"This contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has spread its infection among the neighboring villages and country. Nevertheless, it still seems possible to restrain its progress..." Emphasis on the word "seems", for, as we know, this virulent superstition of which Pliny the Younger speaks, to which we now attach the innocent name of "Christianity", would not be stymied. Pliny, disquieted by the rapid spread of this zealous and alien creed, sought the advice of his regal employer, Emperor Trajan, who, back at Rome, grappled with the news of this movement's waxing popularity and unanticipated growth. The correspondence between the two gives the reader an unparalleled intimacy with the difficult conversations in which these two statesmen were engaged, as they deliberated just how they'd treat this new, upstart, irreverent, Semitic faith.

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