Letter 12001: Senator, Praetorian Prefect, to the Chancellors of the Individual Provinces.
Cassiodorus→Chancellors of|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
education booksimperial politics
Senator, Praetorian Prefect, to the Chancellors of the Individual Provinces.
A man is considered great — though no one quite knows why — simply because he is dispatched from the inner chambers of a judge. The more frequently one is known to have stood in the presence of justice, the more he is presumed to love it. A judge is understood through his officers, just as a teacher's knowledge is revealed by his students — so too do the character and conduct of our subordinates lay us bare. A reckless man is not thought to have served a moderate master; a greedy man is not believed to have obeyed a restrained one; a fool is not credited with having served the wise.
I confess it plainly: we are endangered in our own reputation if you handle your duties with bad intent. What happens to none of you individually becomes our public disgrace. We bear the consequences of cases we cannot ourselves adjudicate, and the law that everyone else enjoys cannot be enforced on our own behalf. But we have consolation from the other side as well: your good deeds are believed to be our instructions, and whatever glory is won by your labors is credited to us, even when we sit idle.
If someone sees you acting wisely, they immediately praise your superior, believing the training must have been as excellent as the results plainly are. The public has one verdict: judges are only as good as their officers prove to be. For this reason you must take the greatest care not to give the judge cause to pass judgment on you — the very judge whose reputation you may already have damaged. He avenges with punishments what you have made the subject of gossip, and compensates with your torments for the wounds the people loudly declare. How dangerous it is to face a judge who is justifiably angry, to have your fate decided by someone you have grievously provoked! Strive instead to earn our praise, because just as an adverse word from the judge can ruin you, a favorable verdict can raise you up.
Go forth, then, for this indiction, God willing, to your assigned province — adorned with the ceremonial staff and clothed in the gravity of your office. When you are away, think of the shame you would feel if you were present before me. What degrading thing could you attempt, you who serve under a position of honor? The magistrates' authority stands behind you, and when you are believed to carry the orders of the Praetorian seat, you take on something of that power itself. Observe our edicts first yourself; show those watching you the right path. For whose duty is it to uphold our commands, if our own officers are seen to disregard our statutes?
Flee that queen of brazen vices — avarice — whom all crimes serve with loathsome devotion. Once she enters a man's heart, she admits a whole swarm of wicked cohorts in her wake. She cannot be endured once admitted, because she never comes alone. She commands an army of seductions, she arms herself with bribes, and through sweetness she conquers those she captures with bitter deception. Therefore be diligent in attending to public business. Carry out your assignments with moral persuasion rather than fear — the man who insists on reason accomplishes more than the man who merely terrifies. Let your person be a refuge for the oppressed, a defense for the weak, a bulwark for those crushed by any calamity. For you truly serve our office [the chancery] only if you break open the cruel prisons of those who have been wronged.
I.
DIVERSIS CANCELLARIIS PROVINCIARUM SINGULARUM SENATOR PPO.
[1] Nescio quis magnus esse creditur, qui de penetralibus iudicis destinatur, quoniam tanto plus aestimatur quis amare iustitiam, quanto ab illo frequentius constat auditam. per milites suos intellegitur iudex et sicut discipuli magistri scientiam produnt, sic nos obsequentium mores aperiunt. praeceps non putatur observasse moderato, avarus paruisse non advertitur continenti: stultus prudentibus servisse non creditur. [2] Periclitamur, fateor, in actionibus nostris, si vos mala intentione tractetis et, quod nulli accidit vestrum, alienum vitium nostrum celebratur obprobrium. sustinemus tales casus, quales nos in alios iudicare non possumus et lex, qua fruuntur cuncti, in nobis non potest custodiri. sed habemus iterum ex alia parte solacium, quod vestra bona nostra creduntur esse mandata et nobis otiosis adquiritur, quicquid gloriae vestris laboribus expeditur. [3] Si te enim aliquis sapienter agere videat, statim famam tui praeceptoris exaltat, dum tale institutum fuisse creditur, qualia gesta nihilominus sentiuntur. una est sententia plebis tales esse iudices, quales vos contigerit approbari. et ideo magnopere cavendum est, ne ille de vobis incipiat iudicare, cuius vos opinionem contigerit ante lacerasse. ulciscitur poenis quod misistis in fabulis et tormentis vestris compensat, quod populus vulneratus exaggerat. quam periculosum est pati iudicem rationabiliter iratum et illum de fortunis tuis decernere, quem te constat graviter irritasse! quapropter stude magis, ut nostra potius voce lauderis, quia sicut te potest iudicis vel sermo adversus deprimere, ita prosperrima sententia sublevare. [4] Perge igitur per illam indictionem iuvante deo ad illam provinciam, cancellorum pompa decoratus et gloriosa gravitate praecinctus. absens cogita praesentis pudorem. nam quid debeas temptare vile, qui militas sub honore? fasces tibi iudicum parent et dum iussa praetorianae sedis portare crederis, ipsam quodammodo potestatem reverendus adsumis. edicta nostra tu primus observa: ostende bonam te intendentibus viam. nam cuius est iudicis custodire mandata, si milites nostra videantur neglegere constituta? [5] Reginam illam procacium vitiorum avaritiam fuge, cui cuncta crimina detestabili devotione famulantur: quae dum pectus hominis ingressa fuerit, gregatim quoque maleficas cohortes admittit. ferri non potest recepta, quia nescit esse solitaria. agmen habet blandissimum, arma suscipit ex talentis et per dulcedinem superat quos amara deceptione captivat. proinde ad utilitates publicas esto sollicitus: iniuncta morali compulsione procura. plus agit inculcator rationis quam possit exercere terribilis. persona tua refugium sit oppresso, infirmi defensio, praesidium aliqua calamitate concluso. sic enim proprie nostros cancellos agitis, si laesorum impia claustra solvatis.
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Senator, Praetorian Prefect, to the Chancellors of the Individual Provinces.
A man is considered great — though no one quite knows why — simply because he is dispatched from the inner chambers of a judge. The more frequently one is known to have stood in the presence of justice, the more he is presumed to love it. A judge is understood through his officers, just as a teacher's knowledge is revealed by his students — so too do the character and conduct of our subordinates lay us bare. A reckless man is not thought to have served a moderate master; a greedy man is not believed to have obeyed a restrained one; a fool is not credited with having served the wise.
I confess it plainly: we are endangered in our own reputation if you handle your duties with bad intent. What happens to none of you individually becomes our public disgrace. We bear the consequences of cases we cannot ourselves adjudicate, and the law that everyone else enjoys cannot be enforced on our own behalf. But we have consolation from the other side as well: your good deeds are believed to be our instructions, and whatever glory is won by your labors is credited to us, even when we sit idle.
If someone sees you acting wisely, they immediately praise your superior, believing the training must have been as excellent as the results plainly are. The public has one verdict: judges are only as good as their officers prove to be. For this reason you must take the greatest care not to give the judge cause to pass judgment on you — the very judge whose reputation you may already have damaged. He avenges with punishments what you have made the subject of gossip, and compensates with your torments for the wounds the people loudly declare. How dangerous it is to face a judge who is justifiably angry, to have your fate decided by someone you have grievously provoked! Strive instead to earn our praise, because just as an adverse word from the judge can ruin you, a favorable verdict can raise you up.
Go forth, then, for this indiction, God willing, to your assigned province — adorned with the ceremonial staff and clothed in the gravity of your office. When you are away, think of the shame you would feel if you were present before me. What degrading thing could you attempt, you who serve under a position of honor? The magistrates' authority stands behind you, and when you are believed to carry the orders of the Praetorian seat, you take on something of that power itself. Observe our edicts first yourself; show those watching you the right path. For whose duty is it to uphold our commands, if our own officers are seen to disregard our statutes?
Flee that queen of brazen vices — avarice — whom all crimes serve with loathsome devotion. Once she enters a man's heart, she admits a whole swarm of wicked cohorts in her wake. She cannot be endured once admitted, because she never comes alone. She commands an army of seductions, she arms herself with bribes, and through sweetness she conquers those she captures with bitter deception. Therefore be diligent in attending to public business. Carry out your assignments with moral persuasion rather than fear — the man who insists on reason accomplishes more than the man who merely terrifies. Let your person be a refuge for the oppressed, a defense for the weak, a bulwark for those crushed by any calamity. For you truly serve our office [the chancery] only if you break open the cruel prisons of those who have been wronged.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.