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. Pliny s letter is the earliest pagan account to refer to early christians and provides a key description of roman administrative process and problems. The numbering of the letters in this book has been changed slightly to bring it into line with the most recent editions. Pliny, the younger is also know as plinius caecilius secundus, gaius. These letters are a unique testimony of roman administrative history and everyday life in the 1st century. The works subject area is thus not limited to what is today understood by. Plinii caecilii secundi epistularum liber primus i c. Book 10, letter 96 pliny is unsure how he should deal with the.
An unsuspected shared enthusiasm for pliny led to a. 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. Pliny the younger 10 pliny the younger or gaius plinius caecilius secundus 62c. Primary sources letters of pliny the younger and the. 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. Book 10, letter 96 pliny is unsure how he should deal with the christians in bithynia. Quincy, wendell, holmes, and upham family papers, 16331910. It is not possible to lay down any general rule which can be applied as the fixed standard in all cases of this nature. The letters of pliny the younger with observations on each letter. The letters of pliny the younger send the reader back to share the frightening experience of the eruption of vesuvius with an eye witness in ad 79. The epistulae are later copies of a series of personal missives by pliny the younger directed to his friends and associates. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make.
It is a rule, sir, which i inviolably observe, to refer myself to you in all my doubts. Dec 23, 2007 i have uploaded a vocabulary word list for the correspondence between pliny the younger and emperor trajan, letters 10. Gibson and ruth morello frontmatter more information acknowledgements this book began as a conversation on a train on the way back from a conference in 1998. Book 10, letter 111 such grants are technically illegal, but the official cannot be expected to return a 20year old grant now. Aurelius symmachus published his own correspondence in 10 books, 9 of personal and 1 of official letters. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. The two letters written by pliny the younger describing the. He was the governor in the roman province of bithynia modern day turkey when a number of christians were brought into his court.
The letters of the younger pliny by pliny the younger. Fresh doubts on authenticity of plinys letter about the. 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. Roman senator, nephew of pliny the elder, governor of bithynia pontus 109111, author of a famous collection of letters. The origin of christianity in that region is not known, but it has not been associated with paul the apostles travels. The letters of pliny the younger with observations on each. The last book contains correspondence between pliny 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. The titlepage of volume ii describes it as a second edition.
We have a whole set of exchanges of his letters with the emperor trajan on a variety of. Pliny the elder, roman savant and author of the celebrated natural history, an encyclopedic work of uneven accuracy that was an authority on scientific matters up to the middle ages. The style is very different from that in the panegyricus, and some commentators maintain that pliny initiated a new genre. The last was written during his tour of administration of bithynia, during which he may well have died. 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. Book 10 the correspondence between pliny and the emperor trajan has its. 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. Quis enim potest melius vel cunctationem meam regere, vel ignorantiam instruere. Jewish publication society of america, 1934, seeing them as two religious organisations 33, though christianity as a sect of judaism that gradually became a religion and in turn reduced judaism to a sect. Letters of pliny by pliny the younger free at loyal books.
Lefkowitz fannia was granddaughter of the famous arria the elder, a stoic, who committed suicide when her husband, caecina paetus, was condemned to death in a. Book ten letter 96 to the emperor trajan it is a rule, sir, which i inviolably observe, to refer myself to you in all my doubts. Book 10, letter 110 the city of amisus is trying to reclaim a large grant it gave 20 years ago to a city official, who spent the money on city business. The loeb classical library edition of pliny the younger is in two volumes. The method you have pursued, my dear pliny, in sifting the cases of those denounced to you as cbristians is extremely proper. See key to translations for an explanation of the format. Pliny book 10, letter 97 latin text pliny book 10, letter 110 english translation pliny book 10, letter 110 latin text pliny book 10, letter 111 english translation pliny book 10, letter 111 latin text student projects also listed under headings above pliny book 1, letter 10 english translation pliny book 1, letter 10 latin text.
Pliny likely wrote the letters from amisus before his term ended in january 1. Book i the letters of pliny book i i to septicius clarus 1. I have now made a collection, not keeping to the original order as i was not writing history, but taking them as they came to my hand. He was at misenum at the time of the eruption of vesuvius in 79 described in two famous letters when the elder pliny died. In the year 112, pliny the younger was faced with a dilemma.
Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. The text of the remainder of plinys letters was divided up into fifteen sections about the same length as the pt. Pliny the younger was governor of pontusbithynia from 1111 ad. 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. Pliny has a gift for description and a versatile prose style, and more than any of his contemporaries he gives an unprejudiced picture of rome as he knew it. Its an encyclopedia of what passed for scientific information in that time. But the value of the book is overwhelmingly the magnificent relief engravings of barry moser. In the fifth century, sidonius apollinaris published his own letters in 9 books, and quotes pliny in many places. Pliny the younger, latin in full gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born 6162 ce, comum italydied c. 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.
You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that i may have written. Pliny s uncle, pliny the elder, helped raise and educate him. Firth 1900 a few words and phrases have been modified. 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. Plinys correspondence with the emperor trajan regarding how to deal with christians. The letters of pliny in book 10 were isolated from trajans and other correspondence. Selected letters internet history sourcebooks project. Pliny the younger was the governor of bithynia and pontus on the black sea coast of anatolia, having arrived there around september 111 as the representative of emperor trajan. Pliny the younger books list of books by author pliny. Epistulae x letters 10, also known as the correspondence with trajan is a book of letters by the roman lawyer and author pliny the. Full text of the phelps family of america and their. The original source is pliny the younger, epistles 10. Pliny likely wrote the letters from amisus before his term ended in january.
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. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus was a prolific letter writer, and has one of our earliest attestations to christians in a secular work of antiquity. Pliny the younger wrote hundreds of letters, of which 247 survive and are of great historical value. The older man, gaius plinius secundus, is called pliny the elder. Learn pliny letter tacitus with free interactive flashcards. 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. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, born gaius caecilius or gaius caecilius cilo 61 c. Click on the l symbols to go the latin text of each letter. Pliny saw himself as a writer and you can see that in his carefully thoughtout pleasing phrases and sentences. The smell of sulfur this post belongs to a serialized translation and commentary of pliny the youngers letters 6. By this time, it is likely that both the 9 book and 10 book versions were in existence. Superest ut nec te consilii nec me paeniteat obsequii.
Choose from 500 different sets of pliny letter tacitus flashcards on quizlet. Plinius traiano imperatori 1 exprimere, domine, verbis non possum, quanto me gaudio affecerint epistulae tuae, ex quibus cognovi te arpocrati, iatraliptae meo, et alexandrinam civitatem tribuisse, quamvis secundum institutionem principum non temere eam dare proposuisses. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. 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. Melmonths translation of pliny s letters, was first pub. 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.
The letter which, in compliance with your request, i wrote to you concerning the death of my uncle has raised, it seems, your curiosity to know what terrors and dangers attended me while i continued at misenum. He was educated at home and then in rome under quintilian. 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. Letters of pliny, by gaius plinius caecilius secundus. Gaius plinius caecilius secundus, usually known as pliny the younger, was born at como in 62 a.
Plinys letter 96 called the pt the plinian testimonium was separated from the others. 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. This was a delightful read, with much that is quotable. Collegi non servato temporis ordine neque enim historiam componebam, sed ut quaeque in manus 2 venerat. Having never been present at any trials of the christians, i am unacquainted with the method and limits to be observed either in. The younger pliny was born in 61 or 62 ce, the son of lucius caecilius of comum como and the elder pliny s sister. With an english translation by william melmoth, rev. The letters, on which today his fame mainly rests, were largely written with a view to publication, and were arranged by pliny himself. Sep 16, 2012 trajans reply to the letter by pliny from 2 days ago. A study in the origins of antisemitism philadelphia. The comfortable world of scholarship on book 10 of plinys letters was rocked to its foundations by three iconoclastic papers published. Pliny the elders sister, plinia, married a man named caecilius, from the northern italian town of comum. We personally assess every book s quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. He wrote a number of books, but the natural history is the only one that survives.
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. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restric. 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. Pliny epistles 10 and imperial correspondence chapter 12. Naturalis historia is a book about the whole of the natural world in latin by pliny the elder, a roman author and naval commander who died in 79 ad 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. Full text of the phelps family of america and their english ancestors, with copies of wills, deeds, letters, and other interesting papers, coats of arms and valuable records see other formats. This final book was, significantly, not intended for publication. I got pliny the youngers letter to trajan from the notes to eusebius ecclesiastical history, book iii, ch. You have to wait until the end of the book to see the breezy roman way he makes the decision to execute a couple of christian women. 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. You have often urged me to collect and publish any letters of mine which were composed with some care.
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