Pline the Young person (in Latin Caius Plinius Caecilius Secundus ) is a writer and Roman politician born in 61 with Like in the north of the peninsula Italian and died towards 114, surely in the area of Bithynie.

He lived thus under the reigns of five successive emperors: Vespasien, Titus, Domitien, Nerva and Trajan.

Biography

Famous the Pline Old the was his/her paternal uncle; with died of his father, it took Pline the Young person under his protection, supervised its education and even, adopted it by will right before its death, which has occurred in 79 at the time of the eruption of the Vesuvius. After an education with Like, then with Rome, near Quintilien in particular, he became lawyer and entered the senatorial order. Its career is then supported by powerful guards.

It fulfills then the military function of Tribun in Syria, then carried out a beautiful senatorial career under Domitien while becoming successively Questeur into 89 or 90, Tribun of the plebs into 92, Préteur into 93 then prefect of the military treasury into 95. In 93, the activity of Pline is worth to him to be endangered near the authoritative Domitien emperor. Thus it was charged by the Sénat, main force of opposition to the emperor, to support the interests of the Bétique against one of the friends of Domitien, Baebius Massa. This same year, it helped the philosopher Artémidore at the time when the emperor expelled the philosophers of Rome. He escaped from little from the fate reserved then from many his close friends: like they, it would have died if Domitien had not been assassinated. In fact, its name appeared in a letter of denunciation that Mattius Casus, a Délateur, had forwarded to the emperor.

After the death of the tyrant, Pline became managing senatorial treasury into 97/98 and continues its activity of lawyer. One can think that it became close to the emperor Trajan at the time of the come to power of this one.

Pline the Young person reaches the top of sound course honorum in year 100 when, after the lawsuit of Marius Priscus, it is named consul suffectus by the emperor for October and September. If this magistrature hardly gets more capacities to him, it remains a mark of immense prestige. September 1st, 100, day of its taking up the duties, Pline the gratiarum actio pronounced, that is to say a speech to thank the emperor for having chosen it, as it was of rule since the time augustéenne. This text is the only speech of this type, going back to before the Lower Empire, which is preserved to us. Nevertheless, the really marked speech was shorter: this one was altered, then published by Pline itself into 103, with the title of Panégyrique of Trajan .

Of its place of senator, Pline becomes the principal carrier of a political ideology specific to certain senators. Indeed, it wished the permanent conciliation between the Curia and the Emperor, with for original intention legitimate the policy of this one, but also with that bring closer it closest to the interests of the senatorial majority. It became thus, as of the death of Domitien and during the reigns of Nerva and Trajan, one of the ideologists and the most active partisans of the imperial capacity.

After a few years of successive senatorial dignities, Pline the Young person becomes in the year 111 administrators of the province of the Bridge-Bithynie as extraordinary legate of the emperor and under the official titles of proconsul and legatus . This period is marked by an important correspondence between Pline and Trajan. This Correspondance with the emperor is an invaluable source of information on the Roman administration of this time. He must have occupied his station until his death (in 113 or 114), which is known for us only by the stop at that time of its correspondence, abundant until there.

Works

the Panegyric of Trajan

Published on September 1st, 100, this panegyric is a work of circumstance. It was indeed of tradition to thank the princeps the year when one was named consul. The text which reached us makes following the nomination, by Trajan, of Pline the Young person as a consul.

Correspondence

The Correspondance of Pline marks the advent of a artistic Prose epistolary, where the civic utilitarianism of the familiar exchange yields the step to the urbanity of the literary person. To believe the épistolier of it, this refinement aims at compensating for the absence of matter. It blames the decline of the République, which provided at one time to Cicéron of many occasions to write. Admittedly, its letters are addressed for the majority to close relations and the épistolier admits readily that “to write for a friend is not to write for the public” ( Correspondance , VI, 17,22). But its work is the theater of a setting in scene Rhétorique in which the recipients do nothing but nominally appear. They constitute as many pretexts to the exercise of style and the egotistic expression. If the written letters in open heart are those which one has the best memory, the “fast and correct” style of the epistolary mode does not exclude therefore the ornament, and the former student of Quintilien remembers the lessons of his Master rather when he recommends, than a Atticisme of a outraged, a eloquence full, “tightened and thick, but at the same time abundant simplicity divine and celestial” (I, 20,22)

Books I to IX

In accordance with an already former use, the first book opens on a letter dedication which is used as foreword with the unit. It is learned there that Pline, at the instigation of the recipient, certain Septicus, would have undertaken to publish those of its letters which it had composed with “a little more care”. He affirms not to have followed the chronological order and claims that their classification was randomly carried out those which fell to him under the hand. In fact, it was rather a question for the author of choosing the order most appropriate to their development. Because for “authentic” that they can be (i.e. they were sent or not), these letters are initially exercises of prose where the form, in addition extremely varied (account, essay, history, praise, etc), guard always precedence of the bottom. The dedication finishes on a wish together with an engagement: “It remains that we do not have with us repentance, you of your council and me of my docility. In this case, I will seek letters which were not published yet and if I write news of them, I will not let them be lost. Good-bye” (I, 1,1-2.). If one trusts the number of books published thereafter (eight collections published successively from 97 to 109, plus the posthumous edition of its official correspondence with Trajan), it seems that the author never had to regret his initiative.

In these 9 books, one counts 225 letters on the whole. The debate on the authenticity of its letters continues to animate modern criticism. Here some elements of synthesis of the one and other parties:

These letters are false

• They are not dated.
• There are almost as many correspondents as of letters.
• Each one milked only one subject.
• None calls answer.
• It has no trace of followed correspondence there.

For J. Bayet and has. - M. Guillemin, the letters of Pline are only of small prose poems, of pure factitiousness, whose correspondent is only one fictitious dedicatee: they are sufficed for themselves. It misses a certain spontaneousness indeed, so that one can see there artistic or erudite works intended for the public reading. They classified them as follows:

- compliments;

- praises;

- portraits;

- descriptions: various cities, sites;

- documentary or historical account;

- moral or literary essay.

These letters are true

• the presence or the absence of a date does not prejudge of anything the authenticity of the letters: only the letters addressed to Trajan would not have been dated.
• Pline prefers to cover one subject each time.
• the fact that the answers are not published does not want to say that there was not of it: it can be a choice of the editor of Pline.
• It does not matter that there is no followed correspondence: Pline chose to publish only one anthology, part of its correspondence.
• It can indeed act of selected pieces: Pline could select an extract of letters, worthy of publication, within the same letter of several layers.

Deliver X

One counted 122 authentic letters addressed by Pline, in Bithynie, in Trajan. It is an administrative mail. Sometimes the imperial answer is published. The Emperor is very dry: Pline yes consults it for one or not. Trajan, aggravated, remains, despite everything, patient and remains attached to Pline. Letter 96, for example, concerns the Christians with the regard of which Pline cannot too which attitude adopt. The Emperor is ambiguous: he waits until the things appear to act.