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. This event was one of the nankai megathrust earthquakes, periodic earthquakes observed off the southern coast of kii peninsula and shikoku, japan every 100 to 150 years. 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. We know that pliny s motherinlaw pompeia celerina was a wealthy woman in her own right, most likely. 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. Books by pliny the younger author of the letters of the. A poet to whom quintilian assigns the highest rank, as a writer of tragedies, among his contemporaries book x. History ought to be guided by strict truth, and worthy actions require nothing more. You are surprised that i am so fond of my laurentine, or if you prefer the name my laurens. Scholars have long remarked on the intertext between plinys villa letters epist. The letters of the younger pliny book by pliny the younger.
Tacitus in plinys letters dickinson college commentaries. In the first place, he was a man of letters, and had been a student of nicetes of smyrna. Feb 17, 2016 the letters of pliny in book 10 were isolated from trajans and other correspondence. Book x of the letters contains his correspondence with trajan during this period, and includes letters about the early christians. You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that i may have written. The surrounding buildings were now so shattered that in the place where we were, which. 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. Nobody could tell him that as a roman, he lacked culture.
Pliny s letters are important as a social document of his times. Pliny epistles 10 and imperial correspondence chapter 12. At the same time, of course, epistles 2 is constantly engaged in the act of reframing, with many topics and themes anticipating parallel letters in subsequent books e. 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 text of the remainder of pliny s letters was divided up into fifteen sections about the same length as the pt.
Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. Crop of pliny the younger and his mother at misenum, 79 ad, by angelica kauffmann 1785. Buy a cheap copy of the letters of the younger pliny book by pliny the younger. Chapter 2 undertakes detailed study of book 6 as an artistic entity.
Among the many of pliny the youngers letters that describe rome in the first century ce are two letters that describe the destruction of pompey because of the eruption of mount vesuvius which resulted in the death of pliny the youngers uncle, the famed pliny the elder, who died apparently as a. Ciceros correspondence is collected in books, of varying length, according to addressee ad atticum, ad quintum fratrem, etc. In these letters to his friends and relations, pliny the younger, lawyer, author, and natural philosopher, provides a fascinating insight into roman life in the period 97 to 112 ad. Tacitus also speaks of him in terms of high appreciation annals, v. Pliny would have to deal with the local elite and would be forced to pay lip service to the greek ideas about superiority, but he also had some advantages. The final chapter focuses on the grand design which unifies and structures the collection. Pliny, the younger is also know as plinius caecilius secundus, gaius. Their contribution is all the more valuable because this is the first book length introduction to pliny s collection of letters to be published.
Pliny s lively and very personal letters address an astonishing range of topics, from a deeply moving account of his uncles death in the eruption that engulfed pompeii, to observations on the early christiansa desperate. Page 18 i bent myself as industriously as ever over my book. Junior 16 paternus 17 macrinus 18 rufinus 19 maximus 20 gallus 21 arrianus 22 geminus 23 marcellinus 24 maximus. Among the many of pliny the youngers letters that describe rome in the first century ce are two letters that describe the destruction of pompey because of the eruption of mount vesuvius which resulted in the death of pliny the youngers uncle, the famed pliny the elder, who died apparently as a result of suffocation. Pliny s second letter to tacitus archived 20080518 at the wayback machine tells how pliny himself barely escaped. Complete letters pliny the younger oxford university press. He was educated at home and then in rome under quintilian. You complain that your camp duties keep you exceedingly busy, yet, as though your time were all your own, you read my sportive trifles, approve them, ask for more, and spur me on with great importunity to compose others like them. Pliny the younger wrote hundreds of letters, of which 247 survive, and which are of great historical value. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caecilius of comum como and the elder pliny s sister. 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. The craftsmanship with which pliny introduces this infor mation in later books and ties it back to book one makes us see the latter with fresh eyes. Chapter 1 traces pliny s autobiographical narrative throughout the letters. The two letters of the sixth book, describe in some detail the.
One is a lost manuscript, missing book 8 of epistulae, that had been preserved from. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what youre looking for. In return, i read over your letters again and again, and am continually taking them up, as if i had. Pliny book 8, letter 21 latin text pliny book 8, letter 24 student commentary pliny book 8, letter 24 english translation pliny book 8, letter 24 latin text pliny book 9 pliny book 9, letter 6 english translation pliny book 9, letter 6 latin text.
Pliny the younger was governor of pontusbithynia from 1111 ad. Pliny s letter 96 called the pt the plinian testimonium was separated from the others. Pliny also came into contact with other wellknown men of the period. They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about his many friends, including tacitus, martial, and suetonius. Search the worlds information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Letters of pliny by pliny the younger full audio book. Letters of pliny by pliny the younger full audio book great. Murena, tribunus plebis in 97, probably to be identified with pompeius falco q.
Minicianus genialis 14 ariston 15 junior 16 paternus 17 macrinus 18 rufinus 19 maximus 20 gallus 21 arrianus 22 geminus 23 marcellinus 24 maximus l to. Jun 24, 2010 the elder pliny s natural history is one of the greatest books of ancient times, a massive compendium of scientific knowledge, travellers tales, zoological observation and believe it or not anecdote. Naturalis historia naturalis historia, 1669 edition, title page. Roy gibson and ruth morello have coauthored an elegant, clear and sophisticated introduction to pliny s letters. Plinys letters, book 69 selections and book 10 translated by. This article demonstrates a significant chain of allusions in the letter s opening to tacitus agricola, as well as to cicero, ovid. 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. Pdf the publication of plinys letters 2015 john bodel. Click on a word to bring up parses, dictionary entries, and frequency statistics. These latin letters are a unique testimony of roman administrative history. It is encyclopedic in scope, but its structure is not like that of a modern encyclopedia. Tacitus is not to laugh at pliny s habit of taking note books on a hunting expedition. Letters, volume 2 letters, winifred margaret lambart hutchinson letters, winifred margaret lambart hutchinson letters, winifred margaret lambart hutchinson issue 55. Pliny the younger simple english wikipedia, the free.
The letters of the younger pliny are the chief contemporary source. Pliny book 8 pliny book 8, letter 21 english translation pliny book 8, letter 21 latin text pliny book 8, letter 24 student commentary. Pliny the youngers most popular book is the letters of the younger pliny. The nankai earthquake on 21 december 1946 had a magnitude of 8. Read in english by andrew coleman the largest surviving body of pliny s work is his epistulae letters, a series of personal missives directed to his friends, associates and the emperor trajan. We have a whole set of exchanges of his letters with the emperor trajan on a variety of administrative political matters. He was at misenum at the time of the eruption of vesuvius in 79 described in two famous letters when the elder pliny died. With an english translation by william melmoth, rev. Taken as a whole, pliny s ten books of letters contain three texts of especial interest. Pliny the younger has 169 books on goodreads with 12810 ratings. And it was acceptable enough being concerned in the same cause with him, as he always. The comfortable world of scholarship on book 10 of plinys letters was rocked to. Melmonths translation of pliny s letters, was first pub.
A readable translation of the many letters of one of historys most famous letter writers, and also a good source on his eventful life. Pliny book 8, letter 21 latin text pliny book 8, letter 24 student commentary pliny book 8, letter 24 english translation pliny book 8, letter 24 latin. The text of book x relies on the two editions printed from now lost portions of the st. Pliny the younger pliny, the younger online books page. Pliny himself defines his scope as the natural world, or life. His letters are arranged in ten books, of which the tenth consists entirely of letters to and from the emperor trajan. First letter, latin original letters, book 6, letter 16, in wikisource. 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. Whittons volume rejects previous anthologizing approaches, instead focusing on the twenty letters of epistles 2, the shortest book of the collection. 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. Here pliny dictates his most famous letter as he and his mother observe the eruption of vesuvius. 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.
In the 368 letters included in his ten published books of epistles, pliny mentions over 30 women by name, addresses letters to seven, and refers to well over 40 anonymous women. 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. Pliny book 8, letter 21 latin text roman social life pliny book 1, letter 10 english translation pliny book 1, letter 10 latin text pliny book 1, letter 10 student commentary pliny book 1, letter 15 english translation pliny book 1, letter 15 latin text. They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about. 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. It was now seven oclock in the morning, but the daylight was still faint and doubtful. The following references to the letters of pliny, which are addressed to tacitus, may be interesting. 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. It is difficult to ascertain a sense of patronage from pliny the youngers letter 1. This article demonstrates a significant chain of allusions in the letters opening to tacitus agricola, as well as to cicero, ovid.
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. Pliny book 8, letter 21 latin text roman social life pliny book 1, letter 10 english translation pliny book 1, letter 10 latin text. Pliny s first letter to tacitus archived 20080518 at the wayback machine describes how his uncle sailed across the bay to save some people. The letters, on which today his fame mainly rests, were largely written with a view to. Letter 96 is the most famous of the collection, and it contains the earliest external account of christian worship, and details what was to. This genial encyclopedia takes up ten compact volumes in the loeb library, with latin and english on facing pages, and still makes. The women of plinys letters 1st edition joann shelton. An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit.
The letters of pliny the younger kindle edition by pliny. The epistulae are a series of personal missives by pliny the younger directed to his friends and associates. Pliny the younger wrote hundreds of letters, of which 247 survive, and which. Part autobiography, part social history, they document the career and interests of a senator and leading imperial official whose friends include the historians tacitus and suetonius. Ad 611 was also a prolific letter writer, who numbered among his correspondents such eminent figures as tacitus. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. You will excuse, you will even approve, his grief, when you consider what he has lost.
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