Pliny the Elder (23-79) was a Roman encyclopedist. His greatest and only surviving work, the Natural History, has been called one of the most influential books ever written in Latin.

Pliny whose full name was Gaius Plinius Secundus, was born at Comum in the region north of the Po River and was educated in Rome. After the military career normal for his social rank, during which he served as a cavalry officer in Germany (47-57), he practiced law. During Nero's reign (54-68), Pliny found it prudent to concentrate on literature. He performed official tasks in various provinces for the emperor Vespasian (69-79), whom he knew well.

Pliny's true occupations, however, which he practiced constantly, were reading and writing. He had a voracious hunger for knowledge of all kinds and was diligent in collecting it. Some of his 102 volumes, which were described by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, were...