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
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
Bronze was discovered by Ionos, king of Thessaly; lead by Midas, king of Phrygia. How wretched it would be if, where others gained a reputation for foresight, we should seem to have earned one for neglect! Temples and public buildings that we granted to many petitioners for restoration have instead been given over to d …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.02
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 0.02
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 0.01
You should gladly obey Roman custom, to which you have been restored after so long -- for the return is welcome to a place where your ancestors are known to have prospered. Therefore, recalled by God's grace to your ancient liberty, clothe yourselves in the manners of the toga. Cast off barbarism; throw away the cruelt …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Ancient wisdom providently decreed that the public should be admonished by general edicts, through which every offense is corrected while the individual offender's dignity is spared. Everyone thinks the warning is aimed at them when no one is singled out, and the man who happens to be cleansed under a general proclamat …
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 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
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
Although we wish to devote unflagging care to our entire state and, with God's favor, to restore all things to their former condition, the city of Rome demands our most anxious attention, because every improvement there brings joy to all. It has come to our knowledge through the reports of many -- who cannot conceal wi …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theoderic to the Senate of the City of Rome. [1] It is fitting that a ruler who delights in the cultivation of learning should also publicly honor those who excel in it. The study of letters is not only an ornament of peacetime but also a defense of civilization — for those peoples that neglect learning gradually …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
If the idle populations of individual cities are kept in check by fair pricing, how much more should relief be provided to those who are working — so that the welfare of travelers is not wounded by unforeseen exploitation! The reception of wayfarers ought to be a respite from their cares, not a source of detestable bur …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theodoric to Osuin, Vir Illustris [Most Illustrious], Count. It is itself a declaration of innocence to have chosen to come before us, where there is no room for violence and no cause to fear the corruption of greed. Maurentius and Paula, deprived of their father's protection, testify that they are being exposed t …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theodoric to Faustus, Praetorian Prefect. Since our generosity is always looking for a worthy object, and sometimes bestows its bounty even on less essential persons out of a love for clemency — how much more does it delight in spending where the public interest is served, since every gift to the state doubles the …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Let ordinary judges retain the full power of their offices. Let the lawful population attend their proper courts. Do not resent the jurisdiction of others. The glory of the Goths is the preservation of civilized order [civilitas -- the key concept in Theoderic's ideology, meaning that Goths would protect but not interf …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theodoric to Faustus, Praetorian Prefect. While we wish every part of our state to prosper equally, increases in tax revenue must be weighed with the most scrupulous judgment. The growth of the tax burden means the diminishment of those who serve, and the more the one side gains, the more the other loses its stren …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theodoric to the Counts, Defensores [city advocates], and Town Councillors of the City of Ticinum [modern Pavia]. [The Heruli were a Germanic people who had been settled as foederati (allied troops) within the Ostrogothic kingdom.] We have ordered the Herulian petitioners to come, with God's help, to our court in …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
My Senate grows in honors, increases ceaselessly in wealth. "Do not through discord scatter what you ought to defend through war. I have had many kings, but never one so learned. I have had wise men, but none so distinguished in both learning and devotion. I love this son of the Amal line [Witigis], nursed at my breast …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
Everyone should gladly contribute what they see can serve the public good, since the limbs must feel what affects the whole body. We therefore decree by the present order that you are to find as many grain barges as you can in the city of Ravenna, load them with state grain, and bring them to us, so that the public foo …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
[1] It is fitting, most wise Emperor, that you should gladly grant us those things which, if we were negligent in seeking them, your own clemency would rightly urge us to request. For the harmony between our realms serves not merely our interests but the peace of the civilized world. When the powers that guard its west …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theoderic to the Emperor Anastasius. [1] It befits us, most merciful Emperor, to seek peace, since we are known to have no cause for anger — for that man is already bound by his own conduct who is found unprepared for what is just. In every kingdom, tranquility ought to be desired, in which both peoples flourish a …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
No one doubts that people are refreshed by pleasant variety, because great weariness of the mind comes from the unbroken continuation of anything. The sweetness of honey, if consumed constantly, becomes repulsive. Even fair weather, however eagerly desired, loses its charm when it never changes. Not without reason -- s …
cassiodorus · c. 522 · score 0.01
King Theodoric to Helpidius, Deacon. What is given to the deserving counts as a gain for both sides, since the very act of giving achieves more when worthy men receive what they are due. From your petition we have learned that certain properties in the city of Spoleto [in Umbria, central Italy], which the long neglect …