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forward as to the value and tendency of the writings of the younger Pliny, and after such endearing reminiscences of early life as I have acknowledged to be, in my own case, indissolubly associated with them, it will excite no surprise in my reader, should I wish to incorporate with my volumes a few favourite passages from these epistles on the subject of literary taste and enjoyment; more especially as, I again repeat, I think it scarcely probable that any one can study them without catching, for a time at least, on such topics, the devoted attachment of their author; an attachment which, just in proportion as it shall prove permanent, must, I am persuaded, be considered as a blessing.

In giving these extracts I shall annex, with the view of accommodating those who may not be perfectly at home as to the language of the Roman, the translation of Mr. Melmoth. It is one of great elegance and beauty, and exhibits at the same time no small portion of epistolary ease and freedom; but it frequently deviates from the character of the original in being too diffuse, a result which was scarcely to be expected from one who has told us in his Preface, that "what a celebrated ancient has observed concerning the style of the famous Grecian

painter, Timanthes, is extremely applicable to that of Pliny," intelligitur plus semper quam pingitur; his meaning is generally much fuller than his expression." It should, however, in justice be added, that whilst the sense of his original has been correctly preserved, Mr. Melmoth has adopted a style which, though not altogether in unison with that of the model before him, is perhaps even better adapted to epistolary composition than the terse and concentrated diction which that model presented.

From these preliminary observations I now turn to select such instances as will, I have no doubt, substantiate the character which I have given of the general tendency and bearing of the writings of Pliny. The first is taken from the third letter in the collection addressed to Caninius Rufus, who appears, from the close of it, to have been a man of genius and learning, but somewhat too diffident of his own abilities.

"Quid agit Comum tuæ, meæque deliciæ ? quid suburbanum amœnissimum quid illa porticus, verna semper ? quid Tharavшv opacissimus? quid Euripus viridis, et gemmeus? quid subjectus, et serviens lacus? quid illa mollis, et tamen solida gestatio? quid balneum illud, quod plurimus sol implet et

circumit? quid triclinia illa popularia? quid illa paucorum? quid cubicula diurna nocturnaque ? possidentne te, et per vices partiuntur? an, ut solebas, intentione rei familiaris obeundæ, crebris excursionibus avocaris: si te possident, felix beatusque es: sin minus, unus ex multis. Quin tu (tempus est enim) humiles et sordidas curas aliis mandas: et ipse te in alto isto pinguique secessu studiis ad seris. Hoc sit negocium tuum, hoc ocium, hic labor, hæc quies, in his vigilia, in his etiam somnus reponatur. Effinge aliquid et excude, quod sit perpetuo tuum. Nam reliqua rerum tuarum post te alium atque alium dominum sortientur : hoc nunquam tuum desinet esse, si semel cœperit. Scio, quem animum, quod horter ingenium. Tu modo enitere, ut tibi ipse sis tanti, quanti videberis aliis, si tibi fueris. Vale."

"How stands Comum *, that favourite scene of yours and mine? What becomes of the pleasant villa, the vernal portico, the shady plane-tree-walk, the crystal canal so agreeably winding along its flowery banks, together with the charming lake†

*The city where Pliny was born.

+ The lake Larius, upon the banks of which this villa was situated: this noble lake is not less than fifty miles in length, from three to six in breadth, and from forty to six hundred feet in depth.

below, which serves at once the purposes of use and beauty? What have you to tell me of the firm yet soft gestatio*, the sunny bath, the public saloon, the private dining-room, and all the elegant apartments for repose both at noon and night +? Do these enjoy my friend, and divide his time with pleasing vicissitude? Or do the affairs of the world, as usual, call him frequently out from this agreeable retreat? If the scene of your enjoyment lies wholly there, you are happy if not, you are under the common error of mankind. But leave, my friend (for certainly it is high time), the sordid pursuits of life to others, and devote yourself, in this calm and undisturbed recess, entirely to pleasures of the studious kind. Let these employ your idle as well as serious hours; let them be at once your business and your amusement, the subjects of your waking and even sleeping thoughts: produce something that shall be really and for ever your own. All your other possessions

* A piece of ground set apart for the purpose of exercising either on horseback or in their vehicles; it was generally contiguous to their gardens, and laid out in the form of a circus.

It was customary among the Romans to sleep in the middle of the day, and they had distinct apartments for that

purpose.

will pass on from one master to another: this alone, when once it is yours, will remain yours for ever. As I well know the temper and genius of him to whom I am addressing myself, I must exhort you to think as well of your abilities as they deserve: do justice to those excellent talents you possess, and the world, believe me, will certainly do so too. Farewell."

Comum, of which Pliny speaks in this letter with so much fondness, tuæ, meæque delicia, has borne and still bears, in fact, ample and grateful testimony to the virtues and munificence of its celebrated citizen. Nothing, indeed, can more decisively prove that the life of Pliny was in perfect correspondence with the tenor of his writings, than the fact, that he was not only the cherished and familiar friend of the first and wisest of his day, of Trajan, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Quintilian, but an object of love and veneration to every rank and class of his contemporaries. The inhabitants of Comum, more especially, had every motive for their affection, for he founded a school in their city, and liberally endowed it *; he established a fund for the support of their free children; he built a temple to receive the busts

* Lib. iv. Epist. 13.

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