Pliny letters

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The beginning of the letters of Pliny in the manuscript Cesena, Biblioteca Malatestiana , Ms. S.XX.2, fol. 1r (15th century)

The Pliny letters are a collection of letters ( Latin epistulae ) by the Roman writer Pliny the Younger (61 or 62 - approx. 114). With their publication he established his own genre and earned the fame he was striving for.

“On the one hand,” stated the philologist Matthias Ludolph, “as a stylistically shaped and published work, they are part of the studia and are inherently one of the means by which one can gain fame in the Rome of the Principate . In addition, published letters are extremely suitable for promoting the fame of their author in a very unobtrusive way. "

369 letters are summarized in ten books. The first nine books contain 248 letters that Pliny had addressed to 105 different addressees. These were friends, personal acquaintances and well-known contemporaries. Pliny himself published these letters before going to Bithynia as governor of the emperor Trajan . The tenth book, published posthumously by an unknown source, includes his correspondence with Trajan (121 letters, including replies from the emperor). Only the letters in Book 10 are in chronological order.

The collection of letters is of outstanding importance as a historical source for the late 1st and early 2nd centuries. “The high esteem that the letters enjoy from the historical side is mostly not shared by the literary-philological side. The Plinian Letters suffered a similar fate as almost all post-classical literature, which found it very difficult to step out of the shadow of its classical predecessors. ”In each of the letters, Pliny dealt with a certain topic, observing the external form (addressee, sender, greeting). Almost all areas of the life of the Roman upper class are touched upon. Most of these messages, which were written in a linguistically “medium style”, were probably revised again for publication. They give detailed insights into everyday life as well as political life and social conditions in Rome. It contains personal concerns and relationships, reflections on politics, legal and judicial systems, literature and culture, educational issues, as well as depictions of landscapes.

The descriptions of his villas Tuscum in the Apennines and Laurentinum south of Ostia on the Mediterranean are well known.

The most famous individual pieces include the description of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 for Tacitus and the correspondence with Trajan regarding the question of how to deal with Christians.

Purpose, frequency of publication and type of letters

In addition to the motif aimed at literary fame and an autobiographical intention, the letters have recently also been viewed as an attempt to communicate with the contemporary public under the aspect of political and moral influence. For the publications made by Pliny himself, three successive publication times are given as probable: the first two or three books between the years 101 and 104, books four to seven around 107/108, books eight and nine in 109 or 110 AD There is much to suggest that these are not letters that were actually sent by Pliny in this form, but rather versions revised for publication or purely artificial products for the purpose of publication. Mixed forms between the use of actual correspondence and fictitious supplementary products are also considered. The publication was suggested, as Pliny notes in the first book, by the Praetorian prefect Gaius Septicius Clarus .

The comparison with Cicero's correspondence, often made - also by Pliny himself - is questionable, according to Lambert. Cicero's letters are “real” letters written out of the moment, which “let us experience the actions, thoughts and feelings of this man almost from day to day.” In contrast to those of Pliny, Cicero's letters are also dated and was published by his secretary Tiro, among others, only after his death.

"With Pliny we can observe how the letter to relatives and friends is formed into a small work of art, which often takes on an exemplary character in the sense of instruction beyond the day, comes to an end at the epigrammatic level or expands into a scientific essay."

Social insights

For Pliny, social inequality was not just a matter of course in everyday Roman life, but a good that had to be preserved. With the order of the legal system in the provinces it is important for those responsible to keep the dignitaries balanced and to win over the commoners through affability. It is very important to pay careful attention to the differences in class and rank, because "once they are blurred, clouded, mixed up, then nothing is more unequal than this equivalence."

In the case of marriages between differently wealthy partners, however, it seemed necessary to Pliny to bring about an overall equilibrium in good time. He promised the modest daughter of his apparently esteemed letter partner Quintilianus, 50,000 sesterces as their own contribution to equipping them with clothing and servants, "things from which the inner dignity does not gain anything, but still receives adornment and shine." of the highly respected groom, "to whom the consideration of his civil obligations demands a certain elegance."

In his letter work, Pliny often takes an appreciative attitude towards women and in individual cases also uses superlative attributes such as probatissima (the most honorable), honestissima (the most respected ), sanctissima (the most sublime). But what there is to be learned in the way of praiseworthy and noteworthy also depends on the social position of those affected, Pliny notes. Rather coincidentally, during a sailing trip on Lake Como (Larius Lacus) at home, a friend told him about the extraordinary common death of a couple of simple status, even though they were compatriots from home. The woman had tied the husband, who was suffering from an incurable ulcer, to herself and was ahead of him and, sweeping him, jumped into suicide out of a room window overlooking the lake.

Pliny gives no information about the number of his slaves. For him they form a natural part of the household, which is distributed over a number of own goods. He calls them “my people” (mei) and considers it advisable not only to look at the slave markets, but above all to keep your ears open in order to get confirmation that the prospects are too are good and easy to use (ut frugi sint) . Nevertheless, the master must always be vigilant towards his own slaves, explains Pliny using the example of Larcius Macedo , a man who was badly battered by his slaves and who died soon after, but who was also a particularly strict and tough master, the son of a freedman of all people:

“You see the manifold dangers, humiliations, ridicules we are exposed to, and no one is allowed to feel safe because he is a lenient, gentle gentleman; the slave who kills his master makes no difference, but goes to work brutally. "

In the normality of everyday life, Pliny does not feel adequately cared for by his own slaves, unlike when he is visiting his mother-in-law and being served by her slaves. So he asks them for a return visit so that the respect that his people have lost in everyday routines can be refreshed.

In one letter, among other things, Pliny gives an insight into the diversity of Roman clientele relationships, which determined personal relationships in a network of dependency, mutual support and reward not just in a small circle, but also extended from legal representation to political support to military allegiance to his friend Maximus. He praises him for having organized a gladiator game for the Veronese people at the level of clientele care, which could also apply to entire civil communities , as a gesture of gratitude and as a reward for the lasting respect and solidarity shown to him:

“From there you also fetched your so dear and trusted wife, whose memory you owed some memorial or drama, especially one that most closely goes with a funeral service. [...] I would only have wished that the African animals, whose you had bought so many together, had arrived on that particular day; but even if they came too late, delayed by a storm, you deserve to be thanked because it was not in your power that you could not perform them. "

Educational horizons

Pliny usually describes the central fields of his intellectual activity as studia , especially in the areas of rhetoric and literature, important components of his training as a lawyer and politician. Even when he was growing up, they took up a lot of space with his uncle, with Pliny the Elder . In everyday practice, the drafting and presentation of court speeches coincide in the concept of studia with Pliny. So he praises two young lawyer colleagues after pleading against each other for their efforts to gain a reputation with the studies (ex studiis) . Among the properties that benefit the general public in this way, he mentions exceptional righteousness, firmness of character and decency, a manly voice and linguistic dexterity, a secure memory, great talent and judgment. His recommendation to a young man to design the studies first emphasized the value of translations from Greek into Latin and vice versa. With this, precise expressiveness, a wealth of idioms (copia figurarum) as well as the power of representation are trained.

"I know that the art of speaking is your main concern right now, but I wouldn't always advise you to use this combative and, at the same time, bellicose style. Just as the arable land is kept fresh by different, changing crops, so our minds now through this, now through that occupation. I want you to take up an episode from the story from time to time, I want you to write a letter with some care. For a speech often requires not only historical, but almost poetic descriptions, and a concise and pure language is obtained from the letter style. [...] You should only be careful to carefully select the models from each literary genre. They say you have to read a lot, not many things. (multum legendum esse, non multa) "

Studying science offers him joy and consolation (et gaudium mihi et solacium in literis) , admits Pliny; nothing could bring more joy, nothing could more effectively alleviate grief. The studies made him feel unhappiness more deeply, but also made him endure more patiently.

Pliny also hopes for important clues for his own orientation from his correspondents; because not only human curiosity gets its money's worth. Worthwhile reports from other sources could also serve as an example for one's own lifestyle (ad rationem vitae exemplis erudimur) . In this sense, Pliny, for his part, gives younger acquaintances friendly help with educational intent, for example with a letter recommendation to limit table luxury through exemplary self-restraint. At the end of this letter it says programmatically:

“Since I love you, whenever something like this occurs, I can use an example to make you aware in advance of the dangers that you should avoid. So remember that there is nothing more to be avoided than this novel combination of luxury and avarice; these are very ugly on their own, and even uglier together.
Your Gaius Pliny "

Pliny also ties his advice on calmness to the vicissitudes of life to the example of his own life experience:

“I have made progress through my work, have run into danger through my work, and have come up again; Friendships with good guys have promoted me, have harmed me and are now promoting me again. If you add up the years, you think: a short span; if you look at the change of things: half an eternity. This can serve as a lesson to us never to despair, never to trust completely when we see such a colorful dance in a circle roll past us. "

Pliny considers it appropriate and worthwhile if the time can be used for study or leisure (otium) instead of the hectic everyday business with all its running around and the often little benefit . Leisure, as it is so jokingly and aptly called, is better than doing nothing. He advises another correspondent to subordinate everything else to the studies and to create something of their own that lasts and does not pass to others after death like other possessions.

Ethical and moral principles

As exemplary qualities, which Pliny expressly claims for himself, he emphasizes generosity (liberalitas) , modesty (modestia) and mildness (clementia) . It seems that Pliny actually had a reputation for being particularly lenient, when even subordinates of his friends could count on him as an advocate for their masters. Sabinianus is urged by him not to continue to be angry with one of his freedmen for his offense:

“You loved the man and I hope you will love him again; for the time being it is enough that you let yourself be softened. You can be angry with him again if he doesn't deserve it otherwise, and with even better right if you let yourself be softened now. Give credit to his youth, his tears, and your indulgence! Do not torment him and with it yourself, because you torment yourself when you, such a meek man, are angry! "

When dealing with the misconduct of others, Pliny urged restraint and turned against those who punished most severely what they themselves most imitated. "For me personally, I consider the best, most perfect person who forgives everyone else as if he were absent every day and guards himself from wrongdoing as if he did not forgive anyone." Finally, the sentence applies: "Who those Hates mankind's mistakes, hates mankind. " (Qui vitia odit, homines odit)

Pliny declined to differentiate in the hospitality of his guests, unlike what he had experienced with an acquaintance who only allowed some of the special delicacies to be served, while the other participants were fed cheap lard. “He had also served the wine in small bottles in three sorts, not so that one had the opportunity to choose, but rather so that one could not refuse, one for himself and us, one for the lesser friends - namely, he makes rank differences among his friendships -, a third one for his and our freedmen. ”By contrast, with whom he, Pliny himself, shares table and upholstery, he treats them equally in all things.

Pliny also testifies to human sympathy towards the slaves belonging to his household. Contrary to custom, he allowed them to make a kind of will and, according to his own admission, then implemented its content as if it were legally binding. "They distribute, give, and leave behind, of course, within the household, because for slaves the household is in a sense the state and, so to speak, their community."

The suicide of his fatherly friend Corellius Rufus, who was plagued by severe gout, triggers conflicting feelings in Pliny . It is always particularly sad when death does not occur naturally, because “with those who are carried away by illness, there is a great consolation in their inevitability; with those who are abducted by a voluntary death, the pain is incurable because it is believed that they could have lived a long time. ”The wife of Corellius, who finally refused to eat, called Pliny to the sick bed as the last possible avert of this suicide , but found out on the way there that he would not be able to change the friend's decision either: “When the doctor wanted to give him something to eat, he said: 'My decision is made!', a word that is in my soul caused deep pain, but also great admiration. ”In other reports of Pliny about suicide in his environment, as Bütler notes, two recurring aspects are particularly emphasized: the rational decision and the steadfast implementation. This shows the absolute primacy of the spirit even under the most severe illnesses. "But that means that Pliny not only approves of suicide, but also admires the human greatness expressed in it."

Time-critical perspectives

As much as Pliny on the one hand emphasizes the exemplary characteristics and attitudes of personalities in his circle of friends and acquaintances and extensively praises exemplary behavior, just as little satisfied, sometimes derogatory and almost resigned, he expresses himself about contemporary conditions in society, which he often past faces better times in his view. Bütler said: “It must be astonishing how many excellent men and women lavishly covered with laudatory epithets pass the reader by in Pliny’s letters, while on the other hand the licentia temporum [lawlessness of the times] laments and the vitia [vices] of the anonymous masses castigated become. This creates a sharp and neither tempered nor otherwise balanced contrast between the author and a more or less closed group around him on the one hand - and the environment from which he consciously distances himself on the other. That small, elitist group plays a leading role in the letters and is particularly impressed by the reader; but apparently it cannot lighten the gloomy overall picture. ”In his friend Asinius Rufus, he praises the multiple fatherhood in a special way, which he opposes with an otherwise recently developed general tendency towards childlessness:

“He has several children. For in this respect too he has fulfilled the duties of an exemplary citizen, wanting to make the most of his wife's fertile years, in a century when most, thinking of the advantages of childlessness, already feel that one son is a burden. "

In general, however, Pliny does not have a good opinion of the offspring. This can be seen, for example, in the song of praise to his former protégé Iunius Avitus, who had just passed away, in whose training and character formation he played such a large part that Avitus showed him the utmost appreciation and revered him as his teacher.

“That's a rarity among today's youth. How few, conscious of their inferiority, submit to the age or authority of another! In the same way they are clever, in the same way they know everything, do not respect anyone, do not strive for anyone and are role models for themselves. "

If on the one hand Pliny is delighted with the multitude of literary talents who sometimes offer the material for daily readings for a whole month, on the other hand he complains about the behavior of the audience, which for the most part does not focus on the performances at all. Most of them sit around chatting in public places, want to be informed about the state of affairs from a distance and stay away as long as the speaker is not yet present, the introductory words or larger parts of the lecture manuscript have not yet been spoken. At first they would hesitantly join in, but even then they did not stay until the end, instead, some of them discreetly, some of them without any consideration.

Pliny sees a special corruption of morals in the Roman customs, but not corresponding gymnastic competitions, which are carried out unclothed according to the Greek model. He therefore welcomes the related ban on events in Vienna and hopes for the same for Rome: "Because the vices of Vienne remain in place, ours spread far and wide, and just as the worst disease in the human body is that which begins in the head, it is the same in the state. "

Pliny also describes the conditions at the most important place of his own political activity, the Senate of Rome, as partially unworthy . He tells his friend Maximus about the introduction of a new voting procedure for elections using voting boards:

“Indeed, we were lower in the open, oral voting than the rampant popular assemblies; no pausing in speaking time, no level-headed silence, no measured sitting. Loud, discordant shouts from all sides, everyone pushed their way forward in the midst of many small groups, many small groups with their candidates, a desolate mess; so far we had been unfaithful to the principles of our fathers, according to which everything took its orderly, measured, calm course and respected the dignity of the place. "

Older Senate colleagues told Pliny how things were very different in their early days: noiseless silence after the candidate called for his name, who then named his references and supporters, who in turn made brief statements. “That was more effective than any advertising. Occasionally a candidate criticized the origin, the age or the character of his competitor. The Senate listened to this with censorious seriousness. Men who deserved it prevailed more often than those with good relationships. "

In another letter to Maximus, Pliny returned to the new procedure and related concerns that the secret ballot could lead to abuses. Many would secretly leave decency aside. “That has now happened,” reports Pliny. “In the last election, there were all sorts of jokes on some ballot papers, even rant, in one case instead of the names of the candidates, those of their sponsors. The senate roared and conjured the anger of the princeeps on the clerk; but he crawled away and could not be made out, was probably even among the indignant. ”Pliny does not see how remedial action could be taken; the ailments are always stronger than the remedies.

Aristocratic use of land property

Pliny 's rural possessions are only treated secondarily in his letter work as productive goods and economic livelihoods. Above all as a worthwhile counterpoint to the hectic and dubious busyness days in the metropolis of Rome, he stages them. Ulrich Schnabel represents the time for the current manifestations of stress and overstimulation in "online age" having regard to findings of social psychology and brain research a similar approach: "The fact that the mere sight of grass and trees a relaxing effect has meanwhile been scientifically proven. In contrast to an urban environment, our brain is not constantly bombarded with new stimuli in nature and can regenerate itself particularly well in an alpine meadow or while looking out at the sea. ”In a comparative study with students at the University of Michigan, it was found that city walks are in Compared to going to an arboretum equipped with trees and bushes, they were more disadvantageous in terms of mood, mental performance and attention. Another experiment brought even more astonishing things to light: “Even looking at a natural panorama in a photo had a more beneficial effect on the state of mind than looking at a street scene.” When he arrives at a tranquil resting place, he first becomes aware of how annoying and bland the urban one can be Represent everyday life in the long run. On his estate at Laurentum all this falls away from him:

“I don't hear anything that I've heard, I don't say anything that I regretted saying; Nobody attacks anyone with bad gossip, I do not blame anyone, except myself, if I prove to be too unskillful in writing. No hope, no fear will ruin my peace, no rumors disturb my peace. I only talk to myself and my dear books. Oh what a healthy and pure life, oh what sweet and noble leisure, more beautiful than almost any occupation! O sea, o sea beach, true and secret seat of the muse, how much do you awaken in me, how much do you give me! "

The location of the Laurentian property seems ideal to him, the house is relatively spacious, but the maintenance is not very expensive. It offers good weather protection, as the D-shaped portico surrounding the atrium is protected by panes and protruding roofs. Adjacent to the central reception room is the dining room, “which protrudes as far as the beach and, once the sea has been churned by the south wind, is washed over by the broken, last foothills of the waves. On all sides there are double doors or windows that are no smaller than double doors, so you can look out over three seas from the sides and from the front ”. With the pride of the host and as a knowledgeable connoisseur, Pliny continues the guided tour of the buildings by letter:

“To the left of this dining room, stepping back a little, is a spacious room, then another smaller one, which lets in the rising sun through its windows and catches the setting through the other until the end. From here you can also see the sea at his feet, further away, but with a feeling of greater security. This room and the protruding dining room form an angle that collects and intensifies the direct rays of the sun. This is the winter stay, this is also my people's gymnastics area. There all winds are silent, except for those that bring clouds and take away from the place its cheerfulness rather than its usability. Connected to this angle is a semicircular curved room that follows the path of the sun with all its windows. A cupboard is set into its wall, a kind of bookcase that contains the books that you don't read once, but over and over again. Next to it, connected by a corridor that lies above a system of tubes that collects the heat and conducts and distributes it in a pleasant mixture to both sides, is a bedroom. The remainder of this wing contains rooms for slaves and freedmen, most of them so pretty that they could accommodate guests. "

The amenities of the bath complex include a charming warm water pool with a sea view while swimming; There is also a residential tower with two living rooms on both floors and another tower with a room from where you can watch the sunrise and sunset. Even with that, the attractions of this property do not end for Pliny, because his favorite place to stay is a garden house - accessible via a stately colonnade protected by windows - created by the landlord himself, as he emphasizes, with a "sun room" (heliocaminus) and a bedroom that affords views of both the sea at your feet and the country houses at the back and the woods above.

That economic considerations were by no means alien to Pliny when purchasing and using the estates is made clear elsewhere, where he makes considerations about another property to round off his possessions. These are adjacent pieces of land, which would have the advantage that they would not cause additional travel costs and efforts for visits and would not need their own administrator, but only had to be taken over by those already employed there. The costs for gardeners, craftsmen and hunting equipment were only incurred once.

“On the other hand, I fear it would be careless to expose such a large property to the same bad weather and the same accidents; it seems safer to balance the whims of fate with the different locations of the possessions. The change in soil and climate, and especially this traveling back and forth between the estates, has a lot to offer. "

In favor of the acquisition, the fact that it is fertile soil, which, although not excessive, promises a secure yield. However, the earnings situation in particular has suffered considerable losses in the recent past, because the employees there got into trouble with the lease payments and most of the important work equipment was pledged. “So they have to be equipped, and at a cost that is all the more so than only capable slaves can use; because neither do I have slaves anywhere doing forced labor in shackles, nor does anyone else in the area. ”But the land, which used to cost five million sesterces, is now available for three million, an order of magnitude that Pliny can afford:“ Of course Almost all of my property is invested in land, but there is also some interest and it will not be difficult to borrow money. I can get it from my mother-in-law, whose cash register I have like my own. "

At another point it is shown that Pliny was partly intensively concerned with questions of optimizing the yield of his goods, for example with the marketing of the grape harvest. He complains that his discount system, which in addition to a purchase price reduction for all buyers included an additional discount for bulk buyers, is now generally being imitated, but hardly pays off economically. The advantages are rather that the business partners, whom he additionally reward for punctual consideration, feel that he has treated them fairly and thus remain grateful to him.

Pliny the Younger does not always enjoy the enjoyment of staying away from the city on his country estates, not even in Tuscany (at hoc ne Tuscis quidem) , where, as the letter says, he is covered with all kinds of written arguments from his people. “I still enjoy reading these a lot less than my own writings; because I also hate reading my own. I revise a few small speeches, which after a while becomes boring and tedious. - My bills are kept carelessly, as if I weren't there. Sometimes I get on the horse and play the landowner insofar as I ride through part of my land, but only to get exercise. Stick to your habit and write to the farmer that I am about what's going on in the city. "

Aspects and problems of the provincial administration - in dialogue with Trajan

For a former consul, taking over the administrative organization of individual provinces of the Roman Empire was in line with the expectations that he had to face as a leading member of the Senate. Pliny was well prepared for this in many ways, as can be seen from the corpus of his letter. In the Senate, he had acted as a lawyer for Senate colleagues who had been attacked by their political opponents for alleged irregularities during their work in the provincial administration. He gave others good advice on taking on such functions. He believed that special consideration should be given to exercising Roman sovereignty in the ancient Greek heartlands. He advised Maximus called to this task:

“Remember, you are being sent to the province of Achaia, the true, unadulterated Greece, where, as it is said, education and science and even agriculture were first invented, are being sent to bring order to the constitution of free cities, that is : to people who are people in the best sense of the word, to free people, who are free in the best sense of the word, who have asserted this naturally bestowed right to freedom through efficiency, merit, friendship, and finally through the faithful fulfillment of contracts. Have awe of their divine city founders, the names of their gods! Have a reverence for their old fame and especially for their age, which is venerable with people and holy with cities! Pay homage to their past, their great deeds and their myths! Do not offend anyone in their dignity, their freedom, yes, not even in their vanity!
Keep in mind that it is the country that did not impose legal statutes and laws after a victory over us, but delivered them at our request, that it is Athens where you are going, Lacedämon , that you are administering; To rob them of the last shadow of their former greatness, of the rest of their freedom, would be hard, cruel and barbaric. "

In addition, Pliny warns his friend Maximus to keep the good reputation that he had acquired from Bithynia with his quaesture ; because, as is well known, it is far more damaging to honor to gamble away the prestige that has been achieved than not to get around to it in the first place. When Pliny was then sent by Trajan himself to the province of Bithynia and Pontus as a specially authorized governor , his questions in letters showed a downright embarrassing endeavor not to exceed his own competencies and - in line with his admonition to Maximus - none to make defamatory mistakes. Ludolph interprets this behavior as weak decision-making and partial helplessness paired with pedantry. He has done historical research a considerable service with his numerous requests for imperial instructions, since otherwise many details of the Roman provincial administration of that time would not have been passed down.

After an extensive fire in Nicomedia , for example, he asks whether Trajan, in view of the fire protection precautions described by Pliny as completely desolate, agrees that a fire brigade with a maximum of 150 trained craftsmen will be formed on site. Trajan rejects this plan, however, referring to the special political unrest in the province of Bithynia and Pontus. Any kind of organization of persons is better to prevent under these circumstances. Pliny should provide better technical equipment for fire fighting, but assign this to the individual house owners and, where necessary, encourage the people who have come to do so (accursu populi ad hoc uti)

When Pliny sees a problem with the effective guarding of the prisons in his province and asks whether he should not replace the city ​​slaves (publicos civitatium servos) with soldiers or, as already happened, supplement them, the emperor replies:

“It is not necessary, my dearest Secundus, to call in a large number of servants to guard the prisons. Let us stick to the custom that prevails in this province, that they are guarded by the city slaves; Whether they do this reliably, of course, depends on your severity and attention. Above all, as you write, it is to be feared that if soldiers and city slaves are deployed together, they will become more negligent in their mutual trust. But this is also important to us, to have as few soldiers as possible from their units. "

In general, Trajan's rescripts are written in such a way that they affirm the continued application of existing regulations. In a reply, for example, it says that the residents of the city of Amisos, which is allied to the Romans, are to be granted the benefit fund they run because they are entitled to it under their laws and the contractual situation. One can deny them all the less, “if they use such a contribution not for unrest and unauthorized gatherings, but to alleviate the poverty of needy people. In the other cities, which are subject to our rights, such a thing is forbidden. "

When Pliny reported with regard to the composition of the members of city councils in Rome that some would have to provide monetary gifts in return for these positions, while the majority did not, and asked for a binding imperial regulation - “because what should remain for the long term must be decreed by you whose deeds and words are sure of eternal validity " (cuius factis discisque debetur aeternitas) - the answer says:

“Whether or not everyone who becomes councilor in any city of Bithynia should donate an entrance fee for their honorary office as councilor cannot be determined by me in a generally applicable form. I am therefore of the opinion that - and this is still the safest way - the law of every single city must be obeyed [...] "

Issues relating to the granting of citizenship are also handled in a very differentiated manner. Since Pliny applies for and is granted Roman citizenship for his own masseur from Trajan, but has to provide further personal information, he is made aware that, because of his Egyptian origin, he should first have obtained Alexandrian citizenship for him. When asked to catch up on this matter, Trajan replied that, following the example of his predecessors, he was more cautious in granting Alexandrian citizenship. "But since you have already received Roman citizenship for your masseur Harpocras, I cannot refuse this request."

In the case of proposals from his governor for building projects in Bithynia and Pontus, Trajan calls for solid counter-financing, even where Pliny considers the requirements for this to be fulfilled - it is the construction of a new public bath in Prusa - and thinks it is a company that both the rank of this city and "your century's splendor" (saeculi tui nitor) require . In the reply, the implementation of the project is linked to conditions: on the one hand, no new tax may be levied; on the other hand, no fewer funds are likely to be available in future for necessary expenditure.

Trajan does not seem to have attached particular importance to a pronounced personality cult. On request, he does allow Pliny to erect a statue of himself, the emperor, in a planned temple building, but with the note that he only allows honors of this kind to be very sparse. When Pliny, while examining the city of Byzantium, discovers that 12,000 sesterces are spent there annually to send an envoy to Rome with an address of thanks for the emperor, Trajan confirms that he was right to cancel this expense item. "The purpose is achieved just as well if you only have the thank you address sent."

Illumination in a manuscript of the Pliny letters: The for Pope Benedict XIII. handwriting is given to him. Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. Lat. 1777, fol. 1r (late 14th century)

Lore

For the first nine books, which Pliny himself published in groups of three, there is a large number of manuscripts from the 9th to 15th centuries, which can be divided into three traditional classes, depending on how many books they contain. The text of the tenth book goes back to the Editiones principes , which Hieronymus Avantius and Aldus Manutius published in 1502 and 1508. They were based on a now lost Paris manuscript of all ten books. It was not until 1888 that a manuscript containing forty of these letters from and to Trajan was rediscovered in the Bodleian Library in Oxford .

In 1471, the editio princeps published and printed by L. Carbo appeared in Venice, based on one of the manuscripts in the tradition of the nine books. The first edition with the ten-volume collection was prepared by Aldus Manutius , who used a surviving manuscript from the 5th century from the Abbey of Saint-Victor (six sheets of which were preserved as Pierpont Morgan Library manuscript M.462) and printed it in Venice in 1508.

Work editions

Critical Editions

Editions with translation

literature

  • Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Studies on the subject of his letters (= Library of Classical Classical Studies . New Series, Series 2, Volume 38). Winter, Heidelberg 1970 (also dissertation, University of Zurich 1967).
  • Eckard Lefèvre : From Romanism to Aestheticism. Studies on the letters of the younger Pliny (= contributions to antiquity . Volume 269). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2009, ISBN 978-3-11-020874-0 .
  • Charlotte Kempf: Pliny the Elder J. (Gaius Caecilius Plinius Secundus minor). Epistulae. In: Christine Walde (Ed.): The reception of ancient literature. Kulturhistorisches Werklexikon (= Der Neue Pauly . Supplements. Volume 7). Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2010, ISBN 978-3-476-02034-5 , Sp. 727-738.
  • Matthias Ludolph: Epistolography and self-expression. Investigations into the 'parade letters' Pliny the Younger (= Classica Monacensia. Volume 17). Narr, Tübingen 1997, ISBN 3-8233-4876-0 (also dissertation, University of Munich 1996).
  • Katrin Schwerdtner: Pliny and his classics. Studies on literary citation in the letters of Pliny (= contributions to antiquity. Volume 340). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-041740-1 (also dissertation, University of Trier 2014).
  • Adrian Nicholas Sherwin-White : The letters of Pliny. A historical and social commentary. Clarendon Press, Oxford 2003, ISBN 0-19-814435-0 (reprinted from Clarendon Press, Oxford 1966 edition).
  • Reinhard Förtsch: Archaeological commentary on the villa letters of the younger Pliny . Mainz 1993.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Matthias Ludolph: Epistolography and self-presentation. Investigations into the 'parade letters' Pliny the Younger. Tübingen 1997, p. 18.
  2. ^ Frank sachet: past as politics. New aspects in the work of the younger Pliny. Frankfurt am Main 2000, p. 129.
  3. ↑ Eckard Lefèvre: Pliny studies I. Roman building convictions and landscape conception in the villa letters (2.17; 5.6) . In: Gymnasium 84 (1977), pp. 519-541. Reinhard Förtsch: Archaeological commentary on the villa letters of the younger Pliny . Mainz 1993.
  4. ↑ Pliny, Letters 6:16.
  5. ↑ Pliny, Letters 10, 96 and 97.
  6. ^ Frank sachet: past as politics. New aspects in the work of the younger Pliny. Frankfurt am Main 2000, pp. 138 and 170 f.
  7. ↑ Pliny Secundus: Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 23.
  8. ^ Frank sachet: past as politics. New aspects in the work of the younger Pliny. Frankfurt am Main 2000, p. 132 f.
  9. ↑ Pliny Secundus: Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 15.
  10. ↑ Pliny Secundus: Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 16.
  11. ↑ Pliny, Letters 9: 5; Translation after Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 499.
  12. ↑ Pliny, Letters 6:32; Translation after Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 365.
  13. ↑ Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Heidelberg 1970, p. 90.
  14. ↑ Pliny, Letters 6:24.
  15. ↑ Pliny, Letters 1, 21.
  16. ↑ Pliny, Letters 3:14; Translation after Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 169.
  17. ↑ Pliny, Letters 1, 4.
  18. ↑ Pliny, Letters 6:34; Translation after Pliny Secundus: Complete letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 256 f.
  19. ↑ Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Heidelberg 1970, p. 28 f.
  20. ↑ Pliny, Letters 6:11.
  21. ↑ Pliny, Letters 7, 9; Translation after Pliny Secundus: Complete letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), pp. 267/269.
  22. ↑ Pliny, Letters 8:19.
  23. ↑ Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Heidelberg 1970, p. 92, with reference to Pliny, Briefe 8, 18.
  24. ↑ Pliny, Letters 2, 6; Translation after Pliny Secundus: Complete letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 75.
  25. ↑ Pliny, Letters 4:24; Translation after Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 237.
  26. ↑ Pliny, Letters 1, 9 ("satius est enim [...] otiosum esse quam nihil agere").
  27. ↑ Pliny, Letters 1, 3.
  28. ^ Matthias Ludolph: Epistolography and self-presentation. Investigations into the 'parade letters' Pliny the Younger. Tübingen 1997, p. 203.
  29. ↑ Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Heidelberg 1970, p. 111.
  30. ↑ Pliny, Letters 9:21; Translation after Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 525.
  31. ↑ Pliny, Letters 8:22; Translation after Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 484 f.
  32. ↑ That Pliny did not starve at the table, he emphasizes to a friend who did not accept his invitation: “I had a head of lettuce ready for each person, three snails, two eggs, semolina pudding with honey slime and snow - you will also include that must, yes, especially; it melts on the tray - olives, Swiss chard, cucumber, onions and thousands of other delicious things. You would have heard comedians, a reciter or a lute player or, generous as I am, all three. ”Pliny, Letters 1:15; Translation after Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 41.
  33. ↑ Pliny, Letters 8:16; Translation after Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 471.
  34. ↑ Pliny, Letters 1:12; Translation after Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, pp. 33 and 35.
  35. ↑ Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Heidelberg 1970, p. 77.
  36. ^ Frank sachet: past as politics. New aspects in the work of the younger Pliny. Frankfurt am Main 2000, p. 263.
  37. ↑ Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Heidelberg 1970, p. 96 and specifying p. 147.
  38. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 4.15; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 163.
  39. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 8.23; quoted from Helmut Kasten (ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 487.
  40. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 1.13
  41. ↑ Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Heidelberg 1970, p. 145.
  42. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 4.22; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 172.
  43. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 3.20; quoted from Helmut Kasten (ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 183.
  44. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 4.25; quoted from Helmut Kasten (ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 239. As a consequence, according to Pliny, only the principle remains for a solution, “who stands above us, from whom our simple-minded and yet irrepressible audacity demands so many sleepless nights, so much effort and work” (ibid .)
  45. ↑ Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Heidelberg 1970, p. 119.
  46. ^ Pre- print of an excerpt from Ulrich Schnabel: Muße. The happiness of doing nothing. In: Die Zeit No. 49, December 2, 2010, p. 39 f .: On ingenious idleness .
  47. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 1.9; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 42.
  48. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 2.17; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 92 ff.
  49. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 3.19; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 136 f.
  50. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 3.19; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 137 f.
  51. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 8.2.
  52. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 9.15; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 347 f.
  53. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 8.24; quoted from Helmut Kasten (ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 189 and 191. Cf. Hans-Peter Bütler: The spiritual world of the younger Pliny. Heidelberg 1970, p. 109.
  54. ↑ Bithynia and Pontus were subordinate to the Senate until then and were administered by proconsuls who changed every year, as in republican times. The reasons for Pliny's special power of attorney are irregularities that have been discovered by those responsible, grievances in the financial system of some cities, and more frequent unrest among the population. (Helmut Kasten (Ed.): Plinius: Briefe. 1990, p. 665 f.)
  55. ^ Matthias Ludolph: Epistolography and self-presentation. Investigations into the 'parade letters' Pliny the Younger. Tübingen 1997, p. 54.
  56. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 10:33 and 10:34
  57. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 10.19
  58. ↑ paucissimos a signis avocandos esse . Pliny: Letters, 10:20; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 384.
  59. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 10.93; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 424.
  60. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 10.112; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 434.
  61. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 10.113; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 434.
  62. ↑ Pliny: Letters, June 10th
  63. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 7/10; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 376.
  64. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 10:23
  65. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 10:24
  66. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 8/10 and 9/10
  67. ↑ Pliny: Letters, 10:43 and 10:44; quoted from Pliny Secundus: The Complete Letters . Edited by Walter Rüegg. Introduced and translated by André Lambert. Licensed edition for the Gutenberg Book Guild (original edition: Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1969), p. 397.
  68. ↑ Ronald Syme : Tacitus , Volume 2, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1958, pp. 660 ff.
  69. ↑ Etienne Aubrion: La Correspondance de Pline le Jeune. In: Rise and Fall of the Roman World , Part 2: Principate. Volume 33: Language and Literature. Volume 1. DeGruyter, Berlin / New York 1972, pp. 362-365; Rudolf Hanslik : Pliny 2. In: The Little Pauly . dtv, Munich 1979, Volume 4, Sp. 938.