Born Publius Caecilius Secundus in a.d. 61 or 62, Pliny the Younger belonged to a prosperous landowning family of northern Italy. In Rome, he attended the lectures of the illustrious Quintil-ian, who had been appointed professor of Latin rhetoric by Vespasian. The most influential member of the family was his mother's brother, Gaius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Elder), whose monumental Naturalis Histo-a, a type of ancient encyclopedia surviving in 37 books, was dedicated to Titus; he had served in the army with Titus and had been appointed by Vespasian to various senior equestrian posts, including the command of the fleet at Misenum, from where he sailed to observe and inspect the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and perished in the fumes (August 29, 79). Under the terms of his will, his nephew inherited his property, was posthumously adopted, and thereby acquired the name Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus.

In Titus' reign, Pliny the Younger (as he now was) began a legal career, specializing in inheritance cases. He prospered under Domitian, holding a number of official posts, including the praetorship (93) and the prefecture of the military treasury (ca. 94-96). Later, however, he asserted that his life had been in danger at the time: "I stood amidst the flames of thunderbolts dropping all round me and there were certain clear indications that a like end was awaiting me" (Ep. 3.11.3). This was untrue, and, despite his friendship with members of the "Stoic Opposition," his political and legal career proceeded unhindered. With the accession of Nerva and Trajan (96 and 98), he continued to flourish, being appointed to a second treasury post (the prefecture of the treasury of Saturn) and then to a consulship (100). He maintained his legal work and was best known, early in Trajan's reign, for his defense of Julius Bassus and Varenus Rufus, two governors of Pontus-Bi-thynia. In 104, he accepted a senior position in Rome involving flood and drainage control and, in this period, was invited to join Trajan's cabinet on a number of occasions as a judicial adviser. Finally, ca. 110, he was appointed special commissioner to settle the financial and political problems of Pontus-Bithynia, when he died prematurely, about 51 years old.

Thanks to his letters and to four inscriptions, Pliny's is one of the best documented careers of the early empire. It was remarkable in many ways. The legal minimum age for the consulship was 42 and very few were appointed at that age; yet, with imperial favor, Pliny gained the honor at 39, while his consular colleague was almost 60 on his appointment. Again, it was almost unparalleled for an ex-consul to govern a province when he had not had similar experience at a lower level. Equally unusual was his appointment to a second treasury post. Thus he emerges as a highly competent administrator and lawyer, trusted by every regime. He was also extremely wealthy, investing most of his funds in property (Ep. 3.29.8), with a house in Rome on the Esquiline, another near Ostia, at least three on the shores of Lake Como, and a villa on his estates at Tifer-num.

His fame, however, is based on his letters. Unlike those of Cicero, written a century and a half previously, Pliny's were intended for publication, carefully composed and subsequently edited. The first nine books, consisting of 247 personal letters, were published at intervals between ca. 100 and 109, while the tenth appeared posthumously and contained 121 official letters written during his term in Pontus-Bithynia. The former are polished essays, providing an elegant portrait of contemporary upper-class activities and attitudes both in the capital and elsewhere, particularly in northern Italy. The topics are varied: domestic and social issues (treatment of slaves, public entertainment), events in politics and the law courts, descriptions of a villa, scenery, interpretation of a dream, eulogies of famous writers (Silius Italicus and Martial), a murder, ghost stories, and letters of recommendation or advice. 382Some are addressed to literary friends such as Suetonius and Tacitus (perhaps the most famous is 6.16, written to Tacitus and describing the death of Pliny the Elder following the eruption of Vesuvius), others to young men undertaking a political career, others to people from the area of Lake Como, his birthplace, others to eminent senators (Arrius Antoninus, Vestricius Spurinna), generals (Sosius Senecio, Licinius Sura), and equestrians (Septicius Clarus, later Hadrian's Praetorian Prefect).

The tenth book is different. Written in a simpler and less mannered style, it is a unique record of a Roman province's administrative problems and the solutions proposed or implemented. Pliny is revealed as a thorough, painstaking administrator with an apparent tendency to refer to the emperor even the most mundane of problems. But Pliny's was not an ordinary province. Pontus-Bithynia faced a political and financial crisis, and it is impossible to assess the extent to which strict imperial guidelines limited Pliny's freedom of action. Trajan's replies are briefer and more concise, revealing his concern for consistency and equity. Of particular interest is Pliny's request to Trajan for guidance on the treatment of Christians (Ep. 10.96) and Trajan's reply (Ep. 10.97). Pliny had, so he told the emperor, executed those who had admitted that they were Christians but had freed any who denied the charge and who were prepared to sacrifice to the gods (and to an image of the emperor). Pliny's problem, however, was twofold: anonymous accusations and lapsed Christians. Trajan indignantly rejected the former as being "out of keeping with the spirit of the age" and, perhaps inconsistently, pardoned the latter "however suspect their past conduct (might have been)." What the letters do not make clear is precisely why those who confessed to being Christians were executed, a point still debated by scholars. However, they do provide crucial evidence on the problem of Christianity's legal status at the end of the 1st century and until the time of Decius' persecution (ca. 250).