Resultados25 letters/passages
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 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 0.02
They will be troubled by the usual tax demands. They will tremble at the face of the tax collector -- they who previously did not know what it was to receive orders from the authorities. Wearied by a blissful ignorance of such matters, they will begin to dread the same levies through which they were once feared. And in …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
Your greatness's report has informed us that a water diviner has come to Rome from the regions of Africa, where this art is always cultivated with great zeal because of the dryness of the land. He is one who can provide water to arid places, making habitable through his skill areas desiccated by extreme barrenness. Kno …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
[1] Gifts from neighboring kings that are sought for the sake of prestige should not be scorned, since small things often accomplish more than great wealth can achieve. What arms cannot complete, the charms of pleasant artistry can impose. Let there be statecraft, then, even when we seem to be at play -- for we pursue …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
[1] We have decided to send our agent Tatanes with a company of archers to join the illustrious Count Wiliarius, so that the reinforced army may gain greater strength. Let our young men display in battle what they learned in the school of valor. Let the training grounds of Mars send forth their tested recruits: a man f …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Certain fountains are indeed recorded to bubble forth with various marvels — some, when drunk by animals, produce various colors; another makes flocks white; some convert wood they receive into stony hardness. But no reasoning grasps these causes, because what is attributed solely to the nature of things is recognized …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Rejoice together, Goths and Romans alike -- here is a wonder for all to proclaim! By God's grace, our blessed queen has fulfilled what is finest in both sexes: she has given us a glorious king and defended a vast empire through the strength of her spirit. These things touch on military affairs and are reported as best …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theoderic to the Senate of the City of Rome. [1] The Senate of Rome is the ancient guardian of Roman tradition, and it is our constant care to ensure that this venerable institution retains its dignity and authority. A kingdom that has lost respect for its institutions has lost something essential to its greatness …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
You will recall, wisest of Emperors, that both through our ambassadors and through the very eloquent Peter, whom Your Piety recently sent to us, we have shown how earnestly we desire harmony with your August Serenity. Now again, through the same most holy man, I thought it right to repeat these appeals — so that you ma …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] There is no doubt that the protection of the postal service serves the public good, since through it our orders are carried out with the greatest speed. Therefore all the more care must be taken over this vital service, so that the horses assigned to continuous relay duty do not waste away in shameful emaciation, l …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] Although many kings have sought alliance with us, and we have given granddaughters and daughters in marriage, with God's inspiration, to strengthen those bonds, we consider that we gave nothing comparable to what we did when we made our own sister -- the singular glory of the Amal dynasty -- your wife: a woman equa …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] If criminal desire is accustomed to lurk even around locked and fortified houses, how much more must it be attracted in the city of Rome, where one finds precious objects worth stealing right in the streets? For there is a kind of vast populace of statues, and herds upon herds of horses [bronze equestrian statues], …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
The blessings of our times seize our attention and, like travelers parched by a long drought, invite us to drink from the sweetest spring. What a fortunate age! Under a prince still at leisure, a mother's affection reigns, and through her everything is accomplished so that we all feel sheltered by a universal care. She …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] Anduit's tearful petition moved us, but what made it more pitiable still was the man's loss of sight. A man who survives in perpetual darkness hastened to seek our aid, guided by borrowed light, so that even if he could not see his sovereign, he might at least feel the warmth of our mercy. He cries out that Gudila …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] Although we trust that your judgment disapproves of all wrongdoing, we are most confident that you detest whatever attacks the bonds of lawful marriage. For with what spirit can men of continence receive news of conduct that even laypeople condemn with disgust? Julian has therefore come before us with a tearful pet …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theoderic to Bacauda, vir spectabilis. Our munificence strengthens wearied years, so that a declining age need not feel the hardships of want. For the vigor of young men is animated by the presumption of labor, but the sole life of the elderly is to find remedies in rest. Therefore, moved by your petition, we decr …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theodoric to the Haesti [a Baltic people]. Through the arrival of your envoys, we learned that you have gone to great lengths to make our acquaintance — you who dwell on the shores of the Ocean [the Baltic Sea] yet seek to join your minds with ours. A welcome and pleasing request indeed: that our fame should reach …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] The custom of royal generosity reminds us that we must bestow the customary gifts upon our Goths. Accordingly, your Devotion is to notify the millenarii [Gothic unit commanders, each responsible for roughly a thousand warriors] of the province of Picenum and Samnium without any delay, so that those who receive the …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Let the celebrated reputation of the Coral Sea give way! Let the fame of the Indian Ocean, renowned for the whiteness of its pearls, rise up in comparison! What good are such prices to me if the spirit does not enjoy what it desires? Nothing can be more excellent than the shores of Baiae, where one can feast on the swe …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] There is no point in building something soundly if presumption is allowed to destroy what has been established. What is truly durable is what prudence begins and vigilance preserves. Greater care, then, must be taken in maintaining things than in creating them, because credit for beginning belongs to the inventor, …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Athalaric to the Chief Secretary [Primiscrinius]. [The Primiscrinius was the senior secretary of the Praetorian Prefecture's staff. Baiae, on the Bay of Naples, was the most famous spa resort of the ancient world, renowned for its hot springs.] You report that, after long labors at your post, you have been so grav …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theodoric to the Senate of the City of Rome. It is agreeable to us, senators, to raise new persons to the heights of honor. We take pleasure in grafting men of foreign stock into the bosom of Liberty [the Senate], so that the Senate chamber may flourish with varied virtues. Such a multitude adorns an assembly, and …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
It is a matter of deep concern to us that the liberal arts -- which have always been the glory of Rome -- should continue to flourish under our reign. The cultivation of the mind is the foundation upon which civilization rests. Without skilled teachers, the next generation will lack the knowledge to govern, to plead in …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Receive, conscript fathers, the appointment that marks the beginning of our reign. First decisions are always scrutinized more closely, because people believe the sequel will match the start. No one expects a ruler to be careful later if he is not seen guarding his reputation from the very first. A prudent gardener str …