VARIAE, BOOK 2, LETTER 14
From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus
To: Symmachus, Patrician
Date: ~507-511 AD
Context: Theoderic orders the punishment of a man named Romulus for assaulting his own father Martinus — a striking letter that uses examples from nature (storks, partridges, and other animals) to argue that filial piety is so fundamental that even animals observe it.
[1] Who can accuse lesser crimes when the very name of filial devotion proves to be cruel? A minor offense goes unnoticed when the great drama of a major crime has thundered forth, and no one strives to punish what is small when the greatest crimes are seen to go unpunished. The very nature of the relationship reveals the true enemy: an angry colleague you may sometimes forgive, but human decency does not permit an undutiful son to escape punishment.
[2] Where is that force of nature, which through the bond of union is destined for posterity? The cubs of wild animals follow their parents; shoots do not diverge from their root; the branch of a vine serves its own origin — and shall a human being rebel against the source of his own existence? And consider those benefits that could obligate even a stranger: children are raised from infancy, people labor for them, wealth is gathered for them. Every man thinks he has abundance for himself, yet while fathers are still striving, they really sin for the sake of another generation. The horror! Shall we not deserve the affection of those for whom we do not refuse to face death? A father's love does not shrink from the sea itself, churned by savage storms, in order to acquire foreign goods to leave to his own offspring.
[3] Even the birds, whose life revolves entirely around food, do not stain their nature with such unnatural filth. The stork — that yearly herald of returning spring, who banishes the gloom of winter and brings in the gladness of the warm season — provides a great example of devotion. For when their parents' feathers loosen with the wasting of old age and they can no longer forage for their own food, the young ones warm their parents' cold limbs with their own plumage and restore their weary bodies with food. Until the aged bird returns to its former strength, the young repay with loving reciprocity what they received as hatchlings from their parents.
[4] Even partridges have the custom of making good on lost eggs through the sacrifice of another mother, so that by adopting another's offspring they may repair their own childlessness. But as soon as the chicks gain the confidence to walk and go out into the fields with their foster mother, the moment they hear their true mother's voice, they seek out the parent who laid their eggs — even though they were raised by stolen nurture.
[5] What then should human beings do, when they recognize such devotion even in birds? Therefore, bring Romulus — who pollutes the Roman name with the atrocity of his deed — before your tribunal. If it is established that he laid hands on his own father Martinus, let him immediately feel the lawful penalty. We have chosen your judgment precisely because you cannot spare the cruel.
XIIII. SYMMACHO PATRICIO THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Quis possit accusare iam reliqua, si pietatis nomina probantur esse crudelia? neglegitur levis reatus, cum tragoedia criminis nagna tonuerit, nec aliquis nititur quod parum est vindicare, si delicta summa respiciantur evadere. inimicum trucem ratio ipsa professionis ostendit: iratum plerumque poteris invenire collegam: inoboedientem vero filium declinare poenas non permittit humanitas. [2] Ubi est illa naturae vis, quae amplexu copulae destinatur ad posteros? ferarum catuli sequuntur parentes: a cespite suo virgulta non discrepant: propago vitis propriae servit origini: et discrepat homo a suo fusus initio? quid dicamus illa beneficia, quae vel extraneam possint obligare personam? nutriuntur a parvulis, ipsis laboratur, ipsis divitiae conquiruntur: et cum sibi unusquisque credat abundare quod possidet, cum a patribus adhuc quaeritur, pro altera potius aetate peccatur. pro dolor! non merebimur eorum affectum, pro quibus subire non recusamus exitium? Maria ipsa saevis tempestatibus excitata genitoris cura non refugit, ut peregrinis mercibus adquirat quod propriae suboli derelinquat. [3] Aves ipsae, quarum vita semper in escis est, naturam suam extranea sorde non maculant. ciconia, redeuntis anni iugiter nuntiatrix, eiciens tristitiam hiemis, laetitiam verni temporis introducens, magnum pietatis tradit exemplum. nam cum parentes eorum pennas senio coquente laxaverint nec ad proprios cibos quaerendos idonei potuerint inveniri, plumis suis genitorum frigida membra refoventes escis corpora lassa reficiunt: et donec in pristinum vigorem ales grandaeva redierit, pia vicissitudine iuvenes reddunt, quod a parentibus parvuli susceperunt. et ideo non immerito longa vita servantur, qui pietatis officia non relinquunt. [4] Perdicibus etiam mos est ova perdita per alterius matris damna sarcire, ut adoptione alienae subolis incommoda suae reparent orbitatis: sed mox ut nati fiduciam habere coeperint ambulandi, ad campos exeunt cum nutrice: qui ut fuerint materna voce commoniti, ovorum suorum potius genetricem petunt, quamvis ab aliis furtivis fetibus educentur. [5] Quid ergo homines facere debebunt, quando hanc pietatem et in avibus inesse cognoscunt? Romulum itaque, qui facti sui acerbitate pollutus nomen foedat Romanum, ad vestrum facite venire iudicium: et si eum patri suo Martino manus iniecisse constiterit, protinus legitimam sentiat ultionem: quia ideo elegimus mores vestros, quia crudelibus parcere non potestis, quando genus pietatis est in illos distringere, qui contra naturae ordinem sceleratis se docentur actionibus miscuisse.
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VARIAE, BOOK 2, LETTER 14
From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus To: Symmachus, Patrician Date: ~507-511 AD Context: Theoderic orders the punishment of a man named Romulus for assaulting his own father Martinus — a striking letter that uses examples from nature (storks, partridges, and other animals) to argue that filial piety is so fundamental that even animals observe it.
[1] Who can accuse lesser crimes when the very name of filial devotion proves to be cruel? A minor offense goes unnoticed when the great drama of a major crime has thundered forth, and no one strives to punish what is small when the greatest crimes are seen to go unpunished. The very nature of the relationship reveals the true enemy: an angry colleague you may sometimes forgive, but human decency does not permit an undutiful son to escape punishment.
[2] Where is that force of nature, which through the bond of union is destined for posterity? The cubs of wild animals follow their parents; shoots do not diverge from their root; the branch of a vine serves its own origin — and shall a human being rebel against the source of his own existence? And consider those benefits that could obligate even a stranger: children are raised from infancy, people labor for them, wealth is gathered for them. Every man thinks he has abundance for himself, yet while fathers are still striving, they really sin for the sake of another generation. The horror! Shall we not deserve the affection of those for whom we do not refuse to face death? A father's love does not shrink from the sea itself, churned by savage storms, in order to acquire foreign goods to leave to his own offspring.
[3] Even the birds, whose life revolves entirely around food, do not stain their nature with such unnatural filth. The stork — that yearly herald of returning spring, who banishes the gloom of winter and brings in the gladness of the warm season — provides a great example of devotion. For when their parents' feathers loosen with the wasting of old age and they can no longer forage for their own food, the young ones warm their parents' cold limbs with their own plumage and restore their weary bodies with food. Until the aged bird returns to its former strength, the young repay with loving reciprocity what they received as hatchlings from their parents.
[4] Even partridges have the custom of making good on lost eggs through the sacrifice of another mother, so that by adopting another's offspring they may repair their own childlessness. But as soon as the chicks gain the confidence to walk and go out into the fields with their foster mother, the moment they hear their true mother's voice, they seek out the parent who laid their eggs — even though they were raised by stolen nurture.
[5] What then should human beings do, when they recognize such devotion even in birds? Therefore, bring Romulus — who pollutes the Roman name with the atrocity of his deed — before your tribunal. If it is established that he laid hands on his own father Martinus, let him immediately feel the lawful penalty. We have chosen your judgment precisely because you cannot spare the cruel.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.