Letter 52
Pliny the Younger→Trajan|c. 112 AD|pliny younger
To Trajan.
We have celebrated. Sir, with the thankfulness appropriate to the occasion, the day on which you preserved the empire by undertaking the duties of Emperor, * and have prayed the gods to keep you in safety and prosperity, since on you: safety rest the protection and security of the human race We also repeated the formula at the head of the troops, who swore the oath of loyalty in the usual way, while the provincials vied with them in displaying the same attachment towards you.
[Note: 28th January.]
L To Trajan.
We have celebrated. Sir, with the thankfulness appropriate to the occasion, the day on which you preserved the empire by undertaking the duties of Emperor, * and have prayed the gods to keep you in safety and prosperity, since on you: safety rest the protection and security of the human race We also repeated the formula at the head of the troops, who swore the oath of loyalty in the usual way, while the provincials vied with them in displaying the same attachment towards you.
(*) 28th January.
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To Trajan.
We have celebrated. Sir, with the thankfulness appropriate to the occasion, the day on which you preserved the empire by undertaking the duties of Emperor, * and have prayed the gods to keep you in safety and prosperity, since on you: safety rest the protection and security of the human race We also repeated the formula at the head of the troops, who swore the oath of loyalty in the usual way, while the provincials vied with them in displaying the same attachment towards you.
[Note: 28th January.]
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.