Immagine dell'autore.

Pliny the Elder (0023–0079)

Autore di Natural History: A Selection

136+ opere 1,952 membri 6 recensioni 1 preferito

Sull'Autore

Opere di Pliny the Elder

Storia naturale (1938) 251 copie
De wereld (2004) 39 copie
Gesamtregister (1973) 2 copie
Elder-God Conspiracy (1988) 1 copia
Various Works 1 copia
Des animaux ? 1 copia

Opere correlate

The Penguin Book of Dragons (2021) — Collaboratore — 109 copie
The Paganism Reader (2004) — Collaboratore — 63 copie
The Faber Book of Gardens (2007) — Collaboratore — 45 copie

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Discussioni

A Pliny in Challenge: Loeb Classical Library (Luglio 2021)

Recensioni

This review is specifically for the Penguin edition edited by John F. Healy. Pliny's writing is often fascinating, and his prejudices are clear. Italy is the most wonderful of all countries--a lot of modern day travelers would still agree with him, of course; things were much better in the old days; people now are too greedy and ostentatious; and so on. The book is filled with pretty much anything Pliny could throw in, and this is just a severe abridgment! Healy lets us down as editor, however. His footnotes are often few and far between and most of them simply translate Pliny's dates to dates we can understand. Most of the inexplicable references or words Pliny uses aren't explained at all. More importantly, there is no insight provided as to how someone as seemingly intelligent as Pliny could also believe such ridiculous things. For instance, that a 2-inch long Goby fish could attach itself the rudder of a Roman warship and stop it from moving! There are lots of other similar things here that demand a lot more explanation--or maybe I just need a different book that provides an extended analysis of Pliny's Natural History without being an actual translation. With its short sections, I ended up leaving this book beside my bed and reading a few pages each night. It is not something you can just sit down and devour dozens of pages at a time. My recommendation for potential readers is to look for a more insightful, helpful version.… (altro)
1 vota
Segnalato
datrappert | 2 altre recensioni | Oct 16, 2022 |
EL CIELO : SEGÚN PLINIO EL VIEJO

El cielo es un símbolo supremo, un arquetipo capital en todas las culturas porque une dos extremos: por un lado, la realidad física espacial, con sus sistemas planetarios, sus cuerpos celestes, energías cósmicas y movimiento mecánico; por otro, está vinculado a un mundo de metáforas, parábolas de verdades eternas, contemplaciones sagradas y emociones trascendentes. Este volumen pretende ser una antología ideal que ilustre mejor el imaginario acerca de la bóveda celeste.

Entre los miles de posibles testigos y autores, se ha elegido a Plinio el Viejo, muerto en Stabias en el 79 d. C. durante la erupción del Vesubio y autor de la monumental Historia natural, la más célebre enciclopedia del mundo grecolatino, de la que publicamos aquí los capítulos del libro II dedicados a la Cosmología. Plinio define el cielo como un globo «en cuyo seno transcurren todas las cosas», dedica minuciosos análisis a los círculos celestes, enumera las estrellas, verifica los eclipses, nos recuerda que el arco iris es una mezcla de nubes, fuego y aire y muchas otras cosas.

Pero su mirada no es fría y aséptica como la de un telescopio: cada dato se transfigura poéticamente, gracias también a la inevitable mezcla, muy común en los tratados de la Edad Antigua, de mito y ciencia. Las 90 bellísimas láminas en color de este libro ilustran el cielo eterno de la tradición geocéntrica del universo, desde los códices cristianos hasta los libros astronómicos del islam. Los cuatro ensayos introductorios servirán de guía al lector para orientarse en el maremágnum de interpretaciones que, sobre el cielo, nos llegan desde la Edad Media.
… (altro)
 
Segnalato
FundacionRosacruz | Jun 4, 2018 |
Ein Fundus an Wissen und Aberglaube. Herrlich zum zwischendurch Lesen!
 
Segnalato
Ralle | Aug 19, 2016 |
Pliny was a "scientist" of his day. Although recording natural phenomena - he tied watching the destruction of Pompeii from a ship in its harbor - he also recorded the weird beliefs of the day, such as the weasel being the most destructive of all creatures, so horrific even alligators fear it. (They have a penchant for rushing down the throat when the gator is yawning and eating its way out!) Novel information and an entertaining book.
 
Segnalato
JVioland | 2 altre recensioni | Jul 14, 2014 |

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Statistiche

Opere
136
Opere correlate
5
Utenti
1,952
Popolarità
#13,183
Voto
½ 3.7
Recensioni
6
ISBN
162
Lingue
7
Preferito da
1

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