Pliny’s Natural History in Thirty-Seven Books, Volume I (typically covering Books 1–2 in the Loeb Classical Library edition) serves as the introduction, index, and foundational cosmic survey of Pliny the Elder’s massive 1st-century AD encyclopedic work. Published around AD 77, this volume outlines the scope of the entire 37-book project—which aims to cover the "natural world or life"—and immediately dives into cosmology and astronomy. Volume I lays the foundation for a work that, while often containing misperceptions (like "wild speculations" on foreign races), was the premier authority on the natural world throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance.