Letter 2031: Those who have enrolled in military service must devote themselves to public duties.

From: Theoderic (through Cassiodorus), King of the Ostrogoths To: The Dromonarii [River Patrol Boatmen] Date: ~522 AD Context: Theoderic orders river patrol boatmen to be stationed at Ostiglia on the Po River to supplement the public post system. Those who have enrolled in military service must devote themselves to public duties. What is a man to do if he shirks his sworn obligation -- gaining neither private advantage nor the glory of a soldier's life? Therefore our authority has directed the Count of the Sacred Largesses to station you at Ostiglia, so that, refreshed with rations from the treasury, you may carry out patrols along the Po River alongside the relay riders. By dividing the work, the public horses can be spared, since your progress costs nothing -- you travel on liquid roads. You do not suffer the limp of hard wear, you who walk with your hands. Your vehicle knows no damage and suffers no breakdown, since it is carried along by the running current.

XXXI. DROMONARIIS THEODERICUS REX. [1] Publicis debent utilitatibus insudare qui nomen dedere militiae. quid enim agat homo, si professo desit obsequio, ut nec commoda privata reperiat nec gloriam strenuitatis adquirat? et ideo comiti sacrarum largitionum nostra praecepit auctoritas, ut in Hostiliensi loco constitui debeatis, quatenus fiscali humanitate recreati excursus cum veredariis per alveum Padi solito more faciatis, ut diviso labore equis publicis debeat subveniri, quando cursus vester non atteritur, qui per vias liquidas expeditur. non enim vobis nimio labore claudicare contingit, qui manibus ambulatis. vehiculum vestrum non sentit iniuriam nec defectum patitur, quod unda potius currente portatur.