Pliny, Letters 10.96-97
Translated by J. B. Firth
Pliny the Younger (60–113 CE, named so to distinguish him from his uncle, an author and scholar commonly
referred to Pliny the Elder) was a prominent person in Roman public life in the end of the 1st century CE and the
beginning of the 2nd century CE. Throughout his life he wrote hundreds of letters, from which we can learn a great
deal about Roman society and politics during those years. The letters that he wrote (and usually also the response
letters that he got back) were arranged in a collection of ten books, probably by Pliny himself. These books were then
copied multiple times throughout the centuries by people interested in Roman history. This is why we are still able
to read them today.
In the year 111 CE Pliny became governor of the Roman province Bithynia (today in northwest Turkey). During his
time there he wrote many letters to the emperor Trajan (Roman emperor between 98–117 CE) to consult with him
about various administrative matters. In the letter below, Pliny asks Trajan how to deal with a problem he is facing
for the first time: Christians. This is the earliest Roman document that mentions Christians and how the Roman
empire dealt with them, and so it is of great historical importance.
Pliny’s letter to the Emperor Trajan
It is my custom, Sir, to refer to you in all cases where I do not feel sure, for who can better direct
my doubts or inform my ignorance? I have never been present at any legal examination of
the Christians, and I do not know, therefore, what are the usual penalties passed upon them, or
the limits of those penalties, or how an inquiry should be made. I have hesitated a great deal in
considering whether any distinctions should be drawn according to the ages of the accused;
whether the weak should be punished as severely as the more robust; whether if they renounce
their faith they should be pardoned, or whether the man who has once been a Christian should
gain nothing by recanting; whether the name “Christian” itself, even though otherwise innocent
of crime, should be punished, or only the crimes that gather round it.
In the meantime, this is the plan which I have adopted in the case of those Christians who
have been brought before me. I ask them whether they are Christians; if they say yes, then I
repeat the question a second and a third time, warning them of the penalties it entails, and if
they still persist, I order them to be taken away to prison. For I do not doubt that, whatever the
character of the crime may be that which they confess, their pertinacity and inflexible obstinacy
certainly ought to be punished. There were others who showed similar mad folly whom I
reserved to be sent to Rome, as they were Roman citizens. Subsequently, as is usually the way,
the very fact of my taking up this question led to a great increase of accusations, and a variety of
cases were brought before me. A pamphlet was issued anonymously, containing the names of a
number of people. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians and called upon the
gods in the usual formula, reciting the words after me, those who offered incense and wine
before your image, which I had given orders to be brought forward for this purpose, together
with the statues of the deities – all such I considered should be discharged, especially as they
cursed the name of Christ, which, it is said, those who are really Christians cannot be induced to
do. Others, whose names were given me by an informer, first said that they were Christians and
afterwards denied it, declaring that they had been but were so no longer, some of them having
recanted many years before, and more than one so long as twenty years back. They all
worshipped your image and the statues of the deities, and cursed the name of Christ. But they
declared that the sum of their guilt or their error only amounted to this, that on a stated day
they had been accustomed to meet before daybreak and to recite a hymn among themselves to
Christ, as though he were a god, and that so far from binding themselves by oath to commit any
crime, their oath was to abstain from theft, robbery, adultery, and from breach of faith, and not
to deny trust money placed in their keeping when called upon to deliver it. When this ceremony
was concluded, it had been their custom to depart and meet again to take food, but it was of no
special character and quite harmless, and they had ceased this practice after the edict in which,
in accordance with your orders, I had forbidden all secret societies. I thought it the more
necessary, therefore, to find out what truth there was in these statements by submitting two
women, who were called deaconesses, to the torture, but I found nothing but a debased
superstition carried to great lengths. So I postponed my examination, and immediately
consulted you.
The matter seems to me worthy of your consideration, especially as there are so many
people involved in the danger. Many persons of all ages, and of both sexes alike, are being
brought into peril of their lives by their accusers, and the process will go on. For the contagion
of this superstition has spread not only through the free cities, but into the villages and the rural
districts, and yet it seems to me that it can be checked and set right. It is beyond doubt that the
temples, which have been almost deserted, are beginning again to be thronged with
worshippers, that the sacred rites which have for a long time been allowed to lapse are now
being renewed, and that the food for the sacrificial victims is once more finding a sale, whereas,
up to recently, a buyer was hardly to be found. From this it is easy to infer what vast numbers
of people might be reclaimed, if only they were given an opportunity of repentance.
Trajan’s response to Pliny
You have adopted the proper course, my dear Pliny, in examining into the cases of those who
have been denounced to you as Christians, for no hard and fast rule can be laid down to meet a
question of such wide extent. The Christians are not to be hunted out ; if they are brought before
you and the offence is proved, they are to be punished, but with this reservation – that if any
one denies that he is a Christian and makes it clear that he is not, by offering prayers to our
deities, then he is to be pardoned because of his recantation, however suspicious his past
conduct may have been. But pamphlets published anonymously must not carry any weight
whatsoever, no matter what the charge may be, for they are not only a precedent of the very
worst type, but they are not in consonance with the spirit of our age.
Instruction on what to do for this assignment Note: Do not use sources outside for this assignment. Assigned readings are okay to use and must be cited, but the primary focus is your analysis of the assigned text. I repeat do not use outside sources for this text as references. The final draft of the essay will need to include the following elements:
• An introduction that summarizes the text, provides necessary context, and states a thesis that makes an argument about what your analysis reveals about the text and its historical context. In order to make this argument, you’ll need to answer the following questions for the assigned text:
• What conversation is the text entering, and how does the author try to position themselves in that conversation?
• What audience is the author addressing? • What argument is the text making? • What rhetorical strategies does the author use to make the argument
convincing? • How do rhetorical choices, such as genre, organization, tone, style, and word
choice relate to its purpose? • Body paragraphs that analyze the text, either by themes or patterns, or
section by section, with evidence cited from the text. Include topic sentences that tie each paragraph to your thesis
• A conclusion that non-repetitively and briefly restates your thesis and discusses the significance of your analysis
• Final draft of 500-600 words + Works Cited + Dear Reader Letter • Dear Reader Letter: What worked and didn’t work for you with this
assignment? What help did you seek out? What would you do differently? If you could write directly to the author/audience, what would you say to them? Include this letter in the file with your final draft, at the end of the file.
• MLA format, 12-point Arial or Times New Roman font.