Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder. An imaginary portrait of the 19th century (the lifetime images of Pliny the Elder have not been preserved)
Biography
Born in 23 in Como (lat. Comum) (Cisalpine Gaul). Educated, apparently, in Rome; but neither the brief biography of him written by Suetonius, nor the letters of his nephew, which constitute the main source of biographical data on Pliny, give any information about this.
In his youth, he served in the cavalry, participating in various campaigns, including against havks (lat. Chauci) - the Germanic people, described by him at the beginning of the XVI book of his "Natural History".
He also visited the Danube (XXXI, 19, 25) and Belgium (VII, 17, 76), where the Roman horseman Cornelius Tacitus, father or uncle of the famous historian, was then the procurator. A long stay in the trans-Alpine countries gave him the opportunity to collect a lot of information about them and write a large essay on the wars of the Romans with the Germans (lat. Bellorum Germaniae lib. XX), which served as the main source for Tacitus for his "Germany". Subsequently, he was procurator in Narbonne Gaul and in Spain. His closeness to Vespasian, with whose son Titus he served together in Germany, put him forward to one of the most important posts in the civil service: he was appointed head of the Misen fleet.
During the stay of Pliny the Elder in this position, the famous eruption of Vesuvius took place on August 24, 79, in order to better observe the formidable natural phenomenon, Pliny the Elder approached the ship too close to the crash site, and in Stabia, already on land, fell victim to his curiosity and desire to help people poisoned by sulfur fumes. The details of this event are given by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, in a long letter to Tacitus ( Epist. VI,16).
Pliny was a man of extraordinary industriousness. There was no place that he considered inconvenient for learning; there was no time he did not take advantage of to read and take notes. He read, or they read to him on the road, in the bath, at dinner, after dinner, and time was also taken away from sleep, as far as possible, since he considered every hour that was not devoted to mental pursuits to be wasted. All sorts of books were read, even bad ones, since, according to Pliny the Elder, there is no such bad book from which one could not derive any benefit.
Details about this diligence are reported by Pliny the Younger, in one of his letters ( Epist. III, 5), in which he lists a number of his uncle’s works: “De jaculatione equestri” (On cavalry throwing), “De vita Pomponii Secundi” (Biography of Pomponius Secundus), three books of rhetorical essays (Studiosi III), eight books of grammatical content (“Dubii Sermonis ”, VIII), thirty-one books of history, starting from the point where Auphidius Bass ended his history, the above-mentioned essay on Germany, and finally thirty-seven books of Natural History (Naturalis Historiae XXXVII). In addition, after his death, one hundred and sixty books of the smallest letter with extracts or notes, which he made while reading, remained.
see also
- Natural History (Pliny) (ibid. bibliography)
Categories:
- Personalities in alphabetical order
- Born at 23
- Como
- Deceased August 25
- Deceased in 79
- Deceased in Campania
- Latin writers
- Latin historians
- Writers of ancient Rome
- Historians of ancient Rome
- Historians of the 1st century
- Encyclopedists
- Those who died in a volcanic eruption
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See what "Pliny the Elder" is in other dictionaries:
Pliny the Elder. An imaginary portrait of the 19th century (the lifetime images of Pliny the Elder have not been preserved) Pliny the Elder is known under this name Gaius Pliny Secundus (lat. C. Plinius Secundus), a Roman erudite writer, author of Natural History. ... ... Wikipedia
- (Plinius Maior) Pliny the Elder, Gaius Plinius Secundus, Maior (23/24 79) Roman administrator, encyclopedic writer, scientist. He died during the eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii. From the rich literary ... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms
PLINY \ THE OLD Dictionary-reference book on Ancient Greece and Rome, on mythology
PLINY THE OLD- Pliny the Elder, Gaius Pliny Secundus (23 79) Roman administrator and encyclopedic writer who died during the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii. Of the extensive heritage of Pliny the Elder, only his Natural History has come down to us ... List of ancient Greek names
Pliny the Elder, Gaius Pliny Secundus (23 or 24, Comum, modern Como, - 79), Roman writer, scientist and statesman. Uncle and adoptive father of Pliny the Younger. Served in the Roman provinces of Germany, ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- (Plinius Maior) (23 or 24 79), Roman writer, scholar. The only surviving work "Natural History" in 37 books. encyclopedia of the natural sciences of antiquity, also contains information on the history of art, the history and life of Rome ... encyclopedic Dictionary
- (Plinius Maior) (23 or 24 79) Roman writer, scientist. The only surviving work Natural History in 37 books. encyclopedia of the natural sciences of antiquity, also contains information on the history of art, the history and life of Rome ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Pliny, the Elder- Pliny the Elder (Plinius Maior) (23/24 79), Roman writer, scientist. The only surviving work “Natural History” (in 37 books) is an encyclopedia of natural scientific knowledge of antiquity, also contains information on the history of art, history and ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
Gaius Plinius Secundus (c. 23 79 AD), Roman statesman, learned encyclopedist and historian. Born in the city of Novy Kom in northern Italy, he moved early to Rome. Here Pliny was actively involved in public life ... Collier Encyclopedia
“How many things were considered impossible until they were carried out We are denied a long life; let us leave the works that will prove that we have lived!” (Pliny the Elder).
How often do we refer to this ancient writer and scientist, but, unfortunately, we do not know much about him.
It is also interesting that he gave us phrases that seem familiar from childhood:
"There is no evil without good." "Not a day without a line" "Home is where your heart is." "True glory consists in doing what is worthy of being described, and writing what is worthy of being read." That's all he said in .
Pliny the Elder - Plinius Maior, real name Gaius Plinius Secundus - Gaius Plinius Secundus.
Born between 22 and 24 AD. e. in a wealthy family belonging to the class of horsemen in the Roman colony of Upper Italy - Cisalpine Gaul, in the city of New Kom, modern Como.
As a small child, the future writer was sent to Rome, where he was raised by a family friend, politician and poet Publius Pomponius Secundus, who had connections at the court of Emperor Caligula.
The boy's education was also under his control. And Pliny's teachers were such famous people of his time as the grammarian Remmius Palemon, the botanist Anthony Castor, the rhetorician Arellius Fusk.
Having matured, Pliny set foot on the military path.
In the late 40s - early 50s, Pliny served in the legions on the German border, in 47 he participated in the campaign of Domitius Corbulo against the Hutt tribe, which took place in 47. The governor of Upper Germany at that time was Pomponius, who favored Pliny. It was he who led the war.
And under the command of Pliny, most likely, there was originally a foot cohort, and then he was entrusted with an equestrian detachment.
Around the year 52, Pliny returned to Rome with Pomponius.
Later, Pliny again found himself in the service of Germania Inferior, along with the future emperor Titus.
In addition to military service, Pliny collected material for his book on the war between the Romans and the Germans. Later, Tacitus relied on the work of Pliny in his work "Germany".
It is known that by April 30, 50, Pliny returned to Rome, as he observed a solar eclipse in Campania.
In Rome, Pliny worked as a lawyer, and towards the end of Nero's reign he devoted himself to writing books.
But after the coming to power of the emperor Vespasian, with whose son Titus he served, Pliny was again called to public service. Some researchers write that Pliny at that time was also patronized by Gaius Licinius Mucian, who was also engaged in literature, one of Vespasian's close associates.
In the 70s, Pliny was governor in the provinces.
In one of his letters, the nephew of Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, writes that his uncle was the procurator of Spain.
There is an assumption that in the 70s Pliny could have been an adviser to the emperors.
He may have participated in the Jewish War under Vespasian.
In the 77th or 78th year, Pliny the Elder published the main work of his life, Natural History.
Towards the end of his life, he was appointed commander of the fleet on the coast of the Gulf of Naples.
On August 24, 79, a strong eruption of Mount Vesuvius began, which also destroyed Herculaneum. Pliny was on a ship on the other side of the bay.
A popular version is that curiosity made the scientist come too close to Vesuvius. Researchers believe that Pliny the Elder was poisoned by sulfur fumes.
His nephew Pliny the Younger, who was at that time in Mizena, described in detail the death of his uncle in his letter to the historian Tacitus.
In this letter, he wrote that his uncle went to the other side of the bay not at all out of curiosity, but to help save his friends who were there.
In Stabiae, Pliny the Elder calmed the locals, hoping that the wind would soon change and the ships would be able to sail.
Pliny the Younger wrote that his uncle had a "thin and naturally weak throat", that is, he suffered from asthma.
But be that as it may, in fact, in August 79 AD. e. the eruption of Vesuvius killed, among many other people, the great scientist.
Pliny the Younger wrote that his uncle was a man of great industriousness and he worked anywhere and at any time, regardless of the fact that there were no amenities for scientific and literary work, for example, on campaigns, on the road.
Pliny the Elder read a lot and took notes. He took time for reading and work from sleep.
An interesting fact is that Pliny the Elder also read bad books, believing that at least something useful can be taken out of even the worst of them.
The main work of Pliny the Elder "Natural History" is a kind of ancient encyclopedia, consisting of 37 books.
Although at first there were 36 of them. Versions of why there were 37 of them are different. For example, because book XVIII was divided into two parts, or because the contents and list of sources were added as a separate book I.
The "Natural History" includes: art, history, geography, botany, zoology, anthropology, medicine, physics, mineralogy.
Before writing his work, he read at least 2 thousand books and made about 10 thousand extracts.
Pliny managed to include in his work information unknown to his predecessors.
Pliny himself characterized his work as "enkyuklios paideia" in Greek - "comprehensive learning" - "encyclopedia".
Structure of "Natural History"
Introduction.
Book I. Table of contents and sources.
Book II. Universe and space.
Book III. Geography (from Spain to Moesia).
Book IV. Geography (Balkans, part of the Black Sea coast, Sarmatia, Scythia, islands of the Baltic and North Seas).
Book V. Geography (Africa and the Middle East).
Book VI. Geography (Caucasus, Asia).
Book VII. Man.
Book VIII. Land animals.
Book IX. Fish and other sea creatures.
Book X. Birds.
Book XI. Insects.
Book XII. Trees.
Book XIII. exotic trees.
Book XIV. Fruit trees.
Book XV. Fruit trees.
Book XVI. Forest trees.
Book XVII. Cultivated trees.
Book XVIII. Cereal crops.
Book XIX. Flax and other plants.
Book XX. Medicines from garden plants.
Book XXI. Flowers.
Book XXII. Properties of plants and fruits.
Book XXIII. Medicines from cultivated trees.
Book XXIV. Medicines from forest trees.
Book XXV. wild plants.
Book XXVI. Medicines from other plants.
Book XXVII. Other plants and medicines from them.
Book XXVIII. Medicines from animals.
Book XXIX. Medicines from animals.
Book XXX. Medicines from animals.
Book XXXI. Medicines from sea plants.
Book XXXII. Medicines from marine animals.
Book XXXIII. Metals.
Book XXXIV. Metals.
Book XXXV. Paints, colors, pictures.
Book XXXVI. Stones, sculptures.
Book XXXVII. Precious stones and products from them.
There are still disputes about why and for whom Pliny the Elder wrote his book. Someone believes that it was written for farmers and artisans, someone that for military leaders. But it seems to me that real scientists and writers write because they cannot stop writing.
Pliny the Elder predicted some things. For example, he never visited the pyramids of ancient Egypt, but he described their internal structure so accurately that many scientists admit that he was the first European to visit them. Although Pliny the Elder is classified as an armchair scientist, that is, it is known that he did not conduct any experiments and was not an expert in the fields of knowledge described. For the most part, he simply relied on the writings of his predecessors.
Naturally, in the work of Pliny the Elder there are not only inaccuracies, errors, but also curious descriptions.
For example, information about women from whom animals and other creatures were born, about people with dog heads, about dwarfs and giants, and other fantastic descriptions.
However, a considerable part of the facts on geography, history, mining, Pliny the Elder collected while traveling through the provinces and communicating with people.
Many reproach Pliny the Elder for his dry language, uneven style of presentation.
This can be explained by the desire of Pliny the Elder for the conciseness of his work and the difficult conditions in which he had to work.
In addition to his main work, according to Pliny the Younger, his uncle wrote: “On Cavalry Throwing”, “On the Life of Pomponius Secundus” in two books, a rhetorical essay in three books, a grammatical essay “Dubious Words” in eight books; Priscian and Gregory of Tours, German Wars in twenty books. But all this wealth has not reached our days.
The famous naturalist Alexander Humboldt says of Pliny's book:
“She is the product of an irresistible tendency to collect information comprehensively, sometimes done superficially. Her style is uneven, sometimes simple and limited to listing objects, sometimes rich in thoughts, alive, sometimes embellished with rhetoric. It is poor in individual descriptions of nature; but in all those cases when it comes to the majestic interplay of forces that creates a well-ordered cosmos - when Pliny the Elder speaks of this "greatness of nature" (or, as he calls it, Naturae majestas), he is animated by an enthusiasm that comes from the depths of the heart.
The "Natural History" of Gaius Pliny the Elder can be said to have always, despite its shortcomings, enjoyed great respect. It was studied by William Shakespeare, François Rabelais, Michel Montaigne and Percy Shelley...
The “Natural History” of Pliny the Elder had a huge impact not only on the writers and scientists of antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and even now, albeit not directly, it plays its role.
After all, it is not in vain that we refer to Pliny the Elder when speaking about this or that fact and event.
“... let everyone judge this as he pleases; our task is to describe the obvious natural properties of things, and not to look for dubious causes ”(Natural History, XI, 8)
I personally like Pliny the Elder that, describing certain things, the Roman naturalist pointed out the uselessness of the expensive Egyptian pyramids and the palaces of the Roman elite, emphasizing the aqueducts and sewers that are useful to people.
And I often find myself remembering the wisdom of a scientist when I see on TV or hear about thousands of pairs of shoes of some "star" and other excesses. Why not spend that money on something useful? Well, God bless them...
In volcanology, a type of volcanic eruption with powerful explosive eruptions of magma and huge ash precipitation is named after Pliny the Elder.
In 1935, a crater on the Moon between the Seas of Clarity and Tranquility was named after the Roman naturalist.
Pliny the Elder - Roman polymath, author of Natural History. He is called the elder, in contrast to his nephew, Pliny the Younger. Pliny was a man of extraordinary industriousness. There was no place that he considered inconvenient for learning; there was no time he did not take advantage of to read and take notes. He read, or they read to him on the road, in the bath, at dinner, after dinner, and time was also taken away from sleep, as far as possible, since he considered every hour that was not devoted to mental pursuits to be wasted. All sorts of books were read, even bad ones, since, according to Pliny the Elder, there is no such bad book from which one could not derive any benefit.
Gaius Pliny Secundus was born in 23 AD in Como, a flourishing Roman colony in Upper Italy (at that time Cisalpine Gaul). In his youth, he zealously served in the cavalry, participating in various campaigns, among other things, against the hawks - the German people who lived near the North Sea between the rivers Ems and Elbe, and described by him in his book "Natural History".
He visited both the Danube and Belgium, where the Roman horseman Cornelius Tacitus, the father or uncle of the famous historian, was then the procurator. A long stay in the trans-Alpine countries gave him the opportunity to collect a lot of information about them and write a large essay on the wars of the Romans with the Germans, which served as the main source for Tacitus for his Germani
and". Subsequently, he was procurator in Narbonne Gaul and in Spain. His closeness to Vespasian, with whose son, Titus, he served together in Germany, nominated him to one of the most important posts in the civil service: he was appointed head of the Misen fleet.
During the stay of Pliny the Elder in this position, the famous eruption of Vesuvius occurred. On August 24, 79, in order to better observe the formidable natural phenomenon, Pliny the Elder approached the ship too close to the crash site, and in Stabia, already on land, he fell victim to his curiosity and desire to help people, poisoned by sulfur fumes. The details of this event are given by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, in a long letter to Tacitus.
Pliny the Elder, Guy Pliny Secundus (Gaius Plinius Secundus lat.), Plinius Secundus Maior (lat.) - was born in 23 AD. in New Coma (northern Italy), died on August 24, 79 AD. during the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius - an outstanding Roman scientist-encyclopedist, a major administrator and commander.
Career of Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder, like many other contemporaries, was a professional military man, but in the history of culture he is best known for his 37-volume "Natural History" (Historia Naturalis in Latin) - a huge work of an encyclopedic nature, writing which he could write only in his leisure hours. Pliny started as a prefect of ala (that is, the head of the cavalry) under the emperor Claudius in 47 AD. - 50 AD, and in 50 AD. - 51 AD served in upper Germany as a military tribune. At the beginning of Nero's reign, he was procurator in Proconsular Africa (modern Tunisia); in 66 AD - 69 AD was appointed procurator to Spain; and after the coming to power of Vespasian, Pliny won the personal friendship of the emperor and from 70 AD. and until the day of his death he commanded a squadron stationed at Misen.
Scientific studies of Pliny the Elder
According to his nephew (Pliny the Younger), Pliny the Elder was a tireless reader. He used every free minute to read and take notes. Sometimes he even read bad books, because he believed that there was no such book from which it would not be possible to extract some benefit. In addition, Pliny was an active observer of natural phenomena, as evidenced by his tragic and glorious end. As an admiral in Misenum, Pliny witnessed the grandiose eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under ash and lava. Disregarding his own safety, Pliny wanted to observe this phenomenon up close and headed to Stabiae, where he died from sulfur dioxide poisoning.
A list of Pliny's writings is also given by his nephew. Among them: "On throwing darts from a horse", which served as one of the sources for the "Germany" of Tacitus; "Life of Pomponius Secundus", friend of Pliny, consul 44 AD and ruler of upper Germany; "German Wars" - about the war with the Germans under Caesar, Augustus and Tiberius; several manuals on rhetoric - "Students" and "Dubious sayings", about which Quintilian spoke with praise, and later they were constantly used by grammarians as a reference book; "From the end of history ..." - the history of Rome, outlining the events from the moment on which Aufidius Bassus, an older contemporary of Pliny, completed his work.
Natural history
Pliny's "Natural History" is a real encyclopedia of antiquity in 37 books, including astronomy, physics, geography, botany, zoology, anthropology, medicine, mineralogy, metallurgy, art history. The writing of this colossal work was preceded by no less colossal preparatory work. According to the author himself, he read at least 2 thousand books and made about 20 thousand extracts. To this Pliny added a lot of information not known to his predecessors. Despite the vast scope of knowledge, Pliny's "Natural History" turned out to be a collection of countless data, somehow divided into branches of knowledge, but very loosely interconnected, not critically processed, and not brought into any logical system. The work of Pliny is distinguished by an absolutely uncritical attitude to sources and a distinct anthropocentrism.
Despite the obvious shortcomings, the authority of Pliny the Elder's Natural History was indisputable over the next 12-14 centuries, and, perhaps, none of the works of antiquity, with the exception of the Bible, had such an impact on the ideas of people of late antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Pliny the Elder. An imaginary portrait of the 19th century (the lifetime images of Pliny the Elder have not been preserved) 
Pliny the Elder - Gaius Pliny Secundus (lat. G. Plinius Secundus) (23 AD - August 25, 79 AD) is known under this name - a Roman polymath writer, author of Natural History. He is called the elder, in contrast to his nephew, Pliny the Younger.
Born in 23 AD. e. in Como (lat. Comum), a flourishing Roman colony in Upper Italy (at that time - Cisalpine Gaul). Educated, apparently, in Rome; but neither the short biography of him written by Suetonius, nor the letters of his nephew, which constitute the main source of biographical data on Pliny, give any information about this.
In his youth, he zealously served in the cavalry, participating in various campaigns, among other things, against the hawks - German. people who lived by the North Sea between the rivers Ems and Elbe, and described by him at the beginning of the XVI book of his Natural History.
He also visited the Danube (XXXI, 19, 25) and Belgium (VII, 17, 76), where the Roman horseman Cornelius Tacitus, father or uncle of the famous historian, was then procurator. A long stay in the trans-Alpine countries gave him the opportunity to collect a lot of information about them and write a large essay on the wars of the Romans with the Germans (lat. Bellorum Germaniae lib. XX), which served as the main source for Tacitus for his "Germany". Subsequently, he was procurator in Narbonne Gaul and in Spain. His closeness to Vespasian, with whose son, Titus, he served together in Germany, nominated him to one of the most important posts in the civil service: he was appointed head of the Misen fleet.
During the stay of Pliny the Elder in this position, the famous eruption of Vesuvius occurred. 24 August 79 CE e., in order to better observe the formidable natural phenomenon, Pliny the Elder approached the ship too close to the crash site, and in Stabia, already on land, he fell victim to his curiosity and desire to help people, having been poisoned by sulfur fumes. The details of this event are given by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, in a long letter to Tacitus (Epist. VI,16).
Natural History (Naturalis Historia)- compiled ca. 77 AD Pliny the Elder for Emperor Titus encyclopedia of natural and artificial objects and phenomena. It served as a prototype for all subsequent European encyclopedias in terms of volume, citing the authors of certain statements and the presence of an index of content. This is the only surviving work of Pliny and perhaps the longest text in Latin of the ancient period.
In 37 books of his encyclopedia, Pliny deals with the following subjects:
I: Preface, content, list of sources.
II: mathematics and physics
III-VI: geography and ethnography
VII: anthropology and physiology
VIII-XI: zoology
XII-XXVII: botany and horticulture
XXVIII-XXXII: pharmacology
XXXIII-XXXVII: mining, mineralogy, art
Book Four
Pontus Euxinus, Propontis (ch. 24, 75), Hellespont, Thracian Bosporus, Cimmerian Bosporus, Meotida (76); distances between different points on the coast of Pontus (n. 77--78), r. Istr. (79). Scythians and other peoples (ch. 25, 80). Germans and other peoples, dimensions of Germany (81). River Tiras (Ch. 26, 82). Northwestern coast of Pontus (83). Kerkinitsky Bay and the river. Bug (84), Taurica (85-86), Cimmerian Bosporus (87), peoples living there (88), Hyperborea (89-91). Kyanei (Simplegades) and the Apolloniates Islands (92), Fr. Achilles and others. Pontus (93). Arctic Ocean (94), about. Baltic (95).
88. Beyond Tafras, in the depths of the continent, live the Avkhetians, in the region of which Hypanis originates, the Neuri, in the region of which Boristhenes originates, the Gelons, the Tissagetes, the Boudins, the royal Scythians and the dark-haired Agathyrsi. Above - nomads, then anthropophagi, beyond the Bug over the Meotian lake, the Sarmatians and Issedons. And along the coast as far as Tanais live the Meotians, the lake is named after them, and the Arimaspians, the last ones behind them. Then come the Riphean mountains and the area called Pterophore, because there is constantly falling snow, like feathers. This part of the world is condemned by nature and immersed in thick fog; only cold can be born there and the icy Aquilon is stored.
89. Behind these mountains and on the other side of Aquilon lives, if you can believe, from time immemorial a happy people who are called Hyperborean; fairy tales are told about him. There, they say, are the poles and extreme points of the stellar paths; half a year there is light, and the sun hides for only one day, and not for the time between the spring and autumn equinoxes, as ignorant people believe. Once a year, on the day of the summer solstice, the sun rises for them, and once, on the day of the winter solstice, it sets. This sunny country with a temperate climate is not subject to harmful winds. The Hyperboreans live in groves and forests, worship the gods separately and together, they are not familiar with discord and ailments.
90. They die only when they get tired of living: the old people, after feasting and enjoying luxury, jump from some rock into the sea. This is the best funeral rite. Some believe that the Hyperboreans do not live in Europe, but at the beginning of the Asian coast, because there is a similar
On them are the Atakian people; others that they live between the setting sun of the antipodes and our rising sun; this is by no means impossible, because between them lies a huge sea. Those who attribute their location to where the sun shines for six months, say that the antipodes sow in the morning, harvest at noon, pick the fruits from the trees at sunset and hide them in caves at night.
91. The existence of this people cannot be doubted; many writers say that the Hyperboreans usually send the first fruits of the harvest to Delos to Apollo, whom they especially revere. The sacrifices were delivered by girls who were hospitably received by the peoples for several years, but after the customs of hospitality were violated, the Hyperboreans decided to leave the sacrifices on the nearest border with their neighbors, they took them to their neighbors, and so on to Delos itself; soon this custom also disappeared. The length of Sarmatia, Scythia, Taurica and the whole region from the Borisfen River is determined by M. Agrippa at 980,000 steps, and the width at 717,000. I believe that measurements are unreliable in this part of the earth.
