Letter 12023: A judge's deliberation must assign proven men to public business, so that what is difficult to obtain in a time of...

From: Senator [Cassiodorus], Praetorian Prefect To: Laurentius, agent dispatched to Istria Date: ~533-537 AD Context: Cassiodorus sends detailed procurement instructions to his agent in Istria — a window into the practical logistics of supplying a sixth-century government. A judge's deliberation must assign proven men to public business, so that what is difficult to obtain in a time of scarcity may be easily accomplished. In times of abundance, any person can manage; it is when necessity presses that experienced agents are required. Therefore, I order your proven competence — which has given us such frequent satisfaction through this kind of devotion — to proceed to the province of Istria. There you are to procure wine, oil, and grain species valued at a certain number of solidi from the tax obligation, and with the additional solidi you received from our treasury, you shall hasten to purchase from both merchants and landowners, as the schedule provided by the accountants directs. Therefore, summon your energies for obedience — you who have pleased through so many vigilant duties, regardless of the task assigned. Let the example of your earlier career remind you, for it is a grave thing for a veteran to fail when as a recruit he never once erred. Report to me truthfully — as I trust you to do — what abundance of the aforesaid commodities has presented itself, so that I may set terms that neither injure the provincials nor burden the public purse.

XXIII. LAURENTIO VIRO EXPERIENTISSIMO SENATOR PPO. [1] Deliberatio iudicis probatos viros debet publicis actionibus adhibere, ut facile possit impleri quod sub sterilitate temporis videtur inquiri. in abundantia rerum quaelibet se potest expedire persona: electis opus est militibus, cum fuerit necessitatis impulsus. atque ideo experientiam tuam frequentibus nobisque tali devotione gratissimam ad Histriam provinciam iubemus excurrere, ut in tot solidos vini, olei vel tritici species de tributario solido debeas procurare, in aliis vero tot solidis, quos a nostro arcario percepisti, tam a negotiatoribus quam a possessoribus emere maturabis, sicut te a numerariis instruxit porrecta notitia. [2] Quapropter erige nunc animos ad parendum, qui tantis excubiis indiscreta sorte placuisti. ammoneat te prioris conversationis exemplum, quia nimis grave est emeritum delinquere, quem tironem nullatenus constat errasse. qualis autem supra dictarum specierum ubertas se optata laxaverit, veraci nobis, ut de te credimus, relatione significa, ut nos habito modo constituere debeamus quod nec provinciales laedat nec publicas gravare possit expensas.