Page:The Natural History of Pliny.djvu/40

 6 pliny's natueal histoet. [Book I. of the people wlio were the conquerors of all other nations. It would liave been more meritorious to have persevered in his labours from his love of the work, than from the gratifi- cation which it afforded himself, and to have accomplished it, not for his own sake, but for that of the Eoman people. I have included in thirty-six^ books 20,000 topics, all worthy of attention, (for, as Domitius Piso^ says, we ought to make not merely books, but valuable collections,) gained by the perusal of about 2000 volumes, of which a few only are in the hands of the studious, on account of the obscurity of the subjects, produced by the careful perusal of 100 select authors^ ; and to these I have made considerable additions of things, which were either not known to my predecessors, or which have been lately discovered. JSTor can I doubt but that there still remain many things which I have omitted ; for I am a mere mortal, and one that has many occupations. I have, therefore, been obliged to compose this work at in- terrupted intervals, indeed during the night, so that you will find that I have not been idle even during this period. The day I devote to you, exactly portioning out my sleep to the necessity of my health, and contenting myself with this re- ward, that while we are musing'* on these subjects (accord- ing to the remark of Yarro), we are adding to the length of our lives ; for life properly consists in being awake. In consideration of these circumstances and these difficul- ties, I dare promise nothing; but you have done me the most essential service in permitting me to dedicate my work to you. Nor does this merely give a sanction to it, but it determines its value ; for things are often conceived to be of great value, solely because they are consecrated in temples. 1 have given a full account of all your family — your ^ " Quern nunc primum liistoriaj Plinianse librvun vocamus, hie non numeratuv, quod sit operis index." Hardouin in Lem. i. 16. 2 Nothing is known of Domitius Piso, either as an author or an in- dividual. 3 The names of these authors will be found, arranged by Hardouin alphabetically, with a brief accoimt of them and their works, in Lem. i. 157 et seq. ; we have nearly the same Hst in Valpy, p. 4903. "* "'Musinamur." We learn from Hardoum, Lem. i. 17, that there is 80me doubt as to the word employed by our author, whether it was mu- sinamur or muginamur ; I should be disposed to adopt the former, as being, according to the remark of Turnebus, " verbum a Musis deductiun."