Pliny to the Emperor Trajan
It is my practice, my lord, to refer
to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can
better give guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have
never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know
what offenses it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to
what extent. And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether
there should be any distinction on account of age or no difference
between the very young and the more mature; whether pardon is to be
granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it
does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself,
even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name
are to be punished.
Meanwhile, in the case of those who
were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following
procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians;
those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time,
threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered
executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their
creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be
punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because
they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be
transferred to Rome.
Soon accusations spread, as usually
happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents
occurred. An anonymous document was published containing the names
of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been
Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me,
offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had
ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the
gods, and moreover cursed Christ--none of which those who are really
Christians, it is said, can be forced to do--these I thought should
be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were
Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had
ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as
much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the
statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.
They asserted, however, that the sum
and substance of their fault or error had been that they were
accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively
a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to
some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify
their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do
so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to
assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food.
Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by
which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden
political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more
necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female
slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else
but depraved, excessive superstition.
I therefore postponed the
investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to
me to warrant consulting you, especially because of the number
involved. For many persons of every age, every rank, and also of
both sexes are and will be endangered. For the contagion of this
superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the
villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It
is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost
deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established
religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from
everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very
few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a
multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance
is afforded.
Trajan's Reply to Pliny
You observed proper procedure, my
dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to
you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general
rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought
out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be
punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a
Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our
gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain
pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought
to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous
kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.
