Lollianus was a public teacher who was well placed enough to be allowed to petition the emperor, even though most routine matters normally landed on the prefect's desk. His petition included this statement: 'For though I thought I was elected public teacher here by the city council, it is not at all the case that I receive the usual salary; on the contrary, if at all, it is paid in sour wine and worm-eaten grain; you yourself know how things are with us.'