An non obsequereris principi civis, legatus imperatori, filius patri? Ubi deinde disciplina, ubi mos a maioribus traditus, quodcumque imperator munus iniungeret, aequo animo paratoque subeundi? Quid enim, si provincias ex provinciis ex bellis bella mandaret? Apparet eodem illo uti iure, cum ad imperium revocet quo sit usus cum ad exercitum miserit, nihilque interesse ire legatum an redire principem iubeat, nisi quod maior sit obsequii gloria in eo, quod quis minus velit.
You were subject, legate and son: your duty lay in obedience to your ruler, your general and your father; else where would military discipline be, and the tradition of centuries of accepting readily, without question, whatever charges your general imposed? He could have assigned you province after province, sent you on campaign after campaign, for clearly he was exercising the same authority in recalling you to assume the imperial power as he did when he sent you out to command your army. An order is an order, whether it means a departure as legate or a return as prince, though there may be greater glory in obedience where the desire to obey is less.
final_alignments\Pliny_Younger_Panegyricus.json