Letters and Letter-Writing in Ancient Rome
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ROMAN LETTERS ROMAN LETTERS An Anthology Edited and Translated by NOELLE K. ZEINER-CARMICHAEL This edition first published 2014 © 2014 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Registered Office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of Noelle K. Zeiner-Carmichael to be identified as the author of the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. 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Latin letters – History and criticism. 2. Greek letters – History and criticism. 3. Latin letters – Translations into English. 4. Greek letters – Translations into English. 5. Letter writing, Latin – History – To 1500. 6. Letter writing, Greek – History – To 1500. 7. Authors, Latin – Correspondence. 8. Authors, Greek – Correspondence. I. Zeiner-Carmichael, Noelle, 1974- editor of compilation. PA6089.R65 2014 876.0109 – dc23 2013018152 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover image: Roman still life painting with writing implements. Naples, National Archaeological Museum. Photo © 2013 Scala, Florence / Fotografica Foglia, courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali. Tabula Claudiana (the Lyon Tablet), 48 AD. Musee´ de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine, Lyon. Photo © 2013 DeAgostini Picture Library/Scala, Florence. Cover design by Simon Levy Set in 10.5/13pt Minion by Laserwords Private Limited, Chennai, India 1 2014 Dear Finn and Niamh, Your little notes, your laughter, your hugs all bring me endless joy and comfort. A book is a book, but you two are the greatest creations ever. All my love, Mama 1 February 2013 Contents List of Figures ix Preface x Acknowledgments xiii A Note on Translation xv List of Abbreviations xvii Maps xix 1 Letters and Letter-Writing in Ancient Rome 1 2 The Roman Republic (70 bce–27 bce)21 1–49 Cicero 21 50 Catiline 61 51–53 Catullus 62 3 The Augustan Age (27 bce–14 ce)66 54–58 Augustus 66 59–69 Horace 68 70–71 Propertius 79 72–83 Ovid 81 4 The Roman Empire (14 ce–third century ce)96 84 Emperor Tiberius (14–37 ce)96 85 Emperor Claudius (41–54 ce)97 86–95 Seneca the Younger 99 96 Paul the Apostle 112 97 Jude 114 98–101 Martial 115 102–105 Statius 117 106–164 Pliny the Younger 122 165–166 John the Elder 154 vii Contents 167–194 Fronto 156 195–203 Letters from Vindolanda 169 204–214 Papyri 173 5 Epistolary Theorists 183 215 (Pseudo-)Demetrius 183 216 Pseudo-Libanius 184 General Index 187 Concordance of Texts 193 viii List of Figures Map 0.1 Italy. xix Map 0.2 The Roman Empire. xx Figure 1.1 Ancient Roman writing materials: wax tablet, stylus, and papyrus scroll. Ancient Roman fresco. 8 Figure 1.2 The baker Terentius Neo and his wife holding a papyrus scroll, a stylus and wax tablet. Ancient Roman fresco. 9 Figure 2.1 Gladiator fighting lion. Roman fresco from the amphitheatre of Merida, second century ad.39 Figure 3.1 The Appian Way. 77 Figure 3.2 Goddess Fortuna and Pontos. Graeco-Roman marble, late second century bce,fromTomis,Romania. 84 Figure 4.1 Detail of St. Paul from the cupola mosaic. 113 Figure 4.2 Imaginary architectural landscape. Ancient Roman fresco from the Villa of Arianna in Stabiae. 124 Figure 4.3 Tablet of Sulpicia from Vindolanda (modern-day Chesterholm, Northumberland), Roman Britain, ca. 100 ce. 171 ix Preface The goal of this anthology is to make classical epistolary texts more accessible and approachable to non-specialists and to contribute to the growing scholarly attention on Roman letters as literature. After years of teaching ancient Roman letters in translation to undergraduates at a public liberal arts institution, I had a realization of several recurrent pedagogical challenges. First, outdated and occasionally out of print translations made many letters physically, linguistically, and culturally inaccessible to students. Second, the absence of a concise single-volume text severely inhibited close reading and intertextual comparison in the classroom. Lastly, the rising cost of higher education has made the requirement of multiple volumes for one class increasingly burdensome for students. Expecting students to bring six or seven different volumes to each class in order to trace thematic and literary parallels among authors was simply impractical. These challenges inspired the development of a new type of text, purposely designed (1) to showcase the breadth and depth of the ancient epistolary genre as literature; (2) to provide modern translations that are relatable and meaningful to young, yet engaged readers; and (3) to highlight intertextual thematic parallels among the various types of letters – all within, and with the help of, one cohesive volume. This book is the resulting anthology. It is primarily geared toward undergraduate and non-specialist readerships, and the collected texts survey a range of historical contexts, authors, and letter types. As with any anthology, the greatest challenge was finding the right balance between breadth and depth; so a few words about selection are appropriate. In order to emphasize the communicative role that letters play in interpersonal relationships, I included texts that comprise a full cycle of correspondence (an initial letter and its reply). To highlight the ways in which letters (and literature) were disseminated, there are examples of embedded letters – letters preserved in other genres – and copies of other people’s letters. Many letters deal with the same topic but engage different recipients, a phenomenon that illustrates how a letter-writer consciously adjusts content and tone to fit the intended recipient. Additionally, this x Preface volume contains texts that vary significantly in style, tone, formality, and degree of literariness, even when they are written by the same author. Selections include well- known, ‘‘canonical’’ authors, such as Cicero and Pliny, but also less familiar papyrus finds, inscriptions, and texts not formally classified as letters (e.g., poems of Catullus and Propertius). Moreover, some texts were conscientiously chosen because of their self-referential nature: they comment on the letter genre and its function in the ancient world, or on the inherent logistical challenges of letter-writing within the geographical expanse of the Roman Empire. With the exception of the final chapter (epistolary theorists), the volume covers a period running from the first century bce to the second century ce.Thisrangeis neither ideal nor complete, but a more extensive chronological span would have either vastly expanded the length of this volume or substantially reduced the number of texts included for each author, thereby lessening the opportunities for a meaningfully close literary and thematic analysis. The temporal end-bracket of the second century ce is based on the political, literary, and cultural shifts that begin to occur in the Roman Empire of the third century. However, the prioritization of the classical period should in no way be taken to imply a value judgment as to its literary or historical primacy; it is rather a reflection of its role in establishing the conventions and themes for subsequent Roman letter-writers. The Roman epistolary genre obviously continued well past the second century, so these chronological limits do not suggest any abrupt break in epistolary continuity. There is no accompanying commentary: such knowledge-driven interruptions detract from the reader’s personal engagement with the text as a phenomenological experience. A short overview accompanies each new author or collection, along with a few suggestions for further reading. Whenever possible, explanatory notes have been incorporated in these introductions – or even in the translation itself. In addition, when necessary, individual letters are prefaced by introductions designed to clarify historical events or other essential details. All these elements are mere starting points, and instructors and readers are encouraged to explore additional primary and secondary sources for individual letters or topics.