Letter 5001: I have come in for a legacy, inconsiderable in amount, yet more gratifying than even the handsomest one could be.
Pliny the Younger→Annius Severus|c. 104 AD|Pliny the Younger|Human translated
barbarian invasionproperty economics
To Annius Severus.
I have come in for a legacy, inconsiderable in amount, yet more gratifying than even the handsomest one could be. Why so? I will tell you. Pomponia Galla, who had disinherited her son Asudius Curianus, had left me her heir and had given me as co-heirs Sertorius Severus, a man of praetorian rank, and other Roman knights of distinction. Curianus begged me to make my portion over to him, and so strengthen his position with the court by declaring in his favour beforehand, * promising at the same time to make the amount good to me by a secret compact. My answer was that my character did not allow me to act in one way before the world and in another in private, and I further urged that it would not be a proper thing to make over sums of money to a wealthy and childless man. ** In short, my argument was that I should not benefit him by making over the amount, but that I should benefit him if I renounced my legacy, and that this I was perfectly willing to do, if he could satisfy me that he had been unjustly disinherited. His reply to this was to ask me to investigate the case judicially. After some hesitation I said, "I will, for I do not see why I should appear less honourable in my own eyes than I do in yours. But remember even now that I will not hesitate to pronounce in favour of your mother if I feel honourably bound to do so." "Do as you will," he replied, "for what you will is sure to be just and right."
I called in to assist me two of the most thoroughly honourable men that the State could boast of possessing, Corellius and Frontinus. With these by my side I sat in my private room. Curianus then laid his case before us; I replied briefly, for there was no one else present to defend the motives of the deceased. Then I withdrew, and, in accordance with the views of Corellius and Frontinus, I said, "Curianus, we think that your mother had just grounds for resentment against you." Subsequently, he lodged an appeal before the centumviri against the other heirs but not against me. The day for the hearing approached, and my co-heirs were disposed to agree to a compromise and come to terms, not because they doubted their legal position, but owing to the troubled state of the times. † They were afraid that what had happened to many others might happen to them, and that they might leave the centumviral court with some capital charge against them. Moreover, there were some among their number who were open to the charge of having been friends of Gratilla and Rusticus, so they begged me to speak with Curianus. We met in the Temple of Concord, and I addressed him there in the following terms: "If your mother had left you heir to a fourth of her estate, could you complain? †† But what if she had left you heir to the whole, and yet had so encumbered it with legacies that not more than a fourth of the whole remained? I think you ought to be satisfied if, after being disinherited by your mother, you receive a fourth from her heirs, and this sum I will myself increase. You know that you did not lodge any appeal against me, that two years have passed, and that I have established my title to my share. But in order that my co-heirs may find you more tractable, and that you may lose nothing by the consideration you have shown me, I offer you of my own free will the amount that I have received."
I have reaped the reward not only of my scrupulously fair dealing, but also of my reputation. Curianus left me a legacy, and, unless I flatter myself unduly, he has given signal distinction to the honest course of action I pursued. I have written to tell you this because it is my custom to discuss with you any matters which give me pain or pleasure, as freely as though I were talking to myself. Besides, I thought it would be unkind to defraud you, who have such a great regard for me, of the pleasure which I have received from this. For I am not such a perfect philosopher as to think it makes no difference whether I receive or not the approbation of others - which is itself a kind of reward - when I think that I have acted in an honourable manner. Farewell.
[Note: i.e., for getting their shares from the other heirs. If Pliny had pretended to make a present of his legacy, it would have strengthened Curianus' case, or, rather, he seems to have thought so - erroneously, as Pliny directly tells him.
]
[Note: Pliny would have exposed himself to the suspicion of playing the captator, or fortune-hunter, by this concession.
]
(†) The times of Domitian. The expression is sufficiently explained by what follows: see letter iii. 11 for Gratilla and Rusticus.
(††) This would have been all he would have been legally entitled to. It was his legitima portio, in accordance with the Lex Falcidia of 40 B.C.
L To Annius Severus.
I have come in for a legacy, inconsiderable in amount, yet more gratifying than even the handsomest one could be. Why so? I will tell you. Pomponia Galla, who had disinherited her son Asudius Curianus, had left me her heir and had given me as co-heirs Sertorius Severus, a man of praetorian rank, and other Roman knights of distinction. Curianus begged me to make my portion over to him, and so strengthen his position with the court by declaring in his favour beforehand, * promising at the same time to make the amount good to me by a secret compact. My answer was that my character did not allow me to act in one way before the world and in another in private, and I further urged that it would not be a proper thing to make over sums of money to a wealthy and childless man. ** In short, my argument was that I should not benefit him by making over the amount, but that I should benefit him if I renounced my legacy, and that this I was perfectly willing to do, if he could satisfy me that he had been unjustly disinherited. His reply to this was to ask me to investigate the case judicially. After some hesitation I said, "I will, for I do not see why I should appear less honourable in my own eyes than I do in yours. But remember even now that I shall not hesitate to pronounce in favour of your mother if I feel honourably bound to do so." "Do as you will," he replied, "for what you will is sure to be just and right."
I called in to assist me two of the most thoroughly honourable men that the State could boast of possessing, Corellius and Frontinus. With these by my side I sat in my private room. Curianus then laid his case before us; I replied briefly, for there was no one else present to defend the motives of the deceased. Then I withdrew, and, in accordance with the views of Corellius and Frontinus, I said, "Curianus, we think that your mother had just grounds for resentment against you." Subsequently, he lodged an appeal before the centumviri against the other heirs but not against me. The day for the hearing approached, and my co-heirs were disposed to agree to a compromise and come to terms, not because they doubted their legal position, but owing to the troubled state of the times. † They were afraid that what had happened to many others might happen to them, and that they might leave the centumviral court with some capital charge against them. Moreover, there were some among their number who were open to the charge of having been friends of Gratilla and Rusticus, so they begged me to speak with Curianus. We met in the Temple of Concord, and I addressed him there in the following terms: "If your mother had left you heir to a fourth of her estate, could you complain? †† But what if she had left you heir to the whole, and yet had so encumbered it with legacies that not more than a fourth of the whole remained? I think you ought to be satisfied if, after being disinherited by your mother, you receive a fourth from her heirs, and this sum I will myself increase. You know that you did not lodge any appeal against me, that two years have passed, and that I have established my title to my share. But in order that my co-heirs may find you more tractable, and that you may lose nothing by the consideration you have shown me, I offer you of my own free will the amount that I have received."
I have reaped the reward not only of my scrupulously fair dealing, but also of my reputation. Curianus left me a legacy, and, unless I flatter myself unduly, he has given signal distinction to the honest course of action I pursued. I have written to tell you this because it is my custom to discuss with you any matters which give me pain or pleasure, as freely as though I were talking to myself. Besides, I thought it would be unkind to defraud you, who have such a great regard for me, of the pleasure which I have received from this. For I am not such a perfect philosopher as to think it makes no difference whether I receive or not the approbation of others - which is itself a kind of reward - when I think that I have acted in an honourable manner. Farewell.
(*) i.e., for getting their shares from the other heirs. If Pliny had pretended to make a present of his legacy, it would have strengthened Curianus' case, or, rather, he seems to have thought so - erroneously, as Pliny directly tells him.
(**) Pliny would have exposed himself to the suspicion of playing the captator, or fortune-hunter, by this concession.
(†) The times of Domitian. The expression is sufficiently explained by what follows: see letter iii. 11 for Gratilla and Rusticus.
(††) This would have been all he would have been legally entitled to. It was his legitima portio, in accordance with the Lex Falcidia of 40 B.C.
C. PLINIUS ANNIO SEVERO SUO S.
Legatum mihi obvenit modicum sed amplissimo gratius. Cur amplissimo gratius? Pomponia Galla exheredato filio Asudio Curiano heredem reliquerat me, dederat coheredes Sertorium Severum praetorium virum aliosque splendidos equites Romanos. Curianus orabat, ut sibi donarem portionem meam seque praeiudicio iuvarem; eandem tacita conventione salvam mihi pollicebatur. Respondebam non convenire moribus meis aliud palam aliud agere secreto; praeterea non esse satis honestum donare et locupleti et orbo; in summa non profuturum ei si donassem, profuturum si cessissem, esse autem me paratum cedere si inique exheredatum mihi liqueret. Ad hoc ille: 'Rogo cognoscas.' Cunctatus paulum 'Faciam' inquam; 'neque enim video cur ipse me minorem putem, quam tibi videor. Sed iam nunc memento non defuturam mihi constantiam, si ita fides duxerit, secundum matrem tuam pronuntiandi.' 'Ut voles' ait; 'voles enim quod aequissimum.' Adhibui in consilium duos quos tunc civitas nostra spectatissimos habuit, Corellium et Frontinum. His circumdatus in cubiculo meo sedi. Dixit Curianus quae pro se putabat. Respondi paucis ego — neque enim aderat alius, qui defunctae pudorem tueretur -, deinde secessi, et ex consilii sententia 'Videtur' inquam, 'Curiane, mater tua iustas habuisse causas irascendi tibi.'
Post hoc ille cum ceteris subscripsit centumvirale iudicium, non subscripsit mecum. Appetebat iudicii dies; coheredes mei componere et transigere cupiebant non diffidentia causae, sed metu temporum. Verebantur quod videbant multis accidisse, ne ex centumvirali iudicio capitis rei exirent. Et erant quidam in illis, quibus obici et Gratillae amicitia et Rustici posset. Rogant me ut cum Curiano loquar. Convenimus in aedem Concordiae. Ibi ego 'Si mater' inquam 'te ex parte quarta scripsisset heredem, num queri posses? Quid si heredem quidem instituisset ex asse, sed legatis ita exhausisset ut non amplius apud te quam quarta remaneret? Igitur sufficere tibi debet, si exheredatus a matre quartam partem ab heredibus eius accipias, quam tamen ego augebo. Scis te non subscripsisse mecum, et iam biennium transisse omniaque me usu cepisse. Sed ut te coheredes mei tractabiliorem experiantur, utque tibi nihil abstulerit reverentia mei, offero pro mea parte tantundem.' Tuli fructum non conscientiae modo verum etiam famae. Ille ergo Curianus legatum mihi reliquit et factum meum, nisi forte blandior mihi antiquum, notabili honore signavit.
Haec tibi scripsi, quia de omnibus quae me vel delectant vel angunt, non aliter tecum quam mecum loqui soleo; deinde quod durum existimabam, te amantissimum mei fraudare voluptate quam ipse capiebam. Neque enim sum tam sapiens ut nihil mea intersit, an iis quae honeste fecisse me credo, testificatio quaedam et quasi praemium accedat. Vale.
◆
To Annius Severus.
I have come in for a legacy, inconsiderable in amount, yet more gratifying than even the handsomest one could be. Why so? I will tell you. Pomponia Galla, who had disinherited her son Asudius Curianus, had left me her heir and had given me as co-heirs Sertorius Severus, a man of praetorian rank, and other Roman knights of distinction. Curianus begged me to make my portion over to him, and so strengthen his position with the court by declaring in his favour beforehand, * promising at the same time to make the amount good to me by a secret compact. My answer was that my character did not allow me to act in one way before the world and in another in private, and I further urged that it would not be a proper thing to make over sums of money to a wealthy and childless man. ** In short, my argument was that I should not benefit him by making over the amount, but that I should benefit him if I renounced my legacy, and that this I was perfectly willing to do, if he could satisfy me that he had been unjustly disinherited. His reply to this was to ask me to investigate the case judicially. After some hesitation I said, "I will, for I do not see why I should appear less honourable in my own eyes than I do in yours. But remember even now that I will not hesitate to pronounce in favour of your mother if I feel honourably bound to do so." "Do as you will," he replied, "for what you will is sure to be just and right."
I called in to assist me two of the most thoroughly honourable men that the State could boast of possessing, Corellius and Frontinus. With these by my side I sat in my private room. Curianus then laid his case before us; I replied briefly, for there was no one else present to defend the motives of the deceased. Then I withdrew, and, in accordance with the views of Corellius and Frontinus, I said, "Curianus, we think that your mother had just grounds for resentment against you." Subsequently, he lodged an appeal before the centumviri against the other heirs but not against me. The day for the hearing approached, and my co-heirs were disposed to agree to a compromise and come to terms, not because they doubted their legal position, but owing to the troubled state of the times. † They were afraid that what had happened to many others might happen to them, and that they might leave the centumviral court with some capital charge against them. Moreover, there were some among their number who were open to the charge of having been friends of Gratilla and Rusticus, so they begged me to speak with Curianus. We met in the Temple of Concord, and I addressed him there in the following terms: "If your mother had left you heir to a fourth of her estate, could you complain? †† But what if she had left you heir to the whole, and yet had so encumbered it with legacies that not more than a fourth of the whole remained? I think you ought to be satisfied if, after being disinherited by your mother, you receive a fourth from her heirs, and this sum I will myself increase. You know that you did not lodge any appeal against me, that two years have passed, and that I have established my title to my share. But in order that my co-heirs may find you more tractable, and that you may lose nothing by the consideration you have shown me, I offer you of my own free will the amount that I have received."
I have reaped the reward not only of my scrupulously fair dealing, but also of my reputation. Curianus left me a legacy, and, unless I flatter myself unduly, he has given signal distinction to the honest course of action I pursued. I have written to tell you this because it is my custom to discuss with you any matters which give me pain or pleasure, as freely as though I were talking to myself. Besides, I thought it would be unkind to defraud you, who have such a great regard for me, of the pleasure which I have received from this. For I am not such a perfect philosopher as to think it makes no difference whether I receive or not the approbation of others - which is itself a kind of reward - when I think that I have acted in an honourable manner. Farewell.
[Note: i.e., for getting their shares from the other heirs. If Pliny had pretended to make a present of his legacy, it would have strengthened Curianus' case, or, rather, he seems to have thought so - erroneously, as Pliny directly tells him.
]
[Note: Pliny would have exposed himself to the suspicion of playing the captator, or fortune-hunter, by this concession.
]
(†) The times of Domitian. The expression is sufficiently explained by what follows: see letter iii. 11 for Gratilla and Rusticus.
(††) This would have been all he would have been legally entitled to. It was his legitima portio, in accordance with the Lex Falcidia of 40 B.C.
Human translation — Attalus.org
Latin / Greek Original
C. PLINIUS ANNIO SEVERO SUO S.
Legatum mihi obvenit modicum sed amplissimo gratius. Cur amplissimo gratius? Pomponia Galla exheredato filio Asudio Curiano heredem reliquerat me, dederat coheredes Sertorium Severum praetorium virum aliosque splendidos equites Romanos. Curianus orabat, ut sibi donarem portionem meam seque praeiudicio iuvarem; eandem tacita conventione salvam mihi pollicebatur. Respondebam non convenire moribus meis aliud palam aliud agere secreto; praeterea non esse satis honestum donare et locupleti et orbo; in summa non profuturum ei si donassem, profuturum si cessissem, esse autem me paratum cedere si inique exheredatum mihi liqueret. Ad hoc ille: 'Rogo cognoscas.' Cunctatus paulum 'Faciam' inquam; 'neque enim video cur ipse me minorem putem, quam tibi videor. Sed iam nunc memento non defuturam mihi constantiam, si ita fides duxerit, secundum matrem tuam pronuntiandi.' 'Ut voles' ait; 'voles enim quod aequissimum.' Adhibui in consilium duos quos tunc civitas nostra spectatissimos habuit, Corellium et Frontinum. His circumdatus in cubiculo meo sedi. Dixit Curianus quae pro se putabat. Respondi paucis ego — neque enim aderat alius, qui defunctae pudorem tueretur -, deinde secessi, et ex consilii sententia 'Videtur' inquam, 'Curiane, mater tua iustas habuisse causas irascendi tibi.'
Post hoc ille cum ceteris subscripsit centumvirale iudicium, non subscripsit mecum. Appetebat iudicii dies; coheredes mei componere et transigere cupiebant non diffidentia causae, sed metu temporum. Verebantur quod videbant multis accidisse, ne ex centumvirali iudicio capitis rei exirent. Et erant quidam in illis, quibus obici et Gratillae amicitia et Rustici posset. Rogant me ut cum Curiano loquar. Convenimus in aedem Concordiae. Ibi ego 'Si mater' inquam 'te ex parte quarta scripsisset heredem, num queri posses? Quid si heredem quidem instituisset ex asse, sed legatis ita exhausisset ut non amplius apud te quam quarta remaneret? Igitur sufficere tibi debet, si exheredatus a matre quartam partem ab heredibus eius accipias, quam tamen ego augebo. Scis te non subscripsisse mecum, et iam biennium transisse omniaque me usu cepisse. Sed ut te coheredes mei tractabiliorem experiantur, utque tibi nihil abstulerit reverentia mei, offero pro mea parte tantundem.' Tuli fructum non conscientiae modo verum etiam famae. Ille ergo Curianus legatum mihi reliquit et factum meum, nisi forte blandior mihi antiquum, notabili honore signavit.
Haec tibi scripsi, quia de omnibus quae me vel delectant vel angunt, non aliter tecum quam mecum loqui soleo; deinde quod durum existimabam, te amantissimum mei fraudare voluptate quam ipse capiebam. Neque enim sum tam sapiens ut nihil mea intersit, an iis quae honeste fecisse me credo, testificatio quaedam et quasi praemium accedat. Vale.