Letter 3024: Our providence does not abandon its purpose -- always attentive to its subjects, it arranges what will benefit them,...
Cassiodorus→Barbarians and Romans Residing in Pannonia|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
barbarian invasion
From: Theoderic (through Cassiodorus), King of the Ostrogoths
To: All Barbarians and Romans Residing in Pannonia
Date: ~522 AD
Context: Theoderic announces the appointment of Colosseus as governor of Pannonia, urging the population to obey him and settle disputes through law rather than violence.
Our providence does not abandon its purpose -- always attentive to its subjects, it arranges what will benefit them, so that those who learn we have cared for them may be stirred to greater devotion. For this reason, we have committed your governance and defense to Colosseus, a distinguished man powerful in both name and strength, who has already given abundant proof of his own virtue and may only grow greater in what lies ahead. Therefore, show the same obedience you have so often demonstrated, and carry out with proper devotion whatever he orders for the benefit of our kingdom. Loyalty is proven by steadfastness, and the man who persists in faithful service demonstrates the integrity of his own mind.
We also thought it necessary to admonish you: direct your ferocity against the enemy, not against each other. Do not let petty disputes drive you to fatal extremes. Submit to justice, which brings the world joy. Why resort to single combat when you have a judge who cannot be bribed? Lay down your weapons -- you have no enemy here. It is a terrible thing to raise your arm against your own people, for whom it is right to die gloriously. What use is a man's tongue if an armed hand argues his case? And where can peace be found if people fight under the guise of civil life? Follow the example of our Goths, who know how to wage war abroad and practice moderation at home. We want you to live the way you see our ancestors flourished by the Lord's grace.
XXIIII. UNIVERSIS BARBARIS ET ROMANIS PER PANNONIAM CONSTITUTIS THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Institutum suum providentia nostra non deserit, cum subiectis semper intenta profutura disponit, ut ad maiorem devotionem concitentur qui sui curam nos habuisse cognoscunt. [2] Hinc est quod Colosseo viro illustri nomine viribusque praepotenti gubernationem vestram defensionemque commisimus, ut qui suae multa dedit hactenus experimenta virtutis, augeatur potius in futuris. atque ideo parientiam vestram saepius approbatam nunc quoque eidem praesenti monstrate, quatenus in his quae pro regni nostri utilitate rationabiliter agenda praeceperit, devotione probabili compleantur: quia fidem constantia probat et ille integritatem propriae asserit mentis, qui iugibus persistit obsequiis. [3] Illud praeterea vos credidimus ammonendos, ut non in vos, sed in hostem saevire cupiatis. res parva non vos ducat ad extrema discrimina: adquiescite iustitiae, qua mundus laetatur. [4] Cur ad monomachiam recurratis, qui venalem iudicem non habetis? deponite ferrum, qui non habetis inimicum. pessime contra parentes erigitis brachium, pro quibus constat gloriose moriendum. quid opus est homini lingua, si causam manus agat armata? aut pax esse unde creditur, si sub civilitate pugnetur? imitamini certe Gothos nostros, qui foris proelia, intus norunt exercere modestiam. sic vos volumus vivere, quemadmodum parentes nostros cernitis domino praestante floruisse.
◆
From:Theoderic (through Cassiodorus), King of the Ostrogoths
To:All Barbarians and Romans Residing in Pannonia
Date:~522 AD
Context:Theoderic announces the appointment of Colosseus as governor of Pannonia, urging the population to obey him and settle disputes through law rather than violence.
Our providence does not abandon its purpose -- always attentive to its subjects, it arranges what will benefit them, so that those who learn we have cared for them may be stirred to greater devotion. For this reason, we have committed your governance and defense to Colosseus, a distinguished man powerful in both name and strength, who has already given abundant proof of his own virtue and may only grow greater in what lies ahead. Therefore, show the same obedience you have so often demonstrated, and carry out with proper devotion whatever he orders for the benefit of our kingdom. Loyalty is proven by steadfastness, and the man who persists in faithful service demonstrates the integrity of his own mind.
We also thought it necessary to admonish you: direct your ferocity against the enemy, not against each other. Do not let petty disputes drive you to fatal extremes. Submit to justice, which brings the world joy. Why resort to single combat when you have a judge who cannot be bribed? Lay down your weapons -- you have no enemy here. It is a terrible thing to raise your arm against your own people, for whom it is right to die gloriously. What use is a man's tongue if an armed hand argues his case? And where can peace be found if people fight under the guise of civil life? Follow the example of our Goths, who know how to wage war abroad and practice moderation at home. We want you to live the way you see our ancestors flourished by the Lord's grace.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.