Letter 12021: The office of the notary is the security of all, since the rights of everyone are protected by his diligence.

From: Senator [Cassiodorus], Praetorian Prefect To: Deusdedit, Public Notary of Ravenna Date: ~533-537 AD Context: Cassiodorus appoints a public notary and delivers a meditation on the sacred importance of legal records — the written word as the guardian of property, justice, and memory. The office of the notary is the security of all, since the rights of everyone are protected by his diligence. Some are ruined by fires; others are stripped bare by stealthy theft; for some, what a diligent owner acquired is lost through negligence. But from the public record, whatever is lost by private individuals is most robustly restored. The care given to others' documents is more attentive than what people can give to their own. The notary acts without being prompted in ways that a person asked directly would barely accomplish — and when consulted, he cannot deny what the interested party admits he has lost. His archive is the fortune of all, and rightly is it called the refuge of everyone, since in it the security of all is found. It passes to succeeding generations like a paternal office, provided the truth has been kept incorrupt — for just as a diligent father preserves what an idle heir may discover, so the arbiter between parties allows no one to be defrauded of what is rightfully his. Therefore I command you to be the perpetual guardian of so great a trust — so that you who have pleased through your integrity until now must not be tarnished by any inconsistency. Consider what is being entrusted to you: ancient fidelity and daily diligence. You settle the disputes of litigants; before every magistrate, your records are the subject of litigation — and you are the real judge, since you are the one who unties the knots of cases. This is an honorable distinction, an indisputable testimony. When the ancient voice of documents emerges incorrupt from your sanctuary, judges receive it with reverence; litigants, however stubborn, are forced to comply. And while it is possible to challenge a promulgated sentence, no one is permitted to contradict you. Therefore, do not make your office a thing for sale. The corrupt gift of a man trying to buy his way out is a moth eating at documents — seeking to consume what they know stands in their way. Let the honest publication of truth be your sustenance; let integrity be your wealth. Give to petitioners what was done long ago. Be a transmitter, not a fabricator, of ancient records. Press the copy onto the wax like a seal ring — so that just as an impressed seal cannot escape the face it represents, your hand may never deviate from the original. For if someone catches you in a dishonest substitution, how will anyone believe you in any other case once they know you could be corrupted? He attacks you with his own fraud and easily convicts the man he has deceived even once. Love justice, about which no one complains — so that even when angry, the man who tried in vain to lead you astray may still be able to speak well of you. Everything you do is public — either praised and earning favor, or accused and finding disfavor.

XXI. DEUSDEDIT SCRIBAE RAVENNATI SENATOR PPO. [1] Scribarum officium securitas solet esse cunctorum, quando ius omnium eius sollicitudine custoditur. alios enim depopulantur incendia: alios nudat furtiva subreptio: nonnullis neglegentia perit quod diligens auctor adquirit: sed de fide publica robustissime reparatur quicquid a privatis amittitur. [2] Diligentior est in alienis quam potest esse cura de propriis: non admonitus facit quod vix rogatus impleret et requisitus non potest negare quod is cuius interest se fatetur amisisse. armarium ipsius fortuna cunctorum est et merito refugium omnium dicitur, ubi universorum securitas invenitur. ad paterna transit officia, si incorrupte sit veritas custodita. nam sicut diligens genitor servat quod otiosus successor inveniat, sic arbiter partium nullum patitur propria utilitate fraudari. [3] Et ideo tantae rei iugiter praecipimus esse custodem, ut qui hactenus de integritate placuisti, nulla debeas varietate fuscari. vide quid tibi committitur antiqua fides et cotidiana diligentia. dirimis iurgantium litem: apud cunctos praesules de tua cura litigatur et tu potius iudicas, qui causarum vincla dissolvis. hoc honorabile decus, indisputabile testimonium: vox antiqua chartarum cum de tuis adytis incorrupta processerit, cognitores reverenter excipiunt: litigantes quamvis improbi coacti tamen oboediunt. et cum fas sit promulgatam sententiam suspendi, tibi non licet obviari. [4] Quocirca non habeas venale propositum. tinea documentorum est oblatio maligna redimentis, dum quaerunt consumere quod se cognoverint impedire. pascat te editio decora veritatis: facultas tua habeatur integritas. da petentibus quae olim facta sunt. translator esto, non conditor antiquorum gestorum. exemplar velut anulum ceris imprime, ut sicut vultus expressa non possunt signa refugere, ita manus tua ab authentico nequeat discrepare. [5] Quod si te aliquis iniqua subreptione traduxerit, quemadmodum in alia causa tibi adquiescat credi quem scit potuisse corrumpi? inpugnat te fraude sua et facile convincit, quem in una parte deceperit. ama iustitiam, de qua nemo queritur, ut etiam iratus testimonium salubre possit dicere, qui te in cassum voluit deviare. publicum est omne quod feceris, dum aut laudatus gratiam aut accusatus invenire possis offensam.