Letter 10033: In sending our ambassadors to the most serene Emperor, it was fitting to dispatch greetings to Your Magnitude...
Cassiodorus→Master of Offices|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
diplomaticimperial politics
From: King Witigis of Italy
To: The Master of Offices [head of the Byzantine imperial secretariat]
Date: ~536 AD
Context: Witigis writes to Justinian's chief of staff, seeking a back channel for peace negotiations as war rages in Italy.
In sending our ambassadors to the most serene Emperor, it was fitting to dispatch greetings to Your Magnitude through them — so that in every quarter they might earn your goodwill while carrying the warmth of our conversation.
Therefore, offering the courtesy of correspondence that your merits deserve, I hope that your wisdom will advocate for them before the most merciful Emperor. Our requests are so just that they deserve the support of every wise person. What should never have been permitted ought to be easy for you to set right.
But you have the power to arrange everything graciously, everything peacefully — for favor tends to be sweeter after bitterness has been purged. An unknown person might have avoided you, but I — who have seen the distinction of your state, who have known so many noble hearts among your leaders — I have no wish to be separated from the most pious Emperor's favor, if he will consider what is just in my case.
If another man earned his displeasure, I should be received most gratefully, since I succeeded the hated one and brought him to justice. I followed your own wishes — I deserved rewards, not injury. Therefore let favor not be denied to one against whom nothing can be charged. Let hatred be buried with the death of the guilty man. Even if I deserve something less from you, consider Roman liberty, which is shaken everywhere by the tumults of war. For your wisdom, a few words are enough — in a deep mind, what is carefully considered only grows.
XXXIII.
MAGISTRO OFFICIORUM VVITIGIS REX.
[1] Illum et illum legatos nostros ad serenissimum principem dirigentes congruum fuit magnitudini vestrae per eos salutiferos apices destinare, ut in omni parte vestra beneficia mererentur, cum nostrae deportarent collocutionis affectum. [2] Et ideo epistularem gratiam vestris meritis exhibentes speramus, ut apud clementissimi imperatoris animos eis vestra prudentia suffragetur, quia sic sunt iusta quae petimus, ut omnium sapientium mereantur adnisum. facile enim a vobis debet corrigi, quod non decuisset admitti. sed potestis omnia gratanter, omnia placabiliter ordinare, quia dulcior solet esse gratia post amaritudines expiatas. refugere vos enim potuisset ignotus: ego autem, qui ornatum rei publicae vestrae vidi, qui tot nobilia procerum corda cognovi, non me desidero a piissimi principis gratia dividere, si in me velit quae sunt iusta cogitare. [3] Nam si alter offensam meruit, ego debeo gratissimus haberi, qui odioso cum vindicta successi. vestros animos sum secutus: praemia mihi fuerant reddenda, non laesio. et ideo non negetur gratia, cui nulla sunt penitus imputanda. atque ideo sepultum sit odium cum morte peccantis. nam etsi de vobis aliquid minus forte mereamur, Romana libertas cogitetur, quae per bellorum tumultus ubique concutitur. pauca dixisse sapientiae vestrae sufficiunt, quia in alto pectore protenditur, quod consideratum semper augetur.
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From:King Witigis of Italy
To:The Master of Offices [head of the Byzantine imperial secretariat]
Date:~536 AD
Context:Witigis writes to Justinian's chief of staff, seeking a back channel for peace negotiations as war rages in Italy.
In sending our ambassadors to the most serene Emperor, it was fitting to dispatch greetings to Your Magnitude through them — so that in every quarter they might earn your goodwill while carrying the warmth of our conversation.
Therefore, offering the courtesy of correspondence that your merits deserve, I hope that your wisdom will advocate for them before the most merciful Emperor. Our requests are so just that they deserve the support of every wise person. What should never have been permitted ought to be easy for you to set right.
But you have the power to arrange everything graciously, everything peacefully — for favor tends to be sweeter after bitterness has been purged. An unknown person might have avoided you, but I — who have seen the distinction of your state, who have known so many noble hearts among your leaders — I have no wish to be separated from the most pious Emperor's favor, if he will consider what is just in my case.
If another man earned his displeasure, I should be received most gratefully, since I succeeded the hated one and brought him to justice. I followed your own wishes — I deserved rewards, not injury. Therefore let favor not be denied to one against whom nothing can be charged. Let hatred be buried with the death of the guilty man. Even if I deserve something less from you, consider Roman liberty, which is shaken everywhere by the tumults of war. For your wisdom, a few words are enough — in a deep mind, what is carefully considered only grows.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.