IV. KING THEODERIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.
[1] We desire, Conscript Fathers, that your assembly be adorned with the bloom of various honors; we desire that the Genius of Liberty behold a welcome throng of senators. For such a gathering is indeed the glory of rulers, and whatever is viewed among you in festive celebration is truly credited to our own renown. [2] Yet this above all we eagerly seek: that luminaries of high office should adorn your body, since those who have risen through palatine authority fittingly return their gains to the homeland. Our attention searches out such men; we rejoice at finding these treasuries of character, in whom — as in figured portraits of the magistracies — the clemency of our serenity is expressed. [3] Hence it is that to Cassiodorus, a man of illustrious and magnificent rank, most renowned for his exceptional distinction in public service, we have conferred the eminence of the patriciate as his due reward — so that the merits of a loyal servant might be declared by the honor of that great title. He has not been raised up by fragile fortune, swept to the summit of office by sudden leaps of luck's caprice; rather, as virtues are wont to grow, he has ascended to the pinnacle of renown by measured stages of public honor. [4] His first entry into administration, as you know, was grounded in the weighty office of Count of the Private Estates, where — not stumbling with the unsteadiness of a novice, nor erring even innocently through the fault of inexperience — he walked with the firm step of self-restraint, living as an example worth imitating. Thereafter, having assumed the honor of Count of the Sacred Largesses, he grew in the praise of his conduct as much as he had advanced in dignity. [5] What shall we say of the discipline he restored to the provinces, of the monuments of justice he instilled among every class of men? He lived with such temperance that he both established equity by his precepts and taught it by his example. For a judge of clean hands is an easy persuader of righteousness, under whose admirable conduct it becomes shameful not to possess praiseworthy morals. Who indeed will fear wrongdoing, when he sees an accomplice of crime in the judge's very bosom? He who is unjust puts on in vain the mask of feigned severity: an avaricious man cannot effectively discourage the pursuit of money, and he who is himself unjust cannot credibly urge obedience to the laws. The power of fair dealing belongs not to him whose authority a free conscience does not sustain — for crimes stand in fear only when they are believed to displease the judges themselves. [6] Thus trained in these exercises under the preceding reign, he arrived at our palace crowned with well-earned praises. For you will remember — the memory of recent events still serves you — with what moderation he conducted himself when placed at the pinnacle of the praetorian prefecture, and how, elevated to that height, he only the more looked down upon the vices of the prosperous. [7] Puffed up by no favor of fortune, as is the habit of most men, did he raise himself upon the high buskin of great power. Rather, governing all things with equity, he did not make our goodwill toward him odious. He caused greater things to be hoped for him by confining great accomplishments within the bounds of modesty. For this is the most welcome fruit of a proven conscience: that although one may have attained the highest things, he is nevertheless judged by all to deserve still more. He joined well our treasury's advantage with the welfare of all: generous to the public purse, and gracious to those who paid their just dues. [8] The commonwealth then perceived in that man from the Romulean assembly a champion of integrity, who, although he made himself glorious by self-restraint, conferred this still greater gift: that he left behind an example of upright conduct for those who follow. For it shames a man to sin who appears to have been able to succeed the praiseworthy. He was, as you know, respected by soldiers, gentle with provincials, eager to give, disdainful of taking — a detester of crime, a lover of equity. This was not difficult for him to maintain, since he had resolved to keep his hands from the property of others. For it is the mark of an unconquered spirit to love the advantage of reputation and to despise the profits of lawsuits. [9] But let those who did not know the most noble character of his father and grandfather properly marvel at these things in him. For fame celebrates the preceding Cassiodori. Although that name may seem to belong to others, it is known to be the peculiar property of his family — an ancient lineage, a celebrated stock, distinguished among the gowned and eminent among men of valor, when they flourished in the strength of their limbs and the stature of their bodies. [10] For the father of the present candidate held with praise the office of Tribune and Notary under the Emperor Valentinian — an honor that was then given to the outstanding, since it is agreed that only those are chosen for the imperial secretariat in whom the fault of blame cannot be found. [11] But as kindred spirits always tend to seek one another, he was joined by great affection to the Patrician Aetius for the aid of the commonwealth — whom the ruler of the world then followed in every part of his counsel on account of his wisdom and glorious labors in the state. He was therefore sent, not without result, on an embassy to Attila, that lord of arms, together with Aetius's son Carpilio. He beheld unafraid the one whom the Empire feared; he despised those terrible, threatening looks, sustained by truth, and did not hesitate to oppose the arguments of one who, carried away by some kind of fury, seemed to demand dominion over the world. [12] He found a king who was proud, but left him pacified. He destroyed Attila's deceitful allegations with such force of truth that the king was willing to seek friendship — he to whom it would have been advantageous not to have peace with the richest of kingdoms. His steadfastness raised the spirits of the fearful party, nor were they deemed unwarlike who appeared to be armed with such ambassadors. He brought back a peace that had been despaired of. What that embassy accomplished may be judged by the fact that it was received with as much gratitude as it had been desired. [13] Soon he was offered the honor of the Illustrious rank and the gifts of revenue as an impartial judge. But he, richest rather in his native moderation, accepted the honorary dignity and in place of further rewards sought out the delightful retreats of Bruttium. The Emperor could not refuse the desired quiet to one who had made him safe from a monstrous enemy: he sorrowfully parted from his service the man he knew to have been indispensable. [14] His grandfather Cassiodorus, likewise girded with the Illustrious rank — which could not be denied to that family — freed Bruttium and Sicily from the incursion of the Vandals by armed defense, so that he rightly held the leading position in those provinces that he had defended from so cruel and sudden an enemy. The commonwealth was thus indebted to his valor, because Genseric did not invade those provinces so near to him — the same Genseric whom Rome itself later suffered in his savagery. [15] Moreover, they were also distinguished by ancestral renown in the regions of the East. For Heliodorus, who in that commonwealth held the prefecture with distinction for eighteen years within our memory, was proven to be joined to their kinship — a family illustrious in both halves of the world, fittingly connected to both senates, shining with purest distinction like eyes illumined by twin lights. For where does any nobility extend further than one that has earned its fame in both halves of the world? [16] He too lived in his province with the honor of a judge and the security of a private citizen: more eminent in nobility than all, he drew the hearts of all to himself, so that those who by right of freedom could not be subjected appeared rather to be gently bound by continual benefactions. [17] Indeed, he gloried in such abundance of his patrimony that, among his other blessings, he surpassed princes in his herds of horses, and by giving frequently earned no envy. Hence it is that our candidate always arms the Gothic armies, and, being better by good upbringing, he preserves by hereditary generosity what he received from his forebears. [18] Our Dignity has run through these things in order so that everyone may understand that the praises of his ancestors too can be revived in our regard by one who has chosen to live according to illustrious principles. And therefore, Conscript Fathers — since the honor of good men is advantageous to you, and your assent accompanies our judgment — let his advancement be received under a favorable omen, he who has made himself welcome to all. For it is repayment rather than reward: those who have honored you by praiseworthy conduct may now rejoice in your favor in return.
IV. SENATUI URBIS ROMAE THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Optamus quidem, patres conscripti, coronam vestram diversorum fascium flore depingi: optamus, ut Libertatis genius gratam videat turbam senatus. conventus siquidem talium est dignitas imperantum, et quicquid in vobis festiva gratulatione respicitur, nostris vere laudibus applicatur. [2] Illud tamen maxime desideranter appetimus, ut collegium vestrum ornent lumina dignitatum, quando decenter augmenta patriae reddunt, qui aulica potestate creverunt. hos viros nostra perscrutatur intentio: his morum thesauris gaudemus inventis, in quibus velut figuratis honorum vultibus clementia nostrae serenitatis exprimitur. [3] Hinc est quod Cassiodoro illustri et magnifico viro praecipua in re publica claritate notissimo, patriciatus dedimus pro remuneratione suggestum: ut honore magni nominis declararentur merita servientis. qui non fragili felicitate provectus fortunae ludo ad apicem fascium repentinis successionibus evolavit, sed, ut crescere virtutes solent, ad praeconii fastigium conscendit gradibus dignitatum. [4] Primus enim, ut scitis, amministrationis introitus comitivae privatarum mole fundatus est, ubi non tirociniorum infirmitate titubans novitatis vitio vel innocenter erravit, sed abstinentiae firmato vestigio imitando vixit exemplo. qui mox deinde sacrarum largitionum honore suscepto crevit conversationis laude, quantum profecerat dignitate. [5] Quid provinciis redditam disciplinam, quid diverso generi hominum monimenta iustitiae infusa referamus? vixit tanta continentia, ut aequitatem et institueret monitis et doceret exemplis. facilis enim recti persuasor est innocens iudex, sub cuius praedicabili conversatione pudet mores probabiles non habere. quis enim vereatur scelus, cuius in suggestu gremii complicem videt? in cassum personam fictae severitatis inducit, cum avarus pecuniae ambitum dissuadet, cum legibus parendum censet iniustus. non habet distributionis genium, cui auctoritatem libera conscientia non ministrat, quoniam excessus tunc sunt in formidine, cum creduntur iudicibus displicere. [6] His itaque sub praecedenti roge gymnasiis exercitatus emeritis laudibus ad palatia nostra pervenit. meministis enim, et adhuc vobis recentium rerum memoria ministratur, qua moderatione praetoriano culmini locatus incederit et evectus in celsum inde magis despexerit vitia prosperorum. [7] Nullo quippe, ut plerisque moris est, elatus favore fortunae in cothurnum se magnae potestatis erexit, sed aequitate cuncta moderatus gratiam nostram in se non reddidit odiosam. maiora sibi fecit optari, dum intra modestiae terminos magna cohibuit. hinc est enim probatae conscientiae gratissimus fructus, ut, quamvis summa potuerit adipisci, iudicetur tamen ab omnibus plus mereri. iunxit bene cum universorum gaudiis nostra compendia, aerario munificus et iuste solventibus gratiosus. [8] Sensit tunc res publica ex illo coetu Romuleo innocentiae virum, qui licet se moderando gloriosum fecerit, hoc tamen maius contulit, quod bonae actionis exemplum sequentibus dereliquit. pudet enim eum peccare, qui laudatis videtur potuisse succedere. fuit itaque, ut scitis, militibus verendus, provincialibus mitis, dandi avidus, accipiendi fastidiosus, detestator criminis, amator aequitatis. quod non fuit illi custodire difficile, qui se a rebus alienis decreverat abstinere. est enim invicti animi signum famae diligere commodum et lucra potius odisse causarum. [9] Verum haec in illo iure mirentur, qui patris atque avi mores nobilissimos nesciverunt. Cassiodoros siquidem praecedentes fama concelebrat. quod vocabulum etsi per alios videatur currere, proprium tamen eius constat esse familiae. antique proles, laudata prosapies, cum togatis clari, inter viros fortes eximii, quando et valitudine membrorum et corporis proceritate floruerunt. [10] Pater enim candidati sub Valentiniano principe gessit tribuni et notarii laudabiliter dignitatem: honor qui tunc dabatur egregiis; dum ad imperiale secretum tales constet eligi, in quibus reprehensionis vitium nequeat inveniri. [11] Sed ut se pares animi solent semper eligere, patricio Aetio pro iuvanda re publica magna fuit caritate sociatus: quem tunc rerum dominus propter sapientiam sui et gloriosos in re publica labores in omni consilii parte sequebatur. ad Attilam igitur armorum potentem cum supra dicti filio Carpilione legationis est officio non irrite destinatus. vidit intrepidus quem timebat imperium; facies illas terribiles et minaces fretus veritate despexit nec dubitavit eius altercationibus obviare, qui furore nescio quo raptatus mundi dominatum videbatur expetere. [12] Invenit regem superbum, sed reliquit placatum et calumniosas eius allegationes tanta veritate destruxit, ut voluisset gratiam quaerere, cui expediebat pacem cum regno ditissimo non habere. erigebat constantia sua partes timentes, nec inbelles sunt crediti, qui legatis talibus videbantur armari. pacem retulit desperatam. cuius legatio quid profecerit, datur intellegi, quae tantum est gratanter excepta, quantum et videbatur optata. [13] Mox honorem illustratus, mox redituum dona aequus arbiter offerebat. sed ille potius nativa moderatione ditissimus dignitatem suscipiens otiosam in remunerationis locum expetiit amoenissima Bruttiorum. negare illi non potuit optatam quietem, qui eum reddiderat ab inmani hoste securum: tristis ab obsequio suo reliquit, quem sibi necessarium fuisse cognovit. [14] Avus enim Cassiodorus inlustratus honore praecinctus, qui eius generi non poterat abnegari, a VVandalorum incursione Bruttios Siciliamque armorum defensione liberavit, ut merito primatum in illis provinciis haberet, quas a tam saevo et repentino hoste defendit. debuit itaque virtutibus eius res publica, quod illas provincias tam vicinas Gensiricus non invasit, quem postea truculentum Roma sustinuit. [15] Hi autem et in partibus Orientis parentum laude viguerunt. Heliodorus enim, qui in illa re publica nobis videntibus praefecturam bis novenis annis gessit eximie, eorum consanguinitati probabatur adiungi. genus in utroque orbe praeclarum, quod gemino senatui decenter aptatum tamquam duobus luminibus oculatum purissima claritate radiavit. quo enim se quaevis nobilitas ultra distendit quam haec, quae in utroque orbe clara esse promeruit? [16] Vixit et ipse in provincia honore iudicis et securitate privati: cunctis illis nobilitate potior omnium ad se animos adtrahebat, ut qui libertatis iure non poterant subdi, viderentur magis continuis beneficiis suaviter obligari. [17] Tanta quin etiam patrimonii sui ubertate gloriatus est, ut inter reliqua bona equinis gregibus principes vinceret et donando saepius invidiam non haberet. hinc est, quod candidatus noster Gothorum semper armat exercitus et, bono instituto melior, quod a parentibus accepit hereditaria largitate custodit. [18] Quae ideo per ordinem nostra dignatio percucurrit, ut unusquisque intellegat et parentum suorum apud nos laudes posse reparare qui vivere praeclaris elegerit institutis. et ideo, patres conscripti, quia vobis est commodus honor bonorum et iudicium nostrum vester comitatur assensus, prospero auspicio suscipiator eius provectus, qui sibi fecit gratiam patere cunctorum. est enim potius vicissitudo quam praemium, ut qui vos probabili actione coluerunt, reciproco favore gratulentur.
◆
IV. KING THEODERIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.
[1] We desire, Conscript Fathers, that your assembly be adorned with the bloom of various honors; we desire that the Genius of Liberty behold a welcome throng of senators. For such a gathering is indeed the glory of rulers, and whatever is viewed among you in festive celebration is truly credited to our own renown. [2] Yet this above all we eagerly seek: that luminaries of high office should adorn your body, since those who have risen through palatine authority fittingly return their gains to the homeland. Our attention searches out such men; we rejoice at finding these treasuries of character, in whom — as in figured portraits of the magistracies — the clemency of our serenity is expressed. [3] Hence it is that to Cassiodorus, a man of illustrious and magnificent rank, most renowned for his exceptional distinction in public service, we have conferred the eminence of the patriciate as his due reward — so that the merits of a loyal servant might be declared by the honor of that great title. He has not been raised up by fragile fortune, swept to the summit of office by sudden leaps of luck's caprice; rather, as virtues are wont to grow, he has ascended to the pinnacle of renown by measured stages of public honor. [4] His first entry into administration, as you know, was grounded in the weighty office of Count of the Private Estates, where — not stumbling with the unsteadiness of a novice, nor erring even innocently through the fault of inexperience — he walked with the firm step of self-restraint, living as an example worth imitating. Thereafter, having assumed the honor of Count of the Sacred Largesses, he grew in the praise of his conduct as much as he had advanced in dignity. [5] What shall we say of the discipline he restored to the provinces, of the monuments of justice he instilled among every class of men? He lived with such temperance that he both established equity by his precepts and taught it by his example. For a judge of clean hands is an easy persuader of righteousness, under whose admirable conduct it becomes shameful not to possess praiseworthy morals. Who indeed will fear wrongdoing, when he sees an accomplice of crime in the judge's very bosom? He who is unjust puts on in vain the mask of feigned severity: an avaricious man cannot effectively discourage the pursuit of money, and he who is himself unjust cannot credibly urge obedience to the laws. The power of fair dealing belongs not to him whose authority a free conscience does not sustain — for crimes stand in fear only when they are believed to displease the judges themselves. [6] Thus trained in these exercises under the preceding reign, he arrived at our palace crowned with well-earned praises. For you will remember — the memory of recent events still serves you — with what moderation he conducted himself when placed at the pinnacle of the praetorian prefecture, and how, elevated to that height, he only the more looked down upon the vices of the prosperous. [7] Puffed up by no favor of fortune, as is the habit of most men, did he raise himself upon the high buskin of great power. Rather, governing all things with equity, he did not make our goodwill toward him odious. He caused greater things to be hoped for him by confining great accomplishments within the bounds of modesty. For this is the most welcome fruit of a proven conscience: that although one may have attained the highest things, he is nevertheless judged by all to deserve still more. He joined well our treasury's advantage with the welfare of all: generous to the public purse, and gracious to those who paid their just dues. [8] The commonwealth then perceived in that man from the Romulean assembly a champion of integrity, who, although he made himself glorious by self-restraint, conferred this still greater gift: that he left behind an example of upright conduct for those who follow. For it shames a man to sin who appears to have been able to succeed the praiseworthy. He was, as you know, respected by soldiers, gentle with provincials, eager to give, disdainful of taking — a detester of crime, a lover of equity. This was not difficult for him to maintain, since he had resolved to keep his hands from the property of others. For it is the mark of an unconquered spirit to love the advantage of reputation and to despise the profits of lawsuits. [9] But let those who did not know the most noble character of his father and grandfather properly marvel at these things in him. For fame celebrates the preceding Cassiodori. Although that name may seem to belong to others, it is known to be the peculiar property of his family — an ancient lineage, a celebrated stock, distinguished among the gowned and eminent among men of valor, when they flourished in the strength of their limbs and the stature of their bodies. [10] For the father of the present candidate held with praise the office of Tribune and Notary under the Emperor Valentinian — an honor that was then given to the outstanding, since it is agreed that only those are chosen for the imperial secretariat in whom the fault of blame cannot be found. [11] But as kindred spirits always tend to seek one another, he was joined by great affection to the Patrician Aetius for the aid of the commonwealth — whom the ruler of the world then followed in every part of his counsel on account of his wisdom and glorious labors in the state. He was therefore sent, not without result, on an embassy to Attila, that lord of arms, together with Aetius's son Carpilio. He beheld unafraid the one whom the Empire feared; he despised those terrible, threatening looks, sustained by truth, and did not hesitate to oppose the arguments of one who, carried away by some kind of fury, seemed to demand dominion over the world. [12] He found a king who was proud, but left him pacified. He destroyed Attila's deceitful allegations with such force of truth that the king was willing to seek friendship — he to whom it would have been advantageous not to have peace with the richest of kingdoms. His steadfastness raised the spirits of the fearful party, nor were they deemed unwarlike who appeared to be armed with such ambassadors. He brought back a peace that had been despaired of. What that embassy accomplished may be judged by the fact that it was received with as much gratitude as it had been desired. [13] Soon he was offered the honor of the Illustrious rank and the gifts of revenue as an impartial judge. But he, richest rather in his native moderation, accepted the honorary dignity and in place of further rewards sought out the delightful retreats of Bruttium. The Emperor could not refuse the desired quiet to one who had made him safe from a monstrous enemy: he sorrowfully parted from his service the man he knew to have been indispensable. [14] His grandfather Cassiodorus, likewise girded with the Illustrious rank — which could not be denied to that family — freed Bruttium and Sicily from the incursion of the Vandals by armed defense, so that he rightly held the leading position in those provinces that he had defended from so cruel and sudden an enemy. The commonwealth was thus indebted to his valor, because Genseric did not invade those provinces so near to him — the same Genseric whom Rome itself later suffered in his savagery. [15] Moreover, they were also distinguished by ancestral renown in the regions of the East. For Heliodorus, who in that commonwealth held the prefecture with distinction for eighteen years within our memory, was proven to be joined to their kinship — a family illustrious in both halves of the world, fittingly connected to both senates, shining with purest distinction like eyes illumined by twin lights. For where does any nobility extend further than one that has earned its fame in both halves of the world? [16] He too lived in his province with the honor of a judge and the security of a private citizen: more eminent in nobility than all, he drew the hearts of all to himself, so that those who by right of freedom could not be subjected appeared rather to be gently bound by continual benefactions. [17] Indeed, he gloried in such abundance of his patrimony that, among his other blessings, he surpassed princes in his herds of horses, and by giving frequently earned no envy. Hence it is that our candidate always arms the Gothic armies, and, being better by good upbringing, he preserves by hereditary generosity what he received from his forebears. [18] Our Dignity has run through these things in order so that everyone may understand that the praises of his ancestors too can be revived in our regard by one who has chosen to live according to illustrious principles. And therefore, Conscript Fathers — since the honor of good men is advantageous to you, and your assent accompanies our judgment — let his advancement be received under a favorable omen, he who has made himself welcome to all. For it is repayment rather than reward: those who have honored you by praiseworthy conduct may now rejoice in your favor in return.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.