Tacitus description of the eruption of vesuvius and the death of pliny the elder would. We know that pliny s motherinlaw pompeia celerina was a wealthy woman in her own right, most likely. Pliny the youngers most popular book is the letters of the younger pliny. They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about his many friends, including tacitus, martial and suetonius. God has made himself known through jesus of nazareth, and, as paul declared to agrippa, the things which god accomplished through jesus and his people did not take place in a corner acts 26. Taken as a whole, pliny s ten books of letters contain three texts of especial interest. Pliny wrote the two letters describing the eruption of mount vesuvius approximately 25 years after the event, and both were sent in response to the request of his friend, the historian tacitus, who wanted to know more about pliny the elders death.
Volume i of the natural history of gaius plinius secundus. 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. Whittons volume rejects previous anthologizing approaches, instead focusing on the twenty letters of epistles 2, the shortest book of the collection. Your letter, asking me to send you one of my compositions, came at an opportune moment, for i had just made up my mind to do so. This post belongs to a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. The style is very different from that in the panegyricus, and some commentators maintain that pliny initiated a new genre.
You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that i may have written. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. Corellius rufus is dead, and what makes my grief the more poignant is that he died by his own act. Recalling the speech in one of his letters, pliny shrewdly defines his own. The project gutenberg ebook of letters of pliny, by pliny this ebook is for the use of. Pliny the younger has 168 books on goodreads with 12642 ratings. Gaius pliny sends greetings to his friend septicius clarus. Epistulae complete text in latin letters of pliny the younger translation in english pliny s epistles in ten books. Nov 01, 2020 for november, our book club selection is pliny the younger letters. Pliny s letters are important as a social document of his times. 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. Most of his measures were meant to reorganize public finances.
The letters of the younger pliny the letters of pliny the younger by pliny the younger part 1 out of 3. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caecilius of comum como and the elder pliny s sister. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 c. The shadow of vesuvius is the definitive guide to plinydom. The ancient greeks and romans did not sit up at the table as we do, but reclined round it on couches, three and sometime even four occupying one couch, at least this latter was the custom among the romans. Pliny the younger 61621 ce was the nephew of pliny the elder part of whose natural history was the book club selection in march 2018. A change for the worse, i know, the main reason being the inadequacy of my own talent, and then the limitations, or rather what lucretius calls the poverty of our native tongue.
An example of these rare measures can be found in letter 10. Recalling the speech in one of his letters, pliny shrewd. Accidit hoc primum imbecillitate ingenii mei, deinde inopia ac potius, ut lucretius ait, 2 egestate patrii sermonis. For habit itself causes servants to lose theii 4 plinys letters. The two letters of the sixth book, describe in some detail the. Aurelius symmachus published his own correspondence in 10 books, 9 of personal and 1 of official letters. Each guest lay flat upon his chest while eating, reaching out his hand from time to. The comfortable world of scholarship on book 10 of plinys letters was rocked to its. Book x of the letters contains his correspondence with trajan during this period, and includes letters about the early christians. Books by pliny the younger author of the letters of the. Attention to epistles 2 as an independent literary work is, however, balanced by whittons observations on the book s role within the collection as a whole, especially as the second half of a diptych epistles 12, which weaves together pliny s preconsular life through analogous letter pairings p.
The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by natural history. Among the letters is his famous account of the eruption of vesuvius, in which his uncle died. Christopher whittons commentary on pliny s epistles 2 reinforces the growing scholarly tendency to read the epistles in sequence and to appreciate individual books as distinct literary units e. The digital loeb classical library extends the founding mission of james loeb with an interconnected, fully searchable, perpetually growing virtual library of all that is important in greek and latin literature. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. Jun 01, 2020 pliny not only inspected the expenditures, but also the incomes of the towns. Pliny the younger to emperor trajan on the christians. The ancient letters and the ruined city make for an ideal pairing, as both offer a remarkable look into daily life in ancient rome. Author pliny the elder country ancient rome subject natural history, ethnography, art, sculpture, mining, mineralogy genre encyclopaedia, popular science the natural history is a work by pliny the elder. This was the disaster that buried pompeii, herculaneum, and other sites.
The two letters have great historical value due to their accurate description of the vesuvius. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. Mynors 1963, in the bibliotheca augustana pliny was born in comum in 61 or 62 a. So you were spurring a willing horse, and you have not only spoiled your only chance of making excuses for declining, but have enabled me to press work upon you without feeling ashamed at asking the favour. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. The letters of the younger pliny by pliny the younger, 2000, oxford university press edition, in latin 2nd ed. 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. Such a man was my uncle, as his own books and yours will prove. In chapter one 935, gibson 1 examines book one for pliny s strategies of shaping biographical material to fit the larger thematic emphases of this opening book. It was from there that pliny wrote his famous letter to trajan about the behavior and fate of local christians. 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. Pliny, the younger is also know as plinius caecilius secundus, gaius. Pliny book 1, letter 1 english translation pliny book 1, letter 1 latin text pliny book 1, letter english translation pliny book 1, letter latin text. The comments at the bottom of the letters have been added from various sources.
Apparently, calpurnia wrote most of the letters i include here to her husband pliny the younger, from ephesus between 1111 a. A few words may be added respecting the letters which form the tenth book of his correspondence, and which show us pliny acting as governor. Only rarely he tried to change things structurally. With an english translation by william melmoth, rev. Book 1 pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus. The first word file below gives the text of the extracts in wheelocks latin reader from pliny the youngers letters, with interlinear glossing in english and some notes and illustrations added. In these letters to his friends and relations, pliny provides a fascinating insight into roman life in the period 97 to 112 ad. Pliny epistles 10 and imperial correspondence chapter 12. Pliny the younger wrote hundreds of letters, of which 247 survive, and which are. It is difficult to ascertain a sense of patronage from pliny the youngers letter 1. Learn pliny letter translation with free interactive flashcards. Caius plinius secundus had correspondence with many of the great men of his time, including emperor trajan and the historians tacitus and suetonius, and wrote of such fascinating topics as the dacian wars, christians in his province of bithynia, the excesses. This post begins a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. Chapter 1 traces pliny s autobiographical narrative throughout the letters.
I have suffered a most grievous loss, if loss is a word that can be applied to my being bereft of so distinguished a man. His grandmother, on the mothers side, is serrana procula, of patavium. I h ave been trying to make a successful latin translation of some of your greek epigrams. A selection of his letters translations from greek and roman 3 copies letters latin 3 copies pliny s letters. Chapters 4 to 7 study thematic letter cycles within the collection, including those on. A greek translation was published in the province, presumably by the. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. Pliny book 1 pliny book 1, letter 1 english translation pliny book 1, letter 1 latin text. On pliny s selfpraise more generally, see gibson 2003. New york times if you were writing a biography of gaius plinius caecilius secundus. Melmonths translation of pliny s letters, was first pub. In the fifth century, sidonius apollinaris published his own letters in 9 books, and quotes pliny in many places.
The letters of pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus are presented here in the english translation by j. These latin letters are a unique testimony of roman administrative history and everyday life in the 1st century. Next part 2 this etext was prepared by rebecca trump and sue asscher the letters of the younger pliny. Letters of the younger pliny, first series volume 1 by the. They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about his many friends, including tacitus, martial, and suetonius. A greek translation was published in the province, presumably by the procurator. Index of the letters of the younger pliny the letters of pliny the younger. An index to the letters on this site arranged by book and letter number.
The letters are promoted as hospitable to narrative reading but crying out for attentive rereading. Chapter 2 undertakes detailed study of book 6 as an artistic entity. 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. Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. Pliny the elder has 287 books on goodreads with 4494 ratings. I have suffered a very heavy loss, if parting with so great a. This is the first general introduction to pliny s 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.
Apr, 2019 i read this book in preparation for a recent visit to pompeii. 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 citation needed. The letters of the younger pliny book by pliny the younger. Nov 28, 2012 this pliny was the final piece i translated before i graduated with a bachelor of arts degree, and as i translated it ex alia in aliam to borrow from bedes profoundly splendid parenthetical i remember seeing pliny s observations unfold before me, and thinking that the flimsy defense of the doomed denizensid est, cushions placed on their heads they bound with linenswas the objective correlative to my degree in literature. Roman literary life pliny book 1, letter 1 english translation pliny book 1, letter 1 latin text. A readable translation of the many letters of one of historys most famous letter writers, and also a good source on his eventful life. Oct 07, 2020 the letters of the younger pliny by pliny the younger, 1969, penguin books edition, in english. The letters of the younger pliny 1969 edition open library. An index to the letters on this site arranged by topic. By this time, it is likely that both the 9 book and 10 book versions were in existence. Sherwinwhite, the letters of pliny oxford, 1966 external links.
Naturalis historia naturalis historia, 1669 edition, title page. The letters of the younger pliny the letters of pliny the. Quodsi haec, quae sunt et latina et mea, habere tibi. Chapter 2 undertakes a detailed study of book 6 as an artistic entity. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In the following translation the teubner text, edited by keil, has been followed. Pliny the elders most popular book is natural history.
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