The Complete Letters of Pliny the Younger

by Pliny the Younger, Russell Bentley (Reader), Ben Onwukwe (Reader)

MP3 CD Format The extant letters of Pliny, written between AD 97 and 112, give us a unique insight into Imperial Rome under the early Antonine emperors. Organised into 10 books, the letters reflect a wide range of topics, mirroring Pliny's own public and private interests. Among many other subjects, the letters also include an eye-witness account of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, with the final book containing the exchange of letters between the writer (whose career culminated as Governor of Bithynia) and the emperor Trajan. A fascinating document of the career and interests of a politician and imperial official.

1 pages, Audio CD

Published June 30, 2022

About the author

Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 AD – ca. 112 AD), better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him and they were both witnesses to the eruption of Vesuvius on 24 August 79 AD.

"You would have heard the wails of women, the shrieks of infants, shouts of men; some were seeking parents with their voices, others children, others spouses, and by their voices they were recognizing them; some were pitying their own misfortune, others the misfortune of their families; there were those who - due to the fear of death - were praying for death; many raised their hands toward the gods, more were concluding that there were no gods anywhere, and that this was the perpetual and final night for the world."

-Pliny the Younger, Letters, 16.20.14-15