Resultados25 letters/passages
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
… office, then, equals his in power. He judges everywhere in place of the sacred [imperial] authority. No soldier may claim jurisdiction over him, except the staff of the Master of Soldiers -- a concession, I believe, because antiquity chose to yield something to those who were seen to conduct wars for the state. He even …
gelasius_i · c. 494 · score 0.02
… hings pertaining to the public order, the bishops themselves recognize that the imperial governance has been conferred upon you by divine arrangement, and they obey your laws, lest they should seem to resist the order established for worldly affairs. With what affection, I ask, ought you to obey those who have been ass …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
How dangerous it is to face a judge who is reasonably angry, and to have the man whose wrath you have gravely provoked decide your fate! Strive, therefore, to be praised by our voice instead, for just as an unfavorable word from the judge can bring you down, so a favorable sentence can raise you up. Go forth, then, wit …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
Formula of the Praetorian Prefecture. [The Variae include official formulae -- template documents describing the powers and dignities of major offices, used when appointing new holders.] If the origin of any office deserves praise, if a noble beginning can lend glory to what follows, then the Praetorian Prefecture boas …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
This is why in the Hall of Liberty [the Atrium Libertatis, a famous public building in Rome] you hold a seat of honor, and merely to have entered there is a distinction. Even senators who outrank you in precedence are seen to need certain things from you. You have something to offer those above you, and not without rea …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
It is useful always to choose one person for the rest to obey, because if the will of many is left undirected, a confusion friendly to wrongdoing is bred. Therefore, know that we have granted the countship of your city for the designated indiction to the named individual. Offer him your wholesome obedience, so that he …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Among the glorious concerns of the state that we continually review in our thoughts with God's help, close to our heart is the relief of the humble -- so that we may raise the shield of our devotion against the arrogance of the powerful, and no brazenness whose purpose is to trample the proud may have any standing with …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
It befits royal justice to uphold what has been properly arranged by officials acting in good faith — especially those whose integrity is so well known that they can be assumed to have done nothing carelessly or corruptly. Therefore, the warehouse managers, grain distributors, wine and cheese suppliers, butchers, wine …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
It is generally agreed that things go well wherever a person in authority is present. Without a leader, everything falls into confusion, and when each person thinks he can live according to his own will, the rule of discipline is abandoned. Following ancient custom, therefore, our authority grants you jurisdiction over …
ambrose_milan · c. 381 · score 0.01
Ambrose explains why he refused to appear at the imperial consistory when summoned. He argues that in matters of faith, only bishops can rightly judge, and that he was not being defiant but defending the rights of his order. He warns that Auxentius [an Arian bishop who claimed the see of …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Rightly so, since both are given with a similar grace and ought to be managed by the same judge, as they are seen to be joined in equal praise. It is not a small thing that provincial judges are subject to your authority. You also confirm the documents of the highest officials, since nothing is considered complete unti …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
It is the custom of deputies to obey the will of the judges they represent so completely that they seem to have no standing of their own. They shine with borrowed light, lean on another's authority, and appear to be mere images of the real thing -- men who possess no independent brilliance. But you bear the title of Vi …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
We believe it pertains to the credit of your office if we assign you duties suited to your responsibilities, since a man is rendered all the more pleasing the more occasions for obedience he is shown to have accepted. Therefore, with your office managing the process, you will promptly transmit to the bureaus of the Cou …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] It is fitting that the provinces subject to our rule, with God's help, be governed by law and good morals, because the only truly human life is one ordered by the rule of law. Living at the mercy of chance is the way of wild beasts: driven by the impulse to seize, they fall victim to their own reckless daring. A sk …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Bear it with the strength of your intellect and strive to manage it with the utmost loyalty. The more this office is pressed by diverse responsibilities, the more ample is the glory it brings. Let your actions shine so brightly that your light illuminates both our palace and the farthest provinces. Let your wisdom matc …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
… rocity is rendered to them, the body of the state is kept whole. Some time ago, imperial decrees provided certain devout contributions to the sacred churches throughout Bruttium and Lucania. But as is natural to sacrilegious minds — which manage to sin even against divine reverence itself — the revenue officers, under …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] Although anyone who devotes even the slightest care to his own city is rightly considered honorable, and enjoys great reverence among his fellow citizens for professing to love them, nevertheless the honor conferred by our appointment is beyond question — because the person entrusted with something by the authority …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
There are times when a ruler must speak not to individuals but to all his people at once, and this is such a time. The circumstances of the present day require clarity, firmness, and above all confidence in the order that has sustained us through generations. We address you on several matters of urgent public concern. …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
A personal exemption does not prejudice public law, because a ruler is permitted to be generous, and royal munificence cannot be confined within the bounds of statute. Let harsh anger be restrained by the strictest rules; let restless ambition be checked by law. But clemency has no law, and benevolence should not be fo …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
A judge's deliberation must assign proven men to public business, so that what is difficult to obtain in a time of scarcity may be easily accomplished. In times of abundance, any person can manage; it is when necessity presses that experienced agents are required. Therefore, I order your proven competence — which has g …
isidore_pelusium · c. 418 · score 0.01
Authority and kingship, that which all men fight to possess, have taken away from many not only the good life, but often life itself. Let them therefore not consider this alone — whether failure attends those who pursue power — but let them also weigh whether the power they attain brings them happiness or misery. For h …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] The logic of ancient custom urges us to instruct through written documents those who receive their appointments from afar, since we cannot inform them in person. It is better to teach through letters than to leave office-holders ignorant of what is expected of them. For a dignity that comes without instruction is l …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
The wisdom of antiquity rightly provided that those who serve the public interest should receive the just rewards of their labor, so that no one who deserved praise for honorable service should be overlooked. For to what office would compensation be paid, if the rewards for praetorian service were delayed? Nearly every …
augustine_hippo · c. 419 · score 0.01
… e Emperors Honorius and Theodosius, Augusti, to Bishop Aurelius — greetings. An imperial decree against the Pelagians. 1. Pelagius and Caelestius [the two chief proponents of the heresy denying original sin and the necessity of divine grace], authors of a wicked and execrable doctrine, have been condemned by the judgme …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
If a position should be judged by its labors, and if praiseworthy attention to public business earns favor for the man who serves generously, then your office deserves the highest regard -- for its own demands are known to remove any delay from our orders. Everyone knows how quickly you arrange a vast fleet of ships at …