Pliny the Elder
Bella Germaniae, which began where Aufidius Bassus' Libri Belli Germanici ("The War with the Germans") left off, was used as a source by other prominent Roman historians, including Plutarch, Tacitus, and Suetonius.TESTAMENTO FIERI IVSSOPlinius Secundus augur ordered this to be made as a testament to his father [Ce]ler and his mother [Grania] MarcellaThe actual words are fragmentary.[5] How the inscription got to Verona is unknown, but it could have arrived by dispersal of property from Pliny the Younger's estate at Colle Plinio, north of Città di Castello, identified with certainty by his initials in the roof tiles.He had a sister, Plinia, who married into the Caecilii and was the mother of his nephew, Pliny the Younger, whose letters describe his work and study regimen in detail.In one of his letters to Tacitus (avunculus meus), Pliny the Younger details how his uncle's breakfasts would be light and simple (levis et facilis) following the customs of our forefathers (veterum more interdiu).One (CIL V 5262) commemorates the younger's career as the imperial magistrate and details his considerable charitable and municipal expenses on behalf of the people of Como.Whether any conclusions can be drawn from Pliny's preference for Greek words, or Julius Pokorny's derivation of the name from north Italic as "bald"[12] is a matter of speculative opinion.[18] They had the same mother, Vistilia, a powerful matron of the Roman upper classes, who had seven children by six husbands, some of whom had imperial connections, including a future empress.A decorative phalera, or piece of harness, with his name on it has been found at Castra Vetera, modern Xanten, then a large Roman army and naval base on the lower Rhine.[15] Pliny's last commander there, apparently neither a man of letters nor a close friend of his, was Pompeius Paullinus, governor of Germania Inferior AD 55–58.[21] According to his nephew,[19] during this period, he wrote his first book (perhaps in winter quarters when more spare time was available), a work on the use of missiles on horseback, De Jaculatione Equestri ("On the Use of the Dart by Cavalry").[14] It has not survived, but in Natural History, he seems to reveal at least part of its content, using the movements of the horse to assist the javelin-man in throwing missiles while astride its back.In the subsequent Flavian dynasty, his services were in such demand that he had to give up his law practice, which suggests that he had been trying not to attract the attention of Nero, who was a dangerous acquaintance.His nephew relates: "He wrote this under Nero, in the last years of his reign, when every kind of literary pursuit which was in the least independent or elevated had been rendered dangerous by servitude."Pliny, apparently trusted without question, perhaps (reading between the lines) recommended by Vespasian's son Titus, was put to work immediately and was kept in a continuous succession of the most distinguished procuratorships, according to Suetonius.As is written in the first line of Pliny the Younger's Avunculus Meus: Ante lucem ibat ad Vespasianum imperatorem (nam ille quoque noctibus utebatur), deinde ad officium sibi delegatum.Before dawn he was going to Emperor Vespasian (for he also made use of the night), then he did the other duties assigned to him.In this passage, Pliny the Younger conveys to Tacitus that his uncle was ever the academic, always working."[27] A definitive study of the procuratorships of Pliny was compiled by the classical scholar Friedrich Münzer, which was reasserted by Ronald Syme and became a standard reference point.[29] For example, he says[30] In the cultivation of the soil, the manners and civilization of the inhabitants, and the extent of its wealth, it is surpassed by none of the provinces, and, in short, might be more truthfully described as a part of Italy than as a province.denoting a general popular familiarity with the region.[31] Among other events or features that he saw are the provoking of rubetae, poisonous toads (Bufonidae), by the Psylli;[32] the buildings made with molded earthen walls, "superior in solidity to any cement;"[33] and the unusual, fertile seaside oasis of Gabès (then Tacape), Tunisia, currently a World Heritage Site.The argument is based entirely on presumptions; nevertheless, this date is required to achieve Suetonius' continuity of procuratorships, if the one in Gallia Belgica occurred.Whether he was in Rome for the dedication of Vespasian's Temple of Peace in the Forum in 75, which was in essence a museum for display of art works plundered by Nero and formerly adorning the Domus Aurea, is uncertain, as is his possible command of the vigiles (night watchmen), a lesser post.Pliny seems to have known it was going to be controversial, as he deliberately reserved it for publication after his death:[14] It has been long completed and its accuracy confirmed; but I have determined to commit the charge of it to my heirs, lest I should have been suspected, during my lifetime, of having been unduly influenced by ambition.In winter, he furnished the copier with gloves and long sleeves so his writing hand would not stiffen with cold (Pliny the Younger in avunculus meus).His extract collection finally reached about 160 volumes, which Larcius Licinius, the Praetorian legate of Hispania Tarraconensis, unsuccessfully offered to purchase for 400,000 sesterces.Natural History is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman Empire and was intended to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny.As such, Pliny's approach to describing the work of artists informed Lorenzo Ghiberti in writing his commentaries in the 15th century, and Giorgio Vasari, who wrote the celebrated Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects in 1550.Through Natural History, Pliny the Elder gives modern experts a view into meanings of various things from first century Rome in a way that no other surviving text does.The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents.It is the only work by Pliny to have survived, and the last that he published, lacking a final revision at his sudden and unexpected death in the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius.Pliny, who had been appointed praefectus classis in the Roman navy by Vespasian, was stationed with the fleet at Misenum at the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Stipple engravingNovum ComumItaliaRoman EmpireStabiaeRhetoricgrammarnatural philosopherhistoriannaturalistNaturalis HistoriaPliny the YoungeremperorVespasianno longer extantAufidius BassusPlutarchTacitusSuetoniusDe origine et situ Germanorumeruption of Mount VesuviusXanten Horse-PhaleraeBritish Museumeruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79equestrianCIL V 1 3442VeronaAugustinianOnofrio PanvinioJean HardouinCatullusJean-Baptiste-Camille Corotestate at Colle PlinioCittà di CastelloGallia TranspadanaComo CathedralCIL V 5262CantùPliniaInsubricrhotacismcognomenJulius CaesarcoloniaAlpine tribesComascoJulius PokornyMisenumMount VesuviusMarcus Servilius NonianusRonald SymecohortGnaeus Domitius CorbuloGermania InferiorChauciCastra VeteraRhine RiverGermania SuperiorPublius Pomponius Secundusmilitary tribuneVistiliaChattipraetoriumphaleraPompeius Paullinusgovernor of Germania InferiormissilesjavelinDrusus NeroGlyptothekJulio-Claudian dynastyFlavian dynastyArmeniaCaspian SeaDomus AureaGreat Fire of RomeAnnalesGermaniaSymmachuslost worksprocuratorFriedrich MünzerGallia NarbonensisGabèsthe province of AfricaBufonidaePsylliWorld Heritage SiteHispania TarraconensissestercesAsturiasGallaeciaLas Médulasgold miningPorta NigraGallia BelgicaTreveriTemple of PeacevigilesBurrusPraetorian GuardPisonian conspiracyMessallaYear of the Four EmperorsNatural History (Pliny)Praetorian legatephilologicalpost mortemLaocoön and his SonsimperatorDomitianconsulbotanyzoologyastronomymineralogyhushingwater millsarchaeologyhistory of artLorenzo GhibertiGiorgio VasariLives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and ArchitectsRoman navyRectinaGulf of Naples