| De Naturali historia | |
| 1496 |  |
| Gaius Plinius Secundus(c.23-79A.D.) | |
|
The details of the life of Plinius are not well known. Among the writings regarding his life, only two types of documents remain: two letters that small-Plinius (Plinius’ nephew and adopted son) sent to his friend Papiusskel and the historian Cornelius Tacitus and a short bibliography in “De Viris Illustribus (On Famous Men)” written by Gaius Suetonius. According to them, Plinius may have been born into a noble family in Como in 23 or 24 A.D. and was educated in Rome. In 47 A.D., he started working in the military as a cavalry officer in Germania and continued to work there until approximately 57 A.D. He was eventually promoted to become commander of the cavalry and, according to the preface of this book, made friends with the later Emperor Titus while staying at the military camp. When he completed his military service, Rome was under the reign of Emperor Nero. At that point, it seemed that Plinius completely retired from his official position and started pursuing academic interests. When Vespasianus ascended the throne as Emperor in 69 A.D., Plinius was again invited to the public office. He further served as the Emperor Magistrate in various provinces, including Hispania Tarraconensis (northern Spain) and Syria. He later returned to Rome and spent busy days as a member of the advisory council of Emperor Vespasianus. His final position was the Commander of the Roman fleet, with an anchorage of Misenum, Bay of Naples. During Plinius’ time as the Commander of the Roman fleet, the Vesuvio volcano near Naples erupted on August 24, 79 A.D. Plinius sent out a fleet for residents' rescue and got on board to command himself. He observed the eruption situation in detail based on his intellectual curiosity; unfortunately, he was killed by volcanic gas during the investigation. It is written in the letter by small-Plinius (Plinius’ nephew) that Plinius was a man who has a great desire to learn and who devoted every spare moment to read and write. According to his letter, Plinius wrote a total of 102 books during his busy life, such as “De vita Pomponi Secundi (Life of Pomponiano, Secundus),” |
