Epistulae (Letters)

You have constantly urged me to collect and publish the more highly finished of the letters that I may have written.

As I see that your arrival is likely to be later than I expected, I forward you the speech which I promised in an...

How is Comum looking, your darling spot and mine?

What treasures you have in your villas at Ocriculum, at Narnia, at Carsulae and Perusia!

Did you ever see a man more abject and fawning than Marcus Regulus has been since the death of Domitian?

You will laugh, and I give you leave to.

See on what a pinnacle you have placed me by giving me the same power and royal will that Homer attributed to...

Your letter, asking me to send you one of my compositions, came at an opportune moment, for I had just made up my...

It is surprising how if you take each day singly here in the city you pass or seem to pass your time reasonably...

If ever there was a time when this Rome of ours was devoted to learning, it is now.

It is quite a long time since I had a letter from you.

I have suffered a most grievous loss, if loss is a word that can be applied to my being bereft of so distinguished a...

This year has brought us a fine crop of poets: right through April hardly a day passed without some recital or other.

You ask me to look out for a husband for your brother's daughter, and you do well to select me for such a commission.

What a fellow you are!

I used to be very fond of Pompeius Saturninus - our Saturninus, as I may call him - and to admire his intellectual...

Faith and loyalty are not yet extinct among men: there are still those to be found who keep friendly remembrances...

You say in your letter that you have been troubled by a dream, and are afraid lest your suit should go against you.

You and I were born in the same township, we went to school together, and shared quarters from an early age; your...

I am constantly having arguments with a friend of mine who is a learned and practised speaker, but who admires in...

Let me acknowledge not only the keenness of your judgment but the sharpness of your eyesight, not because you are...

Here am I still in Rome, and a good deal surprised to find myself here.

You ask me whether I think you ought to practise in the courts while you are tribune.

My comrade Tranquillus wishes to buy a bit of land which your friend is said to be offering for sale.

Not for many years have the Roman people seen so striking and even so memorable a spectacle as that provided by the...

I am angry with you; whether I ought to be I am not quite sure, but I am angry all the same.

Isaeus's reputation - and it was a great one - had preceded him to Rome, * but it was found to fall short of his merits.

If your father had owed his other creditors, or any one of them, as much as he owed to me, there would perhaps have...

I have forwarded to you the speech which you have often asked for, and which I have often promised to send, but not...

It would be a long story - and it is of no importance - to tell you how I came to be dining - for I am no particular...

Yesterday, on the motion of the Emperor, a triumphal statue was decreed to Vestricius Spurinna.

Are you at your books, or are you fishing, or hunting, or doing all three together?

I am worried and anxious about the candidature of my friend Sextus Erucius.

What an indolent fellow you are, or perhaps I should say how hard-hearted you are and almost cruel to keep back so...

I know you are always delighted when the senate behaves in a way befitting its rank, for though your love of peace...

As for the bit of public business which, as I told you in my last letter, arose out of the case of Marius Priscus, I...

I know you are only too pleased to seize an opportunity for doing me a service, and for my own part I would rather...

Yes, you are quite right; my time is fully taken up by cases in the centumviral court, * but they give me more worry...

How does your old Marsian property treat you?

You, with your usual watchfulness on my behalf, advise me that the codicils of Acilianus, who left me heir to half...

You are surprised, you say, at my infatuation for my Laurentine estate, or Laurentian if you prefer it so.

No, you could not have given me a pleasanter commission than to find a teacher of rhetoric for your brother's children.

You urge me to recite my speech before a company of my friends.

Get ready your penny and I will tell you a golden story, no, more than one, for the new one has reminded me of some...

I don't think I ever spent a more delightful time than during my recent visit at Spurinna's house; indeed, I enjoyed...

I think I am justified in asking you to grant to one of my friends a favour which I should certainly have offered to...

I know not whether I regarded your father, who was a man of consummate judgment and rectitude of life, with greater...

Although my course of action was approved in general estimation and by the friends who were with me at the time, I...

I was delighted to find that you are so zealous a student of my uncle's books that you would like to possess copies...

Out of a legacy which I have come in for I have just bought a Corinthian bronze, small it is true, but a charming...

News has just come that Silius Italicus * has starved himself to death at his villa near Neapolis.

It is just like your usual respectful regard for me that you beg me so earnestly to transfer the tribuneship, *...

I can now give you a full account of the enormous trouble entailed upon me in the public trial brought by the...

When I was last at your house I did not tell you that I had composed some verses about your son.

Our friend Artemidorus has so much goodness of heart that he always exaggerates the services his friends render him,...

Yes, I will come to dinner, but even now I must stipulate that the meal be short and frugal, and brimming over only...

I am sending you, at your request, the speech in which I lately thanked our best of emperors for my nomination as...

A shocking affair, worthy of more publicity than a letter can bestow, has befallen Largius Macedo, a man of...

You ask me to read your poems while I am in the country, and see whether I think they are worth publishing; you even...

I have often observed that the greatest words and deeds, both of men and women, are not always the most famous, and...

Is everything quite well with you, that I have not had a letter from you for so long?

As Consul, it naturally devolved upon me to thank the Emperor in the name of the State.

I want to ask your advice, as I have often done, on a matter of private business.

Do you remember that you often read of the fierce controversies excited by the Ballot Act, * and the praises and...

I hear that Valerius Martialis * is dead, and I am much troubled at the news.

You say you wish to see your granddaughter again, and me with her, after not having seen us for so long.

Regulus has lost his son - the only misfortune he did not deserve, because I doubt whether he considers it as such.

That you, like your ancestors of old, have been twice consul, that you have been proconsul of Asia with a record...

I have the greatest regard for Varisidius Nepos; he is hardworking, upright, and a scholar - a point which with me...

There is a story that Aeschines was once asked by the Rhodians to read them one of his speeches, that he afterwards...

My Tuscan farms have been lashed by hail; from my property in the Transpadane region I get news that the crops are...

I am constantly writing to tell you what energy Regulus possesses.

You congratulate me on accepting the office of augur.

For some days past Julius Bassus has been on trial.

You tell me that Sabina, who left us her heirs, never gave any instructions that her slave Modestus was to be...

Have you heard that Valerius Licinianus is teaching rhetoric in Sicily?

You have a regard for Egnatius Marcellinus and you often commend him to my notice; you will love him and commend him...

I am delighted that you have returned to Rome, for though your arrival is always welcome, it is especially so to me...

Perhaps you are asking and looking out for a speech of mine, as you usually do, but I am sending you some wares of...

If I have ever been guided by judgment, it has been in the strength of regard I have for Asinius Rufus.

Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, on my account, on your own, and on that of the public.

You recommend and press me to take up the case of Corellia, in her absence, against Caius Caecilius, the...

How can I better prove to you how greatly I admire your Greek epigrams than by the fact that I have tried to imitate...

As you yourself are a model of the family virtues, as you returned the affection of your brother, who was the best...

You know my opinion of your volumes singly, for I have written to tell you as I finished each one; now let me give...

What a terribly sad fate has overtaken those two sisters, the Helvidiae!

I have been called in by our excellent Emperor to take part and advise upon the following case.

I have been delighted to hear from our mutual friends that you map out and bear your retirement in a way that is...

Just recently, after pleading before the centumviri in the fourfold Court, * I happened to remember that in my...

I wrote and told you that there was a danger of the ballot leading to abuses.

You ask me to be sure to look over and correct my speeches, which you have taken the greatest pains to get together.

This is the third day that I have been attending the recitals of Sentius Augurinus, which I have not only enjoyed...

Herennius Severus, a man of great learning, is anxious to place in his library portraits of your fellow-townsmen,...

Do be careful, my dear friend, and the next time there is business afoot, see to it that you come into court,...

I have brought you as a present from my native district a problem which is fully worthy even of your profound learning.

I have come in for a legacy, inconsiderable in amount, yet more gratifying than even the handsomest one could be.

I received the very fine sea-carp which you sent me.

While I gratefully acknowledge your many acts of kindness to me, I must especially thank you for not concealing from...

The incident is trifling in itself, but it is leading up to important consequences.

I have been told that Caius Fannius is dead, and the news has greatly upset me, in the first place, because I loved...

I was charmed with the kind consideration which led you, when you heard that I was about to visit my Tuscan villa in...

It is beyond question that a community cannot be appointed heir and cannot take a share of an inheritance before the...

You urge me to write history, nor are you the first to do so.

I had gone down to the Basilica Julia to listen to the speeches of the counsel to whom I had to reply from the last...

Do, I beg of you, fulfil the promise I made in my verses * when I pledged my word that our common friends should see...

I have received your letter, from which I gather that you have dedicated a most beautiful portico in the joint names...

Before giving a recital of a little speech which I had some thoughts of publishing, I called a few friends to hear...

In compliance with your request - and the promise I made to comply in case you asked me - I will write and tell you...

I had already retired to my township when the news was brought to me that Cornutus Tertullus had accepted the...

It is when I try to equal your verses that I most fully appreciate how excellent they are.

I am writing to you in great distress.

I know what an interest you take in the liberal arts, and how delighted you are when young men of rank do anything...

As all is well with you, all is well with me.

I notice how kindly you treat your servants, so I will be quite frank with you, and tell you with what indulgence I...

Within a short time of their impeaching Julius Bassus * the Bithynians brought a second action, this time against...

Your letter has aroused in me conflicting emotions, for part of the news it contained made me glad, and part made me...

While I was staying across the Po and you were in Picenum, I did not miss you so much ; but since I have been in...

When I am in the courts I frequently find myself regretting Marcus Regulus, though I hardly mean to say that I want...

I am much obliged to you for undertaking to look after the plot of land which I gave to my old nurse.

Never before have I chafed so much at being so busy that I could not accompany you when you set out for Campania to...

I have already told you * that Varenus was given permission to bring witnesses on his behalf from his province.

If ever I wished you to be in Rome it is now, and I do hope you may come.

You say that you are quite distressed at my absence, and that your only solace is to embrace my writings instead of...

You know Atilius Crescens, and love him too, for who is there held in any respect at all who fails to know and love...

You commend to my notice the candidature of Julius Naso.

When I visited the country house of my mother-in-law at Alsium, which at one time belonged to Rufus Verginius, the...

What a joyful day this has been !

You of all people should not hesitate a moment about commending to my favour any persons whose interests you think I...

Did you ever see any one so much harried and worried as my friend Varenus?

You press me to stay with you at your villa near Formiae.

You have missed being present at a wonderfully funny scene.

You ask me to send you an account of my uncle's death, so that you may be able to give posterity an accurate...

I cannot contain the indignation which I felt when I attended the reading of a certain friend of mine, and I feel I...

You ask me to undertake the cause of the town of Firmum, and, though I am up to the eyes in work, I will do my best,...

You know that the price of land, especially in the suburbs of Rome, has gone up.

You say that the letter which I wrote to you at your request, describing the death of my uncle, * has made you...

I am one of those who admire the ancients, but not to the extent of despising the genius of our own times, like some...

A case has just been heard which is of great importance to all who are to govern provinces, and to all who entrust...

You ask me as a great favour to plead in a case in which you are closely interested, and a case which is honourable...

How much our estimation of any deed depends upon the doer !

You say that Robustus, a Roman knight of distinction, travelled as far as Ocriculum in the company of my friend...

I am delighted to congratulate you on having betrothed your daughter to Fuscus Salinator.

You ask me to think out for you the headings of the speech you will deliver as consul-designate in praise of the...

I know the reason which prevented your being able to welcome me on my arrival in Campania, but though you were...

Avidius Quietus, who loved me like a brother, and - what was equally gratifying to me - approved my general conduct,...

I really must keep your birthday as strictly as my own, since the happiness of mine depends upon yours, and it is...

I was greatly delighted when our Emperor sent for me to Centum Cellae - for that is the name of the place - to act...

Although you yourself are most modest in your requirements, and you have brought up your daughter to be the same -...

"Away with it all," cried Vulcan, "and cease the task you have begun.

You did quite right in promising a gladiatorial display to my clients at Verona, for they have long loved you,...

I am alarmed to hear that your complaint is so obstinate, and, though I know you to be a man of the most temperate...

How can you reconcile your statement that you are kept constantly busy by your never-ceasing engagements, with your...

How is it that you persist in spending so much time first in Lucania and then in Campania ?

You say you have read my hendecasyllabic verses, * and you ask how it was that I began to write poetry - I, who seem...

You would scarcely credit how much I miss you and long to see you again.

The suit against Varenus has come to an unusual and remarkable conclusion, and the issue is even now open to doubt.

I thanked our friend Priscus quite recently, but thanked him a second time in accordance with your request, and was...

I cannot tell you how delighted I am that our friend Saturninus sends me letter after letter conveying his best...

You ask me how I think you ought to arrange your studies in the retirement you have long been enjoying.

I have a way, as soon as I know the beginning of a case, of wanting to be able to add on the conclusion from which...

You say you are surprised that my freedman Hermes should have sold to Corellia the lands which I have inherited and...

Here is the little volume which I have constructed on the plan you suggested to me, in order that your friend - or...

Your letter is at once a clear indication that you are studying and not studying.

It is really most handsome on your part to not only request but also to insist so strongly that I should authorise...

You ask me how I am spending my time.

I have a very intimate regard for Calestrius Tiro, who is bound to me by close personal and official ties.

Every author has his own reasons for giving recitals; mine, as I have often said before, is that I may discover any...

You ask me how the money which you have given to our fellow-townsmen for an annual feast may be secured after you...

I am really troubled at the ill-health of Fannia.

I have read your book * and taken the greatest possible pains in marking the passages which struck me as requiring...

I am obedient to your commands, my dear colleague, and I really am taking care of my eyes according to your...

You will be the less surprised that I have been in such haste to ask you to bestow a military tribuneship on my...

I am delighted that you feel strong enough to meet Tiro at Mediolanum, but in order that you may continue to feel so...

Ummidia Quadratilla has died just before reaching her eightieth year.

Alas ! how many learned men there are who are buried out of sight and lost to fame either through their own modesty...

I have just been reminded by the illness of a friend of mine that we mortals are most virtuous when we are in bad...

The leisure we are both of us enjoying gives you an opportunity of imparting, and me an opportunity of receiving,...

You say that certain persons have found fault with me in your presence, on the ground that I never lose an...

You will first laugh, then feel annoyed, and then laugh again, if ever you read something which you will think...

I am much concerned at your loss of a pupil who, as you say, showed the greatest promise.

Claudius Pollio is desirous of gaining your affection, and he deserves to gain it: first, because he desires it, and...

I am delighted that the visit of my friend Tiro was so agreeable to you, * but I was immensely pleased to read in...

I venture to prophesy - and I know my prognostics are right - that your histories will be immortal, and that, I...

I travelled here comfortably enough except for the fact that certain of my servants have suffered more or less...

Other people go to their estates to return richer than they went ; I go to come back the poorer.

You hint to me that the book I sent you last pleases you more than any of my previous works.

You are doing quite right to get together materials for a history of the Dacian War.

Our friend Macrinus * has received a terrible blow.

You must by this time be aware from my last letter that I just lately noticed the monument erected to Pallas, which...

It was not as one master to another, nor as one pupil to another, that you sent me your book - though you say it was...

Have you ever seen the spring at Clitumnus?

It seems ages since I took up a book or a pen, and ages since I knew what it was to do nothing, and rest and enjoy...

The more you desire to see great-grandchildren born to you in our house, the greater will be your concern to hear...

When I think of your love for your brother's daughter - a love which is even tenderer than a mother's indulgent...

I really must for once take a holiday to-day, as Titinius Capito is giving a reading, and I hardly know whether my...

I am pleased that you have read my speeches with your father at your side.

As you are such a good authority on both private and public law - the latter of which includes the regulations of...

I have laden you heavily by sending you all these volumes at once, but I have done so, first, because you asked me...

I have been greatly upset by illness in my household, some of my servants having died, and at an early age.

Have you, where you are, been having inclement and tempestuous weather?

Though it is commonly thought that a man's character can be seen in his will, as clearly almost as in a mirror, that...

I find in study both delight and consolation.

Though we often take long journeys and cross the seas to examine curiosities, we neglect them when they lie beneath...

As in my daily life, so in my studies I think it is most becoming as well as most natural for a man to mingle grave...

Did you ever come across people who are themselves the slaves of all kinds of passions, yet are so indignant at the...

The poignancy of my grief at the death of Junius Avitus has quite prostrated me.

My affection for you is such that I feel compelled not to direct you - for you have no need of a director - but to...

I have often advised you to publish at the earliest possible opportunity the speeches which you composed either in...

It is very kind of you to press me to write to you as many letters as possible, and as long as possible.

Whatever view other people may take, I think he is the happiest man who enjoys in his lifetime the certain knowledge...

I should be afraid of your thinking the speech which you will receive with this letter to be of undue length, were...

You are doing splendidly - you see I make inquiries about you - and I hope you will continue to commend your love of...

I have been spending all my time here among my tablets and books as quietly as I could wish.

You tell me that you are building.

If I begin to sing your praises after the way you have sung mine, I am afraid you will fancy that I am merely...

I quite understand and appreciate how deeply you are upset by the death of Pompeius Quintianus, so much so that your...

I am anxious to obey your injunctions, but there is such a scarcity of wild boars that it is quite impossible for me...

I received your letter, which afforded me great pleasure, especially as you say that you wish me to write you...

A friend of mine was thrashing his son for spending money too lavishly in buying horses and dogs.

The more carefully and closely you have read the books I composed to vindicate the character of Helvidius, the more...

Though you never praise your own work, I, for my part, never write with such confidence as when I am writing about you.

I took refuge on my Tuscan estate, thinking to pass my days just as I pleased, but I find that this is not possible...

I am not surprised that you have been immensely pleased with your sport, considering how productive it was, for you...

I have received your letter in which you complain how offensive to you a really magnificent banquet was, owing to...

Your letter proves how attentively, how studiously, and with what powers of memory you have read my books, but you...

You say that you have read in one of my letters that Verginius Rufus ordered the following inscription to be placed...

Your letter was all the more agreeable to me on account of its length, and because it referred throughout to my books.

That freedman of yours, with whom you told me you were angry, came to me and begged for my pardon, as earnestly as...

I have been terribly anxious about the ill-health of Passennus Paullus, and that for a host of excellent reasons.

When I have been pleading, it has often happened that the centumviri, after strictly preserving for a long time...

You have done well to take back into your household and favour, on the intercession of my letter, * the freedman who...

You complain that your camp duties keep you exceedingly busy, yet, as though your time were all your own, you read...

When referring to a certain orator of our own times, who was a straightforward and level-headed speaker, but lacked...

I have often felt the dignity, the majesty, and, in a word, the divine splendour of history, and quite lately I had...

After a long delay I have received your letters, but the three came together.

Just as it is preferable to do one thing really well than many things only fairly well, so it is better to attain...

When you are with me, and now again by letter, you often praise your friend Nonius to me for the generosity he has...

After I had left you I enjoyed your society just as much as when I was with you, for I read your book, and perused...

How do you spend your time?

I have come upon a true story - though it sounds very like a fable - which is quite worthy of engaging the attention...

Please help me out of my dilemma.

I have received the book you sent me, and I am much obliged for it, but just for the present I am exceedingly busy.

You ask me how I spend the day on my Tuscan villa in summer time.

You are not one of those people who require ceremonial attendance and public attention from their intimate friends...

Our friend Rufus has won my praise, not because you asked me to praise him, but because he so richly deserved it.

I have been warned by the haruspices to put into better repair and enlarge the temple of Ceres, which stands on my...

You say that you were very pleased to receive my letter * describing how I spend my leisure time in summer at my...

Your filial piety, most sacred emperor, prompted your desire to succeed your father as late as possible, but the...

Words fail me to express the pleasure you have given me, Sir, in that you have thought me worthy of the privileges...

The kindnesses, most excellent of emperors, which I have received at your hands have been so manifold that I am...

Last year, Sir, when I was in serious ill-health and was in some danger of my life I called in an ointment-doctor...

I thank you, Sir, for having so promptly granted my request and for your bestowal of full citizenship on the...

I make a practice of following the rules of my predecessors in not making promiscuous grants of the Alexandrine...

When, Sir, your late father, * both by a very fine speech and by setting them a most honourable example himself,...

You have given me an abundance of private and all the public reasons I could desire for asking leave of absence,...

I cannot express, Sir, in words the joy I experienced when I received your letter telling me that you had granted...

My recent illness, Sir, laid me under great obligations to Postumius Marinus, my doctor, and I will only be able to...

I know, Sir, that you have not lost sight of the requests I put forward, for your memory never forgets an...

As I am convinced. Sir, that the best testimonial to and appreciation of my character is to receive marks of...

I congratulate you, best of emperors, on your most remarkable, magnificent, and illustrious victory * in your own...

It is because I feel sure, Sir, that you will be interested to hear, that I send you news that I have rounded Cape...

You have done well to send me news, my dear Pliny, for I am exceedingly interested to hear what sort of a journey...

I wish it had been possible for you and your companions to reach Bithynia without the slightest inconvenience or...

I beg, Sir, that you will give me the guidance of your advice.

There is no necessity, my dear Pliny, to employ more soldiers in guarding the prisons.

Gabius Bassus, Sir, the prefect of the coast of Pontus, has come to me in a most respectful and dutiful manner, and...

I too have had a letter from Gabius Bassus, in which he says that the force assigned to him by my orders is inadequate.

The people of Prusa, Sir, have a public bath which is in a neglected and dilapidated state.

If the construction of a new bath will not cripple the finances of Prusa, we can indulge their wishes, only it must...

Your legate, Sir, Servilius Pudens, reached Nicomedia on November 24th, and has freed me from the suspense entailed...

Your kindness to me, Sir, has cemented the friendship between Rosianus Geminus and myself, for he was my quaestor...

Maximus, Sir, your freedman and procurator, assures me that he absolutely requires some soldiers in addition to the...

As my freedman Maximus is on the point of setting out to collect stores of corn you did right to give him a guard of...

Sempronius Caelianus, who is an excellent young officer, has sent me two slaves who were discovered among the...

Sempronius Caelianus acted in conformity with my commands in sending to you the slaves, into whose case we must...

As you have given me authority to refer to you wherever I am in doubt, you may, Sir, condescend to hear my...

Let us not forget that you were sent to your province for the express reason that there seemed to be many abuses...

While I was visiting a distant part of the province a most desolating fire broke out at Nicomedia and destroyed a...

You have conceived the idea that a guild of firemen might be formed in Nicomedia on the model of various others...

We have taken the usual vows, * Sir, for your safety, with which the public well-being is bound up, and at the same...

I am pleased to learn from your letter, my dear Pliny, that you and the people of your province have paid the vows...

Sir, the people of Nicomedia spent 3,329,000 sesterces upon an aqueduct, which was left in an unfinished state, and...

Steps must certainly be taken to provide the city of Nicomedia with a water-supply, and I have every confidence that...

The theatre at Nicaea, Sir, the greater part of which has already been constructed, though it is still incomplete,...

You will be best able to judge and determine what ought to be done at the present time in the matter of the theatre...

I consider the splendour of your position and the loftiness of your mind, it seems to me most fitting that I should...

That lake you speak of may perhaps tempt me into making up my mind to connect it with the sea, but obviously careful...

When I asked for a statement of the expenditure of the city of Byzantium - which is abnormally high - it was pointed...

You have done quite right, my dear Pliny, in cancelling the expenditure by the people of Byzantium of those twelve...

I beg you, Sir, to write and tell me whether you wish the permits, * the terms of which have expired, to be...

The permits, of which the terms have expired, ought not to be recognised, and consequently I make it my special duty...

When I wished, Sir, to be informed of those who owed money to the city of Apamea, and of its revenue and...

The memorial of the people of Apamea which you enclosed with your letter makes it unnecessary for me to examine into...

Before my arrival, Sir, the people of Nicomedia had commenced to make certain additions to their old forum, in one...

You may, my dear Pliny, without any religious scruples, if the site seems to require the change, remove the temple...

It is difficult. Sir, to find words to express the pleasure I have received at the favour you have shown my wife's...

We have celebrated. Sir, with the thankfulness appropriate to the occasion, the day on which you preserved the...

I am glad to learn from your letter, my dear Pliny, with what devotion and joy the troops and the provincials have...

Thanks, Sir, to your forethought and my administration the public revenues have either already been collected or are...

I do not see any other remedy, my dear Pliny, than the lowering of the rate of interest, which would facilitate the...

I thank you. Sir, most sincerely that in the midst of your most pressing business of state you have deigned to give...

What steps ought to be taken with respect to those who were banished for three years by the proconsul Servilius...

When, Sir, I was about to hold a court and was calling out the names of the judges, Flavius Archippus began to ask...

Flavius Archippus has implored me, by your safety and eternal fame, to transmit to you a memorial which he has...

It is possible, of course, that Domitian was unaware of the true circumstances in which Archippus was situated when...

You very justly, Sir, express the fear that the lake * may drain itself dry if its waters are turned into the river...

It is clear to me, my dear Pliny, that you have shown diligence and careful consideration in the matter of the lake...

Your freedman, Sir, Lycormas, wrote to me saying that if any embassy came from the Bosphorus on its way to Rome I...

King Sauromates has written to me saying that there are certain matters which you ought to know as soon as possible.

Sir, the problem as to the status and cost of maintenance of children exposed at birth and then reared by others is...

The question you raise as to those who were born free and exposed by their parents, and then reared by other people...

After the messenger of King Sauromates had stayed of his own free will for two days in Nicaea, where he found me, I...

Several persons have petitioned me to grant them leave, as other proconsuls have done before my time, to transfer to...

It would be very hard on the provincials to lay upon them the necessity of approaching the pontifical college...

When I was looking about, Sir, for a place upon which to build the baths which you have graciously allowed to be...

We may certainly utilise the courtyard and the ruined mansion, which you say is unoccupied, for the construction of...

I have been asked by certain persons to give decisions in cases where men claim they were born free, and demand the...

If you will send me the decree of the senate which has made you hesitate, I will form my opinion as to whether or...

Sir, a soldier named Appuleius, who belongs to the garrison at Nicomedia, has written to tell us that a certain...

Sir, a person named Julius Largus, of Pontus, whom I had never seen or heard of before - he must have blindly...

Julius Largus, in picking you out for your loyalty, has acted as though he knew you intimately.

You acted with your usual prudence, Sir, in instructing that eminent man, Calpurnius Macer, to send a legionary...

It is owing to the situation of the free city of Byzantium, and the fact that so many travellers make their way into...

There is a provision, Sir, in the Lex Pompeia - which is in force in Bithynia - to the effect that no one is to hold...

I agree with the construction you place on the law, my dear Pliny, and I think that the Lex Pompeia is superseded by...

When, Sir, I was at Prusa, near Mt.

You need have had no hesitation, my dear Pliny, on the point concerning which you have thought it necessary to...

I have been publicly asked, Sir, by what is and ought to be the most sacred thing in the world to me, I mean your...

As the people of Nicaea declare that Augustus conferred upon them the right to enjoy the property of those citizens...

Sir, I have found Maximus, your freedman and procurator, all the time we have been together, a man of probity,...

Sir, I served with Nymphidius Lupus in the army when he was chief centurion ; when he was prefect I was a military...

I pray, Sir, that you may keep this birthday * and many others in the greatest happiness, and that in strength and...

I acknowledge your prayer, my dear Pliny, that I may celebrate many happy birthdays, and that our Empire may...

The people of Sinope, Sir, are short of a proper water-supply, though a good and plentiful supply might be brought...

Make a careful survey, my dear Pliny, as you have begun to do, to see whether the place which looks dangerous can...

The free and allied city * of Amisus, thanks to your favour, enjoys its own special laws.

If permission has been granted to the people of Amisus, whose memorial you enclosed with your letter, in the laws...

Sir, I have long admired the character and literary abilities of Suetonius Tranquillus, a man of the highest...

You assuredly know, my dear Pliny, how sparingly I grant these favours, for I often declare in the senate that I...

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...

You have adopted the proper course, my dear Pliny, in examining into the cases of those who have been denounced to...

The city of Amastris, Sir, which is both elegantly and finely built, boasts among its most striking features a very...

It stands to reason, my dear Pliny, that the stream which flows through the city of Amastris should be covered over,...

We have paid. Sir, with joyfulness and alacrity the vows we publicly pronounced for the years that are past, and we...

I have been glad to learn from your letter, my dear Pliny, that the troops and the provincials in joyful unison have...

We have celebrated with all due religious observance the lucky day upon which you succeeded to the throne and the...

I have been glad to learn from your letter that the anniversary of my succession has been celebrated by the troops...

Valerius Paulinus, Sir, has left me the right of patronage over all his Latin freedmen * to the exclusion of his son...

Your early solicitation of my favour for those who have been placed under your patronage by Valerius Paulinus does...

Publius Attius Aquila, Sir, a centurion of the sixth cohort of horse, * asked me to forward to you a memorial in...

I have read the memorial which you sent to me from Publius Attius Aquila, a centurion of the sixth cohort of horse,...

I beg you, Sir, to send me word what legal rights you wish the cities of Bithynia and Pontus to possess in getting...

The legal position of the cities of Bithynia and Pontus, in getting in moneys which may be due to them for any...

The public prosecutor, Sir, of the city of Amisus has claimed in court before me the sum of 40,000 denarii from...

Though it is true my edicts forbid the grants of public money to individuals, yet it does not follow that grants...

The Lex Pompeia, Sir, which is in use in Bithynia and Pontus, does not make it compulsory for those who are...

It is impossible for me to draw up a general rule as to whether newly-made senators in every city in Bithynia ought...

Sir, according to the Lex Pompeia, the free cities of Bithynia have the right to enrol anyone they please as a...

You did right to hesitate, my dear Pliny, before giving your answer to the censors who consulted you about the...

It is the custom for those who assume the gown of manhood {toga virilis}, or who marry, or enter upon office, or...

I approve your apprehension that there is a look of bribery about invitations which are given on a wholesale scale...

The athletes, Sir, think that the rewards which you have promised as prizes in the iselastic contests * ought to be...

It seems to me that the rewards ought to begin to be due from the date when the winner makes his public entry into...

(†) Calpurnia Hispulla.

You did right, my dear Pliny, in having confidence in my sympathy.