The Natural History Volume 2


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(4.9 stars; 12 reviews)

Naturalis Historia (Latin for "Natural History") is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents. The scheme of his great work is vast and comprehensive, being nothing short of an encyclopedia of learning and of art so far as they are connected with nature or draw their materials from nature. The work divides neatly into the organic world of plants and animals, and the realm of inorganic matter, although there are frequent digressions in each section. He is especially interested in not just describing the occurrence of plants, animals and insects, but also their exploitation (or abuse) by man, especially Romans. The description of metals and minerals is particularly detailed, and valuable for the history of science as being the most extensive compilation still available from the ancient world. (Summary from Wikipedia)

This second volume includes books six to ten, covering the following subjects:
Book 6 - An account of countries, nations, seas, towns, havens, mountains, rivers, distances, and peoples who now exist or formerly existed
Book 7 - Man, his birth, his organization and the invention of the arts
Book 8 - The nature of the terrestrial animals
Book 9 - The natural history of fishes
Book 10 - The natural history of birds (14 hr 2 min)

Chapters

01 - Book 6, Chapters 1-5: The Euxine and the Maryandini; Paphlagonia; Cappadoc… 15:50 Read by Chris Danes
02 - Book 6, Chapters 6-14: The Cimmerian Bosporus; Lake Maeotis and the adjoin… 16:11 Read by Leni
03 - Book 6, Chapters 15-20: The Caspian and Hyrcanean sea; Adiabene; Media and… 20:03 Read by Leni
04 - Book 6, Chapters 21-23: The nations of India; the Ganges; the Indus 24:44 Read by Leni
05 - Book 6, Chapters 24-26: Taprobane; the Ariani and adjoining nations; voyag… 26:32 Read by Leni
06 - Book 6, Chapters 27-31: Carmania; the Persian and the Arabian Gulfs; the P… 23:15 Read by e_scarab
07 - Book 6, Chapters 32-34: Arabia; the gulfs of the Red Sea; Troglodytice 28:17 Read by Bill Boerst
08 - Book 6, Chapters 35-37: Aethiopia; Islands of the Aethiopian Sea; the Fort… 19:37 Read by Kalynda
09 - Book 6, Chapters 38-39: The comparative distances of places on the face of… 16:20 Read by Leni
10 - Book 7, Chapters 1-4: Man; the wonderful forms of different nations; marve… 32:45 Read by Anna Simon
11 - Book 7, Chapters 5-13: Indications of the sex of the child during the preg… 17:45 Read by Kalynda
12 - Book 7, Chapters 14-23: The theory of generation; some account of the teet… 16:01 Read by Ted Garvin
13 - Book 7, Chapter 24-31: Memory; vigour of mind; clemency and greatness of m… 20:59 Read by Ted Garvin
14 - Book 7, Chapters 32-44: Precepts the most useful in life; divination; the … 19:18 Read by Nadine Eckert-Boulet
15 - Book 7, Chapters 45-50: Ten very fortunate circumstances which have happen… 19:26 Read by Kalynda
16 - Book 7, Chapters 51-56: Various instances of diseases; death; persons who … 21:18 Read by Anna Simon
17 - Book 7, Chapter 57: The inventors of various things 13:46 Read by Kalynda
18 - Book 7, Chapters 58-60: The things about which mankind first of all agreed… 6:19 Read by Kalynda
19 - Book 8, Chapters 1-12: Elephants: their capacity; when elephants were firs… 25:02 Read by David Nicol
20 - Book 8, Chapters 13-22: Dragons; serpents of remarkable size; the animals … 25:28 Read by Sue Anderson
21 - Book 8, Chapters 23-35: Panthers; the decree of the Senate, and laws respe… 20:27 Read by Sue Anderson
22 - Book 8, Chapters 36-47: The ichneumon; the crocodile; the seincus; the hip… 18:57 Read by Sue Anderson
23 - Book 8, Chapters 48-56: Bramble-frogs; the sea-calf; beavers; lizards; sta… 21:01 Read by adsum iam
24 - Book 8, Chapters 57-69: The leontophonus and the lynx; badgers and squirre… 29:43 Read by Vinnie Tesla
25 - Book 8, Chapters 70-76: Oxen: their generation; the Egyptian Apis; sheep a… 20:48 Read by Ted Garvin
26 - Book 8, Chapters 77-84: The hog; the wild boar; who was the first to estab… 23:10 Read by Spinhop
27 - Book 9, Chapters 1-6: Why the largest animals are found in the sea; the se… 12:31 Read by Kalynda
28 - Book 9, Chapters 7-16: Dolphins; human beings who have been beloved by dol… 20:18 Read by Leni
29 - Book 9, Chapters 17-24: which of the fishes are of the largest size; tunni… 11:24 Read by Ted Garvin
30 - Book 9, Chapters 25-37: Fishes which conceal themselves during the summer;… 12:24 Read by Bill Boerst
31 - Book 9, Chapters 38-49: Eels; the murena; various kinds of flat fish; the … 16:04 Read by Kalynda
32 - Book 9, Chapters 50-53: Sea-animals which are enclosed with a crust; the c… 8:45 Read by Kathryn
33 - Book 9, Chapters 54-59: pearls: how they are produced, and where; how pear… 14:03 Read by Kathryn
34 - Book 9, Chapters 60-67: The nature of the murex and the purple; the differ… 20:22 Read by Bianca Kramer
35 - Book 9, Chapters 68-78: Bodies which have a third nature, that of the anim… 17:29 Read by Kathryn
36 - Book 9, Chapters 79-88: The first person that formed artificial oyster-bed… 14:16 Read by Steve Mattingly
37 - Book 10, Chapters 1-12: The ostrich; the phoenix; the different kinds of e… 23:08 Read by Spinhop
38 - Book 10, Chapters 13-32: The classification of birds; crows; birds of ill … 20:50 Read by Kalynda
39 - Book 10, Chapters 33-49: Foreign birds which visit us; swallows; birds tha… 22:49 Read by Steve Mattingly
40 - Book 10, Chapters 50-62: The acanthyllis and other birds; the merops - par… 22:38 Read by Mich_elle
41 - Book 10, Chapters 63-81: The mode of drinking with birds; the porphyrio; t… 27:11 Read by Anna Simon
42 - Book 10, Chapters 82-98: Terrestrial animals that are oviparous; various k… 35:38 Read by Amy Gramour

Reviews

Ancient knowledge


(5 stars)

It is interesting to hear what ancient people believed to have been true about the natural world. There where many gaps in their knowledge, and in some of their misconceptions I can see the beginnings of certain present day fantasy and superstitions.