As a detailed study of the human animal, described by its author as the raison d'etre of nature, Book Seven of the elder Pliny's Natural History is crucial to t

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "pub

According to Pliny's definition, Natural History is a book about the natural world or life. It is the first encyclopedic work in history and a model for later e