Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Younger (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics) Read online

  This I have written to you by way of warning you beforehand, now that you have had a province allotted to you, to trust to yourself for the most part, and not put entire confidence in any one else. Next, you will learn, that should any one chance to deceive you (which may the gods avert!) satisfaction is provided you. Yet, again and again be careful that there may be no need of this; for it is not so agreeable to be vindicated as it is miserable to be imposed upon.

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  23. — TO TRIARIUS.

  You beg me urgently to undertake a case in which you are interested, and which, independently of this, is an important one, exciting public attention. I will do so, but not gratuitously. “Can it be,” say you, “that you won’t act gratuitously?” Yes, it can be; for I shall exact a fee more creditable to me than if I held a brief for you gratis. I ask, and indeed stipulate, that Cremutius Ruso shall be with me in the case. This is a practice of mine, and one which I have frequently followed before now in the case of several young men of distinction. For I am excessively anxious to exhibit young men of promise to the Courts, and to introduce them to fame. This service I ought to render to Ruso, if to any one, whether on account of the nobility of his own birth, or else of the extraordinary regard he has for me; and I think it of great consequence that he should be seen and heard in the same cases, and moreover on the same side, as myself. Oblige me then, oblige me, before he speaks; for when he has once spoken, you will express your obligations. I guarantee that he will satisfy your anxieties and my hopes and the importance of the case. He has excellent qualities and will soon be bringing out other people, if meanwhile he be brought out by us. For indeed no man is gifted with a genius so immediately conspicuous as to be able to rise from obscurity, unless the materials, the opportunity — ay, and a patron too and one to recommend him — fall to his lot.

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  24. — TO MACER.

  What a mighty difference it makes, by whom a thing is done! For deeds of the same character are either exalted to the highest pitch or sunk in the depths of oblivion according to the fame or the obscurity of the actors. I was sailing on our lake Larius, when an elderly friend pointed out to me a villa and moreover a saloon projecting over the lake. “From that spot,” said he, “a townswoman of ours, once upon a time, precipitated herself in company with her husband.” I inquired the reason. The husband had for a long time been an invalid, suffering from putrid ulcers in the groin. His wife insisted on seeing them; no one (she said) could inform him more faithfully than she whether he was capable of being cured. She saw them and despaired. Next she advised him to die, and became herself his companion in death, nay rather his example and leader, the compelling cause of his death; for she tied her husband to her, and jumped into the lake. This exploit was never heard of till recently, even by me her townsman; not because it was smaller than Arria’s celebrated exploit, but because the agent was a smaller person.

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  25. — TO HISPANUS.

  You write word that Robustus, a distinguished Roman knight, got as far as Ocriculum — to which point their road lay in common — with Atilius Scaurus, a friend of mine, and that nothing further was heard of him. You wish for Scaurus to come and, if it be in his power, to put us on some track for inquiry. He shall come; I fear to no purpose. Indeed I suspect that something or other has befallen Robustus, similar to what once befell Metilius Crispus, a townsman of mine. I had obtained for him his Company, and had further presented him at his departure with forty thousand sesterces for his outfit and equipment; I never, after this, got any letters from him or any news with regard to his end. Whether he was cut off by his slaves, or in company with his slaves, is a matter of doubt; certainly neither he nor any of his slaves subsequently appeared, as indeed none of Robustus’s have. We must use our efforts, however; we must send for Scaurus; we must accord this to your prayers and to those, so highly to be commended, of that excellent youth who is making inquiry for his father with such marvellous affection and marvellous sagacity as well. May the gods be favourable, so that he may discover the object of his search, in the same way as he already discovered the person in whose company he had been.

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  26. — TO SERVIANUS.

  I am delighted, and congratulate you, that you have betrothed your daughter to Fuscus Salinator. His family is patrician, his father a man of the highest character, and his mother of like repute. He himself is of a studious and literary turn, indeed learned, a boy in candour, a young man in geniality, an elder in seriousness. Nor does my love for him deceive me. I do love him, to be sure, with effusion (his attentions and his respect for me have deserved this), yet I exercise my judgment, and indeed the more stringently the more I love him; and I guarantee to you, as one who have closely investigated him, that you will have a son-in-law than whom your wishes could not have formed a better. All that remains is that he should, as soon as possible, make you the grandfather of young ones like himself. How happy the time, when it will be my good fortune to receive from your arms his children and your grandchildren — just as if they were my own children or grandchildren — and to hold them in mine, as though I had an equal right to them!

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  27. — TO SEVERUS.

  You ask me to consider what you as Consul Elect should say, when called upon in the Senate, in honour of the Emperor. It is easy to find what to say, but by no means easy to make a selection; so abundant is the material furnished by his virtues. However, I will write or — which I should prefer — will intimate to you my ideas by word of mouth, on condition of first exhibiting to you the causes of my hesitation. I am in doubt whether to advise you to do the same as I did. When Consul Elect, I abstained from all those usual topics which, though not flattery, would have borne the appearance of flattery; not by way of showing my independence and fearlessness, but as understanding our Sovereign, whose greatest commendation I saw to be this, that nothing should be proposed by me in his honour, as though on compulsion. I remembered too that the most numerous honours had been conferred on the worst princes; from whom our present excellent Sovereign could not be distinguished in any better way than by a different mode of speaking of him. This particular point I did not disguise or pass in silence; lest my treatment should haply seem due to forgetfulness instead of being the result of judgment. Such was my conduct on that occasion; but the same course does not find favour with, is not indeed suitable to, all persons. Moreover, the grounds for doing or not doing anything are altered according to the circumstances of the parties themselves, and the matters in hand, and the occasion. For the recent achievements of our illustrious Prince furnish an opportunity of saying in the Senate much that is new and important as well as true. For which reasons, as I before said, I doubt whether to advise you to act now as I did then. This, however, I have no doubt about, that it was my duty to offer for your consideration the course pursued by myself.

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  28. — TO PONTIUS.

  I know the cause which prevented your arriving in Campania before me. But, albeit absent, you seem to have migrated here with all your possessions, such a plenty of town and country produce has been offered me in your name, all of which, though with great coolness, I have nevertheless accepted. For not only did your servants beg me to do so, but I feared you would be angry with me and with them if I had not done so. For the future, if you don’t put a limit to this, I shall. And already I have announced to your servants that, on their bringing so many things another time, they would have to take them all back again. You will say it behoves me to use what is yours as though it were my own. Certainly; but I am for being just as careful of it as though it were my own.

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  29. — TO QUADRATUS.

  Avidius Quiet
us, who regarded me with particular affection and (I am no less glad to say) approval, used to relate many things of Thrasea, whose friend he had been, and among them frequently this. He was in the habit of laying it down that the causes to be undertaken were these: those of friends, those which could find no advocate, and those which pertained to example. The case of friends needs no explanation. Why such as could find no advocate? Because in these the fearlessness as well as the kindliness of him who pleads them would be most strongly shown. Why those pertaining to example? Because it would make a great difference whether a good or a bad one were exhibited. To these categories of causes, though perhaps rather presumptuously, I must yet add such as are distinguished and conspicuous. For it is fair at times to plead the cause of glory and fame — in other words, one’s own cause.

  These are the limits which, since you have consulted me, I would impose on your sense of dignity and self-respect. Nor do I forget that practice is both held to be and is the best teacher of the art of speaking; indeed, I see many who, with small parts and no literature, have by dint of pleading attained to pleading well. Yet I also find that saying to be most true which has come to me as Pollio’s, or under the name of Pollio: “Pleading well has been the cause of my pleading often, and pleading often the cause of my pleading less well;” because, in fact, by too constant practice facility rather than a real faculty is acquired, and rashness rather than self-reliance. Nor, indeed, was Isocrates prevented from being held a consummate orator by the fact that the weakness of his voice and his shyness impeded him from speaking in public. Accordingly read, write, and meditate a great deal, that you may be able to speak when you choose: you will speak when you ought so to choose. This is the mean which I myself have commonly preserved. Not unfrequently I have yielded to necessity, which ranks as a reason. For I have pleaded certain causes by order of the Senate, in the number of which, however, were some which come under the above classification of Thrasea, that is to say, were such as to pertain to example. I appeared for the Bætici against Bæbius Massa. The question was whether an investigation should be granted. It was granted. I appeared again on behalf of the same parties when they made plaint against Cæcilius Classicus. The question was as to the propriety of punishing provincials as the associates and subordinate agents of a governor. They suffered punishment. I prosecuted Marius Priscus, who was condemned in virtue of the law on extortion, and who profited by the clemency of that law, for by the enormity of his crimes he had outstripped its heaviest penalties. He was banished. I defended Julius Bassus, who, though too unguarded and incautious, was by no means criminal. Judges were assigned him, and he kept his place in the Senate. I spoke lately on behalf of Varenus, who demanded the right, equally with the other side, to compel the attendance of witnesses. He obtained it. For the future I pray that I may be ordered to plead those causes in particular which it would become me to undertake even of my own free will.

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  30. — TO FABATUS, HIS WIFE’S GRANDFATHER.

  We are bound, by Hercules, to celebrate your birthdays in the same manner as our own, since the joy of ours depends on yours, and through your diligence and care we are happy here, and at our ease when with you. The Camillian villa, which you possess in Campania, has certainly suffered from age: everything of value about it, however, either remains intact, or is very slightly injured. I will see then to restorations being made on the most reasonable terms. I seem to have many friends, but of that particular class whom you are in search of and the business demands, scarcely one; for they are all men of the town, engaged in town pursuits: whereas for the management of country properties a rough-and-ready rustic sort of person is required, to whom this particular employment will not seem burdensome, nor the occupation one of petty interests, nor the solitude melancholy. You have a very favourable opinion of Rufus, as having been your son’s friend. What, however, he may be able to do for us there, I am not in a position to say. That he has the best intentions, I believe.

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  31. — TO CORNELIANUS.

  Summoned by our emperor to act as his assessor at Centum Cellae (that was the name of the place), I experienced the greatest pleasure. What indeed can be more delightful than to enjoy a near view of the prince’s equity, wisdom, and affability, and that too in his retirement, where these qualities best disclose themselves? The subjects of investigation were of various kinds, and such as to test the merits of the judge by the diversity of their character.

  Claudius Ariston pleaded his cause, a leading citizen of Ephesus, a munificent man, seeking popularity by innocent means; hence arose envy, and an informer was suborned against him by persons whose character was the opposite of his own. Accordingly he was acquitted, and received satisfaction.

  Next day the case of Gallita was heard, who was charged with adultery. This lady, the wife of a military tribune and candidate for office, had stained her own and her husband’s reputation by an amour with a centurion. The husband had written to the consular legate, and he to Cæsar. Cæsar, after sifting the evidence, cashiered the centurion, and banished him into the bargain. There still remained a balance of punishment due to an offence which can only be committed by two persons. But the husband was kept back (not without incurring some censure for his forbearance) by his love for his wife, whom he had indeed kept in his house, even after information had been laid of the adultery, as though satisfied with having removed his rival. Admonished that he must go through with his charge, he did so very unwillingly. However, her condemnation was unavoidable, unwilling as the prosecutor might be. She was convicted, and left to the penalties of the Lex Julia. Cæsar added to his judgment both the name of the centurion and a reference to military practice, that he might not seem to reserve for his own cognisance all cases of this kind.

  On the third day an investigation was entered upon, which had been the subject of a great deal of talk and a variety of reports. It related to some codicils of Julius Tiro, part of which were admitted to be genuine, while part were said to be forged. The persons indicted were Sempronius Senecio, a Roman knight, and Eurythmus, Cæsar’s freedman and procurator. The heirs, while Cæsar was in Dacia, had requested him in a joint letter to undertake the investigation. He had consented, and on his return had appointed a day; and when some of the heirs, as if out of regard for Eurythmus, were for abandoning the prosecution, he had said most nobly, “Neither is he Polyclitus, nor am! Nero.” However, he indulged them, at their request, with a delay, the period of which having expired, he now took his seat to hear the case. On the part of the heirs, two in all put in an appearance: they prayed either that the whole of the heirs should be compelled to act, since all had united in lodging the information, or that it might be permitted to them, as well as to the others, to withdraw from the suit. Cæsar expressed himself with great wisdom and at the same time with great moderation; and when the advocate of Senecio and Eurythmus said that the accused would be left exposed to suspicion unless they were heard, “I care not,” said he, ‘whether they are left exposed to suspicions: but I am.” Then, turning to us, “You understand how we ought to act; these people want to make it a ground of complaint that they have been allowed to withdraw from the prosecution.” Then, pursuant to the decision of the Council, he ordered it to be announced to all the heirs that they must either proceed, or else individually make good their reasons for not proceeding, otherwise he should go the length of pronouncing a judgment of false accusation.

  You see how well, how seriously, employed were our days; and these were followed by the most agreeable relaxations. We were invited each day to dinner, a modest one considering that it was given by a prince. Sometimes we listened to the performances of artists, at others the evening was spent in the most delightful converse. On the last day, as we were taking our departure (so attentive is Cæsar in his kindness), presents were sent us.

  To me, however, not only the important character of our inquiri
es, the distinction attaching to the Council, and the charm and simplicity with which we were entertained, but also the locality itself, was particularly delightful. The loveliest of villas is surrounded by the most verdant fields: it borders on the shore, in the bight of which a harbour is at this moment being made. The left-hand mole of this is protected by the strongest works; that on the right hand is under construction. In the mouth of the harbour an island is rising, to confront and break the force of the sea carried in by the winds, and to afford an entrance to ships on either side. Its rise, moreover, is worth seeing, from the ingenuity displayed. Huge stones are brought in by ships of the largest burden; these being thrown into the sea, one upon another, remain fixed by their own weight, and are gradually constructed into a kind of rampart. Its stony ridge already appears above the surface, scattering and throwing to a great height the waves which break on it. There is a mighty din there, and the surrounding sea is white with foam. Moles of cement I will be added to the stones, which, as time goes on, will produce an imitation of a natural island. This harbour will bear, indeed already bears, the name of its author, and will be in the highest degree serviceable; for the coast for a very long distance is without any harbour, and will now have the advantage of this place of refuge.