Tag Archives: Pliny the Elder

Love, death, and blissful ignorance: Pliny and the origins of photography

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Peter Kruschwitz

Pliny the Elder, ancient Rome’s great encyclopedist, did not, of course, describe the origins of modern photography – a technique and art that was greatly advanced in Reading, Berkshire, by William Henry Fox Talbot (as described in this wonderful book). … Continue reading →

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End-of-Year Magic

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Peter Kruschwitz

India, according to the Natural History of the Elder Pliny, was home to some of the world’s most amazing animals (Plin. nat. 8.76, transl. H. Rackham): He says that in India there are also oxen with solid hoofs and one … Continue reading →

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Imperialism, Linguistic Diversity, and Common Language

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

A few thoughts on occasion of Language Festival 2013. By the mid first century AD, when the Roman author Pliny the Elder wrote his monumental Natural History, Rome had become an empire of global significance and enormous dimensions. It held … Continue reading →

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