The nine books of letters pliny wrote between 97 and 109 were originally intended for publication and lack the intimacy and sparkle of ciceros letters to atticus, but they contain much personal information on both pliny and his times. The text of the remainder of plinys letters was divided up into fifteen sections about the same length as. I was looking forward to reading the letters, which are often said to give an insight into ordinary roman life, at least the life of an ordinary roman aristocrat. Pliny gives a character description of the syrian philosopher, euphrates, who acts as his spiritual adviser. 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. Letter 96 is the most famous of the collection, and it contains the earliest external account of christian worship, and details what was to. It is a rule, sir, which i inviolably observe, to refer myself to you in all my doubts. Roman senator, nephew of pliny the elder, governor of bithynia pontus 109111, author of a. Pliny s letters are important as a social document of his times. These allusions are part of a much wider network of allusions, both within this particular letter and more generally in plinys book j, that revolves around the theme of unpublished writings. Pliny the younger wrote hundreds of letters, of which 247 survive and are of great historical value.
Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription cil v 1 3442 found in a field in. Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 c. 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. Roman senator, nephew of pliny the elder, governor of bithynia pontus 109111, author of a famous collection of letters. Pliny the younger 10 pliny the younger or gaius plinius caecilius secundus 62c. 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. By allowing trajan to perform this role, as is evidenced in the letters of book 10, pliny creates our most complete and compelling portrayal of this emperor which. While the first nine books of plinys letters follow a roughly chronological order the author disingenuously maintains hes just selected them casually, almost at random book 10 is made up. Feb 26, 2009 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. Read in english by andrew coleman the largest surviving body of plinys work is his epistulae letters, a series of personal missives directed to his friends, associates and the emperor trajan. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of. Plinys letters are important as a social document of his times. Some are addressed to reigning emperors or to notables such as the historian tacitus.
The last book contains correspondence between pliny and the emperor trajan. Book 1, letter 15 pliny s friend went to a fancy party. Fresh doubts on authenticity of plinys letter about the. We have a whole set of exchanges of his letters with the emperor trajan on a variety of administrative political matters. Trajans reply to the letter by pliny from 2 days ago. Book x of the letters contains his correspondence with trajan during this period, and includes letters about the early christians. Pliny was, as we know, a prolific writer of letters and, more important, being convinced of his qualities as an author, he published these letters. Book 10, letter 96 pliny is unsure how he should deal with the christians in bithynia. You very justly, sir, express the fear that the lake may drain itself dry if its waters are turned into the river and so into the sea, but i fancy that i have discovered a way to meet this difficulty. Neither the younger nor the elder pliny mention the names. They seem to be harmless people, though he feels obliged to punish those who insist on remaining christian, even after he has warned them such obstinacy would result in death. The sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copypermitted texts related to medieval and byzantine history. The text of the remainder of plinys letters was divided up into fifteen sections about the same length as the pt.
They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caecilius of comum como and the elder plinys sister. One of the many queries sent to trajan by pliny concerning the administration of his province. 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. Having never been present at any trials of the christians, i am unacquainted with the method and limits to be observed either in. Plinys uncle, pliny the elder, helped raise and educate him.
We have a whole set of exchanges of his letters with the emperor trajan on a variety of. Pliny the younger was governor of pontusbithynia from 1111 ad. Part autobiography, part social history, they document the career and interests of a senator and leading imperial official whose friends include the historians. The roman law of succession in the letters of pliny the younger.
These allusions are part of a much wider network of allusions, both within this particular letter and more generally in plinys book 5, that revolves around the theme of unpublished writings. Selected letters internet history sourcebooks project. 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. 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. In pir 2, a 78 the consul suffect in pliny had already been identified as l. You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that i may have written. They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about his many friends, including tacitus, martial and suetonius. He was at misenum at the time of the eruption of vesuvius in 79 described in two famous letters when the elder pliny died. Gaius plinius secundus ad 232479, called pliny the elder. Book x of his collection of letters consists of the correspondence between him and trajan and it gives a unique insight into the daily problems of running a province.
He entered the senate without having held a military tribunate or minor magistracy, therefore was probably not the son of a senator. 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. 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. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. Librivox recording of letters of pliny by pliny the younger. This text is part of the internet medieval source book.
Sep 14, 2012 one of the many queries sent to trajan by pliny concerning the administration of his province. Pliny the younger, latin in full gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born 6162 ce, comum italydied c. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. The letters of pliny in book 10 were isolated from trajans and other correspondence. The last was written during his tour of administration of bithynia, during which he may well have died. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caec. As such, they offer a unique insight into the administrative functions of a roman province of the time, as well as the machinations of the roman system of patronage and wider cultural mores of rome itself. Prosopography highly selective birley, anthony richard. Sep 16, 2012 trajans reply to the letter by pliny from 2 days ago.
The letters, on which today his fame mainly rests, were largely written with a view to publication, and were arranged by pliny himself. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. 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. Taken together, plinys letter and trajans response constituted a.
Definitely recommended to those who are interested in looking into our ancient past. 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. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. The pious affection you bore, most sacred emperor, to your august father induced you.
The fundamental basic resource, now in its 3rd edition. Pliny describes the simple meal his friend would have enjoyed if he had decided to. This final book was, significantly, not intended for publication. He praises him to the skies and recommends him to his friend, attius clemens. 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. Their contribution is all the more valuable because this is the first booklength introduction to plinys collection of letters to be published. Epistulae x letters 10, also known as the correspondence with trajan is a book of letters by the roman lawyer and author pliny the. Book 1, letter 15 plinys friend went to a fancy party. Book 1, letter 10 pliny gives a character description of the syrian philosopher, euphrates, who acts as his spiritual adviser. He pliny the elder used to say that no book was so bad but some good might be got out of it. Jun 24, 2010 while the first nine books of plinys letters follow a roughly chronological orderthe author disingenuously maintains hes just selected them casually, almost at randombook 10 is made up of official correspondence exchanged during his tenure as governor of bithynia part of modernday turkey.
The numbering of the letters in this book has been changed slightly to bring it into line with the most recent editions. That indolent but agreeable condition of doing nothing. Plinys letter 96 called the pt the plinian testimonium was separated from the others. They tell us about the man himself and his wide interests, and about his many friends, including tacitus, martial, and suetonius.
The letters of book 10 are addressed to or from the emperor trajan in their entirety, and it is generally assumed that we have received them verbatim. Roy gibson and ruth morello have coauthored an elegant, clear and sophisticated introduction to plinys letters. He was educated at home and then in rome under quintilian. The letters of the younger pliny by pliny the younger. This paper establishes a new date for the publication of suetonius illustrious men through allusions to suetonius virgil in pliny, letters 5. 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.
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