Philemon Holland’s seventeenth
century translation of ‘The Natural Historie of C Plinius Secundus’ was a
surprise find whilst cleaning our old cellar space at Hollytrees last
autumn. The book is dated 1634. It was originally published by Pliny
the elder c77-79AD and is one of the largest single works to have survived from
the Roman Empire.
We should not be surprised to see accounts of bees and
honey, of grapes and wine, of olives and oil, and salt. “They will not go from their hive about their
busines about 60 paces: & if it chance, that within the precinct of these
limits they finde not flores sufficient: out goe their spies, whom they send
forth to discover forage farther off”.
“More plenty of hony is gathered in
the full of the Moone”.
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