VARIAE, BOOK 3, LETTER 12
From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus
To: The Roman Senate
Date: ~507-511 AD
Context: A ceremonial letter expressing Theoderic's pleasure in conferring high offices, framing royal patronage as the source of public honor.
[1] We love it, Senators, when distinguished offices are born from our generosity. The mind of the ruler is the mother of public honor, and the character of the sovereign determines the quality of the dignities he bestows. A king who appoints wisely elevates not only the individual but the institution — and the institution, once elevated, elevates everything it touches.
[2] Let it never be said that offices in our kingdom are bought or bartered. What we grant, we grant because we have judged the recipient worthy. The honor flows from the crown to the citizen, and from the citizen back to the state, in a cycle that enriches everyone. The man who wears a dignity he has earned brings credit to the king who recognized him, and the king who appoints only the deserving earns the respect of every citizen, including those not yet appointed.
[3] We therefore present to you the man we have chosen for the office specified below, and we do so with the confidence that your own judgment will confirm ours. Receive him as a colleague worthy of your company, and let his advancement be a source of common pride.
XII. SENATUI ROMANO THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Amamus, patres conscripti, dignitates eximias de nostra benignitate nascentes. publici enim decoris mater est mens regentis et quale fuerit dominantis arbitrium, talem parit libertatis aspectum. facilius est quippe, si dicere fas est, errare naturam quam dissimilem sui princeps possit formare rem publicam. hinc est quod cupimus, ut perpetuis honoribus fulgeatis, quia quicquid de vobis fama loquitur, nostris institutionibus applicatur. nam cum omnia celsa mereamini, nostram invidiam tangit, si quid vobis fortasse defuerit. [2] Proinde, quod felicibus sanciatur auspiciis, illustrem Argolicum praefecturae urbanae dignitate promovemus, ut et ille augeatur fascibus et vobis tanti iudicis minime subtrahatur ornatus. scitis enim saepe ex hac familia viros enituisse praecipuos. recordamini provecti avum praefecti dogmatis honore ditatum, cuius innoxiam facundiam fora mirata sunt. studuit vero, cum abundaret eloquio, sciens dicendi peritum debere esse puritate conspicuum. his meritis ad honorum celsa perductus, largitiones sacras protexit fida custodia, implens etiam doctrina quam susceperat magisterii dignitatem, ita in utroque laudatus, ut in singulis crederetur esse praecipuus. [3] Accedit etiam provecti nobilissimus pater, qui comitivae privatarum infulas nullius calumniae acerbitate profanavit, qui affectans famae commoda, pecuniae neglexit augmenta et, quod rarum virtutis exemplum est, his egit temporibus continentem, quibus crimen avaritia non habebat. principis enim propositum facit aut neglegere iudices aut amare virtutes. tot igitur originis documenta praemittens credamus bona de nobili: quia laudabilis vena servat originem et fideliter posteris tradit, quae in se gloriosa transmissione promeruit. favete ergo, patres conscripti, vestris dignitatibus consecrato, ut ad maiora virtutum desideria concitetis quos nos munerum provocamus exemplis.
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VARIAE, BOOK 3, LETTER 12
From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus To: The Roman Senate Date: ~507-511 AD Context: A ceremonial letter expressing Theoderic's pleasure in conferring high offices, framing royal patronage as the source of public honor.
[1] We love it, Senators, when distinguished offices are born from our generosity. The mind of the ruler is the mother of public honor, and the character of the sovereign determines the quality of the dignities he bestows. A king who appoints wisely elevates not only the individual but the institution — and the institution, once elevated, elevates everything it touches.
[2] Let it never be said that offices in our kingdom are bought or bartered. What we grant, we grant because we have judged the recipient worthy. The honor flows from the crown to the citizen, and from the citizen back to the state, in a cycle that enriches everyone. The man who wears a dignity he has earned brings credit to the king who recognized him, and the king who appoints only the deserving earns the respect of every citizen, including those not yet appointed.
[3] We therefore present to you the man we have chosen for the office specified below, and we do so with the confidence that your own judgment will confirm ours. Receive him as a colleague worthy of your company, and let his advancement be a source of common pride.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.