Letter 12027: The cooperation between the church and the civil administration is one of the foundations of good government in our...
Cassiodorus→Datius, of Milan|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
church state conflictimperial politics
From: Senator (Cassiodorus the Elder), Praetorian Prefect
To: Datius, Bishop of Milan
Date: ~538 AD
Context: Cassiodorus writes to the Bishop of Milan on a matter of cooperation between church and state, reflecting the intertwining of ecclesiastical and civil authority in late antique Italy.
The cooperation between the church and the civil administration is one of the foundations of good government in our time. The bishop guides souls; the prefect governs bodies and property. But these domains are not as separate as they may seem -- the moral authority of the church strengthens civil obedience, while the order maintained by civil government allows the church to carry out its spiritual mission in peace.
We therefore write to your holiness on a matter that concerns us both. Certain issues in the administration of Milan require the combined attention of ecclesiastical and secular authority. The details are conveyed by the bearer of this letter, who has been fully briefed. We ask your holiness to receive him courteously, consider what he proposes, and respond with your customary wisdom.
We have the highest regard for the see of Milan, which has produced some of the greatest lights of the church -- most notably the blessed Ambrose, whose memory continues to inspire both clergy and laity. We wish to honor that legacy by maintaining the harmony between church and state that made Milan a beacon of Christian civilization. Whatever your holiness judges to be right and fair, we are prepared to support with the full weight of our authority.
XXVII.
DATIO EPISCOPO MEDIOLANENSI SENATOR PPO.
[1] Minus prodest bonum iubere, nisi hoc per viros sanctissimos velimus efficere. auget enim beneficium voluntas recta iustorum et quicquid sine fraude geritur, hoc vere donantis meritis applicatur. decet enim, ut munificentiam principalem sacerdotalis puritas exequatur. nam cui est studium bonum de proprio facere, laudabiliter potest aliena vota complere. [2] Et ideo sanctitatem vestram petimus, cuius propositi est divinis inservire mandatis, ut de horreis Ticinensibus et Dertonensibus panici speciem, sicut a principe iussum est, tertiam portionem esurienti populo ad viginti quinque modios per solidum distrahi sub vestra ordinatione faciatis, ne cuiusquam venalitate ad illos perveniat, qui se de proprio videntur posse transigere. accipiat minus habens indulgentiam principalem. egentibus iussum est, non divitibus, subveniri. fundit potius, qui mittit in plenum, nam illud potius reconditur, quod vasis vacuis congregatur. [3] Quapropter sanctitas vestra miserationis officia non putet iniuriam: quia totum vobis dignum est, ubi pietas invenitur, siquidem aliena desideria fideliter gerere hoc est bona propria perfecisse. ad quam rem deo iuvante procurandam illum atque illum curavimus destinare, qui sanctitatis vestrae ordinationibus obsecuti nihil ex se faciant, sed tantummodo vobis oboedire contendant. solidi vero, quanti ex supra dicta quantitate panici potuerint congregari, vestra nobis relatione declarate, ut apud arcarium reconditi ad supra memoratam speciem reparandam futuris reserventur deo auxiliante temporibus: more vestis redivivae, cuius adunatio per fila resolvitur, ut in novam faciem splendido potius decore texatur.
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From:Senator (Cassiodorus the Elder), Praetorian Prefect
To:Datius, Bishop of Milan
Date:~538 AD
Context:Cassiodorus writes to the Bishop of Milan on a matter of cooperation between church and state, reflecting the intertwining of ecclesiastical and civil authority in late antique Italy.
The cooperation between the church and the civil administration is one of the foundations of good government in our time. The bishop guides souls; the prefect governs bodies and property. But these domains are not as separate as they may seem -- the moral authority of the church strengthens civil obedience, while the order maintained by civil government allows the church to carry out its spiritual mission in peace.
We therefore write to your holiness on a matter that concerns us both. Certain issues in the administration of Milan require the combined attention of ecclesiastical and secular authority. The details are conveyed by the bearer of this letter, who has been fully briefed. We ask your holiness to receive him courteously, consider what he proposes, and respond with your customary wisdom.
We have the highest regard for the see of Milan, which has produced some of the greatest lights of the church -- most notably the blessed Ambrose, whose memory continues to inspire both clergy and laity. We wish to honor that legacy by maintaining the harmony between church and state that made Milan a beacon of Christian civilization. Whatever your holiness judges to be right and fair, we are prepared to support with the full weight of our authority.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.