You have given me many reasons, as well as every official. From this letter, we know that the uncle of pliny wrote a ton of stuff, and from letter 9. The epistulae are later copies of a series of personal missives by pliny the younger directed to his friends and associates. These letters are a unique testimony of roman administrative history and everyday life in the 1st century. You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that i may have written. The numbering of the letters in this book has been changed slightly to bring it into line with the most recent editions.
Pliny the elders sister, plinia, married a man named caecilius, from the northern italian town of. This website and its content is subject to our terms and conditions. Pliny s uncle, pliny the elder, helped raise and educate him. Pliny the elder was the praefect in charge of the naval fleet at misenum in 79 ce, and he lived there in a villa with his nephew, pliny the younger, and his mother. The last was written during his tour of administration of bithynia, during which he may well have died. Pliny the younger was governor of pontusbithynia from 1111 ad. Your letter, asking me to send you one of my compositions, came at an. The letters of pliny the younger with observations on each letter. Circenses erant, quo genere spectaculi ne levissime quidem teneor. An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. Here pliny dictates his most famous letter as he and his mother observe the eruption of vesuvius. Pliny the elder wrote the worlds first encyclopedia.
I rise just when i find myself in the humour, though generally with the sun. Book 9, letter 36 pliny spends his summers in tuscany. He was at misenum at the time of the eruption of vesuvius in 79 described in two famous letters when the elder pliny died. While i retain mynors preference solvebant, deriving from. Pliny saw himself as a writer and you can see that in his carefully thoughtout pleasing phrases and sentences. Plinii caecilii secundi epistularum liber primus i c. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, usually known as pliny the younger, was born at como in 62 a. 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 the fifth century, sidonius apollinaris published his own letters in 9 books, and quotes pliny in many places. This penguin classics edition is translated with an introduction by betty radice. 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. The older man, gaius plinius secundus, is called pliny the elder. Book ten the letters of the younger pliny penguin classics by pliny the. Pliny the younger wrote letters about his life in ancient. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of. Book 10 the correspondence between pliny and the emperor trajan. Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. 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. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. He wrote a number of books, but the natural history is the only one that survives. His natural history contained over a million words in 37 volumes pliny attempted to document all known facts about the natural world.
Like the director of an overseas subsidiary, pliny writes to trajan for advice and direction. The last day of pompeii plinys letter when he was 18 years old, pliny the younger and his mother were living at his uncles villa in misenum. In around 110 ad, pliny was appointed governor of the roman province of bithyniapontusis north west asia minor. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. The titlepage of volume ii describes it as a second edition. 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. Do go, says he, and call on pliny in the morningearly in the morning, for my. Melmonths translation of plinys letters, was first pub. Years later, plinys friend the historian, cornelius tactitus asked pliny to write a letter about the events. Crop of pliny the younger and his mother at misenum, 79 ad, by angelica kauffmann 1785. These are like corporate emails and i found them fascinating. I know that immortal fame awaits him if his death is recorded by you.
Aurelius symmachus published his own correspondence in 10 books, 9 of personal and 1 of official letters. Providing a series of fascinating views of imperial rome, the letters of the younger pliny also offer one of the fullest selfportraits to survive from classical times. Nihil novum nihil varium, nihil quod non semel spectasse sufficiat. It would be more arrogant to assume that people will remember you even if you do not record your deeds on your tomb. When mount vesuvius erupted, pliny the elder saw the beginning of the eruption across the bay of naples and he ordered his men to make a boat ready. It seems like the only issue is that it literally does not. We know that the author of the letters was called pliny. Chapter 2 undertakes detailed study of book 6 as an artistic entity.
Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 c. You desire to know in what manner i dispose of my day in summer time at my tuscan villa. Letters of pliny the younger and the emperor trajan. This was a delightful read, with much that is quotable. Naturalis historia is a book about the whole of the natural world in latin by pliny the elder, a roman author and naval commander who died in 79 ad.
Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. The only translation of plinys natural history which has hitherto appeared in the english language is that by philemon holland, published in the latter part of the reign of elizabeth. Trajans reply to the letter by pliny from 2 days ago. It is true that he perished in a catastrophe which. The relative pronoun quam carries night nox over to the other half of the sentence, w here there is a small manuscript problem.
Mynors 1963, in the bibliotheca augustana pliny was born in comum in 61 or 62 a. By this time, it is likely that both the 9 book and 10 book versions were in existence. Its an encyclopedia of what passed for scientific information in that time. Book 9, letter 19 pliny justifies the boastful tombstone of his friend, verginius rufus. The law allowed the accuser six hours and the defendant nine, and bassus had. Plano edge professional 3600 standard tackle storage premium tackle organization with rust prevention, clearyellow, model. When i am up, i continue to keep the shutters of my chamber windows closed. You have to wait until the end of the book to see the breezy roman way he makes the decision to execute a couple of christian women. Chapter 1 traces plinys autobiographical narrative throughout the letters. These letters concern an episode which marks the first time the roman government recognized christianity as a. The text of books i to ix of the letters rests on three manuscript traditions, the 9 book, the 10book and the 8book, known as. It is no disparagement to hollands merits, as a diligent and generally faithful translator, to say that his work is unsuited to the requirements of the nineteenth century.
Pliny, the younger is also know as plinius caecilius secundus, gaius. Pliny the younger, the roman governor of bithynia and pontus now in modern turkey wrote a letter to emperor trajan around ad 112 and asked for counsel on dealing with the early christian community. 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. Learn pliny letter translation with free interactive flashcards. The letters of the younger pliny penguin classics by pliny the younger and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This is the first general introduction to plinys letters published in any language, combining close readings with broader context and adopting a fresh and innovative approach to reading the letters as an artistically structured collection. Like the ceo, trajan replies succinctly with his decisions. 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. A prominent lawyer and administrator, pliny was also a prolific letterwriter, who numbered among his correspondents such. They were there when vesuvius began its 18hour eruption on august 24, 79 a. The comments at the bottom of the letters have been added from various sources.
Tes global ltd is registered in england company no 02017289 with its registered office. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. Book 1, letter 6 pliny prefers to write during hunts, but he accidentally caught three boars at a recent hunt. The letters of pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus are presented here in the english translation by j. Pliny book 1, letter 9 english translation pliny book 1, letter 9 latin text pliny book 1, letter 10 student commentary pliny book 1, letter 10 english. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. The final chapter focuses on the grand design which unifies and structures the collection.
Dear acilius, 1 a terrible thing, worthy of more than just a letter, has been suffered at the hands of his slaves by larcius macedo. Pliny the younger, nephew of the great naturalist pliny the elder, was a roman orator. The style is very different from that in the panegyricus, and some commentators maintain that pliny initiated a new genre. Book 9, letter 6 pliny cannot understand why so many romans waste their time going to the chariotraces.
The letters of pliny the younger with observations on each. Pliny the younger wrote hundreds of letters, of which 247 survive and are of great historical value. Choose from 500 different sets of pliny letter translation flashcards on quizlet. The letters of pliny the younger teaching resources. The letters of the younger pliny by pliny the younger. He claimed to have recorded 20,000 pieces of information, although modern scholars say he underestimated his own output. Nonfiction harvard classics pliny the younger letters.
328 1369 1357 863 328 103 134 909 1459 318 1181 185 1405 1004 1132 692 803 1374 1084 163 1514 1469 582 248 1496 105 444 430 1207 1434 99