Queen Amalasuntha to the Senate of the City of Rome.
[Amalasuntha, daughter of Theodoric the Great, ruled as regent for her young son Athalaric. After his death in 534, she appointed her cousin Theodahad as co-ruler -- a fateful decision, as he soon had her murdered.]
After the sorrowful death of our son of blessed memory, a mother's love for the wider community overcame her grief, so that she thought not of the causes of her sorrow but rather of your advancement. We looked for some comfort to sustain the burdens of rule. But that Author of chastity and singular mercy, who was about to take from us a son in the prime of life, preserved for us a mature kinsman's devotion.
With God's blessing, we have chosen as the most fortunate partner of our reign the lord Theodahad -- so that the weight of the state, which we have borne alone in solitary deliberation until now, we may henceforth carry out with the counsel of a partner. In our consultations we shall be two; in our judgments, one. The very stars of heaven are governed by mutual assistance, sharing their labor in turn as they illuminate the world with their light. Even the human body was given two hands, paired ears, and twin eyes by divine design, so that a task requiring the cooperation of two might be accomplished more effectively.
Rejoice, senators, and commend our decision to the powers above. We have sought to do nothing that could be faulted, since we have chosen to arrange everything with another's counsel. The sharing of power reveals good character, for a ruler is rightly believed to be merciful when he is shown to have accepted a partner in his authority. We have therefore opened the palace -- God willing -- to a man conspicuous for the distinction of our family, who, descended from the stock of the Amals [the Ostrogothic royal dynasty], possesses royal dignity in his conduct: patient in adversity, moderate in prosperity, and -- that most difficult kind of sovereignty -- long since master of himself.
To these virtues is added a desirable literary education, which renders an already praiseworthy nature truly distinguished. Through learning, the wise man finds what makes him wiser; the warrior discovers what strengthens his courage; the prince learns how to govern his peoples with fairness. There is no condition in the world that the glorious knowledge of letters does not enhance.
Hear what is greater still, what the prayers of the nation have earned: your prince is also learned in the literature of the Church. From such study we are always reminded of everything that matters for human life: to judge rightly, to seek the good, to revere the divine, to contemplate the judgments to come. A man who believes he will one day answer for his own judgments must inevitably follow in the footsteps of justice. Let other reading sharpen the intellect -- sacred reading always strives to make a man devout.
Let us turn to his private life and its most generous frugality -- which provided such abundance in gifts and such plenty at his table that, considering his long-established habits, he seems to have nothing new in his reign. He was prompt in hospitality, deeply compassionate -- and though he spent freely, his wealth grew through heavenly reward. The world ought to have wished for exactly the kind of man we have demonstrably chosen: one who, managing his own affairs wisely, does not covet what belongs to others. The temptation for rulers to overstep is removed when they have learned to govern what is their own.
That saying has been rightly praised which teaches moderation in all things, since even what is thought to be good displeases when taken to excess. Rejoice now, senators, and offer your prayers of thanks to divine grace on our behalf. I have appointed as my partner in rule a prince who both does good from our shared commitment to justice and displays the virtues of his own natural goodness. He is spurred on by the example of his ancestors, and his uncle Theodoric [the Great] powerfully inspires him.
III.
SENATUI URBIS ROMAE AMALASUINTHA REGINA.
[1] Post flebilem filii nostri divae recordationis occasum vicit animum piae matris generalitatis affectio, ut non maeroris sui causas, sed vestra potius augmenta cogitaret. quaesivimus regales curas quo solacio fulciremus. sed auctor ille castitatis et misericordiae singularis, qui nobis primaevum subtracturus erat filium, maturi fratris reservavit affectum. [2] Elegimus deo auspice consortem regni nostri felicissimum Theodahadum, ut quae hactenus rei publicae molem solitaria cogitatione pertulimus, nunc utilitates omnium iunctis consiliis exequamur, quatenus in tractatibus duo, in sententiis unus esse videamur. Astra ipsa caeli mutuo reguntur auxilio et vicario labore participata mundum suis luminibus amministrant. ipsi quoque homini duplices manus, socias aures, oculos geminos divina tribuerunt, ut robustius perageretur officium quod duorum fuerat societate complendum. [3] Exultate, patres conscripti, et factum nostrum supernis commendate virtutibus. nihil reprehensibile desideravimus agere, quae cum alterius consilio cuncta delegimus ordinare. communio siquidem regni mores asserit, quando placabilis esse iuste creditur, qui potestatis suae habere participem comprobatur. reseravimus itaque deo iuvante palatia viro nostri generis claritate conspicuo, qui Hamalorum stirpe progenitus regalem habeat in actibus dignitatem: patiens in adversis, moderatus in prosperis et, quod difficillimum potestatis genus est, olim rector sui. [4] Accessit his bonis desiderabilis eruditio litterarum, quae naturam laudabilem eximie reddit ornatam. ibi prudens invenit, unde sapientior fiat: ibi bellator reperit, unde animi virtute roboretur: inde princeps accipit, quemadmodum populos sub aequalitate componat: nec aliqua in mundo potest esse fortuna, quam litterarum non augeat gloriosa notitia. [5] Accipite, quid maius generalitatis vota meruerunt. princeps vester etiam ecclesiasticis est litteris eruditus: a quibus semper quicquid est pro homine, commonemur: iudicare recte, bonum sapere, divina venerari, futura cogitare iudicia. necesse est enim, ut sequatur iustitiae vestigium, qui de sua sententia causam se credit esse dicturum. viderim quae lectio acuat ingenium: divina semper efficere nititur pium. [6] Veniamus ad illam privatae vitae largissimam frugalitatem, quae tantam procurabat donis abundantiam, conviviis copiam, ut considerato eius antiquo studio nihil novi habere videatur in regno. in hospitalitate promptus, in miseratione piissimus: sic cum multa expenderet, census eius caelesti remuneratione crescebat. talem universitas debuit optare, qualem nos probamur elegisse, qui rationabiliter disponens propria non appetat aliena: tollitur enim necessitas principibus excedendi, quotiens assueverint propria moderari. [7] Laudata est nimirum sententia, quae rerum praecipit modum, quia nimium non placet etiam quod bonum putatur. gaudete nunc, patres conscripti, et supernae gratiae pro nobis vota persolvite, quando talem mecum constitui principem, qui et de nostra aequitate bona faciat et propria suae pietatis ostendat. hunc enim et maiorum suorum commonet virtus et avunculus efficaciter excitat Theodericus.
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Queen Amalasuntha to the Senate of the City of Rome.
[Amalasuntha, daughter of Theodoric the Great, ruled as regent for her young son Athalaric. After his death in 534, she appointed her cousin Theodahad as co-ruler -- a fateful decision, as he soon had her murdered.]
After the sorrowful death of our son of blessed memory, a mother's love for the wider community overcame her grief, so that she thought not of the causes of her sorrow but rather of your advancement. We looked for some comfort to sustain the burdens of rule. But that Author of chastity and singular mercy, who was about to take from us a son in the prime of life, preserved for us a mature kinsman's devotion.
With God's blessing, we have chosen as the most fortunate partner of our reign the lord Theodahad -- so that the weight of the state, which we have borne alone in solitary deliberation until now, we may henceforth carry out with the counsel of a partner. In our consultations we shall be two; in our judgments, one. The very stars of heaven are governed by mutual assistance, sharing their labor in turn as they illuminate the world with their light. Even the human body was given two hands, paired ears, and twin eyes by divine design, so that a task requiring the cooperation of two might be accomplished more effectively.
Rejoice, senators, and commend our decision to the powers above. We have sought to do nothing that could be faulted, since we have chosen to arrange everything with another's counsel. The sharing of power reveals good character, for a ruler is rightly believed to be merciful when he is shown to have accepted a partner in his authority. We have therefore opened the palace -- God willing -- to a man conspicuous for the distinction of our family, who, descended from the stock of the Amals [the Ostrogothic royal dynasty], possesses royal dignity in his conduct: patient in adversity, moderate in prosperity, and -- that most difficult kind of sovereignty -- long since master of himself.
To these virtues is added a desirable literary education, which renders an already praiseworthy nature truly distinguished. Through learning, the wise man finds what makes him wiser; the warrior discovers what strengthens his courage; the prince learns how to govern his peoples with fairness. There is no condition in the world that the glorious knowledge of letters does not enhance.
Hear what is greater still, what the prayers of the nation have earned: your prince is also learned in the literature of the Church. From such study we are always reminded of everything that matters for human life: to judge rightly, to seek the good, to revere the divine, to contemplate the judgments to come. A man who believes he will one day answer for his own judgments must inevitably follow in the footsteps of justice. Let other reading sharpen the intellect -- sacred reading always strives to make a man devout.
Let us turn to his private life and its most generous frugality -- which provided such abundance in gifts and such plenty at his table that, considering his long-established habits, he seems to have nothing new in his reign. He was prompt in hospitality, deeply compassionate -- and though he spent freely, his wealth grew through heavenly reward. The world ought to have wished for exactly the kind of man we have demonstrably chosen: one who, managing his own affairs wisely, does not covet what belongs to others. The temptation for rulers to overstep is removed when they have learned to govern what is their own.
That saying has been rightly praised which teaches moderation in all things, since even what is thought to be good displeases when taken to excess. Rejoice now, senators, and offer your prayers of thanks to divine grace on our behalf. I have appointed as my partner in rule a prince who both does good from our shared commitment to justice and displays the virtues of his own natural goodness. He is spurred on by the example of his ancestors, and his uncle Theodoric [the Great] powerfully inspires him.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.