PLINIUS CÆCILIUS SECUNDUS

PLINIUS CÆCILIUS SECUNDUS, Caius, commonly known as the "Younger Pliny," was the son of Caius Cæcilius, a person of equestrian rank, and of Plinia, the sister of the elder Pliny. His native place was probably Norium Comum, now Como; though Verona has been suggested. He was born A.D. 61 or 62; for we learn, from a letter of his to Cornelius Tacitus (b. vi., Ep. 20), that he was in his eighteenth year at the decease of his uncle, in A.D. 79. The time of his death is not known, but it is thought to have been towards the close of the reign of Trajanus, who died A.D. 117. Losing his father in early life, he was adopted by his uncle, then in Spain; upon whose return to Rome, A.D. 70 or 71, he was, with his mother, received under his roof. His education was conducted under the supervision of his uncle and his guardian Verginius Rufus, a person of consular rank, and of whom (b. ii., Ep. 1) he speaks in terms of grateful remembrance. In his fourteenth year he wrote a Greek tragedy, of which he does not speak in very flattering terms in after life (b. vii., Ep. 4). At Rome, he studied eloquence under Quintilianus and Nicias Sacerdos. With his mother, he was residing with the elder Pliny at Misenum at the period of the great eruption of Vesuvius, and his death. At the age of nineteen he appeared as an advocate in the Forum, and was frequently employed in a similar capacity in the court of the Centumviri; as also in prosecutions before the Roman senate. While young he served as military tribune in Syria, where he met with Euphrates, the Stoic philosopher, and Artemidorus. After his return to Rome, he was appointed Quæstor Casaris, and was Prætor about A.D. 93. Towards the end of the reign of Domitianus, he drew upon himself the resentment of that emperor for his support of the cause of Helvidius, who was put to death. In A.D. 100 he was

Plinius. appointed Consul, upon which occasion he composed his Panegyric upon the Emperor Trajanus. In A.D. 103 he became Pro-prator of the province of Pontica. He filled other offices also; and it is inferred from his letters (b. iii., Ep. 20; b. iv., Ep. 25) that he attained senatorial rank. His latter years were probably spent in retirement in Italy, his constitution being weak and his health delicate. He was twice married; his first wife dying about A.D. 96, the following year he married Calpurnia, who was considerably younger than himself,—a highly accomplished woman, and a member of an illustrious family. He had no children by either wife, born alive.

His character may be inferred from his letters. Somewhat credulous and superstitious, he was evidently an amiable man,—frugal, temperate, and in general humane; a promoter of learning, and on terms of intimacy with most of the literary men of his day. Possessing several villas on the banks of the Lake of Como, he was in the enjoyment of affluence; and he spent his money liberally, for the benefit of others as well as the improvement of his estates. He has been accused, however, of being jealous of the reputation of some of his friends; and that he was somewhat vain of his own acquirements, there is reason to believe.

The only extant works of Pliny are his Panegyric upon Trajanus, and his Epistles, in ten books. Very different estimates have been put upon the former. By some scholars it has been styled a work of surpassing excellence, and a model of eloquence; while by others it is stigmatized as a fulsome composition, and of little merit. Indeed, we are bound to admit that, in point of flattery, it oversteps modern notions of propriety, and that its style is too studied and formal: its chief value probably consists in what little information it gives us about the author and his times. The first nine books of the Epistles are addressed to various persons, and furnish the chief materials for Pliny's Life, with much interesting information about his contemporaries. The tenth book contains his letters to Trajanus during his government in Asia Minor, together with the Emperor's answers; an interesting series, which, it has been suggested, though on insufficient grounds, was not the genuine production of Pliny. Be this as it may, the collection forms a valuable accession to ancient literature, the merits of which are well described by Erasmus.—"The letters of Pliny," he says, "are redolent of wit, elegant, and appropriate: in them we read nothing but what pertains to everyday life, and everything is purely Latin, chaste, and ably described."

The two letters descriptive of the death and literary habits of the elder Pliny, and those addressed to Trajanus, with the answers, form the most interesting portions of the work. From the time of Tertullian, peculiar interest has been attached by the Christian world to Pliny's name, from the testimony which he bears (b. x., Ep. 97) relative to the character and tenets of the early Christians of his day,—the followers, as he calls them, of "a perverse and extravagant superstition." The conduct of Pliny, who was otherwise a humane man, towards the Christians of Bithynia, seems to have been cruel and intolerant; and his object is to ask the Emperor's advice as to his future proceedings, more particularly with the view of putting down their secret meetings. The Emperor's answer (b. x., Ep. 98), advising him to be lenient, and not too searching in his inquiries, is tempered with a spirit of mercy and justice, which unfortunately has not at all times characterized professing Christians themselves in their differences upon religion.

The first edition of the Epistles is that of Naples, 1476, folio; and of the Panegyricus and Epistles, that of Venice, 1485, 4to. The best edition of the entire works is that of Gierig (Leipsic, 1806, 2 vols. 8vo). The edition of the Epistles by Cortius and Longolius (Amst., 1734, 4to) is

highly commended. There is also a very elaborate Life of Pliny by Masson (Amst., 1769, 8vo). There are two English translations of the Epistles,—one by Lord Orrery, the other by W. Melmoth; the latter probably the more meritorious of the two. (U. T. E.)