In this letter we have Pliny writing to his friend Minicius to whom Pliny had written many other letters. In this letter he shuns the city life and espouses the more leisurely relaxed pace of life in the country villa. He even invokes this villa on the shore as a remote shrine to the Muses [secretum mouseion] and lauds its ability to inspire and form new ideas for his writings.
Gaius Plinius to his dear Minicius Fundanus, Greetings:
(I) It is amazing how, taken one day at a time, in the city everything balances out and how, taking many days together, it does not balance.
(II) For if you should ask a man, "What are you doing today?" he would respond, "I was at a coming of age ceremony [donning of the toga virilis], I visited some betrothals and marriages, that man over there asked me to sign a will, that one there consulted me, and that one met with me."
(III) You have made these things a necessity for yourself each day, if you should recall that you did the same thing every day, those things would seem inane, even more so when you are on vacation. For at that time comes to mind the recollection, "How many days did I waste on fruitless activities."
(IV) Because this happened to me, when afterwards in my Laurentine villa I either read something or wrote something or even freed up my body for leisure, whose poor soul had needed supports.
(V) I neither hear nor say anything I would regret to hear or say; no one slanders anything with perverse speech before me, I myself reprehend no one, unless my own self when I write very badly; I am bothered by no hope, by no fear, I am disturbed by no rumors: I speak only with myself and my dear books [libellis].
(VI) O righteous and sincere life, o sweet leisure--honest and nearly more beautiful than any job. O sea, o shore--truly remote shrine of the Muses--how much you devise, how much you dictate.
(VII) You too leave behind this same way as soon as the occasion arises, the noise and meaningless running about and the completely absurd labors, and trade your studies for leisure.
(VIII) For it is more than enough, as our friend Atilius says so learnedly and at the same time so wittily, to be at leisure than to do nothing. Farewell.
Two interesting anecdotes concerning the last section of this letter. Their mutual friend Atilius was apparently a man known for his zealous pursuit of learning and to whom Pliny makes himself an Achilles to Patroclus. The other thing of note is something that I am quite surprised I never noticed before, but thanks to the semi-helpful commentary of Cecilia A E Luschnig the relationship between otium [leisure] and negotium [work] is apparent. For negotium is NEGATIVE otium. The Romans' word for work was "lack of leisure"! I for one am humored greatly by this discovery. I guess from now on I should pay closer attention to contrasting pairs of words.
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