Pliny the Elder ( lat. Plinius Maior , real name Gaius Pliny Secundus , lat. Gaius Plinius Secundus ; between 22 and 24 AD ,
New Kom - August 24 or 25, 79 AD , Stabiae ) - Ancient Roman writer.
He is best known as the author of " Natural History " - the largest encyclopedic work of antiquity; his other writings have not survived to this day. He was the uncle of Guy Pliny Caecilius Secundus , known as Pliny the Younger (after the death of his sister's husband, father Pliny the Younger, he adopted a nephew, giving him an excellent education).
Pliny served in the army on the northern border of the Roman Empire, and after returning to Rome, he took up literary activity. After the emperor Vespasian came to power , with whose son Titus he served, he was called to public service. In the 70s, Pliny acted as viceroy in the provinces and commanded a fleet in the Gulf of Naples . In 77 or 78 he published the Natural History, dedicating it to Titus. Killed in the eruption of Vesuvius .
Biography
Pliny was born, according to various versions, in 22-23 or in 23-24 AD. e. The place of his birth is usually called New Kom (modern Como) . However, occasionally Verona is considered the birthplace of the writer - Pliny called the Veronian Catullus his countryman. At present, however, it is believed that the encyclopedist had in mind a common origin from Transpadania (the area beyond the Po River). The writer came from a wealthy family that belonged to the class of horsemen. As a child, Pliny was sent to Rome , where his upbringing and education was led by a family friend, politician and poet.Publius Pomponius Secundus , who had connections at the court of the emperor Caligula . Of the teachers of the future naturalist, the rhetorician Arellius Fuscus, the grammarian Remmius Palemon , and the botanist Anthony Castor are known .
In the late 40s and early 50s, Pliny served in the legions on the northern border of the Roman Empire. At first he served in the province of Germania Inferior , was in the area of the Ubii and in the Rhine Delta . From the "Natural History" it is also known about his stay on the other side of the river. It is believed that Pliny participated in the campaign of Domitius Corbulo against the Chavci tribe , which took place in 47 . Most likely, at first Pliny commanded a foot cohort, then a cavalry detachment. After serving in the province of Germania Inferior, the future writer went to the province of Upper Germany: he mentions the hot springs Aquae Mattiacae (modern Wiesbaden ) and the headwaters of the Danube. In this province, he probably took part in the campaign against the Hatti in 50-51. The governor of Upper Germany at this time was his patron Pomponius, who led the campaign. In about 51 or 52, Pliny left the province with Pomponius and returned to Rome. Around 57-58, Pliny was again on the northern frontier in military service (probably again in the province of Germania Inferior). Then he served together with the future emperor Titus. Soon Pliny returned to Italy and already on April 30, 59, he observed a solar eclipsein Campanin .
In Rome, Pliny worked as a lawyer, and by the end of Nero 's reign he retired from public life. The writing of several works belongs to the same time ( see below ). There is an assumption that Pliny participated in the Jewish War (the Roman army was commanded there by Vespasian , the father of Titus) and even was the procurator of Syria, but it has very shaky grounds.
After Vespasian, the father of Titus, became the new emperor in 69, Pliny was called to public service. Perhaps during this period he was patronized by Vespasian's close associate Gaius Licinius Mucianus , who himself was engaged in writing [11] . The details of Pliny's service are unknown: Suetonius mentions that he was the procurator of several provinces, without specifying which ones. Only the nephew of the naturalist, Pliny the Younger , mentions in one letter that his uncle was the procurator of Spain(this governorship is usually dated to 73/74). Friedrich Müntzer , after examining references to the various regions of the Roman Empire in the Natural History, suggested that Pliny was a procuratorNarbonne Gaul , Africa , Tarraconian Spain and Belgica in 70-76. Ronald Syme, however, expressed the opinion that in Narbonne Gaul and in Belgica the writer could be in transit or on other business. Viceroyalty in Africa and Tarraconian Spain is more likely; nothing definite can be said about other provinces. Some researchers draw attention to the impossibility of establishing when he was the governor of the provinces, and therefore suggest that for the first time Nero made him a procurator. However, the testimony of Suetonius indicates, rather, the successive occupation of several positions [15]. It is also assumed that in the 70s Pliny could have been an adviser to the emperors.
In the end, Pliny was appointed commander of the fleet in Misen (modern Miseno ) on the coast of the Gulf of Naples. On August 24, 79, a strong eruption of Mount Vesuvius began , and Pliny arrived on ships in Stabiae on the other side of the bay. In the Stabiae, he poisoned himself with sulfuric fumes and died. The reason why Pliny approached an erupting volcano is not clear, which is why he is often perceived only as a victim of his own curiosity. However, his nephew, who was in Misen, in a letter to the historian Tacitusdescribed in detail the death of his uncle: he went to the other side of the bay, not only to observe a rare natural phenomenon from close, but also in order to help his friends escape. In the Stabiae, he calmed the panicked locals and waited for the wind to change and the sea to calm down in order to set sail, but in the end he suffocated. Pliny the Younger's report that his uncle had a "thin and naturally weak throat" is now commonly understood as asthma . Suetonius, however, left the version that the naturalist died, asking his slave to save himself from torment. Thus, along with the desire to watch the eruption, Pliny was guided by the desire to help those affected by the cataclysm.
Literary activity
From the letters of his nephew, it is known that Pliny the Elder was a man of extraordinary diligence. There was no place that he considered inconvenient for learning; there was no time he did not take advantage of to read and take notes. He read, or they read to him on the road, in the bath, at dinner, after dinner, and time was also taken away from sleep, as far as possible, since he considered every hour that was not devoted to mental pursuits to be wasted. All sorts of books were read, even bad ones, since, according to Pliny the Elder, there is no such bad book from which one could not derive any benefit. In one of his letters, Pliny the Younger lists his uncle's writings: "On Cavalry Throwing" ( De iacululatione equestri ), "On the Life of Pomponius Secundus" in two books ( De vita Pomponii Secundi), a rhetorical essay in three books ( Studiosi ), a grammatical essay "Dubious Words" in eight books ( Dubii Sermonis ; Priscian and Gregory of Tours call this work Ars Grammatica [19] ), a historical essay in thirty-one books, which described events from that the moment where Aufidius Bassus ended his history ( A fine Aufidii Bassi ), "German Wars" in twenty books ( Bellorum Germaniae ) and finally thirty-seven books of " Natural History " [~ 3]. In addition, after the death of the author, one hundred and sixty books of the smallest letter remained with extracts or notes that he made while reading (they have not survived to this day).
"Natural History" is dedicated to Titus . Since Pliny in the introduction calls him a six-time consul, the work dates from 77 or 78 (later Titus was consul two more times). Originally there were 36 books in Natural History. Modern 37 books appeared later, according to different versions, due to the division of book XVIII into two parts or due to the addition of contents and a list of sources as a separate book I. The work on javelin throwing and the biography of Pomponius were presented to the public in 62-66, and at the same time Pliny began to write the history of the German wars. Treatises on rhetoric and grammar were completed by the author in the years 67-68, and "History after Auphidius Bassus" - between 70 and 76 years.
The structure of Natural History
- Introduction.
- Book I. Table of contents and sources.
- Book II. Universe and space.
- Book III. Geography (from Spain to Moesia ).
- Book IV. Geography (Balkans, part of the Black Sea coast, Sarmatia, Scythia, islands of the Baltic and North Seas).
- Book V. Geography (Africa and the Middle East).
- Book VI. Geography (Caucasus, Asia).
- Book VII. Human.
- Book VIII. Land animals.
- Book IX. Fish and other sea creatures.
- Book X. Birds.
- Book XI. Insects.
- Book XII. Trees.
- Book XIII. exotic trees.
- Book XIV. Fruit trees.
- Book XV. Fruit trees.
- Book XVI. Forest trees.
- Book XVII. Cultivated trees.
- Book XVIII. Cereal crops.
- Book XIX. Flax and other plants.
- Book XX. Medicines from garden plants.
- Book XXI. Flowers.
- Book XXII. Properties of plants and fruits.
- Book XXIII. Medicines from cultivated trees.
- Book XXIV. Medicines from forest trees.
- Book XXV. wild plants.
- Book XXVI. Medicines from other plants.
- Book XXVII. Other plants and medicines from them.
- Book XXVIII. Medicines from animals.
- Book XXIX. Medicines from animals.
- Book XXX. Medicines from animals.
- Book XXXI. Medicines from sea plants.
- Book XXXII. Medicines from marine animals.
- Book XXXIII. Metals.
- Book XXXIV. Metals.
- Book XXXV. Paints, colors, pictures.
- Book XXXVI. Stones, sculptures.
- Book XXXVII. Precious stones and products from them.
