Pliny’s letters show the tone with which he addresses Trajan; show the calmness with which Pliny states that he has executed and tortured Christians; show his distaste for the idea that, among the Christians, a female slave might obtain a position of authority over free male Roman citizens; show Trajan’s affirmation of what Pliny has done.
Marcus Aurelius’s text shows his tone, which is in contrast with the constant military conflict in which he lived most of his life, and in contrast with the orders he issued to have thousands of people, including women and children, executed for being Christians.
