Cassiodorus→Severus, of Aquileia|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
barbarian invasionillness
VARIAE, BOOK 2, LETTER 8
From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus
To: Severus, Venerable Bishop
Date: ~507-511 AD
Context: Theoderic sends 1,500 solidi through Montanarius for the bishop to distribute as war relief to provincials harmed by the passage of the royal army.
[1] Who better to be entrusted with the rights of equity than someone honored with the priesthood — a man who, out of love for justice, judges without regard for persons and, caring for all alike, leaves no room for resentment? Recognizing that this task suits your merits, we inform you that we have sent 1,500 solidi [gold coins, each worth roughly 4.5 grams of gold] to Your Holiness through Montanarius. Distribute them to the provincials according to your assessment of whatever losses each one suffered this year from the passage of our army. Let no one who has been burdened by losses be excluded from our generosity. We do not wish to distribute indiscriminately what should be allocated with reason — lest what we have sent out of genuine necessity for the afflicted be given superfluously to those who suffered no harm.
VIII. SEVERO VIRO VENERABILI EPISCOPO THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Quis melius ad aequitatis iura deligitur quam qui sacerdotio decoratur, qui amore iustitiae personaliter nesciat iudicare et diligens cunctos in commune locum non relinquat invidiae? proinde aptam considerantes vestris meritis actionem significamus nos per Montanarium sanctitati vestrae mille quingentos solidos destinasse, quos provincialibus, prout quemque praesenti anno exercitu nostro transeunte dispendium pertulisse cognoveris, habita laesionis aestimatione distribuas, ut nullus a nostra munificentia reddatur alienus, quem sua damna gravaverunt. nolumus enim sub confusione largiri, quod decet sub ratione distribui: ne quod nos necessarie transmisisse constat afflictis, superfluo tribuatur illaesis.
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VARIAE, BOOK 2, LETTER 8
From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus To: Severus, Venerable Bishop Date: ~507-511 AD Context: Theoderic sends 1,500 solidi through Montanarius for the bishop to distribute as war relief to provincials harmed by the passage of the royal army.
[1] Who better to be entrusted with the rights of equity than someone honored with the priesthood — a man who, out of love for justice, judges without regard for persons and, caring for all alike, leaves no room for resentment? Recognizing that this task suits your merits, we inform you that we have sent 1,500 solidi [gold coins, each worth roughly 4.5 grams of gold] to Your Holiness through Montanarius. Distribute them to the provincials according to your assessment of whatever losses each one suffered this year from the passage of our army. Let no one who has been burdened by losses be excluded from our generosity. We do not wish to distribute indiscriminately what should be allocated with reason — lest what we have sent out of genuine necessity for the afflicted be given superfluously to those who suffered no harm.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.