4 Gallinam ut a te missam libenter accepi; quam satis acribus oculis, quamquam adhuc lippus, pinguissimam vidi. Vale.
21. — TO CORNUTUS.
I am all obedience, my dearest colleague, and am attending, as you bid me, to the weakness in my eyes. For I came here in a close carriage, shut in on all sides as in a bedroom, and am abstaining here — with difficulty, but still abstaining — not only from the use of my pen, but even from reading, and study only through my ears. By drawing a curtain, I cause my chamber to be shaded without being darkened. The cloister, too, by covering up the lower part of the windows, enjoys as much shade as sun. In this way I am carefully learning by degrees to bear the light. I take baths because they are of service, and wine because it does me no harm — very sparingly, however; so I have habituated myself, and now there is some one by me to watch me.
The present of a fowl, as coming from you, was most acceptable; and though still weak of sight, I had eyes sharp enough to see that it was an extremely plump one.
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22. C. PLINIUS FALCONI SUO S.
1 Minus miraberis me tam instanter petisse, ut in amicum meum conferres tribunatum, cum scieris quis ille qualisque. Possum autem iam tibi et nomen indicare et describere ipsum, postquam polliceris. 2 Est Cornelius Minicianus, ornamentum regionis meae seu dignitate seu moribus. Natus splendide abundat facultatibus, amat studia ut solent pauperes. Idem rectissimus iudex, fortissimus advocatus, amicus fidelissimus. 3 Accepisse te beneficium credes, cum propius inspexeris hominem omnibus honoribus, omnibus titulis — nihil volo elatius de modestissimo viro dicere — parem. Vale.
22. — TO FALCO.
You will be less surprised at my having been so persistent in begging you to confer a tribuneship upon a friend of mine when you know who and what he is. For now that you have given me your promise, I am able to tell you his name and to describe the personage. Cornelius Minicianus is the man, an ornament to my native district both in position and character. Of illustrious birth and ample fortune, he is as much devoted to study as poor men are wont to be. At the same time he is a most upright judge, a most undaunted advocate, and a most faithful friend. You will think that a favour has been conferred on you when you have made more intimate acquaintance with a man who is at any rate equal (for I do not wish to speak too boastfully of one who is himself so modest) to any honours and to any titles.
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23. C. PLINIUS FABATO PROSOCERO SUO S.
1 Gaudeo quidem esse te tam fortem, ut Mediolani occurrere Tironi possis, sed ut perseveres esse tam fortis, rogo ne tibi contra rationem aetatis tantum laboris iniungas. Quin immo denuntio, ut illum et domi et intra domum atque etiam intra cubiculi limen exspectes. 2 Etenim, cum a me ut frater diligatur, non debet ab eo quem ego parentis loco observo, exigere officium quod parenti suo remisisset. Vale.
23. — TO FABATUS, HIS WIFE’S GRANDFATHER.
While I rejoice at your being strong enough to go and meet Tiro at Mediolanum, yet that you may continue to preserve that strength, I would beg you not to impose on yourself so great a fatigue, which is opposed to the consideration of your time of life. Nay, further, I enjoin on you to wait for him at home, and, what is more, inside your house, and even inside your chamber. For truly, since he is cherished by me as a brother, he ought not to exact from one whom I look up to as a father an attention which he would have excused in the case of his own father.
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24. C. PLINIUS GEMINO SUO S.
1 Ummidia Quadratilla paulo minus octogensimo aetatis anno decessit usque ad novissimam valetudinem viridis, atque etiam ultra matronalem modum compacto corpore et robusto. 2 Decessit honestissimo testamento: reliquit heredes ex besse nepotem, ex tertia parte neptem. Neptem parum novi, nepotem familiarissime diligo, adulescentem singularem nec iis tantum, quos sanguine attingit, inter propinquos amandum. 3 Ac primum conspicuus forma omnes sermones malignorum et puer et iuvenis evasit, intra quartum et vicensimum annum maritus, et si deus adnuisset pater. Vixit in contubernio aviae delicatae severissime, et tamen obsequentissime. 4 Habebat illa pantomimos fovebatque, effusius quam principi feminae convenit. Hos Quadratus non in theatro, non domi spectabat, nec illa exigebat. 5 Audivi ipsam cum mihi commendaret nepotis sui studia, solere se, ut feminam in illo otio sexus, laxare animum lusu calculorum, solere spectare pantomimos suos, sed cum factura esset alterutrum, semper se nepoti suo praecepisse abiret studeretque; quod mihi non amore eius magis facere quam reverentia videbatur.
6 Miraberis, et ego miratus sum. Proximis sacerdotalibus ludis, productis in commissione pantomimis, cum simul theatro ego et Quadratus egrederemur, ait mihi: ‘Scis me hodie primum vidisse saltantem aviae meae libertum?’ Hoc nepos. 7 At hercule alienissimi homines in honorem Quadratillae — pudet me dixisse honorem — per adulationis officium in theatrum cursitabant exsultabant plaudebant mirabantur ac deinde singulos gestus dominae cum canticis reddebant; qui nunc exiguissima legata, theatralis operae corollarium, accipient ab herede, qui non spectabat. 8 Haec, quia soles si quid incidit novi non invitus audire, deinde quia iucundum est mihi quod ceperam gaudium scribendo retractare. Gaudeo enim pietate defunctae, honore optimi iuvenis; laetor etiam quod domus aliquando C. Cassi, huius qui Cassianae scholae princeps et parens fuit, serviet domino non minori. 9 Implebit enim illam Quadratus meus et decebit, rursusque ei pristinam dignitatem celebritatem gloriam reddet, cum tantus orator inde procedet, quantus iuris ille consultus. Vale.
24. — TO GEMINUS.
Ummidia Quadratilla is dead, wanting a little of eighty years, hut hale up to the time of her last illness, and with a compactness and vigour of frame surpassing that of matrons in general. She died leaving a will which reflected great credit on her. She made her grandson heir to two-thirds, and her granddaughter to the remaining third of her fortune. The granddaughter I know hut slightly, the grandson I have the strongest regard for — a youth of singular merit, and one who deserved to be loved as a relation by others besides his blood connections. In the first place, though conspicuous for personal beauty, he escaped the gossip of the malevolent, both in boyhood and youth. In his four-and-twentieth year he was a husband, and, had the gods so willed it, would have become a father. In the society of a grandmother addicted to pleasure he lived a life of extreme steadiness, and yet of compliance with her wishes. She had pantomimists in her employ, and interested herself more warmly in them than became a woman of her high rank. Neither at the theatre nor at home did Quadratus witness the performances of these men, and she did not require him to do so. I have heard her say herself, when commending to me her grandson’s studious pursuits, that being a woman, with that want of occupation which is the lot of the sex, she was in the habit of relieving her mind by a game of draughts, or by watching the performances of her pantomimists; but that whenever she was about to do either of these things she always bade her grandson go off to his studies; and she seemed to me to do this from a sense of what was due to the youth as much as from her love for him.
You will be astonished, and so was I. At the last sacerdotal games, a contest of pantomimists having been exhibited, as Quadratus and I were leaving the theatre together, said he to me, “Do you know that to-day is the first time I ever saw a freedman of my grandmothers dancing!” Thus the grandson. But, by Hercules, persons who were in no way connected with her, by way of doing honour to Quadratilla — I am ashamed of having said honour — rather by way of discharging their office of toadies — were coursing about the theatre, and jumping and clapping their hands, and admiring and imitating every gesture for the benefit of their patroness, with an accompaniment of sing-song. And now these persons will receive the tiniest of legacies, as a gratuity for enacting the part of claqueurs, from an heir who was never a spectator of these performances.
I have told you all this, because, when anything fresh turns up, you are in general not indisposed to hear it; next, because it is a pleasure to me
to renew any subject of joy by writing about it. And I do joy in the family affection shown by the deceased and in the honour paid to so excellent a young man. I am delighted, too, that the house which formerly belonged to C. Cassius (the man who was the chief and founder of the Cassian school) should be in possession of an owner in no way his inferior. For my friend Quadratus will worthily fill it and become it, and once more restore to it its ancient dignity, celebrity, and glory, since there will issue thence as great an orator as Cassius was a jurisconsult.
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25. C. PLINIUS RUFO SUO S.
1 O quantum eruditorum aut modestia ipsorum aut quies operit ac subtrahit famae! At nos eos tantum dicturi aliquid aut lecturi timemus, qui studia sua proferunt, cum illi qui tacent hoc amplius praestent, quod maximum opus silentio reverentur. 2 Expertus scribo quod scribo. Terentius Iunior, equestribus militiis atque etiam procuratione Narbonensis provinciae integerrime functus, recepit se in agros suos, paratisque honoribus tranquillissimum otium praetulit. 3 Hunc ego invitatus hospitio ut bonum patrem familiae, ut diligentem agricolam intuebar, de his locuturus, in quibus illum versari putabam; et coeperam, cum ille me doctissimo sermone revocavit ad studia. 4 Quam tersa omnia, quam Latina, quam Graeca! Nam tantum utraque lingua valet, ut ea magis videatur excellere, qua cum maxime loquitur. Quantum ille legit, quantum tenet! Athenis vivere hominem, non in villa putes. 5 Quid multa? Auxit sollicitudinem meam effecitque ut illis quos doctissimos novi, non minus hos seductos et quasi rusticos verear. 6 Idem suadeo tibi: sunt enim ut in castris sic etiam in litteris nostris, plures cultu pagano quos cinctos et armatos, et quidem ardentissimo ingenio, diligenter scrutatus invenies. Vale.
25. — TO RUFUS.
What a number of learned men there are whom their own modesty or the stillness of their lives conceals and withdraws from fame! Yet we, when about to speak or read in public, stand in apprehension of those only who advertise their learning, whereas such as hold their tongues show to advantage by their silent reverence for the noblest of pursuits. What I write is written from experience. Terentius Junior, after serving irreproachably in the army, in Equestrian grades, and also as Procurator of the province of Narbonian Gaul, has retired to his estate, preferring the profoundest retirement to the honours which awaited him. Having been invited to his house, I regarded him as a worthy paterfamilias and a diligent farmer, and was prepared to talk to him on subjects with which I supposed him to be conversant. Indeed, I had begun to do so, when he, with the most learned discourse, recalled me to literature. How neatly he always expresses himself! in what Latin, in what Greek! He is so strong in both languages that he seems chiefly to excel in the one he happens to speak at the moment. How great his reading, how great his memory! You would think he lived at Athens, not in a country-house. In short, he has added to my apprehensions by causing me to be nervous in the presence of these secluded and, so to speak, rough countryfolk no less than in that of those whom I know for men of extensive learning. I advise you to the same effect. For just as in camps, so also in this literary arena of ours, there are a good many persons who, though not in uniform, will be found on a close inspection to be girded and armed, and that too with the sharpest of intellects.
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26. C. PLINIUS MAXIMO SUO S.
1 Nuper me cuiusdam amici languor admonuit, optimos esse nos dum infirmi sumus. Quem enim infirmum aut avaritia aut libido sollicitat? 2 Non amoribus servit, non appetit honores, opes neglegit et quantulumcumque, ut relicturus, satis habet. Tunc deos tunc hominem esse se meminit, invidet nemini neminem miratur neminem despicit, ac ne sermonibus quidem malignis aut attendit aut alitur: balinea imaginatur et fontes. 3 Haec summa curarum, summa votorum mollemque in posterum et pinguem, si contingat evadere, hoc est innoxiam beatamque destinat vitam. 4 Possum ergo quod plurimis verbis, plurimis etiam voluminibus philosophi docere conantur, ipse breviter tibi mihique praecipere, ut tales esse sani perseveremus, quales nos futuros profitemur infirmi. Vale.
26. — TO MAXIMUS.
The illness of a certain friend lately reminded me that we are best while we are sick. For what sick man is tempted either by avarice or lust? Such an one is not the slave of his amours, has no appetite for honours, is neglectful of riches, and holds the smallest portion of them for enough, seeing that he is about to part with it. Then he remembers that there are gods and that he is a man; he envies no one, admires no one, despises no one; not even to malicious gossip will he pay attention or find food in it. His dreams are of baths and fountains. These form the sum of his anxieties, the sum of his aspirations; he proposes to himself an easy and comfortable existence for the future, that is, a harmless and a happy one, if he has the luck to escape. What philosophers strive to teach with a multitude of words, and even in a multitude of volumes, I am able, therefore, to lay down for your benefit and my own thus briefly: in health we should continue to be such as, in sickness, we promise that we shall be.
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27. C. PLINIUS SURAE SUO S.
1 Et mihi discendi et tibi docendi facultatem otium praebet. Igitur perquam velim scire, esse phantasmata et habere propriam figuram numenque aliquod putes an inania et vana ex metu nostro imaginem accipere. 2 Ego ut esse credam in primis eo ducor, quod audio accidisse Curtio Rufo. Tenuis adhuc et obscurus, obtinenti Africam comes haeserat. Inclinato die spatiabatur in porticu; offertur ei mulieris figura humana grandior pulchriorque. Perterrito Africam se futurorum praenuntiam dixit: iturum enim Romam honoresque gesturum, atque etiam cum summo imperio in eandem provinciam reversurum, ibique moriturum. 3 Facta sunt omnia. Praeterea accedenti Carthaginem egredientique nave eadem figura in litore occurrisse narratur. Ipse certe implicitus morbo futura praeteritis, adversa secundis auguratus, spem salutis nullo suorum desperante proiecit.
4 Iam illud nonne et magis terribile et non minus mirum est quod exponam ut accepi? 5 Erat Athenis spatiosa et capax domus sed infamis et pestilens. Per silentium noctis sonus ferri, et si attenderes acrius, strepitus vinculorum longius primo, deinde e proximo reddebatur: mox apparebat idolon, senex macie et squalore confectus, promissa barba horrenti capillo; cruribus compedes, manibus catenas gerebat quatiebatque. 6 Inde inhabitantibus tristes diraeque noctes per metum vigilabantur; vigiliam morbus et crescente formidine mors sequebatur. Nam interdiu quoque, quamquam abscesserat imago, memoria imaginis oculis inerrabat, longiorque causis timoris timor erat. Deserta inde et damnata solitudine domus totaque illi monstro relicta; proscribebatur tamen, seu quis emere seu quis conducere ignarus tanti mali vellet. 7 Venit Athenas philosophus Athenodorus, legit titulum auditoque pretio, quia suspecta vilitas, percunctatus omnia docetur ac nihilo minus, immo tanto magis conducit. Ubi coepit advesperascere, iubet sterni sibi in prima domus parte, poscit pugillares stilum lumen, suos omnes in interiora dimittit; ipse ad scribendum animum oculos manum intendit, ne vacua mens audita simulacra et inanes sibi metus fingeret. 8 Initio, quale ubique, silentium noctis; dein concuti ferrum, vincula moveri. Ille non tollere oculos, non remittere stilum, sed offirmare animum auribusque praetendere. Tum crebrescere fragor, adventare et iam ut in limine, iam ut intra limen audiri. Respicit, videt agnoscitque narratam sibi effigiem. 9 Stabat innuebatque digito similis vocanti. Hic contra ut paulum exspectaret manu significat rursusque ceris et stilo incumbit. Illa scribentis capiti catenis insonabat. Respicit rursus idem quod prius innuentem, nec moratus tollit lumen et sequitur. 10 Ibat illa lento gradu quasi gravis vinculis. Postquam deflexit in aream domus, repente dilapsa deserit comitem. Desertus herbas et folia concerpta signum loco ponit. 11 Postero die adit magistratus, monet ut illum locum effodi iubeant. Inveniuntur ossa inserta catenis et implicita, quae corpus aevo terraque putrefactum nuda et exesa reliquerat vinculis; collecta publice sepeliuntur. Domus postea rite conditis manibus caruit.
12 Et haec quidem affirmantibus credo; illud affirmare aliis possum. Est libertus mihi non illitteratus. Cum hoc minor frater eodem lecto quiescebat. Is vi
sus est sibi cernere quendam in toro residentem, admoventemque capiti suo cultros, atque etiam ex ipso vertice amputantem capillos. Ubi illuxit, ipse circa verticem tonsus, capilli iacentes reperiuntur. 13 Exiguum temporis medium, et rursus simile aliud priori fidem fecit. Puer in paedagogio mixtus pluribus dormiebat. Venerunt per fenestras — ita narrat — in tunicis albis duo cubantemque detonderunt et qua venerant recesserunt. Hunc quoque tonsum sparsosque circa capillos dies ostendit. 14 Nihil notabile secutum, nisi forte quod non fui reus, futurus, si Domitianus sub quo haec acciderunt diutius vixisset. Nam in scrinio eius datus a Caro de me libellus inventus est; ex quo coniectari potest, quia reis moris est summittere capillum, recisos meorum capillos depulsi quod imminebat periculi signum fuisse.
15 Proinde rogo, eruditionem tuam intendas. Digna res est quam diu multumque consideres; ne ego quidem indignus, cui copiam scientiae tuae facias. 16 Licet etiam utramque in partem — ut soles — disputes, ex altera tamen fortius, ne me suspensum incertumque dimittas, cum mihi consulendi causa fuerit, ut dubitare desinerem. Vale.
Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Younger (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics) Page 115
