In his short epistle 6,15 Pliny reports on an incident which has happened during a recitation of poetry: The poet Passennus Paulus started with the words „Prisce, iubes …“; the addressee Javolenus Priscus, a renowned jurist, protested „ego vero non iubeo“. The audience laughed, but not so Pliny. He evaluates, even criticizes. Conversely, this article evaluates Pliny himself and his opinion with regard to his other epistles.