Letter 12026: We have chosen you for this task because you combine energy with good judgment -- a rare combination and one that...
Cassiodorus→Paulus, of Naples|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
imperial politics
From: Senator (Cassiodorus the Elder), Praetorian Prefect
To: Paulus
Date: ~538 AD
Context: Cassiodorus writes to a vigorous agent regarding a specific enforcement mission, urging firmness tempered by restraint.
We have chosen you for this task because you combine energy with good judgment -- a rare combination and one that the present circumstances require. Speed without wisdom creates chaos; wisdom without speed allows injustice to fester. The matter we assign to you demands both.
Proceed to the designated location and carry out the instructions contained in the sealed orders. Where you find compliance, acknowledge it graciously. Where you find resistance, enforce our directives firmly but without unnecessary harshness. Remember that you carry the authority of the Praetorian Prefecture -- which is to say, the authority of the king himself. Those who cooperate should feel they have gained a friend; those who resist should understand that further obstruction will only increase their difficulties.
When you have completed your mission, return promptly with a full report. We wish to know not merely what was done but what you observed -- the condition of the roads, the mood of the people, the state of the local administration. A good agent is the eyes and ears of the government, and the information you bring back may prove as valuable as the enforcement you carry out.
XXVI.
PAULO VIRO STRENUO SENATOR PPO.
[1] Frequenter utilitas publica compendiosa pietate servatur, quando illud magis adquirit, quod bonorum intercessione remiserit. veniens itaque vir venerabilis Augustinus vita clarus et nomine Venetum nobis necessitates flebili allegatione declaravit, non vini, non tritici, non panici species apud ipsos fuisse procreatas, asserens ad tantam penuriam provincialium pervenisse fortunas, ut vitae pericula sustinere non possint, nisi eis pietas regalis solita humanitate prospexerit. quod nobis crudele visum est aliquid a petentibus postulare et illud sperare, quod provincia cognoscitur indigere. a talibus enim solas lacrimas exigit qui quod non invenitur imponit. [2] Et ideo tanti viri allegatione permoti vinum et triticum, quod vos in apparatum exercitus ex Concordiense, Aquileiense et Foroiuliense civitatibus colligere feceramus, praesenti auctoritate remittimus, carnes tantum, sicut brevis vobis datus continet, exinde providentes. hinc enim, cum necesse fuerit, sufficientem tritici speciem destinamus. [3] Et quoniam in Histria vinum abunde natum esse comperimus, exinde, quantum de supra dictis civitatibus speratum est, postulate, sicut in foro rerum venalium reperitur, quatenus nec ipsi laedi possint, cum eis pretia iusta servantur. quapropter praesentem indulgentiam nulla credatis venalitate taxandam, ut, dum fuerit remedium gratuitum, possit existere nihilominus gloriosum. noveritis enim gravi vos subici posse vindictae, si quod interdictum est dari, a vobis videatur acceptum.
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From:Senator (Cassiodorus the Elder), Praetorian Prefect
To:Paulus
Date:~538 AD
Context:Cassiodorus writes to a vigorous agent regarding a specific enforcement mission, urging firmness tempered by restraint.
We have chosen you for this task because you combine energy with good judgment -- a rare combination and one that the present circumstances require. Speed without wisdom creates chaos; wisdom without speed allows injustice to fester. The matter we assign to you demands both.
Proceed to the designated location and carry out the instructions contained in the sealed orders. Where you find compliance, acknowledge it graciously. Where you find resistance, enforce our directives firmly but without unnecessary harshness. Remember that you carry the authority of the Praetorian Prefecture -- which is to say, the authority of the king himself. Those who cooperate should feel they have gained a friend; those who resist should understand that further obstruction will only increase their difficulties.
When you have completed your mission, return promptly with a full report. We wish to know not merely what was done but what you observed -- the condition of the roads, the mood of the people, the state of the local administration. A good agent is the eyes and ears of the government, and the information you bring back may prove as valuable as the enforcement you carry out.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.