Letter 42

VARIAE, BOOK 1, LETTER 42 From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus To: Artemidorus, Prefect of the City, a Distinguished Man Date: ~507-511 AD Context: Theoderic elevates Artemidorus to the urban prefecture, praising his long loyal service and arguing that Rome is so unique a charge that its governor must be uniquely trusted. [1] Rewarding merit reveals a ruler's just government, since under such a lord nothing that anyone has labored for can perish. If we bestow unexpected gifts, how can we deny what is owed? Every act of devotion banks its reward safely with us, and the man who has proven his obedience to us in any way reaps a double harvest. [2] You earned from us long ago a distinction more precious than any office -- the right to attend our royal side. Our affection endured your delay; in a lover of your advancement, you gained your cause more slowly, so that after the experience of our sacred friendship, you might arrive at honors more polished. For everything from which human beings seek renown was gathered together in you: homeland, family, brilliant education. Any one of these completes a man's nobility; in you, combined, they accomplish far more -- you who shine no less by the fortune of your birthplace than by the glory of your lineage and the adornment of your character. [3] This is why we now raise you, in the third indiction, to the summit of the urban prefecture, granting you the highest office in the city where honors are eternal. We, who assess our own gifts with some modesty, must frankly admit: you have earned much from our judgment, to be able to preside over that assembly which you know to be revered by all mankind. [4] Is governing the palace the same as managing a private house? Often an office gains its reputation from the distinction of what is entrusted to it; guarding a wine cellar is quite different from guarding precious crowns. The most valuable things we give to the best men to protect, and where we cannot tolerate any loss, we entrust the responsibility to the most faithful minds. If Rome has an equal, then judge that we have entrusted similar things to others; but if she is uniquely good, then we are making you the judge of something extraordinary -- something we wish always to increase.

XLII. ARTEMIDORO V. I. P. U. THEODERICUS REX. [1] Remunaratio meritorum iustum dominantis prodit imperium, apud quem perire nescit, quod quempiam laborasse contigerit. nam si inopinata tribuimus, quemadmodum negare possumus quae debemus? in tutum apud nos reponit omnis devotio quod meretur et duplicem fructum metit, qui nobis se in aliquo paruisse cognoscit. [2] Olim quidem a nobis quod esset dignitate pretiosius habere meruisti, ut regio lateri dignus adhaereres. differri te pertulit noster affectus: apud amantem provectus tui causam tardius impetrasti, ut post sacrae amicitiae genium ad honores ornatior pervenires. cuncta siquidem, unde famam captat humanitas, in te congeniata sederunt, patria, genus, instituta praeclara. quorum si unum nobilitatem complet, in te collecta plus facient, qui non minus genitalis soli fortuna resplendes quam gloria stemmatis et virtutis ornaris. [3] Hinc est quod nunc te per indictionem feliciter tertiam ad praefecturae urbanae culmen erigimus, tribuentes tibi in ea civitate fasces, ubi perpetui sunt honores. quod nos, qui munera nostra verecundius aestimamus, certe fatebimur, multum te meruisse de nostro iudicio, ut illi coetui praesidere possis, quem reverendum humano generi esse cognoscis. [4] Numquid hoc est palatia regere et domos proprias ordinare? plerumque honor ex commendatis adquiritur nec tale est cellam vinariam tuendam suscipere, quale pretiosa diademata custodire. illa, quae potiora credimus, ad conservandum melioribus damus et in quibus sustinere damna non patimur, fidelioribus profecto mentibus applicamus. Roma si habet parem, aestima nos et aliis similia credidisse: si vero singulare bonum est, iudicem te praecipuae rei facimus, quam augere semper optamus.