Pliny epistulae 1 1 in latin, with adjustable running. Book 1, letter 3 pliny is shocked that the people walk out in the middle of recitations. Pliny the younger was governor of pontusbithynia from 1111 ad. An ancient ghost story by pliny the younger, page 1. Pliny the younger, letters, book 1, letter 12, section 1. This was the disaster that buried pompeii, herculaneum, and other sites. William melmoth in harvard classics series introductory note. 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, a man of praetorian rank.
Recalling the speech in one of his letters, pliny shrewdly defines his own. You have frequently pressed me to make a select collection of my letters if there be any which show some literary finish and give tbem to the public. The letters of pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus are presented here in the english translation by j. 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. Marcus aquilius regulus was a monster, a legacy hunter in addition to his wellknown role as a professional denouncer in court under nero and domitian, in short, an. An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. Letters of pliny by pliny the younger free at loyal books. Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 book 10. Do go, says he, and call on pliny in the morningearly in the morning, for my suspense is. Tacitus description of the eruption of vesuvius and the death of pliny the elder would. Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus.
Pliny the younger relates the suffering of macedo and the subsequent executions in epistles 3. I know that immortal fame awaits him if his death is recorded by you. Definitely recommended to those who are interested in looking into our ancient past. Chapter 2 undertakes detailed study of book 6 as an artistic entity. We have a whole set of exchanges of his letters with the emperor trajan on a variety of administrative political matters.
The version here, however, is by the roman letterwriter pliny the younger a. The letter has been admired as a good piece of reporting and is frequently mentioned in studies on roman slavery as evidence for. The letters of pliny the younger on the eruption of vesuvius. Pliny the younger, latin in full gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born 6162 ce, comum italydied c. In the following translation the teubner text, edited by keil, has been followed. Read complete letters by pliny the younger available from rakuten kobo. Vesuvius in ad 79the disaster that buried pompeii, herculaneum, and other sites. Pliny the younger wrote hundreds of letters, of which 247 survive and are of. Thank you for asking me to send you a description of my uncles death so that you can leave an accurate account of it for posterity1. These posts are part of a book project that intends to understand the scholarly and popular reception of those letters. A pupil and intimate friend of paetus thrasea, the distinguished stoic philosopher. Pliny the elder, tireless researcher and writer, is author of the encyclopedic natural history, in 37 books, an unrivaled compendium of roman knowledge. The letters by gaius plinius caecilius secundus librarything.
You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that i may have written. I also wonder if nearcontemporary claims of poetic speed e. The letters in books5 and 9 were in a different order. 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. This begins a series of posts that will translate and comment upon pliny the youngers two letters 6. Neither the younger nor the elder pliny mention the names. Then follows a translation of the two letters that pliny the younger, an eyewitness to the eruption, wrote to his friend tacitus 25 years later. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The twentieth letter of the second book of the younger plinys collection of letters a text that purports to have been sent to one calvisius rufus leaves little doubt. Complete letters ebook by pliny the younger rakuten kobo. One wonders if he would have included pliny the youngers information. Collegi non servato temporis ordine neque enim historiam componebam, sed ut quaeque in manus 2 venerat. Plinius traiano imperatori 1 scio, domine, memoriae tuae, quae est bene faciendi tenacissima, preces nostras inhaerere. Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription cil v 1 3442 found in a.
Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. Guarino tells us it was in 3 columns, so it was either ancient, or a faithful copy of an ancient codex. 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. Nonfiction harvard classics pliny the younger letters. Superest ut nec te consilii nec me paeniteat obsequii. Throughout, you can see that pliny derives great pleasure from reading.
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 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. These posts are part of a book project that intends to understand the scholarly and popular reception. Such a man was my uncle, as his own books and yours will prove. I spoke for nearly five hours, for, in addition to the twelve waterclocks the. Roman literary life book 1, letter 1 pliny has accepited his friends advice and collected some of his letters for publication. A short book that consists of a few pages of history of the eruption of vesuvius in ad 79, minibiographies of pliny the elder, pliny the younger, and the historian tacitus. Quia tamen in hoc quoque indulsisti, admoneo simul et impense rogo, ut attium suram praetura exornare digneris, cum locus vacet. The comments at the bottom of the letters have been added from various sources. 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. Plinys 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. Pliny is in a power position, sabinianus in the middle, and. The way pliny reasoned with his friend reveals the social rules of the day. Plinii caecilii secundi epistularum liber primus i c. The letters of the younger pliny also offer one of the fullest selfportraits to survive from classical times. 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.
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. There are two english translations of pliny online. Your letter, asking me to send you one of my compositions, came at an. Chapter 1 traces plinys autobiographical narrative throughout the letters. This post begins a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. Literature was taken much more seriously in the time of the emperor claudius. Rhiannon ash fellow and tutor in classics, merton college, oxford university discusses pliny and the genre of letter writing in the ancient world, with. Pliny, persuaded that the freedman was penitent, gave the refugee a stern lecture and then wrote to sabinianus on his behalf. Learn pliny letter translation with free interactive flashcards. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 c. The historians request this post belongs to a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. The project gutenberg ebook of letters of pliny, by pliny this ebook is for the use. Plinys letters provide a fascinating insight into roman life in. Pliny to cornelius tacitus thank you for asking me to send you a description of my uncles death so that you can leave an accurate account of it for posterity1.
I have suffered a very heavy loss, if parting with so. Mynors 1963, in the bibliotheca augustana pliny was born in comum in. Choose from 500 different sets of pliny letter translation flashcards on quizlet. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter.