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quod dicebatur divi Augusti, ad Asiam pertinens: recitatae et epistulae divi Vespasiani ad Lacedaemonios et divi Titi ad eosdem (et Achaeos), et Domitiani ad Avidium Nigrinum et Armenium Brocchum proconsules, item ad Lacedaemonios: quae ideo tibi non misi, quia et parum emendata et quaedam non certae fidei videbantur et quia vera et émendata in scriniis tuis esse credebam.

I Anniam, Avant. and Ald. and Cat. 3 eosdem et Achaeos, Budaeus and B. 5 parum emendata, Budaeus.

nibus Saborensium.' It was the duty of the Duoviri to have such letters and edicts engraved on brass. 'II viri C. Cornelius Severus et M. Septimius Severus publica pecunia in aere inciderunt.'

ad eosdem (et Achaeos). This is the reading of B. and Budaeus, and therefore seems to be the reading of the codex. I cannot help suspecting, however, that Achaeos was originally a gloss, and that the original reading was simply 'ad eosdem,' because though emperors often addressed epistulae to towns represented by their magistrates, they would never write direct to the people of a province like Achaia. In such cases the letters would certainly be 'ad proconsulem Achaiae.'

ad Avidium Nigrinum et Arm. Brocch. proconsules. These were probably proconsuls of Achaia. The name of their province could only be omitted (1) if it was Bithynia (cf. Ep. 56 and 58), which is impossible; or (2) if it was the same province to which the recipients of the other letters, i.e. the Lacedaemonii, belonged. Avidius Nigrinus seems to have been sent by Trajan on a special mission to Achaia with the title of 'legatus Augusti pro. pr.,' to reform the general condition of the province. See Wilm. 874; C. I. L. iii 567, and Mommsen's notes ad loc. Whether Trajan chose him because he had already been proconsul of

ad eosdem Acheos, Avant.

ad eosdem dein ad Achaeos, Ald. parum emendatae, Avant and Ald.

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question seems to have had either special importance or special difficulties in Sparta; perhaps the traditions of this ancient discipline made the exposure of small or ailing children more common than elsewhere.

parum emendata, somewhat incorrect, i.e. carelessly copied.

quaedam non certae fidei, of doubtful authenticity, i.e. there was suspicion that the copies were intentionally incorrect.

in scriniis tuis. Scrinia are properly cases for papers or books. Cf. Plin. Ep. v 5, habere ante se scrinium solebat.' So Suetonius, Gram. 9, says that there was a statue of Orbilius at Beneventum appositis duobus scriniis.' Mart. i 3, 'scrinia da magnis, me manus una capit.' Sall. Cat. 46, 'Flaccum praetorem scrinium cum litteris quas a legatis acceperat, eodem adferre iubet.' Under the empire, the scrinia, or later, the 'sacra scrinia,' Cod. Iust. xii 9, were the official bureaux where the public archives were kept. After Diocletian there were four of these: scr. memoriae ; scr. epistularum; scr. libellorum; and scr. dispositionis, each with their own magister, and all under the 'magister officiorum.'

LXVI [LXXII]

TRAIANUS PLINIO S.

Quaestio ista quae pertinet ad eos qui liberi nati expositi, deinde sublati a quibusdam et in servitute educati sunt saepe

§ 1. The question relating to free-born persons who have been exposed, and

then brought up in slavery by their rescuers has been often raised, but no

tractata est, nec quicquam invenitur in commentariis eorum principum qui ante me fuerunt, quod ad omnes provincias sit constitutum. Epistulae sane sunt Domitiani ad Avidium Nigri- 2 num et Armenium Brocchum, quae fortasse debeant observari : 4 debebant, Ald.

decision of my predecessors is found which was intended to apply to all provinces. § 2. Possibly the letters of Domitian to Nigrinus and Brocchus ought to be observed, but among the provinces mentioned in these rescripts Bithynia is not included. I am therefore of opinion that those who wish to be emancipated on this account should not be prevented from making a public declaration of their freedom, and that it is not necessary for them to purchase their freedom by the repayment of their maintenance.

§ I. in commentariis. See note on Ep. 105.

quod ad omnes provincias sit constitutum. Wherever the local custom was clear and well defined, it would be recognised and sanctioned by imperial constitution, but in Bithynia, where neither local custom nor imperial rescript could be cited, Trajan could make his decision unhampered.

§ 2. Epistulae sane sunt Domit. etc. Trajan mentions those particularly because, though they were not written in reference to all provinces, yet they, unlike the other letters to a particular town, did apply to the whole of some one province, apparently indeed to more than one.

sed intra eas provincias de quibus rescripsit. I have adopted Keil's conjecture, which involves least departure from the reading of Avantius who read 'inter quas est Bithynia'; which Aldus altered into 'non est Bithynia,' omitting 'inter quas.' Mommsen suggests 'praeterita est Bithynia.' Domitian, while writing to these two proconsuls of Achaia, seems to have mentioned certain other provinces to which his ruling applied.

nec assertionem denegandam. This is the answer to the question de conditione.' A disputed case of freedom was called a 'causa liberalis.' See Cod. Iust. vii 17. A person who claimed his freedom could make his adsertio only through a representative (adsertor) Mart. i 53, who as in the process of vindicatio had to touch the claimant with his hand (manu adserere). The term 'adsertio,' however, had two applications: 'adsertio tam a servitate in libertatem quam a

ut

libertate in servitium trahi significat,' Prisc. p. 1208 P., and Livy. iii 44, virginem in servitutem adsereret,' cf. Suet. Dom. 8, id. Aug. 74, id. Vitell. 10, 'qui non contenti epulo ubique publice praebito, quoscunque libuisset, in libertatem adserebant.'

The adsertor was usually, though not necessarily, a relation. Cf. Suet. Vesp. 3, and an interesting case in De illustribus grammaticis, c. 21, 'C. Melissus Spoleti natus, ingenuus, sed ob discordiam parentum expositus, cura et industria educatoris sui altiora studia percepit: ac Maecenati pro grammatico datus est muneri. Cui quum se gratum et acceptum in modum amici videret, quamquam adserente matre, permansit tamen in statu servitutis.'

the

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causae liberales' there were an ' adsertor libertatis' and an 'adsertor servitutis'; Gaius, iv 16, gives the legal formulae used, 'hunc ego hominem ex iure Quiritium meum esse aio secundum suam causam sicut dixi. Ecce tibi vindictam imposui.' The other side repeated the same words, and the praetor gave the order Mittite ambo hominem.' Pending the decision of the case the 'vindiciae were according to the XII Tables given secundum libertatem,' i.e. the claimant provisionally retained his freedom. the case of Virginia, Livy, iii 44, sq.; Dig. 1, 2, 24; Cic. de Rep. iii 32. The phrase in libertatem vindicare' is also used popularly apart from its legal sense, cf. Cic. ad Fam. ii 5, 2, 'rempublicam in libertatem vindicare.' Caes. Bell Gall. vii 1, 'Galliam in lib. vind.'

Cf.

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sed intra eas provincias de quibus rescripsit, inter quas non est Bithynia; et ideo nec adsertionem denegandam iis qui ex eiusmodi causa in libertatem vindicabuntur puto neque ipsam libertatem redimendam pretio alimentorum,

I inter eas, Avant. and Ald.

by Constantine, who declared (Cod. Theod. de expositis) that the ' educator' acquired the right of 'patria potestas' over the child whom he brought up. Justinian again reverted to Trajan's decision, but this was probably after the influence of Christianity had made ex

non, om. Avant., add. Ald.

posure a less frequent custom. Dig. 8, 52, 3, 'Sed nullo discrimine habito, hi qui ab huiusmodi hominibus educati sunt, liberi et ingenui appareant,' etc.

On the whole subject of exposure among the ancients see V. Denis, Hist. des Idées morales, ii 108,

I

LXVII [XV]

De legato regis

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

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Legato Sauromatae regis, cum sua sponte Nicaeae, ubi me invenerat, biduo substitisset, longiorem moram faciendam, domine, non putavi; primum, quod incertum adhuc erat quando libertus tuus Lycormas venturus esset, deinde, quod ipse proficiscebar in diversam provinciae partem, ita officii necessitate 2 exigente. Haec in notitiam tuam perferenda existimavi, quia proxime scripseram petisse Lycormam ut legationem, si qua venisset a Bosporo, usque in adventum suum retinerem. Quod diutius faciendi nulla mihi probabilis ratio occurrit, praesertim cum epistulae Lycormae, quas detinere, ut ante praedixi, nolui, aliquot diebus hunc legatum antecessurae viderentur.

II huic, Avant.

§ 1. I thought it best that the legate of King Sauromates should not make a longer stay than two days at Nicaea where he found me, partly because it was quite uncertain when Lycormas would arrive, and partly because I was compelled by the duties of my office to visit a different part of the province. § 2. I mention this, because, as I told you, Lycormas asked me to keep any embassy from Bosporus until his arrival. There seems no good reason for doing this any longer, especially as the despatches of

Lycormas will probably reach you as it is, some days before this legate.

§ 1. legato Saur. reg. On these legati see note on Ep. 43. This was doubtless the legatio expected by Trajan, Ep. 63.

ipse proficiscebar in diversam provinciae partem. Cf. Ep. 33, 'cum diversam partem provinciae circumirem.' § 2. petisse Lycormas, etc.; see Ep. 63.

nulla probabilis ratio, no sufficient

reason.

LXVIII [LXXIII]

De reliquiis sepultorum transferendis

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Petentibus quibusdam ut sibi reliquias suorum aut propter iniuriam vetustatis aut propter fluminis incursum aliaque his similia quaecumque secundum exemplum proconsulum transferre permitterem, quia sciebam in urbe nostra ex eiusmodi causa collegium pontificum adiri solere, te, domine, maximum pontificem consulendum putavi quid observare me velis.

6 conservare, Avant.

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existimatione rectoris provinciae transferre eas in alium locum poteris.'

collegium pontificum adiri solere. Cf. Cic. de leg. ii 23, 'sic decretum a pontificum collegio non esse ius in loco publico fieri sepulchrum,' and 'sed quum multa in eo loco sepulchra fuissent, exarata sunt. Statuit enim collegium locum publicum non potuisse privata religione obligari'; Livy i 20, 'nec caelestes modo caerimonias sed iusta quoque funebria placandosque manes ut idem pontifex edoceret.' Orell. 794, 'reliquiae traiectae eius III Nonas Febr. ex permissu collegii pontif.'; Orell. 4515; Dig. 7, 8, ossa quae ab alio illata sunt vel corpus an liceat domino loci effodere et emere sine decreto pontificum vel iussu principis quaestionis est.

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LXVIIII [LXXIV]

TRAIANUS PLINIO S.

Durum est iniungere necessitatem provincialibus pontificum adeundorum, si reliquias suorum propter aliquas iustas causas transferre ex loco in alium locum velint. Sequenda ergo potius tibi exempla sunt eorum qui isti provinciae praefuerunt et ex causa cuique ita aut permittendum aut negandum.

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I

LXX [LXXV]

De loco balinei Prusensibus concedendo

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Quaerenti mihi, domine, Prusae ubi posset balineum quod indulsisti fieri, placuit locus in quo fuit aliquando domus, ut audio, pulchra, nunc deformis ruinis. Per hoc enim consequemur ut foedissima facies civitatis ornetur atque etiam ut ipsa civitas amplietur nec ulla aedificia tollantur, sed, quae sunt vetustate 2 sublapsa, relaxentur in melius. Est autem huius domus conditio talis legaverat eam Claudius Polyaenus Claudio Caesari iussitque in peristylio templum ei fieri, reliqua ex domo locari. Ex ea reditum aliquandiu civitas percepit: deinde paulatim partim spoliata partim neglecta cum peristylio domus tota 6 reparentur, Ald. 8 iusseratque, Cat.

9 ex ea redditum, Avant.

§1. On inquiring where the bath at Prusa which you have sanctioned could be built, the best site appeared to be that of a house which though once a magnificent one is now in ruins. We shall thus secure the adornment of what is at present a blot upon the city, and also enlarge the state without pulling down anything; indeed, a ruinous building will be opened out and improved. §2. However, there is this point about the house-it was left to Claudius Caesar by the will of one Polyaenus, who ordered a temple to be built to the emperor in the peristylium, and the rest of the house to be let. For some time the rent was received by the state, but gradually both house and peristylium have fallen into ruin, and little but the site remains. The city would esteem it a great favour, sire, if you would either present or sell this on account of its convenient position. § 3. With your permission I intend to place the bath in the vacant ground, and to fill the space on which the buildings stood with exedrae and porticoes, and to consecrate it to you as the patron of the institution. I send you a copy, though a faulty one, of the will. You will see that Polyaenus left considerable sums for the adornment of the house, which, though they have perished with the house, I will if possible look after.

§ 1. balineum quod indulsisti. Cf.

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Ep. 24, possumus desiderio eorum indulgere.' The bath was to be paid for partly by the money called in from private debtors, partly from the grants formerly made for oil, see Ep. 23.

amplietur, may be ennobled. Cf. Mart. viii 66, 'quorum pacificus ter ampliavit Ianus nomina.

relaxentur, may be opened out. The bath would be a more extensive building than the house had been.

§ 2. Claudius Polyaenus, probably a freedman of Claudius.

in peristylio. The peristylium was a square or oblong space, behind the atrium, which was sometimes laid out as a garden, often was adorned with fountains, Suet. Aug. 82, and almost always surrounded with a colonnade.

templum, a shrine; perhaps little more than an aedicula such as that in which the Lares were usually placed. Cf. Petr. Sat. 29, 'in aedicula erant Lares argentei positi.' The Lararium was usually placed in a corner of the peristylium, as e.g. it is in the house of the Tragic Poet at Pompeii. The worship of the reigning emperor was closely united with that of the public and household Lares. Cf. Ovid. Fast. v 145, Lares, geniumque Ducis qui tradidit illos,' and Dio Cass. 51, 69, καὶ ἐν τοῖς συσσι τίοις οὐχ ὅτι τοῖς κοινοῖς ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἰδιοίς πάντας αὑτῷ σπένδειν ἐκέλευσεν,

Mille

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