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Younger for reliable information just because he thought and assumed that his correspondent would tell a true story. As far as we know, the story is true indeed; in any case, it mirrors the only historical truth we recognize as such, since it has contributed (along with some other texts) to what our cultural encyclopedia records as truth.
But we have improperly defined what the Younger says as a set of propositions labeled as p. As a matter of fact, the Younger narrates something, but his narration, as every other narration, is made up of two components, the underlying fabula (or story) and the vehicular discourse (or plot, or discursive arrangement of events).
The aim of the present analysis is to show that the story (once it has been isolated by a reader in the form of a series of macropropositions chronologically ordered) says something. However, the discourse says, if not something else, at least something more, in such a way that it is difficult to isolate the two levels clearly.
This double jeu is evident in the opening lines of the letter: Tacitus asked for a description of facts, but the Younger understands very well that what is at stake is an account for posteritythat is, a cultural monument.
1. Petis ut tibi avunculi mei exitum scribam, quo verius tradere posteris possis. Gratias ago; nam video morti eius si celebretur a te immortalem gloriam esse propositam. Quamvis enim pulcherrimarum clade terrarum, ut populi ut urbes memorabili casu, quasi semper victurus occiderit, quamvis ipse plurima opera et mansura condiderit, multum tamen perpetuitati eius scriptorum tuorum aeternitas addet. Equidem beatos puto, quibus deorum munere datum est ant facere scribenda aut scribere legenda, beatissimos vero quibus utrumque. Horum in numero avunculus meus et suis libris et tuis erit. Quo libentius suscipio, deposco etiam quod iniungis.1. Thank you for asking me to send you a description of my uncle's death so that you can leave an accurate account of it for posterity; I know that immortal fame awaits him if his death is recorded by you. It is true that he perished in a catastrophe which destroyed the loveliest regions of the earth, a fate shared by whole cities and their people, and one so memorable that it is likely to make his name live for ever: and he himself wrote a number of books of lasting value: but you write for all time and can still do much to perpetuate his memory. The fortunate man, in my opinion, is he to whom the gods have granted the power either to do something which is worth recording or to write what is worth reading, and most fortunate of all is the man who can do both. Such a man was my uncle, as his own books and yours will prove. So you set me a task I would choose for myself, and I am more than willing to start on it.

Pliny the Younger is explicit: Tacitus can provide immortal glory to the Elder by representing him as a scientific hero. Such an introduction can be taken in two ways. It looks as if the Younger were saying, "I provide you with the facts, and they will speak for themselvesall the rest is up to you." On the other hand, the Younger is providing facts and com

 
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