Resultados25 letters/passages
isidore_pelusium · c. 401 · score 0.02
Let the one who has received authority use it as a trust, not as a possession. Authority is a loan from God, and like all loans, it must be repaid with interest. The interest God demands is justice for the oppressed, mercy for the weak, and defense of the truth against all who would corrupt it.
pelagius_i · c. 558 · score 0.02
We have received your report and have carefully considered all the matters which you have referred to our judgment. The care of the apostolic see extends to all the churches throughout the world, and we are bound to respond to every question that affects the faith, the discipline, and the good order of the Church. You …
isidore_pelusium · c. 415 · score 0.02
With what eyes, I ask, will you look upon your associates, since you have made enemies of all who were well-disposed and friendly toward you? For they, as I have heard, speak with contempt in their hearts, since they did not think they would suffer anything unjust from you. But those who are certain of enduring the wor …
gregory_great · c. 590 · score 0.02
And yet even this is not enough; but something besides is said to be exacted according to a custom of many years. This practice we altogether detest, and desire it to be utterly extirpated from the patrimony. But, whether in this or in other minute imposts, let your Experience consider what is paid too much per pound, …
symmachus · c. 382 · score 0.02
Word is that you've ordered Ampelius and some other senators from Sardinia, as is claimed, to appear before the appropriate court on criminal charges. I now hear they've been transferred to another tribunal. If your own recollection matches this account, I think it's only fair that you attend to the enforcement of your …
gregory_great · c. 594 · score 0.02
Gregory to the Empress Constantina. Almighty God, who holds your devout heart in His right hand, both protects us through you and stores up for you eternal rewards in return for your earthly deeds. I have learned from the letters of my representative, the deacon Sabinianus, how justly Your Serenity has taken up the cau …
leo_great · c. 459 · score 0.01
… of the Council's decrees, we support wholeheartedly. The Lord has given you the imperial authority not only for the governance of the state but for the protection of His Church, and we are confident that you will exercise this sacred trust with the same wisdom and firmness that have distinguished your reign. Dated from …
hormisdas · c. 522 · score 0.01
Blessed be the Trinity, our God, who has committed to you the governance of the earthly empire — to whom veneration would be owed not only by right of sovereignty, but also for the modesty and integrity of your glorious purpose. For truly we glorify God in you, seeing the fulfillment of his promises and the fruit of yo …
isidore_pelusium · c. 432 · score 0.01
To Theodore the Prefect. The ruler who governs justly builds a monument more enduring than bronze or marble — a monument of gratitude in the hearts of those he has served. But the ruler who governs unjustly digs his own grave, for the oppressed never forget and history never forgives. You have been given authority over …
gregory_great · c. 596 · score 0.01
These things having been ordained and granted by us, study in the governing of your community to show yourself so earnest and attentive in all respects that the malice of the evil one may find nothing there that can be corrupted. All these provisions, set out in this document of injunctions, we decree to be observed, u …
gregory_great · c. 592 · score 0.01
Gregory to the Emperor Mauricius. Anyone who is not blameless in all he does and says toward our most serene sovereigns is guilty before Almighty God. I, however, your Piety's unworthy servant, speak in this appeal neither as a bishop nor as your subject by right of the state, but in a private capacity — for, most sere …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
You will inevitably win public love if you make no secret promises. It would be a truly great and singular distinction if judges took nothing, in a place where so many compete to give generously. Your authority extends not only over Rome -- though Rome contains the whole world -- but the ancient laws have also extended …
isidore_pelusium · c. 431 · score 0.01
To Herminus the Count. The authority of the secular ruler is ordained by God for the maintenance of order and the punishment of evildoers, and the ruler who exercises this authority justly is a minister of God no less than the priest who offers the sacrifice. But authority misused becomes tyranny, and the ruler who opp …
isidore_pelusium · c. 429 · score 0.01
To Apollonius the Bishop: That man alone do I consider king and ruler...
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Formula of the Urban Prefecture. [The Urban Prefect (Praefectus Urbi) was the chief magistrate of Rome, responsible for law, order, public games, food supply, and the baths.] Since the reputation of any judge is always measured by the office entrusted to him, and since he must be held greater than those he is known to …
isidore_pelusium · c. 405 · score 0.01
Insofar as I surpass others in your esteem regarding honor, to that same degree I bear a heavier burden of responsibility. For honor without duty is a crown without authority, and authority without accountability is a sword without a scabbard. Let the one who is most honored serve the most, and the one who is highest b …
chrysostom · c. 380 · score 0.01
… amily which has been immersed in such great calamities as the ills in which the imperial house has been steeped. For untimely loss of parents, and of husbands, and violent forms of death, more outrageous and painful than those which occur in tragedies, especially beset this kind of government. Now passing over ancient …
hormisdas · c. 515 · score 0.01
Hormisdas to the Illustrious men, jointly. Although our concern for the ecclesiastical cause has never ceased, we have now been more promptly spurred by the sacred communications of the most serene Emperor, and we have sent legates with the favor of heavenly mercy — through whose office the good things we anticipate fr …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] It is our settled policy to crown honest labors with the palm of reward, so that the advancement of the deserving may sting the idle into action — and they can blame no one but themselves for their own stagnation, when they see what honest effort achieves. For it would be a dull and lifeless kingdom if merit went u …
isidore_pelusium · c. 411 · score 0.01
To Theodorus the Augustalis: The boastful and overbearing manner is not the mark of a ruling spirit, as you suppose, but rather the gentle and approachable manner, and treating everyone with fairness. For the former is fitting for beasts and serpents, while the latter is fitting for rulers and most beneficial to their …
gregory_great · c. 600 · score 0.01
The monks who carry this letter are engaged in the task of recovering servants who belong to the Roman monastery of Saint Demetrius. This is a legitimate exercise of the monastery's property rights, and I ask you to assist them in their efforts. Use your authority as defender to facilitate the process wherever you can …
isidore_pelusium · c. 396 · score 0.01
… s of the demands this entails. To Theodore the Augustalis. Even though you hold imperial authority, you must remember that all earthly power is temporary and borrowed from the true King, before whom every ruler must give account. Therefore exercise your office with justice and mercy, knowing that the measure you use fo …
pliny_younger · c. 112 · score 0.01
To Trajan. Sempronius Caelianus, who is an excellent young officer, has sent me two slaves who were discovered among the recruits, and I have postponed their punishment in order to consult you, who are at once the founder and upholder of military discipline, as to the penalty I should inflict What makes me specially do …
isidore_pelusium · c. 401 · score 0.01
To Basil. For those who have been established in lawful authority, prosperity will surely follow; and prosperity will be achieved when piety — the highest of all goods and the chief of divine commandments — is strengthened. Piety is supported by right belief concerning God and sincere confession, and is made manifest b …
gregory_great · c. 597 · score 0.01
We write to you concerning a matter that has been brought to our attention and demands immediate resolution. The bearer of this letter has petitioned us for justice, claiming that he was unjustly expelled from his monastery by the abbot without the hearing required by the Rule and the canons. We take such complaints se …