Description
Pliny the Younger (c. 60-112 C.E.)--senator and consul in the Rome of emperors Domitian and Trajan, eyewitness to the eruption of Vesuvius in 79, and early 'persecutor' of Christians on the Black Sea--remains Rome's best documented private individual between Cicero and Augustine. No Roman writer, not even Vergil, ties his identity to the regions of Italy more successfully than Pliny. His individuality can be captured by focusing on the range of locales in which he lived: from his hometown of Comum (Como) at the foot of the Italian Alps, down through the villa and farms he owned in Umbria, to the senate and courtrooms of Rome and the magnificent residence he owned on the coast near the capital. Organized geographically, Man of High Empire is the first full-scale biography devoted solely to the Younger Pliny. Reserved, punctilious, occasionally patronizing, and perhaps inclined to overvalue his achievements, Pliny has seemed to some the ancient equivalent of Mr. Collins, the unctuous vicar of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Roy K. Gibson reveals a man more complex than this unfair comparison suggests. An innovating landowner in Umbria and a deeply generous benefactor in Comum, Pliny is also a consul who plays with words in Rome and dispenses summary justice in the provinces. A solicitous, if rather traditional, husband in northern Italy, Pliny is also a literary modernist in Rome, and--more surprisingly--a secret pessimist about Trajan, the 'best' of emperors. Pliny's life is a window on to the Empire at its zenith. The book concludes with an archaeological tour guide of the sites associated with Pliny.
About the Author
Roy K, Gibson is Professor of Classics at Durham University. His publications include Reading the Letters of Pliny the Younger: An Introduction, with Ruth Morello, and, as editor with Tristan Power, Suetonius the Biographer: Studies in Roman Lives.
Reviews
New perspectives gleaned from G.'s volume will inspire readers to revisit the Letters, where they now might discover a new side of the author and statesman, and perhaps even encounter a more likeable, relatable Pliny, if only because his human imperfection feels rather familiar. * The Classical Review *
Mr. Gibson is a subtle reader of Latin and a master of using landscape to bring Pliny's pomposities and insecurities alive.... Few recent books on ancient Rome better communicate the joy of studying a society so connected to our own and yet so different from it. * Peter Stothard, Wall Street Journal *
A reader who comes to Man of High Empire for a conventional biography--for relevant evidence gathered and scrupulously weighed, anecdotes vividly relayed, the evocation of a fascinating era and the significance of a life considered--will certainly not be disappointed. Yet the book offers much more, reflecting in part on the art of biography itself.... A wise and humane biography, it is finely crafted and deserves sustained attentiveness from the reader to match the patient skill of its author. Gibson writes beautifully, with gentle wit, and his insights are so grounded in vivid landscapes as to linger in the mind long after the book has been laid aside. * Times Literary Supplement *
Meticulously researched...this publication is magisterial. Meriting special attention are Gibson's detailed treatment of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE and, in the later pages, his observations regarding Pliny's persecutory encounter with Christians in Pontus-Bythynia, where he was governor for the last three years of his life. Summing Up: Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. * J. S. Louzonis, CHOICE *
The marriage of philology with social history is peculiarly apt to its subject, and would surely have pleased Pliny. * Christopher Whitton, Greece & Rome *
An unhurried, well organized, complete and beautifully rendered exploration of every question and aspect to be seriously investigated about this Roman legal prosecutor, orator, senator, Roman Consul, provincial governor, and literary stylist who gives us our earliest first-hand account of the eruption of Vesuvius. * The Heythrop Journal *
Meticulously researched..., this publication is magisterial. Meriting special attention are Gibson's detailed treatment of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE and, in the later pages, his observations regarding Pliny's persecutory encounter with Christians in Pontus-Bythynia, where he was governor for the last three years of his life. * CHOICE *
Gibson suggests that this book requires a great deal of specialist knowledge before it can be appreciated. He does himself a disservice because the background descriptions of the various milieus that he provides are so comprehensive and lucid that even someone with a moderate knowledge of the classical world can enjoy the book. At such a modest price it is highly recommended for the regular Classics for All reader -- not least for its perceptive analysis of the role of the biographer. * Roger Barnes, Classics for All *
This innovative biography of Pliny the Younger, written by a renowned authority on his letters, offers a complex, updated and clear-sighted portrait not only of the man, but also of his times.... Insight, perspicacity, wittiness, an eye for landscape are, in my judgement, the main assets of this enjoyable and evocative book, which will certainly be a source of inspiration. * Rosario Moreno Soldevila, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
The background descriptions of the various milieus that he provides are so comprehensive and lucid that even someone with a moderate knowledge of the classical world can enjoy the book. At such a modest price it is highly recommended for the regular Classics for All reader - not least for its perceptive analysis of the role of the biographer. * Classics for All *
In this modern and methodologically savvy biography, Gibson takes us on a tour of the places of Pliny's life, with Cicero, Tacitus, Epictetus, and Augustine as color commentators. Like Pliny himself we move from Como to the Italian countryside and on to Rome and Rome's Black Sea province of Bithynia, watching him grow into the roles available in each imperial context. A tour de force! * Cynthia Damon, University of Pennsylvania *
Roy Gibson expertly brings the younger Pliny to life in this lucid and accessible biography * a state-of-the-art production that meticulously recounts and reconstructs what is known and can be inferred about this storied man of letters.Gareth Williams, Columbia University *
Awards
Winner of A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title.
Book Information
ISBN 9780199948192
Author Roy K. Gibson
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 548g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 160mm * 25mm
About the Author
Roy K, Gibson is Professor of Classics at Durham University. His publications include Reading the Letters of Pliny the Younger: An Introduction, with Ruth Morello, and, as editor with Tristan Power, Suetonius the Biographer: Studies in Roman Lives.
Reviews
New perspectives gleaned from G.'s volume will inspire readers to revisit the Letters, where they now might discover a new side of the author and statesman, and perhaps even encounter a more likeable, relatable Pliny, if only because his human imperfection feels rather familiar. * The Classical Review *
Mr. Gibson is a subtle reader of Latin and a master of using landscape to bring Pliny's pomposities and insecurities alive.... Few recent books on ancient Rome better communicate the joy of studying a society so connected to our own and yet so different from it. * Peter Stothard, Wall Street Journal *
A reader who comes to Man of High Empire for a conventional biography--for relevant evidence gathered and scrupulously weighed, anecdotes vividly relayed, the evocation of a fascinating era and the significance of a life considered--will certainly not be disappointed. Yet the book offers much more, reflecting in part on the art of biography itself.... A wise and humane biography, it is finely crafted and deserves sustained attentiveness from the reader to match the patient skill of its author. Gibson writes beautifully, with gentle wit, and his insights are so grounded in vivid landscapes as to linger in the mind long after the book has been laid aside. * Times Literary Supplement *
Meticulously researched...this publication is magisterial. Meriting special attention are Gibson's detailed treatment of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE and, in the later pages, his observations regarding Pliny's persecutory encounter with Christians in Pontus-Bythynia, where he was governor for the last three years of his life. Summing Up: Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. * J. S. Louzonis, CHOICE *
The marriage of philology with social history is peculiarly apt to its subject, and would surely have pleased Pliny. * Christopher Whitton, Greece & Rome *
An unhurried, well organized, complete and beautifully rendered exploration of every question and aspect to be seriously investigated about this Roman legal prosecutor, orator, senator, Roman Consul, provincial governor, and literary stylist who gives us our earliest first-hand account of the eruption of Vesuvius. * The Heythrop Journal *
Meticulously researched..., this publication is magisterial. Meriting special attention are Gibson's detailed treatment of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE and, in the later pages, his observations regarding Pliny's persecutory encounter with Christians in Pontus-Bythynia, where he was governor for the last three years of his life. * CHOICE *
Gibson suggests that this book requires a great deal of specialist knowledge before it can be appreciated. He does himself a disservice because the background descriptions of the various milieus that he provides are so comprehensive and lucid that even someone with a moderate knowledge of the classical world can enjoy the book. At such a modest price it is highly recommended for the regular Classics for All reader -- not least for its perceptive analysis of the role of the biographer. * Roger Barnes, Classics for All *
This innovative biography of Pliny the Younger, written by a renowned authority on his letters, offers a complex, updated and clear-sighted portrait not only of the man, but also of his times.... Insight, perspicacity, wittiness, an eye for landscape are, in my judgement, the main assets of this enjoyable and evocative book, which will certainly be a source of inspiration. * Rosario Moreno Soldevila, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
The background descriptions of the various milieus that he provides are so comprehensive and lucid that even someone with a moderate knowledge of the classical world can enjoy the book. At such a modest price it is highly recommended for the regular Classics for All reader - not least for its perceptive analysis of the role of the biographer. * Classics for All *
In this modern and methodologically savvy biography, Gibson takes us on a tour of the places of Pliny's life, with Cicero, Tacitus, Epictetus, and Augustine as color commentators. Like Pliny himself we move from Como to the Italian countryside and on to Rome and Rome's Black Sea province of Bithynia, watching him grow into the roles available in each imperial context. A tour de force! * Cynthia Damon, University of Pennsylvania *
Roy Gibson expertly brings the younger Pliny to life in this lucid and accessible biography * a state-of-the-art production that meticulously recounts and reconstructs what is known and can be inferred about this storied man of letters.Gareth Williams, Columbia University *
Awards
Winner of A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title.
Book Information
ISBN 9780199948192
Author Roy K. Gibson
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 548g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 160mm * 25mm
