Evolution of Natural History: From Pliny to Specialization

In modern college catalogs, courses bearing the "natural history" label are notably scarce. However, in numerous major cities worldwide, one can find museums dedicated to natural history, many of which trace their origins back to the nineteenth century. During this period, scientific inquiry took on greater specialization and experimental approaches, ushering in a departure from the era of talented amateur scholars. This shift led to the narrowing of the boundaries defining natural history, a far cry from the extensive scope embraced by Pliny the Elder in his monumental work of the same name, published in 77 AD.

The influence of Pliny the Elder, a multifaceted Roman figure encompassing roles as a lawyer, military and naval commander, and naturalist, ranked second perhaps only to Aristotle. Pliny's "Natural History" comprised thirty-seven volumes, intended to encapsulate all available knowledge about the natural world, drawing heavily from the writings of eminent authorities. Pliny gathered zoological insights from Aristotle and botanical wisdom from Theophrastus. The work also delved into topics spanning astronomy, geography, geology, mineralogy, and agriculture.

Pliny's comprehensive opus, marked by systematic organization, explicit citations of numerous original sources and authors, and a content index, served as the prototype for subsequent encyclopedic endeavors. Although it blended factual information with elements of fiction, folklore, magic, and superstition, Pliny's work remained unrivaled as the primary source of natural history knowledge until the late fifteenth century. A more precise and narrowly focused work, limited to the realms of the animal and mineral kingdoms, emerged in the form of the thirty-six-volume "Histoire naturelle," composed by the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, spanning the years from 1749 to 1788.

Throughout the nineteenth century, the study of nature underwent subdivision, categorized as either natural philosophy, encompassing disciplines like physics and astronomy, or natural history, which included biology (zoology and botany) along with geological sciences. Today, no universally accepted definition of natural history exists, but it generally alludes to the examination of plants and animals within their native habitats, with a predominant emphasis on observation and description over experimental methodologies.

Adorning the front of Como's Duomo Cathedral, this statue commemorates the birthplace of Gaius Plinius Secundus, famously known as Pliny the Elder.