Rob Delaney reads a letter sent by an Ancient Roman who had been stood up
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- čas přidán 17. 01. 2024
- One evening in the year 97 AD, Roman lawyer Pliny the Younger found himself alone at his dinner table, a seat conspicuously empty. His friend Septicius Clarus, who had promised to join him for a night of food, wine, and conversation, had failed to appear. Pliny responded with a snub letter.
Rob Delaney joined us at the 10th anniversary Letters Live show at London's Royal Albert Hall to read Pliny's letter. - Zábava
He was offering comedians, readers, AND lyre players, and he was still stood up?? I hope that those dancing girls from Cadiz were worth it. 🤣🤣
You know they were worth it, he got whipped for that insult
@@Barefoot_Joe 🤣🤣
Dancing girls and oysters 🤔👍
Dancing girls and oysters 🤔👍
@@laupernut I forgot about the oysters. Now it makes sense. 😂
This voice is ideal for this letter.
What’s striking is that this letter was preserved,
either by the sender,
who might’ve thought better of sending once he’d sobered,
or by the recipient,
who might’ve shown it to her friends for amusement. 😂
Pliny the Younger preserved most of his letters - sent and received. Various collections of them have been published, and they make interesting reading.
Septicius Clarus was a man.
Yeah, women wern't walking around free and clear without a male relative in Rome. It was a man.
"I survived Vesuvius for THIS?!'
That's Pliny the Elder. He didn't survive. 🙂
Both Plinys were there - we only know about Elder's part in it because Younger wrote his first hand account to Tacitus several decades later. In fact, Pliny the Younger had to flee his home with his mother as ash rained down on them.
Pliny speaks of "Barley Water". Fun fact is that Russian River Brewing Company has an IPA named Pliny the Elder which has been one of the top rated IPA's for some time (Also a seasonal Pliny the Younger) I had only heard of their involvement in eruption of Vesuvius after I visited Pompeii.
I would love to dine with Pliny the Younger, especially when he has a list of entertainers and excellent food to offer. This is an opportunity that I could not miss.
The Romans even had Michellin star dining back in 97 AD…Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay..eat your heart out..😂😂😂
In two decades of Latin study, I never expected Pliny to sound like that.
Original text, for those interested (delightfully, he includes a full, polite salutation to Clarus):
C. Plinius Septicio Claro suo s.
Heus tu! Promittis ad cenam, nec venis? Dicitur ius: ad assem impendium reddes, nec id modicum. [2] Paratae erant lactucae singulae, cochleae ternae, ova bina, halica cum mulso et nive - nam hanc quoque computabis, immo hanc in primis quae perit in ferculo -, olivae betacei cucurbitae bulbi, alia mille non minus lauta. Audisses comoedos vel lectorem vel lyristen vel - quae mea liberalitas - omnes. [3] At tu apud nescio quem ostrea vulvas echinos Gaditanas maluisti. Dabis poenas, non dico quas. Dure fecisti: invidisti, nescio an tibi, certe mihi, sed tamen et tibi. Quantum nos lusissemus risissemus studuissemus! [4] Potes apparatius cenare apud multos, nusquam hilarius simplicius incautius. In summa experire, et nisi postea te aliis potius excusaveris, mihi semper excusa. Vale.
“A thousand other dishes” hm 🤔
Untranslated is the last line: in summa experire-et nisi postea te aliis potius excusaveris-mihi semper excusa; i.e., "to conclude, after this you will always need to excuse yourself to me, even if you don't need to make excuses to others."
It makes a LITTLE bit more sense when you realize that Pliny and Clarus were good friends.
From which letter and volume did you find in Pliny the Younger's letters from? I have volume one in digital form.
@@kristenrosales2919 I'm only aware of a single volume of epistles. This one is usually numbered eleven.
@@HighKingTurgon Thank you very much. I will look into it. In addition, thank you for transcribing the original letter in latin.
People have always been petty😂
Love it
Before passive aggressiveness was invented, Romans were just straight-up aggressive.
Meet any Italian or Greek of today and you will find little is passive about their agressiveness when wronged or perceived so.
Dude must have been kicking himself when he realized he could have been eating snails instead of sea urchins.
"We could have had a great causal time, innocent and unguarded, but now I'm going to sue you."
More like WHINY the Younger, m i rite?
Aww, poor guy, I'm sure that hurt! And yes, snow was rare and hard to come by! It is hard to compete with dancing girls, though. I hope they made up!
Like an rpg dialogue box
> [Bye]
"Farewell" (npc walks away )
Lol Roman ‘Nice Guy’
You don't ask a woman to dinner in ancient Rome. This is men's correspondence.
@@HighKingTurgon the relevancy of your point is?
@@aps-pictures9335 Pliny's letter is inconsistent with the behavior of a Nice Guy. Many of the claims are similar, but the tone and outcome are thoroughly distinct.
@@HighKingTurgon in what way?
@@aps-pictures9335 this is a letter from one man teasing his good friend for ignoring the lavish party he threw and expected him at.
He's not hitting Clarus up for a hot date.
She was right to stand him up.
*He. The person whom Pliny was waiting for, Septicius, was a man as well.
I was here to say that!
@@blindknitter Yes, a man. No need to be here, have to know a bit ancient roman culture
are these letters real
Pliny! Letters I.15
OG Noce Guy
🐌🐌🐌 🤣
I wonder how much did Pliny the Younger spend on this dinner? That must have been quite a large sum.
More so, who won the lawsuit?
Is this Martial?
Pliny. To his friend Clarus also of the imperial court.
More like Pliny the Whinger.
You really wanted this guy for a friend. You didn't show which while rude (although we don't know the reason, he could have been sick) probably doesn't deserve a roman legion send after you followed by being displayed on a cross in your yard.
It sounds like Trump 😅
Performing girls from Cadiz? Ew
This guy is rubbish. When you don't know what to do: just shout.
ya I'm not sure what the thought process was here - I think a teenager in a drama class could pull off a funnier and more interesting interpretation of this letter
Like an rpg dialogue box
> [Bye]
"Farewell" (npc walks away )