Pliny the Elder, Latin in full 

Gaius Plinius Secundus, (born 23 CE,

Novum Comum, Transpadane Gaul [now in Italy]—died August 24, 79, Stabiae, near
Mount Vesuvius), Roman savant and author of the celebrated Natural
History, an encyclopaedic work of uneven accuracy that was an authority
on scientific matters up to the Middle Ages.
Life
Pliny was descended from a prosperous family, and he was enabled to complete his
studies in Rome. At the age of 23, he began a military career by serving in Germany,
rising to the rank of cavalry commander. He returned to Rome, where he possibly
studied law. Until near the end of Nero’s reign, when he became procurator in Spain,
Pliny lived in semiretirement, studying and writing. His devotion to his studies and his
research technique were described by his nephew, Pliny the Younger. Upon the
accession in 69 CE of Vespasian, with whom Pliny had served in Germany, he returned
to Rome and assumed various official positions.

Pliny’s last assignment was that of commander of the fleet in the Bay of Naples, where
he was charged with the suppression of piracy. Learning of an unusual cloud formation
—later found to have resulted from an eruption of Mount Vesuvius—Pliny went ashore
to ascertain the cause and to reassure the terrified citizens. He was overcome by the
fumes resulting from the volcanic activity and died on August 24, 79, according to his
nephew’s report. Pliny was unmarried and was survived by his only sister.
The Natural History

Pliny the Elder

Seven writings are ascribed to him, of which only the Natural History is extant. There
survive, however, a few fragments of his earlier writings on grammar, a biography of
Pomponius Secundus, a history of Rome, a study of the Roman campaigns in Germany,
and a book on hurling the lance. These writings probably were lost in antiquity and have
played no role in perpetuating Pliny’s fame, which rests solely on the Natural History.

BRITANNICA QUIZ

Quiz: Ancient Illustrations Showing Us the Way

 In which cave do prehistoric ochre and manganese oxide paintings show what may

be arrows flying toward a horse? Which Classical pharmacologist’s drawings are

the earliest known botanical illustrations? Test your knowledge. Take the quiz.

The Natural History, divided into 37 libri, or “books,” was completed, except for
finishing touches, in 77 CE. In the preface, dedicated to Titus (who became emperor
shortly before Pliny’s death), Pliny justified the title and explained his purpose on
utilitarian grounds as the study of “the nature of things, that is, life” (“Preface,” 13).
Heretofore, he continued, no one had attempted to bring together the older, scattered
material that belonged to “encyclic culture” (enkyklios paideia, the origin of the word
encyclopaedia). Disdaining high literary style and political mythology, Pliny adopted a
plain style—but one with an unusually rich vocabulary—as best suited to his purpose. A
novel feature of the Natural History is the care taken by Pliny in naming his sources,
more than 100 of which are mentioned. Book I, in fact, is a summary of the remaining
36 books, listing the authors and sometimes the titles of the books (many of which are
now lost) from which Pliny derived his material.

The Natural History properly begins with Book II, which is devoted to cosmology

and astronomy. Here, as elsewhere, Pliny demonstrated the extent of his reading,
especially of Greek texts. By the same token, however, he was sometimes careless in
translating details, with the result that he distorted the meaning of many technical and
mathematical passages. In Books III through VI, on the physical and historical
geography of the ancient world, he gave much attention to major cities, some of which
no longer exist.

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Natural History
Books VII through XI treat zoology, beginning with humans (VII), then mammals and
reptiles (VIII), fishes and other marine animals (IX), birds (X), and insects (XI). Pliny
derived most of the biological data from Aristotle, while his own contributions were
concerned with legendary animals and unsupported folklore.

In Books XII through XIX, on botany, Pliny came closest to making a genuine
contribution to science. Although he drew heavily upon Theophrastus, he reported some
independent observations, particularly those made during his travels in Germany. Pliny
is one of the chief sources of modern knowledge of Roman gardens, early botanical
writings, and the introduction into Italy of new horticultural and agricultural species.
Book XVIII, on agriculture, is especially important for agricultural techniques such
as crop rotation, farm management, and the names of legumes and other crop plants.
His description of an ox-driven grain harvester in Gaul, long regarded by scholars as
imaginary, was confirmed by the discovery in southern Belgium in 1958 of a 2nd-
century stone relief depicting such an implement. Moreover, by recording the Latin
synonyms of Greek plant names, he made most of the plants mentioned in earlier Greek
writings identifiable.

Books XX through XXXII focus on medicine and drugs. Like many Romans, Pliny
criticized luxury on moral and medical grounds. His random comments on diet and on
the commercial sources and prices of the ingredients of costly drugs provide valuable
evidence relevant to contemporary Roman life. The subjects of Books XXXIII through
XXXVII include minerals, precious stones, and metals, especially those used by Roman
craftsmen. In describing their uses, he referred to famous artists and their creations and
to Roman architectural styles and technology.
Legacy of Pliny the Elder
In retrospect, Pliny’s influence is based on his ability to assemble in a methodical
fashion a number of previously unrelated facts, his perceptiveness in recognizing details
ignored by others, and his readable stories, with which he linked together both factual
and fictional data. Along with unsupported claims, fables, and exaggerations, Pliny’s
belief in magic and superstition helped shape scientific and medical theory in
subsequent centuries. Perhaps the most important of the pseudoscientific methods
advocated by him was the doctrine of signatures: a resemblance between the external
appearance of a plant, animal, or mineral and the outward symptoms of a disease was
thought to indicate the therapeutic usefulness of the plant. With the decline of the
ancient world and the loss of the Greek texts on which Pliny had so heavily depended,
the Natural History became a substitute for a general education. In the European
Middle Ages many of the larger monastic libraries possessed copies of the work; these
and many abridged versions ensured Pliny’s place in European literature. His authority
was unchallenged, partly because of a lack of more reliable information and partly
because his assertions were not and, in many cases, could not be tested.

The first attack on Pliny’s work—Niccolò Leoniceno’s tract on the errors of Pliny—was
published in Ferrara in 1492. Thereafter, Pliny’s influence diminished, as more writers
questioned his statements. By the end of the 17th century, the Natural History had been
rejected by the leading scientists. Up to that time, however, Pliny’s influence, especially
on nonscientific writers, was undiminished; he was, for example, almost certainly
known to William Shakespeare and John Milton. Although Pliny’s work was never again
accepted as an authority in science, 19th-century Latin scholars conclusively
demonstrated the historical importance of the Natural History as one of the greatest
literary monuments of classical antiquity. It is still of value to those who wish an honest
résumé of 1st-century Rome.