Natural History Volume 2, The by PLINY THE ELDER
by LibriVox
January 1, 1970 10:00 am
Naturalis Historia (Latin for “Natural History”) is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents. The scheme of his great work is vast and comprehensive, being nothing short of an encyclopedia of learning and of art so far as they are connected with nature or draw their materials from nature. The work divides neatly into the organic world of plants and animals, and the realm of inorganic matter, although there are frequent digressions in each section. He is especially interested in not just describing the occurrence of plants, animals and insects, but also their exploitation (or abuse) by man, especially Romans. The description of metals and minerals is particularly detailed, and valuable for the history of science as being the most extensive compilation still available from the ancient world. (Summary from Wikipedia)
This second volume includes books six to ten, covering the following subjects:
Book 6 – An account of countries, nations, seas, towns, havens, mountains, rivers, distances, and peoples who now exist or formerly existed
Book 7 – Man, his birth, his organization and the invention of the arts
Book 8 – The nature of the terrestrial animals
Book 9 – The natural history of fishes
Book 10 – The natural history of birds
Recent Episodes
01 - Book 6, Chapters 1-5: The Euxine and the Maryandini; Paphlagonia; Cappadocia; the region of Themiscyra and the nations therein; the region of Colica, the nations of the Achaei and other nations in the same parts
55 years ago02 - Book 6, Chapters 6-14: The Cimmerian Bosporus; Lake Maeotis and the adjoining nations; the situation of Cappadocia; the Lesser and the Greater Armenia; the rivers Cyrus and Araxes; Albania, Iberia and adjoining nations; the passes of the Caucasus; the islands of the Euxine; nations in the vicinity of the Scythian Ocean
55 years ago03 - Book 6, Chapters 15-20: The Caspian and Hyrcanean sea; Adiabene; Media and the Caspian Gates; nations situated around the Hyrcanian sea; the nations of Scythia and the countries on the Eastern Ocean; The Seres
55 years ago04 - Book 6, Chapters 21-23: The nations of India; the Ganges; the Indus
55 years ago05 - Book 6, Chapters 24-26: Taprobane; the Ariani and adjoining nations; voyages to India
55 years ago06 - Book 6, Chapters 27-31: Carmania; the Persian and the Arabian Gulfs; the Parthian Empire; Mesopotamia; the Tigris
55 years ago07 - Book 6, Chapters 32-34: Arabia; the gulfs of the Red Sea; Troglodytice
55 years ago08 - Book 6, Chapters 35-37: Aethiopia; Islands of the Aethiopian Sea; the Fortunate Islands
55 years ago09 - Book 6, Chapters 38-39: The comparative distances of places on the face of the earth; division of the earth into parallels and shadows of equal length; summary; Roman authors quoted; foreign authors quoted
55 years ago10 - Book 7, Chapters 1-4: Man; the wonderful forms of different nations; marvellous births; the generation of man; the unusual duration of pregnancy; instances of it from seven to twelve months
55 years ago