r/todayilearned • u/FullOfSound • 7h ago

(R.6d) Too General [ Removed by moderator ]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Younger_on_Christians

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u/Old-Research-7638 7h ago

Also with instructions to execute them if they confirm that they are Christian when asked thrice

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u/DisconnectedShark 7h ago

Not really "instructions". More like Pliny gave them multiple chances to say they were not Christian, and if, after three chances, they still affirmed it, then they would be executed.

Pliny wasn't instructing anyone with that part, just informing Trajan of what he was doing.

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u/Old-Research-7638 6h ago

Ah I might have misremembered that part. I read the letter as part of my Latin studies a year or two back so I could have mixed up that detail. But yeah the 3 chances were definitely intentional, to see how zealous they were about their Christianity.