Letters of Pliny
justly merit), the day of your accession to the empire, which was also
its preservation, imploring the gods to preserve you in health and
prosperity; for upon your welfare the security and repose of the world
depends. I renewed at the same time the oath of allegiance at the head
of the army, which repeated it after me in the usual form, the people of
the province zealously concurring in the same oath.
LXI -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
YOUR letter, my dearest Secundus, was extremely acceptable, as it
informed me of the zeal and affection with which you, together with the
army and the provincials, solemnised the day of my accession to the
empire.
LXII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
THE debts which we are owing to the public are, by the prudence, Sir, of
your counsels, and the care of my administration, either actually paid
in or now being collected: but I am afraid the money must lie
unemployed. For as on one side there are few or no opportunities of
purchasing land, so, on the other, one cannot meet with any person who
is willing to borrow of the public [1042b] (especially at 12 per cent,
interest) when they can raise money upon the same terms from private
sources. You will consider then, Sir, whether it may not be advisable,
in order to invite responsible persons to take this money, to lower the
interest; or if that scheme should not succeed, to place it in the hands
of the decurii, upon their giving sufficient security to the public. And
though they should not be willing to receive it, yet as the rate of
interest will be diminished, the hardship will be so much the less.
LXIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
I AGREE with you, my dear Pliny, that there seems to be no other method
of facilitating the placing out of the public money than by lowering the
interest; the measure of which you will determine according to the
number of the borrowers. But to compel persons to receive it who are not
disposed to do so, when possibly they themselves may have no opportunity
of employing it, is by no means consistent with the justice of my
government.
LXIV -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
I RETURN you my warmest acknowledgments, Sir, that, among the many
important occupations in which you are engaged you have condescended to
be my guide on those points on which I have consulted you: a favour
which I must now again beseech you to grant me. A certain person
presented himself with a complaint that his adversaries, who had been
banished for three years by the illustrious Servilius Calvus, still
remained in the province: they, on the contrary, affirmed that Calvus
had revoked their sentence, and produced his edict to that effect. I
thought it necessary therefore to refer the whole affair to you. For as
I have your express orders not to restore any person who has been
sentenced to banishment either by myself or others so I have no
directions with respect to those who, having been banished by some of my
predecessors in this government, have by them also been restored. It is
necessary for me, therefore, to beg you would inform me, Sir, how I am
to act with regard to the above- mentioned persons, as well as others,
who, after having been condemned to perpetual banishment, have been
found in the province without permission to return; for cases of that
nature have likewise fallen under my cognisance. A person was brought
before me who had been sentenced to perpetual exile by the proconsul
Julius Bassus, but knowing that the acts of Bassus, during his
administration, had been rescinded, and that the senate had granted
leave to all those who had fallen under his condemnation of appealing
from his decision at any time within the space of two years, I enquired
of this man whether he had, accordingly, stated his case to the
proconsul. He replied he had not. I beg then you would inform me whether
you would have him sent back into exile or whether you think some more
severe and what kind of punishment should be inflicted upon him, and
such others who may hereafter be found under the same circumstances. I
have annexed to my letter the decree of Calvus, and the edict by which
the persons above-mentioned were restored, as also the decree of Bassus.
LXV -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
I WILL let you know my determination concerning those exiles which were
banished for three years by the proconsul P. Servilius Calvus, and soon
afterwards restored to the province by his edict, when I shall have
informed myself from him of the reasons of this proceeding. With respect
to that person who was sentenced to perpetual banishment by Julius
Bassus, yet continued to remain in the province, without making his
appeal if he thought himself aggrieved (though he had two years given
him for that purpose), I would have sent in chains to my praetorian
prefects: [1043b] for, only to remand him back to a punishment which he
has contumaciously eluded will by no means be a sufficient punishment.
LXVI -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
WHEN I cited the judges, Sir, to attend me at a sessions [1044b] which I
was going to hold, Flavius Archippus claimed the privilege of being
excused as exercising the profession of a philosopher. [1045b] It was
alleged by some who were present that he ought not only to be excused
from that office, but even struck out of the rolls of judges, and
remanded back to the punishment from which he had escaped, by breaking
his chains. At the same time a sentence of the proconsul Velius Paullus
was read, by which it appeared that Archippus had been condemned to the
mines for forgery. He had nothing to produce in proof of this sentence
having ever been reversed. He alleged, however, in favour of his
restitution, a petition which he presented to Domitian, together with a
letter from that prince, and a decree of the Prusensians in his honour.
To these he subjoined a letter which he had received from you; as also
an edict and a letter of your august father confirming the grants which
had been made to him by Domitian. For these reasons, notwithstandng
crimes of so atrocious a nature were laid to his charge, I did not think
proper to determine anything concerning him, without first consulting
with you, as it is an affair which seems to merit your particular
decision. I have transmitted to you, with this letter, the several
allegations on both sides.
DOMITIAN'S LETTER TO TERENTIUS MAXIMUS
"Flavius Archippus the philosopher has prevailed with me to give an
order that six hundred thousand sesterces [1046b] be laid out in the
purchase of an estate for the support of him and his family, in the
neighbourhood of Prusias, [1047b] his native country. Let this be
accordingly done; and place that sum to the account of my benefactions."
FROM THE SAME TO L. APPIUS MAXIMUS
"I recommend, my dear Maximus, to your protection that worthy
philosopher Archippus; a person whose moral conduct is agreeable to the
principles of the philosophy he professes; and I would have you pay
entire regard to whatever he shall reasonably request."
THE EDICT OF THE EMPEROR NERVA
"There are some points no doubt, Quirites, concerning which the happy
tenour of my government is a sufficient indication of my sentiments; and
a good prince need not give an express declaration in matters wherein
his intention cannot but be clearly understood. Every citizen in the
empire will bear me witness that I gave up my private repose to the
security of the public, and in order that I might have the pleasure of
dispensing new bounties of my own, as also of confirming those which had
been granted by predecessors. But lest the memory of him [1048b] who
conferred these grants, or the diffidence of those who received them,
should occasion any interruption to the public joy, I thought it as
necessary as it is agreeable to me to obviate these suspicions by
assuring them of my indulgence. I do not wish any man who has obtained a
private or a public privilege from one of the former emperors to imagine
he is to be deprived of such a privilege, merely that he may owe the
restoration of it to me; nor need any who have received the
gratifications of imperial favour petition me to have them confirmed.
Rather let them leave me at leisure for conferring new grants, under the
assurance that I am only to be solicited for those bounties which have
not already been obtained, and which the happier fortune of the empire
has put it in my power to bestow."
FROM THE SAME TO TULLIUS JUSTUS
"Since I have publicly decreed that all acts begun and accomplished in
former reigns should be confirmed, the letters of Domitian must remain
valid."
LXVII -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
FLAVIUS ARCHIPPUS has conjured me, by all my vows for your prosperity,
and by your immortal glory, that I would transmit to you the memorial
which he presented to me. I could not refuse a request couched in such
terms; however, I acquainted the prosecutrix with this my intention,
from whom I have also received a memorial on her part. I have annexed
them both to this letter; that by hearing, as it were, each party, you
may the better be enabled to decide.
LX VIII -- TRAJAN TO PLINY
IT is possible that Domitian might have been ignorant of the
circumstances in which Archippus was when he wrote the letter so much to
that philosopher's credit. However, it is more agreeable to my
disposition to suppose that prince designed he should be restored to his
former situation; especially since he so often had the honour of a
statue decreed to him by those who could not be ignorant of the sentence
pronounced against him by the proconsul Paullus. But I do not mean to
intimate, my dear Pliny, that if any new charge should be brought
against him, you should be the less disposed to hear his accusers. I
have examined the memorial of his prosecutrix, Furia Prima, as well as
that of Archippus himself, which you sent with your last letter.
LXIX -- To THE EMPEROR TRAJAN
THE apprehensions you express, Sir, that the lake will be in danger of
being entirely drained if a communication should be opened between that
and the sea, by means of the river, are agreeable to that prudence and
forethought you so eminently possess; but I think I have found a method
to obviate that inconvenience. A channel may be cut from the lake up to
the river so as not quite to join them, leaving just a narrow strip of
land between, preserving the lake; by this means it will not only be
kept quite separate from the river, but all the same purposes will be
answered as if they were united: for it will be extremely easy to convey
over that little intervening ridge whatever goods shall be brought down
by the canal. This is a scheme which may be pursued, if it should be
found necessary; but I hope there will be no occasion to have recourse
to it. For, in the first place, the lake itself is pretty deep; and in
the next, by damming up the river which runs from it on the opposite
side and turning its course as we shall find expedient, the same
quantity of water may be retained. Besides, there are several brooks
near the place where it is proposed the channel shall be cut which, if
skilfully collected, will supply the lake with water in proportion to
what it shall discharge. But if you should rather approve of the
channel's being extended farther and cut narrower, and so conveyed
directly into the sea, without running into the river, the reflux of the
tide will return whatever it receives from the lake. After all, if the
nature of the place should not admit of any of these schemes, the course
of the water may be checked by sluices. These, however, and many other
particulars, will be more skilfully examined into by the engineer, whom,
indeed, Sir, you ought to send, according to your promise, for it is an
enterprise well worthy of your attention and magnificence. In the