Full text of "Natural history"

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY 

FOUNDED BT JAMES LOEB, LL.U. 

EDITED BY 

E. H. WAEMINGTON, M.A., F.R.mST.SOC. 

PKEVIOTJS EDITORS 

tT. E. PAGE, c.H.,LiTT.D. tE. CAPPS, ph.d.,ll.d. 
tW. H. D. ROUSE, UTT.D. L. A. POST. L h.d. 



PLINY 

NATURAL HISTORY 

1 

PRAEFATIO, LIBRI, I, H 



330 



PLINY 

NATURAL HISTORY 

IN TEN VOLUMES 

I 

PRAEFATIO, LIBRI I, II 

WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION 



H. RACKHAM, M.A. 

FELLOW OF CBRIST'S COLLEOE, OAUBRIDOB 




CAMBRIDOE, MASSACHU9ETT9 

HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS 

LONDON 

WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD 

IIOULXVU 



FntST PRrs-TED . 1938 

Repri>-ted .... 1944 

Revised and reprinted . 1949 

EEPRiirrED .... 1958 

Reprinted .... 1967 



fRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY ROBERT MACLEHOSE AND CO. LTD 
THE UNIVERSITV PRESS, GLASGOW 



CONTENTS 

PAQB 

PREFATOET NOTE vi 

INTRODTTCTION Vii 

PLINY's rREFACE 1 

BOOK I 23 

BOOE n 169 



PREFATORY NOTE 

The need for a new edition of this volume allows 
me to correct some misprints and mistakes in the 
text and translation. I am gratified to reviewers 
for pointing out a few that I had not noticed myself. 
Some of the mistakes of nomenclature were due to 
the plan of publication, which prechided postponing 
Book I, PUny's Table of Contents, till the whole of the 
treatise had been worked through and the objects 
mentioned had been so far as possible identified by his 
descriptions. 

H. R. 

October, 1943. 



V» 



INTRODUCTION 

Gaius Plinius Secundus — usually called Pliny 
the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew and 
ward, Gaius Phnius Caecihus Secundus, whose 
coUected correspondence has preserved such a vivid 
picture of Roman life in the time of Trajan — belonged 
to a family of wealth and position in the North of 
Italy. He was born at Como in a.d. 23. After study- 
ing at Rome he started when twenty-three years 
old on an ofRcial career, serving in Germany under 
L. Pomponius Secundus, and rising to the command 
of a cavalry squadron. Seven or eight years later he 
came back to Rome and took up the study of law. 
During most of Nero's principate he lived in retire- 
ment, but towards the close of it he re-entered 
pubhc hfe and became Procurator in Spain. He held 
this post until Vespasian won the principate, when he 
returned to Rome and was admitted to the Emperor's 
intimate circle ; they had been acquainted in earher 
days when at the front in Germany. He also launched 
into another field of activity, receiving a naval 
commission. 

Throughout his busy career as a man of action 
he had kept up a constant practice of study and 
authorship. His interest in science finally cost him 
his life, at the age of 56. He was in command of the 
fleet at Misenum on the Bay of Naples in a.d. 79 



INTRODUCTION 

when the famous eruption of Vesuvius took place on 
August 23 and 24, overwhelming the little towns of 
Herculaneum and Pompeii. Pliny as a man of science 
sailed across the bay to obtain a nearer view ; he 
landed at Stabiae, and there was killed by poisonous 
fumes. The circumstances are recorded by his 
nephew in a letter to Tacitus (Pliny, Epp. VI. xvi). 
Vespasian had died and had been succeeded as 
Princeps by his son Titus two months before. 

Pliny's earher writings were on subjects suggested 
by his professional experiences, e.g., the use of the 
javehn by cavalry, a history of the German wars, 
the training of the orator. During his retirement he 
produced Dubius Sermo, a treatise on grammar, and 
later a continuation dowTi to his own time of the 
history of Rome by Aufidius Bassus ; and lastly 
Natural History, the largest and most important of 
his works and the only one that has survived, although 
his historical -vvritings on the defence of the German 
frontier and on the events of his own period were 
clearly works of value, the loss of which is much to be 
regretted. The substance of both, however, is 
doubtless largely incorporated in the writings of 
Tacitus and Suetonius, the former indeed repeatedly 
citing PHny as his authority both in Annals and in 
Histories. 

Natural History is dedicated to Titus, who is 
referred to in the Preface, § 3, as * sexies consul ' ; 
this dates the completion of the work at a.d. 77, 
two years before the author's death and the accession 
of Titus. It is an encyclopaedia of astronomy, 
meteorology, geography, mineralogy, zoology and 
botany, i.e. a systematic account of all the material 
objects that are not the product of man's manu- 

viii 



INTRODUCTION 

facture ; but among these topies, which are imphed 
by the title, Phny inserts considerable essays on 
human inventions and institutions (Book VII), as 
well as minor digressions on similar subjects inter- 
spersed in various other parts of the work. He 
claims in his Preface that the work deals with 20,000 
matters of importance, drawn from 100 selected 
authors, to whose observations he has added many of 
his own ; some of the latter he has indicated as they 
occur, and there are doubtless others not so labelled, 
but even so they form only a small fraction of the 
work, which is in the main a second-hand compilation 
from the works of others. In selecting from these 
he has shown scanty judgement and discrimination, 
including the false with the true at random ; his 
selection is coloured by his love of the marvellous, 
by his low estimate of human abiHty and his con- 
sciousness of human wickedness, and by his mistrust 
of Providence. Moreover his compilations show httle 
methodical arrangement, and are sometimes un- 
inteUigible because he fails to understand his 
authority, or else because he gives wrong Latin names 
to things dealt ^vith by his authorities in Greek. 

Nevertheless it is a mistake to underrate the value 
of his work. He is dihgent, accurate, and free from 
prejudice. Though he had no considerable first- 
hand knowledge of the sciences and was not himself 
a systematic observer, he had a naturally scientific 
mind, and an unaffected and absorbing interest in 
his subjects. If he gives as much attention to what is 
merely curious as to what has an essential importance, 
this curiosity has incidentally preserved much valuable 
detail, especially as regards the arts ; moreover 
anecdotes that used to be rejected by critics as 

ix 



INTRODUCTION 

erroneous and even absurd have now in not a few 
cases been curroborated by modern research. The 
book is valuable as an anthropological document : 
it is a storehouse of scattered facts exhibiting the 
history of mans reaction to his environment — the 
gradual growth of accurate observation, of syste- 
matic nomenclature and of classification, i.e. of 
Natural Science. 

PHny's own general attitude towards life, Hke that 
of other educated men of his day, may be styled 
a moderate and rational Stoicism. 

A vnvid account of his authorship written by his 
nephew mav be appended here. The younger 
PHnv in reply to an enquiry from a friend, a great 
admirer of his uncle, gives (Episfles. III, v) a full 
Hst of his works, numl^ering seven in all and filling 
102 libri or volumes. Of these the Naturae historiarum 
(liLri) tripnta septem is the latest. He calls it (S 6) 
opus diffusum, eriiditum, nec viinus variiim qriam ipsa 
natura ; and he goes on to describe by what m.eans a 
busv lawyer, engrossed in important afFairs and the 
friend of princes, contrived to find time for all this 
authorship (§7): ' He had a keen intelHgence, in- 
crcdible devotion to study, and a remarkable capacity 
for dispensing wth sleep. His method was to start 
during the last week of August rising by candlelight 
and long before daybreak, not in order to take 
auspices but to study ; and in winter he got to work 
at one or at latest two a.m., and frequently at 
12 p.m. He was indeed a very ready sleeper, some- 
times dropping ofF in the middle of his studies and 
then waking up again. Before dawn he used to 
wait on the Emperor Vespasian, who also worked 
during the night ; and then he went off to the duty 



INTRODUCTION 

assigned to him. After returning home he gave all 
the time that was lcft to study. Very often after 
lunch— with him a light and easily digested meal, as 
the fashion was in old days — in the summer, if he 
had no engagements, he used to He in the sun and 
have a book read to him, from which he made notes 
and extracts ; he read nothing without making ex- 
tracts from it — indeed he used to say that no book 
is so bad but that some part of it has value. After 
this rest in the sun he usually took a cold bath, and 
then a snack of food and a very short siesta, and then 
he put in what was virtually a second day's work, 
going on with his studies till dinner-time. Over his 
dinner a book was read aloud to him and notes were 
made, and that at a rapid pace. I remember that one 
of his friends, when the reader had rendered a passage 
badly, called him back and had it repeated ; but 
my uncle said to him, " Surely you got the sense ? " 
and on his nodding assent continued, " Then what 
did you call him back for .'' This interruption of 
yours has cost us ten more hnes ! " Such was his 
economy of time. He used to leave the dinner 
table before sunset in summer and less than an hour 
after it in winter — this rule had with him the force 
of law. These were his habits when in the thick of 
his eng-ao;ements and amid the turmoil of town. 
In vacation, only the time of the bath was exempted 
from study ; and when I say the bath I mean the more 
central portions of that ritual, for while he was being 
shampooed and rubbed down he used to have some- 
thing read to him or to dictate. On a journey he 
seemed to throw aside all other interests and used 
the opportunity for study only : he had a secretary 
at his elbow with book and tablets, his hands in 



INTRODUCTION 

winter protected by mittens so that even the in- 
clemency of the weather might not steal any time 
from his studies ; and with this object he used to go 
about in a chair even in Rome. Once I remember 
his puUing me up for going somewhere on foot, 
saying " You need not have wasted those hours ! " — 
he thought all time not spent in study wasted. 
This resolute apphcation enabled him to get through 
all those volumes, and he bequeathed to me 160 
sets of notes on selected books, written on both sides 
of the paper in an extremely small hand, a melhod 
that multiphes this number of volumes ! He used 
to tell how during his Lieutenant-governorship in 
Spain he had an ofFer of £3,500 for these notes, and 
at that date they were considerably fewer in 
number.' 

Text 

A large number of MS. copies of Phnys Natural 
History have been preserved; the oldest date back 
to the 9th or possibly the 8th century a.d. Attempts 
have been made by scholars to class them in order of 
merit, but it cannot be said that even those that 
appear to be comparatively more correct carry any 
paramount authority, or indeed show much agree- 
ment on doubtful points, while the mass of scientific 
detail and terminology and the quantity of curious 
and unfamiHar erudition that the book contains has 
necessarily afforded numerous opportunities for 
copyists' errors and for the conjectural emendation 
of the learned. Many of the textual problems raised 
are manifestly insoluble. Only a few variants of 
special interest are given in this edition. 

Many editions have been printed, beginning with 



INTRODUCTION 

that published by Spira at Venice, 1469, an edition 
by Beroaldus published at Parma, 1476, and that 
of Palmarius at Venice, 1499. Commentaries start 
with Hermolai Barbari Castigatio7ies Plinianae, Romae, 
1492, 3. 

The text of the present edition is printed from that 
of Detlefsen, Berlin, 1866 ; it has been checked by 
the Teubner edition of Ludwig von Jan re-edited 
by Karl Mayhoffin two volumes, 1905, 1909 (Volume 
I reissued 1933), which is admirably equipped with 
textual notes. 

Useful are the commentary by G. Brotier in 
usum DelpJimi (1826) ; Pliny : Chapters on the 
Hist. of Art by K. Jex-Blake and E. Sellers (1896) 
aud more receiitly Pliny's Chapters on Chemical 
Subjects by K. C. Bailey (1929- ); and D. J. 
Campbeli's commentary on Book II (1936). 

VOLUME I : CONTENTS 

Pliny's Preface. This is in the form of a covering 
letter from PHny, to accompany the gift of his 
treatise on Natural History to his friend Vespasian 
Caesar {i.e. the ruling Emperor Vespasian's son, 
Titus, his successor as Princeps, who had ah-eady 
been vested with Imperium and Tribunicia Potestas). 
The reference to him in § 3 dates the passage : 
see above, p. viii. The author goes on to say 
that this dedication places the work outside the 
class of books intended for the general reader, 
and invites serious criticism. The subject does not 
admit of an elevated style — the treatise is a plain 
record of the facts of Nature, designed for utihty 



INTRODUCTION 

and not for entertainment. Its compilation has 
occupied the leisure left to the author by the claims 
of pubhc duty. The authorities drawn upon are 
faithfully recorded. The matter-of-fact title, in 
place of some fanciful label, indicates the author's 
aim, and the practical object of the work is aided by 
the table of contents that forms Book I, enabhng 
the reader to turn to any particular subject that he 
desires to look up. 

Book I : Table of Contents of the remaining 
thirty-six Books, the contents of each Book being 
followed by a hst of the previous writers used as 
authorities. 

Book II (see Book I init.) : Cosmology, astronomy, 
meteorology, geography, geology. 



XlT 



PLINY 
NATURAL HISTORY 



PLINII NATURALIS HISTORIA 



PREFATIO 

Plinius Secundus Vespasiano Suo S 

LiBROS Naturalis Historiae, novicium Camenis 
Quiritium tuorum opus, natos apud me proxima 
fetura licentiore epistula narrare ^ constitui tibi, 
iucundissime imperator — sit enim haec tui praefatio, 
verissima, dum maximi consenescit in patre — 

namque tu solebas 
nugas esse aliquid meas putare ^ 

ut obiter emolliam Catullum concerraneum ^ meum 
— agnoscis et hoc castrense verbum — (ille enim, 
ut scis, permutatis prioribus syllabis duriusculum 
se * fecit quam volebat existimari a VeranioUs suis et 
Fabulhs), simul ut hac mea petulantia fiat quod 
proxime non fieri questus es in aUa procaci epistula 

^ nuncupare edd. 

* Haupt : esse aliquid meas putare nugas codd. 

* v.l. conterraneum. * [se] ? Eackham. 

' The Emperor Titus. 

* Edd. cj. nuncupare, 'dedicate,' ' assign to your name.* 
« Catullus i 3 f. 

* Concerraneum = concerronem or congerronem ' booii' 
eompauiou ' (oue who congerit, coutributes to a feast). 

a 



PLINY NATURAL HISTORY 
PREFACE 

PlINIUS SeCUNDUS TO HIS DEAR VeSPASIAN " GREETINO 

MosT Gracious Highness (let this title, a supremely 
true one, be yours, while that of ' Most Eminent ' 
grows to old age with your sire) — I have resolved to 
recount ^" to you, in a somewhat presumptuous letter, 
the offspring of my latest travail, my volumes of 
Natural History (a novel task for the native Muses of 
your Roman citizens) — 

For 'twas e'er your way 
To deem my trifles something worth * 

— to give a passing touch of poHsh to my ' opposite 
number ' '^ — you recognize even this service slang — 
Catullus (for he, as you know, by interchanging the 
first syllables * made himself a trifle harsher / than he 
wished to be considered by his * darhng Veraniuses 
and Fabulluses ') ? and at the same time that my 
present sauciness may effect what in the case of 
another impudent letter of mine lately you complained 

• Catullus wrote meas esse aliquid putare nugas. 
' Perhaps alter Latin to give ' made it a little harsher than 
he wished it to be thought.' 
' Catuilus xii. 16, ut Veraniolum tneum et Fabullum. 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

nostra, ut in quaedam acta exeat, sciantque omnes 

3 quam ex aequo tecum vivat imperium, triumphalis 
et censorius tu sexiesque consul ac tribuniciae 
potestatis particeps et (quod his nobilius fecisti dum 
illud patri pariter et equestri ordini praestas) praefec- 
tus praetorii eius, omniaque haec rei publicae — et 
nobis quidem qualis in castrensi contubernio ! nec 
quicquam in te mutavit fortunae amplitudo nisi 

4 ut prodesse tantundem posses ut velles. itaque 
cum ceteris in venerationem tui pateant omnia 
illa, nobis ad colendum te famiUarius audacia sola 
superest. hanc igitur tibi imputabis, et in nostra 
culpa tibi ignosces. perfricui faciem, nec tamen 
profeci, quoniam alia \ia occurris ingens et longius 

P etiam submoves ingenii fascibus : fulgurat in nullo 
umquam verius dictatoria vis eloquentiae, tribunicia 
potestas facundiae. quanto tu ore patris laudes 
tonas ! quanto fratris famam ^ ! quantus in poetica 
es! o magna fecunditas animi — quemadmodum 
fratrem quoque imitareris excogitasti ! 

6 Sed haec quis possit intrepidus aestimare subiturus 
ingenii tui iudicium, praesertim lacessitum ? neque 
enim similis est condicio publicantium et nominatim 

^ famaiu Rackham, famas Detlefsen : amas ciMid. 

4 



PREFACE, 2-6 

of as not coming ofF — that it may result in something 
getting done, and everyone may know on what equal 
terms the empire Uves with you — you with a triumph 
to your name and censorial rank, six times consul, 
coUeague in tribune's authority, and (a service that 
you have made more iUustrious than these in render- 
ing it equaUy to your father and to the equestrian 
order) commander of his bodyguard ; and aU this 
in your pubUc Ufe — and then what a good comrade 
to us in the companionship of the camp ! Nor 
has fortune's grandeur made any change in you 
save in enabUng you to bestow aU the benefit you 
desire. Consequently as aU those methods of paying 
you revei-ence are open to everybody else, to me is 
left only the presumption of treating you with more 
intimate respect. For that presumption therefore 
you wiU debit the responsibiUty to yourself, and wiU 
grant yourself pardon on the score of my offence. I 
have tried to put on a bokl face, and yet have not 
succeeded, as your grandeur meets me by another 
route and the rods of office that your genius 
bears make me move on yet further : in no other 
person ever radiate more genuinely the dictatorial 
power of oratory and the tribunician authority of 
wit ! How eloquently you thunder forth your 
father's praises and your brother's fame ! How 
great you are in the poet's art ! O mighty fertiUty 
of genius — you have contrived a way to imitate your 
brother also ! 

But who could judge the value of these composi- 
tions with confidence when about to submit to the 
verdict of your talent, especiaUy when that verdict 
has been invited ? for formal dedication of the 
work to you puts one in a difFerent position from 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

tibi dicantium. tum possem dicere : Quid ista legis, 
imperator? humili vulgo scripta sunt, agricolarum, 
opificum turbae, denique studiorum ^ otiosis: quid 
te iudicem facis ? quom hanc operam condicerem, 
non eras in hoc albo : maiorem te sciebam quam ut 

7 descensurum huc putarem ! praeterea est quaedam 
publica etiam eruditorum reiectio : utitur illa et 
M. Tullius extra omnem ingenii aleam positus, et 
(quod miremur) per advocatxmi defenditur : 

nec doctissimis. 
Manium Persium haec legere nolo, luniura 
Congum volo. 
quod si hoc Lucilius, qui primus condidit stili nasum, 
dicendum sibi putavit, Cicero mutuandum, praesertim 
cum de re publica scriberet, quanto nos causatius ab 

8 aliquo iudice defendimus ? sed haec ego mihi nunc 
patrocinia ademi nuncupatione, quoniam plurimum 
refert sortiatur aUquis iudicem an ehgat, multumque 
apparatus interest apud invitatum hospitem et 

9 oblatum. cum apud Catonem, illum ambitus hostem 
et repulsis tanquam honoribus inemptis gaudentem, 
flagrantibus comitiis pecunias deponerent candidati, 
hoc se facere pro innocentia quod in rebus humanis 

^ v.l. studiosorum. 

" Cic. De Or. II. 25. Nam ut C. Lucilius . . . dicere solebat 
ea quae scriberet neque ab indoctissimis se neque a doctis- 
simis legi uelle, quod alteri nihil intelligerent, alteri plus 
fortasse quam ipse; quo etiam scripsit Persium non curo 
legere (hic enim fuit, ut noramus, omnium fere nostrorum 
hominum doctissimus), Laelium Decim,um volo (quem cog- 
nouimus uirum bonum et non illiteratum, sed nihil at Persium): 
sic ego — Brotier thinks that Pliny refers to Cicero's preface 
(now lost) to De Repuhlica (as implied below) and that there 
the quotation differed from that in De Oratore; but Wilkins 
{de Or. I. 256) suggests that Cicero here merely substitutes the 
name of a friend of his own. 
6 



PREFACE, 6-9 

mere publication. In the latter case I could have 
said : ' Why does your Highness read that ? It was 
written for the common herd, the mob of farmers 
and of artizans, and after them for students who have 
nothing else to occupy their time : why do you put 
yourself on the jury? You were not on this panel 
when I took the contract for this undertaking : I 
knew you to be too great for me to think you hkely 
to descend to this ! Moreover even in the court of 
learning there is an official procedure for challenging 
the jury : it is employed even by Marcus Cicero, who 
where genius is in question stands outside all hazard. 
It may surprise us, but Cicero calls in the aid of 
council — 

. . . nor yet for the very learned ; 
Manius Persius I don't want to read this, I want 
Junius Congus. 

But if LuciUus, the originator of critical sniffing, 
thought fit to say this, and Cicero to quote it, especially 
when writing his Theory of the Constitution, how much 
more reason have we to stand on the defensive against 
a particular juryman?" But for my part at the 
present I have deprived myself of these defences by 
my nomination, as it matters a great deal whether 
one obtains a judge by lot or by one's own selection, 
and one's style of entertainment ranks quite differ- 
ently with a guest one has invited and one who has 
offered himself. The candidates in a hotly contested 
election deposited sums of money with Cato, that 
resolute foe of corruption, who enjoyed a defeat at 
the poUs as an honour obtained free of charge ; and 
they gave out that they did this in the defence of 
the highest among human possessions, their inno- 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

summum esset profitebantur. inde illa nobilis M. 
Ciceronis suspiratio : ' O te felicem, M. Porci, 

10 a quo rem inprobam petere nemo audet ! ' cum 
tribunos appellaret L. Scipio Asiaticus, inter quos 
erat Gracchus, hoc adtestabatur vel inimico iudici 
se probari posse : adeo summum quisque causae 
suae iudicem facit quemcumque eligit — unde pro- 

11 vocatio appellatur. te quidem in excelsissimo generis 
humani fastigio positum, summa eloquentia, summa 
eruditione praeditum, religiose adiri etiam a salut- 
antibus scio, et ideo curari,^ ut quae tibi dicantur 
tui digna sint. verum dis lacte rustici multaeque 
gentes et mola tantum salsa litant qui non habent 
tura, nec ulli fuit vitio deos colere quoquo modo 
posset. 

12 Meae quidem temeritati accessit hoc quoque, quod 
levioris operae hos tibi dedicavi Hbellos : nam nec 
ingenii sunt capaces, quod alioqui in nobis perquam 
mediocre erat, neque admittunt excessus aut orationes 
sermonesve aut casus mirabiles vel eventus varios, 

13 iucunda dictu aut legentibus blanda. sterilis materia, 
rerum natura, hoc est vita, narratur, et haec sordi- 
dissima sui parte, ac plurimarum rerum aut rusticis 
vocabuUs aut externis, immo barbaris, etiam cum 

14 honoris praefatione ponendis. praeterea iter est 
non trita auctoribus via nec qua peregrinari animus 
expetat : nemo apud nos qui idem temptaverit 

1 curari Rackham : curavi avX cura ojdd. 

8 



PREFACE, 9-14 

cence. This was the occasion of that famous sigh of 
Cicero — ' O happy Marcus Porcius whom no one 
dares to ask for sometliing underhand ! ' Lucius 
Scipio Asiaticus by appeahng to the tribunes, one 
of them being Gracchus, testified that his case 
could be made good even to an unfriendly judge : 
in fact a judge whom one chooses oneself one 
makes the supreme arbiter of one's case — this is the 
source of the term ' appeal.' You yourself indeed, 
I know, being placed on the loftiest pinnacle of all 
mankind, and being endowed with supreme elo- 
quence and learning, are approached with reverential 
awe even by persons paying a visit of ceremony, and 
consequently care is taken that what is dedicated to 
you may be worthy of you. However, country folk, 
and many natives, not having incense, make offerings 
of milk and salted meal, and no man was ever charged 
with irreguUirity for worshipping the gods in what- 
ever manner was within his power. 

My own presumption has indeed gone further, in 
dedicating to you the present volumes — a work of a 
lighter nature, as it does not admit of talent, of which 
in any case I possessed only quite a moderate amount, 
nor does it allow of digressions, nor of speeches or 
dialogues, nor marvellous accidents or unusual 
occurrences — matters interesting to relate or enter- 
taining to read. My subject is a barren one — the 
world of nature, or in other words Ufe ; and that 
subject in its least elevated department, and employ- 
ing 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 person to be found among 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

invenitur, nemo apud Graecos qui unus omnia 
ea tractaverit. magna pars studiorum amoenitates 
quaerimus, quae vero tractata ab aliis dicuntur 
inmensae subtilitatis obscuris renim in tenebris 
premuntur. ante omnia attingenda quae Graeci 
T^s iyKVKXiov TraiSetas vocant ; et tamen ignota 
aut incerta ingeniis facta, alia vero ita^ multis prodita 

15 ut in fastidium sint adducta. res ardua vetustis 
novitatem dare, novis auctoritatem, obsoletis nitorem, 
obscuris lucem, fastiditis gratiam, dubiis fidem, 
omnibus vero naturam et naturae sua^ omnia. 
itaque nobis etiam non assecutis voluisse abunde 
pulchrum atque magnificum est. 

16 Equidem ita sentio, peculiarem in studiis causam 
eorima esse qui difficultatibus victis utilitatem iuvandi 
praetulerunt gratiae placendi ; idque iam et in aliis 
operibus ipse feci, et profiteor mirari T. Livium, 
auctorem celeberrimum, in historiariun suarum quas 
repetit ab origine urbis quodam volumine sic orsum : 
satis iam sibi gloriae quaesitum, et potuisse se de- 
sidere, ni animus inquies^ pasceretur opere. profecto 
enim populi gentium victoris et Romani nominis 
gloriae, non suae, conposuisse illa decuit ; maius 
meritum esset operis amore, non animi causa, per- 

^ ita a ? Rachham. * Durand : suae. ' v.l. in quiete. 

" Now lost. 

* A variant givea ' my mind in a period of rest.' 

lO 



PREFACE, 14-16 

us who has made the same venture, nor yet one 
among the Greeks who has tackled single-handed all 
departments of the subject. A large part of us seek 
agreeable fields of study,while topics of immeasurable 
abstruseness treated by others are drowned in the 
shadowy darkness of the theme. Deserving of treat- 
ment before all things are the subjects included by 
the Greeks under the name of ' EncycHc Culture ' ; 
and nevertheless they are unknown, or have been 
obscured by subleties, whereas other subjects have 
been pubhshed so widely that they have become 
stale. It is a difficult task to give novelty to what is 
old, authority to what is new, brilHance to the 
common-place, Hght to the obscure, attraction to the 
stale, credibiHty to the doubtful, but nature to all 
things and ah her properties to nature. Accordingly, 
even if we have not succeeded, it is honourable and 
glorious in the fuUest measure to have resolved on the 
attempt. 

For my own part I am of opinion that a special 
place in learning belongs to those who have preferred 
the useful service of overcoming difficulties to the 
popularity of giving pleasure ; and I have myself 
aheady done this in other works also, and I declare 
that I admire the famous writer Livy when he begins 
one volume " of his History ofRomefrom the Foundation 
of the City with the words ' I have already achieved 
enough of fame, and I might have retired to leisure, 
did not my restless mind * find its sustenance in 
work.' For assuredly he ought to have composed 
his history for the glory of the world-conquering 
nation and of the Roman name, not for his own ; 
it would have been a greater merit to have persevered 
from love of the work, not for the sake of liis own 

IX 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

severasse, et hoc populo Romano praestitisse , non sibi. 

17 viginti milia rerum dignarum cura — quoniam, ut ait 
Domitius Piso, thesauros oportet esse, non libros — 
lectione voluminum circiter duorum milium, quorum 
pauca admodum studiosi attingunt propter secretum 
materiae, ex exquisitis auctoribus centum inclusimus 
triginta sex voluminibus, adiectis rebus plurimis quas 
aut ignoraverant priores aut postea invenerat vita. 

18 nec dubitamus multa esse quae et nos praeterierint ; 
homines enim sumus et occupati officiis, subsicivisque 
temporibus ista curamus, id est nocturnis, ne quis 
vestrum putet his cessatum horis. dies vobis 
inpendimus, cum somno valetudinem conputamus, 
vel hoc solo praemio contenti quod, dum ista (ut 
ait M. Varro) muginamur,^ pluribus horis viWmus : 

19 profecto enim ^nta vigilia est. quibus de causis atque 
difficultatibus nihil auso promittere hoc ipsum 
tu praestas quod ad te scribimus. haec fiducia operis, 
haec est indicatura : multa valde pretiosa ideo 
videntur quia sunt tempHs dicata. 

20 Vos quidem omnes, patrem, te fratremque, diximus 

opere iusto, temporum nostrorum historiam orsi a 

fine Aufidii.^ ubi sit ea quaeres ? iam pridcm 

peracta sancitur; et alioqui statutum erat heredi 

' vJ. musinamuT. 

2 Mayhojf (Autidii Bassi codd. det.) : aut tidei aut aut fide 
codd. 

12 



PREFACE, 16-20 

peace of mind, and to have rendered this service to the 
Roman nation and not to himself. As Domitus Piso 
says, it is not books but store-houses that are needed ; 
consequently by perusing about 2000 volumes, very 
few of which, owing to the abstruseness of their 
contents, are ever handled by students, we have 
collected in 36 volumes 20,000 noteworthy facts 
obtained from one hundred authors that we have ex- 
plored, with a great number of other facts in addition 
that were either ignored by our predecessors or have 
been discovered by subsequent experience. Nor 
do we doubt that there are many things that have 
escaped us also ; for we are but human, and beset 
with duties, and we pursue this sort of interest in 
our spare moments, that is at night — lest any of your 
house should think that the night hours have been 
given to idleness. The days we devote to you, and 
we keep our account with sleep in terms of health, 
content even with this reward alone, that, while we 
are dallying (in Varro's phrase) with these trifles, we 
are adding hours to our hfe — since of a certainty to be 
aUve means to be awake. Because of these reasons 
and these difficulties I dare make no promise ; the 
very words I am writing to you are supphed by your- 
self. This guarantees my work, and this rates its 
value; many objects are deemed extremely precious 
just because of the fact that they are votive 
offerings. 

As for your sire, your brother and yourself, we have 
dealt with you all in a regular book, the Hlstory of 
our otvn Times, that begins where Aufidius's history 
leaves off. Where is this work ? you will enquire. 
The draft has long been finished and in safe keeping ; 
and in any case it was my resolve to entrust it to my 

13 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

mandare, ne quid ambitioni dedisse vita iudi- 
caretur : proinde occupantibus locum faveo, ego 
vero et posteris quos scio nobiscum decertaturos 

21 sicut ipsi fecimus cum prioribus. argumentum huius 
stomachi mei habebis quod his ^ voluminibus auctor- 
ima nomina praetexui. est enim benignum (ut 
arbitror) et plenum ingenui pudoris fateri per quos 
profeceris, non ut plerique ex his quos attigi fecerunt. 

22 scito enim conferentem auctores me deprehendisse a 
iuratissimis et proximis veteres transcriptos ad 
verbimi neque nominatos, non illa Vergiliana virtute, 
ut certarent, non TulUana simplicitate, qui de re 
publica Platonis se eomitem profitetur, in consolatione 
filiae ' Crantorem,' inquit, ' sequor,' item Panaetium 
de officiis, quae volumina ediscenda, non modo in 

23 manibus cotidie habenda nosti. obnoxii profecto 
animi et infehcis ingenii est deprehendi in furto 
malle quam mutuum reddere, cum praesertim sors 
fiat ex usura. 

24 Inscriptionis apud Graecos mira feUcitas : KtqpCov 
inscripsere, quod volebant intellegi favom, alii 
K€/3as 'Afxa\Oeta<;, quod copiae cornu (ut vel lactis 
gaUinacei sperare possis in volumine haustum), 
iam la, Moiicrai, TravSeKrai, iy^eipiSia, XeLfxwv, TrtVag, 
trp^eStov — inscriptiones propter quas vadimonium de- 

^ Raclham : in his codd. 

" In Book I: cf. xviii. 212, auctores quos praetexuimua 
volumini huic. 
' 'Opvidwv ydAo, a proverbial rarity like pigeon'8 milk. 

14 



PREFACE, 20-24 

heir, to prevent its being thought that my lifetime 
bestowed anything on ambition : accordingly I do 
a good turn to those who seize the vacant position, 
and indeed also to future generations, who I know 
will challenge us to battle as we ourselves have 
challenged our predecessors. You will deem it a 
proof of this pride of mine that I have prefaced " 
these voliunes with the names of my authorities. 
I have done so because it is, in my opinion, a pleasant 
thing and one that shows an honourable modesty, to 
own up to those who were the means of one's achieve- 
ments, not to do as most of the authors to whom I 
have referred did. For you must know that when 
collating authorities I have found that the most 
professedly reHable and modern writers have copied 
the old authors word for word, without acknow- 
ledgement, not in that valorous spirit of Virgil, 
for the purpose of rivalry, nor with the candour 
of Cicero who in his Republic declares himself a 
companion of Plato, and in his Consolation to his 
daughter says ' I follow Crantor,' and similarly as to 
Panaetius in his De Officiis — volumes that you know 
to be worth having in one's hands every day, nay 
even learning by heart. Surely it marks a mean 
spirit and an unfortunate disposition to prefer being 
detected in a theft to repaying a loan — especially as 
interest creates capital. 

There is a marvellous neatness in the titles given 
to books among the Greeks. One they entitled 
Krjpiov, meaning Honeycomb ; others called their 
work Kepas 'A/xaX^eias, i.e. Horn ofPleniy (so that you 
can hope to find a draught of hen's milk * in the 
volume), and again Violets, Muses, Hold-alls, Hand- 
books, Meadow, Tablet, Imprompiu — titles that might 

15 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

seri possit. at cum intraveris, di deaeque, quam 
nihil in medio invenies ! nostri graviores ^ Antiquita- 
tum, Exemplorum Artiumque, facetissimi Lucubra- 
tionum, puto quia Bibaculus erat et vocabatur. 
paulo minus adserit Varro in satiris suis Sesculixe 

2.5 et Flextabula. apud Graecos desiit nugari Diodorus 
et ^i(3Xio6y]Krj<; historiam suam inscripsit. Apion 
quidem grammaticus (hic quem Tiberius Caesar 
cymbalum mundi vocabat, quom propriae famae 
tympanum potius videri posset) immortalitate do- 

20 nari a se scripsit ad quos aliqua componebat. me non 
paenitet nullum festiviorem excogitasse titulum. 
et ne in totum videar Graecos insectari, ex ilUs nos 
vehm intellegi pingendi fingendique conditoribus 
quos in hbelhs his invenies absoluta opera, et illa 
quoque quae mirando non satiamur, pendenti titulo 
inscripsisse, ut Apelles faciehat aut Polyclitus, 
tamquam inchoata semper arte et inperfecta, ut 
contra iudiciorum varietates superesset artifici 
regressus ad veniam, velut emendaturo quicquid de- 

27 sideraretur si non esset interceptus. quare plenum 
verecundiae illud est quod omnia opera tamquam 
novissima inscripsere et tamquam singuhs fato 
adempti. tria non amphus, ut opinor, absolute 

^ v.l. crassiores. 

" I.e. forget an important engagement in order to read 
the book. 

" We should say ' to blow his own trumpet.' Diodorua 
Siculus in the time of Augustus, wrote a luiiversal history, 
part of which is stiil extaat. 

x6 



PREFACE, 24-27 

tempt a man to forfeit his bail." But when you get 
inside them, good heavens, what a void you will 
find between the covers ! Our authors being more 
serious use the titles Antiquities, Instances and Systems, 
the wittiest, Talks by Lamplight, I suppose because 
the author was a toper — indeed Tippler was his name. 
Varro makes a rather smaller claim in his Satires 
A Ulysses-and-a-half and Folding-tablet. Diodorus 
among the Greeks stopped playing with words and 
gave his history the title of Library. Indeed the 
pliilologist Apion (the person whom Tiberius Caesar 
used to call ' the world's cymbal,' though he might 
rather have been thought to be a drum,* advertising 
his own renown) wrote that persons to whom he 
dedicated his compositions received from him the 
gift of immortahty. For myself, I am not ashamed 
of not having invented any HveUer title. And so as 
not to seem a downright adversary of the Greeks, 
I should hke to be accepted on the hnes of those 
founders of painting and sculpture who, as you will 
find in these volumes, used to inscribe their finished 
works, even the masterpieces which we can never be 
tired of admiring, with a provisional title such as 
Worked on by Apelles or Polycliius, as though art was 
always a thing in process and not completed, so that 
when faced by the vagaries of criticism the artist 
might have left him a Une of retreat to indulgence, by 
implying that he intended, if not interrupted, to 
correct any defect noted. Hence it is exceedingly 
modest of them to have inscribed all their works 
in a manner suggesting that they were their latest, 
and as though they had been snatched away from 
each of them by fate. Not more than three, I 
fancy, are recorded as having an inscription denoting 

17 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

traduntur inscripta; Ille fecit (quae suis locis 
reddam) ; quo apparuit summam artis securitatem 
auctori placuisse, et ob id magna invidia fuere 
omnia ea. 

28 Ego plane meis adici posse multa confiteor, nec 
his solis, sed et omnibus quos edidi, ut obiter caveana 
istos Homeromastigas (ita enim verius dixerim), quo- 
niam audio et Stoicos et dialecticos, Epicureos 
quoque (nam de grammaticis semper expectavi) 
parturire adversus libellos quos de granamatica edidi, 
et subinde abortus facere iam decem annis, cum 

29 celerius etiam elephanti pariant. ceu vero nesciam 
adversus Theophrastum, hominem in eloquentia 
tantum ut nomen divinum inde invenerit, scripsisse 
etiam feminam, et proverbium inde natum suspendio 

30 arborem eUgendi ! non queo mihi temperare quo 
minus ad hoc pertinentia ipsa censorii Catonis verba 
ponam, ut appareat etiam Catoni de miUtari disciplina 
commentanti, qui sub Africano, immo vero et sub 
Hannibale didicisset miUtare et ne Africanum 
quidem ferre potuisset, qui imperator triumphum 
reportasset, paratos fuisse istos qui obtrectatione 
alienae scientiae famam sibi aucupantur. ' Quid 
enim ' ? ait in eo volumine, ' scio ego, quae scripta 
sunt si palam proferantur, multos fore qui vitiHtigent, 
sed ii potissuuum qui verae laudis expertes sunt. 
i8 



PREFACE, 27-30 

completion — Made hy so-and-so (these I will bring 
in at their proper places) ; this made the artist appear 
to have assumed a supreme confidence in his art, and 
consequently all these works were very unpopular. 
For my o^vn part I frankly confess that my works 
would admit of a great deal of amplification, and not 
only those now in question but also all my pubUca- 
tions, so that in passing I may insure myself against 
your ' Scourges of Homer ' (that would be the more 
correct term), as I am informed that both the Stoics 
and the Academy, and also the Epicureans, — as 
for the philologists, I always expected it from them — 
are in travail with a reply to my publications on 
Philology, and for the last ten years have been 
having a series of miscarriages — for not even elephants 
take so long to bring their ofFspring to birth ! But 
as if I didn't know that Theophrastus, a mortal 
whose eminence as an orator won him the title of 
' the divine,' actually had a book written against 
him by a woman — which was the origin of the proverb 
about ' choosing your tree to hang from ' ! I am 
unable to refrain from quoting the actual words of 
Cato the Censor applying to this, to show that even 
the treatise on miUtary discipUne of Cato, who had 
learnt his soldiering under Africanus, or rather 
under him and Hannibal as well, and had been unable 
to endure even Africanus, who when commander-in- 
chief had won a triumph, found critics ready for it of 
the sort that try to get glory for themselves by 
running down another man's knowledge. ' What 
then? ' he says in the book in question, ' I myself 
know that if certain writings are pubUshed there wiU 
be plenty of people to quibble and quarrel, but 
mostly people quite devoid of true distinction. For 

19 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

31 eorum ego orationes si\i praeterfluere.' nec Plancus 
inlepide, cum diceretur Asinius Pollio orationes in 
eum parare quae ab ipso aut liberis post mortem 
Planci ederentur, ne respondere posset, ' cum mortuis 
non nisi larvas luctari.' quo dicto sic repercussit illas, 

32 ut apud eruditos nihil impudentius iudicetur. ergo 
securi etiam contra \itilitigatores (quos Cato eleganter 
ex vitiis et litigatoribus conposuit, quid enim illi 
aliud quam litigant aut litem quaerunt }) exequemur 

33 reliqua propositi. quia occupationibus tuis publico 
bono parcendum erat, quid singulis contineretur 
libris huic epistulae subiunxi, summaque cura ne 
legendos eos haberes operam dedi. tu per hoc et 
aUis praestabis ne perlegant, sed ut quisque desi- 
derabit aHquid id tantum quaerat, et sciat quo loco 
inveniat. hoc ante me fecit in litteris nostris Valerius 
Soranus in Ubris quos iTrovTiSwv inscripsit. 



" Perhaps this title for a work of spholarship denoted the 
inner secrets of leaming into which it admitted the Musea, 
Soranua &. 100 a.c 



«O 



PREFACE, 30-33 

my part I have let these persons' eloquence run its 
course.' Plancus also put it neatly, when told that 
Asinius PoUio was composing declamations against 
him, to be published by himself or his children atter 
Plancus's death, so that he might be unable to 
reply : ' Only phantoms fight with the dead ! ' 
This remark dealt those declamations such a nasty 
blow that in cultivated circles they are thought the 
most shameless things extant. Accordingly, being 
safeguarded even against quibble-quarrellers (Cato's 
nickname for them — a neat compound word, for 
what else do these people do but quarrel or seek a 
quarrel ?) we will follow out the remainder of our 
intended plan. As it was my duty in the public 
interest to have consideration for the claims upon 
your time, I have appended to this letter a table of 
eontents of the several books, and have taken very 
careful precautions to prevent your having to read 
them. You by these means will secure for others 
that they will not need to read right through them 
either, but only look for the particular point that 
each of them wants, and will know where to find it. 
This plan has been adopted previously in Roman 
literature, by Valerius Soranus in his books entitled 
LMdy IniUates," 



n 



BOOK I 



LIBER ! 

Libro II. continentur : (i-iii) An finitus sit mundus 
et an unus. de forma eius. de motu eius. ctu- 
mundus dicatur. (iv) De elementis. (v) De deo. 
(vi) De siderum errantium natura. (y\i) de lunae 
et solis defectibus. de nocte. (viii-x) de magnitudine 
siderum. quae quis invenerit in observatione 
caelesti. (xi) de lunae motu. (xii-xvi) Errantium 
motus et luminum canonica ; quare eadem altiora 
alias, alias ^ propiora videantur ; catholica siderum 
errantium ; quae ratio colores eorum mutet. (xvii) 
solis motus ; dierum inaequalitatis ratio. (xviii) 
Quare fulmina lovi adsignentur. (xix) Intervalla 
siderum. (xx) de sideribus musica. (xxi) de mundo 
geometrica. (xxii, xxiii) De repentinis sideribus. 
de cometis : natura et situs et genera eorum. 
(xxiv) Hipparchea de sideribus agnoscendis. (xxv- 
xxxv) De caelestibus prodigiis per exempla historica : 
lampades, bolides, trabes caelestes, chasma caeli; 
de caeU coloribus ; de flamma caelesti ; de coronis 
caelestibus ; de circuhs repentinis ; sohs defectus 
longiores ; plures soles ; plures lunae ; diuma * 
noctibus lux ; cHpei ardentes ; ostentum caeU semel 
notatum. (xxxvi) De discursu stellarum. (xxxvii) 
De stelUs quae Castores vocantur. (xxxviii) De aere. 
(xxxix-xU) De statis tempestatibus. de caiiiculae 

^ alias add. Jan. 
24 



BOOK I 

TaBLE Or CoNTENTS AND AuTH0RTTrE3 

Book 11. Contents : (i-iii) The world — is it finite ? 
is it one ? its shape ; its motion ; reason for its 
name. (iv) The elements. (v) God. (vi) The 
planets— their nature. (vii) Eclipses, solar and 
iunar. Night. (viii-x) The stars — their magnitude ; 
astronomical discoveries. (xi) The moon's motion. 
(xii-xvi). Motions of the planets ; theory of their 
light ; causes of apparent recession and approach ; 
general properties of planets ; reason for changes 
of colour. (xvii) The sun's motion ; reason for 
inequahty of days. (xviii) Thunderbolts, why attri- 
buted to Jove. (xix) The stars — their distances 
apart. (xx) Music from the stars. (xxi) Dimensions 
of the world. (xxii, xxiii) Shooting stars. Comets ; 
their nature, position and kinds. (xxiv) Identification 
of stars — method of Hipparchus. (xxv-xxxv) Sky 
portents — recorded instances : torches, shafts, sky- 
beams, sky-yawning, colom-s of the sky, sky-flame, 
sky-wreaths, sudden rings, prolonged solar eclipses, 
several suns, several moons, dayhght at night, 
burning shield; an unique sky-portent. (xxxvi) 
Disruption of stars. (xxxvii) The ' Castores.' (xxxviii) 
The air. (xxxix-xh). Fixed seasons. Rise of dog- 



diurna Detlefsen : dierum (dieruin<modo> Mayhoff). 

25 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

ortu. vis temporvim anni stata. (xlii, iii) De incertis 
tempestatibus. de imbribus et quare lapidibus 
pluat. de tonitribus et fulgetris. (xliv-viii) Qua 
ratione echo reddatur. Ventorum genera, naturae, 
observationes. (xlix, 1) Ecnephias, typhon, turbines, 
presteres, vertices, alia prodigiosa genera tempe- 
statiun. (li-M) De fulminibus, quibus in terris non 
cadant, et quare ; genera fulgurum et miracula ; 
Etrusca observatio in iis et Romana ; de fulminibus 
evocandis ; cathoHca fulgurum ; quae numquara 
feriantur. (Ivii) Lacte pluisse, sanguine, carne, ferro, 
lana, lateribus coctis. (Iviii) Portenta. (lix) De 
lapidibus caelo cadentibus. Anaxagorea de his. (Ix) 
Arcus caelestis. (Ixi) Natura grandinis, nivis, pruinae, 
nebulae, roris. Nubium imagines. (Ixii) Pro- 
prietates caeh in locis. (Ixiii-v) Natura terrae ; de 
forma eius ; an sint antipodes. (Ix^i-viii) Quomodo 
aqua terrae innexa. quae ratio fluminum. an 
circumdatus terrae oceanus. quae portio terrae 
habitetur. (Ixix) Mediam esse mundi terram. 
(Ixx f.) De obliquitate zonarum. de inaequaUtate 
climatum. (Ixxii f.) Ubi echpsis non appareant, 
et quare. Quae ratio diurnae lucis in terris ; gnomo- 
nica de ea re. (Ixxv, vii) Ubi et quando nullae umbrae, 
ubi bis anno. ubi in contrarium umbrae ferantur. 
Ubi longissimi dies, ubi brevissimi. (Ixxviii) De 
primo horologio. (Ixxix) Quomodo observentur dies. 
(Ixxx) DifFerentia gentium ad rationem mundi. 
(Ixxxi-vi) De terrae motibus. de terrae hiatibus. 
signa motus futuri. auxilia contra motus futuros. 
portenta terrarum semel tradita. miracula terrae 
motus. (Ixxxvii-xciv) Quibus locis maria recesserint. 
Insularum enascentium ratio ; quae et quibus 
temporibus enatae sint. quas terras interruperint 

26 



BOOK I 

star. Regular effect of seasons. (xlii, iii) Irregular 
seasons. Rain storms. Showers of stones, their 
reason. Thunder-bolts and Ughtnings. (xUv-viii) 
Echo — its reason. Winds — their kinds, natures and 
behaviour. (xUx, 1). Cloud-burst, typhoon, whirl- 
winds, presteres, tornadoes, other portentous kinds of 
storms. (U-vi) Thunder-bolts — what countries im- 
mune from them and why ; their kinds, their pecu- 
Uarities ; Tuscan and Roman observances connected 
with ; method of calUng down ; general properties ; 
what objects never struck. (Ivii) Showers of milk, 
blood, flesh, iron, wool, bricks. (Iviii) Portents. (Ux) 
Stones faUing from the sky — Anaxagoras as to. (Ix) 
Rainbow. (Ixi). Nature of hail, snow, frost, cloud, 
dew. (Ixii) Local pecuUarities of the sky. (Ixiii-v) 
Nature of the earth ; its shape ; antipodes — do they 
exist ? (Ixvi-viii) Water — how Unked with eartli ? 
Rivers — their reason. Is the earth surrounded by 
the ocean ? What portion of the earth is inhabited ? 
(Ixix). The earth at the centre of the world. (Ixx) 
ObUquity of zones. InequaUty of cUmates. (Ixxii) 
EcUpses — where invisible, and why ? (Ixxiii) Reason 
for dayUght on earth ; gnomonics of dayUght. 
(Ixxv-vii). Absence of shadows — where and when ? 
where twice yearly ? where shadows travel in 
opposite direction ? Where days are longest and 
shortest ? (Ixxviii) The first clock. (Ixxix) How 
days are observed. (Ixxx) Racial difference and 
latitude. (Ixxxi-vi) Earthquakes. Chasms. Signs 
of impending earthquake. Precautions against 
impending earthquakes. Records of unique earth 
portents. Marvels of earthquake. (Ixxxvii-xciv) 
Retreat of sea, where occurred ? Emergence of 
islands — reason for; instances and dates of. Dis- 

27 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

maria. quae insulae continenti adiunctae sint. 
quae terrae in totum mari permutatae. quae terrae 
ipsae se minuerint. urbes haustae mari. (xcv) De 
spiraculis. (xcvi) De terris semper trementibus. 
de insulis semper fluctuantibus. (xcvii) Quibus locis 
non impluat. (xcviii) Acervata terrarum miracula. 
(xcix f.) Qua ratione aestus maris accedant et 
recedant. ubi aestus extra rationem idem faciant. 
(ci-cv) Miracula maris : quae potentia lunae ad 
terrena et marina, quae solis. quare salsmn mare. 
ubi altissimum mare. (c^i) Mirabilia fontium et 
flujninum. (cvii-cx) Ignium et aquarum iuncta 
miracula : de maltha ; de naphtha ; quae loca semper 
ardeant. (cxi) Ignium per se miracula. (cxii) 
Terrae universae mensura. (cxiii) Harmonica mundi 
ratio. Summa : res et historiae et observationes 
CCCCXVII. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, Sulpicio Gallo, Tito 
Caesare imperatore, Q. Tuberone, Tulho Tirone, 
L. Pisone, T. Livio, Comeho Nepote, Seboso, Caelio 
Antipatro, Fabiano, Antiate, Muciano, Caecina qui 
de Etrusca disciphna, Tarquitio qui item, lulio 
Aquila qui item, Sergio Paullo. Externis : Hipparcho, 
Timaeo, Sosigene, Petosiri, Nechepso Pythagoricis, 
Posidonio, Anaximandro, Epigene, Eudoxo, Dem.o- 
crito, Critodemo, Thrasyllo, Serapione gnomonico, 
Euchde, Coerano philosopho, Dicaearcho, Archimede, 
Onesicrito, Eratosthene, Pythea, Herodoto, 
Aristotele, Ctesia, Artemidoro Ephesio, Isidoro 
Characeno, Theopompo. 

Libro III. continentur situs, gentes, maria, oppida, 
portus, montes, flumina, mensurae, popuh qui sunt 
aut qui fuerunt (iii) Baeticae, (iv) Hispaniae citerioris, 
(v) Narbonensis provinciae, (vi-x) Itahae usque 

28 



BOOK I 

ruption of straits. Junction of islands with main- 
land. Total inundation. Shrinkage of land areas. 
Cities engulfed by sea. (xcv) Air-holes. (xcvi) 
Continuous earth-tremors. Islands in constant 
agitation. (xcvii) Places where rain does not fall. 
(xcviii) Collection of earth marvels. (xcix f.) Rise 
and fall of tides — reason for. Where do irregular 
tides occur? (ci-cv) Marvels of the sea : influence 
of the moon on earth and sea ; of the sun ; why is the 
sea salt ? where is it deepest ? (cvi) Remarkable 
properties of springs and rivers. (cvii-cx) Combined 
marvels of fire and water : mineral pitch ; naphtha ; 
regions constantly glowing. (cxi) Marvels of fire 
alone. (cxii) Dimensions of entire earth. (cxiii) 
Harmonic principle of the world. — Total : 417 facts, 
investigations and observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Sulpicius Gallus, 
the Emperor Titus Caesar, Quintus Tubero, TuUius 
Tiro, Lucius Piso, Titus Livy, Cornehus Nepos, 
Sebosus, CaeUus Antipater, Fabianus, Antias, Muci- 
anus, Caecina On the Tuscan System, Tarquitius 
ditto, JuUus Aquila ditto, Sergius PauUus. Foreign 
authorities ; the Pythagorean viTiters, Hipparchus, 
Timaeus, Sosigenes, Petosiris, Nechepsus, Posidonius, 
Anaximander, Epigenes, Eudoxus, Democritus, Crito- 
demus, ThrasyUus, Serapion On Sun-dials, EucUd, 
Coeranus the philosopher, Dicaearchus, Archimedes, 
Onesicritus, Eratosthenes, Pytheas, Herodotus, Aris- 
totle, Ctesias, Artemidorus of Ephesus, Isidore 
of Charax, Theopompus. 

Book III. Contents : sites, races, seas, towns, 
harbours, mountains, rivers, dimensions, present and 
past populations of (iii) Baetica, (iv) North-east 
Spain, (v) Province of Narbonne, (vi-x) Italy to the 

29 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Locros (ix Tiberis, Roma), (xi-xiv) insularum LXIV 
(in his Baliarium, Corsicae, Sardiniae, Siciliae), 
(xv-xxii) Italiae a Locris usque Ravennam ; (de 
Pado), Italiae trans Padum, (xxiii) Histriae, (xxiv) 
Alpium et gentium Alpinarum, (xxv-xxx) Illyrici, 
Liburniae, Dalmatiae, Noricorimi, Pannoniae, 
Moesiae, insularum lonii et Hadriatici. Summa: 
oppida et gentes . . . Summa: flumina clara . . . 
Summa: montes clari . . . Summa: insulae . . . 
Siunma : quae intercidere oppida aut gentes . . . 
Summa : res et historiae et observationes. . . . 

Ex auctoribus : Turranio Gracile, Cornelio Nepote, 
T. Livio, Catone censorio, M. Agrippa, M. Varrone, 
divo Augusto, Varrone Atacino, Antiate, Hygino, 
L. Vetere, Pomponio Mela, Curione patre, Caelio, 
Arruntio, Seboso, Licinio Muciano, Fabricio Tusco, 
L. Ateio, Ateio Capitone, Verrio Flacco, L. 
Pisone, GelUano, Valeriano. Externis : Artemidoro, 
Alexandro Polyhistore, Thucydide, Theophrasto, 
Isidoro, Theopompo, Metrodoro Scepsio, Calli- 
crate, Xenophonte Lampsaceno, Diodoro Syracusano, 
Nymphodoro, CalUphane, Timagene. 

Libro IV. continentur situs, gentes, maria, oppida, 
portus, montes, flumina, mensurae, populi qui sunt 
aut qui fuerunt (i-iv) Epiri, (v-x) Achaiae, (xi-xiii) 
Graeciae, (xiv-xviii) Thessahae, Magnesiae, Mace- 
doniae, Thraciae, (xix-xxiii) insularum ante eas 
terras (inter quas, Creta, Euboea, Cyclades, Sporades), 
(xxiv) Hellesponti, Ponti, Maeotidis, (xxv f.) Daciae, 
Sarmatiae, Scythiae, (xxvii) insularum Ponti, 
(xxviii f.) Germaniae, (xxx) insularum in GaUico 
oceano XCVI, quas inter Britannia, (xxxi-iii) Bel- 
gicae GaUiae, Lugdunensis GaUiae, Aquitanicae 
GaUiae, (xxxiv) citerioris Hispaniae ab oceano, 

30 



BOOK I 

southernmost point, (ix the Tiber, Rome), (xi— xiv") 64 
islands (including the Balearics, Corsica, Sardinia, 
Sicily), (xv-xxii) Italy from the south to Ravenna 
(the Po), Transpadane Italy, (xxiii) Istria, (xxiv) the 
Alps and Alpine races, (xxv-xxx) IUyria, Liburnia, 
Dalmatia, Noricum, Pannonia, Moesia, lonian and 
Adriatic islands. Totals : " . . . famous rivers ; 
. . . famous mountains ; . . . islands ; . . . extinet 
towns or races ; . . . facts, researches and observa- 
tions. 

Authorities : Turanius Gracihs, Cornelius Nepos, 
Livy, Cato the Censor, Marcus Agrippa, Marcus 
Varro, His Late Majesty Augustus, Varro of Atax, 
Antias, Hyginus, Lucius Vetus, Pomponius Mela, the 
elder Curio, Caehus, Arruntius, Sebosus, Licinius 
Mucianus, Fabricius Tuscus, Lucius Ateius, Ateius 
Capito, Verrius Flaccus, Lucius Piso, Gellianus, 
Valerian. Foreign authorities : Artemidorus, Alex- 
ander the Learned, Thucydides, Theophrastus, 
Isidorus, Theopompus, Metrodorus of Scepsis, 
CalUcrates, Xenophon of Lampsacus, Diodorus of 
Syracuse, Nymphodorus, CalUphanes, Timagenes. 

Book IV. Contents : sites, races, seas, towns, 
harbours, mountains, rivers, dimensions, present and 
past populations of (i-iv) Epirus, (v— x) Achaia, 
(xi-xiii) Greece, (xiv-xviii) Thessaly, Magnesia, 
Macedonia, Thrace, (xix-xxiii) islands off these 
coasts, including Crete, Euboea, the Cyclades, the 
Sporades, (xxiv) DardaneUes, Black Sea, Sea of Azov, 
(xxv f.) Dacia, Sarmatia, Scythia, (xxvii) Islands of 
Black Sea, (xxviii f.) Germany, (xxx) North Sea 
islands, 96 including Britain, (xxxi-xxxiii) Belgium, 
Lyonuaise, Aquitaine, (xxxiv) North-eastern Spain, 

• Figures iost here. 

31 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

(xxxv) Lusitaniae, (xxxv-i) insularum in mari Atlan- 
tico. (xxxvii) Universae Europae mensura. Summa: 
oppida et gentes . . . Simmia : flumina clara . . . 
Summa : montium clari . . . Sununa : insulae . . . 
Summa : quae intercidere oppida aut gentes . . . 
Summa : res, historiae et observationes . . . 

Ex auctoribus : Catone censorio, M. Varrone, M. 
Agrippa, divo Augusto, Varrone Atacino, Cornelio 
Nepote, Hygino, L. Vetere, Mela Pomponio, Licinio 
Muciano, Fabricio Tusco, Ateio Capitone, Ateio 
pliilologo. Externis : Polybio, Hecataeo, Hellanico, 
Damaste, Eudoxo, Dicaearcho, Timosthene, Eratos- 
thene, Ephoro, Cratete grammatico, Serapione 
Antiochense, Calhmacho, Artemidoro, Apollodoro, 
Agathocle, Timaeo Siculo, Myrsilo, Alexandro 
PolA'histore, Thucydide, Dosiade, Anaximandro, 
Pliilistide Mallote, Dionysio, Aristide, Callidemo, 
Menaechmo, Aglaosthene, Anticlide, HeracHde, 
Philemone, Xenophonte, Pythea, Isidoro, Philonide, 
Xenagora, Astynomo, Staphylo, Aristocrito, Met- 
rodoro, Cleobulo, Posidonio. 

Libro V. continentur situs, gentes, maria, oppida, 
portus, montes, flumina, mensurae, popuH qui sunt 
aut qui fuerunt (i-viii) Mauritaniarum, Numidiae, 
Africae, Syrtium, Cyrenaicae, insulanun circa 
Africam, aversorum Africae, (ix-xi) Aegypti, Chorae, 
Thebaidis, NiH, (xii) Arabiae quae est ad mare 
Aegyptium, (xiii-xix) Idumaeae, Syriae, Palaestines, 
Samariae, ludaeae, Phoenices, Syriae Coeles, Syriae 
Antiochiae, (xx-xxxiii) Euphratis, Ciliciae et iunctar- 
um gentium, Isauricae, Omanadum, Pisidiae, Lycao- 
niae, PamphyHae, Tauri montis, Lyciae, Cariae, 
loniae, AeoHdis, Troadis et iunctarum gentium, 
(xxxiv-ix) insularum ante Asiam CCX II (in iis. Cypri, 



BOOK I 

(xxxv) Westem Spain and Portugal. (xxxvi) Atlantic 
islands. (xxxvii) Dimensions of the whole of Europe. 
— Totals : . . . towns and races ; . . . famous 
rivers ; . . . famous mountains ; . . . islands ; . . . 
extinct towns or races ; . . . facts, investigations and 
observations. 

Authorities : Cato the Censor, Marcus Varro, 
Marcus Agrippa, His Late Majesty Augustus, Varro 
of Atax, Cornehus Nepos, Hyginus, Lucius Vetus, 
Pomponius Mela, Licinius Mucianus, Fabricius 
Tuscus, Ateius Capito, Ateius the scholar. Foreign 
authorities : Polybius, Hecataeus, Hellanicus, 
Damastes, Eudoxus, Dicaearchus, Timosthenes, Era- 
tosthenes, Ephorus, Crates the philologist, Serapion 
of Antioch, CalHmachus, Artemidorus, ApoUodorus, 
Agathocles, Timaeus of Sicily, Myrsilus, Alexander 
the Learned, Thucydides, Dosiades, Anaximander, 
PhiUstides of Mallus, Dionysius, Aristides, CaUidemus, 
Menaechmus, Aglaosthenes, AnticUdes, HeracUdes, 
Philemon, Xenophon, Pytheas, Isidore, Philonides, 
Xenagoras, Astynomos, Staphylus, Aristocritus, 
Metrodorus, Cleobulus, Posidonius. 

Book V. Contents : — sites, races, seas, towns, 
harbours, mountains, rivers, dimensions, present and 
past populations of (i-viii) the Mauritanias, Numidia, 
Africa, the Syrtes, Cyrenaica, African islands, remote 
parts of Africa, (ix-xi) Egypt — Chora, Thebaid, Nile, 
(xii) Arabian coast of Egyptian Sea, (xiii-xix) Idumea, 
Syria, Palestine, Samaria, Judaea, Phoenicia, HoHow 
Syria, Syria of Antioch, (xx-xxxiii) Euphrates, 
CiUcia and adjoining races, Isaurica, Omanades, 
Pisidia, Lycaonia, PamphyUa, Taurus Mountain, 
Lycia, Caria, lonia, AeoUd, Troad and adjoining 
races, (xxxiv-ix) Islands on Asiatic coast (212) 

35 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Rhodi, Coi, Sami, Chii, Lesbi), (xl-xUii) Hellespon- 
tus, Mysia, Phrygia, Galatia et iunctae gentes, 
Bithynia. Summa: oppida et gentes . . . Summa: 
flumina clara , . . Summa : montium clari . . . 
Summa : insulae CXVIII. Summa : quae inter- 
cidere oppida aut gentes . . . Summa : res et 
historiae et observationes . . . 

Ex auctoribus : Agrippa, Suetonio Paulino, M. 
Varrone, Varrone Atacino, Cornelio Nepote, Hygino, 
L. Vetere, Mela, DomitioCorbulone,LicinioMuciano, 
Claudio Caesare, Arruntio, Livio fiUo, Seboso, 
actis triumphorum. Externis : luba rege, Hecataeo, 
Hellanico, Damaste, Dicaearcho, Baetone, Timos- 
thene, Philonide, Xenagora, Astynomo, Staphylo, 
Dionysio, Aristotele, Aristocrito, Ephoro, Eratos- 
thene, Hipparcho, Panaetio, Serapione Antioche- 
no, CalUmacho, Agathocle, Polybio, Timaeo mathe- 
matico, Herodoto, Myrsilo, Alexandro polyhistore, 
Metrodoro, Posidonio qui TrepiTrXovv aut Trepi-qyrjaLV, 
Sotade, Pindaro, Aristarcho Sicyonio, Eudoxo, 
Antigene, CalUcrate, Xenophonte Lampsaceno, 
Diodoro Syracusano, Hannone, Himilcone, Nym- 
phodoro, CaUiphane, Artemidoro, Megasthene, 
Isidoro, Cleobulo, Aristocreonte. 

Libro VI. continentur situs, gentes, maria, oppida, 
portus, montes, flumina, mensurae, popuU qui sunt 
aut qui fuerunt (i) Ponti, Mariandynorum, (ii) 
Paphlagonum, (iii, viii) Cappadocum. (iv) Themis- 
cyrena regio et in ea gentes, Heniochi, (v) regio Co- 
Uca et gentes, Achaeorum gentes, ceterae eodem 
tractu gentes, (vi-xii) Bosporus Cimmerius, Maeotis, 
gentes circa Maeotim, Armenia minor, Armenia 
maior, Cyrus fluvius, Araxes flu\ius, Albania, Iberia 
et iunctae portae Caucasiae, (xiii) insulae in Ponto, 

34 



BOOK I 

inclurling Cyprus, Rhodes, Cos, Samos, Chios, Lesbos, 
(xl-xUii) Dardanelles, Mysia, Phrygia, Galatia and 
adjoining races, Bithynia. Totals : . . . towns and 
races ; . . . famous rivers ; . . . famous mountains ; 
118 islands ; . . . extinct towns and races; . . . 
facts, investigations and observations. 

Authorities : Agrippa, Suetonius PauUnus, Marcus 
Varro, Varro of Atax, Cornehus Nepos, Hyginus, 
Lucius Vetus, Mela, Domitius Corbulo, Licinius 
Mucianus, Claudius Caesar, Arruntius, Livy junior, 
Sebosus, Triumphs — Ojjicial records. Foreign author- 
ities : King Juba, Hecataeus, Hellanicus, Damastes, 
Dicaearchus, Baeto, Timosthenes, Philonides, Xen- 
agoras, Astynomus, Staphylus, Dionysius, Aristotle, 
Aristocritus, Ephorus, Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, 
Panaetius, Serapio of Antioch, Calhmachus, Aga- 
thocles, Polybius, Timaeus the mathematician, 
Herodotus, Myrsilus, Alexander the Learned, Metro- 
dorus, Posidonius's Circumnavigation or Round Guide, 
Sotades, Pindar, Aristarchus of Sicyon, Eudoxus, 
Antigenes, CalHcrates, Xenophon of Lampsacus, 
Diodorus of Syracuse, Hanno, Himilco, Nympho- 
dorus, Calhphanes, Artemidorus, Megasthenes, Isi- 
dore, Cleobulus, Aristocreon. 

Book VL Contents : — sites, races, seas, towns, 
harbours, mountains, rivers, dimensions, present 
and past populations of (i) Pontus, Mariandyni, 
(ii) Paphlagonia, (iii, viii) Cappadocia, (iv) region of 
Themiscyra and its races, Heniochi, (v) CoUc region 
and races, Achaean races, other races in the same 
area, (vi-xii) Cimmerian Bosphorus, Maeotis and 
adjacent races, Lesser Armenia, Greater Armenia, 
River Cyrus, River Araxes, Albania, Iberia and 
adjoining Gates of Caucasia, (xiii) Black Sea Islands, 

35 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

(xiv) gentes a Scythico oceano, (xv— xix) Caspium 
et Hyrcanium mare, Adiabene, Media, portae 
Caspiae, gentes circa Hyrcanium mare, Scytharimi 
gentes, (xx-xxxvi) situs ab oceano Eoo, Seres, 
Indi (Ganges, Indus), Taprobane, Ariani et iunctae 
gentes, navigationes in Indiam, Carmania, sinus 
Persicus, Parthorum regna, Mesopotamia, Tigris, 
Arabia, sinus maris rubri, Trogodytice, Aethiopia, 
insulae Aethiopici maris. (xxxvii) De insuUs fortu- 
natis. (xxxviii f.) Terrae per mensuras conparatae, 
digestio terrarum in parallelos et umbras pares. 
Summa : oppida MCXCV. Summa : gentes 
DLXXVI. Summa : flumina clara CXV. Summa : 
montes clari XXXVIII. Summa: insulae CVIII. 
Summa : quae intercidere oppida aut gentes XCV. 
Summa : res et historiae et observationes 
MMCCXIV. 

Ex auctoribus: M. Agrippa, M. Varrone, Varrone 
Atacino, ComeHo Nepote, Hygino, L. Vetere, 
Mela Pomponio, Domitio Corbulone, Licinio Muciano, 
Claudio Caesare, Arruntio, Seboso, Fabricio Tusco, 
T. Livio fiUo, Seneca, Nigidio. Externis : luba 
rege, Hecataeo, Hellanico, Damaste, Eudoxo, 
Dicaearcho, Baetone, Timosthene, Patrocle, Demo- 
damante, Clitarcho, Eratosthene, Alexandro magno, 
Ephoro, Hipparcho, Panaetio, CalUmacho, Arte- 
midoro, Apollodoro, Agathocle, Polybio, Timaeo 
Siculo, Alexandro polyhistore, Isidoro, Amometo, 
Metrodoro, Posidonio, Onesicrito, Nearcho, Megas- 
thene, Diogneto, Aristocreonte, Bione, DaUone, 
Simonide minore, Basile, Xenophonte Lampsaceno. 

Libro VII. continentur (ii f.) gentium mirabiles 
figurae ; prodigiosi partus. (iv-xi) De homine 
generando : parieudi tempora per iniustria exempla 

36 



BOOK I 

(xiv) races towards the Scythian Ocean, (xv-xix) 
Caspian and Hyrcanian Sea, Adiabene, Media, 
Caspian Gates, races round Hyrcanian Sea, Scythian 
races, (xx-xxxvi) regions towards the Eastern Sea, 
China, India (Ganges, Indus), Taprobane, Arians and 
adjoining races, voyages to India, Carmania, Persian 
Gulf, Parthian kingdoms, Mesopotamia, Tigris, 
Arabia, Gulf of Red Sea, Trogodyte country , Ethiopia, 
Islands of Ethiopian Sea. (xxxvii) The Fortunate 
Islands. (xxxviii f.) Lands compared by measure- 
ments, division of lands into parallels and equal 
shadows. Totals : 1195 towns ; 576 races, 115 
famous rivers, 38 famous mountains, 108 islands, 95 
extinct towns and races ; 2214 facts and investigations 
and observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Agrippa, Marcus Varro, 
Varro of Atax, Cornelius Nepos, Hyginus, Lucius 
Vetus, Pomponius Mela, Domitius Corbulo, Licinius 
Mucianus, Claudius Caesar, Arruntius, Sebosus, 
Fabricius Tuscus, Titus Livy junior, Seneca, Nigidius. 
Foreign authorities : King Juba, Hecataeus, Hella- 
nicus, Damastes, Eudoxus, Dicaearchus, Baeto, 
Timosthenes, Patrocles, Demodamas, CUtarchus, 
Eratosthenes, Alexander the Great, Ephorus, Hip- 
parchus, Panaetius, CalUmachus, Artemidorus, 
ApoUodorus, Agathocles, Polybius, Timaeus of Sicily, 
Alexander the Learned, Isidore, Amometus, Metro- 
dorus, Posidonius, Onesicritus, Nearchus, Megas- 
thenes, Diognetus, Aristocreon, Bion, DaUon, the 
younger Simonides, BasiUs, Xenophon of Lamp- 
sacus. 

Book VII. Contents: (ii f.) Ilemarkable racial bodily 
configurations ; monstrous births. (iv— xi) Human 
gcneration : periods of pregnancy fi'om 7 months to 

37 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

a mensibus septem ad tredecira ; signa sexus in 
gra\ddis pertinentia ante partum ; monstruosi partus, 
excisi utero ; qui sint vopisci ; de conceptu hominum ; 
de generatione hominum ; similitudiniun exempla ; 
numerosissimae subolis exempla. (xii) Ad quos 
annos generatio. (xiii) Mensum in feminis miracula. 
(xiv) Quae ratio generandi. (xv) Historica circa 
dentes. Historica circa infantes. (xvi f.) Magnitu- 
dinum exempla. Praeproperi infantes. (xviii- 
xxiii) Insignia corporum, wes eximiae, velocitas 
praecipua, visus eximius, auditus miraculum , patientia 
corporis. (xxiv-vi) Memoria, vigor animi, clementia, 
animi magnitudo. (xx\ii) Rerum gestarum claritas 
summa. (xx\dii-xxxi) Tres summae virtutes in 
eodem, innocentia summa, fortitudo summa, ingenia 
praecipua. qui sapientissimi. (xxxii) Praecepta vitae 
utilissima. (xxxiii) De divinatione. (xxxiv-\-i) 
Vir optimus iudicatus, matronae pudicissimae ; 
summae pietatis exempla. (xxx\di-ix) Artibus 
excellentes — astrologia, grammatica, medicina, geo- 
metria, architectura, pictura, scalptura aeraria, 
marmoraria, eboraria, caelatura. (xl-xlvi) Pretia 
hominum insignia ; de felicitate summa ; raritas 
continuationis in familiis ; varietatis exempla 
mirabilia ; bis proscriptus ; honorum exempla 
mirabilia ; decem res in uno felicissimae ; divi 
Augusti adversa. (xlvii f.) Quos dii felicissimos 
iudicaverint ; quem viventem ut deum coU iusserint. 
Fulgur mirabile. (xlix) De spatiis \atae longissimis. 
(1) De varietate nascendi. (li) In morbis exempla 



" One of a pair of twins bom alive after the premature 
birth and death of the other. 

38 



BOOK I 

13 shown by famous examples ; significant pre-natal 
indications of sex in the pregnant ; monstrous 
births, cases of surgical delivery ; meaning of 
vopiscus " ; human conception ; human generation ; 
cases of Ukeness ; cases of very numerous progeny. 
(xii) Age-hmit of procreation. (xiii) Exceptional 
periods of pregnancy. (xiv) Theory of generation. 
(xv) Investigation as to teeth ; as to infants. (xvi f.) 
Instances of exceptional size. Premature births. 
(xviii-xxiii) Bodily distinctions, exceptional strength, 
remarkable speed, exceptional sight, marvellous 
hearing, bodily endurance. (xxiv-xxvi) Memory, 
mental vigour, clemency, magnanimity. (xxvii) 
Supremely distinguished exploits. (xxviii— xxxi) 
Three supreme virtues in the same person, supreme 
innocence, supreme bravery, exceptional talents. 
Who are the wisest men ? (xxxii) The most useful 
rules of conduct. (xxxiii) Divination. (xxxiv-vi). 
The man deemed the best, the most chaste matrons ; 
instances of extreme piety. (xxxvii-ix) Cases of 
eminence in the sciences and arts, astronomy, 
philology, medicine, geometry, architecture, paint- 
ing, sculpture in bronze, in marble, in ivory ; en- 
graving. (xl— xlvi) Remarkable prizes of mankind ; 
supreme happiness ; rarity of its continuance in 
famiUes ; remarkable cases of change of fortune ; 
twice proscribed ; remarkable cases of honours ; ten 
supremely happy things in the case of a single person ; 
misfortunes of his late Majesty Augustus. (xlvii f.) 
Whom the gods have judged happiest; what man 
they have commanded to be worshipped as a god in 
his Ufetime. A remarkable flash of Ughtning. 
(xUx) Cases of exceptional longevity. (1) Various 
modes of birth. (U) Diseases in various cases. 

39 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

varia. (lii-lvi f.) De morte ; qui elati revixerint ; 
subitae mortis exempla ; de sepultura ; de manibus ; 
de anima. (Ivii-lx) Quae quis in vita invenerit ; 
in quibus rebus primi gentium consensus. De 
antiquis litteris. Quando primum tonsores, quando 
primum horologia. Summa : res et historiae et 
observationes DCCXLVII, 

Ex auctoribus : Verrio Flacco, Gnaeo Gellio, 
Licinio Muciano, Masurio Sabino, Agrippina Claudi, 
M. Cicerone, Asinio PoUione, M. Varrone, Messala 
Rufo, Nepote Corneho, Vergilio, T. Livio, Cordo, 
Melisso, Seboso, CorneHo Celso, Maximo Valerio, 
Trogo, Nigidio Figulo, Pomponio Attico, Pediano 
Asconio, Fabiano, Catone censorio, actis, Fabio 
Vestale. Externis : Herodoto, Aristea, Baetone, 
Isigono , Cratete , Agatharchide , Calliphane , Aristotele, 
Nymphodoro, Apollonide, Phylarcho, Damone, Mega- 
sthene, Ctesia, Taurone, Eudoxo, Onesicrito, Clit- 
archo, Duride, Artemidoro, Hippocrate medico, 
Asclepiade medico, Hesiodo, Anacreonte, Theo- 
pompo, Hellanico, Damaste, Ephoro, Epigene, 
Beroso, Petosiri, Nechepso, Alexandro polyhistore, 
Xenophonte, Callimacho, Democrito, Diyllo historico, 
Stratone qui contra Ephori tvprjixaTa scripsit, 
Herachde Pontico, Asclepiade qui TpaywSor/Acva, 
Philostephano, Hegesia, Archemacho, Thucydide, 
Mnesigitone, Xenagora, Metrodoro Scepsio, Anti- 
cUde, Critodemo. 

Libro VIII. continentur: (i-xi) De elephantis — 
de sensu eorum ; quando primum iuncti ; de dociHtate 
eorum ; mirabilia in factis eorum ; de natura ferarum 
ad pericula sua intellegenda ; quando primum in 
Italia visi elephanti ; pugnae eorum ; quibus modis 



40 



BOOK I 

(lii-lvi) Death; cases of the dead coming to life 
again ; instances of sudden death ; burial ; ghosts ; 
the soul. (Ivii— Ix) Discoveries in Hfe ; matters on 
which there was the earhest agreement of the races ; 
ancient Hterature ; date of earHest barbers, earHest 
time-pieces. Total : 747 facts, investigations and 
observations. 

Authorities : Verrius Flaccus, Gnaeus GelHus, 
Lieinius Mucianus, Masurius Sabinus, Agrippina 
wife of Claudius, Marcus Cicero, Asinius PolHo, 
Marcus Varro, Messala Rufus, CorneHus Nepos, 
Virgil, Livy, Cordus, MeHssus, Sebosus, CorneHus 
Celsus, Valerius Maximus, Trogus, Nigidius Figulus, 
Pomponius Atticus, Pcdianus Asconius, Fabianus, 
Cato the Censor, Official Records, Fabius VestaHs. 
Foreign authorities : Herodotus, Aristeas, Baeton, 
Isigonus, Crates, Agatharchides, CaHiphanes, Aris- 
totle,Nymphodorus, ApoHonides, Phylarchus, Damon, 
Megasthenes, Ctesias, Tauron, Eudoxus, Onesicritus, 
CHtarchus, Duris, Artemidorus, the medical authors 
Hippocrates and Asclepiades, Hesiod, Anacreon, 
Theopompus, HeHanicus, Damastes, Ephorus, Epi- 
genes, Berosus, Petosiris, Nechepsus, Alexander the 
Learned, Xenophon, CaHimachus, Democritus, the 
historian DiyHus, Strato's Reply to Ephorus's 
' Heuremata,' HeracHdes of Pontus, the Tragoediimcna 
of Asclepiades, Pliilostephanus, Hegesias, Arche- 
machus, Thucydides, Mnesigiton, Xenagoras, Metro- 
dorus of Scepsis, AnticHdes, Critodemus. 

Book VHL Contents : (i-xi) Elephants, their 
sense ; when first harnessed ; their dociHty ; remark- 
able achievements of ; instinctive sense of dangers in 
wild animals ; elephants, when first seen in Italy ; 
fights between elephants ; modes of capture ; modes 

41 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

capiantur ; quibus domentur ; de partu eorum et 
reliqua natura ; ubi nascantur ; discordia eorum et 
draconum. (xii) De sollertia animalium. (xiii) 
De draconibus. (xiv) Mirae magnitudines serpen- 
tium. (xv f.) De Scythicis animalibus, de sep- 
tentrionalibus, de bisontibus, uris, alce, achli, bonaso. 
(x\ii-xxi) De leonibus — quomodo gignantur ; quae 
genera eorum ; quae propria naturae ; quis primus 
leontomachiam Romae, quis plurimos in ea leo- 
nes donaverit ; quis primus Romanorum iunxerit ; 
mirabilia in leonum factis. (xxii) A dracone agnitus 
et servatus. (xxiii f.) De pantheris senatusconsultum 
et leges de Africanis ; quis primus Romae Africanas 
et quando, quis plurimas. (xxv) De tigribus et 
quando primum Romae visa tigris ; de natura 
earum, de catuUs. (xxvi-xxx) De camelis ; genera 
eorum. de camelopardali ; quando primimi Romae 
visa. de chamate. de cephis, de rhinocerote. de 
lynce et sphingibus. de crocottis. de cercopithecis. 
(xxxi-iv) Indiae terrestria animalia ; item Aethio- 
piae ; bestia visu interficiens ; de basiliscis ser- 
pentibus ; de lupis ; unde fabula versipellium. 
(xxxv-xl) Serpentium genera. de ichneumone ; de 
crocodilo ; de scinco ; de hippopotamo : quis primus 
ostenderit eum Romae et crocodilum. (xli-iii) 
Medicinae ab animalibus repertae ; prognostica 
periculorum ex animaHbus ; gentes ab animaUbus 
sublatae. (xliv f.) De hyaenis. de corocottis. de 
mantichoris. (xlvi) De onagris. (xlvii-ix) De aqua- 
ticis et iisdem terrestribus : de fibris, de lutris, de 
vitulo marino, de steUionibus. (1) De cervis. (li f.) 
De chamaeleonte ; de reUquis colorem mutantibus ; 

" Identified with the alces by some naturalists. 
* Perhaps the hyena. 
42 



BOOK I 

of domestioation ; their propagation, and general 
physiology ; native habitat ; hostiUty between 
elephants and great snakes. (xii) IntelHgence of 
animals. (xiii) Great snakes. (xiv) Serpents of 
remarkable size. (xv f.) Animals of Scythia ; of the 
north; bisons, bears, the elk, the achUs," the 
Paeonian bnU. (xvii-xxi) Lions — their mode of 
reproduction, their varieties, their characteristics ; 
who first produced a battle with Uons in the circus at 
Rome ? who gave such a show with the largest number 
of Uons ? what Roman first harnessed Uons to a 
chariot ? remarkable cases among the exploits of 
Uons. (xxii) Man recognised and rescued by a 
great snake. (xxiii f.) Panthers, resolution of senate 
and laws as to African ; who first showed African 
panthers at Rome, and when ? who showed the 
largest number ? (xxv) Tigers ; when was a tiger 
first seen at Rome ? nature of tigers ; tiger-cubs. 
(xxvi-xxx) Camels ; their kinds. The giraffe ; 
when first seen at Rome. The spotted lynx. 
The cephi. The rhinoceros. The lynx and the 
sphynxes. The crocottae.* The kmg-tailed monkeys. 
(xxxi-iv) Land animals of India ; ditto of Ethiopia ; 
a creature the sight of which brings death ; basilisk- 
snakes ; wolves ; source of the fabulous were-wolf. 
(xxxv-xl) Snakes, species of; the ichneumon; the 
crocodile ; the African Uzard ; the hippopotamus : 
who first showed this animal, and the crocodile at 
Rome. (xU-iii). Drugs obtained from animals ; 
warnings of dangers from animals ; races destroyed 
by animals. (xliv f.) Hyaenas ; corocottae ; man- 
tichorae. (xlvi) Wild asses. (xlvii-ix) Ampbibious 
species : beavers, otters, the sea-calf, geckoes. (1) 
Stags. (li f.) Chameleon ; other species that change 

43 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

tarandro, lycaone, thoe. (liii) De hystrice. (Tiv) 
De ursis ; de fetu eorum. (Iv-viii) De muribus 
Ponticis et Alpinis, erinaceis, leontophono, lynces, 
meles, sciuri. (lix f.) De cocleis ; de lacertis. (Ix- 
Ixiii) Canum natura ; exempla eorum circa dominos ; 
qui proeliorum causa canes habuerint ; de genera- 
tione eorum ; contra rabiem remedia. (lxiv-%ii) 
Equoriun natura ; de ingeniis equorum ; mirabiUa 
quadrigarum ; generatio equorum ; vento conci- 
pientes. (lx\dii) De asinis ; generatio in his. (Ixix) 
Mularum natura et reliquorum iumentorum. (Ixx f.) 
De bubus, generatio eorum; Apis in Aegj^pto. 
(Ixxii-v) Pecorum natura : generatio eorum ; genera 
lanae et colorum ; genera vestium. (Ixxvi f.) 
Caprorum natura et generatio ; suum item. (Ixxviii f.) 
De feris subus. quis primus vivaria bestiarum 
instituerit. (Ixxx— ii) De simiis. de leporum gene- 
ribus. de semiferis animalibus. (Ixxxiii) Quae qui- 
bus locis animalis non sint ; ubi et quae advenis 
tantum noceant, ubi et quae indigenis tantum. 
Summa : res et historiae et observationes 
DCCLXXXVII. 

Ex auctoribus : Muciano, Procilio, Verrio Flacco, 
L. Pisone, CorneUo \ aleriano, Catone censorio, 
Fenestella, Trogo, actis, Columella, Vergilio, Varrone, 
LuciUo, MeteUo Scipione, CorneUo Celso, Nigidio, 
Trebio Nigro, Pomponio Mela, MamiUo Sura. 
Externis : luba rege, Polybio, Herodoto, Antipatro, 
Aristotele, Demetrio physico, Democrito, Theo- 
phrasto, Euanthe, Scopa qui '0/\vyu,7riovt'Kas, Hierone 
rege, Attalo rege, Philometore rege, Ctesia, Duride, 
PhiUsto, Archyta, Phylarcho, Amphilocho Athenaeo, 
AnaxipoU Thasio, ApoUodoro Lemnio, Aristophane 
MilesiOj Antigono Cumaeo, Agathocle Chio, ApoUo- 

44 



BOOK I 

colour — ^reindeer, lycaon, jackall (liii) The porcupine, 
(liv) Bears ; their reproduction. (Iv-viii) Mice, 
Black Sea and Alpine ; Hedgehogs, lion-killer, lynxes, 
badgers, squirrels. (lix f.) Snails ; lizards. (Ix-lxiii). 
Dogs, nature of; instances of relation to masters; 
nations that have kept dogs of war ; dog-breeding ; 
cures for rabies. (Ixiv-vii) Nature of horses — equine 
psychology ; remarkable four-in-hands ; horse- 
breeding ; cases of conception by wind. (Ixviii) 
Asses ; breeding in their case. (Ixix) Nature of mules 
and other draft-animals. (Ixx f.) Oxen, breeding of. 
Apis in Egypt. (Ixxii-v) Nature of sheep — their 
breeding ; kinds of wool and of colours ; kinds of cloth. 
(Ixxvi f.) Goats, their nature and breeding ; swine, 
ditto. (Ixxviii f.) Wild pigs. Who originated men- 
ageries } (Ixxx-ii) Apes. Hares, their kinds. Half- 
wild animals. (Ixxxiii) What animals do not occur 
in what places ? which in what places harm only 
strangers ? which in what places only natives ? — 
Total : 787 facts, investigations and observations. 
Authorities : Mucianus, ProciUus, Verrius Flaccus, 
Lucius Piso, CorneUus Valerianus, Cato the ex-Censor, 
Fenestella, Trogus, Ojjicial Records, ColumeUa, Virgil, 
Varro, Lucilius, Metellus Scipio, CorneUus Celsus, 
Nigidius, Trebius Niger, Pomponius Mela, MamiUus 
Sura. Foreign authorities : King Juba, Polybius, 
Herodotus, Antipater, Aristotle, Demetrius's Natural 
History, Democritus, Theophrastus, Euanthes, 
Scopas's Olympic Victors, King Hiero, King Attalus, 
King Philometor, Ctesias, Duris, PhiUsto, Archytas, 
Phylarchus, Amphilochus of Athens, AnaxipoUs of 
Thasos, Apollodorus of Lemnos, Aristophanes of 
Miletus, Antigonus of Cumae, Agathocles of Chios, 



45 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

nio Pergameno, Aristandro Athenaeo, Bacchio 
Milesio, Bione Solense, Chaerea Athenaeo, Diodoro, 
Prienaeo, Dione Colophonio, Epigene Rhodio, Eu- 
agone Thasio, Euphronio Athenaeo, Hegesia Ma- 
roneo, Menandris Prienaeo et Heracleote, Mene- 
crate poeta, Androtione qui de agricultura scripsit, 
Aeschrione qui item, Lysimacho qui item, Dionysio 
qui Magonem transtuht, Diophane qui ex Dionysio 
epitomen fecit, Archelao rege, Nicandro. 

Libro IX. continetur aquatihum natura. (1) 
Quare maxima in mari animaUa. (ii) Indici maris 
beluae. (iii) Quae in quoque oceano maximae. 
(iv) De Tritonimi et Nereidum figuris. de elephan- 
torum marinorum figuris. (v) De balaenis, de orcis. 
(vi) An spirent pisces, an dormiant. (vii-x) De 
delphinis quos amaverint ; quibus in locis societate 
cum hominibus piscentur; aha circa eos mira. 
(xi) De tursionibus. (xii f.) De testudinibus : quae 
genera aquatihum testudinum et quomodo capiantur, 
quis primus testudinem secare instituerit. (xiv) 
Digestio aquatiUum per species. (xv) De vituhs 
marinis sive phocis ; quae pilo careant et quomodo 
pariant. (xvi) Quot genera piscium. (xvii-xix) Qui 
maximi pisces ; cordylae, pelamydes, thynni ; mem- 
bratim ex his salsura ; apolecti, cybia ; amiae, 
scombri. (xx) Qui non sint pisces in Ponto, qui 
intrent, qui aho ^ redeant. (xxi) Quare pisces extra 
aquam exihant. gladius piscis. (xxii) Esse auguria 
ex piscibus. (xxiii-v) In quo genere pisciimi 
mares non sint. qui calculum in capite habeant; 
qui lateant hieme ; qui hieme non capiantur nisi 
statis diebus ; qui aestate lateant ; qui siderentur 
pisces. (xxvi-xxx) De mugile, de acipensere, de 

^ Rackham : alia aut alias. 



BOOK I 

Apollonius of Pergamum, Aristander of Athens, 
Bacchius of Miletus, Bio of SoH, Chaeareas of Athens, 
Diodorus of Priene, Dio of Colophon, Epigenes of 
Rhodes, Euagon of Thasos, Euphronius of Athens, 
Hegesias of Maronea, Menander of Priene and 
Menander of Heraclea, the poet Menecrates, Andro- 
tion On Agriculture, Aeschrion diito, Lysimachus 
ditto, Dionysius's translation of Mago, Diophanes's 
summary of Dionysius, King Archelaus, Nicander. 

Book IX. Subject — the nature of aquatic animals. 
(i) Extreme size of marine animals, reason for. (ii) 
Monsters of the Indian Sea. (iii) Which are the largest 
in each Ocean ? (iv) Tritons and Nereids, shapes of. 
Sea elephants, shapes of. (v) Whales, grampuses. 
(vi) Do fishes breathe ? do they sleep 1 (vii-x) 
Dolphins, persons loved by ; places where they fish in 
partnership with men ; other curious facts as to. 
(xi) Porpoises. (xii f.) Tortoises — kinds of water- 
tortoise ; mode of capture ; who invented cutting 
tortoise-shells (xiv) Aquatic animals arranged by 
species. (xv) Sea-calves or seals — which species are 
hairless? mode of reproduction. (xvi) How many 
kinds of fish ? (xvii-xix). The largest fishes ; 
tunny-fry, young tunny, fuU-grown tunny ; tunny 
divided and pickled, salted tunny shces, chopped 
tunny ; amia-tunny, mackerel-tunny. (xx) Fishes 
in the Black Sea — which species not found in it, 
which enter in from elsewhere, which leave it. (xxi) 
Why fishes leap out of the water. The sword-fish. 
(xxii) Augury from fishes a fact. (xxiii-v) Species of 
fish that have no males ; that have a stone in the 
head ; that hibernate in winter ; that are only caught 
on certain days in winter; that hide in summer; 
that are Hable to planet-stroke. (xxvi-xxx) MuUet, 

47 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

lupo, de asello, de scaro, de mustela. mullorum 
genera. sargus. (xxxi f.) Mirabilia piscium pretia. 
non ubique eadem genera placere. (xxxiii) Genera- 
tim ^ de branchiis, de squamis. (xxxiv) Vocales et 
sine branchiis pisces ; qui in terram exeant ; tem- 
pora capturae. (xxxvi) Digestio piscium in figuras 
corporis. rhomborum et passenun differentia. de 
longis piscibus. (xxxv-ii) De piscium pinnis et 
natandi ratione. (xxxviii) Anguillae. (xxxix) Mu- 
renae. (xl) Planorum piscium genera. (xH) Echeneis 
effectusque eius. (xhi) Qui pisces colorem mutent. 
(xUii) De hirundine ; de pisce qui noctibus lucet ; 
de cornuto ; de dracone marino. (xUv) De piscibus 
sanguine carentibus ; qui pisces moUes appeUentur. 
(xlv) De sepia, de lolUgine, de pectuncuUs ; qui 
volent extra aquam. (xlvi-ix) De polypis ; de 
navigatore polypo. de navigatore naupUo. (1-Ui) 
Crusta intecti : de locustis, cancrorum genera, de 
pinotere, de echinis, de cocleis, de pectinibus, 
concharum genera. (liii) Quanta luxuriae materia 
mari sit. (Uv-Ux) De margaritis quomodo nascantur 
et ubi ; quomodo inveniantur ; quae genera unionum ; 
quae observanda in iis ; quae natura eorimi ; exempla 
circa eos ; quando primum in usum venerint Romae. 
(Ix-lxv) Muricum natura: depurpuris; quae nationes 
purpurae ; quomodo ex liis lanae tinguantur ; 
quando purpurae usus Romae, quando lati clavi et 
praetextae ; de conchyUatis vestibus ; de amethysto 
tinguendo ; de Tyrio, de hysgino, de cocco. (Ixvi) 
De pina et pinotere. (lx\ii) De sensu aquatilium ; 
torpedo, pastinaca, scolopendrae, glanis ; de ariete 
pisce. (Ixviii f.) De his quae tertiam naturam 
habent animaUum et fruticum : de urticis ; de 

^ Detlejd&n : generatL 
48 



BOOK I 

sturgeon, pike, cod, wrasse, lamprey; varieties of 
muUet ; the sargus. (xxxi f.) Remarkable prices for 
fish. Different kinds popular in different places. 
(xxxiii) Gills in various species ; scales ditto. (xxxiv f.) 
Fish with voice, fish without gills ; fish that go ashore. 
Seasons for catching fish. (xxxvi) Classification of 
fish by shape. Difference between turbot and 
sparrow-turbot. Long fishes. (xxxvii) Fins and 
mode of swimming. (xxxviii) E,els. (xxxix) Lam- 
preys. (xl) Kinds of flat-fish. (xU) The remora and 
how it operates. (xhi) What fish change colours. 
(xhii) Swallow-fish. The fish that shines by night. 
The horned fish. The Aveever. (xUv) The blood- 
less fishes. The so-called soft fishes. (xlv) The sepia- 
fish. The cuttle-fish. The smaU scallops. Flying 
fish. (xlvi-ix) The polyps, including the saiUng 
polyp. The sailor-fish. (l-Ui) SheU-fish : lobster, 
varieties of crab, the sea-pen's guard, sea-urchins, 
snails, scaUops. Varieties of sheU. (Uii) Quantity 
of deUcacies suppUed by the sea. (liv-Ux) Pearls — 
how do they grow and where, how found; varieties 
of large pearl — their remarkable features, their 
nature, instances of their occurrence, when first used 
at Rome. (Ix-lxv) Nature of varieties of purple — 
the purple-fish ; kinds of purple-fish ; how used to 
supply dye for wooUens ; date of use of purple at 
Rome, date of purple stripe and purple-bordered 
robe ; purple dyed dresses ; dying amethyst ; Tyrian, 
vegetable-scarlet, kermes-scarlet. (Ixvi) The sea-pen 
and the sea-pen's guard. (Ixvii) Perception of aquatic 
animals : the electric ray, sting-ray, scolopendrae, 
shad, ramming-fish. (Ixviii f.) Species intermediate 
between animal and vegetable : sea-nettles ; sponges, 

49 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

spongeis, quae genera earum et ubi nascantur; 
animal esse eas. (Ixx) De caniculis. (Ixxi) De his 
quae silicea testa cluduntur ; quae sine sensu ullo 
in mari ; de reliquis sordium animalibus. (Ixxii) De 
venenatis marinis. (Ixxiii) De morbis piscium. 
(Ixxiv-vii) De generatione eorum : mira genera- 
tionum ; qui intra se et ova pariant et animal ; 
quorum in partu rumpatur venter, dein coeat ; qui 
volvas habeant ; qui ipsi se ineant. (Ixxviii) Quae 
longissima vita pisciimi. (Ixxix fF.) Quis primus vivaria 
piscium instituerit. de ostreis ; quis murenarum 
vivaria instituerit ; insignia piscinanmi ; (Ixxxii) 
Quis primus coclearum vivaria instituerit. (Ixxxiii) 
Pisces terreni. (Ixxxiv) De muribus in Nilo. (Ixxxv) 
Quomodo capiantur anthiae pisces. (Ixxxvl) De 
stelUs marinis. (lxxx\ii) De dactylorum miraculis. 
(Ixxxviii) de inimicitiis inter se aquatiUum et amicitiis. 
Summa : res et historiae et observationes DCL. 

Ex auctoribus : Turranio Gracile, Trogo, Maece- 
nate, Alfio Flavo, CorneUo Nepote, Laberio mimo- 
grapho, Fabiano, FenesteUa, Muciano, AeUo Stilone, 
Seboso, MeUsso, Seneca, Cicerone, Macro AemiUo, 
Messala Corvino, Trebio Nigro, Nigidio. Externis: 
Aristotele, Archelao rege, CalUmacho, Democrito, 
Theophrasto, ThrasyUo, Hegesidemo, Sudine, 
Alexandro polyhistore. 

Libro X. continentur volucrum natm*ae. (i f.) 
De struthocamelo, phoenice. (iii-vi) Aquilarum 
genera, natura earum ; quando legionum signa esse 
coeperint ; de aquila quae in rogum virginis se 
misit. (vii) \^oltur. (viu) Avis sanqualis, immusulus. 
(ix-xi) Accipitres : buteo ; in quibus locis societate 
accipitres et homines aucupentur ; quae avis sola 
a suo genere interimatui- ; quae avis singula ova 

50 



BOOK I 

their kinds and habitat; sponges, hving creatures. 
(Ixx) Sea-bitches. (Ixxi) Flint-shell fish ; marine 
animals without senses ; other low species. (Ixxii) 
Venomous marine animals. (Ixxiii) Diseases of fishes. 
(Ixxiv-vii) Their reproduction — curious reproductive 
methods ; species both oviparous and viviparous ; 
deUvery by rupture of the stomach, afterwards 
closing up ; species possessing matrix ; self-fertiHzing 
species. (Ixxviii) Longest Ufe of fish. (Ixxix-lxxxi) 
First inventor of fish-ponds ; oysters ; who invented 
lamprey-ponds. Notable fish-ponds ; who first in- 
vented snail-ponds. (Ixxxiii) Land fishes. (Ixxxiv) 
Mouse-fish in the Nile. (Ixxxv) Flower-fish, mode 
of catching. (Ixxxvi) Starfish. (Ixxxvii) Remarkable 
species of finger-fish. (Ixxxvlii) Instances of hostiUty 
and friendship between aquatic animals. — Total: 
650 facts, investigations and observations. 

Authorities : Turranius GraciUs, Trogus, Maecenas, 
Alfius Flavus, CorneUus Nepos, the Mivies of Laberius, 
Fabianus, Fenestella, Mucianus, AeUus Stilo, Sebosus, 
MeUssus, Seneca, Cicero, AemiUus Macer, Corvinus 
Messala, Trebius Niger, Nigidius. Foreign authori- 
ties : Aristotle, King Archelaus, CalUmachus, 
Democritus, Theophrastus, ThrasyUus, Hegesidemus, 
Sudines, Alexander the Learned. 

Book X. Subject — the nature of birds. (i f.) The 
ostrich, the phoenix. (iii-vi) Eagles, their species; 
their nature ; when adopted as regimental badges ; 
self-immolation of eagle on maiden's funeral pyre. 
(vii) The vulture. (viii) Lammergeier, sea-eagle (?) 
(ix-xi) Hawks : the buzzard ; use of hawks by fowlers 
where practised ; the oiily bird that is kiUed by its 
owu kind ; what bird produces one egg at a time. (xii) 

51 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

pariat. (xii) Milvi. (xiii) Digestio avium per genera. 
(xiv-x\d) De inauspicatis avibus; cornices quibus 
mensibus non sint inauspicatae : de corvis ; de 
bubone. (xvii) Aves quarum vita aut notitia inter- 
cidit. (xviii) Quae a cauda nascantur. (xix) De 
noctuis. (xx) De pico Martio. (xxi) De his quae 
uncos unguis habent. (xxii-v) De his quae digitos 
habent : de pavonibus ; quis primus pavonem cibi 
causa occiderit ; quis farcire instituerit ; de galli- 
naceis, quomodo castrentur; de gallinaceo locuto. 
(xxvi) De ansere. (xxvii) Quis primum iecur anseri- 
num instituerit ; de Commageno ; chenalopeces, 
chenerotes, tetraones, otides ; grues ; de ciconiis ; 
de palniipede reliquo genere ; de oloribus. (xxxiii-v) 
De avibus peregrinis quae veniimt: coturnices, 
glottides, cychramus, otus ; de a^ibus nostris quae 
discedunt, et quo abeant : hirundines, turdi, merulae, 
sturni ; de avibus quae plumas amittunt in occulta- 
tione : turtur, palumbes. (xxx\d) Quae avium 
perennes, quae semestres, quae trimestres : galguli, 
upupae. (xxx^ii-xl) Memnonides ; meleagrides ; 
seleucides ; ibis. (xH) Quae quibus locis aves non 
sint. (xlii-v) Quae mutent colorem et vocem : de 
oscinum genere ; de luscinis ; de melancoryphis, 
erithacis, phoenicuris, oenanthe, chlorio. (xlvi) 
Tempus axium geniturae. (xlvii) Halcyones : dies 
earimi navigabiles. (xhiii) De reUquo aquaticarum 
genere. (xUx-h) Sollertia avium in nidis : hirundinum 
opera mira ; ripariae ; acanthylUs ; merops ; de 
perdicibus. (Ui f.) De columbis ; opera earum 
mirabiUa et pretia. (Uv f.) Differentiae volatus avium 
et incessus ; apodes sive cypseU. (Ivi) De pastu 
avium. caprimulgi, platea. (h^ii) De ingeniis avium ; 
cardueUs, taurus, anthus. (Iviii-lx) De avibus quae 

52 



BOOK I 

Kites. (xiii) Classification of birds by species. (xiv- 
xvi) Birds of ill-omen ; in what montlis crows are not a 
bad omen ; ravens ; the horned owl. (xvii) Extinct 
birds ; birds no longer known. (xviii) Birds hatched 
tail first. (xix) Night-owls. (xx) Mars's wood- 
pecker, (xxi) Birds with hooked talons. (xxii-v) 
Birds with toes : peacocks ; who first killed the 
peacock for food ; who invented fattening peacocks ; 
poultry — mode of castrating ; a talking cock. (xxvi- 
xxxii) The goose ; who first introduced goose-Hver 
(foie gras) ; Commagene goose ; fox-goose, love- 
goose, heath-cock, bustard; cranes ; storks ; rest of 
reflexed-claw genus ; swans. (xxxiii-v) Foreign 
migrant birds : quails, tongue-birds, ortolan, horned 
owl ; native migrant birds and their destinations — 
swallows, thrushes, blackbirds, starhngs ; birds that 
moult in retirement : turtle-dove, ring-dove. (xxxvi) 
Non-migrant birds : half-yearly and quarter-yearly 
visitors : witwalls, hoopoes. (xxxvii-xl) Memnon's 
hens, Meleager's sisters (guinea-hens), Seleucid hens, 
ibis. (xli) Where particular species not kno^vn. 
(xlii-v) Species that change colour and voice : the 
divination-bird class; nightingale, black-cap, robin, 
red-start, chat, golden oriole. (xlvi) The breed- 
ing season. (xlvii) Kingfishers : sign of fine weather 
for saihng. (xlviii) Remainder of aquatic class. 
(xhx-H) Craftsmanship of birds in nest-making; 
remarkable structures of swaHows ; sand-martins ; 
thistle-finch ; bee-eater ; partridges. (lii f.) Pigeons 
— remarkable structures of, and prices paid for; 
(liv f.) Varieties of birds' flight and walk ; footless 
martins or swifts. (]vi) l"ood of birds. Goat- 
suckers, spoon-bill. (Ivii) Intefligence of birds; 
gold-finch, buU-bittern, yeUow wagtail. (Iviii-lx) 

53 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

locuntur : psittaci ; picae glandares ; propter corvom 
loquentem seditio populi Romani. (Ixi) Diomediae. 
(Ixii) Quae animalia nihil discant. (Ixiii) De potu 
a^ium ; de porphyrione. (Ixiv) Himantopodes. (Ixv f.) 
De pastu aviimi. onocrotali. (Ixvii f.) De pere- 
grinis avibus : Phalerides, Phasianae, Numidicae, 
phoenicopteri, attagenae, phalacrocoraces, pyrrho- 
coraceSjlagopodes. (Ixix) De novis avibus : vipiones.^ 
(Ixx) De fabulosis avibus. (Ixxi f.) Quis gaUinas 
farcire instituerit,quique hoc primiconsules vetuerint ; 
quis primus aviaria instituerit ; de Aesopi patina. 
(Ixxiii-lxxx) Generatio avium : quae praeter aves 
ova gignant ; ovorum genera et naturae ; \atia et 
remedia incubantium ; Augustae ex ovis augurium ; 
quales galhnae optimae ; morbi earum et remedia ; 
ardeolarum genera ; quae sint ova urina, quae 
cynosura, quae hj^penemia ; quomodo optime serven- 
tur ova. (Ixxxi f.) Quae volucrum sola animalia 
pariat et lacte nutriat. quae terrestrium ova pariant. 
serpentium generatio. (Ixxxiii-vii) Terrestrium om- 
nium generatio ; quae sit animalium in uteris 
positio ; quormn animalium origo adhuc incerta sit ; 
de salamandris ; quae nascantur ex non genitis ; 
quae nata nihil gignant ; in quibus neuter sexus 
sit. (Ixxxviii-xc) De sensibus animaUimi : tactus 
omnibus esse ; item gustatus ; quibus visus praeci- 
puus, quibus odoratus, quibus auditus ; de talpis ; an 
ostreis auditus ; q\u ex piscibus clarissime audiant ; 
qui ex piscibus maxime odorentur. (xci-iii) Diversitas 
animalium in pastu : quae venenis vivant ; quae 
terra ; quae fame aut siti non intereant. (xciv) 
De diversitate potus. (xcv f.) Quae inter se dissi- 

^ Sillig (cf. X 135) : bibiones aut bubones. 
54 



BOOK I 

Talking birds : parrots, acorn-pies ; riot at Rome 
caused by talking crow. (Ixi) Diomede's birds. 
(Ixii) What animals learn nothing. (Ixiii) Birds, 
mode of drinking ; the sultana hen. (Ixiv) The long- 
legs. (Ixv f.) Food of birds. Pelicans. (Ixvii f.) 
Foreign birds : coots, pheasants, Numidian fowl, 
flamingoes, heath-cock, bald crow or cormorant, 
red-beaked or Alpine crow, bare-footed crow or 
ptarmigan. (Ixix) New species : small cranes. (Ixx) 
Fabulous birds. (Ixxi) Who invented fattening of 
chickens, and which consuls first prohibited ? who 
first invented aviaries ? Aesop's stewpan. (Ixxiii- 
Ixxx) Reproduction of birds: oviparous creatures 
other than birds ; kinds and properties of eggs ; de- 
fective hatching and its cures ; Augusta's augury 
fromeggs; what sort of hens the best ? their diseases 
and remedies ; kinds of small heron ; nature of pufF- 
eggs, addled eggs, wind-eggs ; best way of preserving 
eggs. (Ixxxi f.) The only species of bird that is vivi- 
parous and suckles its young. Oviparous species of 
land animals. Reproduction of snakes. (Ixxxiii- 
vii) Reproduction of all land animals ; posture of 
animals in the uterus ; animal species whose mode of 
birth is still uncertain ; salamanders ; species not 
reproduced by generation ; species whose generated 
ofFspring is unfertile ; sexless species. (Ixxxviii- 
xc) Senses of animals: all have sense of touch, also 
taste ; species with exceptional sight, smell, hearing ; 
moles ; have oysters hearing ? which fishes hear most 
clearly ? which fishes have keenest sense of smell ? 
(xci-iii) Difference of food in animals : which Uve on 
poisonous things ? which on earth ? which do not die 
of hunger of thirst ? (xciv) Variety of drink. (xcv f.) 
Species mutually hostile ; facts as to friendship and 

55 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

deant ; amicitiam animalium esse et afFectus animal- 
ium ; exempla affeetus serpentium. (xcvii f.) De 
somno animalium ; quae somnient. Summa : res 
et historiae et observationes DCCXCIV. 

Ex auctoribus : Manilio, Cornelio Valeriano, actis, 
Umbricio Meliore, Masurio Sabino, Antistio Labeone, 
Trogo, Cremutio, M. Varrone, Macro Aemilio, 
Melisso, Muciano, Nepote, Fabio Pictore, T. Lucretio, 
Cornelio Celso, Horatio, Deculone, Hygino, Sasernis, 
Nigidio, Mamilio Sura. Extemis : Homero, Phemo- 
noe, Philemone, Boetho qui opiiOoyoviav, Hyla 
qui de auguriis, Aristotele, Theophrasto, CalUmacho, 
Aeschylo, Hierone rege, Philometore rege, Archyta 
Tarentino, Amphilocho Atheniense, Anaxipoli 
Thasio, ApoUodoro Lemnio, Aristophane Milesio, 
Antigono Cumaeo, Agathocle Chio, ApoUonio Perga- 
meno, Aristandro Athenaeo, Bacchio Milesio, Bione 
Solense, Chaerea Atheniense, Diodoro Prienaeo, 
Dione Colophonio, Democrito, Diophane Nicaeense, 
Epigene Rhodio, Euagone Thasio, Euphronio Athe- 
naeo, luba, Androtione qui de agricultura, Aeschrione 
qui item, Lysimacho qui item, Dionysio qui Magonem 
transtulit, Diophane qui ex Dionysio epitomen 
fecit, Nicandro, Onesicrito, Phylarcho, Hesiodo. 

Libro XI. continentur insectorum animahum 
genera. (i) SubtiUtas in his rebus naturae. (ii) An 
spirent, an habeant sanguinem. (iii) De corpore 
eorum. (iv-xxiii) De apibus ; qui ordo in opere 
earum ; quid sit in eo commosis, quid sit pissoceros, 
quid sit propolis, quid erithace sive sandaraca sive 
cerinthos ; ex quibus floribus opera fiant ; apiura 
studio capti ; de fucis ; quae natura meUis, quae 
optima meUa, quae genera meUis in singuUs locis, 
quomodo probentur ; de erice sive tetraUce sive 

56 



BOOK I 

affection between animals ; instances of affection 
between snakes. (xcvii f.) Sleep of animals ; wliich 
species sleep ? Total : 794 facts, investigations and 
observations. 

Authorities : Manilius, CorneHus V^alerian, 
Records, Umbricius Melior, Masurius Sabinus, Antis- 
tius Labeo, Trogus, Cremutius, Marcus Varro, 
Aemihus Macer, Melissus, Mucianus, Nepos, Fabius 
Pictor, Titus Lucretius, Cornelius Celsus, Horace, 
Deculo, Hyginus, the Saseiniae, Nigidius, MamiUus 
Sura. Foreign authorities : Homer, Phemonoe, 
Philemon, Boethus's Ornithogonia, Hylas's Anguries, 
Aristotle, Theophrastus, Callimachus, Aeschylus, 
King Hiero, King Philometor, Ai-chytas of Tarentum, 
Amphilochus of Athens, Anaxipohs of Thasos, 
Apollodorus of Lemnos, Aristophanes of Miletus, 
Antigonus of Cumae, Agathocles of Chios, Apollonius 
of Pergamum, Aristander of Athens, Bacchius of 
Miletus, Bion of SoU, Chaereas of Athens, Diodorus of 
Priene, Dion of Colophon, Democritus, Diophanes of 
Nicaea, Epigenes of Rhodes, Evagon of Thasos, 
Euphronius of Athens, Juba, Androtion On Agriculture, 
Aeschrio ditto, Lysimachus diito, Dionysius's transla- 
tion of Mago, Diophanes's epitome of Dionysius, 
Nicander, Onesicritus, Phylarchus, Hesiod. 

Book XL Subject — the kinds of insects. (i) 
Nature 's subtlety in this department. (ii) Do insects 
breathe ? have they blood ? (iii) Their bodies. 
(iv-xxiii) Bees — structure of their comb ; its materials, 
gum, pitch-wax, bee-glue, bee-bread {sandarach, 
cerinikus) ; flowers from which materials derived ; 
instances of bee-lovers ; drones ; nature of honey ; 
the best honey; unique local varieties of honey; 
test of varieties; heather (heath, sisyrus); repro- 

57 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

sisyro ; quomodo apes generent ; quae regum in 
iis ratio ; aliquando et laetum omen esse examinum ; 
genera apiimi ; de morbis apium ; quae inimica 
apibus ; de continendis apibus, de reparandis. 
(xxiv) De vespis et crabronibus. quae animalia ex 
alieno suum faciant. (xxv-vii) De bombyce Assyria : 
de bombyliis, necydalis ; quae prima invenerit 
bombycinam vestem ; de bombyce Coa ; quomodo 
conficiatur Coa vestis. (xxviii f.) De araneis qui ex 
iis texant ; quae materiae natura ad texendum ; 
generatio araneorum. (xxx ff.) De scorpionibus ; de 
stellionibus ; de cicadis sine ore esse et sine exitu 
cibi. (xxxiii) De pinnis insectorvun. (xxxiv-va) De 
scarabaeis ; lampyrides ; reliqua scarabaeorum 
genera ; de locustis ; de formicis. (xxxvii-ix) 
Chrysallides, asilus, papiliones ; de his animalibus 
quae ex ligno aut in ligno nascantur ; sordium 
hominis animalia ; quod animal minimvma ; aestatis 
animalia. (xl) Animal cui cibi exitus non sit. (xH- 
iii) Tineae, cantharides, culices ; nivis animal ; 
ignium animal, pyrallis sive pyrotos ; hemerobion. 
(xliv-xcvii) Animalium omnium per singula membra 
naturae et historiae : quae apices habeant, quae 
cristas. (xlv-li) Cornuum genera : quibus mobilia ; de 
capitibus : quibus nulla ; de capillo ; de ossibus capitis ; 
de cerebro ; de auribus : quae aures non habeant, 
quae sine auribus et sine foraminibus audiant ; 
de facie, de fronte, de supercilis. (lii-hii) De ocuHs : 
quae sine oculis animalia; quae singulos tantum 
oculos habeant ; de diversitate oculonmi ; quae 
ratio \isus ; noctu \adentes ; de natura pupillae ; 
quae non coniveant ; quibus eruti oculi renascantur ; 
de palpebris : quibus non sint, quibus ab altera 
tantum parte sint; quibus genae non sint. (Iviii- 

58 



BOOK I 

duction of bees ; their system of royalty ; swarming 
sometimes actually a good omen ; kinds of bees ; 
diseases of bees ; enemies of bees ; beekeeping ; 
replenishment of stock. (xxiv) Wasps and hornets. 
What animals reproduce from another species? 
(xxv-vii) Assyrian silk-worm: chrysalis, larva; 
inventor of silk fabric ; silk-worm of Cos ; manufac- 
ture of Coan silk. (xxviii f.) Spiders — which varieties 
make webs ; material used in webs ; mode of repro- 
duction. (xxx IT.) Scorpions ; geckoes ; grass- 
hoppers — their lack of mouth and vent. (xxxiii) 
Insects' wings. (xxxiv-vi) Beetles ; glowworms ; 
other kinds of beetle ; locusts ; ants. (xxx^ii-ix) 
Chrysalises, gad-flies, butterflies ; animals born from 
wood or in wood ; animals of human refuse ; which 
is the smallest animal ? summer animals. (xl) Vent- 
less animal, (xli-iii) Moths, beetles, gnats ; snow- 
animal ; fire-animal {pyrallis or pyrotos) ; may-flies. 
(xliv-xcviii) Nature and accomit of all animals ar- 
ranged according to the parts of the body : species 
possessing caps ; crested species. (xlv-li) Varieties of 
horn — which species can move the horns ; heads, head- 
less species ; hair ; bones of head ; brain ; ears — which 
species tiave none, which hear without ears or aper- 
tures ; face, brow, eye-brow. (lii-lvii) Eyes : what 
animals without eyes, what with only one eye ; 
varieties of eyes ; method of sight ; species that see 
bynight; structure of pu.pil ; species that do not close 
the eyes ; species wliose eyes after being destroyed 
grow again ; eyelashes — species that lack, species 
with lashes on only one Ud ; species with no eyehds. 

59 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Ix) De malis ; de naribus ; buccis, labris, mento 
maxillis. (Ixi-iv) De dentibus : quae genera eorum ; 
quibus non utraque parte sint, quibus cavi ; de 
serpentium dentibus, de veneno earum ; cui volucri 
dentes ; mirabilia dentium ; aetas ruminantium 
ab his. (Ixv) De lingua : quae sine ea ; de ranarum 
sono ; de palato. (Ixvi-viii) De tonsillis ; uva, 
epiglossis, arteriae, gula, cervix, collum, spina, 
guttur, fauces, stomachus. (Ixix-lxxi) De corde, 
sanguine, animo; quibus maxima corda, quibus 
minima, quibus bina; quando in extis adspici 
coepta. (Ixxii) De pulmone : quibus maximus, quibus 
minimus, quibus nihil aliud quam pulmo intus ; 
quae causa velocitatis animalium. (Ixxiii-vi) De 
iocinere, de capite extorum ; haruspicum circa id 
observationes ; quibus animalibus et in quibus 
locis bina iocinera ; de felle : ubi et in quibus 
geminxmn ; quibus animalium non sit, quibus animal- 
ium ahbi quam in iocinere ; quae \is eius ; quibus 
crescat cimi luna et decrescat iecur ; haruspicum 
circa ea observationes et prodigia mira. (Ixxvii) 
Praecordia ; risus natura. (Ixxviii) De ventre ; quibus 
nullus; quae sola vomant. (Ixxix) Lactes, hillae, 
alvos, colon ; quare quaedam insatiabiha animalia. 
(Ixxx-iii) De omento, de splene ; quibus animaUum 
non sit ; de renibus ; ubi quaterni animahbus ; 
quibus nulU; pectus, costae, vesica ; quibus animaU- 
bus non sit; iUa; de membranis. (Ixxxiv-viii) 
Uterus : de locis, de volvis, de suum volva, sumine ; 
quae adipem, quae sebum habeant; de natura 
utriusque ; quae non pinguescant ; de medulUs ; 
quibus non sint ; de ossibus ; de spinis ; quibus 
nec ossa nec spinae ; cartilagines ; de nervis ; quae 

60 



BOOK I 

(Iviii-lx) Cheek-bones ; nostrils ; cheeks, lips, chin, 
jaws. (Ixi-iv) Teeth — kinds of ; species with teeth in 
one jaw only ; with hollow teeth ; snakes' teeth, 
snakes' poison ; which bird has teeth ; remarkable 
facts as to teeth ; age of ruminants indicated by teeth. 
(Ixv) Tongue — tongueless species ; croaking of frogs ; 
palate. (Ixvi-viii) Tonsils ; uvula, epiglottis, wind- 
pipe, gullet, nape, neck, backbone, throat, jaws, 
stomach. (Ixix-lxxi) Heart, blood, Ufe ; wliich 
species has largest heart, which smallest, which 
two hearts ; when inspection of heart of victims 
began ; (Ixxii) Lungs — which species has largest, 
which smallest, which no internal organ besides 
hmgs; cause of speed in animals. (Ixxiii-vi) Liver — ■ 
head of internal organs ; its inspection by augurs ; 
species with tAvo hvers, and their habitats ; gall — what 
species have two, and where ; what animals have 
none, which have gall elsewhere than in Uver; its 
fimction ; species whose gall grows and shrinks in size 
with moon ; observation of these species by augurs, 
and marvellous portents. (Ixxvii) Diaphragm ; nature 
of laughter. (Ixxviii) Stomach ; species that have 
none ; the only species that vomit. (Ixxix) Smaller 
intestines, entrails, stomach, great gut ; why some 
animals have voracious appetites. (Ixxx-iii) Caul, 
spleen — species without spleen. Kidneys ; habitat 
of species with four kidneys — with none ; chest ; 
ribs ; bladder — animals without bladder ; entrails ; 
membranes. (Ixxxiv-viii) Belly — the ' parts,' the 
womb, sows' womb, paps ; what species have suet, 
what tallow ; nature of each ; what species have no 
fat ; marrow ; species that have none ; bones ; 
prickles ; species that have neither bones nor prickles ; 
cartilages ; sinews ; species without sinews. (Ixxxix- 

6i 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

sine nervis. (Ixxxix-xcii) Arteriae, venae ; quae 
nec venas nec arterias habeant ; de sanguine ; de 
sudore ; quorum celerrime sanguis spissetur, quorum 
non coeat; quibus crassissimus, quibus tenuissimus, 
quibus nullus, quibus certis temporibus anni nullus ; 
an in sanguine principatus. (xciii f.) De tergore ; 
de pilis et vestitu tergoris ; quibus os intus et pedes 
subtus hirti. (xcv-xcvii) De mammis ; quae volucrum 
mammas habeant. notabilia animalium in uberibus ; 
de lacte ; quod solum animal sugat in cursu ; 
de colostris ; de caseis ; ex quibus non fiat ; 
de coagulo ; genera alimenti ex lacte ; genera 
caseoriun. (xcxaii-cxiii) DifFerentiae membrorum ho- 
minis a reliquis animalibus : de digitis, de brachiis; 
de simianun simiUtudine ; de unguibus ; de genibus 
et poplitibus ; in quibus membris corporis humani 
sit religio ; varices ; de gressu, de pedibus et 
cruribus ; de ungulis ; volucrum pedes ; pedes 
animahmn a binis ad centenos ; de pumiUonibus ; 
de genitalibus ; de hermaphroditis ; de testibus ; 
trium generum semiviri ; de caudis ; de vocibus 
animalium ; de agnascentibus membris. (cxiv) Vita- 
htatis et morum notae ex membris hominum. 
(cxv f.) De anima ; de victu ; quae veneno pasta 
ipsa non pereant et gustata necent. (cxvii-ix) 
Quibus de causis homo non concoquat ; de remediis 
cruditatimi ; quemadmodum corpulentia contingat, 
quemadmodum minuatur ; quae gustu famem et 
sitim sedent. summa : res et historiae et ob- 
servationes MMDCC. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, Hygino, Scrofa, 
Saserna, Celso Cornelio, AemiHo Macro, Vergiho, 
Columella, lulio Aquila qui de Etrusca disciplina 
scripsit, Tarquitio qui item, Umbricio Meliore qui 
62 



BOOK I 

xcii) Arleries, veins ; species with neither veins nor 
arteries ; blood ; sweat ; species whose blood 
thickens most quickly, whose blood does not coagu- 
late ; wliich species has the thickest blood, the 
thinnest, none at all, none at certain seasons of the 
year ; whether blood is dominant factor in body. 
(xciii f.) Back ; hair and integument of back ; species 
having hair inside mouth and under feet. (xcv-xcvii) 
Paps ; wliich birds have paps ; noteworthy points 
about animals' udders ; milk ; which the only animal 
that gives suck while in motion ; biestings ; cheese ; 
species whose milk does not form cheese ; curdled 
milk ; kinds of food obtained from milk ; kinds of 
cheese. (xcviii-cxiii) DifFerences in Umbs between 
man and other animals ; the fingers ; arms ; resem- 
blance to monkeys ; nails ; knees and thighs ; which 
parts of human body associated with ritual ; dilated 
veins ; gait, feet and legs ; hooves ; feet of birds ; 
feet of animals, between 2 and 100 ; dwarfs ; genital 
organs ; hermaphrodites ; testicles ; three kinds of 
half-man ; tails ; voices of animals ; hmbs of 
subsequent growth. (cxiv) Marks of vitahty and 
character derived from conformation of hmbs in man. 
(cxv) Respiration ; nutrition ; animals that from 
eating poison do not die, but kill those who taste 
them. (cxvii-ix) Causes of indigestion in rnan; 
remedies for indigestion ; cause of corpulence, and 
mode of reduction ; things whose taste allays hunger 
and thirst. Total : 2700 facts, investigations and 
obstrvations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Hyginus, Scrofa, 
Saserna, CorneHus Celsus, Aemilius Macer, Virgil, 
Cohimella, Julius Aquila's Etruscan System, Tar- 
quitius diito, Umbricius MeUor ditto, Cato the ex- 

63 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

item, Catone censorio, Domitio Calvino, Trogo, 
Melisso, Fabiano, Muciano, Nigidio, Mamilio, Oppio. 
Externis : Aristotele, Deraocrito, Neoptolemo qui 
/meXiTovpyi/ca, Aristomacho qui item, Philisco qui 
item, Nicandro, Menecrate, Dionysio qui Magonem 
transtuht, Empedocle, Callimacho, Attalo rege, 
Apollodoro qui de bestiis venenatis, Hippocrate, 
Herophilo, Erasistrato, Asclepiade, Themisone, Posi- 
donio Stoico, Menandris Prienaeo et Heracleote, 
Euphronio Athenaeo, Theophrasto, Hesiodo, Philo- 
metore rege. 

Libro XII. continentur arborum naturae. (i, ii) 
Honor earum. (iii-lxiii) De peregrinis arboribus. 
(iii-vi) Platanus ; quando primum in ItaUam et 
unde ; natura earum ; miracula ex iis ; chamae- 
platani ; quis primus viridiaria tondere instituerit. 
(vii) Malum Assyrium quomodo seratur. (viii- 
xvii) Indiae arbores : quando primum Rpmae 
hebenus visa ; quae genera eius ; spina Indica ; 
ficus Indica ; Indicarum arborum formosae sine 
nominibus ; liniferae Indorum arbores ; arbor pala, 
pomum ariena ; piperis arbores, genera piperis, 
bregma, zingiberi sive zimpiberi, caryophyllon, 
lycium sive pyxacanthum Chironium, macir, sac- 
charon. (xviii f.) Arbores Arianae gentis, item 
Gedrosiae, item Hyrcaniae, item Bactriae ; bdelHum 
sive brochum sive malacham sive maldacum ; scor- 
dasti. in omnibus odoribus aut condimentis di- 
cuntur adulterationes, experimenta, pretia. (xx f.) 
Persidis arbores : Persici maris insularum arbores ; 
gossypinum arbor. (xxii-iv) Cynas arbor. ex qui- 
bus arboribus lintea in oriente fiant ; quo in loco 
arborum nulUs foUa decidant ; quibus modis constent 
arborum fructus. (xxv-xxix) De costo ; de nardo, 

64 



BOOK I 

Censor, Domitius Cahinus, Trogus, MeHs<!us, 
Fabianus, Mucianus, Nigidius, Mamilius, Oppius. 
Foreign authorities: Aristotle, Democritus, Neo- 
ptolemus's Production of Honey, Aristomachus 
ditto, PhiHscus ditto, Nicander, Menecrates, Diony- 
sius's translation of Mago, Empedocles, Calhmachus, 
King Attalus, Venomous Aiiimals by Apollodorus, 
Hippocrates, Herophilus, Erasistratus, Asclepiades, 
Themiso, Posidonius the Stoic, Menander of Priene, 
Menander of Heraclea, Euphronius of Athens, 
Theophrastus, Hesiod, King Philometor. 

Book XH. Contents : trees — their various 
quahties. (i, ii) In praise of trees. (iii-lxiii) Foreign 
trees. (iii-vi) Plane — when and whence first intro- 
duced into Italy ; their nature ; remarkable products ; 
dwarf planes ; who first introduced the pruning of 
garden trees. (vii) Assyrian apple, instructions for 
planting. (viii-xvii) Indian trees; ebony, when 
first seen at Rome ; its kinds ; Indian thorn ; Indian 
fig ; beautiful unnamed Indian trees ; Indians' 
flax-trees; plantain tree, its fruit bananas; pepper 
trees, kinds of pepper, defective pepper, ginger, 
nut-leaf, wolf-plant or Chiron's box-thorn, macir, 
sugar-cane. (xviii f.) Trees of the Arian race, ditto 
of Gedrosia, ditto of Hyrcania, ditfo of Bactria ; myrrh 
plaut or gum-plant {nialacha, maJdacum) ; germander. 
Modes of adulteration, tests and prices specified for 
all scents or spices. (xx f.) Trees of Persia ; trees of 
islands in Persian Gulf; cotton-tree. (xxii-iv) 
Cynas tree ; trees used in East for making hnen ; 
locahty with no deciduous trees ; modes in which 
trees form fruits. (xxv-xxix) Costus; nard, its 



^S 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

differentiae eius XII ; asaron ; amomum, amomis, 
cardamomum. (xxx-xxxii) De turifera regione, de 
arboribus quae tus ferunt ; quae natura turis et 
quae genera. (xxxiii-v) De myrrha : de arboribus 
quae ferunt eam ; natura et genera myrrhae. 
(xxxvi-xl) De mastiche ; de ladano, scorbo, enhaemo ; 
bratus arbor ; stobrum arbor. (xli) De feUcitate 
Arabiae. (xlii-xlvii) De cinnamo, cinnamomo, xylo- 
cinnamo ; casia, cancamiun, tarum ; serichatum, 
gabalium ; myrobalanus ; phoenicobalanus. (xlviii- 
Ixi) De calamo odorato, de iunco odorato ; hammoni- 
acum ; sphagnos ; cypros ; aspalathos sive ervsiscep- 
trum ; maron ; de balsamo,opobalsamo, xylobalsamo; 
styrax ; galbanum ; de panace ; spondylion ; de malo- 
bathro ; de omphacio ; bryon, oenanthe, massaris ; 
elate vel spathe ; cinnamum comacimi. Summa : 
res et historiae et observationes CCCCLXVIII. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, Muciano, Vergilio, 
Fabiano, "jeboso, Pomponio Mela, Flavio Procilio, 
Hygino, Trogo, Claudio Caesare, Cornelio Nepote, 
Sextio Nigro qui Graece de medicina scripsit, Cassio 
Hemina, L. Pisone, Tuditano, Antiate. Externis : 
Theophrasto, Herodoto, CalUsthene, Isogono, CHtar- 
cho, Anaximene, Duride, Nearcho, Onesicrito, 
Polycrito, Olympiodoro, Diogneto, Nicobulo, Anti- 
clide, Charete Mytilenaeo, Menaechmo, Dorotheo 
Athenaeo, Lyco, Antaeo, Ephippo, Dinone, Adiman- 
to, Ptolemaeo Lagi, Marsya Macedone, Zoilo item, 
Democrito, Amphilocho, Aristomacho, Alexandro 
polyhistore, luba, Apollodoro qui de odoribus, 
Heraclide medico, Botr}-e medico, Archedemo item, 
Dionysio item, Democede item, Euphrone item, 
Mneside item, Diagora item, loUa item, Heraclide 
Tarentino, Xenocrate Ephesio. 

66 



BOOK I 

12 varieties; hazelwort; aviomum, amoviis. carda- 
mon. (xxx-xxxii) The incense-producing distriet, 
incense-bearing trees ; nature and kinds of incense. 
(xxxiii-v) Myrrh : trees that produce it ; nature and 
kinds of myrrh. (xxxvi-xl) Mastic; ladanum, 
scorbus, styptic, bratus tree ; stobrum tree. (xli) 
Arabia, why happy. (xUi-xlvii) Cinnamon, cinna- 
momum, cinnamon-shrub ; wild cinnamon, can- 
camum, aloe-wood; serichatum, gabaUum; behen- 
nut ; Egy]Jtian date. (x!viii-lxi) Scented reed, 
scented rush ; Hammonian gum-tree ; fragrant 
moss ; cyprus ; calycotome or erysisceptrum ; cat- 
thyme ; balsam, balsam-juice, balsam-wood ; 
styrax ; galhanum ; aU-heal ; bear's-foot : cinnamon- 
leaf ; grape-plant ; moss, vine-flower, wild vine ; 
fir or larch ; cinnamon comacum. Total : 468 facts, 
investigations and observatious. 

Authorities ; Marcus Varro, Mucianus, Virgil, 
Fabianus, Sebosus, Pomponius Mela, Flavius Pro- 
cilius, Hyginus, Trogus, Claudius Caesar, Cornelius 
Nepos, Greek Treatise on Medicine by Sextius Niger, 
Cassius Hemina, Lucius Piso, Tuditanus, Antias. 
Foreign authorities : Theoplirastus, Herodotus, 
CalUsthenes, Isogonus,CUtarchus, Anaximenes, Duris, 
Nearchus, Onesicritus, Polycritus, Olympiodorus, 
Diognetus, Nicobulus, Anticlides, Chares of Mitylene, 
Menaechmus, Dorotheus of Athens, Lycus, Antaeus, 
Ephippus, Dinon, Adimantus, Ptolemy son of 
Lagus, Marsyas of Macedon, Zoilus of Macedon, 
Democritus, Amphilochus, Aristomachus, Alexander 
the Learned, Juba, ApoUodorus On Scents; the phy- 
sicians Heraclides, Botrys, Archedemus, Dionysius, 
Democedes, Euphron, Mnesides, Diagoras and loUas; 
HeracUdes of Tarentum, Xenocrates of Ephesus. 

67 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Libro XIII. continentur : de peregrinis arboribus. 
(i-v) De unguentis ; quando coeperint ; genera 
eorum et conpositiones XII ; diapasmata, magmata 
et probatio unguenti ; quanta in unguentis luxuria ; 
quando primum Romanis in usu. (vi-ix) De palmis ; 
de natura earum ; quomodo serantur ; genera 
fructus earum et insignia XVIII. (x-xiii) Syriae 
arbores : pistacia, cottana, Damascena, myxa ; 
cedrus ; quae arbores trium annorum fructum 
pariter habeant ; terebinthus ; rhus. (xiv-xvi) 
Aegypti arbores : ficus Alexandrina ; ficus Cypria ; 
siliqua ceronia. (xvii-xx) Persica arbor ; quibus 
arboribus subnascatur fructus ; cuci ; spina Aegyptia ; 
cummium genera VIII, sarcocoUa. (xxi-vii) De 
papyro : de chartae usu ; quando coeperit ; quomodo 
fiat ; genera eius IX ; probatio chartarum ; vitia 
chartarum ; de glutino chartarum ; de Ubris Numae. 
(xxviii) Aethiopiae arbores. (xxix-xxxi) Atlantica 
ai-bor ; de citri arbore ; de citreis mensis, quae 
probentur aut vituperentur in iis ; malum citreum. 
(xxxii-iv) Lotos ; Cyrenaicae arbores, paUurus; 
Punici maU genera IX, balaustium. (xxxv-xlvii) 
Asiae et Graeciae arbores : epicactis, erice, granum 
Cnidium sive thymelaea sive chamelaea sive pyro- 
sachne sive cnestor sive cneorum ; tragion, traga- 
cantha; tragos sive scorpio, myrice sive brya, 
ostrys ; euuonymus ; leon arbor ; andrachne ; coc- 
cygia, aphace ; ferula ; Thapsia ; capparis sive 
cynosbaton sive ophiostaphyle ; saripha ; spina 
regia ; cytisus. (xlviii-lvii) Arbores et frutices in 
mari nostro ; in mari rubro ; item in Indico ; item in 
Trogodytico phycos, grasson sive zoster, bryon mari- 
num, Isidos plocamos, Chariton blepharon. Summa: 
res et historiae et observationes CCCCLXVIIl. 

68 



BOOK I 

Book XIII. Contents: On foreign trees. (i-v) 
Perfumes — when invented; 12 kinds and combi- 
nations ; ointments, salves, testing of perfumes; per- 
fume as promoting luxury ; when first in use at Rome. 
(vi-ix) Palms — their nature ; how planted ; 18 kinds 
of fruit and noteworthy facts. (x-xii) Trees of Syria : 
pistachio, small fig, damson, Syrian plum ; cedar ; 
whattreescarry threeyears' fruitatonce; terebinth; 
sumac. (xiv-xvi) Trees of Egypt : Alexandrian fig ; 
Cyprian lig ; Carob. (xvii-xx) TPersiau tree ; 
what trees produce a successiou of fruit ; cuci 
palm ; Egyptian thorn ; gum tree, 8 kinds ; 
Persian giim. (xxi-vii) Papyius ; employment of 
paper ; when begun ; how manufactured ; 9 kinds ; 
mode of testing papers ; defects of papers ; paper- 
glue ; Books of Numa. (xxviii) Trees of Ethiopia. 
(xxix) Atlantic tree ; citrus-tree ; citrus-wood tables, 
their merits and defects ; citrus-fruit. (xxxii-iv) 
Lotus ; trees of Cyrenaica, Chiist's-thorn ; pome- 
granate, 9 kinds, wild pomegranate. (xxxv-xlvii) 
Trees of Asia and Greece ; helleborine, heath, seed of 
Cnidus or altar-plant or carline thistle or fiie-fcam 
or cnesior or mezereon ; goat-plant, goat-thorn ; 
goat or scorpion, tamarisk or brya, hop-hornbeam ; 
euonymus ; lion-tree ; purslane ; cuckoo-plant, tare ; 
fennel ; Thapsus-shrub ; caper-bush or dog's bush 
or snake-vine ; saripha ; king's thorn ; tree-medick. 
(xlviii-lvii) Trees and bushes of the Mediterranean ; 
of the Red Sea ; of the Indian Ocean ; of Cave- 
dwellers' Sea — sea-weed, grasson or girdle-plant, 
sea-lettuce, plait of Isis, Graces' eyeUd. Total 
468 facts, investigations and observations. 



69 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, Muciano, Vergilio, 
Fabiano, Seboso, Pomponio Mela, Flavio Proeilio, 
Flygino, Trogo, Claudio Caesare, CorneUo Nepote, 
Sextio Nigro qui Graece de medicina scripsit, 
Cassio Hemina, L. Pisone, Tuditano, Antiate. 
Extemis : Theophrasto, Herodoto, Callisthene, 
Isigono, Clitarcho Anaximene, Duride, Nearcho, 
Onesicrito, Polycrito, Olympiodoro, Diogneto, Nico- 
bulo, Anticlide, Charete Mytilenaeo, Mcnaechmo, 
Dorotheo Atheniense, Lyco, Antaeo, Ephippo, 
Dinone, Adimanto, Ptolemaeo Lagi, Marsya Mace- 
done, Zoilo item, Democrito, Amphilocho, Aristo- 
macho, Alexandro polyhistore, luba, Apollodoro 
qui de odoribus scripsit, HeracHde medico, Botrye 
medico, Archedemo item, Dionysio item, Democede 
item, Euphrone item, Mneside item, Diagora 
item, lolla item, Heraclide Tarentino, Xenocrate 
Ephesio. 

Libro XIV. continentxir fructiferae arbores. (i-v) 
De ^itium natura ; quibus modis ferant ; de uvarum 
natura et ciira ; \atium et uvarum genera XCI ; insignia 
culturae et vinearum ; (vi-xi) De inventione mulsi ; 
\ina generosa L, transmarina XXXVIII ; de vino 
Opimiano ; notabilia circa apothecas : de natura vini ; 
vini salsi genera VII. de passo et hepsemate et 
dulcium generibus XVII. (xii) Secundari vini 
genera III. (xiii-xvii) Quam nuper coeperint vina 
generosa in ItaUa ; de vino observationes a Romulo 
rege ; quibus vinis usi antiqui ; quando primum vini 
quattuor genera posita. (xviii-xxi) Ex labrusca usus 
V ; qui frigidissimus natura sucus ; vini fictici genera 
LXVI : hydromeh sive apomeh sive mehcraton ; 
oxymeli. (xxii-v) V ini prodigiosi genera XII ; 



70 



BOOK I 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Mucianus, Virgil, 
Fabianus, Sebosus, Pomponius Mela, Flavius Pi-o- 
cilius, Hyginus, Trogus, Claudius Caesar, Comelius 
Nepos, Sextus Niger's Greek treatise On Medicine, 
Cassius Hemina, Lucius Piso, Tuditanus, Antias. 
Foreign authorities : Theophrastus, Herodotus, 
CalUsthenes, Isogonus, CHtarchus, Anaximenes,Duris, 
Nearchus, Onesicritus, Polycritus, Olympiodorus, 
Diognetus, Nicobulus, AnticUdes, Chares of Mitylene, 
Menaechmus, Dorotheus of Athens, Lycus, Antaeus, 
Ephippus, Dinon, Adimantus, Ptolemy son of 
Lagus, Marsyas of Macedon, Zoilus ditto, Demo- 
critus, Amphilochus, Aristomachus, Alexander the 
Learned, Juba, ApoUodorus On Scents ; the following 
medical writers — HeracUdes, Botrys, Archedemus, 
Dionysius, Democedes, Euphron, Mnesides, Diagoras, 
loUas ; HeracUdes of Tarentum, Xenophon of 
Ephesus. 

Book XIV. Contents : fruit-trees. (i-v) Vines, 
their nature ; their ways of bearing ; grapes, their 
nature and tending ; 91 kinds of vines and grapes ; 
viticulture and vineyards, noteworthy facts as to 
(vi-xi) Mead, its discovery ; 50 wines of quaUty ; 
38 foreign vintages ; Opimian 'wdne ; wine-ceUars, 
notable facts as to; nature of wine ; salt wine, 7 
kinds ; raisin-wine, must, sweet wine, 17 kinds. 
(xu) Inferior ^vines, 3 kinds. (xiii-xvii) Wines of 
quality, how recently begun to be made in Italy ; 
remarks as to wine from reign of Romulus onwards ; 
wines used in early periods ; four kinds of wine, 
when first estabUshed. (xviii-xxi) Wild vine, 5 uses 
of; what juice by nature the coldest; artificial 
wine, 66 kinds ; mead or honey-wine or water-mead ; 
vinegar-honey. (xxii-v) Remarkable wines, 12 kinds ; 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

qiiibus vinis ad sacra uti fas non sit ; quibus gene- 
ribus musta condiant, de pice, resinis. (xxvi f.) 
De vasis vinariis, de aceto, de faece, de cellis. 
(xxviii f.) De ebrietate ; ex aqua et frugibus vini 
vim fieri. Summa : res et historiae et observationes 
DX. 

Ex auctoribus : Cornelio Valeriano, Vergilio, Celso, 
Catone censorio, Sasernis patre et filio, Scrofa, M. 
Varrone, D. Silano, Fabio Pictore, Trogo, Hygino, 
Flacco Verrio, Graecino, Attico lulio, Columella, 
Masurio Sabino, Fenestella, Tergilla, Maccio Plauto, 
Fabio Dossenno, Scaevola, L. Aelio, Ateio Capitone, 
Cotta Messalino, L. Pisone, Pompeio Lenaeo, 
Fabiano, Sextio Nigro, Vibio Rufino. Externis : 
Hesiodo, Theophrasto, Aristotele, Democrito, Hie- 
rone rege, Attalo rege, Philometore rege, Archyta, 
Xenophonte, Amphilocho Athenaeo, AnaxipoHThasio, 
Apollodoro Lemnio, Aristophane Milesio, Antigono 
Cymaeo, Agathocle Chio, Apollonio Pergameno, 
Aristandro Athenaeo, Bacchio Milesio, Bione Solense, 
Chaerea Atheniense, Chaeristo item, Diodoro Prie- 
naeo, Dinone Colophonio, Epigene Rhodio, Evagone 
Thasio, Euphronio Athenaeo, Androtione qui de 
agricultura scripsit, Aeschrione qui item, Lysimacho 
qui item, Dionysio qui Magonem transtulit, Diophane 
qui ex Dionysio epitomen fecit, Asclepiade medico, 
Erasistrato item, Commiade, qui de conditura vini 
scripsit, Aristomacho qui item, Hicesio qui item, 
Themisone medico, Onesicrito, luba rege. 

Libro XV. continentur naturae frugiferarum 
arborimi. (i-viii) De olea: quamdiu apud Graecos 
tantum fuerit ; quando primum in Italia, Hispania, 
Africa esse coeperit ; de oleo nationes et bonitates 



72 



BOOK I 

wines not permissible to use at sacrifices ; substances 
used to flavour must — pitch, resins. (xxvi f.) Wine- 
jars, vinegar, lees, cellars. (xxviii f.) Intoxication ; 
drinks made from water and fruit can be as potent as 
wine. Total : 510 facts, investigations and observa- 
tions. 

Authorities: Cornelius Valerian, Virgil, Celsus, 
Cato the Censor, Saserna senior, Saserna junior, 
Scrofa, Marcus Varro, Decius Silanus, Fabius Pictor, 
Trogus, Hyginus, Verrius Flaccus, Graecinus, Julius 
Atticus, Columella, Masurius Sabinus, Fenestella, 
Tergilla, Maccius Plautus, Fabius Dossennus, Scaev- 
ola, Lucius Aelius, Ateius Capito, Cotta Messalinus, 
Lucius Piso, Pompeius Lenaeus, Fabianus, Sextius 
Niger, Vibius Rufinus. Foreign authorities : Hesiod, 
Theophrastus, Aristotle, Democritus, King Hiero, 
King Attalus, King Philometor, Archytas, Xeno- 
phon, Amphilochus of Athens, Anaxipolis of Thasos, 
Apollodorus of Lemnos, Aristophanes of Miletus, 
Antigonus of Cumae, Agathocles of Chios, Apollo- 
nius of Pergamum, Aristander of Athens, Bacchius of 
Miletus, Bion of SoH, Chaereas of Athens, Chaeristus 
ditto, Diodorus of Priene, Dinon of Colophon, 
Epigenes of Rhodes, Evagon of Thasos, Euphronius 
of Athens, Androtion On Agriculture, Aeschrion ditto, 
Lysimachus ditto, Dionysius's translation of Mago, 
Diophanes's Epitome of Dionysius, the medical writers 
Asclepiades and Erasistratus, treatises on The Making 
of JVine by Commiades, Aristomachus and Hicesius, 
Themiso on medicine, Onesicritus, King Juba. 

Book XV^. Contents: Fruit-bearing trees, their 
various natures. (i-viii) The oUve tree — how long 
was it grown only in Greece ; when first introduced 
into Italy, Spain, Africa; olive-oil, its kinds and 

73 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

olei ; quae natura olivae et olei incipientis ; olivarum 
genera XV ; de natura olei ; cultura olearum ; de 
servandis olivis ; quomodo faciendum sit oleum ; olei 
fictici genera XLVIII ; cici arbor sive croto sive sili 
sive sesamon ; de amurca. (ix-xxxiv) Pomorum 
omnium genera et natura : nucum pinearum genera 
IV ; cotoneorimi genera IV ; struthiorum genera 
IV ; Punicorum genera IX ; Persicorimi genera 
VII; prunorum genera XII; de persea; malorum 
genera XXX; quo quaeque tempore externa poma 
venerint in ItaUam et unde ; quae novissime ; 
pirorum genera XLI ; de insitorum varietate et 
fulgurum piatione : de pomis servandis et uvis ; 
ficorum genera XXIX ; de ficis historica ; de 
caprificatione ; mespilae genera III ; sorborimi 
genera IV ; nucum genera VIII ; castanearmn 
genera XVIII ; siliquae ; de carnosis pomis ; de 
moris ; de unedone ; acinorum naturae ; bacarum 
naturae ; cerasorum genera VIII ; coma ; lentisci ; 
sucorum differentiae XIII. (xxxv-viii) Myrtus: 
historica de myrto ; genera eius XI. (xxxix f.) 
Laurus : genera eius XIII. Summa : res et historiae 
et observationes DXX. 

Ex auctoribus : Fenestella, Fabiano, VergiUo, 
Corneho Valeriano, Celso, Catone censorio, Sasernis 
patre et fiho, Scrofa, M. Varrone, D. Silano, Fabio 
Pictore, Trogo, Hygino, Flacco Verrio, Graecino, 
Attico luho, ColumeUa, Masurio Sabino, TergiUa, 
Cotta Messahno, L. Pisone, Pompeio Lenaeo, Maccio 
Plauto, Fabio Dossenno, Scaevola, L. Aeho, Ateio 
Capitone, Sextio Nigro, Vibio Rufino. Externis: 
Hesiodo, Theophrasto, Aristotele, Democrito, Hierone 
rege, Philometore rege, Attalo rege, Archyta, 
Xenophonte, Amphilocho Athenaeo, AnaxipoU Thasio 

74 



BOOK I 

valuable properties ; nature of the olive and olive- 
oil when forming ; 15 kinds of oHves ; nature of 
oHve-oil ; cultivation of olive-trees ; storing of ohves ; 
manufacture of ohve-oil ; 48 kinds of artificial ohve- 
oil ; the kiki-tree or croto or sih or sesamum (castor- 
oiltree); ohve-lees. (ix-xxxiv)The varieties of fruit, 
their kinds and nature ; pine-cones, 4 kinds ; quinces, 
4 kinds; sparrow-apples, 4 kinds ; pomegranate, 
9 kinds ; peach, 7 kinds ; plum, 12 kinds ; the 
persea-trea ; apple, 30 kinds ; foreign apples — dates 
and sources of introduction into Italy : most recent 
introduction ; pears, 41 kinds ; grafting of varieties, 
and expiation when struck by hghtning ; storage of 
fruit and grapes ; figs, 29 kinds ; researches as to ; 
artificial ripening of ; medlars, 3 kinds ; service- 
berry, 4 kinds ; nuts, 8 kinds ; chestnuts, 18 kinds ; 
carobs ; fleshy fruits ; mulberries ; the arbutus ; 
berries, varieties of ; hard fruit, varieties ; cherry, 
9 kinds ; cornel-cherries ; mastic-trees ; juices, 13 
different sorts ; (xxxv-viii) the myrtle, researches as 
to ; 11 kinds. (xxxix f.) The bay-tree, 13 kinds. 
Total : 520 facts, researches and observations. 

Authorities : Fenestella, Fabianus, Virgil, Corne- 
Hus Valerian, Celsus, Cato the Censor, the Sasernae, 
senior and junior, Scrofa, Marcus Varro, Decimus 
Silanus, Fabius Pictor, Trogus, Hyginus, Verrius 
Flaccus, Graecinus, JuHus Atticus, Columella, 
Masurius Sabinus, TergiHa, Messalinus Cotta, Lucius 
Piso, Pompeius Lenaeus, Maccius Plautus, Fabius 
Dossennus, Scaevola, Lucius Aelius, Ateius Capito, 
Sextius Niger, Vibius Rufinus. Foreign authorities : 
Hesiod, Theophrastus, Aristotle, Democritus, King 
Hiero, King Philometor, King Attalus, Archytas, 
Xenophon, Amphilochus of Athens, AnaxipoHs of 

75 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Apollodore Lemnio, Aristophane Milesio, Antigono 
Cymaeo, Agathocle Chio, ApoUonio Pergameno, 
Aristandro Athenaeo, Bacchio Milesio, Bione Solense, 
Chaerea Athenaeo, Chaeristo item, Diodoro Prienaeo, 
Dinone Colophonio, Epigene Rhodio, Euagone 
Thasio, Euphronio Athenaeo, Androtione qui de 
agricultura scripsit, Aeschrione qui item, Dionysio qui 
Magonem transtulit, Diophane qui ex Dionysio 
epitomen fecit, Asclepiade medico, Erasistrato item, 
Commiade qui de conditura vini, Aristomacho qui 
item, Hicesio qui item, Themisone medico, Onesicrito, 
luba rege. 

Libro X\T. continentur silvestrium arbonim na- 
turae. (i f.) Gentes sine arbore ; miracula in septen- 
trionaU regione arborum. (iii-xiii) De glandiferis : 
de civica corona ; de coronarum origine ; qui frondea 
corona donati ; glandium genera XIII ; de fago ; 
de rehquis glandiferis ^ ; de carbone ; de galla ; 
quam multa praeter glandem ferant eaedem arbores : 
cachrys, coccum, agaricum, (xiv) Quarum arborum 
cortices in usu. (xv-xx) De scandulis : de pinu, 
pinastro, picea, abiete, larice, taeda, taxo. (xxi-iii) 
Quibus modis fiat pix hquida ; quomodo cedrium fiat ; 
quibus modis spissa pix fiat, qviibus coquatur resina; 
zopissa. (xxiv-ix) Quarum arborum materiae in 
pretio : fraxini genera IV ; tihae genera II ; aceris 
genera X ; bruscum, molhiscum ; staphylodendron ; 
buxi genera III ; ulmorum genera IV. (xxx f.) 
Arborum natura per situs : quae montanae, quae 
campestres, quae siccaneae, quae aquaticae, quae 
communes. (xxxii) Divisio generum. (xxxiii-viii) 
Quibus foHa non decidant : de rhododendro ; quibus 
non omnia folia cadant ; quibus in locis nuUi arborum ; 

^ Rackham : glandibus. 
76 



BOOK I 

Thasos, Apollodorus of Lemnos, Aristophanes of 
Miletus, Antigonus of Cumae, Agathocles of Chios, 
ApoUonius of Pergamum, Aristander of Athens, 
Bacchius of Miletus, Bion of SoH, Chaereas of Athens, 
Chaeristus ditto, Diodorus of Priene, Dinon of Colo- 
phon, Epigenes of Rhodes, Evagon of Thasos, 
Euphronius of Athens, Androtion On Agriculiure, 
Aeschrion ditto, Dionysius's translation of Mago, 
Diophanes's summary of Dionysius, Asclepiades the 
physician, Erasistratus ditto, Commiades On Making 
Wine, Aristomachus ditto, Hicesius ditto, Onesicritus, 
King Juba. 

Book XVI. Contents : forest trees, their various 
natures. (i f.) Races that have no trees ; remarkable 
trees in the North. (iii-xiii) Acorn-bearing trees : 
the civic wreath ; origin of wreaths ; wreath of 
foUage, on whom bestowed ; 13 kinds of acorns ; 
the beech ; the other acorn-bearing trees ; charcoal ; 
the oak-apple ; how many fruits beside the acorn 
borne by the same trees; catkin, cochineal-berry, 
larch-fungus. (xiv) Trees whose bark is utiUzed. 
(xv-xx) Roof-shingles : stone-pine, wild pine, spruce, 
silver-fir, larch, pitch-pine, yew. (xxi-iii) Liquid 
pitch, methods of making ; cedar-oil, methods of 
making ; wax-pitch, methods of making ; resin, 
methods of boiling ; thick-pitch. (xxiv-ix) Trees 
of value for timber : ash, 4 kinds ; lime, 2 kinds ; 
maple, 10 kinds ; growth on the maple, maple- 
fungus ; pistachio tree ; box, 3 kinds ; elm, 4 kinds. 
(xxx f.) Nature of trees classified by habitat : 
those that grow on momitains, on plains, on dry 
soils, in water, in several habitats. (xxxii) Classi- 
fication. (xxxiii-viii) Non-deciduous trees : rhodo- 
dendron ; partially deciduous trees ; regions where 
all trees evergreen ; natuie of deciduous foliage ; 

77 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

de natura foliorum cadentium ; quibus foliorum varii 
colores : populorum genera III ; quorum foliorum 
flgura mutetur ; quae folia versentur omnibus annis ; 
folioriun e palmis cura et usus ; foliorum mirabilia. 
(xxxix) Ordo naturae in satis. (xl) Quae arbores 
nimiquam floreant : de iuniperis. (xli-1) De con- 
ceptu arborum, de germinatione, de partu ; quo 
ordine floreant, de comu, quo quaeque tempore 
ferant ; anniferae, in triennium ferentes, quae 
fructum non ferant ; quae infelices existimentur ; 
quae facillime perdant fructum aut florem ; quae ubi 
non ferant ; quomodo quaeque ferant ; quibus 
fructiis ante quam folium nascatur ; biferae, triferae. 
(li) Quae celerrime senescant, quae tardissime; 
praecoces fructus, serotini. (lii) In quibus plura rerum 
genera gignantur; crataegum. (lui-vi) difFerentiae 
arborum per corpora et ramos ; lotos sive faba Graeca. 
de ramis, cortice, radicibus. (Ivii f.) Arbores quae 
sponte resurrexerint ; quibus modis sponte nascantur 
arbores. (lix-lxi) Naturae differentiae non omnia 
ubique generantis ; ubi quae non nascantur ; de 
cupressis ; nasci saepe ex terra quae ante nata non 
sint. (Ixii f.) De hedera : genera eius XX. smilax. 
(Ixiv-lxxi) De aquaticis : de calamis ; harundinum 
genera XXVIII ; de sagittaris et scriptoris et fistula- 
toris calamis ; Opchomenia harundine et aucupatoria 
et piscatoria ; de vinitoria harundine ; de alno ; de 
salice, genera eius VII ; quae praeter saUcem ad 
ligandum utilia ; de scirpis, candehs, cannis, tegulo; 
de sabucis, de rubis. (Ixxii f.) De arborum sucis. 
(Ixxiv-vii) De natura materiarmn ; de arboribus 
caedendis ; de magnitudine arborum ; de sapino ; 



78 



BOOK I 

fcrees wliose foliage clianges colour : poplars, 3 kinds ; 
foliage that clianges shape of leaf ; foliage tliat 
yearly turns round ; palm-leaves, cultivation 
and use of; remarkable foliage. (xxxix) Process 
of growth in trees grown from seed. (xl) Non- 
flowering trees : the junipers. (xli-1) Concep- 
tion, germination and parturition of trees ; order 
of flowering ; the husk ; date of bearing of the 
various kinds, trees that bear yearly, three-yearly ; 
trees that do not bear fruit ; trees believed un- 
lucky ; trees that lose fruit or flower most easily ; 
which kinds do not bear in which places ; method of 
bearing of the various kinds ; kinds that bear fruit 
before fohage ; kinds that bear twice a year, thrice 
a year. (li) Which age most rapidly, which least 
rapidly ; early ripening and late ripening fruits. 
(lii) WTiich kinds have products of more than one 
sort : the kernel of the box. (hii-vi) Diflferences of 
trees in trunks and boughs : the lotus or date plum ; 
boughs, bark, roots. (Ivii f.) Instances of trees rising 
again of their own accord ; spontaneous generation 
of trees, modes of. (lix-lxi) Differences of nature 
not generating all kinds everywhere ; places where 
particular kinds do not grow ; cypresses ; growth 
from the earth of entirely novel kinds a fre- 
quent occurrence. (Ixii) Ivy, its 20 kinds. (Ixiii) 
Bindweed. (Ixiv-lxxi) Water plants : canes ; reeds, 
28 kinds ; reed arrows, reed pens, reed pipes ; the 
bird-catcher's and fisherman's reed of Orchomenus ; 
the vine-prop reed; the alder; the willow, its 
7 kinds ; other plants useful for ties ; bulrushes, 
rushhghts, canes, thatch ; elders, brambles. (Ixxi f.) 
Sap of trees. (Ixxiv-vii) Nature of timbers ; wood- 
cutting ; sizes of trees ; the pine ; charcoal. (Ixxviii- 

79 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

igniaria e ligno. (Ixxviii-lxxxi) Quae eariem non 
sentiant, quae rimam ; historica de perpetuitate 
materiarum ; teredinum genera ; de materiis archi- 
tectonica. (Ixxxii-iv) De materiis fabrilia ; de glu- 
tinanda materia ; de lamnis sectilibus. (Ixxxv-xc) 
Arbonmi durantium vetustas : ab Africano priore 
sata ; in urbe Roma D annorum arbor ; ab urbe 
condita arbores ; vetustiores urbe in suburbanis ; ab 
Agamemnone satae arbores ; a primo anno belli 
Troiani arbores ; ab Ih appellatione arbores apud 
Troiam antiquiores bello Troiano ; item Argis ; ab 
Hercule satae ; ab Apolline satae : arbor antiquior 
quam Athenae ; quae genera arborum minimtie durent. 
(xci-iv) Arbores ex eventu nobiles ; quae sedem 
nascendi suam non habeant ; quae in arboribus vivant 
et in terra nasci possint, genera earum IX ; cadytas, 
hyphear, stelis, hippophaeston ; de visci et simiUum 
natura ; de visco faciendo. Simama : res et historiae 
et observationes MCXXXV. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, Fetiale, Nigidio, 
Corneho Nepote, Hygino, Masurio, Catone, Muciano, 
L. Pisone, Trogo, Calpurnio Basso, Cremutio, Sextio 
NigrOjCornehoBoccho, Vitruvio, Graecino. Externis : 
Alexandro polyhistore, Hesiodo, Theophrasto, Demo- 
crito, Homero, Timaeo mathematico. 

Libro XVII. continentur sativarum arborum na- 
turae. (i) Arborum pretia mirabiha. (ii-iv) Caeli 
natura ad arbores ; quam partem caeh spectare 
vineae debeant ; quahs terra optima ; de terra qua 
Graeci et Galhae laeta,nt genera VIII. (v-viii) De 
cineris usu ; de fimo ; quae sata uberiorem terram 
faciant, quae urant ; quibus modis fimo utendum. 
(ix-xxi) Quibus modis arbores serantur; semine 

80 



BOOK I 

Ixxxi) Trees exempt from rot — from splitting; 
researchcs as to durability of timbers ; kinds of wood- 
worms ; wooden architecture. (Ixxxii-iv) Wooden 
tools ; gluing timber ; sawn sheets of wood. (Ixxxv- 
xc) Age of long-lived trees : tree planted by the elder 
Africanus ; tree in Rome 500 years old ; trees dating 
from the foundation of the city ; trees in the suburbs 
older than the city ; trees planted by Agamemnon ; 
trees dating from first year of the Trojan War ; trees 
at Troy sho^vn from designation ' lUon ' to be older 
than the Trojan War; ditto at Argos; trees planted 
by Hercules ; trees planted by Apollo ; a tree older 
than Athens ; what kinds of trees are least long- 
lived. (xci-iv) Trees celebrated for some occurrence ; 
parasitic plants ; plants parasitic on trees and able to 
grow in earth — 9 kinds of these ; cadytas, hyphear, 
steUs, hippophaestum ; nature of mistletoe and 
similar plants ; manufacture of bird-Ume. Total : 
1135 facts, researches and observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, FetiaUs, Nigidius, 
CorneUus Nepos, Hyginus, Masurius, Cato, Mucianus, 
Lucius Piso, Trogus, Calpurnius Bassus, Cremutius, 
Sextius Niger,CorneUus Bocchus,Vitruvius,Graecinus. 
Foreign authorities : Alexander the Learned, Hesiod, 
Theophrastus, Democritus, Homer, Timaeus the 
mathematician. 

Book XVII. Contents: the natures of cultivated 
trees. (i) Remarkable prices for trees. (ii-iv) 
Eifect of cUmate on trees ; proper aspect for vines ; 
best soil; soil enjoyed by Greece and the GaUie 
provinces — 8 kinds. (v-viii) The use of ashes; 
dung ; what crops enrich the soil, which em- 
poverish it ; methods of using manure. (ix-xxi) 
Methods of growing trees ; kinds spriuging from seed ; 

8i 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

nascentia ; quae numquam degenerent ; plantis 
nascentia, avolsione nascentia, surculo ; de seminaris, 
de transferendis seminaris ; de ulmis serendis ; 
de scrobibus ; de intervallis arborum ; de umbra ; de 
stillicidis; quae tarde crescant, quae celeriter; 
propagine nascentia. (xxii-viii) De insitione quo- 
modo inventa sit ; genera insitionum ; inoculatio ; 
emplastratio ; de vite inserenda ; ramo nascentia ; 
quae taleis et quomodo serantur. (xxix-xxxi)Olearura 
cultura, operum surcularium per tempora anni 
digestio ; de ablaqueandis et adcumulandis. (xxxii- 
iv) De salicto ; harundineta ; de ceteris ad perticas et 
palos caeduis. (xxxv f.) Vinearum ratio et arbusto- 
rum ; ne uvae ab animalibus infestentur. (xxxvii f.) 
Morbi arborum ; prodigia ex arboribiis. (xxxix- 
xlvii) Medicinae arborum ; quomodo rigandum ; 
mirabilia de riguis ; de stercoratione ; quomodo 
circiunfodiendum ; castratio arborum ; caprificatio ; 
quae putationis vitia ; arboribus medicamenta. 
Summa: res et historiae et observationes 
MCCCLXXX. 

Ex auctoribus : Cornelio Nepote, Catone censorio, 
M. Varrone, Celso, Vergilio, Hygino, Sasernis patre 
et filio, Scrofa, Calpurnio Basso, Trogo, Aemilio 
Macro, Graecino, Colimnella, Attico lulio, Fabiano, 
Mamilio Sura, Dessio Mundo, C. Epidio, L. Pisone. 
Externis : Hesiodo, Theophrasto, Aristotele, Demo- 
crito, Theopompo, Hierone rege, Philometore rege, 
Attalo rege, Archyta, Xenophonte, Amphilocho 
Atheniense, Anaxipoh Thasio, Apollodoro Lemnio, 
Aristophane Milesio, Antigono Cumaeo, Agathocle 
82 



BOOK I 

that never degenerate ; kinds springing from 
settings, from a cutting, from a layer; seed-beds, 
transference of seed-beds ; growing elms from seed ; 
trenching ; distances between trees ; shade ; 
droppings from leaves ; slow-growing and quick- 
growing kinds ; kinds springing from layers. (xxii- 
viii) Grafting — how discovered ; kinds of grafts ; 
eye-grafting ; budding ; grafting of vines ; grafts 
growing from boughs ; kinds grafted by cuttings, 
and method. (xxix-xxi) Olive-growing ; seasonal 
arrangement of propagating; trenching round 
and banking up vines. (xxxii-iv) The willow 
thicket ; reed bed ; other plants cut for poles and 
stakes. (xxxv f.) Arrangenient of vineyards and 
plantations ; prevention of injury to vines from 
animals. (xxxvii f.) Diseases of trees ; remarkable 
products from trees. (xxxix-xlvii) Remedies for 
diseases of trees ; method of watering ; remarkable 
facts as to water-meadows ; use of dung ; method 
of hoeing round trunk ; lopping of trees ; how to dig 
round trees ; pruning of trees ; effect of gall-insect ; 
mistakes in pruning ; medicaments for trees. Total : 
1380 facts, researches and observations. 

Authorities : Cornehus Nepos, Cato the censor, 
Marcus Varro, Celsus, Virgil, Hyginus, the Sasemae 
senior and junior, Scrofa, Calpurnius Bassus, Trogus, 
AemiUus Macer, Graecinus, Columella, JuUus Atticus, 
Fabianus, MamiUus Sura, Dessius Mundus, Gaius 
Epidius, Lucius Piso. Foreign authorities : Hesiod, 
Theophrastus, Aristotle, Democritus, Theopompus, 
King Hiero, King Philometer, King Attalus, Archytas, 
Xenophon, Amphilochus of Athens, AnaxipoUs of 
Thasos, ApoUodorus of Lemnos, Aristophanes of 
Miletus, Antigonus of Cumae, Agathocles of Chios, 

83 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Chio, Apollonio Pergameno, Bacchio Milesio, Bione 
Solense, Chaerea Atheniense, Chaeristo item, Diodoro 
Prienaeo, Dinone Colophonio, Epigene Rhodio, 
Euagone Thasio, Euphronio Athenaeo, Androtione 
qui de agricultura scripsit, Aeschrione qui item, 
Lysimacho qui item, Dionysio qui Magonem trans- 
tuUt, Diophane qui ex Dionysio epitomen fecit, 
Aristandro qui de portentis. 

Libro XVm. continentur naturae frugum. (i) 
Antiquorum studium in agricultura. (ii) Quae prima 
Romae corona ; de spicea corona. (iii) De iugero. 
(iv) Quotiens et quibus temporibus fuerit summa 
viHtas annonae. (v) Qui inlustres de agricultura. 
(vi) Quae observanda in agro parando. (vii) De 
villarum positione. (viii) Praecepta antiquorum de 
agro colendo. (ix) Genera frugum. (x-xxix) Naturae 
per genera frumenti : de farre, tritico, hordeo, 
polenta, ptisana, trago, amylo, sihgine, similagine, 
arinca sive olyra, semine sive zea; de reHquis in 
oriente generibus ; de pisturis ; de sesima, de 
erysimo sive irione, de hormino, miho, panico ; de 
fermentis ; panis faciendi ratio et genera ; quando 
pistorum initium Romae. (xxx-xxxvi) De legum- 
inibus : faba, ciceris genera, faseoh, pisum ; de rapis, 
napis, lupino. (xxxvii-xhii) Pabularia vicia, ervum, 
sihcia, secale sive asia, farrago ; de ocimo ; ervilia, 
medica. (xHv f.) De avena ; morbi frugum, remedia. 
(xlvi) Quid in quoque terrae generimi debeat seri. 
(xlvii) Diversitas gentium in sationibus. (xlviii-1) 
Vomerum genera ; ratioarandi; deoccando,runcando, 
sarriendo ; de cratitione. (H-Hii) De summa fertiH- 
tate soH ; ratio saepius anno serendi idem arvum ; 
stercoratio. (Hv-lxi) Seminum probatio : quantum 
ex quoque genere frumenti in iugero serendum; de 

84 



BOOK I 

Apollonius of Pergamum, Bacchius of Miletus, Bion of 
Soli, Chaereas of Athens, Chaeristus ditto, Diodorus 
of Priene, Dinon of Colophon, Epigenes of Rhodes, 
Evagon of Thasos, Euphronius of Athens, Androtion 
On Agriculture, Aeschrion ditto, Lysimachus ditto, 
Dionysius's translation of Mago, Diophanes's 
summary of Dionysius, Aristander On Portents. 

Book XVIII. Contents : crops, their natures. (i) 
Devotion to agriculture in early times. (ii) The 
earHest wreath at Rome ; the wreath of ears of corn ; 
(iii) The acre. (iv) Number and dates of lowest falls 
in price of corn. (v) Distinguished authorities on 
agriculture. (vi) Rules for preparing the ground. 
(vii) Location of homesteads. (viii) Old authorities 
on methods of agriculture. (ix) Kinds of grain. 
(x-xxix) Properties of corn according to kinds ; 
emmer, wheat, barley, pearl-bnrley ; barley-groats ; 
porridge, starch, common wLeat, wheat-flour, two 
grain wheat, seed ; the remaiuing kinds in the east ; 
modes of grinding ; sesame, erysimum or irio, clary, 
species of millet ; yeasts ; bread, methods of making 
and kinds of ; when bakers began at Rome. (xxx- 
xxxvi) Leguminous plants : beans, kinds of chick- 
pea, calavance, pea ; turnips, navews, lupin. 
(xxxvii-xliii) Fodder : vetch, pulse, fenugreek, 
secale or rye, mixed fodder, basil, bitter vetch ; 
lucerne. (xliv f.) Oats ; corn diseases, remedies. 
(xlvi) Proper crops to sow in various kinds of soil. 
(xlvii) National differences in methods of sowing. 
(xlviii-1) Kinds of plough ; mcthod of ploiighing ; 
harrowing, weeding, hceing ; cross-harrowing. (li-liii) 
Greatest fertility of soil ; method of cropping 
same field more than once a year ; manuring. 
(liv-lxi) Seed-testing ; amount of seed of different 

85 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

temporibus serendi ; digestio siderum in dies et 
notae terrestres rerum in agro agendarum. (Ixii- 
Ixxiv) Quid quoque mense in agro fieri oporteat : de 
papavere; de faeno, causae sterilitatum ; remedia; 
de messibus, de frumento servando, de vindemia et 
autumni operibus. (Ixxv f.) Lunaris ratio ; ventorum 
ratio. (Ixxvii) Limitatio agrorum. (Ixxviii-xc) Pro- 
gnostica : a sole, a luna, stellis, tonitribus, nubibus, 
ignibus terrestribus, aquis ; ab ipsis tempestatibus ; ab 
animalibus aquatilibus, avolucribus, a quadrupedibus. 
Summa: res et historiae et observationes MMLX. 

Ex auctoribus : Masurio Sabino, Cassio Hemina, 
Verrio Flacco, L. Pisone, Comelio Celso, Turranio 
Gracile, D. Silano, M. Varrone, Catone censorio, 
Scrofa, Sasernis patre et filio, Domitio Cah-ino, 
Hygino, Vergilio, Trogo, Ovidio, Graecino, Colu- 
mella, Tuberone, L. Tarutio qui Graece de astris 
scripsit, Caesare dictatore qui item, Sergio Paullo, 
Sabino Fabiano, M. Cicerone, Calpurnio Basso, Ateio 
Capitone , Mamilio Sura, Accio qui Praxidicam ^ scripsit. 
Externis : Hesiodo,Theophrasto, Aristotele, Democrito, 
Hierone rege,Philometore rege.Attalo rege, Archelao 
rege, Archyta, Xenophonte, Amphilocho Athenaeo, 
Anaxipoh Thasio, Apollodoro Lemnio, Aristophane 
Milesio, Antigono C}Tnaeo, Agathocle Chio, Apollonio 
Pergameno, Aristandro Athenaeo, Bacchio Milesio, 
Bione Solense, Chaerea Atheniense, Chaeristo item, 
Diodoro Prienaeo, Dinone Colophonio, Epigene Rho- 
dio, Euagone Thasio, Euphronio Athenaeo, Andro- 
tione qui de agricultura scripsit, Aeschrione qui item, 

^ Eibbeck : praxidica aui -aa. 
86 



BOOK I 

varieties of corn required per acre ; seasons for 
sowing ; position of stars from da)'- to day and 
earthly signs as to agricultural operations. (Ixii- 
Ixxiv) Agricultural operations proper to the several 
months ; poppies ; hay ; causes of various kinds of 
infertility ; remedies ; harvests, storage of corn, 
vintage and autunm operations. (Ixxv f.) Conditions 
of the moon, of the winds. (Ixxvii) Fixing of 
bounds of estates. (Ixxviii-xc) Weather-forecasts : 
from the sun, moon, stars, thunder-clouds, mists, 
earth-fires, waters ; from the seasons themselves ; 
from aquatic animals, from birds, from quadrupeds. 
Total : 2060 facts, researches and observations. 

Authorities : Masurius Sabinus, Cassius Hera- 
ina, Verrius Flaccus, Lucius Piso, Cornelius Celsus, 
Turranius Gracilis, Decimus Silanus, Marcus Varro, 
Cato the ex-Censor, Scrofa, the Sasernae senior and 
junior, Domitius Calvinus, Hyginus, Virgil, Trogus, 
O^dd, Graecinus, Columella, Tubero, Lucius Taru- 
tius's Greek treatise On the Stars, Caesar the Dictator 
ditto, Sergius PauUus, Sabinus Fabianus, Marcus 
Cicero, Calpurnius Bassus, Ateius Capito, Mamilius 
Sura, Accius's Praxidica. Foreign authorities : 
Hesiod, Theophrastus, Aristotle, Democritus, King 
Hiero, King Philometer, King Attalus, King Arche- 
laus, Archytas, Xenophon, Amphilochus of Athens. 
Anaxipohs of Thasos, Apollodorus of Lemnos, 
Aristophanes of Miletus, Antigonus of Cumae, 
Agathocles of Chios, ApoUonius of Pergamos, 
Aristander of Athens, Bacchius of Miletus, Bion of 
Soh, Chaereas of Athens, Chaeristus ditto, Diodorus of 
Priene, Dinon of Colophon, Epigenes of Rhodes, 
Evagon of Thasos, Euphronius of Athens, Androtion 
On Agriculture, Aeschrio ditto, Lysimachus ditto, 

87 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Lvsimacho qui item, Dionysio qui Magonem trans- 
tulit, Diophane qui ex Dionysio epitomen fecit, 
Thalete, Eudoxo, Philippo, CaHppo, Dositheo, Par- 
menisco, Metone, Critone, Oenopide, Conone, Eucte- 
mone, Harpalo, Hecataeo, Anaximandro, Sosigene, 
Hipparcho, Arato, Zoroastre, Archibio. 

Libro XIX, continentur (i-vi) Lini natura et 
miracula ; genera eius excellentia XXVII ; quomodo 
seratur et perficiatur; quando primum in theatris 
vela. (vii-ix) De sparti natura : quomodo perficiatur, 
quando primus usus eius. (x) De eriophoro bulbo. 
(xi-xviii) Quae sine radice nascantur et vivant ; quae 
nascantur et seri non possint : misy, iton, geranion ; 
de tuberibus ; pezicae : de laserpicio et lasere : 
maspetum, magydaris ; de rubia ; de radicula. 
(xix-xxi) Hortorum gratia ; digestio teiTa enascen- 
tium praeter fruges et frutices. (xxii-xxxvii) Natura 
et genera et historiae nascentium in hortis rerum 
XX: de omnium earum radicibus, floribus, foUis; 
quibus hortensiorum folia cadant ; quoto quaeque die 
nascantur ; seminum natura ; quomodo quaeque 
serantur ; quorum singula genera, quorum plura 
sint. (xxxviii-lv) Natura et genera et historiae ad 
condimenta in horto satarum rerum XXIII. (xlviii) 
Lacrima nascentia. (Ivi) Ferulacea genera iv ; can- 
nabis. (Ivii-lix) Morbi hortensiorum; remedia: quibus 
modis formicae necentur; contra urucas remedia, 
contra cuUces; quibus salsae aquae prosint. (Ix) Ratio 
rigandi hortos. (Ixi-ii) De sucis et saporibus horten- 
siorum ; de piperitide et Ubanotide et zmyrnio. Sum- 
ma: res et historiae et observationes MCXLIV. 

Ex auctoribus : Maccio Plauto, M. Varrone, D. 
Silano, Catone censorio, Hygino, VergiUo, Muciano, 
Celso, CoIumeUa, Calpurnio Basso, MamiUo Sura, 



BOOK I 

Dionysius*stranslation of Mago,Diophanes'ssummary 
of Dionysius, Thales, Eudoxus, PhiHp, Cahppus, 
Dositheus, Parmeniscus, Meto, Crito, Oenopides, 
Conon,Euctemon,Harpalus,Hecataeus,Anaximander, 
Sosigenes, Hipparchus, Aratus, Zoroaster, Archibius. 

Book XIX. Contents : (i-vi) Flax, nature and 
remarkable properties of ; 27 specially good kinds of ; 
how grown and how made up ; earliest employment of 
awnings in the theatre. (vii-ix) Esparto grass, 
nature of; how made up; when first used. (x) The 
wool-bearing bulb. (xi-xviii) Plants that spring up 
and live without root ; plants that spring up and cannot 
be grown from seed: mushroom, iton, stork's bill; 
truffles, stalkless mushrooms ; silphium plant, and 
its juice, leaf and stalk ; madder ; dyers' rocket, 
(xix-xxi) The charm of gardens ; description of plants 
other than cereals and shrubs. (xxii-xxxvii) Wature 
aud kinds and descriptions of 20 garden plants : roots, 
fljwers, leaves of all these ; deciduous garden plants ; 
various periods of sprouting ; nature of seeds ; various 
niodes of sowing ; which of a single kind and which 
of several kinds. (xxxviii-Iv) Nature and kinds and 
descriptions of 23 garden plants cultivated for con- 
diments. (xlviii) Plants springing from an exudation ; 
(Ivi) Fennel-giant, 4 kinds ; hemp. (Ivii-lix) Diseases 
of garden plants ; cures ; modes of killing ants ; modes 
of protecting against caterpi^ilars, against green-fly ; 
what plants benefited by salt water. (Ix) JVIethod of 
watering gardens. (Ixi f.) Juices and flavours of 
garden plants ; pepperwort, rosemary, mint. Total 
1144 facts, investigations and observations. 

Authorities : Maccius Plautus, Marcus Varro, 
Decimus Silanus, Cato the Ceusor, Hyginus, Virgil, 
Mucianus, Celsus, Colimiella, Calpurnius Bassus, 

89 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Sabino Tirone, Licinio Macro, Q. Birrio, Vibio Rufino, 
Caesennio qui KrjTrovpiKa scripsit, Castritio item, 
Firmo item, Potito item. Extemis : Herodoto, 
Theophrasto, Democrito, Aristomacho, Menandro 
qui /3ioxp^o-Ta scripsit, Anaxilao. 

Libro XX. continentur medicinae ex his quae in 
hortis seruntur: (ii) cucumere silvestri XXVI, (iii) 
elaterio XX\TI, (iv) anguino cucumere sive erratico 
V, (v) cucumere sativo IX, (vi) pepone XI, (vii) 
cucurbita sive sompho I, (viii) colocynthide X, (ix) 
rapis IX, (x) rapo silvestri I, (xi) napis sive 
bunio sive buniade V, (xii-xiii) raphano sativo 
XLIII, armoracia I, (xiv) pastinaca V, hibisco sive 
phstolochia sive moloche agria XI, (xv) staphylino sive 
pastinaca erratica XXII, (xvi) gingidio I, (xvii) sisere 
XI, (xviii) sile XII, (xix) inula XI, (xx) caepa XXVII 
(xxi) porro sectivo XXXII, (xxii) porro capitato 
XXXIX, (xxiii) aho LXI, (xxiv) lactuca XLII, 
caprina IV, (xxv) caesapo I, isati I, lactuca silvatica 
VII, (xxvi) hieracia XVII, (xxvii) beta XXIV, (xxviii) 
limonio sive neuroide III, (xxix) intubo, quae 
ambubeia, IV, (xxx) cichorio sive chresto sive pan- 
cratio XII, (xxxi) hedypnoide FV, (xxxii) seris gen- 
eribus II, medicinae VII, (xxxiii) brassica LXXXVII, 
(xxxv) cjTna, (xxxvi) brassica silvestri XXVII, 
(xxxvii) lapsana I, (xxxviii) marina brassica I, 
(xxxix) scilla XXIII, (xl) bulbis XXX, (xh) bulbine I, 
bulbo vomitorio, (xhi f.) asparago sativo XVII, 
corruda sive ormino sive Libyco XXIV, (xhv) apio 
XVII, (xlv) apiastro sive mehssophyllo, (xlvi) olusatro 
sive hipposelino XI, oreosehno II, heleosehno I, 
(xhdi) petrosehno I, busehno I, (xhiii) ocimo XXXV, 
(xhx) eruca XII, (1) nasturtio XLII, (li) ruta LXXXIV, 
(lii) mentastro XX, (hii) menta XLI, (hv) puleio XXV, 

90 



BOOK I 

Mamilius Sura, Sabinus Tiro, Licinius Macer, Quintus 
Birrius, Vibius Rufinus, Caesennius On gardening, 
Castritius ditto, Firmus ditto, Potitus diito. Foreign 
authorities : Herodotus, Theophrastus, Democritus, 
Aristomachus, Menander's Things serviceable for life, 
Anaxilaus. 

Book XX. Subject : medicines obtained from 
garden plants : (ii) from the wood-cucumber 26, (iii) 
wild cucumber 27 ; (iv) snake cucumber or wild 
cucumber 5, (v) garden cucumber 9, (vi) pumpkin 11, 
(vii) gourd or somphus 1, (viii) colocynth 10, (ix) 
turnips 9, (x) vidld turnip 1, (xi) navews or swede of 
two varieties 5, (xii f.) garden radish 43, horseradish 1, 
(xiv) parsnip 5, marsh mallow or plistolochia or wild 
mallow 11, (xv) staphyUnus or wild parsnip 22, (xvi) 
French carrot 1, (x^^ii) skirwort 11, (xviii) hartwort 12, 
(xix) elecampane 11, (xx) onion 27, (xxi) cut leek 
(chives) 32, (xxii) headed leek 39, (xxiii) garUc 61, 
(xxiv) lettuce 42, goat-lettuce 4, (xxv) caesapura 
lettuce 1, isatis 1, wild lettuce 7, (xxvi) hawk-weed 17, 
(xxvii) beet 24, (xxviii) wild beet or neurois 3, (xxix) 
endive or wild succory 4, (xxx) chicory or worthy or 
championship 12, (xxxi) scented succory 4, (xxxii) 
endive 2 kinds, 7 medicines, (xxxiii) cabbage 87, 
(xxxv) sprouts, (xxxvi) wild cabbage 27, (xxxvii) 
charlock 1, (xxxviii) sea-cabbage 1. (xxxix) squill 23, 
(xl) onions 30, (xH) bulhi?ie 1, emetic onion, (xUi f.) 
garden asparagus 17, wild asparagus or orminus 
or Libyan asparagus 24, (xhv) parsley 17, (xlv) 
wild parsley or bee-plant ; (xlvi) olusatrum or horse- 
parsley 11, mouutain parsley 2, bog parsley 1, (xlvii) 
rock parsley 1, cow-parsley 1, (xlviii) basil 35, (xUx) 
colewort 12, (1) cress 42, (U) rue 84, (lii) wild 
mint 20 [ Uii) mint 41, (Uv) flea-bane 25, (Iv) wild 

91 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

(Iv) puleio silvestri XVII, (Ivi) nepeta IX, (Ivii) cumino 
XLVHI, cumino silvestri XXVII, (Iviii) ammi X, (lix) 
cappari XVIII, (Ix) Ligustico sive panace IV, (Ixi-v) 
cunila bubula V, cunila gallinacea sive origano V, 
cunilagine VIII, cunila molli III, libanotide III, 
cunila sativa III, cunila montana VII, (Ixvi) piperitide 
sive siliquastro V, (Ixvii-ix) origano oniti sive prasio 
VI, tragorigano IX, origano Heraclio, gen. III, 
medicinae XXX, (Ixx) lepidio III, (Ixxi) git sive 
melanthio XXIII, (Ixxii-iv) aneso sive aniceto LXI, 
anetho IX, (Ixxv) sacopenio sive sagapeno XIII, 
(Ixxvi-lxxx) papavere albo III, papavere nigro VIII 
(de sopore, de opio, contra potiones quas avw8vvov<i 

et TreTTTLKaq et Xrj^nrvpeTovs et K-otA.ta/cas VOCant ', 

meconio I, papavere rhoea II, papavere silvestri 
ceratiti sive glaucio sive paraUo VI, papavere HeracHo 
sive aphro IV (diacodion), papavere tithymalo sive 
paraho III, (Ixxxi) porcilaca, quae et pephs, XXV, 
(Ixxxii-iv) coriandro XXI, atriphce XIV, malva 
malope XlII, malva malache I, malva althaea sive 
phstolochia LIV ; (Ixxxv f.) lapatho silvestri sive 
oxaUde sive lapatho canterino sive rumice I, hydro- 
lapatho II, hippolapatho VI, oxylapatho IV, lapatho 
sativo XXI, bulapatho I, (Ixxxvii-ix) sinapi, gen. III, 
medicinae XLIV, adarca XLVIII, marrubio sive 
prasio sive Unostropho sive philopaede sive philochare 
XXIX, (xc-xcix) serpyllo XVIII, sisymbrio sive 
Thymbraeo XXIII, hni semine XXX, bhto VI, meo 
Athamantico VII, faeniculo XXII, hippomarathro 
sive myrsineo V, cannabi IX, ferula VIII, carduo sive 
scolymo VI. (c) Theriacae conpositio. Summa: 
medicinae et historiae et observationes MDCVI. 

Ex auctoribus : Catone censorio, M. Varrone, 
Pompeio Lenaeo, C. Valgio, Hygino, Sextio Nigro qui 
92 



BOOK I 

flea-bane 17, (Ivi) cat-niint 9, (Ivii) cumin 48, wild 
cumin 27, (Iviii) ammi 10, (lix) caper-bush 18, (Ix) 
lovage or all-heal 4, (Ixi) ox-cunila 5, (Ixii) cock- 
cunila or marjoram 5, (Ixiii) cunilago 8, (Ixiv) soft 
cunila 3, liLanotis 3, (Ixv) garden cuuila 3, mountain 
cunila 7, (Ixvi) pepperwort or Indian pepper 5, 
(Ixvii-ix) wild marjoram or horehound 6, goat's- 
thyme 9, Heraclean marjoram, 3 kinds, 30 drugs; 
(Ixx) pepperwort 3, (Ixxi) git or cultivated fennel 23, 
(Ixxii-iv) anise or anicetum 61 ,dill 9,(lxxv) sacopenium 
or sagapenum 13, (Ixxvi-lxxx) white poppy 3, black 
poppy 8 (narcotic eifect, opium, prophylactics called 
anodynes, peptic drugs, febrifuges and purges) ; 
poppy-juice 1, wild poppy 2, wild horned poppy or 
glaucous or shore poppy 6, Heracles poppy or foam 
poppy 4 (medicinal poppy-juice), spurge poppy or 
sea poppy 3, (Ixxxi) purslane, also called peplis, 25, 
(Ixxxii-iv) coriander 21, orache 14, varieties of mallow- 
malope 13, malache 1, althaea or plistolochia 54, 
(Ixxxv f.) wood-sorrel or oxalis or horse-sorrel or 
dock 1, water sorrel 2, horse-sorrel 6, bitter sorrel 4, 
cultivated sorrel 21, cow-sorrel 1, (Ixxxvii-ix) 
mustard 3 kinds, 44 drugs, sedge-froth 48, hore- 
hound or prasium or flax-twist or lads-love or 
philochares 29, (xc-xcix) wild thyme 18, wild mint 
or Thrymbraeum 23, flax-seed 30, blite 6, bear- 
woit or Athamas 7, femiel 22, horse-fennel or 
bay-fennel 5, hemp 9, fennel giant 8, edible 
thistle or cardoon 6. (c) Snake-bite antidote, re- 
cipe for. — Total 1606 drugs, investigations and 
observations. 

Authorities : Cato the Censor, Marcus Varro, 
Pompeius Lenneus. Gaius Valgius, Hyginus, Sextius 
Niger's Greek writings, JuUus Bassus diito, Celsus, 

93 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Graece scripsit, lulio Basso qui item, Celso, Antonio 
Castore. Externis : Democrito, Theophrasto, Or- 
pheo, Menandro qui (iLoxpwTa scripsit, Pythagora, 
Nicandro. Medicis : Hippocrate, Chrysippo, Diocle, 
Ophione, Heraclide, Hicesio, Dionysio, Apollodoro 
Citiense, Apollodoro Tarentino, Praxagora, Plistonico, 
Medio, Dieuche, Cleophanto, Philistione, Asclepiade, 
Crateua, Petronio Diodoto, lolla, Erasistrato, Diagora, 
Andrea, Mneside, Epicharmo, Damione, Dahone, 
Sosimene, Tlepolemo, Metrodoro, Solone, Lyco, 
Olympiade Thebana, Philino, Petricho, Miccione, 
Glaucia, Xenocrate. 

Libro XXI. continentur naturae florvun et corona- 
mentorum. (ii-ix) De strophioUs ; serta ; qui in- 
venerint miscere flores ; quando primum corollae 
appellatae et quare ; quis primum coronas fohis 
argenteis et aureis dederit ; quare coroUaria dicta ; 
de lemniscis ; quis primmn caelaverit eos ; quantus 
honor coronarum apud antiquos fuerit ; severitas 
antiquorum in coronis ; quem floribus coronaverit 
populus Romanus ; pactiles coronae ; de sutihbus 
coronis, de nardinis, de Sericis ; Cleopatrae reginae 
factum in coronis. (x-xii, Ixxiii-v). De rosa, genera 
eius XII, medicinae XXXII ; hh genera III medi- 
cinae XXIII ; lacrima nascens ; narcissi genera III 
medicinae XVI. (xiii) Quorum semen tinguatur, 
ut infecta nascantur. (xiv-xxxvii) Quemadmodum 
quaeque nascantur, serantur, colantur, sub singuhs 
generibus. violae colores III, (lxx\d) medicinae 
XVH) : luteae genera V, (Ixxvi) medicinae X ; de 
caltha ; regius flos ; bacchar (medicinae XVII) ; 
coml)retum (medicina I) ; crocum (medicinae XX) ; 
ubi optimi flores ; qui flores Troianis temporibus in 



94 



BOOK I 

Antonius Castor, Foreign authorities : Democritus, 
Theophrastus. Orpheus, Menander's Things service- 
ahlefor life, Pythagoras, Nicander. Medical writers : 
Hippocrates, Chrysippus,Diocles, Ophion, HeracUdes, 
Hicesius, Dionysius, Apollodorus of Citium, Apollo- 
dorus of Tarentum, Praxagoras, Pleistonicus, Medius, 
Dieuches, Cleophantus, PhiUstion, Asclepias, Crateuas, 
Petronius Diodotus, lollas, Erasistratus, Diagoras, 
Andreas, Mnesides, Epicharmus, Damion, Dalion, 
Sosimenes, Tlepolemus, Metrodorus, Solon, Lycus, 
Olympias of Thebes, Phihnus, Petrichus, Miceio, 
Glaucias, Xenocrates. 

Book XXI. Contents : the natures of flowers and 
of flowers for garlands. (ii-ix). Of wreaths ; gar- 
lands ; inventors of blending flowers ; when first 
ealled ' floral crowns,' and why ; who first bestowed 
crowns with silver and gold foliage ; why called 
' garland-gratuities ' ; of ribbons — who first repro- 
duced them in carving ; high value placed on crowns 
of honour among the ancients ; simphcity of crowns 
among the ancients ; who received a crown bestowed 
by the nation at Rome ; plaited crowns ; stitched 
cro^vns, nard-crowns, silk crovms ; Queen Cleopatra's 
action with regard to crowns. (x-xii,lxxiii-v). Rose, 
12 kinds, 32 drugs ; lily, 3 kinds, 23 drugs ; plant 
from an exudation ; narcissus, 3 kinds, 16 drugs. 
(xiii) Flowers grown of special colours by dyeing the 
the seed. (xiv-xxxvii) Mode of growing from 
cuttings, from seed, mode of cultivating various 
flowers, arranged under varioiis kinds ; the violet 
3 colours (Ixxvi, 17 drugs) ; yellow herb, 5 kinds 
(Ixx^q, 10 drugs) ; marsh marigold ; king flower ; 
cyclamen (17 drugs) ; rush (1 drug) ; crocus (Ixxxi, 
20 drugs) ; where the best flowers are ; what flowers 

95 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

usu ; de natura odorum ; Iris (medicinae XLI) ; 
saliunca (medicinae III) ; polium sive teuthrium 
(medicinae XIX) ; qui flos alium colorem mane 
habeat, aHum meridie, alium sole occidente ; vestium 
aemulatio cum floribus ; amarantus ; cyanus (medi- 
einae II) ; holochrysos (medicinae III) ; petilium, 
bellio ; chrysocome sive chrysitis (medicinae VI) ; 
qui frutices flore coronent, qui folio ; melothrum, 
spiraea, origanum, cneorum sive casia, genera II, me- 
Ussophyllum sive mehttaena (medicinae XXI), me- 
Ulotos, quae sertula campana sive meUlotum (me- 
dicinae XII) ; trifoU genera III (medicinae I\') ; 
myophonum. thymi genera III (medicinaeXXVIII) ; 
flore nascentia, non semine ; conyza ; lovis flos ; 
hemerocaUes (medicinae IV) ; helenium (medicinae) ; 
phlox ; quae ramis et foUis odorata ; habrotonum, 
(medicinae XXII) : adonium, genera II ; ipsa se 
propagantia ; leucanthemum medicina I) ; amaraci 
genera II (medicinae LX) ; nyctegreton sive chena- 
myche sive nyctalops. (xxxviii f.) Quo ordine tem- 
porum flores nascantur ; anemone coronaria sive 
phrenion (xciv-ix, medicinae X), oenanthe herba 
(medicinae VI), melanthium (medicinae XI), heUo- 
chrysos (medicinae XI), gladiolus, hyacinthus (me- 
dicinae VIII), lychnis (medicinae VII), tiphyon, pothi 
genera II, orsinae genera II, vincapervinca sive 
chamaedaphne (xl, medicinae I\^ ; quae semper vl- 
reat herba. (xU-ix) Quam longa cuique florum vita. 
quae propter apes serenda inter flores ; cerintha ; de 
pabulo apium ; de morbis earum et remediis ; de 
venenato meUe et remediis eius, de meUe insano, 
de meUe quod muscae non attingunt ; de alvariis, 
de alvis et cura eorum ; si famem apes sentiant ; 
de cera facienda ; quae optima eius genera ; de cera 

96 



BOOK I 

were in vogue in Trojan times ; nature of scents ; 
the iris (41 drugs) ; wild nard (3 drugs) ; the hulwort 
or teuthrium (19 drugs) ; flowers with different 
colours in the morning, at midday, and at sun- 
set ; floral patterns in dress ; amaranth ; the 
corn-flower (2 drugs) ; the all-gold (3 drugs) ; the 
petilium or ox-eye daisy ; the goldy-locks or gilt 
lady (6 drugs) ; which plants' flowers provide wreaths, 
which plants' leaves ; white byrony, privefc, wild 
marjoram, mezereum or casia, 2 kinds, bee-leaf or 
balm (21 drugs), melilot, garland of Campania or 
honey-lotus (12 drugs) ; trefoil, 3 kinds (4 drugs) ; 
mouse bane ; thyme, 3 kinds (28 drugs) ; plants 
springing from flower, not seed ; elecampane ; flower 
of Jupiter ; martagon-lily (4 drugs) ; calamint (5 
drugs) ; phlox ; plant with scented stalk and leaves ; 
southern-wood (22 drugs) ; flower of Adonis, 2 kinds ; 
self-fertiUzers ; leucanthemum (1 drug) ; marjoram, 
2 kinds (60 drugs) ; wake-by-night or chenamyche 
or see-by-night. (xxxviii f.) Time-series of birth of 
flowers ; garland anemone or phrenion (xciv-ix 10 
drugs) ; wine-flower grass (6 drugs) ; cultivated 
fennel (11 drugs), marigold (11 drugs), gladiohxs, 
hyacinth (8 drugs), lychnis (7 drugs), narcissus, 
pothos, 2 kinds, crocus, 2 kinds, periwinkle or 
dwarf laurel (xl, 4 drugs) ; evergreen grass. (xli-ix) 
Length of Ufe of various flowers ; what kinds among 
flowers should be cultivated to attract bees ; wax- 
flower ; diet of bees ; their diseases and remedies ; 
poisonous honey and its remedies ; honey that 
causes madness ; honey that flies will not touch ; 
apiaries, hives and care of hives ; do bees feel hunger ? 
manufacture of wax ; the best kinds of wax ; Car- 



97 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Punica. (l-cxiii) Sponte nascentium herbamm in 
quibuscumque gentibus usus, naturae, miracula ; 
fraga, tamnum, ruscvmi (c, medicinae IV) ; batis, 
genera II (ci, medicinae II), pastinaca pratensis, 
lupus salictarius, colocasia (cii, medicinae II), 
anthaKtun sive anticellium sive anthyllium (ciii, 
medicinae VI), oetum ; quae radices nihil supra 
terram gignant ; aracliidna, aracos ; candryala, 
hypochoris. caucalis, anthriscum, scandix (eadem 
tragopogon),partheniumsiveleucanthessiveamaracus 
sive perdicium sive muraUs (civ, medicinae VIII), 
trychnum sive strychnum sive haUcacabum sive 
caUtha sive dorj^cnion sive manicon sive peritton 
sive neuras sive morio sive moly (cv, medicinae 
VIII), corchorus (cvi, medicinae VI), aphace, 
acynopos, epipetron; quae numquam floreant, quae 
semper; cneci genera IV (cvii, medicinae III). 
(Uv-^-iu) Aculeati generis herbae (erynge, glycyrriza, 
tribulus, ononis, pheos sive stoebe, hippophaes, 
urticae genera IV, laminum, scorpio, acorna sive 
phonos, leucacanthos. chalceos, cnecos, polyacan- 
thos, onopyxos, helxine, scolymos, chamaeleon, 
tetralix (acanthice mastiche, cactus, pternica, pap- 
pum, ascaUa). (Ux) Herbarum genera per caules : 
coronopus, anchusa, anthemis, phyllanthes, crepis, 
lotos. (Ix) Differentiae herbarum per foUa : quibus 
foUa non cadant ; quae particulatim floreant ; heUo- 
tropium, adiantum ; herbae quarum medicinae 
sequenti Ubro dicentur. (Ixi-v) Spicatarum genera : 
stanyops, alopecuros, stelephuros sive ortyx sive 
plantago, thryaUis ; perdicium, ornithogale ; post 
annum nascentes, a summo florentes, item ab imo; 
lappa herba quae intra se parit, opuntia e foUo 

q8 



BOOK I 

thaginian wax. (1-cviii) Self-grown vegetation, its 
use among certain races, its kinds, remarkable cases 
of; strawberries, wild grapes, butcher's broom (c, 
4 drugs) ; samphire, 2 kinds (ci, 11 drugs), meadow 
parsnjp, willow-hop, cuJcas (cii, 2 drugs) Cretan 
pitch plant, anthalinm or auticellium or anthjd- 
liuni (ciii, 6 drugs); oetimi; roots with no growth above 
the surface of the earth ; chickling vetch, aracos ; 
candryala, hypochoeris, caucaUs, anthriscum, chervil 
(also called goat's beard), maiden-flower or white 
blossom or marjoram or partridge-plant or wall- 
plant (civ, 8 drugs), nightshade or sti-ychnos or hali- 
cacabus or cahtha or dorycnion or mad-plant or 
surplus or sinew-plant or lack-wit or moly (cv, 8 
drugs), wild pulse (cvi, 6 drugs), chick-pea, acynopus, 
rock-plant ; non-flowering plants, plants perpetually 
in flower ; safflower, 4 kinds (cvii, 3 drugs). (liv-viii) 
Plants of the prickly kind (erynge thistle, licorice root, 
land caltrop, rest-haiTow, pheos or stoebe, hoi'se- 
beam, nettle, 4 kinds, dead-nettle, scorpion-grass, 
acorna or murder-thistle, A\hitethorn, copper-wort, 
safBower, many-thoi-n, donkcy-box, helxine, edible 
thistle, carline thistle, tetralix heath (thorny mastix, 
cactus, pternica, pappum, artichoke). (lix) Plants 
classed by stalks : hartshorn, alkanet, chamomile, 
pjiyllanthes, crepis, lotus. (Ix) Plants distinguished 
by leaves : evergreens ; plants flowering in sections ; 
heliotrope, maideuhair ; plants whose use for drugs 
will be stated in the next Book. (Ixi-v) Ear-bearing 
classes : stanyops, fox-tail, stelephuros, or quail- 
pLant or plantain, thryallis, partridge-wort, bird's 
niilk ; plants of twelve-month growth, plants 
flowering from top, ditto from bottom ; internal- 
sprouting burdock, Opus-plant making root £rom 

99 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

radicem faciens ; iasione, chondrylla, picris quae 
toto anno floret. (Ixvi) Quibus flos antequam caules 
exeant, quibus caulis antequam flos, quae ter floreant. 
(Ixvii-lxxi) Cypiros, medicinae VIII; Thesium; 
asphodelus sive hastula regia (anthericus sive albu- 
cimi) ; iunci genera VI, medicinae IV, cyperus, medi- 
einae XIV, cyperis, cypira; holoschoenos. (Ixxii) 
Medicinae ex iunco odorato sive teuchite X, (Ixxviii- 
Ixxxii) medicinae ex asaro VIII, medicinae ex Gallico 
nardo VHI, medicinae ex herba quam phu vocant 
IV ; (Ixxxii) Syrium crocomagma, medicinae 11. 
(cviii) pesoluta, medicina I. (cix) Graecorxmi nominimi 
in ponderibus et mensuris interpretatio. Simama : 
medicinae et historiae et observationes DCCXXX. 

Ex auctoribus : Catone censorio, M. Varrone, 
Masurio, Antiate, Caepione, Vestino, Vibio Rufino, 
Hygino, Pomponio Mela, Pompeio Lenaeo, Cornelio 
Celso, Calpurnio Basso, C. Valgio, Licinio Macro, 
Sextio Nigro qui Graece scripsit, lulio Basso qui 
item, Antonio Castore. Externis : Theophrasto, 
Democrito, Orpheo, Pythagora, Magone, Menandro 
qui (^Loxprjcna scripsit, Nicandro, Homero, Hesiodo, 
Musaeo, Sophocle, Anaxilao. Medicis : Mnesitheo 
qui de coronis, CalUmacho qui item, Phania physico, 
Simo, Timaristo, Hippocrate, Chrysippo, Diocle, 
Ophione, Heraclide, Hicesio, Dionysio, Apollodoro 
Citiense, Apollodoro Tarentino, Praxagora, Plistonico, 
Medio, Dieuche, Cleophanto, PhiUstione, Asclepiade, 
Crateua, Petronio Diodoto, loUa, Erasistrato, Diagora, 
Andrea, Mneside, Epicharmo, Damione, Dalione, 
Sosimene, Tlepolemo, Metrodoro, Solone, Lyco, 
Olympiade Thebana, PhiUno, Petricho, Miccione, 
Glaucia, Xenocrate. 

Libro XXII. continetur auctoritas herbarum. 



BOOK I 

leaf ; iasione, chondrilla, year-long flowering bitter- 
plant. (Ixvi) Plants producing flower before stalk, 
stalk before flowers, thrice-flowering. (Ixvii-Ixxi) 
Gladiolus, 8 drugs ; ccrydalis ; asphodel or royal 
spear-grass (asphodel-stalk or bulb) ; rush, 6 kinds, 
4 drugs ; cyperus, 4 drugs, cyperis, cypira, holo- 
schoenos. (Ixxii) Drugs from scented rush or 
teuchites 10. (Ixxviii-lxxxii) Drugs from hazelwort 
8, drugs from Gallic nard 8, drugs from ' phu ' grass 
4 ; Syrian saffron-Ieas, 2 drugs, (cviii) pcsoluta, 
1 drug. (cix) Translation of Greek terms for 
weights and measures. Total, 730 drugs, in- 
vestigations and observations. 

Authorities : Cato the ex-Censor, Marcus Varro, 
Masurius, Antias, Caepio, Vestinus, Vibius Rufinus, 
Hyginus, Pomponius Mela, Pompeius Lenaeus, 
Cornelius Celsus, Calpurnius Bassus, Gaius Valgius, 
Licinius Macer, Sextius Niger's Greek treatise, Julius 
Bassus's ditto, Antonius Castor. Foreign authorities : 
Theophrastus, Democritus, Orpheus, Pythagoras, 
Mago, Menander's Things serviceable for life, Ni- 
cander, Homer, Hesiod, Musaeus, Sophocles, Anaxi- 
laus. Medical writers : Mnesitheus On Wreaths, Calli- 
machus ditto, Phanias the natural scientist, Simus, 
Timaristus, Hippocrates, Chrysippus, Diocles, Ophion, 
Heraclides, Hicesius, Dionysius, Apollodorus of 
Citium, Apollodorus of Tarentum, Praxagoras, 
Plistonicus, Medius, Dieuches, Cleophantus, Philistio, 
Asclepias, Crateuas, Petronius Diodotus, loUas. 
Erasistratus, Diagoras Andreas, Mnesides, Epi- 
charmus, Damio, Dalio, Sosimenes, Tlepolemus, 
Metrodorus, Solon, Lycus, Olympias of Thebes, 
Philinus, Petrichus, Miccio, Glaucias, Xenocrates. 

Book XXn. Contents : the importance of herbs. 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

(i-vi) Gentes herbis formae gratia uti ; herbis infici 
vestes ; item pigmento de oleo chortino ; de sag- 
minibus, de verbenis et clarigatione ; de corona 
graminea : de raritate eius, qui soli corona ea donati, 
qui solus centurio. (vii) Medicinae ex reliquis corona- 
mentis. (viii-xlv) Erynge,sive eryngion sive centum 
capita XXX ; acanos I ; glycyrriza sive adipso XV. 
stomatice I ; tribuli genera II, medicinae XII ; 
stoebe sive pheos ; hippophaes, genera II, medicinae 
II ; urtica LXI ; lamium VII ; scorpionis genera II, 
medicina ; leucacantha sive phyllos sive ischias sive 
polygonato IV ; helxine XII ; perdicio sive Parthenio 
sive siderite, quae urceolaris sive astericum, XI ; 
chamaeleone sive ixia sive ulophyto sive cynozolo, 
genera II, medicinae XII (mastiche) ; coronopode, 
anchusa XIV ; pseudoanchusa sive echis sive doris 
III ; onochilo sive archebio sive onocheh sive rhexia 
sive enchrysa XXX ; cuius radices colorem mutent ; 
anthemide sive leucan themide sive leucanthemo 
sive chamaemelo sive melanthio, genera III, me- 
dicinae XI ; loto herba IV ; lotometra II ; he- 
liotropio sive helioscopio sive verrucaria XII, he- 
liotropio sive tricocco sive scorpiuro XIV ; adianto 
sive caUitricho sive trichomane sive polytricho sive 
saxifraga, genera II, medicinae XXVIII, frutex sine 
radice ; picride I, Thesio I ; asphodelo LI ; halimo 
XIV; acantho sive paederote sive melamphyllo V; 
bupleuro V ; bupresti I ; elaphobosco IX, scandice 
IX, anthrisco II ; iasione IV ; caucalide XII ; sio XI ; 
sillybo ; scolymo sive limonio V ; soncho, genera II, 
medicinae XV ; condrio sive condrille III. (xlvi) 
De boletis : proprietas eorum in nascendo. (xlvii-ix) 
De fungis : notae venenatorum ; medicinae ex his 



loa 



BOOK I 

^-vi) That nations use herbs because of their beauty ; 
herbs used to dye clothes ; dye made of vegetable 
oil ditto ; tufts of sacred grass, sacred branches and 
the ritual of demanding redress ; wreath of grass, 
its rarity, its only recipients, the only centurion 
recipient. (vii) Drugs made from the remaining 
sorts of wreaths. (viii-xlv) Erynge or eryngion or 
hundred-heads, 30; acanos thistle, 1: sweet-root or 
licorice, 15 ; mouth-heal, 1 : caltrop, 2 kinds, 12 
drugs ; stoebe or pheos ; horse-beam, 2 kinds, 2 drugs ; 
nettle, 61 ; dead-nettle 7 ; scorpion-plant, 2 kinds, 
1 drug; pellitory or phyllos or sciatica-plant or 
polygonaton, 4; helxine, 12; pelhtory or maiden- 
herb or iron-wort (the same as pitcher-pohsh or 
astericum) 11 ; chamaeleon-plant or carline thistle 
or ulophytum or cynozolon, 2 kinds, 12 drugs (gum 
mastic) ; hartshorn, alkanet, 14 ; bastard-bugloss or 
ecliis or doris, 3 ; donkey-lip or archebius or donkey- 
hoof or rhexia or enchrysa, 30 ; the plant whose 
roots make dye ; chamomile or white anthemis or 
earth-apple or fennel-flower, 3 kinds, 11 drugs ; lotus 
grass, 4 ; lotometra, 2 ; heliotrope or turasole or 
wartwort, 12 ; heliotrope or three-berry or scorpion'3 
tail, 14 ; adiantum or maiden-hair or trichomanes or 
many-hair or saxifrage, 2 kinds, 28 drugs, rootless 
stem ; bitter lettuce 1, corydalis 1 ; asphodel 
51 ; orach 14 ; bear's breech or lad's love or black- 
leaf 5 ; hare's ear 5, cow-nettle 1 ; wild parsnip 9 ; 
chervil 9 ; southern clievril 2 ; bind-weed 4 ; 
caucalis 12; bur-parsley 11; sillybus thistle ; car- 
doon or meadow thistle 5 ; sow-thistle, 2 kinds, 15 
drugs ; chondrilla 3. (xlvi) Mushrooms : pecul- 
iarity in their mode of xepoductioa. (xlvii-ix) 
Toadstools : signs of poisonous kinds ; 9 di'ug3 

103 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

IX ; silphio VII ; laseri XXXIX. (1-lv) Propoli V, 
mellis X\T, aquae mulsae XVIII ; quare genere 
ciborum mores quoque mutentur ; mulso VI ; melitite 
III; cera VIII. (Ivi) Contra conpositiones medi- 
corum. (Ivii-lxxvi) Medicinae ex frugibus (siligine I, 
tritico I, palea II, farre I, furfuribus I, arinca, athera 
II ; farina per genera ; medicinae XXIX ; polenta 
VIII ; polHne V, pulte I, farina chartaria I ; aHca VI ; 
milio VI; panico IV; sesima VII; sesimoide III, 
Anticyrico III ; hordeo IX, hordeo murino, quam 
Graeci Phoeniciam ; I ; ptisana IV, amylo VIII, 
avena I ; pane XXI ; faba XVI ; lente XVII, (fjaK^a 
cTTi TeXfiaToiv III ; elelisphaco sive sphaco, quae 
salvia, XIII; cicere et cicercula XXIII; ervo XX; 
lupino XXX^'^ ; irone sive erysimo, quod GalH velam, 
XV; hormino VI). (lxx\ii-lxxx) lolio V, miliaria 
herba I, bromo I, orobanche sive cynomorio 1. 
(Ixxxi f.) Contra leguminum bestiolas. spuma de 
zytho. Summa : medicinae et historiae et obser- 
vationes DCCCCVI. 

Ex auctoribus iisdem quibus priore libro et praeter 
eos Chrysermo, Eratosthene, Alcaeo. 

Libro XXIII. continentur medicinae ex arboribus 
cultis : (ii-xxii) vitibus XX ; foliis vitium VII, pam- 
pinis VII; omphacio vitium XIV; oenanthe XXI ; 
uvis recentibus ; uvarum servatarum gencribus, 
medicinae XI ; sarmentis uvarum I ; nucleis 
acinorum VI ; vinaceis VIII ; uva theriace IV, 
uva passa sive astaphide XIV ; astaphide agria 
sive staphide sive taminia sive pituitaria XII ; 
labrusca sive ampelo agria XII ; salicastro XII ; vite 
alba sive ampelo leuce sive staphyle sive melothro 
sive psilothro sive archezosti sive cedrosti sive mado 
XXXI ; vite nigra sive bryonia sive Chironia sive 

104 



BOOK I 

obtained from tliese ; silpbium 7 ; assafoetida 
plant 39. (l-lv) Bee-glue 5, honey A^B, liydromel 18 ; 
reason for influence of diet on chAracter ; mead 6 ; 
honey-must, 3; wax, 8. (Ivi) AVarning against 
doctors' mixtures. (Ivii-lxxvi). Drugs from 
various grains : common wheat 1, wheat 1, chaff 2, 
emmer 1, bran 1, arinca, rye-water 2 ; corre- 
sponding varieties of floxir ; 29 drugs ; pearl- 
barley 8 ; fine flour, pulse 1, paper flour ] ; alica 6 ; 
millet 6 ; Italian millet 4 ; sesauie 7 ; near-sesame 3, 
hellebore 3 ; barley 9, wildbarley (Greek' Phoenician 
barley ') 1 ; pearl-barley 4 ; starch 8 ; oats 1 ; bread 
21 : bean 16; lentil 17; marsh-bean 3; eleUsphacon 
or fragrant moss (sage) 13 ; chick-pea and small chick- 
pea 23 ; bitter vetch 20 ; lupine 35 ; winter-cress or 
erysimum (Gallic ' vela ') 15 ; clary 6. (Ixxvii-lxxx) 
Darnel 5, millet grass 1, oats 1, choke-weed or broom- 
rape 1. (Ixxxi f.) Protection against maggots in 
vegetables. Foam from beer. — Total 906 drugs, in- 
vestigations and observations. 

Authorities as in preceding book, also Chrysermus, 
Eratosthenes, Alcaeus. 

Book XXIII. Contents: drugs obtained from 
cultivated trees : (ii-xxii) from vines 20 ; vine- 
leaves 7; tendrils 7; juice of unripe grape 14; wild 
vine 21 ; fresh grapes ; varieties of stored grapes, 
11 drugs ; vine-shoots 1 ; grape-stones 6 ; grape- 
skins 8; treacle-grape 4; dried grape or raisin 14; 
wild raisin or staves-acre or taminia or phlegm-heal 
12 ; claret-vine or wdld vine 12 ; sahcastrum wild 
vine 12 ; white grape or ampelos leuke or staphyle 
or white bryony or psilothrum or archezostis or 
cedrostis or madon 31 ; black grape or bryony or 



105 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

gynacanthe sive apronia XXXV; musto XV; 
Falerno VI, Albano II, Surrentino III; Setino I, 
Statano I, Signino I ; ceteris vinis LXIV. (xxiii-vi) 
observationes circa vina LXI : quibus aegris danda, 
quando danda, quomodo danda ; observationes circa 
ea XCI. (xxvii-xxxiii) Aceto XXVIII, aceto scillino 
XVII, oxymelite VII, sapa VII, faece vini XII, faece 
aceti XVII, faece sapae IV. (xxxiv-xxxix) Foliis oleae 
XXIII ; flore IV, olea ipsa VI ; oli^ds albis IV, olivis 
nigris III ; amurca XXI, foliis oleastri XVI, omphacio 
IIL (xl-1) Oenanthino oleo XXVIII ; cicino XVI ; 
amygdaUno XVI ; laurino IX ; myrteo XX ; chamae- 
myrsinae sive oxymyrsinae,cupressino,citreo,caryino, 
Cnidio, lentiscino, balanino ; cyprino et cypro ipsa 
XVI, gleucino I ; balsamino V ; malobathro V ; hyo- 
scyamino II, thermino I, narcissino I, raphanino V, 
sesamino III, lilino I, Selgitico I, Iguino I ; elaeomeU 
II, pissino II. (li-iii) Palmis IX ; palma myrobalano 
III ; palma elate XVIL (liv-lxxxiii) Medicinae ex 
singulorum generum flore, foUis, fructu, ramis, 
cortice, suco, Ugno, radlce, cinere (malorum obser- 
vationes VI, cotoneorum XXII, struthiorum I ; 
dulciura malorum VI, austerorum IV, citreorum V; 
Punicorum XXVI ; stomatice XIV ; cytino VIII 
bi^laustio XIL (Ixii-lxix) Pirorum observationes XIII ; 
ficorum CXI ; caprificorum XLII ; erineo herba III, 
prunis IV, Persicis II, prunis silvestribus II ; Uchene 
airborum II ; (Ixx-lxxv) moris XXXIX ; stomatice sive 
arteriace sive panchrestos IV, cerasis V, mespiUs II, 
sorbis, II, nucibus pineis XIII, amygdaUs XXIX. 
(Ixxvi-lxxix) Nucibus Graecis I, iuglandibus XXIX. 
(antidoto) ; Abellanis III, pistaciis VIII, castaneis V, 
siUquis V, corno I, unedoiiibus. (Ixxx-lxxxiii) Lauris 

io6 



BOOK I 

Chiron's plant or gynacanthe or apronia 35; must 
15 ; Falernian 6, Alban 2, Surrentine 3 ; Setine 1, 
Statane 1, Signine 1 ; other wines 64. (xxiii-vi) 
Observations about wines 61 ; what invalids to be 
given them, and when and how ; observations on 
these points 91. (xxvii-xxxiii) Vinegar 28, squill- 
vinegar 17, vinegar-honey 7, must 7, wine lees 12, 
vinegar lees 17, must lees 4. (xxxiv-xxxix) Olive 
leaves 23 ; ohve flowers 4, oHve berries 6, white 
olives 4, black ohves 3; ohve lees 21, wild ohve 
leaves 16, oil of unripe ohves 3. (xl-1) Wild ohve oil 
28; castoroill6; almondoill6; bay oil 9 ; myrtle 
oil 20 ; oil of dwarf myrtle or prickly myrtle (butcher's 
broom), of cypress, of citrus, nut-oil, Cnidian oil, 
mastic oil, oil of behen-nut, cyprus oil and cyprus flower 
16 ; oil of must 1 ; of balsamS ; of betel5,of henbane 2, 
of lupine 1, of narcissus 1, of i-adish 5, of sesame 3, 
of lily-seed 1, oil of Selga 1, of Iguvium 1 ; of olive- 
honey 2, of pitch 2. (li-hii) Palm-oil 9, palm-oil of 
behen-nut 3, of fir 17. (liv-lxxxiii) Drugs from 
flower, leaves, fruit, branches, bark, sap, wood, root, 
ash, of the diiferent sorts of tree ; observations as to 
apple-trees 6, as to quinces 22, as to soapworts 1, 
sweet apples 6, crab apples 4, citron apples 5, pome- 
granates 26; lip-salve 14; pomegranate blossom 8, 
wild pomegranate blossom 12. (Ixii-lxix) Observations 
on pear trees, 13, on figs 111, on wild .^gs 42 ; erineus 
grass 3, plums 4, peaches 2, wild plmns 2 ; tree lichen 
2. (Ixx-lxxv) Mulberries 39 ; lip-salve or wind-pipe 
salve or all-heal 4 ; cherries 5, medlars 2, service- 
berries 2, pine-cones 13, almonds 29. (Ixxvi-lxxix) 
Greek nuts 1, walnuts 24 (antidote) ; filberts 3, 
pistachios 8, chestnuts 5, caroes 5, cornel-cherry 1, 
arbutuses. (Ixxx-lxxxiii) Bay-trees 69, myrtles 60, 

107 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

LXIX, myrtis LX, myrtidano XIII, oxymyrsine sive 
chamaemyrsine sive ruscum VI. Summa : medicinae 
et historiae et observationes MCCCCXVIII. 

Ex auctoribus : C. Valgio, Pompeio Lenaeo, Sextio 
Nigro qui Graece scripsit, lulio Basso qui item, 
Antonio Castore, M. Varrone, Comelio Celso, Fabiano. 
Externis : Theophrasto, Democrito, Orpheo, Pytha- 
gora, Magone, Menandro qui /StoxprjrrTa, Nicandro, 
Homero, Hesiodo, Musaeo, Sophocle, Anaxilao. 
Medicis : Mnesitheo, Calhmacho, Phania physico, 
Timaristo, Simo, Hippocrate, Chrysippo, Diocle, 
Ophione, HeracHde, Hicesio, Dionysio, Apollodoro 
Citiense, Apollodoro Tarentino, Praxagora, PHstonico, 
Medio, Dieuche, Cleophante, PhiUstione, Asclepiade, 
Crateua,Petronio Diodoto, Iolla,Erasistrato,Diagora, 
Andrea, Mneside, Epicharmo, Damione, Dalione, 
Sosimene, Tlepolemo, Metrodoro, Solone, Lyco, 
Olympiade Thebana, Philino, Petricho, Miccione, 
Glaucia, Xenocrate. 

Libro XXIV. continentur medicinae ex arboribus 
silvestribus : (ii-ix) loto Italica VI, glandibus XIII, 
cocco iUcis III, galla XXIII, visco XI, pilulis glandi- 
ferarum I, cerro VIII, subere II, fago IV. (x-xix) 
Cupresso XXIII, cedro XIII, cedride X, galbano 
XXIII, Hammoniaco XXIV, styrace X, spondylio 
XVII, sphagno sive sphaco sive bryo V, terebintho 
VI, picea VIII. (xx— xxix) Chamaepity X, pityusa 
VI, resinis XXII, pice XXXIV, pisselaeo sive palim- 
pissa XVI, pissasphalto II, zopissa I, taeda I, 
lentisco XXII, platano XXV. (xxx-xxxix) Fraxino 
V, acere I, populo VIII, ulmo XVI, tilia V, sam- 
buco XV, iunipero XXI, salice XIV, Amerina I, 
vitice XXXIII, ericc I ; (xl-xlix) genista V, my- 

io8 



BOOK I 

myrtle-berry wine 13, Prickly myrtle or ground- 
myrtle or butcher's broom 6. Total 1418 drugs, 
investigations and observations. 

Authorities : Gaius Valgius, Pompeius Lenaeus, 
Sextius Niger's Greek writings, Julius Bassuss ditto, 
Antonius Castor, Marcus Varro, CorneHus Celsus, 
Fabianus. Foreign authorities : Theophrastus, 
Deniocritus, Orpheus, Pythagoras, Mago, Menan- 
der's Things serviceable for life, Nicander, Homer. 
Hesiod, Musaeus, Sophocles, Anaxilaus. Medical 
writers: Mnesitheus, CalHmachus, Phanias's Natural 
Science, Timaristus, Simus, Hippocrates, Chrysippus, 
Diocles, Ophion, Heraclides, Hicesius, Dionysius, 
Apollodorus of Citium, Apollodorus of Tarentum. 
Praxagoras, Plistonicus, Medius, Dieuches, Cleo- 
phantes, PhiUstion, Asclepiades, Crateuas, Petronius 
Diodotus, lollas, Erasistratus, Diagoras, Andreas. 
Mnesides, Epichai*mus, Damion, DaHon, Sosimenes, 
Tlepolemus, Metrodorus, Solon, Lycus, Olympias 
of Thebes, PhiHnus, Petrichus, Miccio, Glaucias, 
Xenocrates. 

Book XXIV. Contents : Drugs obtained from 
forest trees: (ii-ix) Egyptian water-Hly 6, acorns 13, 
holm-oak berry 3, oak-apple 23, mistletoe 11, acorns 
of glandiferous trees 1, Tvu-key oak 8, cork 2, beech 4. 
(x-xix) Cypress 23, cedar 13, cedar-berry 10, galbanum 
23, gumtree 24, styrax gumtree 10, bear's-foot 17, 
sphagnus or sphacus or moss 5, turpentine 6, pitch- 
pine 8. (xx-xxix) Ground-pine 10, pityusa 6, resin 
22, pitch 34, cedar-resin oil or twice-boiled pitch 16, 
earth-pitch 2, wax-pitch 1, pitch-pine 1, mastic-tree 
22, plane 25. (xxx-xxxix) Beech 5,maple l,poplar 8, 
elm 16, Hme 5, elder 15, juniper 21, willow 14, 
Axnerian apple 1, chaste-tree 33, heath 1. (xl-xlix) 

109 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

rice quae et tamarica III, virga sanguinea I, 
brya XXIX, silere III, ligustro VIII, alno I, hederis 
XXXIX, cistho V, cisso erythrano II, chamaecisso 

II, milace III, clematide III. (1-lix) Harundine 
XVIII, papyro charta III, hebeno V, rhodo- 
dendro I, rhus gen. II, medicinae VIII (stoma- 
tice), rhu erythro IX, erythrodano XI, alysso II, 
radicula sive struthio XIII, apocyno II, rore marino 
XVIII; (Ix-lxix) cachry VI, herba Sabina VII, 
selagine II, samolo II, cummi XI, spina Arabica, 
IV, spina alba II, acanthio I, acacia XVIII, aspalatho 
sive erysisceptro sive adipsatheo sive diaxylo VIII, 
(Ixx-lxxix) spina appendice II, pyracantha I, pahm-o 
X, aquifolia X, taxo I, rubis LI (stomatice), cy- 
nosbato III, Idaeo rubo I, rhamni gen. II, medic. V, 
Lycio XVIII, sarcocolla II, oporice II, (Ixxx-lxxxix) 
trixagine sive chamaedrye sive chamaerope sive 
Teucria XVI, chamaedaphne V, chamelaea VI, 
chamaesyce VIII, chamaecisso herba I, chamaeleuce 
sive farfaro sive farfugio I, chamaepeuce V, cham- 
aecyparisso II, ampelopraso VI, stachye I, chnopodio 
sive cleopiceto sive zopyrontio sive ocimoide III, 
clematide centunculo III, clematide sive aetite sive 
lagine. (xl-xlviii) Clematide Aegyptia sive daphnoide 
sive polygonnide II, aro XIII, dracunculo II, ari 

III, millefoUo sive myriophyllo VII, pseudobunio IV, 
myrride sive myrra sive myriza VII, oenobreche III. 
(xcix-cii) Magica de herbis coracesia et calicia, 
Minyade sive Corinthia I, aproxi (Pythagoria de 
recidivis morborum), aglaophotide sive marmaritide, 
Achaemenide sive hippophobade, theombrotio sive 
semnio, adamantide, Arianide, theronarca, Aethio- 
pide sive Meroide, ophiusa, thalassaegle sive po- 
tamaugide, theangelide, gelotophyllide, hestiateride 

IIO 



BOOK I 

Broom 5, myrice, also called tamarisk, 3, golden-rod 
1, brya 29, brook-mllow 3, privet 8, alder 1, ivies 39, 
cisthus 5, reddish-ivy 2, ground-ivy 2, yew 3, clematis 
3. (l-lix) Reed 18, papyrus reed 3, ebony 5, rhodo- 
dendron 1, sumach 2 kinds, 8 drugs (mouth-heal), 
red sumach 9, madder 11, madwort 2, radicula or 
soapwort 13, dog's-bane 2, rosemary 18. (Ix-lxix) 
Rosemary capsule 6, sabine grass 7, savin-tree 2, 
brookweed 2, cummin 11, Arabian thorn 4, white- 
thom 2, bear's-foot 1, acacia 18, rosewood or erysi- 
sceptrum or adipsatheum or diaxylon 8. (Ixx-lxxix) 
Bai-berry-bush 2, pyracanthus 1, Christ's-thorn 10, 
hoUy 10, yew 1, blackberries 51 (mouth-heal), 
dog-rose 3, Ida bramble 1 ; buckthorn 2 kinds, 5 
drugs ; Lycium thorn 18, Persian gum 2, oporice 2. 
(Ixxx-lxxxix) Germander or dwarf oak or chamaerops 
or Teucrian plant 16 ; dwarf laurel 5, dwarf olive 6, 
dwarf fig 8, ground ivy 1, chamaeleuce or colt's-foot 
or farfugium 1, ground larch 5, ground cypress 2. 
field-garUc 6, horsemint 1, wild basil or cleopicetura 
or zopyrontium or ocimoides 3, knotweed clematis 3. 
clematis or aetis or cimoides. (xl-xlviii) Egyptiar. 
clematis or laurel clematis or polygonoides 2, wake- 
robin 13, tarragon 2, dragon-root 3, milfoil or yarrow 7 
bastard-bunion 4, sweet-cicely or myrra or myriza 7 
oenobreche 3. (xcix-cii) Sorcery from herbs : cora- 
cesia and caHcia ; Minyad or Corinthian herb 1 ". 
aproxis (Pythagorean teachings as to recurrent 
diseases), aglaophotis or marble-quarry plant. 
Achaemenis or horse's-mane, theombrotion or sem- 
nion, uncrushable herb, Ariana plant, theronarca. 
Ethiopian plant or hei*b of Meroe, ophiusa, sea-ray 
or river-flash, theangelis, gelotophyllis, hestiateris or 



XII 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

sive protomedia sive casignete sive Dionysonyin- 
phade, helianthide sive heUocalUde, hermesiade, 
aeschynomene, crocide, oenotheride, anacampserote. 
(ciii-cix) Eriphia, herba lanaria I, lactoris I, militaris I, 
stratiotes V, herba de capite statuae I, herba de flu- 
minibus I, hngua herba I, herba de cribro I. (cx-cxx) 
Herba de fimetis I, herba a canum urina I, rodarura 
III, impia II, Veneris pecten I, exedum, notia II, 
philanthropos I, lappa canaria II, tordylon sive 
syreon III, gramen XVII, dactylos V, fenimi Grae- 
cum, quae silicia, XXXI. Summa : medicinae et 
historiae et observationes MCLXXVI. 

Ex auctoribus : C. Valgio, Pompeio Lenaeo, 
Sextio Nigro qui Graece scripsit, luUo Basso qui item, 
Antonio Castore, CorneUo Celso. Externis : Theo- 
phrasto, ApoUodoro, Democrito, Orpheo, Pythagora, 
Magone, Menandro qui ^ioxpT/o-Ta, Nicandro, 
Homero, Hesiodo, Musaeo, Sophocle, Anaxilao. 
Medicis : Mnesitheo, CaUimacho, Phania physico, 
Timaristo, Simo, Hippocrate, Chrysippo, Diocle, 
Ophione, HeracUde, Hicesio, Dionysio, ApoUodoro 
Citiense, ApoUodoro Tarentino, Praxagora, PUstonico, 
Medio, Dieuche, Cleophanto, PhiUstione, Asclepiade, 
Crateua, Petronio Diodoto, loUa, Erasistrato, Diagora, 
Andrea, Mneside, Epicharmo, Damione, Sosimene, 
Tlepolemo, Metrodoro, Solone, Lyco, Olympiade 
Thebana, PhiUno, Petricho, Miccione, Glaucia, 
Xenocrate. 

Libro XXV. continentm- naturae herbarum sponte 
nascentimn ; auctoritas herbarum. (i-vi) De origine 
usus earum ; qui Latine usus earum scripserint ; 
quando ad Romanos ea notitia pervenerit ; qui 
primi Graecorum de his conposuerint ; quare minus 
exerceantur ea remedia ; herbae mirabiUter inventae. 

112 



BOOK I 

protomedia or casignetes or Dionysonymplias, Iielian- 
this or heliocallis, hermesiades, aeschynomenes, 
crocis, oenetheris, anacampseros. (ciii-cix) Eriphia, 
wool grass 1, milk-wort 1, soldier-grass l,stratiotes 5, 
statue*s head grass 1, river grass 1, tongue grass 1, 
sieve grass 1. (cx-cxx) Dung-hill grass 1, dog's water 
grass 1, rodarum 3, French everlasting 2, Venus's comb 

1, exedum, southern-wood 2, goose-grass 1, dog-bur 

2, hart-wort or syreon 3, couch-grass 17, lady's 
finger 5, Greek hay or fenugreek, our silicia, 31. 
Total: 1176 drugs, investigations and observations. 

Authorities used : Gaius Valgius, Pompeius Len- 
aeus, Sextius Niger's Greek writings, Juhus Bassus's 
ditto, Antonius Castor, Cornelius Celsus. Foreign 
authorities : Theophrastus, Apollodorus, Democritus, 
Orpheus, Pythagoras, Mago, Menander's Things 
serviceablefor life, Nicander, Homer, Hesiod, Musaeus, 
Sophocles, Anaxilaus. Medical writers : Mnesitheus, 
CalUmachus, Phanias the scientific writer, Timaristus, 
Simus, Hippocrates, Chrysippus, Diocles, Ophion, 
Heraclides, Hicesius, Dionysius, Apollodorus of 
Citium, Apollodorus of Tarentum, Praxagoras, 
Plistonicus, Medius, Dieuches, Cleophantus, Philistio, 
Asclepiades, Crateuas, Petronius Diodotus, lollas, 
Erasistratus, Diagoras, Andreas, Mnesides, Epi- 
charmus, Damion, Sosimenes, Tlepolemus, Metro- 
dorus, Solon, Lycus, Olympias of 'Thebes, PhiUnus, 
Petrichus, Miccio, Glaucias, Xenocrates. 

Book XXV. Contents : the natures of self-grown 
plants ; value of plants. (i-vi) Origin of their use ; 
Latin writers on uses of plants ; when this knowledge 
reached the Romans ; fii-st Greek writers on the 
subject; herbal remedies, why comparutively httle 
used ; remarkable discoveries of plants. Dog-rose, 

ti3 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Cynorrodum, medicinae II, dracunculus caulis I, 
Britannica V. (vii-xix) De maximo dolore. nobilium 
herbarum inventores. moly III, dodecatheon I, 
paeonia sive pentorobos sive glycysides, I, panaces 
Asclepion II, panaces Heraclion III, panaces Chiro- 
nion IV, panaces Centaurion sive Pharnacion III, 
Herachon siderion IV, hyoscyamos, quae Apollinaris 
sive altercum, genera II, medicinae III, linozostis 
sive partlienion sive Hermupoa, quae Mercurialis, 
genera II, medicinae XXII, Achillea sideritis sive 
panaces Heraclium, quae naillefolium sive scopa 
regia, gen. VI, med. III. (xx-xxix) Teucria sive 
hermione sive splenios II, Melampodium sive elle- 
borum, quod veratrum, genera III ; quomodo 
coUigatur, quomodo probetur ; medicinae ex nigro 
XXIV, quomodo sumendum ; item in albo : medi- 
cinae ex eo XXIII ; quibus non dandum; observa- 
tiones circa utrumque genus LXXXVIII. Mi- 
thridatia II, scordotis sive scordion IV, Polemonia 
sive Philetaeria sive chiHodynamus VI, Eupatoria I, 
(xxx-xhi) Centaurion sive Chironion XX, Centaurion 
lepton sive Hbadion, quod fel terrae, XXII, Centauris 
triorchis II, Clymenos II, Gentiana XIII, Lysimachia 
VIII, Artemisia sive parthenis sive botrys sive 
ambrosia V, nymphaea sive HeracHon sive rhopalon 
sive mallos, genera II, medicinae ^TV, Euphorbiae 
genera II, medicinae IV, plantaginis genera II, 
medicinae XLVI, buglossos III, cynoglossos III, 
buphthalmos sive cachla I. (xHii-ix) Herbae quas 
gentes invenerunt Scythice III, hippace III, is- 
chaemon II, cestros sive psychotrophon, quae 
Vettonica sive serratula, XLVIII ; Cantabrica II, 
consiHgo I, Iberis VII. (1-Hii) Herbae ab animaHbus 
repertae cheHdonia VI, canaria I, dictamnon VIII, 

114 



BOOK I 

2 drugs, tarragon 1, water-clock 5. (vii-ix) The 
greatest pain. Discoverers of famous plants. Moly 

3, shooting star 1, peony or pentorobus or glycysides 
1, varieties of all-heal — Asclepion 2, HeracUon 3, 
Chironion 4, Centaurion or Pharnacion 3, iron-wort 
HeracUon 4, hyoscyamos or Apollo-plant or henbane, 
2 kinds, 3 drugs ; hnozostis or maiden-hair or grass of 
Hermes or grass of Mercury, 2 kinds, 22 drugs; 
Achilles star-wort or all-heal of Heracles, our 
milfoil or king's-broom, 6 kinds, 3 drugs. (xx-xxix) 
Teucer's grass or hermione or spleenwort 2 ; Melam- 
podium or hellebore, our verati'um 3 kinds, method 
of gathering, method of testing; drugs from black 
hellebore 24, how taken ; ditto with white hellebore ; 
drugs from the latter 23 ; to what patients not to be 
given : observations in regard to each kind 88. 
Grass of Mithridates 2, scordotis or water-germander 

4, Polemonia or Philetaeria or thousand-virtues 6, 
Eupatoria 1. (xxx-xhi) Centaury or grass of Chiron 
20, lesser centaury or hbadion, our earth-gall (fumi- 
tory) 22, triorcliis centaury 2, Clymenos 2, gentian 13, 
Lysimachia 8, Artemisia or maiden-herb or mag- 
wort or ambrosia 5, water-hly or rod of Heracles or 
rhopalon or mallos, 2 kinds, 14 drugs ; Euphorbia 2 
kinds, 4 drugs ; plantain 2 kinds, 46 drugs ; bugloss 
3; hound's-tongue 3; ox-eye or cachla 1. (xliii-ix) 
Plants discovered by various races : Scythian grass 
3, mare's-grass 3, styptic plant 2, cestros or psycho- 
trophon, our Vettonica or betony, 48 ; Cantabrian 
bindweed 2, lung-wort 1, candy-tuft 7. (1-liii) 
Plants found from animals : swallow-wort 6, dog's- 
grass 1, dittany 8, sham-dittany or horehound. 



ii5 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

pseudodictamnon sive chondris. quibus locis po- 
tentissimae herbae. propter herbas in Arcadia lac 
potari. (liv— lix) Aristolochia sive clematitis sive 
Cretica sive plistolochia sive lochia polyrrizos, 
quae malum terrae, XXII. argemonia IV, agaricum 
XXXIII, echios, genera III, medicinae II, hiera- 
botane sive peristereon, quae verbenaca, genera 
II, medicinae X, blattaria I, molemonium I, penta- 
petes sive pentaphyllon sive chamaezelon, quae 
quinquefolium, medicinae XXXIII, sparganion I, 
dauci genera FV', medicinae XVIII, theronarca 
II, persolata sive arcion VIII, cyclaminos, quae 
tuber terrae, XII, cyclaminos cissanthemos IV, 
cyclaminos chamaecissos III. (Ixx— xc) Peucedanum 
XXVIII, ebulum VI, phlomos quae verbascum XV, 
phlomides II, phlomis sive lychnitis sive thryallis, 
thelyphonon sive scorpio I, phrynion sive neuras 
sive poterion I, aUsma sive damasonium sive lyron 
XVII, peristereos VI, antirrhinon sive anarrhinon 
sive lychnis agria III, eupha I, pericarpum, genera 
II, medicinae II, nymphaea Heracha II, hngu- 
laca I, cacalia sive leontice III, callithrix I, hysso- 
pum X, lonchitis IV^, xiphion sive phasganion IV, 
psyllion sive cynoides sive chrysalUon sive SiceUcon 
sive cynomyia XVI, thryseUnon I. (xci-cv) Re- 
media oculorum anagalUs sive corchoron, quae feUs 
oculus, genera II, medicinae III, aegilops II, man- 
dragoras sive Circaeon sive morion sive hippophlomon, 
genera II, medicinae XXIV, cicuta XIII, crethmos 
agrios I, molybdaena I, capnos trunca, quae pedes 
gaUinacei I, capnos fruticosa III, acoron sive acorion 
XIV, cotyledon, genera II, medicinae LXI, aizoura 
maius sive buphthahnon sive zoophthalmon sive 
stergethron sive hypogeson sive ambrosion sive 

ii6 



BOOK I 

Localities where herbs most potent. Milk drunk 
for herbal contents in Arcady. (liv-lix) Aristolo- 
chia or clematis or Cretan plant or pUstolochia or 
many-rooted lochia, our earth-bane, 22 ; agrimony 4, 
tinder-fungus 33 ; viper's-bugloss 3 kinds, 2 drugs ; 
holy-wort or dove-wort, our vervain, 2 kinds 10 
drugs ; moth-mullein 1 , molemony 1 ; pentapetes or 
pentaphyllon or chamaezelon, our cinquefoil, 33 
drugs ; bur-weed 1 ; wild carrot, 4 kinds, 18 drugs ; 
theronarca 2 ; brown mullein or arcion 8 ; cyclamen, 
our mole-hill plant, 12 ; ivy-flower cyclamen 4 ; 
ground-ivy cyclamen 3. (Ixx-xc) Sulphurwort 28, 
dwarf elder 6 ; phlomos, our mullein 15 ; phlomides 
2, phlomis or wild lychnis or thryalHs ; thelyphonon 
or scorpion-grass (aconite) 1 ; phrynion or neuras or 
poterion 1 ; water-plantain or damasonium or lyron 
17 ; vervain 6 ; antirrhinum or anarrhinum or wild 
lychnis 3 ; eupha 1 ; pericarpum, 2 kinds, 2 drugs ; 
Hercules water-Hly 2 ; marsh crowfoot 1 ; colt's- 
foot or Hon-wort 3 ; hair-dye plant 1 ; hyssop 10 ; 
satyrion 4 ; gladiolus or sword-Hly 4 ; flea-bane or 
dog-wort or gold garHc or Sicilian grass or dog-fly 16 ; 
thryselinon 1. (xci-cv) Eyesalves: pimpernel or 
chickweed, our cat's-eye, 2 kinds, 3 drugs ; aegilops 
2, mandragora or Circe's herb or nightshade or white 
mandrake, 2 kinds, 24 drugs ; hemlock 13 ; wild sea- 
fennel 1, leadwort 1 ; ' dwarfed smoke,' our chicken- 
feet (fumitory) 1 ; bush-smoke 3 ; acoron or sweet- 
flag 14 ; navelwort, 2 kinds 61 drugs ; greater live- 
for-ever or ox-eye or zoophthalmon or love-charm or 
gutter-leek or immortal or care-free, our great 

"7 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

amerimnon, quae sedum magnvun aut oculus aut 
digitellus, medicinae XXXI ; aizoum minus sive 
erithales sive trithales sive erysithales, quae isoetes 
aut sedum, medicinae XXXII ; andrachle agria, 
quae inlecebra, XXXII. (cvi-x) Erigeron sive pappos 
sive acanthis, quae senecio, VIII ; ephemeron II, 
labrum Venereum I, batrachion, quae ranunculus 
sive strumos, genera IV, medicinae XIV stomatice, 
genera II. Summa : medicinae et historiae et 
observationes MCCXCII. 

Ex auctoribus : C. Valgio, Pompeio Lenaeo, 
Sextio Nigro qui Graece scripsit, lulio Basso qui item, 
Antonio Castore, Corneho Celso, Fabiano. Externis : 
Theophrasto, Apollodoro, Democrito, luba, Orpheo, 
Pythagora, Magone, Menandro qui ^ioxprjcrTa, 
Nicandro, Homero, Hesiodo, Musaeo, Sophocle, 
Xantho, Anaxilao. Medicis : Mnesitheo, CaUimachOj 
Phania physico, Timaristo, Simo, Hippocrate, Chry- 
sippo, Diocle, Ophione, HeracUde, Hicesio, Dionysio, 
Apollodoro Citiense , Apollodoro Tarentino , Praxagora, 
PUstonico, Medio, Dieuche, Cleophanto, PhiUstione, 
Asclepiade, Crateua, Petronio Diodoto, lolla, Erasis- 
trato, Diagora, Andrea, Mneside, Epicharmo, Da- 
mione, Sosimene, Tlepolemo, Metrodoro, Solone, 
Lyco, Olympiade Thebana, PhiUno, Petricho, Mic- 
cione, Glaucia, Xenocrate. 

Libro XXVI. continentiu- reUquae per genera 
medicinae. (i) De no\ns morbis. (u-vi) Quid sint 
Uchenes ; quando primum in ItaUa coeperint ; item 
carbunculus ; item elephantiasis ; item colum. (vii- 
ix) De nova medicina ; de Asclepiade medico. qua 
ratione medicinam veterem mutaverint ; contra 
Magos. (x-xix) Lichen, genera II, medicinae V; 
Proserpinaca I, beUis 11, condurdum I, bechion sive 

ii8 



BOOK I 

houseleek or eye or little finger, 31 drugs ; lesser 
live-for-ever or erithales or trithales or erysithales, 
our aye-green or stonecrop, 32 drugs ; wild purslane, 
our decoy-bird 32. (cvi-x) Erigeron or pappos or 
groundsel, our old-man, 8 ; ephemeron 2 ; Venus's- 
lip 1, frog-weed, our ranunculus or buttercup, 4 
kinds, 14 drugs ; mouth-heal, 2 kinds. Total 1292 
drugs, investigations and observations. 

Authorities : Gaius Valgius, Pompeius Lenaeus, 
Sextius Niger's Greek writings, JuUus Bassus's ditto, 
Antonius Castor, Cornehus Celsus, Fabianus. Foreign 
authorities : Theophrastus, Apollodorus, Demo- 
critus, Juba, Oi*pheus, Pythagoras, Mago, Menander's 
Things serviceable for life, Nicander, Homer, Hesiod, 
Musaeus, Sophocles, Xanthus, Anaxilaus. Medical 
writers : Mnesitheus, CaUimachus, Phanias the 
natural scientist, Timaristus, Simus, Hippocrates, 
Chrysippus, Diocles, Ophion, Herachdes, Hicesius, 
Dionysius, Apollodorus of Citium, Apollodorus of 
Tarentum, Praxagoras, PUstonicus, Medius, Dieuches, 
Cleophantus, PhiUstion, Asclepias, Crateuas, Petro- 
nius Diodotus, lollas, Erasistratus, Diagoras, Andreas, 
Mnesides, Epicharmus, Damion, Sosimenes, 
Tlepolemus, Metrodorus, Solon, Lycus, Olympias 
of Thebes, PhiUnus, Petrichus, Miccio, Glaucias, 
Xenocrates, 

Book XXVI. Contents : the remaining drugs by 
classes. (i) New diseases. (ii-vi) Ringworm — when 
first occurring in Italy ; carbuncle ditto ; elephantiasis 
ditto ; coUc ditto. (vii-ix) The new medicine ; the 
physician Asclepias ; reason for alteration of the old 
medicine ; refutation of Magi. (x-xix) Lichen, 2 kinds, 
6 drugs, Proserpinaca 1, ox-eye daisy 2, condurdum 



119 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

arcion sive chamaeleuce, quae tussilago, III, bechion, 
salvia, IV, molon sive syron, amomon III, (xx-xxix) 
ephedra sive anabasis III, geum III, tripolion III, 
gromphaena, malundrum II, chalcetum II, mole- 
monium I, halus sive cotonea V, chamaerops I, 
stoechas I, astragalus VI. (xxx-xxxix) Ladanum 
VIII, chondris sive pseudodictamnum I, hvpocisthis 
sive orobethron, genera II, medicinae VIII, laver sive 
sion II, potamogiton VIII, statice III, ceratia II, 
leontopodion sive leuceoron sive doribethron sive 
thorybethron ; lagopus III ; epithymon sive hippo- 
pheos VIII; pycnocomon IV; polypodion III; 
scammonia VIII ; tithymalos characias, (xl-xlvi) 
Tithymalos myrtites sive carvites XXI ; tithvmalos 
paralius sive tithymahs IV, tithymalos heUoscopios 
XVIII ; tithymalos cj^parissias XVIII ; tithymalos 
plat^^phyllos sive corj^mbites sive amygdaUtes III ; 
tithymalos dendroides sive cobios sive leptophyllos 
XVIII ; apios ischias sive raphanos agria II : (1-Ux) 
Crethmon XI, cachry; anthylUon II, anthyUis II; 
cepaea I ; hypericon sive chamaepitys sive corisson 
IX ; caros sive hypericon X ; calUthrix I, perpressa I, 
chrysanthemum I, anthemis I ; silaus I ; herba 
Fulviana ; inguinaUs sive argemo. (Ix-lxix) Chry- 
sippeos I; orchis sive Serapia V; Satyrion III, 
sat}T-ion Erythraicon IV; lappago sive moUugo I, 
asperugo I ; phycos, quod fucus marinus, genera 
III, medicinae V; lappa boaria; geranion sive 
myrris sive myrtis, genera III, medicinae VI ; 
onothera sive onear III. (Ixxiii) Acte sive ebulum, 
chamaeacte. (Ixxxiii-xciu) Hippuris sive ephedron 
sive anabasis, quae equisaetum, genera III, medi- 
cinae XVIII ; stephanomeUs ; erj^sithales I ; poly- 
cnemon I ; arsenogonon I, thelygonon I ; mastos I, 



BOOK I 

1, bechion or arcion or chamaeleuce, our white colt's- 
foot, 3 ; bechion, our sage, 4 ; molon or syron, balsam- 
shrub 3. (xx-xxix) Horse-tail or anabasis 3, geum 3, 
tripoHon 3, amaranth, malundrum 2, chalcetum 2, 
molemonium 1 ; comfrey or black bryony 5, wall 
germander 1, French lavender 1, Spanish tragacanth 
6. (xxx-xxxix) Ladanum 8 ; horehound or bastard 
dittany 1, cisthus-parasite or orobethron, 2 kinds, 
8 drugs ; laver or sion 2 ; pond-weed 8, statice 3 ; 
horn-weed 2, lentopodion or leuceoron or doribethron 
or thorybethron ; hare's foot 3 ; thyme-flower or 
hippopheos8; devirs-bit 4 ; polypody3; scammony 
8 ; stake-spurge. (xl-xlvi) Myrtle-spurge or nut- 
spurge 21, sea-spurge or thymahs 4, hehotrope spurge 
18, cyparissias-spurge 18, broadleaved spurge or 
corymbites or almond-spurge 3; tree-spurge or 
cobius or small-leaved spurge 18 ; sciatica-spurge or 
wild radish 2. (1-hx) Sea-fennel 11, sea-fennel 
kernel, pitch-plant 2, musk-ivy 2, portulaca 1, 
hypericon or ground-pine or corisson 9, ground-pine 
seed or hypericon 10, hair-dye plant 1, perpressa 1, 
marigold 1, chamomile 1, smallage 1, Fulvius-grass, 
groin-grass or argemo. (Ix-lxix) Chrysippus-grass 1, 
orchis or Serapia 5, ragwort 3, red ragwort 4, lappago- 
bur or molhigo 1, prickly bur 1, phycos, our sea- 
weed, 3 kinds, 5 drugs ; cattle-bur ; crane's bill or 
geranium or myi'tis, 3 kiiids, 6 drugs ; donkey- 
hunt or refreshment-plant 3, (Ixxiii) Danewort or 
dwarf-elder, ground Dane-wort. (Ixxxiii-xciii) Horse- 
tail or ephedron or anabasis, our horse-hair, 3 
kinds, 18 drugs; stephanomelis ; eiysithales 1, poly- 
cnemon 1, arsenogonon 1, thelygonon 1, mastos 1, 



121 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

ophrys. Summa : medicinae et historiae et observa- 
tiones MXIX, 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, C. Valgio, Pompeio 
Lenaeo, Sextio Nigro qui Graece scripsit, lulio Basso 
qui item, Antonio Castore, Cornelio Celso. Externis : 
Theophrasto, Apollodoro, Democrito, luba, Orpheo, 
Pythagora, Magone, Menandro qui liioxfyqrrra scrip- 
sit, Nicandro, Homero, Hesiodo, Musaeo, Sophocle, 
Xantho, Anaxilao. Medicis : Mnesitheo, CalUmacho, 
Phania physico, Timaristo, Simo,Hippocrate, Chrysip- 
po, Diocle, Ophione, HeracUde, Hicesio, Dionysio, 
Apollodoro Citiense.ApollodoroTarentino,Praxagora, 
PUstonico, Medio, Dieuche, Cleophanto, PhiUstione, 
Asclepiade, Crateua, Petronio Diodoto, loUa, Erasi- 
strato, Diagora, Andrea, Mneside, Epicharmo, 
Damione, Sosimene, Tlepolemo, Metrodoro, Solone, 
Lyco, Olympiade Thebana, PhiUno, Petricho, Mic- 
cione, Glaucia, Xenocrate. 

Libro XX\"II. continentur reUqua genera her- 
barimi, medicinae ex his. (ii-x) Aconitum sive 
thelj-phonon sive cammoron sive pardaUanches sive 
scorpion, medicinae IV; Aethiopis iV; ageraton 
IV ; aloe XXIX ; alcea I ; alypon I, alsine ad 
eadem quae helxine V ; androsaces VI ; andro- 
saemon sive ascyron ^T. (xi-xx) Ambrosia sive 
botr}"s sive Artemisia III ; anonis sive ononis V ; 
anag}Tos sive acopon III ; anonymos II, aparine sive 
omphacocarpos sive philanthropos IV ; arction sive 
arcturon V ; asplenon sive heraionios II ; Asclepias 
II ; aster sive bubonion III ; asc\Ton et ascyroides 
III. (xxi-xxx) Aphaca III, alcibium I ; alectoros 
lophos, quae crista, II ; alum, quod symphyton pe- 



133 



BOOK I 

ophrys. Total, 1019 drngs, investigations and 
observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Gaius Valgius, Pom- 
peius Lenaeus, Sextius Niger's Greek wi-itings, Julius 
Bassus's ditto, Antonius Castor, Cornelius Celsus. 
Foreign Authorities : Theophrastus, Apollodorus, 
Democritus, Juba, Orpheus, Pythagoras, Mago, Me- 
nander's Things serviceable Jor life, Nicander, Homer, 
Hesiod, Musaeus, Sophocles, Xanthus, Anaxilaus. 
Medioal writers : Mnesitheus, CalUmachus, Phanias 
the natural philosopher, Timaristus, Simus, Hippo- 
crates, Chrysippus, Diocles, Ophion, HeracUdes, 
Hicesius, Dionysius, ApoUodorus of Citium, ApoHo- 
dorus of Tarentum, Praxagoras, PUstonicus, Medius, 
Dieuches, Cleophantus, PhiUstion, Asclepiades, 
Crateuas, Petronius Diodotus, loUas, Erasistratus, 
Diagoras, Andreas, Mnesides, Epicharmus, Damion, 
Sosimenes, Tlepolemus, Metrodorus, Solon, Lycus, 
Olympias of Thebes, PhiUnus, Petrichus, Miccio, 
Glaucias, Xenncrates. 

Book XXVII. Contents : the remaining kinds of 
plants, drugs derived from them. (ii-x) Monk's- 
hood or lady-kiUer or cammoron or choke-leopard or 
scorpion, 4 drugs ; Aethiopic sage 4 ; never-grow- 
old 4 ; aloe 29 ; alcea-maUow 1 ; herb terrible 1 ; 
chickweed for the same uses as helxine 5 ; androsaces 
6 ; man's-blood or St. John's-wort 6. (xi-xx) 
Ambrosia or mug-wort or Artemisia 3, rest-harrow or 
ononis 5, bean-trefoil or pain-kiUer 3, no-name 2, 
cleavers or grape-fruit or goose-grass 4, bear-weed or 
bear-ward 5, miltwort or spleenwort 2, SAvaUowwort 2, 
aster or star-wort 3, St. John's wort and ascyroides 3. 
(xxi-xxx) Chick-pea 3, alcibium 1, alectoros lophos, 
our cock's-comb 2, comfrey, our rock wallwort 14, 

123 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

traeum, XIV, alga rufa I ; actaea I ; ampelos aijria 
IV; absinthium, genera IV, medicinae XLVIII; 
absinthium marinum sive seriphum ; ballotes sive 
porrum nigrum III ; (xxxi-xl) botrys sive ambrosia 
sive Artemisia I ; brabyla I ; bryon marinum V ; 
bupleuron I ; catanance I, cemos I ; calyx III ; 
calyx sive anchusa sive rhinocha II; Circaea III; 
cirsion I; crataegonon, genera III, medicinae VIII; 
(xU-1) crocodileon II ; cynosorchis sive orchis IV ; 
chrysolachanimi, genera II, medicinae III, coagulum 
terrae II ; cucuUus sive strumus sive strychnos VI ; 
conferva II ; cocciun Cnidium II ; dipsacos III ; 
drj'opteris II ; (xHx) drabe I ; elatine II ; (li-lx) 
empetros, quam nostri calcifragam, IV ; epicactis sive 
elleborine II; epimedion III; enneaphyllon III; 
fihcis genera II, quam Graeci pterim, ahi blachnon, 
item thelypterim, njTnphaeam pterim vocant, XI ; 
femur bubuliun ; galeopsis sive galeobdolon sive 
gahon Yl ; glaux I ; glaucion III (collyrium, me- 
dicinae II) ; glycyside sive Paeonia sive pentorobon 
XX ; (Ixi-lxx) gnaphaUon sive chamaezelon VI ; 
galHdraga I ; holcus sive aristis ; hyoseris I ; holosteon 
III ; hippophaeston VIII ; h^-poglossa I ; hypecoon ; 
Idaea IV ; isopyron sive phasiolon II ; (Ixxi-lxxx) 
lathyris II ; leontopetalon, aUi rhapeion, II ; lycapsos 
II ; Uthospermon sive exonychon sive diospyron ; 
sive Heracleos II ; lapidis muscus I ; hmeimn I, 
leuce sive mesoleucium sive leucas III ; leucographis 
V; medion III; myosota sive myosotis III; (Ixxxi, 
xc) myagros I ; nyma I ; natrix I ; odontitis I ; 
othonna I ; onosma I ; onopradon V ; osyris IV ; 
oxys II; polyanthemum sive batrachion III; (xci-c) 
polygonos sive polygonatos sive thalattias sive 
carcinothron sive clema sive myrtopetalos, quae 

124 



BOOK I 

red seaweed 1, herb Christopher 1, wnld vine 
4 ; wormwood, 4 kinds, 48 drugs ; sea-wormwood or 
seriphimi ; horehound or black chives 3. (xxxi-xl) 
Mugwort or ambrosia or Artemisia 1 , brabyla 1 ; 
sea bryon 5, hare's-ear 1, catanance 1, cemos 1, 
calyx 3, calyx or strangle-plant or rhinoclia 2, herb of 
Circe 3, cirsion tliistle 1 ; crataegonon, 3 kinds, 8 
drugs ; (xH-1) crocodile plant 2, hound's-cod or 
orchis 4, garden orach, 2 kinds, 3 drugs, earth- 
bond 2, nightshade or strumus or strychnos 6, 
sah^e-herb 2, Cnidus berry 2, teasel 3, oak- 
wing 2, drabe 1, elatine 2. (h-lx) Harts-tongue, 
called in Latin break-stone, 4 ; epicactis or helle- 
borine 2, epimedion 3, nine-leaf 3, fern, 2 kinds called 
by the Greeks ' feather-fern ' or blachnon, also 
female feather or bride's-feather, 11; ox-thigh; 
dead-nettle or galeobdolon or galion 6 ; owl-plant 1 ; 
celandine 3 (pillar-plant, 2 drugs) glycysis or peony 
or pentorobon 20. (Ixi-lxx) Cotton-grass or cudweed 
6, hairy teasel 1, mouse-barley or aristis, black 
centaury, white plantain 3, hippophaeston 8, 
butcher's broom 1, humble-plant, grass of Ida 4, iso- 
pyron or phasiolon 2. (Ixxi-lxxx) Wolf 's-milk 2, Hon's- 
leaf (others call it ' rhapeion ') 2, alkanet 2, Hthosper- 
mon or exonychon or diospyron or grass of Hercules 
2, stone-crop 1, arrow-poison 1, spotted dead-nettle 
or mesoleucium or leucas 3, St. Mary's thistle 5 ; 
medion 3, mouse-ear or forget-me-not 3. (Ixxxi-xc) 
Mouse-hunter 1, nyma 1, water-snake 1, toothwort 1, 
othonna 1, onosma 1, St. Mary's thistle 5, goose-foot 4, 
wood sorrel 2, many-flowered crowfoot or frogwort 3. 
(xci-c) Knot-grass or polygonatum or sea-gi'ass or 
carcinothion or clema or bayleaf (the same as blood- 



125 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

sanguinaria sive orios, genera IV, medicinae XL; 
pancration XII ; peplis sive syce sive meconion sive 
mecon aphrodes III; periclymenon V; pelecinos I; 
polygala I ; poterion sive phrynion sive neuras IV ; 
phalangites sive phalangion sive leucacanthon IV, 
phyteuma I ; phyllon I ; (ci-cx) phellandrion II, 
phaleris II ; polyrrizon V ; Proserpinaca V ; rhecoma 
XXXVI ; reseda II ; stoechas III ; solanum, quam 
Graeci strychnon, II ; Smyrnion XXXII, sinon II ; 
Telephion IV ; (cxi-cxvii) trichomanes V, thaUctrum 
I, thlaspi sive Persicon napy IV ; Tracliinia I ; 
tragonis sive tragion I ; tragos sive scorpio IV ; 
tragopogon sive come I. (cxviii-cxx) De aetatibus 
herbarum ; quomodo cuiusque vires efficaciores. 
Gentium vitia diversa. Summa : medicinae et his- 
toriae et observationes DCII. 

Ex auctoribus : C. Valgio, Pompeio Lenaeo, 
Sextio Nigro qui Graece scripsit, luho Basso qui item, 
Antonio Castore, CorneUo Celso. Externis : Theo- 
phrasto, Apollodoro, Democrito, Aristogitone, Orpheo 
Pythagora, Magone, Menandro qui fitoxp-qa-Ta 
scripsit, Nicandro. Medicis : Mnesitheo, CalUmacho, 
Timaristo, Simo, Hippocrate, Chrysippo, Diocle, 
Ophione, HeracUde, Hicesio, Dionysio, Apollodoro 
Citiense, ApoUodoro Tarentino, Praxagora, PUstonico, 
Medio, Dieuche, Cleophanto, PhiUstione, Asclepiade, 
Crateua, Petronio Diodoto, lolla, Erasistrato, Diagora, 
Andrea, Mneside, Epicharmo, Damione, Sosimene, 
Tlepolemo, Metrodoro, Solone, Lyco, Olympiade 
Thebana, PhiUno. Petricho, Miccione, Glaucia, 
Xenocrate. 

Libro XXVIII. continentur medicinae ex animaU- 
bus. (iii) An sit in medendo verborum aUqua vis. 

126 



BOOK I 

weed or orios) 4 kinds, 40 drugs; succory 12, peplis 
or syce or meconion or foam-poppy 3, honeysuckle 5, 
hatchet-vetch 1, milkwort 1, tragacanth or frog-cup 
or tendon-plant 4 ; anthericum or spider-root or 
whitethorn 4; groundsel 1; phyllon 1. (ci-cx) 
Phellandi'ion 2, canary-grass 2, many-root 5, Proser- 
pinaca 5, rhecoma 36, reseda 2, French lavender 

3, nightshade, Greek strychnon, 2 ; common 
alexanders 32, sinon 2, purslane 4. (cxi-cxvii) Mad- 
locks 5, meadow-rue 1, thlaspi or Persian mustard 

4, herb of Trachis 1, tragonis or goatwort 1, goat-grass 
or scorpion-grass 4, goat's-beard or come 1. (cxviii- 
cxx) Length of life of herbs ; means of increasing 
the potency of each kind. Different national 
maladies. Total, 602 drugs, investigations and 
observations. 

Authorities : Gaius Valgius, Pompeius Lenaeus, 
Greek works of Sextius Niger, ditto of Julius Bassus, 
Antonius Castor, Cornelius Celsus. Foreign authori- 
ties : Theophrastus, Apollodorus, Democritus, Aristo- 
giton, Orpheus, Pythagoras, Mago, Menander's 
Things sei'viceable Jbr life, Nicander. Medical 
writers : Mnesitheus, Callimachus, Timaristus, Simus, 
Hippocrates, Chrysippus, Diocles, Ophion, Hera- 
clides, Hicesius, Dionysius, Apollodorus of Citium, 
Apollodorus of Tarentum, Praxagoras, Plistonicus, 
Medius, Dieuches, Cleophantus, Philistion, Ascle- 
piades, Crateuas, Petronius Diodotus, lollas, Erasis- 
tratus, Diagoras, Andreas, Mnesides, Epicharmus, 
Damion, Sosimenes, Tlepolemus, Metrodorus, Solon, 
Lycus, Olympias of Thebes, PhiUnus, Petrichus, 
Miccio, Glaucia, Xenocrates. 

Book XXVTH. Contents : drugs obtained frora 
animals. (iii) Whether there is any healing power 

127 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

(iv-v) Ostenta et sanciri et depelli. (vi-xix) Ex 
homine i-emedia ; eontra magos ; ex viro medicinae 
et observationes CCXXVI, puero VIII ; (xx-xxiii) 
muliere LXI, (xxiv-xxxii) ex peregrinis animalibu& 
elephanto VIII, leone X, camelo X, hyaena LXXIX, 
crocodilo XIX, crocodilea XI, chamaeleone XV, 
scinco IV, hippopotamio VII, lynce V. (xxxiii-xli) 
Medicinae communes ex animalibus feris aut eiusdem 
generis placidis ; lactis usus et observationes LIV, 
de caseis XII ; butyro XXV ; oxygala I ; adipis 
usus et observationes LII ; de sebo ; de medulla ; 
de felle ; de sanguine. (xlii-lxxx) Privatae ex 
animaUbus medicinae digestae in morbos, ex apro 
XII, sue LX, cervo III, lupo XXVII, urso XXIV, 
onagro XII, asino LXXVI, polea III, equifero XI, 
eculei coagulo I, equo XLII, hippace I, bubus feris II, 
bove LXXXI, tauro LIII, vitulo LIX, lepore LXIV, 
volpe XX, mele II, fele V, capra CXVI, hirco XXXI, 
haedo XXI. (Ixxi) De glutino taurino probando, 
et medicinae ex eo VII. Summa : medicinae et 
historiae et observationes MDCLXXXII. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, L. Pisone, Antiate, 
Verrio, Fabiano, Catone censorio, Servio Sulpicio, 
Licinio Macro, Celso, Masurio, Sextio Nigro qui 
Graece scripsit, Bytho Durracheno, Rabirio medico, 
Ofiho medico, Granio medico. Externis : Demo- 
crito, Apollonio qui et Mys, Meleto, Artemone, 
Sextiho Antaeo, Homero, Theophrasto, Lysimacho, 
Attalo, Xenocrate, Orpheo qui 18loc})V7J scripsit, 
Archelao qui item, Demetrio, Sotira, Laide, Ele- 
phantide, Salpe, Olympiade Thebana, Diotimo 
Thebano, lolla, Andrea, Marcioiie Zmyriia.eo, 



128 



BOOK I 

in spoken charms. (iv-v) Portents ratified ancl r»»- 
jected. (vi-xix) Remedies obtained from the hmiian 
body ; against magicians ; 226 drugs and observations 
derived from an adult male, 8 from a boy ; (xx-xxiii) 
61 from a woman ; (xxiv-xxxii) from foreign animals 
— elephant 8, hon 10, camel 10, hyena 79, crocodile 

19, crocodile's excrement 11, chameleon 15, hzard 4, 
hippopotamus 7, lynx 5. (xxxiii-xh) Drugs obtained 
equally from wild animals and tame animals of the 
same kind ; mihi, modes of using and remarlis as to, 
54; cheeses 12; butter 25; sour milk 1 ; fat, modes 
of using and observations as to, 52 ; suet ; marrow ; 
gaU ; blood. (xlii-lxxx) Special drugs derived from 
particular animals arranged according to diseases ; 
from the boar 12, pig 60, stag 3, wolf 27, bear 24, 
wild ass 12, ass 76, ass's foal 3, wild horse 11, 
foaVs rennet 1, horse 42, mare's milk cheese 1, 
wild oxen 2, ox 81, bull 53, calf 59, hare 64, fox 

20, badger 2, cat 5, she-goat 116, he-goat 31, 
kid 21. (Ixxi) On testing bull-glue, and 7 drugs 
from it. Total 1682 drugs, investigations and 
observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Lucius Piso, Antias, 
Verrius, Fabianus, Cato the ex-Censor, Servius Sul- 
picius, Licinius, Macer, Celsus, Masurius, Greek 
works of Sextius Niger, Bythus of Durazzo, medical 
works of Rabirius, OfiUus and Granius. Foreign 
authorities : Democritus, Apollonius ahas the Mouse, 
Meletus, Artemon, Sextihus Antaeus, Homer, Theo- 
phrastus, Lysimachus, Attalus, Xenocrates, Orpheus 
writer of Idiophye, Archelaus ditto, Demetrius, 
Sotira, Lais, Elephantis, Salpe, Olympias of Thebes, 
Diotimus of Thebes, lollas, Andreas, Marcio of 
Suiyrna, medical works of Aeschines, Hippocrates, 

129 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Aeschine medico, Hippocrate, Aristotele, Metrodoro 
Scepsio, Hicetida medico, Apelle medico, Hesiodo, 
Bialcone, Caecilio, Bione qui Trept Bvvd/j.ewv scripsit, 
Anaxilao, luba rege. 

Libro XXIX. continentur medicinae ex animali- 
bus. (i-\iii) de origine medicinae ; de Hippocrate ; 
quando primum clinice, quando primum iatraliptice ; 
de Chrvsippo medico, de Erasistrato ; de empirice ; 
de Herophilo : de reliqiiis inlustribus medicis ; 
quotiens ratio medicinae mutata sit ; quis primus 
Romae mediciis et quando ; quid de medicis antiquis 
Romani iudicaverint ; vitia medicinae. (ix-xiii) 
remedia ex lanis XXXV et sequenti libro XXV = 
LX ; oesypo XXXII, sequenti hbro XX = LII ; 
ovis XXII, sequenti libro XLIII=LXV; quae 
sitista ova ; quoniodo fiant tota lutea ; de serpentium 
ovis ; de Commageno conficiendo ; medicinae ex 
eo IV et sequenti libro V = IX. (xiv-xl) remedia 
ex animalibus quae placida non sint aut fera (ariete V 
et sequenti libro \ II = XII, pecude II et sequenti 
libro XV = XVII, muhs I et sequenti hbro V = VI, 
cabalhs I et sequenti hbro III = IV, cane XVI et 
sequenti hbro XLI = LVII, cane rabioso III et 
sequenti hbro II = V, ichneumone I, mure XIV 
et sequenti hbro XXVIII = XLII, mure araneo 

IV et sequenti hbro I = V, ghre II et sequenti 
libro VI= VIII, sorice I et sequenti hbro II = III, 
mustela XIX et sequenti hbro XXV = XLIV, 
stelhone IV et sequenti hbro XII = XVI, erinaceo 

V et sequenti hbro XIII = XVIII, hystrice I et 
sequenti hbro II = III, lacerta XIII et sequenti 
libro XXX = XLIII, salamandra I et sequenti 
libro III = IV, coclea XXVII et sequenti hbro 
* XIX 1 = * XL\T, aspide I et sequenti hbro III = 



BOOK I 

Aristotle, Metrodorus of Scepsis, medical works 
of Hicetidas and Apelles, Hesiod, Bialcon, Caeci- 
lius, Bion's On Potencies, Anaxilaus, King Juba. 

Book XXIX. Contents: drugs obtained from 
animals. (i-viii) Origin of medicine ; Hippocrates ; 
first employment of clinic medicine, first employment 
of embrocations ; Chrysippus the physician, Era- 
sistratus ; experimental medicine ; Hierophilus ; 
remaining famous physicians ; how often the system 
of medicine has altered ; the first physician at Rome, 
name and date ; judgement of Romans as to ancient 
physicians ; defects of medicine. (ix-xiii) Cures 
from wools 35 and in the next book 25, making 60; 
from wool-washings 32, next book 20, making 52; 
fi-om eggs 22, next book 43, making 65 ; meaning 
of ' fattened ' eggs ; how to make eggs all yoke ; 
snakes' eggs ; how to make Commagene-cure ; 
drugs from it 4, and in next book 5, making 9. 
(xiv-xl) Remedies from roaming or wild animals 
(ram 5 and next book 7 = 12, sheep 2 and next book 
15 = 17, mules 1 and next book 5=6, horses 1 and 
next book 3 = 4, dog 16 and next book 41 = 57, mad 
dog 3 and next book 5 = 7, ichneumon 1, mouse 14 
and next book 28 = 42, pygmymouse 4 and next 
book 1 = 5, dormouse 2 and next book 6 = 8, shrew- 
mouse 1 and next book 2 = 3, weasel 19 and next 
i*book 25 = 44, gecko 4 and next book 12 = 16, 
hedgehog 5 and next book 13 = 18, porcupine 1 and 
next book 2 = 3, lizard 13 and next book 30 = 43, 
salamander 1 and next book 3 = 4, snail 27 and 
next book 19 = 46, asp 1 and next book 3 = 4, 



^ Asterisks mark numbers corrected by editors to conform 
witb text of Book XXIX. 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

IV, basilisco IV, dracone * IV et sequenti libro 

* VI = * X, vipera XIV et sequenti libro XXI = 
XXXV, (xxi de \iperino sale theriace ; xxxviii 
echeon), angue VIII et sequenti libro XXVII = 
XXXV, hydro I, bova IV et sequenti libro III = VII, 
enhydride I et sequenti libro II = III, serpentibus 
ceteris VIII et sequenti libro VII = XV, scorpione 
IV et sequenti Hbro II = VI, araneorum et phalan- 
giorum genera XII, medicinae ex his IX et se- 
quentiUbro XXVII = XXXVI, gryllo sive tauro I 
et sequenti Hbro VII = VIII, scolopendra sive 
multipeda sive millepeda sive centipeda sive onisco 
sive iulo I et sequenti libro XX = XXI, (xvii 
admiratio naturae nihil sine usu gignentis), Umace 
I et sequenti libro III = IV^ uruca I et sequenti 
libro II = III, verme terreno II et sequenti Hbro 

* XX = * XXII, verme ex arboribus I et sequenti 
Hbro IV = V, ex volucribus aquila IV et sequenti 
Hbro III = VII, volture * IX et sequenti Hbro 

* VII = * XVI, galHnaceo XXI et sequenti Hbro 
XXXV = LVI, gaHina X et sequenti Hbro XXII = 
XXXII, ansere VII et sequenti Hbro XV = XXII, 
cygno I et sequenti Hbro V = VI, (xiii de adipe 
aviura conficiendo), corvo II et sequenti Hbro IV = 
VI, cornioe I et sequenti Hbro II = III, accipitre II 
et sequenti Hbro II = * IV, milvo II et sequenti 
Hbro VI = VIII, cenchride II, ciconia II et sequenti 
Hbro I = III, anate II et sequenti Hbro IV = VI, 
perdice VI et sequenti Hbro XI = XVII, columba VII 
et sequenti libro XXV = XXXII, palimnbe II et 
sequenti Hbro XIV = XVI, pico Martio I, turture IV 
et sequenti Hbro V = IX, hirundine IX et sequenti 
Hbro * XXIV =* XXXIII, noctua IV e± sequenti 
Hbro V = IX, ulula I et sequenti Hbro I = * II, 

132 



BOOK I 

basilislc 4, serpent 4 and next book 6 = 10, viper 14 
and next book 21 = 35 (xxi, salt antidote for viper- 
bite ; xxxviii, adder-ash drug) snake 8 and next book 
27 = 35, water-serpent 1, ox-snake 4 and next book 

3 = 7, water-snake 1 and next book 2 = 3, the other 
serpents 8 and next book 7 = 15, scorpion 4 and 
next book 2 = 6, spiders and poison-spiders, 12 
kinds, drugs from these 9 and next book 27 = 36, 
crieket or buU-beetle 1 and next book 7 = 8, scolo- 
pendra or multipede or millepede or centipede or 
wood-louse or catkin 1 and next book 20 = 21 
(xvii, admiration of nature who produces nothing 
useless), slug 1 and next book 3 = 4, caterpillar 1 and 
next book 2 = 3, earth-worm 2 and next book 
20 = 22, tree-woi-m 1 and next book 4 = 5; from 
birds — eagle 4 and next book 3=7, vulture 9 and 
next book 7 = 16, cock 21 and next book 35 = 56, 
hen 10 and next book 22 = 32, goose 7 and next book 
15 = 22, swan 1 and next book 5=6 (xiii manufac- 
ture of bird's lard) ; raven 2 and next book 4 = 6, 
crow 1 and next book 2 = 3, hawk 2 and next book 
2 = 4, kite 2 and next book 6 = 8, goshawk 2, 
stork 2 and next book 1 = 3, duck 2 and next book 
4=6, partridge 6 and next book 11 = 17, dove 7 and 
next book 25 = 32, pigeon 2 and next book 14 = 16, 
Mars*s woodpecker 1, turtle-dove 4 and next book 
5 = 9, swallow 9 and next book 24 = 33, night-owl 

4 and next book 5 = 9, screech-owl 1 and next book 

133 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

bubone II et sequenti libro V = VII, vespertilione 
IV et sequenti libro * IX = XIII, apibus V et 
sequenti libro VII = XII, bupresti III et sequenti 
libro III = VI, pityocampe II et sequenti libro 

IV = VI, (xvii naturae benignitatem etiam foedis 
animalibus inseruisse magna remedia), scarabaeo 
I et sequenti libro VII = VIII, blatta IV et 
sequenti libro XIII = XVII. (xxx) de genere 
cantharidum. medicinae ex his V et sequenti 
libro XI = XVI, cimice * IX et sequenti Hbro 

V = XIV, musca VII et sequenti libro V = XII, 
locustis IV et sequenti libro III = VII, attelebis I, 
formicis III et sequenti hbro V = * VIII. Summa: 
medicinae et historiae et observationes DCXXI. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, L. Pisone, Flacco 
Verrio, Antiate, Nigidio, Cassio Hemina, Cicerone, 
Plauto, Celso, Sextio Nigro qui Graece scripsit, 
Caecilio medico, Metello Scipione, Ovidio poeta, 
Licinio Macro. Externis : Palaephato, Homero, 
Aristotele, Orpheo, Democrito, Anaxilao. Medicis : 
Botrye, Apollodoro, Archedemo, Aristogene, Xeno- 
crate, Democrate, Diodoro, Chrysippo, Phihppo, 
Oro, Nicandro, Apollonio Pitanaeo. 

Libro XXX. continentur medicinae ex animalibus 
reUquae prioribus hbris. (i-vii) de origine magices ; 
quando et a quo coeperit, a quibus celebrata sit ; 
an exercuerit eam Italia. quando primum senatus 
vetuerit hominem imraolari ; de GalHarum Druidis ; 
de generibus magices ; opinio magorum de talpis ; 
medicinae V. (viii-Hii) reHquae medicinae per 
morbos digestae in animaHbus quorum genera non 
sunt placida aut fera : pecude * II ^ et priore Hbro 
♦ XV = * XVII, ariete VII et priore Hbro V = XII, 

* See note on p. 131. 



BOOK I 

1 = 2, horned owl 2 and next book 5 = 7, bat 4 and 
next book 9 = 13, bees 5 and next book 7 = 12, 
cow-fly 3 and next book 3=6, pine-grub 2 and next 
book 4 = 6, (xvii that the beneficence of nature has 
placed powerful remedies even in disgusting animals), 
beetle 1 and next book 7 = 8, cockroach 4 and next 
book 13 = 17. (xxx) The genus Spanish fly — drugs 
from these 5 and next book 11 = 16, bug 9 and next 
book 5 = 14, house-fly 7 and next book 5 = 12, 
locusts 4 and next book 3 = 7, wingless locust 1, 
ants 3 and next book 5 = 8. — Total 621 drugs, 
investigations and observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Lucius Piso, Verrius 
Flaccus, Antias, Nigidius, Cassius Hemina, Cicero, 
Plautus, Celsus, Sextius Niger (Greek works of), 
CaeciHus the medical ^vriter, Metellus Scipio, the 
poet Ovid, Licinius Macer. Foreign authorities : 
Palaephatus, Homer, Aristotle, Orpheus, Democritus, 
Anaxilaus. Medical writers : Botrys, ApoUodorus, 
Archedemus, Aristogenes, Xenocrates, Democrates, 
Diodorus, Chrysippus, Phihp, Orus, Nicander, 
ApoUonius of Pitane. 

Book XXX. Contents : drugs obtained from 
animals (concluded). (i-vii) Origin of magic — date 
and place of its commencement, by whom practised ; 
whether carried on in Italy. Human sacrifice, when 
first prohibited by the senate ; the Druids of the 
Gauls ; kinds of magic ; magicians' view as to moles ; 
5 drugs. (viii-Uii) Remaining drugs, arranged 
according to diseases, found in animals not classed as 
tame or wild : cattle 2 and in last book 15= 17, 
ram 7 and in last book 5 = 12, wool 25 and in last 



135 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

lana XXV et priore libro XXXV = LX. oesypo 
XX et priore libro XXXII = LII, mulis V et priore 
libro I = VI, caballis III et priore libro I = * IV, 
cane XLI et priore libro X.YI = * LVII, cane 
rabioso II et priore III = V, \iverra I, mure XXVIII 
et priore libro XIV = LXII, mure araneo I et 
priore libro IV = V, glire VI et priore libro II = 
VIII, sorice II et priore libro I = III, mustela XXV 
et priore libro XIX = XLIV, stellione XII et 
priore libro IV = XVI, erinaceo XIII et priore 
libro V = XVIII, hystrice II et priore libro I = III, 
lacerta XXX et priore libro XIII = XLIII, sala- 
mandra III et priore libro I = IV, coclea XIX et 
priore libro XXVII = XLVI (xliii ageraton ^ medica- 
mentum), aspide III et priore libro I = IV, dracone 
VI et priore libro IV = X, vipera XXI et priore 
libro XIV = XXXV, angue XX\TI et priore libro 
VIII = XXXV, bova Ili et priore libro IV = VII, 
enhydride II et priore libro I = III, amphisbaena 
III, serpentibus ceteris VII et priore libro VIII = XV 
scorpione II et priore libro l\ = VI, araneorum 
et phalangiorum genera * XII, medicinae XXVII et 
priore libro IX = XXXVI, troxahde III, phryganione 
I, scolopendra sive multipeda sive millepeda sive 
centipeda sive onisco sive iulo XX et priore Ubro 

I = XXI, (admiratio naturae nihil sine usu gignentis), 
liniace III et priore Hbro I = IV, uruca II et priore 
libro I = III, verme terreno XX et priore libro 

II = XXII, verme ex arboribus IV et priore libro 
I = V, verme ex herba VIII, herpete I, ricino III, 
ex volucribus aquila III et priore libro IV = VII, 
volture VII et priore hbro IX = XVI, ossifrago VI, 
galhnaceo XXXV et priore hbro XXI = LVI, 
galUna * XXII et priore Ubro X = XXXII, ovis 

136 



BOOK I 

book 35 = 60, wool-washings 20 and in last book 
32 = 52, mules 5 and in last book 1 = 6, horses 3 and 
in last book 1 = 4; dog 41 and in last book 16 = 57, 
mad dog 2 and in last book 3 = 5, ferret 1, mouse 28 
and in last book 14 = 62, shrewmouse 1 and in last 
book 4 = 5, dormouse 6 and in last book 2 = 8, 
shrew-mouse 2 and in last book 1 = 3, weasel 25 and 
in last book 19 = 44, newt 12 and in last book 4=16, 
hedgehog 13 and in last book 5 = 18, porcupine 2 
and in last book 1 = 3, lizard 30 and in last book 

13 = 43, salamander 3 and in last book 1 = 4, snail 
19 and in last book 27 = 46 (xliii the drug ' ever- 
lasting '), viper 3 and in last book 1 = 4, snake 6 
and in last book 4 = 10, viper 21 and in last book 

14 = 35, serpent 27 and in last book 8 = 35, bova 3 
and in last book 4 = 7, water snake 2 and in last book 
1 = 3, Libyan snake 3, remaining serpents 7 and in 
last book 8=15, scorpion 2 and in last book 9 = 36, 
cricket 3, phryganion 1, scolopendra or multipede or 
millepede or centipede or woodlouse or catkin 20 
and in last book 1 = 21 (admiration for nature who 
produces nothing useless), slug 3 and in last book 
1 = 4, caterpillar 2 and in last book 1 = 3, earth- 
worm 20 and in last book 2 = 22, tree-worm 4 and in 
last book 1 = 5, grass-worm 8, herpes 1, tick 3; 
from birds, eagle 3 and in last book 4 = 7, vulture 
7 and in last book 9 = 16, lammergeier 6, cock 35 and 
in last book 21 = 56, hen 22 and in last book 10 = 32, 

^ aKepdTajv, Mayhoff. 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

XLIII et priore libro XXII = LXV, Commageno 

V et priore libro * IV = * IX, cygno V et priore 
libro I = VI, otide II, corvo IV et priore libro 
II = VI, cornice II et priore libro I = III, accipitre 
II et priore libro II = IV, milvo VI et priore libro 

II = VIII, grue I, ciconia I et priore libro II = III, 
ibide III, ardiola I, anate IV et priore libro II = VI, 
mergo II, perdice XI et priore libro VI = XVII, 
palumbe XIV et priore libro * II = * XVI, 
galerita IV, cuculo I, pico Martio I, turture V et 
priore libro IV = IX, turdis III, merula I, hirundine 
XXIV et priore libro IX = XXXIII, noctua V et 
priore libro IV = IX, ulula I et priore libro I = II, 
upupa I, bubone V et priore libro II = VII, passere 
V, galgulo II, vespertilione IX et priore libro IV = 
XIII, cicadis I, apibus VII et priore libro V = XII, 
vespis II, bupresti III et priore libro III = VI, 
pityocampis IV et priore libro II = VI, (naturae 
benignitatem et foedis animalibus inseruisse magna 
remedia.) scarabaeo VII et priore libro I = VIII, 
blatta XIII et priore libro IV = XVII. de genere 
cantharidum : medicinae ex his XI et priore libro 

V = XVI, cimice V et priore libro IX = XIV, 
musca V et priore libro * VII = XII, locustis III 
et priore libro IV = VII, formicis V et priore hbro 

III = VIII, Summa: medicinae et historiae et 
observationes DCCCLIV. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, Nigidio, M. Cicerone, 
Sextio Nigro qui Graece scripsit, Licinio Macro. 
Externis : Eudoxo, Aristotele, Hermippo, Homero, 
Apione, Orpheo, Democrito, Anaxilao. Medicis : 
Botrye, Apollodoro, Menandro, Archedemo, Ari- 
stogene, Xenocrate, Diodoro, Chrysippo, Phihppo, 
Oro, Nicandro, Apollonio Pitanaeo. 

138 



BOOK I 

eggs 43 and in last book 22 = 65, Syrian cock 5 and 
in last book 4 = 9, swan 5 and In last book 1 = 6, 
otis 2, raven 4 and in last book 2 = 6, crow 2 and in 
last book 1 = 3, hawk 2 and in last book 2 = 4, kite 6 
in last book 2 = 8, crane 1, stork 1 and in last book 
2 = 3, ibis 3, little heron 1, duck 4 and in last book 
2=6, diver 2, partridge 11 and in last book 6 = 17, 
dove 14 and in last book 2 = 16, crested lark 4, 
cuckoo 1, Mars's woodpecker 1, tm-tledove 5 and in 
last book 4=9, thrush 3, blackbird 1, swallow 24 
and in last book 9 = 33, night-owl 5 and in last book 
4 = 9, screech-owl 1 and in last book 1 = 2,hoopoe 1, 
horned owl 5 and in last book 2 = 7, sparrow 5, 
galgulus 2, bat 9 and in last book 4 = 13, tree cricket 
1, bees 7 and in last book 5 = 12, wasps 2, cowfly 3 
and in last book 3 = 6, pine-grub 4 and in last book 
2 = 6 (that the beneficence of nature has placed 
powerful remedies even in disgusting animals), 
beetle 7 and in last book 1 = 8, cockroaches 13 and in 
last book 4 = 17 ; the genus Spanish fly — drugs from 
these 11 and in last book 5 = 16, bug 5 and in last 
book 9 = 14, house-fly 5 and in last book 7 = 12, 
locusts 3 and in last book 4 = 7, ants 5 and in last 
book 3 = 8. — ^Total 854 drugs, investigations and 
observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Nigidius, Marcus 
Cicero, Sextius Niger (Greek works of ), Licinius 
Macer. Foreign authorities : Eudoxus, Aristotle, 
Hermippus, Homer, Apion, Orpheus, Democritus, 
Anaxilaus. Medical writers : Botrys, Apollodorus, 
Menander, Archidemus, Aristogenes, Xenocrates, 
Diodorus, Chrysippus, PhiUppus, Orus, Nicander, 
ApoUonius of Pitane. 



139 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

Libro XXXI. continentur medicinae ex aqnatili- 
bus. (i) aquarum mirabilia. (ii) aquarum differ 
entiae. (iii-xvi) medicinae : observationes CCLX\T : 
quales oculis aquae prosint, quales fecunditatem 
faciant, quales insaniae medeantur, quales calculosis, 
quales volneribus, quales partum custodiant, quales 
vitiliginem tollant, quae colorem lanis faciant, 
quae hominibus, quae memoriam, quae oblivionem, 
quae sensus subtilitatem, quae tarditatem, quae 
canoram vocem, quae vini taedium, quae inebrient, 
quae olei vicem praestent, quae salsae et amarae ; 
saxa egerentes, risum aut ploratum facientes, quae 
amorem sanare dicantur. (xvii) per triduum ca- 
lentes haustus. (xviii-xx) aquarum miracula : in 
quibus omnia mergantur, in quibus nihil ; aquae 
necantes, pisces venenati ; quae lapideae fiant aut 
lapidem faciant. (xxi-iii) de salubritate aquarum; 
de vitiis aquarum ; probatio aquarum. (xxiv f.) 
de aqua Marcia; de aqua Virgine. (xxvi-ix) 
aquas inveniendi ratio ; signa aquarum ; differentia 
aquarum per genera terrae ; ratio aquarum per 
tempora anni. (xxx) aquarum subito nascentium 
aut desinentium observatio historica. (xxxi) ratio 
aquae ducendae. (xxxii f.) quomodo medicatis 
utendum et ad quae genera valetudinum ; item 
marinis XXIX. quid prosit navigatio V. (xxxiv- 
vi) quomodo marina aqua in mediterraneis fieri 
possit I, quomodo thalassomeh I, quomodo hydromeli 
I. (xxxvii f.) remedium contra peregrinas aquas ; 
ex musco medicinae VI ; medicinae ex harenis. 
(xxxix-xlv) de salis generibus et confecturis et 
medicinis observationcs CCIV; de saUs auctoritate 



140 



BOOK I 

Book XXXI. Contents : drugs obtained from aquatic 
animals. (i) Remarkable facts as to waters. (ii) 
Differences in waters. (iii-xvi) Medicinal properties : 
266 observations ; what sorts of waters are good for 
the eyes, what sorts produce fertiUty, what sorts cure 
insanity, what sorts gall-stone, what sorts wounds, 
what sorts protect the embryo, what sorts remove 
tetter, which make dye for wools, which for human 
beings, which produce memory, which forgetfulness, 
which keenness of sense, which slowness, wliich a 
musical voice, which disUke of wine, which intoxica- 
tion, which fill the place of oil, which are salt and 
bitter; springs discharging rocks, springs that cause 
laughter or weeping, springs said to cure love. 
(xvii) Water keeping hot for three days after being 
drawn. (xviii-xx) Remarkable waters : waters in 
which all objects sink, in which no objects; watei*s 
that kill, poisonous fishes ; waters that turn into 
stone, or produce stones. (xxi-iii) Health-giving 
property of waters ; impurities of waters ; mode of 
testing waters. (xxiv f.) The Marcian Spring, the 
Maiden Spring. (xxvi-ix) Method of finding water ; 
signs of springs ; differences of waters according to 
kinds of earth ; variation of springs with the seasons. 
(xxx). Historical account of springs suddenly arising 
or stopping. (xxxi) Method of carrying water in 
pipes. (xxxii f.) Medicinal waters, mode of employ- 
ing, for what kinds of illnesses ; ditto sea-water, 
29 kinds. Benefits of a voyage, 5. (xxxiv-vi) 
Sea-water at places inland, 1 method of producing, 
sea-water-honey 1 , water-honey 1. (xxxvii f.) Remedy 
against foreign waters ; 6 drugs from moss ; drugs from 
sands. (xxxix-xlv) Salt, kind^^ of, preparations and 
di-ugs from, 204 observations j liistorical importance 

141 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

historica CXX ; spuma salis ; flos salis XX, salsugo 
II; de garo XV; de muria XV; de allece VIII; 
de natura salis. (xlvi f.) de nitri generibus et 
confecturis et medicinis observationes CCXXI ; de 
spongeis medicinae et observationes XCII. Summa : 
medicinae et historiae et observationes DCCCCXXIV. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, Cassio Parmense, 
Cicerone, Muciano, Caeho, Celso, Trogo, Ovidio, 
Polybio, Sornatio. Externis : CalUmacho, Ctesia, 
Eudico, Theophrasto, Eudoxo, Theopompo, PolycHto, 
luba, Lyco, Apione, Epigene, Pelope, Apelle, 
Democrito, Thrasyllo, Nicandro, Menandro comoedo, 
Attalo, Sallustio, Dionysio, Andrea, Nicerato, Hip- 
pocrate, Anaxilao. 

Libro XXXII. continentur medicinae ex aquatili- 
bus. (i-iv) summa naturae vis in antipathia. de 
echeneide II, de torpedine VII, de lepore marino V; 
mirabilia rubri maris. (v-ix) de ingeniis piscium ; 
proprietates piscium mirabiles ; ubi responsa dentur 
ex piscibus, ubi ex manu edant, ubi vocem agnoscant, 
ubi amari sint, ubi salsi, ubi dulces, ubi non muti; 
esse et locorum sympathiam et antipathiam. (x) 
quando marini pisces in usu P. R. esse coeperint. 
Numae regis constitutio de piscibus. (xi) de curaho 
medicinae et observationes XLIV. (xii) de discordia 
inter se marinorum, pastinaca IX, galeo, mullo XV. 
(xiii-xx) de iis quibus in aqua et in terra victus est : 
de castoreis medicinae et observationes LVI, de 
testudine medicinae et observationes LX^T, aurata 
IV, stella marina VII, dracone marino III, salsamento 
XXV, sardis I, cybia; rana marina VI, fluviatiles 
LII, rana rubeta; observationes circa eas XXXII; 
enhydris VI, cancri fluviatiles XIV, cancri marini VII, 
cocleae fluviatiles VII, coracini IV, porco pisce II, 

142 



BOOK I 

of salt 120 ; froth of salt ; flower of salt 20 ; brine 
2 ; fish-sauce 15 ; pickle 15 ; fish-brine 8 ; nature 
of salt. (xlvi f.) Native soda, kinds of, prepara- 
tions and drugs from — 221 observations ; sponges, 
92 drugs from and observations — Total 924 drugs, 
investigations and observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Cassius of Parma, 
Cicero, Mucianus, Caelius, Celsus, Trogus, Ovid, 
Polybius,Sornatius. Foreign authorities : Callimachus, 
Ctesias, Eudicus, Theophrastus, Eudoxus, Theopom- 
pus, Polyclitus, Juba, Lycus, Apion, Epigenes, 
Pelops, Apelles, Democritus, Thrasyllus, Nicander, 
comedies of Menander, Attalus, SaUustius, Dionysius, 
Andreas, Niceratus, Hippocrates, Anaxilaus. 

Book XXXII. Contents — drugs from aquatic 
animals. (i-iv) Nature's supreme force in antipathy. 
The sucking-fish, 2 cases ; the electric ray, 7 cases; 
the sea-hare, 5 cases; marvels of the Red Sea. 
(v-ix) Intellect of fishes ; remarkable properties of 
fishes ; places where oracles are given from fishes, 
where fishes eat out of the hand, where they recognize 
the voice, where they are bitter, where salt, where 
sweet, where not dumb ; their sympathy and also 
antipathy for locaUties. (x) Sea-fish when first used 
by the Roman nation. King Numa's regulation as to 
fish. (xi) Coral, drugs from and observations as to, 
66. (xii) Discord between marine animals : sting-ray 
9, dog-fish, mullet 15. (xiii-xx) Amphibious animals : 
beaver-castors, drugs from and observations as to, 
56 ; tortoise, drugs and observations 66 ; gilt-bream 
4, star-fish 7, sea-snake 3, salt fish 25, sardines 1, 
tunnies, sea-frog 6, river-frog 52, bramble-toad ; 
observations about them 32 ; water-snake 6, river- 
crabs 14, sea-crabs 7, river-snails 7, crow-fish 4, pig- 

143 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

vitulo marino X, murena I, hippocampo IX, echinis 
XI. (xxi-xxx) ostreorum genera et observationes 
et medicinae LIX, purpura IX, alga marina II, 
mus marinus II, scorpio marinus XII, sanguisugae 
VI, murices XIII, conchylia V, piscium adeps II, 
callionjTni III, coracini fel I, sepiae XXIV, ichthyo- 
colla V, batia I, bacchus sive my^xon II, marini 
peducuh II, canicula IV, cetum I, delphinus IX, 
coluthia sive corj-phia III, alcyoneima VII, thynnus 
V, maenae XIII, scolopendra II, saurus I, conchis I, 
silurus XV, strombus sive concha longa VI, tethea V. 
(xxxi-hi) holus marinxmi I, myaces XXV, mituli 
VlII, pelorides I, seriphum II, erythinis II, solea 
pisce I, rhombo I, blendia I, urtica marina VII, 
puhno marinus VI, onyches IV. ex colubra aquatica 
I, ex hydro I, mugile I, ex pelamvde IV, sciaena I, 
perca IV, ex squatina III, zmarides III, ophidio I, 
ex fibro IV, bryon I, ex asello pisce I, phagro I, 
ex balaena I, polypo I. ex glano I, glaucisco I, 
rubelho I, uva marina I, anguilla I, hippopotamio 
I, crocodilo I, adarca sive calamochnus III, calamo 
VIII. (liii) animahum omnium in mari viventium 
nomina CLXXVI. Summa : medicinae et historiae 
et observationes DCCCCXC. 

Ex auctoribus : Licinio Macro, Trebio Nigro, 
Sextio Nigro qui Graece scripsit, Ovidio poeta, 
Cassio Hemina, Maecenate, laccho, Sornatio. Ex- 
temis : luba, Andrea, Salpe, Apione, Pelope, 
Apelle, Thrasyllo, Nicandro. 

Libro XXXIII. rontinentur metallorum nuturae. 
(ii-xii) de auro : quae prima commendatio eius ; 
de anuloriun aureorimi origine ; de modo auri apud 
antiquos ; de equestri ordine, de iure anulorum 
aureorxmi, de decuriis iudicum ; quotiens nomen 

144 



BOOK I 

fish 2, sea-calf 10, lamprey 1, sea-horse 9, sea-urchins 

11. (xxi-xxx) Shellfish : kinds, observations and drugs 
59, purple dye 9 ; seaweed 2, sea-mouse 2, sea-scorpion 

12, leeches 6, purple-fishes 13, mussels 5, fishes' fat 2, 
callyonymi 3, crow-fish's gall 1, cuttle-fish 24, huso 
sturgeon 5, batia 1, bacchus or myxon 2, sea-lice 2, 
sea-bitch 4, seal 1, dolphin 9, sea-snail or murex 3, 
sea-foara 7, tunny 5, maena 13, scolopendra 2, hzard 1, 
conchis 1, sheat-fish 15, sea-snail or longmussel 6, 
sponge 5. (xxxi lii) Sea-cabbage 1 , myax mussel 25, 
sea-mussels 8, giant mussels 1, seriphus fish 2, sea- 
muUet 2, sole-fish 1, turbot 1, blendia 1, sea-nettle 7, 
sea-lung 6, scallops 4; from the water-snake 4, frora 
the water-serpent 1, mullet 1, from the young tunny 
4, grayUng 1, perch 4, from the skate 3, zmarides 3, 
conger 1, beaver 4, moss 1, haddock 1, phager 1, 
from the whale 1, polypus 1, shad 1, blue-fish 1, 
rudd 1, sea-grape 1, eel 1, river-horse 1, crocodile 1, 
adarca or sea-foam 3, rush 8. (hii) Names of all 
animals Uving in the sea 176. — Total : 990 drugs, 
investigations and observations. 

Authorities : Licinius Macer, Trebius Niger, 
Sextius Niger (Greek writings of), the poet Ovid, 
Cassius Hemina, Maecenas, lacchus, Sornatius. 
Foreign authorities : Juba, Andreas, Salpes, Apion, 
Pelops, Apelles, Thrasyllus, Nicander. 

Book XXXIII. Contents : the properties of the 
metals. (ii-xii) Gold, what first caused it to be 
valued; origin of gold rings ; limited amount of gold 
among the ancients ; the equestrian order, its right 
of wearing gold rings; its panels of judges; how 

145 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

equestris ordinis mutatum ; de donis militaribus 
aureis et argenteis ; quando primum corona aurea 
data; de reliquo usu auri, feminarum. (xiii-xxv) 
de nummo aureo ; quando primum signatum aes, 
argentum, aurum ; antequam signaretur, quis mos 
in aere ; quae maxima pecunia primo censu ; quotiens 
et quibus temporibiLS aucta sit aeris et nummi 
signati aestimatio ; de cupiditate auri ; qui pluri- 
mum auri et argenti possederint ; quando primum 
argenti apparatus in harena, quando in scaena; 
quibus temporibus plurimum in aerario populi 
Romani auri et argenti fuerit; quando primum 
lacunaria inaurata ; quibus de causis praecipua 
auctoritas auro ; ratio inaurandi ; de inveniendo 
auro ; de auripigmento ; de electro ; primae aureae 
statuae ; medicinae ex auro VIII. (xxvi-ix) de 
chrysocolla : ratio eius in picturis ; medicinae ex 
chrysocolla VII ; de aurificum chrysocolla sive 
santerna. (xxx) mirabiha naturae glutinandis inter 
se et perficiendis metallicis rebus. (xxxi-v) de 
argento ; de argento vivo ; de stimi sive stibi sive 
alabastro sive larbasi sive platyophthalmo ; medicinae 
sive ex eo VII ; de scoria argenti ; medicinae ex ea VI ; 
de spuma argenti ; medicinae ex ea VII. (xxxvi- 
xh) de minio; quam rehgiosimi apud antiquos 
fuerit ; de inventione eius et origine ; de cinnabari ; 
ratio eius in medicina et in picturis ; genera mini, 
ratio eius in picturis, in medicina; de hydrargyro. 
(xlii f.) de argento inaurando ; de coticuhs aurariis. 
(xliv-lv) argenti genera et experimenta : de specuhs ; 
de Aegyptio argento ; de inmodica pecunia ; quorum 
maximae opes fuerint ; quando primimn populus 
Romanus stipem sparserit ; de luxuria in vasis 
argenteis ; frugahtatis antiquae in argento exempla ; 

146 



BOOK I 

often the title * equestrian order ' altered ; gold 
and silver military gifts ; gold wreath, when first 
bestowed; other nses of gold, its use by women. 
(xiii-xxv) Gold coinage ; date of earliest coins, copper, 
silver, gold; method of using copper before intro- 
duction of stamping ; highest money rating at first 
census ; how often and at what dates value of copper 
and stamped coinage raised; the lust for gold; 
largest owners of silver and gold; date of earhest 
employment of silver ornaments in the arena, and on 
the stage ; dates of largest accumulations of gold 
and silver in the national treasury ; date of earhest 
gilded ceiUngs ; reasons for special value of gold ; 
method of gilding ; discovery of gold ; orpiment ; 
synthetic amber ; earliest gold statues ; 8 drugs 
from gold. (xxvi-ix) malachite, method of em- 
ploying it in painting ; 7 drugs from malachite ; 
goldsmith's malachite or mountain-green. (xxx) 
Remarkable natural facts as to the welding of 
metals and as to metal manufactures. (xxxi-v) 
Silver ; quicksilver ; antimony or stibis or ala- 
baster or larbasis or platyopathalmus, drugs 
made of, 7 ; silver slag, drugs made of, 6 ; foam 
of silver, drugs made of, 7. (xxxvi-xli) Minimum, 
reverence for among tbe ancients ; discovery and 
source of ; cinnabar, method of using in medicine 
and in painting ; kinds of red-lead ; method of use 
in medicine and painting ; watersilver. (xhii f.) 
Gilding of silver ; touchstones for gold. (xliv-lv) 
Silver, its kinds and methods of testing ; mirrors ; 
Egyptian silver ; immoderate wealth ; who were the 
richest people ; when did the Roman nation begin 
to squander money ; luxury in silver vessels ; 
sparing use of silver in antiquity, instances of; 

H7 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

quando primum lectis argentum additum ; quando 
lances immodicae factae ; quando repositoriis argen- 
tum additum, quando tympana facta; inmodica 
argenti pretia ; de statuis argenteis ; nobilitates 
operum et artificum in argento. (Ivi-lviii) de sile; 
qui primi sile pinxerint et qua ratione ; de caeruleo ; 
medicinae ex eo II. Summa: medicinae et historiae 
et observationes CCLXXXVHI. 

Ex auctoribus : Domitiano Caesare, lunio Grac- 
chano, L. Pisone, M. Varrone, Corvino, Attico 
Pomponio, Calvo Licinio, Cornelio Nepote, Muciano, 
Boccho, Fetiale, Fenestella, Valerio Maximo, lulio 
Basso qui de medicina Graece scripsit, Sextio Nigro 
qui item. Externis : Theophrasto, Democrito, luba, 
Timaeo historico qui de medicina metallica scripsit, 
Heraclide, Andrea, Diagora, Botrye, Archedemo, 
Dionysio, Aristogene, Democle, Mneside, Attalo 
medico, Xenocrate item, Theomnesto, Nympho- 
doro, lolla, Apollodoro, Pasitele qui mirabilia opera 
scripsit, Antigono qui de toreutice scripsit, Menaech- 
mo qui item, Xenocrate qui item, Duride qui item, 
Menandro qui de toreutis, Heliodoro qui de Athenien- 
sium anathematis scripsit, Metrodoro Scepsio. 

Libro XXXIV. continentur : aeris metalla. (ii- 
x) genera aeris ; quae Corinthia, quae DeHaca, 
quae Aeginetica. de tricliniis aereis, de candela- 
bris ; de templorum ornamentis ex aere ; quod 
primmn dei simulacrum Romae ex aere factum ; 
de origine statuarum et honore. (x-xix) statuarum 
genera et figurae. antiquas statuas togatas sine 
tunicis fuisse ; quae primae statuae Romae, quibus 
primum publice positae, quibus primum in columna ; 
quando rostra ; quibus externis Romae publice 
positae, quibus Romae mulieribus in publico positae, 

148 



BOOK I 

date of earliest use of silver inlay on couclies, of 
silver vessels of excessive size, of trays inlayed with 
silver, of making ' drums ' ; excessive prices for 
silver ; silver statuary ; famous works of art and 
artists in silver. (Ivi-Iviii) Of yellow ochre, who 
first used for painting and how. Steel blue ; drugs 
made from, 2. — Total 288 drugs, investigations 
and observations. 

Authorities : the Emperor Domitian, Junius 
Gracchanus, Lucius Piso, Marcus Varro, Corvinus, 
Pomponius Atticus, Licinius Calvus, Cornelius Nepos, 
Mucianus, Bocchus, Fetialis, Fenestella, Valerius 
Maximus, Julius Bassus, Greek medical writings of, 
Sextius Niger, ditto. Foreign authorities : Theo- 
phrastus, Democritus, Juba, the historian Timaeus's 
Mineral Drugs, Heraclides, Andreas, Diagoras, 
Botrys, Archedemus, Dionysius, Aristogenes, Demo- 
cles, Mnesides, Attalus the medical writer, Xeno- 
crates ditto, Theomnestus, Nymphodorus, lollas, 
ApoIIodorus, Pasiteles's Masterpieces, Antigonus 
On Graving, Menaechmus ditto, Xenocrates diito, 
Duris ditto, Menander On Gravers, HeIiodorus's 
Votive Offenngs of Athens, Metrodorus of Scepsis. 

Book XXXIV. Contents : (i) Copper metals. 
(ii-x) Kinds of copper — Corinthian,Delian, Aeginetan. 
On bronze dining-couches ; on candelabra ; on temple 
decorations of bronze ; first bronze image of a god 
made at Rome ; on the origin of statues and the 
reverence paid to them. (x-xix) Statues, their 
kinds and shapes. Ancient statues dressed in toga 
without tunic ; the first statues at Rome, the first 
erected by the state, the first erected on a column ; 
ship's beaks, when added; first foreigners to whom 
statues erected by the state at Rome ; tirst women to 



149 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

quae prima Romae statua equestris publice posita; 
quando omnes privatim positae statuae ex publico 
sublatae ; quae prima ab externis publice posita ; 
fuisse antiquitus et in Italia statuarios ; de pretiis 
signorum inmodicis ; de colossis in urbe celeber- 
rimis ; nobilitates ex aere operum et artificum 
CCCLXVI. (xx-xxix) difFerentiae aeris et mixturae ; 
de pyropo, de Campano aere ; de servando aere ; 
de cadmia ; medicinae ex ea XV ; aeris usti effectus 
in medicina X ; de scoria aeris, de flore aeris, squama 
aeris, stomomate aeris : medicinae ex his XLVII ; 
aerugo: medicinae ex ea XVIII; hieracium ; 
scolex aeris ; medicinae ex eo XVIII ; de chalcitide ; 
medicinae ex ea VII ; psoricon. (xxx-xxxviii) 
sory ; medicinae ex eo III ; misy : medicinae ex 
eo XIV ; chalcanthum sive atramentum sutorium : 
medicinae ex eo XVI ; pompholyx, spodium : 
medicinae ex eis VI ; antispodi genera XV ; smegma ; 
de diphryge ; de triente Servilio. (xxxix-xlvi) de 
ferri metallis : simulacra ex ferro ; caelaturae ex 
ferro ; differentiae ferri ; de ferro quod vivum 
appellant ; ferri temperatura ; robiginis remedia ; 
medicinae ex ferro VII ; medicinae ex robigine 
XIV; medicinae ex squama ferri XVII; hygrempla- 
strum. (xlvii-lvi) de plumbi metalHs : de plumbo 
albo ; de argentario, de stagno ; de plumbo nigro ; 
medicinae ex plumbo XV ; medicinae ex scoria 
plumbi XV ; spodium ex plumbo ; de molybdaena ; 
medicinae ex ea XV; psimythium sive cerussa: 
medicinae ex ea VI ; sandaraca : medicinae ex ea 
XI ; arrenicum. Summa : medicinae CCLVII ; ex 
iis ad canis morsus, ad caput, alopecias, oculos, aures, 
nares, oris vitia, lepras, gingivas, dentes, uvam, 
pituitam, fauces, tonsillas, anginam, tussim, vocai- 

150 



BOOK I 

whom statues so erected ; first equestrian statue 
erected by the state at Rome ; date of removal from 
pubhc places of all statues erected by private donors ; 
first statue pubUcly erected by foreigners ; existence 
of sculptors from early times even in Italy ; excessive 
prices for statues ; the most celebrated colossal 
statues in the city ; 366 famous instances of bronze 
statues and sculptors in bronze. (xx-xxix) DiiFerent 
kinds of bronze and alloy; gold-bronze, Capuan 
bronze ; preseivatioa of broiize ; cadmia, 15 drugs 
made from ; melted bronze, 10 medicinal products 
of; copper slag, copper blisters, copper scales, 
copper flakes, 47 drugs from these ; copper rust, 18 
drugs from ; eye-salve ; worm-eaten bronze, 18 drugs 
from ; copper ore, 7 drugs from ; itch-salve. (xxx- 
xxxviii) Ink-stone, 3 drugs from ; copperas, 14 drugs 
from ; copperas water or shoe-maker's blacking, 16 
drugs from ; pompholyx, slag, 6 drugs from these ; 
slag-ashes, 15 kinds ; skin-detergent ; diphryx ; the 
Servihan family's magic sixpence. (xxxix-xlvi) 
Iron mines ; iron statues ; chased iron ; different 
kinds of iron ; ' Uve iron ' ; the tempering of iron ; 
remedies for rust; 7 drugs from iron ; 14 drugs 
from rust ; 17 drugs fi-om iron scale ; wet 
plaster. (xlvii-lvi) Lead mines ; white lead ; silver- 
lead, stannum, black lead ; 15 drugs from lead ; 15 
drugs from lead slag ; dross from lead ; molyb- 
daeiia, 15 drugs from ; sugar of lead or cerussa, 6 
drugs from ; sandarach, 11 drugs from ; arsenic. — 
Total, 257 drugs, including remedies for dog-bite, for 
the head, fox-mange, eyes, ears, nostrils, ailments of 
the mouth, leprosy, gums, teeth, uvula, phlegm, 
throat, tonsils, quinsy, cough, vomiting, chest, 
stcmach, asthma, pains in the side, spleen, stomach, 

151 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

tiones, pectus, stomachum, suspiria, lateris dolores, 
splenem, ventrem, tenesmum, dysenteriam, sedem, 
verenda, sanguinem sistendum, podagras, hydropicos, 
ulcera, volnera XXVI, suppurata, ossa, paronychia, 
ignem sacriun, haemorroidas, fistulas, callum, pusulas, 
scabiem, cicatrices, infantes, muliebria vitia, psilo- 
trum, Venerem inhibendam, ad vocem, contra 
lymphationes. summa : res et historae et observa- 
tiones DCCCCXV. 

Ex auctoribus : L. Pisone, Antiate, Verrio, M. 
Varrone, Cornelio Nepote, Messala Rufo, Marso 
poeta, Boccho, lulio Basso qui de medicina Graece 
scripsit, Sextio Nigro qui item, Fabio Vestale. 
Extemis : Democrito, Metrodoro Scepsio, Menae- 
chmo qui de toreutice scripsit, Xenocrate qui item, 
Antigono qui item, Duride qui item, Heliodoro qui 
de Atheniensium anathematis scripsit, Pasitele qui 
de mirabihbus operibus scripsit, Timaeo qui de 
medicina metallica scripsit, N}Tnphodoro, lolla, 
Apollodoro, Andrea, Herachde, Diagora, Botrye, 
Archedemo, Dionysio, Aristogene,Democle,Mneside, 
Xenocrate Zenonis, Theomnesto. 

Libro XXXV. continentur : (i-x) Honos picturae, 
honos imaginum. quando primum clipei imaginura 
instituti ; quando primum in pubhco positi ; quando 
in domibus. de picturae initiis, de monochromatis 
picturis, de primis pictoribus. antiquitas pictura- 
rum in Itaha. de pictoribus Romanis. quando 
primum dignitas picturae et quibus ex causis Romae, 
qui ^ victorias suas pictas proposuerint. quando 
primum externis picturis dignitas Romae. (xi) 
ratio pingendi. (xii-xxx) de pigmentis praeter 
metalhca. de coloribus ficticiis ; de Sinopide ; 
medicinae ex ea XI ; de rubrica ; de terra Lemiiia ; 

152 



BOOK I 

slrainiiig, dysentery, the sea,t, tlie private parts, 
b!ood-stancLing, gout, dropsy, ulcers, 26 wounds, pus, 
bones, whitlows, erysipelas, haemorrhoids, ulcers, 
callus, pimples, mange, scars, infants, ailments of 
women, depilatory, sex restraint, for the voice, 
agiiinst attacks of frerzy — Tutal, 915 facts, in- 
vestigations and ohservations. 

Authorities : Lucius Piso, Antias, ^^errius, Marcus 
Varro, Cornehus Nepos, Rufus Messala, the poet 
Marsus, Bocchus, JuHus Bassus's Greek treatise on 
medicine, Sextius Niger's ditto, Fabius Vestahs. 
Foreign authorities : Democritus, Metrodorus of 
Scepsis, Menaechmus's Art of Graving, Xenocrates 
diito, Antigonus ditto, Duris ditto, Hehodorus's 
Votive Offerings of Athens, Pasiteles's Masterpieces, 
Timaeus's Mineral Drvgs, Nymphodorus, lollas, 
Apollodorus, Andreas, Herachdes, Diagoras, Botrys, 
Archedemus, Dionysius, Aristogenes, Democles, 
Mnesides, Xenocrates son of Zeno, Theomnestus. 

Book XXXV. Contents : (i-x) Praise of painting, 
Praise of sculpture. Shields witli sculptured figures, 
when first instituted ; when first set up in pubhc ; 
when in private houses. The commencement of 
painting ; pictures in monochrome ; the first 
paiuters. Antiquity of paintings in Italy. Roman 
painters. Painting — when first esteemed at Rome, 
and for what reasons, who first exhibited paintings 
of their victories. Foreign pictures, when first 
valued at Rome. (xi) Method of painting. (xii- 
xxx) Non-mineral pigments. Artificial colours ; 
red ochre, 11 drugs from it; red chalk ; Lemnian 



qui primi ? Eackham. 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

medicinae ex ea IX ; de Aegyptia terra ; de ochra ; 
medicinae ex rubrica III ; leucophorum ; Paraeto- 
nium. Melinum ; medicinae ex eo VI ; cerussa usta ; 
Eretria terra, medicinae ex ea VI ; sandaraca ; 
sandyx ; Syricum ; atramentum ; purpurissum ; 
Indicum : medicinae ex eo IV ; Armenium, medicina 
ex eo I ; viride Appianum ; anulare. (xxxi-iii) 
qui colores udo non inducantur. quibus coloribus 
antiqui pinxerint. quando primum gladiatorum 
pugnae pictae et propositae sint. (xxxiv-xli) de 
aetate picturae ; operum et artificum in pictura 
nobilitates CCCCV, picturae primum certamen ; qui 
penicillo pinxerint ; de avium cantu conpescendo ; 
qui encausto aut ceris vel cestro vel penicillo pinxerint. 
quae quis primus invenerit in pictura ; quid difficilli- 
mum in pictura ; de generibus picturae ; quis 
primus lacunaria pinxerit, quando primum camarae 
pictae ; pretia mirabilia picturarum ; de talento. 
(xliii-xlvi) plastices primi inventores ; quis primus 
ex facie imaginem expresserit ; nobilitates artificum 
in plastice XIV. de figlinis operibus ; de Signinis. 
(xlvii-lix) terrae varietates ; de pulvere Puteolano 
et aliis terrae generibus quae in lapidem vertuntur ; 
de parietibus formaceis ; de latericiis et de laterum 
ratione ; de sulpure et generibus eius ; medicinae 
XIV ; de bitumine et generibus eius ; medicinae 
XXVII ; de alumine et generibus eius ; medicinae 
ex eo XXX\'III ; de terra Samia ; medicinae ex ea 
III ; Eretriae terrae genera ; de terra ad medicinam 
lavanda ; de Chia terra : medicinae ex ea III ; de 
Sehnusia ; medicinae ex ea III ; de pnigitide ; 
medicinae ex ea IX ; de ampelitide ; medicinae ex 
ea IV ; cretae ad vestium usus ; cimolia : medicinae 
ex ea IX ; Sarda, Umbrica, saxum ; argentaria ; 

154 



BOOK I 

earth, 9 drugs from it ; Egyptian earth ; yellow 
ochre ; 3 drugs from red ochre ; gold size ; Parae- 
tonium white ; MeUan white ; 6 drugs from it ; 
burnt white-lead ; earth of Eretria, 6 drugs from it ; 
sandarach ; vermiUon ; Syrian ; black ink ; dark 
purple ink; indigo, 4 drugs from it; ultramarine, 
1 di'ug from it ; Appian green ; signet-ring white. 
(xxxi-iii) Colours that cannot be painted on a damp 
surface. Colours used by painters of early dates. 
When battles of gladiators were first painted and 
exhibited. (xxxiv-xH) The antiquity of painting; 
405 celebrated cases of paintings and artists ; earUest 
painting competition ; painters that used the brush ; 
how to check the song of birds ; what painters used 
encaustic or waxes or graver or brush ; inventors of 
successive improvements in painting ; the most 
difficult thing in painting ; kinds of painting ; first 
painter of panelled ceifings ; vaulted roofs, when 
first painted ; remarkable prices for pictures ; the 
talent. (xhii-xhd) The first discoveries of modelHng ; 
who first took a mould of a face ; 14 celebrated cases 
of artists in modehing ; works in pottery ; Segni 
plaster. (xlvii-Hx) Varieties of earth : PozzuoH 
dust and other kinds of earth used for concrete ; 
walls cast in moulds ; brickwork and employment of 
bi'ick ; brimstone and its kinds ; 14 drugs ; bitumen 
and its Idnds ; 27 drugs ; alum and its kinds ; 38 
drugs therefrom ; Samian earth ; 3 drugs therefrom ; 
Eretrian earth, its kinds ; on washing earth to make 
a drug ; Chian earth ; 3 drugs therefrom ; earth of 
SeHnunte ; 3 drugs therefrom ; potters' clay ; 9drugs 
therefrom ; vine-earth ; 4 drugs therefrom ; chalks 
for use in connexion with clothes ; earth of Kimolo ; 
9 di-ugs therefrom ; earth of Sardis, of Umbria, rock ; 

155 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

qui et quorum liberti praepotentes ; terra ex Galata, 
terra Clupea, terra Baliarica, terra Ebusitana: 
medicinae ex eis IV. Summa : medicinae et 
historiae et observationes DCCCCLVI. 

Ex auctoribus : Messala oratore, Messala sene, 
Fenestella, Attico, M. Varrone, Verrio, Nepote 
Cornelio, Deculone, Muciano, Melisso, Vitruvio, 
Cassio Severo, Longulaao, Fabio Vestale qui de 
pictura scripsit. Externis : Pasitele, Apelle, Melan- 
thio, Asclepiodoro, Euphranore, Parrhasio, Helio- 
doro qui de anathematis Atheniensium scripsit, 
Metrodoro qui de architectonice scripsit, Demo- 
crito, Theophrasto, Apione grammatico qui de 
metallica medicina scripsit, Nymphodoro, lolla, 
Apollodoro, Andrea, Herachde, Diagora, Botrye, 
Archedemo, Dionysio, Aristogene, Democle, Mneside 
Xenocrate Zenonis, Theomnesto. 

Libro XXXVI. continentur naturae lapidum. (i-xi) 
luxuria in marmoribus : quis primus peregrino 
marmore columnas habuerit Romae ; quis primus 
in pubhcis operibus ostenderit ; qui primi laudati 
in marmore scalpendo et quibus temporibus (ix de 
Mausoleo Cariae) ; nobilitates operum et artificum 
in marmore CCXXV ; quando primum marmorum 
in aedificiis usus ; qui primi marmora secuerint et 
quando ; quis primus Romae crustaverit parietes ; 
quibus aetatibus quaeque marmora in usum venerint 
Romae ; ratio secandi marmora ; de harenis quibus 
secantur ; de Naxio, de Armenio ; de Alexandrinis 
marmoribus. (xii f.) de onyche, de alabastrite : 
medicinae ex eis VI ; de lygdino, coralHtico, Alaban- 
dico, Thebaico, Syenite. (xiv f.) de obeUsicis : de eo 
qui pro gnomone in campo Martio est. (xvi— xxiii) 
opera mirabiHa in terris : Sphinx Aegyptia, pyra- 

156 



BOOK I 

rotten-stone ; what people and whose freedmen are 
excessively powerful ; Galatian earth, Kalibian earth, 
Balearic earth, Iviza earth ; 4 drugs from these. — 
Total 956 drugs, investigations and observations. 

Authorities : the orator Messala, Messala senior, 
Fenestella, Atticus, Marcus Varro, Verrius, Cornelius 
Nepos, Deculo, Mucianus, MeHssus, Vitruvius, 
Cassius Severus, Longulanus, Fabius VestaUs On 
Painting. Foreign authorities ; Pasiteles, Apelles, 
Melanthius, Asclepiodorus, Euphranor, Parrhasius, 
Hehodorus's Votive ojferings of Athens, Metrodorus's 
Science of Architecture, Democritus, Theoplirastus, the 
philologist Apion's Mineral Drugs, Nymphodorus, 
lollas, Apollodorus, Andreas, HeracUdes, Diagoras, 
Botrys, Archedemus, Dionysius, Aristogenes, 
Democles, Mnesides, Xenocrates son of Zeno, 
Theomnestus. 

Book XXXVI. Contents : the natures of stones. 
(i-xi) Luxury in use of marbles ; first owner of foreign 
marble pillars at Rome ; first exhibitor of marble in 
pubHc works ; first distinguished sculptors in marble, 
and their dates; (ix the Mausoleum of Caria) ; 
225 famous works and artists in marble ; date of first 
employment of marbles in buildings ; what people 
first cut marbles, and at what date ; who first used 
marble wall-paneUing at Rome ; at which periods 
did the various marbles come into use at Rome ; 
method of cutting marble ; sands employed in marble- 
cutting ; Naxian marble, Armenian marble, marbles of 
Alexandria. (xii f.) Onyx, alabaster; 6 drugs there- 
from ; Parian marble, coral marble, AUibanda stone, 
Theban stone, Syene granite. (xiv f.) ObeUsks : 
obeUsk in Campus Martius serving as gnomon. 
(xvi-xxiii) Remarkable structures in various countries ; 
Egyptian Sphinx, pyramids ; Pliaros Ughthouse ; 

157 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

mides ; Pharos ; labyrinthi ; pensiles horti, pensile 
oppidum; de templo Ephesiae Dianae; ahorum 
templorum admirabilia ; de lapide fugitivo ; echo 
septiens resonans ; sine clavo aedificia. (xxiv) 
Romae miracula operum XVIII. (xxv-xxx) de 
magnete lapide : medicinae ex eo III ; Syrius lapis ; 
de sarcophago sive Assio : medicinae ex eo X ; 
de chernite, de poro ; de lapidibus osseis, de palmatis, 
de Taenariis, de Coranis, de nigris marmoribus; 
de molaribus lapidibus ; pyritis ; medicinae ex eo 
VII. (xxxi-xl) ostracites : medicinae ex eo IV; 
amiantus : medicinae ex eo II ; geodes : medicinae 
ex eo III ; melitinus : medicinae ex eo VI ; gagates : 
medicinae ex eo VI ; spongites : medicinae ex eo II ; 
phrygius ; haematites : medicinae ex eo V ; schistos : 
medicinae ex eo VII ; androdamas : medicinae 
ex eo II ; Arabicus ; miltites sive hepatites, anthra- 
cites; aetites, Taphiusius, calhmus ; Samius : medi- 
cinae ex eo VIII. (xH-1) arabus : medicinae ex eo 
VI ; de pumice : medicinae ex eo IX ; de mortariis 
medicinalibus et aliis ; Etesius lapis, chalazius; 
siphnius, lapides molles ; lapis specularis ; phengites ; 
de cotibus ; de tophis ; de siUcum natura ; de reliquis 
ad structuram lapidibus. (li-lix) genera structurae ; 
de cisternis ; de calce ; harenae genera, harenae 
et calcis mixturae ; vitia structurae ; de tectoriis ; 
de columnis : genera columnarimi ; medicinae ex 
calce V ; de maltha ; de gj^pso. (Ix-lxx) de pavl- 
mentis : asarotos oecos ; quod primum pavimentum 
Romae ; de subdialibus pavimentis ; Graecanica 
pavimenta : quando primum lithostrotum ; quando 
primum camarae vitreae ; origo vitri ; genera eius et 
ratio faciendi ; de Obsianis ; miracula ignium ; medi- 
cinae ex igni et cinere III ; prodigia foci. Summa : 

t58 



BOOK I 

labyrinths ; hanging gardens, hanging town ; temple 
of Diana at Ephesus ; remarkable facts as to other 
temples ; runaway stone ; sevenfold echo ; buildings 
constructed without clamps. (xxiv) Eighteen 
remarkable works at Rome. (xxv-xxx) Magnetic 
stone : 3 drugs therefrom ; Syros stone ; flesh- 
eating or Assos stone, 10 drugs therefrom ; Chernites 
marble ; tufa ; bone-stones, palm-branch stones, 
Taenarus stones, Cora stones, black marbles; mill- 
stones ; pyritis, 7 dinigs therefrom. (xxxi-xl) Oyster- 
shell stone, 4 drugs therefrom ; asbestos, 2 drugs 
therefrom ; earthstone, 3 drugs therefrom ; honey- 
stone ; 6 drugs therefrom; jet, 6 drugs therefrom; 
sponge-stone, 2 drugs therefrom ; Phrygian stone ; 
bloodstone, 5 drugs therefrom ; schistose, 7 drugs 
therefrom ; androdamas bloodstone, 3 drugs therefrom ; 
Arabian stone ; minium bloodstone or Uverstone, 
anthracite ; eagle-stone, Taphiusian stone, callimus; 
Samos stone, 8 drugs therefrom. (xH-1) Arab stone ; 
6 drugs therefrom ; pumicestone, 9 drugs therefrom ; 
medicinal and other mortars ; Etesius stone, hailstone 
stone ; Siphnos stone ; soft stones ; muscovy-stone ; 
selenite ; whetstones; tufas; flints, nature of; 
other building stones. (li-hx) Kinds of building ; 
cisterns ; lime ; kinds of sand ; mixtures of sand and 
hme ; faults in building ; stuccos ; pillars ; kinds of 
pillars ; 5 drugs from chalk ; hme-cement ; white 
lime plaster. (Ix-lxx) Pavements : the Tesselated 
Hall ; first pavement at Rome ; terrace pavements ; 
pavements in the Greek mode ; date of first mosaic 
pavement ; date of first glass ceihngs ; origin of 
glass ; its kinds and mode of manufacture ; obsidian 
panes ; remarkable uses of fire ; 3 drugs from fire 
and ash ; marvels of the hearth. — ^Total : 89 drugs 

159 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

medicinae ex his LXXXIX, ad serpentes III 
bestiarum morsus, ad venena, caput, oculos, epinycti 
das, dentes, dentifricia, fauces, strumas, stomachum, 
iocinera, pituitam, testes, vesicam, calculos, panos, 
haemorroidas, podagras, sanguini sistendo, sangui- 
nem reicientibus, luxata; phreneticos, lethargicos, 
comitiales, melanchoHcos, vertigines, ulcera, volnera 
urenda, secanda, convolsa, contusa, maculas, usta, 
phthisin, mammas, muhebria \atia, carbunculos, 
pestilentia. Summa omnis : res et historiae et 
observationes CCCCXXXIV. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, C. Galba, Cincio, 
Muciano, Nepote Corneho, L. Pisone, Q. Tuberone, 
Fabio Vestale, Annio Fetiale, Fabiano, Seneca, 
Catone censorio, Vitru^do. Externis : Theophrasto, 
Pasitele, luba rege, Nicandro, Sotaco, Sudine, 
Alexandro polyhistore, Apione Phstonico, Duride, 
Herodoto, Euhemero, Aristagora, Dionysio, Artemi- 
doro, Butorida, Antisthene, Demetrio, Demotele, 
Lycea. 

Libro XXXVII. continentur: (i-x) origo gem- 
marum ; de Polycratis tyranni gemma ; de Pyrrhi 
gemma ; qui scalptores optimi, nobihtates scalpturae ; 
quae prima Ptomae dactyhothece ; gemmae in 
Pompei Magni triumpho translatae ; quando primum 
murrina invecta ; luxuria circa ea ; natura eorum ; 
natura crystalh, medicina ex eo : luxuria in crystallo. 
(xi-xx) de sucino : quae de eo mendacia ; genera 
sucinorum ; medicinae ex his ; lyngurium : medi- 
cinae II ; de adamante sive anancite : genera 
adamantis VI, medicinae II ; de zmaragdis : genera 
eorum XII, \-itia eorum ; tanos gemma ; chalcozma- 
ragdos ; de berylHs : genera eorum VIII, vitia 
eorum. (xxi-xxx) de opahs : genera eorum VII, 

160 



BOOK I 

from these matevials, 3 for serpents, animals' bites, 
for poisons, for the head, eyes, eyeUd sores, teeth, 
tooth-powders, throat, scrofula, stomach, hver, 
phlegm, testicles, bladder, stone, tumours, piles, 
gout, remedy for bleeding, for vomiting blood, dis- 
location, cases of insanity, of lethargy, of epilepsy, of 
melancholy, of giddiness, ulcers, caustic and surgical 
treatment of wounds, sprains, bruises, moles burns, 
consumption, the breasts, diseases of women, car- 
buncles, plague. FuU total : 434 facts, investigations 
and observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Gaius Galba, Cincius, 
Mucianus, CorneUus Nepos, Lucius Piso, Quintus 
Tubero, Fabius VestaUs, Annius FetiaUs, Fabianus, 
Seneca, Cato the Censor, Vitruvius. Foreign 
authorities : Theophrastus, Pasiteles, King Juba, 
Nicander, Sotacus, Sudines, Alexander the Leai-ned, 
Apion PUstonicus, Duris, Herodotus, Euhemerus, 
Aristagoras, Dionysius, Artemidorus, Butoridas, 
Antisthenes, Demetrius, Demoteles, Lyceas. 

Book XXXVIL Contents : (i-x) Origin of gems : 
the tyrant Polycrates's jewel; Pyrrhus's jewel; 
the best engravers ; famous specimens of engraving ; 
the first coUection of signet-rings at Rome ; jewels 
carried in the triumph of Pompey the Great ; murrine 
vases, date of first importation ; extravagance 
connected with ; their nature ; nature of rock- 
crystal, drug from it ; extravagance in use of rock 
crystal. (xi-xx) Amber, erroneous statements about ; 
kinds of amber, drugs from these ; tourmaUne, 2 drugs ; 
diamond or anancite, 6 kinds of diamonds, 2 drugs; 
emeralds, 12 kinds, their blemishes; the gem tanos; 
malachite ; beryls, their 8 kinds, their blemishes. 
(xxi-xxx) Opals, tlieir 7 kinds, their blemishes, tests 

i6i 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

vitia eorum, ©xperimenta eorum ; de sardonyche: 
genera eius, vitia eius ; de onyche : genera eius; 
de carbunculis : genera eorum XII, vitia eorum et 
experimenta ; anthracitis ; sandastros sive Gara- 
mantitis sive sandacitis, sandaresus ; lychnis : genera 
eius IV ; carchedonia. (xxxi-xl) sarda : genera 
eius V ; de topazo : genera eius II ; de callaina ; 
de prasio : genera eius III ; nilion ; molochitis ; 
de iaspide, genera eius XIV, vitia eorum ; de cyano : 
genera eius ; de sapphiro ; amethysto : genera 
eius IV; socondion, sapenos, pharanitis, Aphrodites 
blepharon sive anteros sive paederos. (xli-1) hyacin- 
thus ; de chrysohtho genera eius VII ; de chryselec- 
tro ; leucochrysos : genera eius IV ; meHchrysi, 
xuthi ; paederos sive sangenos sive tenites ; asteria ; 
astrion ; astriotes ; astolon. (li— Ix) ceraunia : genera 
eius IV ; baetylos ; Iris ; hieros ; achatae : genera 
eorum ; acopos : medicinae ex ea ; alabastritis ; 
medicinae ex ea; alectoriae, androdamas, argyro- 
damas, antipathes, Arabica, aromatitis, asbestos, 
aspisatis, atizoe, augitis, amphidanes sive chrysocolla, 
Aphrodisiaca, apsyctos, Aegyptilla ; balanitae, batra- 
chitis, baptes ; Beh oculus, Belus, baroptenus sive 
baripe, botryitis, bostrychitis, bucardia, brontea, 
boloe ; cadmitis, callais, capnitis, Cappadocia, callaica, 
catochitis,catoptritis,cepitis sive cepolatitis,ceramitis, 
cinaediae, ceritis, circos, corsoides, coralloachates, 
corallis, crateritis, crocallis, cyitis, chalcophonos, 
chelidoniae, cheloniae, chelonitis, chloritis, Choaspitis, 
chrysolampis, chrysopis, cepionides ; daphnea, diado- 
chos, diphyes, Dionysias, dracontitis ; encardia 
sive enariste, enorchis, exhebenus, erythallis, erotylos 
sive amphicomos sive hieromnemon, eumeces, eumi- 

162 



BOOK I 

of opals; sardonyx, its kinds, its blemishes ; onyx, its 
kinds ; carbuncles, their 12 kinds, their blemishes and 
tests ; coal-carbuncle ; sandastros or Garamantitis or 
sandacitis ; sandaresus ; lychnis, its 4 kinds ; Cartha- 
ginian stone. (xxxi-xl) Carnelian, its 5 kinds ; chry- 
solite, its 2 kinds ; turquoise ; leek-green stone, its 3 
kinds ; Nile-stone ; malachite ; jasper, its 4 kinds, their 
blemishes; lapislazuh,itskinds; sapphire ; amethyst, 
its 4 kinds ; socondion, sapenos, pharanitis, Venus's 
eyelid or love-returned or lad's-love. (xli-1) Hya- 
cinth; chrysolite, its 7 kinds ; golden-amber ; chry- 
solite, its 4 kinds ; golden chrysolite ; xuthis ; lad's-love 
or sangenos or tenites; cat's-eye; adularia, astriotes, 
astolon. (h-lx) St. John's bread, its 4 kinds ; bae- 
tylos ; rainbow-stone ; holy-stone ; agates,their kinds ; 
crystalline quartz, drugs therefrom ; alabaster-stone, 
drugs therefrom ; cock-stones, androdamas, silver- 
stone, charm-coral, chalcedony, scented amber, 
asbestos-stone, aspisatis, atizoe, turquoise, amphi- 
danes or chrysocoUa, Aphrodisiaca, apsyctos, little- 
gypsy ; acorn-stone, frog-stone, baptes, cat's eye, 
Belus, baroptenus or baripe, grape-stone, lock-of- 
hair-stone, cow's-heart, thunder-stone, boloe, cad- 
mitis, turquoise, smoke-stone, Cappadocian stone, 
turquoise-stone, catochitis, catoptritis, cepitis or 
cepolatitis, brick-stone, cinaedias (Idnds of), wax- 
stone, top-stone, hair-stone, coral-agate, coral-stone, 
crateritis, crocallis, cyitis, brazen-voice, swallow- 
stones, tortoise-stones, tortoise-shell-stone, green- 
stone, Choaspes-stone, gold-gleam, golden-topaz, 
cepionides, Daphne-stone, diadochos, diphyes, 
Dionysus-stone, snake-stone, heart-stone or enariste, 
enorchis, exhebenus, erythallis, erotylos or amphi- 
comos or stone of remembrance, eumeces, eumithres, 

163 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

thres, eupetalos, eureos, Eurotias, eusebes, epimelas ; 
galaxias, galactitis sive leucogaea sive leucographitis 
sive synnephitis, gallaica, gassinnade, glossopetra, 
Gorgonia, goniaea; heliotropion, Hephaestitis, Her- 
muaedoeon, hexecontalithos, hieracitis, hammitis, 
Hammonis cornu, hormiscion, hyaeniae, haematitis 
meniu sive xuthos. (Ixi-lxx) Idaei dactyh, icterias, 
lovis gemma sive drosoHthos, Indica, ion; lepidotis, 
Lesbias, leucophthalmos, leucopoecilos, libanochrus, 
limoniatis, liparea, lysimachos, leucochrysos ; Mem- 
nonia, Media, meconitis, mithrax, morochthos, 
monnorion sive promnium sive Alexandrinum, 
myrrit-is, myrmecias, myrsinitis, mesoleucos, rneso- 
melas ; nasamonitis, nebritis, Nipparena ; oica, 
ombria sive notia, onocardia, oritis sive sideritis, 
ostracias sive ostracitis, ostritis, ophicardelos, Ob- 
siana; panchrus, pangonus, paneros sive panerastos, 
Ponticae genera IV, phloginos sive chrysitis, phoeni- 
citis, phycitis, perileucos, Paeanitis sive gaeanis; 
solis gemma, sagda, Samothracia, sauritis, sarcitis, 
selenitis, sideritis, sideropoecilos, spongitis, synodon- 
titis, S)Ttitis, syringitis ; trichrus, thelyrrizos, 
thelycardios sive mucul, Tliracia (genera III), 
tephritis, tecolithos ; veneris crines, Veientana; 
zathene, zmilampis, zoraniscaea. (lxxi-lxx\ii) hepa- 
titis, steatitis, Adadu nephros, Adadu ophthalmos, 
Adadu dactylos, triophthalmos ; carcinias, echitis, 
scorpitis, scaritis, triglitis, aegophthalmos, hyophthal- 
mos, geranitis, aetitis, myrmecitis, cantharias, 
lycophthalmos, taos, timiclonia ; ammochrj-sos, cen- 
chritis, dryitis, cissitis, narcissitis, cyamias, pyren, 
164 



BOOK I 

eupetalos, eureos, Eurotas-stone, eusebes, epimelas; 
milk-stone, milky-stone or white-earth-stone or white 
graphite or cloud-stone, Galician-stone, gassinades, 
tongue-stone, Gorgon-stone, goniaea, striped-jasper, 
Vulcan-stone, Mercury's privates, sixty-colour-stone, 
hawk-stone, hammitis, ammonite, hormiscion, hyena- 
stone, meniou bloodstone or yellow-stone. (Ixi-lxx) 
Ida's fingers,icterias, Jove-stone or dew-stone, Indian 
stone, violet-stone, scale-stone, Lesbian stone, 
white-eye, white-spot, myrrh-colour, emerald, 
Lipari-stone, lysimachos, white gold, Memnon- 
stone, Persian stone, poppy-stone, mithrax, moroch- 
thos, mormorion or promnium or Alexandria stone, 
myrrh-stone, wart-stone, myrrh-stone, white-centre, 
black-centre, stone of Nasamon, fawn-stone, 
Nipparena, egg-stone, rain-stone or storm-stone, 
ass's-heart, mountain-stone or star-stone, hornstone 
or chalcedony, oyster-stone, ophicardelos, obsidian, 
all-colours, all-seeds, love-all or all-love, Black 
Sea stone, 4 kinds, flame-stone or gold-stone, purple- 
stone, sea-weed-stone, white-ring, Paeanite or gae- 
anite, sun-stone, green-stone, Samothracian stone, 
Hzard-stone, flesh-stone, moon-stone, iron-stone, 
variegated iron-stone, sponge-stone, bream-stone, 
Syrtian stone, reed-stone, tricolor, thelyrrizos, thely- 
cardios or mucul, Thracian-stone (3 kinds), ash-stone, 
tecolithos, love-locks, Veii-stone, zathene, zmilampis, 
zoraniscaea. (Ixxi-lxxvii) Liver-stone, soapstone, 
Adad's-kidney, Adad's-eye, Adad's-finger, three- 
eyed-stone, crab-stone, adder-stone, scorpion-stone, 
wrasse-stone, triglitis, goat's-eye, sow's-eye, crane- 
stone, eagle-stone, ant-stone, beetle-stone, wolfs- 
eye, peacock-stone, timiclonia ; gokl-sand-stone, 
millet-stone, oak-stone, ivy stone, narcissus-stone, 

165 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

phoenicitis, chalazias, pyritis, polyzonos, astrapaea, 
phlo<jitis, anthracitis, enygros, polytrichos, leontios, 
pardalios, drosolithos, melichrus, mehchloros, poHas, 
spartopolia, rhoditis, meUtis, chalcitis, sycitis, 
bostrvchitis, chernitis, anancitis, synochitis, dendritis ; 
cochlides ; de figura gemmarum ; ratio probandi. 
conparatio naturae per terras. conparatio rerum 
per pretia. Summa : res et historiae et observa- 
tiones MCCC. 

Ex auctoribus : M. Varrone, actis triumphorum 
Maecenate, laccho, Cornelio Boccho. Externis : 
luba rege, Xenocrate Zenonis, Sudine, Aeschylo, 
Philoxeno, Euripide, Nicandro, Sat}TO, Theophrasto, 
Charete, Philemone, Demostrato, Zenothemi, Metro- 
doro, Sotaco, Pythea, Timaeo Siculo, Nicia, Theo- 
chresto, Asaruba, Mnasea, Theomene, Ctesia, 
Mithridate, Sophocle, Archelao rege, Calhstrato, 
Democrito, Ismenia, Olympico, Alexandro poly- 
histore, Apione, Oro, Zoroastre, Zachalia. 



t66 



BOOK I 

bean-stone, pyren, purple-stone, hail-stone, pyritis, 
striped-stone, lightning-stone, flame-stone,coal-stone, 
enygros, hairy-stone, Hon-stone, leopard-stone, dew- 
stone, honey-colour-stone, honey-yellow-stone, gray- 
stone, spartopolia, rose-stone, honey-stone, copper- 
stone, fig-stone, ringlet-stone, ivory-marble, anancitis, 
synochitis, tree-stone, snail-shell. Shape of precious 
stones ; method of testing ; natural properties 
compared in various countries ; products compared in 
respect of price. — Total, 1300 facts, investigations 
and observations. 

Authorities : Marcus Varro, Records qf Trmmphs, 
Maecenas, lacchus, CorneHus Bocchus. Foreign 
authorities ; King Juba, Xenocrates son of Zeno, 
Sudines, Aeschylus, Philoxenus, Euripides, Nicander, 
Satyrus, Theophrastus, Chares, Philemon, Demo- 
stratus, Zenothemis, Metrodorus, Sotacus, Pytheas, 
Timaeus of Sicily, Nicias, Theochrestus, Asaruba, 
Mnaseas, Theomenes, Ctesias, Mithridates, Sophocles, 
King Archelaus, CalHstratus, Democritus, Ismenias, 
Olympicus, Alexander the Learned, Apion, Orus, 
Zoroaster, Zachalias. 



167 



BOOK II 



LIBER II 

T. MuNDUM et hoc — quocumque ^ nomine alio 
caelum appellare libuit cuius circumflexu teguntur * 
cuncta, numen esse credi par est, aeternum, inmen- 
sum, neque genitum neque interiturum umquam. 
huius extera indagare nec interest hominum nec 

2 capit humanae coniectura mentis. sacer est, ae- 
temus, inmensus, totus in toto, immo vero ipse 
totum, finitus et infinito simiHs, omnium rerum 
certus et similis incerto, extra intra cuncta conplexus 
in se, idemque rerum naturae opus et rerum ipsa 
natura. 

3 Furor est mensuram eius animo quosdam agitasse 
atque prodere ausos, alios rursus occasione hinc 
sumpta aut ab ^ his data innumerabiles tradidisse 
mundos, ut totidem rerimi naturas credi oporteret, 
aut, si una omnes incubaret, totidem tamen soles 
totidemque lunas et cetera ut iam in uno ot inmensa 
et innumerabilia sidera, quasi non eadem quaestione 

1 Backham : quodcunque aut quod codd. 
* v.l. degunt (' go on '). 
^ ab add. Rackhim. 



' The Pythagorean and Stoic creed. 

* A variant gives ' infinite and resembling the finite.' 



170 



BOOK II 

I. The world and this — whatever other name The worid- 
men have chosen to designate the sky whose vaulted 
roof encircles the universe, is fitly beUeved to be a 
deity," eternal, immeasurable, a being that never 
began to exist and never will perish. What is out- 
side it does not concern men to explore and is not 
within the grasp of the human mind to guess. It is 
sacred, eternal, immeasurable, wholly within the 
whole, nay rather itself the whole, finite and 
resembling the infinite,'' certain of all things and 
resembling the uncertain, holding in its embrace all 
things that are without and within, at once the work 
of nature and nature herself. 

That certain persons have studied, and have dared ns^i^f- 
to pubUsh, its dimensions, is mere madness ; and 
again that others,*^ taking or receiving occasion from 
the former, have taught the existence of a countless 
number of worlds, involving the beUef in as many 
systems of nature, or, if a single nature embraces 
all the worlds, nevertheless the same number of 
suns, moons and other unmeasurable and innumer- 
able heavenly bodies, as already in a single world; 
just as if owing to our craving for some End the 
same problem would not always encounter us at 

« The founders of the atomic theory, Leucippus and 
Democritua. 

171 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

semper in termino cogitationis occursura desiderio 
finis alicuius aut, si haec infinitas naturae omnium 
artifici possit adsignari, non idem illud in uno facilius 

4 sit intellegi, tanto praesertim opere. furor est, 
profecto furor, egredi ex eo et, tamquam interna 
eius cuncta plane iam nota sint, ita scrutari extera, 
quasi vero mensuram ullius rei possit agere qui sui 
nesciat, aut mens ^ hominis ^ possit ^ videre quae 
mundus ipse non capiat. 

6 II. Formam eius in speciem orbis absoluti 
globatam esse nomen in primis et consensus in eo 
mortalium orbem appellantivmi, sed et argumenta 
rerum docent, non solum quia tahs figura omnibus 
sui partibus vergit in sese ac sibi ipsa toleranda est 
seque includit et continet nullarimi egens compagium 
nec finem aut initium ulHs sui partibus sentiens, nec 
quia ad motum, quo subinde ^ verti mox adparebit, 
talis aptissima est, sed oculorum quoque probatione, 
quod convexus mediusque quacumque cernatur, cum 
id accidere in alia non possit figura. 

6 III. Hanc ergo formam eius aeterno et inrequieto 
ambitu, inenarrabili celeritate, viginti quattuor 
horarum spatio circumagi solis exortus et occasus 

^ mens edd. : meror, miror (haut minor Dellefsen). 

2 v.l. homines. 

' possit om. nonnulli. 

* sublime Detlefsen, rotunde Mayhoff. 



' Cf. Martial V. 39. 5 Aut eemel fac Dlud | mentitur tua 
quod subinde tussis. 

" Convexus is used to denote the ioside aa well as the out- 
side of a curve. 

172 



BOOK II. I. 3-ni. 6 

the termination of this process of thought, or as if, 
assuming it possible to attribute this iiifinity of 
nature to the artificer of the universe, that same 
property would not be easier to understand in a single 
world, especially one that is so vast a structure. 
It is madness, downright madness, to go out of that 
world, and to investigate what hes outside it just as 
if the whole of what is within it were ah-eady clearly 
known ; as though, forsooth, the measure of anything 
could be taken by him that knows not the measure 
of himself, or as if the mind of man could see things 
that the world itself does not contain. 

II. Its shape has the rounded appearance of a skipeof 
perfect sphere. This is shown first of all by the name ^" 

of ' orb ' which is bestowed upon it by the general 
consent of mankind. It is also shown by the evidence 
of the facts : not only does such a figure in all its 
parts converge upon itself ; not only must it sustain 
itself, enclosing and holding itself together without 
the need of any fastenings, and withoiit experiencing 
an end or a beginning at any part of itself ; not only 
is that shape the one best fitted for the motion with 
which, as will shortly appear, it must repeatedly * 
revolve, but our eyesight also confirms this behef, 
because the firmament presents the aspect of a 
concave * hemisphere equidistant "^ in every direction, 
which would be impossible in the case of any other 
figure. 

III. The world thus shaped then is not at rest Jierohaim 
but eternally revolves with indescribable velocity, """^ 
each revolution occupying the space of 24 houi-s : 

the rising and setting of the sun have left this not 

' Medius properly denotes the position of the observer at 
the centre, and is transferred to the circumference observed. 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

haut dubium reliquere. an sit inmensus et ideo 
sensum aurium excedens tantae molis rotatae 
vertigine adsidua sonitus non equidem facile dixerim 
— non Hercule magis quam circumactorum simul 
tinnitus siderum suosque volventium orbes — an 
diilcis quidam et incredibili suavitate concentus. 
nobis qui intus agimus iuxta diebus noctibusque 

7 tacitus labitur mundus. esse innumeras ei effigies 
animalium rerumque cunctarum inpressas nec, ut in 
volucrum notamus ovis, levitate continua lubricimi 
corpus, quod clarissimi auctores dixere, rerum 
argumentis indicatur, quoniam inde deciduis rerum 
omnium seminibus innumeris,^ in mari praecipue, 
ac pleriunque confusis monstrificae gignantur effigies, 
praeterea ^dsus probatione, alibi ursi, tauri alibi, 
alibi plaustri,^ alibi litterae figura, candidiore medio 
per verticem circulo. 

8 Equidem et consensu gentium moveor. namque 
et Graeci ^ nomine ornamenti appellavere eum et 
nos a perfecta absolutaque elegantia mundum. 
caelum quidem haut dubie caelati argumento dici- 

9 mus,* ut interpretatur M. Varro. adiuvat rerum ordo 

^ Rackham : innumerae. 

* alibi plaustri hic Ratlcham, ante aui post alibi ursi aut om. 
coM. 

^ v.l. nam quem Koa^iov Graeci. 

* v.l. diximus. 



" Deltoton, the constellation of the Triangle, Greek A. 

** Koafjio^. 

' Mundus (adj.) meaos ' neat,' ' elegant.* 



174 



BOOK II. III. 6-9 

doiibtful. WTiether the sound of this vast mass 
whirling in unceasing rotation is of enormous 
volume and consequently beyond the capacity of 
our ears to perceive, for my own part I cannot easily 
say — any more in fact than whether this is true of the 
tinkUng of the stars that travel round with it, 
revolving in their own orbits ; or whether it emits a 
sweet harmonious music that is beyond beUef 
charming. To us who Uve within it the world 
gUdes silently aUke by day and night. Stamped 
upon it are countless figures of animals and objects 
of aU kinds — it is not the case, as has been stated by 
very famous authors, that its structure has an even 
surface of unbroken smoothness, Uke that which we 
observe in birds' eggs : this is proved by the evidence 
of the facts, since from seeds of aU these objects, 
faUing from the sky in countless numbers, particularly 
in the sea, and usuaUy mixed together, monstrous 
shapes are generated ; and also by the testimony 
of sight — in one place the figure of a bear, in another 
of a buU, in another a wain, in another a letter of the 
alphabet," the middle of the circle across the pole 
being more radiant. 

For my own part I am also influenced by the TkeworWi 
agreement of the nations. The Greeks have desig- ^*""'^- 
nated the world by a word that means * ornament,' * 
and we have given it the name of mundus,'^ because 
of its perfect finish and grace ! As for our word 
caelum, it undoubtedly has the signification 
' engraved,' as is explained by Marcus Vari-o.'* 
Further assistance is contributed by its orderly 

^ De Lingua Latina V 18: engraved (cadum 'chisel,' 
caedcn) with the figures of the constellations. Caelum, ' the 
vault of the sky,' is really for cavilum, from cavus. 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

discripto circulo qui signifer vocatur in duodecim 
animalium effigies, et per illas solis cursus congruena 
tot saeculis ratio. 

10 IV. Nec de elementis vddeo dubitari quattuor 
esse ea : igneum summima, inde tot stellarum illos 
conlucentium oculos ; proximum spiritimi quem 
Graeci nostrique eodem vocabulo aera appellant, 
vitalem hunc et per cuncta reriim meabilem totoque 
consertum ; huius vi suspensam cum quarto aquarum 

11 elemento librari medio spatii tellurem. ita mutuo 
conplexu diversitatis effici nexvma, et levia ponderibus 
inhiberi quo minus evolent, contraque gravia ne 
ruant suspendi levibus in sublime tendentibus. sic 
pari in diversa nisu in suo quaeque loco ^ consistere, 
inrequieto mundi ipsius constricta circuitu, quo 
semper in se recurrente ^ imam atque mediam in 
toto esse terram, eandemque universo cardine 
stare pendentem librantemque per quae pendeat; 
ita solam inmobilem circa eam volubili universitate 
eandemque ex omnibus necti eidemque omnia inniti.' 

12 jnter hanc caelumque eodem spiritu pendent certis 
discreta spatiis septem sidera quae ab incessu 
vocamus errantia, cima errent nulla minus illis. 
eorum medius sol fertur amplissima magnitudine ac 

^ loco add. Rackham (sic ? CampbeU). 
* C. F. H . Muller : currente. * v.l. iimecti. 

" * VVanderera,' TrAat^Tcu. 
176 



BOOK II. iii. 9-iv. 12 

structure, the circle called the Zodiac being marked 
out into the likenesses of twelve animals ; and also 
by the uniform regularity in so many centuries of 
the sun's progress through these signs. 

IV. As regards the elements also I observe that fout 
they are accepted as being four in number : topmost (^^mem». 
the element of fire, source of yonder eyes of all those 
blazing stars ; next the vapour which the Greeks and 
our own nation call by the same name, air — this is 
the principle of Ufe, and penetrates all the universe 
and is intertwined with the whole ; suspended by its 
force in the centre of space is poised the earth, 
and with it the fourth element, that of the waters. 
Thus the mutual embrace of the unUke results in an 
interlacing, the Ught substances being prevented 
by the heavy ones from flying up, while on the 
contrary the heavy substances are held from crashing 
down by the upward tendency of the Ught ones. In 
this way owing to an equal urge in opposite directions 
the elements remain stationary, each in its own place, 
bound together by the unresting revolution of the 
world itself ; and with this ahvays running back to 
its starting-point, the earth is the lowest and central 
object in the whole, and stays suspended at the pivot 
of the universe and also balancing the bodies to 
which its suspension is due ; thus being alone motion- 
less with the universe revolving round her she both 
hangs attached to them aU and at the same time is 
that on which they aU rest. Upheld by the same The pianeta 
vapour between earth and heaven, at definite spaces 
apart, hang the seven stars which owing to their 
motion we caU ' planets,'" although no stars wander 
less than they do. In the midst of these moves the Thesun. 
sun, whose magnitude and power are the greatest, 

177 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

potestate, nec temponim modo terrarimique sed 

13 siderum etiam ipsorum caelique rector. hunc esse 
mundi totius animum ac planius mentem, hunc 
principale naturae regimen ac numen credere decet 
opera eius aestimantes. hic lucem rebus ministrat 
aufertque tenebras, hic reliqua sidera occultat 
inlustrat, hic ^ices temporimi anmmmque semper 
renascentem ex usu naturae temperat, hic caeU 
tristitiam discutit atque etiam humani nubila animi 
serenat, hic suum lumen ceteris quoque sideribus 
fenerat, praeclarus, eximius, omnia intuens, omnia 
etiam exaudiens, ut principi Utterarum Homero 
placuisse in uno eo video. 

14 V. Quapropter effigiem dei formamque quaerere 
inbecillitatis humanae reor. quisquis est deus, si 
modo est aliquis,^ et quacumque in parte, totus est 
sensus, totus visus, totus auditus, totus animae, 
totus animi, totus sui. Innumeros quidem credere 
atque etiam ex ^itiis hominum, non virtutibus 
tantima,^ ut Pudicitiam, Concordiam, Mentem, 
Spem, Honorem, Clementiam, Fidem, aut (ut 
Democrito placuit) duos omnino, Poenam et Bene- 

15 ficium, maiorem ad socordiam accedit. fragilis et 
laboriosa mortalitas in partes ista digessit infirmitatis 
suae memor, ut portionibus coleret qui quisque ^ 
maxime indigeret. itaque nomina * aha aliis gentibus 
et numina in iisdem innumerabilia invenimus, inferis 
quoque in genera discriptis, morbisque et multis 

1 Vulg. alius. 

* Mmjhoff : atque etiam ex vitiis hominum aut atque 
tam ex virtutibus vitiisque homixium codd. 

^ Mayhoff : quidque quo codd. * numina ? Backham. 

* A variant givea ' if only he be other (than the world),' 

* No other authority recordB this of Democritua. 
178 



BOOK II. IV. I2-V. 15 

and who is the ruler not only of the seasons and of the 
lands, but even of the stars themselves and of the 
heaven. Taking into account all that he effeets, we 
must beheve him to be the soul, or more precisely 
the mind, of the whole world, the supreme ruHng 
principle and divinity of nature. He furnishes the 
world with Hght and removes darkness, he obscures 
and he illumines the rest of the stars, he regulates 
in accord with nature's precedent the changes of the 
seasons and the continuous re-birth of the year, he 
dissipates the gloom of heaven and even calms the 
storm-clouds of the mind of man, he lends his light 
to the rest of the stars also ; he is glorious and pre- 
eminent, all-seeing and even all-hearing — this I 
observe that Honier the prince of Uteratm-e held to 
be true in the case of the sun alone. 

V. For this reason I deem it a mark of human Thedivint 
weakness to seek to discover the shape and form of ^c^u^J"' 
God. Wlioever God is — provided there is a God '^ — 
and in whatever region he is, he consists wholly of 
sense, sight and hearing, whoUy of soul, whoUy of 
mind, wholly of himself. To beUeve in gods without 
number, and gods corresponding to men's vices as 
well as to their virtues, Uke the Goddesses of Modesty, 
Concord, Intelhgence, Hope, Honour, Mercy and 
Faith — or else, as Democritus held,'' only two, 
Punishment and Reward, reaches an even greater 
height of folly. Frail, toihng mortahty, remembering 
its own weakness, has divided such deities into groups, 
so as to worship in sections, each the deity he is 
most in need of. Consequently different races have 
different names for the deities,*^ and we find countless 
deities in the same races, even those of the lower 

• Or, altering the text, ' have diiferent deities.' 

179 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

etiam pestibus, dum esse placatas ^ trepido metu 
1(5 cupimus. ideoque etiam publice Febris fanum in 
Palatio dicatum est, Orbonae ad aedem Larum et 
ara Malae Fortunae Esquiliis. quamobrem maior 
caelitum populus etiam quam hominum intellegi 
potest, cum singuli quoque ex semetipsis totidem 
deos faciant lunones Geniosque adoptando sibi, 
gentes vero quaedam animalia et aliqua etiam 
obscena pro dis habeant ac multa dictu magis 
pudenda, per fetidos cibos et alia ^ similia iurantes. 

17 matrimonia quidem inter deos credi tantoque aevo 
ex eis neminem nasci, et ahos esse grandaevos 
semper canosque, aUos iuvenes atque pueros, atri- 
colores, aligeros, claudos, ovo editos et altemis 
diebus viventes morientesque, puerilium prope 
deliramentorum est; sed super omnem inpudentiam 
adulteria inter ipsos fingi, mox iurgia et odia, atque 

18 etiam furtorum esse et scelerum numina. deus est 
mortali iuvare mortalem, et haec ad aeternam gloriam 
via : hac proceres iere Romani, hac nunc caelesti 
passu cum liberis suis vadit maximus omnis aevi 
rector Vespasianus Augustus fessis rebus subveniens. 

19 hic est vetustissimus referendi bene merentibus 
gratiam mos, ut tales numinibus adscribant. quippe 



i8o 



^ v.l. placata. 

* vd. per fetidas cepas, allia et (cf. XIX. 101). 



BOOK II. V. 15-19 

world being classified into groups, and diseases 
and also many forms of plague, in our nervous 
anxiety to get them placated. Because of this 
there is actually a Temple of Fever consecrated by 
the nation on the Palatine Hill, and one of Bereave- 
ment at the Temple of the Household Deities, and 
an Altar of Misfortune on the EsquiHne. For this 
reason we can infer a larger population of celestials 
than of human beings, as individuals also make an 
equal number of gods on their own, by adopting 
their own private Junos and Genii ; while certain 
nations have animals, even some loathsome ones, for 
gods, and many things still more disgraceful to tell 
of — swearing by rotten articles of food and other 
things of that sort. To beHeve even in marriages 
taking place between gods, without anybody all 
through the long ages of time being born as a 
result of them, and that some are always old and 
grey, others youths and boys, and gods with dusky 
complexions, winged, lame, born from eggs, Hving 
and dying on alternate days — this almost ranks 
with the mad fancies of children ; but it passes all 
bounds of shamelessness to invent acts of adultery 
taking place between the gods themselves, foUowed 
by altercation and enmity, and the existence of 
deities of theft and of crime. For mortal to aid 
mortal — this is god ; and this is the road to eternal 
glory : by this road went our Roman chieftains, by 
this road now proceeds with heavenward step, escorted 
by his children, the greatest ruler of all time, His 
Majesty Vespasian, coming to the succour of an 
exhausted world. To enrol such men among the 
deities is the most ancient method of paying them 
gratitude for their benefactions. In fact the names 

181 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

et aliorum nomina deorum et quae supra retuli 
siderum ex hominum nata sunt meritis : lovera 
quidem aut Mercurium aliterve alios inter se vocari 
et esse caelestem nomenclaturam quis non inter- 

20 pretatione naturae fateatur? inridendum agere 
curam rerum humanarum illud quicquid est sum- 
mum. anne tam tristi atque multiplici ministerio 
non pollui credamus ? dubitemusne ? vix prope ^ 
est iudicare utrum magis conducat generi humano, 
quando aliis nullus est deorum respectus, aliis 

21 pudendus : externis famulantur sacris, ac digitis 
deos gestant ; monstra quoque quae cohmt damnant, 
et excogitant cibos ; imperia dira in ipsos se ^ ne 
somno quidem quietos ^ inrogant ; non matrimonia, 
non Hberos, non denique quicquam aliud nisi iuben- 
tibus sacris deUgunt ; ahi in Capitoho fallimt ac 
fulminantem periurant lovem — et hos iuvant scelera, 
ihos sacra sua poenis agunt. 

22 Invenit tamen inter has utrasque sententias 
medium sibi ipsa mortahtas numen, quo minus 
etiam plana de deo coniectatio esset : toto quippe 
mundo et omnibvis locis omnibusque horis omnium 
vocibus Fortuna sola invocatur ac nominatur, una ac- 
cusatur, rea una agitur, una cogitatur,* sola laudatur, 
sola arguitur et cum con\-iciis cohtur: volubihs, a 
plerisque vero et caeca existimata, vaga, inconstans, 

^ Vix prodest Mayhoff, vix profecto Detlefsen. 

* se add. Rachhain. 

* Backham : quieto. 

* [una cogitatur] Campbell. 



" I.e. engraved on rings. 

* I.e. whether to rear or to expose the chHdren bom to 
them. 

182 



BOOK II. V. 19-22 

of the other gods, and also of the stars that I have 
mentioned above, originated from the services of 
men : at all events who would not admit that it is 
the interpretation of men's charaeters that prompts 
them to call each other Jupiter or Mercury or other 
names, and that originates the nomenclature of 
heaven? That that supreme being, whate'er it be, 
pays heed to man's affairs is a ridiculous notion. 
Can we believe that it would not be defiled by so 
gloomy and so multifarious a duty ? Can we doubt 
it? It is scarcely pertinent to determine which is 
more profitable for the human race, when some men 
pay no regard to the gods at all and the regard paid 
by others is of a shameful nature : they serve as the 
lackeys of foreign ritual, and they carry gods on their 
fingers " ; also they pass sentence of punishment 
upon the monsters they worship, and devise elaborate 
viands for them; they subject themselves to awful 
tyrannies, so as to find no repose even in sleep ; they do 
not decide on marriage or having a family *" or indeed 
any thing else except by the command of sacrifices ; 
others cheat in the very Capitol and swear false 
oaths by Jupiter who wields the thunder-bolts — and 
these indeed make a profit out of their crimes, 
whereas the others are penaUzed by their reUgious 
observances. 

Nevertheless mortahty has rendered our guesses Dei^eatum 
about God even more obscure by inventing for itself "^ "^ ""*' 
a deity intermediate between these two conceptions. 
Everywhere in the whole world at every hour by all 
men's voices Fortune alone is invoked and named, 
alone accused, alone impeached, alone pondered, alone 
applauded, alone rebuked and visited with reproaches ; 
deemed volatile and indeed by most men blind as well, 
wayward, inconstant, uncertain, fickle in her favours 

183 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

incerta, varia indignorumque fautrix. huic omnia 
expensa, huic omnia feruntur accepta, et in tota 
ratione mortalium sola utramque paginam facit; 
adeoque obnoxii sumus sorti,^ ut sors ipsa pro deo 

23 sit, qua deus probatur incertus. pars alia et hanc 
pellit astroque suo eventus adsignat et nascendi 
legibus : semelque in omnes futuros umquam deo 
decretum, in reliquom vero otium datum. sedere 
coepit sententia haec, pariterque et eruditum vulgus 

24 et rude in eam cursu vadit : ecce fulgurum monitus, 
oraculorum praescita, haruspicum praedicta, atque 
etiam parva dictu in auguriis, sternumenta et 
offensiones pedum. divus Augustus prodidit laevum 
sibi calceum praepostere inductum quo die seditione 

25 militari prope adflictus est. quae singula inprovidam 
mortalitatem involvont, solum ut inter ista vel 
certum sit nihil esse certi nec quicquam miserius 
homine aut superbius : ceteris quippe animantium 
sola victus cura est, in quo sponte naturae benignitas 
sufficit, uno quidem vel praeferendo cunctis bonis, 
quod de gloria, de pecunia, de ^ ambitione, superque 
de morte non cogitant. 

26 Verum in his deos agere curam renmi humanarum 
credi ex usu vitae est, poenasque maleficiis aliquando 
seras, occupato deo in tanta mole, nimiquam autem 



Edd. : obnoxine sumus sortis. 
de add. liackham. 



184 



BOOK II. V. 22-26 

and favouring the unworthy. To her is debited all 
that is spent andcredited all that is received, she alone 
fills both pages in the whole of mortals' account ; 
and we are so much at the mercy of chance that 
Chance herself, by whom God is proved uncertain, 
takes the place of God. Another set of people 
banishes fortune also, and attributes events to its 
star and to the laws of birth, holding that for all men 
that ever are to be God's decree has been enacted once 
for all, while for the rest of time leisure has been 
vouchsafed to Him. This belief begins to take root, 
and the learned and unlearned mob aUke ffo marchinsr 

o o 

on towards it at the double : witness the warnings 
drawn from hghtning, the forecasts made by oracles, 
the prophecies of augurs, and even inconsiderable 
trifles — a sneeze, a stumble — counted as omens. 
His late Majesty put abroad a story that on the day 
on which he was almost overthrown by a mutiny in 
the army he had put his left boot on the ^\Tong foot. 
This series of instances entanffles unforeseeinar 
mortahty, so that among these things but one thing 
is in the least certain — that nothing certain exists, 
and that nothing is more pitiable, or more presump- 
tuous, than man ! inasmuch as with the rest of hving 
creatures their sole anxiety is for the means of Ufe, 
in which nature's bounty of itself suffices, the one 
blessing indeed that is actuaUy preferable to every 
other being the fact that they do not think about 
glory, money, ambition, and above all death. 

But it agrees with Ufe's experience to beUeve that Therot^ert 
in these matters the gods exercise an interest in ^^'^' 
human affairs ; and that punishment for wickedness, 
though sometimes tardy, as God is occupied in so 
vast a mass of things, yet is never frustrated ; and 

185 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

inritas esse, nec ideo proximum illi genitum hominem 

27 ut vilitate iuxta beluas esset. inperfectae vero in 
homine naturae praecipua solatia, ne deum quidem 
posse omnia, — namque nec sibi potest mortem 
consciscere, si velit, quod homini dedit optimum in 
tantis vitae poenis, nec mortales aeternitate donare 
aut revocare defunctos, nec facere ut qui vixit non 
vixerit, qui honores gessit non gesserit, — nullumque 
habere in praeterita ius praeterquam oblivionis, 
atque (ut facetis quoque argumentis societas haec 
cum deo copuletur) ut bis dena viginti non sint 
aut multa similiter efficere non posse : per quae 
declaratur haut dubie naturae potentia, idque esse 
quod deum vocemus. in haec divertisse non fuerit 
alienum, volgata iam ^ propter adsiduam quae- 
stionem de deo. 

28 VI. Hinc redeamus ad reliqua naturae. sidera, 
quae adfixa diximus mundo, non ita ^ ut existimat 
volgus, singulis attributa nobis et clara divitibus, 
minora pauperibus, obscura defectis ac pro sorte 
cuiusque lucentia adnumerata mortalibus, nec cum 

• Detlefsen : volgatam (v.l. propter volgatam assidue). 

* ita Detlefsen : illa. 

i86 



BOOK II. V. 26-vi. 28 

that man was not born God's next of kin for the 
purpose of approximating to the beasts in vileness. 
But the chief consolations for nature's imperfection 
in the case of man are that not even for God are all 
things possible — for he cannot, even if he wishes, 
commit suicide, the supreme boon that he has 
bestowed on man among all the penalties of Ufe, 
nor bestow eternity on mortals or recall the deceased, 
nor cause a man that has Uved not to have hved or 
one that has held high ofRce not to have held it — and 
that he has no power over what is past save to forget 
it, and (to hnk our fellowship with God by means of 
frivolous arguments as well) that he cannot cause 
twice ten not to be twenty " or do many things on 
similar lines : which facts unquestionably demonstrate 
the power of nature, and prove that it is this that we 
mean by the word 'God.' It will not have been 
irrelevant to have diverged to these topics, which 
have aheady been widely disseminated because of 
the unceasing enquir)'^ into the natm-e of God. 

VI. Let us return from these questions to the 
remaining facts of nature. We have stated '^ that the 
stars are attached to the flrmament, not assigned 
to each of us in the way in which the vulgar beUeve, 
and dealt out to mortals with a degree of radiance 
proportionate to the lot of each, the brightest stars Astroiog^ 
to the rich, the smaller ones to the poor, the dim ^^'^^^- 
to those who are worn out; they do not each 
rise with their own human being, nor indicate by 

• Cf. A. E. Housman Last Poems XXXV : 

— To think that two and two are four 
And neither five nor three, 
The heart of man has long been sore 
And long 'tis like to be. 

* Above, §§ 7-9. 

187 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTOIIY 

suo quaeque homine oriuntur ^ nec aliquem exstingui 

29 decidua significant. non tanta caelo societas nobis- 
cum est ut nostro fato mortalis sit ibi quoque 
siderum fulgor. illa nimio alimento tracti umoris 
ignea vi abundantiam reddunt cum decidere cre- 
duntur, ut apud nos quoque luminibus accensis 

30 liquore olei notamus accidere. ceterum aeterna 
caelestibus est natura intertexentibus mundum 
intextoque concretis, potentia autem ad terram 
magnopere eorum pertinens, quae propter effectus 
claritatemque et magnitudinem in tanta subtilitate 
nosci potuerunt, sicut suo demonstrabimus loco. 
circulorum quoque caeli ratio in terrae mentione 
aptius dicetur, quando ad eam tota pertinet, signiferi 

31 modo inventionibus ^ non dilatis. obliquitatem eius 
intellexisse, hoc est rerum fores aperuisse, Anaxi- 
mander Milesius traditur primus Olympiade quin- 
quagesima octava, signa deinde in eo Cleostratus, 
et prima arietis ac sagittarii, sphaerain ipsam ante 
multo Atlas. 

Nunc relicto mundi ipsius corpore rehqua inter 

32 caelum terrasque tractentur. summum esse quod 
vocant Saturni sidus ideoque minimum videri et 
maximo ambire circulo ac tricesimo anno cum 
brevissime ad ' sedis suae principia regredi certum 
est ; omnium autem errantium siderum meatus, 

1 Detlefscn : orta oriuntur aut orta moriuntur. 

^ inventoribus Sabell. 

^ v.l. ad brevissima codd. fere omnes. 



' XVIII 210 ff. " VI 211 ff. 

• 548-545 B.o. 



l88 



BOOK II. VI. 28-32 

their fall that someone's life is being extinguished. 

There is no such close alliance between us and the 

sky that the radiance of the stars there also shares 

our fate of mortality. When the stars are believed Asirorumy. 

to fall, what happens is that owing to their being 

overfed with a draught of liquid they give back the 

surplus with a fiery flash, just as with us also we see 

this occur with a stream of oil when lamps are ht. 

But the heavenly bodies have a nature that is eternal 

— they interweave the world and are blended with 

its weft ; yet their potency has a powerful influence 

on the earth, indeed it is owing to the effects that they 

produce and to their brilliance and magnitude that 

it has been possible for them to become known with 

such a degree of precision, as we shall show in the 

proper place." Also the system of the revolutions 

of the sky will be more appropriately stated when we 

deal with geography,'' since it is entirely related to 

the earth ; only we must not postpone the dis- 

coveries that have been made as to the zodiac. 

Tradition says that Anaximander of Miletus in the 

fifty-eighth Olympiad '^ was the first person to dis- 

cover the obliquity of the zodiac, that is, to open the 

portals of science ; and that next Cleostratus 

explained the signs in it, beginning with the Ram 

and the Archer ; the firmament itself having been 

explained long before by Atlas. 

Let us now leave the frame of the world itself and The piand. 
treat the remaining bodies situated between the sky 
and the earth. The following points are certain: 
(1) The star called Saturn's is the highest and conse- 
quently looks the smallest and revolves in the largest 
orbit, returning in thirty years at the shortest to its 
initial station. (2) The motions of all the planets, 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

interque ea solis et lunae, contrarium mundo agere 
cursum,id est laevom,illo semper in dextram praeci- 

33 piti ; et quam^is adsidua conversione inmensae 
celeritatis attollantur ab eo rapianturque in occasum, 
adverso tamen ire motu per suos quaeque passus ; 
ita fieri ne convolutus aer eandem in partem aeterna 
mundi vertigine ignavo globo torpeat sed fundatur 
adverso siderum verbere discretus et digestus ; 

34 Saturni autem sidus gelidae ac rigentis esse naturae, 
multumque ex eo inferiorem Io\is circulum et ideo 
motu celeriore duodenis circumagi annis ; tertium 
Martis, quod quidam Herculis vocant, igne ardens 
solis vicinitate, binis fere annis converti, ideoque huius 
ardore nimio et rigore Saturni interiectum ambobus 
ex utroque temperari lovem salutaremque fieri ; 

35 dein solis meatum esse partium quidem trecentarum 
sexaginta, sed ut observatio umbrarum eius redeat ad 
metas,^ quinos annis dies adici superque quartam 
partem diei ; quam ob causam quinto cuique ^ anno 
unus intercalarius dies additur ut temporum ratio 
solis itineri congruat. 

36 Infra solem ambit ingens sidus appellatum Veneris, 
alterno meatu vagum ipsisque cognominibus aemu- 
lum solis ac lunae : praeveniens quippe ^ et ante 
matutinum exoriens Luciferi nomen accipit ut sol 
alter diemque maturans, contra ab occasu refulgens 
nuncupatur Vesper ut prorogans lucem \icemque 

* Detlefsen (metam ? Rackham.) : notas aul motus. 

* cuique add. Rackham (quoque Harduin). 
' quippe solem ? Rackham. 



" In Roman arithmetic, for example, 193S would be called 
the fifth year after 1934. 

190 



BOOK II. VI. 32-36 

and among tliem the sun and moon, follow a course 
contrary to that of the world, namely to the left, 
the world always running to the right. (3) Although 
they are borne on by it and carried westward with an 
unceasing revolution of immeasurable velocity, 
nevertheless they travel with an opposite motion 
along their respective tracks. (4) Thus it comes 
about that the air is not massed in a dull lethargic 
ball by revolving in the same direction because of 
the eternal rotation of the world, but is scattered into 
separate portions by the opposite impact of the stars. 
(5) Saturn is of a cold and frozen nature. The orbit 
of Jupiter is much below it and therefore revolves 
much faster, completing one rotation every twelve 
years. The third star is Mars, called by some Her- 
cules ; owing to the proximity of the sun it has a 
fiery glow ; it revolves once in about two years, and 
consequently, owing to its excessive heat and Saturn's 
frost, Jupiter being situated between them combines 
the influence of each and is rendered healthy. (6) 
Next, the sun's course is divided into 360 parts, but 
in order that an observation taken of the shadows 
that it casts may come round to the starting-point, 
five and a quarter days per amium are added ; con- 
sequently to every fourth " year an intercalary day 
is added to make our chronology tally with the course 
of the sun. 

Below the sun revolves a very large star named 
Venus, which varies its course alternately, and whose 
alternative names in themselves indicate its rivalry 
with the sun and moon — when in advance and rising 
before dawn it receives the name of Lucifer, as being 
another sun and bringing the dawn, whereas when it 
slunes after sunset it is named Vesper, as prolonging 

191 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

37 lunae reddens. quam naturam eius Pythagoras 
Samius primus deprehendit Olympiade circiter 
XLII, qui fuit urbis Romae annus CXLII. iam 
magnitudine extra cuncta alia sidera est, claritatis 
quidem tantae ut unius huius stellae radiis umbrae 
reddantur. itaque et in magno nominum ambitu 
est: aUi enim lunonis, alii Isidis, ahi Matris Deum 

38 appellavere. huius natura cuncta generantur in 
terris ; namque in alterutro exortu genitah rore 
conspergens non terrae modo conceptus inplet, 
verum animantium quoque omnium stimulat. signi- 
feri autem ambitum peragit trecenis et duode- 
quinquagenis diebus, a sole numquam absistens 
partibus sex atque quadraginta longius, ut Timaeo 

39 placet. simiH ratione, sed nequaquam magnitudine 
aut vi, proximum illi Mercurii sidus, a quibusdam ap- 
pellatum Apollinis, inferiore circulo fertur novem 
diebus ociore ambitu, modo ante sohs exortum modo 
post occasum splendens, numquam ab eo XXII ^ 
partibus remotior, ut Cidenas et Sosigenes docent. 
ideo et pecuUaris horum siderum ratio est neque 

40 communis cimi supra dictis ; nam ea et quarta parte 
caeU a sole abesse et tertia, et adversa soU saepe 
cernuntur, maioresque aUos habent cuncta plenae 
conversionis ambitus in magni anni ratione dicendos, 

41 Sed omnium admirationem vincit no\issimum 
sidus, terris famiUarissimum et in tenebrarum 

^ XXIII Hermolaus Barbarus. 



« 612-609 B.c. 
* 753 B.c. 

' magnum annum . . . quitum efficitur cum solis et lunae et 
qulnque errantium ad eandem iater se comparationem confectia 
omnium spaliis est facta conversio, Cic. HJJ, II. 51. The 

192 



BOOK II. VI. 36-41 

the daylight, or as being a deputy for the moon. 
This property of Venus was first discovered by 
Pythagoras of Samos about the 42nd Olympiad,* 
142 years after the foundation ^ of Rome. Further it 
surpasses all the other stars in magnitude, and is so 
brilliant that alone among stars it casts a shadow by 
its rays. Consequently there is a great competition 
to give it a name, some having called it Juno, others 
Isis, others the Mother of the Gods. Its influence 
is the cause of the birth of all things upon earth ; 
at both of its risings it scatters a genital dew with 
which it not only fills the conceptive organs of the 
earth but also stimulates those of all animals. It 
completes the circuit of the zodiac every 348 days, and 
according to Timaeus is never more than 46 degrees 
distant from the sun. The star next to Venus is 
Mei-cuiy, by some called ApoUo ; it has a similar 
orbit, but is by no means similar in magnitude or 
power. It travels in a lower circle, with a revolution 
nine days quicker, shining sometimes before sunrise 
and sometimes after sunset, but according to Cidenas 
and Sosigcnes never more than 22 degrees away from 
the sun. Consequently the course of thcse stars 
also is peculiar, and not shared by those above- 
mentioned ; those are often observed to be a quarter 
or a third of the heaven away from the sun and 
traveUing against the sun, and they all have other 
larger circuits of full revolution, the specifieation of 
which belongs to the theory of tlie Great Year.'' 

But the wonder of everyone is vanquished by the Th-e.nrri 
last star, the one most familiar to the earth, and 

theory of the Cosmio Year is attributed to the Pythagoreans 
and to Heraclitus; Plato, Tit/uieus 39, gives its length as 
10,000 years. 

193 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

remedium ab natura repertum, lunae. multiforroi 
haec ambage torsit ingenia eontemplantium et 
proximum ignorari maxime sidus indignantium, cres- 

42 cens semper aut senescens, et modo curvata in cornua 
falcis,^ modo aequa portione divisa, modo sinuata 
in orbem, maculosa eademque subito praenitens, 
inmensa orbe pleno ac repente nulla, alias pernox 
alias sera et parte diei solis lucem adiuvans, deficiens 

43 et in defectu tamen conspicua, quae mensis exitu 
latet cima laborare non creditur ; iam vero humilis, 
iam 2 excelsa, et ne id quidem uno modo, sed alias 
admota caelo alias contigua montibus, nunc in 
aquilonem elata nunc in austros deiecta. quae sin- 
gula in ea deprehendit hominum primus Endymion ; 
ob id amor ^ eius * fama traditur. non sumus 
profecto grati erga eos qui labore curaque lucem 
nobis aperuere in hac luce, miraque humani ingeni 
peste sanguinem et caedes condere annahbus iuvat, 
ut scelera hominum noscantur mundi ipsius ignaris. 

44 Proxima ergo cardini ideoque minimo ambitu, 
vicenis diebus septenisque et tertia diei parte peragit 
spatia eadem quae Saturni sidus altissimum triginta, 
ut dictum est, annis. dein morata in coitu solis 
biduo, cum tardisstme, a tricesima luce rursus ad 

1 Jan : facie. 

* iam add. Backham : i>J. et excelsa. 
® Mayhoff : amore. 

* v.l. eius captus. 

" An eclipse of sun or moon was ofteu called labor : Virgil, 
Aen. I. 742, Georg. II. 478. 

194 



BOOK II. VI. 41-44 

devised by nature to serve as a remedy for the 
shadows of darkness — the moon. By the riddle of 
her transformations she has racked the wits of 
observers, who are ashamed that the star which is 
nearest should be the one about which we knovv 
least — always waxing or waning, and now curved 
into the horns of a sickle, now just halved in 
size, now rounded into a circle ; spotted and then 
suddenly shining clear ; vast and full-orbed, and then 
all of a sudden not there at all ; at one time shining 
all night and at another rising late and for a part 
of the day augmenting the Ught of the sun, ecHpsed Edipses 
and nevertheless visible during the eclipse, invisible 
at the cnd of the month when she is not believed to 
be in trouble '^ ; again at one time low down and at 
another up aloft, and not even this in a uniform wav, 
but sometimes raised to the sky and sometimes 
touching the mountain-tops, now borne np to the 
North and now carried down to the South. The 
first human being to observe all these facts about lier 
was Endvmion — which accounts for the traditional 
story of his love for her. We foi'sooth feel no grati- 
tude towards those whose assiduous toil has given us 
illumination on the subject of this luminary, while 
owing to a curious disease of the human mind we 
are pleased to enshrine in history records of bloodshed 
and slaughter, so that persons ignorant of the facts 
of the world may be acquaiuted with the crimes of 
mankind. 

The moon then is nearest to the pole, and there- Themoon. 
fore has the smallest orbit, completing the same 
distance every 27^ daj^s that Saturn the highest star 
covers, as we have said. in .30 years. Then she hngers 
two days in conjunction with the sun, and after the 

195 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

easdem vices exit, haut scio an omnium quae in caelo 
pernosci potuerunt magistra : in duodecim mensium 

45 spatia oportere dividi annum, quando ipsa totiens 
solem redeuntem ad principia consequitur ; solis 
fulgore eam ut reliqua siderum regi, siquidem in 
totum mutuata ab eo luce fulgere, qualem in reper- 
cussu aquae volitare conspicimus ; ideo molliore et 
inperfecta vi solvere tantum umorem, atque etiam 
augere, quem solis radii absumant ; ideo et inaequali 
lumine adspici quia ex adverso demum plena reliquis 
diebus tantum ex se terris ostendat quantum ex 

46 sole ipsa concipiat ; in coitu quidem non cerni, 
quoniam haustum omnem lucis adversa illo regerat 
unde acceperit ; sidera vero haut dubie humore 
terreno pasci, quia dimidio orbe nommmquam 
maculosa cernatur, scilicet nondum suppetente ad 
hauriendum ultra iusta vi — ^maculas enim non aliud 
esse quam terrae raptas cum humore sordes ; de- 
fectus autem suos et solis, rem in tota contemplatione 
naturae maxime miram et ostento similem, magni- 

47 tudinum imibraeque indices exsistere. VH. quippe 
manifestum est solem interventu lunae occultari lun- 
amque terrae obiectu, ac vices reddi, eosdem solis 



" This is proved of the moon in the words that follow, 
and thence assumed to apply aldo to the other heavenly bodies. 

196 



BOOK II. VI. 44-vn. 47 

30th day at latest sets out again on the same course — 
being perhaps our teacher as to all the facts that it 
has been possible to observe in the heavens ; (1) that 
the year is to be divided into twelve monthly 
spaces, because she herself that number of times 
folloAvs the sun in his return to his starting point ; 
(2) that she is governed by the sun's radiance as are 
the rest of the stars, as in fact she shines with a hght 
entirely borrowed from him, Hke the Hght which we 
see flickering reflected in water ; (3) that conse- 
quently she only causes water to evaporate with a 
rather gentle and imperfect force, and indeed 
increases its quantity, whereas the sun's rays dry it 
up ; (4) also that the reason why she is seen to vary 
in her light is that she is full only when opposite to 
the sun, and on the remaining days shows as much 
Hght from herself to the earth as she herself con- 
ceives from the sun ; though (5) she is indeed 
invisible when in conjunction with the sun, because 
being turned towards him she gives back the entire 
draught of Hght to the source from which she receives 
it ; (6) but that the stars are undoubtedly nourished 
by the moisture of the earth,'' since she is sometimes 
seen spotted in half her orb, clearly because she has 
not yet got sufficient strength to go on drinking — 
her spots being merely dirt from the earth taken up 
with the moisture ; (7) but that her ecHpses and EcHpxe 
those of the sun, the most marvellous and indeed 
portentous occurrence in the whole of our observa- 
tion of nature, serve as indications of their dimensions 
and shadow. VII. It is in fact obvious that the 
sun is hidden by the passage across it of the moon, 
and the moon by the interposition of the earth, and 
that they retaHate on one another, the same rays of 

197 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

radios luna interpositu suo auferente terrae terraque 
lunae : hae subeunte repentinas obduci terrae ^ 
tenebras rursumque illius umbra sidus hebetari, neque 
aliud esse noctem quam terrae umbram, figuram 
autem umbrae similem metae ac turbini inverso, 
quando mucrone tantum ingruat neque lunae excedat 
altitudinem, quoniam nullum aliud sidus eodem modo 
obscuretur et talis figura semper in mucronem deficiat : 
spatio quidem consumi umbras indicio sunt volucrum 

48 praealti volatus. ergo confinium illis est aeris 
terminus initiumque aetheris ; supra lunam pura 
omnia ac diuturnae lucis plena, a nobis autem per 
noctem cernuntur sidera ut reliqua lumina in tene- 
bris. et propter has causas nocturno tempore 
defi.cit luna ; stati autem atque menstrui non sunt 
utrique defectus, propter obliquitatem signiferi 
lunaeque multivagos, ut dictum est,^ flexus, non 
semper in scripulis partium congruente siderum 
motu. 

49 VIII. Haec ratio mortales animos subducit in 
caelum, ac velut inde contemplantibus trium maxi- 
marum rerum naturae partium magnitudinem 
detegit ; non posset quippe totus sol adimi terris 
intercedente luna si terra maior esset quam luna. 
certior ^ ex utraque vastitas solis aperietur,^ ut non 

^ terrae add. (?) Mayhoff. 

* [ut dictum est] edd. vet. 

* Bedn : t«rtia codd. 

* aperietur {viz. § 51 f.) : v.l. aperitur. 



" I.e. by the intervention of the earth. 

* In § 51 f. A variant gives ' the sun's magnitude is shown 
as third in the series, starting from the two others.' 

198 



BOOK II. VII. 47-vni. 49 

the sun being taken away from the earth by the moon 
intervening and from the moon by the earth : at the 
transit of the former a sudden shadow passes over 
the earth, and in return the shadow of the latter 
dims the heavenly body (the moon), and the dark- 
ness is merely the earth's shadow, but the shape of 
the shadow is conical, resembhng a spinning-top 
upside doAvn, as it impinges only with its point and 
does not go beyond the altitude of the moon, because 
no other star is obscured in the same way,** and a 
conical figiu-e always tapers off into a point : that 
shadows are made to disappear by distance is proved 
when birds fly to extreme heights. Consequently 
the frontier between the moon and the other 
heavenly bodies is at the point where the air ends 
and the aether begins. All the space above the moon 
is clear and filled with continual Hght, but to us the 
stars are \dsible through the night in the same way 
as other hghts in shadows. And these are the 
reasons why the moon wanes in the night-time ; 
but both of her wanings are irregular and not monthly, 
because of the slant of the zodiac and the widely 
varying curves of the moon's course, as has been 
stated, the motion of the heavenly bodies not always 
tallying in minute fractional quantities. 

VIII. This theory leads mortal minds upward to Thesun. 
heaven, and discloses to their observation from that 
height, as it were, the greatness of the three greatest 
parts of the universe ; clearly it would not be possible 
for the whole of the sun to be ecHpsed from the earth 
by the passage of the moon between them if the earth 
were larger than the moon. The vast size of the sun 
will be showTi ^ with the more certainty from the 
two bodies, so that there is no need to investigate 

199 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

sit necesse amplitudinem eius oculorum argumentis 

60 atque coniectura animi scrutari : immensum esse, 
quia arborum in limitibus porrectarum in quotlibet 
passuum milia umbras paribus iaciat intervallis tam- 
quam toto spatio medius, et quia per aequinoctium 
omnibus in meridiana plaga habitantibus simul fiat 
a vertice, item quia circa solstitialem circulum habi- 
tantium meridie ad septentrionem umbrae cadant, 
ortu vero ad occasum, quae fieri nullo modo possent 
nisi multo quam terra maior esset, et quod montem 
Idam exoriens latitudine exsuperet, dextra laevaque 
large amplectens, praesertim tanto discretus 
intervallo. 

61 Defectus lunae magnitudinem eius haut dubia 
ratione declarat, sicut terrae parvitatem ipse deficiens. 
namque cum sint tres umbrarum figurae, constetque, 
si par lumini sit materia quae iaciat, umbram 
columnae ^ effigie iaci nec habere finem, si vero 
maior materia quam lumen, turbinis recti, ut sit 
imum eius angustissimum et simiH modo infinita 
longitudo, si minor materia quam lux, metae existere 
effigiem in cacuminis finem desinentem, talemque 
cerni umbram deficiente luna, palam fit, ut nulla 
amph'us reHnquatur dubitatio solem superare 

52 magnitudinem terrae. id quidem et tacitis naturae 
ipsius indiciis : cur enim partitis vicibus anni brumaUs 

^ cylindri ? Rackham. 
* I.e. central at every point in the space alike. 



BOOK II. viii. 49-52 

its size by the evidence of the eyes and by logical 
inference, arguing that it is immeasurably large for 
the following reasons : (1) the shadow that it throws 
of rows of trees along the balks of fields are at equal 
distances apart for ever so many miles, just as if over 
the whole space the sun were in the centre ; " (2) during 
the equinoxes it reaches the vertical simultaneously 
for all the inhabitants of the southern region ; (3) the 
shadows of the people Uving round the Tropic of Cancer 
fall northward at midday but westward at sunrise, 
which could not happen unless the sun were much 
larger than the earth ; (4) when it is rising its breadth 
exceeds Mount Ida, overlapping it widely right and 
left — and that though it is separated from it by so 
great a distance. 

The ecHpse of the moon supphes indubitable 
proof of the size of the sun, just as the sun itself 
when it suffers ecUpse proves the smaUness of the 
earth. For shadows are of three shapes, and it is 
clear that, if the soUd object that throws a shadow 
is equal in area to the shaft of Ught, the shadow 
projected is shaped Uke a pillar and is of infinite 
length, but if the soUd body is larger than the Ught, 
the shadow has the shape of an upright spinning-top, 
so that it is narrowest at the bottom, and infinite 
in length as in the former case, while if the soUd is 
smaUer than the Ught the result is the figure of s 
cone narrowing down to end in a point, and this is 
the nature of the shadow observed during an ecUpse 
of the moon ; hence it is proved without any further 
possibiUty of doubt remaining that the sun exceeds 
the earth's size. Indeed, this is also proved by the 
silent testimony of nature herself ; for why in the 
division of the turns of the year does the winter sun 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

abscedit ut noctium opacitate terras reficiat ? * 
exusturus haut dubie, et sic quoque exurens quadam 
in parte, tanta magnitudo est. 

63 IX. Et rationem quidem defectus utriusque primus 
Romani generis in ^Tilgum extulit Sulpicius Gallus 
(qui consul cum M. Marcello fuit, sed tum tribunus 
militum), sollicitudine exercitu liberato pridie quam 
Perseus rex superatus a Paulo est in concionem ab 
imperatore productus ad praedicendam eclipsim; 
mox et conposito volumine. apud Graecos autem 
investigavit primus omnium Thales Milesius 
Olumpiadis XLVIII anno quarto praedicto solis 
defectu qui Alyatte rege factus est urbis conditae 
anno CLXX. post eos utriusque sideris cursum in 
sexcentos annos praececinit Hipparchus, menses 
gentium diesque et horas ac situs locorum et \isus 
populorum conplexus, aevo teste haut alio modo 

54 quam consiliorimi naturae particeps. viri ingentes, 
supraque mortalium naturam, tantorum numinum 
lege deprehensa et misera hominum mente metu 
soluta,^ in defectibus sidenmi scelera aut mortem 
aliquam pavente (quo in metu fuisse Stesichori et 
Pindari vatum sublimia ora palam est deliquio solis) 
aut in lunae veneficia arguente mortalitate et ob id 
crepitu dissono auxiliante (quo pavore ignarus causae 
Nicias Atheniensiimi imperator veritus classem portu 

^ reficiat <alit€r> ? Rackham. 

* Backham : mente insoluta, mente absoluta. 



« At Pydna, 168 B.c. 

* Perhaps .situs denotes latitude and visus longitude. 

* Or possibly ' as time has shown.' 

<* Pindar, fr. 74 (Bergk^J. The passage of Stesichorus ia 
not extant. 

202 



BOOK II. VIII. 52-ix. 54 

retire, so as to refresh the earth with the darkness of 
the nights ? when otherwise it would unquestionably 
scorch up the earth, and even as it is does so in a 
certain part, so great is its magnitude. 

IX. The first person indeed of Roman nationality EcUpses, 
who pubhshed an explanation of both kinds of ecHpse ''"•«^««^ «" '^ 
was Sulpicius Gallus — the colleague in the consulsliip of 
Marcus Marcelhis, but at the time miUtary tribune — 
who dehvered the army from fear when on the day 
before the defeat " of King Perseus by Paulus he was 
brought before an assembly by the commander-in- 
chief to foretell an ecHpse ; and later also by writing 
a treatise. The original discovery was made in 
Greece by Thales of Miletus, who in the fourth year 
of the 48th Olympiad (585 b.c.) foretold the ecHpse 
of the sun that occurred in the reign of Alyattes, in 
the 170th year after the foundation of Rome. After 
their time the courses of both stars for 600 years were 
prophecied by Hipparchus, whose work embraced 
the calendar of the nations and the situations of 
places and aspects of the peoples * — Kis method 
being, on the evidence of his contemporaries,'^ none 
other than fuU partnership in the designs of nature. 
O mighty heroes, of loftier than mortal estate, who 
have discovered the law of those great divinities and 
released the miserable mind of man from fear, 
mortaHty dreading as it did in ecHpses of the stars 
crimes or death of some sort (those subHme singers, 
the bards Stesichorus and Pindar,** clearly felt this 
fear owing to an ecHpse of the sun), or in the dying 
of the moon inferring that she was poisoned and con- 
sequently coming to her aid with a noisy clattering 
of cymbals (this alarm caused the Athenian general 
Nicias, in his ignorance of the cause, to be afraid to 

203 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

educere opes eorum adflixit) : maeti ingenio este, 
caeli interpretes rerumque naturae capaces, argu- 
menti repertores quo deos hominesque vicistis ! 

55 quis enim haec cernens et statos siderum (quoniam 
ita appellare placuit) labores non suae necessitati 
mortales genitos ignoscat? 

Nunc confessa de iisdem breviter atque capitu- 
latim attingam ratione admodum necessariis locis 
strictimque reddita, nam neque instituti operis talis 
argumentatio est, neque omnium rerum afferri posse 
causas minus mirum est quam constare in aliquis. 

56 X, Defectus CCXXIII mensibus redire in suos 
orbis certum est, solis defectus non nisi novissima 
primave fieri luna, quod vocant coitum, lunae autem 
non nisi plena, semperque citra quam proxime 
fuerint ; omnibus autem annis fieri utriusque sideris 
defectus statis diebus horisque sub terra, nec tamen, 
cum superne fiant, ubique cerni, aliquando propter 
nubila, saepius globo terrae obstante convexitatibus 

57 mundi. intra ducentos annos Hipparchi sagacitate 
conpertum est et lunae defectum aliquando quinto 
mense a priore fieri, solis vero septimo, eundem bis 



• Eclipse of the moon, 27 Aug., 413 b.c, caused Nirias to 
delay abandoning the siege of Syracuse: Plutarch, Nicias, 
23. 

* Cf. § 43 71. 

It is tempting to rewrite this passage — deos hominesqut 
vinxistis ! (so one MS.) guis enim . . . non sua n^cessitate 
(Rackham) mortales genitos{Y.l.) agnoscat (Dalec.) ? * — a theory 

204 



BOOK II. IX. 54-x. 57 

lead his fleet out of harbour, so destroying the 
Athenians' resources ") : all hail to your genius, ye 
that interpret the heavens and grasp the facts of 
nature, discoverers of a theory whereby you have 
vanquished gods and men ! for who beholding these 
truths and the regularity of the stars' periods of 
trouble * (for so it has pleased you to call them), 
would not forgive his own destiny for the generation 
of mortals ? '^ 

Now I will briefly and summarily touch on facts 
that are admitted about the same matters, giving 
an account of them only at necessary points and in a 
cursory manner, because such theorizing does not 
form part of the task that I have set in hand, and 
also it is less surprising that explanations cannot be 
produced for all the facts than that agreement has 
been reached on some of them. 

X. It is certain that ecUpses recur in cycles of EcHpses 
223 months — ecHpses of the sun only when the moon '^'^' *** 
is in her last or first phase (this is called their 
' conjunction '), eclipses of the moon only at full 
moon — and always within the period of their last 
occurrence ; but that yearly at fixed days and hours 
ecUpses of either star occur below the earth, and that 
even when they occm* above the earth they are not 
visible everywhere, sometimes owing to clouds, more 
often because the earth's globe stands in the way of 
the world's curvature. Less than 200 years ago the 
penetration of Hipparchus discovered that an ecUpse 
of the moon also sometimes occurs four months 
after the one before and an ecUpse of the sun six 

whereby ye have fettered gods and men ! for who would not 
recognise that mortals are born with a fixed destiny of their 
own? ' 

205 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

in triginta diebus super terras occultari, sed ab aliis 
atque aliis ^ hoc cerni, quaeque sunt in hoc miraculo 
maxime mira, cum conveniat umbra terrae lunam 
hebetari, nunc ab occasus parte hoc ei accidere, nunc 
ab exortus, et quanam ratione, cum solis exortu 
umbra illa hebetatrix sub terra esse debeat, semel 
iam acciderit ut in occasu luna deficeret utroque 
super terram conspicuo sidere. nam ut XV diebus 
utrumque sidus quaereretur et nostro aevo accidit 
imperatoribus Vespasianis patre III. filio itenmi 
comuhbus. 

68 XI. Lunam semper aversis a sole cornibus, si 
crescat, ortus spectare, si minuatur, occasus, haut 
dubium est, et ^ lucere dodrantes semuncias horarum 
ab secunda adicientem usque ad plenum orbem 
detrahentemque in deminutionem, intra quattuor- 
decim autem partes soHs semper occultam esse. 
quo argvunento ampUor errantium stellarmn quam 
lunae magnitudo colligitur, quando illae et a septenis 
interdum partibus emergant ; sed altitudo cogit 
minores videri, sicut adfixas caelo sohs fulgor interdiu 
non cerni, cmn aeque ac noctu luceant, idque mani- 
festum fiat defectu sohs et praealtis puteis. 

69 XII. Errantium autem tres quas supra solem 
diximus sitas occultantur meantes cum eo, exoriuntur 

^ v.l. om. atque aliia. 
• et add. Rackham. 



" I.e. one eclipse to the inliabitants of tlie northern hemi- 
Bphere, the other to those of the southem. 

" A.D. 71. 

2o6 



BOOK 11. X. 57-xii. 59 

months, and that the latter when above earth is 
hidden twice in tliirty days, but that this ecUpse is 
visible to different nations," and — the most remarkable 
featm-es of this remarkable occm-rence — that when 
it comes about that the moon is obscured by the 
shadow of the earth, this sometimes happens to it 
from the west side and sometimes from the east ; 
and he also discovered for what exact reason, although 
the shadow causing the echpse must from sum-ise 
onward be below the earth, it happened once in the 
past that the moon was echpsed in the west while 
both luminaries were visible above the earth. For the 
echpse of both sun and moon within 15 days of each 
other has occurred even in our time, in the year of 
the third consulship of the elder Emperor Vespasian 
and the second consulship of the younger.* 

XI. It is unquestionable that the moon's horns Themoon^s 
are always turned away from the sun, and that when ^ "^^^' 
waxing she faces east and when waning west ; and 

that the moon shines 47^ minutes longer ' daily 
from the day after new moon to full and 47i minutes 
less daily to her wane, while within 14 degrees of the 
sun she is always invisible. This fact proves that the 
planets are of greater magnitude than the moon, 
since these occasionally become visible even on 
reaching 7 degrees' distance; but their altitude 
makes them appear smaller, just as the sun's radiance 
makes the fixed stars invisible in daytime, although 
they are shining as much as in the night, which 
becomes manifest at a solar echpse and also when 
the star is reflected in a very deep welL 

XII. The three planets whose positions we have Thc pianett, 
statcd to be above the sun travel with the sun when ^j^^Jions and 

c T ■ Am • i 1- occuUalioH 

l.e. rises 47^ niinutes earlier. 

207 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

vero a^ matutino discedentes partibus numquam 
amplius undenis. postea a ^ radiorum eius contaetu 
regrediuntur,^ et in triquetro a partibus centum 
viginti stationes matutinas faciunt, quae et primae 
vocantur, mox in * adverso a partibus centum octo- 
ginta exortus vespertinos, iterumque in centum 
viginti ab alio latere appropinquantes stationes 
vespertinas quas et secundas vocant, donec assecutus 
sol in partibus duodenis occultet illas, qui vespertini 

60 occasus appellantur. Martis stella ut propior etiam 
ex quadrato sentit radios, a nonaginta partibus, unde 
et nomen accepit motus primus et secundus nona- 
genarius dictus ab utroque exortu. eadem statio- 
nalis senis mensibus conmoratur in signis, alioqui 
bimestris, cum ceterae utraque statione quaternos 

61 menses non inpleant. inferiores autem duae 
occultantur in coitu vespertino simili modo, relictae- 
que a sole totidem in partibus faciunt exortus 
matutinos, atque a longissimis distantiae suae metis 
solem insecuntur, adeptaeque occasu matutino 
conduntur ac praetereunt. mox eodem intervallo 
vespere exoriuntur usque ad quos diximus terminos. 
ab his retrogradiuntur ad solem et occasu vespertino 
delitescunt. Veneris stella et stationes duas, matu- 
tinam vespertinamque, ab utroque exortu facit a 

1 a add. Rackham. 

* a add. Rackham. 

^ Broticr : reguntur auf teguntur. 

* iu vJ. om : ex ? Rackham. 

208 



BOOK II. xn. 59-61 

they set and are never more than 11 degrees separate 
from the sun at dawn when they rise. Afterwards 
they retire from contact with his rays, and make 
their morning or ' first ' stations in a triangle 120 
degrees away, and subsequently their evening 
risings opposite 180 degrees away, and again ap- 
proaching from the other side, make their evening 
or ' second ' stations 120 degrees away, till the sun 
overtaking them at 12 degrees obscures them — this 
is called their evening setting. The planet Mars 
being nearer feels the sun's rays even from its quad- 
rature, at an angle of 90 degrees, which has given 
to his motion after each rising the name of ' first ' 
or ' second ninety-degree.' At the same time 
Mars remains stationary in the signs of the 
zodiac for periods of six months (otherwise having a 
two-month period), whereas Jupiter and Saturn spend 
less than four months in each station." The two 
lower planets (Mercuiy and Venus) are similarly 
obscured at their evening conjunction, and when left 
by the sun make their morning rising the same 
number of degrees away, and from the further 
limits of their distance follow the sun and when they 
have overtaken him are hidden in their morning 
setting and pass away. Then they rise in the even- 
ing at the same distance apart, as far as the limits 
we have stated. From these they pass backward to 
the sun, and disappear in their evening setting. The 
planet Venus actually makes two stations, morning 
and evening, after each rise, from the furthest 

" Brotier : Martis stella proprio cursu bimestris est, hoo 
est duobus mensibus signum unum pervagatur, binis ferme 
annis duodena (cf. 34). Eadem ab una statione ad alteram 
menses senos insumit : ceterae, Jovis et Saturni, vix quaternos. 

209 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

longissimis distantiae suae finibus. Mercurii stationes 
bre^dore momento quam ut deprehendi possint. 

62 XIII, Haec est luminura occultationumque ratio, 
perplexior motu multisque involuta miraculis, siqui- 
dem magnitudines suas et colores mutant, et eaedem 
ad septentrionem accedurrt abeuntque ad austrum, 
terrisque propiores aut caelo repente cernuntur. 
in quibus aliter multa quam priores tradituri fatemur 
ea quoque illorum esse muneris qui primi quaerendi 
vias demonstraverint, modo ne quis desperet saecula 
proficere semper. 

63 Pluribus de causis haee omnia accidunt. prima 
circulorum quos Graeci aiJ/LSa? in stellis vocant 
(etenim Graecis utendum erit vocabulis). sunt 
autem hi suus ^ cuique earum, aliique quam mundo, 
quoniam terra a verticibus duobus quos appellaverunt 
polos centrum caeli est, nec non et signiferi oblique 
inter eos siti. [omnia autem haec constant ratione 
circini semper indubitata.] ^ ergo ab alio cuique 
centro apsides suae exsurgunt, ideoque diversos 
habent orbes motusque dissimiles, quoniam interiores 
apsidas necesse est breviores esse. 

64 Igitur a terrae centro apsides altissimae sunt 
Saturno in scorpione, Io\i in virgine, Marti in leone, 
soh in geminis, Veneri in sagittario, Mercurio in 

^ Backham : sui. * Sed. edd. 

' Editors reject this as an interpolation. 
2IO 



BOOK II. XII. 6i-xin. 64 

limits of her distance. Mercury's stations have too 
short a period to be perceptible. 

XIII. This is the system of the shining and 
occultation of the planets : it is more complicated 
from their motion and involves many remarkable 
facts, inasmuch as they change their magnitude and 
their colours, and both approach the North and 
retire towards the South, and suddenly are seen 
closer to the earth or to the sky. And although our 
account of these matters will differ in many points 
from that of our predecessors, we confess that credit 
for these points also must be given to those who 
first demonstrated the methods of investigating 
them : only nobody must abandon the hope that the 
generations are constantly making progress. 

All these occurrences are due to a plurahty ofduetothree 
causes. The first is the factor of the circles which '^^^- 
in the case of the stars the Greeks designate apsides 
or arcs (it will be necessary to employ Greek terms). 
Each planet has its own circle, and these are not the 
same as those of the firmament, since the earth 
between the two vertices, named in Greek pnles, is 
the centre of the sky, and also of the zodiac, which 
is situated on a slant between the poles. [All these 
facts are always estabhshed beyond doubt by the 
method of compasses."] Therefore the special arc 
of each is drawn from a different centre, and conse- 
quently they have different orbits and dissimilar 
motions, because the inner arcs must necessarily be 
shorter. 

It follows that the points of the arcs highest above 
the centre of the earth are : in the case of Saturn 
in Scorpio, in that of Jupiter in Virgo, of Mars in 
Leo, of the sun in the Twins, of Venus in the Archer, 

211 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

capricorno, lunae in tauro,^ mediis omnium partibus, 
et e contrario humillimae atque ad terrae centrum ^ 
proximae. sic fit ut tardius moveri et minores 
videantur cum altissimo ambitu feruntur, cimi vero 
terrae appropinquaverint maiores esse et celerius 
ferri, non quia adcelerent tardentve naturales 
motus, qui certi ac singuli sunt illis, sed quia deductas 
ab summa apside lineas coarctari ad centrum necesse 
est sicut in rotis radios, idemque motus alias maior 
alias minor centri propinquitate sentitur. 

65 Altera sublimitatium causa quoniam a suo centro 
apsidas altissimas habent in aliis signis, Saturnus in 
librae parte vicesima, luppiter cancri quinta decuma, 
Mars capricorni XXVIII, sol arietis XXIX, Venus 
piscium XXVII, Mercurius virginis XV, luna tauri 
IV. 

Tertia altitudinum ratio caeli mensura, non circuli, 
intellegitur, subire eas aut descendere per profundum 
aeris oculis aestimantibus. 

66 Huic conexa latitudinum signiferi obliquitatisque 
causa est. per hunc stellae quas diximus feruntur, 
nec aliud habitatur in terris quam quod illi subiacet, 
reHqua a polis squalent. Veneris tantima stella 
excedit eum binis partibus, quae causa intellegitur 
efficere ut quaedam animalia et in desertis mundi 
nascantur. luna quoque per totam latitudinem eius 

^ Deflefsen e Beda. 

• Backham : ad terrae centrum ante humillimae. 

• Theplanets, §30fiii. 



BOOK II. xni. 64-66 

of Mercury in Capricorn, of the moon in the Bull, 
at the middle of each, and the points lowest and 
nearest to the centre of the earth are opposite. The 
result of this is that they appear to move slower and 
to be smaller when they are travelHng at the highest 
point of their circuit, but to be larger and travel 
faster when they have come nearer to the earth, not 
because they actually accelerate or reduce their 
natural motions, which are fixed and individual to 
them, but because Hnes drawn from the top of the 
arc to the centre necessarily converge like the spokes 
of a wheel, and the same motion at one time is 
perceived as faster and at another slower according 
to its distance from the centre. 

Another reason of their elevations is because they 
have the points of their arcs highest from their 
centre in different signs — Saturn in the 20th degree 
of the Scales, Jupiter in the 15th of the Crab, Mars 
in the 28th of Capricorn, the sun in the 29th of the 
Ram, Venus in the 27th of the Fishes, Mercury in 
the 15th of Virgo, the moon in the 4th of the BuU. 

A third explanation of their altitudes is explained 
by the dimensions of the firmament, not that of a 
circle, the eye judging them to rise or to sink through 
the depth of the air. 

Linked with this is the cause of the latitudes ofOrMtsoftf. 
the zodiac and of its obliquity. The stars we have rJiMim to 
mentioned " travel through the zodiac, and the only thezodiac; 
habitable part of the earth is what lies beneath it — 
all the other parts towards the poles are frost-bound. 
Only the planet Venus goes two degrees outside the 
zodiac ; this is understood to be the reason that 
causes some animals to be born even in the desert 
places of the world. The moon also wanders through 

213 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

vagatur, sed omnino non excedens eum. ab his 
Mercuri stella laxissime, ut tamen e duodenis 
partibus (tot enim sunt latitudinis) non amplius 
octonas pererret, neque has aequaliter, sed duas 

67 medio eius et supra quattuor infra duas, sol deinde 
medio fertur inter duas partes flexuoso draconum 
meatu inaequalis, Martis stella quattuor mediis, 
lo^ds media et super eam duabus, Saturni duabus 
ut sol. haec erit latitudinum ratio ad austrum 
de:;cendentium aut ad aquilonem subeuntium. hac 
constare et tertiam illam a terra subeuntium in 
caelum, et pariter scandi eam quoque existimavere 
plerique falso. qui ut coarguantur, aperienda est 
subtilitas inmensa et omnes eas conplexa causas. 

68 Convenit stellas in occasu vespertino proximas 
esse terrae et altitudine et latitudine, exortusque 
matutinos in initio cuiusque fieri, stationes in mediis 
latitudinum articulis, quae vocant ecliptica. perinde 
confessima est motum augeri quamdiu In vicino sint 
terrae, cum abscedant in altitudinem, minui ; quae 
ratio lunae maxime sublimitatibus adprobatur. 
aeque non est dubium in exortibus matutinis etiam- 
num augere atque a stationibus primis tres superiores 

69 diminuere usque ad stationes secundas. quae cura 
ita sint, manifestum erit ab exortu matutino lati- 



• § 65 fin. " Prima ratio, § 63. 

' Secuivda ratio, § 65. ^ Tertia ratio, § 65 fin. 

' See § 71 fin, 

214 



BOOK II. XIII. 66-69 

the whole of its breadth, but without going at all 
outside it. The planet Mercury diverges very widely 
from these, but without wandering over more than 
8 of the 12 degrees of latitude of the zodiac, and 
these 8 not uniformly but two in the middle of the 
zodiac, four above it and two below it. Then the 
sun travels unevenly in the middle of the zodiac 
between the two halves with a wavy serpentine 
course, the planet Mars over 4 degrees in the middle, 
Jupiter one in the middle and two above it, Saturn 
two like the sun. This will be the principle of the 
latitudes of the planets when setting towards the 
South or rising towards the North. Most people 
have supposed that with this system agrees also the 
third mentioned above," that of their rising from the 
earth to the sky, and that this ascent also is made 
simultaneously ; but this is a mistake. To refute 
them it is necessary to develop an extremely abstruse 
argument that embraces all the causes mentioned. 

It is agreed ^ that the planets are nearest to the earth (2)jn reia/(or 
in both altitude and latitude at their evening setting, '" "^ ^'"^'''" 
and that their morning risings occur at the beginning 
of both altitude and latitude, while their stations 
occur in the middle sections of the altitudes, called 
' ecliptics.' It is similarly admitted "^ that their 
velocity increases as long as they are in the neigh- 
bourhood of the earth and decreases when they 
withdraw fi*om it to a height : this theory is specially 
supported by the apogees of the moon. It is equally 
undoubted '^ that the three higher ones * moreover 
increase their motion in their morning risings and 
diminish it from their first (morning) stations to their 
second (evening) stations. In view of these facts it 
will be evident that the latitudes are ascended from 

215 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

tudines scandi quoniam in eo primum habitu incipiat 
parcius adici motus, in stationibus vero primis et 
altitudinem subiri, quoniam tum primum incipiant 
detrahi numeri ^ stellaeque retroire. cuius rei ratio 
privatim reddenda est. percussae in qua diximus 
parte et triangulo solis radio inhibentur rectum 

70 agere cursum, et ignea vi levantur in sublime. hoc 
non protinus intellegi potest visu nostro, ideoque 
existimantur stare, unde et nomen accepit statio. 
progreditur deinde eiusdem radii ^dolentia et retroire 
cogit vapore percussas. multo id magis in vespertino 
earum exortu, toto sole adverso ^ cum in summas 
apsidas expelluntur, niinimaeque cernuntur quoniam 
altissime absunt et minimo feruntur motu, tanto 
minore ^ cum hoc in altissimis apsidum evenit signis. 

71 ab exortu vespertino latitudo descenditur parcius 
iam se minuente motu, non tamen ante stationes 
secundas augente, cum et altitudo descenditur, 
superveniente ab alio latere radio eademque vi 
rursus ad terras deprimente qua sustulerat in caelum 
e priore triquetro. tantum interest subeant radii 
an superveniant, multoque eadem magis in vespertino 
occasu accidunt. 

Haec est superiorum stellarum ratio ; difficilior 
reliquarum et a nullo ante nos reddita. 

1 v.l. incipiat . . . numerus. 

* v.l. auerso. 

• v.l. minores. 

2l6 



BOOK II. xin. 69-71 

their morning rising, because in that state their 
aceeleration first begins to diminish, but in their first 
stations their altitude also is ascended, since then the 
numbers first begin to be reduced and the stars begin 
to recede. The reason for this must especially be 
given. When struck in the degree that we stated 
and by a triangular ray of the sun they are prevented 
from pursuing a straight course, and are hfted 
upward by the fiery force. This cannot be directly 
perceived by our sight, and therefore they are 
thought to be stationary, which has given rise to the 
term ' station.' Then the violent force of the same 
ray advances and compels them by the impact of the 
heat to retire. This occurs much more at their 
evening rising, when they are driven out to the top 
of their apsides by the full opposing force of the sun, 
and appear very small because they are at the 
distance of their greatest altitude and are moving 
with their smallest velocity — which is pi-oportionately 
smaller when this occurs in the highest signs of their 
apsides. From their evening rise their altitude is 
descended with a velocity now decelerating less and 
less, but not accelerating before their second stations, 
when their altitude also is descended, the ray passing 
above thera from the other side and pressing them 
down again to the earth with the same force as that 
with which it had raised them to the sky from the 
former triangle. So much difference does it make 
whether the rays come from below or from above, 
and the same things occur far more in the evening 
setting. 

This is the theory of the higher stars ; that of 
the rest is more difficult and has been explained by 
nobody before ourselves. 

217 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

72 XIV. Primum igitur dicatur, cur Veneris stella 
numquam longius XLVI partibus, Mercurii XXIII 
ab sole abscedant, saepe citra eas ad solem recipro- 
cent. conversas habent utraeque apsidas ut infra 
solem sitae, tantumque circuli earum sub terra 
est quantum superne praedictarum ; et ideo non 
possunt abesse amplius quoniam curvatura apsidiun 
ibi non habet longitudinem maiorem : ergo utrique 
simili ratione modum statuunt apsidum suarum 
margines, ac spatia longitudinis latitudinum evaga- 

73 tione pensant. at enim cur non semper ad quad- 
raginta sex et ad partes viginti tres perveniunt? 
immo vero ; sed ratio canonicos fallit. namque 
apparet apsidas quoque earum moveri, quod num- 
quam transeant solem; itaque cum in partem 
ipsam eius incidere margines alterutro latere, tum 
et stellae ad longissima sua intervalla pervenisse ^ 
intelleguntur : cum citra fuere margines, totidem 
partibus et ipsae ocius redire coguntur, cum sit illa 
semper utrique extremitas summa. 

74 Hinc et ratio motuum conversa intellegitur. 
superiores enim celerrime feruntur in occasu vesper- 
tino, hae tardissime, illae a terra altissime absunt 
cum tardissime moventur, hae cum ocissime, quia 

^ Rackliam : pervenire. 
2l8 



BOOK II. XIV. 72-74 , 

XIV. First therefore let us state the reason why OrhHs of 
Venus never departs more than 46 degrees and ^Mer'^^, 
Mercury never more than 23 degrees from the sun, 
and why they often retire and return towards the sun 
within those Umits. As situated below the sun both 
have arcs that are the opposite of those of the other 
planets, and as much of their circle is below the earth 
as that of the planets mentioned before is above it ; 
and they cannot be further from it than they are 
because the curve of their arcs does not allow 
greater elongation there ; consequently the edges 
of their arcs put a hmit on a similar principle for 
each, and compensate for the dimensions of their 
longitude by the enlargement of their latitude. 
But, it will be objected, why do they not reach 46 and 
23 degrees always ? As a matter of fact they do, but 
the explanation escapes the theorists. For it is 
manifest that even their arcs alter, because they never 
cross the sun ; accordingly when the edges have 
fallen on one side or the other into the actual degree 
of the sun, then the stars also are understood to have 
reached their longest distances, but when the edges 
are short of that, they themselves too are com- 
pelled to return with proportionately greater 
velocity, since with each of them that is always the 
extreme limit. 

This also explains the contrary principle of their 
motions. For the higher planets travel most quickly 
in their evening setting, whereas these travel most 
slowly, and the former are farthest from the earth 
when their pace is slowest but the latter are highest 
when their pace is quickest — the reason being that 
with the latter the circumference of the circle 
accelerates their pace in the same manner as 

219 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

sicut in illis propinquitas centri adcelerat ita in his 
extremitas circuli, illae ab exortu matutino minuere 
celeritatem incipiunt, hae vero augere. illae retro 
cursum agunt a statione matutina usque ad vesper- 
tinam, Veneris a vespertina usque ad matutinam. 

75 incipit autem ab exortu matutino latitudinem 
scandere, altitudinem vero subire ^ ac solem insequi a 
statione matutina, ocissima in occasu matutino et 
altissima, degredi autem latitudine motumque 
minuere ab exortu vespertino, retro quidem ire 
simulque altitudine degredi a statione vespertina ; 
Mercurii rursus stella utroque modo scandere ab 
exortu matutino, degredi vero latitudine a vespertino, 
consecutoque sole ad quindecim partium intervallum 

76 consistit quatriduo prope immobilis. mox ab alti- 
tudine descendit retroque graditur ab occasu vesper- 
tino usque ad exortum matutinum. tantumque 
haec et luna totidem diebus quot subiere descendunt ; 
Veneris quindecies pluribus subit, rursus Saturni et 
lovis duplicato degrediuntur, Martis etiam quadru- 
plicato. tanta est naturae varietas ; sed ratio 
evidens : nam quae in vaporem solis nituntur etiam 
descendunt aegre. 

77 XV. Multa promi amplius circa haec possunt 
secreta naturae legesque quibus ipsa serviat, exempli 
gratia in Martis sidere (cuius est maxime inobserva- 
bilis cursus) numquam id stationem facere lovis 
sidere triquetro, raro adiTiodum sexaginta partibus 
discreto (qui numerus sexangulas mundi efficit 

* subire add. Urlichs. 
220 



BOOK II. XIV. 74-xv. 77 

proximity to the centre does in the case of the 
former ; the former begin to decelerate from their 
morning setting, but the latter to accelerate. The 
former travel backward from their morning to their 
evening station, the planet Venus from her evening 
to her morning station. But she begins to chmb her 
latitude after her morning rise, but after her morning 
station to ascend her altitude and foUow the sun, 
being swiftest and highest at her morning setting; 
whereas she begins to descend in latitude and 
decelerate after her evening rising, and to turn back 
and simultaneously to descend in altitude after her 
evening station ; on the other hand the planet 
Mercury begins to chmb in both ways after his 
morning rising, but after his evening rising to 
descend in latitude, and following the sun at an 
Interval of 15 degrees he stands motionless for almost 
four days. Afterwards he descends from his altitude 
and proceeds back from his evening setting to his 
morning rise. And only this planet and the moon 
set in as many days as they have risen in ; Venus 
ascends in 15 times as many days as she sets in, 
while Saturn and Jupiter descend in twice as many, 
and Mars in actually four times as many. So great 
is the variety of nature ; but the reason is evident — • 
bodies that strain up into the heat of the sun also have 
difficulty in desccnding. 

XV. Many more facts can be produced about other 
these mysteries of nature and the laws that she particviar 
obeys — for example, in the case of the planet ^'^^"^* '" '' 
Mars (whose course it is very difficult to observe) 
that it never makes its station with Jupiter at an 
angle of 120 , and very seldom with Jupiter separ- 
ated 60^ (whioh amounts to ^th of the celestial 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

formas,^) nec exortus nisi in duobus signis tantum, 
cancri et leonis, simul edere, Mercuri vero sidus 
exortus vespertinos in piscibus raros facere, creberri- 
mos in virgine, in libra matutinos, item matutinos in 
aquario, rarissimos in leone, retrogradum in tauro et 
in geminis non fieri, in cancro vero non citra vice- 

78 simam quintam partem, lunam bis coitum cum sole 
in nullo alio signo facere quam geminis, non coire 
aliquando in sagittario tantum, novissimam vero 
primamque eadem die vel nocte nullo alio in signo 
quam ariete conspici (id quoque paucis mortalium 
contigit, et inde fama cernendi Lynceo), non 
conparere in caelo Saturni sidus et Martis cum 
plurimum diebus centum septuaginta, lovis triginta 
sex, aut cum minimum denis detractis diebus omnia, 
Veneris sexaginta novem aut cum minimum quin- 
quaginta duobus, Mercuri tredecim aut cum pluru- 
mum septemdecim. 

79 XVI. Colores ratio altitudinum temperat, siqui- 
dem earum similitudinem trahunt in quarum aera 
venere subeundo, tinguitque adpropinquantes utra- 
libet alieni meatus circulus, frigidior in pallorem, 
ardentior in ruborem, ventosus in livorem,^ sol 
atque commissurae apsidum, extremaeque orbitae, 
atram in obscuritatem. suus quidem cuique color 
est, Saturno candidus, lovi clarus, Marti igneus, 
Lucifero candens, Vesperi refulgens, Mercurio 
radians, lunae blandus, soli cum oritur ardens, post 

^ [qui . . . f ormas] ? Rackham. 

* Mayhoff : horrorem aut honorem. 

• Literally ' which number produces the hexagonal shapes 
of the world ' — apparently meaning that to draw in a circle 
6 radii at angles of 60° and join the points where they reach 
the circumference produces a regular hexagon. Even if we 
222 



BOOK II. XV. 77-xvi. 79 

sphere <*), and never makes its rises simultaneously 
with Jupiter except in two signs only, Cancer and Leo, 
whereas the planet Mercury rarely makes its evening 
rises in Pisces, and most frequently in Virgo, its 
morning rises in Libra, and also its morning rises in 
Aquarius, very rarely in Leo ; it does not make its re- 
turn in Taurus and in Gemini, and not below the 25th 
degree in Cancer; Gemini is the only sign in which 
the moon makes conjunction with the sun twice, 
Sagittarius the only one in which she does not meet 
him at all, Aries the only one in which the old moon 
and the new moon are visible on the same day or night 
(and this too it has happened to few mortals to see, 
hence Lynceus's reputation for keen sight) ; the 
longest period of invisibiUty for the planets Saturn and 
Mars is 170 days, for Jupiter 36 days ; the shortest 
periods for all these are 10 days less ; Venus's period 
is 69 days or at shortest 52, Mercury's 13 or at 
longest 17. 

XVI. The colours of the planets vary with their coiwrs o, 
altitudes, inasmuch as they are assimilated to the "'«i'^"''' 
stars into whose atmosphere they come in rising, 
and the circuit of another's path modifies their 
colour in either direction as they approach, a colder 
circuit to pallor, a hotter one to redness, a windy 
one to a leaden colour, the sun and the intersection 
of its orbit with theirs, and also the extremities 
of their paths, changing them to black darkness. It 
is true that each has its own special hue — Saturn 
white, Jupiter transparent, Mai-s fiery, Lucifer 
bright white, Vesper glaring, Mercury radiant, 
the moon soft, the sun when rising glowing and 

emend sexangulas Jorrtias to the singular, this clumsily ex- 
preased piece of geometry looks like an iuterpolation. 

223 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

radians, his causis conexo visu et earum ^ quae caelo 

80 continentur. namque modo multitudo conferta inest 
circa dimidios orbes lunae, placida nocte leniter 
inlustrante eas, modo raritas, ut fugisse miremur, 
plenilunio abscondente aut cum solis suprave dictarum 
radii visus praestrinxere nostros. et ipsa autem luna 
ingruentium solis radiorum haut dubie difFerentias 
sentit, hebetante cetero inflexos mundi convexitate 
eos praeterquam ubi recti angulorum conpetant 
ictus. itaque in quadrato solis dividua est, in 
triquetro seminani ambitur orbe, inpletur autem in 
adverso, rursusque minuens easdem effigies paribus 
edit intervallis, simili ratione qua super solem tria 
sidera. 

81 XVII. Sol autem ipse quattuor difFerentias habet, 
bis aequata nocte diei, vere et autumno, in centrum 
incidens terrae octa^^is in partibus arietis ac hbrae, 
bis permutatis spatiis, in auctum diei bruma octava 
in parte capricorni, noctis vero solstitio totidem in 
partibus cancri. inaequalitatis causa obliquitas 
signiferi cum pars aequa mundi super subterque 
terras omnibus fiat momentis ; sed quae recta in 
exortu suo consurgunt signa longiore tractu tenent 
lucem, quae vero obliqua ociore transeunt spatio. 

82 XVIII. Latet plerosque magna caeli adsectatione 
conpertum a principibus doctrinae viris superiorum 

* visu ceterarum Brotier. 



' The Etruscans, c. lii. 



224 



BOOK II. XVI. 79-xviii. 82 

afterwards radiant ; with these being causally con- 
nected also the appearance of the fixed stars. For 
at one time there is a dense crowd of stars in the sky 
round the circle of the half-moon, a fine night giving 
them a gentle radiance, but at another time they 
are scarce, so that we wonder at their flight, when 
the full moon hides them or when the rays of the 
sun or the planets above-mentioned dim our sight. 
But the moon herself also is undoubtedly sensitive 
to the variations of the strength of impact of the 
rays of the sun, as moreover the curve of the earth 
dulls their impact, except when the impact of the 
rays meets at a right angle. And so the moon is 
at half in the sun's quadrature, and curved in a 
hoUow circle in its trinal aspect, but waxes to full 
at the sun's opposition, and then waning exhibits 
the same configurations at correspouding intervals, 
on the same principle as the three planets above 
the sun. 

XVII. The sun itself has four differences, as there Thesun's 
are two equinoxes, in spring and autumn, when *-^'^*^* 
it coincides with the centre of the earth at the eighth 
degree of Aries and Libra, and two changes of its 
course, in the eighth degree of Capricorn at mid- 
winter when the days begin to lengthen and in the 

same degree of Cancer at the summer solstice. The 
variation is due to the slant of the zodiac, as at every 
moment an equal part of the fii*mament is above and 
below the earth ; but the planets that foUow a 
straight path at their rising keep their light for a 
longer tract and those that follow a slanting path 
pass in a swifter period. 

XVIII. Most men are not acquainted with a truth Thunderboiu 
known to the founders " of the science from their ^i^eu'^ 

225 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

triuin siderum ignes esse qui decidui ad terras 
fulminum nomen habeant, sed maxime lovis ^ medio 
loco siti, fortassis quoniam contagium nimii umoris ex 
superiore circulo atque ardoris ex subiecto per hunc 
modum egerat, ideoque dictum lovem fulmina 
iaculari. ergo ut e flagrante ligno carbo cum crepitu, 
sic a sidere caelestis ignis exspuitur praescita secum 
adferens, ne abdicata quidem sui parte in divinis 
cessante operibus. idque maxime turbato fit aeres 
quia collectus imior abundantiam stimulat aut quia 
turbatur quodam ceu gravidi sideris partu. 

83 XIX. Intervalla quoque siderum a terra multi 
indagare temptarunt, et solem abesse a luna undevi- 
ginti partes quantam lunam ipsam a terra prodiderunt. 
Pythagoras vero, vlr sagacis animi, a terra ad lunam 
CXXVI milia stadiorum esse collegit, ad solem ab 
ea duplum, inde ad duodecim signa triplicatimi, in 
qua sententia et Gallus Sulpicius fuit noster. 

84 XX. Sed Pythagoras interdum ex musica ratione 

appellat tonimi quantum absit a terra luna, ab ea ad 

Mercurium dimidium eius spatii, et ab eo ad Venerem 

tantundem, a qua ad solem sescuplum, a sole ad 

Martem tonum, id est quantum ad lunam a terra,^ 

^ Mayhoff : codd. is, his, extia. 
* [id est . . . terra] ? Mayhoff. 

• A stade roughly equala a furlong. 
226 



BOOK II. XVIII. 82-xx. 84 

arduous study of the heavens, that what when they 
fall to earth are termed thunderbolts are the fires of 
the three upper planets, particularly those of Jupiter, 
whieh is in the middle position — possibly because it 
voids in this way the charge of excessive moisture 
from the upper circle (of Saturn) and of excessive 
heat from the cii-cle below (of Mars); and that this 
is the origin of the myth that thunderbolts are the 
javelins hurled by Jupiter. Consequently heavenly 
fire is spit forth by the planet as crackhng charcoal 
flies from a burning log, bringing prophecies with it, 
as even the part of himself that he discards does not 
cease to function in its divine tasks. And this is 
accompanied by a very great disturbance of the air, 
because moisture collected causes an overflow, or 
because it is disturbed by the birth-pangs so to speak 
of the planet in travail. 

XIX. Many people have also tried to discover Distanees o 
the distances of the planets from the earth, and have ' p^"**** 
given out that the distance of the sun from the moon 

is 19 times that of the moon itself from the earth. 
The penetrating genius of Pythagoras, however, 
inferred that the distance of the moon from the 
earth was 15,750 miles," and that of the sun from the 
moon twice that figure, and of the sun from the 
twelve signs of the Zodiac three times. Our fellow- 
countiyman Sulpicius Gallus also held this view. 

XX. But occasionally Pythagoras draws on the TMr 
theory of music, and designates the distance between rat^l'""* 
the earth and the moon as a whole tone, that between 

the moon and Mercury a semitone, between Mercury 
and Venus the same, between her and the sun a tone 
and a half, between the sun and Mars a tone (the 
same as the distance between the earth and the 

227 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

ab eo ad lovem dimidium, et ab eo ad Saturnum 
dimidium, et inde sescuplum ad signiferum ; ita 
septem tonis effici quam diapason harmoniam vocant, 
hoc est universitatem concentus ; in ea Saturnum 
Dorio moveri phthongo, lovem Phrygio, et in reUquis 
simiha, iucunda magis quam necessaria subtilitate. 

85 XXI. Stadium centum viginti quinque nostros 
efficit passus, hoc est pedes sexcentos viginti quinque. 
Posidonius non minus quadraginta stadiorum a terra 
altitudinem esse in quam nubila ac venti nubesque 
perveniant, inde purum liquidumque et inperturbatae 
lucis aera, sed a turbido ad lunam viciens centum 
miha stadiorum, inde ad solem quinquiens mihens, 
eo spatio fieri ut tam inmensa eius magnitudo non 
exurat terras. plures autem nubes nongentis in 
altitudinem subire prodiderunt. inconperta haec et 
inextricabilia, sed prodenda quia sunt prodita, in 
quis tamen una ratio geometricae collectionis 
numquam fallacis possit non repudiari, si cui libeat 
altius ista persequi, nec ut mensura (id enim velle 
paene dementis otii est) sed ut tantum aestumatio 

86 coniectandi constet animo. nam cum trecentis sexa- 
ginta et fere sex partibus circulum per quem meat 
orbis solis ex circuitu eius patere appareat, semperque 
dimetiens tertiam partem ambitus et tertiae paulo 
minus septimam colligat, apparet, dempta eius 

• 'Apfjiovla 8ia naacov twv xop8o>v (all the notes in the scale 
played successively, not a harmony in the modern sense.) 

* See p. 296 note. 

228 



BOOK II. XX. 84-xxi. 86 

moon), between Mars and Jupiter half a tone, 
between Jupiter and Saturn half a tone, between 
Saturn and the zodiac a tone and a half : the seven 
tones thus producing the so-called diapason," i.e. 
a universal harmony ; in this Saturn moves in the 
Dorian mode, Jupiter in the Phrygian, and similarly 
with the other planets — a refinement more entertain- 
incp than convincino^. 

XXI. A stade is equivalent to 125 Roman paces,* Heirihtofi 
that is 625 feet. Posidonius holds that mists and 
winds and clouds reach to a height of not less than 
5 miles from the earth, but that from that point 
the air is clear and liquid and perfectly himinous, but 
that the distance between the cloudy air and the 
moon is 250,000 miles and between the moon and 
the sun 625,000 miles, it being due to this distance 
that the sun's vast magnitude does not burn up the 
earth. The majority of writers, however, have 
stated that the clouds rise to a height of 111 miles. 
These figures are really unascertained and impossible 
to disentangle, but it is proper to put them forward 
because they have been put forward already, although 
they are matters in which the method of geometrical 
inference, which never misleads, is the only method 
that it is possible not to reject, were anybody 
desirous of pursuing such questions more deeply, 
and with the intention of establishing not precise 
measurement (for to aspire to that would mark an 
almost insane absorption in study) but merely a 
conjectural calculation. For since it appears from 
the sun's revolution that the circle through which Distanceoj 
its orb travels extends nearly 366 degrees, and since amisk^" 
the diameter of a circle always measures a little less 
than ^ -^ 2~ of the circimiference, it appears that, as 

229 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

dimidia quoniam terra centralis interveniat, sextam 
fere partem huius inmensi spatii quod circa terram 
circuli solaris animo conprehenditur inesse altitu- 
dinis spatio, lunae vero duodecimam, quoniam tanto 
breviore quam sol ambitu currit ; ita fieri eam in 

87 medio solis ac terrae. mirum quo precedat inprobi- 
tas cordis humani parvolo aliquo invitata successu, 
sicut in supra dictis occasionem inpudentiae ratio 
largitur. ausique divinare solis ad terram spatia 
eadem ad caelum agunt, quoniam sit medius sol, ut 
protinus mundi quoque ipsius mensura veniat ad 
digitos. quantas enim dimetiens habeat septimas, 
tantas habere circulum duo et vicesimas, tamquam 
plane a perpendiculo mensura caeli constet. 

88 Aeg^^tia ratio, quam Petosiris et Nechepsos osten- 
dere, singulas partes in lunari circulo (ut dictum est) 
minimo triginta tribus stadiis paulo amplius patere 
colligit, in Saturni amplissimo duplum, in soHs, quem 
medium esse diximus, utriusque mensurae dimidium. 
quae computatio plurimum habet pudoris, quoniam 
ad Saturni circulum addito signiferi ipsius intervallo 
nec numerabilis multipHcatio efficitur. 

89 XXII. Restant pauca de mundo. namque et in 
ipso caelo stellae repente nascuntur. plura earura 
genera. cometas Graeci vocant, nostri crinitas 
230 



BOOK II. xxr. 86-xxn. 89 

half the circle is subtracted by the interposition of 
the earth at the centre, the measure of the sun's 
altitude comprises about ^th of this conjecturally 
estimated immense space of the solar circle round 
the earth, and the moon's altitude yVth, since the 
moon runs in a circuit that is much shorter than the 
sun's ; so that it comes between the sun and the earth. 
It is marvellous to what length the depravity of man's 
intellect will go when lured on by some trifling 
success, in the way in which reason furnishes impu- 
dence with its opportunity in the case of the calcula- 
tions above stated. And when they have dared to 
guess the distances of the sun from the earth they 
apply the same figures to the sky, on the ground that 
the sun is at its centre, with the consequence that they 
have at their finger's ends the dimensions of the 
world also. For they argue that the circumference of 
a circle is ^-- times its diameter, as though the measure 
of the heavens were merely regulated from a plumb- 
line ! The Egyptian calculation published by 
Petosiris and Nechepsos infers that one degree of the 
kmar circle measures (as has been said) just over 
4g- miles at the least, one degree of the widest 
circle, Saturn's, twice that size, and one of the sun's 
circle, which we stated to be in the middle, the mean 
between the other two. This computation is a most 
shameful business, since the addition of the distance 
of the zodiac itself to the circle of Saturn produces a 
multiple that is even beyond reckoning. 

XXII. A few facts about the world remain. Conuts. 
There are also stars that suddenly come to birth in ''"" 
the heaven itself ; of these there are several kinds. 
The Greeks call them ' comets,' in our language 
' long-haired stars,' because they have a blood-red 

231 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

horrentis crine sanguineo et comanim modo in vertice 
hispidas. iidem pogonias quibus inferiore ex parte 
in speciem barbae longae promittitur iuba. acontiae 
iaculi modo vibrantur, atrocissimo significatu ; haec 
fuit de qua quinto consulatu suo Titus Imperator 
Caesar praeclaro carmine perscripsit, ad hunc diem 
novissime visa. easdem bre\dores et in mucronem 
fastigatas xiphias vocavere, quae sunt omnium pal- 
hdissimae et quodam gladii nitore ac sine ulhs radiis, 
quos et disceus, specie ^ nomini simihs, colore autem 
90 electro, raros e margine emittit. pitheus dohorum 
cernitur figura in concavo fumidae lucis. ceratias 
cornus speciem habet, quahs fuit cum Graecia apud 
Salamina depugnavit. lampadias ardentes imitatur 
faces, hippeus equinas iubas celerrimi motus atque 
in orbem circa se euntes. fit et candidus ^ cometes 
argenteo crine ita refulgens ut \ax contueri Hceat, 
specieque humanae faciei ^ effigiem in se ostendens. 
fiunt et hirci * villorum specie et nube ahqua circum- 
dati. semel adhuc iubae effigies mutata in hastam 
est, Oh-mpiade CVIII,^ urbis anno CCCCVHI.« 

1 specie add. Detlefsen. 

* candidus <Aids> Mayhoff, cf. Lydus, p. 163. 
® Mayhoff: humana diei avi dei. 

♦ v.l. hirti. 5 V.U. CIX, CV. 
« Edd. : CCCXCVIII. 

" The title seems to have become an hereditary sumame. 
Titus'3 5th consulship was in a.d. 76, his colleague being 
Vespasian in his 7th consulship. 

* Perhaps to be emended ' a ahining comet called Zeus'H 
Comet.' 

232 



BOOK II. xxn. 89-90 

shock of what looks like shaggy hair at thcir top. The 
Greeks also give the name of ' bearded stars ' to those 
from whose lower part spreads a mane resembhng a 
long beard. ' Javehn-stars ' quiver hke a dart ; these 
are a very terrible portent. To this class belongs the 
comet about which Titus Imperator " Caesar in his 
5th consulship wrote an account in his famous poem, 
that being its latest appearance down to the present 
day. The same stars when shorter and sloping to a 
point have been called ' Daggers ' ; these are the 
palest of all in colour, and have a gleam hke the flash 
of a sword, and no rays, which even the Quoit-star, 
which resembles its name in appearance but is in 
colour hke amber, emits in scattered form from its 
edge. The ' Tub-star ' presents the shape of a cask, 
with a smoky hght all round it. The ' Horned star ' 
has the shape of a horn, hke the one that appeared 
when Greece fought the decisive battle of Salamis. 
The ' Torch-star ' resembles glowing torches, the 
' Horse-star ' horses' manes in very rapid motion and 
revolving in a circle. There also occurs a shining 
comet * whose silvery tresses glow so brightly that it is 
scarcely possible to look at it, and which displays 
within it a shape in the hkeness of a man's counten- 
ance. There also occur ' Goat comets,' enringed 
with a sort of cloud resembhng tufts of hair. Once 
hitherto it has happened that a ' Mane-shaped ' 
comet " changed into a spear ; this was in the lOSth '^ 
Olympiad, a.u.c. 408.^ The shortest period of 

' Apparently the same as hippeus, the Hors3-star, above. 

^ 348-345 B.c. Variant readings give 109th (346-341 
B.c.) and 105th (360-357 b.c). 

' 346 B.o. — an emendation; the MSS. give a.u.c. 393 
(356 B.c). 

233 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

brevissimum quo cernerentur spatiimi VII dierum 
adnotatum est, longissimum LXXX.^ 

91 XXIII. Moventur autem aliae errantium modo, 
aliae inmobiles haerent, omnes ferme sub ipso 
septentrione, aliqua eius parte non certa, sed maxime 
in candida quae lactei circuli nomen accepit. 
Aristoteles tradit et simul plures cerni, nemini 
conpertum alteri, quod equidem sciam, ventos autem 
ab his graves aestusve significari. fiunt et hibernis 
memibus et in austrino polo, sed ibi citra ullum iubar. 
diraque conperta Aethiopum et Aeg)"pti popuhs, cui 
nomen aevi eius rex dedit Typhon, ignea specie ac 
spirae modo intorta, \isu quoque torvo, nec stella 

92 verius quam quidam igneus nodus. sparguntur 
ahquando et errantibus stelhs ceterisque crines. 
sed cometes nonnxunquam ^ in occasura parte caeli 
est, terrificum magna ex parte sidus atque non leviter 
piatum, ut ci\ili motu Octa\io consule iterum- 
que Pompei et Caesaris bello, in nostro vero aevo 
circa veneficium quo Claudius Caesar imperium 
reliquit Domitio Neroni, ac deinde principatu eius 
adsiduum prope ac saevum. referre arbitrantur in 
quas partes sese iaculetur aut cuius stellae vires 
accipiat quasque similitudines reddat et quibus in 

1 Edd. : CLXXX. * Rackham : nunquam. 



« Editors alter to 180, cf. Seneca N.Q. 7. 6. 1 etc. 

* Mdeorologica, 345a 29. 

« The MSS. give ' never ' : Brotier quotes Aristotle Meteorol. 
343b 14 aTtavres ol Ka9' rjfias oj^p.ei>oi dvev Bvaecos rj(f)aviadriaav ev 
Tw Inrep rov 6pil,ovTOs tottw. But Pliny is not speaking of the 
disappearance of comets. If the MS. reading is accepted, 
terrificum begins a fresh sentence, and refers to comets in all 
quarters. 

234 



BOOK II. XXII. 90-xxiii. 92 

visibility on record for a comet is 7 days, the longest 
80." 

XXIII. Some comets move, like the planets, but courscso/ 
others are fixed and stationary, almost all of them '^""^"'^- 
towards the due North, not in any particular part of 
it, though chiefly in the luminous region called the 
Milky Way. Aristotle also records ^" that several 
may be seen at the same time — a fact not observed 
by anyone else, as far as I am aware — and that this 
signifies severe winds or heat. Comets also occur 
in the winter months and at the south pole, but 
comets in the south have no rays. A terrible comet Cometsas 
was seen by the people of Ethiopia and Egypt, to 'P'^tents. 
which Typhon the king of that period gave his name ; 
it had a fiery appearance and was twisted Hke a coil, 
and it was very grim to behold : it was not really a 
star so much as what might be called a ball of fire. 
Planets and all other stars also occasionally have 
spreading hair. But sometimes *" there is a comct 
in the western sky, usually a terrifying star and not 
easily expiated : for instance, during the civil dis- 
order in the consulship ** of Octavius, and again during 
the war " between Pompey and Caesar, or in oin- day 
about the time of the poisoning which secured the 
bequest of the empire by Claudius Caesar to 
Domitius Nero,/ and thereafter during Nero's 
principate shining almost continuously and with a 
terrible glare. People think that it matters in what 
direction a comet darts, what star's strength it 
borrows, what shapes it resembles, and in what 

^ 43 B.c. 
• 49, 48 B.o. 

/ Nero had succeeded his stepfather, 54 b.c, before he 
secured his position by murderiQg Britaonicus. 



PLINY: NATUBAL HISTORY 

93 locis emicet ; tibiarumspeciemusicaeartiportendere, 
obscenis autem moribiis in verendis partibus sig- 
norum, ingeniis et eruditioni si triquetram figuram 
quadratamve paribus angulis ad aliquos perennium 
stellarum situs edat, venena fundere in capite 
septentrionalis austrinaeve serpentis. 

Cometes in uno totius orbis loco colitur in templo 
Romae, admodum faustus divo Augusto iudicatus 
ab ipso, qui incipiente eo apparuit ludis quos faciebat 
Veneri Genetrici non multo post obitum patris 

94 Caesaris in collegio ab eo instituto. namque his 
verbis id gaudium prodit : ' lis ipsis ludorum meonmi 
diebus sidus crinitum per septem dies in regione 
caeli quae sub septentrionibus est conspectum est.^ 
id oriebatur circa undecimam horam diei clarumque 
et omnibus e terris conspicuum fuit. eo sidere 
significari volgiis credidit Caesaris animam inter 
deorum immortalium numina receptam, quo nomine 
id insigne simulacro capitis eius, quod mox in foro 
consecravimus, adiectum est.' haec ille in publicum : 
interiore gaudio sibi illum natum seque in eo nasci 
interpretatus est; et, si verum fatemur, salutare id 
terris fuit. 

Sunt qui et haec sidera perpetua esse credant 
suoque ambitu ire, sed non nisi relicta ab sole cerni, 

1 est add. (vel id om.) Eackham. 

" Between the Great and Little Bsar. 
236 



BOOK II. XXIII. 92-94 

places it shines ; that if it resembles a pair of flutes 
it is a portent for the art of music, in the private parts 
of the constellations it portends immoraUty, if it 
forms an equilateral triangle or a rectangular quadri- 
lateral in relation to certain positions of the fixed 
stars, it portends men of genius and a revival of 
learning, in the head of the Northern " or the 
Southern * Serpent it brings poisonings. 

The only place in the whole world where a comet is worMp 
the object of worship is a temple at Rome. His late '^''"^'*' 
Majesty Augustus had deemed this comet very 
propitious to himself; as it had appeared at the 
beginning of his rule, at some games which, not long 
after the decease of his father Caesar, as a member 
of the coUege founded by him he was celebrating 
in honour of Mother Venus. In fact he made pubhc 
the joy that it gave him in these words : ' On the very 
days of my Games a comet was visible for seven days 
in the northern part of the sky. It was rising about 
an hour before sunset, and was a bright star, visible 
from all lands. The common people beheved that 
this star signified the soul of Caesar received among 
the spirits of the immortal gods, and on this account 
the emblem of a star was added to the bust of Caesar 
that we shortly afterwards dedicated in the forum.' 
This was his pubUc utterance, but privately he 
rejoiced because he interpreted the comet as having 
been born for his own sake and as containing his own 
birth within it ; and, to confess the truth, it did have 
a healthgiving influence over the world. 

Some persons think that even comets are ever- 
lasting, and travel in a special circuit of their own, 
but are not visible except when the sun leaves them ; 

In tlie hand of Opliiuchus {Aiujuiteiieiis). 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

alii vero qui nasci umore fortuito et ignea vi, ideoque * 
solvi. 

95 XXIV. Idem Hipparchus numquam satis lauda- 
tus, ut quo nemo magis adprobaverit cognationem 
cum homine siderum animasque nostras partem esse 
caeli, novam stellam ^ in aevo suo genitam depre- 
hendit, eiusque motu qua ^ fulsit ad dubitationem 
est adductus anne hoc saepius fieret moverenturque 
et eae quas putamus adfixas, ideoque * ausus rem 
etiam deo inprobam, adnumerare posteris stellas ac 
sidera ad nomen expungere organis excogitatis per 
quae singularum loca atque magnitudines signaret, 
ut facile discerni posset ex eo non modo an obirent 
ac nascerentur sed an omnino aliquae transirent 
moverenturque, item an crescerent minuerenturque, 
caelo in hereditate cunctis relicto, si quisquam qui 
cretionem eam caperet inventus esset. 

96 XXV. Emicant et faces non nisi cum decidunt 
visae, qualis Germanico Caesare gladiatorium specta- 
culum edente praeter ora populi meridiano transcu- 
currit. duo genera earum : alterum ^ lampadas 
vocant, plane faces, alterum bolidas, quale Mutinensi- 
bus malis visum est. distant quod faces vestigia 

1 eoque ? Raclcham. 

* Deilefsen : stellam et aliam, stellam vel aliam. 

* v.l. qua die. 

* v.l. idemque. 

' alterum add. Backham. 

"» Possibly the text should be altered to give ' and are 
dissolved into them.' 

238 



BOOK II. xxiii. g4-xxv. 96 

there are others, however, who hold that they spring 
into existence out of chance moistm-e and fiery 
force, and consequently " are dissolved. 

XXIV. Hipparchus before-mentioned, who can The 
never be sufficiently praised, no one having done ^ip^a^rc/fu! 
more to prove that man is related to the stars and 

that our souls are a part of heaven, detected a new 
star that came into existence during his hfetime ; 
the movement of this star in its hne of radiance led 
him to wonder whether this was a frequent occur- 
rence, whether the stars that we think to be fixed 
are also in motion ; and consequently he did a bold 
thing, that would be reprehensible even for God — 
he dared to schedule the stars for posterity, and 
tick off the heavenly bodies by name in a hst, 
devising machinery by means of which to indi- 
cate their several positions and magnitudes, in order 
that from that time onward it might be possible 
easily to discern not only whether stars perish and 
are born, but whether some are in transit and in 
motion, and also whether they increase and decrease 
in magnitude — thus bequeathing the heavens as a 
legacy to all mankind, supposing anybody had been 
found to claim that inheritance ! 

XXV. There are also meteoric Ughts that are Metcors, 
only seen when falHng, for instance one that ran ^^stances^i 
across the sky at midday in full view of the pubhc 

when Germanicus Caesar was giving a gladiatorial 
show. Of these there are two kinds : one sort are 
called lampades, which means ' torches,' the other 
bolides (missiles), — that is the sort that appeared at 
the time of the disasters of Modena.'' The difference 

* When Decimus Brutus was besieged there by Antony, 
44 B.o. 

239 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

longa faciunt priore ardente ^ parte, bolis vero 
pei-petua ardens longiorem trahit limitem. 

XXVI. Emicant et trabes simili modo, quas 
hoKov^ vocant, qualis cum Lacedaemonii classe \icti 

97 imperiimi Graeciae amisere. fit et caeli ipsius 
hiatus, quod vocant chasma, (XXVII) fit et sanguinea 
species et, quo nihil terribilius mortahum timori 
est, incendium ad terras cadens inde, sicut OljTnpiadis 
centesimae septimae anno tertio, cum rex Philippus 
Graeciam quateret. atque ego haec statis tempori- 
bus naturae vi ^ ut cetera arbitror existere, non, ut 
plerique, variis de causis quas ingeniorum acumen 
excogitat ; quippe ingentium malorum fuere prae- 
nuntia, sed ea accidisse non quia haec facta sunt 
arbitror, verum haec ideo facta quia incasura erant 
illa, raritate autem occultam eorum esse rationem, 
ideoque non sicut exortus supra dictos defectusque 
et multa alia nosci. 

98 XXVIII. Cernuntur et stellae cimi sole totis 
diebus, plerumque et circa sohs orbem ceu spiceae 
coronae et versicolores circuh, quahter Augusto 
Caesare in prima iuventa urbem intrante post obitum 
patris ad nomen ingens capessendum. existunt 
eaedem coronae circa lunam et circa nobilia astra 
caeloque inhaerentia. XXIX. Circa solem arcus 

1 ardentes ? Eackham. 

2 vi add. MayhofficJ. 191). 

« At Cnidus, 394 b.c. 

* 349 B.c. 

' I.e. his great-uncle Julius Caesar, who not long before 
his death adopted Octavian into the Gena Juha as his heir : 
of this Augustus (then aged \^h) leamt on crossing from 
Apollonia and landing near Brindiai shortly after Caesar'8 
murder. 

240 



BOOK II. XXV. 96-xxix. 98 

between tliem is that ' torches ' make long tracks, 
with their front part glowing, whereas a ' bohs ' glows 
throughout its length, and traces a longer path. 

XXVI. Other simihir meteoric hghts are ' beams.' 
in Greek dokoi, for example one that appeared when 
the Spartans were defeated " at sea and lost the 
empire of Greece. There also occurs a yawning of the 
actual sky, called chasvia, (XXVII) and also something 
tliat looks hke blood, and a fire that falls from it to 
the earth — the most alarming possible cause of terror 
to mankind ; as happened in the third year ^ of the 
lOTth Olympiad, when King Phihp was throwing 
Greece into distm-bance. My o^vn view is that 
these occurrences take place at fixed dates owing to 
natural forces, hke all other events, and not, as most 
people think, from the variety of causes invented by 
tlie cleverness of human intellects ; it is true that 
they were the harbingers of enormous misfortunes, 
but I hold that those did not happen because the 
marvellous occurrences took place but that these 
took place because the misfortunes were going to 
occur, only the reason for their occurrence is con- 
cealed by their rarity, and consequently is not 
understood as are the risings and setting of the 
planets described above and many other phenomena. 

XXVIII. Stars are also seen throughout the day- Soinr ana 
time in company with the sun, usually actually sur- "'""^ 
rounding the sun's orb hke wreaths made of ears of 
corn and rings of changing colour — for instance, when 
Augustus Caesar in early manhood entered the city 
after the death of his father '^ to assume his mighty 
surname. Similar haloes occur round the moon and 
round the principal fixed stars. XXIX. A bow 
appeared round the sun in the consulship of Lucius 

241 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

adparuit L. Opimio Q. Fabio coss., orbis L. Porcio 
M'. Acilio, circulus rubri coloris L. lulio P. Rutilio 
coss. 

XXX. Fiunt prodigiosi et longiores solis defectus, 
qualis occiso dictatore Caesare et Antoniano bello 
99 totius paene anni pallore continuo. XXXI. Et 
rursus soles plures simul cernuntur, nec supra ipsum 
nec infra sed ex obliquo, numquam iuxta nec contra 
terram, nec noctu sed aut oriente aut occidente. 
semel et meridie conspecti in Bosporo produntur, 
qui ab matutino tempore duraverunt in occasum. 
trinos soles antiqui saepius videre, sicut Sp. Postu- 
mio Q. Mucio et Q. Marcio M. Porcio et M. Antonio 
P. Dolabella et M. Lepido L. Planco coss., et nostra 
aetas vidit divo Claudio principe, consulatu eius 
Cornelio Orfito collega. plures quam tres simul visi 
ad hoc aevi numquam produntur. 

XXXII. Lunae quoque trinae, ut Cn. Domitio 
C. Fannio consulibus, apparuere. 
100 XXXIII. Quod plerique appellaverunt soles 
nocturnos, lirnien de caelo noctu visum est C. Caecilio 
Cn. Papirio consulibus et saepe alias, ut diei species 
nocte luceret. 

XXXIV. Clipeus ardens ab occasu ad ortum 



• 121 B.O. ' 114 B.O. « 90 B.O. 

■* 174 B.o. ' 118 B.c. / 44 B.o. 

42 B.c. * A.i>. 51. * 222 B.o. 

^ 113 B.O. * 86 B.O. 

242 



BOOK II. XXIX. 98-xxxiv. 100 

Opimius and Quintus Fabius," a hoop in tliat of 
Gaius Porcius and Manius Acilius,* and a 
red rinff in that of Lucius JuHus and PubUus 

o 

Rutilius." 

XXX. Portentous and protracted echpses of the Soiar 
sun occur, such as the one after the murder of '^'^''^**** 
Caesar the dictator and during the Antonine war 
which caused almost a whole year's continuous 
gloom. XXXI. Again, several suns are seen at other 
once, neither above nor below the real sun but at '^ortents!^^ 
an angle with it, never alongside of nor opposite to 
the earth, and not at night but either at sunrise or 
at sunset. It is also reported tliat once several 
suns were seen at midday at the Bosphorus, and 
that these lasted from dawn till sunset. In former 
times three suns have often been seen at once, for 
example in the consulships of Spurius Postvimius 
and Quintus Mucius ^ of Quintus Marcius and Marcus 
Porcius,'' of Marcus Antonius and PubUus Dolabella/ 
and of Marcus Lepidus and Lucius Plancus ; ? 
and our generation saw this during the principate 
of his late Majesty Claudius, in his consulship, when 
Cornelius Orfitus was his coUeague.'' It is not stated 
that more than three suns at a time have ever been 
seen hitherto. 

XXXII. Also three moons have appeared at once, 
for instance in the consulship ' of Gnaeus Domitius 
and Gaius Fannius. 

XXXIII. A Ught from the sky by night, the 
phenomenon usuaUy caUed ' night-suns,' was seen 
in the consulshipi of Gaius CaeciUus and Gnaeus 
Papirius and often on other occasions causing 
apparent dayUght in the night. 

XXXIV. In the consulsliip * of Lucius Valerius 

243 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

scintillans transcucurrit solis occasu L. Valerio C. 
Mario consulibus. 

XXXV. Scintillam visara ^ e stella cadere et 
augeri terrae adpropinquantem, at postquam lunae 
magnitudine ^ facta sit, inluxisse ceu nubilo die, dein, 
cum in caelimi se reciperet, lampadem factam semel 
imiquam proditur Cn. Octa\-io C. Scribonio consuli- 
bus. ^adit id Silanus proconsul cimi comitatu suo. 

XXXVI. Fieri \"identur et discursus stellanmi, 
numquam temere ut non ex ea parte truces venti 
cooriantur. 

101 XXXVII. Existunt stellae et in mari terrisque. 
vidi nocturnis militum vigiliis inhaerere pilis pro 
vallo fulgurum effigie eas, et antemnis na\igantium 
aliisque navium partibus cum ^ vocali quodam sono 
insistunt ut volucres sedem ex sede mutantes, 
graves, cum solitariae venere, mergentesque navigia, 
et si in carinae ima deciderint, exurentes, geminae 
autem salutares et prosperi cursus praenuntiae, 
quarum adventu fugari diram illam ac minacem 
appellatamque Helenam ferunt, et ob id Polluci ac 
Castori iis nomina * adsignant, eosque in mari deos 
invocant. hominum quoque capita vespertinis horis 
magno praesagio circumfulgent, omnia incerta 
ratione et in naturae maiestate abdita. 

102 XXXVIII. Hactenus de mundo ipso sideribusque. 
nunc reUqua caeli memorabiUa. namque et hoc 

^ visam add. Mayhoff. 

* v.l. in lunae magnitudinem. 
^ Mayhoff : ceu. 

* Detlefsen : id nomen aut id numen. 



• 66 B.o. 



244 



BOOK II. XXXIV. loo-xxx-viii. 102 

and Gaius Marius a burning shield scattering 
sparks ran across the sky at sunset from west to east. 

XXXV. In the consulship " of Gnaeus Octavius 
and Gaius Scribonius a spark was seen to fall from a 
star and increase in size as it approached the earth, 
and after becoming as large as the moon it diffused a 
sort of cloudy dayUght, and then returning to the 
sky changed into a torch ; this is the only record of 
this occurring. It was seen by the proconsul Silanus 
and his suite. 

XXXVI. Also stars appear to shoot to and fro ; 
this invariably portends the rise of a fierce hurricane 
from the same quarter. 

XXXVII. Stars also come into existence at sea 
and on land. I have seen a radiance of star-hke 
appearance chnging to the javeHns of soldiers on 
sentry duty at night in front of the rampart ; and on 
a voyage stars aUght on the yards and other parts 
of the ship, with a sound resembling a voice, hopping 
from perch to perch in the manner of birds. These 
when they come singly are disastrously heavy and 
wreck ships, and if they fall into the hold burn them 
up. If there are two of them, they denote safety 
and portend a successful voyage ; and their approach 
is said to put to flight the terrible star called Helena : 
for this reason they are called Castor and Pollux, 
and people pray to them as gods for aid at sea. They 
also shine round men's heads at evening time ; this 
is a great portent. AU these things adinit of no 
certain explanation; they are hidden away in the 
grandeur of nature. 

XXXVIII. So much as to the world itself and the Atmosrhn 
stars. NoM' the remaining noteworthy facts as to ?"''"'"'"^'" 
the heavens : for the name ' heaven ' was also given 

245 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

caelum appellavere maiores quod alio nomine aera, 
omne quod inani simile \italem hunc spiritum fundit. 
Infra lunam haec sedes, multoque inferior (ut 
animadverto propemodum constare), infinitum ex 
superiore natura aeris, infinitum et terreni halitus 
miscens utraque sorte confunditur. hinc nubila, 
tonitrua et alia fulmina, hinc grandines, pruinae, 
imbres, procellae, turbines, hinc plurima mortalium 

103 mala et rerum naturae pugna secmn, terrena in 
caelum tendentia deprimit siderum vis, eademque 
quae sponte non subeant ad se trahit. decidunt 
imbres, nebulae subeunt, siccantur amnes, ruunt 
grandines, torrent radii et terram in medio mundi ^ 
undique impellunt, iidem infracti resihunt et quae 
potavere ^ auferunt secum. vapor ex alto cadit 
rursumque in altum redit. venti ingruunt inanes, 
iidemque cum rapina remeant. tot animahum 
haustus spiritum e subHmi aere ^ trahit, at ille 
contra nititiir, tellusque ut inani caelo spiritum re- 

104 fundit.* sic ultro citro conmeante natura ut tor- 
mento aliquo mundi celeritate discordia accenditur 
nec stare pugnae hcet, sed adsidue rapta convohdtur 
et circa terram inmenso rerum causas globo ostendit, 
subinde per nubes caelum ahud atque ahud^ obtexens. 
ventorum hoc regnum. itaque praecipua eorum 

^ Detlefsen : terram mediam aut medio aut mediam. 

* Dalec : potuere. 

' aere add. Rackham. 

^ Rackham : fundit ant infnndit. 

* atque aJiud add. vtt. apud Dalec {Brotier). 

246 



BOOK II. XXXVIII. 102-104 

by OTir ancestors to this which is otherwise designated 
' air ' — the whole of that apparently empty space 
which pours forth this breath of Ufe. This region 
below the moon, and a long way below it (as I notice 
is almost universally agreed), blends together an 
unlimited quantity from the upper element of air and 
an unhmited quantity of terrestrial vapour, being a 
combination of both orders. From it come clouds, 
thunder-claps and also thunder-bolts, hail, frost, 
rain, storms and whirhvinds ; from it come most of 
mortals' misfortunes, and the warfare between the 
elements of nature. The force of the stars presses 
down terrestrial objects that strive to move towards 
the sky, and also draws to itself things that lack spon- 
taneous levitation. Rain falls, clouds rise, rivers dry 
up, hailstoi-ms sweep down ; rays scorch, and im- 
pinging from every side on the earth in the middle 
of the world, then are broken and recoil and carry 
with them the moisture they have drunk up. Steam 
falls from on high and again returns on high. Empty 
winds sweep down, and then go back again with their 
plunder. So many hving creatures draw their breath 
from the upper air ; but the air strives in the opposite 
direction, and the earth pours back breath to the 
sky as if to a vacuum. Thus as nature swings to 
and fro hke a kind of shng, discord is kindled by the 
velocity of the world's motion. Nor is the battle 
allowed to stand still, but is continually carried up 
and whirled round, displaying in an immense globe 
that encircles the world the causes of things, con- 
tinually overspreading another and another heaven 
interwoven with the clouds. This is the realm of 
the winds. Consequently their nature is here 
pre-eminent, and ahnost includes all the rest of 

247 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

natura ibi et ferme reliquas complexa aeris^ cau^as, 
quoniam et tonitruum et fulminum iactus honun 
violentiae plerique adsignant, quin et ideo lapidibus 
pluere interim, quia vento sint rapti ; et multa 
similiter. quam ob rem simul plura dicenda sunt. 

105 XXXIX. Tempestatum imbriumque ^ quasdam 
statas esse causas, quasdam vero fortuitas aut adhuc 
rationis inconpertae, manifestum est. quis enim 
aestates et hiemes quaeque in temporibus annua vice 
intelleguntur siderum motu fieri dubitet ? ut solis 
ergo natura temperando intellegitur anno, sic 
rehquorum quoque siderum propria est cuiusque ^ 
vis et ad suam cuique naturam fertihs. aha sunt in 
liquorem soluti umoris fecunda, aha concreti in 
pruinas aut coacti in nives aut glaciati in grandines, 
aha flatus, aha teporis, aha vaporis, aha roris, aha 
frigoris.* nec vero haec tanta debent existimari 
quanta cernuntur, cum esse eorum nullum minus 

106 luna tam inmensae altitudim*s ratio declaret. igitur 
in suo quaeque motu naturam suam exercent, quod 
manifestum Saturni maxime transitus imbribus 
faciunt. nec meantium modo siderum haec vis est 
sed multorum etiam adhaerentium caelo, quotiens 
errantium accessu inpulsa aut coniectu radiorum 
exstimulata sunt, quahter in sucuhs sentimus 
accidere, quas Graeci ob id pluvio nomine hyadas ^ 

^ Detlefsen : complexa a se aut se (complexa eas, c/. 67 
fin. Mayhojf). 

" Mayhqff : rerumque. ^ Mayhoff : quibusque. 

* v.l. rigoris. * hyadas om. vulg. (cf. § 8). 

248 



BOOK II. xxxviii. 104-XXXIX. 106 

the phenomena caused by the air, as most men 
attribute the hurhng of thunderbolts and light- 
ning to the winds' violence, and indeed hold that 
the cause of the rain of stones that sometimes occurs 
is that the stones are caught up by the wind ; and 
Ukewise many other things. On this account more 
facts have to be set out at the same time. 

XXXIX. Storms and rain obviously have some Rain. 
regular causes, but some that are accidental, or at 
all events not hitherto explained. For who can 
doubt that summer and winter and the yearly 
vicissitudes observed in the seasons are caused by 
the motion of the heavenly bodies? Therefore as 
the nature of the sun is understood to control the 
year's seasons, so each of the other stars also has 
a force of its own that creates effects corresponding 
to its particular nature. Some are productive of 
moisture dissolved into hquid, others of moisture 
hardened into frost or coagulated into snow or 
frozen into hail, others of a blast of air, others of 
warmth or heat, others of dew, others of cold. But 
it must not be thought that the stars are of the size 
that they appear to the sight, since the consideration 
of their immense altitude proves that none of them 
is smaller than the moon. Consequently each of 
them exercises its own nature in its own motion, a 
fact which the transits of Saturn in particular make 
clear by their storms of rain. Nor does this power rn/iumce oj 
belong to the moving stars only, but also to many of ll^ig^on 
those that are fixed to the sky, whenever they are weaUter, 
impelled forward by the approach of the planets or 
goaded on by the impact of their rays, as we observe 
occurring in the case of the Little Pigs, the Greek 
aame for which is consequently the Hyades, a word 

249 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

appellant. quin et sua sponte quaedam statisque 
temporibus, ut haedorum exortus. Arcturi vero 
sidus non ferme sine procellosa grandine emergit. 

107 XL. Nam caniculae exortu accendi solis vapores 
quis ignorat, cuius sideris effectus amplissimi in 
terra sentiuntur ? fervent maria exoriente eo, 
fluctuant in cellis vina, moventur stagna. orygem 
appellat Aegyptus feram quam in exortu eius contra 
stare et contueri tradit ac velut adorare cum sternu- 
erit. canes quidem toto eo spatio maxime in rabiem 
agi non est dubium. 

103 XLI. Quin partibus quoque signorum quorundam 
sua vis inest, ut autumnali aequinoctio brumaque, 
cum tempestatibus confici sidus intellegimus, nec 
imbribus tantum tempestatibusque sed multis et 
corporum et ruris experimentis. adflantur alii sidere, 
alii commoventur statis temporibus alvo, nervis, 
capite, mente. olea et populus alba et salices sol- 
stitio folia circumagunt. floret ipso brumali die 
suspensa in tectis arentis herba pulei, rumpuntur 

109 intentae spiritu membranae. miretur hoc qui non 
observet cotidiano experimento herbam unam, quae 
vocatur heliotropium, abeuntem solem intueri 
semper omnibusque horis cum ee verti vel nubilo 
obumbrante. iam quidem lunari potestate ostrearum 
conchyhorumque et concharirai omnium corpora 
augeri ac rursus minui, quin et soricum fibras re- 

" 'TaSes from "en/ ' to rain,' not from vs ' a pig.' 
2^0 



BOOK II. XXXIX. 106-XU. 109 

denoting rain." Indeed some stars move of them- 
selves and at fixed times — compare the rising of the 
Kids. But the rising of the constellation Arctm-us 
is almost ahvays accompanied by a hail-storm. 

XL. For who is not aware that the heat of the 
sun increases at the rising of the Lesser Dog-star, 
whose effects are felt on earth very widely ? At its 
rise the seas are rough, wine in the cellars ripples in 
waves, pools of water are stirred. There is a wild 
animal in Egypt called the gazelle that according to 
the natives stands facing this dog-star at its rise, and 
gazing at it as if in worship, after first giving a sneeze. 
It is indeed beyond doubt that dogs throughout the 
whole of that period are specially hable to rabies. 

XLI. Moreover also the parts of some constella- 
tions have an influence of their own — for instance 
at the autumnal equinox and at mid-winter, when we 
learn by the storms that the sun is completing its 
orbit ; and not only by falls of rain and storms, 
but by many things that happen to our bodies and 
to the fields. Some men are paralysed by a star, andon 
others suflfer periodic disturbances of the stomach "^"ntsf *" 
or sinews or head or mind. The ohve and white 
poplar and willow turn round their leaves at the 
solstice. Fleabane hung up in the house to dry 
flowers exactly on midwinter day, and inflated 
skins burst. This may surprise one who does not 
notice in daily experience that one plant, called heho- 
trope, ahvays looks towards the sun as it passes and 
at every hour of the day turns with it, even when it is 
obscured by a cloud. Indeed persistent reseaxxh 
has discovered that the influence of the moon causes 
the shells of oysters, cockles and all shell-fish to grow 
larger and again smaller in bulk, and moreover that 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

spondere numero lunae exquisivere diligentiores, 
minimumque animal, formicam, sentire \-ires sideris 

110 interlunio semper cessantem. quo turpior homini 
inscitia est fatenti praecipue iumentorum quorundam 
in oculis morbos cum luna increscere ac minui. 
patrocinatur vastitas caeli ^ inmensa discreta alti- 
tudine ^ in duo atque septuaginta signa, hoc est 
rerum aut animantium effigies in quas digessere 
caelum periti. in his quidam mille sexcentas adno- 
tavere stellas, insignes scihcet effectu visuve, exempli 
gratia in cauda tauri septera quas appellavere 
Vergilias, in fronte suculas, Booten quae sequitur 
Septem Triones. 

111 XLII. Extra has causas non negaverim exsistere 
imbres ventosque, quoniam umidam a terra, alias 
vero propter vaporem fumidam exhalari cahginem 
certum est, nubesque e ^ liquore * egresso in sublime 
aut ex aere coacto in hquorem gigni. densitas earum 
corpusque haut dubio coniectatur argumento, cum 
solem obumbrent, perspicuum alias etiam urinantibus 
in quamhbet profundam aquarum altitudinem. 

112 XLIII. Igitur non eam infitias posse in has et 
ignes superne stellarum decidere (quales sereno 
saepe cernimus, quorum ictu concuti aera verum est, 
quando et tela vibrata stridunt), cum vero in nubem 
perveniunt, vaporem dissonum gigni ut candente ferro 
in aquam demerso et fumidum vorticem volvi. 

^ v.l. rei {et discretae Eackham). 
2 latitudine Brolier. 

* e add. Eackham. 

* vapore edd. (sic Aristofeles). 

' I.e. the number of davs from the new moon. 
* The Hyadcs, see § 106. 
« The Oxherd. 

"* The Wain, or Ursa Alajor and Ursa Minor. 
252 



BOOK II. xLi. 109-XL111. 112 

the phases of the moon'^ afFect the tissues of the shrew- 
mouse, and that the smallest animal, the ant, is 
sensitive to the influence of the planet and at the 
time of the new moon is always slack. This makes 
ignorance all the more disgraceful to man, especially 
as he admits that with some cattle diseases of the 
eyes increase and diminish with the moon. His 
excuse is the heaven's vastness, being divided at an 
enormous height into 72 signs, that is, shapes of 
things or of animals into which the learned have 
mapped out the sky. In them they have indeed 
noted 1600 stars as being specially remarkable for 
their influence or their appearance, for instance the 
seven which they have named the Pleiades in the 
tail of the Bull and the Little Pigs ^* in his forehead, 
and Bootes,"^ the star that follows the Seven Plough- 
oxen.'' 

XLII. I would not deny that rain and wind can Emporatio 
arise from other causes than these ; it is certain that ^Jarth!''^ 
the carth exhales a damp mist and at other times a 
smoky one due to vapour, and that clouds are formed 
out of moisture rising to a height or air condensed 
into moisture. Their density and bulk are con- 
jectured with certain inference from the fact that 
they obscure the sun, which is otherwise visible even 
to those diving into water to whatever depth. 

XLIII. Consequently I would not go against the storms 
view that it is also possible for the fires of stars to l't^^l^ ^^ 
fall from above into the clouds (as we often see happen 
in fine weather, and the impact of these fires un- 
questionably shakes the air since even weapons 
when flung make a hissing noise) ; and that when they 
reach the cloud, a hissing steam is produced, just as 
when red-hot iron is plunged into water, and a coil of 

253 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

hinc nasci procellas, et si in nube luctetur flatus aut 
vapor, tonitrua edi, si erumpat ardens, fulmina, si 
longiore tractu nitatur, fulgetras. his findi nubem, 
illis perrumpi, et esse tonitrua inpactorum ignium 
plagas ideoque protinus coruscare igneas nubium 

113 rimas. posse et repulsu siderum depressum qui a 
terra meaverit spritum nube cohibitum tonare, 
natura strangulante sonitum dum rixetur, edito 
fragore cum erumpat ut in membrana spiritu intenta. 
posse et attritu, dum praeceps feratur, illum quisquis 
est spiritum accendi. posse et conflictu nubium 
ehdi, ut duorum lapidum, scintillantibus fulgetris. 
sed haec omnia esse fortuita ; hinc bruta fulmina et 
vana, ut quae nulla veniant ratione naturae, his 
percuti montes, his maria omnesque aUos inritos 
iactus ; illa vero fatidica ex alto, statisque de causis 
et ex suis venire sideribus. 

114 XLIV. Simili modo ventos vel potius flatus posse 
et arido siccoque anhehtu terrae gigni non negaverim, 
posse et aquis aera exspirantibus qui neque in nebu- 
lam densetur nec crassescat in nubes, posse et solis 
inpulsu agi, quoniam ventus haut ahud intellegatur 

" Those mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. 



BOOK II. XLIII. II2-XLIV. 114 

smoke whirls up. And I agree that these produce 
storms, and if there is wind or steam struggling in 
the cloud, it gives out claps of thunder, if it bursts 
out on fire, flashes of hghtning, if it forces its way on 
a longer track, heat-hghtning. The latter cleaves 
the cloud, the flashes burst through it, and thunder- 
claps are the blows of the fires colhding, causing 
fiery cracks at once to flash out in the clouds. It is 
also possible for breath emerging from the earth, 
when pressed down by the counter-impact of the 
stars, to be checked by a cloud and so cause thunder, 
nature choking down the sound while the struggle 
goes on but the crash sounding when the breath 
bursts out, as when a skin is stretched by being 
blown into. It is also possible for this breath, what- 
ever it is, to be set on fire by the friction during its 
headlong progress. It is also possible for it to be 
struck out by the impact of the clouds, as by that of 
two stones, with heat-lightning flashing out hke sparks. 
But all these occurrences are accidental — they cause 
mere senseless and inefFectual thunder-claps, as their 
coming obeys no principle of nature — they merely 
eleave mountains and seas, and aU their other blows 
are ineffectual ; but the former " are prophetical 
and sent from on high, they come by fixed causes and 
from their own stars. 

XLIV. Similai-ly I am not prepared to deny that Aircurrem 
it is possible for winds or rather gusts of air to be '^^nlouroj 
produced also by a dry and parched breath from the ^f^ eanh. 
earth, and also possible when bodies of water breathe 
out a vapour that is neither condensed into mist or 
sohdified into clouds ; and also they may be caused 
by the driving force of the sun, because wind is 
understood to be nothing else than a wave of air; 

255 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

quam fluctus aeris, pluribusque etiam modis. nam- 
que et e fluminibus ac sinubus et e mari videmus, et 
quidem tranquillo, et alios quos vocant altanos e 
terra consurgere ; qui cum e mari redeunt, 
tropaei vocantur, si pergunt, apogei. 

115 Montium vero flexus crebrique vertices et con- 
flexa cubito aut confracta in umeros iuga ac ^ concavi 
vallium sinus, scindentes inaequalitate ideo resultan- 
tem aera (quae causa etiam voces multis in locis 
reciprocas facit sine fine) ventos generant. iam 
quidam et specus, qualis in Dalmatiae ora vasto 
praeceps hiatu, in quem deiecto levi pondere 
quamvis tranquillo die turbini similis emicat procella ; 
nomen loco est Senta. quin et in Cyrenaica provin- 
cia rupes quaedam austro traditur sacra, quam 
profanum sit attrectari hominis manu confestim 
austro volvente harenas. in domibus etiam multis 
manu facta ^ inclusa opacitate conceptacula auras 
suas habent. adeo ^ causa non deest. 

116 XLV. Sed plurimum interest flatus sit an ventus. 
iUos statos atque perspirantes, quos non tractus ah- 
quis verum terrae sentiunt, qui non aurae,* non 
procellae,^ sed mares appellatione quoque ipsa venti 
sunt, sive adsiduo mundi motu et contrario siderum 
occursu nascuntur, sive hic est ille generabilis rerum 
naturae spiritus huc illuc tamquam in utero aliquo 

^ ac add. Rackham. ^ v.l. madefacta. 

* ideo ? Rackham. * liackluini : aura. 

^ Eackham : procella. 

256 



BOOK II. xLiv. 114-XLV. 116 

and in more ways as vrell. For we see winds arising 
both from rivers and bays and from the sea even 
when calm, and others, called altani, arising from the 
land ; the latter when they come back again from the 
sea are called turning winds, but if they go on, off- 
shore winds. 

The windings of mountains and their clustered 
peaks and ridges curved in an elbow or broken off 
into shoulders, and the hollow recesses of valleys, 
cleavino- with their irregular contours the air that is 
consequently reflected from them (a phenomenon 
that in many place causes words spoken to be end- 
lessly echoed) are productive of winds. So again 
are caverns, Uke the one with an enormous gaping 
mouth on the coast of Dalmatia, from which, if 
you throw some Hght object into it, even in calm 
weather a gust like a whirlwind bursts out ; the name 
of the place is Senta. Also it is said that in the 
province of Cyrenaica there is a certain cHff, sacred 
to the South wind, which it is sacrilege for the hand 
of man to touch, the South wind immediately causing 
a sand-storm. Even manufactured vessels in many 
houses if shut up in the dark have pecuHar exhalations. 
Thus there must be some cause for this. 

XLV. But there is a great difference between a cansesoj 
gust of air and a wind. The latter, regular and ""■'^- 
blo^ving steadily, and felt not by some particular 
tract only but by whole countries, and not being 
breezes nor tempests but winds — even their name 
being a masculine word — whether they are caused 
by the continuous motion of the world and the 
impact of the stars travelUng in the opposite direction 
or whether wind is the famous ' breath ' that gener- 
ates the universe by fluctuating to and fro as in a 

257 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

vagus, sive disparili errantium sideriun ietu radiorum- 
que multiformi iactu flagellatus aer, sive a suis 
sideribus exeunt his propioribus sive ab illis caelo 
adfixis cadunt, palam est illos quoque legem naturae 
habere non ignotam etiamsi nondum percognitam. 

117 Viginti amplius auctores Graeci veteres prodidere 
de his observationes. quo magis miror orbe 
discordi et in regna, hoc est in membra, diviso tot 
viris curae fuisse tam ardua inventu, inter bella 
praesertim et infida hospitia, piratis etiam omnium 
mortahum hostibus transituros fama terrentibus,^ ut 
hodie quaedam in suo quisque tractu ex eorum 
commentariis qui numquam eo accessere verius 
noscat quam indigenarum scientia, nunc vero pace 
tam festa, tam gaudente proventu hterarum ' artium- 
que principe, omnino nihil addisci nova inquisitione, 

118 immo ne veterum quidem inventa perdisci. non 
erant maiora praemia in multos dispersa fortunae 
magnitudine, et ista plures sine praemio alio quam 
posteros iuvandi eruerunt. mores hominum senuere, 
non fructus, et inmensa multitudo aperto quodcumque 
est mari hospitalique htorum omnium adpulsu navigat, 

^ Mayhoff : transitus famae terrentibus aut terrentibus. 
* Mayhoff: rerum. 

258 



BOOK II. xLv. 116-118 

sort of womb, or air whipped by the irregular impact 
of the planets and the non-uniform emission of their 
rays, or whether they issue forth from these nearer 
stars which are their own or fall from those stars 
which are fixed in the heaven — it is manifest that 
the winds too obey a law of nature that is not un- 
known, even if not yet fully known. 

More than twenty Greek authors of the past Persistenet 
have pubHshed observations about these subjects. °Ji^lXi^' 
This makes me all the more surprised that, although study. 
when the world was at variance, and spht up into 
kingdoms, that is, sundered Hmb from Umb, so 
many people devoted themselves to these abstruse 
researches, especially when wars surrounded them 
and hosts were untrustworthy, and also when rumours 
of pirates, the foes of all mankind, terrified intending 
travellers — so that now-a-days a person may learn 
some facts about his own region from the note- 
books of people who have never been there more 
tru;y than from the knowledge of the natives — yet 
iiow in these glad times of peace under an emperor 
who so delights in productions of literature and science, 
no addition whatever is being made to knowledge 
by means of original research, and in fact even the 
discoveries of our predecessors are not being 
thoroughly studied. The rewards were not greater 
when the ample successes were spread out over 
many students, and in fact the majority of these 
made the discoveries in question with no other 
reward at all save the consciousness of benefiting 
posterity. Age has overtaken the characters of 
mankind, not their revenues, and now that every 
sea has been opened up and every coast offers a 
hospitable landing, an immense inultitude goes 

259 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

sed lucri, non scientiae, gratia; nec reputat caeca 
mens et tantum avaritiae intenta id ipsum scientia 
posse tutius fieri. quapropter scrupulosius quam 
instituto fortassis conveniat operi tractabo ventos, 
tot milia navigantium cemens. 

119 XLVI. Veteres quattuor omnino servavere per 
totidem mundi partes (ideo nec Homerus plures 
nominat) hebeti, ut mox iudicatum est, ratione; 
secuta aetas octo addidit nimis subtili atque concisa. 
proximis inter utramque media placuit ad brevem 
ex numerosa additis quattuor. sunt ergo bini in 
quattuor caeli partibus : ab oriente aequinoctiali 
Subsolanus, ab oriente brumali Volturnus (illum 
Apelioten, hunc Graeci Eurimi appellant) ; a meridie 
Auster et ab occasu brumali Africus (Notum et Liba 
nominant) ; ab occasu aequinoctiaH Favonius, ab 
occasu solstitiali Corus (Zephyrum et Argesten 
vocant) ; a septentrionibus Septentrio, interque eum 
et exortuim solstitialem Aquilo (Aparctias et Boreas 

120 dicti). numerosior ratio quattuor his interiecerat, 
Thrascian media regione inter Septentrionem et 
occasum solstitialem, itemque Caecian media inter 
Aquilonem et exortum aequinoctialem ab ortu 
solstitiah, Phoenica media regione inter ortum 
260 



BOOK II. XLV. IlS-XLVI. I20 

on voyages — but their object is profit not know- 
ledge ; and in their bHnd engrossment with avarice 
they do not reflect that knowledge is a more re- 
liable means even of making profit. Consequently 
in view of these thousands of persons who go on 
voyages I will give a more detailed account of the 
winds than is perhaps suited to the task I have set 
in hand. 

XLVI. The ancients noticed four winds in all, Desirmntim 
corresponding to the four quarters of the world (this "/""'"^- 
is the reason why even Homer mentions no more) — 
a duU-witted system, as it was soon afterwards 
considered ; the following age added eight — this 
system on the other hand was too subtle and meticul- 
ous. Their successors adopted a compromise, adding 
to the short Ust four winds from the long one. There 
are consequently two winds in each of the four 
quarters of the heaven : Subsolanus blowing from 
the equinoctial sunrise (E). and Vulturnus from the 
winter sunrise (S.E.) — the former designated by the 
Greeks ApeUotes, the latter Eurus ; Auster from the 
sim at midday (S.) and Africus from the winter sunset 
(S.W.) — named in Greek Notus and Libs ; Favonius 
from the equinoctial sunset (W.), Corus from the 
sunset at the solstice (N.W.) — these the Greeks call 
Zephyr and Argestes ; Septentrio from the North 
and Aquilo between him and sunrise at the solstice 
(N.E.) — called in Greek Aparctias and Boreas. 
The morenumerousschemehadinsertedfourbetween 
these : Thrascias (N.N.W.) in the space between 
Septentrio (N.) and the sunset at the solstice (N.W.) 
and also Caecias (E.N.E.) in the space between 
Aquilo (N.E.) and the equinoctial sunrise (E.) on the 
side of the sunrise at the solstice, and Phoenix 

261 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

brumalem et meridiem, item inter Liba et Notum 
conpositum ex utroque medium inter meridiem et 
hibernum occidentem Libonotum. nec finis : alii 
quippe Mesen nomine etiamnum addidere inter 
Borean et Caecian, et inter Eurum Notumque 
Euronotum. sunt enim quidam peculiares quibus- 
que gentibus venti, non ultra certum procedentes 
tractum, ut Atheniensibus Sciron, paulo ab Argcste 
deflexus, rehquae Graeciae ignotus : aliubi flatus 

121 idem Olympias vocatur ; consuetudo omnibus his 
nominibus Argesten intellegi.^ et Caecian aliqui 
vocant Hellespontian, et eosdem alii aliter. item 
in Narbonensi provincia clarissimus ventorum est 
Circius nec ullo \iolentia inferior, Ostiam plerumque 
secto 2 Ligustico mari perferens ; idem non modo in 
reliquis partibus c.ieli ignotus est, sed re Viennam 
quidem eiusdem provinciae urbem attingens paucis 
ante milibus iugi modici occursu tantus ille ventus 

coercetur. et Austros in Aegyptum penetrare negat 
Fabianus : quo fit manifesta lex naturae ventis 
etiam et tempore et fine dicto. 

122 XLVII. Ver ergo aperit navigantibus maria, cuius 
in principio Favonii hibernum rnolhunt caelum sole 
Aquari XXV optinente partem : is dies sextus 
Februarias ante idus. conpetit ferme et hoc 

^ intellegit MaylwSl. ^ Mayhojf : recto aut recta. 

262 



BOOK II. XLVI. I20-XLVII. 122 

(S.S.E.) in the space between winter sunrise (S.E.) 
and midday (S.), and also between Libs (S.W.) and 
Notus (S.) the combination of the two, Libonotus 
(S.S.W.), midway between midday (S.) and winter 
sunset (S.W.). Nor is this the end, inasmuch as 
others have also added one named Meses betAveen 
Boreas (N.E.) and Caecias (E.N.E.), and Euronotus 
between Eurus (S.E.) and Notus (S.). There are 
also certain winds pecuUar to particular races, which 
do not go outside a special region, e.g. the Athenians 
have Sciron, slightly diverging from Argestes (N.W.), 
a name unknown to the rest of Greece — elsewhere 
the same breeze is called Olympias : customarily 
all these names are taken to denote Argestes. 
Some people call Caecias (E.N.E.) Hellespontias, 
and others have other variants for these names. 
Similarly in the province of Narbonne the most 
famous of the winds is Circius (W.N.W.), which is 
inferior to none other at all in force and which usually 
carries a vessel right across the Ligurian Sea to 
Ostia ; the same wind is not only unknown in the 
remaining quarters of the sky, but it does not even 
touch Vienne, a city of the same province, a few 
miles before reaching which this mighty wind is 
checked by the obstacle of a moderate ridge of hills. 
Fabianus asserts that South winds also do not pene- 
trate Egypt — which reveals the law of nature that 
even winds have their prescribed Hmits as well as 
seasons. 

XLVII. Accordingly the spring opens the seas Seasons oj 
to voyagers ; at its beginning the West winds soften 
the wintry heaven, when the sun occupies the 25th 
degree of Aquarius ; the date of this is Feb. 8. 
This also practically appUes to aU the winds whose 

263 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

omnibus quos deinde ponam, per singulas interca- 
lationes uno die anticipantibus rursusque lustro 
sequenti ordinem servantibas. Favonium quidam 
a. d. VIII kalendas Martias Chelidonian vocant ab 
hirundinis visu, nonnnulli vero Ornithian ab adventu 
avium uno et LXX die post brumam flantem per dies 
novem. Favonio contrarius est quem Subsolanum 

123 appella^imus. dat aestatem exortus Vergiharum 
in totidem partibus Tauri sex diebus ante Maias idus, 
quod tempus Austrinum est, huic vento Septentrione 
contrario. ardentissimo autem aestatis tempore 
exoritur Caniculae sidus sole primam partem 
Leonis ingrediente, qui dies XV ante Augustas 
calendas est. huius exortum diebus octo ferme 
Aquilones antecedunt, quos Prodromos appellant. 

124 post biduum autem exortus iidem Aquilones con- 
stantius perflant diebus XXX,i quos Etesias appellant. 
molHre eos creditur solis vapor geminatus ardore 
sideris, nec ulli ventonma magis stati sunt. Post 
eos rursus Austri frequentes usque ad sidus Arcturi 
quod exoritur undecim diebus ante aequinoctiimi 

125 autumni. cum hoc Corus incipit ; Corus autumnat : 
huic est contrarius Volturnus. post id aequinoctium 
diebus fere quattuor et quadraginta Vergiliarum 
occasus hiemem inchoat, quod tempus in III idus 
Novembres incidere consuevit ; hoc est Aquilonis 
hibemi multumque aestivo illi dissimilis, cuius ex 
adverso est Africus. et ante brumam autem septem 

^ v.ll. diebus XL, his diebua. 
264 



I 



BOOK II. xLvii. 122-125 

positions I shall give afterwards, although every 
leap-year they come a day earher, but they keep the 
regular rule in the period that follows. Cei'tain 
persons give the name CheUdonias to the West 
wind on the 19th February, owing to the appearance 
of the swallow, but some call it Oi'nithias, from the 
arrival of the birds on the 71st day after the shortest 
day, when it blows for nine days. Opposite to the 
West wind is the wind that we have called Subsolanus 
(E.). The rise of the Pleiads in the same degrees 
of Taurus on May 10 brings summer ; it is a period 
of South wind, Auster, the opposite of Septentrio. 
But in the hottest period of summer the Dog-star 
rises, when the sun is entering the first degree of 
Leo — this day is July 17. The Dog-star's rise is 
preceded for about eight days by North-east winds : 
these are called the Forerunners. But two days 
after his rising the North-east winds begin again, 
and continue blowing steadily for 30 days ; these are 
called Etesian or Annual winds. They are beheved 
to be softened by the sun's warmth being reinforced 
by the heat of the star; and they are the most 
regular of any of the winds, They are foUowed in 
turn by South winds, continuing to the rise of 
Arcturus, which occurs 40 days before the autumnal 
equinox. With the equinox begins the North-west 
wind ; this, the opposite of ^^olturnus, marks the 
beginning of autumn. About 44 days after the 
autumnal equinox the setting of the Pleiads mai'ks 
the beginning of winter, which it is customary to 
date on November 11 ; this is the period of the 
Minter Aquilo, which is very unhke the summer one 
mentioned above ; it is opposite to the South-west 
wind. But for six days before the shortest day and 

265 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

diebus totidemque post eam stemitur mare alcyonum 
feturae, unde nomen hi dies traxere. reliquom 
tempus hiemat. nec tamen saevitia tempestatum 
cludit ^ mare : piratae primum coegere mortis peri- 
culo in mortem ruere et hiberna experiri maria, nunc 
idem hoc avaritia cogit. 

126 XLVIII. Ventorum etiam frigidissimi sunt quos 
a septentrione diximus spirare et \icinus his Corus : 
hi et reliquos conpescunt et nubes abigunt. umidi 
Africus et praecipue Auster Italiae ; narrant et in 
Ponto Caecian in se trahere nubes. sicci Corus et 
Volturnus praeterquam desinentes. nivales Aquilo 
et Septentrio ; grandines Septentrio inportat et 
Corus. aestuosus Auster, tepidi Volturnus et Favon- 
ius ; idem Subsolano sicciores, et in totum omnes a 
Septentrione et occidente sicciores quam a meridie 

127 et oriente. saluberrimus autem omnium Aquilo, 
noxius Auster et magis siccus, fortassis quia umidus 
frigidior est ; minus esurire eo spirante creduntur 
animantes. Etesiae noctu desinunt fere, et a tertia 
diei hora oriuntur ; in Hispania et Asia ab oriente 
fiatus est eorum, in Ponto ab Aquilone, reliquis in 
partibus a meridie. spirant autem et a bruma, ciun 
vocantur Ornithiae, sed leniores et paucis diebus. 
Permutant et duo naturam cum situ, Auster, Africae 

128 serenus, Aquilo nubilus. omnes venti vicibus suis 
spirant maiore ex parte ita ut ^ contrarius desinenti 

^ v.l. concludit. 

* ita ut Detlefsen : aut ut aitt autem (autem ut Mayhojf). 

" It was thought that there was less likelihood of encounter- 
ing pirates in the winter. 
266 



BOOK II. xLvii. 125-XLV111. 128 

six days after it tlie sea calms down for the breeding 
of the halcyons from which these days derive their 
name. The rest of the time there is wintry weather. 
However, not even the fury of the storms closes the 
sea ; pirates first compelled men by the threat of 
death to rush into death and venture on the winter 
seas," but now avarice exercises the same compulsion. 

XLVni. The actually coldest ^vinds are those windsand 
that we have stated to blow from the North, and their '^'^'^'■^- 
neighbour Corus (N.W.) ; these check the other 
winds and also drive away the clouds. The South- 
west and especially the South are for Italy the damp 
■winds ; it is said that on the Black Sea the East- 
north-east also attracts clouds. The North-west and 
South-east are dry, except when they are falling. 
The North-east and North are snow winds ; the North 
brings hailstorms, and so does the North-west. The 
South wind is hot, the South-east and West warm ; 
the latter are also drier than the East wind, and in 
general all the northerly and westerly winds are drier 
than the southerly and easterly. The healthiest of 
all is the North wind ; the South is harmful, and more 
so when dry, perhaps because when damp it is colder ; 
Hving creatures are believed to be less hungry when 
it is blowing. Etesian winds usually cease at night 
and rise at eight o'clock in the morning ; in Spain 
and Asia they are East winds, on the Black Sea North, 
and in other regions South. But they also begin to 
blow at midwinter (when they are called the Bird- 
winds), but more gently and only for a few days. 
Two winds also change their nature \vith their geo- 
graphical position : the South wind in Africa is fine 
and the North-east cloudy. All the winds blow in 
their ovm turns, usually the one opposite to the one 

267 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

incipiat. cum proximi cadentibus surgunt, a laevo 
latere in dextrum ut sol ambiunt. de ratione eorum 
menstrua quarta maxime luna decernit. iisdem 
autem ventis in contrarium navigatur prolatis 
pedibus, ut noctu pleriunque adversa vela concurrant. 
Austro maiores fluctus eduntur quam Aquilone, quo- 
niam ille infernus ex imo mari spirat, hic summo; 
ideoque post Austros noxii praecipue terrae motus. 

129 noctu Auster, interdiu Aquilo vehementior, et ab 
ortu flantes diuturniores sunt ab occasu flantibus. 
Septentriones inpari fere ^ desinunt numero, quae 
observatio et in aliis multis rerum naturae partibus 
valet ; mares itaque existimantur impares numeii 
sol et auget et conprimit flatus— auget exoriens occi- 
densque, conprimit meridianus aestivis temporibus ; 
itaque medio diei aut noctis plerumque sopiuntur, 
quia aut nimio frigore aut aestu solvuntur. et 
imbribus venti sopiuntur ; exspectantur ^ autem 
maxime unde nubes discussae adaperuere caelum. 

130 Omnium quidem (si libeat observare minimos ambi- 
tus) redire easdem \ices quadriennio exacto Eudoxus 
putat, non ventorum modo verum et reliquarum 
tempestatimi magna ex parte, et esse ^ principium 
lustri eius semper intercalario anno Caniculae ortu. 

De generalibus ventis haec. 

^ fere <dierum> ? Backham. ^ exspectentur ? Rackham. 
^ Rackham : est. 

" I.e. East to West ; the observer faces South. 

* I.e. the wind blowing on the fourth day of the uew moon 
nsually continues all the month. 
268 



I 



BOOK II. xLviii. 128-130 

that ceases beginning. When those next to the ones 
falling rise, they go round from left to right " like 
the sun. The fourth moon usually decides about the 
course of the winds for the month.* Vessels by 
means of slacking sheets can sail in contrary direc- 
tions with the same winds, so that collisions occur, 
usually at night, between ships on opposite tacks. 
The South wind causes larger waves than the North- 
east because the former being below blows from the 
bottom of the sea but the latter from the top ; 
consequently earthquakes following South winds are 
specially destructive. The South ^\and is more 
violent at night and the North-east wind in the day- 
time ; and easterly winds continue longer than 
westerly. North M^nds usually stop after blowing an 
odd number of days, an observation that holds good 
in many other departments of nature also : this is 
why the odd numbers are thought to be masculine. 
The sun both increases and reduces the force of the 
wind — the former when rising and setting, the latter 
at midday in summer seasons ; consequently the 
winds are usually lulled at midday or midnight, 
because either excessive cold or excessive heat makes 
them slack. Also winds are lulled by rain ; but they 
are most to be expected from quarters where the 
clouds have broken, reveaHng a clear sky. 

Eudoxus however thinks that (if we choose to 
study the minimal circuits) there is a regular re- 
currence of all phenomena — not only of Avinds but 
largely of other sorts of bad weather as well — in 
four-yearly periods, and that the period always 
begins in a leap-year at the rising of Sirius. 

These are our observations vvith regard to the 
winds that are regular. 

269 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

131 XLIX. Nunc de repentinis flatibus, qui exhalante 
terra, ut dictum est, coorti rursusque deiecti in 
terram^ obducta nubi\im cute, multiformes exsistunt. 
vagi quippe et ruentes torrentium modo (ut aliquis 
placere ostendimus) tonitrua et fulgura edunt. 
maiore vero inlati pondere incursuque si late siccam 
rupere nubem, procellam gignunt quae vocatur a 
Graecis ecnephias, sin vero depresso sinu artius 
rotati effregerunt, sine igne, hoc est sine fulmine, 
verticem faciunt qui t}^hon vocatur, id est vibratus 

132 ecnephias. defert hic secum aliquid abreptum e 
nube calidi ^ convolvens versansque et ruinam suam 
illo pondere adgravans ac locimi ex loco mutans 
rapida vertigine, praecipua navigantiimi pestis, non 
antemnas modo verxun ipsa navigia contorta frangens, 
tenui remedio aceti in advenientem efFusi, cui frigidis- 
sima est natura. idem inlisu ipso repercussus correp- 
ta secima in caeliun refert sorbetque in excelsiun. 

133 L. Quod si maiore depressae nubis eruperit 

specu sed minus lato quam procella, nec sine fragore, 

turbinem vocant proxima quaeque prostementem. 

idem ardentior accensiisque dmn furit, prester voca- 

tur amburens contacta pariter et proterens. Non 

^ Caesarius : interim. 

* Detlefsen : gelidi aut gelida. 

• § 111. » § 112. • Cf. § 133. 

270 



BOOK II. xLLx. 131-L. 133 

XLIX. Now as to sudden blasts, which arise as casuai 
has been said " from exhalations of the earth, and ^i^^onm. 
fall back again to the earth dra^^ing over it an envelope 
of cloud ; these occur in a variety of forms. The 
fact is that their om-ush is quite irregular, Hke that of 
mountain torrents (as we have pointed out * is the 
view of certain persons), and they give forth thunder 
and Hghtning. If travelHng with a heavier momen- 
tum they burst a great gap in a dry cloud, they 
produce a storm called by the Greeks a cloudburst ; 
but if they break out from a dowmvard curve of 
cloud " with a more Hmited rotation, they cause a 
whirl unaccompanied by fire — I mean by Hghtning — 
that is called a typhoon, which denotes a whirHng 
cloudburst. This brings down with it a portion of 
heat torn from a cloud, which it turns and whirls round, 
increasing its own downward velocity by its weight, 
and shifting from place to place with a rapid whirl ; 
it is specially disastrous to navigators, as it twists 
round and shatters not only the yards, but the vessels 
themselves, leaving only the slender remedyof pouring 
out vinegar in advance of its approach, vinegar being 
a very cold substance. The same whirlwind when 
beaten back by its very impact snatches things up 
and carries them back with it to the sky, sucking 
them high aloft. 

L. But if it bursts out of a larger cavern of down- Kinds of 
ward pressing cloud but not so wide a one as in the «'''*'^"'""^- 
case of a storm, and is accompanied by a crashing 
noise, this is what they call a whirlwind, which over- 
throws everything in its neighbourhood. When the 
same rages hotter and with a fiery flow, it is caHed 
a prester, as while sweeping away the things it comes 
in contact with it also scorches them up. But a 

271 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

fit autem aquilonius typhon, nec nivalis aut nive 
iacente ^ ecnephias. quod si simul rupit nubem 
exarsitque et ignem habuit, non postea concepit, 

134 fuknen est. distat a prestere quo flamma ab igni : 
hic late funditur flatu, illud conglobatur impetu. 
vertex autem remeando distat a turbine et quo 
stridor a fragore ; procella latitudine ab utroque, 
disiecta nube verius quam rupta. fit et caligo 
beluae simihs in ^ nube dira navigantibus. vocatur et 
columna, cum spissatus umor rigensque ipse se sus- 
tinet ; ex eodem genere et aulon, cum veluti fistula 
nubes aquam trahit. 

135 LI. Hieme et aestate rara fulmina contrariis de 
causis, quoniam hieme densatus aer nubium crassiore 
corio spissatur, omnisque terrarum exhalatio rigens 
ac gelida quicquid accipit ignei vaporis exstinguit. 
quae ratio inmunem Scythiam et circa rigentia 
a fulminum casu praestat, e diverso nimius ardor 
Aegyptum, siquidem calidi siccique hahtus terrae raro 
admodum tenuisque et infirmas densantur in nubes. 

13G vere autem et autumno crebriora fulmina, correptis ^ 
in utroque tempore aestatis hiemisque causis ; qua 
ratione crebra in Italia, qma mobilior aer mitiore 
hieme et aestate nimbosa semper quodammodo ver- 
nat vel autumnat. sunt in * Italiae quoque partibus iis 

^ v.l. aut nivcm iaciens {del. ut gloss. Pintiunvs). 
* in Mayhoff : e aut om. codd. ^ Rackham: corruptis. 

* iu add. Backham, 

272 



BOOK II. L. 133-LI. 136 

typlioon does not occur with a northerly wind, nor a 
cloudburst with snow or when snow is lying. If it 
flared up as soon as it burst the cloud, and had fire in 
it, did not catch fire afterwards, it is a thunder- 
bolt. It differs from a fiery pillar in the way in which 
a flame differs from a fire : a fiery pillar spreads out 
its blast widely, whereas a thunderbolt masses 
together its onrush. On the other hand a tornado 
differs from a whirlwind by returning, and as a whizz 
differs from a crash ; a storm is different from either 
in its extent — it is caused by the scattering rather 
than the bursting of a cloud. There also occurs a 
darkness caused by a cloud shaped Uke a wild 
monster — this is direful to sailors. There is also what 
is called a column, when densified and stiffened 
moisture raises itself aloft ; in the same class also is 
a waterspout, when a cloud draws up water Hke a pipe. 

LI. Thunderbolts are rare in winter and in Thunder- 
summer, from opposite causes. In winter, owing to ^f^^}^.^^ 
the thicker envelope of cloud, the air is rendered 
extremely dense, and all the earth's exhalation being 
stiff and cold extinguishes whatever fiery vapour it 
receives. This reason renders Scythia and the 
frozen regions round it immune from the fall of 
thunderbolts, wliile conversely the excessive heat 
does the same for Egypt, inasmuch as the hot and 
dry exhalations from the earth condense very rarely, 
and only form thin and feeble clouds. But in spring 
and autumn thunderbolts are more frequent, their 
summer and winter causes being combined in each 
of ihose seasons ; this explains why they are fre- 
quent in Italy, where the milder winter and stormy 
summer make the air more mobile, and it is always 
somewhat vernal or autumnal. Also in the parts of 

273 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

quae a septentrione deseendunt ad teporem, qualis 
est urbis et Campaniae tractus, iuxta hieme et aestate 
fulgurat, quod non in ^ alio situ evenit.^ 

137 LII. Fulminum ipsorum plura genera traduntur. 
quae sicca veniunt non adurunt sed dissipant, quae 
fumida ^ non urunt sed infuscant. tertium est quod 
clarum vocant, mirificae maxime naturae, quo dolia 
exhauriuntur intactis operimentis nulloque alio 
vestigio relicto, aurum et aes et argentum liquatur 
intus, sacculis ipsis nullo modo ambustis ac ne confuso 
qviidem signo cerae. Marcia femina * princeps 
Romanarum icta gravida partu exanimato ipsa citra 
ullum aliud incommodum vixit. in Catihnariis prodigiis 
Pompeiano ex municipio M. Herennius decurio 
sereno die fulmine ictus est. 

138 LIII. Tuscorum litterae novem deos emittere 
fulmina existimant, eaque esse undecim generiun, 
lovem enim trina iaculari. Romani duo tantum ex 
iis servavere, diurna attribuentes lovi, nocturna 
Summano, rariora sane eadem de causa frigidioris 
caeli. Etruria erumpere terra quoque arbitratur, 
quae infera appellat, brumali tempore facta saeva 
maxime et exsecrabiUa, cum sint omnia quae terrena 
existimant non illa generaUa nec a sideribus venientia 

^ in<uUo>alio ? Rackham. 

* evenit om. codd. plurimi. 

* fumida (i/foAde»n-a AristotU Meteorol. 371 a 21) Brotier: 
umida. , 

* femina add. Mayhoff. 

274 



BOOK II. Li. 136-U11. 138 

Italy that slope down from the north towards the 
warmth, such as the district of Rome and the 
Campagna, hghtning occurs in winter just as in 
summer, which does not happen in any other 
locaHty. 

LII. Of thunderbolts themselves several varieties their 
are reported. Those that come with a dry flash "'^''ieties. 
do not cause a fire but an explosion. The smoky 
ones do not burn but blacken. There is a third sort, 
called ' bright thunderbolts,' of an extremely remark- 
able nature ; this kind drains casks dry without 
damaging their h*ds and without leaving any other 
trace, and melts gold and copper and silver in their 
bags without singeing the bags themselves at all, 
and even without melting the wax seal. Marcia, 
a lady of high station at Rome, was struck by 
lightning when enceinfe, and though the child was 
killed, she herself sur\ived without being otherwise 
injured. Among the portents in connexion with 
Catihne, a town-councillor of Pompei named Marcus 
Herennius was struck by lightning on a fine day. 

LIII. The Tuscan writers hold the view that viewsast 
there are nine gods who send thunderbolts, and that '''^^<'<"^e 
these are of eleven kinds, because Jupiter hurls three 
varieties. Only two of these deities have been 
retained by the Romans, who attribute thunderbolts 
in the daytime to Jupiter and those in the night to 
Summanus, the latter being naturally rare because 
the sky at night is colder. Tuscany beUeves that 
some also burst out of the ground, which it calls 
* low bolts,' and that these are rendered exception- 
ally direful and accursed by the season of winter, 
though all the bolts that they beheve of earthly 
origin are not the ordinary ones and do not come 

275 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

sed ex proxima atque turbidiore natura : argumen- 
tum evidens, quod omnia e superiore caelo decidentia 
obliquos habent ictus, haec autem quae vocant 

139 terrena rectos. et quae^ ex propiore materia cadunt 
ideo creduntur e terra exire quoniam ex repulsu 
nulla vestigia edunt, cum sit illa ratio non inferi 
ictus sed aversi.^ a Saturni ea sidere proficisci 
subtiUus ista consectati putant, sicut cremantia a 
Martis, qualiter cum Volsinii, oppidum Tuscorimi 
opulentissimum, totum concrematum est fulmine. 
vocant et famiUaria, in totam vitam fatidica, quae 
prima fiunt familiam suam cuique indepto. cete- 
rum existimant non ultra decem annos portendere 
privata praeterquam aut primo matrimonio facta 
aut natali die, publica non ultra tricesimum annum 
praeterquam in deductione oppidi. 

140 LIV. Exstat annalium memoria sacris quibusdam 
et precationibus vel cogi fulmina vel inpetrari. vetus 
fama Etruriae est inpetratum, Volsinios urbem 
depopulatis agris subeunte monstro quod vocavere 
Oltam, evocatum a Porsina suo rege. et ante eum 
a Numa saepius hoc factitatum in primo annalium 
suorum tradit L. Piso, gravis auctor, quod imitatum 
parum rite Tullum Hostiliimi ictum fulmine. lucos- 

^ Et quae Mayhoff : sed qui». 
* Rackham : adversi. 

• l.e. the air. 
276 



BOOK II. Liii. 138-LIV. 140 

from the st.ars but from the nearer and more dis- 
ordered element " : a clear proof of this being that 
all those comin^ from the upper heaven dehver 
slanting blows, whereas these which they call earthly 
strike straight. And those that fall from the nearer 
elements are supposed to come out of the earth 
because they leave no traces as a result of their 
rebound, although that is the principle not of a 
downward blow but of a slanting one. Those who 
pursue these enquiries with more subtlety think 
that these bolts come from the planet Saturn, just 
as the inflammatory ones come from Mars, as, for 
instance, when Bolsena, the richest town in Tuscany, 
was entirely burnt up by a thunderbolt. Also the 
first ones that occur after a man sets up house for 
himself are called ' family meteors,' as foreteUing his 
fortune for the whole of his hfe. However, people 
think that private meteors, except those that occur 
either at a man's first marriage or on his birthday, 
do not prophecy beyond ten years, nor pubHc ones 
beyond the 30th year, except those occurring at 
the colonization of a to\vn. 

LIV. Historical record also exists of thunderbolts Titumier' 
being either caused by or vouchsafed in answer to praycr. 
certain rites and prayers. There is an old story of 
the latter in Tuscany, when the portent which they 
called Olta came to the city of Bolsena, when its 
territory had been devastated; it was sent in 
answer to the prayer of its king Porsina. Also 
before his time, as is recorded on the rehable 
authority of Lucius Piso in his Annals I, this 
was frequently practised by Numa, though when 
Tullus Hostihus copied him with incorrect ritual he 
was struck by hghtning. We also have groves and 

277 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

que et aras et sacra habemas, interque Statores ac 
Tonantes et Feretrios Elicium quoque accepimus 

141 lovem. varia in hoc intae sententia et pro cuiusque 
animo. imperare naturae sacra audacis est credere, 
nec minus hebetis beneficiis abrogare vires, quando 
in fulgurum quoque interpretatione eo profecit 
scientia ut ventura alia finito die praecinat et an 
peremptura sint factum ^ aut ^ prius alia facta ^ 
quae lateant, innumerabilibus in utroque pubHcis 
privatisque experimentis. quamobrem sint ista ut 
rerum naturae libuit, alias certa alias dubia, aliis 
probata aliis damnanda, nos cetera* quae sunt in 
his memorabilia non omittemus. 

142 LV. Fulgetrum prius cerni quam tonitrum audiri, 
cum simul fiant, certum est (nec mirum, quoniam lux 
sonitu velocior) ; ictimi autem et sonitum congruere 
ita modulante natura, sed sonitum profecti esse 
fulminis, non inlati ; etiamnmn spiritum ociorem 
fulmine, ideo quati prius omne et adflari quam 
percuti ; nec quemquam tangi qui viderit fulmen aut 
tonitnmi audierit. laeva prospera existimantur quo- 

^ v.l. fatum. * v.l. ant apertura. 

* v.l. fata. * v.l. de cetero. 

" Jupiter to whom spolia opima were offered in retum for 
victory in battle. 

278 



BOOK II. uv. 140-LV. 142 

altars and rites, and among the other Jupiters, the 
Stayers and Thunderers and Receivers of Offerings,* 
tradition gives us Jupiter the Invoked. On this 
matter the opinion of mankind varies, in corre- 
spondence with our individual dispositions. It takes 
a bold man to beHeve that Nature obeys the behests 
of ritual, and equally it takes a dull man to deny 
that ritual has beneficent powers, when knowledge 
has made such progress even in the interpretation 
of thunderbolts that it can prophecy that others 
vvill come on a fixed day, and whether they will 
destroy a previous one or other pre\aous ones 
that are concealed : this progress has been made 
by public and private experiments in both fields. 
In consequence although such indications are 
certain in some cases but doubtful in othei's, and 
approved to some persons but in the view of others 
to be condemned, in accordance with Nature's will 
and pleasure, we for our part are not going to leave 
out the rest of the things worth recording in this 
department. 

LV. It is certain that when thunder and lightning Thunder a 
occur simultaneously, the flash is seen before the ^idhtning. 
thunderclap is heard (this not being surprising, as 
light travels more swiftly than sound) ; but that 
Nature so regulates the stroke of a thunderbolt and 
the sound of the thunder that they occur together, 
although the sound is caused by the bolt starting, 
not striking ; moreover that the current of air 
travels faster than the bolt, and that consequently 
the object always is shaken and feels the blast before 
it is struck ; and that nobody hit has ever seen the 
lightning or heard the thunder in advance. Flashes 
on the left are considered lucky, because the sun 

279 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

niam laeva parte miindi ortus est ; nec tam adventus 
spectatur quam reditus, sive ab ictu resilit ignis sive 
opere confecto aut igne consumpto spiritus remeat. 

143 In sedecim partes caelum in eo spectu di\dsere 
Tusci : prima est a septemtrionibus ad aequinocti- 
alem exortum, secunda ad meridiem, tertia ad aequi- 
noctialem occasum, quarta obtinet quod reliquum 
est ab occasu ad septemtriones ; has iterum in 
quaternas divisere partes, ex quibus octo ab exortu 
sinistras, totidem e contrario appellavere dextras. 
ex his maxime dirae quae septemtriones ab occasu 
attingunt. itaque plurimum refert unde venerint 
fulmina et quo concesserint. optimum est in 

144 exortivas redire partes. ideo cum a prima caeli 
parte venerint et in eandem concesserint, summa 
felicitas portendetur, quale Sullae dictatori ostentum 
datum accepimus ; cetera ad ipsius mundi portionem ^ 
minus prospera aut dira. quidam ^ fulgura enuntiare 
non putant fas nec audire, praeterquam si hospiti in- 
dicentur aut parenti. 

Magna huius observationis vanitas tacta lunonis 
aede Romae deprehensa est Scauro consule qui mox 
princeps fuit. 

145 Noctu magis quam interdiu sine tonitribus ful- 
gurat. unum animal hominem non semper ex- 

^ Mayhojf (c/. xiii 133 etc.) : cetera ipsius mundi portione. 
^ Rackham: quaedam. 

* It is assumed that an observer faces South. 

* 115 B.C. 

' Cf. XXXVI. 144 princeps civitalis. 
2S0 



BOOK 11. Lv. 142-145 

rises on the left-hand "^ side of the firmament ; and 
their approach is not so visible as their return, 
whether after the blow a fire springs from it or the 
breath returns when its Mork is done or its fire used 
up. 

In making these observations the Tuscans divided Awjurvhv 
the heaven into sixteen parts : the first quarter is ''"' erooiu. 
from the North to the equinoctial sunrise (East), 
the second to the South, the third to the equinoctial 
sunset (West), and the fourth occupies the re- 
maining space extending from West to North ; 
these quarters they subdivided into four parts each, 
of which tb.ey called the eight starting from the East 
the left-hand regions and the eight opposite ones the 
right-hand. Of these the most formidable are those 
lying between West and North. Hence the line of 
approach and the hne of retirement of thunderbolts 
is of very great importance. It is best for them to 
retui-n to parts in the region of sum-ise. Accordingly 
it will be a portent of supreme happiness when they 
come from the first part of the sky and retire to the 
same part — a sign that history records to have been 
vouchsafed to the dictator Sulla ; but all the others 
are less fortunate or actually direful, in accordance 
with the division of the actual firmament where they 
occur. Some people think it \vrong to give or to 
Hsten to reports of thunderbolts, exeept if they are 
told to a guest or a parent. 

The great folly of paying attention to these occur- 
rences was discovered when the Temple of Juno at 
Rome was struck by h'ghtning in the consulship ** of 
Scaurus, who was afterwards head of the state."^ 

Lightning unaccompanied by thunder occurs more Urihtning, 
often by night than in the daytime. Man is the one '^^'^'^'^ °^' 

281 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

stinguit, cetera illico, hunc videlicet natura tribuente 
honorem cum tot beluae viribus praestent. omnia 
contrarias incubant in partes. homo nisi converta- 
tur \-i percussus non exspirat. superne icti 
considunt. vigilans ictus coniventibus ocuhs, dorm- 
iens patentibus reperitur, hominem ita exanim- 
atimi cremari fas non est, condi terra religio 
tradidit. nullum animal nisi exanimatum fulmine 
accenditur. volnera fulminatorum frigidiora sunt 

146 rehquo corpore. LVI. ex iis quae terra gignuntur 
lauri fruticem non icit. nec umquam quinque altixis 
pedibus descendit in terram ; ideo pa\idi altiores 
specus tutissimos putant, aut tabernacula pelUbus 
beluarum quas \itulos appellant, quoniam hoc solum 
animal ex marinis non percutiat, sicut nec e volucri- 
bus aquilam, quae ob hoc armigera huius teli fingitur. 
in Italia inter Tarracinam et aedem Feroniae turres 
belli Caesariani ^ temporibus desiere fieri nulla non 
earum fulmine diruta, 

147 LVII. Praeter haec in ^ inferiore caelo relatum in 
monimienta est lacte et sanguine pluisse M'. AciUo 
C. Porcio coss. et saepe ahas carne sicut P. Volumnio 
Servio Sulpicio coss., exque ea non putruisse quod non 

^ Deilefaen : bellicea (belli civilis Mayhoff). 
* in om. v.l. 

" 114 B.c. ^ 461 B.o. 

282 



BOOK II. LV. 145-LV11. 147 

creature that is not ahvays killed when struck — all 
others are killed on the spot ; nature doubtless 
bestows this honour on man beeause so many animals 
surpass him in strength. All things (when struck) 
fall in the opposite direction to the flash. A man 
does not die unless the force of the blow turns him 
right round. Men struck from above collapse. A 
man struck while awake is found with his eyes shut ; 
while asleep, with them open. It is not lawful to 
eremate a man who loses his life in this manner ; re- 
ligious tradition prescribes burial. No Hving creature 
can be burnt by lightning without being killed. The 
temperature of the wound of those struck is lower than 
that of the rest of the body. LVI. Among things 
that grow in the ground, it does not strike a laurel 
bush. It never penetrates more than five feet into 
the earth ; consequently when in fear of lightning 
men think caves of greater depth are the safest, or 
else a tent made of the skin of the creatures called 
sea-calves, because that alone among marine animals 
hghtning does not strike, just as it does not strike 
the eagle among birds ; this is why the eagle is 
represented as armed with a thunderbolt as a 
weapon. In Italy in the time of the Caesarian war 
people ceased to build towers between Terracina 
and the Temple of Feronia, as every tower there was 
destroyed by hghtning. 

LVII. Besides these events in the lower sky, it is Ratn of 
entered in the records that in the consulship " of *'""''' '"''^* 
Manius Acilius and Gaius Porcius it rained milk and 
blood, and that frequently on other occasions there it 
has rained flesh, for instance in the consulship * of 
PubHus Volumnius and Ser^dus Sulpicius, and that 
none of the flesh left unplundered by birds of prey 

283 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

diripuissent aves, item ferro in Lucanis anno ante- 
quam M. Crassus a Parthis interemptus est omnesque 
cum eo Lucani milites, quorum magnus numerus in 
exercitu erat : effigies quo ^ pluit ferri spongearum ^ 
similis fuit ; haruspices praemonuerunt superna 
volnera. L. autem Paullo C. Marcello coss. lana pluit 
circa castellum Compsanum, iuxta quod post annum 
T. Annius Milo occisus est. eodem causam dicente 
lateribus coctis pluisse in acta eius anni relatum est. 

148 LVIII. Armorum crepitus et tubae sonitus auditos 
e caelo Cimbricis bellis accepimus, crebroque et prius 
et postea. tertio vero consulatu Mari ab Amerinis 
et Tudertibus spectata arma caelestia ab ortu occas- 
uque inter se concurrentia, pulsis quae ab occasu 
erant. ipsum ardere caelum minvmie mirum est et 
saepius visum maiore igne nubibus conreptis. 

149 LIX. Celebrant Graeci Anaxagoran Clazomenium 
Olympiadis septuagesimae octavae secundo anno 
praedixisse caelestium litterarum ^ scientia quibus 
diebus saxum casurum esset e sole, idque factum 
interdiu in Thraciae parte ad Aegos flumen (qui lapis 
etiamnunc ostenditur magnitudine vehis, colore 
adusto) comete quoque illis noctibus flagrante. quod 
si quis praedictum credat, simul fateatur necesse est 

1 Mayhoff : qiie a-ut quae. 

* Mayhoff : spongearum ferri aut spongearum. 

' v.l. caelestium militiarum. 



" In the battle of Carrhae 53 b.o. 
' I.e. lumps of porous stone. 
' 49 B.c. ■* Now Conza, in Samnium. 

• From North Germanv. 113-101 b.c. 
103 B.o. * No\v Todi. * 467 b.o. 

1S4 



BOOK II. Lvii. 147-LIX. 149 

went bad; and similarly that it rained iron in the 
district of Lucania the year before Marcus Crassus 
was killed " by the Parthians and with him all the 
Lucanian soldiers, of Avhom there was a large con- 
tingent in his army ; the shape of the iron that fell 
resembled sponges * ; the augurs prophecied wounds 
from above. But in the consulship <= of Lucius Paullus 
and Gaius Marcellus it rained wool in the vicinity of 
Compsa ** Castle, near which Titus Annius Milo was 
killed a year later. It is recorded in the annals of 
that year that while Milo was pleading a case in 
court it rained baked bricks. 

LVIII. We are told that during the wars with the Armtfs m 
Cimbri ^ a noise of clangino; armour and the sounding '''* *^'^' 
of a trumpet were heard from the sky, and that the 
same thing has happened frequently both before then 
and later. In the third consulship / of Marius the 
inhabitants of Ameria and Tuder? saw the spectacle 
of heavenly armies advancing from the East and the 
West to meet in battle, those from the West being 
routed. It has often been seen, and is not at all 
surprising, that the sky itself catches fire when the 
clouds have been set on fire by an exceptionally 
large flame. 

LIX. The Greeks tell the story that Anaxagoras sun-stonei 
of Clazomenae in the 2nd year * of the 78th Olympiad 
was enabled by his knowledge of astronomical 
literature to prophecy that in a certain number of 
days a rock would fall from the sun ; and that this 
occurred in the daytime in the Goat's River district 
of Thrace (the stone is still shown — it is of the size of 
a wagon-load and brown in colour), a comet also 
blazing in the nights at the time. If anyone beheves 
in the fact of this prophecy, that involves his allowing 

285 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

maioris miraculi divinitatem Anaxagorae fuisse, soUi- 
que rerum naturae intellectum et confundi omnia si 
aut ipse sol lapis esse aut umquam lapidem in eo 
fuisse credatur. decidere tamen crebro non erit 

150 dubium. in Abydi gj^mnasio ex ea causa colitur 
hodieque modicus quidem sed quem in medio 
terrarum casurum idem Anaxagoras praedixisse 
narratur. colitur et Cassandriae, quae Potidaea 
vocitata est, ob id deductae. ego ipse vidi in 
Vocontiorum agro paulo ante delapsmn.^ 

LX. Arciis vocamus extra miraculum frequentes 
et extra ostentimn ; nam ne plmios quidem aut 
serenos dies cum fide portendunt. manifestum est 
radium solis inmissum cavae nubi repulsa acie in 
solem refringi, colorumque varietatem mixtura 
nubium, ignium, aeris fieri. certe nisi sole adverso 
non fiunt, nec umquam nisi dimidia circuli forma, nec 
noctu, quam\is Aristoteles prodat aliquando visum, 
quod tamen fatetur idem non nisi quartadecima ^ 

151 luna fieri posse. fiunt autem hieme maxime ab 
aequinoctio autumnali die decrescente ; quo rursus 
crescente ab aequinoctio verno non exsistunt, nec 
circa solstitium longissimis diebus, bruma vero [id 
est brevissimis ^] frequenter ; iidem sublimes humili 

^ Rackham : delatum. 

" edd.{= XIV) : tricesima (= XXX). 

* Sedusit Mayhqff. 



' 'Potidaea'from770Ti = 77poj and Balonai 'to hum'(Brotier) 

* The MSS. give ' brought in ' (from the country). 

' Aristotle, Meteorologica, III, ii, 372a, 27 ev rfj navaeXi^vcii 
(meaning any time when the moon is more than at half ). 

■^ The omitted clause ' that is, at the shorte^t days ' looks 
lilie a philological note on ' bruma.' 

286 



BOOK II. Lix. 149-LX. 151 

that the divining powers of Anaxagoras covered a 
greater marvel, and that our understanding of the 
physlcal universe is annihilated and everything thrown 
into confusion if it is beheved either that the sun is 
itself a stone or ever had a stone inside it. But it 
will not be doubted that stones do frequently fall. A 
stone is worshipped for this reason even at the present 
day in the exercising ground at Abydos — one of 
moderate size, it is true, but which the same Anax- 
agoras is said to have prophesied as going to fall in the 
middle of the country. There is also one that is wor- 
shipped at Cassandria, the place that has been given 
the name of Potidaea," and where a colony was 
settled on account of this occurrence. I myself 
saw one that had recently come down ^' in the territory 
of the Vocontii. 

LX. The common occurr ences that we call rainbows Rairtbows. 
have nothing miraculous or portentous about them, 
for they do not reliably portend even rain or fine 
weather. The obvious explanation of them is that 
a ray of the sun striking a hollow cloud has its point 
repelled and is reflected back to the sun, and that the 
diversified colouring is due to the mixture of clouds, 
fires and air. Rainbows certainly do not occur except 
opposite to the sun, and never except in semi-circular 
shape, and not at night time, although Aristotle 
does state that a rainbow has been sometimes seen at 
night, though he also admits that it cannot happen 
except on the 14th day of the lunar month.'' Rain- 
bows in winter occur chiefly when the day is drawing 
in after the autumnal equinox ; when the day draws 
out again after the vernal equinox they do not occur, 
nor in the longest days about the solstice, but they 
occur frequently in midwinter '^ ; also they are high 

287 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

sole humilesque sublimi, et minores oriente aut 
occidente sed in latitudinem demissi, meridie exiles 
venrni ambitus maioris. aestate autem per meridiem 
non cernuntur post autumni aequinoctium qua- 
cumque hora ; nec umquam plures simul quam duo. 

152 LXI. Cetera eiusdem naturae non multis dubia 
esse video ; grandinem conglaciato imbre gigni et 
nivem eodem umore mollius coacto, pruinam autem ex 
rore gelido ; per hiemem nives cadere, non grandines, 
ipsasque grandines interdiu saepius quam noctu, et 
multo celerius resolvi quam nives ; nebulas nec aestate 
nec maximo frigore exsistere, rores neque gelu neque 
ardoribus neque ventis nec nisi serena nocte ; gelando 
liquorem minui, resolutaque glacie non eimdem 
inveniri modiun ; varietates colorum figurarumque in 
nubibus cerni prout admixtus ignis superet aut 

153 vincatur ; LXII. praeterea quasdam proprietates 
quibiisdam locis esse, roscidas aestate Africae noctes, 
in Italia Locris et in lacu VeHno nullo non die adparere 
arcus, Rhodi et Syracusis niunquam tanta nubila 
obduci ut non ahqua hora sol cernatur ; quaha aptius 
suis referentur locis. 

Haec sint dicta de aere. 

154 LXIII. Sequitur terra, cui um' rerum naturae 
partium eximia propter merita cognomen indidimus 
maternae venerationis. sic hominum illa ut caelum 
dei, quae nos nascentes excipit, natos aht, semelque 

" That is, the water is of larger bulk than the ice was. In 
fact of course the opposite is true. 



BOOK II. Lx. 151-LX111. 154 

in the sky when the sun is low and low when it is 
high ; and smaller but of Avider breadth at sunrise or 
sunset, and narrow but of large circumference at 
niidday. In summer they are not seen during mid- 
day, but after the autumn equinox they are seen at 
any hour ; and never more than two are seen at once. 

LXI. I observe that the facts as to the other Had, snotc 
phenomena of the same kind are generally famiUar : {'^^^jj^^^ 
\iz. that hail is produced from frozen rain and snow 
from the same fluid less sohdly condensed, but hoar 
frost from cold dew ; that snow falls during winter but 
not hail, and hail itself falls more often in the daytime 
than at night, and melts much faster than snow ; 
that mists do not occur in summer nor in extremely 
cold weather, nor dew in frosty or very hot or windy 
weather, and only on fine nights ; that Uquid is 
reduced in bulk by freezing, and when ice is thawed 
the bulk produced is not the same " ; that variations 
of colour and shape are seen in the clouds in propor- 
tion as the fire mingled with them gains the upper 
hand or is defeated ; LXII. and moreover that par- 
ticular places have particular special qualities : the 
nights of Africa are dewy in summer, in Italy rainbows 
are seen every day at Locri and at the VeHne Lake, at 
Rhodes and Syracuse there is never such a thick 
curtain of cloud that the sun is not visible at some 
hour of the day. Such special features will be more 
suitably related in their places. 

So much on the subject of the air. 

LXIII. Next comes the earth, the one division Mothet 
of the natural world on which for its merits we have ^'"■'*- 
bestowed the venerable title of mother. She belongs 
to men as the sky belongs to God : she receives us at 
birth, and gives us nurtuie after birth, and when once 

289 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

cditos snstinet semper, novissime conplexa gremio 
iam a reliqua natura abdicatos tum maxime ut mater 
operiens, nullo magis sacra merito quam quo nos 
quoque sacros facit, etiam monimenta ac titulos 
gerens nomenque prorogans nostrum et memoriam 
extendens contra ^ brevitatem aevi, cuius numen 
ultimum iam nullis precamur irati grave, tamquam 
nesciamus hanc esse solam quae numquam irascatur 

155 liomini. aquae subeunt in imbres, rigescunt in 
grandines, tumescunt in fluctus, praecipitantur in 
torrentes ; aer densatur nubibus, furit procellis; 
at haec benigna, mitis, indulgens, ususque mortalium 
semper ancilla, quae coacta generat, quae sponte 
fundit, quos odores saporesque, quos sucos, quos 
tactus, quos colores ! quam bona fide creditum 
faenus ^ reddit ! quae nostra causa alit ! pestifera 
enim animantia, vitali spiritu habente culpam, illi 
necesse est seminata excipere et genita sustinere, sed 
in malis generantium noxa est. illa serpentem 
homine percusso amplius non recipit, poenasque etiam 
inertium nomine exigit ; illa medicas fundit herbas, 

156 et semper homini parturit ; quin et venena nostri 
miseritam instituisse credi potest, ne in taedio vitae 
fames, mors terrae meritis alienissima, lenta nos 
consumeret tabe, ne lacerxmi coi-pus abrupta dis- 

*■ ultra Uav.pt. ^ faenus v.l. om. 



" ' Sit tibi terra gravis.' 'Sit tibi terra levis ' was oommon 
on gravestones. 

* This oddly inaccurate piirase occurs at V. 24, and ia 
Plautus and Cicero. 

« Cf. infra 158 fin. 

" Cf. XXIX 74. 

290 



BOOK II. Lxiii. 154-156 

brought forth she upholds us always, and at the last 
when we have now been disinherited by the rest of 
nature she embraces us in her bosom and at that very 
time gives us her maternal shelter ; sanctified by no 
service more than that whereby she makes us also 
sacred, even bearing our monuments and epitaphs 
and prolonging our name and extending our memory 
against the shortness of time ; whose divinity is the 
last which in anger we invoke to lie heavy * on those 
who are now no more, as though we did not know 
that she is the only element that is never wroth with 
man. Water rises in mist, freezes into hail, swells in 
waves, falls headlong in torrents ; air becomes tliick 
with clouds and rages with storms ; but earth is 
kind and gentle and indulgent, ever a handmaid in 
the service of mortals, producing under our com- 
pulsion, or lavishing of her own accord, what scents 
and savours, what juices, what surfaces for the 
touch, what colours ! how honestly she repays the 
interest lent her ! ^ what produce she fosters for Earth's 
our benefit ! since for living creatures that are *""'"*'• 
noxious the breath of Ufe is to blame — she is compelled 
to receive them when their seed is sown and to main- 
tain them when they have been born ; but their 
harm Ues in the evils of those that generate them.'' 
When a serpent has stung a man she harbours it no 
more,** and she exacts retribution even on the 
account of the helpless ; she produces medicinal 
herbs, and is ever fertile for man's benefit ; nay, 
even poisons she may be thought to have invented out 
of compassion for us, lest, when we were weary of Ufe, 
hunger, the death most aUen to earth's beneficence, 
should consume us with slow decay, lest precipices 
should scatter in fragments our lacerated body, lest 

291 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

pergerent, ne laquei torqueret poena praepostera 
incluso spiritu cui quaereretur exitus, ne in profundo 
quaesita morte sepultura pabulo fieret, ne ferri 
cruciatus scinderet corpus. ita est, miserita genuit 
id cuius facillimo haustu inlibato corpore et cum toto 
sanguine exstingueremur nullo labore, sitientibus 
similes, qualiter defunctos non volucris, non ferae 
attingerent, terraeque servaretur qui sibi ipsi 

157 periisset. verimi fateamur : terra nobis malorum 
remedium genuit, nos illud vitae fecimus venenum ; 
non enim et ferro, quo carere non possumus, simib' 
modo utimur ? nec tamen quereremur merito etiamsi 
malefici causa tulisset. adversus unam quippe 
naturae partem ingrati sumus. quas non ad delicias 
quasque non ad contumelias servit homini ? in 
maria iacitur, aut ut freta admittamus eroditur, 
aquis, ferro, ligno, igni, lapide, fruge omnibus crucia- 
tur horis, multoque plus ut deliciis quam ut alimen- 

168 tis famuletur nostris. ut ^ tamen quae summa 
patitur atque extrema cute tolerabilia videantur, 
penetramus in viscera auri argentique venas et aeris 
ac plumbi metalla fodientes, gemmas etiam et 
quosdam parvolos quaerimus lapides scrobibus in pro- 
fundum actis, viscera eius extrahimus, ut digito 
gestetur gemma petitur. quot manus atteruntur ut 
unus niteat articulus ! si ulli essent inferi, iam pro- 
1 Sillig : et. 

" Or ' shovild be effected by our becoming food,' sc. for fishes. 
292 



BOOK II. Lxiii. 156-158 

we should be tortured by the perverted punish- 
ment of the noose which imprisons the breath whose 
departure it is seeking ; lest if we sought death 
in the deep our burial should serve for fodder " ; 
lest the torture of the steel should cleave our body. 
So is it ! in mercy did she generate the potion whereof Mm's abn.< 
the easiest draught — as men drink when thirsty — ofhergifis. 
might painlessly just blot us out, without injury to the 
body or loss of blood, in such wise that when dead 
no birds nor beasts should touch us, and one that had 
perished for himself should be preserved for the earth. 
Let us own the truth : what earth has produced as a 
cure for our ills, we have made into a deadly poison ; 
why, do we not also put her indispensable gift 
of iron to a similar use ? Nor yet should we have 
any right to complain even if she had engendered 
poison to serve the purpose of crime. In fact in 
regard to one of nature's elements we have no grati- 
tude. For what luxuries and for what outrageous 
uses does she not subserve mankind ? She is flung 
into the sea, or dug away to allow us to let in the 
channels. Water, iron, wood, fire, stone, growing 
crops, are employed to torture her at all hours, and 
much more to make her minister to our luxuries 
than our sustenance. Yet in order to make the 
sufTerings inflicted on her surface and mere outer 
skin seem endurable, we probe her entrails, digging 
into her veins of gold and silver and mines of copper 
and lead ; we actually drive shafts down into the 
depth to search for gems and certain tiny stones ; we 
drag out her entrails, we seek a jewel merely to be 
worn upon a finger ! How many hands are worn 
away with toil that a single knuckle may shine 
resplendent! If any beings of the nether world 

293 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

fecto illos avaritiae atque luxuriae cuiiiculi refodis- 
sent ! et miramur si eadem ad noxam genuit aliqua ? 

159 ferae enim, credo, castodiunt illam arcentque 
sacrilegas manus ; nonne ^ inter serpentes fodimus et 
venas auri tractamus cum veneni radicibus ? placat- 
iore tamen dea utimur ob hoc, quod omnes hi 
opulentiae exitus ad scelera caedesque et bella 
tendunt, quamque sanguine nostro rigamus insepultis 
ossibus tegimus, quibus tamen velut expurgato ^ 
furore tandem ipsa se obducit et scelera quoque 
mortalium occultat. 

Inter crimina ingrati animi et hoc duxerim quod 

160 naturam eius ignoramus. LXIV. est autem figura 
prima de qua consensus iudicat. orbem certe dici- 
mus terrae, globumque verticibus includi fatemur. 
neque enim absoluti orbis est forma in tanta montium 
excelsitate, tanta camporum planitie, sed cuius 
amplexus, si capita cunctarum^ liniarum conpre- 
hendantur ambitu, figuram absoluti orbis efficiat — 
id quod ipsa rerum natura cogit, non eisdem causis 
quas attulimus in caelo. namque in illo cava in se 
convexitas vergit et cardini suo, hoc est terrae, imdi- 
que incumbit, haec ut solida ac conferta adsurgit 
intumescenti similis extraque protenditur. mundus 
in centrum vergit, at terra exit a centro, inmensum 

^ v.l. non. ^ Rackkam : exprobrato. 

' Ignotus apud Dalecampium : si cuncta aut si capita. 



" I.e. iniaginary radii drawn from the centre to the topmost 
point of each protuberance on the earth's surface. 

294 



BOOK II, Lxiii, 158-LXIV. 160 

existed, assuredly even they would have been dug up 
ere now by the burrowings of avarice and luxury ! 
And can we wonder if earth has also generated some 
creatures for our harm ? since the wild animals, I 
well beHeve, are her guardians, and protect her from 
sacrilegious hands ; do not serpents infest our mines, 
do we not handle veins of gold mingled with the roots 
of poison ? Yet that shows the goddess all the kinder 
towards us, because all these avenues from which 
wealth issues lead but to crime and slaughter and 
warfare, and her whom we besprinkle with our blood 
we cover with unburied bones, over which neverthe- 
less, when at length our madness has been finally 
discharged, she draws herself as a veil, and hides even 
the crimes of mortals, 

I would reckon this too among the crimes of our 
ingratitude, that we are ignorant of her nature. 
LXIV, But her shape is the first fact about which Theearth'. 
men's judgement agrees, We do undoubtedly '^^^^^' 
speak of the earth*s sphere, and admit that the globe 
is shut in between poles, Nor yet in fact do all these 
lofty mountains and widely spreading plains com- 
prise the outline of a perfect sphere, but a figure whose 
circuit would produce a perfect sphere if the ends of 
all the Unes " were enclosed in a circumference. This 
is the consequence of the very nature of things, it is 
not due to the same causes as those we have adduced 
in the case of the heaven ; for in the heaven the 
convex hollow converges on itself and from all sides 
rests upon its pivot, the earth, whereas the earth 
being a soUd dense mass rises Uke an object sweUing, 
and expands outward. The world converges to its 
centre, whereas the earth radiates outward from its 
centre, the ceaseless revolution of the world around 

295 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

eius globum in formam orbis adsidua circa eam mundi 
volubilitate cogente. 

161 LXV. Ingens hic pugna litterarum ^ contraque 
volgi : circumfundi terrae undique homines con- 
versisque inter se pedibus stare, et cunctis similem 
esse caeli verticem,^ simili modo ex quacumque parte 
mediam ^ terram * calcari, illo quaerente, cur non 
decidant contra siti, tamquam non ratio praesto sit 
ut nos non decidere mirentur illi. intervenit sententia 
quamvis indocili probabilis turbae, inaequali globo, 
ut si sit figura pineae nucis, nihilominus terram 

162 undique incoli. Sed quid hoc refert aho miraculo 
exoriente, pendere ipsam ac non cadere nobiscum? — 
ceu spiritus vis, mundo praesertim inclusi, dubia sit, 
aut possit cadere natura repugnante et quo cadat 
negante ! nam sicut ignium sedes non est nisi in 
ignibus, aquarum nisi in aquis, spiritus nisi in spiritu, 
sic terrae arcentibus cunctis nisi in se locus non est. 
globum tamen effici mirum est in tanta planitie maris 
camporumque. cui sententiae adest Dicaearchus, vir 
in primis eruditus, regum cura permensus montes, 
ex quibus altissimum prodidit Peliiun MCCL passuum 
ratione perpendicuH, nullam esse eam portionem 

1 litteratorum ? Rackham. 

* v.ll. verticem caeli aut verticem. 

^ r.l. media. * terram add. Rackham. 

" Passus = 2 gradus = 5 Roman feet, 1-617 yards, making 
Pelion'8 heicht as stated here over 6,000 English feet. The 
Encyrlopafdm Brilannica gives it as 5,340 feet. Pliny over- 
states the AJpine heights fantastically. 

296 



BOOK II. uciv. 160-LXV. 162 

her forcing her immense globe into the shape of a 
sphere. 

LXV. Here there is a mighty battle between Earth 
learning on one side and the common herd on the ^P'"-^''"^'^ 
other: the theory being that human beings are 
distributed all round the earth and stand with their 
feet pointing towards each other, and that the top of 
the sky is alike for them all and the earth trodden 
under foot at the centre in the same way from any 
direction, while ordinary people enquire why the 
persons on the opposite side don't fall oif — ^just as 
if it were not reasonable that the people on the 
other side wonder that we do not fall off. There is 
an intermediate theory that is acceptable even to 
the unlearned crowd — that the earth is of the shape 
of an irregular globe, resembhng a pine cone, yet 
nevertheless is inhabited all round. But what is the 
good of this theory when there arises another marvel, 
that the earth herself hangs suspended and does not 
fall and carry us with it ? As if forsooth there were 
any doubt about the force of breath, especially when 
shut up inside the world, or as if it were possible for 
the earth to fall when nature opposes, and denies it 
any place to fall to ! For just as the sole abode of 
fires is in the element of fii-e, and of waters in water, 
and of breath in breath, so earth, barred out by all 
the other elements, has no place except in itself. 
Yet it is surprising that with this vast level expanse of 
sea and plains the resulting formation is a globe. 
This view has the support of Dicaearchus, a savant of 
the first rank, who with the support of royal patrons 
took the measurement of mountains, and pubhshed 
that the highest of them was Pelion, with an altitude 
of 1250 paces," inferring that this was no portion 

297 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

universae rotunditatis colligens. mihi incerta haec 
videtur coniectatio, haud ignaro quosdam Alpium 
vertices longo tractu nec breviore quinquaginta 
milibus passuum adsurgere. 

163 Sed volgo maxima haec pugna est, si coactam in 
verticem aquarum quoque figuram credere cogatur. 
atqui non aliud in rerum natura adspectu manifestius. 
namque et dependentes ubique guttae parvis glob- 
antur orbibus et pulveri inlatae frondiumque 
lanuglni inpositae absoluta rotunditate cernuntur, et 
in poculis repletis media maxime tument, quae 
propter subtilitatem umoris molhtiamque in se resid- 
entem ratione facihus quam visu deprehenduntur ; 
idque etiam magis mirum, in poculis repletis addito 
umore minimo circumfluere quod supersit, con- 
tra evenire ponderibus additis ad vicenos saepe 
denarios, scilicet quia intus recepta liquorem 
in verticem attollant, at cumulo eminenti infusa 

164 delabantur. eadem est causa propter quam e 
navibus terra non cernatur e naxium mahs conspicua, 
ac procul recedente navigio, si quid quod fulgeat 
religetur in mali cacumine, paulatim descendere 
videatur et postremo occultetur. denique oceanus, 
quem fatemur ultimum, quanam alia figura cohaererel 
atque non decideret nullo ultra margine includente ? 
id ipsum ad miraculum redit, quonam modo, etiamsi 



« I.e. a negligible fraction of the earth'8 diameter, a negligible 
protrusion. 

2qS 



BOOK II. Lxv. 162-164 

of the earth's general sphericity." To me this seems a 
questionable guess, as I know that some peaks of the 
Alps rise to a great height, not less than 50,000 
paces. 

But what the crowd most debates is if it must Spherica' 
beheve that the conformation of the waters also ']'fll^^ctajL. 
rises in a curve. Nevertheless nothing else in the 
natural world is more visibly manifest. For (1) 
hanging drops of hquid always take the shape of 
small round globes ; (2) •«'hen dropped on dust or 
placed on the downy surface of leaves they are seen 
to be absolutely spherical ; (3) in goblets when filled 
the surface curves upward most at the centre, though 
owing to the transparency of the Uquid and its 
fluidity tending to find its o^vn level this is more easily 
discovered by theory than by observation ; and (4) a 
still more remarkable fact is that when a very httle 
additional liquid is poured into a cup that has already 
been filled the surplus overflows, but the opposite 
happens when weighty sohds, often as many as 
20 coins, are put into it, presumably because these 
pass inside the liquid and raise its surface to a peak, 
whereas hquids poured on to the upward curving 
surface sHp off. (5) The same cause explains why 
the land is not visible from the deck of a ship when in 
sight from the masthead ; and why as a vessel 
passes far into the distance, if some shining object 
is tied to the top of the mast it appears slowly to sink 
and finally it is hidden from sight. Lastly (6) what 
other conformation could have caused the ocean, 
which we acknowledge to be at the extreme outside, 
to cohere and not fall away, if there is no boundary 
beyond to enclose it ? The very question as to how, 
although the sea is globular in shape, its edge does 

299 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

globetur, extremum non decidat mare. contra quod, 
ut sint plana maria et qua videntur figura, non posse 
id accidere magno suo gaudio magnaque gloria 
inventores Graeci subtilitate geometrica docent. 

165 namque cum e sublimi in inferiora aquae ferantur et 
sit haec natura earum confessa, nec quisquam dubitet 
in litore ullo accessisse eas quo longissime devexitas 
passa sit, procul dubio adparere quo quid humilius 
sit propius a centro esse terrae, omnesque linias 
quae emittantur ex eo ad proximas aquas breviores 
fieri quam quae ad extremum mare a primis aquis ; 
ergo totas omnique ex parte aquas vergere in 
centrum, ideoque non decidere quoniam in interiora 
nitantur. 

1C6 LXVI. Quod ita formasse artifex naturae ^ credi 
debet, ut, cum terra arida et sicca constare per se ac 
sine umore non posset, nec rursus stare aqua nisi 
sustinente terra, mutuo inplexu iungerentur, hac sinus 
pandente, illa vero permeante totam intra extra 
infra ^ supra venis ut vinculis discurrentibus, atque 
etiam in summis iugis erumpente, quo spii-itu acta et 
terrae pondere expressa siphonum modo emicat, 
tantumque a periculo decidendi abest ut in summa 
quaeque et altissima exsiliat. qua ratione mani- 

^ v.l. natura. * infra add. edd. 

300 



BOOK II. Lxv. 164-LXV1. 166 

not fall away, itself ranks with the marvellous. On 
the other side the Greek investigators, greatly to 
their delight and to their glory, prove by subtle 
mathematical reasoning that it cannot possibly be 
the case that the seas are really flat and have the 
shape that they appear to have. For, they argue, 
while it is the case that water travels downward from 
an elevation, and this is its admitted nature, and 
nobody doubts that the water on any coast has 
reached the farthest point allowed by the slope 
of the earth, it is manifest beyond doubt that the 
lower an object is the nearer it is to the centre of the 
earth, and tiiat all the Unes drawn from the centre to 
the nearest bodies of water are shorter than those 
drawn from the edge of these waters to the farthest 
point in the sea : it therefore follows that all the water 
from every direction converges towards the centre, 
this pressure inward being the cause of its not falUng 
off. 

LXVI. The reason for this formation must be cohermceoj 
thought to be the inability of earth when absolutely ^"a^"'"^ 
dry to cohere of itself and without moisture, and of 
water in its turn to remain still without being held up 
by earth ; the intention of the Artificer of nature must 
have been to unite earth and water in a mutual 
embrace, earth opening her bosom and water pene- 
trating her entire frame by means of a network of 
veins radiating within and without, above and below, 
the water bursting out even at the tops of mountain 
ridges, to which it is driven and squeezed out by the 
weight of the earth, and spurts out hke a jet of water 
from a pipe, and is so far from being in danger of 
faUing down that it leaps upward to aU the loftiest 
elevations. This theory shows clearly why the seas 

301 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

festum est quare tot fluminum cotidiano accessu 
maria non crescant. est igitur in toto suo globo tellus 
medio ambitu praecincta circumfluo mari, nec argu- 
mentis hoc investigandum, sed iam experimentis 
cognitum. 

167 LXVII. A Gadibus columnisque Herculis Hispaniae 
et Galliarum circmtu totus hodie navigatur occidens. 
septentrionalis vero oceanus maiore ex parte navi- 
gatus est auspiciis divi Augusti Germaniam classe 
circumvecta ad Cimbrorum promunturium et inde 
inmenso mari prospecto aut fama cognito Scythicam 
ad plagam et umore nimio rigentia. propter quod 
minime verisimile est illic maria deficere ubi umoris 
vis superet. iuxta vero ab ortu ex Indico mari sub 
eodem sidere pars tota vergens in Caspium mare 
perna\igata est Macedonum armis Seleuco atque 
Antiocho regnantibus, qui et Seleucida et Antiochida 

168 ab ipsis appellari voluere. et circa Caspium multa 
oceani litora explorata parvoque brevius quam totus 
hinc aut illinc septentrio eremigatus, ut iam ^ coniec- 
turae locima sic quoque non relinquat ingens argu- 
mentimi paludis Maeoticae, sive ea ilUus oceani sinus 
est, ut multos adverto credidisse, sive angusto discreti 
situ restagnatio. alio latere Gadium ab eodem occid- 
ente magna pars meridiani sinus ambitu Mauretaniae 

^ Mayhoff: tamen. 

*» Cape vSkagen, Jutland. 

* The Caspian Sea was believed to have an outlet by a 
Strait into the Outer Ocean, which was thought to flow not 
far north of the Himalayas and South Bussia. 

302 



BOOK II. Lxvi. 166-LXV11. 168 

do not increase in bulk with the daily accession of so 
many rivers. The consequence is that the earth at 
every point of its globe is encircled and engirdled by 
sea flowing round it, and this does not need theoretical 
investigation, but has already been ascertained by 
experience. 

LXVII. Today the whole of the West is navigated Circum- 
from Cadiz and the Straits of Gibraltar all round Spain ^e^ZT "' 
and France. But the larger part of the Northern 
Ocean was explored under the patronage of his late 
Majesty Augustus, w^hen a fleet sailed round Germany 
to the promontory of the Cimbri," and thence seeing a 
vast sea in front of them or learning of it by report, 
reached the region of Scythia and locaUties numb 
with excessive moisture. On this account it is 
extremely improbable that there is no sea in those 
parts, as there is a superabundance of the moist 
element there. But next, on the Eastward side, the 
whole quarter under the same star stretching from 
the Indian Ocean to the Caspian Sea ^ w^as navigated 
throughout by the Macedonian forces in the reigns 
of Seleucus and Antiochus, who desired that it should 
be called both Seleucis and Antiochis after them- 
selves. And many coasts of Ocean round the 
Caspian have been explored, and very nearly the 
whole of the North has been completely traversed 
from one side to the other by galleys, so that similarly 
also there is now overhwelming proof, leaving no 
room for conjecture, of the existence of the Maeotic 
Marsh, whether it be a gulf of that Ocean, as I notice 
many have beheved, or an overflow from it from which 
it is separated off by a narrow space. On the other 
side of Cadiz, from the same Western point, a great 
part of the Southern gulf is navigated today in the 

303 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

navigatur hodie. maiorem quidem eius partem et 
orientis victoriae magni Alexandri lustravere usque 
in Arabicum sinum, in quo res gerente C. Caesare 
Augusti filio signa navium ex Hispaniensibus nau- 

169 fragiis feruntur agnita. et Hanno Carthaginis 
potentia florente circumvectus a Gadibus ad finem 
Arabiae navigationem eam prodidit scripto, sicut 
ad extera Europae noscenda missus eodem tempore 
Himilco. praeterea Nepos Cornelius auctor est 
Eudoxum quendam sua aetate, cum Lathyrum 
regem fugeret, Arabico sinu egressum Gades usque 
pervectum ; multoque ante eum Caelius Antipater 
vidisse se qui navigasset ex Hispania in Aethiopiam 

170 conmerci gratia. idem Nepos de septentrionali 
circuitu tradit Quinto Metello Celeri, Afrani in 
consulatu collegae sed tum GalHae proconsuh, 
Indos a rege Sueborum dono datos, qui ex India con- 
merci causa navigantes tempestatibus essent in 
Germaniam abrepti. sic maria circumfusa undique 
dividuo globo partem orbis auferunt nobis nec inde huc 
nec hinc illo pervio tractu. quae contemplatio apta 
detegendae mortalium vanitati poscere videtur ut 
totum hoc quicquid est in quo singulis nihil satis 
est ceu subiectum ocuhs quantum sit ostendam. 

171 LXVIII. lam primum in dimidio conputari vi- 
detur, tamquam nulla portio ipsi decidatur ^ oceano, 
qui toti 2 circumdatus medio et omnis ceteras fundens 

^ v.ll. decidat, decedat. ^ Rackham : toto. 

" The son of Agrippa, adopted by Augustus. 

* Both these statements are of course untrue. 

' We know from Strabo that this statement about Eudoxus 
ifi erroneous. ** I.e. round S. Africa. 

" I.e. dividing us from another land-mass (now known as 
North and South America) which was assumed to exist on 
the other side of the world. 



BOOK 11. Lxvii. 168-LXV111. 171 

circuit of Mauretania. Indeed the greater part of 
it Alexander the Great's eastern conquests also 
explored as far as the Arabian gulf ; in which, when 
Augustus's son Gaius Caesar " was operating there, 
it is said that figureheads of ships from Spanish wrecks 
were identified. Also when the power of Carthage 
flourished, Hanno sailed round from Cadiz to the 
extremity of Arabia,'' and published a memoir of his 
voyage, as did Himilco when despatched at the same 
date to explore the outer coasts of Europe. More- 
over we have it on the authority of CorneUus Nepos 
that a certain contemporary of his named Eudoxus 
when flying from King Lathyrus emerged from the 
Arabian Gulf and sailed right round to Cadiz *" ; and 
much before him Caehus Antipater states that he had 
seen someone who had gone on a trading voyage from 
Spain to Ethiopia.'' Nepos also records as to the 
northern circuit that Quintus Metellus Celer, col- 
league of Afranius in the consulship but at the time 
pro-consul of Gaul, received from the King of the 
Swabians a present of some Indians, who on a trade 
voyage had been carried oiftheir course by storms to 
Germany. Thus there are seas encirchng the globe 
on every side and dividing it in two, so robbing us of 
half the world,' since there is no re^ion affordina; a 
passage from there to here or from here to there. 
This reflexion scrves to expose the vanity of mortals, 
and appears to demand that I should display to the 
eye and exhibit the extent of this whole indefinite 
region in which men severally find no satisfaction. 

LXVIII. In the first place it is apparently porwon 0/ 
reckoned as forming one half of the globe — ^just as '^^ \'lahuabie bv 
no part were cut off for the ocean itself, which sur- man. 
rounding and encircUng the whole of it, and pouring 

305 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

recipiensque aquas, et quicquid exit in nubes ac sidera 
ipsa tot ac tantae magnitudinis pascens, quo tandem 
amplitudinis spatio credetur habitare ? inproba et 

172 infinita debet esse tam vastae molis possessio. adde 
quod ex relicto plus abstulit caelum. nam cum sint 
eius quinque partes, quas vocant zonas, infesto rigore 
et aeterno gelu premitur omne quicquid est subiectum 
duabus extremis utrimque circa vertices, hunc qui 
trionum septem vocatur eimique qui adversus illi 
au-strinus appellatur. perpetua caligo utrobique 
et alieno molHorum sidenma adspectu maligna ac 
pruina tantum albicans lux. media vero terrarum, 
qua solis orbita est, exusta flammis et cremata 
comminus vapore torretur. circa duae tantum inter 
exustam et rigentes temperantur, eaeque ipsae 
inter se non perviae propter incendium sideris. 

173 Ita terrae tres partes abstulit caelima. oceanirapina 
in incerto est ; sed et rehcta nobis una portio haud scio 
an etiam in maiore damno sit, idem siquidem oceanus 
infusus in multos, ut dicemus, sinus adeo vicino 
accessu interna maria adlatrat ut centum quindecim 
milibus passuum Arabicus sinus distet ab Aegj^ptio 
mari, Caspius vero CCCLXXV mihbus a Pontico, 
idem interfusus intra per tot maria quibus Africam 
Europam Asiam dispescit, quantimi terrarum occup- 

174 at ? Conputetur etiamnum ^ mensura tot flimii- 

^ Mayhoff : etiam nunc. 

° I.e. especially the sun. * Books III foll. 

' Cf. § 167 note. 
306 



BOOK II. Lxviii. 171-174 

forth and i'eabsorbing the waters and pasturing and 
all the moisture that goes to form the clouds, the stars 
themselves with all their numbers and their mighty 
size, can be supposed to occupy a space — of what 
extent, pray ? The freehold owned by that mighty cumatic 
mass is bound to be enormous — without hmit ! Add '""'"• 
that of what is left more than half is taken by the 
sky. For this has five divisions called zones, and all 
that Hes beneath the two outermost zones that 
surround the poles at either end — both the pole 
named from the Seven Oxen and the one opposite 
to it called after Auster — is all crushed under cruel 
frost and everlasting cold. In both regions perpetual 
mist prevails, and a hght that the invisibihty of the 
milder stars " renders niggardly and that is only white 
with hoarfrost. But the middle portion of the lands, 
where the sun's orbit is, is scorched by its flames and 
burnt up by the proximity of its heat : this is the 
torrid zone. There are only two temperate zones 
between the torrid one and the frozen ones, and 
these have no communication with each other because 
of the fiery heat of the heavenly body. 

Thus the sky has stolen three quarters of the earth. Encroach- 
The extent of the trespass of ocean is unascertained ; "^^'j."-^ 
but even the one portion left to us suffers perhaps an 
even greater loss, inasmuch as the same ocean, 
spreading out, as we shall describe **, into a number of 
bays, advances with its threatening roar so close to 
the inner seas that there is only a distance of 115 miles 
between the Arabian Gulf and the Egyptian Sea and 
of 375 between the Caspian and the Black Sea <^ ; and 
also with its inner channels through so many seas 
whereby it sunders Africa, Europe and Asia, it 
occupies — what area of the land? Calculate more- 

307 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

num, tantarum paludium, addantur et lacus, stagna, 
iam elata in caelum ac ardua adspectu quoque iuga, 
iam silvae vallesque praeruptae et solitudines et 
mille e ■'■ causis deserta ; detrahantur hae tot port- 
iones terrae, immo vero, ut plures tradidere, mundi 
puncto (neque enim aliud est terra in universo) : 
haec est materia gloriae nostrae, haec sedes, hic 
honores gerimus, hic exercemus imperia, hic opes 
cupimus, hic tumultuamur humanum genus, hic 
instauramus bella etiam civiha mutuisque caedibus 

175 laxioremfacimusterram! et ut pubUcos gentium furores 
transeam, haec in qua conterminos pellimus furtoque 
vicini caespitem nostro solo adfodimus, ut qui la- 
tissime rura metatas fuerit ultraque famam exegerit 
adcolas quota terrarvmi parte gaudeat, vel cum ad 
mensuram avaritiae suae propagaverit, quam tandem 
portionem eius defunctus obtineat ! 

176 LXIX. Mediam esse terram mundi totius haut 
dubiis constat argumentis, sed clarissimo aequinocti 
paribus horis. nam nisi in medio esset, aequales dies 
noctesque habere non posse deprehendere est,^ 
dioptraeque vel maxime confirmant, cxim aequinoc- 
tiah terapore ex eadem linea ortus occasusque 
cernatur, solstitiali exov tus per suam Uneam, brimiah 

^ e add. Rackham. ^ est Mayhoff : et. 

" The Romans divided the periods from sunrise to sunset 
and from sunset to sunrise each into twelve hours, varying 
in iength with the seasons. 

30S 



BOOK II. LxviiL X74-LXIX. 176 

over the dimensions of all those rivers and vast 
swamps, add also the lakes and pools, and next the 
ridges too that rise into the heaven and are pre- 
cipitous even to the eye, next the forests and steep 
glens, and the deserts and areas for a thousand 
reasons left deserted ; subtract all these portions 
from the earth or rather from this pin-prick, as the 
majority of thinkers have taught, in the world — for 
in the whole universe the earth is nothing else: 
and this is the substance of oiu- glory, this is its habita- 
tion, here it is that we fill positions of power and covet 
wealth, and throw mankind into an uproar, and launch 
even civil wars and slaughter one another to make 
the land more spacious ! And to pass over the 
collective insanities of the nations, this is the land 
in which we expel the tenants next to us and add a 
spade-full of turf to our own estate by steaHng 
from our neighbour's — to the end that he who has 
marked out his acres most widely and banished his 
neighbours beyond all record may rejoice in 
owning — how small a fraction of the earth's sur- 
face ? or, when he has stretched his boundaries to 
the full measure of his avarice, may still retain — 
what portion, pray, of his estate when he is 
dead ? 

LXIX. That the earth is at the centre of the Geocentnc 
univcrse is proved by irrefragable arguments, but ^^'^^- 
the clearest is the equal hours of day and night " 
at the equinox. I or if the earth were not at the 
centi-e, it can be reahzed that it could not have the 
days and nights equal ; and binoculars confirm this 
very powerfuUy, since at the season of the equinox 
sunrise and sunset are seen on the same line, whereas 
sunrise at midsummer and sunset at niidwinter fall 

309 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

occasus. quae accidere nullo modo possent nisi in 
centro sita esset.^ 

177 LXX. Tres autem circuli supra dictis zonis in- 
plexi inaequalitates temporum distingunt, solstitialis 
a parte signiferi excelsissima nobis ad septentrionalem 
plagam versus, contraque ad alium polum brumalis, 
item medio ambitu signiferi orbis incedens aequi- 
noctialis. 

LXXI. Reliquorum quae miramur causa in ipsius 
terrae figura est, quam globo similem esse ^ et cum 
ea aquas iisdem intellegitur argumentis. sic enim 
fit haut dubie ut nobis septentrionalis plagae sidera 
numquam occidant, contra meridianae numquam 
oriantur, rursusque haec illis non cernantur attollente 

178 se contra medios \isus terrarum globo. Septentriones 
non cemit Trogodjtice et confir.is Aegyj)tus, nec 
Canopum Italia et quem vocant Berenices Crinem 
item quem sub divo Augusto cognominavere Caesaris 
Thronon, insignes ibi stellas. adeoque manifesto 
adsurgens fastigium curvatur ut Canopus quartam 
fere partem signi unius supra terram eminere Alex- 
andriae intuentibus videatur, eadem a Rhodo terram 
quodammodo ipsam stringere, in Ponto omnino non 
cernatur, ubi maxune subhmis Septentrio. idem a 
Pihodo absconditur, magisque Alexandriae, in Arabia 
Novembri mense prima \igiha occultus secunda se 

* v.l. om. esset. ^ esse add. Rackham. 

" Koughly Abyssinia and Somaliland. 
310 



BOOK II. Lxix. 176-LXX1. 178 

on a line of their own. These things could not 
occur without the earth's being situated at the 
centre. 

LXX. But the three circles intertwined between Theseasons. 
the zones aforesaid are the cause of the differences 
of the seasons : the Tropic of Cancer on the side of the 
highest part of the zodiac to the northward of us, and 
opposite to it the Tropic of Capricorn towards the 
other pole, and also the equator that runs in the 
middle circuit of the zodiac. 

LXXI. The cause of the remaining facts that Oeography 
surprise us is found in the shape of the earth itself, '^^trmioiny. 
which together with the waters also the same argu- 
ments prove to resemble a globe. For this is un- 
doubtedly the cause why for us the stars of the 
northern region never set and their opposites of the 
southern region never rise, while on the contrary 
these northern stars are not visible to the antipodes, 
as the curve of the earth's globe bars our view of the 
tracts between. Cave-dweller Country " and Egypt 
wliich is adjacent to it do not see the Great and Little 
Bear, and Italy does not see Canopus and the con- 
stellation called Berenice's Hair, also the one that 
in the reign of his late Majesty Augustus received 
the name of Caesar's Throne, constellations that are 
conspicuous there. And so clearly does the rising 
vault curve over that to observers at Alexandria 
Canopus appears to be elevated nearly a quarter of 
one sign above the earth, whereas from Rhodes it 
seems practically to graze the earth itself, and on the 
Black Sea, where the North Stars are at their highest, 
it is not visible at all. Also Canopus is hidden from 
Rhodes, and still more from Alexandria ; in Arabia in 
November it is hidden during the first quarter of the 

3" 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

ostendit, in Meroe solstitio vesperi paulisper adparet 
paucisque ante exortum Arcturi diebus pariter cum 

179 die cernitur. navigantium haec maxime cursus 
deprehendunt, in alia adverso in alia prono mari, 
subitoque conspicuis atque ut e freto emergentibus 
quae in anfractu pilae latuere sideribus. neque 
enim, ut dixere aliqui, mundus hoc polo excelsiore se 
attollit, aut ^ undique cernerentur haec sidera ; verum 
haec eadem quibusque proximis sublimiora creduntur 
eademque demersa longinquis, utque nunc sub- 
limis in deictu positis videtur hic vertex, sic in 
illam terrae devexitatem transgressis illa se attollunt 
residentibus quae hic excelsa fuerant, quod nisi in 
figura pilae accidere non posset. 

180 LXXII. Ideo defectus soUs ac lunae vespertinos 
orientis incolae non sentiunt, nec matutinos ad 
occasum habitantes, meridianos vero serius nobis ilh. 
apud Arbelam magni Alexandri victoria luna defecisse 
noctis secunda hora est prodita, eademque in Siciha 
exoriens. soHs defectum Vipstano et Fonteio coss., 
qui fuere ante paucos annos, factimi pridie kalendas 
Maias Campania hora diei inter septimam et octavam 
sensit, Corbulo dux in Armenia inter horam diei 
decimam et undecimam prodidit visum, circuitu 
globi aUa aliis detegente et occultante. quod si plana 

^ ita ut Mayhoff. 

" As a matter of fact the eclipse was on Sept. 20, 331 B.C., 
eleven davs before the battle. 

* A.D. 59. 
312 



BOOK II. Lxxi. 178-Lxxn. 180 

night and shows itself in the second ; at Meroe it 
appears a little in the evening at midsummer and a few 
days before the rising of Arcturus is seen at day- 
break. These phenomena are most clearly disclosed 
by the voyages of those at sea, the sea sloping upward 
in the direction of some and downward in the direc- 
tion of others, and the stars that were hidden behind 
the curve of the ball suddenly becoming visible as it 
were rising out of the sea. For it is not the fact, as 
some have said, that the world rises up at this higher 
pole — or else these stars would be visible every where ; 
but these stars are beUeved to be higher the nearer 
people are to them, while they seem low to those far 
away, and just as at present this pole seems lofty to 
those situated on the decHvity, so when people pass 
across to yonder downward slope of the earth tliose 
stars rise while the ones that here were high sink, 
which could not happen except with the conformation 
of a ball. 

LXXII. Consequently inhabitants of the East locai 
do not perceive evening echpses of the sun and Ziiplesf 
moon, nor do those dwelling in the West see morning 
echpses, while the latter see echpses at midday later 
than we do. The victory of Alexander the Great 
is said to have caused an echpse of the moon at 
Arbela at 8 p.m." while the same echpse in 
Sicily was when the moon was just rising. An 
echpse of the sun that occurred on April 30 in the 
consulship * of Vipstanus and Fonteius a few years 
ago wiis visible in Campania between 1 and 2 p.m. 
but was reported by Corbulo commanding in Armenia 
as observed between 4 and 5 : this was because the 
curve of the globe discloses and hides diiferent 
phenomenafor different locahties. If the earth were 

313 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

esset terra, simul omnia adparerent cunctis, noctesque 
non fierent inaequales, nam aeque aliis quam in 
medio sitis paria duodecim horarum intervalla 
cernerentur, quae nunc non in omni parte simili 
modo congruunt. 

181 LXXIII. Ideo nec nox diesque, quamvis eadem, 
toto orbe simul est oppositu globi noctem aut ambitu 
diem adferente. multis hoc cognitum experimentis, 
in Africa Hispaniaque turrium Hannibalis, in Asia 
vero propter piraticos terrores simili specularimi 
praesidio excitato, in quis praenuntios ignes sexta 
hora diei accensos saepe conpertum est tertia noctis a 
tergo ultimis visos. eiusdem Alexandri eursor 
Philonides ex Sicyone Elin mille et ducenta stadia 
novem diei confecit horis, indeque, quamvis decHvi 
itinere, tertia noctis hora remensus est saepius. 
causa, quod eunti cum sole iter erat, eundem remeans 
obvium contrario praetervertebat occursu. qua de 
causa ad occasum navigantes quamvis brevissimo 
die vincunt spatia nocturnae navigationis ut solem 
ipsum comitantes. 

182 LXXIV. Vasaque horoscopica non ubique eadem 
sunt usui, in trecenis stadiis, aut ut longissime in 
quingentis, mutantibus semet umbris sohs. itaque 
umbilici (quem gnomonem appellant) umbra in 
Aegypto meridiano tempore aequinocti die paulo 



» Cf. VII 20. 

* Starting at daybreak, i.e. took 1.5 hours home as against 
9 hours out. Taking the mille passuum of 8 stades (see D. 
Ant. s.vv.) at W of an EngHsh mile, we get for the outward 
joumey a pace of just over 1.5 miles an hour. But perhaps the 
length of the route is overestimated at 1200 stades, about 
136 miles, as the distance from Sicyon to Elis measures only 
about 80 miles in a straight hne on the map. Elia Ues higher 



BOOK II. Lxxn. 180-LXXIV. 182 

flat, all would be visible to all alike at the same 
time ; also the nights would not vary in length, 
because corresponding periods of 12 hours would 
be visible equally to others than those at the equator, 
periods that as it is do not exactly correspond in 
every region ahke. 

LXXIII. Consequently also although night and Siinri.ie atu 
day are the same thing all over the world, it is not ^^"^^'* '"''■ 
night and day at the same time all over the world, longitude. 
the intervention of the globe bringing night or its 
revolution day. This has been discovered by many 
experiments — that of HannibaVs towers in Africa 
and Spain, and in Asia when piratical alarms 
prompted the precaution of watchtowers of the same 
sort, warning fires lit on which at noon were often 
ascertained to have been seen by the people farthest 
to the rear at 9 p.m. Alexander above mentioned 
had a runner named Philonides " who did the 1200 
stades from Sicyon to Ehs in 9 hours from sunrise 
and took till 9 p.m.'' for the return journey, although 
the way is downhill ; this occurred repeatedly. 
The reason was that going his way lay with the sun 
but returning he was passing the sun as it met him 
travelhng in the opposite direction. For this reason 
ships saihng westward beat even in the shortest 
day the distances they sail in the nights, because 
they are going with the actual sun. 

LXXIV. Travellers' sundials are not the same for Sun'» 
reference everywhere, beeause the shadows thrown ^^^'"^ ^j-,^ 
by the sun as they alter alter the readings at every latuude. 
300 or at farthest 500 stades. Consequently in 
Egypt at midday on the day of the equinox the 

above sea-level than Sicyon, but only the latter part of the 
return journey can be described as downhill. 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

pliis quam dimidiam gnomonis mensuram efficit, in 
urbe Roma nona pars gnomonis deest umbrae, in 
oppido Ancona superest quinta tricesima, in parte 
Italiae quae Venetia appellatur iisdem horis umbra 
gnomoni par fit. 

183 LXXV. Simili modo tradunt in Syene oppido, 
quod est supra Alexandriam quinque milibus stadio- 
rum, solstiti die medio nullam umbram iaci, puteum- 
que eius experimenti gratia factum totum inluminari, 
ex quo adparere tum solem illi loco supra verticem 
esse ; quod et in India supra flumen Hypasim fieri 
tempore eodem Onesicritus scribit. constatque in 
Berenice urbeTrogodytarum, et inde stadiis quattuor 
milibus DCCCXX in eadem gente Ptolemaide oppi- 
do, quod in margine rubri maris ad primos elephant- 
orum venatus conditum est, hoc idem ante solstitium 
quadragenis quinis diebus totidemque postea fieri, et 

184 per eos XC dies in meridiem umbras iaci. rursus in 
Meroe (insula haec caputque gentis Aethiopum 
quinque mihbus stadium a Syene in amne Nilo 
habitatur) bis anno absumi umbras, sole duode\ice- 
simam tauri partem et quartamdecimam leonis tunc 
obtinente. in Indiae gente Oretum mons est Maleus 
nomine iuxta quem imibrae aestate in austrum, 
hieme in septentrionem iaciuntur ; quindecim tantum 
noctibus ibi apparet septentrio. in eadem India 
PataUs, celeberrimo portu, sol dexter oritur, umbrae 

185 in meridiem cadunt. septentrionem ibi Alexandro 
morante adnotatum prima tantum parte noctis 

• The Beas. 
316 



BOOK 11. Lxxiv. 182-LXXV. 185 

shadow of the pin or ' gnomon ' measures a h'ttle 
more than half the length of the gnomon itself, 
whereas in the city of Rome the shadow is |^th shorter 
than the gnomon, at the towTi of Ancona ■^gth longer, 
and in the district of Italy called Venezia the shadow 
is equal to the gnomon, at the same hours. 

LXXV. Similarly it is reported that at the town 
of Syene, 5000 stades South of Alexandria, at noon 
in midsummer no shadow is cast, and that in a well 
made for the sake of testing this the light reaches 
to the bottom, clearly sho^ving that the sun is 
vertically above that place at the time ; and this is 
stated in the writings of Onesicritus also to occur at 
the same time in India South of the river Hypasis." 
It is also stated that in the Cave-dwellers' city of 
Berenice, and 4820 stades away at the town of 
Ptolemais in the same tribe, which was founded 
on the shore of the Red Sea for the earhest elephant 
hunts, the same thing occurs 45 days before and 45 
days after midsummer, and during that period of 90 
days the shadows are thrown southward. Again in 
Meroe — this is an inhabited island in the river Nile 
5000 stades from Syene, and is the capital of the 
Aethiopian race — the shadows disappear twice a 
year, when the sun is in the 18th degree of Taurus 
and in the 14th of Leo. There is a mountain named 
Maleus in the Indian tribe of the Oretes, near which 
shadows are throwTi southward in summer and 
northward in winter ; the northern constellation is 
visible there on only 15 nights. Also in India at the 
well-known port of Patala the sun rises on the right 
and shadows fall southward. It was noticed when stars and 
Alexander was staying at this place that the Great and '<*"'"<^' 
Little Bears were visible only in the early part of the 

317 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

adspici. Onesicritus, dux eius, scripsit quibus in 
locis Indiae umbrae non sint septentrionem non 
conspicij et ea loca appellari ascia, nec horas dinum- 
erari ibi. LXXVI. At in tota Trogodvtice umbras 
bis quadraginta quinque diebus in anno Eratosthenes 
in contrarium cadere prodidit. 

186 LXXVII. Sic fit ut vario lucis incremento in 
Meroe longissimus dies XII horas aequinoctiales et 
octo partes unius horae colligat, Alexandriae vero 
XIV horas, in Italia XV, in Britamaia XVII, ubi 
aestate lucidae noctes haut dubie repromittunt ^ 
id quod cogit ratio credi, solstiti diebus accedente 
sole propius verticem mundi angusto lucis ambitu 
subiecta terrae continuos dies habere senis mensibus, 

187 noctesque e diverso ad brumam remoto. quod fieri 
in insula Thyle Pytheas MassiHensis scribit sex 
dierima navigatione in septentrionem a Britannia 
distante, quidam vero et in Mona, quae distat a 
Camaloduno Britanniae oppido circiter ducentis 
milibus, adfirmant. 

LXXVIII. Umbrarum hanc rationem et quam 
vocant gnomonicen invenit Anaximenes Milesius, 
Anaximandri (de quo diximus) discipulus, primusque 
horologium quod appellant sciothericon Lacedaemone 
ostendit. 

188 LXXIX. Ipsum diem aUi ahter observavere, 
Babyloni inter duos sohs exortus, Athenienses inter 

^ dubie se promittunt Mayhoff, dubitare promittunt 
Detlejsen. 

" This is inaccurate, as are other poLnts in this passage. 

* I.e. towards the South. 

* I.e. all between the vernal and the autumnal equinox. 
Cf. IV. XX. 



BOOK II. Lxxv. 185-LXXIX. 188 

night. Alexander's guide Onesicritus wrote that 
this constellation is not visible at the places in India 
where there are no shadows, and that these places 
are called Shadeless, and no reckoning is kept of 
the hours there. LXXVI. But according to Eratos- 
thenes in the whole " of Cave-dweller Country on 
90 days once a year shadows fall the wrong way.* 

LXXVII. Thus it comes about that owing to the Daylight 
varied lengthening of dayhght the longest day ]Zitu£^ 
covers 12| equinoctial hours at Meroe, but 14 hours 
at Alexandria, 15 in Italy, and 17 in Britain, where the 
hffht niofhts in summer substantiate what theory 
compels us to beheve, that, as on summer days * 
the sun approaches nearer to the top of the world, 
owing to a narrow circuit of Hght the underlying 
parts of the earth have continuous days for 6 months 
at a time, and continuous nights when the sun has 
withdrawn in the opposite direction towards winter. 
Pytheas of Marseilles writes that this occurs in 
the island of Thule,'^ 6 days' voyage N. from Britain, 
and some declare it also to occur in the Isle of 
Anglesea, which is about 200 miles * from the British 
town of Colchester. 

LXXVIII. This theory of shadows and the Thefirst 
science called gnomonics was discovered by Anaxi- ■'""''"* • 
menes of Miletus, the pupil of Anaximander of whom 
we have spoken ; he first exhibited at Sparta the 
time-piece they call ' Hunt-the-Shadow.' 

LXXIX. The actual period of a day has been Day 
differently kept by different people : the Babylonians \Zk(med. 
count the period between two sumises, the Athenians 

"* Now thought to be N.W. Norway. 

' I.e. by the Roman Road from Colchcster, the capital of the 
pioviuce, by Graiitchester or Cheatertou to Chester. 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

duos occasus, Umbri a meridie ad meridiem, vulgus 
omne a luce ad tenebras, sacerdotes Romani et qui 
diem diffiniere civilem, item Aegypti et Hipparchus, 
a media nocte in mediam. minora autem intervalla 
esse lucis inter occasus et^ ortus solis iuxta solstitixmi ^ 
quam aequinoctia apparet quia positio signiferi 
circa media sui obliquior est, iuxta solstitium autem 
rectior. 

189 LXXX. Contexenda sunt his caelestibus nexa 
causis. namque et Aethiopas vicini sideris vapore 
torreri adustisque simihs gigni barba et capillo 
vibrato non est dubiimi, et adversa plaga mundi 
candida atque glaciaU cute esse gentes flavis pro- 
missis 3 crinibus, trucis vero ex caeH rigore has, illas 
mobilitate sapientes ; ipsoque crurum argumento 
illis in supera sucxmi revocari natura vaporis, his in 
inferas partes depelli umore deciduo ; hic graves 
feras, ilHc varias effigies animalium provenire et 
maxime alitum [in multas figuras gigni * volucres ^] ; 
corporum autem proceritatem utrobique, ilHc ignium 

190 nisu, hic umoris aHmento ; medio vero terrae salubri 
utrimque mixtura fertiles ad omnia tractus, modicos 
corporum habitus magna et in colore temperie, ritus 

* occasus et add. Rackham. * RacJcham : solstitia. 

* Rackham : promissa. * v.l. igni. 

^ Sfcl. Detlefsen. 

" I,e. the summer solstice, as often. 

* Cf. Galen de temperav^entis III vi 72 et /xfv o/xoAcoj €;^€i to 
aoifxa TTJs Kpdaecus, ols /i.ei' laxi/a. ra. sKiX-q ^qpol TidvTu>s €ioiV 
vypol Se ols TTax^a^ 

320 



BOOK II. Lxxix. 188-LXXX. 190 

that between two sunsets, the Umbvians from middaj 
to midday, the common people everywhere from 
dawn to dark, the Roman priests and the authorities 
who fixed the official day, and also the Egyptians 
and Hipparchus, the period from midnight to mid- 
night. But it is obvious that the breaks in dayhght 
between sunset and sunrise are smaller near the 
solstice " than at the equinoxes, because the 
position of the zodiac is more slanting around its 
middle points but straighter near the solstice. 

LXXX. We must deal next with the results cujmtea 
connected \vith these heavenly causes. For it is '"f^''^,^ 

1 1 -ni 1 • • 1 1 characler- 

beyond question that the Ijthiopians are burnt by wtiM. 
the heat of the heavenly body near them, and are 
born with a scorched appearance, with curly beard 
and hair, and that in the opposite region of the world 
the races have white frosty skins, with yellow hair 
that hangs straight ; while the latter are fierce 
owing to the rigidity of their cHmate but the former 
wise because of the mobihty of theirs ; and their 
legs ^ themselves prove that with the former the juice 
is called away into the upper portions of the body 
by the nature of heat, while with the latter it is 
driven down to the lower parts by falling moisture; 
in the latter country dangerous wild beasts are 
found, in the former a great variety of animals and 
especially of birds ; but in both regions men's stature 
is high, owing in the former to the pressure of the 
fires and in the latter to the nourishing effect of the 
damp ; whereas in the middle of the earth, owing to 
a healthy blending of both elements, there are tracts 
that are fertile for all sorts of produce, and men ire 
of medium bodily staturc, with a marked blending 
even in the matter of complexion ; customs are 

321 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

molles, sensus liquidos, ingenia fecunda totiusque 
naturae capacis, isdem imperia, quae numquam 
extimis gentibus fuerint, sicut ne illae quidem 
his paruerint avolsae ac pro immanitate^ naturae 
urguentis illas solitariae. 

191 LXXXI. Babyloniorum placita et motus terrae 
hiatusque qua cetera omnia siderum vi existimant fieri, 
sed illorum trium quibus fulniina adsignant, fieri autem 
meantium cum sole aut congruentium et maxime 
circa quadrata mundi. praeclara quaedam et inmort- 
alis in eo, si credimus, divinitas perhibetur Anaxi- 
mandro Milesio physico, quem ferunt Lacedaemoniis 
praedixisse ut urbem ac tecta custodirent, instare 
enim motum terrae, et tum urbs tota eorum corruit 
et Taygeti montis magna pars ad formam puppis 
eminens abrupta cladem eam insuperruinaoppressit.^ 
perhibetur et Pherecydi Pythagorae doctori aUa 
coniectatio, sed et illa divina, haustu aquae e puteo 
praesensisse ac praedixisse civibus ^ terrae motum. 

192 quae si vera sunt, quantum a deo tandem videri 
possunt tales distare dima vivant ? et haec quidem 
arbitrio cuiusque existimanda rehnquantur : ventos 
in causa esse non dubiimi reor ; neque enim umquam 

^ Hermolaus Barbarus: nuntiate aut unitate codd.; 
numine Mayhoff, perversitate ? Campbell. 
^ Rackham : pressit. 
^ civibus Mayhoff : tibi aut ibi aut om. codd. 

" Satum, Jupiter and Mars, cf. § 82. 

* I.e. are in conjunction with the sun, or agree -with him in 
aspect, and paiticularly when they are distant from him oue 
quarter of the heaven (Brotier). 

322 



BOOK II. Lxxx. 190-LXXX1. 192 

gentle, senses elear, intellects fertile and able to 
grasp the whole of nature ; and they also have 
governments, which the outer races never have 
possessed, any more than they have ever been subject 
to the central races, being quite detached and soHtary 
on account of the savagery of the nature that broods 
over those regions. 

LXXXI. The theory of the Babylonians deems Earihquaka 
that even earthquakes and fissures in the ground are 
eaused by the force of the stars that is the cause of 
all other phenomena, but only by that of those three 
stars " to v/hich they assign thunderbolts ; and that 
they occur when these are travelhng with the 
sun or are in agreement with him, and particularly 
about the quadratures of the world.* On this subject 
a remarkable and immortal inspiration is attributed (if 
we can believe it) to the natural philosopher Anaxi- 
mander of Miletus, who is said to have warned the 
Spartans to be careful of their city and buildings, 
because an earthquake was impending ; and subse- 
quently the whole of their city coUapsed, and also a 
hirge part of Mount Taygetus projecting in the 
shape of a ship's stern broke offand crashing down on 
it added to the catastrophe. Also another conjecture 
is attributed to Pherecydes the teacher of P}i;hagoras, 
this also inspired : he is said to have foretold to his 
fellow-citizens an earthquake, of which he had 
obtained a premonition in drawing water from a well. 
Assuming the truth of these stories, how far pray 
can such men even in their lifetime be thought to 
differ from a god ? And though these matters may 
be left to the estimation of individual judgment; 
I think it indubitable that their cause is to be attri- 
buted to the winds ; for trcmors of the earth never 

323 



PLrm;: natural histor"^ 

iutremiscunt terrae nisi sopito mari caeloque adeo 
tranquillo ut volatus a^dum non pendeant subtracto 
onmi spiritu qui vehit, nec umquam nisi post ventos, 
condito scilicet in venas et cava eius occulta flatu. 
neque aliud est in terra tremor quam in nube toni- 
trum, nec hiatus aliud quam cum fulmen erumpit 
incluso spiritu luctante et ad libertatem exire nitente. 

193 LXXXIL Varie itaque quatitur, et mira eduntur 
opera, alibi prostratis moenibus, alibi hiatu profundo 
haustis, ahbi egestis mohbus, ahbi emissis amnibus, 
nonnumquam etiam ignibus calidisve fontibus, alibi 
averso fluminum cursu. praecedit vero comitaturque 
terribiUs sonus, ahas murmuri similis, alias mugiti- 
bus aut clamori humano armorumve pulsantium 
fragori, pro quahtate materiae excipientis formaque 
vel cavernarum vel cuniculi per quem meet, exilius 
grassante in angusto, eodem rauco in recurvis, 
resultante in duris, fervente in imiidis, fluctuante in 

194 stagnantibus, furente contra solida. itaque et sine 
motu saepe editur sonus. nec simpHci modo quatitur 
nonnumquam,^ sed tremit vibratque. hiatus vero 
alias remanet ostendens quae sorbuit, alias occultat 
ore conpresso rursusque ita inducto solo ut nulla 

* Detlefsen : unquam. 
324 



BOOK II. Lxxxi. 192-LXXX11. 194 

occur except v/hen the sea is calm and the sky so 
Btill that birds are unable to soar because all the 
breath that carries them has been withdrawTi ; and 
never except after wind, doubtless because then the 
blast has been shut up in the veins and hidden hol- 
lows of the sky. And a trembhng in the earth is 
not ditferent from a thunderclap in a cloud, and a 
fissure is no different from when an imprisoned 
current of air by strugghng and striving to go forth 
to freedom causes a flash of hghtning to burst out. 

LXXXII. Consequently earthquakes occur in a thnr 
variety of ways, and cause remarkablc consequences, f,',^^"""'^' 
in some places overtlirow.ing walls, in others drawing (omeiwnc. 
them dowTi into a gaping cleft, in others thrusting up 
masses of rock, in others sending out rivers and 
sometimes even fires or hot springs, in others divert- 
ing the course of rivers. They are however preceded 
or accompanied by a terrible sound, that sometimes 
resembles a rumble, sometimes the lowing of cattle 
or the shouts of human beings or the clash of weapons 
struck together, according to the nature of the 
material that receives the shock and the shape of the 
caverns or burrows througli which it passes, proceed- 
ing with smaller vohmie in a narrow channel but with 
a harsh noise in channels that bend, echoing in 
hard channels, bubbhng in damp ones, forming waves 
in stagnant ones, raging against sohd ones. Ac- 
cordingly even without any movement occurring a 
sound is sometimes emitted. And sometimes the 
earth is not shaken in a simple manner but trembles 
and vibrates. Also the gap sometimes remains 
open, showing the objects that it has sucked in, 
while sometimes it hides them by closing its mouth 
and drawing soil over it again in such a way as to 

325 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

vestigia exstent: urbibus plerumque devoratis 
agrorumque tractu hausto, maritima autem maxime 
quatiuntur, nec montuosa tali malo carent : explora- 
tum mihi est Alpes Appenninumque saepius tremuisse. 

195 Et autumno ac vere terrae crebrius moventur, sicut 
fulmina. ideo Galliae et Aegyptus minime quati- 
untur, quoniam hic aestatis causa obstat. ilhc hiemis. 
item noctu saepius quam interdiu. maximi autem 
motus existunt matutini vespertinique, sed propinqua 
luce crebri, interdiu autem circa meridiem. fiunt 
et solis lunaeque defectu, quoniam tempestates tunc 
sopiuntur, praecipue vero cum sequitur imbres 
aestus imbresve aestum. 

196 LXXXIIL Navigantes quoque praesentiunt ^ 
non dubia coniectura sine flatu intumescente fluctu 
subito aut quatiente ictu. intremunt vero et in 
navibus postes aeque ^ quam in aedificiis crepitu- 
que praenuntiant ; quin et volucres non inpavidae 
sedent. est et in caelo signum praeceditque motu 
futuro aut interdiu aut paulo post occasum sereno 
tenuis ceu Unea nubes in longimi porrecta spatium. 

197 LXXXIV. Est et in puteis turbidior aqua nec sine 
odoris taedio, sicut in iisdem est remedium, quale et 
crebri specus praebent, conceptum enim spiritum 

^ Raclcham : sentiunt. 

* Rueck : positeque vd posita aeque. 

326 



BOOK II. Lxxxii. 194-LXXXIV. 197 

leave no traces ; it being usually cities that are 
engulfed, and a tract of farmland swallowed, al- 
though seaboard districts are most subject to earth- 
quakes, and also mountainous regions are not free 
from disaster of the kind : I have ascertained that 
tremors have somewhat frequently occurred in the 
Alps and Apennines. 

Earthquakes are more frequent in autumn and their 
spring, as is lightning. Consequently the Galhc ««'"<^'' 
provinces and Egypt suffer very httle from them, 
as in the latter the summer is the cause that prevents 
them and in the former the winter. Similarly they 
are more frequent by night than in the daytime. The 
severest earthquakes occur in the morning and the 
evening, but they are frequent near dawn and in 
the daytime about noon. They also occur at an 
ecHpse of the sun or moon, since then storms are 
lulled, but particularly when heat follows rain or 
rain heat. 

LXXXIII. Sailors at sea can also anticipate an signs ofti 
earthquake and forecast it with certainty when a »'«p^"<^'« 
sudden wave SAvells up without there being a wind, 
or a shock shakes the vessel. Even in ships posts 
begin to tremble just as they do in buildings, and 
foretell an earthquake by ratthng ; nay more, birds 
of timid kinds perch on the rigging. There is also 
a sign in the sky : when an earthquake is impending, 
either in the daytime or a little after sunset, in fine 
weather, it is preceded by a thin streak of cloud 
stretching over a wide space. 

LXXXIV. Another sign is when the water in proienior, 
wells is muddier and has a somewhat foul smell, """*'"'> 
just as in wells there is also a remedy for earthquake 
such as frequently caves too afford, as they supply 

327 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTOR^ 

exhalant. quod in totis notatur oppidis : minus 
quatiuntur crebris ad eluviem cuniculis cavata, 
multoque sunt tutiora in iisdem illis quae pendent, 
sicuti Neapoli in Italia intellegitur, parte eius quae 
solida est ad tales casus obnoxia. tutissimi sunt 
aedificiorum fornices. anguli quoque parietum postes- 
que alterno pulsu renitentes ; et latere terreno 

198 facti parietes minore noxa quatiimtur. magna 
diiferentia est et in ipso genere motus, pluribus 
siquidem modis quatitur ; tutissimum est cimi vibrat 
crispante aedificiorum crepitu et cum intumescit 
adsurgens alternoque motu residit ; irmoximn et cum 
concurrentia tecta contrario ictu arietant, quoniam 
alter motus alteri renititur. undantis inclinatio et 
fluctus more quaedam volutatio infesta est, aut cimi in 
unam partem totus se motus inpellit. desinunt autem 
tremores cum ventiis emersit, sin vero duravere, non 
ante XL dies sistuntur, plerumque et tardius, utpote 
cum quidam annuo et bienni spatio duraverint. 

199 LXXXV. Factum est semel, quod equidem in 
Etruscae disciplinae voluminibus invenio, ingens ter- 
rarum portentum L. Marcio Sexto lulio coss. in agro 
Mutinensi. namque montes duo inter se concurrerunt 
crepitu maximo adsultantes recedentesque, inter eos 
flamma fumoque in caelum exeunte interdiu. 
spectante e \ia Aemilia magna equitum Romanorum 
familiarxmaque et viatorum multitudine. eo con- 

328 



BOOK II. Lxxxiv. 197-LXXXV. 199 

an outlet for the confined breath. Tliis is noticed 
in whole towns : buildinos pierced by frequent 
conduits for drainage are less shaken, and also among 
these the ones erected over vaults are much safer — 
as is noticed in Italy at Naples, the sohdly built 
portion of the city being specially liable to collapses 
of this nature. The safest parts of buildings are 
arches, also angles of walls, and posts, which swing 
back into position with each alternate thrust ; and 
walls built of clay bricks sufFer less damage from 
being shaken. There is also a great difference in vaneiies oj ■. 
the actual kind of movement, as the earth shakes in 
several ways ; there is least danger when it quivers 
with a trembling rattle of the buildings, and when it 
rises in a swell and settles back again, with an 
alternating motion ; also no harm is done when 
buildings colhde and ram against each other, as 
the one motion counteracts the other. A waving 
bend and a sort of billowy fluctuation is dangerous, 
or when the whole movement drives in one direction. 
Earthquakes stop when the wind has found an outlet, 
or else, if they go on, they do not stop before forty 
days, and usually even longer, some in fact having 
gone on for one or two years' time. 

LXXXV. I find in the books of the lore of Tuscany Mstorkal 
that once a vast and portentous earthquake occurred """ "'' 
in the district of Modena; this was during the 
consulship " of Lucius Marcius and Sextus Juhus. 
Two mountains ran together with a mighty crash, 
leaping forward and then retiring with flames and 
smoke rising between them to the sky ; this took 
place in the daytime, and was watched from the 
Aemih'an road by a large crowd of Knights of Rome 
vvith their retinues and passers by. The shock 

329 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

cnrsu villae omnes elisae, animalia permulta quae 
intra fuerant exanimata sunt, anno ante sociale bel- 
Imn quod haud scio an funestius terrae ipsi Italiae 
fuerit quam bella civilia. non minus mirum ostentum 
et nostra cognovit aetas anno Neronis principis 
supremo, sicut in rebus eius exposuimus, pratis 
oleisque intercedente publica via in contrarias sedis 
transgressis in agro Marrucino, praediis Vetti Mar- 
celli equitis Romani res Neronis procurantis. 

200 LXXX\T. Fiunt simul cum terrae motu et inunda- 
tiones maris eodem videlicet spiritu infusi aut terrae 
sidentis sinu recepti. maximus terrae memoria 
mortalium exstitit motus Tiberii Caesaris principatu, 
XII urbibus Asiae ima nocte prostratis, creberrimus 
Punico bello intra eundem annum septies ac quin- 
quagies nuntiatus Romam, quo quidem anno ad Trasi- 
menum lacum dimicantes maximum motum nec 
Poeni sensere nec Romani. nec vero simplex malum 
aut in ipso tantum raotu periculum est, sed par aut 
maius ostento ^ : numquam urbs Roma tremuit ut 
non futuri eventus alicuius id praenuntium esset. 

201 LXXXVII. Eadem nascentium causa terrarum 
est, cum idem ille spiritus adtollendo potens solo 
non valuit erumpere. nascuntur enim nec fluminum 

^ ?<in> ostento Rackham. 

« A.D. 68. 

* The neighbourhood of Teate, now Chieti, on the Adriatio 
coast. 

«217 B.c. ** Lago di Perugia. 

33° 



BOOK II. Lxxxv, 199-Lxxxvn. 201 

brought do-wTi all the country houses, and a great 
many animals in the buildings were killed. It was in 
thc year before the AlHes' War, which was perhaps 
more disastrous to the land of Italy than the civil 
wars. Our generation also experienced a not less 
marvellous manifestation in the last year " of the 
Emperor Nero, as we have set forth in our history 
of his principate : meadows and ohve trees with a 
public road running between then got over to the 
opposite sides of the road ; this took place in the 
Marrucinian territory,* on the lands of Vettius 
Marcellus, Knight of Rome, Nero's estate-manager. 

LXXXVI. Earthquakcs are accompanied by conseiuem 
inundations of the sea, Avhich is presumably caused to ?{> ,„„^a 
flood the land by the same current of air, or drawn Hons; 
into the bosom of the earth as it subsides. The 
greatest earthquake in human memory occurred 
when Tiberius Caesar was emperor, twelve Asiatie 
cities being overthrown in one night ; the most 
numerous series of shocks was during the Punic War, 
when reports reached Rome of fifty-seven in a single 
year ; it was the year « when a violent earthquake 
occurring during an action between the Carthaginian 
and Roman armies at Lake Trasimene '^ was not 
noticed by the combatants on either side. Nor (Eanhria 
yet is the disaster a simple one, nor does the danger r^rttmtou^ 
coasist only in the earthquake itself, but equally or 
more in the fact that it is a portent ; the city of Rome 
was never shaken without this being a premonition of 
something about to happen. 

LXXX\TI. The cause of the birth of new lands (2)new 
is the same, when that same breath although powerful uons."' 
enough to cause an upheaval of the soil has not been 
able to force an exit. For lands are born not only 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

tantum invectu (sicut Echinades insulae ab Acheloo 
amne congestae maiorque pars Aeg\'pti a Nilo in 
quam a Pharo insula noctis et diei cursum fuisse 
Homero credimus) nec recessu maris, sicut idem 
Circeis, quod accidisse et in Ambraciae portu decem 
milium passuum intervallo et Atheniensium quinque 
milium ad Piraeeum memoratur, et Ephesi ubi 
quondam aedem Dianae adluebat. Herodoto quidem 
si credimus, mare fuit supra Memphim usque ad 
Aethiopum montes itemque a planis Arabiae, 
mare circa IHum et tota Teuthranie quaque campos 
intulerit Maeander. 
202 LXXXVIII. Nascuntur et alio modo terrae ac 
repente in aUo ^ mari emergunt velut paria secum 
faciente natura quaeque hauserit hiatus aho loco 
reddente. 

LXXXIX. Clarae iam pridem insulae Delos et 
Rhodos memoriae produntur enatae, postea minores, 
ultra Melon Anaphe, inter Lemnum et Hellespontum 
Neae, inter Lebedum et Teon Halone, inter Cycladas 
Olympiadis CXLV anno quarto Thera et Therasia, 
inter easdem post annos CXXX Hiera, eademquae 
Automate, et ab ea duobus stadiis post annos CX 
in nostro aevo M. lunio Silano L. Balbo coss. a, d. 
VIII Idus lulias Tliia. 

^ v.l. aliquo. 



• Ody.ssey IV. 354. " H. 10. 
« A legendary king in Mysia. 

<* The river between Lydia and Caria. 

• 197 B.c. The figures in thia passaee are very oncertain. 
/ A.D. 19. 



332 



BOOK II. UCVXVII. 20I-L.XXXIX. 202 

through the conveyance of soil by streams (as the 
Echinades Islands when heaped up from the river 
Achelous and the greater part of Egypt from the 
Nile — the crossing from the island of Pharos to the 
coast, if we believe Homer," having formerly taken 
t\venty-four hours) or by the retirement of the sea 
as once took place at Circei ; such a retirement is 
also recorded to have occurred to a distance of 
10,000 paces in the harbour of Ambracia, and to a 
distance of 5,000 at the Athenian port of Piraeus ; 
and at Ephesus, where once the sea used to wash up 
to the temple of Diana. At all events if we believe 
Herodotus,* there was sea above Memphis as far as 
the mountains of Ethiopia and also towards the plains 
of Arabia, and sea round Ilium, and over the whole 
territory of Teuthras '^ and where the Maeander '^ 
has spread prairie-land. 

LXXXVIII. New lands are also formcd in a.n- oiher 7ieu 
other way, and suddenly emerge in a different sea, uwfs!"'^'"'^ 
nature as it were balancing accounts with herself 
and restoring in another place what an earthquake 
has engulfed. 

LXXXIX. The famous islands of Delos and Emergence 
Rhodes are recorded in history as having been born '* ""^■'' 
from the sea long ago, and subsequently smaller 
ones, Anaphe beyond Melos, Neae between Lemnos 
and the Dardanelles, Halone between Lebedos and 
Teos, Thera and Therasia among the Cyclades in the 
4th year * of the 145th Olympiad ; also in the same 
group Hiera, which is the same as Automate, 130 
years later ; and 2 stades from Hiei-a, Thia 110 
years later, in our age, on July 8 in the year^ of the 
consulship of Marcus Junius Silanus and Lucius 
Balbus, 

333 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

203 Ante nos et iuxta Italiam inter Aeolias insulas, 
item iuxta Cretam emersit MMD passuum una cimi 
calidis fontibus, altera OhTnpiadis CLXIII anno 
tertio in Tusco sinu, flagrans haee violento eum flatu : 
proditurque memoriae magna circa eam multitudine 
piscium fiuitante confestim expirasse quibus ex his 
cibus fuisset. sic et Pithecussas in Campano sinu 
ferunt ortas, mox in his montem Epopon, ciun 
repente flamma ex eo emicuisset, campestri aequa- 
timi planitiei. in eadeni et oppidum haustum pro- 
fundo, ahoque motu terrae stagnimi emersisse, et 
aho provolutis montibus insulam extitisse Prochytam. 

204 XC. Namque et hoc modo insulas rerum natura 
fecit : avellit Siciliam Italiae, C^^prum Syriae, 
Euboeam Boeotiae, Euboeae Atalanten et Macrian, 
Besbicum Bithyniae, Leucosiam Sirenum promun- 
turio. XCI. Rursus abstuht insulas mari iunxitque 
terris, Antissam Lesbo, Zephyriimi Hahcarnasso, 
Aethusan Myndo, Dromiscon et Pernen Mileto, 
Narthecusam Parthenio promunturio. Hybanda 
quondam insula loniae ducentis nunc a mari abest 
stadiis, Syrien Ephesus in mediterraneo habet, 
Derasidas et Sapphoniam vicina ei Magnesia. 
Epidaurus et Oricum insulae esse desierunt. 

205 XCII. In totum abstulit terras primum omnium 
ubi Atlanticum mare est, si Platoni credimus, 

" 126 B.o. » Timaeus 24 B. 

334 



BOOK II. Lxxxix. 203-xcn. 205 

Before our time also among the Aeolian Islands 
near Ita]y, as well as near Crete, there emerged 
from the sea one island 2500 paces long, with hot 
springs, and another in the 3rd year" of Olympiad 
163 in the bay of Tuscany, this one burning with a 
violent blast of air ; and it is recorded that a great 
quantity of fish were floating round it, and that 
people who ate of them immediately expired. So 
also the Monkey Islands are said to have risen in the 
bay of Campania, and later one among them, Mouut 
Epopos, is said to have suddenly shot up a great 
flame and then to have been levelled vdth the 
surface of the plain. In the same plain also a town 
was sucked down into the depths, and another 
earthquake caused a swamp to emerge, and another 
overturned mountains and threw up the island of 
Procida. 

XC. For another way also in which nature has Deiachmmi 
made islands is when she tore Sicily away from "jrlnXwin. 
Italy, C^^rus from Syria, Euboea from Boeotia, ia'id, 
Atalantes and Macrias from Euboea, Besbicus from 
Bithynia, Leucosia from the Sirens' Cape. XCI. 
Again she has taken islands away from the sea and 
joined them to the land — Antissa to Lesbos, Zephyrius 
to Hahcarnassus, Aethusa to Myndus, Dromiscos 
and Pernes to Miletus, Narthecusa to Cape Parthen- 
ius. Hybanda, once an lonian island, is now 25 miles 
distant from the sea, Ephesus has Syrie as part of 
the mainland, and its neighbour Magnesia the 
Derasides and Sapphonia. Epidaurus and Oricum 
have ceased to be islands. 

XCII. Cases of land entirely stolen away by the Encrmch- 
sea are, first of all (if we accept Plato's story *), the "'"" ''•^**"- 
vast area covered by the Atlantic, and next, in the 

335 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

inmenso spatio, mox interno quoque ^ quae videmus 
hodie, mersam Acarnaniam Ambracio sinu, Achaiam 
Corinthio, Europam Asiamque Propontide et Ponto. 
Ad hoc perrupit mare Leucada, Antirrhium, Helles- 
pontum, Bosporos duos. 

XCIII. Atque ut sinus et stagna praeteream, ipsa 
se eomest terra. devoravit Cibotum altissimum 
montem cum oppido Cariae, Sipylum in Magnesia 
et prius in eodem loco clarissimam urbem quae 
Tantahs vocabatur, Galenes et Galames urbium in 
Phoenice agros cum ipsis, Phegium Aethiopiae 
iugmn excelsissimmn, tamquam non infida grassa- 

206 rentur et Utora. XCIV. Pyrram et Antissam circa 
Maeotim Pontus abstuht, HeHcen et Buram sinus 
Corinthius, quarum in alto vestigia apparent. ex 
insula Cea amphus triginta miha passuum abrupta 
subito cum plurimis mortahbus rapuit, et in Siciha 
dimidiam Tyndarida urbem ac quicquid ab Itaha 
deest, simihter in Boeotia Eleusina. 

XCV. Motus enim terrae sileantur et quicquid 
est ubi saltem busta urbium exstant, simul ^ terrae 
miracula potius dicamus quam scelera naturae. et, 
Hercule, non caelestia enarratu difficihora fuerint : 

207 metallorum opulentia tam varia, tam dives, tam 
fecunda, tot saecuhs suboriens, cum tantum cotidie 
orbe toto populentur ignes, ruinae, naufragia, bella, 

* quoque add. Mayhoff {om. quae). ^ RackJiam : sunul ut. 

« This long peninsula off the W. coast of Acarnania was 
made into an island by the Corinthians who in the 7th cent. 
B.c. cut a canal through the isthmus joining it with the 
mainland. 

* The Channel of Istambul and the Kertsch from the Black 
Sea to the Sea of Azov. 



BOOK II. xCTi. 205-xcv. 207 

inland seas also, the areas that we see submerged at 
the present day , Acarnania covered by the Ambracian 
Gulf, Achaeaby the Gulf of Corinth, Europe and Asia 
by the Sea of Marmora and the Black Sea. Also the 
sea has made the channels of Leucas," Antirrhium, 
the Dardanelles and the two Bospori.^ 

XCIII. And to pass over bays and marshes, the CoUapseoj 
earth is eaten up by herself. She has devoured the '^"'"'*""- 
highest mountain in Caria, Cibotus, together with 
the town of that name, Sipylus in Magnesia, and 
previously the very celebrated city in the same 
place that used to be called Tantahs, the territories 
of Galene and Galame in Phoenicia with the cities 
themselves, and the loftiest mountain range in 
Ethiopia, Phegium — ^just as if the coasts also did not 
treacherously encroach ! XCIV. The Black Sea 
has stolen Pyrra and Antissa in the neighbourhood 
of Lake Maeotis, the Gulf of Corinth Hehce and 
Bura, traces of which are visible at the bottom of the 
water. The sea suddenly snatched away more than 
30,000 paces together with most of the human 
beings from the Island of Ceos, and half the city of 
Tyndaris in Sicily, and all the gap in the coast of 
Italy, and similarly Eleusis in Boeotia. 

XCV. For let earthquakes not be mentioned, and Products of 
every case where at least the tombs of cities survive, mlnerais, 
and at the same time let us tell of the marvels of the aems, 

1 1 1 1 • r , A1T-11 emanatiom 

earth rather than the crimes ot nature. And, 1 will 
swear, not even the heavenly phenomena could 
have been more difficult to recount : the wealth of 
mines so varied, so opulent, so prolific, brought 
to the surface in so many ages, although every day 
all over the world so much devastation is wrought by 
fires, collapse of buildings, shipwrecks, wars, frauds, 

337 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

fraudes, tantum vero luxuria et tot mortalesconterant, 
gemmarum pictura tam multiplex, lapidum tam 
discolores maculae, interque eos candor alicuius praeter 
lucem omnia excludens, medicatorum fontium vis, 
ignium tot locis emicantium perpetua tot saeculis 
incendia, spiritus letales aut ^ scrobibus emissi aut 
ipso loci situ, mortiferi alibi volucribus tantum, ut 

208 Soracte vicino urbi tractu, alibi praeter hominem 
ceteris animantibus, nonnumquam et homini, ut in 
Sinuessano agro et Puteolano, quae spiracula vocant, 
aHi Charonea, scrobes mortiferum spiritum exhalantes, 
item in Hirpinis Ampsancti ad Mephitis aedem locum 
quem qui intravere moriuntur, simih modo Hierapoli 
in Asia Matris tantum Magnae sacerdoti innoxium ; 
ahbi fatidici specus, quorimi exhalatione temulenti 
futura praecinant, ut Delphis nobihssimo oraculo. 
Quibus in rebus quid possit ahud causae adferre 
mortahum quispiam quam difFusae per omne naturae 
subinde ahter atque ahter numen erumpens ? 

209 XCVI. Quaedam vero terrae ad ingressus tre- 
munt, sicut in Gabiensi agro non procul urbe Roma 
iugera ferme ducenta equitantium cursu, simihter in 
Reatino. quaedam insulae semper fluctuantur, 
sicut in agro Caecubo et eodem Reatino, Mutinensi, 
Statoniensi, in Vadimonis lacu, ad Cutihas aquas 

^ Eackham : alibi aut. 

" Phengitis, described XXXVI 163 as translucent but not 
transparent. 



BOOK II. xcv. 207-xcvi. 209 

and so great is the consumption of luxury and of the 
multitudes of mankind ; such a variety of patterned 
gems, such many-coloured markings in stones, and 
among them the brilliance of a certain stone <* that 
only allows actual dayhght to penetrate through it; 
the profusion of medicinal springs ; the flames of 
fire flickering up in so many places, unceasing for so 
many centuries ; the lethal breaths either emitted 
from chasms or due to the mere formation of the 
ground, in some places fatal only to birds, as in the 
region of Soracte near Rome, in others to all hving 
creatures except man, and sometimes to man also, 
as in the territory of Sinuessa and of Pozzuoh — the 
places called breathing holes, or by other people 
jaws of hell — ditches that exhale a deadly breath; 
also the place near the Temple of Mephitis at 
Ampsanctus in the Hirpinian district, on entering 
wliich people die ; hkewise the hole at HierapoHs in 
Asia, harmless only to the priest of the Great Mother ; 
elsewhere prophetic caves, those intoxicated by 
M'hose exhalations foretell the future, as at the very 
famous oracle at Delphi. In these matters what 
other explanation could any mortal man adduce 
save that they are caused by the divine power of that 
nature which is difFused throughout the universe, 
repeatedly bursting out in different ways ? 

XCVI. In some places, the earth trembles when Eanh 
trodden on — for instance in the Gabii district not far "'^'"■*- 
from the city of Rome about 200 acres shake when 
horsemen gallop over them, and similarly in the 
Reate district. Certain islands are always afloat, Fioating 
as in the districts of Caecubum and of Reate men- '* " 
tioned above and Modena and Statonium, and In 
Lake Vadimo, the dense wood near the springs of 

339 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

opaca silva quae numquam die ac nocte eodem luco 
visitur, in Lydia quae vocantur Calaminae non ventis 
solum sed etiam contis quo libeat inpulsae, multorum 
civium Mithridatico bello salus. svmt et in N}Tn- 
phaeo parvae, Saliares dictae, quoniam in symphoniae 
cantu ad ictus modulantium pedum moventur. in 
Tarquiniensi lacu magno Italiae duae nemora circum- 
ferunt, nunc triquetram figuram edentes nunc 
rotundam conplexu ventis impellentibus, quadratam 
numquam. 

210 XCVII. Celebre fanum habet Veneris Paphos, in 
cuius quandam aream non impluit, item in Nea, 
oppido Troadis, circa simulacrmn Minervae, in eodem 

211 et rehcta sacrificia non putrescunt. XCVIII. iuxta 
Harpasa oppidum Asiae cautes stat horrenda uno 
digito mobihs, eadem, si toto corpore inpellatur, 
resistens. in Taurorum paeninsula in civitate Para- 
sino terra est qua sanantur omnia vuhiera. at circa 
Asson Troadis lapis nascitur quo consumimtur omnia 
corpora; sarcophagiis vocatur. duo sunt montes 
iuxta flumen Indum quorum ^ alteri natura ut ferriun 
omne teneat, alteri ut respuat; itaque si sint clavi 
in calciamento, vestigia avelU in altero non posse, in 
altero sisti. Locris et Crotone pestilentiam numquam 
fuisse nec ullo terrae motu laboratum adnotatimi 
est, in Lycia vero semper a terrae motu quadraginta 

1 quorum add. Rackham. 
• A promontory in Klyria. 



BOOK II. xcvi. 209-xcviii. 211 

Cutilia whicli is never to be seen in the same place 
by day and by night, the islands in Lydia named 
the Reed Islands which are not only driven by the 
winds, but can be punted in any direction at pleasure 
with poles, and so served to rescue a number of the 
citizens in the Mithridatic war. There are also small 
islands at Nymphaeum " called the Dancing Islands, 
because they move to the foot-beats of persons 
keeping time with the chanting of a choral song. On 
the great lake of Tarquinii in Italy two islands 
float about carrying woods, their outhne as the winds 
drive them forward now forming the shape of a 
triangle and now of a circle, but never a square. 

XC\^II. Paphos possesses a famous shrine o( foeaimrth 
Venus on a certain court in which rain does not fall, """*'^"- 
and the same in the case round an image of Minerva 
at the town of Nea in the Troad ; in the same town 
also saci-ifices left over do not go bad. XCVIII. Near 
the town of Harpasa in Asia stands a jagged rock 
that can be moved with one finger, but that also 
resists a push made with the whole body. On the 
peninsula of Tauri in the state of Parasinum there is 
some earth which heals all Mounds. But in the 
neighbourhood of Assos in the Troad a stone is 
produced that causes all bodies to waste away ; 
it is called the Flesh-eater. There are two moun- 
tains near the river Indus, the nature of one of which 
is to hold all iron and that of the other to reject it; 
consequently if a man has nails in his shoes, on one 
of the mountains at each step he is unable to tear 
his foot away from the ground and on the other he 
cannot set it down on the ground. It is recorded 
that at Locri and Croton there has never been a 
plague or earthquake, and that in Lycia an earth- 

341 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

dies serenos esse. in agro Arpano frumentum satum 
non nascitur, ad aras jMucias in Veiente et apud 
Tusculanum et in silva Ciminia loca sunt in quibus in 
terram depacta non extrahuntur. in Crustumino 
natum faenum ibi noxium, extra salubre est. 

212 XCIX. Et de aquarum natura complura dicta 
sunt. sed aestus maris accedere et reciprocare maxime 
mirum, pluribus qmdem modis, verum causa in sole 
lunaque. bis inter duos exortus lunae adfluunt 
bisque remeant xicenis quaternisque semper horis, 
et primum attollente se cum ea mundo intume- 
scentes, mox a meridiano caeli fastigio vergente in 
occasum residentes, rursusque ab occasu sub terra ^ 
ad caeli ima et meridiano contraria accedente inun- 
dantes, hinc donec iterum exoriatur se resorbentes ; 

213 nec umquam eodem tempore quo pridie reflui, 
velut 2 anhelantes ^ sidere avido trahente secura 
haustu maria et adsidue ahunde quam pridie 
exoriente ; parilDus tamen intervalhs reciproci senis- 
que semper horis, non cuiusque diei aut noctis aut 
loci sed aequinoctiahbus, ideoque inaequales vol- 
garium horarum spatio utcumque plures in eos aut 
diei aut noctis illarum mensurae cadunt, et aequinoc- 

214 tio tantum pares ubique. ingens ai-gumentum 
plenumque lucis, ac vocis etiam diuinae, hebetes esse 
qui negent suptei-meare sidera ac rursus eadem ex- 
surgere, similemque terris, immo vero naturae uni- 

^ Deilcfsen : subter. ^ Riiech : reflui ut. 

* Mayhoff (cf. Mela III 2) : anci]lantes. 

" The Roman hour was a twelfth part of actual daytime 
or night-time, thus varying in length throughout the year; 
and oaly at the equinox was a diurnal hour equal to a noc- 
turnal hour, an exact twenty-fourth of day and night. 

342 



BOOK II. xcviii. 2II-XCIX. 214 

quake is always followed by forty days' fine weather. 
Corn sown in the Arpi district does not come up, and 
at Mucian Altars in the district of Veii and at Tus- 
culum and in the Ciminian Forest there are places 
where stakes driven into the gi-ound cannot be pulled 
out. Hay grown in the Crustumium district is noxious 
on the spot but healthy when conveyed elsewhere, 

XCIX. About the nature of bodies of water a ndes, theot 
great deal has been said. But the rise and fall of °^' 
the tides of the sea is extremely mysterious, at all 
events in its irregularity ; however the cause Ues in 
the sun and moon. Between two risings of the moon 
there are two high and two low tides every 24 hours, 
the tide first swelHng as the world moves upward 
with the moon, then falHng as it slopes from the mid- 
day summit of the sky towards sunset, and again 
coming in as after sunset the world goes below the 
earth to the lowest parts of the heaven and approaches 
the regions opposite to the meridian, and from that 
point sucking back until it rises again ; and never 
flowing back at the same time as the day before, just 
as if gasping for breath as the greedy star draws the 
seas with it at a draught and constantly rises from 
another point than the day before ; yet returning 
at equal intei-vals and in every six hours, not of each 
day or night or place but equinoctial hours, so that 
the tidal periods are not equal by the space of 
ordinary hours whenever the tides occupy larger 
measures of either diurnal or nocturnal hours, and 
only equal eveiywhere at the equinox." It is a vast 
and illuminating proof, and one of even divine 
utterance, that those are dull of wit who deny that 
the same stars pass below the earth and rise up again, 
and that they present a siuiilar appearance to the 

343 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

versae, exinde^ faciem in iisdem ortus occasusque 
operibus, non aliter sub terra manifesto sideris cursu 
aliove effectu quam cum praeter oculos nostros feratur. 

215 Multiplex etiamnum lunaris differentia, primumque 
septenis diebus : quippe modici a nova ad dividuam 
aestus pleniores ab ea exundant plenaque maxime 
fervent; inde mitescunt, pares ad septimam primis, 
iterumque alio latere dividua augentur, in coitu solis 
pares plenae. eadem in - aquilonia et a terris longius 
recendente mitiores quam cum in austros digressa 
propiore nisu vim suam exercet. per octonos quosque 
annos ad principia motus et paria incrementa centesi- 
mo lunae revocantur ambitu. augent ^ ea cuncta 
solis annuis causis, duobus aequinoctiis maxime tu- 
mentes et autumnali amplius quam verno, inanes vero 

216 bruma et magis solstitio. nec tamen in ipsis quos 
dixi temporvmi articulis, sed paucis post diebus, sicuti 
neque in plena aut novissima scd postea, nec statim 
ut lunam mundus ostendat occultetve aut media 
plaga declinet verum fere duabus horis aequinoctiali- 
bus serius, tardiore semper ad terras omnium quae 
geruntur in caelo effectu cadente quam visu, sicuti 
fulguris et tonitrus et fulminum. 

1 v.l. et inde : ostendi ? Campbell. 

2 v.l. cm. in. ' Mayhoff : augente. 

344 



BOOK 11. xcTX. 214-216 

lands and indeed to the whole of nature in the same 
processes of rising and setting, the course or other 
operation of a star being manifest beneath the 
earth in just the same way as when it is travelHng 
past our eyes. 

Moreover, the lunar difference is manifold, and ra?! and 
to begin with, its period is seven days : inasmuch as p^l-iojg^ 
the tides, which are moderate from new moon to 
half-moon, therefrom rise higher and at fuU moon 
are at their maximum ; after that they relax, at the 
seventh day being equal to what they were at first; 
and they increase again when the moon divides on 
the other side, at the union of the moon with the sun 
being equal to what they were at fuU moon. When 
the moon is northward and retiring further from 
the earth the tides are gentler than when she has 
swerved towards the south and exerts her force at 
a nearer angle. At every eighth year the tides 
are brought back at the hundredth circuit of the 
moon to the beginnings of their motion and- to 
corresponding stages of increase. They make all 
these increases owing to the yearly influences of the 
sun, swelling most at the two equinoxes and more at 
the autumn than the spring one, but empty at mid- 
winter and more so at midsummer. Nevertheless 
this does not occur at the exact points of time I have 
specified, but a few days after, just as it is not at 
fuU or new moon but afterwards, and not immediately 
when the world shows or hides the moon or slopes 
it in the middle quarter, but about two equi- 
noctial hours later, the effect of aU the occurrences 
in the sky reaching the earth more slowly than the 
sight of them, as is the case with Ughtning, thunder 
and thunder-bolts. 

345 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

217 Omnes autem aestus in oceano maiora integunt 
spatia nudantque quam in reliquo mari, sive quia 
motum universitate animosius quam parte est, sive 
quia magnitudo aperta sideris \im laxe grassantis 
efficacius sentit, eandem angustiis arcentibus, qua 
de causa nec lacus nec amnes similiter moventur. 
(octogenis cubitis supra Britanniam intumescere 
aestus Pytheas Massiliensis auctor est). et interiora 

218 autem maria terris clauduntur ut in ^ portu ; quibus- 
dam tamen in locis spatiosior laxitas dicioni paret, 
utpote cum plura exempla sint in tranquillo mari 
nuUoque velorum pulsu tertio die ex Italia pervec- 
torum Uticam aestu fervente. circa litora autem 
magis quam in alto deprehenduntur lii motus, 
quoniam et in corpore extrema pulsum venarimi, id 
est spii-itus, magis sentiunt. in plerisque tamen 
aestuaris propter dispares siderum in quoque tractu 
exortus diversi existunt aestus tempore, non ratione, 
discordes, sicut in Sjrrtibus. 

219 C. Et quorundam tamen privata natura est, 
velut Tauromenitani euripi saepius et in Euboea 
septies die ac nocte reciprocantis. idem aestus 
triduo in mense consistit, septima octava nonaque 
luna. Gadibus qui est delubro Herculis proximus 
fons inclusus ad putei modum ahas simul cum oceano 
augetur minuiturque, aUas utrumque contrariis 
temporibus ; eodem in loco alter oceani motibus 

^ in add. Mayhoff. 

» I.e. the moon. " I.e. the Straits of Messiua, 



BOOK II. xcix. 217-C. 219 

But all the tides cover and lay bare greater spaces occm luief 
in the ocean than in the rest of the sea, whether (/'^'^^/'tv" 
because it is more furious when moved in its entirety i"-'^^ ^tf^- 
than when in part, or because the open extent feels 
the force of the star " when it marches untrammeled 
with more efFect, whereas narrow spaces hinder the 
force, which is the reason why neither lakes nor 
rivers have tides hke the ocean (Pytheas of Mar- 
seilles states that north of Britain the tides rise 
120 ft.) But also the morc inhmd seas are shut in 
by land hke the water in a harbour ; yet a more 
untrammeled expanse is subject to the tidal sway, 
inasmuch as there are several instances of people 
making the crossing from Italy to Utica in two days 
in a calm sea and with no wind in the sails when a 
strong tide was running. But these motions are 
observed more round the coasts than in the deep 
sea, since in the body too the extremities are more 
sensitive to the pulse of the veins, that is of the 
breath. But in most estuaries owing to the different 
risings of the stars in each region the tides occur 
irregularly, varying in time though not in method, 
as for instance in the Syrtes. 

C. And nevertheless some tides have a special Exccpuotiai 
nature, for instance the channel at Taormina ^ that ''"^''""'^'''" 
ebbs and flows more frequently, and the one at 
Euboea that has seven tides in twenty-four hours. 
The tide at Euboea stops three times a month, on 
the seventh, eighth and ninth day after the new 
moon. At Cadiz the spring nearest the shrine of 
Hercules, which is enclosed hke a well, sometimes 
rises and sinks with the ocean and sometimes does 
both at the contrary periods ; a second spring in the 
same place agrees with the motions of the ocean. 

347 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

consentit. in ripa Baetis oppidum est cuins putei 
crescente aestu minuuntur, augescunt decedente, 
mediis temporum immobiles. eadem natura His- 
pali in ipso oppido ^ uni puteo, ceteris vulgaris. et 
Pontus semper extra meat in Propontidem, introrsus 
in Pontum numquam refluo mari. 

220 CI. Omnia pleno fluctu ^ maria purgantur, 
quaedam et stato tempore. circa Messanam et 
Mylas fimo similia expuuntur in litus purgamenta, 
unde fabula est Solis boves ibi stabulari. his addit 
(ut nihil quod equidem noverim praeteream) Aristot- 
teles nullum animal nisi aestu recedente expirare. 
Observatum id multum in Galhco oceano et dumtaxat 
in homine compertum. 

221 CII. Quo vera coniectatio existit haut frustra 
spiritus sidus lunam ^ existimari, hoc esse quod terras 
saturet, accedensque corpora impleat, abscedens 
inaniat ; ideo cum incremento eius augeri conchyha, 
et maxime spiritum sentire quibus sanguis non sit, 
sed et sanguinem hominum etiam cum lumine eius 
augeri ac minui, frondes quoque ac pabula (ut suo 
loco dicetur) sentire, in omnia eadem penetrante vi. 

222 CIII. Itaque sohs ardore siccatur hquor, et hoc esse 
masculum sidus accepimus, torrens cuncta sorbens- 
que ; sic mari late patenti saporem incoqui sahs, aut 

^ Rackham : Hispali {v.ll. in ipsote, in Hispali) oppido. 

* Mayhoff : pleni unio. 

' spiritum sidus lunae edd. vett. 

<» Or, emending the text, ' the moon'8 star is believed to 
be breath.' 

* XVIII. 321 £f. 

348 



BOOK II. c. 219-cni. 222 

Tliere is a town on the banks of the Guadalquivir 
vhose wells sink when the tide rises and rise when it 
falls, remaining stationary in the intervening periods. 
At Seville there is one well in the actual town that 
has the same nature, though all the others are as 
usual. The Black Sea always flows out into the Sea 
of Marmora — the tide never sets inward into the 
Black Sea. 

CI. All seas excrete refuse at high tide, some Tidairefu 
also periodically. In the neighbourhood of Messina 
and Mylae scum resembhng dung is spat out on to the 
shore, which is the origin of the story that this is the 
place where the Oxen of the Sun are stalled. To 
this (so that I may leave out nothing that is within 
my knowledge) Aristotle adds that no animal dies 
except when the tide is ebbing. This has been widely 
noticed in the GalHc Ocean, and has been found to 
hold good at all events in the case of man. 

CII. This is the source of the true conjecture Lunar 
that the moon is rightly beHeved to be the star of '"■/^"«"'^- 
the breath," and that it is this star that saturates 
the earth and fills bodies by its approach and empties 
them by its departure ; and that consequently 
shells increase in size as the moon waxes, and that 
its breath is specially felt by bloodless creatures, but 
also the blood even of human beings increases and 
diminishes with its hght ; and that also leaves and 
herbage (as will be stated in the proper place ^) are 
sensitive to it, the same force penetrating into all 
things. 

CIII. Consequently hquid is dried by the heat Ef/ecu of 
of the sun, and we are taught that this is the male *""^'^^* 
star, which scorches and sucks up everything; and 
that in this way the flavour of salt is boiled into the 

349 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

quia exhausto inde dulci tenuique, quod facillime 
trahat vis ignea, omne asperius crassiusque linquatur 
(ideo summa aequorum aqua dulciorem profundam,* 
hanc esse veriorem causam asperi saporis quam quod 
mare terrae sudor sit aeternus), aut quia plurimus ex 
arido misceatur ilH vapor, aut quia terrae natura sicut 
medicatas aquas inficiat. est in exemplis Dionysio 
Siciliae tjTanno, cum pulsus est ea potentia, accidisse 
prodigium ut uno die in portu dulcesceret mare. 

223 CIV. E contrario ferunt lunae femineum ac molle 
sidus, atque nocturnxun solvere umorem et trahere, 
non auferre. id manifestum esse quod ferarum 
occisa corpora in tabem \dsu suo resolvat, somnoque 
sopitis torporem contractum in caput revocet, 
glaciem refundat, cunctaque umifico spiritu laxet: 
ita pensari naturae vices semperque sufficere, ahis 
siderum elementa cogentibus, ahis vero fundentibus. 
sed in dulcibus aquis lunae ahmentum esse sicut in 
niarinis sohs. 

224 CV. Altissimum mare XV stadiorum Fabianus 
tradit. ahi in Ponto ex adverso Coraxorum gentis 
(vocant [iaOia Ponti) trecentis fere a continenti 
stadiis inmensam altitudinem maris tradunt, vadis 

* v.l. summam . . . aquam . . . profunda. 

35° 



BOOK II. ciii. 222-cv. 224 

wide expanse of the sea, either because tlie sweet 
and Hquid, which is easily attrticted by fiery force, is 
drawn out of it, but all the harsher and denser 
portion is left (this being wliy in a calm sea the water 
at a depth is sweeter than that at the top, this being 
the truer explanation of its harsh flavour, rather 
than because the sea is the ceaseless perspiration of 
the land), or because a great deal of warmth from 
the dry is mixed with it, or because the nature of the 
earth stains the waters as if they were drugged. One 
instance is that when Dionysius the tyrant of Sicily 
was expelled from that position, he encountered the 
portent that on one day the sea-water in the harbour 
became fresh water. 

CIV. The moon on the contrary is said to be a Effects oj 
feminine and soft star, and to disengage moisture """''' '^ 
at night and attract, not remove it. The proof 
given for this is that the moon by her aspect melts 
the bodies of wild animals that have been killed and 
causes them to putrefy, and that when people are 
fast asleep she recalls the torpor and collects it 
into the head, and thaws ice, and unstiffens 
everything with moistening breath : thus (it is said) 
nature's alternations are held in balance, and there 
is always a supply, some of the stars drawing the 
elements toffether while others scatter them. But 

o 

the nutriment of the moon is stated to be contained 
in bodies of fresh v.ater as that of the sun is in 
seawater. 

CV. According to the account of Fabianus, the Depthaf 
deepest sea has a depth of nearly two miles. Others 
report an immense depth of water (called the Black 
Sea Deeps) off the coast of the Coraxi tribe on the 
Black Sea, about 37 miles from land, where soundings 

351 



PLTNY: NATURAL HISTORY 

numquam repertis. CVL Mirabilius id faciunt aquae 
dulces iuxta mare ut fistulis emieantes. nam nec 
aquarum natura miraculis cessat. dulces mari 
invehuntur, leviores haut dubie. ideo et marinae, 
quarum natura gravior, magis invecta sustinent. 
quaedam vero et dulces inter se supermeant alias, ut 
in Fucino lacu invectus amnis,i in Lario Addua, in 
Verbanno Ticinus, in Benaco Mincius, in Sebinno 
Ollius, in Lemanno Rhodanus, hic trans Alpes, 
superiores in Italia, multoriun mihum transitu 
hospitah suas tantum nec largiores quam intulere 
aquas evehentes. proditum hoc et in Oronte amne 

225 Syriae multisque aliis. quidam vero odio maris ipsa 
subeunt vada, sicut Arethusa, fons Syracusanus in 
quo redduntur iacta in Alpheum qui per Olympiam 
fluens Peloponnesiaco htori infunditur. subeunt 
terras rursusque redduntur Lycus in Asia, Erasinus 
in Argohca, Tigris in Mesopotamia ; et quae in 
Aesculapi fonte Athenis mersa sunt in Phalerico 
redduntur. et in Atinate campo fluvius mersus post 
XX miha passuum exit, et in Aquileiensi Timavus. 

226 Nihil in Asphaltite ludaeae lacu qui bitumen gignit 
mergi potest, nec in Armeniae maioris Aretissa ; is 
quidem nitrosus pisces aht. in Salentino iuxta 

* <Pitomus> amnis ea; XXXI. 41 Mayhoff. 



BOOK II. cvi. 224-226 

have never reached bottom. CVI. This is rendered 
more remarkable by springs of fresh water bubbUng out 
as if from pipes on the seashore. In fact the nature 
of water also is not deficient in marvels. Patehes of 
fresh water float on the sm-face of the sea, being 
doubtless Hghter. Consequently also sea-water being Remarkabu 
of a heavier natui-e gives more support to objects ^^"^^["^* " 
floating upon it. But some fresh waters too float on 
the surface of others ; cases are the river carried on 
the surface of Lake Fucino, the Adde on the Lake of 
Como, the Ticino on Maggiore, the Mincio on 
Garda, the Olho on Lago dTseo, the Rhone on the 
Lake of Geneva (the last north of the Alps, but all 
the rest in Italy), after a passing visit that covers 
many miles carrying out their own waters only and 
no larger quantity than they introduced. This has 
also been stated in the case of the river Orontes in 
Syria and many others. But some rivers so hate the 
sea that they actually flow underneath the bottom of 
it, for instance the spring Arethusa at Syracuse, in 
which things emerge that have been thrown into the 
Alpheus which flows through Olympia and reaches the 
coast in the Peloponnese. Instances of rivers that flow 
under ground and come to the sm-face again are the 
Lycus in Asia, the Erasinus in the ArgoUd and the 
Tigris in Mesopotamia; and objects thrown into the 
Spring of Aesculapius at Athens are given back again 
in Phaleron Harbour. Also a river that goes under- 
ground in the Plain of Atinas comes out 20 miles 
further on, as also does the Timavus in the district 
of Aquileia. In Lake Asphaltis in Judaea, which 
produces bitumen, nothing can sink, and also in the 
Aretissa in Greater Armenia ; the latter indeed is a 
nitrous lake that supports fish. A lake near the town 

353 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

oppidum Manduriam lacus ad margines plenus neque 
exhaustis aquis minuitur neque infusis augetur. 
in Ciconum flumine et in Piceno lacu Velino lignum 
deiectum lapideo cortice obducitur, et in Surio 
Colchidis flumine adeo ut lapidem plerumque durans 
adhuc integat cortex. Simihter in flumine Silero ultra 
Surrentum non virgulta modo inmersa verum et foHa 
lapidescunt, alias salubri potu eius aquae. in exitu 
paludis Reatinae saxiun crescit et in rubro mari 
oleae virentesque frutices enascuntur. 

227 Sed fontium plurimormn natura miro ^ est fervore, 
idque etiam in iugis Alpium, ipsoque in mari, ut inter 
Italiam et Aenariam in ^ Baiano sinu et in Liri flu\io 
multisque aliis. nam dulcis haustus in mari plurimis 
locis, ut ad Chelidonias insulas et Aradum et in 
Gaditano oceano, Patavinorum aquis calidis herbae 
virentes innascuntur, Pisanorum ranae, ad Vetulon- 
ios in Etruria non procul a mari pisces. In Casinate 
fluvius appellatur Scatebra, frigidus, abundantior 
aestate ; in eo ut in Arcadiae ^ Stymphali nascuntur 

228 aquatiles musculi. in Dodone lovis fons cum sit 
gelidus et inmersas faces extinguat, si extinctae 
admoveantur accendit. idem meridie semper deficit, 
qua de causa avaTravofjievov vocant ; mox increscens 
ad mediima noctis exuberat, ab eo rursus sensim 
deficit. in Illyricis supra fontem frigidum expansae 

^ Backham : mira. * Mayhoff : ut in aut et in. 

^ v.l. Arcadia. 



" In Thrace. 

^ In the Sabine region from -which the people of Picenum 
originally came, cf. III xviii. 
• I.e. the petrified bark remains the surface of the log. 

354 



BOOK II. cvi. 226-228 

of Manduria in the Salentine district is full to the 
brim, and is not reduced when water is drawn out of 
it nor increased when water is poured into it. In 
the river of the Cicones " and in the Vehne Lake of 
Picenum,'' wood thrown into the water gets covered 
with a film of stone, and in the river Surius in Colchis 
this goes so far that the stone in most cases is covered 
with bark still lasting." Similarly in the Sele beyond 
Sorrento not only twigs but also leaves immersed in 
the river become petrified, though apart from this 
its water is healthy to drink. Rock forms in the 
outlet of the marsh at Rieti, and olive trees and 
green bushes grow in the Red Sea. 

But the nature of a great many springs is of re- Remarkabu 
markably high temperature, and this is found even ■'P'"'"^** 
on the ridges of the Alps, and actually in the sea, 
for instance in the Gulf of Baiae between Italy and 
the Island of Ischia, and in the river Garighano and 
many others. In fact fresh water may be drawn 
from the sea in a great many places, as at the Swallow 
Islands and at Aradus and in the Gulf of Cadiz. 
Green grass grows in the hot springs of Padua, frogs 
in those of Pisa, fishes at Vetulonia in Tuscany near 
the sea. A river in the district of Casino called the 
Bubbhng Water is cold, and is fuller in summer; 
water voles are born in it, as they are in the Stymphahs 
of Arcadia. The Fountain of Jupiter at Dodona, 
though it is cold and puts out torches dipped in it, 
sets them ahght if they are bi-ought near to it when 
they are out. The same spring always stops flowing 
at noon, on account of which it is called the Wait-a- 
bit ; later it rises again and towards midnight flows 
abundantly, thereafter gradually ceasing again. A 
cold spring in Illyria sets fire to clothes spread out 

355 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

vestis accenduntur. lovis Hammonis stagnum inter- 
diu frigidum noctibus fervet. in Trogodytis fons 
Solis appellatur dulcis et circa meridiem maxime 
frigidus ; mox paulatim tepescens ad noctis media 

229 fervore et amaritudine infestatur. Padi fons mediis 
diebus aesti^ds velut interquiescens semper aret. in 
Tenedo insula fons semper a tertia noctis hora in 
sextam ab aestivo solstitio exundat, et in Delo insula 
Inopus fons eodem quo Nilus modo ac pariter cum 
eo decrescit augeturve. contra Timavom amnem 
insula parva in mari est cum fontibus calidis, qui 
pariter cum aestu maris crescunt minuunturque. in 
agro Pitinate trans Appenninum fluvius Novanus 

230 omnibus solstitiis torrens bruma siccatur. in Falisco 
omnis aqua pota candidos boves facit. in Boeotia 
amnis Melas oves nigras, Cephisus ex eodem lacu 
profluens albas, rursus nigras Peneus, rufasque iuxta 
Ilium Xanthus, imde et nomen amni. in Ponto 
fluvius Astaces inrigat campos in quibus pastae nigro 
lacte equae gentem alunt. in Reatino fons Neminie 
appellatus alio atque alio loco exoritur annonae 
mutationem significans. Brundisi in portu fons 
incorruptas semper ^ praestat aquas navigantibus. 
LjTicestis aqua quae vocatur acidula vini modo 
temulentos facit; item in Paphlagonia et in agro 
Caleno. 

231 Andro in insula, templo Liberi patris, fontem 
nonis lanuariis semper vini sapore fluere ^ Mucianus 

^ Brotier : in spira {aut om.) codd. 
* vJ. saporem fundere. 



" In Campania. 



BOOK II. cvi. 228-231 

above it. The swamp of Jupiter Ammon is cold by 
day and hot at night. A spring in the Cave-dwellers' 
territory ealled the Fountain of the Sun is sweet and 
very cold at midday, but then gradually warming, 
towards the middle of the night it becomes spoilt 
owing to its heat and bitter taste. The source of 
the Po always di-ies up at midday in summer as if 
taking a siesta. A spring on the Island of Tenedos 
after midsummer always overflows from 9 to 12 p.m. ; 
and the spring Inopus on the island of Delos sinks 
or rises in the same way as the Nile and at the same 
times. On a small island in the sea at the mouth of 
the river Timavus there are hot springs that grow 
larger and smaller with the rise and fall of the tide. 
In the Pitino district across the Apennines the river 
Novanus is always hot at midsummer and dried up at 
midwinter. In the district of Falerii all the water 
makes oxen that drink it white. The Blackwater 
in Boeotia makes sheep black, the Cephisus flowing 
from the same lake makes them white, the Peneus 
again makes them black, and the river Xanthus at 
lUum red, which gives the river its name. Mares 
pastured on the plains watered by the river Astaces 
on the Black Sea suckle their foals with black milk. 
The spring called Neminie in the district of Reate 
rises now in one place and now in another, indicating 
a change in the price of corn. A spring in the harbour 
at Brindisi always suppUes pure water for mariners. 
The sUghtly acid spring caUed Lyncestis makes men 
tipsy, Uke wine ; the same occurs in Paphlagonia and 
in the territory of Cales." 

It is accredited by the Mucianus who was three 
times consul that the water flowing from a spring 
in the temple of Father Liber on the island of 

357 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

ter consul credit ; dies ^ ©eoSocrta vocatur. iuxta 
Nonacrim in Arcadia Styx nec odore differens nec 
colore epota ilico necat ; item in Liberoso Taurorum 
colle tres fontes sine remedio, sine dolore mortiferi. 
in Carrinensi Hispaniae agro duo fontes iuxta fluunt, 
alter omnia respuens, alter absorbens ; in eadem gente 
alius aurei coloris omnes ostendit pisces, nihil extra 

232 illam aquam differentes. in Comensi iuxta Larium 
lacum fons largus horis singulis semper intumescit ac 
residit. in Cydonea insula ante Lesbum fons calidus 
vere tantum fluit. lacus Sannaus in Asia circa 
nascente absinthio inficitur. Colophone in Apollinis 
Clari specu lacuna est cuius potu mira redduntur 
oracula, bibentium brevdore vita. amnes retro 
fluere et nostra \-idit aetas Neronis principis supremis, 
sicut in rebus eius retulimus. 

233 lam omnes fontes aestate quam hieme gehdiores 
esse quem falht ? sicut illa permira naturae opera : 
aes ac plumbum in massa mergi, dilatatum fluitare, 
eiusdemque ponderis aha sidere aha invehi ; onera 
in aqua facihus moveri ; Scyrium lapidem quamvis 
grandem innatare, eundemque comminutmn mergi ; 
recentia cadavera ad vadum labi, intumescentia 
attohi ; inania vasa haud facihus quam plena ex- 

1 v.l. Aioff. 
358 



BOOK II. cvi. 231-233 

Andros always has the flavour of Avine on January 5th : 
the day is called God's Gift Day. To drink of the 
Styx near Nonacris in Arcady causes death on the 
spot, although the river is not pecuUar in smell or 
colour ; similarly three springs on Mount Liberosus 
in Taurica irremediably but painlessly cause death. 
In the territory of Carrina in Spain there are two 
adjacent springs of which one rejects all objects and 
the other sucks them down ; another in the same 
nation makes all the fish in it look of a golden colour, 
although except when in that water there is nothing 
pecuHar about them. In the district by the Lake 
of Como a copious spring always swells up and sinks 
back again every hour. A hot spring on the island 
of Cydonea ofF Lesbos flows only in the springtime. 
Lake Sannaus in Asia is dyed by the wormwood 
springing up round it. In the cave of Apollo of 
Claros at Colophon tliere is a pool a draught from 
which causes marvellous oracular utterances to be 
produced, though the hfe of the drinkers is shortened. 
Even our generation has seen rivers flow backward at 
Nero's last moments, as we have recorded in our 
history of that Emperor. 

Again everybody is aware that all springs are vnirenai 
colder in summer than in winter, as well as of the fZiZs^^ 
foUowing miracles of nature : that bronze and lead 
sink when in mass form, but float when flattened out 
into sheets ; that among objects of the same v/eight 
some float and others sink ; that heavy bodies are 
more easily moved in water ; that stone from Scyros 
in however large a mass floats, and the same stone 
broken into small pieces sinks ; that bodies recently 
dead sink to the bottom but rise when they begin to 
swell ; that empty vessels cannot be drawn out of 

359 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

trahi ; plu\ias salinis aquas utiliores esse quam 
reliquas, nec fieri salem nisi admixtis dulcibus; 

23 1 marinas tardius gelare, celerius accendi ; hieme mare 
calidius esse, autumnale salsius ; omne oleo tranquil- 
lari, et ob id urinantes ore spargere quoniam mitiget 
naturam asperam lucemque deportet ; nives in alto 
mari non cadere ; cum omnis aqua deorsum feratur, 
exiHre fontes, atque etiam in Aetnae radicibus, 
flagrantis in tantum ut quinquagena, centena milia 
paijsuum harenas flammarum globo eructet. CVII. 

235 (Namque et ignium, quod est naturae quartum ele- 
mentum, reddamus aliqua miracula, sed primum 
ex aquis,) 

C\'III. In urbe Commagenes Samosata stagnum 
est emittens limum (maltham vocant) flagrantem 
cum quid attigit soHdi, adhaeret ; praeterea tactus 
et sequitur fugientes. sic defendere muros oppug- 
nante Lucullo, flagrabatque miles armis suis. aquis 
etiam accenditur ; terra tantum restingui docuere 
experimenta. 

CIX. Similis est natura naphthae : ita appellatur 
circa Babylonem et in Astacenis Parthiae profluens 
bituminis Hquidi modo. hic magna cognatio 
ignium, transiHuntque in eam protinus undecumque 
visam. ita fertur a Medea paeHcem crematam, 
postquam sacrificatura ad aras accesserat, corona 
igne rapto. 



" On the W. bank of the Euphratea. 
* In the Mithradatic War, 74 b.c. 



.^6o 



BOOK 11. cvi. 233-cix. 235 

the water more easily than full ones ; that rain water 
is more useful than other water for salt-works, and 
that fresh water has to be mixed with sea water for 
the salt to be deposited ; that sea water freezes 
more slowly, and boils more quickly ; that the sea 
is warmer in winter and salter in autumn ; that all 
sea water is made smooth by oil, and so divers 
sprinkle oil from their mouth because it calms the 
rough element and carries Hght down with them ; that 
on the high sea no snow falls ; that though all water 
travels downward, springs leap upwards, and springs 
rise even at the roots of Etna, which is so hot that it 
belches out sands in a ball of flame over a space of 
50 to 100 miles at a time. CVII. (For we must also 
report some marvels connected with fire, the fourth 
element of nature,but first those arising from water.) 

CVIII. In Samosata the capital of Commagene " ^{^'Jf "' 
there is a marsh that produces an inflammable mud 
called mineral pitch. When this touches an)i;hing 
soUd it sticks to it ; also when people touch it, it 
actually follows them as they try to get away from it. 
By these means they defended the city walls when 
attacked ^ by Lucullus : the troops kept getting burnt 
by their own weapons. Water merely makes it burn 
more fiercely ; experiments have sho^vn that it can 
only be put out by earth. 

CIX. Naphtha is of a similar nature — this is the Naphtha. 
name of a substance that flows outhke Uquid bitumen 
in the neighbourhood of Babylon and the parts of 
Parthia near Astacus. Naphtha has a close affinity 
with fire, which leaps to it at once Avhen it sees it in 
any direction. This is how Medea in the legend 
burnt her rival, whose wreath caught fire after she 
had gone up to the altar to offer sacrifice. 

361 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

236 CX. Verum in montium miraculis ardet Aetna 
noctibus semper, tantoque aevo materiam ^ ignium 
sufficit, nivalis hibernis temporibus egestumque 
cinerem pruinis operiens. nec illo tantum natura 
saevit exustionem terris denuntians. flagrat in 
Phaselitis mons Chimaera, et quidem inmortali 
diebus ac noctibus flamma. ignem eius accendi 
aqua, extingui vero terra aut fimo ^ Cnidius Ctesias 
tradit. eadem in Lycia Hephaesti montes taeda 
flammante tacti flagrant, adeo ut lapides quoque 
rivorum et harenae in ipsis aquis ardeant, ahturque 
ignis ille pluviis. baculo si quis ex his accenso traxerit 

237 sulcum, rivos ignium sequi narrant. flagrat in 
Bactris Cophanti noctibus vertex, flagrat in Medis et 
in Sittacene,^ confinio Persidis, Susis quidem ad 
Turrim Albam quindecim caminis, maximo eorum et 
interdiu. campus Babyloniae flagrat e * quadam 
veluti piscina iugeri magnitudine ; item Aethiopum 
iuxta Hesperium montem stellarum modo campi 
noctu nitent. similiter in MegalopoHtanorum agro, 
nam si intei-misit ille iucundus frondemque densi 
supra se nemoris non adurens et iuxta gehdum fontem 
semper ardens Nymphaei crater, dira Apolloniatis 
suis portendit, ut Theopompus tradidit. augetur 
imbribus egeritque bitumen temperandum fonte illo 
ingustabili, et ahas omni bitumine dilutius. sed 

238 quis haec miretur ? in medio mari Hiera et Lipara ^ 

^ Rackham : materia. 

* Mayhoff : faeno. 

' in Cissia gente (c/. Hdt. 6. 119) Detlcfsen. 

* e add. Mayhoff. 

* et Lipara add. Mayhoff coll. Strab. VI. p. 277. 

" In Lycia. * Now Afghan Turkestan. 

362 



BOOK n. esL ijfb-i^ 

CX. But among mountain marvels—Etna always roimnu 
glows at night, and supplies its fires with fuel sufficient '"""""»"" 
for a vast period, though in winter cloaked with snow 
and covering its output of ashes with hoar frost. 
Nor does nature's WTath employ Mount Etna only to 
threaten the lands with conflagration. Mount 
Chimaera in the countiy of Phaselis "■ is on fire, and 
indeed burns with a flame that does not die by day 
or night ; Ctesias of Cnidos states that water increases 
its fire but earth or dung puts it out. Also the 
Mountains of Hephaestus in Lycia flare up when 
touched with a flaming torch, and so violently that 
even the stones of the rivers and the sands actually 
under water glow ; and rain only serves to feed this 
fire. They say that if somebody hghts a stick at it 
and draws a furrow with the stick, streams of fire 
follow it. At Cophantium in Bactria ^ a coil of flame 
blazes in the night, and the same in Media and in 
Sittacene the frontier of Persia : indeed at the White 
Tower at Susa it does so from fifteen smoke-holes, 
from the largest in the daytime also. The Baby- 
lonian Plain sends a blaze out of a sort of fishpool 
an acre in extent ; also near Mount Hesperius in 
Ethiopia the plains shine at night hke stars. Like- 
wise in the territory of Megalopolis : for if that agree- 
able Bowl of Nymphaeus, which does not scorch the 
foHage of the thick wood above it and though near 
a cold stream is always glowing hot, ceases to flow, 
it portends horrors to its neighbours in the town of 
Apollonia, as Theopompus has recorded. It is 
augmented by rain, and sends forth asphalt to 
mingle with that unappetizing stream, which even 
without this is more hquid than ordinary asphalt. 
But who would be surprised by these things ? During 

2>^i 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

insulae Aeoliae iuxta Italiam cum ipso mari arsere * 
per aliquot dies sociali bello, donec legatio senatus 
piavit. maximo tamen ardet incendio TheoD 
Ochema dictum Aethiopum iugum, torrentesqup 
solis ardoribus flammas egerit. 

Tot locis, tot incendiis rerum natura terras cremat 

239 CXI. Praeterea cimi sit huius unius elementi ratio> 
fecunda, seque ipsa pariat et minimis crescat a 
scintillis, quid fore putandum est in tot rogis terrae? 
quae est illa natura quae voracitatem in toto mundo 
axidissimam sine damno sui pascit ? addantur his 
sidera innumera ingensque sol, addantur humani 
ignes et lapidum quoque insiti naturae attritique 
inter se ligni, iam nubium et origines fulminum: 
excedet profecto miracula omnia ullum diem fuisse 
quo non cuncta conflagrarent, cmn specula quoque 
concava adversa solis radiis facilius etiam accendant 

240 quam ullus ahus ignis. quid quod innumerabiles 
parvi sed naturales scatent? in Nymphaeo exit e 
petra flamma quae pluviis accenditur ; exit et ad 
aquas Scantias, haec quidem invalida, cum transit, 
nec longe in aUa durans materia : viret aeterno hunc 
fontem igneum contegens fraxinus ; exit in Mutinensi 
agro statis Volcano diebus. reperitur apud auctores 

^ v.l. insula Aeolia . . . arsit. 

" Probably Mount Kakulima in West Africa (not Ethiopia) 
is referred to. 

* Or possibly * concave lenses.' 

* In Latirnn. ■* In Campania. 
« The Feast of Vulcan in August. 

364 



BOOK II. cx. 238-cxi. 240 

the AUies' War Holy Island and Lipari among the 
Aeolian Islands near Italy burnt in mid sea for 
several days, as did the sea itself, till a deputation 
from the senate performed a propitiatory ceremony. 
Nevertheless the largest volcanic blaze is that of the 
ridge in Ethiopia called the Gods' Carriage," which 
discharges flames that glow with truly solar heat. 

In so many places and by so many fires does 
nature bm-n the countries of the earth. 

CXI. Moreover, as this one element has a fertile Uai veis of 
principle that engenders itself and grows out of the ^*"*' 
smallest sparks, what must be expected to happen in 
future among all these funeral pyres of the earth ? 
What is the natural principle that pastures a most 
voracious appetite on the whole world while itself 
unimpaired ? Add thereto the innumerable stars 
and the mighty sun, add the fires of man's making 
and also those implanted in the nature of stone and 
of timber rubbing against itself, and again the fire 
of clouds, and the sources of thunderbolts — and 
doubtless all marvels will be surpassed by the fact 
that there has ever been a single day on which there 
has not been a universal conflagration, when also 
hoUow mirrors ^ facing the sun's rays set things ahght 
more easily than any other fire. What of the 
countless small but natural eruptions of fire ? In the 
river Nymphaeus " a flame comes out of a rock that 
is kindled by rain ; also one comes out at the 
Scantian Springs,'* not a strong one, it is true, as it 
passes away, and not lasting long on any substance 
which it touches — an ash tree shading this fiery spring 
is everlastingly green ; one comes out in the district of 
Modena on the days appointed as sacred to Vulcan.* 
It is found in the authorities that iu the fields lying 

365 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

subiectis Ariciae arvis si carbo deciderit, ardere 
terram, in agro Sabino et Sidicino unctum flagrare 
lapidem, in Sallentino oppido Egnatia inposito ligno 
in saxum quoddam ibi sacrum protinus flammam 
existere, in Laciniae lunonis ara sub diu sita cinerem 

241 inmobilem esse perflantibus undique procellis ; quin 
et repentinos existere ignes et in aquis et in corpori- 
bus, etiam humanis : Trasimenum lacum arsisse 
totmn, Servio Tullio dormienti in pueritia ex capite 
flammam emicuisse, L. Marcio in Hispania interemp- 
tis Scipionibus contionanti et milites ad ultionem 
exhortanti arsisse simih modo Valerius Antias 
narrat. plura mox et distinctius ; nunc enim quadam 
mixtm'a rerum omnium exhibentur miracula. verum 
egressa mens intei-pretationem naturae festinat 
legentium animos per totum orbem veluti manu 
ducere. 

242 CXII. Pars nostra terrarum, de qua memoro, 
ambienti (ut dictum est) oceano velut innatans 
longissime ab ortu ad occasima patet, hoc est ab 
India ad Hercuh ^ columnas Gadibus sacratas 
|LXXXV| LXVIII p., ut Artemidoro auctori placet, 
ut vero Isidoro, |XCVIII| XVIII. Artemidorus 
adicit amplius a Gadibus circuitu sacri promunturii 
ad promunturium Artabrum, quo longissime frons 

243 procurrat Hispaniae, DCCCXCD. Mensura currit 
duphci via : a Gange amne ostioque eius quo se in 
Eoum oceanimi effundit per Indiam Parthyenenque 

^ Rackham : Herculis. 

* In Campania. 

* In the b.E. point of ItaXj. 

* Capo della Colonna. 

^ They fell in battie with tb* Carthaerimans 212 b.c. 

366 



BOOK II. cxi. 240-cxii. 243 

under Arezzo if charcoal is dropped on the ground, the 
earth is set on fire ; that in the Sabine and Sidicine 
district " a stone flames up when oiled ; that in the 
Sallentine town of Egnatia,'' if wood is put on a certain 
sacred rock, a flame at once shoots up ; that ashes 
on the altar of Juno at Lacinium,'' which stands in 
the open air, remains motionless when stormy winds 
sweep over it in every direction. Morcover, it is 
recorded that sudden fires arise both in pools of water 
and in bodies, even human bodies ; Valerius Antias 
tells that the whole of Lake Trasimene once was on 
fire ; that when Servius Tulhus was a boy a flame 
flashed out from his head while he was aslcep ; and 
that a similar flame burnt on Lucius Marcius in 
Spain when he was making a speech after the death 
of the Scipios <* and exhoi-ting the soldiers to revenge. 
Later we shall give more instances, and more in 
detail ; for at the present we are displaying a sort 
of medley of marvels of all the elements. But 
leaving the interpretation of nature our mind 
hastens to lead the reader's attention by the hand on 
a tour of the whole world. 

CXII. Our own portion of the earth, which is my Dimensions 
subject, swims as it were in the ocean by which, as we ^/['^lfted 
have said, it is surrounded ; its longest extent is from eanh fr, m 
East to West, i.e. from India to the Pillars con- '"^'"' *^' 
secrated to Hercules at Cadiz, a distance of 8,568 
miles according to Artemidorus, but 9,818 according 
to Isidore. Artemidorus adds in addition from 
Cadiz round Cape St. Vincent to Cape Finisterre the 
longest projection of the coast of Spain, 890.y miles. 
The measmement runs by a double route ; from the 
river Ganges and its mouth where it flows into the 
Eastern Ocean, through India and Parthyene to the 

367 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

ad Myriandrum urbem Syriae in Issico sinu positam 
|LII| XV, inde proxima navigatione Cyprum insulam, 
ratara Lyciae, Rhodum, Astypalaeam in Carpathio 
mari insulam, Taenarum Laconicae, Lilybaeum 
Siciliae, Caralim Sardiniae |XXI| III, deinde Gades 
|XII| L, quae mensura universa ab Eoo mari efficit 

244 |LXXXV| LXVIII. alia via, quae certior, itinere 
terreno maxime patet a Gange ad Euphraten 
amnem |LI| LXIX, inde Cappadociae Mazaca 
CCXLIV, inde per Phrygiam et ^ Cariam Ephesmn 
CCCCXCIX, ab Epheso per Aegeum pelagus Delum 
CC, Isthmum CCXII-D, inde terra et Alcyonio 
mari et Corinthiaco sinu Patras Peloponnesi CII-D, 
Leucadem LXXXVILD, Corcyram totidem, Acro- 
ceraunia CXXXII-D, Brundisium LXXXVII-D, 
Romam CCCLX, trans ^ Alpes usque ad Scin- 
gomagum vicum DXVIII, per Galham ad Pyrenaeos 
montes Ilhberim CCCCLVI, ad oceanum et Hispaniae 
oram DCCCXXXII, traiectu Gades VILD, quae 
mensura Artemidori ratione |LXXXIX| XCV efficit. 

245 Latitudo autem terrae a meridiano situ ad septen- 
triones dimidio fere minor ab Isidoro ^ colhgitur, 
|LIV| LXII, quo palam fit quantum et hinc vapor 
abstulerit et ilhnc rigor. neque enim id * deesse 
terris arbitror aut non esse globi formam, sed in- 
habitabiha utrimque inconperta esse. haec mensura 
cm-rit a htore Aethiopici oceani, qua modo habitatur, 
ad Meroen DCCV, inde Alexandi-iam |XII| 17, 
Rhodum DLXXXIV, Cnidum LXXXVID, Coum 

^ et add. Rackham. * trans add. Bachham. 

368 



BOOK II. cxii. 243-245 

Syrian city of Myriandrus situated on the Gulf of 
Scanderoou 5,215, from there by the shortest sea-route 
to the Island of Cyprus, from Patara in Lycia to 
Rhodes, to the island of Astypalaea in the Carpathian 
Sea, to Taenarus in Laconia, Lilybaeum in Sicily, 
CaraUs in Sardinia, 213, thence to Cadiz 1,250, the 
total distance from the Eastern Sea making 8,568. 
Another route, wliich is more certain, extends 
mainly overland from the Ganges to the river 
Euphrates 5,169, thence to Mazaca in Cappadocia 
244, thence through Phrygia and Caria to Ephesus 
499, from Ephesus across the Aegean Sea to Delos 
200, to the Isthmus 202 1, thence by land and the 
Alcyonian Sea and the Gulf of Corinth to Patras in 
the Peloponnese 1025, to Leucas 87^, to Corfu 
ditto, to Acroceraunia 82i, to Brindisi 87|, to 
Rome 360, across the AIps to the village of Suze 518, 
through France to the Pyrenees at Granada 456, 
to the Ocean and the coast of Spain 832, across to 
Cadiz 7^ — which figures by Artemidorus's calculation 
make 8,995 miles. 

But the breadth of the earth from the south point to andfrom 
the north is calculated by Isidorus as less by about ^gli'}^^ 
one half, 5,462 miles, showing how much the heat has 
abstracted on one side and the cold on the other. 
As a matter of fact I do not think that there is this 
reduction in the earth, or that it is not the shape of a 
globe, but that the uninhabitable parts on either 
side have not been explored. This measurement 
runs from the coast of the Ethiopic Ocean, where 
habitation just begins, to Meroe 705 miles, thence 
to Alexandria, 1,250, Rhodes 584, Cnidus 86|, Cos 25, 

' Mayhoff (ab add. RackJiam) : fere minoro. 
* id add. Rackham. 

369 



FLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

%XV, Sair. iim C , Chium XClV, Mytilenen LXV, 
Tenedurn XLIX, Sigeum promunturium XII-D, 
os Pnnti CCCXILD, Carambin promunturiura 
CCCL, os Maeotis CCCXII-D, ostium Tanais 
CCLXV^I, qui cursus conpendiis maris brevior fieri 

34d potest. |XXI| X ab ostio Tanais Nili Canopicum ^ 
diligentissimi auctores fecere. Artemidorus ulteriora 
inconperta existimavit, cum circa Tanain Sarmatarum 
gentes degere fateretur ad septentriones versus. 
Isitlorus adiecit |XII| L usque ad Thylen, quae 
coniectura di\inationis est. ego non minore quam 
proxinie dicto spatio Sarmatarum fines nosci intellego. 
et alioqui quantum esse debet quod innumerabiles 
gentes subinde sedem mutantes capiat? unde 
ulteriovem mensuram inhabitabihs plagae multo esse 
maiorem arbitror ; nam et a Germania immensas 
insulas non pridem conpertas cognitum habeo. 

847 De longitudine ac latitudine haec sunt quae digna 
memoratu putem. universum autem circuitum 
Eratosthenes (in omnium quidem htterarum sub- 
tilitate set ^ in hac utique praeter ceteros solers, quem 
cunctis probari video) CCLII milium stadiorum 
prodidit, quae mensura Romana conputatione efficit 
trecentiens quindeciens centena milia passuum, 
improbum ausum, verum ita subtih argumentatione 
comprehensum ut pudeat non credere. Hipparchus 

^ Sic Detlefsen: potest LXXIX. ab ostio Tanais nihil 
modicum (immodicum MayJioff). 
2 Mayhoff: et. 



BOOK II. cxii. 245-247 

Samos 100, Chios 94, Mitylene 65, Tenedos 49, Cape 
Sigeum 12|, Bosphorus 312|, Cape Carambis 350, 
mouth of Lake Maeotis 312 J, mouth of the Don 
266, — a route that by cutting down the crossings 
can be shortened. From the mouth of the Don 
to the Canopic mouth of the Nile the most careful 
authorities have made the distance 2,110 miles. 
Artemidorus thought that the regions beyond had 
not been explored, though admitting that the tribes 
of the Sarmatae dwell round the Don to the north- 
ward. Isidorus added 1,250 miles right on to Ihule, 
which is a purely conjectural estimate. I under- 
stand that the territory of the Sarmatae is known to 
an extent not less than the limit just stated. And 
from another aspect, how large is the space bound to 
be that is large enough to hold innumerable races 
that are continually migrating.'' This makes me 
think that there is an uninhabitable region beyond 
of much wider extent ; for I am informed that beyond 
Germany also there are vast islands that were dis- 
covered not long ago. 

These are the facts that I consider worth recording Dimeihnni 
in regard to the earth's length and breadth. Its /irenZ'."*' 
total circumference was given by Eratosthenes (an 
expert in every refinement of learning, but on this 
point assuredly an outstanding authority — I notice 
that he is universally accepted) as 252,000 stades, 
a measurement that by Roman reckoning makes 
31,500 miles — an audacious venture, but achieved 
by such subtle reasoning that one is ashamed to be 
sceptical.'' Hipparchus, who in his refutation of 

" Modem authorities say that, whatever his result, the 
method of Eratosthenes was sound. See Heath, Greek 
Astronomy, pp. 109 ff. 

VOL. I. N2 



PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 

et in coarguendo eo et in reliqua omni diligentia 
mirus, adicit stadiorum paulo minus XXVI. 
248 Alia Dionysodoro fides (neque enim subtraham 
exemplum vanitatis Graecae maximum). Melius 
hic fuit geometricae scientia nobilis ; senecta diem 
obiit in patria, funus duxere ei propinquae ad quas 
pertinebat hereditas. hae cum secutis diebus iusta 
peragerent, invenisse dicuntur in sepulcro epistulam 
Dionysodori nomine ad superos scriptam : pei*venisse 
eum a sepulcro ad infimam terram, esse eam stadior- 
um XLII. Nec defuere geometrae qui interpretaren- 
tur significare epistulam a medio terrarum orbe 
missam quod deorsum ab summo longissimum esset 
spatium et idem pilae medium. ex quo consecuta 
computatio est circuitum esse CCLII stadiorum 
pronuntiarentur. 

CXIII. Harmonica ratio, quae cogit rerum 
naturam sibi ipsam congruere, addit huic rationi 
stadiormn XII, terramque XCVI partem totius 
mundi facit. 

• I.e. 6 X 42,000, the length of the radius, taking -n as 3. 



37« 



BOOK II. cxii. 247-cxiii. 248 

Eratosthenes and also in all the rest of his researches 
is remarkable, adds a little less than 26,000 stades. 

Dionysodorus (for I will not withhold this outstand- 
ing instance of Greek folly) has a different creed. 
He belonged to Melos, and was a celebrated geo- 
metrician ; his old age came to its term in his native 
place ; his female relations who were his heirs 
escorted his obsequies. It is said that while these 
women on the following days were carrying out the 
due rites they found in the tomb a letter signed with 
his name and addressed to those on earth, which stated 
that he had passed from liis tomb to the bottom of 
the earth and that it was a distance of 42,000 stades. 
Geometricians were forthcoming who construed this 
to mean that the letter had been sent from the centre 
of the earth's globe, which was the longest space 
downward from the surface and was also the centre 
of the sphere. From this the calculation followed 
that led them to pronounce the circumference of the 
globe to be 252,000 " stades. 

CXIII. To this measurement the principle of 
uniformity, which leads to the conclusion that the 
nature of things is self-consistent, adds 12,000 stades, 
making the earth the -^^ih part of the whole world. 



373 



IXDEX 



Persons 



References to the sections of the Preface (P) and, the Seeond Book CII> 



Africaiuis, see Scipio 
Alexander, II 168, 180 f., 185 
Alvattes, Kiug of Lydia, 617-560 B.C., 

il 53 
Anaxagoras, loDian philosopher, sao- 

cessor of Anasimenes and friend of 

Pericles, II 149 f. 
Aiiaximauder, lonian philosopher, 

successor of Thales, q.v., II 31, 187, 

ls>l 
Auaximenes, lonian philosopher, suc- 

cessor of Anaximander, II 187 
Autias, Q. Valerius, wrote, about 90 

B.c, history of Rome in more than 

70 books, II 24 
Antiochus, king of Syria, 223-187 B.C., 

II 167 
Antony, II 98 
Apelles, coui-t paiuter to Philip and 

Alexander, P 26 
Apion, P 24 

Aristotle II 91, 150, 220 
Arteinidoras of Ephesus, geographer, 

c. 100 B.O., II 242, 246 
Asiuius Pollio, orator, poet, historian, 

lailitary commander under Caesar 

aud Octavius, P 31 
Atlas, II 31 
Autidius, Gnaeus, historian, praetor, 

103 B C P 20 
Augustus,''ll 24, 93, 98, 167, 178 

Bibaculus, poet, 6. 103 B.C., parodied 
by Horace, Sat. II v 41, P 24 

Caelius Antipater, juriat and historian, 

c. 120 B.C., II 169 
Caesar, J., 11 93, 98 



Oatiline, II 137 

Oato, P 9, 30, 32 

OatuIIus, P 41 

Oicero, P 7, 9, 22 

Oidenas, astronomer mentioned t»y 

Strabo, II 39 
Oimbri, II 148 
Olaudius Oaesar, H 92, 99 
Oleostratus, astronomer of Tenedos, c. 

600 B.O., II 31 
Congius, P 7 
Corbulo, general under Olaudius and 

Nero, II 181 
Oornelius Nepos, II 169 f. 
Orantor, Academic philosopher, fl. 300 

B.O., P 22 
Orassus, II 147 
Otesias, contemporary of Xenophon, 

physician at Persian court, wrote 

history of Persia aud book on Iiidia, 

both extant in abridgements by 

Photius, II 236 

Democritus, atomic philosopher of 

Abdera, c. 460-361 B.c, II 14 
Dicaearchus, philosopher, geograpber 

and historian, pupil of Aj-istotle, II 

162 
Diodoms Siculus, lemp. Augustus, 

author of a universal history, P 24 
Dionysius the younger, tyraut of 

Syracuse, expelled 356 B.O., II 222 
Dionysodorus, II 248 
Domitius Piso, P 17 



Endymion, II 43 
Epiciu-eans, P 28 
Eratosthenes, 



and savant, 

375 



INDEX 



head of librarv at Alexandria, 276- 

196 B.C. II 1S5, 2-17 
Eadoxus, astronomer and physicist, 

pupil of Plato, II 130 
Eudoxus, navigator, II 169 

Fabianus, philosopher and physicist, 
temp. Tiberius, II 121, 224 

Germanicus, npphew and adopted son 

of Tiberius, II 96 
Gracchus, Tiberius, tribune 187 B.C., 

PIO 

Haimlbal, P 30 

Hanno, Cartha^inian navigator, earlv 

5th c. B.c, author of Periplus. II 169 
Herennius, :il.. II 137 
Herodotus, II 201 
Himilco, Oarthaginian navigator, 5th 

c. B.c, II 169 
Hipparchus, astronomer, of Khodes 

and Alexandria, fl. 150 B.C., II 53. 

57, 95, 188 
Homer, II 13, 119, 201 
Homeromsistiges, P 28 

Isidorus, geographical writer of early 
empire, author of Srae/xot nap0LKoC, 
II 246 

Isis, Egyptian deity, II 37 

Jnpiters, various, II 140 

Livy, P 16 

Lucilius, earlv Koman satirist, 148- 
103 B.C., P 7 

Manius Persius, P 7 

Marcellus, consul 51 B.C., II 53 

Marcia, II 138 

Marius, II 148 

Medea, II 235 

Milo, political adventurer, killed in a 

rising 48 B.C., II 147 
Mucianus, II 231 

Nechepsos, Egyptian astronomer, II 83 

Nepos, see Comelius 

Nero, II 92, 199 

Nicias, II 64 

Numa, second king of Rome, II 140 

Onesicritus, Greek historian and geo- 
grapher, II 183, 185 

^.76 



Orbona, ancient Italian goddess, babr- 
killer, II 19 

Panaetius, Stoic philosopher, friend of 

Scipio Africanus, P 22 
PauIIus, L. Aemilius, consul, con- 

queror of Perseus, II 53 
Perseus, last king of Macedonia, con- 

quered by Rome 168 B.C, II 53 
Petosiris, Egyptian astronomer, II 88 
Pherecydes, theologian, 6th o. B.O., II 

191 
Philip, II 97 
Philonides, II 181 
Pindar, II 54 

Piso, Lucius, historian, n 140 
Plancus, L. Munatius, supporter of 

Caesar and of Antony, P 31 
Plato, P 22, II 205 
Plautus, P 31 
PoIIio, consul 40 B.C., patron of Virgil 

(Ed. iv) and Horace iOdeslI i), P 31 
Polyclitus of Argos, sculptor, h. B.O. 

452-412, P 26 
Porsina, Lars, Etruscan king, attacked 

Eome at end of regal period, II 140 
Posi Jonius, Stoic philosopher, pupil of 

Panaetius, g.v., II 85 
Pythagoras, II 37, 84, 191 
Pytheas of Marseilles, navigator, temp, 

Aristotle, explored North Sea, II 

187, 217 

Scaurus, M. Aemilius, consul 115 B.O., 

II 144 
Scipio Asiaticus, consul 190 B.a, 

defeated Antiochus, P 10 
Scipio Africanus, Publius Comelius, 

conqueror of Hannibai, P 30 
Servius TuUius, sixth kiiig of Rome, 

II 241 
Seleucus I, king of Syria, 312-280 B.O- 

II 167 
Soranus, P 33 

Sosigenes, astronomer, II 39 
Stesichorus, Greek lyric poet, 632-553 

B.C, II 54 
Stoics, P 28 

Sulla, dictator 82 B.C., II 144 
Sulpicius Gallus, jurist and orato^ 

consul, 51 B.C., II 53, 83 

Thales of Miletus, 638-546 B.c, earliest 
Greek natural philosopher, II 53 



INDEX 



Theophrastus, Greek philosopher, 
pupil of Plato and Aristotle, P 29 

Theoi'ompu3 of Chios, historian and 
rhetorician, 378-305 B.C., II 237 

Tiberius, P 25, II 200 

Titus, emperor, II 89 

Tullus nostilius, third king of Eonie, 
11 140 

Typhon, legendary king, II 91 



Valerius Soranns, literary frieud of 

Cicero, P 33 
Varro, M. Terentius, 116-28 B.C., en- 

cyclopaedic writer, author of De Re 

Rustica, De Lingua Latina, P 18, 24, 

II 8 
Vespasian, P 20, II 18, 57 
Vettius Marcellus, II 199 
Virgil, P 22 



air, 102 

astrology dcnied, 29 
astronomy, 28, 82 
augury, 24 
aulon, 135 

blood, rain of, 147 
bricks, rain of, 147 



' caelum,' 8 
chance, 23 
climates, 189 
cloujs, 85 
comets, 89 f. 
compa.ss, points of, 119 
complexion and latitude, 189 
ronstellations, 64 f . ; where visible, 
178 2. 

day, various lengths of, 186 ff. 
divinity of universe, 27 
dogstar, 107 

earth, 154 £f.; central, 11, 63, 176, 
191 ff. ; dimensions of, 154, 242 ff. ; 
products of, 207 ; shape of, 160 ff., 
171 ff. ; tremors, 195, 209, forecast, 
196 ff. 

earthquakes, 191 ff., 205 ff. 

eclipses, 43, 47, 51, 53, 56, 98, 180 

elements, four, 10 

exploration, ocean, 167 fl. 



tires, yoloamc, etc., 235 fE> 



SUBJECTS 
References are to the sections of Book It 

flesh, rain of, 147 
Fortune, 22 

gnomon, 187 

God, nature of, 14, 2« 

hail, 152 
heaven, 102 
heliotrope, 109 
Eyades, 106, 109 



infinity, 1 fl. 

inundations, 205 

iron, rain of, 147 

islands, emerging, 292 f. ; floating, 209 

land, formation of new, 201 fl. 
lightning, 112, 142 fl. 

marshes, inflammable, 236 

meteoric stones, 149 f. 

meteors, 96 ff., 139, 149 f. 

mile, Roman, see p. .'il4 

milk, rain of, 147 

mines, 158 

monotheism, 13 fl. 

moon, 11, 41 ff., 61, 58, 86, 109; tidal 

influence of, 221 
raountains, flery, 236 f. 
' mundus,' 8 
music of spheres, 6, 84 

naphtha, 235 
nature divine, 27 
Dight, 48, 181 

omens, 22 

377 



INDEX 



pace (the Boman measure), see pp. 

296, 314 
petroleum, 235 
planets, 12, 32 ff., 37, 58 £f., 66 fE.. 

72 ff., 82 
polytheism criticized, 14 ff. 
prester, 133 
providence, 26 

quarters of the world, 119 

rain, 105 

rain of blood, etc., 147 
rainbow, 150 
research, 117 f. 

sea, area of, 73 flf. ; depth of, 221 
Beasons, 122 ff., 183 
shadows and seasons, 183 
Sirius, 107 
sky, armies in, 148 
snow. 152 

sprinps, hot, 227 ; medicinal, 20>' ; 
remarkabie, 289 f,; volume of, 49 
Btade, 86 



stars, 68 ff., 78, 101: . 
stones, properties of , 211 
storms, 103, 112, 131, 142 
8un, course of, 35, 81, 86 £f., 183 fl.; 
divine, 13 

thunder, 142 ff. 
thunderbolts, 82, 135 S, 
tides, 212 ff. 
typhoon, 131 ffi. 

volcanic fires, 235 

water, 155; distribution of, 163 0.! 

relative gravity of, 24 if. 
weather seasoual, 122 
whirlwind, 133 
wind, 111, 114 ff., 119, 126 
wool, rain of, 147 
world, nature of, 1 II. 



zodiac, 9, 32, 48, 66, 110 
Eones, 173 



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Hippochates and the Fbagments of Hehacleitus. W. H. S. 

Jones and E. T. Withington. 4 Vols. 
HoMEB : Iliad. A. T. Murray, 2 Vols, 
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IsAEUS, E, S. Forster. 

IsocHATEs. George Norlin and LaRue Van Hook. 3 Vois. 
St. John Damascene : Bahlaam and Ioasaph. Rev. G. R. 

Woodward and Harold Mattingly. 
Josephus. 9 Vols. Vols. I-IV. H. St. J. Thackeray. Vol. 

V. H. St. J. Thaciieray and Kalph Marcus. Vols. \1 

and VII. Ralph Marcus. Vol. VIII. Ralph Marcus and 

AUen Wikgren. Vol. IX. L. H. Feldman. 
JuLiAN. Wilmer Cave Wright. 3 Vols. 
Longub : Daphnis and Chloe. Thornley'8 translation re- 

vlsed by J. M. Edmonds ; and Pahthenius. S. Gaselee. 
LuciAN. 8 Vols. Vols. F-V. A. M. Harmon ; Vol. VI. 

K. Kilburn ; Vols. VII and VIII. M. D. Macleod. 
Lycophron. Cf. Callimachus. 
Lyra Graeca. J. M. Edmonds. 3 Vols. 
Lysias. W. R. M. Lamb. 



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Makbtho. W. G. Waddell. Ptolemy : Tetbabiblos. F. £. 

Robbins. 
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Menandee. F. G. Allinson. 
Minob Attic Obatobs. 2 Vols. K. J. Maidment and 

J. O. Burtt. 
NoNNos : DioNYsiACA. W. H. D. Rouse. 3 Vols. 
Oppian, Colluthus, Tbyphiodobus. A. W. Mair. 
Papybi. Non-LiTEBABY Selections. A. S. Hunt and C. C. 

Edgar. 2 Vols. Litebaby Selections (Poetry). D. L. 

Page. 
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Pausanias : Descbiption of Gbeece. W. H. S. Jones. 5 

Vols. and Companion Vol. arranged by R. E. Wycherlev. 
Philo. 10 Vols. Vols. LV. F. H. Colson and Rev. G. H. 

Whitaker ; Vols. VI-X. F. H. Colson ; General Index. 

Rev. J. W. Earp. 

Two Supplementary Vols. Translation only from an 
Armenian Text. Ralph Marcus. 
Philostbatus : Imagines : Callistbatus : Descbiptions. 

A. Fairbanks. 
Philostbatus : The Life of Apollonius of Tyana. F. C. 

Conybeare. 2 Vols. 
Philostbatus and Eunapius : LiATES OF the Sophists. 

Wilmer Cave Wright. 
Pindab. Sir J. E. Sandys. 
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Plato : Cbatylus, Pabmenides, Gbeateb Hippias, Lessem 

HippiAS. H. N. Fowler. 
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XI. L. PearsonandF. H.Sandbach; VoI.XII. H.Cherniss 

and W. C. Hehnbold. 
Plutahch: Thk Pahallil Livis. B. Pemn. 11 Vols. 
PoLTBius. W. R. Paton. 6 Vols. 

Procopius : Histohy of twe Wahs. H. B. Dewing. 7 Vols. 
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Sextus Empibicus. Rev. R. G. Bury. 4 Vols. 
SoPHocLEs. F. Storr. 2 Vols. Verse trans. 
Steabo : Geogeaphy. Horace L. Jones. 8 V^ols. 
Theophhastus : Chahactees. J. M. Edmonds ; Hehodes, 

etc. A. D. Knox. 
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Xenophon : Cyhopaedia. Walter Miller. 2 Vols. 
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