LITERARY TESTIMONY OF ILLNESS AND DEATH IN THE EPISTOLOGRAPHY OF PLINY THE YOUNGER

In his literary letters, one of the first of its kind in Roman literature, Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus writes about various topics concerning the everyday life of Romans. His collection consists of stylistically revised (epistulae curatius scriptae/litterae curiosius scriptae) actual letters addressed to family members and friends, which the author personally selected and published. Although Pliny is considered an optimistic writer, the epistolary part of his work is often intertwined with topics related to various diseases and health conditions, aging, (premature) death, suicides, and as a counterweight to all this is the omnipresent desire for fame and immortality.The aim of this paper is to shed more light on the phenomenon of illness and death from a literary aspect. We will explore relevant excerpts and provide a broader picture when looking at this topic. Literary creativity was Pliny’s greatest pleasure and the path to immortality. His letters, full of piety for ancestors and care for descendants, should guide us nowadays.