Letter 11033: The duty of giving compels a man to act without delay, because one who is prompted by innate generosity is driven...
The duty of giving compels a man to act without delay, because one who is prompted by innate generosity is driven all the more to act kindly. It is not fitting that I should be inconsistent with my own principles — for as the length of my administration grows, so should the number of remedies I provide. Therefore, my generosity hereby grants you your pay warrants, so that you may receive the benefits of your reward at the very moment you reach the end of your labors. I do not keep you dangling in anxious suspense, nor exhaust you with agonizing delay. Let the end of worry and the end of toil be one and the same. For who would think it right to delay benefits — unless he has no qualms about selling his favors?
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
XXXIII.
DE CONCEDENDIS DELEGATORIIS.
[1] Moras intercipit, quem praestandi consuetudo constringit, quia plus ille ad beneficia compellitur, qui innata benivolentia commonetur. neque enim decet, ut nostrorum factorum dissimiles esse debeamus, dum oporteat crescere numerositate remedii, cui administrationis tempora videntur augeri. et ideo de praesenti vobis delegatorios nostra largitur humanitas, ut tunc habeatis commoda praemii, quando estis et sudoris terminum consecuti. non vos anxia mora suspendimus nec cruciabili dilatione fatigamus. unus sit finis sollicitudinis et laboris. nam differendum quis putet, si beneficia sua vendere non retractet?
Related Letters
It pleases us, Senators, when citizens show devotion to public welfare, because when we recognize the praiseworthy...
It is a glorious service through which Rome is known to be adorned, since a man advances with us in proportion to...
VARIAE, BOOK 5, LETTER 44
Queen Amalasuntha to the Senate of the City of Rome.
VARIAE, BOOK 10, LETTER 11