| 1. Cicero, Letters To His Friends, 9.24.2-9.24.3, 9.26 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
2. Cicero, On Duties, 1.144 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204| 1.144. Talis est igitur ordo actionum adhibendus, ut, quem ad modum in oratione constanti, sic in vita omnia sint apta inter se et convenientia; turpe enimn valdeque vitiosum in re severa convivio digna aut delicatum aliquem inferre sermonem. Bene Pericles, cum haberet collegam in praetura Sophoclem poëtam iique de communi officio convenissent et casu formosus puer praeteriret dixissetque Sophocles: O puerum pulchrum, Pericle! At enim praetorem, Sophocle, decet non solum manus, sed etiam oculos abstinentes habere. Atqui hoc idem Sophocles si in athletarum probatione dixisset, iusta reprehensione caruisset. Tanta vis est et loci et temporis. Ut, si qui, cum causam sit acturus, in itinere aut in ambulatione secum ipse meditetur, aut si quid aliud attentius cogitet, non reprehendatur, at hoc idem si in convivio faciat, inhumanus videatur inscitia temporis. | 1.144. Such orderliness of conduct is, therefore, to be observed, that everything in the conduct of our life shall balance and harmonize, as in a finished speech. For it is unbecoming and highly censurable, when upon a serious theme, to introduce such jests as are proper at a dinner, or any sort of loose talk. When Pericles was associated with the poet Sophocles as his colleague in command and they had met to confer about official business that concerned them both, a handsome boy chanced to pass and Sophocles said: "Look, Pericles; what a pretty boy!" How pertinent was Pericles's reply: "Hush, Sophocles, a general should keep not only his hands but his eyes under control." And yet, if Sophocles had made this same remark at a trial of athletes, he would have incurred no just reprimand. So great is the significance of both place and circumstance. For example, if anyone, while on a journey or on a walk, should rehearse to himself a case which he is preparing to conduct in court, or if he should under similar circumstances apply his closest thought to some other subject, he would not be open to censure: but if he should do that same thing at a dinner, he would be thought ill-bred, because he ignored the proprieties of the occasion. |
|
| 3. Varro, On The Latin Language, 340 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
| 4. Cicero, Letters, 2.14.1, 2.18, 9.1.3, 13.52, 16.2-16.3 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203, 204 |
| 5. Catullus, Poems, a b c d\n0 10. 10. 10 \n1 47 47 47 0 \n2 28 28 28 0 \n3 50.123 50.123 50 123\n4 205 205 205 0 \n5 206 206 206 0 \n6 220 220 220 0 \n7 12 12 12 0 \n8 15 15 15 0 \n9 21 21 21 0 \n10 16.190 16.190 16 190\n11 22 22 22 0 \n12 11 11 11 0 \n13 9 9 9 0 \n14 6 6 6 0 \n15 26 26 26 0 \n16 14 14 14 0 \n17 23 23 23 0 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 225 |
| 6. Horace, Odes, 1.3.4, 3.27.20 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
7. Ovid, Amores, 1.15.25-1.15.26 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203| 1.15.25. Tityrus et segetes Aeneiaque arma legentur, 1.15.26. Roma triumphati dum caput orbis erit; | |
|
8. Seneca The Elder, Controversies, None (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203| 7.5.9. dicta sunt referam. FVSCVS ait: districta leui uulnere est cutis; non credas factum manu priuigni, credas amatoris. PASSIENVS ait: sic leuiter te uulnerauit dextera illa cui nec paries obsistit nec pater? VARIVS GEMINVS dixit: da ferrum testi meo: fortius feriet. CESTIVS dixit, cum descripsisset quam leue uulnus esset: nocueras, inquit, mihi, si amicae tuae nocere potuisses. BRVTVS BRVTTEDIVS cotidiano uerbo significanter usus est: riualem, inquit, occidit, amicam sauciauit. HISPO ROMANIVS eiusdem generis rem dixit: ostende, nouerca, ostende istud quod amator tuus uellicauit. BASSVS SEPVLLIVS dixit: maritum occidit, adulteram strinxit. | |
|
| 9. Seneca The Elder, Suasoriae, 1.12, 2.20, 4.4-4.5 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203 |
10. Ovid, Tristia, 2.519-2.520, 4.10.43-4.10.50, 5.1.23, 5.7.25-5.7.28 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations •recitation, pliny on Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 202, 203, 204, 225| 2.519. et mea sunt populo saltata poemata saepe, 2.520. saepe oculos etiam detinuere tuos. | |
|
| 11. Persius, Satires, 1.30-1.43 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
| 12. Persius, Saturae, 1.30-1.43 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
| 13. Martial, Epigrams, 3.44.15, 3.45, 3.50, 4.8.7-4.8.12, 5.16.9, 5.78.25, 7.51, 7.97, 9.89, 10.20, 11.52 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203, 204 |
| 14. Juvenal, Satires, 11.179-11.182 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203, 204 |
| 15. Petronius Arbiter, Satyricon, 55 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
| 16. Petronius Arbiter, Satyricon, 55 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
| 17. Martial, Epigrams, 3.44.15, 3.45, 3.50, 4.8.7-4.8.12, 5.16.9, 5.78.25, 7.51, 7.97, 9.89, 10.20, 11.52 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203, 204 |
| 18. Plutarch, Lucullus, 42 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 283 |
| 19. Suetonius, De Grammaticis, 16 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203 |
| 20. Seneca The Younger, Letters, 64.2 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
| 21. Suetonius, Nero, 54 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations •recitation, pliny on Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 202 |
| 22. Galen, On My [His] Own Books, 19.8 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 283 |
| 23. Gellius, Attic Nights, 2.22.1-2.22.2, 13.11.5, 19.9 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
24. Pliny The Younger, Letters, 5.3, 7.17.13 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitation Found in books: Keeline (2018), The Cambridge Companion to Cicero's Philosophy, 313 | 5.3. To Titius Aristo. While I gratefully acknowledge your many acts of kindness to me, I must especially thank you for not concealing from me the fact that my verses have formed the subject of many long discussions at your house, that such discussions have been lengthened owing to the different views expressed, and that some people, while finding no fault with the writings themselves, blamed me in a perfectly friendly and candid way for having written on such themes and for having read them in public. Well, in order to aggravate my misdeeds, here is my reply to them Nor does it annoy me that people should form such opinions about my character, when it is plain that those who are surprised that I should compose such poems are unaware that the most learned of men and the gravest and purest livers have regularly done the same thing. But I feel sure that I shall easily obtain permission from those who know the character and calibre of the authors in whose footsteps I am treading, to stray in company with men whom it is an honour to follow, not only in their serious but in their lightest moods. I will not mention the names of those still living for fear of seeming to flatter, but is a person like myself to be afraid that it will be unbecoming for him to do what well became Marcus Tullius, Caius Calvus, Asinius Pollio, Marcus Messalla, Quintus Hortensius, M. Brutus, Lucius Sulla, Quintus Catulus, Quintus Scaevola, Servius Sulpicius, Varro, Torquatus - or rather the Torquati, - Caius Memmius, Lentulus Gaetulicus, Annaeus Seneca, Lucan, and, last of all, Verginius Rufus? If the names of these private individuals are not enough, I may add those of the divine Julius, Augustus and Nerva, and that of Tiberius Caesar. I pass by the name of Nero, though I am aware that a practice does not become any the worse because it is sometimes followed by men of bad character, while a practice usually followed by men of good character retains its honesty. Among the latter class of men one must give a pre-eminent place to Publius Vergilius, Cornelius Nepos, and to Attius and Ennius, who should perhaps come first. These men were not senators, but purity of character is the same in all ranks. But, you say, I recite my compositions and I cannot be sure that they did. Granted, but they may have been content with their own judgment, whereas I am too modest to think that any composition of mine is sufficiently perfect when it has no other approbation but my own. Consequently, these are the reasons why I recite in public, first, because a man who recites becomes a keener critic of his own writings out of deference to his audience, and, secondly, because, where he is in doubt, he can decide by referring the point to his listeners. Moreover, he constantly meets with criticism from many quarters, and even if it is not openly expressed, he can tell what each person thinks by watching the expression and eyes of his hearers, or by a nod, a motion of the hand, a murmur, or dead silence. All these things are tolerably clear indications which enable one to distinguish judgment from complaisance. And so, if any one who was present at my reading takes the trouble to look through the same compositions, he will find that I have either altered or omitted certain passages, in compliance perhaps with his judgment, though he never uttered a word to me. But I am arguing on this point as though I invited the whole populace to my reading room and not merely a few friends to my private chamber, while the possession of a large circle of friends has been a source of pride to many men and a reproach to none. Farewell. |
|
25. Pliny The Younger, Letters, 1.15.2, 2.19.1-2.19.4, 3.5.12, 4.19.4, 5.3, 5.3.5-5.3.7, 5.3.9, 5.17, 7.4.9, 7.17.13, 8.21, 9.17.3, 9.34, 9.36.4 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations •pliny the younger, on recitation •recitation, pliny on Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 202, 203, 204, 225, 283; Keeline (2018), The Cambridge Companion to Cicero's Philosophy, 313 | 5.3. To Titius Aristo. While I gratefully acknowledge your many acts of kindness to me, I must especially thank you for not concealing from me the fact that my verses have formed the subject of many long discussions at your house, that such discussions have been lengthened owing to the different views expressed, and that some people, while finding no fault with the writings themselves, blamed me in a perfectly friendly and candid way for having written on such themes and for having read them in public. Well, in order to aggravate my misdeeds, here is my reply to them Nor does it annoy me that people should form such opinions about my character, when it is plain that those who are surprised that I should compose such poems are unaware that the most learned of men and the gravest and purest livers have regularly done the same thing. But I feel sure that I shall easily obtain permission from those who know the character and calibre of the authors in whose footsteps I am treading, to stray in company with men whom it is an honour to follow, not only in their serious but in their lightest moods. I will not mention the names of those still living for fear of seeming to flatter, but is a person like myself to be afraid that it will be unbecoming for him to do what well became Marcus Tullius, Caius Calvus, Asinius Pollio, Marcus Messalla, Quintus Hortensius, M. Brutus, Lucius Sulla, Quintus Catulus, Quintus Scaevola, Servius Sulpicius, Varro, Torquatus - or rather the Torquati, - Caius Memmius, Lentulus Gaetulicus, Annaeus Seneca, Lucan, and, last of all, Verginius Rufus? If the names of these private individuals are not enough, I may add those of the divine Julius, Augustus and Nerva, and that of Tiberius Caesar. I pass by the name of Nero, though I am aware that a practice does not become any the worse because it is sometimes followed by men of bad character, while a practice usually followed by men of good character retains its honesty. Among the latter class of men one must give a pre-eminent place to Publius Vergilius, Cornelius Nepos, and to Attius and Ennius, who should perhaps come first. These men were not senators, but purity of character is the same in all ranks. But, you say, I recite my compositions and I cannot be sure that they did. Granted, but they may have been content with their own judgment, whereas I am too modest to think that any composition of mine is sufficiently perfect when it has no other approbation but my own. Consequently, these are the reasons why I recite in public, first, because a man who recites becomes a keener critic of his own writings out of deference to his audience, and, secondly, because, where he is in doubt, he can decide by referring the point to his listeners. Moreover, he constantly meets with criticism from many quarters, and even if it is not openly expressed, he can tell what each person thinks by watching the expression and eyes of his hearers, or by a nod, a motion of the hand, a murmur, or dead silence. All these things are tolerably clear indications which enable one to distinguish judgment from complaisance. And so, if any one who was present at my reading takes the trouble to look through the same compositions, he will find that I have either altered or omitted certain passages, in compliance perhaps with his judgment, though he never uttered a word to me. But I am arguing on this point as though I invited the whole populace to my reading room and not merely a few friends to my private chamber, while the possession of a large circle of friends has been a source of pride to many men and a reproach to none. Farewell. 5.17. To Spurinna. I know what an interest you take in the liberal arts, and how delighted you are when young men of rank do anything worthy of their ancestry. That is why I am losing no time to tell you that to-day I made one of the audience of Calpurnius Piso. He was reading his poem on the Legends of the Stars, and it was a learned and very excellent composition. It was written in fluent, graceful, and smooth elegiacs, and rose even to lofty heights as occasion demanded. The style was cleverly varied, in some places it soared, in others it was subdued; passing from the grand to the commonplace, from thinness to richness, and from lively to severe, and in each case with consummate skill. The sweetness of his voice lent it an additional charm, and his modesty made even his voice the sweeter, while his blushes and his nervousness, which were very plain to see, still further set off the reading. I don't know why, but diffidence becomes a man of letters much more than over-confidence. However, to cut the story short, - though I would gladly say more, because such performances are all the more charming when given by a young man, and all the rarer when he is of noble birth, - as soon as the reading was concluded, I embraced the youth with great cordiality, and by showering praises upon him - which are always the best incentive when giving advice - I urged him to go on as he had begun, and hold out to his descendants the light which his own ancestors had held out to him. I congratulated his excellent mother and also his brother, who made one of the audience, and indeed achieved as much reputation for brotherly feeling as his brother Calpurnius did for his eloquence, for while the latter was reading everybody noticed first the nervous look on the brother's face, and then the expression of joy. I pray Heaven that I may often have such news for you, for I am very partial to the age I live in, and I hope that it may not prove barren and worthless. I am really most anxious that our young men of rank should have some other beautiful objects in their houses besides the busts of their ancestors, and it seems to me that the latter tacitly approve and encourage these two young men, and even recognise them as their true descendants, which is in itself a sufficiently high compliment to both. Farewell. 9.34. To Tranquillus. Please help me out of my dilemma. I am told that I read badly, at least verses. Speeches I can read fairly well, but my reading of poetry is much inferior. I am thinking therefore, as I am about to give a reading to some intimate friends, of trying the experiment of having one of my freedmen to read for me. The fact that I have chosen one who reads, not perhaps well, but certainly better than I can, will show that I am treating my audience as old friends, provided that he is not flurried, for he is as used to reading as I am to poetry. For my own part, I do not know what I ought to do while he is reading, whether I should sit glued to my seat, without opening my lips like an idle spectator, or whether, as some people I know do, I should follow the words he utters with my lips, eyes, and hands. But in that case I fancy I should not accompany him any better than I should read. So I ask you again to help me out of my dilemma, and write and tell me truly whether it is better for me to read execrably badly, or whether or not I ought to do as I propose. Farewell. |
|
| 26. Sextus, Against The Mathematicians, 1.296 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 |
| 27. Macrobius, Saturnalia, 5.17.5 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations •recitation, pliny on Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 202 |
| 28. Servius, Commentary On The Aeneid, 4.323, 6.861 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations •recitation, pliny on Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 202 |
| 29. Servius, In Vergilii Georgicon Libros, 1.299 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203 |
| 30. Servius, In Vergilii Bucolicon Librum, 6.11 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations •recitation, pliny on Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 202 |
| 32. Vergil, Eclogues, 3.84-3.85 Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations •recitation, pliny on Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 202 |
33. Vergil, Georgics, 1.299 Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations •recitation, pliny on Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 202, 203| 1.299. Nudus ara, sere nudus; hiems ignava colono. | |
|
34. Vergil, Aeneis, 8.710 Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 204 | 8.710. knew that his mother in the skies redeemed |
|
| 35. Epist., Carm., 2.1.109-2.1.110 Tagged with subjects: •pliny the younger, on recitations Found in books: Johnson and Parker (2009), ?Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, 203 |
