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paucos milites addidi. Video tamen periculum esse ne id ipsum utrisque neglegentiae causa sit, dum communem culpam hi in illos, illi in hos regerere posse confidunt.

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Nihil opus est, mi Secunde carissime, ad continendas custodias plures commilitones converti. Perseveremus in ea consuetudine quae isti provinciae est, ut per publicos servos custodiantur. Etenim ut fideliter hoc faciant in tua severitate ac diligentia positum est In primis enim, sicut scribis, verendum est ne, si permisceantur servis publicis milites, mutua inter se fiducia neglegentiores sint: sed et illud haereat nobis, quam paucissimos milites a signis avocandos esse.

I opus est, Cat.

There is no need, my Pliny, to employ more soldiers to guard the prisoners; better to abide by the custom of the province and use the public slaves. Their loyalty must be your care. As you say, by employing both, you will make both careless, and I am particularly anxious that the soldiers should not be called away from their standards.

commilitones. Augustus in his desire to restore military discipline never used this term of the soldiers. Suet. Aug. 25, 'neque post bella civilia aut in concione aut per edictum ullos militum commilitones appellabat sed milites: ac ne a filiis quidem aut privignis suis, imperio praeditis aliter appellari passus est: ambitiosius id existimans quam aut ratio militaris aut temporum quies aut sua domusque suae maiestas postularet.' After the Julio-Claudian line, however, the emperors were much more dependent on the army. Galba twice addresses his soldiers in this way (Suet. Galb. 20): 'quid agitis commilitones? ego vester sum, et vos mei'; and (Tac. Hist. i 35)

opus sit, B. and Ald.

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to the soldier who boasted that he had killed Otho, 'commilito, inquit, quis iussit?' Trajan, whose early life had been spent in the camp, took especial pains to win the confidence and affection of his soldiers. See Plin. Panegyr. § 13, 'cum tecum inediam, tecum ferrent sitim; non tibi moris tua inire tentoria, nisi commilitonum ante lustrasses, nec requiem corpori nisi post omnes dare'; 'in praesentia quidem, quisquis paulo vetustior miles, hic te commilitone censetur. Quotus enim quisque cuius tu non ante commilito quam imperator?' Dio Cass. 68, 23.

in ea consuetudine quae isti provinciae est. For this observance of local customs see Ep. 68 109, 115, 113, 48, 93.

mutua inter se fiducia, by each relying on the other.

illud haereat nobis, let us abide by the general rule.

quam paucissimos milites a signis avocandos. Cf. Ep. 22.

XXI [XXXII]

De numero militum Gabio Basso praefecto adsignatorum

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Gabius Bassus, praefectus orae Ponticae, et reverentissime

et officiosissime, domine, venit ad me et conpluribus diebus fuit mecum ; quantum perspicere potui, vir egregius et indulgentia tua dignus. Cui ego notum feci praecepisse te ut ex cohortibus quibus me praeesse voluisti contentus esset beneficiariis decem, equitibus duobus, centurione uno. Respondit non sufficere sibi hunc numerum idque se scripturum tibi. Hoc in causa fuit quo minus statim revocandos putarem quos habet supra numerum.

Gabius Bassus, the praefect of the Pontic coast, has been with me for some days. As far as I could see, he is well worthy of your favour. I told him that he must be content with the number of soldiers you specified. He declares that they are insufficient, and promises to write to you. Meanwhile I have not recalled those whom he has in excess of the number.

§ I. Gabius Bassus. Mentioned again in Ep. 86.

praefectus orae Ponticae. Generally speaking, a praefectus was one appointed as a deputy for another.

In the

provinces the praefecti were, compared with the governor, permanent officials, under the republic appointed by the governors themselves from the number of their friends, Corn. Nep. Attic. 6; Cic. ad Attic. vi 3, 6, under the empire, probably by the emperors. Of these some were appointed to civil, others to military duties. The latter were usually taken from the praefecti or tribuni of auxiliary cohorts. They had separate commands, generally at outlying stations, or to protect a particular frontier. The number of troops under them naturally depended on the danger and importance of the post. Thus (Tac. Hist. iv 65) Iulius Tutor was 'ripae Rheni a Vitellio praefectus,' .e. he was entrusted with the protection of the Rhine frontier, and would need considerable troops. Again we find a 'praefectus ripae fluminis Euphratis,' Henz. 6943, which would also be an important post; and a 'praefectus ripae Tibisci Danuvii,' Orell. 3234. The 'praefectus orae maritumae conventus Tarraconensis' Wilmann, 1611, and the 'praefectus orae Ponticae' would have a less important charge, and may probably have had to look after the import duties, and to act as coast-guard officers. Cf. the Praefectura Nymphaei portus in Sardinia, Bormann Bullett. dell' Inst. 1869, p. 182, and cf. Cagnat, de Municipalibus et Provincialibus Militiis, P. 16 ff.

compluribus diebus. For the ablative in the sense of duration see Roby, Lat. Gr. 1184, 1185. It is only found in post-Augustan Latin; cf. Tac. Hist. i 53, quatuordecim annis exilium toleravit'; and the common phrase on sepulchral inscriptions 'vixit annis xx.' etc.

ex cohortibus quibus me praeesse voluisti. We have no means of knowing what cohorts they were, except that one was a cohors sexta equestris; see Ep. 106. The auxiliary cohorts were either quingenariae with 500 men; or miliariae with 1000; either of these again might be 'equitata.' The cohors miliaria equitata had 240 cavalry and 760 infantry; the coh. quinq. eq. had 120 cavalry and 380 infantry. Marquadt, Staatsverw ii. P. 470.

beneficiariis decem. All soldiers below the rank of centurion who were raised above the position of common soldiers either by exemption from the munera of the camp, or by any special duty, were called principales; 'hi sunt milites principales qui privilegiis muniuntur,' Vegetius 2, 7. The conferment of any of these privileges was a beneficium; and the recipients were the beneficiarii of those superiors who granted the privileges. Cf. Tac. Hist. i 25, 'primores militum per beneficia Nymphidii suspectos.' Each of the higher officers had a certain number of beneficiarii whom he could himself select and employ for special purposes. Cf. Tac. Hist. iv 48, 'aequatus inter duos beneficiorum numerus'; and we find in inscrip. bf. of the legatus; the praefectus legionis: the praefectus praetorio; and of the procuratores; see Marquadt, ii, p. 549; see Wilmann, 98, 1727, 1566, etc. The beneficiarii, therefore, were picked soldiers, from whom promotions to superior appointments were made.

equitibus duobus, belonging to a cohors equitata or equestris.

hoc in causa fuit quominus = hac causa prohibitus sum quominus.

XXII [XXXII]

TRAIANUS PLINIO S.

Et mihi scripsit Gabius Bassus non sufficere sibi eum militum numerum qui ut daretur illi mandatis meis complexus sum. Cui quae rescripsissem ut notum haberes, his litteris subici iussi. Multum interest in tempus poscat an hoc munere uti latius velit. Nobis autem utilitas demum spectanda est, et quantum fieri potest, curandum ne milites a signis absint.

3 cui quae rescripsissem, Keil.

quid quaeris scripsisse me? B. and Ald. 4 Keil's conjecture in the text.

te poscat an homines in se ut latius
velint. B. and Ald.

Gabius Bassus has written to me that the number of soldiers which I assigned him is insufficient. My answer I have ordered to be annexed for your information. It is important to distinguish between a temporary demand and a permanent increase of forces. We must look to the general advantage, maintaining as far as possible the rule to keep soldiers by their standards.

mandatis meis complexus sum. For this sense of complecti, to sum up in speech or writing, cf. Cic. Phil. xiv 11, 29. causas complectar ipsa sententia.' Lewis and Short cite also Quintil. iii 6, 13. This is

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cui quae rescripsissem. Keil's emendation for the unsatisfactory reading of the Aldine edition: 'quid quaeris scripsisse me?' which Döring and J. C. Orelli retain. Gebauer's conjecture was 'quoi quae rescripserim.'

his litteris subici iussi. Trajan sends Pliny a copy of his rescript to Gabius Bassus.

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res poscat an homines imperare latius velint, Cat.

tempus poscat an homines iure uti latius velint. Orell.

old editions, te poscat an homines in se ut latius velint.' Catanaeus conjectured, 'res poscat an homines imperare latius velint'; imperare, however, as Döring points out, is inapplicable to a petty official like the praefectus orae Ponticae; Orelli reads 'tempus poscat an homines iure uti latius velint,' which, though generally accepted, seems hardly satisfactory. Homines is hardly a suitable expression; and the phrase iure uti latius is vague and indefinite. I have adopted Keil's suggestion, in tempus poscat an hoc munere uti latius velit,' as at least giving a clear antithesis between the two clauses. For the omission of utrum, cf. Ep. 30.

demum, exclusively. This is a purely post - Augustan use of the word; cf. Quintil. ii 15, I, 'adeo suis demum oculis credidit,' and i 4, 29, 'quaedam verba tertiae demum personae figura dicuntur, ut licet, piget'; Suet. Oth. 6, nihil magis testatus est quam id demum se habiturum quod sibi ipsi reliquissent,' and Aug. 16, 'uno demum navigio.' ne milites a signis absint. supra, Ep. 20.

XXIII [XXXIIII]

De balineo Prusensium

C. PLINUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Cf.

I Prusenses, domine, balineum habent et sordidum et vetus.

§ 1. The people of Prusa, sire, have an old and dilapidated bath-house, which with

your permission they wish to restore. My own opinion is that a new one should be

Idque tam inutile aestimant ut novum fieri debeat quod videris mihi desiderio eorum indulgere posse.

I itaque tamen aestimamus novam fieri quod B.

Id itaque indulgentia tua resti

built, and I think you may safely grant their request. § 2. Money will be forthcoming for the work. I am already beginning to recover certain sums from private individuals, and the town is prepared to spend on a bath-house the grants which they have hitherto made for oil. Besides the rank of the community and the prestige of your reign demand that the work should be carried out.

§ 1. balineum. Few towns either in Italy or the provinces were without their public bath or baths. The vicus near Pliny's Laurentine villa had three, Ep. ii 17, 26. These were sometimes built at the public expense, Henz. 6985, 'colonis incolis peregrinis lavandis gratis D.D. P.P. (ie., decreto decurionum publica pecunia); sometimes by private munificence, Orell. 2287, 'qui lavationem gratuitam municip. incoleis hospitib. et adventorib. uxorib. serveis ancilleisque eor. in perpetuom dedit,' Henz. 6625. They were sometimes free from payment, as in the cases above; sometimes 'meritoria.' At Rome the usual charge was a quadrans; cf. Juv. vi 447, 'quadrante lavari,' and Hor. Sat. i 3, 137; in smaller places it was rather more. The baths were leased to a manager who had to comply with certain set conditions; cf. Juv. vii 4, 'balneolum Gabiis. . . conducere,' and Hübner and Momms. Lex Metalli Vipascensis, cited by Friedländer III, p. 133. An interesting inscr. is Orell. 3890, 'T. Varius Rufinus. balineum p(ecunia) p(ublice) t(ributa) factum quod respublica a novo refecerat incendio maxima ex parte consumptum operibus ampliatis pec. sua restituit,' also Orell. 2222, 3982, 'balneum refectum dec. decr. pecun. public.' A splendid idea of the public baths of a municipal town may be gained from the Thermae Stabianae at Pompeii. The Baths of Caracalla at Rome are the best example of the magnificent baths of the capital.

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The forms balneum and balineum are both found; the latter being most usual in the prose writers of the post-Augustan age and in inscr. Juvenal, however, has balnea. In the plur. the word is usually heteroclite balneae, balineae.

idque tam inutile etc. This passage

Erit enim pecunia ex 2

tuere desiderant: ego tamen aestimans novum fieri debere viderisAld.

has long been considered hopelessly corrupt. Aldus read 'Id itaque indulgentia tua restituere desiderant: ego tamen aestimans novum fieri debere videris,' etc., which Keil prints in his edition with a lacuna after aestimans, remarking in his note, lacuna quam indicavi pretium quanti balneum restituendum Plinius aestimavit cum verbo finito ex quo reliqua pendebant, excidisse videtur.' 'In this case, however, we should surely expect' posse' rather than 'debere.' Now the Bodleian MS. reads after 'sordidum et vetus,' itaque tamen aestimamus novum fieri quod videris.' This, I think, proves that the sentence 'Id itaque . . . desiderant,' is an interpolation of Aldus, while it seems to me capable of being restored as I have printed it in the text without any very violent alteration; 'desiderio eorum would of course be ablative not dative after indulgere.

desiderio, petition. For this postAugustan sense cf. Tac. Ann. i 19, 'desideria militum ad Caesarem ferenda' Suet. Aug. 17, 'donec desideria militum ordinarentur,' Plin. Panegyr. 79, 'videmus ut provinciarum desideriis occurrat.'

quam revocare a privatis. See supra. Ep. 17.

quam ipsi erogari in oleum soliti. It was no uncommon thing for individuals to leave bequests to provide oil gratuitously at the baths on certain anniversaries, cf. Wilm. 2080 d, 'Caesiae Sabinae Cn. Caesi Athieti. Haec sola feminarum omnium matribus c vir. et sororibus et filiab. et omnis ordinis mulieribus municip. epulum dedit diebusque ludorum et epuli viri sui balneum cum oleo gratuito dedit.' Orell. 748 . . . 'hic ob dedicationem statuarum equestris et pedestris oleum plebei utriusque sexui dedit;' Wilm. 309

et eadem die ex denariis cc oleum in thermas publicas populo praeberi.' See also Gruter, p. 376, 5. L. Cecilius HS.N. xxx municipibus Comensibus legavit, quorum reditu quotannis per Neptunalia oleum in campo et in thermis et balineis omnibus quae sunt Comi populo praeberetur.' It is possible, however, that the oil was provided not for the baths, but for the home consumption of the people. At Rome distributions of oil among

qua fiat, primum ea quam revocare a privatis et exigere iam coepi, deinde quam ipsi erogare in oleum soliti, parati sunt in opus balinei conferre ; quod alioqui et dignitas civitatis et saeculi tui nitor postulat.

the people were common in republican times, cf. Liv. xxv 2, 8; Suet. Caes. 38, and measures were taken for keeping

down the price of oil, cf. Plin. h. n. 15,
2, and Plut. Caes. 55.
Cf. on Ep. 1.

saeculi tui.

XXIIII [XXXV]

TRAIANUS PLINIO S.

Si instructio novi balinei oneratura vires Prusensium non est, possumus desiderio eorum indulgere; modo ne quid ideo aut intribuatur aut minus illis in posterum fiat ad necessarias erogationes.

3 intribuantur, B. and Ald.

If the construction of a new bath will not cripple the resources of Prusa, we may grant their request, only let no special tax be levied, and nothing must be taken from necessary expenses.

Let no

ne quid ideo intribuatur. tax be levied for that purpose; a rare legal expression found in no other author.

ad necessarias erogationes; see on Ep. 17, 3.

XXV [X]

De adventu Servilii

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Servilius Pudens legatus, domine, VIII Kal. Decembres Nicomediam venit meque longae expectationis solicitudine liberavit.

Servilius Pudens, my legate, arrived on the 24th Nov. at Nicomedia and relieved my long suspense.

Servilius Pudens. See Momms. Hermes, iii 99.

legatus. The proconsuls of the senatorial provinces had under them as assessores, legati pro praetore. The proconsuls of Africa and Asia had three each; the rest only one. They were solely employed in judicial and administrative business. Their Greek title was usually παρεδρεύονTES. Pliny, as holding the place of the proconsul of Bithynia, would have one legatus. See Dio Cass., 53, 14, 'TOÙS δὲ δὴ παρέδρους αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ἕκαστος αἱρειται, ἕνα μὲν ὁι ἐστρατηγηκότες (i.e.

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