment of Greek and Roman art is the function of art in society",<ref name="Isager16" /> while Pliny "uses his art history to express opinions about the ideology of the state".<ref name="Isager16" />

[[Paula Findlen]], writing in the ''Cambridge History of Science'', asserts that <blockquote>Natural history was an ancient form of scientific knowledge, most closely associated with the writings of the Roman encyclopedist Pliny the Elder&nbsp;... His loquacious and witty ''Historia naturalis'' offered an expansive definition of this subject. [It] broadly described all entities found in nature, or derived from nature, that could be seen in the Roman world and read about in its books: art, artifacts, and peoples as well as animals, plants, and minerals were included in his project.<ref name="Findlen">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2kvjAp92zcYC | title=The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 3, Early Modern Science | publisher=Cambridge University Press | author=Findlen, Paula |editor1=Roy Porter |editor2=Katharine Park |editor3=Lorraine Daston  |name-list-style=amp | year=2006 | page=437 | work=Natural History| isbn=9780521572446 }}</ref> </blockquote>Findlen contrasts Pliny's approach with that of his intellectual predecessors Aristotle and Theophrastus, who sought general causes of natural phenomena, while Pliny was more interested in cataloguing natural wonders, and his contemporary Dioscorides explored nature for its uses in [[Roman medicine]] in his great work ''[[De Materia Medica (Dioscorides)|De Materia Medica]]''.<ref name="Findlen" />

In the view of Mary Beagon, writing in ''The Classical Tradition'' in 2010:<blockquote>the ''Historia naturalis'' has regained its status to a greater extent than at any time since the advent of Humanism. Work by those with scientific as well as philological expertise has resulted in improvements both to Pliny's text and to his reputation as a scientist. The essential coherence of his enterprise has also been rediscovered, and his ambitious portrayal, in all its manifestations, of 'nature, that is, life'.. is recognized as a unique cultural record of its time.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Pliny the Elder | encyclopedia=The Classical Tradition | publisher=Harvard University Press | author=Beagon, Mary |editor1=Grafton, Anthony |editor2=Most, Glenn W. |editor3=Settis, Salvatore | year=2010 | pages=745}}</ref></blockquote>

==See also==
{{portal|Books}}
* [[Famulus]] – his biography is featured in ''Natural History''
* ''[[Naturales quaestiones]]'' – a similar, shorter encyclopedia written by Seneca
* ''[[Suda]]'' – a 10th century [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] encyclopedia
* ''[[Urra=hubullu]]'' – a [[Babylonia]]n encyclopedia
* ''[[Martianus Capella#De nuptiis]]'' – a medieval encyclopedic work

==Notes==
{{notelist|30em}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==

* {{cite book |author1=French, Roger  |author2=Greenaway, Frank  |name-list-style=amp | title=''Science in the Early Roman Empire: Pliny the Elder, his Sources and Influence'' | publisher=Croom Helm | year=1986}}
* {{cite book | title=Pliny the Elder: Themes and Contexts | publisher=Brill | editor1=Gibson, Roy| editor2=Morello, Ruth | year=2011}}
* {{cite book |last1=Doody |first1=Aude |title=Pliny's encyclopedia : the reception of the Natural history |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-67707-6 }}
* {{cite book | last=Healy | first=John F. | title=Pliny the Elder on Science and Technology | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1999 | isbn=0-19-814687-6}}
* {{cite book | last=Healy | first=John F. | title=Pliny the Elder: Natural History: A Selection | publisher=Penguin Classics | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-14-044413-1}}
* {{cite book | last=Isager | first=Jacob | title=Pliny on Art and Society: The Elder Pliny's Chapters on the History of Art| publisher=Routledge|location= London & New York | year=1991 | isbn=0-415-06950-5}}
* {{cite journal | last1=Jones | first1= R. F. J. | last2=Bird| first2=D. G. | title=Roman gold-mining in north-west Spain, II: Workings on the Rio Duerna | journal=Journal of Roman Studies | volume=62 | year=1972| pages=59–74 | doi=10.2307/298927 | publisher=Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies | jstor=298927| s2cid= 162096359 }}
* {{cite journal | last1=Lewis | first1= P. R. | first2= G. D. B. | last2= Jones| title=Roman gold-mining in north-west Spain| journal=Journal of Roman Studies | volume=60 | year=1970 | pages= 169–85 | publisher=The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 60 | doi= 10.1017/S0075435800043343 | jstor=299421}}
* {{cite book |last1=Naas |first1=Valérie |title=Anecdotes artistiques chez Pline l'Ancien: La constitution d'un discours romain sur l'art |date=2023 |publisher=Sorbonne Université Presses |location=Paris |isbn=9791023107432}}
* {{cite journal | title=Pliny the Elder – Rampant Credulist, Rational Skeptic, or Both? | author=Parejko, Ken | journal=Skeptical Inquirer | year=2009 | volume=27 | issue=1 | pages=39}}
* {{cite book | translator1=[[Harris Rackham|Rackham, H.]] |translator2=Jones, W. H. S. |translator3=Eichholz, D. E. | title=Pliny – Natural History, 10 volumes | publisher=Loeb Classical Library | year=1938–1962|url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/pliny_elder-natural_history/1938/pb_LCL330.3.xml?rskey=gviSQc&result=1}}
* {{cite book| last=Wethered | first=H. N. | author-link=Newton Wethered | title=The Mind of the Ancient World: A Consideration of Pliny's Natural History | publisher=Longmans Green | location=London | year=1937}}

==External links==
{{wikisourcelang|la|Naturalis Historia}}
{{wikisource|Natural History (Rackham, Jones, & Eichholz)|''Natural History'' (Rackham, Jones, & Eichholz)}}
{{Commons category|Naturalis Historia}}

===Primary===

'''Latin'''

* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/home.html Complete Latin text at LacusCurtius] 
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0138%3Abook%3Dpreface%3Achapter%3D1 Complete Latin text with translation tools at Perseus Digital Library]
* [http://d3seu6qyu1a8jw.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/collections/62/62970CAB-206A-403F-8643-3622C75E42CB.pdf {{Lang{{!}}la{{!}}Naturalis Historia}}. Pliny the Elder. Johannes de Spira. Venice. before 18 September 1469.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418234341/http://d3seu6qyu1a8jw.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/collections/62/62970CAB-206A-403F-8643-3622C75E42CB.pdf |date=18 April 2014 }} at [http://www.cmog.org/library/historia-naturalis Corning Museum of Glass]. (Once owned by the Earls of Pembroke)
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0138%3Abook%3Dpreface%3Achapter%3D1 {{Lang{{!}}la{{!}}Naturalis Historia}}. Pliny the Elder.] Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff. Lipsiae. Teubner. 1906.

==== [[Bibliotheca Teubneriana|Teubner]] Latin Editions ====

# [[iarchive:cplinisecundina07plingoog/page/n4/mode/2up|Volume 1]]: Books 1-6
# [[iarchive:cplinisecundina12plingoog|Volume 2]]: Books 7-15
# [[iarchive:cplinisecundina04plingoog|Volume 3]]: Books 16-22
# [[iarchive:cplinisecundina24plingoog|Volume 4]]: Books 23-32
# [[iarchive:cplinisecundina05plingoog|Volume 5]]: Books 33-37

[[Loeb Classical Library]] Editions

# '''L330''') [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL330/1938/volume.xml Volume I]. Books 1–2
# '''L352''') [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL352/1942/volume.xml Volume II]. Books 3–7
# '''L353''') [[iarchive:L353PlinyNaturalHistoryIII811/page/n7/mode/2up|Volume III]]. Books 8–11
# '''L370''') [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL370/1945/volume.xml Volume IV]. Books 12–16
# '''L371''') [[iarchive:L371PlinyNaturalHistoryV1719|Volume V]]. Books 17–19
# '''L392''') [[iarchive:L392PlinyNaturalHistoryVI2023|Volume VI]]. Books 20–23
# '''L393''') [[iarchive:L393PlinyNaturalHistoryVII2427OndexOfPlants|Volume VII]]. Books 24–27. Index of Plants
# '''L418''') [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL418/1963/volume.xml Volume VIII.] Books 28–32. Index of Fishes
# '''L394''') [[iarchive:natural-history-in-ten-volumes.-vol.-9-libri-xxxiii-xxxv-loeb-394|Volume IX]]. Books 33–35
# '''L419''') [[iarchive:natural-history-in-ten-volumes.-vol.-10-libri-xxxvi-xxxvii-loeb-419|Volume X]]. Books 36–37

'''English'''

* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/index.html First English translation], by [[Philemon Holland]], 1601
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3Ddedication Second English translation], by [[John Bostock (physician)|John Bostock]] and [[Henry Thomas Riley]], 1855; complete, with index
* {{librivox book | title=The Natural History | author=Pliny}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170101063545/http://www.masseiana.org/pliny.htm Pliny's ''Natural History'']}} Translated by [[Harris Rackham|H. Rackham]] (vols. 1–5, 9) and W.H.S. Jones (vols. 6–8) and D.E. Eichholz (vol. 10) Harvard University Press, Massachusetts and William Heinemann, London; 1949–1954.
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/50041 All Six Volumes free at Project Gutenberg]

'''Italian'''
* {{Cite book|title=Historia naturalis|volume=|publisher=Bartolomeo Zani|location=Venezia|year=1489|language=it|url=https://gutenberg.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=2032292}}

===Secondary===

* [https://www.livius.org/articles/person/pliny-the-elder/pliny-the-elder-natural-history/ Article on Pliny by Jona Lendering, with detailed table of contents of the ''Natural History'']
* [https://isaw.nyu.edu/research/pliny-the-elder Pliny the Elder's World Database]

{{Natural history}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1st-century books in Latin]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman medicine]]
[[Category:Geoponici]]
[[Category:Incunabula]]
[[Category:Encyclopedias in Latin]]
[[Category:Prose texts in Latin]]
[[Category:Natural history books]]
[[Category:Encyclopedias in classical antiquity]]
[[Category:Phoenicia in ancient sources]]
[[Category:History of magic]]