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dignitati ad quam me provexit indulgentia tua vel auguratum vel septemviratum, quia vacant, adicere digneris, ut iure sacerdotii precari deos pro te publice possim, quos nunc precor pietate privata.

2 quia vacant, Cat.

recht, vol. ii pp. 28 ff., and pp. 1053 ff.; and Pauly, Real-Encyclop. sub voc. 'Divinatio.'

The epulones were at first three in number, and were first appointed 196 B.C. Livy, xxxiii 42, 'Romae eo primum anno triumviri epulones facti, . . . his triumviris, item ut pontificibus, datum togae praetextae habendae ius.' They were afterwards increased to seven, and called 'septemviri epulones;' Aul. Gell. i 12; Lucan, i 602. Under the emperors the number was increased to ten, Dio Cass. 43, 51, but the old name remained; Tac. Ann. iii 64, and Orelli, 2255, 2259, 590, and 773. Their original function was to arrange the 'epulum Iovis in Capitolio,' Mart. xii 48, 12, on the 13th November, in connection with the 'ludi plebeii;' later, a second epulum Iovis was added on 13th September in connection with the 'ludi Romani;' and lastly, all festivals, dedications, triumphs, birthdays, which were accompanied by a public meal on the Capitol, fell to the department of the epulones. See Marquadt, Staatsverw. vol. iii pp. 347 ff.

Up to 105 B. C. vacancies in these bodies were filled by the cooptatio of the collegia themselves; but in that year the lex Domitia was passed, according to which the collegia nominated a list of candidates, out of which a 'quasi comitia' formed of seventeen out of the thirty-five tribes, drawn by lot, made a selection, as in the case of the pontifex maximus, and the person thus elected by the seventeen tribes was then formally coopted by the collegium; Suet. Nero 2, 'Atavus eius (Neronis) Cn. Domitius in tribunatu pontificibus offensior, quod alium quam se in patris locum cooptassent, ius sacerdotum subrogandorum a collegiis ad populum transtulit,' and Cic. De leg. agrar. ii 7, 18, 'Hoc idem de ceteris sacerdotiis Cn. Domitius tribunus plebis tulit ut minor pars populi vocaretur, ab ea parte qui

quia vacat, Ald.

esset factus, is a collegio cooptaretur,' and Vell. Paterc. ii 12, 3. Each member of the collegium could nominate one candidate; Cic. Phil. xiii 5, 12. So Verginius Rufus used to nominate Pliny each year till his death, ii 1, 8, 'Illo die quo sacerdotes solent nominare quos sacerdotio dignissimos iudicant, me semper nominabat;' and, after his death, Frontinus seems to have done the same, iv 8, 3, 'Qui me nominationis die per hos continuos annos inter sacerdotes nominabat;' but not more than two could nominate the same person; Cic. Phil. ii 2, 4, 'me augurem a toto collegio expetitum Cn. Pompeius et Q. Hortensius nominaverunt; nec enim licebat a pluribus nominari.' Under the empire three changes took place: (1) After 14 A.D. the election passed from the seventeen tribes to the senate; Tac. Ann. iii 19, 'Caesar auctor senatui fuit Vitellio atque Veranio et Servaeo sacerdotia tribuendi ;' (2) the collegia, instead of nominating a list on the occasion of a vacancy, did so on a fixed day every year, Pliny, ii 1, and iv 8, quoted above; (3) the emperor seems to have had a right of commendatio for the sacerdotia, as for the other magistracies, cf. Tac. Ann. iii 19, supra, and Dio Cass. 51, 20. As he also had the right of making extraordinary appointments, even when there was no vacancy, Tac. Hist. i 77, 'Otho pontificatus auguratusque honoratis iam senibus cumulum dignitatis addidit;' Ann. i 3; Suet. Claud. 4; Dio Cass. 55, 9, and 58, 8; he is said to have sometimes appointed the majority in the colleges; Dio Cass. 53, 17: ‘(τοὺς ἀυτοκράτορας) ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἱερωσύναις ἱερῶσθαι καὶ πρόσετι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τὰς πλείους σφῶν διδόναι.

quia vacant. The augurship, by the death of Sex. Iulius Frontinus: see above, iv 8.

XIIII [VIIII]

Gratulatoria ob victoriam

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Victoriae tuae, optime imperator, maximae pulcherrimae antiquissimae et tuo nomine et rei publicae gratulor deosque inmortales precor ut omnes cogitationes tuas tam laetus sequatur eventus, ut virtutibus tantis gloria imperii et novetur et augeatur.

I imperator Maxime, Ald.

I congratulate you, most noble emperor, on your glorious victory, and I pray the gods that similar success may crown all your designs, and so the glory of the empire be restored and increased by your achievements.

Victoriae tuae. No doubt over Decebalus and the Dacians; but whether the letter was written after the first war, at the end of 102, or after the second war in 106 (see life of Trajan), there seems to be no means of deciding. The epithets maximae, pulcherrimae, antiquissimae, would seem to point to the second war, but Pliny's use of exaggerated superlatives must modify the force of this inference.

et tuo nomine et rei publicae: cf. Ep. I, 'et privatim et publice.'

cogitationes. For the use of cogitatio in the concrete sense of design, see Suet. Calig. 48, vix a tam praecipiti cogitatione revocatus.'

novetur, after the unsuccessful policy of Domitian in Dacia : see life of Trajan, p. 7.

augeatur: possibly by the annexation of Dacia as a province.

optime imperator. Cf. Panegyr. § 2, 'Iam quid tam civile, tam senatorium quam illud additum a nobis optimi cognomen,' and see life of Trajan, p. 5,

note II.

XV [XXVI]

De itinere suo in Bithyniam

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Quia confido, domine, ad curam tuam pertinere, nuntiổ tibi

You will, I know, be glad to learn that I safely passed Cape Malea, and arrived at Ephesus. I now intend to proceed partly by coasting vessels, partly by carriage. For the heat makes a land journey oppressive, and the Etesian winds will prevent my sailing all the way.

This and the following letters all relate to Pliny's appointment in Bithynia and Pontus. On the nature of this post and the circumstances which led to it, see introduction, pp. 25 and 48. The date of Pliny's governorship is fixed approxi

mately by the following considerations: (1) The other nine books of Letters cover, as Mommsen, Hermes iii, has pointed out, the period between 96 and 108. In them he mentions all the offices he had held up to that time, and all the important 'advocationes' which he had undertaken, and the fact that no allusion is made to this, his most important appointment, is proof positive that up to 108 he had not received it. (2) His wife Calpurnia's grandfather, Calpurnius Fabatus, was alive in 107 or 108, Ep. iv 10; II, 3;

me Ephesum cum omnibus meis vis contrariis ventis retentum.

2 retentum, H. Stephanus.

20, 3, according to the date assigned by Mommsen to Book viii; but we hear of his death during Pliny's governorship: see Ep. 120, 'Uxori enim meae audita morte avi volenti ad amitam suam excurrere usum eorum (diplomatum) negare durum putavi.' (3) Calpurnius Macer is several times mentioned (Epp. 41, 61, 62, and 77) in the correspondence with Trajan, in a manner implying that he was the governor of a neighbouring province to Pliny's. An inscription found in Moesia Superior, C. I. L. iii 777, 'Imp. Caes. Div. Fil. Nervae Traiano Aug. Germ. Dacico Pont. max. trib. Pot. xvi Imp. vi Cos. vi p. p. P. Calpurnio Macro Caulio Rufo Leg. Aug. Pro Praet,' proves that in 112 Calpurnius Macer was Legatus of Moesia Superior, which especially agrees with the reference in Ep. 77. It seems, therefore, most probable that Pliny was appointed in the middle of III, and remained till early in 113. During the whole correspondence Trajan was evidently at Rome, which also suits this date, since he did not leave Rome for the Parthian war till 113.

me Ephesum navigasse. Ephesus, with its honorary titles, πρώτη πασῶν καὶ μεγίστη, πρώτη καὶ μεγίστη, μητρόπολις τῆς ̓Ασίας, was by far the most important seaport on the coast of Asia Minor, and the one at which Pliny would naturally land on arriving by way of Cape Malea. But from Ulpian, Dig. 1, 16, 4, 85, it appears that it was a special privilege belonging to Ephesus that the proconsuls of Asia should land first at this port, and the custom may probably have extended to the governors of other provinces in the neighbourhood, who would land first in Ephesus, and from there pass on to their several commands. Quaedam provinciae etiam hoc habent, ut per mare in eam provinciam proconsul veniat, ut Asia, scilicet usque adeo, ut imperator noster Antoninus Augustus ad desideria Asianorum rescripserit proconsuli necessitatem impositam per mare Asiam applicare kal τῶν μητροπόλεων "Εφεσον primam attingere.' So there are coins with the legend ΕΦΕΣΙΩΝ Α ΚΑΤΑΠΛΟΥΣ, .. prima navigatio; Marquadt, Staatsverw. i. p. 337.

ὑπὲρ Μαλέαν, ‘to sail round Malea, came to be a proverbial expression from

Tèp Maλéav navigasse, quamNunc destino partim orariis

retentus, B. and Ald.

the dangers of its rocky coast and the piratical habits of its inhabitants; Livy, xxxiv 32; Polyb. v 95; Symmach. viii 60, • Μαλέαν δὲ κάμψας ἐπιλάθου τῶν οἴκαδε. The most usual route from Italy to Greece or Asia Minor was by way of the Gulf of Corinth to Lechaeum, where the isthmus was crossed and a fresh ship taken at Cenchrea; Propert. iii 21, 9-24; Ovid, Trist. i 10, 9-10; Tac. Hist. ii. 1. Sulpicius tells Cicero, Epp. ad Fam. xii 4, that his colleague Marcellus, ὑπὲρ Maleas, in Italiam versus navigaturus erat,' and Flavius Zeuxis, a merchant of Hierapolis in Phrygia, has left it on record, C. I. G. 3920, that he had sailed 'vπèp Μαλέαν εἰς Ἰταλίαν πλίας ἑβδομήκοντα δύο. See Friedländer, vol. ii. p. 23.

quamvis contrariis ventis retentum. Both Avantius and Aldus read ' retentus,' which would make it necessary to begin a fresh sentence at 'quamvis.' It seems better, with H. Stephanus, to read 'retentum,' as the concessive force evidently relates to the previous clause.

vehiculis. This was a word specially used in connection with the imperial post-system established by Augustus. Suet. Aug. 49, 'Et quo celerius ac sub manum adnuntiari cognoscique posset quid in provincia quaque gereretur, iuvenes primo modicis intervallis per militares vias, dehinc vehicula disposuit.' The couriers were called speculatores, and were a regularly organised body, some of which were assigned to the emperor's retinue, Suet. Aug. 74; Claud. 35; Tac. Hist. i II; others to the Praetorian cohorts, Tac. Hist. i 29; others to the legions. The system was used (1) by the emperors themselves in travelling, Pliny, Panegyr. 20, nullus in exigendis vehiculis tumultus, nullum circa hospitia fastidium

quam dissimilis nuper alterius principis transitus'; (2) by the magistrates and provincial governors; and (3) by any to whom the diplomata' were given, either by the emperor himself or the provincial governors in his name; see Epp. infra, 45, 48, 64, 120; also Tac. Hist. i 65. Along the roads were at certain intervals mutationes, where horses were changed, and mansiones, where shelter was provided for the night. In later times socalled palatia were added to the latter

navibus partim vehiculis provinciam petere. Nam sicut itineri graves aestus ita continuae navigationi etesiae reluctantur.

for the entertainment of the governors or the emperor. The various districts were under the charge of praefecti vehiculorum: see C. I. L. passim. The expense was borne by the local governments, until Nerva for Italy at least put part of it upon the fiscus; hence the coins, Eckhel, vi 408, 'vehiculatione Italiae remissa.'

graves aestus. Ep. 17, 6, states that he arrived in his province on September 22.

etesiae. See Pliny, Nat. Hist. ii 47, 'Ardentissimo autem aestatis tempore exoritur Caniculae sidus . . . qui dies

xv Augustas Kalend. est. Huius exortum diebus octo ferme Aquilones antecedunt, quos Prodromos appellant. Post biduum autem exortus iidem Aquilones constantius perflant diebus quadraginta (i.e. from Aug. 17 to Sep. 26) quos Etesias vocant. Molliri iis creditur solis vapor geminatus ardore sideris: nec ulli ventorum magis stati sunt.' Cic. ad Fam. ii 15, writes: 'Ego nisi quid me Etesiae morabuntur celeriter, ut spero, vos videbo;' Lucret. vi 714: Is (Nilus) rigat Aegyptum medium per saepe calorem, Aut quia sunt aestate aquilones ostia contra Anni tempore eo quo Etesia flabra feruntur.'

XVI [XXVII]

TRAIANUS PLINIO S.

Recte renuntiasti, mi Secunde carissime.

Pertinet enim ad

animum meum quali itinere in provinciam pervenias. Pruden

You are right, my dear Secundus, to send me news. It concerns me nearly to hear how you reach your province. Your intention to proceed partly by land, partly by sea, is a wise one.

mi Secunde. Up to 79 A.D. Pliny's full name was probably P. Caecilius L. f. Ouf(entina) Secundus. Mommsen cites an interesting inscription from Gruter, p. 376, 5, probably relating to the father of Pliny and his two sons: L. Caecilius L. f. Cilo iiii vir a(edilicia) p(otestate) xxxx (milia) municipibus Comensibus legavit, ex quorum reditu quotannis per Neptunalia oleum in campo et in thermis et balineis omnibus quae sunt Comi praeberetur, t(estamento f(ieri) i(ussit), et L. Caecilio L. f. Valenti et P. Caecilio L. f. Secundo,' etc. etc. In 79 A.D. he was adopted by his mother's brother, C. Plinius Secundus, by the process of testamentary adoption. Mommsen points out, Hermes, iii, that testamentary adoption, which did not come into operation until after the death of the adoptive father, had under the republic all the force of a strict and regular adoption, i.e. the adopted son passed into the tribe of his adoptive father, assumed his praenomen, and was formally designated as his son: his original Gentile name, modified by

the suffix-anus, being taken as an additional cognomen. Thus T. Pomponius Atticus, Cicero's friend, when adopted by the testament of his uncle Q. Caecilius, became Q. Caecilius Q. f. Pomponianus Atticus; Cic. ad Att. iii 20. But though this was his legal title, he continued in ordinary social intercourse to be known by his original name; and from the first years of the empire this testamentary adoption came to be little more than a change of name on inheriting property by will. Thus one of the brothers adopted by the will of Cn. Domitius Afer in 50 A.D. was called Cn. Domitius Sex. f. Afer Titius Marcellus Curvius Lucanus, i.e. he remained the son of his natural father Sextus, and retained his former nomen unchanged as one of his cognomina. Manifestly testamentary adoption could not involve subjection to the potestas of the adoptive father, and it came to involve no more than a mere change of gens, the original Gentile name being retained as a cognomen. Thus Pliny's name after adoption became C. Plinius L. f. Ouf. Caecilius Secundus. Martial speaks of Pliny as Secundus (v 80): 'Quid si legeris ipse cum diserto. Secundo,' but in x 19 as Plinius, libellum Facundo mea

ter autem constituis interim navibus interim vehiculis uti, prout loca suaserint.

Plinio Thalia, I perfer.' The super-
scriptions of the letters C. Plinius are
not original.
interim

interim: cf. Tac. Ann.

14, 41 'interim specie legum, mox praevaricando ultionem elusurus;' and often in Quintilian. Lewis and Short cite v 10, 34; vi 3, 59; ix 2, 100.

I

XVII A [XXVIII]

In Bithyniam se venisse scribit

C. PLINUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Sicut saluberrimam navigationem, domine, usque Ephesum expertus, ita inde, postquam vehiculis iter facere coepi, gravissimis aestibus atque etiam febriculis vexatus Pergami sub2 stiti. Rursus, cum transissem in orarias naviculas, contrariis ventis retentus aliquanto tardius quam speraveram, id est XV Kal. Octobres, Bithyniam intravi. Non possum tamen de mora queri, cum mihi contigerit, quod erat auspicatissimum, natalem

1

§1. My voyage, sire, was favourable as far as Ephesus, but when I began to use the post-service, I was troubled with fever brought on by the heat, and compelled to rest at Pergamum. § 2. I then had recourse to coasting vessels, but owing to contrary winds did not reach Bithynia till September 17. I must not however complain, since it was an excellent omen to celebrate your birthday in my province. § 3. I am now examining the financial matters of the Prusensians, a task which I find more necessary the more I look into them. Many sums of money are in the hands of private individuals, and some grants have been made for illegal purposes. I write this immediately on my arrival.

The date of the letter (17th Sept. III) is fixed by the last sentence. See also note on Ep. 15.

For usque

SI. usque Ephesum. with names of towns, cf. Cic. Verr. iv 49 (quoted by Roby. 1108) usque Hennam profecti sunt,' and Cic. ad Qu. Frat. i 1, 14 ut usque Romam significationes vocesque referantur.'

febriculis vexatus. Cf. Cic. ad Fam. x 21 'qui ex labore in febriculam incidit assiduam et satis molestam.'

Pergami substiti. Pergamum in

Mysia, formerly the capital of the Attalidae, and enriched and beautified by Eumenes II. It was afterwards one of the unтρоπóXels of the province of Asia, C. I. Gr. 3538. It was situated on the main road from Ephesus and Sardis to the Hellespont, Xen. Anab. vii 8, 8. It was on the northern bank of the navigable Kaikus, 120 stades from the sea. Two smaller streams, the Selinus and Cetius, flowed respectively through and by it, Plin. Nat. Hist., v 126, 'longe clarissimum Asiae Pergamum, quod intermeat Selinus, praefluit Cetius. It was about 700 stades from Ephesus by way of Smyrna. It is mentioned as the head of a conventus by Cic. pro Flacc. 29, 71, 'ubi et multi cives Romani sunt, et ius a nostro magistratu dicitur,' and by Pliny, loc. cit., Pergamena vocatur eius tractus iurisdictio.'

§2. Bithyniam intravi. In all probability Pliny coasted round as far as Cyzicus where he would take the main road through Miletopolis and Apollonia to Prusa. That he should have proceeded through the interior of Mysia, and over the Olympus range is impossible.

auspicatissimum, cf. Quint. x 1, 85, auspicatissimum exordium; Tac. Germ. 11, 'nam agendis rebus hoc auspicatissimum initium credunt.'

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