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* PLINY. 120 PLOCKHORST. I>cipzig, 1875-97). There is an old Eiifrlish translation bv Holland (London, 1001). and a more rwont "one, in Holm's Library, by lies- took and llilev (London, l«.-..-)-.'>7 ). Pliny's chap- ters on the liistorv of art are edited, with com- mentary, by Jcx-Blake and Sellers (London, 180C).* tiis SEtiNDls). A no|)hev of Pliny the Elder, and son of Gains Ca'cilius. lie was born at Xoviini Conmni (Como), A.n. C2. He was still yonng when he lost his father, and was adopted by his uncle, under whose care, and that of his mother, Plinia, and his tutor, Virginias Kufus, his educa- tion was conducted. Passionately devoted to literature, he wrote a Greek tragedy at the age of thirteen. He studied elofiuence under (^uiiitilian, and liecamc so famous for his literary aceoniplisli- meiils that he acquired' the reputation of being one of the most learned men of the age. His oratorical powers were also considerable; in his nineteenth year he began to speak in the Forum, and his services as an advocate before the court of the centumviri and the Roman Senate were in fiequent request. He held numerous oflicial appointments: served, while a young man. as tiihiiiiiis milituiii in Syria, where he listened to the leaching of Euphrates the Stoic, and Artemi- diinis; was afterwards qinrstor fwsaris : was ))rator about 93. and consul in 100, when he wrote his Pnueyiirirus, an adulatory eulogium of the Emperor Trajan. He was appointed, in 103, proprietor of the Province Pontiea or Bithynia, an otlice which he vacated in less than two years; and he also discharged the function of curator of the banks and channel of the Tiber. He was twice married, his second wife being Calpurnia, grand- daughter of Calpumius Fabatiis. Our knowledge of Pliny the Yfiunger is mainly derived from his letters or FiiisUihr. of which there are ten books. He collected them himself, and probably wrote many of them with a view to publication. They hold a high place in epistolary literature, and give us many interesting glimpses into the life of their author and his contemporaries. Pliny himself appears in them to considerable advan- tage, as a genial and philanthrnpie man. en- amored of literary studies, and fond of improving his estates by architectural adornment. His ample fortune was liberally Ijestowed. and his slaves always found in him an indulgent master. He never enjoyed robust health : but of the time or cause of his death we know nothing. Of his letters, one of the most interesting is the one to the Emperor Trajan (Book x.. 97), written while Pliny was Governor of Bithynia, and ask- ing for instruction in regard to the policy to be pursued against the stubborn sect of Chris- tians: this is one of the earliest notices of the Christians in Roman writers. The best editions of Pliny's Paneiiiiririis and Kpixfiilw together are those of Sehaefer (Leipzig. ISO.t) and Keil (ib., 1892) ; of the EjiiKluhr alone, that of Gierig (ib., 1806). Of English translations, there are the Panrqi/rirus bv Bond (London, 1724) and the Episliihr by Me'lmoth (ib.. 174fi) ; 10th ed. 180.5) and Lord Orrery (ib.. 17.52). An excellent sketch of Pliny's life by Rendall is printed in Mavor's edition of Book iii. of the Epistiihc (ib., ISSO). PLIOCENE EPOCH (from Gk. tMwv, pleion, more, comparative of n-oWj, polys, much, many 4- Kait>6!, kainos, new). The name given by Sir Charles Lyell to the uppermost division of the Tertiary system. Pliocene rocks are not ex- tensively developed in America, but in Europe tlicy are of great importance. Along the At- lantic coast of the United States isolated areas have lieen found from Virginia southward to Florida : and similar patches occur on the Pacific coast, the Werccd scries of the San Francisco ])eninsula having a thickness of nearly 0000 feet. In the interior there are a nund)er of Pliocene basins in which fresh-water strata were de])Osited. The (oodniglit and Blanco stages of Texas and similar strata in Kansas, t)klahoma, and Oregon were laid down in fresh-water lakes. The Plio- cene of Europe comprises extensive deposits in Spain, France, Italy. Sicily, and Greece, and smaller areas in Belgium, Northern France, and England. The life of the Pliocene epoch is quite modern in character, although many species of bdth plants and animals are no longer existent. The rhinoceros, horse, llama, sloth, mastodon, and peccary inliabited Xorth America at that time, while the European fauna included many forms which resemble those living at present in Africa. See Tertiary System. PLIOSATJ'RUS (Xeo-Lat., from Eng. plio- cene + Gk. (raOpot, sauros. lizard). A gigantic Plesiosavirus with large head and short neck. See Pi.E.siosAVRrs. PLOCK, pli'itsk. A government occupying the northwestern part of Russian Poland, bounded l)V Prussia on the north. Area, 3074 square miles. The surface is slightly elevated toward the north and slopes toward the valley of the Vistula. The chief rivers are the Vistula, which forms the southern and western boundaries of the govern- ment, and the Narev. The soil is well adapted for agriculture, which is the chief occupation. Rye, potatoes, oats, and beets are the principal agricultural products, the last named being raised for the beet-sugar mills in the governments of Plock and Warsaw. Stock-breeding is also im- portant. The manufacturing industries are con- fined mostly to the production of sugar, flour, spirits, and trimmed lumber. Population, in 1897. .5.50,877. PLOCK. One of the oldest cities of Russian Poland and capital of the Government of Plock, picturesquely situated on the right bank of the Vistula, about 60 miles west-northwest of War- saw (Map: Russia, B 4). It is a pretty town with a fine public garden, a town hall, a cathe- dral founded in the twelfth century, two gym- nasia, a seminary for teachers, a theatre, and a number of libraries. The manufacturing indus- tries are of little importance, liut there is a considerable trade in grain, which is carried by the Vistula to Gernianv. Population, in 1S97, 27,073. Plock is mentioned in connection with the introduction of Christianity into Poland in the tenth century. It was the capital of the mediaeval Princijjality of ilasovia. PLOCK'HORST, Berxhard (1825-). A German historical painter, born at Brunswick. Having practiced drawing and lithography in Berlin and Dresden, he took up painting in 18.50 at ^Munich under Piloty. and in 1851 studied in Paris under Couture. A visit to Belgium and Holland in 18.54 was followed by a sojourn in Italy, especially at Venice, whereupon he settled first at Leipzig, then in Berlin, whither he re-
 * PLINY THE Younger (Gaivs Plixifs C.eci-