Chapter 30

CONTAINING FIFTY-THREE LETTERS WRITTEN BY CASSIODORUS IN THE NAME OF THEODORIC.

1. KING THEODORIC TO ALARIC, KING OF THE VISIGOTHS.

[Sidenote: Dissuades Alaric the Visigoth from war with the Franks.]

'Surrounded as you are by an innumerable multitude of subjects, and strong in the remembrance of their having turned back Attila[275], still do not fight with Clovis. War is a terrible thing, and a terrible risk. The long peace may have softened the hearts of your people, and your soldiers from want of practice may have lost the habit of working together on the battlefield. Ere yet blood is shed, draw back if possible. We are sending ambassadors to the King of the Franks to try to prevent this war between our relatives; and the ambassadors whom we are sending to you will go on to Gundibad, King of the Burgundians, to get him to interpose on behalf of peace. Your enemy will be mine also.'

[Footnote 275: 'Quamvis Attilam potentem reminiscamini Visigothorum viribus inclinatum.']

[The battle of Vouglé in which Alaric was overthrown by Clovis, was fought in 507; but the date of this letter is probably 506 (Dahn's date) rather than 507, as there were no doubt some premonitory symptoms before the war broke out.

Binding i. 181 (_n._ 608), and Pallmann ii. 55 _n._ 1, and 135 _n._ 2, incline to a date somewhat earlier even than 506, thinking that there may have been earlier threatenings of war, which Theodoric succeeded for the time in averting.

The earlier the date the better will it suit the allusion to Clovis (and Alaric) as 'Regii _Juvenes_' in the following letter. Clovis was born in 466, and was therefore 41 years of age at the battle of Vouglé.]

2. KING THEODORIC TO GUNDIBAD, KING OF THE BURGUNDIANS.

[Sidenote: Dissuades Gundibad from war.]

Repeats the arguments in iii. 1 about the ill effects of war on the fortunes of all, and says that it is Theodoric's part to moderate the angry impulses of 'regii juvenes.' It becomes them to reverence 'senes,' such as Theodoric and Gundibad, although they are themselves in the balmy vigour of the flower of their age.

Sends two ambassadors ('illum atque illum') with letters and a verbal message, hoping that the wisdom of Gundibad may reflect upon what they say to him [perhaps too delicate a matter to be committed to writing], and find some way of preserving peace.

[It is remarkable that in this letter Theodoric, who was probably only 52, if the date of it be 506, and who may have been a year or two younger, speaks of himself along with Gundibad as a _senex_, and of Clovis, who could hardly be more than twelve years his junior, as _regius juvenis_. Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that Cassiodorus speaks from his own point of view. To him, now about 26 years of age, Theodoric might seem to be fitly described as 'senex.'

See Binding i. 181-183 on this letter and the reasons why it produced no effect on Gundibad. See also Dahn ii. 144.]

3. KING THEODORIC TO THE KINGS OF THE HERULI, WARNI (GUARNI), AND THURINGIANS.

[Sidenote: Attempt to form a Teutonic coalition on behalf of Alaric.]

[On the same subject.] If Clovis succeeds in his unprovoked aggression on Alaric, none of his neighbours will be safe. 'I will tell you just what I think: he who inclines to act without law is prepared to shake the kingdoms of all of us[276].'

[Footnote 276: Compare the state of Europe during the wars of the French Revolution, as expressed by Tennyson:

'Again their ravening eagle rose, In anger, wheel'd on Europe-shadowing wings, And barking for the thrones of kings.']

'Remember how often Alaric's father Euric gave you presents and staved off war from your borders. Repay to the son the kindness of the father. I send you two ambassadors, and I want you to join your representations to mine and Gundibad's, calling on Clovis to desist from his attacks on Alaric and seek redress from the law of nations[277], or else expect the combined attack of all of us, for this quarrel is really the quarrel of us all.'

[Footnote 277: 'Et leges gentium quaerat.' But how was the law of nations to be enforced?]

[The turn of the Thuringians to be swallowed up by the Frankish Monarchy came in 531.

See on this letter Dahn, 'Könige der Germanen' ii. 144 and 8 _n._ 2; Pallmann ii. 55.]

4. KING THEODORIC TO LUDUIN (LUDWIG, OR CLOVIS), KING OF THE FRANKS.

[Sidenote: Desires Clovis to desist from war on Alaric.]

[On the same subject.] 'The affinities of kings ought to keep their subjects from the plague of war. We are grieved to hear of the paltry causes which are giving rise to rumours of war between you and our son Alaric, rumours which gladden the hearts of the enemies of both of you. Let me say with all frankness, but with all affection, just what I think: "It is the act of a passionate man to get his troops ready for action at the first embassy which he sends." Instead of that refer the matter to our arbitration. It would be a delight to me to choose men capable of mediating between you. What would you yourselves think of me if I could hear unmoved of your murderous intentions towards one another? Away with this conflict, in which one of you will probably be utterly destroyed. Throw away the sword which you wield for _my_ humiliation. By what right do I thus threaten you? By the right of a father and a friend. He who shall despise this advice of ours will have to reckon us and our friends as his adversaries.

'I send two ambassadors to you, as I have to my son Alaric, and hope that they may be able so to arrange matters that no alien malignity may sow the seeds of dissension between you, and that your nations, which under your fathers have long enjoyed the blessings of peace, may not now be laid waste by sudden collision. You ought to believe him who, as you know, has rejoiced in your prosperity. No true friend is he who launches his associates, unwarned, into the headlong dangers of war.'

5. KING THEODORIC TO IMPORTUNUS, VIR ILLUSTRIS AND PATRICIAN.

[Sidenote: Importunus promoted to the Patriciate.]

[Importunus was Consul in 509. This letter therefore probably belongs to the early part of 510.]

'Noble birth and noble deeds meet in you, and we are therefore bestowing on you an honour to which by age you are scarcely yet entitled. Your father and uncle were especially noteworthy, the glory of the Senate, men who adorned modern ages[278] with the antique virtues, men who were prosperous without being hated. The Senate felt their courage, the multitude their wisdom.

[Footnote 278: Notice the use of the word _modernus_ here, a post-classical word, which apparently occurs first in Cassiodorus.]

'Therefore, being descended from such ancestors, and yourself possessing such virtues, on laying down the Consular fasces, assume the insignia of the Patriciate. Bind those fillets, which are generally reserved for the hoary head, round your young locks, and by your future actions justify my choice of you.'

6. KING THEODORIC TO THE SENATE ON IMPORTUNUS' ACCESSION TO THE PATRICIATE.

[See preceding letter.]

[Sidenote: The same subject.]

'We delight to introduce new men to the Senate, but we delight still more when we can bring back to that venerable body, crowned with fresh honours, her own offspring[279]. And such is now my fortune in presenting to you Importunus, crowned with the honours of the Patriciate; Importunus, who is descended from the great stock of the Decii, a stock illustrated by noble names in every generation, by the favour of the Senate and the choice of the people. Even as a boy he had a countenance of serene beauty, and to the gifts of Nature he added the endowments of the mind. From his parents in household lays he learned the great deeds of the old Decii. Once, at a great spectacle, the whole school at the recitation of the Lay of the Decii turned their eyes on Importunus, discerning that he would one day rival his ancestors. Thus his widowed mother brought him up, him and all his troop of brothers, and gave to the Curia as many Consulars as she had sons[280]. All these private virtues I have discerned in him, and now seal them with promotion to the Patriciate. At this act I call on you specially to rejoice.'

[Footnote 279: 'Origo ipsa jam gloria est: laus nobilitati connascitur. Idem vobis est dignitatis, quod vitae principium. Senatus enim honor amplissimus vobiscum gignitur, ad quem vix maturis aetatibus pervenitur.']

[Footnote 280: 'Et quot edidit familiae juvenes, tot reddidit curiae consulares.']

7. KING THEODORIC TO THE VENERABLE JANUARIUS, BISHOP OF SALONA.

[Sidenote: Extortion by the Bishop of Salona.]

'The lamentable petition of John says that you have taken sixty tuns of oil from him, and never paid him for them. It is especially important that preachers of righteousness should be righteous themselves. We cannot suppose that God is ignorant whence come the offerings which we make before Him [and He must therefore hate robbery for a burnt offering]. Pray enquire into this matter, and if the complaint be well founded remedy it promptly. You who preach to us our duty in great things should not be caught tripping in little ones.'

8. KING THEODORIC TO VENANTIUS, SENATOR, CORRECTOR OF LUCANIA AND BRUTTII.

[Sidenote: Remissness of Venantius in collection of public revenue.]

[Venantius, son of Liberius, was, with many high commendations, made Comes Domesticorum in Letters ii. 15 and 16. See further as to his fall in iii. 36, also iii. 46.]

'Remissness in the collection of the public taxes is a great fault, and no kindness in the end to the taxpayer. For want of a timely caution you probably have to end by selling him up.

'The Count of Sacred Largesses tells us that you were long ago commissioned to get in the _Bina_ and _Terna_ [and have not done so]. Be quick about it, that the collection may be completed according to the registers of the Treasury. If you are not quick, and the Treasury suffers loss, you will have to make it good out of your private property. You have not shown proper respect to our orders, nor a due sense of the obligation of your own promise.'

[These 'Bina' and 'Terna' are a mystery; but Dahn[281] thinks they are not a specially Gothic tax, but an inheritance from the fiscal administration of Rome, having probably nothing to do with the Tertiae.]

[Footnote 281: iii. 145, _n._ 4.]

9. KING THEODORIC TO THE POSSESSORES, DEFENSORES, AND CURIALES[282] DWELLING AT AESTUNAE[283].

[Footnote 282: Note these three classes; as also in ii. 17.]

[Footnote 283: I have not been able to identify this place.]

[Sidenote: Marbles for Ravenna.]

'We wish to build new edifices without despoiling the old[284]. But we are informed that in your municipality there are blocks of masonry and columns formerly belonging to some building now lying absolutely useless and unhonoured. If it be so, send these slabs of marble[285] and columns[286] by all means to Ravenna, that they may be again made beautiful and take their place in a building there.'

[Footnote 284: 'Moderna sine priorum imminutione desideramus erigere.']

[Footnote 285: 'Platonias.' This, which is the spelling found in Nivellius' edition, seems to be a more correct form than the 'platomas' of Garet. Ducange, who has a long article on the subject, refers the word to the Greek [Greek: platunion].]

[Footnote 286: Possibly the columns in S. Apollinare Deutro may have been some of those here mentioned.]

10. KING THEODORIC TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS FESTUS, PATRICIAN.

[Sidenote: The same subject.]

A similar order, for the transport of marbles from the Pincian Hill to Ravenna, by Catabulenses[287]. 'We have ordered a "subvectus" [assistance from the public postal-service?], that the labourers may set to work at once.'

[Footnote 287: 'Catabulenses,' or 'Catabolenses'--freighters, contractors, who effected the transport of heavy goods by means of draught-horses and mules.]

11. KING THEODORIC TO ARGOLICUS, VIR ILLUSTRIS [A.D. 510].

[Sidenote: Argolicus appointed Praefect of the City.]

Announces to this young man his nomination to the Praefecture of the City (for the 4th Indiction). Enlarges on the dignity of the office, especially as involving the Presidency of the Senate, and calls upon him by a righteous and sober life to show himself worthy of the choice.

Argolicus is a great student [perhaps a literary friend of Cassiodorus], and he is exhorted to keep himself in the right path by musing on the great examples of antiquity.

[There is a sort of tone of apology for the appointment of Argolicus, which is perhaps accounted for by the fact, which comes out in the next letter, that his father was a comparatively poor man.

See a sharp rebuke of Argolicus for venal procrastination, iv. 29.]

12. KING THEODORIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.

[Sidenote: The same subject.]

Rehearses the usual sentiments about the dignity of the Senate and Theodoric's care in the choice of officials.

'It is easier, if one may say so, for Nature herself to err, than that a Sovereign should make a State unlike to himself.'

Recounts the ancestry of Argolicus. The older Senators will remember his eloquent and purely-living grandfather, a man of perfectly orthodox reputation, who filled the offices of Comes Sacrarum Largitionum and Magister Officiorum. His father never stained the dignity of 'Comes Privatarum' by cruelty, and was free from ill-gotten gains in an age when avarice was not accounted a crime[288].

[Footnote 288: Tillemont understands this of the times of Odovacar, vi. 438.]

'We may hope that the son will follow the example of such distinguished ancestors.'

13. KING THEODORIC TO SUNHIVAD, SENATOR.

[Sidenote: Sunhivad, Governor of Samnium.]

[Notice again the Roman title and Gothic name.]

'You who have ruled your own life in a long career so well should make a good governor of others. I therefore send you to Samnium as Governor, in reply to the complaints which reach me from that Province. Settle according to the law of justice the disputes which have arisen there between the Romans and the Goths.'

14. KING THEODORIC TO THE VENERABLE BISHOP AURIGENES.

[Sidenote: Accusations against the servants of a Bishop.]

'You as a Bishop will be especially grieved to hear of any offences against the sanctity of the married state. Julianus complains that his wife has been outraged and his goods wasted by some of your servants [probably slaves].

'Do you enquire into the matter, and if the complaint appears to be just, deal promptly and severely with the offenders.'

[Cf. Dahn, 'Könige der Germanen' iii. 193, on this letter. He shows that it has been improperly appealed to as proving the immunity of all ecclesiastical persons from a secular tribunal. What Theodoric really intended was to give the Bishop a chance of settling the affair himself, and so to prevent the scandal of its appearing in the secular Courts, which it assuredly would do if the Bishop were apathetic. But one sees how easily this would glide into something like immunity from secular tribunals.]

15. KING THEODORIC TO THEODAHAD, SENATOR[289].

[Footnote 289: This is no doubt the nephew of Theodoric.]

[Sidenote: A contumacious person handed over to Theodahad.]

'It is the extreme of insolence in anyone not to execute our "sacred orders." A certain person whom we commanded to attend before the judgment-seat of the Illustrious Sona, has with inveterate cunning withdrawn himself therefrom. We therefore hand him over to you, that your fame may grow by your skilful management of a difficult case like this.'

16. KING THEODORIC TO GEMELLUS, SENATOR (509-510).

[Sidenote: Appointment of Gemellus as Governor of Gaul.]

'Having proved your worth by experience we are now going to send you to govern the Provinces of Gaul newly wrested [from Clovis], as Vicar of the Praefects[290].

[Footnote 290: 'Vicarius Praefectorum.' Vicar of what Praefects? Why the plural number? Had Theodoric a titular Praefect _of the Gauls_, to whom this Vicarius was theoretically subject while practically obeying the Praefect of Italy? Or, to prevent bickerings, did he give the 'Praefectus Italiae' and the 'Praefectus Urbis' conjoint authority over the new conquests? There is some mystery here which would be worth explaining.]

'Think what a high opinion we must have formed of you to delegate to you the government of these Provinces, the conquest of which has added so much to our glory, and the good opinion of whose inhabitants we so particularly wish to acquire. Abhor turbulence; do not think of avarice; show yourself in all things such a Governor as "Romanus Princeps" ought to send, and let the Province feel such an improvement in her lot that she may "rejoice to have been conquered."'

[This is so like the words put by Sidonius into the mouth of Lyons, after Majorian's conquest of her, that I believe it to be intentionally imitated.]

17. KING THEODORIC TO ALL THE GAULISH PROVINCES (510).

[Sidenote: Proclamation to the new Gaulish subjects.]

'Obey the Roman customs. You are now by God's blessing restored to your ancient freedom; put off the barbarian; clothe yourselves with the morals of the toga; unlearn cruelty, that you may not be unworthy to be our subjects. We are sending you Spectabilis Gemellus as Vicarius Praefectorum, a man of tried worth, who we trust will be guilty of no crime, because he knows he would thereby seriously displease us. Obey his commands therefore. Do not dislike the reign of Law because it is new to you, after the aimless seethings of Barbarism (Gentilitas).

'You may now bring out your long-hidden treasures; the rich and the noble will again have a chance of suitable promotion. You may now enjoy what till now you have only heard of--the triumph of Public Right, the most certain solace of human life, the help of the weak, the curb of the strong. You may now understand that men are exalted not by their bodily strength, but by reason.'

[Some of these reflections on the past misgovernment of _Gentilitas_ hit the Visigoths, Theodoric's friends, harder than the Franks. If the Gaulish nobles of the south-eastern Provinces (and these were all that Theodoric had conquered) had _long_ been obliged to hide the treasures of their fathers, that surely was the fault rather of Euric and Alaric II than of Clovis.

Cf. Dahn, 'Könige der Germanen' iii. 261-2, on all this correspondence.]

18. KING THEODORIC TO GEMELLUS.

[Sidenote: Magnus to be restored to his possessions.]

[Probably during his government of Gaul].

'We wish that all who have elected to live under our Clemency should be the better for it.

'The Spectabilis Magnus, spurning the conversation of our enemies [Franks?], and remembering his own origin, has sought re-patriation in the Roman Empire; but during his absence his property has suffered loss. Let him therefore be restored to, and henceforward have unquestioned possession of, all that he can prove to be his own in the way of lands, urban or rural slaves.'

19. KING THEODORIC TO DANIEL [A 'COMMONITORIUM'].

[Sidenote: Monopoly of supply of marble sarcophagi.]

'We wish the servants of our palace to have proper reward for their labours, though we might call on them to render them gratuitously. Therefore, being much pleased with your skill in preparing and ornamenting marbles, we concede to you the [sole] right of furnishing the marble chests in which the citizens of Ravenna bury their dead.

'They thus keep them above ground--no small consolation to the survivors, since the souls alone depart from this world's conversation; but they do not altogether lose the bodies which once were dear to them.

'Do not, however, impose upon their sadness; do not let a relative be forced to the alternative of wasting his substance in funeral expenses, or else throwing the body of his dear one into some well. Be moderate in your charges.'

[Odovacar was buried [Greek: en lithinê larnaki] (Joann. Ant. fr. 214). The great stone coffins of Honorius and Valentinian will be remembered by every visitor to Ravenna.]

20. KING THEODORIC TO THE SAJO GRIMODA AND TO THE APPARITOR FERROCINCTUS.

[Sidenote: Oppression of Castorius by Faustus.]

[Cf. Dahn, 'Könige der Germanen' iii. 86 and 113.]

'We are determined to assist the humble, and to repress the violence of the proud.

'The lamentable petition of Castorius sets forth that he has been unjustly deprived of his property by the magnificent Praetorian Praefect Faustus. [The same, no doubt, to whom are addressed iii. 55, i. 35, and the immediately succeeding letter (iii. 21).]

'If it be so, let the invader (pervasor) restore to Castorius his property, and hand over, besides, another property of equal value.

'If Faustus have employed any intermediate person in the act of violence, let him be brought to us in chains; and if that well-known author of ill [Faustus] tries any further to injure Castorius, he shall pay £2,000, besides having the misery of seeing his would-be victim unharmed.

'No Powers of any kind, be they Praetorian Praefects or what they may, shall be permitted to trample on the lowly.'

21. KING THEODORIC TO FAUSTUS, VIR ILLUSTRIS.

[Sidenote: Disgrace and temporary exile of Faustus.]

'As all men require change, Faustus is allowed to absent himself from the sacred walls of Rome for four months, which he may spend at his own Penates. The King expects, however, that he will then return to the most famous (opinatissima) City, from which no Roman Senator can long be absent without grief.'

[Coupling this letter with its immediate predecessor it is difficult not to believe that Faustus is sent away in disgrace--notwithstanding the smooth words here used--for the act of injustice therein mentioned.

But why is he only addressed as Vir Illustris, and not also as Praefectus? Perhaps his term of office was expired; perhaps he was even dismissed from it.]

22. KING THEODORIC TO ARTEMIDORUS, VIR ILLUSTRIS.

[Sidenote: An earnest invitation to the King's friend, Artemidorus.]

'We hereby [by these oracles] invite your Greatness to behold us, which we know will be most agreeable to you, in order that you who have now spent a large portion of your life with us may be satisfied by the sweetness of our presence. He who is permitted to share our converse deems it a Divine boon. We believe that you will come gladly, as we shall entertain you with alacrity.'

[Cf. Dahn iii. 283-4. The ending of the letter (Venire te gaudentem credimus, quem alacriter sustinemus) is the common form, and 'sustineo' is a technical word for the King's reception of his subjects: see iii. 28, ad finem.]

23. KING THEODORIC TO COLOSSAEUS, VIR ILLUSTRIS AND COMES (CIR. A.D. 505).

[Sidenote: Appointment of Colossaeus as Governor of Pannonia.]

'We delight to entrust our mandates to persons of approved character.

'We are sending you "with the dignity of the illustrious belt" to Pannonia Sirmiensis, an old habitation of the Goths. Let that Province be induced to welcome her old defenders, even as she used gladly to obey our ancestors. Show forth the justice of the Goths, a nation happily situated for praise, since it is theirs to unite the forethought of the Romans and the virtue of the Barbarians. Remove all ill-planted customs[291], and impress upon all your subordinates that we would rather that our Treasury lost a suit than that it gained one wrongfully, rather that we lost money than the taxpayer was driven to suicide.'

[Footnote 291: 'Consuetudines abominanter inolitas.' Fornerius thinks this means 'all extortionate taxes.' Compare the English use of the word 'customs.']

[Cf. Muchar, 'Geschichte der Steiermark' iv. 131.]

24. KING THEODORIC TO ALL THE BARBARIANS AND ROMANS SETTLED IN PANNONIA.

[Cf. Muchar, iv. 132.]

[Sidenote: To the Pannonians, on the appointment of Colossaeus.]

'Intent on the welfare of our subjects we are sending you Colossaeus for Governor. His name means a mighty man; and a mighty man he is, who has given many proofs of his virtue. Now we exhort you with patience and constancy to submit yourselves to his authority. Do not excite that wrath before which our enemies tremble. Acquiesce in the rule of justice in which the whole world rejoices. Why should you, who have now an upright Judge[292], settle your grievances by single combat? What has man got a tongue for, if the armed hand is to settle all differences? or where can peace be looked for, if there is fighting in a civilised State like ours[293]? Imitate then our Goths, who have learned to practise war abroad, to show peaceable dispositions at home. We want you so to live as you see that our subjects (parentes) have lived and flourished under the Divine blessing.'

[Footnote 292: 'Cur ad monomachiam recurritis, qui venalem judicem non habetis?']

[Footnote 293: 'Aut unde pax quaeritur si sub civilitate pugnetur.']

25. KING THEODORIC TO SIMEON, VIR ILLUSTRIS AND COMES.

[Sidenote: Tax-collecting and iron-mining in Dalmatia.]

'We entrust to you the duty of collecting throughout the Province of Dalmatia the arrears of Siliquaticum for the first, second, and third Indictions [Sept. 1, 506, to Aug. 31, 509]. We do this not only for the sake of gain to our Treasury, but to prevent the demoralisation of our subjects.

'Also by careful mining (cuniculo veritatis) seek out the iron veins in Dalmatia, where the softness of earth is pregnant with the rigour of iron, which is cooked by fire that it may become hard.

'Iron enables us to defend our country, is serviceable for agriculture and for countless arts of human life: yea, iron is master of gold, compelling the rich man, weaponless, to obey the poor man who wields a blade of steel.'

26. KING THEODORIC TO OSUN, VIR ILLUSTRIS AND COUNT.

[Sidenote: Simeon's journey to Dalmatia.]

Commands him to provide all the necessaries for the journey of 'Clarissimus' Simeon, setting off for Dalmatia on the aforesaid mission to collect Siliquaticum and develop the iron mines.

[Why is Simeon not called Illustris, as in the previous letter? This seems to show that the titles 'Clarissimus' and 'Illustris' were not always used with technical exactness, as they would have been under Diocletian.]

27. KING THEODORIC TO JOANNES, SENATOR, CONSULAR OF CAMPANIA.

[Sidenote: Promises protection against the Praetorian Praefect.]

'You have not complained to us in vain that the Praetorian Praefect [perhaps again Faustus] is venting a private grudge against you under colour of the discharge of his public duty. We will wall you round with our protection. Go now and discharge the duties of Consular of Campania with the like devotion as your predecessors, and with this reflection: "If the King prevents my superior the Praetorian Praefect from doing me harm, with what unfailing rigour will he visit me if I do wrong."'

28. KING THEODORIC TO CASSIODORUS, VIR ILLUSTRIS AND PATRICIAN[294].

[Footnote 294: Father of the writer.]

[Sidenote: An invitation to Cassiodorus Senior to come to Court.]

'For your glorious services, and your incorruptible administration, which has given deep peace to the nation, we reward you by summoning you to Court.

'Having endeavoured to check _another_ [probably alluding to the disgrace of Faustus], we have bestowed our praises on you, as all the Palace knows. Come then, come eagerly, as he should do whom his Sovereign is going to entertain[295].'

[Footnote 295: There is an obscure sentence in this letter: 'Hinc omnibus factus notior, quia multi te positum in potestate nesciunt.' Possibly the meaning is that the elder Cassiodorus used his power so little for his own private aggrandisement, that many people did not even know that he possessed it.]

29. KING THEODORIC TO ARGOLICUS, ILLUSTRIS AND PRAEFECT OF THE CITY.

[Sidenote: Permission to Paulinus to repair certain granaries at Rome.]

'The King should sow his gifts broadcast, as the sower his seeds--not put them all into one hole.

'The Patrician Paulinus represents to us that such and such granaries are falling into ruin and are of no use to anyone, and asks to be allowed to repair them and transmit them to his heirs. We consent to this, if you are of opinion that they are not wanted for the public, and if there is no corn in them belonging to our Treasury.

'It is especially fitting that all ruined buildings should be repaired in Rome. In Rome, praised beyond all other cities by the world's mouth, there should be nothing sordid or mediocre[296].'

[Footnote 296: This letter is well illustrated by an inscription of the time of Severus Alexander, found at Great Chesters in Northumberland, and recording the repair of 'horreum vetustate conlabsum.' The words of Cassiodorus are 'horrea longi temporis vetustate destructa.']

30. KING THEODORIC TO ARGOLICUS, ILLUSTRIS AND PRAEFECTUS URBIS.

[Sidenote: Repair of the Cloacae of Rome.]

'We are ever vigilant for the repair and beautification of Rome.

'Let your Sublimity know that we have directed John to repair the Cloacae of the City, those splendid works which strike astonishment into the hearts of all beholders. There you see rivers as it were shut in by concave mountains, flowing down through mighty rafters[297] (?). There you see men steering their ships with the utmost possible care, lest they should suffer shipwreck. Hence may the greatness of Rome be inferred. What other city can compare with her in her heights when even her depths are so incomparable?

[Footnote 297: 'Per ingentia ligna decurrere.' Fornerius proposes to read 'stagna.']

'See therefore, O Praefect, that John as a public officer receives his proper salary.'

31. KING THEODORIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.

[Sidenote: Commission issued to John to check ruin of aqueducts and temples in Rome.]

'Our care is for the whole Republic, "in which, by the favour of God, we are striving to bring back all things to their former state;" but especially for the City of Rome. We hear that great depredations are being committed on public property there.

'(1) It is said that the water of the aqueducts (formae) is being diverted to turn mills and water gardens--a thing which would not be suffered even in the country districts. Even in redressing this wrong we must be observant of law; and therefore if it should be found that those who are doing this can plead thirty years' prescription, they must be bought off, but the misuser must cease. If the diversion is of less ancient date[298], it must of course be at once stopped without compensation.

[Footnote 298: 'Si vero aliquid modernâ praesumptione tentatum est.' (Again 'modernus.')]

'(2) Slaves assigned by the forethought of previous rulers to the service of the formae have passed under the sway of private masters.

'(3) Great weights of brass and lead (the latter very easy to steal, from its softness) have been stripped off from the public buildings. Now Ionos, King of Thessaly, is said to have first discovered lead, and Midas, King of Phrygia, brass. How grievous that we should be handed down to posterity as neglecting two metals which they were immortalised by discovering!

'(4) Temples and other public buildings, which at the request of many we have repaired, are handed over without a thought to spoliation and ruin.

'We have appointed the Spectabilis John to enquire into and set straight all these matters. _You_ ought to have brought the matter before us yourselves: at least, now, support him with the necessary "solatia."'

[See preceding letter as to the commission entrusted to John, Theodoric's Clerk of the Works in Rome.]

32. KING THEODORIC TO GEMELLUS, SENATOR. A.D. 511.

[Appointed Governor of the Gaulish Province in Letter iii. 16.]

[Sidenote: Remission of taxes to citizens of Arles.]

'The men of Arles, who were reduced to penury in the glorious siege which they endured on our behalf, are freed from the obligation of taxes for the fourth Indiction [Sept. 1, 510, to Aug. 31, 511]. We ask for these payments from men at peace, not from men besieged. How can one claim taxes from the lord of a field when one knows he has not been able to cultivate it? They have already rendered a most precious tribute in their fidelity to us. After this year, however, the taxes will be collected as usual.'

33. KING THEODORIC TO ARGOLICUS, ILLUSTRIS, PRAEFECT OF THE CITY.

[Sidenote: Promotion of Armentarius and Superbus to post of Referendi Curiae.]

Armentarius (Clarissimus) and his son Superbus are to receive the privilege of _Referendi Curiae_[299]. Thus will the profession of the law be, as is most fitting, adorned with the honours of the Senate.

[Footnote 299: Possibly Referendi is the same as Referendarii. See Var. vi. 17.]

Praises of Rhetoric. The man who has swayed the judges by his eloquence is sure to have a favouring audience in the Senate.

34. KING THEODORIC TO THE INHABITANTS OF MASSILIA.

[Sidenote: Count Marabad Governor of Marseilles.]

'In accordance with our usual policy of sending persons of tried ability and moderation to govern the Provinces, we are sending Count Marabad [a Gothic name?] to act as your Governor, to bring solace to the lowly and repress the insolent, and to force all into the path of justice, which is the secret of the prosperity of our Empire. As befits your long-tried loyalty, welcome and obey him.'

35. KING THEODORIC TO ROMULUS.

[It is surely possible that this is the dethroned Emperor. The name Romulus, which, as we know, he derived from his maternal grandfather, was not a very common one in Rome (it must be admitted there is another Romulus, ii. 14). And is there not something rather peculiar in the entire absence of all titles of honour, the superscription being simply 'Romulo Theodoricus Rex,' as if neither King nor scribe quite knew how to address an ex-Emperor?]

[Sidenote: Gifts to Romulus shall not be revoked.]

'The liberality of the Prince must be kept firm and unshaken by the arts of malignant men. Therefore any gift which shall be proved to have been given according to our orders by the Patrician Liberius, to you _or to your mother_, by written instrument (pictacium or pittacium), shall remain in full force, and you need not fear its being questioned.'

[For Liberius, see ii. 16. A man of that eminence, who was employed to arrange disputes between the Goths and Romans at the first settlement of the former in Italy, was the very man to be also employed to arrange terms with Augustulus. There is some reason to think that the mother of the deposed Emperor was named Barbaria, and that she is mentioned in the history of the translation of the relics of St. Severinus. See 'Italy and her Invaders' iii. 190.]

36. KING THEODORIC TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS COUNT ARIGERN.

[Sidenote: Complaints against Venantius.]

'Firminus alleges that he has some cause of complaint against the Magnificent Venantius [son of Liberius, mentioned in the previous letter, and strongly commended in ii. 15], and that Venantius treats his claims with contempt. There is always a danger of justice being wrested in the interests of the great. We therefore desire you with all due reverence to address the aforesaid Magnificent person and desire him to appoint a representative, with proper credentials, to plead in our Court in answer to the claims of Firminus, who will be punished for his audacity if he have brought a false charge against so illustrious a person.'

[This and the preceding letter look as if the fortunes of the house of Liberius (so greatly extolled in ii. 15 and 16) were passing under a cloud. See also iii. 8, as to the disgrace of Venantius. This may have made the ex-Emperor anxious as to the validity of the settlement made through him.]

37. KING THEODORIC TO BISHOP PETER.

[Sidenote: Alleged injustice of a Bishop.]

[See the full explanation of this letter in Dahn, 'Könige der Germanen' iii. 193-4. Cf. also Var. iii. 14. Observe how the marginal note (in the edition of the Benedictine, Garet) strains the doctrine of this letter in favour of the clergy[300].]

[Footnote 300: 'Causae sacerdotum a sacerdotibus debent terminari.']

'Germanus, in his "flebilis allegatio," informs us that you detain from him a part of the property of his father Thomas. As it is proper that causes which concern you should first be remitted to you (so often employed as judges to settle the disputes of others), we call upon you to enquire into this claim, and if it be a just one to satisfy it. Know that if you fail to do justice yourself to the petitioner, his cause will be carried through to our own audience-chamber.'

38. KING THEODORIC TO WANDIL [VUANDIL[301]].

[Footnote 301: Probably a Gothic officer.]

[Sidenote: The Gothic troops at Avignon to abstain from molesting the citizens.]

'Our Piety wishes that there should be order and good government everywhere in our dominions, but especially in Gaul, that our new subjects there may form a good opinion of the ruler under whom they have come. Therefore by this authority we charge you to see that no violence happen in Avignon where you reside. Let our army live "civiliter" with the Romans, and let the latter feel that our troops are come for their defence, not for their annoyance.'

39. KING THEODORIC TO FELIX, ILLUSTRIS AND CONSUL (A.D. 511).

[Sidenote: Largesse to charioteers of Milan.]

'Those who minister to the pleasures of the public should be liberally treated, and the Consul must not belie the expectations of his generosity which have been formed when he was Senator. Therefore let your Sublimity enquire into the petition for largesse presented by the charioteers of Milan; and if their statements are correct, let them have whatever it has been customary for them to receive. In matters of this kind custom creates a kind of debt.'

40. KING THEODORIC TO ALL THE PROVINCIALS SETTLED IN GAUL.

[Sidenote: Immunity from taxes for districts ravaged by war.]

'We wish promptly to relieve all the distresses of our subjects, and we therefore at once announce to you that the districts ravaged by the incursions of the enemy will not be called upon to pay tribute at the fourth Indiction [Sept. 510, to Aug. 511]. For we have no pleasure in receiving what is paid by a heavy-hearted contributor. The part of the country, however, which has been untouched by the enemy will have to contribute to the expense of our army. But a hungry defender is a weak defender.'

41. KING THEODORIC TO GEMELLUS, SENATOR [Governor of Gothic Gaul[302]].

[Footnote 302: See Letters iii. 16 and 32.]

[Sidenote: Corn for the garrisons on the Durance.]

'A burden borne in common is lightened, since only the edge as it were of the whole rests on the shoulders of each individual. We have ordered the corn for the army to be carried from the granaries of Marseilles to the forts upon the Durance. Let all unite in this toil. The willing labour of many brings a speedy end to the work.'

[This letter, as showing that at least one if not both banks of the Durance were included in the Ostrogothic Monarchy in 511, has an important bearing on the geographical extent of the Burgundian Kingdom. See Exkurs vi. to Binding's 'Burgundisch-Romanische Königreich.' He makes the northern bank of the Durance belong to Burgundy, the southern to the Ostrogoths.]

42. KING THEODORIC TO ALL THE PROVINCIALS IN GAUL.

[Sidenote: No part of Gaul to be called on for military contributions.]

'Because the generosity of the Prince should even outrun the petitions of his subjects we repeal that part of a previous letter [iii. 40] which says that the unravaged portion of the Province of Gaul must pay the expenses of our soldiers. We will transmit to the Duces and Praepositi sufficient money to provide "alimonia nostris Gothis."'

['Praebendae,' near the end of this letter, seems to be used in a technical sense, almost equivalent to stipendia or annonae.]

43. KING THEODORIC TO UNIGIS, THE SWORD-BEARER [SPATARIUS].

[No doubt a high officer in the Royal household.]

[Sidenote: Runaway slaves to be restored to their owners.]

'We delight to live after the law of the Romans, whom we seek to defend with our arms; and we are as much interested in the maintenance of morality as we can possibly be in war. For what profit is there in having removed the turmoil of the Barbarians, unless we live according to law? Certain slaves, on our army's entry into Gaul, have run away from their old masters and betaken themselves to new ones. Let them be restored to their rightful owners. Rights must not be confounded under the rule of justice, nor ought the defender of liberty to favour recreant slaves. [Probably an allusion to the office of the _Assertor Libertatis_ in the _Liberalis Causa_, as set forth in the Theodosian Code iv. 8.] Let other kings desire the glory of battles won, of cities taken, of ruins made; our purpose is, God helping us, so to rule that our subjects shall grieve that they did not earlier acquire the blessing of our dominion.'

44. KING THEODORIC TO ALL THE LANDOWNERS [POSSESSORES] OF ARLES.

[Sidenote: Repair of walls of Arles, and supply of corn.]

'We wish to refresh men, but to repair cities also, that the renewed fortune of the citizens may be displayed by the splendour of their buildings.

'We have therefore directed that a certain sum of money be sent for the repair of the walls and old towers of Arles. But we are also going to send you, as soon as the time is favourable for navigation, provisions to supply the waste caused by the war. Be of good cheer, therefore! Grain for which our word is pledged is as good as grain already in your granaries.'

45. KING THEODORIC TO ARIGERN, ILLUSTRIS AND COUNT.

[Sidenote: Site disputed between Roman Church and Samaritans.]

'It is represented to us by the Defensors of the "sacrosanct" Roman Church that Pope Simplicius, of blessed memory, bought a house at Rome[303] of Eufrasius the Acolyte, with all proper formalities, and that now the people of the Samaritan superstition, hardened in effrontery, allege that a synagogue of theirs was built on that site, and claim it accordingly; whereas the very style of building, say their opponents, shows that this was meant as a private house and not as a synagogue. Enquire into this matter, and do justice accordingly. If we will not tolerate chicanery [calumniae] against men, much less will we against the Divinity Himself.'

[Footnote 303: 'In sacratissimâ urbe.']

46. KING THEODORIC TO ADEODATUS.

[Sidenote: Further charges of misgovernment against Venantius.]

'The crimes of subjects are an occasion for manifesting the virtues of princes. You have addressed to us your petition, alleging that you were compelled by the Spectabilis Venantius, Governor of Lucania and Bruttii, to confess yourself guilty of the rape of the maiden Valeriana.

[Sidenote: Illogical decision in the case of Adeodatus.]

'Overcome, you say, by the severity of your imprisonment and the tortures inflicted upon you, and longing for death as a release from agony; being moreover refused the assistance of Advocates, while the utmost resources of rhetoric were at the disposal of your opponents, you confessed a crime which you had never committed.

'Such is your statement. The Governor of Bruttii sends his _relatio_ in opposition, saying that we must not give credence to a petitioner who is deceitfully seeking to upset a sentence which was given in the interests of public morality.

'Our decision is that we will by our clemency mitigate the severity of your punishment. From the date of this decree you shall be banished for six months; and on your return no note of infamy of any kind shall be attached to you; since it is competent for the Prince to wipe off all the blots on a damaged reputation. Anyone who offends against this decree [by casting your old offence in your teeth] shall be fined £120 (3 lbs. of gold). And all who are accused of the same offence in any place or time, but who offended through ignorance, are to be freed from all fear of punishment.'

[A most illogical and unjust conclusion, by which the judgment of Venantius is in fact neither upheld nor reversed. And what the meaning of the concluding sentence may be it is impossible to conjecture. See Dahn, 'Könige der Germanen' iii. 107, on this absurd decision.

On the subject of the misgovernment and disgrace of Venantius, cf. Letters ii. 15, 16; iii. 8, 36. Cf. also Procopius, 'De Bello Gotthico' iii. 18 and 22, as to his son Tullianus. In connection with the alleged misgovernment of Bruttii and Lucania by Venantius, remember the close connection of Cassiodorus himself with those Provinces.]

47. KING THEODORIC TO FAUSTUS, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT.

[Sidenote: Jovinus, for killing a fellow Curial, is banished to the islands of Lipari, the volcanoes of which are described.]

'Jovinus the Curialis, according to the report of the Corrector of Lucania and Bruttii, had an angry altercation with a fellow Curial (collega), and in his rage slew him.

'He then took refuge within the precincts of a church, and refused to surrender himself to justice. We decide that the capital punishment shall be remitted out of reverence for his place of refuge, but he shall be banished to the Vulcanian [Lipari] Islands, there to live away from the paternal hearth, but ever in the midst of burning, like a salamander, which is a small and subtile beast, of kin to the slippery worm, clothed with a yellow colour.

'The substance of volcanoes, which is perpetually destroyed, is by the inextricable power of Nature perpetually renewed.

'The Vulcanian Islands are named from Vulcan, the god of fire, and burst into eruption on the day when Hannibal took poison at the Court of Prusias. It is especially wonderful that a mountain kindling into such a multitude of flames, should yet be half hidden by the waves of the sea.'

48. KING THEODORIC TO ALL GOTHS AND ROMANS LIVING NEAR THE FORT OF VERRUCA[304].

[Footnote 304: The double 'r' seems to be the correct spelling, though the MSS. of the Variarum apparently have the single 'r.']

[Sidenote: Fortification of Verruca in the Tyrol.]

'It is the duty and the glory of a ruler to provide with wise forethought for the safety of his subjects. We have therefore ordered the Sajo Leodifrid that under his superintendence you should build yourselves houses in the fort Verruca, which from its position receives its most suitable name[305].

[Footnote 305: 'Milites ad Verrucam illum--_sic enim M. Cato locum editum asperumque appellat_--ire jubeas' (Gell. 3. 7. 6). Verruca therefore means primarily a steep cliff, and only secondarily a wart. See White and Biddell, s.v.]

'For it is in the midst of the plains a hill of stone roundly arising, which with its tall sides, being bare of woods, is all one great mountain fortress. Its lower parts are slenderer (graciliora) than its summit, and like some softest fungus the top broadens out, while it is thin at bottom. It is a mound not made by soldiers[306], a stronghold made safe by Nature[307], where the besieged can try no _coup-de-main_ and the besieged need feel no panic. Past this fort swirls the Adige, that prince of rivers, with the pleasant gurgle of his clear waters, affording a defence and an adornment in one. It is a fort almost unequalled in the whole world, "a key that unlocks a kingdom[308];" and all the more important because it bars the invasion of wild and savage nations. This admirable defence what inhabitant would not wish to share, since even foreigners delight to visit it? and though by God's blessing we trust that the Province [of Raetia] is in our times secure, yet it is the part of prudence to guard against evils, though we may think they will not arise.'

[Footnote 306: 'Agger sine pugna.']

[Footnote 307: 'Obsessio secura.']

[Footnote 308: 'Tenens claustra provinciae.']

Examples of gulls, who fly inland when they foresee a storm; of dolphins, which seek the shallower waters; of the edible sea-urchin, 'that honey of flesh, that dainty of the deep,' who anchors himself to a little pebble to prevent being dashed about by the waves; of birds, who change their dwellings when winter draws nigh; of beasts, who adapt their lair to the time of year. And shall man alone be improvident? Shall he not imitate that higher Providence by which the world is governed?

[The fortress of Verruca does not seem to be mentioned in the 'Notitia,' in the Antonine 'Itinerary,' or by the geographer of Ravenna.

Maffei ('Verona Illustrata,' Book ix. Vol. 2, pp. 391-2 in ed. 1825) comments on this passage, and argues that _Verruca = Dos Trento_, a cliff about a mile from Trient, and this identification seems to have been accepted, for Ball ('Alpine Guide, Eastern Alps,' p. 404) says: 'In the centre of the valley, close to the city, rises a remarkable rock known as _Dos Trento, and also called La Verruca_, formerly frequented for the sake of the beautiful view which it commands. Since 1857 it has been strongly fortified, and permission to ascend to the summit is not easily obtained.'

Maffei says that the French bombarded Trient from this rock in 1703. He speaks of another 'Verruca, or Rocca,' on the other side of Aquileia, and thinks that the modern word 'rocca' (rock) may perhaps have been derived herefrom (?).

It is remarkable that there is a place called _Verrua_ near the Po in Piedmont (about 20 miles east of Turin). 'Situated upon an abrupt and insulated hill, in a most defensible position, it opposed an obstinate resistance to the Emperor Frederick II. In more recent times (1704), the Duc de Vendôme attacked it without success' (Murray's 'Guide to Northern Italy,' p. 51). No doubt this was also originally called _Verruca_.]

49. KING THEODORIC TO THE HONOURED POSSESSORES, DEFENSORES, AND CURIALES OF THE CITY OF CATANA.

[Sidenote: Repair of amphitheatre of Catana.]

'It is a great delight to the Ruler when his subjects of their own accord suggest that which is for the good of the State. You have called our attention to the ruinous state of your walls, and ask leave to use for its repair the stones of the amphitheatre, which have fallen down from age and are now of no ornament to your town, in fact only show disgraceful ruins. You have not only our permission to do this, but our hearty approval. Let the stones, which can be of no use while they lie there, rise again into the fabric of the walls; and your improved defence will be our boast and confidence.'

[Some remains of the amphitheatre are still visible at Catania; not, however, so important as those of the theatre.]

50. KING THEODORIC TO THE PROVINCIALS OF NORICUM.

[Sidenote: The Alamanni and Noricans to exchange their cattle.]

'It is an admirable arrangement when a favour can be conferred by which giver and receiver are alike benefited.

'We therefore decree that you should exchange your oxen for those of the Alamanni.

'Theirs is the finer and larger breed of cattle, but they are worn out by the long journey. Thus will they get fresh beasts capable of doing the work which is required of them, and you will permanently improve your breed of cattle, and so be able to till your fields better. Thus, what does not often happen, the same transaction will equally benefit both parties to it.'

[Cf. ii. 41 as to these Alamannic exiles. Possibly this letter as well as that refers to their expulsion by Clovis (cir. 504); but it seems more probable, as von Schubert suggests (pp. 52-54), that we have here to do with a removal of some of the Alamannic subjects of Theodoric from Raetia to Noricum, in order to guard the north-east frontier of the kingdom.]

51. KING THEODORIC TO FAUSTUS, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT.

[Sidenote: Stipend of Thomas the Charioteer. Description of the Circus.]

'Constancy in actors is not a very common virtue, therefore with all the more pleasure do we record the faithful allegiance of Thomas the Charioteer, who came long ago from the East hither, and who, having become champion charioteer, has chosen to attach himself to "the seat of our Empire[309];" and we therefore decide that he shall be rewarded by a monthly allowance. He embraced what was then the losing side in the chariot races and carried it to victory--victory which he won so often that envious rivals declared that he conquered by means of witchcraft.

[Footnote 309: 'Nostri sedes delegit fovere _Imperii_.']

'The sight of a chariot-race (spectaculum) drives out morality and invites the most trifling contentions; it is the emptier of honourable conduct, the ever-flowing spring of squabbles: a thing which Antiquity commenced as a matter of religion, but which a quarrelsome posterity has turned into a sport.

'For Aenomaus is said first to have exhibited this sport at Elis, a city of Asia (?), and afterwards Romulus, at the time of the rape of the Sabines, displayed it in rural fashion to Italy, no buildings for the purpose being yet founded. Long after, Augustus, the lord of the world, raising his works to the same high level as his power, built a fabric marvellous even to Romans, which stretched far into the Vallis Murcia. This immense mass, firmly girt round with hills, enclosed a space which was fitted to be the theatre of great events.

'Twelve _Ostia_ at the entrance represent the twelve signs of the Zodiac. These are suddenly and equally opened by ropes let down by the _Hermulae_ (little pilasters)[310]. The four colours worn by the four parties of charioteers denote the seasons: green for verdant spring, blue for cloudy winter, red for flaming summer, white for frosty autumn. Thus, throughout the spectacle we see a determination to represent the works of Nature. The _Biga_ is made in imitation of the moon, the _Quadriga_ of the sun. The circus horses (_Equi desultorii_), by means of which the servants of the Circus announce the heats (_Missos_) that are to be run, imitate the herald-swiftness of the morning star. Thus it came to pass that while they deemed they were worshipping the stars, they profaned their religion by parodying it in their games.

[Footnote 310: The Ostia are denoted by A and the Hermulae by H in the accompanying plan. (See page 230.)]

'A white line is drawn not far from the ostia to each _Podium_ (balcony), that the contest may begin when the quadrigae pass it, lest they should interrupt the view of the spectators by their attempts to get each before the other[311]. There are always seven circuits round the goals (_Metae_) to one heat, in analogy with the days of the week. The goals themselves have, like the decani[312] of the Zodiac, each three pinnacles, round which the swift quadrigae circle like the sun. The wheels indicate the boundaries of East and West. The channel (_Euripus_) which surrounds the Circus presents us with an image of the glassy sea, whence come the dolphins which swim hither through the waters[313] (?). The lofty obelisks lift their height towards heaven; but the upper one is dedicated to the sun, the lower one to the moon: and upon them the sacred rites of the ancients are indicated with Chaldee signs for letters[314].

[Footnote 311: 'Ut quadrigis progredientibus, inde certamen oriretur: ne dum semper propere conantur elidere, spectandi voluptatem viderentur populis abrogare.' In fact, to compel the charioteers to start fair.]

[Footnote 312: Each sign of the Zodiac was considered to have three decani, occurring at intervals of ten days.]

[Footnote 313: 'Unde illuc delphini aequorei aquas interfluunt.' The sentence is very obscure, but the allusion must be to the dolphins, the figures of which were placed upon the spina.]

[Footnote 314: 'Obeliscorum quoque prolixitates ad coeli altitudinem sublevantur: sed potior soli, inferior lunae dicatus est: ubi sacra priscorum Chaldaicis signis, quasi litteris indicantur.']

'The _Spina_ (central wall, or backbone) represents the lot of the unhappy captives, inasmuch as the generals of the Romans, marching over the backs of their enemies, reaped that joy which was the reward of their labours. The _Mappa_ (napkin), which is still seen to give the signal at the games, came into fashion on this wise. Once when Nero was loitering over his dinner, and the populace, as usual, was impatient for the spectacle to begin, he ordered the napkin which he had used for wiping his fingers to be thrown out of window, as a signal that he gave the required permission. Hence it became a custom that the display of a napkin gave a certain promise of future _circenses_.

'The _Circus_ is so called from "circuitus:" _circenses_ is, as it were, _circu-enses_, because in the rude ages of antiquity, before an elaborate building had been prepared for the purpose, the races were exhibited on the green grass, and the multitude were protected by the river on one side and the swords (_enses_) of the soldiers on the other[315].

[Footnote 315: I can extract no other meaning than the above from this extraordinary sentence: 'Circenses, quasi circu-enses: propterea quod apud antiquitatem rudem, quae necdum spectacula in ornatum deduxerat fabricarum, inter _enses_ et flumina locis virentibus agerentur.']

'We observe, too, that the rule of this contest is that it be decided in twenty-four heats[316], an equal number to that of the hours of day and night. Nor let it be accounted meaningless that the number of circuits round the goals is expressed by the putting up of _eggs_[317], since that emblem, pregnant as it is with many superstitions[318], indicates that something is about to be born from thence. And in truth we may well understand that the most fickle and inconstant characters, well typified by the birds who have laid those eggs, will spring from attendance on these spectacles[319]. It were long to describe in detail all the other points of the Roman Circus, since each appears to arise from some special cause. This only will we remark upon as pre-eminently strange, that in these beyond all other spectacles men's minds are hurried into excitement without any regard to a fitting sobriety of character. The Green charioteer flashes by: part of the people is in despair. The Blue gets a lead: a larger part of the City is in misery. They cheer frantically when they have gained nothing; they are cut to the heart when they have received no loss; and they plunge with as much eagerness into these empty contests as if the whole welfare of the imperilled fatherland were at stake.

[Footnote 316: _Missibus._ In a previous sentence Cassiodorus makes the acc. plural _missos_.]

[Footnote 317: The number of times that the charioteers had rounded the goal was indicated by large wooden _eggs_, which were posted up in a conspicuous place on the spina. It seems that in a corresponding place near the other end of the spina figures of _dolphins_ were used for the same purpose. Upon the Cilurnum gem (figured on page 231) we can perceive four eggs near one end of the spina, and four creatures which may be dolphins near the other, indicating that four circuits out of the seven which constitute a missus have been accomplished by the quadrigae.]

[Footnote 318: Alluding probably to the story of Castor and Pollux.]

[Footnote 319: 'Et ideo datur intelligi, volitantes atque inconstantissimos inde mores nasci, quos avium matribus aptaverunt.' _Ovium_ would seem to give a better sense than _avium_.]

'No wonder that such a departure from all sensible dispositions should be attributed to a superstitious origin. We are compelled to support this institution by the necessity of humouring the majority of the people, who are passionately fond of it; for it is always the few who are led by reason, while the many crave excitement and oblivion of their cares. Therefore, as we too must sometimes share the folly of our people, we will freely provide for the expenses of the Circus, however little our judgment approves of this institution.'

[Notwithstanding some absurdities, the above description of the Circus Maximus (which I have attempted to translate in full) is of great value, being, after that given by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, our chief authority on the subject. The accompanying plan (taken, with some slight variations, from Smith's 'Dictionary of Antiquities'), will, I trust, render it intelligible.

It is well illustrated by the recently excavated 'Stadium of Augustus,' on the Palatine; but perhaps even better by a beautifully executed gem lately found at Chesters in Northumberland, on the site of the Roman station at Cilurnum. By the kindness of the owner, Mr. Clayton, I am able to give an enlarged copy of this gem, which is described in the 'Archaeologia Aeliana,' vol. x. pp. 133-137.

The reader will easily discern the _Spina_ with one obelisk (not two, as described by Cassiodorus) in the centre, the high tables supported by pillars on which the Ova and Delphini are placed, the three spindle-shaped columns which formed the _Meta_ at each end, and the four quadrigae (four was the regular number for each missus) careering in front.]

52. KING THEODORIC TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS CONSULARIS.

[Sidenote: On Roman land surveying.]

'We are sorry to hear that a dispute (which is on the point of being settled by arms instead of by the law) has arisen between the Spectabiles Leontius and Paschasius as to the boundaries of their properties[320]. If they are so fierce against one another here in Italy, where there are mountains and rivers and the "arcaturae" [square turrets of the land surveyor] to mark the boundaries, what would they have done in Egypt, where the yearly returning waters of the Nile wash out all landmarks, and leave a deposit of mud over all?

[Footnote 320: 'Casarum.' Casa is evidently no longer a cottage; perhaps the estate attached to a villa. There is probably still a flavour of rusticity about it.]

'Geometry was discovered by the Chaldaeans, who perceived that its principles lay at the root of Astronomy, Music, Mechanics, Architecture, Medicine, Logic, and every science which deals with generals. This science was eagerly welcomed by the Egyptians, who perceived the advantage it would be to them in recovering the boundaries of estates obliterated by the wished-for deluge[321] of the Nile.

[Footnote 321: 'Votiva inundatione.']

'Therefore let your Greatness send an experienced land surveyor (agrimensor) to settle this dispute by assigning fixed boundaries to the two estates.

'Augustus made a complete survey of the whole "Orbis Romanus," in order that each taxpayer should know exactly his resources and obligations. The results of this survey were tabulated by the author Hyrummetricus. The Professors of this Science [of land surveying] are honoured with a more earnest attention than falls to the lot of any other philosophers. Arithmetic, Theoretical Geometry, Astronomy, and Music are discoursed upon to listless audiences, sometimes to empty benches. But the land surveyor is like a judge; the deserted fields become his forum, crowded with eager spectators. You would fancy him a madman when you see him walking along the most devious paths. But in truth he is seeking for the traces of lost facts in rough woods and thickets[322]. He walks not as other men walk. His path is the book from which he reads; he _shows_ what he is saying; he proves what he hath learned; by his steps he divides the rights of hostile claimants; and like a mighty river he takes away the fields of one side to bestow them on the other.

[Footnote 322: An excellent description of an antiquary walking along a Roman 'Limes Imperii.']

'Wherefore, acting on our instructions, choose such a land surveyor, whose authority may be sufficient to settle this dispute, that the litigants may henceforth cultivate their lands in peace.'

53. KING THEODORIC TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS APRONIANUS, COUNT OF THE PRIVATE DOMAINS.

[Sidenote: On Water-finders.]

'Your Greatness tells us that a water-finder has come to Rome from Africa, where, on account of the dryness of the soil, his art is greatly in request.

'We are glad to hear it. It is a very useful art.

'Signs of the existence of water are the greenness of the grass, the size of the trees, the nature of the plants, reeds, rushes, brambles, willows, poplars, &c. Some discover water by putting out dry wool under a bowl at night. So too, if you see at sunrise a cloud [or gossamer, 'spissitudinem'] of very small flies. A mist rising like a column shows water as deep below as the column rises high above.

'The water-finder will also predict the quality of the water, and so prevent you from wasting labour on a brackish spring. This science was ably treated of by ----[323], and by Marcellus among the Latins. They tell us that waters which gush forth towards the east and south are light and wholesome; that those which emerge towards the north and west are too cold and heavy.

[Footnote 323: 'Apud Graecos _ille_.' Cassiodorus has left the name blank, and has either forgotten or been unable to fill it up; like the 'ille et ille' in his State documents.]

'So then, if the testimonials of the aforesaid water-finder and the results of his indications shall approve themselves to your wisdom, you may pay his travelling expenses and relieve his wants: he having to repay you by his future services. For though Rome itself is so abundantly supplied with aqueducts, there are many suburban places in which his help would be very useful. Associate with him also a mechanician who can sink for and raise the water when he has pointed it out. Rome ought not to lack anything which is an object of desire.'