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He was the son of a Roman eques by the daughter of the senator Gaius Caecilius of Novum Comum. He was born at Como, not (as is sometimes supposed) at Verona: it is only as a native of Gallia Transpadana that he calls Catullus of Verona his conterraneus, or fellow-countryman, not his municeps, or fellow-townsman (Praef. § I).
Before 35 (N. H. xxxvii. 81) his father took him to Rome, where he was educated under his father's friend, the poet and military commander, P. Pomponius Secundus, who inspired him with a lifelong love of learning. Two centuries after the death of the Gracchi, Pliny saw some of their autograph writings in his preceptor's library (xiii. 83), and he afterwards wrote that preceptor's Life.
He mentions the grammarians and rhetoricians, Remmius Palaemon and Arellius Fuscus (xiv. 4; xxxiii. 152), and he may have been their student. In Rome he studied botany in the topiarius (garden) of the aged Antonius Castor (xxv. 9), and saw the fine old lotus-trees in the grounds that had once belonged to Crassus (xvii. 5). He also viewed the vast structure raised by CaligulaGaius Julius Caesar Germanicus ( August 31, AD 12 January 24, AD 41), also known as Gaius Caesar or Caligula was the third Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from AD 37 to 41. Known for his extremely extravagant, eccentric, and sometimes (xxxvi. III), and probably witnessed the triumph of ClaudiusFor other Romans named Claudius see Claudius (gens). Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Drusus ( August 1, 10 BC October 13, 54), originally known as Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus was the third Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling fro over BritainThe word Britain is used to refer to the United Kingdom (UK): i. the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (from 1927), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ( 1801- 1927) or the United Kingdom of Great Britain ( 1707- 1801). in 44For alternate uses, see Number 44. Events Emperor Claudius returns from his British campaign in triumph. Births Deaths Saint James the Great (martyrdom) Agrippa I of Judea Claudia Julia, executed niece of Claudius and Messalina (or 43/ 45). (iii. 119). Under the influence of Seneca the YoungerLucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca or Seneca the Younger (c. 3 BC AD 65) was a Roman philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work, humorist, of the " Silver Age" of Latin literature. Seneca the Younger Seneca was born in Cordoba, Sp he became a keen student of philosophyPhilosophy literally means 'love of wisdom' from the Greek 'philo' and 'sofia'. It is now widely used to designate the pursuit of knowledge or wisdom about fundamental matters concerning life, death, meaning, reality, being and truth. The term may also re and rhetoricRhetoric (from Greek ρητωρ, rhetor "orator") is one of the three original liberal arts or trivium (the other members are dialectic and grammar). While it has meant many different things during its 2500-year history, it is generally d, and began practising as an advocate.
He saw military service under Corbulo in Lower Germany in 47, taking part in the Roman conquest of the Chauci and the construction of the canal between the rivers Maas and Rhine (xvi. 2 and 5). As a young commander of cavalry (praefectus atae) he wrote in his winter-quarters a work on the use of missiles on horseback (de jaculatione equestri), with some account of the points of a good horse (viii. 162).
In Gaul and Spain he learnt the meanings of a number of Celtic words (xxx. 40). He took note of sites associated with the Roman invasion of Germany, and, amid the scenes of the victories of Drusus, he had a dream in which the victor enjoined him to transmit his exploits to posterity (Plin. Epp. iii. 5, 4). The dream prompted Pliny to begin forthwith a history of all the wars between the Romans and the Germans.
He probably accompanied his father's friend Pomponius on an expedition against the Chatti (AD 50), and visited Germany for a third time (5~) as a comrade of the future emperor, Titus Flavius (Praef. § 3). Under Nero he lived mainly in Rome. He mentions the map of Armenia and the neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea, which was sent to Rome by the staff of Corbulo in 58 (vi. 40). He also saw the building of Nero's "golden house" after the fire of 64 (xxxvi. 111).
Meanwhile he was completing the twenty books of his History of the German Wars, the only authority expressly quoted in the first six books of the Annals of Tacitus (1. 69), and probably one of the principal authorities for the Germania. It was superseded by the writings of Tacitus, and, early in the 5th century, Symmachus had little hope of finding a copy (Epp. xiv. 8).
He also devoted much of his time to writing on the comparatively safe subjects of grammar and rhetoric. A detailed work on rhetoric, entitled Studiosus, was followed by eight books, Dubii sermonis, in 67.
Under his friend Vespasian he returned to the service of the state, serving as procurator in Gallia Narbonensis ( 70) and Hispania Tarraconensis ( 73), and also visiting the Provincia Belgica ( 74). During his stay in Spain he became familiar with the agriculture and the mines of the country, besides paying a visit to Africa (vii. 37). On his return to Italy he accepted office under Vespasian, whom he used to visit before daybreak for instructions before proceeding to his official duties, after the discharge of which he devoted all the rest of his time to study (Pun. Epp. iii. 5, 9).
He completed a History of his Times in thirty-one books, possibly extending from the reign of Nero to that of Vespasian, and deliberately reserved it for publication after his demise (N. H., Praef. 20). It is quoted by Tacitus (Ann. xiii. 20, xv. 53; Hist. iii. 29), and is one of the authorities followed by Suetonius and Plutarch.
He also virtually completed his great work, the Naturalis Historia, an encyclopedia into which Pliny collected much of the knowledge of his time. The work had been planned under the rule of Nero. The materials collected for this purpose filled rather less than 160 volumes in 23, when Larcius Licinus, the praetorian legate of Hispania Tarraconensis, vainly offered to purchase them for a sum equivalent to more than £3,200 (1911 estimated value) or £200,000 (2002 estimated value). He dedicated the work to Titus Flavius in 77.