Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 25

CAIUS PLINIUS SECUNDUS (23 A.D.-79 A.D.) Naturae historiarum libri XXXVII. Sumptibus Luce Antonii de Giunta; impressum opera industriaque Georgii de Rusconibus 1519] [79] 286 ll. 29.3 cm.

Pliny the Elder was born into a wealthy family at Como in northern Italy. He benefited from the finest education and served in the Roman army for a long period, mostly in Germany. He practiced law for a time and also served Rome as proconsul in Spain, Gaul, and Africa at various periods. However, he spent most of his time in semiretirement traveling, reading, and writing, for he was a man of great industry and scientific curiosity. He died during his last assignment as commander of the Roman fleet in the Bay of Naples while attempting to observe the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum. His Natural History dates from 77 and was first printed in 1469. Pliny was a prolific author but this is his only surviving work. One of the earliest encyclopedias, the work consists of 37 books covering cosmology, astronomy, meteorology, geography, ethnology, anthropology, physiology, psychology, zoology, botany, medicine, pharmacology, agriculture, mineralogy, and metallurgy. Book I is primarily a summary of the remaining 36 books and is especially valuable because Pliny was careful to name many of his sources, thus leaving a record of many books that are forever lost. Pliny relied heavily on Aristotle for his biological information and Theophrastus for botanical data although he did make some independent observations. The books dealing with medicine are filled with remedies for many diseases as well as anecdotes, fables, curiosities, prejudices, and folklore from many sources. They are interesting and historically important although often absurd to the modern reader. It is important to recognize that he was not a particularly good judge in his selection of sources nor did he attempt to distinguish between factual and fictional information. Nevertheless, this book had an enormous impact on science as well as medical thought and practice for over sixteen centuries. This early edition of Pliny was edited by Joannes Baptista Palmarius (1520-1588), the French physician of Paris and Caen. Many of Pliny's errors were corrected in earlier editions by the humanistic scholar and physician Ermolao Barbaro (1454-1493) of Venice and this edition contains his corrections. It also contains a comprehensive author and subject index, dated 1520, by Joannes Camers (1448-1546).

Gift of John Martin, M.D.