Pliny the Elder

Quotes

• “It is far from easy to determine whether she [Nature] has proved to man a kind parent or a merciless stepmother.”

• “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught. He can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and in short he can do nothing at the prompting of nature only, but weep.”

• “It has been observed that the height of a man from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot is equal to the distance between the tips of the middle fingers of the two hands when extended in a straight line.”

• “Cincinnatus was ploughing his four jugera of land upon the Vaticanian Hill,—the same that are still known as the Quintian Meadows,—when the messenger brought him the dictatorship, finding him, the tradition says, stripped to the work.”

• “With man, most of his misfortunes are occasioned by man.”

Books by Pliny the Elder in order

Books by Pliny the Elder in the order they were published, from Naturlis Historia (1469) to Historia Natural/ Natural History (Biblioteca Clasica Gerdos (2003).

1. 1Naturlis HistoriaNaturlis Historia1469
2. 2The Natural History of PlinyThe Natural History of Pliny1469
3. 3Histoire Naturelle De PlineHistoire Naturelle De Pline1476
4. 4Natürlicher History fünff BücherNatürlicher History fünff Bücher1543
5. 5Sommaire Des Singularitez De PlineSommaire Des Singularitez De Pline1559
6. 6Interpretatione et notis illustravit Joannes HarduinusInterpretatione et notis illustravit Joannes Harduinus1685
7. 7Caii Plinii Secundi Naturalis HistoriaeCaii Plinii Secundi Naturalis Historiae1778
8. 8Morceaux Extraits De PlineMorceaux Extraits De Pline1845
9. 9Pliny's Natural History. In Thirty-seven BooksPliny's Natural History. In Thirty-seven Books1847
10. 10Histoire NaturelleHistoire Naturelle1865
11. 11The Boys' and Girls' PlinyThe Boys' and Girls' Pliny1885
12. 12A Selection from Pliny's Letters: With Notes, Maps, and PlanA Selection from Pliny's Letters: With Notes, Maps, and Plan1889
13. 13Chapters on the History of ArtChapters on the History of Art1896
14. 14Chapters on Chemical SubjectsChapters on Chemical Subjects1929
15. 15Natural History, with an English TranslationNatural History, with an English Translation1938
16. 16PlinyPliny1938
17. 17Natural HistoryNatural History1940
18. 18Historia NaturalHistoria Natural1966
19. 19Elder Plinys Chapters on the History of ArtElder Plinys Chapters on the History of Art1971
20. 20Inventorum NaturaInventorum Natura1979
21. 21Histoire Naturelle, Livre XXXVHistoire Naturelle, Livre XXXV1986
22. 22Epistulae, Tl.1, Textauswahl mit Wort- und SacherläuterungenEpistulae, Tl.1, Textauswahl mit Wort- und Sacherläuterungen2000
23. 23Historia Natural/ Natural History (Biblioteca Clasica GerdosHistoria Natural/ Natural History (Biblioteca Clasica Gerdos2003