COMPLETE: The Natural History vol 1, by Pliny the Elder - le

[Leni]

This project is now complete! All audio files can be found on our catalog page: http://librivox.org/the-natural-history-volume-1-by-pliny-the-elder/

The Natural History, volume 1, by Pliny the Elder (AD 23 – August 25, 79). [Translated by John Bostock and Henry Thomas Riley] (1773-1846 , 1816-1878 ).

Click here to be notified by email when this book is complete!

Naturalis Historia (Latin for "Natural History") is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents. The scheme of his great work is vast and comprehensive, being nothing short of an encyclopedia of learning and of art so far as they are connected with nature or draw their materials from nature. The work divides neatly into the organic world of plants and animals, and the realm of inorganic matter, although there are frequent digressions in each section. He is especially interested in not just describing the occurrence of plants, animals and insects, but also their exploitation (or abuse) by man, especially Romans. The description of metals and minerals is particularly detailed, and valuable for the history of science as being the most extensive compilation still available from the ancient world. (Summary from Wikipedia)

This volume one includes the first five books, covering the following subjects:

Book 1- Dedication
Book 2 - An account of the world and the elements
Books 3 to 5 - An account of countries, nations, seas, towns, havens, mountains, rivers, distances, and peoples who now exist or formerly existed

1. How to claim a part, and 'how it all works' here
   To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are “up for grabs.” Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you’d like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.
2. New to recording?
   Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!
3. Is there a deadline?
   Target completion date of this project: August 7th 2010 – but try to send your recordings as soon as you can. Please note that if we haven't heard from you for two months, your section(s) will automatically be re-opened for other readers. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it’ll go back to the pool. There’s no shame in this; we’re all volunteers and things happen.
4. Where do I find the text?
   Source text: http://books.google.com/books?id=MZYVAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
   
   But the same text can also be found here: http://www.archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof1855plin
   
   SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: This book will be read from an Internet Archive/Google Books image file. Click on one of the links above and choose your format. Personally, I use the Flip Book format, but the Google books and the Djvu work just fine as well. The number of the page is the same in any of them. Look for the page number and the chapter/ paragraph that begins with the sentence indicated in the Magic Window. Stop reading when the chapter has ended, or when you arrive at the sentence indicated in the Window.
   
   Most sections are around 2500 words, some are shorter though.
   
   If you find any difficulties, please do PM me, I'll be glad to help.
   
   Please, DO NOT READ THE FOOTNOTES.
5. Please claim sections (the numbers in the first column below)!
   If this is your first recording, please let me know under which name or pseudonym you'd like to appear in the LibriVox catalogue. We can also link to a personal website/blog.
   
   Prospective Prooflisteners: Please read the Listeners Wanted FAQ before listening! Level of prooflistening requested: Standard Proof-listening
   -- Do the intro and disclaimer match the instructions in the first post of the project thread?
   -- Are there any long silences or pauses that ought to be edited out? If so, note the time.
   -- Are there any repeats, or serious stumbles that ought to be edited out? If so, note the words and the time.
   -- Is there excessive background noise, a constant hiss or buzz that detracts from the reading?
   -- Did you need to turn your volume up unusually high to listen to the recording? (Or did you find the recording too loud?)
   -- Are the correct closing words used at the end of the recording, as per the first post of the project thread?
   -- Are there 5 seconds of silence (10 if the recording is more than 30 minutes long) at the end of the file?
   
   MAGIC WINDOW:
   
   (BC admin)
6. BEFORE recording:
   Please check the Recording Notes:
   http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6427#6430
   
   Set your recording software to:
   
   Channels: 1 (Mono)
   Bit Rate: 128 kbps
   Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
7. DURING recording:
   Please leave no more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of your recording!
   
   Make sure you add this to the beginning and end of your recording:
   Start of recording (Intro)
   • "Section [number] of The Natural History volume 1. - This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"
   • If you wish, say:
     "Recording by [your name]"
   • Say:
     "The Natural History volume 1, by Pliny the Elder. Translated by John Bostock and Henry Thomas Riley. Section [number]"
   End of recording
   • At the end of the section, say:
     “End of Section [number]"
   • If you wish, say:
     "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
   • At the end of the book, say (in addition):
     "End of The Natural History volume 1, by Pliny the Elder. Translated by John Bostock and Henry Thomas Riley."
   Please leave 5 seconds silence at the end of your recording, or 10 seconds for files longer than 30 minutes!
   
   Also, please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!
8. AFTER recording:
   Need noise-cleaning?
   Listen to your file through headphones. If you can hear some constant background noise (hiss/buzz), you may want to clean it up a bit. The new (free) version 1.3.3. of Audacity (Mac/Win) has much improved noise-cleaning. See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide.
   
   Save files as
   128 kbps MP3
   naturalhistory1_##_pliny.mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is your section number. (e.g. naturalhistory1_01_pliny.mp3)
   
   ID3 V2 tags
   (To find out more about ID3 tags, go to our wiki: http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/What_is_ID3)
   Add the following tags to your .mp3 file (how you do this depends on which software you use – if you are unsure about ID3 tags, send me a message). Please mind upper and lower case!
   
   Title: ## - [Section title] e.g. 04 - Book 2, Chapters 1-5
   Artist: Pliny the Elder
   Album: The Natural History
   
   Please ignore tags for Genre and Track Number - these will be filled in automatically at the cataloguing stage.
   
   Transfer of files (completed recordings)
   Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file.
   Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
   • Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader (when your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread):
     http://upload.librivox.org
     
     (If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin)
     You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: le - Leni
   • If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.

Any questions?
Please post below or PM me.

[lezer]

What a good idea Leni! I have my eye on a few sections that I'd like to read... I'll wait until you're finished, though

[Leni]

Thanks!

Ok, all done, open for claims (of sections or of DPLing! )

[lezer]

Could I read sections 10 & 11 please?

[Leni]

Sure, thank you!

I find those very interesting myself, especially the showers of baked tiles...

[kmerline]

I've only read parts of this. May I proof listen?

Great job on the setup!

[Leni]

Thanks much Karen!

[asullivan]

Hi Leni,

This is my first time recording something for LibriVox. I just recorded section 01 (14:52). I hope it turned out alright. I'd appreciate any feedback on it, since this is my first time recording. If it needs to be redone that's cool, just let me know. Oh here's the link:

http://upload.librivox.org/share/uploads/le/naturalhistory1_01_pliny.mp3

Thanks,

Andrew

[Leni]

Hi, Andrew, and welcome to Librivox.

Thank you for recording the fist section of Pliny's Natural History! For a first recording, you can rest assured it's very good indeed. The only real problem I found is that the file was exported at 192kbps, instead of 128kbps, which is the necessary bitrate of our recordings. But that doesn't mean re-recording. You would only need to export the raw file as an mp3 again, with the correct bitrate.

Since you asked for feedback, though, I'd like to point out some details that might help you improve your recording.

First, I suppose you use Garageband. I use Audacity, but I think Garageband has some noisecleaning feature as well. Your recording had a constant background buzz, which wasn't distracting at all, but that was easily cleanable. You might want to try it out yourself.

There are a few stumbles and "puzzled" parts (like at 1:38), which I suppose would be easy to fix and paste on the file. I didn't listen to the whole file, but at least as far as the 5th minute, there were no repetitions or the like.

Finally, I would suggest you use internet tools such as howjsay (http://www.howjsay.com) or http://www.merriam-webster.com/, that have pronounciation aids. Reading classics like Pliny, that will certainly have a lot of strange words and names (Tacitus, Empedocles, Caecilius, etc ) is no easy task - I know by experience. And many of those tools will be very useful to check some of those. For example, Pliny's name should be read Pli (like "sit" without the t, not like"eye")-ny.

So, I'd like to ask you to re-export the file to 128kbps - that's really a must. As to the other corrections, I suspect you will prefer to make some little changes to the file, but then it's up to you.

Also, except for the short story/poetry collections, it's a good idea to "claim" the sections in a project before you record them. Just post on the thread saying you intend to record that section - to prevent two people from working on the same section at the same time. I will add your name to the window in the first post, so people know the first section is taken, ok? By the way, under what name/pseudonym would you like to appear in the catalog?

Thanks much!

[asullivan]

Hi Leni,

Thanks for the feedback and references for more information. After listening to my original recording, I'm going to rerecord the first section. I'll also sign up for sections 2 and 3 as well if they are still available. This is pretty fun.

-Andrew

[AlpheccaStars]

I'll try section 5... the pronunciations may present a bit of a challenge, but I'm game!

Regards,
Linda

[Leni]

Thanks, Andrew and Linda!

[AlpheccaStars]

Section 5 - 17:33

http://upload.librivox.org/share/uploads/le/naturalhistory1_05_pliny.mp3

The science of the time is quite interesting..

Cheers,
Linda

[AlpheccaStars]

I can read section 6 too...

Regards,
Linda

[Leni]

I agree, it's very interesting indeed!

Thanks for the recording, and section 6 is all yours.