The letters of pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus are presented. Letters and panegyricus i, letters books ivii by pliny the younger vi, 16 and vi, 20 summary. The epistulae are later copies of a series of personal missives by pliny the younger directed to his friends and associates. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. The style is very different from that in the panegyricus, and some commentators maintain that pliny initiated a new genre. He was the nephew of pliny the elder, a famous author and natural philosopher. It would be a long story, and of no importance, were i to recount too particularly by what accident i who am not at all fond of society supped lately with a person, who in his own opinion lives in splendour combined with economy.
Investigating the authenticity of pliny the youngers letter to trajan concerning the christians. An application of a profilebased method for authorship verification. The letters of the younger pliny pliny the younger. Books by pliny the younger author of the letters of the. The letters of the younger pliny book by pliny the younger. It is therefore with great pleasure that i take up, or rather take upon myself the task you.
In these twin dilemmas, younger pliny focuses on the psychological processes of decisionmaking under stress. Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. The natural history of pliny, volume 1 of 6 by pliny, the elder author. Your freedman, whom you lately mentioned to me with displeasure, has been with me, and threw himself at my feet with as much submission as he could have fallen at yours. Chapter 2 undertakes detailed study of book 6 as an artistic entity. Primary sources letters of pliny the younger and the.
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. This political message has inspired several articles, notably k. Pliny the youngers letter to trajan regarding the christians is a crucial subject for the studies on early christianity. Reading the letters of pliny the younger an introduction. Letters of pliny by pliny the younger full audio book great. This was the disaster that buried pompeii, herculaneum, and other sites. The project gutenberg ebook of the natural history of pliny, vol i. I have some three thousand books in my house and now and then, looking at the serried shelves, i realise that i havent one i want to read.
Fresh doubts on authenticity of plinys letter about the. The last was written during his tour of administration of bithynia, during which he may well have died. One of the first things that pliny the younger writes about, is how great his uncle was. Pliny the younger has 146 books on goodreads with 6614 ratings. The blog posts about the vesuvius eruption are on hold while i complete my book, pliny and the destruction of vesuvius routledge, 2021. A prominent lawyer and administrator, pliny was also a prolific letterwriter, who numbered among his correspondents such. Page 378 they affirmed, however, that this had been the sunywhether of their crime or their delusion. A serious quarrel among scholars concerning its genuineness arose between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Letters of pliny the younger to the historian tacitus. The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th books are on geography, in which is contained an. The letters the thing in pliny, book 7, in morello and morrison 2007, 191. The younger pliny was consul suffectus from september to october.
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, to observations on the early christiansa desperate. The letters by gaius plinius caecilius secundus librarything. He earnestly requested me with many tears, and even with all the eloquence of silent sorrow, to intercede for him. A reconstruction of the transmission history of epp. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. 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.
Artemidorus2070, alexander270 polyhistor2071, thucydides 2072. Hammonds pliny the youngers views on government,z and its connection with the coinlegends of the period with their emphasis on security, liberty restored, and good fortune. Epistulae vi letters 6 is the sixth of ten books of letters by the roman lawyer and author pliny the younger, mainly written around 106 to. 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. He states that his uncle pliny the elder had the unusual ability to be able to write something worth reading and be able to do something worth recording. This penguin classics edition is translated with an introduction by betty radice. Pliny the younger biography childhood, life achievements. With his own books and yours, my uncle will be counted among the latter.
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 uncle worked on. Pliny the younger, nephew of the great naturalist pliny the elder, was a roman orator. Michael dirda is a fulbright fellowship recipient and pulitzer prizewinning columnist for the washington post book world. 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. Mynors 1963, in the bibliotheca augustana pliny was born in comum in 61 or 62 a. Out of 2070 lines there are 81 lines with seven words 3. Jun 24, 2010 pliny the youngers correspondence with numerous friendsbesides tacitus, he also knew the historian suetonius and the poet martialprovides one of the great records of what life was like during roman times. The reason for presenting this letter, however, is not to offer evidence for the existence of ghosts.
These letters are a unique testimony of roman administrative history and everyday life in the 1st century. He was at misenum at the time of the eruption of vesuvius in 79 described in two famous letters when the elder pliny died. Ad 611 was also a prolific letterwriter, who numbered among his correspondents such eminent figures as tacitus. Ad 611, a prominent lawyer and administrator, was also a prolific letterwriter. Pliny the youngers most popular book is the letters of the younger pliny. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, usually known as pliny the younger, was born at como in 62 a. While this book does contain a lot of first hand information about life in imperial rome especially the legal system and the elaborate network of favors, obligations, and patronage in the senatorial class its not especially readable, being a collection of letters written by pliny and, near the end, by the emperor trajan to pliny. In the year 112, pliny the younger was faced with a dilemma. Pliny the younger was governor of pontusbithynia from 1111 ad.
I know that immortal fame awaits him if his death is recorded by you. There are 247 surviving personal letters and 121 official memoranda to the emperor trajan. An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. We have a whole set of exchanges of his letters with the emperor trajan on a variety of administrative political matters. Plinys letters provide ample evidence for a widespread and vibrant literary culture. The letters of pliny the younger gaius plinius caecilius secundus are presented here in the english translation by j. He was the governor in the roman province of bithynia modern day turkey when a number of christians were brought into his court. Pliny the younger pliny, the younger an online book about this author is available, as is a wikipedia article. She was a renowned translator of both latin and greek. On one such occasion i caught sight of the letters of pliny the younger loeb library. Pliny the younger pliny, the younger an online book about this author is available, as is a wikipedia article pliny, the younger. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caecilius of comum como and the elder plinys sister.
These posts are part of a book project that intends to understand the scholarly and popular reception of those letters. Definitely recommended to those who are interested in looking into our ancient past. Years later, pliny s friend the historian, cornelius tactitus asked pliny to write a letter about the events. The final chapter focuses on the grand design which unifies and structures the collection. So the letter which you asked me to write on my uncles death has made you eager to.
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. The comments at the bottom of the letters have been added from various sources. Pliny the younger was an ancient roman author, lawyer and magistrate who left behind a collection of hundreds of letters which became an important source for roman history. As he was leaving the house he was brought a letter from tascius wife rectina. Mar 22, 2012 chapter 1 traces plinys autobiographical narrative throughout the letters. 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. Short biographies of the elder and younger pliny, setting the context for the vesuvian letters two letters. He is the author of the memoir an open book 2003 and several collections of essays, including book by book 2005 and classics for pleasure 2007.
This final book was, significantly, not intended for publication. Plinys letter to licinius sura on the subject of ghosts. The younger pliny was consul suffectus from september to. His letters are arranged in ten books, of which the tenth consists entirely of letters to and from the emperor trajan. 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. Years later, plinys friend the historian, cornelius tactitus asked pliny to write a letter about the events. Buy a cheap copy of the letters of the younger pliny book by pliny the younger. Book 10 of pliny the youngers letters consist of his correspondence with the emperor trajan when he was governor. Pliny the younger pliny, the younger the online books page. Now the day begins, with a still hesitant and almost lazy dawn. Pliny the younger, or gaius plinius caecilius secundus, was the nephew and adopted son of pliny the elder, the author of the famous and importantly influential natural history in thirtyseven. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caecilius of comum como and the elder pliny s sister. My dear tacitus, you ask me to write you something about the death of my uncle so that the account you transmit.
See more ideas about pliny the elder, pliny the younger and ancient pompeii. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. When he was 18 years old, pliny the younger and his mother were living at his uncles villa in misenum. Among the many millions of vivid reports of ghostly encounters over the millennia, one involving a philosopher can be found in a letter written by the roman lawyer and pursuer of literary fame, pliny the younger 611 a. The letters of the younger pliny by pliny the younger. Betty radice was an honorary fellow of st hildas college, oxford and vicepresident of the classical association. The third book i wish to speak about i came upon entirely by accident. Such a man was my uncle, as his own books and yours will prove. He was educated at home and then in rome under quintilian. His latest book, on conan doyle, was published in 2011 by princeton university press.
The collection includes his wellknown letters about the eruption of vesuvius 6. The letters of pliny the younger is a deserved classic an intimate glimpse of the daily life of an upperclass roman citizen in the late first century a. They were there when vesuvius began its 18hour eruption on august 24, 79 a. Chapter 1 traces plinys autobiographical narrative throughout the letters. The letters of pliny the younger, selected and edited together with a companion to plinys letters. 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. 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. Nonfiction harvard classics pliny the younger letters. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. However, only the first half of this book is without significant typos. This post begins a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. 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. 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.
His letters are arranged in ten books, of which the tenth consists entirely of. A prominent lawyer and administrator, pliny was also a prolific letterwriter, who numbered among his correspondents such eminent figures as. 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. So the letter which you asked me to write on my uncles death has made you eager to hear. The letters of pliny the younger kindle edition by pliny. Born in como, italy, pliny the younger was the nephew of pliny the elder, who is considered by many to be the greatest naturalist of antiquity. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. As you are an exemplary instance of tender regard to your family in general, and to your late excellent brother in particular, whose warm attachment you returned with an equal fondness.
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