BOOK XI.

CONTAINING THIRTY-NINE LETTERS WRITTEN BY CASSIODORUS IN HIS OWN NAME AS PRAEFECTUS PRAETORIO, AND ONE ON BEHALF OF THE ROMAN SENATE.

1. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME (A.D. 534)[712].

[Footnote 712: This letter, which was not composed immediately after Cassiodorus' accession to office, most have been written after the death of the Frankish King Theodoric, which occurred, according to Clinton, early in 534, and before October 2 of the same year, the date of the death of Athalaric. Notwithstanding the obscurity of many of the allusions in it, this document is one of our best authorities for the history of Amalasuentha's regency, and is therefore translated almost verbatim.]

[Sidenote: Cassiodorus on his promotion to the Praefecture.]

'If I can only be sure that my advancement is acceptable to you, Conscript Fathers, I shall not doubt of its being approved by God and popular with all good men.

'It is in the nature of things to love a colleague, and you are in fact exalting your own honour when you approve of a dignity given to a _Senator_[713].

[Footnote 713: Partly a pun on his name, partly an allusion to his rank.]

'After our Sovereigns there is none to whom I so much desire to commend myself as you. To me honour will ever be the sole test of advantage. Justice, like a handmaid, will wait upon my actions; and the power, which I have not myself bought from our virtuous Sovereign, I in my turn shall sell to no man. You have heard, noble Sirs, the panegyrics[714] passed upon me at my entrance into office. These praises I will not dare to call false, but I will say that they lay upon me a heavy responsibility to show that they are not unmerited.

[Footnote 714: The letter written by Cassiodorus himself, in the name of Athalaric, to announce his elevation to the Praefecture (Var. ix. 25).]

'Happy fortune of our time in which, while the Sovereign himself takes holiday, the love of his mother rules and covers us all with the robe of her universal charity! Happy for the young Ruler, who in this difficult position learns first to triumph over his impetuous impulses, and attains in the springtime of his life that self-control which hoary age with difficulty acquires!

[Sidenote: Praises of Amalasuentha.]

'As for the Mother whom he so dutifully obeys, her most fittingly do all kingdoms venerate, whom to behold is to adore, to listen to is to witness a miracle. Of what language is she not a perfect mistress? She is skilled in the niceties of Attic eloquence; she shines in the majesty of Roman speech; she glories in the wealth of the language of her fathers. She is equally marvellous in all these, and in each the orator in his own especial tongue feels himself surpassed by her. A great safeguard and a great excellence is this in the ruler of so many nationalities. None needs an interpreter with his accomplished mistress. No ambassador need wait, or hear his words slowly filtered through the mind of a go-between. Everyone feels that his own words are listened to, and receives his answer from her lips in the language of his forefathers.

'To these accomplishments, as a splendid diadem, is added that priceless knowledge of Literature, by which the treasures of ancient learning are appropriated, and the dignity of the throne is ever enhanced.

'Yet, while she rejoices in such perfect mastery of language, on public occasions she is so taciturn that she might be supposed to be indolent. With a few words she unties the knots of entangled litigations, she calmly arranges hot disputes, she silently promotes the public welfare. You do not hear her announce beforehand what will be her course of action in public; but with marvellous skill she attains, by feigning, those points which she knows require to be rapidly gained[715].

[Footnote 715: 'Et temperamento mirabili dissimulando peragit quod accelerandum esse cognoscit.']

[Sidenote: Comparison to Placidia.]

'What case like this can be produced from the annals of revered Antiquity? Placidia's care for her purple-clad son has often been celebrated; but by Placidia's lax administration of the Empire its boundaries were unbecomingly retrenched. She gained for him a wife and for herself a daughter-in-law[716] by the loss of Illyricum; and thus the union of Sovereigns was bought by a lamentable division of the Provinces[717]. The discipline of the soldiers was relaxed by too long peace; and, in short, Valentinian, under the guardianship of his mother, lost more than he could have done if he had been a helpless orphan.

[Footnote 716: 'Eudoxia.']

[Footnote 717: 'Nurum denique sibi amissione Illyrici comparavit: factaque est conjunctio Regnantis, divisio dolenda provinciis.' On this alleged loss of Illyricum by the Western Empire, see Gibbon, cap. xxxiii. note 6. One may doubt, however, whether Cassiodorus has been correctly informed concerning it. Noricum and Pannonia at the time of Valentinian's marriage must have been entirely in the possession of the Huns; and on the dissolution of their monarchy Noricum at any rate seems to be connected with the Western rather than the Eastern Empire. As for Dalmatia, or the _Province_ (as distinct from the _Praefecture_) of Illyricum, the retirement thither of the Emperor Nepos in 475, and the previous history of his uncle Marcellinus, point towards the conclusion that this Province was then considered as belonging _de jure_ to the Caesar of Rome rather than to him of Constantinople.]

[Sidenote: Relations with the East.]

'But under this Lady, who can count as many Kings as ancestors in her pedigree, our army by Divine help is a terror to foreign nations. Being kept in a prudent equipoise it is neither worn away by continual fighting nor enervated by unbroken peace. In the very beginnings of the reign, when a new ruler's precarious power is apt to be most assailed, contrary to the wish of the Eastern Emperor she made the Danube a Roman stream. Well known is all that the invaders suffered, of which I therefore omit further mention, that the shame of defeat may not be too closely associated with the thought of the Emperor, our ally. Still, what he thought of your part of the Empire is clear from this, that he conceded to our attack that peace which he has refused to the abject entreaties of others. Add this fact, that though we have rarely sought him he has honoured us with so many embassies, and that thus his unique majesty has bowed down the stately head of the Orient to exalt the lords of Italy[718].

[Footnote 718: 'Et singularis illa potentia, ut _Italicos Dominos_, erigeret, reverentiam Eoi culminis ordinavit.' This somewhat favours the notion that Theodoric and his successors called themselves Kings of Italy.]

[Sidenote: Expedition against the Franks.]

'The Franks also, overmighty by their victories over so many barbarous tribes--by what a great expedition were they harassed! Attacked, they dreaded a contest with our soldiers; they who had leaped unawares upon so many nations and forced them into battle. But though that haughty race declined the offered conflict, they could not prevent the death of their own King. For Theodoric[719], he who had so often availed himself of the name of our glorious King as an occasion for triumph, now fell vanquished in the struggle with disease--a stroke of Divine Providence surely, to prevent us from staining ourselves with the blood of our kindred, and yet to grant some revenge to the army which had been justly called out to war. Hail! thou Gothic array, happy above all other happiness, who strikest at the life of a Royal foe, yet leavest us not the poorer by the life of one of the least of our soldiers[720].

[Footnote 719: Theodoric I, son of Clovis, King of the Franks, reigning at Metz, died, as before stated, in 534.]

[Footnote 720: 'Et nobis nec unius ultimi facta subducis (?).']

[Sidenote: League with the Burgundians.]

'The Burgundian too, in order to receive his own again, crouched in devotion, giving up his whole self that he might receive a trifle. For he chose to obey with unimpaired territories, rather than to resist with these cut short; and thus, by laying aside his arms, he most effectually defended his kingdom, recovering by his prayers what he had lost by the sword[721].

[Footnote 721: 'Burgundio quinetiam, ut sua reciperet, devotus effectus est: reddens se totum dum accepisset exiguum. Elegit quippe integer obedire, quam imminutus obsistere: tutius tunc defendit regnum quando arma deposuit. Recuperavit enim prece, quod amisit in acie.' The meaning of these mysterious words, as interpreted by Binding (268-270) and Jahn (ii. 252), is that Godomar, King of the Burgundians, received back from Amalasuentha (probably about 530, or a little later) the territory between the Durance and the Isere, which Theodoric had wrested from his brother in 523. The occasion of this cession was probably some league of mutual defence against the Franks, which Cassiodorus could without dishonesty represent as a kind of vassalage of Burgundy to Ostrogothia. If so, it availed Godomar little, as his territories were overrun by the Frankish Kings in 532, and the conquest of them was apparently completed by 534 (Jahn ii. 68-78).]

'Happy Princess, whose enemies either fall by the hand of God, or else by your bounty are united with your Empire! Rejoice, Goths and Romans alike, and hail this marvel, a being who unites the excellences of both the sexes! As woman she has given birth to your illustrious King, while with manly fortitude of mind she has maintained the bounds of your Empire.

'And now, if leaving the realm of war we enter the inner courts of her moral goodness, a hundred tongues will not suffice to sound forth all her praises. Her justice is as great as her goodwill, but even greater is her kindness than her power. You, Senators, know the heavenly goodness which she has shown to your order, restoring those who had met with affliction to a higher state than that from which they had fallen[722], and exalting to honour those who were still uninjured.

[Footnote 722: 'Afflictos statu meliore restituit.' An allusion, probably, to her kindness to the families of Boethius and Symmachus.]

'Look at the case of the Patrician Liberius[723], Praefect of the Gauls--a man of charming manners, of distinguished merit, a soldier with honourable scars--who even while absent in his Praefecture has received the _fasces_ and a patrimony from her.

[Footnote 723: No doubt the same Liberius who nobly defended the character of Amalasuentha at the Court of Justinian (Procopius, De Bello Gotthico i. 4). Apparently he was made Consul, but his name does not appear in the Fasti at this time.]

'What can I say of her strength of mind and tenacity of purpose, in which she excels even philosophers? I speak of this from my own experience. You know, oh Conscript Fathers, what influences were arrayed against me[724]. Neither gold nor the prayers of great men availed: all things were tried, and tried in vain, to prove the glorious constancy of that wisest Lady.

[Footnote 724: Probably to prevent his obtaining the Praefecture.]

[Sidenote: Virtues of the Amal Kings.]

'And here the rules of rhetoric would require me to compare her with a long line of Empresses in the past. But if men cannot vie with her glory, what is the use of adducing female examples? If we look at the Royal Cohort of her ancestors, we shall see that she, like a pure mirror, reflects all their excellences. For Amal[725] was conspicuous for his good fortune, Ostrogotha for his patience, Athal for mildness, Munitarius [Winithar] for justice, Unimund for beauty, Thorismuth for chastity, Unalamer [Walamir] for faith, Theudimer for warmth of heart[726], and Theodoric, the renowned father of Amalasuentha, as ye have all seen, for patience. Each of these would recognise in her his own special attribute, but all would acknowledge that in these very attributes they are excelled by her.

[Footnote 725: This and the following names belong to the ancestors of Amalasuentha, and are found with slight variations in the treatise of Jordanes on the History of the Goths, which was founded on a similar treatise by Cassiodorus.]

[Footnote 726: 'Pietate Theudimer.']

'You will now perhaps expect me to praise our young King, but in extolling the author of his being, I have abundantly extolled him, her offspring. You will remember that excellent saying of the eloquent Symmachus, "I hesitate to praise the beginning of his career because I am confidently hoping for his advance in virtue[727]." Come to my help, Conscript Fathers, and render to your Lords and mine your united thanks for my promotion.'

[Footnote 727: 'Specto feliciter virtutis ejus augmenta, qui differo laudare principia.' The annotator says that these words are not to be found in the extant writings of Symmachus [the orator]. It was probably the younger Symmachus, the father-in-law of Boethius, who uttered them. At this time Athalaric was killing himself by his debaucheries.]

2. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO POPE JOHN[728].

[Footnote 728: Pope John II (a Roman, son of Projectus, and originally named Mercurius) succeeded Boniface II Jan. 1, 533. His pontificate lasted till May 26, 535. His successor was Agapetus. This letter appears to have been written at a time of scarcity in Rome.]

[Sidenote: Salutations to the Pope.]

'Your prayers are assuredly the cause of our promotion. Your fastings have procured plenty for the citizens. Saluting you therefore with all due reverence, we pray you to continue your prayers for long life to our rulers, for peace and plenty to the State, and for an increase of heavenly wisdom to me. Let the Judge in public life be such as the Catholic Church has trained her son to be. I am indeed a Judge of the Palace, but I shall not cease to be your disciple[729]. Cast not off upon me the whole care of this City, which you watch over with a father's love, but take thought both for its bodily and spiritual wants, and admonish me whenever you think I am erring. Your See is an object of admiration through all lands, and your charity is world-wide; but yet you have also an especial, local love for the sheep of your own flock.

[Footnote 729: 'Sum quidem Judex Palatinus, sed vester non desinam esse discipulus.']

'Rome has in her own borders those shrines of martyrdom[730] of the Apostles [Peter and Paul] which the whole world longs to behold. With such patrons, if only your prayers ascend, we need fear no evil.'

[Footnote 730: 'Confessiones.']

3. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO DIVERS BISHOPS.

[Sidenote: Salutations to the Bishops.]

'Fathers after the flesh delight in the advancement of their sons. Even so do ye, my spiritual fathers, diligently pray to the Holy Trinity that He may make my candle to give light to all that are in the house; yea, and that He may so purge and enlighten mine own conscience that I may not, while an accurate Judge over other men, be a deceiver of mine own self.

'I beg of you to declare a fast, and supplicate the Lord that He will prolong the life of our Sovereigns[731], for the happiness of the realm; that He will defend our State from the assaults of its enemies, will give us all tranquillity in our time, and will deign to make me worthy of your love.

[Footnote 731: This was written, no doubt, when Athalaric was on his deathbed.]

'Watch narrowly the acts of the subordinates whom I send among you, and inform me of anything which they do amiss. I cannot be held responsible for deeds of which I know nothing. And if they take bribes they at least cannot justify themselves by saying that they have first had to pay money for their offices.

'Continue to afford your wonted solace to the widow and orphan; yet beware that your pity does not lead you to seek to set aside the laws even for these. Oh, most holy men, banish to the home of all other unclean spirits violence, avarice, hatred, rapine; and root out from among your people luxury, which is the depopulator of the human race. Let the Bishop teach, that the Judge may have a maiden assize[732]. If only your preaching he continued, the penal course of law must necessarily come to an end.

[Footnote 732: 'Episcopus doceat, ne judex possit invenire quod puniat.']

'I therefore commend my dignity to your prayers, and end my letter with a salutation of love and honour to your Holinesses.'

4. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO HIS DEPUTY[733] AMBROSIUS, AN ILLUSTRIS.

[Footnote 733: 'Agenti vices.' Bethmann Hollweg (Gerichtsverfassung des sinkenden römischen Reichs, pp. 49-50) remarks: 'The relation of the _Vices Magistratuum agentes_ does not belong to the _Jurisdictio mandata_. They are lieutenants (Stellvertreter) who are substituted provisionally in the room of an ordinary official of the Empire or of a Province, on account of his being temporarily disqualified or suspended from office by the Emperor or Praetorian Praefect. The municipal magistrates were also represented by _vices agentes_. But the extant authorities give us no very clear information as to their position.' Unfortunately this letter, relating to a _vices agens_ of the Praetorian Praefect himself, does not add much to our information.]

[Sidenote: Functions of the Praefect's Deputy.]

'We have formed a high opinion of you from long observation of your career as an Advocate, and feel sure that you will justify that opinion by your conduct in the office to which we are now calling you. The Forum has long resounded to your eloquence: now your turn is come to sit upon the magistrate's bench. Hitherto you have assisted the officers of the court: now you are yourself called upon to play the part of a Judge. Even when you are absent from me, you will be deemed to be sitting by my side; but whatever credit you may earn when hearing a case by yourself will be reckoned to you alone.

'We therefore ordain that the official staff which waits upon our orders shall be at your disposal, to carry your decisions into effect, and to see that none treat them with contempt.

'If you shall think it necessary to hand over any [insolvent] persons to those who have become security for them, assume that right with confidence, because that will most effectually relieve my mind when I shall learn that this matter has been finally disposed of by you[734]. For if I were present you might give me words only; but now in my absence you owe me, rather, deeds.

[Footnote 734: I suggest this with hesitation as the translation of a difficult sentence: 'Si quos etiam fidejussoribus committere necessarium aestimaveris, confidenter assume: quia illud magis relevare potest animum nostrum, si aliquid per vos cognoscimus impletum.' Cassiodorus seems to be urging his deputy not to shrink from the exercise of even the most stringent rights inherent in his office, in order that causes may be terminated without reference to him. But is there authority for such a translation of the words 'fidejussoribus committere?']

'Think, then, of all that is involved in your high office. Let your toil procure me rest from all men. Avoid the rocks on either side of you. These warnings come rather from my over-particularity[735] than from any distrust of you, for I believe that with God's help you will order all things as shall be best for our fame and for the Republic.'

[Footnote 735: 'Curiositas.']

5. THE SAME TO THE SAME.

[On the occasion of a scarcity in Rome, either existing or dreaded. See the letter to Pope John II (xi. 2).]

[Sidenote: Grain distributions for Rome.]

'I am sure that you will rejoice with me if the needs of the Roman people can be satisfied by our means, and thus we can testify our gratitude for the hospitality which we have both received from that City. To this end have we endured the discomforts of travel, for this purpose have we racked our brains with anxious thought, that that people, which tasted such delights of old in the happy days of its former rulers, may now see its necessities relieved and again enjoy its former prosperity.

'Their poverty and hunger we make our own. Therefore, with all speed, let stores of grain in good condition be at once collected, so that the bread cooked therefrom may be a delight and not a horror. Let just weight be given. Flee all thought of unholy profit from this source. My own soul is wounded if anyone dares to transgress in this matter of the food-supply of the people. Not favour nor popular applause is my aim; but to be permitted, by God's help, to accomplish my own heart's desire.

'I love all my fellow-countrymen, but the Roman citizens deserve more than ordinary love from me. Theirs is a City adorned with so many illustrious Senators, blest with such a noble commonalty, a City so well fitted to celebrate the victories of our glorious rulers. When the question of my promotion hung in suspense, it was the good wishes of these citizens which turned the scale in my favour with the lords of the world[736], who complied with the universal desire of the Roman people. Come, then; so act that this goodwill of theirs to me may continue. Let us all beseech the mercy of the Most High to bless us with an abundant harvest; and let us resolve that, if we are thus favoured, no negligence of ours shall diminish, no venality divert from its proper recipients, the bounty of Heaven[737].'

[Footnote 736: Athalaric and Amalasuentha.]

[Footnote 737: In the last sentence but one, 'Fidem meam promitto: sed cum ipsis Divinitatis dona sustineo, cautelam offero,' I would suggest _ipsius_ for 'ipsis,' making _cum_ = 'when,' not 'with.' There does not seem to be any antecedent plural to which 'ipsis' can refer.]

6. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO JOANNES, CANCELLARIUS.

[An interesting letter, as showing the lowly original of the office from whence have sprung the mediaeval and modern Chancellors.]

[Sidenote: Functions of the Cancellarius.]

'Your rare merit causes you to enjoy a position beyond that which of right belongs to you in the official hierarchy[738]. Those who are above you cheerfully manifest to you a deference which you might be required to show to them; and thus you, while keeping your inferiors in their proper place, take without presumption precedence of many of your superiors.

[Footnote 738: 'Transgressio matriculae actio tua est.']

'This laudable prejudice has assigned to you, from the twelfth Indiction[739], the dignity of Cancellarius[740].

[Footnote 739: September 1, 533.]

[Footnote 740: 'Hoc igitur laudabili praejudicium a duodecima Indictione cancellorum tibi decus attribuit.']

'Guard then the secrets of our Consistory with incorruptible fidelity. Through your intervention the petitioner for justice has to approach me. On your acts depends in great measure the opinion which men shall form of me; for as a house is judged by its front towards the street, and men by the trimness or shabbiness of their raiment, so are we high officials judged by the demeanour of our subordinates who represent us to the crowd. Therefore, if such officials do anything which redounds to their master's dishonour, they put themselves altogether outside the pale of his clemency.

'Remember your title, _Cancellarius_. Ensconced behind the lattice-work (cancelli) of your compartment, keeping guard behind those windowed doors, however studiously you may conceal yourself, it is inevitable that you be the observed of all observers[741]. If you step forth, _my_ glances range all over you: if you return to your shelter, the eyes of the litigants are upon you. This is where Antiquity ruled that you should be placed, in order that your actions should be visible to all.

[Footnote 741: 'Respice quo nomine nuncuperis. Latere non potest quod inter cancellos egeris. Tenes quippe lucidas fores, claustra patentia, fenestratas januas; et quamvis studiose claudas, necesse est ut te cunctis aperias.']

'Attend now to this advice which I have given you, and let it not merely filter through your mind, like water through a pipe, but let it sink down into your heart, and, safely stored up there, let it influence the actions of your life.'

7. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO ALL THE JUDGES OF THE PROVINCES.

[Sidenote: Duties of the Collectors of Taxes.]

'It is an excellent thing that the yearly taxes should be regularly paid. What confidence does the consciousness of this give to the taxpayer, who can march boldly through the Forum, feeling that he owes nothing to anybody and need not fear the face of any official! One can only enjoy an estate if one has no fear of the process-server making his appearance upon it.

'Therefore, in the Diocese of your Excellency[742], we desire you and your staff at the beginning of this twelfth Indiction[743], with all proper gentleness, to impress upon the cultivator of the soil that he must pay his land-tax[744] and end those long arrears, which were introduced not for the assistance of the taxpayer, but for the corrupt profit of the tax-collector. For the officials who in this way professed to relieve the burdens of the people, really imposed upon them a heavier and more hateful weight in the shape of douceurs[745] to themselves.

[Footnote 742: 'Dicationis tuae.' A peculiar and untranslatable form of respect.]

[Footnote 743: September 1, 533.]

[Footnote 744: 'Trina illatio' (See Var. ii. 24). So called because it was collected three times in the year. See Dahn, Könige der Germanen iii. 140; and Sartorius, Regierung der Ostg. 200. The latter seems however to confuse it with the 'tertiae,' from which Dahn very properly distinguishes it.]

[Footnote 745: 'Nundinationes.']

'Let then this hateful swindling be henceforth banished. Let the cultivator pay nothing more than his lawful debt to the Treasury, and let him pay it at the appointed time, thus removing the confusion in which the slowness of collection has involved our accounts.

'Make up, therefore, the abstracts of accounts[746] at the stated times, and forward them to the proper bureaux[747], according to old law and the authority of this present edict; and if you neglect any of these injunctions, know that you do so at your peril. To quicken your diligence we have appointed A and B, persons of tried merit in the past, to supervise the proceedings of yourself and your staff, that this double check may prevent the possibility of negligence.

[Footnote 746: 'Breves.']

[Footnote 747: 'Scrinia.']

'Act then with justice if you wish to receive further promotion. Only those gains are to be sought for which the cultivator gladly offers and which the public servant can securely accept. If you take bribes you will be miserable ever after, through fear of discovery; but if you act uprightly, you will have in me a willing spectator and rewarder of your merits. I am most anxious to be your friend; do not force me against my will to become your enemy.'

8. EDICT PUBLISHED THROUGH THE PROVINCES BY SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT.

[Sidenote: Edict announcing Cassiodorus' principles of administration.]

'The custom of the ancients was for a new ruler to promulgate a new set of laws to his subjects, but now it is sufficient praise to a conscientious ruler that he adheres to the legislation of Antiquity.

'Do you all study to perform good actions, and shrink from deeds of lawlessness and sedition, and you will have nothing to fear from your Governors. I know that some fear, however irrational, is felt in the presence of the Judge; but as far as my purpose can avail, with the help of God and the rulers of the State[748], I can promise you that all things shall be done with justice and moderation.

[Footnote 748: 'Juvante Deo, rerumque Dominis regnantibus.']

'Venality, that greatest stain upon a Judge's character, will be unknown in me; for I should think scorn to sell the words that go out of my lips, like clothes in the market-place.

'In exercising the right of pre-emption we shall be solely guided by the wants of the State, buying nothing at a forced price in order to sell it again[749].

[Footnote 749: 'Sperari a vobis aliquid sola specierum indigentia faciet, non malitiosa venalitas ... nec ad taxationem trahimus quae necessaria non habentur.']

'Be cheerful and of good courage, therefore, with reference to the new administration. No soldier or civil servant shall harass you for his own pleasure. No tax-collector shall load you with burdens of his own imposition. We are determined to keep not only our own hands clean, but also those of our officials. Otherwise, vainly does a good Judge guard himself from receiving money, if he leaves to the many under him licence to receive it on their own account. But we, both by precept and example, show that we aim at the public good, not at private and fraudulent gains.

'We know what prayers you put up for us, how anxiously you watched for our elevation, and we are determined that you shall not be disappointed. Our Praetorium, which no base action has ever denied, shall be open to all. No servile throng shall lord it over you. You shall come straight to us, making your requests known to us through no hired interpreter, and none shall leave our presence poorer than he entered it. With God's help we trust we shall so act as to conform to the instructions which we have received from our Sovereign[750]; and we trust that you, by your loyalty, will enable us to be rather the Father of our Provinces than their Judge. You have patiently obeyed governors who fleeced you; how much more ought you to obey one who, as you know, loves you mightily! Pay the regular fees to the officials who are labouring in your midst; for there is no such excuse for high-handed oppression as the fact that a man is not receiving his covenanted salary. Obey the rule of reason, and you will not have to fear the armed man's wrath.

[Footnote 750: 'Quemadmodum a rerum Dominis mandata suscepimus.']

'We wish that you should enjoy the privileges conceded to you by former rulers without any encroachment by violent men.

'And now be of good heart; I pledge myself for your righteous government. Had I been present with you face to face, ye could not have seen my mind; but ye can read it in this letter, which is the mirror of my heart, the true image of my will, and ye can see that it desires only your prosperity.'

9. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO THE JUDGES OF THE PROVINCES.

[Sidenote: Exhortation to the Judges to govern in conformity with the Edict.]

'Knowing that past suffering makes men anxious and timid as to the future, we have put forth an edict [the preceding document] in order to reassure the minds of the Provincials, and to deliver them from the torment of ever-present fear.

'Therefore we call upon your Excellency[751] to cause this edict to be exposed in all the places which are most resorted to. Thus let the love and devotion of all classes be excited towards our happy Sovereigns[752], that as our thoughts towards the people are entirely thoughts of goodwill, so their dispositions towards the rulers who govern them in righteousness may be only loyal[753].

[Footnote 751: 'Dicatio tua.']

[Footnote 752: 'Circa Dominos felices.']

[Footnote 753: 'Ita se et illi devotos debent _pie regnantibus_ exhibere.' Compare again Claudian's words:

'Nunquam libertas gratior exstat, Quam sum _rege pio_.']

'It now rests with you, by your just government of the Provincials, to carry our promises into effect.

'Remember that the official staff standing by, is a witness of the acts of every one of you; and so comport yourselves, that both they and all others may see that you in your own conduct obey the laws which you administer.

'Be more anxious to remedy the poverty of the Provincials than to inflict punishment upon them. So act that when you are giving an account of your stewardship your year of office may be felt to have been all too short[754]. If you have acted justly, and earned the goodwill of your Provincials, you will have no need of gifts to stave off accusations.

[Footnote 754: 'Sic agite ut cum justitia probata quaeritur, annus vester brevis esse videatur.']

'We do not appoint any spies upon your actions, and we pray you so to act that this most humiliating expedient may not be necessary.

'If you meet with any who pertinaciously set themselves up against the authority of your _fasces_, send us at once a messenger with your report; or, if you cannot spare such an one, send the report alone, as you have authority to use the public postal-service[755]. Thus all excuse for remissness on your part is taken away, since you can either wield your power or explain to us the hindrances which beset you.'

[Footnote 755: 'Quando et evectiones publicas accepistis et nobis gratum sit audire de talibus.']

10. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO BEATUS, VIR CLARISSIMUS AND CANCELLARIUS.

[Sidenote: Davus is invalided to the Mons Lactarius.]

'Our lord the King[756] (whose prayer it is that he may ever rejoice in the welfare of all his subjects), when he reflected upon the impaired health of his servant Davus[757], ordered him to seek to the healing properties of the Mons Lactarius[758], for the cure which medical aid seemed powerless to bestow. A frequent cough resounded from his panting chest, his limbs were becoming emaciated, and the food which he took seemed to have lost all power to nourish his frame. Persons in this state can neither feed nor endure to fast, and their bodies seem like leaky casks, from which all strength must soon dribble away.

[Footnote 756: 'Rerum Domini clementia.']

[Footnote 757: Or David, according to some MSS.]

[Footnote 758: This is no doubt the mountain on whose skirts was fought the decisive battle between Narses and Teias in 553, now known as Monte Lettere. It is a spur of the range reaching from Sorrento to Salerno, which attains its highest elevation in Monte San Angelo (4,690 feet high). It rises opposite to Mount Vesuvius on the south-east, the ruins of Pompeii and the valley of the Sarno (formerly the Draco) lying between the two.]

[Sidenote: The milk-cure, a remedy for consumption.]

'As an antidote to this cruel malady Heaven has given us the Mons Lactarius, where the salubrious air working together with the fatness of the soil has produced a herbage of extraordinary sweetness. The cows which are fed on this herbage give a milk which seems to be the only remedy for consumptive patients who have been quite given over by their physicians. As sleep refreshes the weary limbs of toil, so does this milk fill up the wasted limbs and restore the vanished strength. Strange is it to see the herds feeding on this abundant pasture. They look as if it did not profit them at all. Thin and scraggy, as they wander through the thickets they look like the patients who seek their aid; yet their milk is so thick that it sticks to the milker's fingers.

'Do you therefore supply the invalid when he arrives, with the appointed rations and pecuniary allowance, that he may be suitably maintained in that place while he is recreating his exhausted energies with the food of infancy.

'And, oh! all ye who are suffering under the like grievous malady, lift up your hearts. There is hope for you. By no bitter antidote, but by a delicious draught, you shall imbibe life--life, in itself the sweetest of all things.'

11. EDICT CONCERNING PRICES TO BE MAINTAINED AT RAVENNA.

[Sidenote: Prices at Ravenna.]

'The price at which provisions are sold ought to follow, in a reasonable way, the circumstances of the times, that there may be neither cheapness in a dear season, nor dearness in a cheap one, and that the grumblings of both buyers and sellers may be avoided, by fairness being observed towards both.

'Therefore, after careful consideration, we have fixed in the subjoined schedule the prices of the various articles of produce, which prices are to remain free from all ambiguity.

'If any vendor does not observe the prices named in the present edict, he will be liable to a fine of six solidi (£3 12s.) for each violation of the law, and may be visited by corporal punishment[759].'

[Footnote 759: 'Per singulos excessus sex solidorum mulctam a se noverit exigendam et fustuario posse subjacere supplicio.']

[The schedule mentioned in this letter is unfortunately not preserved. Few documents that Cassiodorus could have handed down to posterity would have been more valuable. If we could have compared it with the celebrated Edict of Stratonicea (cir. A.D. 301), we should have seen what changes had been wrought in the value of the precious metals and the distribution of wealth during the two centuries of disturbance and barbaric invasion which had elapsed since the reign of Diocletian. But, unfortunately, Cassiodorus believed that his rhetoric and his natural history would be more interesting to us than these vulgar facts.]

12. EDICT CONCERNING PRICES ALONG THE FLAMINIAN WAY.

[Sidenote: Prices per Viam Flaminiam.]

'If prices need to be fixed for the leisurely inhabitant of a town, much more for the traveller, whose journey may otherwise become a burden instead of a pleasure. Let strangers therefore find that they are entertained by you at fixed prices. To fawn upon them with feigned politeness and then terrify them with enormous charges is the act of a highway robber. Do you not know how much better moderate prices would suit your own purpose? Travellers would gladly flock to your accommodation-houses[760] if they found that you treated them fairly.

[Footnote 760: This is, I believe, the expression used in some of the Australian colonies for what Cassiodorus calls _commoda vestra_.]

'Let no one think that because he is a long way off, his extortion will escape notice, for people are arriving here every day with tales of your rapacity.

'An official despatched for the purpose will, after deliberation with the citizens and Bishops of each place, decide what prices are to be charged there; and then whosoever dares to ask higher prices will have to pay a fine of six solidi (£3 12s.) and will be afflicted by the laceration of his body.

'Honest gains at the expense of your fellow-citizens ought to suffice for all of you. One would think that the highways were beset with brigands.'

13. THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME TO THE EMPEROR JUSTINIAN.

[Sidenote: Supplications of the Senate to Justinian.]

'It seems a right and proper thing that we should address our prayers for the safety of the Roman Republic to a dutiful Sovereign[761], who can only desire what will benefit our freedom. We therefore beseech you, most clement Emperor, and from the bosom of the Curia we stretch forth our two hands to you in prayer, that you will grant a most enduring peace to our King. Spurn not us, who ever seemed certain of your love. It is in truth the Roman name that you are commending, if you grant gracious terms to our lords. May your league with them assure the peace of Italy; and if our prayers be not sufficient to accomplish this thing, imagine that you hear our country break forth with these words of supplication: "If ever I was acceptable to thee, love, oh most dutiful Sovereign, love my defenders! They who rule me ought to be in harmony with thee, lest otherwise they begin to do such deeds towards me as thou least of all men wouldest desire. Be not to me a cause of death, thou who hast ever ministered unto me the joys of life. Lo, while at peace with thee I have doubled the number of my children, I have been decked with the glory of my citizens. If thou sufferest me to be wounded, where is thy dutiful name of Son? What couldest even thou do more for me [than these rulers], seeing that my religion and thine thus flourish under their rule?

[Footnote 761: 'Pio Principi.']

'"My Senate grows in honour and is incessantly increasing in wealth. Do not dissipate in quarrels what thou oughtest rather to defend with the sword. I have had many Kings; but none so trained in letters as this one. I have had foreseeing statesmen, but none so powerful in learning and religion. I love the Amal, bred up as he has been at my knees, a strong man, one who has been formed by my conversation, dear to the Romans by his prudence, venerable to the nations by his valour. Join rather thy prayers to his; share with him thy counsels: so that any prosperity which I may earn may redound to thy glory. Do not woo me in the only fashion in which I may not be won. Thine am I already in love, if thou sendest none of thy soldiers to lacerate my limbs. For if Africa has deserved through thee to recover freedom, it were hard that I should from the same hand lose that freedom which I have ever possessed. Control the emotions of anger, oh illustrious conqueror! The claims urged upon thee by the general voice of the people ought to outweigh the offence which the ingratitude of any private individual may have occasioned to thy heart."

'Thus Rome speaks while, through her Senators, she makes supplications to you. And if that be not enough, let the sacred petition of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul be also taken into your account. For surely they, who are proved to have so often defended the peace of Rome from her enemies, deserve that your Sovereignty should yield everything to their merits. The venerable man, our most pious King's ambassador to your Clemency, will further set forth our prayers.'

[It is not easy to fix the exact occasion on which this petition was likely to be sent from the Senate to the Emperor. The allusion to the conquest of Africa shows that it was after the Vandal War, which ended in March, 534. On the other hand, the language put into the mouth of the Senate implies that the Imperial troops had not yet landed in Italy or Sicily, and the petition is therefore of an earlier date than the summer of 535. During the whole of these fourteen months the relations between Empire and Kingdom were more or less strained, the causes of complaint on the part of Constantinople beginning with the occupation of Lilybaeum and ending with the murder of Amalasuentha. I fear that the nattering portrait drawn of 'the Amal' can apply to no one but Theodahad, the terms used being hopelessly inapplicable to a boy like Athalaric. Who then are 'our lords' ('nostri Domini'), in whose name peace is besought. The best that we can hope, for the sake of the reputation of Cassiodorus, is that they are Amalasuentha and Theodahad, the letter being written between October 2, 534 (when Athalaric died), and April 30, 535 (when Amalasuentha was imprisoned). Upon the whole this seems the most probable conclusion. If written after Amalasuentha's death, in the few months or weeks which intervened between that event and the landing of Belisarius in Sicily, the language employed reflects deep discredit on the writer. In that case, 'nostri Domini' must mean Theodahad and Gudelina.]

14. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO GAUDIOSUS, CANCELLARIUS OF THE PROVINCE OF LIGURIA.

[Sidenote: Praises of Como. Relief of its inhabitants.]

'The City of Como[762] is visited by so many travellers that the cultivators of the soil declare that they are quite worn out with requisitions for post-horses[763]. Wherefore we direct that by Royal indulgence they be favoured in this matter[764], that this city, so beautifully situated, do not become a solitude for want of inhabitants.

[Footnote 762: Thus called by Cassiodorus; not Comum.]

[Footnote 763: 'Se possessores paraveredorum assiduitate suggerunt esse fatigatos.']

[Footnote 764: 'Quibus indultu Regali beneficium praecipimus jugiter custodiri.' These words do not make it clear how the inhabitants were relieved by the Royal decree; but it was probably by some gift of money like that which is announced in the next letter.]

'Como, with its precipitous mountains and its vast expanse of lake, seems placed there for the defence of the Province of Liguria; and yet, again, it is so beautiful that one would think it was created for pleasure only. To the south lies a fertile plain with easy roads for the transport of provisions; on the north a lake sixty miles long, abounding in fish, soothing the mind with delicious recreation.

'Rightly is it called _Como_, because it is adorned (compta) with such gifts. The lake lies in a shell-like valley, with white margins. Above rises a diadem of lofty mountains, their slopes studded with bright villas[765], a girdle of olives below, vineyards above, while a crest of thick chestnut-woods adorns the very summit of the hills. Streams of snowy clearness dash from the hill-sides into the lake. On the eastern side these unite to form the river Addua, so called because it contains the _added_ volume of two streams. It plunges into the lake with such force that it keeps its own colour[766] (dark among the whiter waters) and its own name far along the northern shore[767], a phenomenon often seen with rivers flowing into the ocean, but surely marvellous with one flowing into an inland lake. And so swift is its course as it moves through the alien waves, that you might fancy it a river flowing over the solid plains.

[Footnote 765: 'Praetoriorum luminibus decenter ornata.']

[Footnote 766: So Claudian (De VI Consolata Honorii 196), 'et Addua visu caerulus.']

[Footnote 767: 'Ut nomen retinens et colorem in Septentrionem obesiore alvei ventre generetur.']

'So delightful a region makes men delicate and averse to labour. Therefore the inhabitants deserve especial consideration, and for this reason we wish them to enjoy perpetually the royal bounty.'

15. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO THE LIGURIANS.

[Announcing the despatch of money to relieve the necessities of the Province, possibly after some incursions of the Franks. This would fit in pretty well with the mention of _Astensis Civitas_ as having suffered the most.]

[Sidenote: Relief of the necessities of Liguria.]

'It is the privilege of a King to increase the happiness of his subjects. Not to postpone your joy by too long a preface, I will come to the point at once, and inform you that our most glorious Lords, taking the necessities of their loyal Liguria into account, have sent 100 lbs. of gold [£4,000] by the hands of A and B, officers of the Royal Bedchamber. _You_ are to say how the money is to be spent, indicating the persons who are in the greatest necessity; but as we are informed that the city of Asti has been more heavily weighted than others, it is our wish that it should be chiefly helped by this disbursement. Now, do you who are tributaries, reflect upon the clemency of your lords, who are inverting the usual order of things, and paying out to you from the Treasury what they are accustomed to receive. Let us know at once how much you think each taxpayer ought to receive, that we may deduct it from his first instalment of land-tax [768].

[Footnote 768: 'Sed ut beneficia Dominorum _subtractis exactionum, incommodis_ augeantur, celerius relatio vestra nos instruat, quid unicuique de hac summâ relaxandum esse judicetis, ut tantum de _primâ illatione_ faciamus _suspendi_ quantum ad nos notitia directa vulgaverit.' The meaning of Cassiodorus seems quite clear, though it is not easy to understand how far the actual gift of money was supplemented by, or independent of, remission of land-tax.]

'And put up your prayers for your most affectionate Sovereigns, that they may receive back again from Heaven the favour which they are conferring on you.'

16. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO THE LIGURIANS.

[Sidenote: Oppressions practised on the Ligurians to be remedied.]

'In thanking me so earnestly for a recent benefit [probably the present mentioned in the preceding letter] you invited me to further favours, and the implied promise which I then gave you I now fulfil.

'You complain that you are burdened with unjust weights and measures, and I therefore declare that this iniquity shall cease, and that no tax-collector or tithe-collector[769], shall dare to use too long a measure or too heavy a weight [in the collection of the King's revenue].

[Footnote 769: 'Exactores atque susceptores.' For the latter office, see Cod. Theod. xii. 6.]

'Also that their accounts shall be promptly balanced, and that any overcharge that may be detected shall be at once repaid.

'Now then, your minds being freed from anxiety on this score, turn your attention to the supply of the wants of our most flourishing army, and show your zeal for the public good, since we have satisfied you that it is not for private and fraudulent gains that you are to pay your contributions.'

17. ON THE PROMOTIONS IN THE OFFICIAL STAFF OF THE PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, MADE ON CHRISTMAS DAY[770].

[Footnote 770: This letter was probably addressed to the Princeps, the highest person in the whole Officium, as it contains the words '_unus_ quisque ... _tuâ designatione vulgetur_.']

[Sidenote: Promotions in Officium of Praefectus Praetorio.]

'On this day of general rejoicing, when by the kindness of Heaven the way of salvation was opened to all mankind, we wish that the members of our staff should also be glad. For to rejoice, ourselves, when those around us are mourning, is a kind of sacrilege. Hence some philosophers have held that the whole human race is one being, the various members of which are constrained to share one another's feelings of joy or sadness. Therefore let every official in our staff according to his grade[771] get promotion on this day, not only rising himself, but creating a vacancy which enables those below him to rise also.'

[Footnote 771: 'Juxta matriculae seriem.']

[All the Letters from 18 to 35 are documents, for the most part very short ones, relating to these promotions.

For an explanation of the terms used in these letters, and of the whole subject of the staff of the Praetorian Praefect, see chapter iv. of the Introduction.]

In Letter 18, Antianus, who is vacating the office of CORNICULARIUS, receives the rank of _Spectabilis_, and has a place assigned him among the Tribuni and Notarii, where he may 'adore the presence of his Sovereign[772]'.

[Footnote 772: 'Inter Tribunos et Notarios ad adorandos aspectus properet Principales.']

In Letter 19 the successor of Antianus in the office of CORNICULARIUS receives his appointment.

In Letter 20 the retiring PRIMISCRINIUS also receives the rank of _Spectabilis_, and takes his place among the Tribuni and Notarii, 'to adore the Purple of Royalty.'

In Letter 21 Andreas is rewarded for his faithful service on the Praetorian staff[773], by being promoted to the office of PRIMISCRINIUS.

[Footnote 773: 'Qui Praetorianis fascibus inculpabiliter noscitur obsecutus.']

In Letter 22 Catellus, who stands next in grade for this promotion[774], obtains the post of SCRINIARIUS ACTORUM.

[Footnote 774: 'Quem matriculae series fecit accedere.']

In Letter 23 Constantinian, to whose virtues Cassiodorus himself bears witness, receives the charge of letters relating to the collection of Land-Tax (CURA EPISTOLARUM CANONICARUM).

In Letter 24 Lucillus is appointed a clerk in the War-Office (SCRINIARIUS CURAE MILITARIS).

In Letter 25 Patricius is appointed chief of the shorthand writers (PRIMICERIUS EXCEPTORUM).

In Letter 26 Justus obtains a place as member of the Sixth Schola (SEXTUS SCHOLARIS[775]).

[Footnote 775: I am unable to suggest any explanation of this title.]

In Letter 27 Joannes, whom we saw in the Sixth Letter of this Book entrusted with the duties of Cancellarius, is rewarded for his faithful discharge of those duties by receiving the place of PRAEROGATIVARIUS[776].

[Footnote 776: I have not found any explanation of this title, which is apparently unknown to the Notitia, to Lydus, and to the Theodosian Code.]

In Letter 28 Cheliodorus[777] is appointed to the place of COMMENTARIENSIS (Magistrates' clerk).

[Footnote 777: Note the corrupt form of the name Heliodorus.]

In Letter 29 Cart(h)erius is promoted to the office of REGERENDARIUS (Secretary of the Post-Office), in the hope that this promotion will render him yet more earnest in the discharge of his Praetorian labours.

In Letter 30 Ursus is appointed PRIMICERIUS DEPUTATORUM, and Beatus (probably the Cancellarius addressed in Letter 10) is made PRIMICERIUS AUGUSTALIUM.

In Letter 31 Urbicus, on vacating the post of PRIMICERIUS SINGULARIORUM (Chief of the King's Messengers), is placed among the Body-guards (Domestici et Protectores), where he may adore the Royal Purple, that, being made illustrious by gazing on the Sovereign, he may rejoice in his liberation from official harassment.

[As the Singularii did not form part of the learned staff (Militia Litterata), their chief on retiring receives a guardsman's place, but still one which gives him access to royalty.]

In Letter 32 Pierius receives the post of PRIMICERIUS SINGULARIORUM which is thus vacated.

[Sidenote: Delegatoria.]

In Letter 33 Cassiodorus, expanding the proverb 'Bis dat qui cito dat,' agrees that the _Delegatoria_[778] (or Delegatiorius), the letter conferring on the receiver the right to receive the increase of rations due to his promotion, should not be long delayed.

[Footnote 778: We get this sense of Delegatio in Cod. Theod. vii. 4. 35: '_Annonas omnes_, quae universis officiis atque Sacri Palatii Ministeriis et Sacris Scriniis ceterisque cunctarum adminiculis dignitatum adsolent _delegari_.']

In Letter 34 Antianus, the retired Cornicularius of Letter 18, receives a somewhat evasive answer to a petition which apparently affected the rights of those below him in the official hierarchy[779].

[Footnote 779: In this letter occurs a sentence of tantalising obscurity: 'Sola nos Alpha complectitur ubi ea littera non timetur.']

In Letter 35 we have an example of the _Delegatoria_ alluded to in