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 Response 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."
Source: http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/~tomshoemaker/handouts/pliny.html