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promeretur et parum felix matrimonium expertus est inpetrandumque a bonitate tua per nos habet quod illi fortunae malignitas denegavit. Scio, domine, quantum beneficium petam, sed 3 peto a te, cuius in omnibus desideriis meis indulgentiam experior. Potes enim colligere, quanto opere cupiam, quod non rogarem absens, si mediocriter cuperem.

4 plenissimam indulgentiam, Ald.

Pegasiano perinde fidei commissa quoque ac legata hereditatesque capere prohibiti sunt, eaque translata sunt ad eos qui in eo testamento liberos habent, aut, si nullus liberos habebit, ad populum'; also Tac. Ann. iii 28, 'inditi custodes et lege Papia Poppaea praemiis inducti ut, si a privilegiis parentum cessaretur, velut parens omnium populus vacantia teneret.' The first motive of Suetonius therefore was a desire to benefit in full by the testaments of his friends. Being childless he would lose one half of what should have come to him. Cf. Juv. ix 87, Iura parentis habes; propter me scriberis heres; Legatum omne capis necnon et dulce caducum.' On iudicia see note on Ep. 4, 6.

parum felix matrimonium, an unfruitful marriage.

impetrandumque... habet. 'The gerundive is used as ( blique predicate to the direct object of certain transitive verbs to express an action purposed to be done on such object,' Roby, § 1401.

Cf. Sen. Ben. vii 3, 'Non habet sapiens mittendos trans maria legatos, nec metanda in ripis hostilibus castra,' etc.; Ter. Phor. 364, Ibi agrum de nostro patre colendum habebat'; Plin. Ep. i 7, 6, 'accepisse me optimas careotas quae nunc cum ficis et boletis certandum habent'; i 8, 12, 'praesertim quum enitendum haberemus'; viii 13, 2, 'qui denique cum potissimum imitandum habes'; Panegyr. 15, nec habent adnumeranda tibi pro republica vulnera'; Tac. Ann iv 40, 'posse ipsum Liviam statuere, nubendum post Drusum an in penatibus isdem tolerandum haberet'; xiv 44, 'si nunc primum statuendum haberemus'; Hist. i 15, ea vita in qua nihil excusandum habeas'; iv 77; Suet. Caes. 68, ut consolandos eos magis imperator quam puniendos habuerit.'

§ 3. in omnibus desideriis meis. Cf. Ep. 24, 'possumus desiderio eorum indulgere.'

cuius indulgentiam experior. Cf. Ep. 4, I.

XCV [XCVI]

TRAIANUS PLINIO S.

Quam parce haec beneficia tribuam utique, mi Secunde carissime, haeret tibi, cum etiam in senatu adfirmare soleam. non excessisse me numerum quem apud amplissimum ordinem

You cannot fail to know, my dear Pliny, how sparingly I grant these favours, since I often affirm in the senate that I have not exceeded the number which I assured that illustrious order that I would be contented with. I have, however, granted your request, and have ordered the grant of the ius trium liberorum to Suetonius on the usual conditions to be entered in my archives.

quam parce haec beneficia tribuam. Cf. Ep. 7, 'civitatem Alexandrinam secundum institutionem princi

Р

pum non temere dare proposui.' Plin. Ep. ii 13, 8, 'trium liberorum ius impetravi, quod quamquam parce et cum delectu daret,' etc.

suffecturum

numerum quem mihi professus sum. Whatever effects the lex Papia Poppaea might conceivably have had towards encouraging marriage and the rearing of children, must necessarily have been defeated by an indiscriminate granting of the privileges to those who could not legally claim them. Domitian had in particular been

suffecturum mihi professus sum: tuo tamen desiderio subscripsi et dedisse me ius trium liberorum Suetonio Tranquillo ea conditione qua adsuevi referri in commentarios meos iussi. I professum, Avant.

lax in this respect, and granted the ius trium liberorum to unmarried men like Martial, Mart. ii 9, 5-6, and 92, 1-3. See note on Ep. 2. Trajan had apparently publicly stated in the senate that he would grant the privilege only to a definite number of persons.

tuo desiderio subscripsi. Cf. Suet.

Oth. 7, nec quicquam prius pro potestate subscripsit quam quingenties sestertium ad peragendam auream domum.' Ovid. Trist. i 2, 3, 'Neve precor magni subscribete Caesaris irae.'

in commentarios meos. Cf. Ep. 66, 'in commentariis eorum principum qui ante me fuerunt.'

XCVI [XCVII]

De Christianis

C. PLINIUS TRAIANO IMPERATORI

Sollemne est mihi, domine, omnia de quibus dubito ad te referre. Quis enim potest melius vel cunctationem meam re

§ 1. I always appeal to you, sire, in my difficulties, as the best guide in doubt, and the best help in ignorance. Having never been present at any trials of the Christians, I am ignorant both of what should be inquired into and punished, and within what limits. § 2. In particular, I am uncertain whether any difference should be made on account of age; whether pardon should be granted to those who retract their belief; and whether the profession alone, or the crimes which attach to it, should be punished. Meanwhile I adopt the following course. § 3. I ask them three distinct times whether they are Christians, then if, in spite of warning, they are obstinate, I order them to be executed. For whatever the beliefs are which they confess, there is no doubt that obstinacy and stubbornness ought to be punished. § 4. Others sharing in the same folly I have despatched to Rome, as being Roman citizens. However, the more the matter is dealt with, the more frequent become the accusations, and the circumstances more varied. §5. An anonymous accusation has been put forward against a number of individuals. Those who either denied that they had been Christians, or at my dictation invoked the gods, offered incense and wine before your statue, and

All

blasphemed Christ,-acts which no real Christian will perform,-I have thought right to dismiss, § 6. Others on being accused first confessed, then denied, and finally said that though they had been Christians, they had ceased to be so, some of them twenty years back. these performed the acts I required. § 7. They affirmed, however, that the sum and substance of their fault consisted in this, that they assembled periodically at dawn and sang a hymn to Christ as to a god, binding themselves by a solemn oath to abstain from theft, robbery, adultery, perjury, and dishonesty; after which they separated, meeting again for a common meal, which was, however, open to all, and innocent. Even this they had given up since my edict proclaiming all hetaeriae to be illegal. § 8. I therefore thought it necessary to examine two deaconesses by torture, but discovered nothing worse than a depraved and violent superstition. I have accordingly delayed the trials to consult you. § 9. One great difficulty is the number of persons affected; they belong to every age, every rank, and both sexes. Not only are the cities affected, but the villages and countryhamlets. This, I think, might be stopped. § 10. At any rate, the temples are beginning to be more frequented; sacred rites are

gere vel ignorantiam instruere? Cognitionibus de Christianis interfui numquam ideo nescio quid et quatenus aut puniri soleat aut quaeri. Nec mediocriter haesitavi sitne aliquod dis- 2

I extruere, Avant.

performed again, and the trade in fodder for victims is reviving. It is clear that a large number of persons may be reclaimed if the hope of pardon were held out.

§ I. sollemne est. Cf. Hor. Ep. i 2, 103, 'Romae dulce diu fuit et sollemne reclusa Mane domo vigilare'; and Suet. Aug. 44, 'promiscue spectari sollemne olim fuit.'

ignorantiam instruere. Av. reads extruere.' This is, however, corrected in the Bodleian copy to 'instruere.'

cognitionibus de Chr. interfui numquam. This statement proves two things conclusively (1) that there had been trials of Christians; (2) that they were neither frequent nor important, or Pliny would not have been ignorant of their procedure. Orosius states that Trajan had first issued a general edict that Christians who refused to sacrifice should be put to death, and that he modified this edict in consequence of Pliny's representations, in his rescript to the present letter. If, however, there had been such an edict, Pliny would certainly have mentioned it, and his whole letter implies that, in the absence of any definite instructions, he had acted on his own discretion. On the other hand, there must have been some reason why the Christians were brought before him, and why he felt obliged to deal with them beyond the general duty which, as Ulpian says, was incumbent on all provincial governors, statim atque in aliquem celebrem civitatem vel provinciae caput Proconsul venit, debere sedes sacras circumire atque inspicere.' The so-called persecution under Nero had not been strictly on religious grounds. Nero, wishing to divert the suspicion of incendiarism from himself, turned it on to the Christians, as the object of general hatred, Tac. Ann. xv 44. They were not, however, punished for their religion as such, were not tried as Christians, nor were they interfered with outside Rome. The ecclesiastical writers make mention of a persecution under Domitian. This, however, unless the present passage is an exception, is entirely unnoticed by pagan authors. During the first century it seems probable that the Christians were, to a great extent, confused with the Jews.

instruere, B. and Ald.

Both were looked down upon equally, and the way in which Tacitus and Suetonius speak of the Christians shows that they had merely repeated unquestioned popular views, and attributed to the Christians some of the less amiable characteristics of the Jews. For both, however, there seems to have been toleration throughout the reigns of Vespasian and Titus, though the Christians, described as 'qui improfessi Iudaicam viverent vitam' (Suet. Dom. 12), seem to have been made to pay the Jewish tribute. But in the last eight months of Domitian's reign a somewhat different policy was pursued. While the Jews were to be tolerated, Judaising was to be put down, i.e. toleration was to be for the nation, not for the religion. Thus all who, not Jews by birth, adopted the Jewish mode of life were liable to punishment. Thus Flavius Clemens and Flavia Domatilla were put to death. ' ἐπηνέχθη δὲ ἀμφοῖν ἔγκλημα ἀθεότητος: ὑφ ̓ ἧς καὶ ἄλλοι τὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἤθη ἐξοκέλλοντες πολλοὶ Kaтedikáσ0ŋσav,' Dio Cass. 67, 14. To this punishment, therefore, the Christians would be exposed, and their crime ȧ0e6Tηs implied desertion of the Roman state religion. Suetonius remembers being present when a youth at the trial of an old man, probably a Christian, who was publicly examined 'an circumsectus esset,' Suet. Dom. 12. It is extremely probable that the Jews took this opportunity of denouncing the Christians both in Rome and the provinces, when no doubt the name Christiani would be used, though still taken to be a sect of the Jews, and it is probably to the trials thus resulting that Pliny here alludes. In Bithynia the Christians were especially numerous, and Pliny on the spot would soon distinguish them from the Jews, and applying this acquired knowledge back to past events in which he then took no interest, he describes as 'cognitiones Christianorum' what had been in the eyes of the government only trials of Judaisers.

quid et quatenus. Quid-whether the name only or something more; quatenus--whether irrespective of age, sex, and recantation.

§ 2. sitne aliquod discrimen aeta

crimen aetatum an quamlibet teneri nihil a robustioribus differant, detur paenitentiae venia an ei qui omnino Christianus fuit desisse non prosit, nomen ipsum, si flagitiis careat, an flagitia cohaerentia nomini puniantur. Interim in iis qui ad me tam3 quam Christiani deferebantur hunc sum secutus modum. Interrogavi ipsos an essent Christiani. Confitentes iterum ac tertio interrogavi, supplicium minatus: perseverantes duci iussi. Neque enim dubitabam, qualecumque esset quod faterentur, pertinaciam certe et inflexibilem obstinationem debere puniri. 3 etiam si, Ald. 4 cohaerenti, Avant. cohaerentia, B. and Ald. 9 pervicaciam, Ald.

tum. In most crimes an allowance was

made for age. 'Si adhuc est minor

annis xxv aiunt eius miseratione flecti iudicem posse ad mitiorem poenam.' At Lugdunum, however, under Marcus Aurelius, a boy of fifteen, named Ponticus, was executed, together with his mother Blandina.

detur paenitentiae venia. Strictly speaking, this was contrary to the principle of Roman law, which regarded a theft as by no means condoned by restitution; and though the crime in question came under no recognised head, Pliny may have felt some doubt as to whether he should follow the recognised principle or modify it.

nomen ipsum, the profession alone. Trajan's answer implies that the mere profession of Christianity, if persisted in, is a punishable offence, quite apart from any particular crimes, which Pliny disbelieves in, and Trajan omits to mention. Hadrian somewhat modified this. Cf. Hieronymus in Chron. Euseb., 'Quadratus discipulus apostolorum et Aristides Atheniensis . . libros pro Christiana religione compositos dedere Hadriano : et Serenus Grannius legatus . . . literas ad imperatorem misit iniquum esse dicens clamoribus vulgi innocentium hominum sanguinem concedi, et sine ullo crimine nominis tantum et sectae nos reos fieri. Quibus commotus Hadrianus Minutio Fundano proconsuli Asiae scribit non sine obiectu criminis Christianos condemnandos.' Tertullian says, 'tabellam damnationis tantum continuisse reum esse Christianum'; and at Lugdunum a tablet was fastened on a condemned criminal, 'Hic est Attalus Christianus'; while Polycarp's confession was merely 'Christianum esse se.

The reason of the prosecutions was, as we have seen, simply the secession

from the state cult. The crimes imputed to the Christians arose from the spite of the Jewish delatores, and the prejudice against the exclusiveness and isolation of Christians.

§ 3. confitentes iterum ac tertium. Ulpian says, 'confessiones reorum pro exploratis criminibus haberi non oportere si nulla probatio religionem iudicantis instruat'; and again, si quis ultro de maleficio confiteatur non semper ei fides habenda est.' Tertullian indeed complains that the governors often tortured the accused to extort, not confession, but denial : "Quid amplius tibi mandatur quam nocentes confessos damnare, negantes autem ad tormenta revocare? Videtis ergo quomodo ipsi vos contra mandata faciatis, ut confessos negare cogatis. Adeo confitemini nos innocentes esse, quos damnare statim ex confessione non vultis.'

duci iussi. I do not see how we can avoid taking 'duci' to be led to execution. One passage from the jurists might seem to favour a milder view, reos confessos in vincula publica conficiendos esse dum de eis pronuntietur'; but Sen. de Ira, i cap. ult., 'Cn. Piso cum iratus duci iussisset,' and Suet. Calig. 27, Acts, xii 19, together with the undoubted executions in Domitian's time, seem to make the case pretty clear.

obstinationem. Tertullian says, 'illa ipsa obstinatio quam exprobatis magistra est. Neque enim solus proconsul Bithyniae Plinius eam exprobavit; multis post eum annis in eadem Bithynia impius Philosophaster declamitavit in pertinacem obstinationem Christianorum." The feature of Christianity which Pliny here points out as his personal reason for punishing, was exactly the point which, as Christianity grew, made it seem politically dangerous to the authority of the

Pro- 5

Fuerunt alii similis amentiae quos, quia cives Romani erant, 4 adnotavi in urbem remittendos. Mox ipso tractatu, ut fieri solet, diffundente se crimine plures species inciderunt. positus est libellus sine auctore multorum nomina continens. Qui negabant esse se Christianos aut fuisse, cum praeeunte me deos appellarent et imagini tuae, quam propter hoc iusseram cum simulacris numinum adferri, ture ac vino supplicarent, praeterea male dicerent Christo, quorum nihil posse cogi dicuntur qui sunt re vera Christiani, dimittendos esse putavi. Alii ab indice nominati esse se Christianos dixerunt et mox 6 negaverunt; fuisse quidem, sed desisse, quidam ante plures annos, non nemo etiam ante viginti quinque. Omnes et imaginem tuam deorumque simulacra venerati sunt et Christo male dixerunt. Adfirmabant autem hanc fuisse summam vel 7

2 tractu, Cat.

9 non sunt, Cat.

10 iudice, Avant.

empire, and which, much more than religious intolerance, was at the root of later persecutions.

Tertullian

§ 4. similis amentiae. says (Apolog. 27), Quidam dementiam existimant quod cum possimus et sacrificare in praesenti et inlaesi abire, manente apud animum proposito, obstinationem saluti praeferamus.'

Adnot. was

quia cives Romani erant. Cf. the case of St. Paul, who appealed from the tribunal of Felix to the emperor, and was conveyed to Rome accordingly. adnotavi remittendos. a technical term used of judges or governors, who entered in their official books the course to be pursued with regard to any person. Cf. Dig. 28, 17, 1, 'Praesides autem provinciarum circa requirendos adnotatos hoc debent facere ut eos quos adnotaverint edictis adesse iubeant ut possit innotescere requirendos eos esse adnotatos.' Cf. Plin. Ep. vii 20, 'adnotavi quae commutanda arbitrarer.'

...

ipso tractatu, by the very fact of the judicial procedure, i.e. the informers were encouraged to fresh accusations.

plures species, still more cases.

§ 5. libellus sine auctore, an anonymous accusation. For libellus in this sense, cf. Ep. 59 and 60, 'libellos Furiae Primae accusatricis.'

praeeunte me. Cf. Ep. 53.

deos appellarent. Cf. Prudent. Passione Vincentii, 'Hoc namque decretum

12 viginti quinque, Ritterhusius.
quoque, Avant. and Ald.

cape, aut ara ture et cespite precanda iam nunc est tibi, aut mora luenda est sanguine.'

imagini tuae. See note on Ep. 74, § 1; and cf. Panegyr. 52, 'Itaque tuam statuam in vestibulo Iovis optimi maximi unam alteramve et hanc aeream cernimus.

male dicerent Christo. When Polycarp was ordered to blaspheme Christ he said, “ ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ἐξ ἔτη δουλεύω αὐτῷ καὶ οὐδέν με ἠδίκησε, πῶς δύναμαι βλασφημῆσαι τὸν βασίλεα τὸν σώσαντα

με.

qui sunt re vera Christiani. That in some cases the Christians did go through the required forms and deny their religion is certain, and a great controversy arose as to what course should be taken with these 'traditores,' but the number was probably very small comparatively.

§ 6. alii ab indice nominati. The first class had apparently been men falsely accused of being Christians; but others confessed to having formerly belonged to the sect, but asserted that they no longer did so. In the case of the latter, Pliny appears to have allowed 'locus paenitentiae' pending Trajan's instructions.

§ 7. stato die, i.e. or the 'dies dominica,' or 'dies solis.' Tertullian says, 'Christianos diem solis laetitiae indulsisse.'

ante lucem, probably to escape observation and interference on the part of

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