No one can say simply or easily how the Romans treated their slaves. Different Romans at different times or places felt and acted differently about the issue. In a notorious case in 61 C.E., a slave master named Pedanius Secundus was killed by one of his slaves. The Senate debated the matter and voted that all four hundred slaves in the household be executed in response. On the other hand, several emperors before and after this case had taken steps, through legislation and personal influence, to curtail the abuse of slaves by their masters. Even an individual Roman might: express complex views about the treatment of slaves. The Roman senator Pliny (called Pliny the Younger, to distinguish him from his uncle, Pliny the Elder) published letters that survive, including some about slaves in his household and in the. news...