While he labors to connect himself with the past and its righteous opponents of bad emperors, Pliny's present and future political identity depends on his interaction with Trajan and those in close orbit with the princeps. Pliny has no father after whom to pattern himself, and his Uncle Pliny's career as an equestrian and military man was not the sort of state service Pliny envisioned for himself. To ensure access to the emperor and opportunities for advancement and recognition, Pliny needed to forge and maintain close ties with other prominent and powerful men. If his letters are to serve his image properly, they must illuminate for the reader Pliny's political journey and must highlight the individuals who shaped and supported it.

Creating a political pedigree had been a requirement for advancement in the Roman world long before Pliny's time. Even the most powerful Roman families during the republic relied for political support upon their close connections to other elite clans – obligations forged through beneficia given and accepted in the name of amicitia. Young men of promise from various families shadowed the powerful, both to learn political maneuvering and public speaking and to secure their association with the ruling elite.