By the first century, after hundreds of years of bitter
warfare, Rome had established uncontested
dominance through the entire Mediterranean region.
All independent powers had bowed to the
might of the Roman legions, and no sovereign state
remained to challenge Rome’s supremacy. At the
same time, after a series of civil wars, the republican
form of government had been overthrown, and
Rome had become an empire. Though the imperial
government was autocratic, it brought political
and social stability to the Mediterranean region for
centuries. This period is now known as the Pax Romana,
or “Roman Peace,” the stability of which allowed
literature and art to flourish. One of the
best-known and most influential literary figures of
this time was Pliny the Younger.
Born in the Roman city of Novum Comum,
Pliny was the nephew and adopted son of the famous
Roman writer, soldier, and statesman, PLINY
THE ELDER. His uncle moved him to Rome to ensure
that he received an excellent education and
the opportunity to enter the legal profession,
which Roman society considered very honorable.
In 79, Pliny the Younger witnessed the famous
eruption ofMount Vesuvius and the destruction of
the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, having
gone there with his uncle, the commander of the
fleet that was sent to help the citizens evacuate.
Pliny the Elder was killed during the evacuation,
and Pliny the Younger wrote an account of the entire
event in a letter to the Roman historian TACITUS.
The letter has been preserved and provides the
best firsthand information concerning what happened
at Mount Vesuvius.
Pliny eventually became a lawyer in Rome, arguing
his first case when he was only 19. He made
excellent connections with important people in
Roman society and before long embarked on a
prosperous career within the imperial administration.
He served three different emperors—Domitian,
Nerva, and Trajan—working in military,
judicial, and administrative capacities, as well as
sitting as a member of the Senate. He was clearly
efficient as a civil servant, and his contributions
were highly valued, as evidenced by the numerous
letters that he exchanged with Emperor Trajan.
In the year 100, Trajan made Pliny a consul, the
highest position in the Roman government besides
emperor. To express his thanks, Pliny made a famous
speech on the floor of the Senate to thank
Trajan for the honor bestowed upon him, an oration
that has become known as the Panegyricus Trajani.
In this speech, Pliny praises Trajan’s qualities
and compares him favorably to other emperors.Although
it was an unabashed eulogy of Trajan, the
content of this speech provides historians with important
information about the early events of Trajan’s
reign. As an orator, Pliny was greatly
influenced by CICERO, an earlier Roman orator
whom he greatly admired and tried to emulate.
In 114, not long after assuming a position in the
Roman province of Bithynia, Pliny the Younger
died.His public career had been uneventful, but he
was universally respected for the sobriety of his
private life and his compassion as a magistrate.
Critical Analysis
Pliny the Younger’s fame rests on his correspondence.
Despite the demands of his duties in the imperial
government, he found time to devote
himself to a life of literature and letters. Although
much of what he wrote has been lost, including
most of his poetry, 247 of his letters survive in a
collection known simply as Letters. This work is
accessible to modern readers and provides a priceless
account of what life was like among the upper
classes during the time of the Pax Romana.
During Pliny’s time, letter writing was a crucially
important skill. Not only personal matters but also
affairs of state and government had to be communicated
entirely by letter. This was particularly true
of the Romans, who had the burdens of communicating
across a vast empire and dealing with a variety
of administrative and military matters.
In addition to official administrative matters,
the subjects covered in Pliny’s letter are numerous.
He discusses everything from Roman literary
life and his own intellectual interests to the
weather conditions in the place from which he is
writing. The letters also provide a fascinating
glimpse into the personality of Pliny himself, revealing
a man of both kindness and vanity.
Scholars have organized the Letters into 10 different
books, although each was likely intended as
an entirely independent piece. In addition to simple
communications between friends, Pliny clearly
intended his letters to be presented for publication,
which he states in the first letter of the first
book.
Two letters in particular have become famous.
The first is the one addressed to Tacitus in which
Pliny describes the eruption of Mount Vesuvius
and the death of his uncle. The second letter, addressed
to Emperor Trajan, was written when Pliny
was governor of the province of Bithynia and concerns
the persecution of the Christians.
This second letter is significant because it sheds
considerable light on the Romans’ general attitude
toward Christians during the early days of Christianity.
In it, Pliny writes to Trajan requesting guidance
on how he should deal with Christians
brought to him for trial, pointing out that he has
never presided over such a trial before. He states
that he executes those who admit to being Christians
and refuse to recant, but he lets go those
Christians who do recant their faith.He also states
that he has received anonymous accusations
against a number of people, charging them with
being Christians, but most of these prove to be
harmless. This letter to Trajan is interesting to historians
for its firsthand account of the persecutions
of Christians.
Other letters deal with mundane matters. In
one letter to Tacitus, he describes his own surprise
at killing three boars while on a hunt, even though
his personal preference is to study rather than
hunt. In another letter to his friend Sura, he describes
ghost stories he has heard. Such letters
offer a fascinating record of Roman life at the
time, making them invaluable historical documents.
English Versions of Works by
Pliny the Younger
Letters of the Younger Pliny. Translated by Betty
Radice. New York: Penguin Classics, 1990.
The Letters of the Younger Pliny: First Series, Vol. 1.
Available online. URL: IndyPublish.com.Accessed
2002.
Works about Pliny the Younger
Bell, Albert A., Jr. All Roads Lead to Murder: A Case
from the Notebooks of Pliny the Younger. Boone,
N.C.: High Country Publishers, 2002.
Gamberini, Federico. Stylistic Theory and Practice in
the Younger Pliny. Hildesheim, Germany: Georg
Olms Publishers, 1983.
Hoffer, Stanley E. Anxieties of Pliny the Younger. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1999.