Cassiodorus→Marcellus, Archimandrite of Acoemetæ|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus|AI-assisted
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XXII. King Theodoric to Marcellus, vir spectabilis [a man of respectable rank], advocate of the fisc [the royal treasury].
[1] The praise of royal generosity is complete whenever its grants accord with sound judgments, and it dares not ascribe to chance what the scrutiny of good management has weighed; for where offices are matched to merits, nothing is owed to uncertainties. For we do not pass sentence upon untried men, but we judge concerning those most thoroughly proven. [2] You have indeed polished your talent in many ways, much praised upon the forensic whetstone; you have nourished your eloquence by the exercise of cases; you have learned by experience how sweet are the fruits that good faith brings, so that it even wins over the hearts of those who reign. These qualities our perception, the observer of virtues, has discerned in you; by these endorsements you have earned to please us, so that you should stand forth worthy of public causes, you who up to now have conducted private ones with integrity. [3] Take up, therefore, the affairs of our fisc, which are to be safeguarded, and in exercising the privileges of your office you are to follow the examples of your predecessors. So then proceed, governed along the middle path of justice, in such a way that you neither burden the innocent with false accusation nor relieve those who withhold what is owed of just demands. For we judge those gains to be true which we receive with integrity supporting them. We therefore do not inquire how often you prevail, but in what manner you conquer. [4] Strive after equity in order to please us: seek your victories not from our power, but rather from the law, since it is more praiseworthy for the cause to be lost on the side of the fisc when justice is not on its side. For if the lord prevails, there is the odium of oppression; but it is reckoned as equity if it should happen to overcome a suppliant. We therefore plead our cases at no small risk, since our reputation profits precisely when an unjust advantage withdraws itself. For this reason let the cause of the fisc sometimes be a bad one, so that the prince may be seen to be good. For indeed we lose at a greater profit than if victory should support us undeservedly.
XXII. MARCELLO V. S. ADVOCATO FISCI THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Solida laus est regiae largitatis, quotiens conveniunt indulta iudiciis, nec sibi audet casus ascribere, quod bonae dispositionis librat examen, quia ubi aptantur officia meritis, nil debetur incertis. non enim de rudibus sententiam ferimus, sed de probatissimis iudicamus. [2] Polisti siquidem forensi cote multifarie praedicatus ingenium: nutristi facundiam exercitatione causarum: expertus es, quam suaves fides afferat fructus, ut ipsa etiam conciliet corda regnantum. haec in te speculator virtutum noster sensus inspexit: his apud nos suffragiis placere meruisti, ut dignus existeres ad publicas causas, qui gessisti hactenus sub integritate privatas. [3] Sume igitur fisci nostri tuenda negotia, in utendis officii tui privilegiis decessorum exempla secuturus. ita ergo per medium iustitiae tramitem moderatus incede, ut nec calumnia innocentes graves nec iustis petitionibus retentatores exoneres. illa enim lucra vera iudicamus, quae integritate suffragante percipimus. non ergo quotiens superes, sed quemadmodum vincas, inquirimus. [4] Aequitatem nobis placiturus intende: non quaeras de potestate nostra, sed potius de iure victorias, quando laudabilius a parte fisci perditur, cum iustitia non habetur. nam si dominus vincat, oppressionis invidia est: aequitas vero creditur, si supplicem superare contingat. non ergo parvo periculo causas dicimus, quando tunc fama nostra proficit, cum se commoditas iniusta subducit. quapropter sit interdum mala causa fisci, ut bonus princeps esse videatur. maiori quippe compendio perdimus, quam si nobis indebite victoria suffragetur.
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XXII. King Theodoric to Marcellus, vir spectabilis [a man of respectable rank], advocate of the fisc [the royal treasury].
[1] The praise of royal generosity is complete whenever its grants accord with sound judgments, and it dares not ascribe to chance what the scrutiny of good management has weighed; for where offices are matched to merits, nothing is owed to uncertainties. For we do not pass sentence upon untried men, but we judge concerning those most thoroughly proven. [2] You have indeed polished your talent in many ways, much praised upon the forensic whetstone; you have nourished your eloquence by the exercise of cases; you have learned by experience how sweet are the fruits that good faith brings, so that it even wins over the hearts of those who reign. These qualities our perception, the observer of virtues, has discerned in you; by these endorsements you have earned to please us, so that you should stand forth worthy of public causes, you who up to now have conducted private ones with integrity. [3] Take up, therefore, the affairs of our fisc, which are to be safeguarded, and in exercising the privileges of your office you are to follow the examples of your predecessors. So then proceed, governed along the middle path of justice, in such a way that you neither burden the innocent with false accusation nor relieve those who withhold what is owed of just demands. For we judge those gains to be true which we receive with integrity supporting them. We therefore do not inquire how often you prevail, but in what manner you conquer. [4] Strive after equity in order to please us: seek your victories not from our power, but rather from the law, since it is more praiseworthy for the cause to be lost on the side of the fisc when justice is not on its side. For if the lord prevails, there is the odium of oppression; but it is reckoned as equity if it should happen to overcome a suppliant. We therefore plead our cases at no small risk, since our reputation profits precisely when an unjust advantage withdraws itself. For this reason let the cause of the fisc sometimes be a bad one, so that the prince may be seen to be good. For indeed we lose at a greater profit than if victory should support us undeservedly.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
XXII. MARCELLO V. S. ADVOCATO FISCI THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Solida laus est regiae largitatis, quotiens conveniunt indulta iudiciis, nec sibi audet casus ascribere, quod bonae dispositionis librat examen, quia ubi aptantur officia meritis, nil debetur incertis. non enim de rudibus sententiam ferimus, sed de probatissimis iudicamus. [2] Polisti siquidem forensi cote multifarie praedicatus ingenium: nutristi facundiam exercitatione causarum: expertus es, quam suaves fides afferat fructus, ut ipsa etiam conciliet corda regnantum. haec in te speculator virtutum noster sensus inspexit: his apud nos suffragiis placere meruisti, ut dignus existeres ad publicas causas, qui gessisti hactenus sub integritate privatas. [3] Sume igitur fisci nostri tuenda negotia, in utendis officii tui privilegiis decessorum exempla secuturus. ita ergo per medium iustitiae tramitem moderatus incede, ut nec calumnia innocentes graves nec iustis petitionibus retentatores exoneres. illa enim lucra vera iudicamus, quae integritate suffragante percipimus. non ergo quotiens superes, sed quemadmodum vincas, inquirimus. [4] Aequitatem nobis placiturus intende: non quaeras de potestate nostra, sed potius de iure victorias, quando laudabilius a parte fisci perditur, cum iustitia non habetur. nam si dominus vincat, oppressionis invidia est: aequitas vero creditur, si supplicem superare contingat. non ergo parvo periculo causas dicimus, quando tunc fama nostra proficit, cum se commoditas iniusta subducit. quapropter sit interdum mala causa fisci, ut bonus princeps esse videatur. maiori quippe compendio perdimus, quam si nobis indebite victoria suffragetur.