#Pliny the Younger

[mauveastrum]

Nightly translation sessions

[latin-literature-tourney]

Latin Literature Tournament - Round 1

Propaganda under the cut!

Pliny Propaganda:

His description of Vesuvius is so fucking cool and important, you guys. It's so cool that "Plinian eruptions" are a thing in volcanology

He writes some neat descriptions of gardens and private horticulture, so he's an important source on Roman aesthetics of domestic design

His letters really are bangers. I love his friendship with Tacitus, and the ghost stories are so fucking fun

Juvenal Propaganda:

I love reading and fighting Juvenal. He is such an asshole and so full of shit (and his poems really are a blast)

That said the man sure can turn a phrase. Bread and circuses, anyone?

Is that a farrago in your libellus or are you just happy to see me

[cassandra-said-i-told-you-so]

Joseph Mallord William Turner, Vesuvius in Eruption, 1817-20

“The shuddering black cloud, broken up by twisting, trembling dispersions of fiery air, ruptured into long streaks of flame, both similar to and greater than lightning bolts.”

— Pliny the Younger, to Tacitus

(original translation)

[greekmythcomix]

Watch as a video instead: Greek Myth Comix tells an Ancient Ghost Story feat. Pliny The Younger

https://youtu.be/mLLo8Y5ZZyM

Teachers: get this as a poster or PDF for class: https://greekmythcomixshop.wordpress.com/2020/11/06/an-ancient-ghost-story-comic-pdf-or-poster/

[catoswound]

it's vesuvius day :(

[uwmspeccoll]

The Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

The Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Not only did the volcano destroy the economically powerful city of Pompeii, but Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabiae were also buried and thus lost to the Roman Empire. The number of victims is unknown, but given the size of the four cities, estimates have reached over 18,000 individuals.  

Today only one first-hand account of this horrific event survives in two letters from Pliny the Younger to the Roman historian Tacitus. They are preserved as letters 6.16 and 6.20 in the collected Epistles of Pliny. Among our holdings of the works of Pliny is this 3-volume set of the Epistles with William Melmoth’s 18th-century translation edited by Clifford Herschel Moore, and printed by the Harvard University Press in an edition of 405 copies for members of The Bibliophile Society, Boston, in 1925.

While the term ‘volcanic eruption’ evokes scenes of lava and fire, the reality is much more frightening. Curiously, there is no word for volcano in the Latin language. While ancient Romans were aware of the destructive power of volcanoes, there’s some debate about whether they were aware that Vesuvius was a volcano before its eruption. Signs of the eruption began back in 62CE with a great earthquake that caused much of the city to collapse. Smaller earthquakes continued over the next 15 years until one was accompanied by the rise of a column of smoke from Mt. Vesuvius in October 79 CE. 

The hot gases that made up the column of smoke began to cool, darkening the sky, and not long after a rain of pumice began to fall, and after 15 hours ceilings began to collapse. Nevertheless, many residents chose to take shelter rather than flee. At 4am the first 500C pyroclastic surge barred down the volcano, burying Herculaneum. Six more of these surges occurred before the end of the eruption, destroying Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae. 

The 17-year old Pliny was in the port town of Misenum across the Bay of Naples from the volcano at the time. Pliny’s uncle, Pliny the Elder, commander of the Roman fleet at Misenum, launched a rescue mission and went himself to the rescue of a personal friend. The elder Pliny did not survive the attempt. In Pliny the Younger’s first letter to Tacitus, he relates what he could discover from witnesses of his uncle's experiences. In a second letter, he details his own observations after the departure of his uncle.

Mt. Vesuvius is still active and according to volcanologists, erupts about every 2000 years, which would be right about now. Who will be our next Pliny the Younger?

Our copy of The Epistles of Pliny is another gift from our friend and benefactor Jerry Buff.

View more of my Classics posts.

�� LauraJean, Special Collections Undergraduate Classics Intern

[madebypointlesswords]

Rating all the Latin authors I've read in the past two years in honor of my oral Latin exam tomorrow

Caesar (De Bello Gallico)

This is a weird one because while his prose isn't extremely difficult, it was also the first unedited work I read, so for lil 15-year-old me, this was very difficult. But I learned a lot from Caesar (especially that he made it an art to making his sentences as long as possible. We read an entire 200 words, and IT WAS JUST ONE SENTENCE.), and the sense of nostalgia while rereading it is very pleasant, so I will give you a solid 6/10

Pliny the Younger (Epistulae)

Mixed feelings about this one again. This could also be just because I despise prose. I really do not like it at all. Pliny's epistulae were pretty okay. I liked them a little better than Caesar's because of their variety (for those that don't know, epistulae means letters). His letter about the Vesuvius was a lot of fun to translate, even with all the hyperbata, but his letters about or to his third wife were very uncomfortable. Like, I get things were different back then. BUT YOU WERE 45, PLINY. 45. SHE WAS WHAT? 14? 15 TOPS? MY GOD. THAT'S A BIGGER AGE DIFFERENCE THAN I HAVE WITH MY FATHER.

7/10

Ovid (Metamorphoses)

Ovid is life Ovid is love. He was the one who introduced me to Latin poetry, and I will always love him for it. He was an icon and a legend. The poems of his that we read (Daedalus & Icarus, Latona and the Lycian peasants, Diana and Actaeon) were all bangers, and I love them all to death. I never wanted to go back to reading prose after this (but unfortunately, I will have to next year. ew)

11/10 (I love you, Ovid)

Vergil (The Aeneid)

*deep sigh* Listen. I love his complex works, and I have great respect for this poem but by the GODS. Vergil's poetry is the most difficult I've had to translate by a long shot. He made me rethink my entire career in Latin. I have considered quitting so many times because of this man. I felt like a complete idiot most of the time. This is not a guy to fuck with. Luckily I got through it on my finals (barely.) but Christ alive this man made my life difficult.

5/10

Horatius (Satires and Odes)

Horatius will always have a special place in my heart. We read his poetry right after Vergil's, and it almost completely restored my faith in my abilities. He's just my little guy and I have fond memories of translating his works. We still know many Latin phrases that he wrote (Carpe Diem being the most famous. Hello, DPS fandom). Also, he and Vergil were most definitely in love. I don't make the rules. I have evidence if you want me to elaborate.

9/10

Catullus (love poems)

Ah, Catullus. Horny poet of the year. Had a wild affair with an older married woman. Nepotism baby. Sappho stan. Didn't know how to budget, but we aren't holding that against him. Just wanted to write poetry and dance (who doesn't, honestly). Gave fuck-all about education. Wrote nearly all of his poetry about the older woman he had an affair with. Might I add that this woman was married to one of his father's bestest buddies? Yeah. Icon. Here's a kid's choice award.

8/10

Martialis (Epigrams)

This dude had ZERO chill. Roasted everyone in the city. Literally, no one is safe. Wasn't afraid to call people out by their real names. Some people allegedly committed suicide after being roasted by this guy. Translating his epigrams gave me more joy than hearing we had seen the end of Vergil. His humour may be a little silly now, but I will not accept any Martialis slander on my blog.

10/10

And that is all folks

[connectparanormal]

Athenodorus and the Haunted Roman Villa

Known for his comprehensive writings that provided a vivid view of Roman society, Pliny the Younger was a notable Roman author and statesman. His letters are notorious for their level of detail. An intriguing narrative from one of his essays revolves around the philosopher Athenodorus and a renowned haunted villa. Pliny's writings contain this story, captivating readers for generations with its combination of intellectual investigation and otherworldly occurrences. In the beginning of the novel, Athenodorus, a Stoic philosopher from Tarsus, relocates to Athens in the hopes of finding a suitable spot to reside. He discovers a villa available for rent at an incredibly low cost. There are rumors of the villa's haunting. As a result of his curiosity rather than his fear, Athenodorus decides to investigate. Upon his arrival, he discovers that an elderly man in chains, haunting the grounds, drove the previous inhabitants out.

Indifferent to these accounts, Athenodorus leases the villa and gets ready for the night by arranging a lamp and his writing supplies. These accounts do not bother him. In an effort to maintain his composure and rationality, he completely submerges himself in his job as the sun begins to set. According to the stories, the ghost materializes and begins to rattle its shackles. Athenodorus, who exemplifies the Stoic ideal of peace and reason, observes the apparition with a serene demeanor and signals it to wait while he finishes his writing. As the spirit appeals to him, Athenodorus follows it into the courtyard, where it disappears immediately after entering. The philosopher notes the location and then, the following day, reports it to the authorities. They discover the skeleton of a chained man while excavating in the previously mentioned region. Following the completion of the appropriate funeral rites, the haunting is put to an end, allowing the villa to be occupied in a tranquil manner once more. One cannot overstate the significance of Pliny's story. The story is not only a captivating tale about ghosts, but it also serves as an example of the Stoic characteristics of bravery and rationality in the face of intense dread. The manner in which Athenodorus conducted himself and the meticulous approach he took exemplify the superiority of reason over superstition. It is not only that he solves the riddle by confronting the ghost with reasoning and composure, but he also brings tranquility back to the villa.

[just-here-for-the-moment]

Best thing I’ve read this week 😂 The ancient Roman version of, “Yo, dude. Do you believe in ghosts?”

The opening line of a letter from Pliny the Younger to Licinius Sura:

To Licinius Sura,

Our leisure gives me the chance to learn and you to teach me; so I should very much like to know whether you think that ghosts exist, and have a form of their own and some sort of supernatural power, or whether they lack substance and reality and take shape only from our fears.

[parthenopehasnograve]

“In the darkness you could hear the crying of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men. Some prayed for help. Others wished for death. But still more imagined that there were no Gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness.”

― Pliny the Younger, The Letters Of Pliny, The Younger on the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD that destroyed the campanian towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

[cadaver-sniffing-dog]

thinking about this letter from pliny the younger 2nite

[idkaguyorsomething]

sometimes i feel like i’m wasting my life and missing out on everything. then i learn that pliny the younger ignored the eruption of mount vesuvius because he had writing homework, even after his uncle explicitly invited him to come along and check out pompeii.

[monocordum]

Sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Pliny was a faithful servant of the Empire, which after the 60s needed skilled magistrates and governors ASAP. Pliny then proceeded to wrap up the extensive notes he'd spent his life taking while reading all sorts of essays, and thus birthed the mother of all Spark Notes--while working for, you know, the Emperor.

His stint at the Vesuvius's sides was caused by honorable causes: he wanted to make the tour of villas he had reasons to believe were endangered, to see their occupants to safety, and died while overseeing an evacuation because he wanted to be the last to leave the premises, after the owners and the slaves. At least, this is Pliny the Younger's (his nephew's) version: he was living with him in Campania at the time, and when his uncle told him duty compelled him to offer his services during the eruption and asked him if he felt like coming with, Pliny the Younger politely declined "because he was pursuing his studies". No one ever said Pliny the Elder was a genius or a scientist, and he never believed himself to be anything other than a civil servant

when you think about it tho pliny the elder is kind of the funniest guy in the world like. he wrote all these books about natural history that he was wrong about where he confidently claims things like “some animals only have blood during certain parts of the year” and then when mt. vesuvius erupted and destroyed pompeii and herculaneum he said “oh mt vesuvius is exploding? let me go check it out” and then he died

[uniguinflutist]

Pliny the Younger as a capybara

[tweedfrog]

Found the article (see here)! It wasn't a poem it was an analysis of a published love letter from Pliny the Younger to his wife:

Ep. 7.5To Calpurnia.You would scarcely credit how much I miss you and long to see you again. My love for you is the primary cause of this longing, and the fact that we have not been used to be away from each other is the second. Hence it is that I spend a great part of my nights awake and thinking of you, and regularly at the hours when I used to visit you I find my feet carrying me – in the literal sense of the term towards your room, and then, sick and sad at heart, and feeling as though I had been refused admittance, I turn to quit the empty threshold. At one time only am I free from these tormenting pangs, and that is when I am in court and busy pleading for my friends. Imagine, I pray you, how wretched is my life, when I find my rest in hard work, and my solace in being harassed and anxious.   Farewell.

The anonymous author points out that Pliny is sort of imitating the convention of the paraklausithyron which was a pretty recurring ancient greek motif where a lover is locked outside of the door of his beloved and is lamenting that he can't get inside. The author correctly states that in this case it is probably being used in a tongue in cheek way because

Pliny is overcome by love until he actually needs to do his work.

Pliny "approaches the door of this house not as a lover begging admittance, but as a master. He owns the door."

Calpurnia has no right of refusal.

[goldensanfran]

Pliny the Younger. At The Pub in Ukiah California. Very good but not superlative. It’s like sex - if I close my eyes it feels 10x better.