Resultados25 letters/passages
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
Under the clemency of a good ruler, nothing is left to the mercy of chance — for those who have resolved to govern most prosperously also correct misfortunes. How could a man stripped bare endure both savage barbarians and a demanding sovereign, when, robbed of his resources, he denies having the means to pay what he o …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
We delight in living by Roman law among those we seek to defend by arms, and our concern for moral order is no less than our concern for war. What good does it do to drive out the barbarian threat if we do not live under law? Therefore, since our army has entered Gaul with God's favor, if any slaves who had fled their …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
Under a benevolent ruler, subjects do not even need to ask for relief, because the ruler's humanity anticipates their petitions, and in a wonderful reversal, the benefits come before the requests. Recently, moved by justice, we had ordered that the untouched portion of the province should provide sustenance for our Got …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
It is our policy, conscript fathers, to grant rewards to upright character and to kindle men of good promise toward still better conduct by the fruit of our generosity. The examples set by rewards nourish virtue, and no one fails to strive for the highest standards of character when what conscience approves does not go …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
What the invaders suffered is well known -- but I choose to pass over the details, lest the spirit of our allied prince be embarrassed by another's disgrace. How highly the East regarded our court can be understood from this: the Eastern emperor freely granted peace to those who had offended him, though he had refused …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
We also order this inquiry: the accounts between defensores, town councillors, and landowners must be traced, and whatever a landowner can prove he paid above the established tax rate from the recently concluded eighth indiction -- if it was neither deposited in our treasury nor shown by proper accounting to have been …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] The urgent care of our aqueducts warns us that harmful growth must be cut away promptly, so that the structural integrity of the waterworks may, with God's help, be preserved intact, and the work will remain light for you while the trees are still young. What are saplings now will become hardwood if neglected. What …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
We return to this subject a third time because nothing we have written matters more for the future of our kingdom. The strength of arms wins battles; the strength of learning wins the future. We have observed that among certain of our Gothic subjects, learning is regarded as a soft pursuit, suitable only for those unab …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Our providence does not abandon its purpose -- always attentive to its subjects, it arranges what will benefit them, so that those who learn we have cared for them may be stirred to greater devotion. For this reason, we have committed your governance and defense to Colosseus, a distinguished man powerful in both name a …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
It is an act of mercy to bind a foreign people to the state through public benefits — and to extend to newcomers, not just to blood relations, the advantages of settled life. For these people, inheritance exists without blood kin, succession without family ties; the sole proof of kinship is to speak one's ancestral lan …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
The remedy we have devised for you, conscript fathers, with a devoted heart, we will not allow to be turned against you by bitter suspicion -- because it amounts to an injury to help in secret while appearing to intend something else. Know, therefore, that our arms have been deployed for your safety, so that whoever da …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Formula for the Duchy of Raetia [the Alpine frontier province]. Although the honor of the rank of Spectabilis may appear uniform, and although nothing but seniority usually distinguishes one holder from another, nevertheless — weighing the nature of the responsibilities — a great deal more is entrusted to those assigne …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Pope Gelasius to Ereleua. [Pope Gelasius I (r. 492-496) writes to Ereleua, the mother of King Theodoric the Great. This letter, preserved among the Variae, concerns clerics who have violated Church jurisdiction by seeking recourse in secular courts.] I am astonished that Felix and Petrus, clerics of the church of Nola, …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theoderic to Alaric, King of the Visigoths. 1. Although the innumerable multitude of your ancestors gives confidence to your valor, and although you may recall that the mighty Attila was brought low by the forces of the Visigoths, nevertheless, since the hearts of fierce peoples grow soft in a long peace, beware o …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Although it is natural for you to love your rulers with a pure heart and to act in such obedience that you may keep the king's favor, it has always been the particular mark of your ancestors that they were joined to their princes as limbs are joined to the head. What return can a people make who are defended with the g …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Athalaric to the Senate of the City of Rome. [1] Although I have barely passed from boyhood into youth, I am not unaware of the obligations that my station imposes upon me. The Senate of Rome is the ancient guardian of Roman tradition, and it is my constant care to ensure that this venerable institution retains it …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Although it is always the wish of our compassion that civil and moderate behavior prevail everywhere, we especially desire good conduct in the regions of Gaul, where a recent devastation makes further injury intolerable, and where the very beginnings of our rule should firmly establish the reputation of our name. A rul …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Although a multitude of cares presses upon our compassionate mind and our customary diligence turns to the various parts of our kingdom, we have quickly looked to provide remedies for your welfare. In our conscience, to delay what would help people is itself a kind of injury, and we cannot consider pleasant what has be …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theodoric to Ibba, Vir Sublimis [Most Exalted], Dux [Military Commander]. [Ibba was a senior Gothic general who commanded forces in southern Gaul. The reference to King Alaric is to Alaric II, the Visigothic king killed at the Battle of Vouille in 507.] A decision made by a previous king, one that was clearly made …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] You have cause, Senators, to give thanks to a glorious ruler, since the distinguished Tuluin — resplendent in our own kinship — has been granted the honor of your order. This was done not to diminish the Senate's dignity but to enrich it, for a body that welcomes proven merit from every quarter grows stronger with …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theodoric to Severinus, Vir Illustris [Most Illustrious]. [This is one of the most detailed administrative letters in the Variae -- a comprehensive reform mandate for the province of Savia (roughly modern Slovenia and northwestern Croatia), dealing with tax fraud, corrupt officials, and the rights of barbarian set …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theoderic to Servatus, Military Governor of the Raetias. [1] It befits you to show in your conduct the honor that you bear in your title, so that throughout the province over which you preside, you permit no act of violence, but compel everything to conform to justice — the source from which our power flourishes. …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Formula for the Count of the Goths in Individual Cities. Since, with God's help, we know that the Goths live among you in a mixed community, we have judged it necessary — so that no disorder may arise among neighbors, as tends to happen — to send the distinguished man [name], whose good character has long been proven t …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] Who better to be entrusted with the rights of equity than someone honored with the priesthood — a man who, out of love for justice, judges without regard for persons and, caring for all alike, leaves no room for resentment? Recognizing that this task suits your merits, we inform you that we have sent 1,500 solidi [ …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] For the Goths, battles need to be announced rather than urged, since a warlike race finds joy in being put to the test. A man does not shrink from toil when he desires the glory of valor. And so, with God's help -- through whose favor all things prosper -- we have decided to send our army to Gaul for the common goo …