From: Senator [Cassiodorus], Praetorian Prefect
To: Thomatus and Petrus, Treasury Officials
Date: ~533-537 AD
Context: Cassiodorus orders the return of sacred vessels that Pope Agapitus I had pledged as collateral to fund his embassy to Constantinople in 536 — and draws a remarkable parallel with Alaric's sack of Rome in 410.
You will recall with me, most faithful men, that when the holy Agapitus, Pope of Rome, was being sent on a royal embassy to the Emperor of the East, he received from you — with pledges given and a formal receipt properly executed — a certain number of pounds of gold. The provident sovereign ordered it, and the urgency of the Pope's departure demanded it. It was certainly generous to lend money in a time of need — but how much more glorious to have provided what could have been offered with gratitude returned!
Necessity was overcome without loss. The Pope's hand gave what his own resources did not possess, and that journey was rendered financially whole through what was covered by the gift. Imagine the spectacle: a bishop distributing freely to petitioners while the Church suffered no loss at all. He was a distributor rather than a donor, since the cost must be attributed to the one from whose resources the spending actually came. What might such an embassy not accomplish before a pious emperor — one dispatched under such singular circumstances?
Therefore, having been reminded by my order and secured by royal command, return the sacred vessels without any delay to the agents of the holy Apostle Peter, upon surrender of the written bond — so that, returned profitably and quickly, they may seem to have obtained the desired result. Let the liturgical vessels, worthy of being celebrated throughout the world, be carried back by the hands of deacons. Let what was rightfully the Church's be given back, since the priest justly receives through generosity what he had legally pledged.
An example from our own history, which I recorded with great care, has been surpassed. For when King Alaric [leader of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in 410 AD], satiated with the plundering of Rome, received from his men the vessels of the Apostle Peter, he immediately, upon learning the story of these objects through inquiry, commanded them to be carried back to the sacred shrine — so that the greed which had committed sacrilege in the frenzy of looting might erase the transgression through the most generous devotion. But why should it be surprising that a man who enriched himself with such vast destruction of the city refused to plunder the venerable objects of the saints?
Our king, however, through religious conviction, has returned vessels that had been legally made his own through the right of pledge. Therefore, let frequent prayer be offered for such deeds, since I believe that joyful blessings can be granted when we seek divine reward for good actions.
XX.
THOMATI ET PETRO VV. CC. ARCARIIS SENATOR PPO.
[1] Retinetis mecum, fidelissimi viri, sanctum Agapitum urbis Romae papam, cum ad Orientis principem legationis gratia mitteretur iussione regia, datis pignoribus a vobis tot libras auri facto pittacio sollemniter accepisse, ut cui providus dominator iussit, ad subitum eius etiam urgeret egressum. primum quidem benigne praestitit qui in necessitate mutuas pecunias dedit: sed quanto gloriosius fecit etiam illud largiri, quod cum gratiarum actione potuisset offerri! [2] Victa est sine damno necessitas: manus papae dabat quod eius substantia non habebat et iter illud est indemne redditum, quod donis constat expletum. quale, rogo, videbatur antistitem petentibus profundere et ecclesiam nulla detrimenta sentire? distributor fuit potius quam donator, quia necesse est illi applicari, de cuius facultatibus videbatur expendi. quid non agat apud pium principem talis legatio, quam destinatam singulari constat exemplo? [3] Quapropter nostra praeceptione commoniti et regia iussione securi sanctorum vasa cum obligatione chirographi actoribus sancti Petri apostoli sine aliqua dilatione refundite, ut lucrose reddita celeriter impetrare videantur optata: referantur manibus levitarum ministeria toto orbe narranda: donetur quod proprium fuit, quando iuste per largitatem recipit quod sacerdos legibus obligavit. [4] Superatum est exemplum quod in historia nostra magna intentione retulimus. nam cum rex Alaricus urbis Romae depraedatione satiatus apostoli Petri vasa suis deferentibus excepisset, mox ut rei causam habita interrogatione cognovit, sacris liminibus deportari diripientium manibus imperavit, ut cupiditas, quae depraedationis ambitu admiserat scelus, devotione largissima deleret excessum. sed quid mirum, si reverenda sanctorum diripere noluit, qui tanta se urbis vastatione ditavit? [5] Rex autem noster religioso proposito reddidit vasa, quae iure pignoris propria videbantur effecta. et ideo talibus factis frequens praestetur oratio, quando laeta concedi posse credimus, cum retributionem bonis actibus postulamus.
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From:Senator [Cassiodorus], Praetorian Prefect
To:Thomatus and Petrus, Treasury Officials
Date:~533-537 AD
Context:Cassiodorus orders the return of sacred vessels that Pope Agapitus I had pledged as collateral to fund his embassy to Constantinople in 536 — and draws a remarkable parallel with Alaric's sack of Rome in 410.
You will recall with me, most faithful men, that when the holy Agapitus, Pope of Rome, was being sent on a royal embassy to the Emperor of the East, he received from you — with pledges given and a formal receipt properly executed — a certain number of pounds of gold. The provident sovereign ordered it, and the urgency of the Pope's departure demanded it. It was certainly generous to lend money in a time of need — but how much more glorious to have provided what could have been offered with gratitude returned!
Necessity was overcome without loss. The Pope's hand gave what his own resources did not possess, and that journey was rendered financially whole through what was covered by the gift. Imagine the spectacle: a bishop distributing freely to petitioners while the Church suffered no loss at all. He was a distributor rather than a donor, since the cost must be attributed to the one from whose resources the spending actually came. What might such an embassy not accomplish before a pious emperor — one dispatched under such singular circumstances?
Therefore, having been reminded by my order and secured by royal command, return the sacred vessels without any delay to the agents of the holy Apostle Peter, upon surrender of the written bond — so that, returned profitably and quickly, they may seem to have obtained the desired result. Let the liturgical vessels, worthy of being celebrated throughout the world, be carried back by the hands of deacons. Let what was rightfully the Church's be given back, since the priest justly receives through generosity what he had legally pledged.
An example from our own history, which I recorded with great care, has been surpassed. For when King Alaric [leader of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in 410 AD], satiated with the plundering of Rome, received from his men the vessels of the Apostle Peter, he immediately, upon learning the story of these objects through inquiry, commanded them to be carried back to the sacred shrine — so that the greed which had committed sacrilege in the frenzy of looting might erase the transgression through the most generous devotion. But why should it be surprising that a man who enriched himself with such vast destruction of the city refused to plunder the venerable objects of the saints?
Our king, however, through religious conviction, has returned vessels that had been legally made his own through the right of pledge. Therefore, let frequent prayer be offered for such deeds, since I believe that joyful blessings can be granted when we seek divine reward for good actions.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.