In his letters, Pliny the Younger gives various reports about his slaves. For the most part, however, they remain invisible on the textual level, even if their presence is to be assumed in the described contexts. Drawing on Clifford Geertz’s method of “thick description”, this paper illuminates the significance which the discourse on the treatment of slaves had for Pliny. In this light, it examines the close relationships which Pliny, according to his letters, had with certain slaves and freedmen belonging to his familia urbana. Within that context, the “thick description” is implemented by means of a discourse analysis in order to contribute to the understanding of Pliny’s lifeworld (Lebenswelt), which, with Rudolf Vierhaus, is understood as “reality interpreted symbolically”. The voices of the slaves themselves, on the other hand, are not tangible in this discourse.