PLINY

From Agepedia

PLINY (Caius Plinius Secundus), the elder, a Roman knight, was born at Verona, A. D. 23. He was one of the greatest scholars of Rome. He devoted himself to jurisprudence, but made a campaign into Germany, and afterwards filled many public offices, among them the office of a procurator in Spain. His uncommon spirit of inquiry was aided by an unwearied industry. Every moment that was not employed in the business of his office, he appropriated to his studies. He was a very early riser, even in winter; very often did not retire to bed at all, and used to read while at meals, and in the bath, or had some one to read to him. He diligently noted down every thing of importance ; and often said, that no book was so bad, but that something might be learned from it. If he was not able to write himself, he dictated. In this way, Pliny, notwithstanding his many public aifairs, wrote many important works, which give proof of his very extensive learning. He finally became a victim to his curiosity. Being one day in the neighborhood of Vesuvius, a terrible eruption of this volcano (A. D. 79) induced him to approach for the purpose of viewing it closely, notwithstanding the danger to which he was exposed. The hot ashes even fell upon his vessel; still he continued to take note of every thing he saw. While the earth around him threatened, he passed the night quietly with a friend not far from the mountain, and the next morning, on the seashore,he perished by a suffocating vapor which spread over the whole country. The writings of this diligent and active man are principally lost; among them the work on the war in Germany, and his Universal History. The Historia JS/hturalis, or Historia Mundi, in 37 books, is extant; it is a rich collection of facts of every kind, from the whole circle of nature and science, and also from the history of art, which is the more valuable, as Pliny drew from many lost books. Of the old critical editions, that of Hardouin (Paris, 1723), is the best.