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.

Pliny the YoungerPliny the Younger|c. 112 AD|Pliny the Younger
barbarian invasion

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.

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