Letter 10022: I too have had a letter from Gabius Bassus, in which he says that the force assigned to him by my orders is inadequate.
L Trajan to Pliny.
I too have had a letter from Gabius Bassus, in which he says that the force assigned to him by my orders is inadequate. I have ordered the reply which I sent him to be enclosed with this letter, to acquaint you with its contents. It makes all the difference whether such a request is due to the exigencies of the situation or merely to a man's personal ambition. However, we ought to consider primarily the public interest and to take care, as far as possible, that soldiers are not absent from the standards.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
Related Letters
You may, my dear Pliny, without any religious scruples, if the site seems to require the change, remove the temple...
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...
Steps must certainly be taken to provide the city of Nicomedia with a water-supply, and I have every confidence that...
If the construction of a new bath will not cripple the finances of Prusa, we can indulge their wishes, only it must...
Make a careful survey, my dear Pliny, as you have begun to do, to see whether the place which looks dangerous can...