Pliny, the elder, gaius plinius secundus ad 2379, a roman of equestrian rank of transpadane gaul n. Like many silver latin writers, there is little evidence that plinys letters achieved the literary fame he had desired, until the revival of these writers in the fourth century. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. I came to this letter by a severely reworked text in a book for. This comprehensive general commentary on the nine books of the younger pliny s private letterswhich cover nearly aspect of roman life except warfareoffers a selfcontained discussion of each letter or group of associated letters and their rich array of information about the authors social, political, and legal life and times. The love i bear you obliges me to give you, not indeed a precept for you are far from needing a preceptor, but a reminder that you should resolutely act up to the knowledge you already have, or else improve it. My uncle, pliny the elder, died in a terrible incident which also left our region in ruins. My lieutenant, servilius pudens, came to nicomedia,1 sir, on the 24th of. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. Pliny the younger, latin in full gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born 6162 ce, comum italydied c. Plinys uncle, pliny the elder, helped raise and educate him and they were both witnesses to the eruption of vesuvius on 24 august 79 ad. The world, and this whatever other name men have chosen to designate the sky whose vaulted roof encircles the universe is fitly believed to be a deity, eternal, immeasurable, a being that never began.
Plinys uncle, pliny the elder, helped raise and educate him. The relationship of the elder plinys prefatory letter to the main body of the natural history. But, with the receipt of plinys letter, tacitus evidently was intrigued with plinys closing comment and wrote back requesting a second letter describing not only the. A witness to the eruption of vesuvius, pliny the younger 61 1 ad was a successful politician, public servant, and advisor to the emperor trajan. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. He was only eight years old when his father caecilius died, and he was adopted by his uncle, the elder pliny, author of the natural history. In his letter pliny relates the first warning of the eruption. Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. Pliny book 8, letter 24 latin text pliny book 8, letter 24 student commentary pliny book 10, letter 96 english translation. He pursued a career partly military in germany, partly administrative in gaul and spain under the emperor vespasian, and became prefect of. He was educated at home and then in rome under quintilian.
He used to say that there was no book so bad that it was not useful at some point. Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription cil v 1 3442 found in a field in. Like many silver latin writers, there is little evidence that pliny s letters achieved the literary fame he had desired, until the revival of these writers in the fourth century. Pliny the younger the eruption of vesuvius letter 6. Slaves presumably 7 book 9, letter 20 8 book 1, letter 24 9 book 9, letter 15. Chapters 4 to 7 study thematic letter cycles within the collection, including those on pliny s famous country villas and his relationships with pliny the elder and tacitus. Pliny the younger was born in novum comum como, northern italy around 61 ad, the son of lucius caecilius cilo, born there, and his wife plinia marcella, a sister of pliny the elder. I am in such grief in writing this letter that i can touch on no other subject, and indeed i can neither think nor speak of anything else. The letters of the younger pliny penguin classics pdf. Delphi complete works of pliny the younger illustrated delphi ancient classics book 28 by pliny the younger, gaius plinius caecilius secundus. You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that i may have written. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caecilius of comum como and the elder plinys sister.
The text of book x relies on the two editions printed from now lost portions of the st. The natural history there is no book so bad that some good cannot be got out of it, pliny the elder used to say, and he read everything that he could obtain. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Cato defined an orator as a good man, skilled in speaking quintilian, xii. Ummidia quadratilla is dead, having lived almost to her eightieth year. My lieutenant, servilius pudens, came to nicomedia,2 sir, on the 24th of november. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. Another comic poet,24 speaking of the same orator, says. He was the grandson of senator and landowner gaius caecilius, revered his uncle, pliny the elder who at this time was extremely famous around the roman empire, and provided sketches of how his uncle worked on.
He was at misenum at the time of the eruption of vesuvius in 79 described in two famous letters when the elder pliny died. This final book was, significantly, not intended for publication. Starting with the index in pliny chapter 2 the roman paratext. She enjoyed till her last sickness an uninterrupted state of health, with a strength and firmness of body unusual even to matrons in their prime. Jun 17, 2018 i came to this letter by a severely reworked text in a book for use at schools. Sep 16, 2012 trajans reply to the letter by pliny from 2 days ago. The epistulae are later copies of a series of personal missives by pliny the younger directed to his friends and associates. Arria was by no means a political innocent and would certainly have shared the blame for her husbands role in the conspiracy. Neither the younger nor the elder pliny mention the names. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. Although pliny lived through periods of political 1 book 10, letter 65 and 66 2.
Her choice of a glorious death over living in widowhood in greatly reduced. What emerges from this book is a panoramic picture of a world that is not even very different from our own. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 ad ca. You congratulate me on accepting the office of augur. The loeb classical library edition of pliny the younger is in two volumes.
Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. You are right in so doing, first, because it is a proper thing to obey the wishes of an emperor with a character like ours, and, secondly, because the priestly office is in itself an ancient and sacred one, and inspires respect and dignity from the very. Pliny in this letter internet history sourcebooks fordham university. Pliny has a gift for description and a versatile prose style, and more than any of his contemporaries he gives an unprejudiced picture of rome as he knew it. Plinys dates are pinned to the eruption of mount vesuvius in ad 79 and a statement of his nephew that he died in his 56th year, which would put his birth in ad 23 or 24 pliny was the son of an equestrian gaius plinius celer and his wife marcella. Trajans reply to the letter by pliny from 2 days ago.
Chapters 4 to 7 study thematic letter cycles within the collection, including those on plinys famous country villas and his relationships with pliny the elder and tacitus. Lets hope that our talking about him will immortalize him. Pliny responded with a narrative extending from the early afternoon. Pliny the younger epistles epistulae, book 8, letter 22. The appendix note puts the whole thing into perspective. The text of books i to ix of the letters rests on three manuscript traditions, the 9book, the 10book and the 8book, known as. Pliny the younger epistles epistulae, book 8, letter. The letters of the younger pliny are a good source to look into during this period of roman history to see the dangers and excitement in which these people lived there certainly was a lot of it. He pursued a career partly military in germany, partly administrative in gaul and spain under the emperor vespasian, and became prefect of the fleet at misenum. Book tradition of plinys letters in verona, classical philology.
Pdf slavery within plinys letters matthew oliver carter. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. For an index with links to all the letters on this site arranged by book and letter number, click here. This letter by pliny is for two reasons interesting. Natural history pliny project gutenberg selfpublishing.
In this letter, pliny is writing about events that happened more than a half century earlier. Gibson and ruth morello frontmatter more information acknowledgements this book began as a conversation on a train on the way back from a conference in 1998. A sixthcentury fragment of the letters of pliny the younger a study of six leaves of an uncial manuscript preserved in the pierpont morgan library new york. An unsuspected shared enthusiasm for pliny led to a. This comprehensive general commentary on the nine books of the younger plinys private letterswhich cover nearly aspect of roman life except warfareoffers a selfcontained discussion of each letter or group of associated letters and their rich array of information about the authors social, political, and legal life and times. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover all ancient knowledge. His nephew pliny the younger gives an indication how devoted his uncle was to reading and studying, which was like working to him. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. The project gutenberg ebook of letters of pliny, by pliny this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at. These letters are a unique testimony of roman administrative history and. The epistulae are later copies of a series of personal missives by pliny the younger directed to. As already mentioned above, highlights of these books include plinys.
Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 c. His carefully groomed letters reveal a fascinating picture of the mature empire. Pliny scorns the more scientific grrek medicine, because many doctors would be quacks, and extols old roman treatments which worked on faith alone, though there was a lot of credulity going round, so some probably worked. He was with the fleet he was commanding at misenum bay of naples. His letters are arranged in ten books, of which the tenth consists entirely of letters to and from the emperor trajan. Definitely recommended to those who are interested in looking into our ancient past. Junior 16 paternus 17 macrinus 18 rufinus 19 maximus 20 gallus 21 arrianus 22 geminus 23 marcellinus 24 maximus. For my own part, i consider the best and most finished type of man to be the person who is always ready to make allowances for others, on the ground that never a day passes without his being in fault himself, yet who keeps as clear of faults as if he never pardoned them in others. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, usually known as pliny the younger, was born at como in 62 a. This article demonstrates a significant chain of allusions in the letters opening to tacitus agricola, as well as to cicero, ovid and seneca. The final chapter focuses on the grand design which unifies and structures the collection. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3.