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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Suetonius, Life of Pliny the Younger

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus [Suetonius]
69-130 AD
Trans RMBullard
Latin (Imperial Era)



C. SVETONI TRANQVILLVI DE POETIS
VITA PLINII SECUNDI

PLINIUS SECUNDUS Novocomensis equestribus militiis industrie functus procurationes quoque splendidissimas et continuas summa integritate administravit,
[Pliny the Second, a native of Novum Comum, after serving industriously in the military cavalry, also administered the most splendid and continuous government functions, with the highest degree of integrity,]

et tamen liberalibus studiis tantam operam dedit,
[and yet he devoted such a tremendous amount of effort to his liberal studies,]

 ut non temere quis plura in otio scripserit.
[that no one could easily be found to have written more in their leisure.]

Itaque bella omnia, quae unquam cum Germanis gesta sunt, XX voluminibus comprehendit,
[And so, he wrote compilations in 20 volumes on all the wars that were at any time waged in Germany,]

itemque "Naturalis Historiae" XXXVII libros absolvit.
[and at the same time, he wrote off the 37 books of Natural History.]

Periit clade Campaniae;
[He died during the catastrophe of Campania;]

 cum enim Misenensi classi praeesset
[you see, when he was commanding the fleet in Misenum]

et flagrante Vesubio ad explorandas propius causas liburnica pertendisset,
[and he had to aim his own boat towards the flaming Vesuvius, in order to investigate its cause from a nearer distance,]


 nec adversantibus ventis remeare posset,
[he could not manage to steer back against the headwinds,]

 vi pulveris ac favillae oppressus est,
[and he was overwhelmed by the sheer force of the dust and cinders,]

 vel ut quidam existimant a servo suo occisus,
[or rather, some judge that he was killed by his own slave,]

quem aestu deficiens ut necem sibi maturaret oraverat.
[whom he, suffering from the heat, had begged to speed his death.]