Acus sive belone unus piscium dehiscente propter multitudinem utero parit. The pipefish (acus, or belone) is the one fish that gives birth by its womb splitting open, due to its great number [of young]. The name belone has been observed to refer to both a toothed fish and a toothless one. The toothed fish, namely […]
Also tagged 1st century, acus, belone, pipefish, translationPliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 37.10, on quartz crystals: Quæ vero sine vitio sint, pura esse malunt, acenteta appellantes, nec spumei coloris, sed limpidæ aquæ. Those which are in fact flawless are preferred uncut and are called acenteta; and they are not cloudy in color, but of the color of clear water. Acentetum is from the […]
Also tagged 1st century, acentetum, quartz, translationI started writing this egons ago—late January—but it got enormous and unwieldy and I never managed to whip it into much of a presentable shape.  But then, this is a blog—there’s nothing wrong with posting incomplete ideas per se.  If this ever gets finished, it’ll be a page of its own on the sidebar here. […]
Also tagged 1st century, Egypt, nomes, translationPliny the Elder, on selenite mined near Segóbriga (Segobriga near modern Saelices, Cuenca in Spain), Naturalis Historia 36.45: Umorem hunc terræ quadam anima crystalli modo glaciari et in lapidem concrescere manifesto apparet, quod cum feræ decidere in puteos tales, medullæ in ossibus earum post unam hiemem in eandem lapidis naturam figurantur. It is patently obvious […]
Also tagged 1st century, crystal, crystallum, lapis specularis, selenite, translationSo I found out that talk page editing on the dictionary‘s been broken, possibly for quite a while now. I should have realized the spambots were being mighty quiet. It should be working again now; and now that it’s back in operation Iustinus noticed my entry for ‘brew‘ only had a phrasal translation—the Romans weren’t […]
Also tagged 1st century, brace, bracis, etymology, translationPliny, Naturalis Historia 21.54: Tribulo proprietas, quod et fructum spinosum habet. The caltrop has the distinctive property that it even has a spiny fruit. There are a few plants called tribulus ‘caltrop’, in both English and Latin.  The one that today has Tribulus as its scientific name, the puncturevine, is probably not the one being referred to, […]
Also tagged 1st century, caltrops, proprietas, translation, tribulusPliny the Elder, quoting Varro (Naturalis Historia 36.19): supra id quadratum pyramides stant quinque, quattuor in angulis et in medio una, imæ latæ pedum quinum septuagenum, altæ centenum quinquagenum ita fastigatæ, ut in summo orbis aëneus et petasus unus omnibus sit inpositus […] supra quem orbem quattuor pyramides insuper singulæ stant altæ pedum centenum, supra […]
Also tagged 1st century, Lars Porsena, pyramids, pyramis, tombs, translation, VarroPliny on how pearls are formed (Naturalis Historia, 9.54): Has ubi genitalis anni stimularit hora, pandentes se quadam oscitatione impleri roscido conceptu tradunt, gravidas postea eniti, partumque concharum esse margaritas pro qualitate roris accepti. When the birthing season of the year stimulates these creatures, it is said that they, opening themselves wide with a kind […]
Also tagged 1st century, dew, Dickinson, pearls, qualitas, translationPliny on leeks (Naturalis Historia 19.33): insigne quod, cum fimo lætoque solo gaudeat, rigua odit. et tamen proprietate quadam soli constant It is notable that while [the leek] enjoys manure and rich soil, it despises well-watered ground—and yet they endure it, when a certain distinctive property is in the soil. This one was difficult for […]
Also tagged 1st century, leeks, proprietas, translationPliny on the Labyrinth at Heracleopolis (Naturalis Historia 36.19) praeterea templa omnium Aegypti deorum contineat superque Nemesis XL aediculis incluserit pyramides complures quadragenarum ulnarum senas radice á¼€ÏοÏÏας optinentes. Additionally, it would contain temples of all the gods of Egypt, and of Nemesis as well; among its forty shrines it would have included many pyramids, each […]
Also tagged 1st century, Amenemhat III, arura, pyramids, pyramis, translation, ulna