Author Description

Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (61 - ca. 112), better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome.He wrote hundreds of letters, many of which still survive, that are regarded as a historical source for the time period. Some are addressed to reigning emperors or to notables such as the historian Tacitus. His letters to Trajan provide one of the only records we have of the relationship between the imperial office and provincial governors.Pliny was considered an honest and moderate man, consistent in his pursuit of suspected Christian members according to Roman law. He rose through a series of Imperial civil and military offices, the cursus honorum. This volume collates all his surviving letters and his Panegyric in praise of Trajan.