the sixteenth, of forest-trees; the seventeenth, of
the cultivation of trees; the eighteenth, of agriculture;
the nineteenth, of the nature of lint, hemp, and similar
productions; the twentieth, of the medicinal qualities
of vegetables cultivated in gardens; the twenty-first,
of flowers; the twenty-second, of the properties of
herbs; the twenty-third, of the medicines yielded
by cultivated trees; the twenty-fourth, of medicines
derived from forest-trees; the twenty-fifth, of the
properties of wild herbs, and the origin of their
use; the twenty-sixth, of other remedies for diseases,
and of some new diseases; the twenty-seventh, of different
kinds of herbs; the twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and
thirtieth, of medicines procured from animals; the
thirty-first and thirty-second, of medicines obtained
from aquatic animals, with some extraordinary facts
relative to the subject; the thirty-third, of the nature
of metals; the thirty-fourth, of brass, iron, lead,
and tin; the thirty-fifth, of pictures, and observations
relative to painting; the thirty-sixth, of the nature
of stones and marbles; the thirty-seventh, of the origin
of gems. To the contents of each book, the author
subjoins a list of the writers from whom his observations
have been collected.
Of Pliny’s talents as a writer, it might be
deemed presumptuous to form a decided opinion from
his Natural History, which is avowedly a compilation
from various authors, and executed with greater regard
to the matter of the work, than to the elegance of
composition. Making allowance, however, for
a degree of credulity, common to the human mind in
the early stage of physical (478) researches, he is
far from being deficient in the essential qualifications
of a writer of Natural History. His descriptions
appear to be accurate, his observations precise, his
narrative is in general perspicuous, and he often illustrates
his subject by a vivacity of thought, as well as by
a happy turn of expression. It has been equally
his endeavour to give novelty to stale disquisitions,
and authority to new observations. He has both
removed the rust, and dispelled the obscurity, which
enveloped the doctrines of many ancient naturalists;
but, with all his care and industry, he has exploded
fewer errors, and sanctioned a greater number of doubtful
opinions, than was consistent with the exercise of
unprejudiced and severe investigation.
Pliny was fifty-six years of age at the time of his
death; the manner of which is accurately related by
his nephew, the elegant Pliny the Younger, in a letter
to Tacitus, who entertained a design of writing the
life of the naturalist.
