Letter 3032: It is a well-known truth that the services of the faithful are not lost on us -- what is given in hard times is...
It is a well-known truth that the services of the faithful are not lost on us -- what is given in hard times is repaid in better ones. Therefore, for the people of Arles, who held fast to our cause and endured the privations of a glorious siege, our compassion releases their fiscal tribute for the fourth indiction, on the condition that they return to their regular obligations in future years. In this way, we will appear to have repaid the well-deserving, and when circumstances demand it, their customary devotion will not be denied.
Let those who chose to starve for us during hardship be satisfied in freedom. Let those who faithfully endured sorrow be joyful. It would be wrong to immediately demand taxes from a man who has barely escaped the ultimate catastrophe. We ask these things from people at peace, not from those under siege. Why would you demand rent from a landowner you know has been unable to cultivate his fields? They have already paid us a precious tribute -- the tribute of their loyalty. It is unjust to demand cheap coin from those who offered glorious devotion.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
XXXII. GEMELLO V. S. THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Constat apud nos fidelium non perire servitia, sed in tristibus impensa recipere in meliore fortuna. Arelatensibus itaque, qui nostris partibus perdurantes gloriosae obsidionis penuriam pertulerunt, per indictionem quartam fiscalia tributa nostra relaxat humanitas, ita ut futuro tempore ad solitam redeant functionem, quatenus et nos bene meritis vicissitudinem reddidisse videamur et ab illis, cum res poposcerit, solita devotio non negetur. [2] Satientur in libertate qui pro nobis in angustiis esurire maluerunt: sint laeti qui tristitiam fideliter pertulerunt. non decet statim de tributis esse sollicitum, qui casum vix potuit declinare postremum. a quietis ista, non obsessis inquirimus. quid enim a domino agri exigas, quem eum non coluisse cognoscas? pretiosum vectigal iam nobis dederunt fidei suae. iniustum est ut viles pecunias exigantur qui gloriosas conscientias obtulerunt.
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