LETTERS OF PLINY
By Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus
Translated by William Melmoth
Revised by F. C. T. Bosanquet
GAIUS PLINIUS CAECILIUS SECUNDUS, usually known as Pliny the Younger, was born at Como in 62 A. D. 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. He was carefully educated, studying rhetoric under Quintilian and other famous teachers, and he became the most eloquent pleader of his time. In this and in much else he imitated Cicero, who had by this time come to be the recognized master of Latin style. While still young he served as military tribune in Syria, but he does not seem to have taken zealously to a soldier's life. On his return he entered politics under the Emperor Domitian; and in the year 100 A. D. was appointed consul by Trajan and admitted to confidential intercourse with that emperor. Later while he was governor of Bithynia, he was in the habit of submitting every point of policy to his master, and the correspondence between Trajan and him, which forms the last part of the present selection, is of a high degree of interest, both on account of the subjects discussed and for the light thrown on the characters of the two men. He is supposed to have died about 113 A. D. Pliny's speeches are now lost, with the exception of one, a panegyric on Trajan delivered in thanksgiving for the consulate. This, though diffuse and somewhat too complimentary for modern taste, became a model for this kind of composition. The others were mostly of two classes, forensic and political, many of the latter being, like Cicero's speech against Verres, impeachments of provincial governors for cruelty and extortion toward their subjects. In these, as in his public activities in general, he appears as a man of public spirit and integrity; and in his relations with his native town he was a thoughtful and munificent benefactor.
The letters, on which to-day his fame mainly rests, were largely written with a view to publication, and were arranged by Pliny himself. They thus lack the spontaneity of Cicero's impulsive utterances, but to most modern readers who are not special students of Roman history they are even more interesting. They deal with a great variety of subjects: the description of a Roman villa; the charms of country life; the reluctance of people to attend author's readings and to listen when they were present; a dinner party; legacy-hunting in ancient Rome; the acquisition of a piece of statuary; his love for his young wife; ghost stories; floating islands, a tame dolphin, and other marvels. But by far the best known are those describing the great eruption of Vesuvius in which his uncle perished, a martyr to scientific curiosity, and the letter to Trajan on his attempts to suppress Christianity in Bithynia, with Trajan's reply approving his policy. Taken altogether, these letters give an absorbingly vivid picture of the days of the early empire, and of the interests of a cultivated Roman gentleman of wealth. Occasionally, as in the last letters referred to, they deal with important historical events; but their chief value is in bringing before us, in somewhat the same manner as "The Spectator" pictures the England of the age of Anne, the life of a time which is not so unlike our own as its distance in years might indicate. And in this time by no means the least interesting figure is that of the letter-writer himself, with his vanity and self-importance, his sensibility and generous affection, his pedantry and his loyalty.
CONTENTS
LETTERS GAIUS PLINIUS CAECILIUS SECUNDUS
I -- To SEPTITTUS
II -- To ARRIANUS
III -- To VOCONIUS ROMANUS
IV -- To CORNELIUS TACITUS
V -- To POMPEIUS SATURNINUS
VI -- To ATRIUS CLEMENS
VII -- To FABIUS JUSTUS
VIII -- To CALESTRIUS TIRO
IX -- To SOCIUS SENECIO
X -- To JUNSUS MAURICUS
XI -- To SEPTITIUS CLARUS
XII -- To SUETONIUS TRANQUILLUS
XIII -- To ROMANUS FIRMUS
XIV -- TO CORNELIUS TACITUS
XV -- To PATERNUS
XVI -- To CATILIUS SEVERUS [27]
XVII -- To VOCONIUS ROMANUS
XVIII -- To NEPOS
XIX -- To AVITUS
XX -- To MACRINUS
XXI -- To PAISCUS
XXII -- To MAIMUS
XXIII -- To GALLUS
XXIV -- To CEREALIS
XXV -- To CALVISIUS
XXVI -- To CALVISIUS
XXVII -- To BAEBIUS MACER
XXVIII -- To ANNIUS SEVERUS
XXIX -- To CANINIUS RUFUS
XXX -- To SPURINNA AND COTTIA[53]
XXXI -- To JULIUS GENITOR
XXXII -- To CATILIUS SEVERUS
XXXIII -- To ACILIUS
XXXIV -- To NEPOS
XXXV -- To SEVERUS
XXXVI -- To CALVISIUS RUFUS
XXXVII -- To CORNELIUS PRISCUS
XXXVIII -- To FABATUS (HIS WIFE'S GRANDFATHER)
XXXIX -- To ATTIUS CLEMENS
XL -- To CATIUS LEPIDUS
XLI -- To MATURUS ARRIANUS
XLII -- To STATIUS SABINUS
XLIII -- To CORNELIUS MINICIANUS
XLV -- To ASINIUS
XLVI -- To HISPULLA
XLVII -- To ROMATIUS FIASIUS
XLVIII -- To LICINIUS SURA
XLIX -- To ANNIUS SEVERUS
L -- To TITIUS ARISTO
LI -- To NONIUS MAXIMUS
LII -- To DOMITIUS APOLLINARIS
LIII -- To CALVISIUS
LIV -- To MARCELLINUS
LV -- To SPURINNA
LVI -- To PAULINUS
LVII -- To RUFUS
LVIII -- To ARRIANUS
LIX -- To CALPURNIA[88]
LX -- To CALPURNIA
LXI -- To PRISCUS
LXII -- To ALBINUS
LXIII -- To MAXIMUS
LXIV -- To ROMANUS
LXV -- To TACITUS
LXVI -- To CORNELIUS TACITUS
LX VII -- To MACER
LXVIII -- To SERVIANUS
LXIX -- To SEVERUS
LXX -- To FABATUS
LXXI -- To CORNELIANUS
LXXII -- To MAXIMUS
LXXIII -- To RESTITUTUS
LXXIV -- To CALPURNIA[111]
LXXV -- To MACRINUS
LXXVI -- To TUSCUS
LXX VII -- To FABATUS (HIS WIFE'S GRANDFATHER)
LXXVIII -- To CORELLIA
LXXIX -- To CELER
LXXX -- To PRISCUS
LXXXI -- To GEMINIUS
LXXXII -- To MAXIMUS
LXXXIII -- To SURA
LXXXIV -- To SEPTITIUS
LXXXV -- To TACITUS
LXXX VI -- To SEPTITIUS
LXXXVII -- To CALVISIUS
LXXX VIII -- To ROMANUS
LXXXIX -- To ARISTO
XC -- To PATERNUS
XCI -- To MACRINUS
XCII -- To RUFINUS
XCIII -- To GALLUS
XCIV -- To ARRIANUS
XCV -- To MAXIMUS
XCVI -- To PAULINUS
XCVII -- To CALVISIUS
XCVIII -- To ROMANUS
XCIX -- To GEMINUS
C -- To JUNIOR
CI -- To QUADRATUS
CII -- To GENITOR
CIII -- To SABINIANUS
CIV -- To MAXIMUS
CV -- To SABINIANUS
CVI -- To LUPERCUS
CVII -- To CANINIUS
CVIII -- To Fuscus
CIX -- To PAULINUS
CX -- To FUSCUS
FOOTNOTES TO THE LETTERS OF PLINY]
CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
I -- TO THE EMPEROR TRAJAN[1001]
II -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
III -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
IV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
V -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
VI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
VII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
VIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
X -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XIV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XVI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XVII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XVIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XIX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXIV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXVI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXVII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXVIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXIX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXXI -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XXXII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXXIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XXXIV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXXV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XXXVI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXX VII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XXXVIII To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XXXIX -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XL -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XLI -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XLII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XLIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XLIV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XLV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XLVI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XLVII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XLVIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XLIX -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
L -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LI -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LIV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LVI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LVII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LVIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LIX -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXI -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXIV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXVI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXVII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LX VIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXIX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXX -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXXII TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXX IV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXXVI -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXVII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXXVIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXIX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXXX -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXXI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXXXII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXXIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXXXIV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXXV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXXXVI -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXXVII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
LXXXVIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
LXXXIX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XC -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XCI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XCII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XCIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XCIV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XCV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XCVI -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XCVII To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
XCVIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
XCIX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
C -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
CI To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
CII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
CIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
CIV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
CV -- To TIlE EMPEROR TRAJAN
CVI -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
CVII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
CVIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
CIX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
CX -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
CXI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
CXII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
CXIII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN