For an optimistic attitude is maintained by pliny, albeit with. The comments at the bottom of the letters have been added from various sources. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. He edited and published nine books of private letters during his. The letters of the younger pliny the letters of pliny the. In a separate introduction to book x are discussed. Greek and roman materials latin prose latin texts pliny the younger. Avidius nigrinus the identification of the tribune nigrinus of 105 epp.
A historical and social commentary 1st edition by a. They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about his many friends, including tacitus, martial, and suetonius. The expression is sufficiently explained by what follows. Letter 96 is the most famous of the collection, and it contains the earliest external account of christian worship, and details what was to become the standard roman policy toward christians. Once again the returns on considering the letters within the themes of their books is shown in the case of the laurentine villa 2. For a good introduction to the younger pliny, have a l. Mynors 1963, in the bibliotheca augustana pliny was born in comum in 61 or 62 a.
It was from there that pliny wrote his famous letter to trajan about the behavior and fate of local christians. Especially noteworthy among the letters are two in which he describes the eruption of mount vesuvius in august 79, during which his uncle pliny the elder died 65 and 66 in this edition, and one in which he asks the emperor for instructions regarding official policy concerning christians trajan letter 97. Pliny s letter 96 called the pt the plinian testimonium was separated from the others. I was looking forward to reading the letters, which are often said to give an insight into ordinary roman life, at least the life of an ordinary roman aristocrat. Originally intended as letters for historian tacitus, to describe and perhaps glorify the. Here i cover only the first six short books of plinys letters he wrote 10 in all. Pliny would have exposed himself to the suspicion of playing the captator, or fortunehunter, by this concession. Following the general list at the end of book 11, a one 32 john. The letters of pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus are presented here in the english translation by j. The origin of christianity in that region is not known, but it has not been associated with paul the apostles travels. Pliny s dates are pinned to the eruption of mount vesuvius in ad 79 and a statement by 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. May, 2016 the letters, on which today his fame mainly rests, were largely written with a view to publication, and were arranged by pliny himself.
The project gutenberg ebook of letters of pliny, by pliny this ebook is for the use of. Ausonius must have been thinking of pliny letters 4. Pliny s letters are important as a social document of his times. The california transportation commission ctc makes every attempt to ensure our documents are accessible. Murena, tribunus plebis in 97, probably to be identified with pompeius falco q. They thus lack the spontaneity of ciceros impulsive utterances, but to most modern readers who are not special students of roman history they are even more interesting. This would have been all he would have been legally entitled to. We also learn about pliny s life when not in town, and as a governor of. Grammatical and syntactical glosses are meticulously researched and appropriately referenced. It is a rule, sir, which i inviolably observe, to refer myself to you in all my doubts. Pliny the younger was the governor of bithynia and pontus on the black sea coast of anatolia, having arrived there around september 11 as the representative of emperor trajan. Book x of the letters contains his correspondence with trajan during this period, and includes letters about the early christians. Modestus, he explained, in a letter of his, which was read to domitian, had used.
Footnote for norena, the friendship between pliny and trajan. Pliny the younger, latin in full gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born 6162 ce, comum. Feb 17, 2016 the letters of pliny in book 10 were isolated from trajans and other correspondence. They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about. Like the juristic letter collections discussed by jill harries in the last chapter. A historical and social commentary oxford 1966 3637, with the summary of results at 41. You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that i may have written. With an english translation by william melmoth, rev. Book v xvi minicia marcella, the ideal betrothed xix pliny s freedman zosimus book vi iv 1st love letter to calpurnia vii 2nd letter to calpurnia x disgrace of an unfinished tomb xi praise of pliny s proteges xvi eruption of vesuvius and the elder pliny xx eruption of vesuvius and the younger pliny xxvii how to praise trajan book vii. The letters of the younger pliny penguin classics 9780140441277.
Apparently, calpurnia wrote most of the letters i include here to her husband pliny the younger, from ephesus between 1111 a. Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. The time after pliny s treasury posts and consulship and his important cases in the senate would certainly seem more likely for him to be free to give meticulous attention to the task of selection and revision. This is really just a collection of correspondence that pliny s. The last was written during his tour of administration of bithynia, during which he may well have died. His letters are arranged in ten books, of which the tenth consists entirely of. The text of books i to ix of the letters rests on three manuscript traditions, the 9 book, the 10 book and the 8 book, known as. Pliny s uncle, pliny the elder, helped raise and educate him. It is difficult to ascertain a sense of patronage from pliny the youngers letter 1. The selection of letters covers many old favorites of pliny. These letters enable the reconstruction of a period for which there is otherwise no.
The style is very different from that in the panegyricus, and some commentators maintain that pliny initiated a new genre. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. Neither the younger nor the elder pliny mention the names. Where documents cannot be made accessible, we are committed to providing alternative access to the content. All the more then should as to tliis expression, cf. Pliny the younger has 169 books on goodreads with 12750 ratings. Nov 19, 2012 excerpt in codex vaticanus latinus reginensis 251, pp. The text of the remainder of pliny s letters was divided up into fifteen sections about the same length as the pt. An index to the letters on this site arranged by book and letter number. The silver latin of pliny is mercifully easy to read.
Contents preface page vii abbreviations ix imaginary plan of the laurentine villa xii introduction 1 1 epistles in brief 1 2 pliny s world 6 3 a book of letters 11 4 prose dart 20 5 rhythm 28 6 intertextuality 32 7 afterlife 34 8 transmission, text, indexes 37 9 ad lectorem 41 c. Due to variances between assistive technologies, there may be portions of this document which are not accessible. Jul 03, 2009 this post examines pliny the youngers letter to the roman emperor trajan and provides us with an extrabiblical glimpse into the rise of christianity in the roman empire. Pliny the youngers most popular book is the letters of the younger pliny. Other major literary figures of the late 1st century ad appear in the collection as friends or acquaintances of pliny s, e. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, usually known as pliny the younger. The greater share of the letters in book 10 concern pliny s governorship of bithyniapontus.
This aim for balance within each book became for sherwinwhite a guiding rule. The comfortable world of scholarship on book 10 of plinys letters was rocked to. Note on the text the text of books i to ix of the letters rests on three manuscript traditions, the 9 book, the 10 book and the 8 book, known as. An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. A collection of letters from about 1900 years ago might be dusty, out of date and a mere curiosity, but the letters of pliny are far from this.
These latin letters are a unique testimony of roman administrative history and everyday life in the 1st century. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caecilius of comum como and the elder pliny s sister. He was at misenum at the time of the eruption of vesuvius in 79 described in two famous letters when the elder pliny died. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 c. The last book contains correspondence between pliny and the emperor trajan. Letter 96 is the most famous of the collection, and it contains the earliest external account of christian worship, and details what was to. Ad 611, a prominent lawyer and administrator, was also a prolific letterwriter. Fresh doubts on authenticity of plinys letter about the. He was educated at home and then in rome under quintilian. I am no latinist and know little of ancient rome, so it was a delight to find such an approachable translation. Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription cil v 1 3442 found in a field in. Romanus 6 cornelius tacitus 7 octavius rufus 8 saturninus 9 minucius fundanus 10 attius clemens 11 fabius justus 12 calestrius tiro socius senecio 14 junius mauricus 15 septicius clarus 16 erucius 17. Pliny book 1 pliny book 1, letter 1 english translation pliny book 1, letter 1 latin text. Pdf the publication of plinys letters 2015 john bodel.
The historians request this post belongs to a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. The two letters of the sixth book, describe in some detail the. Some are addressed to reigning emperors or to notables such as the historian tacitus. Book x of the letters contains his correspondence with trajan during this period, and includes. Pliny epistles 10 and imperial correspondence chapter 12. Books by pliny the younger author of the letters of the. One other character also appears in the latter letter. The letters of the younger pliny have come down to us in 10 books, 9 of his personal letters, and book 10 containing his official correspondence with the emperor trajan. Ho scale alphabets quentin dulux imitation gold code.
They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about his many friends, including tacitus, martial and suetonius. Taken as a whole, pliny s ten books of letters contain three texts of especial interest. Modestus, he explained, in a letter of his, which was read to domitian, had. Reviews jacqui carlons selected letters from pliny the youngers epistulae is a welcome addition to the ongoing resurgence in studies on roman epistolary literature, pliny especially. Sherwinwhite cannot be justified in doubting that gallus was the indicted man cf. We know that pliny s motherinlaw pompeia celerina was a wealthy woman in her own right, most likely. The 10th book contains addresses to emperor trajan on sun. Pliny likely wrote the letters from amisus before his term ended in january 1. I niche in the pantheon of latin literature as the undisputed. Pliny served as an imperial magistrate under trajan reigned 98117, 2 and his letters to trajan provide one of the few surviving records of the. 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. Gibson, reading the letters of sidonius by the book, in j. His letters are arranged in ten books, of which the tenth consists entirely of letters to and from the emperor trajan. The next year, the baetici sought his assistance to impeach classicus, on whose trial see letter iii.
See all buying options available at a lower price from other sellers that may not offer free prime shipping. In short, the letters of pliny the younger give us a picture of social life as it was in the closing years of the first, and the opening years of the second century of the christian era, which is as fascinating as it is absolutely unique. Pliny the younger quotes author of the letters of the. Pliny the younger wrote hundreds of letters, of which 247 survive, and which are of great historical value. Roman senator and writer, gaius plinius caecilius secundus otherwise known as pliny the younger, who was seventeen years old at the time of the eruption, had witnessed the vesuvius eruption of 79 ad from the home of his uncle in misenum and managed to write a very accurate account some 25 years later. Selected letters from pliny the youngers epistulae. Having never been present at any trials of the christians, i am unacquainted with the method and limits to be observed either in. Epistulae x letters 10, also known as the correspondence with trajan is a book of letters by the roman lawyer and author pliny the younger to the emperor trajan between 109 and 111 ce. My chief reason for hesitating is the fact that the men had already taken the oath of allegiance but had not yet been enrolled in a unit.
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