Pliny, Letter 10.115

Ep. 10.115.1Meritō haesistī, Secunde cārissime, quid ā tē rescrībī oportēret cēnsōribus cōnsulentibus, an manēre dēbērent in senātū aliārum cīvitātium, eiusdem tamen prōvinciae cīvēs.You rightly hesitated, my dearest Secundus, over what reply you ought to give the censors when they consulted you whether men who were citizens of other cities, though of the same province, ought to remain in the senate. Ep. 10.115.1Nam et lēgis auctōritās et longa cōnsuētūdō ūsurpāta contrā lēgem in dīversum movēre tē potuit.For both the authority of the law and the long custom practised against the law could well have drawn you in opposite directions. Ep. 10.115.1Mihi hoc temperāmentum eius placuit, ut ex praeteritō nihil novārēmus, sed manērent quamvīs contrā lēgem ascītī quārumcumque cīvitātium cīvēs, in futūrum autem lēx Pompeia observārētur;I have decided on this compromise: that we make no change regarding the past, but that citizens of any cities whatever who were admitted, even though against the law, should remain, while for the future the Pompeian law should be observed; Ep. 10.115.1cuius vim sī retrō quoque velīmus custōdīre, multa necesse est perturbārī.for if we wished to maintain its force retrospectively as well, many things would necessarily be thrown into confusion.