Letters. With an English translation by William Melmoth, rev. by W.M.L. Hutchinson

LIBRARYCLASSICALTHE LOEBEDITED BYLiTT.D.T. E. PAGE,D. ROUSE, litt.d.LL.D. W. H.CAPPS, PH.D.,E.PLINYLETTERSIJf^^fefe^PLINYth^ younceiLETTERSBYWITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATIONWILLIAM MELMOTHREVISED BYW. M. L. HUTCHINSONIN TWO VOLUMESILONDON : WILLIAM HEINEMANNTHE MACMILLAN CO.NEW YORK :MCMXXXIFirst Printed 1915.Reprinted 1923. 1927.Reprinted 1931.V. )Printed in Great Britain.—PREFACEMelmoth's translation of Pliny's Letters, publishedin 1746, not only delighted contemporary criticsamongst whom Warton pronounced it a better workthan the original—but deservedly ranks as a minorEnglish classic. Apart from its literary excellence,has the of theit supreme merit reflecting spirit ofthe original, and that to a degree now unattainable.For it was produced when the lost ai-t of letter-writing was in its heyday, and to compose just suchletters as Pliny's the universal accomplishment ofhigh-flownwell-bred persons. His compliments, hisneatly-turned platitudes, his nice blending of senseand sensibility, were stock ingredients of eighteenthcentury correspondence and Melmoth— himself;author of a vastly admired series of imaginaryletters—had the ideal style for translating him athis fingers' ends. No modern rendering can i-e-capture the ease and felicity of Melmoth's; forthey came of his living in a world so like Pliny'sown that he was perfectly at home with his author'smode of thought.;PREFACEOn the other hand, Melmoth carried too far ...