Pliny III.xxi

Commentary by Rachel Thomas
Edited by Jacques Bailly

Introduction
This is a short, personal letter from Pliny to Cornelius Priscus about the death of the poet Martial.  Martial died sometime before104CE after his retirement to his native Spain in 98CE.  The letter includes a summary of the beginning of a poem Martial had written with a verse mentioning Pliny, as well as a small excerpt from the end of the poem (Martial 10.20 [19])

Text

C. Plinius Cornelio Prisco suo s.

(1) Audio Valerium Martialem decessisse et moleste fero. Erat homo ingeniosus acutus acer, et qui plurimum in scribendo et salis haberet et fellis nec candoris minus. (2) Prosecutus eram viatico secedentem; dederam hoc amicitiae, dederam etiam versiculis, quos de me composuit. (3) Fuit moris antiqui eos, qui vel singulorum laudes vel urbium scripserant, aut honoribus aut pecunia honorare; nostris vero temporibus ut alia speciosa et egregia ita hoc in primis exolevit. Nam postquam desiimus facere laudanda, laudari quoque ineptum putamus. (4) Quaeris, qui sint versiculi, quibus gratiam rettuli? Remitterem te ad ipsum volumen, nisi quosdam tenerem; tu, si placuerint hi, ceteros in libro requires. (5) Alloquitur Musam, mandat, ut domum meam Esquiliis quaerat, adeat reverenter:

Sed ne tempore non tuo disertam
pulses ebria ianuam videto;
totos dat tetricae dies Minervae,
dum centum studet auribus virorum
hoc, quod saecula posterique possint
Arpinis quoque comparare chartis.
Seras tutior ibis ad lucernas;
haec hora est tua, cum furit Lyaeus,
cum regnat rosa, cum madent capilli.
Tunc me vel rigidi legant Catones.

(6) Meritone eum, qui haec de me scripsit, et tunc dimisi amicissime et nunc ut amicissimum defunctum esse doleo? Dedit enim mihi, quantum maximum potuit, daturus amplius, si potuisset. Tametsi, quid homini potest dari maius quam gloria et laus et aeternitas? At non erunt aeterna, quae scripsit; non erunt fortasse, ille tamen scripsit tamquam essent futura. Vale.

Text is from www.thelatinlibrary.com, as submitted by Hansulrich Guhl (Frauenfeld, Switzerland) from an unidentified edition.

Commentary

[1] Audio Valerium Martialem decessisse et moleste fero. Erat homo ingeniosus acutus acer, et qui plurimum in scribendo et salis haberet et fellis nec candoris minus.
audio…decessisse: indirect statement. Watch the verb tenses for correct sequence.
Valerium Martialem: M. Valerius Martialis (known to most as 'Martial').
moleste fero: fero + adverb = "I bear it ____(in the manner of the adverb)," a frequent Latin idiom.
ingeniosus acutus acer: predicate nominatives in asyndeton.
et salis…et fellis: et ... et ... = “both…and..." The genitives go with plurimum.
haberet: subjunctive in relative clause of characteristic. Secondary sequence (erat).
minus: neuter acc. object of haberet. Takes gen.

[2] Prosecutus eram viatico secedentem; dederam hoc amicitiae, dederam etiam versiculis, quos de me composuit.
viatico: viatica were funds given to help pay the way of a journey or vacation: English 'viaticum' means the same thing.
hoc: refers to viatico and is understood with the next dederam as well.
amicitiae…versiculis: dative loosely meaning “for friendship” and "for his verses." Called "dative of purpose or end" by some.

[3] Fuit moris antiqui eos, qui vel singulorum laudes vel urbium scripserant, aut honoribus aut pecunia honorare; nostris vero temporibus ut alia speciosa et egregia ita hoc in primis exolevit. Nam postquam desiimus facere laudanda, laudari quoque ineptum putamus.
moris antiqui: predicate genitive (A+G 343b).
eos: direct object of what verb?
vel…vel... aut... aut: both mean “either…or" with no distinction between them.
laudes: a noun
honorare: this infinitive can be taken as the subject of est or as a sort of complementary infinitive with moris antiqui. The Loeb has ornare, thelatinlibrary.com has honorare: both amount to the same thing.
vero: "but," as often.
nostris temporibus: ablative of time.
ut ... ita: correlatives "just as... so too...," indicating that the ut clause and the ita clause are parallel. Understand exoleverunt with the ut clause.
alia speciosa et egregia: subject of understood exoleverunt.
in primis: idiomatic for “especially.”
desiimus: syncopated desivimus with complementary infinitive.
laudanda: gerundive used substantivally as direct object of facere.
ineptum: ineptum modifies laudari, which is the direct object of putamus.

[4] Quaeris, qui sint versiculi, quibus gratiam rettuli? Remitterem te ad ipsum volumen, nisi quosdam tenerem; tu, si placuerint hi, ceteros in libro requires.
sint: why subjunctive?
remitterem: imperfect subjunctive in present contrary-to-fact condition
quosdam: infer the accompanying noun (hint: look in the sentence before).
tenerem: imperfect subjunctive in the C-F condition
tu: subject of requires. Remember that Latin rarely uses the personal pronoun subjects. Hence this tu is emphatic.
hi: hi refers to the same things as quosdam does. Ceteros too needs to have the same noun supplied.
placuerint: imperfect subjunctive concluding a C-F condition

[5] Alloquitur Musam, mandat, ut domum meam Esquiliis quaerat, adeat reverenter:

Sed ne tempore non tuo disertam
pulses ebria ianuam videto;
totos dat tetricae dies Minervae,
dum centum studet auribus virorum
hoc, quod saecula posterique possint
Arpinis quoque comparare chartis.
Seras tutior ibis ad lucernas;
haec hora est tua, cum furit Lyaeus,
cum regnat rosa, cum madent capilli.
Tunc me vel rigidi legant Catones.
The meter of the poem is hendecasyllabic 'Phalaecean' (named after Phalaecus, an Alexandrian poet). The scheme is:

¯ ¯   ¯ ˘ ˘  ¯ ˘  ¯ ˘  ¯ x
The poem, which we have extant in Martial's Epigrammata, consists of Martial's instructions to the muse Thalia to bring his book to Pliny at Pliny's house in Rome. The beginning of the poem is as follows:
Nec doctum satis et parum severum
sed non rusticulum nimis libellum
facundo mea Plinio Thalia
i, perfer : brevis est labor peractae
altum vincere tramitem Suburae.
Illic Orphea protinus videbis
udi vertice lubricum theatri
mirantisque feras avemque regis,
raptum quae Phryga pertulit Tonanti,
illic parva tui domus Pedonis
caelata est aquilae minore pinna.
Sed ne tempore non tuo disertam
...

alloquitur…mandat: these verbs (Martial is their subject) introduce an indirect command.
quaerat: subjunctive in indirect command. Who is the subject? Not Martial or Pliny.
adeat: this clause is in asyndeton. Same subject at quaerat. Indirect command subjunctive.
Sed ne tempore ...: a prose version in English-oriented word order might be: sed videto ne ebria non tuo tempore pulses disertam ianuam. (Plinius) dat totos (suos) dies tetricae Minervae, dum studet auribus centum virorum hoc, quod saecula posterique possint comparare quoque Arpinis chartis. tutior ibis ad seras lucernas: haec est tua hora, cum Lyaeus furit, cum rosa regnat, (et) cum capilli madent: tunc vel rigidi Catones legant me. Of course, for the sake of meter and poetic emphases, Martial has quite a different and more artistic arrangement.
tempore non tuo: “at the wrong time.” Later in the poem, Martial indicates the right time (seras tutior ibis ad lucernas/ haec hora est tua).
disertam ianuam: i.e. the door of Pliny's house: disertam is a "transferred epithet," for Pliny is the learned one, not his door. Earlier in the poem, Pliny is called facundus, "eloquent."
pulses: present subjunctive in indirect prohibition following a future imperative (videto ne). Romans used their feet to "knock" on doors.
ebria: feminine adjective qualifying the muse (subject of videto). Martial is portraying her as a party-going Bacchanalian muse.
tetricae Minervae: dative. Minerva is 'stern' as goddess of intellect and war.
centum: indeclinable; with virorum. The centumviri was a court instituted to try civil cases, such as inheritance. As a lawyer, Pliny argued cases before the courts, just as Cicero, par tof whose fame arises from his forensic oratory, did. Martial is saying that Pliny is the Cicero of his age or generation.
hoc: antecedent of quod and object of studet.
possint: relative clause of characteristic.
Arpinis: refers to Cicero (who was born in Arpinum): this is another transferred epithet, for Cicero's writings (chartis) are not Arpinian. He himself is.
seras: transferred epithet again. The lanterns are not really "late": the time is.
tutior ibis: where English prefers an adverb (go more safely), Latin prefers an adjective.
Lyaeus: refers to the god Bacchus, who inspires enthusiastic (furit, ebria) rites of worship.
haec hora: refers to late at night when dinner parties are "just getting started," the wine flows freely (see Martial 5.64), the guests are all got up with perfume in their hair (madent capilli) and rose headbands as crowns (rosa regnat).
vel: although vel often means "either" or "or," it also has an adverbial meaning, "even."
Catones: plural “Catos" means "people like Cato." Cato was a senator and orator during the time of Julius Caesar who was known for his stern seriousness.
me: Martial.
legant: why subjunctive?

[6] Meritone eum, qui haec de me scripsit, et tunc dimisi amicissime et nunc ut amicissimum defunctum esse doleo? Dedit enim mihi, quantum maximum potuit, daturus amplius, si potuisset. Tametsi, quid homini potest dari maius quam gloria et laus et aeternitas? At non erunt aeterna, quae scripsit; non erunt fortasse, ille tamen scripsit tamquam essent futura. Vale.

Pliny finishes with more praise of Martial, and a meditation on the eternity offered by poetry.

meritone: –ne is enclitic.
eum: Martial. Object of dimisi and doleo.
amicissime: the ending -e creates the superlative adverb.
ut amicissimum: ut is not a conjunction here. It modifies only amicissumum.
defunctum esse: indirect statement dependent on doleo. Verbs of emotion frequently take indirect statement.
quantum maximum: direct object of potuit. Quantum is a relative and so has an antecedent, but the antecedent has not been expressed. It would have been tantum as an obect of dedit.
daturus amplius: this clause is in asyndeton (i.e. it is not connected to the rest of the sentence by a conjunction). Daturus is the future participle of do, dare and needs an esset understood with it (subjunctive because it is the apodosis of a past-contrary-to-fact condition).
amplius: what case and gender? Not nominative. Not masculine.
potuisset: pluperfect subjunctive in a past contrary-to-fact condition.
maius: subject of potest dari, modified by quid.
quae: refers to Martial's poems.
tamquam essent futura : tamquam introduces comparative conditional clauses. There is an understood "aeterna" here that is the predicate for essent futura. In this form of conditional sentence, the apodosis is usually omitted, as in English. Consider "He acted as if he were blind," where the apodosis is omitted (the full sentence would be "He acted as he would have acted if he were blind"). So here, the apodosis is omitted (the full sentence would have been "ille tamen scripsit ita ut scripsisset si essent futura (aeterna)").

Vocabulary
acer, acris, acre, sharp, keen, shrewd
acutus, -a, -um, discriminating, keen, shrewd
adeo, adire, adivi/adii, aditum, approach
aeternus, -a, -um, eternal, everlasting
aeternitas, aeternitatis, f., immortality
alloquor, alloqui, allocutus, address
amicissimus, -a, -um, very friendly
amicitia, -ae, f., friendship
antiquus, -a, -um, ancient
Arpinus, -a, -um, from Arpinum (Cicero's birthplace)
auris, auris, f., ear
candor, candoris, m., kindness; lucidity, clarity
capillus, capilli, m., hair
centum, indeclinable, hundred
chartus, charti, m., chart, book
comparo (1), compare
compono, componere, composui, compositum, put together, compose
decedo, decedere, decessi, decessum, die
defungor, defungi, defunctus sum, die, end
desino, desinere, desivi/desii, desitum, cease
dies, diei, m., day
dimitto, dimittere, dimisi, dimissum, send/allow to go away
disertus, diserta, disertum, learned, eloquent
doleo, dolere, dolui, dolitum, mourn, grieve
domus, domus, f., house, home
ebrius, ebria, ebrium, drunk
egregius, -a, -um, exceptional
Esquiliae, Esquiliarum, f.pl., the Esquiline hill (one of the seven hills of Rome)
exolesco, exolescere, exolevi, exoletum, deteriorate
fel, fellis, n., gall, bile; venom, acrimony
fero, ferre, tuli, latus, bear, carry; fero + adv., bear it, take it (in the manner indicated by the adverb)
fortasse, perhaps
furo, furere, rage
honoro, honorare, honor
hora, -a, f., hour
ianua, ianuae, f., door
ineptus, -a, -um, foolish, senseless
ingeniosus, ingeniosior, ingeniosissimus (adj), clever, talented, gifted
ita, thus
laudo (1), praise
laus, laudis, f., praise, approval
lego, legere, lexi, lectus, read
lucerna, lucernae, f., oil lamp, lantern
Lyaeus, -i, m., (a cult title for Dionysus: from Greek meaning "the loosener," "the liberator") Bacchus, Dionysus
madeo, madere, be wet, be soaked, be drenched
maior, maius, greater (comparative of magnus)
mando (1), assign, entrust (a task to); order, command
merito (adv), rightly
Minerva, -ae, f., Minerva (the goddess)
minus, minoris, n., a smaller amount, less (can take gen.)
molestus, -a, -um, grievous, unmanageable
mos, moris, m., custom, habit
nam, for
pecunia, -ae, f., money
placeo, placere, please
placeo, placere, placui, placitum, please
plurimus, -a, -um, a very great amount (can take gen.)
posterus, posteri, m., (pl.) descendents
postquam, after
prosequor, prosequi, prosecutus sum, furnish (+ acc. of person+abl of gift)
pulso (1), knock (on)
puto (1), think
quaero, quaerere, quaesivi, quaesitum, seek, ask, search for
quoque (adv), likewise; even, indeed
refero, referre, rettuli, relatum, return
regno (1), reign
remitto, remittere, remisi, remissum, send back, return
requiro, requirere, requisivi/requisii, requisitum, seek
rettuli, see refero
reverentur (adv), reverently
rigidus, rigida, rigidum (adj), stern
rosa, -ae, f., rose
saeculum, saeculi, n., generation
sal, salis, m., wit
secedo, secedere, secessi, secessum, retire (from Rome), leave town
serus, sera –um (adj), late, tardy
singulus, -a, -um, individual
speciosa, speciosior, speciosissimus (adj), wonderful, beautiful
studeo, studere, studui, devote oneself to, strive for, concentrate on (often +dat.: also can take acc. n. of a pronoun)
tametsi, even so, even if
tamquam, as if
teneo, tenere, tenui, tentum, retain (in the mind)
tetricus, tetrica, tetricum (adj), severe, harsh, frowning
tutus, -a, -um, safe, secure
ut, as
valeo, valere, valui, valitum, be well, be strong, be healthy
vero (adv), but, however
versiculus, versiculi, m., verse
viaticum, -i, n., viaticum (i.e. it means the same thing as the English word 'viaticum')
videto, so-called "future imperative" of video (translate as a regular impetative)
volumen, voluminis, n., a papyrus roll (the usual form of a book in Pliny's time)