Letter 3033: It pleases us that our hopes for the growth of the sacred order are being fulfilled.
Cassiodorus→Argolicus, of City of Rome|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
education booksimperial politics
From: Theoderic (through Cassiodorus), King of the Ostrogoths
To: Argolicus, Urban Prefect of Rome
Date: ~522 AD
Context: Theoderic orders the admission of the rhetorician Armentarius and his son Superbus to the Roman Senate, praising the value of legal education.
It pleases us that our hopes for the growth of the sacred order are being fulfilled. We rejoice to see men emerge who deserve to shine with senatorial distinction, so that the grace of high office may be conferred upon the conspicuously praiseworthy. The Senate chamber is open to those versed in the disciplines of the ancients -- no one who is a student of the liberal arts can be considered a stranger to it. Therefore, your illustrious magnificence should see to it that the customary ceremonies of admission to the Senate are performed for the distinguished Armentarius and his son Superbus, following the procedures that ancient tradition prescribes.
This is the Armentarius who commends himself to us both by the merit of his parents and by his own talent, earning through his abilities the distinction he hopes for through his petitions. What could be more fitting than for the toga-wearing profession [law] to be clothed in senatorial honor as well, so that in that gathering of learned men he may dare to speak his mind freely, not silenced by the terror of ignorance but encouraged to speak by the rights of eloquence?
The knowledge of letters is a glorious thing: first, it purifies character; second, it supplies the grace of words -- a double benefit that admirably adorns both the silent and the eloquent. Let them therefore be led to the sanctuary of Liberty [the Senate house], praised for their own merit and adorned by our judgment. The Senate will undoubtedly welcome them, for their art is to turn an angry man favorable, a suspicious one calm, a stern one gentle, an opponent gracious. What could they not accomplish before the Senate, when they have mastered the art of bending a judge's mind?
XXXIII. ARGOLICO V. I. PRAEFECTO URBIS THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Gratum nobis est vota nostra circa sacri ordinis augmenta proficere. laetamur tales viros emergere, qui senatoria mereantur luce radiare, ut laude conspicuis deferatur gratia dignitatis. curia namque disciplinis veterum patet: nec ei iudicari potest extraneus, qui bonarum artium est alumnus. atque ideo illustris magnificentia tua in clarissimo Armentario atque Superbo eius filio ea faciat exhiberi, quae circa referendos curiae cana dictat antiquitas. [2] Hic est enim praefatus Armentarius, qui et parentum bono et suo nobis commendatur ingenio, exigens meritis quam sperat precibus dignitatem. nam quid dignius, si et senatorio vestiatur honore togata professio, ut in illa turba doctorum audeat liberam proferre sententiam, nec frenetur imperitiae terrore, quem hortantur ad vocem iura facundiae? [3] Gloriosa est denique scientia litterarum, quia quod primum est in homine, mores purgat: quod secundum, verborum gratiam sumministrat: ita utroque beneficio mirabilis ornat et tacitos et loquentes. ducantur ergo ad penetralia Libertatis laudati merito suo, ornati nostro iudicio, habituri sine dubio gratissimum senatum, quorum ars est facere de irato benivolum, de suspecto placatum, de austero mitem, de adversante propitium. quid ergo patribus imponere non possit, qui flectere animum iudicantis evaluit?
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From:Theoderic (through Cassiodorus), King of the Ostrogoths
To:Argolicus, Urban Prefect of Rome
Date:~522 AD
Context:Theoderic orders the admission of the rhetorician Armentarius and his son Superbus to the Roman Senate, praising the value of legal education.
It pleases us that our hopes for the growth of the sacred order are being fulfilled. We rejoice to see men emerge who deserve to shine with senatorial distinction, so that the grace of high office may be conferred upon the conspicuously praiseworthy. The Senate chamber is open to those versed in the disciplines of the ancients -- no one who is a student of the liberal arts can be considered a stranger to it. Therefore, your illustrious magnificence should see to it that the customary ceremonies of admission to the Senate are performed for the distinguished Armentarius and his son Superbus, following the procedures that ancient tradition prescribes.
This is the Armentarius who commends himself to us both by the merit of his parents and by his own talent, earning through his abilities the distinction he hopes for through his petitions. What could be more fitting than for the toga-wearing profession [law] to be clothed in senatorial honor as well, so that in that gathering of learned men he may dare to speak his mind freely, not silenced by the terror of ignorance but encouraged to speak by the rights of eloquence?
The knowledge of letters is a glorious thing: first, it purifies character; second, it supplies the grace of words -- a double benefit that admirably adorns both the silent and the eloquent. Let them therefore be led to the sanctuary of Liberty [the Senate house], praised for their own merit and adorned by our judgment. The Senate will undoubtedly welcome them, for their art is to turn an angry man favorable, a suspicious one calm, a stern one gentle, an opponent gracious. What could they not accomplish before the Senate, when they have mastered the art of bending a judge's mind?
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.