'By my accession to the throne I have become lord of the whole nation and guardian of the general welfare. I therefore command that all who belong to my private household shall vindicate their rights only in the courts of law, and shall abstain from all high-handed modes of obtaining redress. Only that man must henceforward be called mine who can live quietly subject to the laws. My new dignity has changed my purpose; and if before I have defended my rights with pertinacity, I shall now temper all my acts with clemency[641]; since there is nothing exceptional about a Sovereign's household, but wheresoever, by the grace of God, our rule extends, there, as we fully confess, is something which it is our duty to defend. Augment therefore my renown by your patience, and let me hear praises rather than complaints of the actions of my servants.'
'In conferring upon you the office of Quaestor we look first to character, and we find in you that love of justice which is all important in a representative of the Prince. Then we look at the qualities of your intellect, and we find in you that flow of eloquence which among all mental accomplishments we value most highly. What does it profit to be a philosopher, if one cannot worthily set forth the results of one's investigations? To discover is natural to man; but to set forth one's discoveries in noble language, that is indeed a desirable gift. Therefore we bestow on you for this thirteenth Indiction[642] the fasces of the Quaestorship, desiring you to consecrate your time to the study of the laws and the responsa prudentum, and to spread abroad our fame by the eloquent manner in which you shall communicate our decrees to the Cities and Provinces under our sway, and speak in our name to the representatives of foreign nations.'
'After announcing to you our own accession, one of our first cares was to choose a Judge whose style of speaking might dignify the State. Such a Judge have we found in Patricius (Patrician by his name already), whom we hereby appoint to the office of Quaestor. He studied eloquence at Rome. Where could he have studied better? For while other parts of the world have their wine, their balm, their frankincense, which they can export, the peculiar product of Rome is eloquence.
'Having thus learned his art, he practised it at the bar with singular moderation. No heat of strife hurried him into abuse of his competitors. Seeking only to win his client's cause, he calmly and courteously set forth that client's rights without sacrificing his own dignity of demeanour.
'Thinking that this man has pleaded long enough, we now appoint that he shall sit as Judge, having made diligent enquiry as to his character. In this, and in all other matters, we wish to follow the example of the Emperors who have gone before us, in so far as they followed the paths of justice[643].'
'Delighting to receive from your Piety some of those treasures of which the heavenly bounty has made you partaker, we send the bearer of the present letter to receive those marbles and other necessaries which we formerly ordered Calogenitus to collect on our behalf. All our adornments, furnished by you, redound to your glory. For it is fitting that by your assistance should shine resplendent that Roman world which the love of your Serenity renders illustrious.'
[On the same subject as the previous letter, and in nearly the same words. Calogenitus apparently is dead.]
'We have directed the bearer of this letter to exhibit (?) those things for which Calogenitus was previously destined; so that, although that person is withdrawn from this life, your benefits, by God's help, may still be brought unto us.'
'We approach you with the language of veneration, because it is agreed on all hands that your virtues increase more and more. Friendship exists not for those only who are in one another's presence, but also for the absent. Rendering you therefore the salutation of august reverence, I hope that our ambassadors, whom we have directed to the most clement and most glorious Emperor, will bring me news of your welfare. Your prosperity is as dear to me as my own; and as I constantly pray for your safety, I cannot hear without pleasure that my prayers have been answered.'
'It is the glory of a good Sovereign to confer office on the deserving descendants of illustrious families. Such are the Anicii, an ancient family, almost on an equality with princes[646], from whom you are descended. Gladly would we decorate the descendants of the Marii and Corvini if time had permitted their progeny to survive to our own day. But it were inconsistent to regret the impossibility of enjoying this privilege if we neglected the opportunity which we do possess in your case.
'Therefore we bestow upon you from this fourteenth Indiction[647] the office of Primicerius, which is also called Domesticatus. This office may appear somewhat less than you are entitled to by your pedigree, but you have received an honour which is greater than all the fasces in being permitted to marry a wife of our royal race, a distinction which you could not have hoped for even when you sat in the curule chair. Comport yourself now with mildness, patience, and moderation, that you may show yourself worthy of your affinity with us. Your ancestors have hitherto been praised, but they were never dignified with such an alliance. Your nobility has now reached a point beyond which it can climb no further. All that you do henceforward of a praiseworthy kind will but have the effect of rendering you more worthy of the matrimonial alliance which you have already achieved[648].'
'We do not think that the fact of a man's having received the Consulship early in life should shut him out from holding office of lower rank in his maturer years[649]. As the Tiber receives the water of smaller rivers which merge their names in his, so a man of Consular rank can serve the State in less conspicuous ways, yet still be Consular. Therefore we have thought fit to bestow on the Illustrious and Magnificent Patrician Maximus, the Primiceriatus which is also called Domesticatus, from this fourteenth Indiction, that the lowliness of the honour may be raised by the merit of the wearer. He is an Anicius, sprung from a family renowned throughout the whole world. He is also honoured with the affinity of our own illustrious race. Receive him, welcome him, rejoice at these nuptials, which bind me closer to you, now that you have in your ranks one whom I can truly call a relation.'
[This letter may probably be referred to the Spring or Summer of 535. Theodahad, soon after the deposition or death of Amalasuentha, has apparently invited the Senate to Ravenna, an invitation which they have respectfully declined. He chides their suspicions of him.]
'After we had dismissed the venerable Bishops who brought your message, without taking exception to your requests, though there were some things blameworthy among them, we received tidings that the City of Rome was agitated by certain foolish anxieties, from which real evil would grow unless the suspicion which caused them could be laid to rest.
'I fear that I cannot complain of "popular levity" if your illustrious body, which should set an example to all others, should give way to such fond imaginings. If Rome, which should govern the Provinces, be so foolish, what can we expect of them?
'Divine grace, however, prompts us both to pardon your faults and to grant your requests. We owe you nothing, and yet we pay you[650]; but we trust to be rewarded by hearing not our own praises but yours. Put away these unworthy, these childish suspicions, and behave as becomes the fathers of the people.
'In desiring your presence at our Court, we sought not your vexation but your advantage. It is certainly a great privilege to see the face of the Sovereign, and we thought to bestow on you, for the advantage of the State, that which used to be counted as a reward. However, not to deal harshly with you, we shall be satisfied with the attendance of certain individuals from your body, as occasion may require, so that on the one hand Rome may not be denuded of her citizens, and on the other that we may not lack prudent counsellors in our chamber. Now return to your old devotion, and serve us, not as a matter of fear, but of love. The rest shall the bearer of this letter explain unto you.'
[The occasion of writing this letter, which we may perhaps refer to the early part of 535, is apparently that some Gothic troops have been sent to Rome, and the people have broken out into clamours against them, or petitioned for their removal.]
'Your predecessors have always been distinguished by the loyal love which they bore to the Chief of the State; and it is only right that he [the Sovereign] who is defended with so much toil, he, for whom, as the representative of public order, daily precautions are taken[651], should in return love that people above all others whose loyalty gives him a right to rule the world[652].
'Oh! let there be nothing in you in our days which may justly move our indignation. Still show forth your older loyalty. It is not fitting that the Roman people should be fickle, or crafty, or full of seditions.
'Let no fond suspicions, no shadow of fear sway you. You have a Sovereign who only longs to find opportunities to love you. Meet with hostile arms your enemies, not your own defenders.
'You ought to have invited, not to have shut out the succour which we sent you. Evidently you have been misled by counsellors who care not for the public weal. Return to your own better minds.
'Was it some new and strange nation whose faces forsooth thus terrified you? No: the very men whom hitherto you have called your kinsmen, the men who in their anxiety for your safety have left their homes and families in order to defend you. Strange return on your part for their devotion!
'As for you, you should know this, that night and day our one ceaseless desire is to perfect, with God's help, the security which was fostered in the times of our relations [Theodoric and Amalasuentha]. Where, indeed, would our credit as a Sovereign be if anything happened to your hurt? Dismiss all such thoughts from your minds. If any have been unjustly cast down, we will raise him up again. We have sent you some verbal messages by the bearer of this letter, and hope that from henceforth we may rely on your constant obedience.'
'It is always a delight to us to have an opportunity of directing our letters of salutation[653] to your Piety, since he is filled with happy joy who converses with you with sincere heart. I therefore recommend to your Clemency the bearer of this letter, who comes on the affairs of the Church of Ravenna. There can be no doubt that if you grant his request you will earn a just reward.'
'It is worthy of a ruler to do good of his own freewill, not under compulsion. By God's favour we can do anything, but we choose to do only things that are praiseworthy. Recognise now, oh prudent counsellors, that clemency of mine which ye might always have reckoned upon. Ye feared that I was your enemy; far from that, I cannot even bear that ye should be racked by the fear of evil[654]. And therefore, though I change no purpose of mine, since I never had thoughts of evil towards you, I have ordained that A and B, the bearers of this letter, should take unto you the oaths which you solicited[655]. I do this thing for God's sake, not for man's; for how could I, who have run through the story of ancient realms in Holy Writ, wish to do anything else but that which is well-pleasing to God, who will assuredly recompense me according to my works. Henceforward, then, serve me loyally, and in the full security which you have thus acquired: yea, your love will be now the repayment of a debt rather than a freewill offering.'
'Since your security is our highest ornament, and since our love wishes to remove every shade of anxiety from your minds, we have ordered A and B to take oaths to you in our name, whereby you may know the mind of your King towards you. Though this act might seem not to consort with our dignity, we willingly perform it for your sakes, and add the sanction of an oath, though we have learned from the Sacred Scriptures that a mere promise ought to be kept. Now it is for you to show your devotion, and with assiduous prayers to implore of the Majesty on high that the tranquil times which we long that you may enjoy may be granted by the gift of Heaven.'
'Anxious that what we are devising for your safety should not be misinterpreted by bitter suspicion, we do you to wit that the army which is marching to Rome is intended for your defence, in order that they who covet your possessions may by Divine help be resisted by the arms of the Goths. If the shepherd is bound to watch over his flock, the father of the family to see that no crafty deceiver enters therein, with what anxious care ought not we to defend the City of Rome, which by universal consent is unequalled in the world[656]. So precious a possession must not be staked upon any throw. But that the defence of the City may be in no wise burdensome to you, we have ordered that the soldiers shall pay at the ordinary market rate for the provisions which they require; and we have desired Vacco, the steward of our house, to superintend these purchases. He is a man of valour and integrity, whose character will secure him the obedience of the troops, and enable him to prevent any excesses.
'As for the soldiers, we have told them to take up their quarters in fitting places [outside the City?], that without there may be armed defence, within for you, tranquil order[657].
'God forbid that in our days that City should seem to be protected by walls, the very name of which hath been of old a terror to the nations[658]. We hope for this from the aid of Heaven, that she who hath always been free may never be stained by the insult of any blockade[659].
'We thank the Divine Being, who loves to see Kings at peace with one another, that you expressed such joy at our elevation to the throne. Continue to set to the world this example of benignity; continue to show your interest in one who recommends himself by his pure affection for you. For you do not seek to pick shabby quarrels with other Sovereigns; you do not delight in unjust contests, which are contrary to sound morality[660], since you seek for nothing but what may increase the good opinion which men have of you. How could you throw away that peace which it is the glory of your Piety to have imposed even on angry nations[661]?
'Even you, glorious Sovereigns! [Justinian and Theodora] gain somewhat when all other realms revere you. It is a common thing for the ruler to be praised in his own land, but to receive the unforced praise of foreign lands, that is indeed desirable. You are loved, most pious Emperor, in your own dominions; but how much grander a thing to be yet more loved in the regions of Italy, from whence the glory of the Roman name was diffused over the whole world! It behoves you therefore to continue that peaceful disposition which you showed towards us at the commencement of our reign.
'We have desired the most blessed Pope and the most honourable Senate of the City of Rome to give their answers to the eloquent and worthy Peter, your ambassador, with as little delay as possible; and we have joined with him that venerable person our ambassador[662], that you may know our mind from our own messenger.'
'I have received with thanks the earnestly-desired letters of your Piety, and reverently prize the report of your spoken words as better than all gifts. You exhort us first of all to impart to your hearing whatever requests we wish to make to your triumphant lord and consort[664]. Backed by such patronage as yours, how can there be any doubt as to the success of our petitions? It is an addition to our joy that your Serenity has chosen such a man for your ambassador, one whom it is equally fitting for your glory to send and for our obedience to receive[665]. There can be no doubt that it is by constant observation of your character that his own has become so excellent, since it is by good maxims that the mind of man is cleansed from impurity[666]. According to the warning of your Reverence we have given orders that both Pope and Senate shall give their answers to your messengers quickly, so that there may be no delay.
'For moreover, concerning that person about whom something came to our ears with tickling speech, know that that has been ordained which we believed would suit your intentions[667]; for it is our desire that by the interposition of our good offices your will should be law as much in our kingdom as in your empire[668].
'We therefore inform you that we had caused our messenger [Rusticus the priest] to be despatched by the Pope before your ambassador could possibly have left Rome. So saluting you with all the veneration which is your due, we assign the office of ambassador to a man eminent both by his character and learning, and venerable by reason of his office; since we believe that those persons are acceptable to you whom we have thought suitable to be entrusted with the Divine ministry.'
'Oh, wisest of Augustas, both I and my wedded lord earnestly desire your friendship. The love of so great a lady seems to raise me higher than royalty. Shed on us the lustre of your glory, for one light loses nothing by imparting some of its brilliancy to another. With affectionate presumption I commend myself to the favour of the Emperor and yourself, desiring that, as is fitting, there should be no discord between the two Roman realms[669].'
'Our own ambassadors, and that most excellent person Peter, whom your Piety despatched to us, will both have informed you how earnestly we desire concord with your august Serenity. We now send two more ambassadors charged with the same commission. We certainly with all sincerity plead for peace who have no cause of quarrel with you. Consider also, oh learned Sovereigns, and consult the archives of your great grandfather[671], that you may see how large a part of their own rights your predecessors were willing to relinquish for the sake of an alliance with our ancestors[672]. Think how fortunate you are in having that friendship willingly offered to you for which they had humbly to sue. Yet, we may say it without arrogance, we know ourselves to be better than those ancestors of ours with whom the treaty was made[673]. We send you on this embassy a venerable man, made illustrious by his priestly office, and conspicuous by the renown of his learning. We pray the Divine goodness to bring our wishes to pass; and as not even a series of letters can contain all that we have to say, we have given some verbal messages to be conveyed to your sacred ears, that you may not be wearied by the reading of too diffuse a letter.'
'We learn with satisfaction from that most eloquent man Peter, that what has happened in this State is acceptable to you[675]. You show your love of justice when, all suspicion by God's providence having been wiped away, you desire that there should be lasting agreement between us. Let there then be definite promises on both sides, and lasting concord as the result. We therefore send that venerable man to secure the peace of our most serene husband with yours in the sight of all men. If there be anything in the Emperor's terms so hard that it ought not to be imposed on us, we trust to your wise moderation to mitigate the same, that the love which we have begun to feel towards your kingdom be not chilled by harsh terms of peace.
'Claim this palm of concord between the two States as your own especial crown, that as the Emperor is renowned for his successful wars, so you may receive the praises of all men for this accomplished peace. Let the bearer of these letters see you often and confidentially. We hope for just, not onerous, conditions of peace, although in truth nothing seems impossible to us if we know that it is asked for by such a glorious person as yourself.'
A short letter of compliments to the Emperor, and earnest desire for the preservation of peace. Peter and 'ille vir venerabilis' are still the messengers.
'The august page written by your Serenity, and brought to us by the venerable presbyter Heracleanus, has gleamed upon us, bringing us the grace of your salutation. Oh, what a great benefit for us is this sweet converse with so mighty a prince!
'May we ever hear of your safety, and of the increase of the happiness of your kingdom. We have no other wish but this. According to your desire we have addressed letters to the Pope of the City of Rome[677], telling him to reply to the letter brought by the present messenger with the least possible delay, since anyone who comes from you should be attended to with utmost celerity. We hope for many future opportunities of thus obeying your desires and earning your love in return.'
'Richer than all other gifts bestowed by your Serenity is this, when you exhort us to do that which will profit for our own salvation and recommend us to the Divine Power. We hear that it has been brought to the knowledge of your Glory that a monastery of God's servants is too heavily oppressed with tribute, and we point out that this is owing to an inundation which has smitten their land with the curse of barrenness. However, we have given orders to the most eminent Senator[678] to appoint a careful inspector to visit the farm in question, weigh the matter carefully, and make such reasonable reduction as may leave a sufficient profit to the owners of the soil. We consider that anything which we thus concede to the desire of your Mildness will be to us the most precious of all gains.
'In the matter of Veranilda, too, about which your Serenity has deigned to admonish me, though it happened long ago under the reign of my relations, I thought it right to make good her loss by my own generosity, that she might not repent her change of religion[679]. For seeing that the Deity suffers many religions, we should not seek to impose one on all our subjects. He who tries to do otherwise flies in the face of the Divine commands. Your Piety, therefore, fittingly invites me to these acts of obedience to God.'
'In succouring his subjects, the payers of tribute, the King does not seem to give, so much as to restore what he has received. The cultivator of the soil is abandoned to future famine, unless he is helped in the day of his necessity. Therefore let the corn which has been received by the government from industrious Liguria and loyal Venetia, though it has been taken from their fields, be born again to them in our granaries, since it is too outrageous that the cultivator should starve while our barns are full. Therefore let your Illustrious Greatness (whose office is said to have been instituted for the express purpose of feeding the people from the accumulated stores of the State[681]) sell to the impoverished Ligurians the third part of the grain warehoused at Ticinum and Dertona, at the rate of 25 modii to the solidus[682]. Similarly distribute the third part of the stores in the warehouses of Tarvisium and Tridentum to the Venetians, at the same rate, that pitying Heaven, seeing men's bounty to one another, may give us fruitful harvests. Take care that this distribution is so managed that our indulgence shall reach those persons chiefly, who are least able to depend on their own resources.'
'The King ought to confirm whatever has been wisely ordered by the Judges, especially those who are known to be above suspicion of bribery.
'Therefore we confirm in their offices[684] the stewards[685], purveyors[686] of wheat, wine, and cheese, the meat sellers, vintners, farmers of the revenue derived from granaries and taverns[687], hay merchants, and general provision dealers[688], who belong to the City of Rome or the royal residence of Ravenna[689]; also those who hold public charges of this description along the river banks of Ticinum or Placentia[690], or in any other places, whom we know to have been appointed by you, whose judgments we willingly embrace and desire to hold fast exactly as if they were our own; nor will we allow the malice of any to prevail against those persons who by your choice have assumed these public functions. If therefore they acquit themselves to your satisfaction, they shall hold their office for five years without fear of disturbance during that period. On account of the present barrenness of the land you should cause them to fix such prices for the different kinds of grain as shall seem reasonable to your Eminence[691].
'As human ambition requires to be checked by fear of punishment, anyone who by petitioning or canvassing seeks to obtain the place of one of these lawfully appointed purveyors shall be visited with a fine of 30 lbs. of gold[692], to be exacted from him by you. If unable to pay this fine he shall suffer corporal punishment and be noted as infamous. Nothing can be considered safe or stable if men are to be perpetually exposed to the snares of envious competitors like these. Your Greatness is to bring this law to the knowledge of all men.'
[It is clear that this letter refers to an office greatly coveted, and one in which there was a possibility of making great gains, but also one in which, owing to the regulation of prices by the government, there might be temporary losses; to guard against which it was considered reasonable that the holder should be guaranteed in his office for five years.
The office is the supply of the staple articles of food to the King's household at Rome and Ravenna, and to the garrisons probably of Pavia and Piacenza and the neighbouring country. Did this right carry with it an absolute monopoly as far as the other inhabitants of those places are concerned? This seems probable; but I do not know that we can positively state it.
The term used, 'Arcarii,' is applied in the Theodosian Code (xii. 6, 14) to the bailiffs by whom the rents on the Imperial domain were collected. Here it has manifestly altered its meaning.]
'Your noble birth and tried fidelity induced us to commit to you the government of the City of Ticinum, which you had defended in war: but now, being deluged with a sudden inundation of muddy gout[693], you ask leave to resort to the waters of Bormio, which by their drying influences are of healing power for this malady.
'We permit, nay earnestly encourage, you to undertake this journey; for we cannot bear that one of our warriors should fall a victim to the tyranny of this cruel disease, which, like the Barbarians, when it has once claimed by force hospitality in the owner's body, ever after defends its right thereto by cruelty. It seeks out all the hollow places of the system, makes stones out of its moisture, and deposits them there, destroying all the beautiful arrangements of Nature for free and easy movement. It loosens what ought to be tight, it contracts the nerves, and so shortens the limbs that a tall man finds all the comeliness of his stature taken from him while he is still unmutilated. It is in truth a living death; and when the excruciating torment is gone, it leaves an almost worse legacy behind it—inability to move. Even debtors in the torture chamber have the weights sometimes removed from their feet; but this cruel malady, when it has once taken hold of a man, seems never to relinquish possession. A disease of this kind, bringing with it weakness and helplessness, is especially terrible to a warrior, who after overcoming the foes that came against him in battle, finds himself thus struck down by an enemy within.
'Go then, in Heaven's name, to the healing springs. We cannot bear the thought that you the warrior should be carried on men's shoulders, instead of bestriding your war-horse. We have painted all these evils in somewhat exaggerated style in order to stir you up to seek an early cure.
'Use then these waters, soothing to the taste, and in the hot bath able to dry up the gouty humours. God has given us this ally wherewith to overcome that enemy of the human race; and under its double influence, within and without, the malady, which ten years of regimen and endless medicines cannot lessen, is put to flight by remedies which are in themselves delightful.
'May God grant that this far-famed place may restore your body to health[694].'
'We regret to learn from your report that the brazen elephants placed in the Via Sacra[695] (so called from the many superstitions to which it was consecrated of old) are falling into ruins.
'This is to be much regretted, that whereas these animals live in the flesh more than a thousand years, their brazen effigies should be so soon crumbling away. See therefore that their gaping limbs be strengthened by iron hooks, and that their drooping bellies be fortified by masonry placed underneath them.
'The living elephant, when it is prostrate on the ground, as it often is when helping men to fell trees, cannot get up again unaided. This is because it has no joints in its feet; and accordingly you see numbers of them lying as if dead till men come to help them up again. Thus this creature, so terrible by its size, is really not equally endowed by Nature with the tiny ant.
'That the elephant surpasses all other animals in intelligence is proved by the adoration which it renders to Him whom it understands to be the Almighty Ruler of all. Moreover it pays to good princes a homage which it refuses to tyrants.
'It uses its proboscis[696], that nosëd hand which Nature has given it to compensate for its very short neck, for the benefit of its master, accepting the presents which will be profitable to him. It always walks cautiously, mindful of that fatal fall [into the hunter's pit] which was the beginning of its captivity. At its master's bidding it exhales its breath, which is said to be a remedy for the human headache.
'When it comes to water it sucks up in its trunk a vast quantity, which at the word of command it squirts forth like a shower. If anyone have treated it with contempt, it pours forth such a stream of dirty water over him that one would think a river had entered his house. For this beast has a wonderfully long memory, both of injury and of kindness. Its eyes are small, but move solemnly. There is a sort of kingly dignity in its appearance, and while it recognises with pleasure all that is honourable, it seems to despise scurrilous jests. Its skin is furrowed by deep channels, like that of the victims of the foreign disease named after it[697], elephantiasis. It is on account of the impenetrability of this hide that the Persian Kings used the elephant in war.
'It is most desirable that we should preserve the images of these creatures, and that our citizens should thus be familiarised with the sight of the denizens of foreign lands. Do not therefore permit them to perish, since it is for the glory of Rome to collect all specimens of the process by which the art of workmen hath imitated the productions of wealthy Nature in all parts of the world.'
[This letter traverses the same ground as Pliny's 'Historia Naturalis' viii. 1-11, but supplies some new facts. Pliny makes the elephant live to the age of 200 or even 300 years. Cassiodorus boldly says 'more than a thousand.' The curious story of the elephant's religion is given with more detail by Pliny; but he knows nothing of the political sagacity which enables it to discern between a good king and a tyrant. Pliny mentions the fact that the elephant's breath is a cure for headache, but adds, 'especially if he sneeze[698].'
Upon the whole, though Cassiodorus had probably read Pliny's description, his own must be pronounced original.
This marvellous letter is the last that we have, written in the name of Theodahad.]